1
Fancy a FREE Taxi? If you book your Taxi the Smart Way on our Smartphone App and if our Free Taxi turns up...
.....Y ou Don’T PAY!!
O
W I H
C
C C b s
S
E M D
A
O M v
F
A M i
O
C S
C
2
Cork’s Low Fares Taxi Company
C L H H L H F S
No Country For Young People Having done Arts, a degree that’s perceived by many to be useless, many people make snap judgements about where I’m going in life. “Gonna be a teacher yeah?” “I hear Amazon are hiring.” “So what can you do with an English degree?”
The most prevalent assumption, for myself as well as many other young people, is that I’m soon going to emigrate and that the only thing stopping me is that I haven’t saved up enough for my ticket yet. I’ve friends who’ve moved to London, New Zealand, Japan and Vietnam with many more just waiting to finish their degrees before they hop on the next flight out of the country. The Irish government has made the choice harder for young people to stay, with unemployment benefits being cut, the Grant being cut, meaningful jobs being almost non-existent it’s like they’ve tried to make this country as off putting as possible. Well you know what I say to that? Challenge accepted.
Kieran Murphy
Editor
editor@motley.ie Luke Crowley-Holland
Designer
OPENERS
Page 04
We talk to Emmet O’Brien of Freakscene fame, Eimear Hurley reviews The Importance of Being Earnest and we take a look a UCC Photography Society’s Humans of UCC Project.
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Page 06
Current Affairs & Sport Editor Dylan White investigates prostitution in Cork City, Lorraine Donovan and Motley Editor Kieran Murphy examine the cost of being a student while Cillian Fleming looks at the negative aspects of EU farm subsidies.
SPORT
Page 15
Eoghan Dalton takes a look at the all the new sporting autobiographies, Eoin McSweeney examines the IRFU’s statement on protein supplements while David Coen looks at what Martin O’Neil and Roy Keane mean for Ireland.
ARTS & CULTURE
Dylan White
Current Affairs & Sport Editor currentaffairs@motley.ie Eimear Hurley & Ruth Ní Leannacháin
Arts & Culture Editors artsandculture@motley.ie Dean Murray & Leah Driscoll
Features & Opinion Editors features@motley.ie Laurence Keating
Fashion & Beauty Editor
Page 18
fashion@motley.ie
Orla Hodnett interviews Cork born comic book artist Will Sliney, Elaine Malone gives her touching obituary for Lou Reed and Elaine Murphy feels vilified by Oi Ginger.
Emer Harrington
FEATURES
Page 23
Aodhan O’Hula-Hoop is back and is looking at landlords’ point of view, Eoin McSweeney shows you how to get the maul in Cork while Motley Editor interviews TV Chef heartthrob Donal Skehan.
OPINION
Public Relations OFFICER pr@motley.ie Darren Carlin & Amy Frahill
Photographers
Page 32 FASHION
Cliodhna Quirk questions rape culture while Seán Lynch of Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ireland debates for the legalization of cannabis in Ireland.
Page 34
Fashion & Beauty Laurence Keating shows you how to get this season’s strong lip, Sorcha Lanigan looks at the icon that is Kate Moss while Motley Editor details how Joey Essex ruins fashion plus there’s some pretty pictures of clothes.
Contributors
Special Thanks
Very Special Thanks
Colm Padraig Duffy, Eoghan Dalton, David Coen, Lorraine Donovan, Cillian Fleming, Jennifer Hornibrook, Luke Luby, Eoin McSweeney, Orla Hodnett, Elaine Murphy, Emma McCarthy, Kevin Long, Elaine Malone, Imelda Hehir, Martha Hegarty, Anthony Keigher, Louise Clancy, Jessica Finch, Cliodhna Quirke, Philip McCormack, John Somers, Seán Lynch, Sorcha Lanigan
John Murphy, Aisling Twomey, Gráinne Biddle at Sony Music, Laura Allen at Universal Music, Laura Harte and all the WebPrint staff
Sofie Larsson, Donal Skehan, Mary Crilly, Niall Mc Cormack and Harry Styles for his perfect hair.
Vol. VII / Iss. 3 / Nov 2013
HUMANS OF UCC
Uncorked: Emmet O’Brien
Describe what you do?
On the International side I was pleasantly surprised by the new Manic A man who wears many metaphorical Street Preachers album! hats but oddly owns very few real ones. I’ve DJ-ed over the years in Freakscene What’s your favourite and other outlets but primarily I view myself as a writer. Poems, prose and venue in Cork? And your most recently scripts of the comic and favourite pub? film variety. I wrote and directed my As a venue, I do love the upstairs of the first short film “A Novel Approach to Pavilion. It’s a good size and gives you Dating” during the year and it was just the options to dance in the main area screened in the Indie Cork Film Festival or sit up in the back for a more gallery to a, thankfully, warm reception. view. There’s been a good stream of Who’s your favourite Cork acts in too on a fairly regular basis. As for pubs, I don’t drink so most places sort of blur together for me. I do like the Crane on the times it’s not too crazy The David Nelligan Thing. I’m a long but Gulpd would be my meeting place time fan of David Nelligan’s work. He of choice. has this ability to make his songs so What’s your hot tip for gig many things at once. Witty, literate, heartbreaking but above all catchy of the month? and well constructed. His songs feel On the 8th of November Lisa Lemur like proper songs that will stand the and The G-Man (Gary Meyler) are test of time, not just examples of a putting on a double headliner act current sound or an in vogue style. with Dott, a band from Galway and A very clever man and a fascinating New Zealand duo French For Rabbits. artist. He just put out a wonderful Love The G-Man blog and Lisa also Synth led EP which shows versatility knows her stuff so I trust their canny too. Well worth seeking out. selections that it’ll be a good one.
artist at the moment? (and why?)
T
aking inspiration from the Humans of New York and The Streets of Cork, the UCC Photography Society has launched Humans of UCC. The brainchild of auditor Becca Geedon, she explains that she “wanted the society to be more involved with the student body.” Having felt like the society was intimidating to newcomers she wants Humans of UCC that the society is “as much for appreciators of photography as it is for photographers.” Check out the project on fb.com/UCCPhoto.
What was your favourite What’s your hot tip for gig in the last 3 months? non-music related show? Elastic Sleep on the last Culture Night (Sept. 20th) in Cyrpus Avenue was great. I really enjoy their sound, this wonderful fusion of the Cocteau Twins meets My Bloody Valentine. Interesting to see where they go next and really looking forward to some recorded output from them.
Well forgive the open ended answer but the Cork Film Festival features a wonderful programme of short, music based and avant garde films. As a film buff it’s my favourite week of the year and Dylan Moran is around for this year’s celebrations!
Locally The Grave Lanterns have put out their insanely catchy and well, just plain insane track Creepin’ up on You. Perfectly menacing music for the Halloween season and beyond. Also the mighty Altered Hours are putting out a new release with “Dig Early”. It’s going to be fantastic.
If you’ll indulge me a non musical, far geekier thing I’m very much looking forward to the release of the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Episode, The Day of the Doctor! What makes it unique is that it will be screened on the 23rd in Cinemas worldwide and in 3D. So that’s pretty exciting to round off November with!
your most What’s your favourite Release looking forward to in the new release (local and next month? international)
4
s
e r
e u a y f
s e y
e t d . o
r
Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest Arts & Culture Editor Eimear Hurley takes a look at the recent outing of The Importance of Being Earnest at the Cork Opera House Having premiered with great success in Los Angeles and London this year, The Importance of Being Earnest is currently in the midst of its Irish tour. The production is compellingly courageous, and while absurd, might not stray very far from Wilde’s intents for the play. The Importance of Being Earnest pokes fun at the farcical nature of Victorian society and behaviour. The opera adds some intriguing added subtexts and mini-scenes, staying true to Wilde’s description of the play as ‘a trivial comedy for serious people.’ There is undeniably some serious singing involved, with leaping, disjointed vocal lines that would put any virtuoso to the pin of their collar. The absurdness of Wilde’s characters is wonderfully complemented by the music. Soprano Aoife Miskelly’s astronomical high notes are impeccably delivered, but the hysterical character who voices them
makes the audience laugh, especially when all she is saying is “I like his hair so much.” The internationally renowned Crash Ensemble, conducted by Pierre-André Valade, act as another character in the production. The instruments frequently interrupt the singers mid-sentence, and sometimes midword. Barry’s score is highly energetic from beginning to end, supporting the singers and delighting the audience. The bizarre highlight of the opera is the duet between Miss Fairfax and Cecily, which is sung through loudhailers . That’s not quite strange enough for
Barry, though, so the brilliant servant character smashes plates into a bin between Miss Fairfax’s words. He comes back to do this when Lady Bracknell rather inexplicably shoots all of the other characters, ruining Wilde’s perfectly comedic ending. If the music is a little alienating, the set and lighting make the audience feel a part of the show. Onstage lights are pointed toward the seats, and directors chairs are used as props instead of the Queen Anne chairs one might have expected. Monochrome is a major design theme, with splashes of colour thrown in by the gentlemen’s and Miss Prism’s attire. The humour of the piece really lies in Wilde’s words and characterisation. Barry’s score unquestionably brings out the satire, but it is sometimes overdone. The scene where John throws approximately a hundred teddy bears onto the stage in his search for Miss Prism’s handbag is funny for about three seconds, but goes on for three minutes. Lady Bracknell is just an enigma. She is played by a man, she sports a hat in the shape of a hand, wields a fishing rod, and bursts randomly into German song. While all of this is thoroughly entertaining, it sometimes distracts from Wilde’s wit. The interesting thing about the opera is that Gerald Barry and these musicians take their music extremely seriously, so they risk undermining it in a piece so fiercely satirical as this. Avant-garde music will continue to be supported and performed, but productions like this question its integrity.
c m
s
t e
5
CURRENT AFFAIRS
World Toilet Day Colm Padraig Duffy tells us why World Toilet Day has become an important platform to demand action from governments, highlighting the issues of health and human dignity that are linked with poor sanitation.
W
orld Toilet Day takes place on 19th November 2013. It is an international day of action which aims to break the taboo around toilets and draw attention to the global sanitation challenge. Over 2.5b people around the globe have no access to proper toilet facilities, which ultimately has a massive environmental and health impact. Recent studies in India have highlighted the link between child malnutrition and sanitation. Despite India’s growing economic power, one in three malnourished children live in India. Around 46% of all children below the age of three are too small for their age and 47% are underweight. Researchers have highlighted that poor sanitation and the resulting diseases are more to blame for malnourishment and child mortality than diet. More than half of India’s population (over 55%) do not use a toilet because it is either unaffordable or inaccessible. Malnourishment limits development and the capacity to learn. It is estimated that around 50% of child deaths can be attributed to malnutrition and over one thousand children in India die every day from diarrhoea as a direct result of consumption or exposure to fecal matter. India alone accounts for 60% of the global population lacking in access to basic sanitation. In New Delhi, children must defecate directly into open sewers in the same place they eat, sleep, and bathe. Although local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are working on the issues of sanitation in slum areas, the problem is huge. One NGO installed 10 toilets in one slum area for over five thousand people.
Dean Spears, a Princeton University Economist, described the sanitation and malnutrition situation in India as “a development emergency”. with U.N. Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, believing the situation is a global health crisis that people “don’t like to talk about.” There are also key gender issues to consider here. Although the lack of access to toilets affects all of the poor in India, it disproportionately impacts females. In urban areas there are few public toilets, with the ones that are available charging a fee. However, the use of urinals for men is free, and men tend to urinate in public with ease compared to their female counterparts. There is even less access to toilets in rural areas. Women must defecate in the open and are often subjected to harassment for doing so. In an attempt to avoid such embarrassment, women will often try and avoid urination by withholding the consumption of liquids, leading to health problems such as heat stroke or urinary-tract infections. As we approach World Toilet Day, the UN offers some staggering statistics. More people on the planet own a mobile phone than have access to clean toilet facilities. Despite what is clearly a global health crisis, development aid dedicated to improving sanitation and water actually fell from 8% to 5% between 1997 and 2008.
Cronyism thriving in 21st century Ireland Eoghan Dalton questions the sacking of one of Ireland’s leading investigative journalists
T
he Garda Commissioner breaks the law while driving and has speeding points applied to his license. Rather than accept this, the Commissioner instead decides to quash the points, giving him a clean licence once again. An award winning journalist investigates this and goes to the Commissioner’s house to question him. The journalist’s boss is not pleased with the journo for heading to his house without permission. This editor settles the matter by making the writer compulsory redundant as punishment for bothering the Commissioner. That all happened in September; the journalist in question is Gemma O’Doherty, while Martin Callinan is the Commissioner and Stephen Rae is O’Doherty’s superior. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Irish Independent. Why did Rae feel so strongly about O’Doherty’s investigation? Nobody is certain, but Rae is a former editor of the Garda Review magazine which may leave some insinuating that he knows Callinan and other Gardaí. Political magazine The Phoenix first broke this story back in September but it has
6
barely been picked up by any of the other Irish media outlets. RTÉ, TV3, the Irish Times and the Irish Daily Mail have all failed to give the story coverage, despite the poor treatment of O’Doherty. Callinan does claim to have been on official Garda business when he was stopped; although it is hard to believe he would have received any points if that were the case. He was also driving his own car at the time of his speeding rather an official vehicle. O’Doherty first came across the case as she was investigating unlawful cancellations of driving points. For those of you wondering why people should be overly bothered by O’Doherty being fired, then consider the hefty smell of cronyism between the Indo and the Gardaí. Martin Callinan should have had to accept his punishment similar to anyone else, yet it appears he used his position to overrule laws he is meant to uphold. As for Rae, he fired a journalist because she tried to do her job. Are they not fair arguments to make? O’Doherty has received backing from numerous quarters after her redundancy; the National Union of Journalists has offered its support to her, stating that she may have a case for ‘’unfair dismissal’’. Elsewhere, people who knew of O’Doherty from her previous investigations have publicly backed her. She holds a strong reputation thanks to her dogged work with the case of Fr. Niall Molloy, who died in mysterious circumstances in 1985. Molloy’s family are also campaigning for O’Doherty. This is of course an old story for a magazine to be running (also, no organisation or newspaper had replied to my enquiries since the issue came to light), but so few outlets have covered O’Doherty’s sacking that it is only right that it is covered in more magazines, websites and newspapers until Stephen Rae and Martin Callinan admit their wrongdoing and the abuse of their positions. Until then, we can only surmise that the corruption and cronyism of the old Ireland is still around and thriving.
