The Print Volume 3, Issue 3

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The official publication of Maynooth Students’ Union

Tuesday 25th October 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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“Stop Fees, Save the Grant”: USI to march on November 16th

Student sleepout on Molesworth Street also planned KEITH BRONI Editor-In-Chief

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have made formal plans for a large-scale student demonstration for Wednesday the 16th of November. The protest is to incorporate a march akin to last year’s “Education Not Emigration” march as well as a sleepout protest on Molesworth Street, outside of Lenister House.

The campaign, entitled “Stop Fees, Save the Grant”, is being organised in retalitation to rumours stemming from an article published in the Irish Independent on the 12th of October that the Student Contribution Charge (formally the Registration Fee) is looking to be increased from €2,000 to €5,000 per student per annum.

Aengus Ó Maoláin, former President of Maynooth Students’ Union and current Education Officer of USI, had this to say regarding this figure: “The university presidents have said on the record that they’ll need a figure of €5,000 per student to run”. Ó Maoláin also addressed concerns among students that this protest would be less successful than last year’s 40,000 strong event: “It’s up to every student to unite and take to the streets on November 16th to show the government that this is something we feel passionately about. This is an issue that was never just going to be won by one march; the students of Ireland need to clearly and consistently have their voices heard.”

Colm Murphy, USI’s Deputy President and Campaigns Officer, echoed these sentiments in a recent interview with Trinity College’s University Times: “If students don’t take part then the government can put whatever price they want on education.”

At the time of publication, the march is set to begin from Parnell Square at 4pm, with students gathering from 3pm. The march will then follow a similar route to last year’s demonstration, finishing in a rally outside of Merrion Square. Following on from the rally, students will move to Molesworth Street and erect tents for an overnight protest. USI are arranging for paramedics and First Aid team to be present at the sleepout throughout the night and for portable toilets to be placed at the edge of the street.

On November 3rd last year the USI organised the largest student protest in the history of the Irish State, with over 40,000 students and their sympathisers marching from Parnell Square to the front of Lenister House to express their frustration towards any increase on the Registration Fee from €1,500 per student per annum.

Continued on page 6

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November 3rd 2010: 40,000 students march against further increases to their Registration Fee

Union Council selects Pieta House as official Union Charity for 2011 / 2012 FIACH O’NEILL

On Saturday the 16th of October, the inaugural Maynooth Students’ Union Council of the 2011 / 2012 academic year selected Pieta House as this year’s official charity. Of all the members of Union Council gathered, 39 voted in favour of Pieta House, 18 voted for the Peter McVerry Trust and 11 voted for St. Brigid’s Hospice. The remaining members presented abstained from the vote.

Pieta House is a a centre for the prevention of self-harm or suicide. Founded by Joan Freeman, a practising psychologist, the centre’s first branch officially opened it’s doors in January 2006 in Lucan, Co. Dublin. Since then, Pieta House has opened further branches in Ballyfermot, Finglas,

Tallaght and Limerick and has cared for over 4,000 people who have suffered from thoughts or impulses towards self-harm or suicide. As 80% of their income comes from Fundraising Events, they rely heavily on the support and encouragement of the likes of Maynooth Students’ Union.

Clients of Pieta House are able to self refer without a letter from a from their GP or Psychiatrist. Once contact is made between the client and Pieta House, an appointment is arranged for an assessment and after the assessment the client is assigned a therapist and treatment begins.

Treatment is free of charge , although the centre does accept donations from clients post-treatment.

In the five year period 2001-2005, 2,468 deaths occurred in the Republic of Ireland that were

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registered as suicides by the Central Statistics Office: 1990 men (80.6%) and 478 women (19.4%).

The average number of suicide deaths per year was 398 for men and 96 for women. Based on deliberate self harm figures for the country annually, there are 12 episodes of self-harm for every death by suicide amongst men and there are 64 episodes of self harm for every death by suicide amongst women. These figures can be found in the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) Annual Report 2006-2007.

Students seaking further information about Pieta House can visit pieta.ie. Any student who wishes to involve themselves in fundrasing for Pieta House throughout the year, please e-mail welfare@nuimsu.com.