How Obamacare Shut the U.S Government Down
-
s , -
David Coen reflects back on the government shutdown that left many Americans worried about the economy’s resilience
F
or 16 days, the U.S. Government was partially shut down due to a lack of agreement between the two houses of Congress; the Democrat led Senate, and the House of Representatives, which holds a Republican majority. But how could did this occur in a ? A disagreement over federal budget spending resulted in the failure of the U.S. Congress to pass a budget before the fiscal year concluded on the 30th September 2013. Interestingly, a partial government shutdown has not been experienced by Americans in seventeen years. Services were suspended for a record 21 days after Republicans urged the then president Bill Clinton to adhere to their version of a balanced budget. This conflict over budgetary matters has become an almost annual affair in American politics. In the past few years Republicans have attempted to acquire political leverage through budget deadlines, using the bargaining tool of raising the debt ceiling to achieve this. Fortunately the shutdown was resolved when a deal was struck last-minute to extend the debt ceiling. The deal, drafted by the Senate majority and minority leaders, extended the treasury’s borrowing authority until February. The sixteen days of the shutdown affected the ‘non-essential’ Federal workforce. These included employees from the departments of defence, energy and transportation. In addition, many famous tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty and the National Zoo were closed for the duration of the shutdown. Ratings firm Standard and Poor’s (who historically downgraded the US’s credit rating as a result of a Republican and Democrat stand-off in 2011) claims the shutdown has cost the U.S. 24 billion dollars. But what has come between the two political parties this time to prevent American Citizens from working? The answer is Obama’s attempt to overhaul the American Healthcare system. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law by President Obama in 2010, and was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. Anyone who has seen the media coverage of the shutdown will have heard the PPACA referred to as Obamacare. This originated from Republicans referring to the PPACA with this title. So what exactly does Obamacare consist of? Its aim is to provide Americans with easier access to health insurance and to reduce the growth in health care spending. Obamacare also seeks to prevent gender discrimination, lifetime and annual limits, and insurance company tendencies to increase rates. Fundamentally, it requires each and every American to sign up for health insurance. Failure to do so results in a fine. There is government assistance available in genuine cases whereby insurance cannot be afforded. This act is considered as Obama’s signature achievement; healthcare reform that played a pivotal role in his second presidential victory. Indeed, Obama’s success in last year’s election only reinforces the fact that this health care act was supported by the majority of the American
‘This conflict over budgetary matters has become an almost annual affair in American politics. In the past few years Republicans have attempted to acquire political leverage through budget deadlines, using the bargaining tool of raising the debt ceiling to achieve this.’ people. Obama took to national television to heavily criticise his political opponents for trying to challenge the last election. Subsequently, needs for concessions as suggested by Republicans were not even remotely considered by Democrats. The proof in this was evident by their refusal to discuss or form assembly during the shutdown to propose amendments to the act. Substantial elements of the act already came into effect on 1st October 2013, regardless of the partial government shutdown that had occurred at the time. Republicans had previously voted more than 40 times to repeal the healthcare act since the legislation was passed. Their non-compliance with the Democrats was an attempt to delay the act’s central provisions from coming into law and to eliminate its funding. But why are the Republicans so opposed to Obamacare? What is it that they feel so strongly about; passionate enough to bring the country to a standstill? They simply believe it involves too much money. These programs obviously cost a lot; Obamacare so far has cost 600 million dollars. Some Republicans do not want the Government taking over one sixth of the American Economy, ultimately controlling the citizens and the upbringing of children. Other Republicans refer to the act as being unconstitutional in the sense that the Supreme Court changed the mandate to tax. The aforementioned concept that
Democrats interpreted their presidential victory as a majority support for Obamacare can also be applied to Republicans. Their victory in the 2010 House of Representatives election was understood by Republicans as a revolt against Democratic agenda and specifically Obamacare. This belief was a pivotal piece of the Republican’s argument in attempting to prevent implementation of the bill. The BBC’s Mark Mardell claimed that Republicans made demands which they knew would not be met. They sought to avoid accusations of weakness and betrayals by the more hardline elements of the party. The most significant aspect to the conclusion of this affair was that the deal to re-open the Government offered no permanent solution. It just seemed to postpone the problem. How exactly were the budgetary issues resolved that have conflicted Republicans and Democrats in years past? Think of Obamacare. Under all of this commotion the policy has remained unscathed. The Democrats have made no concessions to the law, and Republican feelings towards it have not been satisfied. In that sense there is every chance this is going to happen all over again next year. Further posturing by these American parties seems almost inevitable in the absence of any real solution to their current differences.
7
Motley Survey: The Cost of Being A Student Lorraine Donovan investigates the cost of being a student in 21st century Ireland. Additional reporting by Motley Editor Kieran Murphy
W
hile the recent budget has not been too harsh on students with the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) and the Student Grant been protected, a resounding number of student in a recent survey (78% of 230 students) conducted by Motley Magazine still feel that the government is not doing enough to help students financially. And who could blame them. The cost for students living away from home between rent, bills and books, not to mind trying to have somewhat of a social life is now deemed unaffordable for a considerable number of Irish students. Even those who live at home are faced with travel expenses and the nitty gritty expenses of being in education.
However, the Irish government is not the only body to come under fire. Over 63% of students feel that Irish universities are not doing enough to help students with the price of textbooks, the cost of services on campus and other college essentials. These alone are adding to their financial struggle. Over 57% have praised their respective Student Unions for their work in assisting students financially through the Student Assistance fund, second hand bookshops and offering advice through student welfare officers.
Therefore it is no wonder that over 60% of those surveyed find themselves struggling financially and this is all before counting in the contribution fee of €2500 which is due to increase next year by €250, and will reach €3000 in 2015. 44% claim they are yet to pay the €2,500 contribution fee for the 2013/14 academic year, with 23% believing they will be unable to pay it for the current college year.
Income The students surveyed fund themselves through a number of methods, with 76% receiving support from their parents, 56% using their savings while 14% availing of university access programs and student assistance funds. 50% of students are in part time work while in college and 67% of those employed believes it negatively affects their students and just over half of people have had to miss class due to work.
76%
Parents
57% Savings 51% Job
T
31% Grant
11% Studnet Assistance Fund
Average Debt =
15% 14% 12% 10% 9%
8
€
2,540
Credit Card Overdraft Loan Crdeit Union Loan All of the Above
Debt 40% of students have entered debt because of their studies, with the most popular forms of credit being credit cards and overdrafts. While 30% of those in debt only owe €100 or less, 47% are in debts of €1,000 and above and 7% of students are in debts of €10,000 and above although this could be due to the survey not factoring in mortgages. Average debt across the board is €2,540 just €40 over the contribution charge amount. In relation to the Student Grant, not everyone was able to avail of it. Only 31% of students surveyed are in receipt of a grant this year. Of the 85% who qualify for maintenance 32% have yet to receive their first installment on the 24th of October 2012 which was scheduled for the 18th of October.
T
e -
% y
Expenditure
M
The two biggest expenses while in college for many students are rent and commuting costs.
RENT
75% of students who responded to survey live in rented accommodation during the academic year. The average cost of rent nationally is €360. However the difference between the capital and the rest of the country is noteworthy as Cork students pay €350 and Dublin students having to pay €425 a month.
O
N
T
H
L Y :
-
€360 €81 €123 €88
ACCROSS
THE
YEAR
BOOKS
-
€103
-
COMMUTING
-
BILLS
For those who commute to college, the average cost is €81 a month however for those who live in rented accommodation but still must commute to college, the average cost is €75, however the survey failed to distinguish between visiting home and commuting to college.
SOCIALISING
The average student spends €123 on bills and grocery shopping per month with a worrying 23% of respondents claiming that they pay more than €190 a month, more than half the average cost of rent. As well as bills, the average student spends €88 a month on socialising with 44% of those surveyed saying they spend €60 less on socialising monthly. Books and materials is not essential for every college course however the average amount that students spend or intend to spend throughout the academic year is €103 with only 9% of respondents only intending to spend €200 or more.
IF THE COLLEGE YEAR IS 9 MONTHS
(360 + 81 + 123 + 88) X 9 + 103 =
THE AVERAGE COST OF BEING A STUDENT PER YEAR (MINUS FEES):
€5971
What did you have to say? The Parent:
The Postgradute:
“I am a lone parent with two children. For various reasons I am not eligible for free fees. I have been fortunate enough to secure loans to cover the cost of tuition, but I expect to spend between 10 and 20 years repaying these loans. I feel that I don’t have any other option, but I dread the coming years of onerous repayment.”
“The postgraduate grant no longer covers maintenance the most you’re entitled to is €2000 off the cost of your fees. I was refused this grant because my mother makes over the threshold, even though she can’t afford to give me much and I’ve been living independently for almost a year. As a result, I’ve only paid half of what I owe the college (thanks to the generosity of relatives) and I’m not sure where I’ll get the other half. I also can’t move back home due to family problems so I’m currently spending almost €600 a month on rent and bills. I was lucky enough to get a job after graduating last year but because I’m now a full-time masters student I haven’t been able to commit to it as much as I’d like to and I anticipate I won’t be able to pay my rent at all after December unless my boyfriend can help me out. I could rant about the government but I think my situation speaks for itself.”
The Mature Student: “My debt and bills were so high because I have a mortgage as well as many other overheads.”
The Undergraduate: “I’m not struggling personally because my parents are divorced and my father sends me a large sum of money each year, and I also receive the SUSI grant. I do see other people around me struggling an awful lot though. The only ones who aren’t have a job, but wear themselves out by working whenever they can because they need the money. I really think there should be more assistance for people who deserve third level education but seriously struggle with the amount it costs them.”
The Northern Irish Student: “Having moved from Northern Ireland I’m not eligible for virtually any government help and even if I was I’m not aware of what’s available and find all applications to SUSI and Student Assistance Fund requires documents that I either don’t have or find extremely hard to obtain as it’s a different system and I’m not up there to get them.”
9
Seeds of Doubt Cillian Fleming examines how the Common Agricultural Policy affects food prices in the European Union
R
ent-seeking is perhaps one of the most important ideas in economics. While the idea is important, it is also simple: People will try gain advantages for themselves through the political process. This is another way of saying that interest groups will lobby governments to give them an economic advantage. The result is always the same: everybody else loses. Coincidentally, the idea originated concurrently with the growth of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Common Agricultural Policy was born out of a compromise between France and Germany in drafting of the Treaty of Rome in 1958. Germany would gain access to French markets in return for subsidising French agriculture. It began its operation in 1962, growing to a point whereby in 1970 it consisted of 87% of the EU budget. Today, it costs European taxpayers €60 billion a year. It is a complex array of subsidies, quotas, and tariffs across the European Union. That said, the primary parts of the Policy are as follows:
•
Levies to increase the price of food imports from world market price to the EU’s targeted price.
•
Quotas to limit the amount of food that can be imported.
•
An EU intervention storage scheme which is employed to maintain stable food prices.
•
Direct subsidy payments to farmers.
In order to understand the policy and to fully appreciate its effects, it is important to examine each of the primary components of the policy. Import Levies are a tax imposed on goods entering a certain area. In this case, the area is the European Union. As the tax is being levied on the importer, in order to make a profit, he must pass on the cost of the tax to supermarkets that purchase his/her products in the form of an increased price. Similarly, in order to protect their own margins, supermarkets therefore pass the cost of that tax onto the consumer, also through an increase of price. The European Union does this so as to make its own agricultural produce more competitive with those of the rest of the world; however, the disastrous effect of this is that European consum-
10
ers are paying 17% more than the world market price for food. This adversely affects the poorest in society, forcing those on the breadlines to pay more, so as to benefit internal food producers. Import quotas have a similar effect to levies, in that their result is also to increase price. An import quota, put simply, is a limit on the amount of a particular good that can be imported into a particular area. This is done so as to limit competition with domestically produced goods. Otherwise, goods would fall to the market price. Therefore, the effect of quotas and levies are almost economically identical, in that they both raise the price for European consumers to a level that is almost 20% higher than the rest of the world. In addition, not only do these policies make food more expensive for everybody, poor or rich, across Europe, it also has a darker effect. As it stands currently, 70% of the developing world is dependent on agriculture to survive. By engaging in this policy, the EU is ensuring that the most vulnerable on our planet cannot have access to European markets. After all, how can the poorest countries hope to catch up with the developed world if we do not allow their economic goods a chance to compete with ours fairly? Furthermore, so as to deny the European consumer a cheaper standard of living, the EU intervention storage scheme exists. The scheme consists of the EU buying agricultural produce when it falls below a particular price level. This is not rhetoric, polemic or exaggeration; this is the expressed goal of the scheme. Though the scheme may come from the perfectly good intention of increasing farmers’ well-being, in the process it deprives the poorest of Europeans a better chance of one. The last central-tenant of the policy is the scheme of direct subsidy payments, funded
of course by the ever-more-soaked taxpayer. In case making taxpayers pay more for food and taxing them for this privilege wasn’t bad enough, by far the largest recipients of subsidy payments are rich large landowners. That is, the richest 25% of farmers receive 80% of all the money. Included in this category are Nestlé, the British Royal Family, and Tate & Lyle. All things considered, one may be forgiven for believing that the entire Common Agricultural Policy is a system of redistribution from the rest of society, including the poor, to those who happen to work in agriculture. What’s worse is that this policy is going to be expanded between now and 2020 under the disguise of “reform”. Were European policymakers actually interested in true reform, they could learn from New Zealand’s model. New Zealand in the 1980s removed almost all of its agricultural assistance programmes. The effect of this was that the amount of farms fell sharply, however agricultural productivity increased along with the economies of scale as the size of farms grew. A report carried out in 2006 by the OECD on the subject of Subsidy Reform in New Zealand declared that the “economic performance of farming improved”. The cost of food in New Zealand now stands almost identical to that of the world market price at 102%. The result of the Common Agricultural Policy is to make food less affordable for the poorest in Europe, thus taking it out of the hands of many who are just barely above the breadline. The effects it has on the developing world are even more disastrous, destroying national economies and retarding development. Considering this, why is the political discourse more focused on expansion that it is on abolition? An agricultural policy that creates starvation cannot be considered anything else other than a complete failure.
d , s %
, y n n o
€9.99 up to 3 toppings
-
l t t
.
l e
4 Star till 4 - 7 dayS a week •€1 delivery Charge •€2 delivery Charge after 12 midnight
.
-
-
• douglaS 021 489 5577 • waShington St. 021 4274555 • mCCurtain St. 021 450 6666 • wilton 021 454 6666 T&C: *Up to three toppings. Please mention offer when ordering. Only with valid student ID. Not valid with any other offer. Valid for a lmited time only and at participating stores. 11
Motley Investigates: Prostitution in Cork City In an attempt to infiltrate Cork city’s booming prostitution industry, Current Affairs and Sport Editor Dylan White talks to Mary Crilly, the Director of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, about her experiences dealing with sex workers on Leeside.
E
very day in Ireland, businesses close. The already swollen dole queue bloats a little more and doomsday economists remind us that we’re in the mother of all recessions. But despite all this, prostitution in Ireland remains big business, with more people buying and selling sex than ever before. It is said that over a quarter of a billion euro passes through the hands of punters, prostitutes and pimps every year. Tucked away in the lawless shadows, the Irish sex trade is quietly booming. This much we know for certain but behind the newspaper headlines, the political rumblings and the urban myths lies a world where secrecy is king and sex is for sale. Mary Crilly, the Director of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, and her colleagues first got involved in the issue of sex trafficking in 2006 when the UN declared Ireland a transit country for trafficked migrants. “We became aware of the issue of human trafficking and that more women had been trafficked in the past ten years than in the 400 years of human slavery,” Crilly explained. Prostitution requires a commitment to code of silence from all those involved, but the day to day realities of the industry are starting to unravel quick and fast, with many calling on the Minister for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter to reform the nation’s famously tangled and at what some believe outdated sex laws with Crilly saying “Prostitution has become more dangerous in a way because it’s now much more hidden. Punters are demanding something different; they’re not demanding sex from the women but rather control. They want to be able to do whatever they want to do to them”. The major players involved in orchestrating prostitution have become knee deep in a bloody turf war that appears to have no end. Chinese and Thai vice dens have carved out a niche in massage parlours and health clubs in Cork city centre locations, muscling in on the many brothels run by Irish, African and Eastern European crime lords. “These gangs are only coming in because there’s a demand for them. The men are demanding it. Prostitution is topping the underground industries with regards supply and demand because you can reuse the young women [and men involved]”. Crilly believes that this mafia type prostitution takes advantage of some women who are in desperate need of a fix, willing to numb body and mind with drugs in order to please. “You take a young woman from a country where there is extreme poverty. The trafficker may not necessarily be a big burly guy; it could be a young man or woman, or maybe even a couple that seem quite credible. Originally she might think this is too good to be true but there is hope in her heart. However, the reality is very different. They are ‘owned’ and controlled [by the pimp],”Crilly said. Traditionally, tens of thousands of Irish sex tourists travel to Europe’s famous red light districts to fuel their biological demands. However, the internet has revolutionised Ireland’s sex industry, with online brothels replacing the once deeply sought after sex bars and strip clubs of Amsterdam, Hamburg and Prague. Escort-ireland.com is the country’s most notorious website that advertises sex for sale and has seen the number of escorts it offers increase by 50% in the space
12
of just three years. With the click of a button, punters in Cork city can have access to over 90 (during peak times, such as Jazz weekend) of the almost 1000 women working in the sex trade in Ireland at any given time. This modern twist gives the wrinkled profession a new lease of life, with the convenience of browsing before purchasing offering an almost inhumane feel. The website dubs Cork “as a capital of the Irish sex industry”, while almost reshaping and repackaging prostitution as harmless fun. However, Crilly believes that behind the airbrushed photos, the beaming smiles and the come-hither comments lies the element of criminal activity that makes the sex-for-sale business so attractive. “Prostitution is all about money. The [Escort-Ireland] server isn’t in Ireland [rather Britain], so they’re allowed to do it. They are not advertising sex but rather a massage. Very few of those advertised are allowed to work by themselves .The women and the young men are spoken to and treated like merchandise, and they’re bought and sold by the pimps and the punters”. With a view to understanding how the the industry works, I decided to contact a number of the escorts advertised on the Escort-Ireland website. One English escort claimed to be located in an apartment “five minutes” from University College Cork’s main gates. A Romanian escort touring the country with over 160 reviews said she was “fully booked” and was only willing to discuss a future appointment if I “set up an Escort-Ireland account”. A Hungarian woman was willing to offer “full sex for half an hour” for just 30 euros, while a South American sex worker refused to do an outcall after having some “very bad experiences with clients” in Cork city in the past. The increase in the number of prostitutes advertised on the internet has ultimately taken the majority of them off the streets of Cork. “The escorts that are advertised on the websites are the ones in apartments but I have no doubt that there are people working on their own. There’s still some around the quays and in various spots not too hard to find. They’re really at their wits end, addicted to chemicals and in a bad way. You could find some Irish women on Cork’s streets,” Crilly noted. In some cases, pimps still pull the strings in the background, either to collect money or simply oversee the ‘casual encounter’ before slinking back into the darkness. In Crilly’s 30 years working in the Centre, she has heard various different stories from trafficked women. “Trafficked girls start in prostitution at the age of 14. Many are on call 24/7 and the food they get is very poor. You look into the eyes of a woman who has been trafficked and there’s nothing behind them. They talk about not being able to speak English and the fear of what will happen to their families back home if they don’t do as they’re told. In African culture, witchcraft is still very strong,” she explains. The other side to prostitution is the health of the women involved. Crilly claims that most sex workers “get check-ups all the time in order to prevent getting sexual transmitted infections from sleeping with up to 14 [or maybe even more] guys a day. There is a unit in Dublin that’s been looking after women in prostitution for about 20 years and all the
women involved in prostitution know exactly where this is and go regularly. However, the clients coming into them don’t get check-ups all the time so that’s how they keep getting the infections,” Crilly added. Crilly claims that the current economic climate has made prostitutes more accessible and affordable to the average punter, but is adamant that Irish society must stop the demand and the exploitation of human flesh. “I’m not trying to take away an income from these people. It has to be done hand in hand with creating some sort of training and employment for women and young men involved in prostitution. We need them to start looking at these people as human beings. If the Irish public knew how sex workers are treated and that animals are treated better, there would be uproar. A considerable amount of those who have been trafficked have said to me if they were not on drugs before they started they certainly were by the time they finished because it was the only way they could look at themselves in the mirror”.
‘Traditionally, tens of thousands of Irish sex tourists travel to Europe’s famous red light districts to fuel their biological demands. However, the internet has revolutionised Ireland’s sex industry’
According to a spokesperson from the Garda Press Office, “the policing of prostitution in Cork has become more focused in recent years with the emphasis on the organisers of prostitution rather than the individual sex workers. Relationships between An Garda Síochána and sex workers in the region may have been somewhat negative but a number of initiatives are now in place in Cork city with a view to establishing better relations”. The spokesperson elaborated that “seminars have been held to increase awareness within the region where both statutory and voluntary organisations involved on the ground in the Cork city area with sex workers have contributed to these concerns with regard to prostitution and the policing of it. Garda liaison officers are appointed in Cork city to deal with human trafficking and organised prostitution”. However, Crilly believes that “the oldest profession in the world” and in her opinion “the oldest abuse in the world” is “not top of the Gardaí’s agenda”. She added: “I see this as a human rights issue. With political will we can stand up and say that we don’t want this kind of abuse in our country. Along with the Immigrant Council of Ireland and Ruhama, we have pushed to raise awareness about sex trafficking by physically going out on the streets with information week in week out. I think young people voices need to be heard on this issue too”. By its very nature, prostitution is regularly seen as degrading, dehumanising and isolating for those involved. For every punter who rolls the dice and purchases the services of an escort, it may be difficult to identify those who are trafficked. All the signs may be present- bruises, addiction and the abject fear of mere objects being used, but those don’t identify trafficking. They sadly only identify a victim, of which there are many. The devil lies in the detail, and when we separate fact from fiction, it becomes clearer that behind this well-oiled machine is an industry that is rotten to its core.
13
The Roma Cases: Sensationalist Reactions or Proper Procedure? Jennifer Hornibrook examines the state’s reactions to the recent Roma cases in Ireland
k r i p r c
V
ery few would not have noticed the media storm surrounding the case of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed children who were removed from their homes in Greece and also here in Ireland. It all began when a little girl named ‘Maria’ was removed from a Roma Community following doubts as to whether those she was living with were her biological parents, which it subsequently turned out they were not. It did not take long for similar cases to arise in Irish headlines which leads to the question, why now? It was reported these children were removed following reports to Gardaí that blonde, blue-eyed children lived at particular addresses. A giant leap of faith is not needed to connect these reports with the coverage of the case in Greece and to the fact the children concerned were all living within Roma Communities. The actions taken within these cases leaves many questions unanswered; such as why were the children removed as a first resort as opposed to a last resort? If there was such an immediate and serious risk to the children as to warrant their imminent removal from their homes then why were the other children not removed too? Pavee Point issued a statement to the Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald in which they stated that “[m]any Roma children are in an extremely vulnerable situation and living in poverty due to State policies and social welfare restrictions. And there is an onus on the state to protect all vulnerable children…” It can without a doubt be argued that these cases came about as sensationalist reaction to the media hysteria involving the case of ‘Maria’, and there are fears that incidents such as these could fuel further racism against the Roma Community. In Ireland, unfortunately, we are not strangers to cases involving children. Throughout the years we have been exposed to the horrors the come about from the failing to implement child care procedures, such as those
School Uniform System Comes Under Fire Do you really need a crest on a school uniform? Luke Luby examines the new proposals
A
proposal by Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn for schools to ask the opinions of parents on school uniforms has been warmly welcomed by parent and teacher groups throughout the country. The proposal is set to tackle the annual costs incurred by parents of primary and secondary school students, and a questionnaire is currently being drawn up, with a view to having the issue settled by the next school year. The current system in which schools issue uniforms - by specifying which suppliers that provide appropriate uniforms with the schools crest - has long been a bone of contention with parents, as these stores are seemingly more expensive that large retail stores. Under the plan, parents will be asked whether or not they want school uniforms, and,
14
T n j a p i Ó c
used by the Gardaí in the removal of the children from their home in these instances. It was observed by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter that the Health Service Executive are more often criticised for their lack of intervention for the protection of children and as such there is a very difficult balance to be struck. I for one would agree with the Ministers observations that the distress caused to both parents and children in situations above, although undesirable, is preferable to the alternative that the procedure would not be implemented and the child were actually at risk. There are now multiple inquiries being undertaken as to what actually happened in the two separate cases in Ireland and a file has been sent to the Ombudsman for Children. However, it has been observed by Minister Fitzgerald that it is important to the protection of children in Ireland that people continue to report instances of suspect child endangerment while of course such sensationalist reactions are to be avoided.
if so, if they want the uniform from large retail chains, which would be cheaper, and whether they want the uniforms with a crest. So far, many parents have said that they would prefer a cheaper alternative to the uniform, without a crest, and that they would prefer the crest came in a form that it could be sewn into the uniform; something which would save money annually. Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Minister Quinn has said that: “I’m not proposing that school uniform policies should be changed to the point that additional costs would be added. This is really listening to parents and representatives of parents such as Barnados and St Vincent de Paul who have brought to my attention costs over which parents feel they have no control and are in many cases excessive.” Minister Quinn has also said that he feels that parents have, in the past, not been heard loudly enough, even though they bear the annual costs of school uniforms, and other items related to sending children back to school. The Irish Primary Principals’ Network has also weighed in, saying that while a crest is important, it doesn’t need to be on the uniform for it to be understood. The organisation also stated that, in their opinion, a monopoly on school uniforms was not a good idea. Minister Quinn has also stated that empowering parents was one of the more effective ways in which to tackle back to school costs, and
added that his department is currently working on a Parents Charter, something that he says will further strengthen the position of mothers and fathers in the system. The children’s charity Barnardos has previously issued a report - focusing on the costs of sending children to school - earlier this year which showed that, on average, parents spend €95 on uniforms for a senior infant student, €120 for a fourth class student and €250 for a first year student, annually. The Department of Education is set to issue a template questionnaire to schools by the end of this month, and schools will be expected to be balloted by the end of February.
W w w P s
D g o r b fi a
W
e h
e
-
o e
SPORT
Autobiography Season Eoghan Dalton takes a look at some of sports most influential figures book releases.
Eamon Dunphy, Sir Alex Ferguson, DJ Carey, Sean Kelly, Dennis Bergkamp, Harry Redknapp and Cork hurling legend Seán Óg Ó hAilpín. They all represent an important aspect of their respective sports, be it showcasing a terrifying desire for success, astounding skill or even the seamier side of their chosen professions. All of them are also linked in another way; they have all recently released books detailing their lives inside and outside the manic world of their chosen sport. And just in time for the Christmas market too, those sneaky divils. This isn’t an unusual occurrence, of course. Every year the public finds itself needing to dodge the latest ghost-written book which promises to tell the subject’s ‘’story’’. It can all become tiresome quite quickly when the biographies are unloaded every Autumn, but there are always some which are worth putting on the letter to Mr Claus. Back from the Brink is one such piece, describing Paul McGrath’s brief stardom and desperate fall from grace, while Donal Óg Cusack’s Come What May benefited from possessing such an enigmatic centrepiece who was willing to reveal plenty, including his homosexuality. What makes a worthwhile autobiography though? Depending on the subject, we could be enlightened about a player once clouded by darkness, or a player whose home life gives a fascinating view of the social conditions of the time. Perhaps we could be educated about a player who reached the peak in their sport and we may even be allowed to view their philosophy and creed. Dunphy’s autobiography shows us the awful housing in 1940s Ireland that he grew up in, and he also goes into detail about how idiotic and selfish many of the FAI officials could be. His book has the advantage over the other new releases in that he generally has more interest in the wider picture and the book shows us that he is a fine writer as well . Dunphy is so often an easy figure to mock for his on screen antics, but for those who know him purely as a shrill contrarian in love with sound bites are certain to be in for a surprise. With regards to Carey and Ó hAilpín’s books, we see two very different and
<< Ferguson, meanwhile, has used his book to further his status with the academic and business types that have looked to him as a role model in recent years, as well as for settling old rivalries.>>
iconic hurlers discuss their lives and careers in a forthright and honest manner. Carey reminisces on his years with a fine Kilkenny team, but he’s also aware (perhaps even insecure) enough to question what role he may have played in the downfall of the team in certain seasons. At one point, he centres in on a case of ‘’professional indiscipline’’ where he missed a training session due to agreeing to partake in a golfing exhibition. Kilkenny played and lost against Wexford the next day and Carey watched the majority of the game from the side-lines after starting as a sub, which was deemed as punishment for his absence. Carey feels partially responsible for the defeat, as his inability to train meant it upset Cody’s final preparations. Maybe I’ve let years of listening to players waffle nonsense affect my judgement, but Carey’s willingness to criticise even his minor flaws is noteworthy. He goes into similar detail about trying to run his own business and the struggles which came from his endeavours. While there isn’t anything remarkable about the book, Carey’s willingness to be transparent and writer Martin Breheny’s talent upgrade the book into a worthwhile read. As for Ó hAilpín, his book allows us to identify with what it’s like to come from an atypical background and succeed in GAA. He speaks of his frustration of being made to play hurling by his father, before falling for the stick and ball. Ó hAilpín was part of an All-Ireland winning Cork team which had its fair share of personalities, including the aforementioned Donal Óg. Ferguson, meanwhile, has used his book to further his status with the academic and business types that have looked to him as a role model in recent years, as well as for settling old rivalries. The monstrously long article on his talk with the Harvard Business School is available online for those interested in seeing Ferguson outline how he held so much control at Manchester United for so long. Control is (or was) central to his dictatorship, but it appears he lacks the awareness to realise just how poorly phrased some of the comments in the book have been; his desire to control who David Beckham married is astounding while the remarks about Roy Keane have attracted scorn from several observers, even if they are correct. This is the man who remarked in that Harvard talk how “if anyone steps out of (his) control, that’s them dead”. What Ferguson’s book does teach us though is that we can often learn the most about a man from what he doesn’t say. He barely comments on his disputes with the BBC and John Magnier, while also avoiding to discuss Wayne Rooney’s contract problems from 2010. Ferguson is still sore over these matters and would prefer us all to forget about them. Magnier and especially Rooney made a mockery of Ferguson’s notions of control at United. Rooney acquired a major pay rise whereas Ferguson’s troubles with Magnier derailed United’s season in 2003/04. It is his own autobiography though so it’s hardly surprising he wants to maintain some of that precious control, especially as any detailed inclusion of those matters would show that his grasp had slipped, if only for a brief amount of time. These have combined to dent Ferguson’s aura with his footballing peers, but probably not the executives and business professors who admire him. After all, his bowing to Rooney’s demands did mean that United’s rivals couldn’t sign him and the club could still make use of him. It is likely that, in time, most will forget about Ferguson’s book and instead focus on the stats where he truly does have control; 13 Premier League titles and 2 Champions League trophies tend to do that for a manager.
g l d
s s r d 0 r
o e o
15
SPORT
Max-Muscle at a Maximum Price
Following the IRFU’s warning to their affiliated schools about banned substances being contained in supplements that can be easily purchased on the “internet and in high street stores”, Eoin Mcsweeney questions the effect these products are having on our modern day sports stars. On Saturday 18th March 2000, we witnessed an iconic moment in Irish rugby. All the French can see is a little wisp of green as the boy wonder cuts through their defence. The first is easy, a team move, with him walking it in. The second is a work of art as the centres combine with a near telepathic understanding. The third is all about speed, finesse and skill. Brian O’Driscoll is introduced to the world. At the time, the second centre was considered to be a normal size for a boy his age. Yet looking back on it, the most striking thing about BOD is that he seems so scrawny compared to the modern day rugby player. In contrast, Mathieu Bastareaud, the enormous Frenchman, was seventeen stone at the same age. Manu Tuilagi, the 22 year old Samoan-born English centre is eighteen stone, four more than BOD is now, and the Irish legend has bulked up considerably since his first game all those years ago. It appears as though the focus has switched dramatically from skill and technique to force and strength. Moments of magic such as O’Driscoll’s hat-trick of tries in the Six Nations Championship victory against France in Paris, that propelled Ireland to their first win in Paris since 1972, have become few and far between because now you have to barrel through a player rather than glide around him. What has been introduced to rugby to so radically change the game? While it can be argued that improved gym regimes and more emphasis on strength have been the vital element in changing the game, it is the supplements that provide the ammunition for these weapons. Recent IRFU findings have shown that protein and creatine are the two most widely used supplements in Ireland. While an excessive use of protein can be damaging to the liver, its use in small quantities has been recognised as a useful tool for muscle repair and growth. However creatine is still considered to be highly dangerous yet is used by students nationwide. So how did this all begin? Creatine’s use as a supplement was first discovered at the start of the 20th century, however it wasn’t popularised until the 1992 Olympic Games. A number of high profile athletes, including Linford Christie (the last British man to win the 100m gold) were reported to have been using creatine prior to the event. Creatine supplements designed for strength enhancement were made publicly available in 1993 by a company called Experimental and Applied Sciences, before becoming more widely available at the beginning of the 21st century. There is no doubt that creatine works. It is produced in the body already by the combination of three amino acids. When your normal energy stores run out, creatine steps in so it’s basically like a backup generator. It also helps protein manufacture and reduces protein breakdown following high octane exercise. Can an excess amount of this particular supplement be bad for you? The short answer is yes. There are a number of side effects to creatine. It can cause gastrointestinal upset. It will make you fatter, even with gym work. It is not good for your kidneys, liver and pancreas to have excess creatine in your system. The argument that it is naturally found in the body and that more is better is null and void, because isn’t testosterone also produced by our body but then injected in larger amounts? The problem is that people now partake in ‘creatine loading’. This involves taking huge amounts of creatine in a short space of time in the process of trying to build muscle. While professional athletes’ diets are monitored, students and school kids have nobody watching their supplement intake. How can this be good for you? The long term safety of these products is still unproven and the IRFU are now encouraging young athletes not to take them, because these products may contain banned substances that are not on the label. Drug testing of school kids is still not in place (except for U18 provincial and international games). However there are numerous events at third level where this can come into place. Ruth Wood-Martin, the IRFU nutritionist said no player under 18 should use supplements such as creatine: “Testing will identify banned substances and subsequently a positive doping outcome”. It could be catastrophic for young athletes to be taking these supplements when it can lead to them not being allowed to perform at all.