Printed in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford via Datascope and Impression LTD.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi CONOR BOOTH On the 20th of October 2011, celebrations erupted in Libya’s capital Tripoli following an announcement from Libya’s National Transition Council that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had been killed in his hometown of Sirte by Libyan forces.

The news came two months after the fall of Tripoli and brought confirmation and delight to Libyans who suffered during the dictators 42 years in power.

Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced the death in Tripoli saying ‘We confirm that all the evils, plus Gaddafi, have vanished from this beloved country,”. The body was delivered to Misrata, the city whose siege and suffering at the hands of Gaddafi’s forces made it a symbol of the rebel cause.

Gaddafi’s body is being held in a freezer in a Misrata vegetable market since it has been brought there.

Furthermore, Misrata military council spokesman Fathi al-Bashaagha said “There will be no postmortem today, nor any day” and that ‘No one is going to open up his body’. Libyan authorities are facing questions about how Gaddafi was killed after images emerged showing he was found alive and taunted and beaten by his captors and criticism ensued as photographs of the bloodied body of the dictator were broadcasted internationally but many people believe that Gaddafi who ruled Libya with an iron fist and caused years of fear for many of its citizens does not deserve any humane treatment even after his death.

NUI Maynooth student and Libyan citizen Lujane Benamer was delighted by the news which

Former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi provided relief that her family and friends were finally free from the hands of Gaddafi. “Every single Libyan citizen is a victim of Gaddafi and his regime on some level. The death of Gaddafi has given the Libyan people a fresh start in life. We can finally start to rebuild our country and live in a democratic state where our opinions and thoughts matter. We paid a high price for our freedom, but it was our

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NEWS 1 FEATURES 8 WELFARE 13 ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE 14 OPINION & COMMENT 22 TECHNOLOGY 24 PROCRASINATION 25 SPORTS 27

passion for freedom that led us to victory. I have never been so proud to call myself a citizen of the great Libya.”

The first steps toward the formation of Libya’s post-Muammar Gaddafi government have started to emerge, with interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril saying he’s stepping down effective Saturday, with indications elections could be held by summer.

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that ‘People in Libya today have an even greater chance, after this news, of building themselves a strong and democratic future. Although Libya has the task of building a new democratic future, most people are still extremely relieved and ecstatic by this news which has been long awaited by many Libyans for a very long time.

Editor In Chief: Keith Broni Production: Keith Broni Additional Formatting: Orlaith McCourt (MacWorks) Additional Proofing: Dean Healy, Conor O’Brien, Shauna Louise Kelly,

Rob Munnelly, Paudraig McCarrick, Christina Murphy, Orla Tobin.

Contributors: Conor Booth, Aoife Carroll, Dylan Colley, Mark Dillon, Lyndsey Farrell, Rob Gilmour, Grainne Hallinan, Bartley Hudson, Maeve Kavanagh, Sean Keenan, Shauna Louise Kelly, Sean Kelly, Paraic Kerrigan, Ally Kerr, Shane Kiernan, Ruta Lankelyte, Ciaran McFadden, Rory McCormick, Shane McNally, Lee Mitchell, Christina Murphy, Damien Murphy, Conor O’Brien, Michael O’Toole, Karl O’Dwyer, Naoise Ó Cearúil, Kate Phelan, Cillian Shields.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Quinn’s Defence In USI High Court Case Due Friday 28th of October CONOR O’BRIEN The 28th of October will see a resumption of hostilities between the USI and Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn, as this date is the deadline for the Minister to submit his defence in the High Court case taken against him by the Union.

The case, which was filed by the USI in July, concerns what they refer to as Mr. Quinn’s “failure to spare student grant’s from reforms that could see them denied to thousands of students nationwide”.

Cutbacks could see student grants slashed to just over a third of their current size (reduced from €6,100 to €2,445 in some cases), with the distance required for eligibility increased by 21km under the last budget, disqualifying many who availed of the scheme to help fund their education.

Mr. Quinn had previously sworn prior to this

Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn signing a USI pledge stating that if elected the Labour Party would opposite any increase to the Student Contribution Charge year’s general election that no cuts to grants or fee increases would take place during his tenure, with the USI maintaining that to do so would only grow dole queues nationwide and inevitably drive more school leavers to emigrate.

On October 7th the State refused – for a second time – to put in a defence against the original motion, requesting instead for a further four weeks

to assemble its counter case. The USI promptly objected to this, believing it to be merely a stalling tactic.

Ultimately, the state was granted three weeks by the High Court to submit its final defence, with the USI then being able to launch its counter motions as the case resumes in court. A resolution is expected to be reached by the year’s end.

The USI, meanwhile, is doing everything in its power to bring the case to a hearing at the earliest possible moment. “The wheels of justice grind very slowly in this country” Deputy President Colm Murphy told The Print. “We are doing everything humanly possible to bring the case to a speedy conclusion.”

Two Refendums Face Ireland Alongside Presidential Election GRAINNE HALLINAN On October 27th, alongside the presidential election, two referendums will take place in an attempt to change aspects of the Irish Constitution.

One is a referendum on the pay of judges, the other a referendum on inquires by the Oireachtas.

The referendum on the pay of judges, put simply, is regarding whether the pay of judges can be reduced under certain circumstances. Currently, the Constitution does not allow for the reduction of the remuneration of sitting judges, though they are subject to income and other taxes, including the Universal Social Charge as everyone else is.

However, what they are not required to pay under the current Constitution is a deduction known as the ‘Public Service Pension Levy’. They may pay it voluntarily, but are not obliged to. If the proposed amendment is approved, it will be constitutional to reduce the pay of judges if there is a law passed regarding the reduction in pay of people who are

paid out of public money, though the law must state that the reductions are “in the public interest” and that the reductions in pay are “proportionate” to the reduction in public service pay. The present Constitution only prohibits a reduction in the pay of judges who have already been appointed; there is nothing to prevent new judges being appointed at lower pay levels to sitting judges.

The referendum on inquires by the Oireachtas proposes to give the Houses of the Oireachtas (the Dáil and Seanad) the power to conduct inquires into matters of general public importance and to make findings of fact about any person’s conduct.

Currently, the House of Oireachtas does not have such powers. If the amendment is approved the Dáil and Seanad, together or separately, would be able to carry out an inquiry into the conduct of any person, public servant or not. The Dáil and/ or Seanad would have the power to decide the appropriate balance between the rights of people involved and the requirements of the public interest, so as to ensure an effective inquiry. They would be obliged to have “due regard” to the principles of fair procedures, a general term that refers to a range of rights an individual is entitled to when their conduct is being investigated. These include the right to know the case against you, the right to defend yourself against such allegations and the right to an unbiased hearing.

The Referendum Commission strongly advises all citizens over the age of eighteen to inform themselves and to vote.

A sample ballot paper provided by Referendum2011.ie

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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EU Erasmus Fund NUIG Vote To Facing €60m Cut Cease RAG Week

CONOR O’BRIEN

The EU’s Erasmus programme might be in for a major blow with a recent announcement suggesting that the European Council could cut €60 million in education funding from its upcoming 2012 budget.

The Erasmus Scheme would likely bear the brunt of these proposed cutbacks, along with the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) 2007-13, of which it forms a major component.

The development comes in the light of the EU’s insistence that education would be made a priority in its strategy EU2020 plan for economic development, and has unsurprisingly been met with outrage from student bodies across the continent.

Within the EU2020 plan, the Education and Cultural Committee proposed a further €45 million should be invested in the LLP, given its propensity to embellish the education, connectivity and job prospects of students all over Europe. The European Students’ Union has also condemned any proposed cuts, insisting that increased investment is required to widen the accessibility of the LLP. Since its inception, the Erasmus programme has enabled over 2 million students, including nearly 32,000 from Ireland, to engage in exchanges with colleges across the continent and cuts of this magnitude could seriously impede current or future college-goers from doing likewise.

2011 saw the number of Irish students availing of the scheme exceed 2,000 in a single year for the first time, testament to the growing popularity of the programme. This was one of the highest relative

rates of participation of any EU member state.

Irish universities will see such cuts as a further kick in the teeth, given that their almost ubiquitous slip in the latest university rankings could already negatively affect their capacity to attract foreign students over the coming academic year; a university’s rank has shown to have a strong correlation to its attractiveness to overseas students in what is now a very competitive global market.

In 2010 there were over 26,000 foreign students at third level institutions in Ireland, with sizable chunk of these availing of the Erasmus programme.