16
<< While it can be argued that improved gym regimes and more emphasis on strength have been the vital element in changing the game, it is the supplements that provide the ammunition for these weapons. >> Wood-Martin added: “The banned substance in a product isn’t really key to saying why young players shouldn’t be using them”. The findings showed that the health of these athletes could also be at risk if creatine is taken regularly. Recent IRFU findings have uncovered the hidden dangers of creatine. “Often, the desire to get physically bigger is the reason young people choose to take supplements, which they see as a quick-fix answer for accelerated growth, but there is little evidence to condone this. Young players will gain size and strength from well-planned training and recovery, supported by good nutritional practices,” Wood-Martin explained. Despite this, protein and creatine supplements are still readily available in most retail sports stores and online. How do we stop this? The IRFU is still trying to introduce testing into underage sport, but Wood-Martin believes there is a better solution: “It is about education of what they eat and drink from a general health point of view and a growth point of view and how that should be the cornerstone of their support for their training programme”. The IRFU has also been working closely with the Irish Sports Council to try and curb the problem. The Irish Sports Council’s National Anti-Doping Programme acts to protect Ireland’s sporting integrity against the threat of doping. It has been operational for over 10 years and in that time the requirements of a National Anti-Doping Programme have evolved a great deal. Hopefully we can soon return to the days of a younger Drico and begin to admire the skill of our young athletes, rather than their superhuman physiques of greatness.
d h t e e e >
t
, e , d e
h
h
e .
o -
SPORT
Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane - A Dream Team? With Trapattoni finally saying arrivederci to the FAI, David Coen takes a look at what his successors Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane will mean for the Irish team On September 11th of this year, Giovanni Trapattoni and his assistant Marco Tardelli parted ways with the Irish national team by mutual consent. The veteran Italian manager’s five and a half year reign over Irish football will ultimately be considered as a frustrating tenure, his inability or indeed lack of interest in identifying and picking Ireland’s in-form players and the countries dismal showing at the 2012 European Championships being indicative of this. Candidates emerged rapidly after the Italian’s departure; with names thrown around such as former Ireland boss Mick McCarthy, proven premiership manager Martin O’Neil and an Irish footballing icon in the form of Roy Keane. Being the clear favourite from the beginning, it was no real surprise that bets were suspended on the 31st October for O’Neill’s appointment as Ireland manager, paving the way for his announcement seven days later. What did catch the public’s attention however was that of O Neill’s choice of assistant; one Roy Keane. Following previous clashes with the FAI which included that infamous incident in Saipan in 2002 and public criticisms of FAI Chief Executive John Delaney, it seemed surprising that Keane was willing to a work in a framework that he so constantly labelled as inadequate. What can we expect from this partnership in contrast to the Trapattoni era? A guaranteed interest and desire in identifying Ireland’s in-form players and utilising them properly in the Irish Set-Up are both aspects that Irish fans can look forward to under Martin O’Neill. One of the many flaws of Trapattoni’s reign was his tendency to overlook Ireland’s best performing players at club level. This occurred for the most part because of his apparent lack of interest in watching Premier League and League of Ireland games. Although John Delaney eventually held talks with Trapattoni over the manager’s active role in overseeing the progress of Irish players at home and abroad, his agreement seemed more like an attempt to appease the frustrated fans in place of a genuine desire to monitor Irish players. In my opinion, Trapattoni had an established system; one that he was never going to adapt to accommodate an Irish desire for attractive football or for the progression of young talented Irish players. Under O’Neill we as Irish football fans can expect huge changes in this regard. John Delaney has already mentioned that the cornerstone of this appointment was O’Neill’s wish to frequently attend Premier League and League of Ireland fixtures; to oversee the performances of Irish players and to develop Irish football from youth upwards. O’Neill has vast club experience; managing at Wycombe, Norwich, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland. He is more than capable of identifying the in-form Irish players playing in both the Premier League and the Championship. The likes of Seamus C o l e m a n ,
Wes Hoolahan and James McClean are examples of players that could have been introduced much earlier into the Irish fold as a result of their strong club displays. O’Neill, along with Keane, will identify the progression of Irish players and are much more likely to introduce them to the team. They will select players for the progression of Irish Football and not for the accommodation of an established system. Public interest in the Irish National team is bound to increase rapidly as a result of this appointment. This is demonstrated by the swift sale of tickets for the Ireland and Latvia friendly fixture at the Aviva. While O’Neill is proven as an intelligent and astute club manager and has created a sense of hope for the future of Irish football, the arrival of Keane has captured the media’s attention and has got the country debating over his suitability for the role. This can only be good for Irish football. The last few years have witnessed a decline of interest in football in Ireland , the ‘caveman’ football Trapattoni was connoisseur
<< While O’Neill is proven as an intelligent and astute club manager and has created a sense of hope for the future of Irish football, the arrival of Keane has captured the media’s attention and has got the country debating over his suitability for the role.>> of and poor performances, notably that thrashing at the hands of Germany in Dublin, being demonstrative of this.This appointment has raised interest in the sport at the very least which can only be a good thing in terms of match attendance at the Aviva Stadium. Anything that turns the Aviva into a formidable environment for opposing nations can only be celebrated. Hopefully attendance rates also increase as a result of watchable, attractive football. While O’Neill’s teams of past could hardly be described as ‘attractive’, concentrating more on organisation and pragmatism, there is at least a desire from the Ulsterman to play attractively where possible, as mentioned when taking the Sunderland position. ‘It’s a long way in the future, but you’d love to keep that in the back of your mind and think you could eventually have a team that could come out and play like that’ was O’Neill’s response to the much celebrated ‘Barcelona’ style of football. This is a welcome change from the Italian-imported mundane brand of football we have experienced in years past.
17
ARTS & CULTURE
Interview Man of Marvels Orla Hodnett talks to Cork-born Marvel comic artist Will Sliney about his career and the industry in Ireland
M
arvel is certainly the most recognisable name in the world of comic books since its beginnings in the 1960s, with the successes of its film studio adding to its notoriety. Recently added to the payroll was artist Will Sliney, a Cork native who joined in February of this year. Not only has Sliney worked on the most recent incarnation of The Defenders for Marvel with writer Cullen Bunn, he has pursued his own passion project in the form of Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cú Chulainn. Between successes at home with his Celtic Warrior project and his work at Marvel, Sliney has established himself as one of Ireland’s foremost comic book artists.The group have since travelled far and wide bringing their idiosyncratic sound to Ireland the U.K. and Europe. They describe their sound as “a tuneful drunk shouting over a crowded room, only put to music”. And how does the creative process take form? “I write the bones of the song and the band all contribute to flesh it out and make it sound good. It’s team effort really. We all have ideas so sometimes it can get tense but that just part of it. We all have the best interests of the song at heart.” John cites a very diverse range of both literary and musical influences, “the basis of pretty much everything we do is folk music. Neil Young, Willy Nelson and Townes Van Zandt would be big influences and where I would have first started. Ginsberg and Kerouac would be up there as well as more contemporary acts like Phosphorescent, the Low Anthem, Deer Tick and Caitlin Rose.” Despite having an archaic set of inspirations the Rats have a fresh and modern take on the shambling, melancholic nature of folk.
_What started with a couple of people just wanting to draw comics is now an industry_ Sliney’s interest in comics began early having gown up watching Marvel cartoons like Spiderman and X-Men but it didn’t immediately strike him to work for the company behind these cartoons. “I used to love drawing all the way through school, but it was really only when I was in college that a comic shop opened up in Cork and that’s when I began to realise there [were] actually jobs in this . At the time there weren’t any conventions in Ireland. So I started doing a bit of research online, asking questions in forums and stuff, asking how to break into the industry.” Since he began working, the world of comic books has changed somewhat in Ireland. At the time I spoke to Will, he had just returned from the Dublin International Comic Expo (DICE), an event which Will feels is indicative of a growing comic book industry in Ireland. “ We’re producing and publishing bestselling books amongst our own people. And a lot of us have gone on to work for some of the biggest publishers in the world. Not only that, but there’s more comic shops opening, more conventions popping up in Ireland all the time, with more and more people attending them. Even the guys at Marvel and the way they view Ireland from the outside - it’s considered a big player in the industry now.” Sliney’s career trajectory is no accident. Needless to say, hard work has gotten him to where he is. “My career was moving up the ladder,” says Sliney of his achievements. “I had been working non-stop for years.” Having worked for Irish companies, and other larger international
18
companies, among them Boom! Studios, Sliney had made a name for himself in the industry. “The more I was publishing, the more it was getting seen by different editors, so I came onto their radars over the years. I would meet with different editors and talent scouts at conventions and they would give me advice and tell me I was getting close. Then eventually this time last year at DICE I met Marvel’s talent scout C.B. Cebulski. He had been watching my work for years. He had a look at my most recent portfolio and he said they were ready to work with me.” Aside from his work at Marvel, Sliney has pursued a personal passion project in his graphic novel Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cú Chulainn. The graphic novel was an enormous critical and commercial success in Ireland, with Sliney already preparing a sequel in the form of the myth of Fionn Mac Cumhaill. “It’s something I’ve been tipping away on for years. I always wanted to do something with Cú Chulainn. I’ve loved the story since I was very young. I figured the best route for it was through an Irish publisher. I knew O’ Brien press had started doing graphic novels, so I set up a meeting with them and pitched it.” For Sliney, his online presence has been of particular significance. He’s very active on his blog, on Tumblr and on Twitter, which for him is essential in the comic book industry today. “Online presence is crucial. When you start out, it gives you a reason to keep producing art. I used to post on various art forums and I would get critique. Online you can keep expanding your fan-base. You can post up processes behind your art, which helps others to learn. Most importantly it keeps you visual. It’s very easy to be forgotten. You always have to be producing and showing your work. Before it would only be seen if you got published or in an exhibition. Now you post it up on Twitter and get a reaction.” Sliney got his first chance with Marvel as part of their new enterprise, Marvel NOW. The project is what Sliney has described as “a creative shakeup within Marvel.” This innovation has come as a result of a growing readership, which can be attributed to the successes of Avengers and the Iron Man series. “A lot of artists go their whole career without getting their own series from issue one, so it was perfect timing that they brought me in from the ground level in Marvel. I was shocked they did choose me. It’s been brilliant.” Fearless Defenders, Sliney’s first project for Marvel, has unfortunately been cancelled since this interview, but this is by no means the end of his time at Marvel. “Marvel have given me assurances that when that ends that there will be more there for me, which is great.” With future projects at Marvel in the pipeline and his second instalment of Celtic Warrior underway, things are looking very promising for Will Sliney. “I’m excited for what the future holds for me,” he admits, and it certainly seems Will Sliney will be a name to watch out for in future.
Made for TV Red Hot
Elaine Murphy reviews RTÉ’s documentary on the lives of gingers Recently there has never been more debate surrounding ginger people than ever. This phenomenon was sparked by the RTÉ programme Oi Ginger which was a documentary dedicated to the lives of ginger-haired people. Flame haired presenter Angela Scanlon, discusses all the turmoil a ginger must endure. The documentary consisted of interviews with other gingers of all different shades, and each individual discussed the issues they’ve had throughout their lives due to the colour of their hair. Being ginger isn’t just a thing that happens to you, it is a way of life, especially according to the King and Queen of the Gingers who were about crowned on the 22nd of August of this year at the Ginger Convention in Crosshaven, Cork. The show also examines the feelings of the ginger population with one such interviewee explaining that she felt that “she wasn’t pretty” because of being constantly being “slagged” for her ginger hair. The presenter went on to say how gingers are an object for humour and ridicule, which is undeniably true. Ireland has the highest propor-
_Being ginger isn’t just a thing that happens to you, it is a way of life_ tion of red heads in the entire world, so wherever we go people know we’re Irish. Bullying is also an issue when it comes to red hair, as many expressed during the documentary, with namely “carrot top” being the main source of ridicule, and period head, another classy term to associate with red headed people. The red hair phenomenon has intrigued intellectuals as the University of Westminster, who sent one of their colleagues out among the public with different types of hair colour to see what the reaction would be. Angela Scanlon
When Love and Hate Collide John Somers looks at the success of Irish crime drama Love Hate To those of us of a certain vintage, Irish television on Sunday nights will always be associated with childhood memories of past favourites such as Where in the World and Glenroe, the latter being a particular institution of Ireland in the recent past. To anyone who tunes into RTÉ One after the Main Evening News any Sunday night this autumn, it should be pretty obvious just how far the national broadcaster has moved on from geography quizzes and farming soaps. The smash hit crime drama Love/Hate, currently in its fourth season, has been lighting up our screens since it premiered in 2010 and has become Ireland’s answer to American gangland blockbusters such as The Wire and The Sopranos. Dublin’s criminal underworld has been depicted so often on film it was inevitable that RTÉ should attempt to woo a public de-sensitized by The General and Intermission. Love/Hate’s graphic portrayal of urban gang warfare has given rise to grisly scenes of murder, maiming and intravenous drug use, not to mention the recent machine-gunning of a cat, which has generated much more controversy than the series’ prolific human body count. The current
season has seen the show grow even darker with former clown prince Fran emerging as a sociopath from his lair in the Dublin Mountains. On the Wicklow side of those hills, Dinny Byrne farmed peacefully less than fifteen years ago, in sync with De Valera’s traditional Irish idyll. By contrast, heroin-addicted prostitute Debbie, a young woman whose every moment is devoted to satiating her twin sex and drug addictions, seems far removed from Dev’s vision of chaste Irish maidens. In a cautionary tale, viewers are transported to Debbie’s
_machine-gunning of a cat… has generated much more controversy than the series’ prolific human body count_
also took this on board in the documentary. Scanlon received great interest as a blonde but little or no attention with her true colour. Other problems that the red headed people experienced in the show was the colour of their skin, claiming it to be too pale and needing factor fifty if the sun comes out. Due to such hardship as a red head, parents often encourage their ginger offspring by saying such things as “a face without freckles is like a night without stars,” which isn’t exactly true. When Scanlon showed members of the public a photo of a ginger and asks them if they would be attracted to that person, many claimed they wouldn’t normally go for ginger. And yet, many people ask their hairdressers for copper or auburn colours. In recent times, being a red head has become more fashionable. People want to embrace their true colours and conventions for red heads, such as Crosshaven, make all the difference. Angela aptly concludes that “it doesn’t matter what shade you are, you should be proud of who you are.”
comfortable childhood home as she attempts to reconcile with her estranged parents - before she nicks her mothers iPod: an illustration of just how much things can go wrong when a girl from the right side of the tracks starts hanging out with the bad boys. Several characters have paid the ultimate price for their involvement in gangland crime and those who’ve survived thus far bear the physical and psychological scars of battle, such as brain-damaged Tommy and the increasingly tormented Nidge. Tom Vaughan Lawler’s critically acclaimed depiction of Machiavellian crime boss Nigel Delaney is perhaps the highlight of the show and gives new life to the old axiom that it’s not really paranoia if they’re really after you. Perhaps the secret of the show’s success is its blend of the dramatic with the mundane as Nidge engineers both drug runs and school runs and makes frequent trips to the dentist to perform his own extractions. These are, of course, dark days for Ireland, and Love/Hate deals with dark matter. Rather than retreat to DeValera-esque carefree escapism, the recession-hit Irish public has embraced a saga which exposes us to the bloodiest elements in society with an honesty and a potency not previously witnessed on Sunday night prime time television. We’re a long way from Miley and his Bothar cow now.