Ireland’s status as one of only three Englishspeaking destinations in Europe (along with the UK and Malta) has long made it an attractive option for continental students.

In 2008, the Higher Education Authority declared its intentions to double the number of foreign students in the country by 2018, a goal that will come under serious jeopardy should sustained Erasmus cuts get the go ahead.

NUI Maynooth was the only one of Ireland’s eight universities to boost its stake in the latest set of international rankings (thanks in part to the large international contingent on campus), but the planned cuts will come as a setback to the university’s growing tradition of exchange with continental colleges and consequentially, could impact on its finishing in the future.

At present, the college has just over two international students for every Irish student it sends abroad.

KEITH BRONI

On Monday the 17th of October, a special meeting of NUI Galway’s Student Council (their equivalent of the Maynooth Students’ Union Council) voted in favour of replacing their infamous RAG Week in exchange for five concessions proposed to them by the University.

After a heated debate on the issue of trying to add a seat for the Students’ Union President on the University Management Team the class representatives eventually voted in favour of the replacement of RAG Week by an overwhelming majority. 107 voted in favour of accepting the proposal and 7 voted against.

On the motion of trying to secure a seat for the SU President on the University Management Team, 92 of the representatives voted against including the clause as a sixth concession in the RAG week deal. 17 voted for the motion while 5 votes were spoiled.

The five concessions agreed by the University were support for a one-day concert/festival to replace RAG Week, an extra €60,000 a year contribution to the Student Assistance Fund (SAF), which is used to help students who are at risk of dropping out due to financial hardship (almost tripling the University’s current contribution to this fund and keep an estimated 60 to 75 students in college each year), a guarantee not to introduce charges at the Student Health Unit for visiting a doctor or nurse, the abolition of a current €2 charge for members of University sports clubs

The quad of NUI Galway to use the gym and the provision of a number of prominent, permanent SU notice boards around campus.

Emmet Connolly, the President of NUI Galway’s Students’ Union, had this to say on the matter: “NUI Galway students have an excellent tradition of raising money for charity which is the reason for Rag Week. Over the past four years alone the Students’ Union has raised over €100k through Rag Week, however this is often forgotten. The actions of a minority of people, many of whom are not NUI Galway students, have been very destructive and the Students’ Union has decided not to continue with something that is seen to support the behaviour of that minority. Despite the cancellation of Rag Week, we will continue in our work to raise money for our chosen charities: The Galway Rape Crisis Centre and SpunOut.ie.”

Crickley closes on-campus Social Justice Week

RUTA LANKELYTE The NUI Maynooth Social Justice Week, which took place from 17th of October closed this passed Wednesday with Anastasia Crickley, the Head of the Department of Applied Social Studies, giving a talk that afternoon of Social Justice.

Before starting her talk, Ms. Crickley addressed prompted the audience to state which areas of social justice they felt are not addressed well in Ireland.

Issues like cutbacks and their implications, traveler children integration into community and lifelong learning immediately were voiced. It was these

issues that Ms. Crickley then began her presentation with. She then moved into talking about chances at education and argued that that opportunity to receive education expands a person’s potential exponentially.

Education in Ireland is compulsory from 6 years of age to 16. However although it is dictated by legislation it is enforced by rules and regulations.

Ms. Crickley stated openly she believes that these regulations should be tighter and enforced more strongly.

Overall, Ms. Crickley ran a good debate with the audience. There were no awkward pauses when she posed questions to the audience, unlike what is often seen when lecturers ask questions in class. She argued that overall the Irish people lack engagement; they are too used to the constricting methods of secondary school, where she stated people are taught to take things as they are and not engage in critical thinking. Ms. Crickley stated that students should be encouraged to think about social issues as much as their other academic pursuits and that social justice should be a value ingrained in each and every one of us from early age.

Social Justice Week was organised by the NUI Maynooth Chaplaincy.

Anastasia Crickley and the NUI Chaplain, Shay Claffey

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Worldwide Occupy Movement Growing CILLIAN SHIELDS The Occupy movement has grown from strength to strength in the past few weeks, with more and more protesters making their opinions heard.

Numbers of people attending the demonstrations have grown significantly in the past few weeks throughout the entire world.

Not only have existing Occupy movements increased their numbers, but also many new cities have begun their own protests. Central bank plaza in Dublin is now being used as a platform for people to voice their feelings of corrupt governments, banks and corporations.

Occupy Dame Street began on October 8th. They protest in solidarity with those in Occupy Wall Street, against social and economic injustice.

A week after their first day, they marched from The Garden of Remembrance to the site that they are camped on, Central Bank Plaza on Dame Street.

The group also made it clear that there was to be no alcohol, drugs or flags of any particular political organisation or party allowed at the march.

As well as the Occupy protesters from Wall Street and elsewhere around the world, there is to be no violence at the march. They are strictly peaceful demonstrations and marches. The same march was replicated on October 22nd, one week after the first march.

October 15th was a landmark day in many ways for the Occupy movement for this country. Galway and Cork also joined in when Occupy Eyre Square

Protesters gathered in Puerta del Sol, Madrid and Occupy Cork were established.

However it wasn’t just in Ireland that the 15th was an important day ofprotesting. The 15th was also the Day of Global Worldwide Action. In Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, thousands took to the square to be heard.

Many people had created their own signs, banners and placards to bring to the huge event.

Others had made more imaginative ways of voicing their opinions on the state of their economy and government, as Spain are currently staring into the barrel of the gun that is an economic bailout.

One small group of people had built a coffin, and slowly marched around the square as though they were taking part in a funeral procession. The word “Democracy” was written on the top of the

coffin, with the letter E substituted for a € symbol.

Elsewhere, the peaceful protests have now reached every continent in the world. More than 1,500 cities in the world, including over one hundred in the United States alone, have an Occupy movement, as what internet hacktivist group Anonymous has started is seeming to perpetually grow in numbers.

Maynooth students compete in Ireland second worst in EU at teaching languages IEEEXtreme Programming GRAINNE HALLINAN

According to a recent report published by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), Ireland has one of the poorest standards for teaching foreign languages in the EU. The report reveals that Ireland is the only country in Europe, other than Scotland, where a foreign language is not compulsory at any stage of the mainstream educational system. Ireland was also the EU member state with the highest percentage of citizens (66%) admitting to ‘not knowing any other language than their mother tongue’ compared to the European rate of 56%, positioning Ireland as the worst in Europe. The current EU objective is for all citizens to be able to communicate in their mother tongue plus two additional languages.

The report cited the gradual removal of the third language matriculation requirement in NUI’s as one of the biggest threats facing language education in Ireland, stating that it would undermine our status and competitiveness globally. Though post-primary schools are not currently obliged to offer an additional language besides English and Irish to students, most opted to study one due to the third language entry requirement for the four National Universities of Ireland – University College Dublin, University

College Cork, NUI Galway and NUI Maynooth.

French is currently the most popular language in Secondary schools, with 50.6% choosing to study it for the Leaving Certificate, while at third level French, German and Spanish are the most popular languages to study.

According to the report, an individual’s employment opportunities are significantly enhanced by proficiency in one or more foreign languages. It cites research that has shown how plurilingualism contributes to the development of mental flexibility, problem solving ability, learning capacity and interpersonal ability, all of which are transferable skills valued by employers. It suggests this value is overlooked, especially in a time where seeking employment has become more difficult than ever.

The RIA makes several recommendations to secure the future of modern languages in Ireland.

It strongly advises that a third language be made a universal requirement in post- primary schools and suggests that an oral exam be made compulsory for Junior Certificate language studies, similar to that of the Leaving Certificate. It urges that modern languages be treated as a priority subject at third level and recommends that a dedicated language teaching degree be implemented in universities.

KARL O’DWYER

Some contests are about skill, others involve masterful strategy and others are simply tests of endurance, but rarely are all of these combined into one event, the IEEEXtereme Programming contest, now in its 5 year has set the nerdy bar that one notch higher by combining difficult programming problems with a 24 hour endurance race.

Starting at 00:00 UTC (01:00 Irish Time) on Saturday the 22nd of October, Over 4100 students in teams of up to 3 from 63 countries began the grueling task of tackling near impossible puzzles and battling their bodies.