19
Film Probe The Family Emma McCarthy takes a look at DeNiro’s latest film Let’s get this of the way right now: Robert DeNiro is one of the finest actors ever to grace the silver screen. Sure, he definitely has a type (that of the Italian Mafioso) but it’s one that he has perfected. He’s damn near perfect when he tries his hand at other things, too. The man is seventy years old and is still churning out movies. Having established his talent as much as he possibly can, it’s not too much of a surprise that in his later years, he’s decided to get into comedy. He’s made his name and it was probably a nice change for the seventy yearold actor. That being said, his newest foray into comedy, which yet again blends his Italian mob boss chops with laughs, seems to fall a little flat. The Family is about an ex-mob boss and his family being relocated to France after he snitches on his cronies. DeNiro is the head of the family with Michelle Pfeiffer playing his wife and Dianna Agron and John D’Leo as his children. Though being begged by CIA agent, Tommy Lee-Jones, to keep a low profile, the family can’t seem to shake their violent and underhanded tactics. For about ten minutes.
Into the Wild Kevin Long revisits the underrated 2007 biopic Into the Wild When one takes a brief glance at the colourful roles Sean Penn has played throughout his acting career, it is of little surprise that his directing career would be similarly eclectic. Yet, regardless of that, it is easy to see why something of such weighty subject matter as Into the Wild would appeal to Penn, or any director. It reeked of Oscar potential but was largely overlooked and it also bases itself on the actual life of Christopher McCandless: a twenty-two year old fresh graduate of Emory University who abandoned his family, friends and money to venture into the Alaskan wilderness. The death of Christopher McCandless in the wilderness just two years after his graduation adds a poignancy and relevance to his life that only further testifies to the draw that some-
_Penn’s handling of the movie is suitably stripped back relying solely on real locations and credible actors to deliver the story’s authenticity_ 20
Every single fun part of this movie can be seen in the trailer, seriously. Pfeiffer seems like she’s going to be a great asset but after one instant in a supermarket where she hits back at being insulted, her character does nothing else for the entire movie except sit around. Dianna Agron, pretty much just playing a more mature version of her character from Glee, has a little fun beating the shit out of a guy with a tennis racket. She then develops a crush on a teacher and it’s game over for her too; she is no longer fun or interesting to watch. John D’Leo acts all shady around his school but nothing comes of any of it. As for DeNiro? Most of his acting in this movie is done sitting in front of typewriter and having monologues about much more interesting things that happened before the movie started. The big problem with this movie though is that people are paying to see DeNiro and Pfeiffer and
we’re treated to their boring kids a whole lot more than the heavy hitters. Also, the entire premise of how the Mafia finds the family is so far-fetched it’s not even laughable, just ridiculous. The movie is also downright cruel to the French, depicting them as pimpled, sleazy, obnoxious bullies, though Americans don’t come off much better.
thing of this raw calibre would hold for a director.
the bad that makes it up. Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook as Jan Burres and Ron Franz – two of the many faces Christopher encounters along his travels – deliver especially vulnerable performances as two people who offer Christopher the familial love his own parents failed to wholly provide. Jena Malone, acting as Christopher’s sister and narrator, gives a subtle, gentle performance contrasting starkly with the scenes depicting the harsh climate of the Alaskan wilderness.
Penn’s handling of the movie is suitably stripped back relying solely on real locations and credible actors to deliver the story’s authenticity. The casting of Emilie Hirsch, in particular, as the protagonist McCandless is the strongest aspect of Into the Wild. As well as bearing a notable physical resemblance to Christopher McCandless, Hirsch, who at the time of the film’s release was only twenty-three, was fresh-faced enough for Penn to capture on screen the transformation of boy to man that would naturally occur over two years of extensive travel. Hirsch’s performance, under the guidance of Penn, is remarkably honest. It would have been all too easy for Penn and Hirsch to martyr McCandless but instead they make sure to include all the flawed aspects of his character too. For all his courage and humanitarianism, McCandless made no efforts to contact his family in the two years of his travels and his trip into the Alaskan wilderness, where he eventually starved to death. The film does not hesitate to highlight his recklessness and naivety towards the perils of the wild. Penn is careful not to judge Christopher’s actions, but instead just to capture the truth of his life and all the good and
The movie is fun at the start and at the climax, but there is very little to keep you entertained in between. DeNiro must have been getting quite a pretty penny to star in this movie or else wanted a holiday to France because I cannot think of another reason why he took this role. Then again, the man is seventy; getting paid millions to sit around writing is probably tempting. In all fairness, I’m doing it for free.
The move to ensure that all locations encountered were filmed faithfully rather than on a soundstage serves to deliver some fine cinematography of the landscape of the places McCandless visited. There are some breathtakingly beautiful scenes in Into the Wild, including a scene filmed on Salvation Mountain in California. The acoustic guitar scoring of the film is slightly jarring and a tad trite for a film that will undoubtedly be branded as ‘Indie Hollywood’. The running time of the film clocking in at just less than two and a half hours brings about a lag at times in the fluidity of Into the Wild. That aside, Penn’s direction and a strong cast ensure that Into the Wild, much like its protagonist, will not be forgotten.
Music Lewis Allan “Lou” Reed
March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013 Elaine Malone looks at the legacy of Lou Reed Lou Reed died last month. It wasn’t tragic; he was old and accomplished, but it means more than I can say. Should a nineteen year old girl write an obituary for someone she doesn’t know? Hell no. All I am truly licensed to say is what Lou Reed was to me and was to countless others. My affair with him began when I was fifteen. I heard ‘Heroin’ playing on a fuzzy old radio that never had any reception. It revolved like the disc that was playing in my brain, incessant revolutions of melancholic oblivion. I knew of Andy Warhol and his proud position as New York’s agent provocateur. But it was that lurid banana that I’ll remember him for.
_the Velvet Underground and Nico album sold only about 30,000 but everyone who bought it started a band_
Brian Eno once said in an interview that the Velvet Underground and Nico album sold only about 30,000 but everyone who bought it started a band. Acid-tongued, acerbic and honest, Reed’d use of ostrich tuning made him iconic and innovative. By tuning each string of the guitar to the same note, a drone was created, a sound synonymous with The Velvet Underground. The collective forces of Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker under the wing of the eccentric Warhol created a forceful yet short-lived movement of dynamic sound.
I once read that Lou Reed was given electro-shock therapy for being bisexual as a teenager. “They put the thing down your throat so you don’t swallow your tongue, and they put electrodes on your head. That’s what was recommended in Rockland State Hospital to discourage homosexual feelings. The effect is that you lose your memory and become a vegetable. You can’t read a book because you get to page 17 and have to go right back to page one again.” In his later years, the transient hopes of the decaying former star were warped by ill-advised collaborations with Metallica (possibly the worst album of the last five years). But his sins can be forgiven. Anyone who has heard ‘Perfect Day’ and was moved to tears by its perfection knows that Lou Reed was, above all else, a master of songwriting. The legacy of the band would have been enough to mark Reed out among the masses of singer-songwriters, his turn of phrase used to describe the comings and goings of hookers, dope dealers, transvestites and ill-fated lovers were the stuff of genius. Unabashedly selfaware and mocking, his later work became a deep-pitched craft of songwriting. His lyrics were simplistic and evocative. Delicately worded yet powerful, he credited this style to having learned under the poet Delmore Schwartz, “the first great person [he] ever met.” The Velvet’s ‘European Son’ is dedicated to him. The honest truth is that this is one of a thousand eulogies for a lost artist, and since the ‘90s, his music didn’t have the same gravitas as it did before. Losing a monolith of Rock and roll like Lou Reed has many implications to the world of music. It marks the end of an era, the face of music would be utterly different without him, the Velvet Underground and his solo work was a great contribution to the world. Would Renton’s overdose in Trainspotting have had the same impact without ‘Perfect Day?’ Lou Reed’s solo career began in 1972, and with the help of David Bowie and Mick Ronson, he created the revolutionary album, Transformer, marked with the iconic Pop art image of his eyes rimmed with black kohl. His voice was never dynamic or diverse, but deadpan and gently provocative. ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ was an ode to the tragic sweethearts of Warhol’s factory scene, sexually charged and poignant, with a
_His voice was never dynamic or diverse, but deadpan and gently provocative_ doo-wop chorus. When Bowie was introduced to his music he stated “I had never heard anything quite like it. It was a revelation to me.” Of all of Reed’s records, Metal Machine Music proved to be the most alienating. A double album consisting of electronically generated feedback, it marked itself as an expression pure contempt and challenged critics. His later collaboration with John Cale marked the end of an estrangement that had lasted twenty-two years. Songs for Drella was created as a eulogy to Andy Warhol in the wake of his death. Recording thirty albums over seventy-one years ain’t bad, even if one was the god awful Lulu. Reed’s death was almost fitting: liver disease in a body that had shot and scored and seen the underbelly of New York City, and yet triumphed long enough to tell its story. And the best thing I heard a genus of underground
today was that they named velvet spiders ‘Loureedia.’
21
Music Review Artist: Katy Perry
Artist: Lady Gaga
Album: Prism
Album: ARTPOP
Rating:
Rating:
In 2008 scandal danced its way up the charts, Katy Perry kissed a girl and she liked it however she showed that she wasn’t a one hit wonder with her sophomore release. Now 29, Prism marks her maturing. The ‘handbag swinging’ classics are still there, keeping the element of fun for the ‘hunz’ there, especially with ‘Birthday’, laced with disco beats. That and synth is is all over the shop, and with the revival of 90s dance pinned on ‘Walking on Air’.
ARTPOP is a title bearing much weight, but despite the lousy and numerous artistic statements, ARTPOP thankfully disregards the ‘ART’ and goes gung-ho for ‘POP’. Gaga is not holding back with each song easily mixing about two climaxes and five hooks. It’s a sonic adventure that can leave you a little exhausted. Stand out tunes are the paired back ones. ‘Gypsy’ gently balances 80s Techno with Disney Princess glamour and ‘Dope’, an emotionally revealing ballad, is something fans will skip to when they want to feel closer to their idol.
In total this is Perry’s third album, and is showing with it she’s an adult now, and having seemingly seen it all, she’s on top. Obviously I wouldn’t say that and not mention the lead single, ‘Roar’ which shows more than Katy’s love of ‘Survivor’. At the end of the day this album, to me at least, has been put together with elements of everything that was popular this year and Perry has definitely delivered to her audience. Except ‘International Smile’ which sounds like the theme song for a Sarah Jessica Parker film on how great she is.
There is something deliciously self-indulgent about Gaga’s refusal to hold back and there are plenty of tricks here that pull you right in. ‘MANiCURE’ manages to smash together the best sounds of Goldfrapp while ‘Swine’ may be the most original song she’s done in years. There are plenty of the typical Gaga musical references too. Prince and Bowie both get a sonic cameo on ‘Sexxx Dreams’ and ‘Venus’ respectively. What’s most noticeable however, is Gaga’s penchant for self-reference. Throughout ARTPOP, Gaga repeatedly dives into her own toolbox, reusing and re-appropriating the hooks and gimmicks that made her famous. G.U.Y is the closest we’ll ever get to ‘Poker Face’ again while ‘Aura’ even reuses the ‘RA RA RA’ of ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Judas’
Final Word: I didn’t kiss a girl but I kinda liked it
Final Word: Just hold back your applause a little bit
_Imelda Hehir_
Artist: Lorde
Artist: Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip Album: Repent Replenish Repeat Rating:
Album: Pure Heroine Rating: One of the upcoming artists of 2013, Lorde (real name Ella YelichO’Connor), has released her debut album Pure Heroine after the single ‘Royals’ exploded onto the charts. The opening song of the album ‘Tennis Court’ instantly grabs your attention with its catchy beat. The following songs such as ‘400 Lux’ and ‘Ribs’ capture a similar effect to the listener. Halfway through the album, the tone becomes more sombre and refined. This is seen especially in ‘Buzzcut Season’, ‘Glory and Gore’, and ‘White Teeth Teens.’ Lorde’s musical style is vibrant and fresh without being over the top. Her voice has simplistic beauty, similar to Lana Del Rey or Eliza Doolittle. Yet, her vocals are distinctly hers. Perhaps the only fault with Pure Heroine is the kind of lull that occurs halfway through, with somewhat more forgettable songs than the first half of the album. Overall, Pure Heroine is a delight to listen to and Lorde has great potential to be even bigger and better than she is right now. In total this is Perry’s third album, and is showing with it she’s an adult now, and having seemingly seen it all, she’s on top. Obviously I wouldn’t say that and not mention the lead single, ‘Roar’ which shows more than Katy’s love of ‘Survivor’. At the end of the day this album, to me at least, has been put together with elements of everything that was popular this year and Perry has definitely delivered to her audience. Except ‘International Smile’ which sounds like the theme song for a Sarah Jessica Parker film on how great she is.
Final Word: This Queen Bee is just getting started _Louise Clancy_
22
_Anthony Keigher_
“I ain’t shouting at ya, I’m shouting to ya.” And so begins the opening verse of, Repent Replenish Repeat, summing up the tone of Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip’s third album as a powerful roar that hurls forth self-assertion like the cover art’s lion and bear. This first collaboration since 2010 marks a reunion perhaps intensified by the hip hop/spoken word duo’s refinement of their individual skills with solo albums. It certainly feels more focused and honed despite the occasional lack of continuity between the songs. After the industrial, bittersweet Stunner comes Nightbus Sleepers, in which the excesses and escapes of urban nightlife are compelling observed. Gold Teeth is perhaps the most accessible track of the album, with Pip’s funny, fierce lyrics targeting the shallowness of hip hop’s bling-clad knights in shining Armani against a growling dubstep backdrop. Stiff Upper Lip too feels like a development of the political aggression seen in Pip’s solo album, while Le Sac comes into his strengths of both subtlety and force with Terminal, a spoken word account of a stranger’s final hours punctuated with a soft synth ambience which never threatens to overload the fleeting yet emotional fragments of the song’s focus.
Final Word: Rinse, Listen, Repeat _Martha Hegarthy_
T
d ’ y l n , y d r d
t
_
a . y o l t f t e a f s t h e
Or at least they bought it cheap during the Celtic Tiger and seeing the structure brings back memories when they were property royalty. For 9 months you fill every crevice of residence with 200ml bottles of Vodka and use the curtains to extinguish your cigarettes, then in May you want the deposit back so you can spend the summer doing the same to your family house.
Motley’s resident ray of sunshine, Áódhán Ó Húlá-Hóóp, is back with a vengeance as he looks at students’ tense relationships with landlords.
T
he Irish people have always had a fractured relationship with the idea of landlords. Indeed, they’re often associated with the English occupation of Ireland and it turns out, a lot of people are not yet over that. Historically, landlords were very wealthy and their tenants depended on them for protection and justice. Like Batman. However, much like the Caped Crusader at end of The Dark Knight, landlords are now looked upon with disdain. The reputations of these former pillars of the community are now in tatters and that truly is a shame. Now, who do you think is the driving force behind all this negativity? Students. Every student has their own landlord horror story to spew, constantly whining about how the house is too cold, how the doors won’t open properly or, that the mould on the wall has now cognitive functions. Apparently, €80 a week should buy you a 9 month stay at the Ritz. To students, the landlord is a demon-like creature that emerges once a week to swipe your money and ignore your requests. To
A Typical College Road House hear the way some students talk you would swear they’re living in such squalor that even the street children of Calcutta would turn their noses up at the prospect of living there.
“Why would they trust you in the house that once belonged to their grandmother?” When describing what the landlord is like many students will an expletive or a tirade of them. Oh your landlord isn’t very nice? Boohoo. They don’t have to be. Why would they trust you in the house that once belonged to their grandmother?
That old cliché of student houses being too filthy for rats is usually quite accurate. Unwashed plates occupy sinks, grimy towels are strewn across bathrooms and old pizza boxes crammed with used condoms dominate the living rooms of most student domiciles. At the end of the lease you throw everything into black bags, hoover a bit and hope for the best. No consideration is given to the landlord who has to spend the summer ensuring that area is somewhat presentable by the time some other bunch of Arts students want a turn. All the while the landlord has to stand by and hope that they don’t somehow knock down the house. Landlords should be held great esteem by all. They make the tough decisions to keep your deposit or collect rent mid-way through R.A.G. week. Instead they’re portrayed as wicked and used as bedtime story fodder for the children of lower class. If you think carefully before posting and be yourself in a natural way, it will be self-exhibitionism in the best way possible.
Procrastination Station Jessica Finch examines and encourages the fatal flaw of every student known to man.
P
rocrastination- something that’s all too familiar to your average student. College students have it the hardest as everything we do is internet-based. After a few months in college your routine quickly becomes: turn on laptop with intentions to study, check Facebook, read The Daily Mail website, maybe throw in a quick game on Sporcle, recheck Facebook, just in case something mind-blowing happened since you last refreshed your newsfeed, and then finally on to UCC Portal. Here you spend way too long pouring over “events for the coming week” emails. Despite the fact that you have no intentions of attending the “postgraduate studies in Europe” talk you read through it carefully, only to prolong the procrastinating even further. For some unknown reason, before you do anything on your laptop, Facebook needs to be checked. Knowing what’s been happening in your ‘friend’s’ lives is a must, it seems. Do anyone else’s fingers automatically, and sometimes subconsciously, type Facebook into the search bar the minute Google is opened? And when you’re finished on Facebook, Sporcle is another website that you could easily spend all day on. For those of you who are hearing about it for the first time, I am truly sorry. I have effectively ruined the remainder of your education. Sporcle is a website compiled of hundreds of trivia games on topics ranging from television to literature to geography. It’s highly addictive, dangerous and has to be checked out by those of you who have not experienced it before. Another dangerous phenomenon, undoubtedly making the number of repeat exams in August rise, is that of websites such as 4oD and the RTE Player. This is probably the most entertaining form of procrastination but also the most addictive. I can’t stress enough the importance of not begin-
ning a new series coming up to exams or essay deadlines. TV shows are detrimental to study, and once you’re hooked, you’re one time achievable dream of attaining a 1.1 in your final exams, will most certainly come crashing down around you. I can almost hear the thousands of Breaking Bad fans crying out for help, myself included. Students tend to be drawn to the websites that are the least conducive to study. For some reason, it is much more enjoyable to spend an hour reading ridiculous articles on The Daily Mail website about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West going to the cinema, or about a woman giving birth to a set of twins with two different fathers, than to actually learn something about your college course. I know however, from my time spent in the library procrastinating and absently watching others do the same, that I am not alone in my desire to waste my study time on useless websites. Whether you enjoy creeping on random friends on Facebook, reading silly articles on The Daily Mail, relentlessly trying to beat your top score on Sporcle or simply getting lost in the world of your favourite sitcom, we all know procrastination is unavoidable. So instead of fighting it, embrace it, because after all if you can’t beat ‘em…
_
23
FEATURES
e s y r
In Support of: Landlords
An Idiot’s Guide to: Hooking Up in Cork Motley’s resident idiot Eoin Mc Sweeney gives us his top tips for scoring us notoriously hard-to-get Corkonians.
If you go to CIT, tell them that you’re in UCC Look you can give out all you want about social class divides, but they are always going to be there, so get over it. Of course on the social pyramid, CIT are quite clearly below us. Obviously. You may think you’re bucking the trend by going there, but girls really won’t find it too attractive. Guys will still find you attractive, because guys love anything with boobs, but you are far more likely to be told to go make a sandwich. The same applies for CSN and College of Goms. The excuse that “it’s a better course”, doesn’t wash I’m afraid. We’re not idiots.
Try to care as little as possible New to Cork? Can’t fathom how anyone could navigate their way through such a thriving metropolis? Are you from the nether regions of Clare, Limerick or Kerry? Or even from somewhere much further afield such as the far corners of Europe, Asia or America? Then this is the guide for you! Picking up people (or ‘scoring/mauling’ in the language the locals use) in Cork can be notoriously difficult, painful and even dangerous. No man or woman should try to engage in the bizarre, complicated world of Corkonian dating without a guiding hand, lest you should end up with a ‘mank wan’, a ‘mog’ or even worse, a norrie.
Forgetting a girl’s birthday is a sure fire way to getting in her pants. They’ll want you more after. Get her a piece of jewellery from Claire’s Accessories. She’ll love it. Play FIFA as regularly as possible and don’t ever text her. Snapchat is allowed, but sparingly. As for you girls, if he asks you anything, just reply with ‘meh’. Want to go to the cinema? Meh. Want to get food? Meh. Want to make sweet love? Meh. Leave all the decision making to the man. Your indecisiveness will drive him wild.
“Forgetting a girl’s birthday is a sure fire way to getting in her pants”
If all else fails go to the after party Clubs in Cork close quite early, but luckily there is some fantastic after party spots. Where I hear you say? A trendy new club? An awesome mansion? An abandoned warehouse? No, somewhere much better: the front of a fast food establishment. Ahem. Yes whether it’s fun or the ride that you’re looking for, there is no better last resort than either of the eloquent McDonalds restaurants (green or blue) or the old favourite, Hillbillys. The fountain provides a beautiful backdrop to the drunken masses of Cork. Just don’t climb it, ‘ye can’t be doing that lads.’ We’ve had enough trouble with that already.
Top Ten Cork Chat Up Lines:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Story?
Wanna ride?
Don’t, under any circumstances, compliment them. This is rule number one. If a guy even speaks to a girl for more than thirty seconds, let alone compliment her, he will be labelled as ‘creepy’, or a ‘bellend’. Believe me, you don’t want this to happen. Girls will be considered needy and not up for ‘the ride’ and if they’re very unlucky the guy will actually like it and will stick to them like glue for the night. On top of this, it is almost impossible to hear a member of the opposite sex in clubs such as
“A prospective suitor is much better off dancing his/her way to glory. A shuffle for the guys or a slut drop for the girls will do” Savoy or the Bodega because of the ear drum lacerating music. In fact due to this most Corkonians can lip read and perform simple sign language symbols (‘A pint please’, ‘You looking for a fight?’, ‘Wanna maul?’). A prospective suitor is much better off dancing his/her way to glory. A shuffle for the guys or a slut drop for the girls will do.
Dress to impress. No matter how cold it is, wear as little clothes as possible This applies to girls only, you hear? I don’t want to see male mature students from the far corners of the world running around naked like Mr. Chow preying on every girl they come across. It is imperative that girls do this so that they may achieve what is well known in Cork as the most attractive look – the bebo stunnah. This also involves truckloads of makeup, along with what must be the best push up bras in the world. Luminous clothing and a natural orange tan are also good shouts.
24
Wanna maul?
Shots?
Where you staying?
How’s your gee?
Where you going after this? Can I get a kiss? Hey you!
I have an 11 inch penis. Swear.
Moving Moods Cliodhna Quirke details her experiences of moving to the smoke puff of Cork City
F
or those of you who have moved away from home, everything has changed and right now it might not seem like it has changed for the better. My first piece of advice is simple – stay calm. Plenty of people have made this transition before you, plenty will after you and lots more are currently making it around you. So don’t panic. Moving away from home, you may feel the pressure to go out, to go wild, to succeed, to make new friends, to ensure that these are ‘the best years of your life’, but it is important to realise that you have to look after yourself. My second piece of advice – don’t expect to love, or even like, your new lifestyle all of the time. Don’t get me wrong, first year of college was one of the best years of my life. That said, universityespecially if you’re moving away from home, and even more especially if you’re moving away
Golden Oldies Features & Opinion Editor Leah Driscoll pays credit to an underrated generation.
T
hey are the parents of our parents, yet why are they so much cooler than our parents will ever be? Here are just a few reasons why the older generation is the best of them all.
Casual racism Only people their age can get away with it. If any twenty-something year old came out with the same kind of comment, they would nearly be shunned by all of their friends. It seems xenophobia was encouraged when they were kids as they come out with racist comments nearly as often as they come out with a round of the Angelus. As much as you warn them not to say these things in public, or even out loud at all, they find it a great source of amusement, and so the inappropriate comments continue.
Their unwavering religious commitment And occasional shunning of the Protestants. I’ve seen suspicion shadow the face of many a Catholic pensioner when they hear a person’s name that sounds a bit too Protestant for their liking. However, you really just don’t see that type of dedication anymore, unless you are thinking about any student’s dedication to Breaking Bad. Most elderly people maintain a daily commitment to mass- rain or shine, you will always see a hoard of Zimmer frame users making their way determinedly down to the church of their
without friends- can be daunting, overwhelming and lonely. However, for every downside, there are hundreds of positives. One aspect of moving away from home that can be intimidating is feeling like you are no longer accountable to anyone. While this newfound freedom can be liberating, just because your parents aren’t around to keep tabs on you doesn’t mean you have to do everything they wouldn’t allow. Believe it or not, it is okay to say no to yet another night out and catch up on some sleep, something that you’ll come to realise is scarce in college! You never know, staying in and watching ‘Friends’ reruns all night with your roomies might be just what you need. If you are finding the transition difficult and maybe feeling a bit homesick, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. UCC offers great support services for students experiencing both academic and personal difficulties. It may be difficult to decipher where to access this help as so much information is thrown at you at the beginning of the year, but if you ask there are plenty of people to help you along the way. Don’t forget, you also have your friends to lean on. Nearly everyone
misses home somewhat, so rally around each other. Don’t expect moving out to be a smooth transition. Do expect to feel lonely from time to time and the miss home. However, also expect to have an amazing year, meet wonderful new people and learn about things that you are actually interested in. As a friend of mine said at the end of the year, “we started the year crying because we wanted to go home and we ended it crying because we didn’t want to leave”.
nearest parish. They’ll always say a few prayers for us poor souls come exam time, and send a mass card our way if we’re lucky.
without fail. Were they that mannerly when they were our age? I’d assume not, which gives us some hope for the males of our generation.
Incompatibility with technology
They are future versions of ourselves
Of course there are exceptions to this rule: one of my grandfathers is the proud owner of an iPad and enjoys the odd chainmail- so much so that my Hotmail account is bursting with messages claiming a ghost will visit me in the middle of the night if I don’t forward this on. But in general, elderly people just don’t get technology. If it doesn’t stay attached to a wall with a plug and doesn’t have giant-friendly buttons, they are just not up for it. Checking the voicemail on their mobile phone once a month and then switching their phone back off again is enough for them, thank you very much.
Their manners Older men are all absolute gents. They will always walk on the outside part of the footpath, they’ll bid you hello as you stroll past them, they will hold the door open for you and let you get on the bus before them every time,
Ever see old couples walking around holding hands, or arguing in Super Valu over what kind of cheese they would like for tea? Kind of makes you not want to die alone doesn’t it? If anything, older people can remind us that we aren’t going to run around child, arthritis, responsibility and wrinkle free forever and so we must embrace our youth while we can. Of course, older people don’t exist for our amusement, but they seem to do a pretty good job of amusing us anyway. From thinking racial slurs are socially acceptable, to teaching us a lesson or two about life, the elderly are pretty damn fantastic when you think about it. While we mightn’t grow up to become slightly racist, perhaps we’ll be refusing to use hovercrafts and clinging to our ancient smartphones for dear life give or take sixty years.
“they come out with racist comments almost as often as they come out with a bout of the Angelus” 25
FEATURES
There and Back Again Motley’s Philip Mc Cormack takes us through the bitter journey of overcoming drug addiction and the phenomenal success experienced by his own brother, Niall.
T
he college lifestyle is one that presents many choices and paths in which we can choose to follow, ignore, or simply pass by. We all know or have heard of someone who has fallen into a lifestyle of which there appears to be no sanctuary. This a true story of how one student’s lifestyle led to years of drug addiction and evidently, nearly destroyed his life and the life of those closest to him. In this piece of selfdiscovery and unimaginable regret, exploring the story of Niall Mc Cormack and the lifestyle he has left behind because, as he puts it, “one is too many, and a thousand is never enough.” Starting at such a young age had most definitely had a serious effect on the teenage years of Niall Mc Cormack. Lacking the basic concept of ethics and simply following the choices of his peers, he fell into a very dark lifestyle. This lifestyle had of course complicated his secondary school education. With no motivation or goals, he decided to drop out just before the Junior Certificate. This had left him with no qualifications and no ambitions at the time. Throughout this time period where he did not attend school or work, simply wasting his time drinking and taking drugs. “I tried going back to school in Fethard and could not give up the drugs. I owed people money and was
26
super paranoid from the ecstasy and speed and hash. I could not relate to the normal nice kids”. Even though Fethard was a chance for a new start in a new school, Niall was unfortunately not able to retain himself from his addiction. After a second
“One is too many, and a thousand is never enough” failed attempt in school due to expulsion Niall was yet again back to feeling “like an out-cast and awkward”. But, fortunately this was not the last attempt at receiving an education. He re-applied to his original school after some consideration and self-exploration and was accepted into fifth year even without the completion of the Junior Certificate. “I returned to school at 17, paranoid and ready to get out of the life I had been in. I left all the emotions on the side-line”. It was at this point in Niall’s life
when athletics became a vital ingredient to both his success and motivation in life. He trained every day and strived for greatness in the sport. One of his early achievements involved running for Ireland in the schools cross country and finished second. With such a fantastic achievement under his belt, the foundation of his motivation and self-belief was under construction. Many doubted this very ambitious return to school as there was no evidence from his past to prove that he would act any different than before during this second chance. Thankfully, all those who doubted Niall were proven wrong. Niall had to beg his teachers to leave him do Higher level English and History but received an A1 and A2 respectively. On top of this, he was awarded the student of the year award. Two years of hard work had finally paid off and although a year was taken out to train before college, there was no doubt that he would be accepted into his first choice course in University Limerick. Although two solid years of work and dedication were put in for school, the entry to the college lifestyle proved too much for him to bear. “When I went to University things went downhill. My social life improved but the rest of my life slowly descended. I ended up drinking, getting a girlfriend and doing drugs again.” Yet again, it all started with smoking weed, and after a short time, he began to take ecstasy and cocaine. The reintroduction of these drugs back into Niall’s life had had serious mental consequences for him at the time. Again he began to feel isolated and unwanted and the drugs taken became a substitute for his unwanted emotions and flawed social skills due to both his paranoia and self-consciousness.