The Print caught up with some of the teams 18 hours into the event, tired looking faces and discarded cans of energy drinks and food containers of all shapes littered about the tables, we were granted special permission to talk to some of the teams and see how they were holding up.

Competitor Arran McKabe when asked how he was coping with this challenge replied “I’ve gotten exactly 4 minutes sleep in the last 38 hours... and it was on that table” and fellow competitor Neil McCaffrey could just about muster “Gah! The caffeine, it does nothing!”. Other teams seemed to be fairing a bit better, Cathal Coffey took a moment to talk to us as he finished hammering out another

Competitors Cathal Coffey and Fergal Walsh problem, “The first few hours the questions were rock hard, then they eased up on us a bit and that gave us a little boost going into the morning... its been hard, but when we started it was dark out and now look, its dark again, it hardly feels like its been that long at all” The final rankings were not available at the time of writing, but hopes are high for the Maynooth teams to place high in the final rankings.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Candidates for Upcoming Maynooth Students’ Union Elections Revealed CIARAN McFADDEN MSU Returning Officer

Election season has begun afresh last Wednesday with the close of nominations for the positions of First Year Representative, Postgraduate Representative and the three unfilled Faculty Representative roles (Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy; Science and Engineering; Social Science). All rolese are part-time non-paid.

The Faculty Rep positions are new roles which were created when Maynooth students voted in favour of changing their Students’ Union’s constiutition in March of this year. It was then decided by Union Council that these roles would be filled at the start of the next academic year.

It’s important that you vote in the upcoming elections because the Representatives will be your voice in the Students’ Union. They’ll sit on Union Council to debate Union policy and will meet with their relevant Faculty Dean throughout the year.

Below you’ll find a list of candidates running for election. To get a good idea of what they’re like, come along to Candidate Hustings at 12.30pm on Monday, 7th November in the Common Room, where the candidates will be giving speeches and answering questions from the audience.

Election Day is Thursday, 10th November. Polls open from 9.30am to 6.30pm in the Arts Building, and you’ll find extra polling stations dotted around campus on the day. Bring along your student card and make your voice heard!

For further information regarding the Executive positions to be filled and the running of Students’ Union elections, please consult the MSU Constitution: Issuu.com/msuvpsec/docs/ msuconstituion

Candidates for First Year Representative - Rayne Driscoll - Eunice Figuera - Claire Breathnach - Ian Baker - Leo Cauneen - David Flanagan - Dan Hillary - Stuart Cameron - Cynthia Okafor - James Wall

Candidates for the Faculty of Arts, Philosophy & Celtic Studies - Lorna Deegan - Rebecca Crunden

Candidates for the Faculty of Social Science - Ruta Emilija Lankelyte - Oisin Nolan

Candidates for the Faculty of Science & Engineering - Mark Kelada - Benstowe Nengi

Candidates for Postgraduate Representative - No nominations received. Further action to be referred to Union Council.

“Stop Fees, Save The Grant” (Continued) Continued from page 1

However, that protest was marred by clashes between gardaí and several protesters outside of the Department of Finance. These clashes went on to dominate the main media coverage of the event.

Speaking following the clashes, the President of USI, Gary Redmond, had this to say: “USI is disappointed by the behaviour of a small number of people, which occurred during an incident at the Department of Finance. This incident was completely separate from USI’s demonstration yesterday.The focus of the media coverage has been on the actions of a small minority and this has played into the hands of the Government. The fact that over 40,000 students travelled from across the country to send a message to Government that we are the future and that education is the silver bullet to economic crisis, should have been at the forefront of media reports on the USI student protest. ” Redmond was recently quoted by StudentNews. ie saying “November 16th should be a completely peaceful protest. USI and indeed students’ unions across the country will do whatever it takes to ensure that education is protected in the budget.”

Three of the current four MSU sabbatical officers campaigning for their positions last March

New Postgraduate Room Opens in NUI Maynooth

SHAUNA LOUISE KELLY

USI President Gary Redmond

Monday October 17th saw the opening of a new facility for postgraduate students. The common room, or Het Hut as it is known, was set up by the Graduate Studies Office in response to discussion with the Postgraduate Feedback Council. In a statement to The Print, Dean of Graduate Studies Dr Honor Fagan described the Postgraduate Feedback Council as “a forum where representative students from each department come together with the Graduate Studies Office to review the postgraduate experience and identify ways to improve services and supports for postgrads

on campus.” This initiative is unique to NUI Maynooth.