“I was trying acid and mushrooms and was in a bad state of mind to be doing them. There were few people I felt I could relate to. I was always paranoid, depressed and lonely”
Inevitably, he had no choice but to leave college during his second year due to a fight. “I always seemed to be fighting. Guys from my past addiction I owed money, people in college and nightclubs. I always seemed to be in violent confrontation. I would bite people in fights. I smashed people with rocks, got smashed with them. I was choked, glassed and everything imaginable.” During this particular fight his hand was badly damaged and a metal plate was placed into his hand. He was unable to use his hand for some time so decided to drop out of college. Things only went downhill yet again from here. “I eventually ended up full time on drugs, including Xanax and heroin. I was trying acid and mushrooms and was in a bad state of mind to be doing them. There were few people I felt I could relate to. I was always paranoid, depressed and lonely.” Throughout this period, Niall had nowhere to turn, feeling he could trust no one, including himself. He continued to manipulate his family for money as he could not afford to feed his addiction himself. Thinking of nothing else than how to feed his addiction every day, it was all that mattered in his current mental state. It was truly his darkest and most lonely time, even with his family there. He began to fight with people daily and was eventually kicked out of his home by his parents. While they were always there to support him and talk to him, the frustration and fear of people and drug dealers calling to the house had become too much for them to bear. Endless nights in the hospital, Garda station and late night pick-ups would certainly take its toll on any parent’s mental well-being. This was the darkest time for both Niall and his family; no one knew where to turn. It was after some time of being homeless, moving house to house, and constant shoplifting that Niall decided he wanted and needed to go to drug treatment as his mind and body could no longer cope. “I was full of fear and it controlled my life. I thought this is what I need to do”. He spent five months in a rehabilitation centre, cut off from the outside world in a place where he knew no one. This was not an easy adaption to a new environment, but it was a necessary one. “In treatment something changed. I started to believe in something. I started to feel things, see things that had meaning. I cannot explain it as anything but a spiritual awakening.” Throughout the five months he began to train again, and with this cleansing he began to feel “sane”. While the actions of the past were no longer taken, the memories continued to haunt him. But none the less, the program was continued and successfully completed. Five months to the day he was accepted into the rehabilitation centre, he was released and brought home by his parents to his family. This time, he used his freedom right. He continued to train and progress in athletics striving towards being one of the top cross country and track runners. He worked in order to save money to go back to college and he made new friends who have went through similar experiences to his own eliminating his past issues of feeling misunderstood and alone. With his past behind him Niall explains: “I spent thousands upon thousands, stole hundreds upon hundreds of euros. I never had a meaningful relationship.” Today, Niall is back in college, finishing the course he dropped out of only three years ago with a placement secured in his old secondary school. He is currently running for University Limerick and already back to his winning form. It’s safe to say that the years of drug abused, while not forgotten, are gone. The HSE Drugs Helpline can be reached on freephone 1800 459 459, Monday to Friday and is open from 10am to 5pm.
27
The Kitchen Hero Motley Editor Kieran Murphy chats to TV chef Donal Skehan before his show in the Cork Opera House “DID YOU EVER THINK THAT ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN?” “No, never. Never.” It’s been 6 years since Donal Skehan started his food blog, Good Mood Food, 4 years since his first book of the same name was released and 3 years since he hit tv screens with his show Kitchen Hero but Skehan’s still amazed by his success. Sitting in the almost empty Cork Opera House, with his crew setting up for The HomeCooked Tour, Skehan seems unfazed but not ungrateful for his success. Having lead a prolific and varied career which included being a presenter for an Irish music tv channel and gaining 2 Irish number 1 singles with pop group Industry, it wasn’t until 2007 when he took his love of food and starting writing about it. “I think I really loved other food bloggers at the time and that’s why I started a food blog but it was never because I wanted to write a book or because of anything like that. I think as soon as I started I could see the possibilities of a book but I never. It wasn’t the reason or the catalyst that started it. But it’s been great it’s kind of one step has moved onto the other very easily so I’ve been very lucky that way.”
“Everyone always thinks that I’ve named myself Kitchen Hero but I’m not that cocky. Maybe a little bit but I’m not that cocky” Having studied Media in DIT for a year before leaving to join boyband Streetwize, Skehan also did a TV Present course with RTÉ direction Bill Keating. “He gave me a lot of advice about where to go. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes stuff and I think that’s why when I do the TV show I really enjoyed that part as much as the creation process rather than just the here I am on television. That’s good as well but I think when you have more control you get a better end result.” Skehan received very little if any formal training in cooking and mainly attributes his skills to the influence of his family. “They’ve been in the food business for the last 30 years and
28
my dad still gets up at 4am in the morning. They employ 90 people called Fresh Cooked Foods. He started that as a little fruit and vegetables shop and then it’s grown into this thing where they provide fruit salad, if you’ve eaten fruit salad from Centra or Spar they would have provided them and then they do quiches and pies. They also do wholesale fruits and vegetables to restaurants so I kinda grew up with that so it was hard to avoid and then 1 of my aunts and 3 of my uncles also studied in Ballymaloe. I think with anyone who goes to Ballymaloe, you hear a lot about the recipes and the ethos and as much as I didn’t go myself I felt I garnered a lot of the knowledge they would have brought and every time we sat down for a meal for a recipe they would cook. Food was always a hot topic in the house.” It was from his family’s attitude towards food where he came up with the title Kitchen Hero. “I came up that because the first book named Kitchen Hero came about we were trying to figure out what it was all about and who it was to appeal to and more so than anything I wanted it to appeal to people who had never cooked before and who were scared of the kitchen who were intimidated by it and I wanted them to be a kitchen hero. Everyone always think that I’ve named myself Kitchen Hero but I’m not that cocky. Maybe a little bit but I’m not that cocky. It was about encouraging people to become kitchen heroes and just about taking it beyond. I think if you’re in the kitchen and you never cooked before and you’ve done it really well it’s like yeah, I feel like a hero.” Skehan has a strong background in performance, as well as his short fledged pop career he also started as Peter Pan in a Dublin panto which holds true to him as he’s on stage. Some would wonder if 2 hours of watching someone cook would be too much for even culinary fans but Skehan encourages everyone to ‘Ooooh’ at something they find tasty and even growl at something they’re not quite sure of. Throughout the show audience interaction is encouraged, with several hilarious kids (“My mother’s pretending I don’t belong to her”) threatening to steal the show but Skehan takes it all in his stride and encourages people to shout out any questions they have with several girls sitting in front of me egging each other to shout out a marriage proposal. However Skehan’s passion for what he does is evident throughout the show and when speaking. “It’s about encouraging people to get cooking and what better way to do it but in front of people, under people’s noses. One of the last shows we did, we had this young guy who was only 10 years. He’s sitting at the back and he had a little notepad and he’s taking notes and I was like that is why I do it and if you feel like you can inspire someone like that, who knows?”
“I think I really loved other food bloggers at the time and that’s why I started a food blog but it was never because I wanted to write a book or because of anything like that”
29
Our Cup Runneth Over John Somers takes a look at what campus and town has to offer in the coffee stakes
C
offee in most worlds is the starting gun that fires the drinker into a productive morning before returning to recharge the batteries after its initial effects have worn have worn off. However, if we’re to be honest, coffee drinking in college is often an excuse to while away an hour or three that ought to be spent more productively? It is the social lubricant for long, unproductive conversations with classmates and friends about your new favourite TV show or Thursday night’s antics, in other words everything other than college work. Put simply, it is the lifeblood of procrastination. With coffee mornings (and afternoons) such an integral part of the student experience, it’s important to pick the right venue for a date with a cappuccino. The grounds of UCC and its surrounds offer more choice than one can shake a cinnamon stick at so let’s whittle down the venues and sort our Macchiatos from our Americanos. Topping the list of student priorities when choosing where to re-caffeinate has got to be cost. Student budgets have always been tight, seldom more so than in these recessionary days of shrinking grants and elusive part-time jobs. Luckily for us , the cheapest coffee you’ll ever find is always on a college campus ( yes, it is “cheaper than downtown”) and the offers available in The Student Centre and The Main Rest , in particular, are to be lauded for making cut-price caffeine available to the masses, of students. The international brand Costa now have a concession in the Main Rest although their stuff does seem to indeed, ‘cost a’ bit more than the other shop that’s actually in the same room as their kiosk. On the subject of high street coffee chains our Trinity College friends may boast of Starbucks outlets located across from both their front and back gates of their central Dublin campus, but have they seen the cups from the Orb? Even fancier, the restaurant attached to the Glucksman Art Gallery, Fresco (you see what they
“ did there) offers, well, al fresco coffee sipping overlooking the scenic Lower Grounds, weather occasionally permitting. City centre cafes obviously draws a more mixed crowd but I’ve always found chocolatiers O’Conaill’s on French Church Street to carry the same college vibe. It seems to be particularly popular with international students, unsurprising given the continental vibe in the Huguenot Quarter, home to several other establishments which match O’Conaill’s on price if not quite ambiance. Returning to value, the Streat on Cook St should be praised for its generous offers and friendly, service. When on the neutral turf that is the city centre make it your first port of call. Back on home ground, you can’t get much higher than “Upstairs”(pun intended) Coco
Impress Your Date: Best Places for Dinner in Cork Want to impress that special someone in settings other than dingy pubs? Louise Clancy details the best places for dinner dates in Cork
Y
ou meet a fantastic guy or girl, you like them and you successfully ask them out on a dinner date. However you end up facing a predicament. You want to impress your date (chicken rolls are out of the question), but you don’t have a lot of cash to flash. Where do you go? Cork City has a wealth of restaurants on offer than are certainly kind to a student’s budget. Amicus, located in the city centre at Paul Street, serves a great variety of meals including salads, soups, paninis, pizza and several carvery dishes at a price range from €11 - €15. There is also a lounge/bar area which is ideal for a pre-dinner drink such as cocktails, beers and spirits. Amicus has a modern, light and spacious atmosphere which is the perfect setting for a dinner date. If you wish for a more intimate café setting for your date, Nosh + Coffee at Carey’s Lane could be the place for you. Nosh + Coffee is a little gem of a place with delicious and value for money food, well-made coffee, friendly staff and beautifully decorated interiors. This is an ideal spot for lower budget lunch dates. For Italian cuisine enthusiasts, Scoozi’s at Winthrop Lane is a great choice. They serve the classic pizza and pasta dishes as well as more
30
contemporary dishes such as grilled burgers and main courses. To top it off, Scoozi’s also offer a wonderfully mouth-watering dessert menu for less than €6, which is just too good to resist. For those who are more adventurous in tastes further afield, such as Asian food, Wagamama at South Main Street is highly recommended. Though it is somewhat more on the pricey side, couples can easily avail of the “buy one main course get one free” voucher or get student discount on their meals, therefore it works out well for all. If you and your date simply wish to satisfy your sweet tooth, there are some fantastic places for
desserts only. Paradise Crêpe Restaurant on French Church Street, is a French restaurant that serves both sweet and savory crêpes. These crêpes are well complimented by a choice of teas, coffees, hot chocolates, cool refreshments and the finest French wines. Whether you try to seduce your date with asian food or just some potatoes and cabbage, rest assured that they’ll appreciate being brought somewhere other than the shop for a portion of wedges. Back on home ground, you can’t get much higher than “Upstairs”(pun intended) Coco
t t e P t G P
T c l t s t
T m b w c
O R s a N B t w p
B v
“ n t s
B c t l a B
W b e l
A Complete Revolution? Luke Luby examines the sentiments behind the recent Million Mask March
“R
emember remember the fifth of November gunpowder treason, and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason should ever be forgot.” It was with these sentiments that thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of people took to the streets in over 400 cities worldwide this past November 5 as part of the Million Mask March. According to the event’s Facebook page, the march is a “Call for Anonymous, WikiLeaks, The Pirate Party, Occupy and Oath Keepers to Defend Humanity.” The protest took place on the 408th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, in which Guy Fawkes and a number of accomplices failed to blow up the English Parliament. Those who took part were protesting in opposition to causes ranging from corruption, mainly political, corporations, and fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, and wore the masks first made famous in V For Vendetta, a thriller set in a dystopian London. The masks have more recently become synonymous with hacktivist group Anonymous, who were the originators of the event. The event’s Facebook page, which was set up a little over a week before the march, as well as an associated website, claim that the people must “remember who your enemies are: billionaires who own banks and corporations who corrupt politicians who enslave the people in injustice” while also claiming that “we are the 99%”. One of the biggest protests of the night appeared in London, where comedian Russell Brand participated while wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. Brand recently sparked some controversy when he wrote an open letter promoting political apathy and advocated for a “complete revolution” in a recent edition of The New Statesman. Just hours before turning up at the London part of the event, Brand had another article published in The Guardian, seemingly implying that democracy doesn’t work, and that there was a need for mass protest, whilst also commenting on the “insignificant” distinction between political parties. Brand’s open letters, and appearance at the march, follow a Newsnight interview in which he claimed the political system was broken: “I don’t get my authority from this pre-existing paradigm which is quite narrow and only serves a few people. I look elsewhere for alternatives that might be of service to humanity. Alternate means, alternate political systems.”
“protesters burned energy bills in opposition to the rising cost of fuel ” Brand also took to Twitter before the event, tweeting “whatever party they claim to represent in the day, at night they show their true colours and all go to the same party”, referring to a party in which a friend of his attending not long ago where members of the British Parliament, such as David Cameron, and it’s opposition were in attendance, as well as former Prime Minister Tony Blair. When the march reached Parliament Square, protesters burned energy bills in opposition to the rising cost of fuel. Although a relatively peaceful event, there were reports of clashes with police in riot gear as a firework was launched towards Buckingham Palace. According to reports, up to 11 people
were arrested. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, supporters of the cause gathered at the Washington Monument before marching to the White House in order to protest, and raise awareness more of, a number of causes, including genetically modified food, and the series of mass surveillance made public by Edward Snowden. When the protesters reached the White House, many slogans were chanted, the most prominent being “Obama. Come out. We’ve got some shit to talk about”.
“The Million Mask March could highlight the festering belief among the younger generations that current global politics may be tightening its own rope and coming to an end. ”
The Million Mask March could highlight the festering belief among the younger generations that current global politics may be tightening its own rope and coming to an end. The vast amount of political activity that protesters held, and will still hold, to be wrong - be it constant, global surveillance, constant tax hikes and pay cuts for the poor, or the elitism innate in the political system - shows that there is little, if any, more that they are willing to take in the way of perceived wrongs.
As Brand has suggested, voting may not fix it, which is why he says that revolution may be the only way to hold people accountable, which it something that Anonymous - who spearheaded the mass protests - as well as Wikileaks, has been trying to do since their inception; something with which has been met with moderate success. As Brand notes in The Guardian: ‘The only reason to vote is if the vote represents power or change. I don’t think it does. I fervently believe that we deserve more from our democratic system than the few derisory tit-bits tossed from the carousel of the mighty, when they hop a few inches left or right. The lazily duplicitous servants of The City expect us to gratefully participate in what amounts to little more than a political hokey cokey where every four years we get to choose what colour tie the liar who leads us wears.’
31
Opinion
Rape Culture, Feminism and Slut Shaming Cloidhna Quirke gives her thoughts on the rise of ‘rape culture’ in college campuses My first thought when writing this article was to put in a disclaimer – “Me? No, I’m not a feminist.”This is ridiculous because of course I’m a feminist. All women should be feminists. Why is having an interest in women’s issues such a bad thing? Why shouldn’t we fight for equality or at the very least to be treated with some respect? Today, many young women see feminism as something of the past, something that we need not be concerned with. Sure, maybe it’s relevant in other countries but not in Ireland. To an extent I can empathise with this point of view. Obviously there are many countries where women’s rights are non-existent and by comparison we are in a much better situation. So does that mean we should be happy with whatever card we are dealt here in Ireland? No.