The Het Hut is intended as a study and relaxation space for postgraduate students. Facilities in the building include a kettle, microwave, fridge, and computers. The space is located in a prefab behind Logic House near the handball court. The response to the new facility has been mainly good, with a geography postgraduate student interviewed describing it as “fantastic - the room is really nice and warm and a great place to study.” However, a research student in the Maths department said the room “was a little run down and out of the way, but it is good to have facilities for postgrads on campus.”

However, if you are a student on one of the university’s many Higher Diploma programmes, you will not be able access to the room just yet.

The Graduate Studies Office has assured The Print that this oversight will be amended as soon as possible, hopefully within the next week. Students undertaking Masters and research degrees are currently able to access the Het Hut by swiping their student card at the entrance.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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In their own words: the 2011

The seven men and women looking for to become the next President of Ireland outline in their own words why they feel they deserve your vote on Thursday.

Submissions collected and compiled by Colm Murphy and Kate Acheson of USI. Any errors in spelling or grammar are the candidates’ own.

Presidential Poll Results 25th September

Commissioned by the Sunday Business Post

Davis: 13% Gallagher: 11% Higgins: 18% Norris: 21% McGuinness: 16% Mitchell: 13% Scallon: 6%

6th October

Commissioned by Paddy Power Bookmakers

Davis: 9% (-4) Gallagher: 21% (+10) Higgins: 25% (+7) Norris: 14% (-7) McGuinness: 16% (-) Mitchell: 10% (-3) Scallon: 5% (-1)

16th October

Commissioned by the Sunday Business Post

Davis:

Gallagher: Higgins: Norris: McGuinness: Mitchell: Scallon:

4% (-5) 39% (+18) 27% (+2) 7% (-7) 13% (-3) 8% (-2) 2% (-3)

23rd October

Commissioned by the Sunday Business Post

Davis: Gallagher: Higgins: Norris: McGuinness: Mitchell: Scallon:

2% (-1) 40% (+1) 26% (-1) 10% (+3) 13% (-) 6% (-2) 2% (-)

MARY DAVIS

SEAN GALLAGHER

MICHAEL D. HIGGINS

“I want to be a practical president in the service of the Irish people. All my working life I have been committed to the values of equality, fairness, respect, empowerment and involvement. In 2004, I was appointed to the Council of State, which advises the President on constitutional issues.

The Presidency is more significant now than ever.

People are suffering a crisis of leadership. I have seen firsthand what the Presidency can achieve.

I believe that young people should play a role in the office of the Presidency; I would as President appoint a young person to the Council of State. In addition, I believe that young entrepreneurs should accompany the President on trade missions overseas to give them exposure to new markets, new ideas and new ways of doing business.

Today, the global community is sceptical about Ireland; this has to change. Ireland needs a strong advocate globally because Ireland has a strong story to tell. It has never been more important to ensure that the voice of our country is heard by those of influence, never more important to have as President a person who can bring the real story of Ireland to the wider world. The elements that made us unique still exist: our resilience, talent and innate belief.

With direct responsibility for managing Special Olympics, I have worked with governments and businesses across 58 countries. I have engaged with world leaders. I have sat across the table from EU representatives and negotiated a better future for people with disabilities. Real change can happen.

The Constitution has served the people of Ireland well since 1937; it is inextricably linked to our history and national identity. However, our Constitution, like our laws and institutions, must be subject to scrutiny, transparency and debate.

Our national discourse needs to shift from markets, bonds and banks, back to what is most important: our people.

There are five rights or pillars which I believe should be explicitly expressed in our constitution.

These are: the right to food and water, the right to health care, the right to housing, the right to a minimum level of social assistance and the right to life-long learning, education and training not restricted by age.

I believe the State must progressively realise these pillars within the limits of its resources. The people of Ireland should decide by way of referendum whether such rights should be included in a revised constitution. We must first restore our pride in ourselves before we can regain respect abroad.

I am standing as an independent candidate. I come from a background that is defined not just by my roots in Mayo but by a lifetime of work with local, national and international voluntary organisations, from my time as a teacher in St. Michael’s House in Ballymun to my most recent role as the Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia.