“
We’ve been conditioned into thinking that being treated disrespectfully is ok and what’s not ok is standing up for yourself and telling someone to back off
One of the main feminist issues today is our emerging rape culture. This isn’t just a feminist issue however, it is a societal one. I’m not talking about the ‘she was asking for it’ or ‘what did she expect dressed like that’ because that’s a whole other issue. I’m talking about the kind of behaviour that we all allow to happen every day, the behaviour that facilitates these attitudes. Cat calls, wolf whistles and sexual harassment in nightclubs. I challenge you to find one girl in the whole of UCC who hasn’t experienced all of the above on multiple occasions. All women have had their ass grabbed on a night out, have been forced to dance with some guy when they have clearly said no and sadly, a lot worse. What woman hasn’t had a car full of guys scream at her because she had the audacity to go for a run in public, or because she dared to walk home from college. Remind me again why it is ok for a girl to be made feel uncomfortable because she decided to wear a skirt. Upon discussing this with some of my male friends they informed me that, sure girls have to act annoyed when this happens, but really we’re secretly delighted and take it as a compliment. The reality is that our society is far from equal. However, what we should be striving for is equal but different. Of course guys and girls will be treated differently and a lot of the time this is ok. We are different. However this does not explain why one gender is subjected to being overly sexualised every single day. Let’s turn the tables for a second. Imagine you’re out on a lads night out, catching up and having a few pints. After one too many you decide to start dancing and before you know where you are you’re being grinded from behind by several girls. Having somehow managed to escape you are hassled repeatedly all night by girls who know that you want to go home with them, despite your protestations. In case you’re not aware, no doesn’t
32
actually means no, it means harass me for another hour or two why don’t you. A few of them will probably squeeze your balls before casually winking as they walk off. Leaving the nightclub you might feel uncomfortable but don’t worry, there will no doubt be several girls in groups ready to heckle you from across the street, probably asking you to take your top off. Just another night out, eh? What is possibly the most frustrating part of this whole issue is that girls don’t seem to mind. Men aren’t the sole culprits here. Half of the problem is that girls accept what society offers them, forgetting that we don’t owe guys anything. We’ve been conditioned into thinking that being treated disrespectfully is ok and what’s not ok is standing up for yourself and telling someone to back off. Come on ladies, if we don’t respect each other, then why should anyone else respect us? We’ve been taught to think that it’s ok. ‘Boys will be boys’ and they’re ‘only messing’. It’s not like you can’t fight them off. Well I’m sorry for not realising that because I have a vagina, I have to navigate my way through the day avoiding abuse. As well as not expecting better, women are exacerbating the problem. ‘Slut shaming’ is a modern phenomenon that has spread throughout schools and college campuses. Once again women are being made feel unworthy and somehow degraded because they decided to assert their sexuality instead of being ashamed of it. Don’t call each other sluts, it’s just not cool. Think about the consequences and the power of your words because these words are shaping a culture that is simply unacceptable. Women shouldn’t be answerable to society in a way that men aren’t. One need only look to the charts to see examples of rape culture emerging. Robin Thicke, a middle-aged married man humps a twenty year old from behind and she’s the slut because she bent over. These are the messages we’re sending to young girls. Surely society should be able to move past the idea of the girl always being to blame? So what’s it going to take to move away from this ‘rape culture’ that we are rapidly descending into? Plain and simple, men need to realise it’s not ok and women need to assert their value and claim back some respect. Changing attitudes does change actions. If we decide as a society that cat calls, slut shaming and sexual harassment are not ok, then they will no longer be accepted. Until then however, women will continue to grapple with these issues every day, fighting a losing battle.
Prohibition Has Failed In Its Main Objectives Seán Lynch of Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ireland debates for the legalization of cannabis in Ireland When cannabis was first criminalized in the 1930s with a wave of racist Refer Madness propaganda, policy was set in place that would supposedly protect society and reduce supply. Let us scrutinize our policy and see how effective it has been in tackling its main objectives as we plan for the years ahead in hope of creating more proactive, cost-effective policy by tackling specific issues relating to crime, drug misuse and addiction. In 1998 a UN general assembly claimed, ”A drug free world, we can do it” in 10 years. It is as clear as day that the war on drugs has failed. It has failed to protect people who have no interest in the illegal drug trade and it has failed to protect those most vulnerable to participating in the drug trade. Around the world, we have criminalized millions of low end, small time users to absolutely no avail whatsoever in tackling the serious problems of the drug trade including irresponsible misuse, widespread contamination, addiction, chemical imbalances and crime. These are the fundamentals of drug related problems that prohibition virtually ignores and inadvertently exacerbates. Accidentally, we have fostered the development of hardened criminals, unstoppable black markets, and opened many opportunities for disadvantaged people to fall into a trap of crime and addiction. If you think this doesn’t affect you, think again. In Ireland, between 2004-2012 a total of 115,584 possessions of drugs for personal use have been recorded. That’s an average of nearly 13,000 cases every year, the majority of which are for cannabis. That’s an average of 35 arrests every day. Think about that the next time your bike or car is stolen or your house is burgled. Cannabis use is not some accidental temporary world phenomenon that is going to magically go away if we keep throwing money at it. Cannabis use, which has been forced underground and to the fringes of society is completely embedded in our culture and like it or not, it’s here to stay. We have two choices. We keep banging our heads against the wall expecting a different result or take a new approach with more sensible policy tackling more specific issues. It is estimated there are over 100,000 regular cannabis users
in Ireland, a figure we will never know unless we address a regulated market, but like all statistics surrounding this anonymous subculture it is probably grossly skewed. What we can assume, is that although some of them commit crimes, as do consumers of alcohol, many of them are otherwise typically decent and non-violent people. I remember my first time being introduced to cannabis. I was 14, supposed to be doing my Junior Cert but instead had much more allure to hanging out with my peers who would smoke soapbar everyday in the school toilets and in different corners around Ballincollig, Bishopstown and Cork City. I’ve been to 3 different secondary schools and to this day I reckon secondary school was the easiest platform to get (highly contaminated) cannabis in Cork. After all, dealers never ask for ID. When I talk to my younger sister in 4th year, it seems as though little has changed. Prohibition has been a disastrous public health issue for a number of reasons. In terms of supply, cannabis has undergone generational shifts in contamination to profit in the ignorance of users inexperience. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s soapbar, the lowest quality, most highly contaminated and cheaply produced hash was filled with plastic, chemicals, solvents and dirt to bulk it up and lower its price. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, herbal cannabis in Ireland and the UK has been sprayed with glass, lead, paint and other chemicals, adding weight of up to about 20% to yield larger profits. Does it make sense to continue with this failed approach? Policy ignored these specific issues instead maintaining the ‘Just Say No’ campaign, which had little effect in deterring new users or educating those who already use. What’s even more frightening is that most commercially grown cannabis in Ireland is produced to maximize THC levels, the main psychoactive ingredient associated with cannabis and psychosis. This is at the expense of counteractive chemicals in the plant such as CBD. It seems that prohibition has inadvertently put those most at-risk to underlying mental illnesses in touch with the most dangerous forms of cannabis by indirectly allowing it to become widely available. What’s even more frightening are addiction rates. Many Irish cannabis users unnecessarily smoke cannabis when it is mixed with tobacco. Tobacco is highly addictive. When a tobacco mixer turns to pure cannabis, the nicotine effect isn’t there, hindering dopamine, the reward chemical, that exacerbates cravings. Policy could change all of this to provide clean cannabis, with balanced chemical ratios and give users access to vaporizers and encourage safer methods. Addiction rates will fall. And what do we do with addicts? We lock them up. Behind bars, a lack of treatment or education often manifests in further networking of the drug trade. Imagine someone stuck in the drug trade providing for their family was caught with enough drugs to put them in jail for a long time and had to spend years thinking about what they did wrong, in the company of others who in the exact same boat, with little-to-no employment opportunities when they get out, what do you think will happen? Prohibition is causing a much bigger problem than cannabis use.
33
FASHION Making It Up: The Strong Lip
H
aving covered the perfect base, and the coveted smokey eye in previous issues, it’s time to move on to another of the looks you will see time and time again, and is especially present this season; The Strong Lip. This look really works well on everyone as it is entirely adaptable to your comfort and skill level
First, pick a shade you love. This Autumn/Winter saw the not-altogether-unexpected berry lip dominate the catwalks, magazines and blogs and can seem like a tricky one when one is confronted with it in an editorial sense. However, berry lips, as with all bold lip colours, can be worn however you like. Take for example MAC’s Rebel (Brown Thomas) lipstick: in the tube it looks like a very serious, deep berry shade with a slight sheen to it. Swatch it on the back of your hand and you get more of the same rich colour payoff which is exactly what you get when you apply it to the lips. If a strong, full-on lip is what you’re after, Rebel is a fantastically flattering shade and can really brighten up a look whilst still remaining sophisticated. For the ‘Flawless Lip’, begin by applying a lip liner in a shade that matches your lipstick to the entire lip area, taking care to define the edges well. Blend by patting with your finger. This creates a base for the lipstick to really cling to and will also prolong the wear time of your lipstick! Then apply whichever shade you’ve chosen to the lips straight from the tube or, if you prefer more precision, with a lip brush like the Real Techniques Detailer Brush (available as part of the Core Collection set from
34
Boots). Fill in the entire lip, blot by pressing your lips against a tissue, then apply another layer. To perfect this look, take some concealer on a small, flat brush or a cotton bud and go around the edges of the lip to really perfect and define the mouth. When paired with a neutral eye look, the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette is perfect for this (Debenhams), and tons of mascara (can’t go wrong with Lancome or Bourjois), this is a super quick, effortless look for dinners, dates, nights out or even just when you want a bit of a pick me up. Another great way of wearing a bold shade is the ‘Stained’ look. Now lip stains are abundant on the high street but this method is great for those who love a shade of lipstick but may not want the full on effect a lipstick can have. Begin by taking your lipstick, Revlon’s new “Black Cherry” (Boots) is gorgeous and bang on trend, and pressing it into your lips with your ring finger. Starting from the inner lip and working your way out. This creates a stained effect and softens the colour of the lipstick but still looks amazing and can help prolong the wear of a lipstick as you’re really pressing it into the lip. You can repeat as many times as you like to get the finish you desire! A final way to get on the strong lip trend is by using a gloss or liquid lipstick. There are literally hundreds of options available to you with this choice and they range from sheer and super shiny to fully opaque and matte. I’ll list options for both, but matte lips are huge this season and are extremely sophisticated, just make sure you’ve moisturised your lips thoroughly well in advance of applying the product to avoid dry lips. For the sheer, glossy approach, try Revlon’s Embellished ColorBurst Lipgloss, a rather lovely wine shade that would be stunning when worn with a soft smokey eye while still not looking like you’ve got a face full of makeup on. Embellished also looks amazing when layered over red or even black lipstick for those of you that like a vampy look. Finally, is the matte lip crème. Lime Crime Cosmetics, while somewhat of a nuisance to find, though readily available online at www.limecrimecosmetics.com have a product called Velvetines which are phenomenal. A velvet matte texture with amazing pigmentation, these cling to the lip while looking perfect for hours. The shade Red Velvet is one of the best matte reds on the market and it won’t make you feel like you’ve been sandpapering your lips! Always a plus with matte lip shades. Hopefully that’s been helpful and maybe you’ll experiment with some darker, brighter, bolder, stronger, whatever lip colours and be surprised at how much you love them. After all, it’s only lipstick, it comes right off when you want it to!
I
FASHION How Joey Essex Ruined Fashion It isn’t a grudge until you say so, Motley Editor Kieran Murphy details how Joey Essex has done more harm than good for men’s fashion
E
very now and again a fashion icon comes a long and changes things for the better – then there’s Joey Essex. For year’s men’s fashion was moving forward, helped by Mad Men that inspired dapper gentleman and band’s like Arcade Fire that inspired the hipster movement. While skinny jeans and pointless scarves may be frowned upon by many it still counts as a particular style. Much has been said about The Only Way is Essex’s influence on women’s style; Amy child’s setting bringing lipgloss and painted on eyebrows back to the forefront and Chloe Sims reminding us that it’s okay to try and scalp yourself with a pony tail. However when it comes to men of the show there’s no one more ‘stylish’ than Joey Essex.
shave around the sides, to complete style the hair upwards in a mad scientist manner. Since reaching the dizzy heights of fame, Joey has become the poster child of TOPMAN where of course 95% of men buy their clothes (the other 5% purchasing in Jack n Jones) and this has had a trickle down effect to less luxe brands such as Penneys and Michael Guiney’s. This has created an influx of Joey Essex clones in poncy nightclubs and tapas bars which were once populated by hipsters and civil servants in mid life crisises. One of the major vicitims of Joey Essex’s style has been Union J who’s styling team, in an attempt to make them more releavant, have kitted them out in typical Joey grear but have had at least the common sense to have longer than average t-shirts to save our eyes from anything offensive.
Joey Essex’s typical style involves spray on skinny jeans rolled up to show off the ankles, a patterened t-shirt or short sleeved shirt and a pair of classic Nike Air Max. While we can applaud Joey’s confidence in showing off his scrawny body he is soley responsible for a wave of ‘mouse knuckle’ throughout the male population. As well as his unique choice of clothing Joey has also infilitrated men’s heads with his modern update on the bowl haircut. To achieve this look one must pop a bowl over their head and then
Unfortunately Joey will be all over our screens for the next few weeks as he enters the I’m a Celebrity jungle but only time will tell if the male population can ever rid themselves of short shorts, wonky haircuts and meggings.
Icon: Kate Moss Sorcha Lanigan In today’s world of instagram selfies, it’s hard to find what you might call consistency. The simple black dress has been ripped open to reveal a garish world of galaxy print leggings and other garish prints. The modern world has moved on from simplicity and is now swinging to Jacques Greene remixes of the most recent Disclosure download. The faux-hipster wave movement has won; black framed square glasses, snapbacks and inverted-cross earrings have replaced last year’s sleek modernist trend. Today’s crude attempts to emulate the composure of the street styled masses and the bright fluorescent sea punk hipster scene are trumped by this master of fashion. The woman in question is of course, the irrevocably impeccable Kate Moss. The first to create jaw-dropping ensembles of grunge from just a plaid button-down and Pete Doherty’s old boxer shorts ignited a whole host of fawning fans with meticulously
messed hair and ripped band-logo tshirts. It was these imperfect edges that lent Moss’ style a sense of vitality, rarely seen in an age of poker straight hair, bomber jackets and fake nails. This was back in 2004, before day-glo tinted tresses as seen on Kelly Osborne and Charlotte Free, tiny tattoos and aztec print bodycon midis were considered to be the epitome of ‘chic’ and Moss had already been on the scene for almost a decade. Bands such as The Kills and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs rocked leather, plaid and distressed tights, giving the gothic-punk world a nice makeover. Moss has been awarded countless accolades for her role in transforming the uptight,
high maintenance world of fashion to understated elegance; grungy yet completely fresh, a la Courtney Love and Amanda de Cadenet in their prom-dress and tiara wearing heyday. Her pretty, floral collaboration with Topshop in 2007 inspired delicate tea dresses; soft pink shades teamed with studded pumps. The summer- released collection cemented the season’s wardrobe in a sexy, youthful, dirty, thrilling capsule. A further strut into the world, and catwalk, of Marc Jacobs in 2012 saw the runways of countless designers imitating the pastels and minimalism that Moss so effortlessly channelled. Her style has been immortalised in the young and fabulous fashion entourage of today. Imagine, if you will, what the last 20 years would have looked like without Kate Moss. The dinosaurs of 1985 might have yawned on indefinitely, each new trend a dilution of ‘Friends’-esque style into something old, curmudgeonly and almost too horrible to contemplate. In this hypothetical Kate Moss-less reality, there would be no grunge and lace marriage makeover, we would all be wearing sheepskin and double denim. And we would all have turned into our parents by the time we reached 22. But instead, we got Moss; a pouting, razor-cheekboned herald from Croydon, and the fashion world sleeps a little easier.
35
QUIXOTIC BEAUTY
Dress: Amity Cork 36
Blazer and Top: TOPSHOP Skirt: Mercury Goes Retrograde
37
Shirt: Amity Cork Skirt: TOPSHOP 38
Make-Up & Styling: Laurence Keating Styling Assistant: Alexandra Frahill Photographer: Amy Frahill Models: Mairead O Farrell and Kayleigh O Sullivan of Lockdown Models Hair: Origin Hair Design (Origin Hair Design offer one of the best student discounts in Cork City and have an incredible team of stylists. Call (021) 427 0080 for more information)
Clothes: Amity Cork Necklace: Azure Jewellery
39
XMAS HAVE YOUR CHRISTMAS PARTY @ THE NEW BAR CHEAPER THAN dOWNTOWN! BETTER THAN dOWNTOWN!
PARTY ON CAMPUS! ASK AT THE BAR OR AT THE STUDENT INFORMATION CENTRE
40
Nibbles! m o N m o N y r enta 4Complim ine 4Mulled W tails k c o C s a m t 4Chris nes!! u T y s s a m t 4DJ & Chris