I would encourage you, your friends and families to lend your voice and support to my campaign and to exercise your democratic right by giving me your number 1 vote on 27 October”.

When I meet students as I have done over the past three years as I worked with them to provide advice, mentoring and support, I have been struck by the level of optimism that they share. Yes, students and graduates are fully aware of the high levels of unemployment and the fact that many may emigrate, but I also hear of their real love of Ireland and the hope that if they do leave that they will one day come back.

As President, I want to ensure that students and graduates have all of the options they might hope for; whether that is a job, travel abroad or the opportunity to return home when they chose.

As I see it, the President can play a huge role in inspiring others by highlighting, celebrating and supporting what works in enterprise and entrepreneurship at home. Those who are creating jobs in communities around this country are holding those communities together, ensuring schools and shops stay open and that the local sports club can field a team. Abroad, a President could contribute by leading trade missions to open new markets, attract foreign investment and promote Ireland as a tourist destination. And who better, than someone who understands business and enterprise.

I have faced many challenges in my life, from unemployment to setting up my own business, to coping with limited eyesight. I have had a varied career, in agriculture and farming, youth and community work, public service, enterprise and entrepreneurship. Yet I have always put my strengths to work and in doing so, I feel have succeeded in making a contribution to my community and society. That is my message to students I meet; put your strengths to work, find what you are good at and pursue it.

Everyone has a contribution to make and I hope that a President who puts enterprise at the heart of next term will result in you having all of the options available to follow your dreams.

I was born into humble circumstances in Limerick, and raised in Clare by a family who had paid a huge price following the tumultuous events of the foundation of the state.

It was only after some years spent working in a factory and then in the ESB that I had the opportunity to attend university – the first in my family to do so.

There I found ideas to support a natural instinct for equality and went on to become the President of the Students’ Union.

As a young academic, teaching in Manchester and the University of Indiana before returning to UCG, I strove to ensure that people of a similar background to myself had the opportunity to access education.

I put that into action by traveling to towns and villages across Ireland to provide outreach courses to interested citizens where-ever they might be.

I retain a lifelong commitment to adult education and I continue to be one of our most passionate champions of the power of ideas and in education as a great liberator. I have fought in the Dáil to protect free education, and was a long-time proponent of the Student Support Bill.

“We must accept that participation in education is no longer a luxury but a necessity for one’s full development and participation in society. We must move towards trying to establish as much universal access as we can.”

My interest in education is not confined to higher education. As Labour Party spokesman for many years I campaigned for access, creativity and inclusion in our primary and secondary schools. Since then I have continued to take a passionate interest in education; supporting initiatives such as Educate Together, recognising and listening to the voices and insights of children themselves, challenging homophobic bullying and economic disadvantage and championing initiatives such as access to a musical instrument for every child.

Serving as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht in the 90s, I was responsible for ending censorship on Irish television, investing in new public museums, local arts venues and helped transform the Irish film industry from a 12 million industry into one now worth over €400,000 and employing thousands.

A renowned author, poet and speaker, I have a deep connection and commitment to the Irish language –– which led me to set up TG4 while in office.

Often in the face of lazy or conservative consensus, I have always been at the forefront of campaigns for rights and equality for citizens of all ages, consistently speaking out in support of minorities such as those with disabilities, asylum seekers and the homeless, and in the fight for equal rights for women and the LGBT community. I was amongst the first to campaign for access to contraception or divorce in Ireland. For these causes I have braved harsh political storms and, in earlier years, paid heavy prices. I have conducted humanitarian and peace-building work in many countries across the world, and I am currently honorary Adjunct Professor at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in NUIG. I ask for your vote on October 27th to give voice to my vision for an inclusive and creative society where all have the chance to access the highest levels of education, and to fulfill their creative and innovative potential.

Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Irish Presidential Candidates DAVID NORRIS

MARTIN McGUINNESS

GAY MITCHELL

DANA ROSEMARY SCALLON

Senator David Norris has committed his life to public service, firstly as a lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin, and then in public service after he was first elected to the Senate in 1987.

He has been re-elected in every Senate election since, and topped the poll in the 2011 election. He has spent his life campaigning against injustice and inequality and spent his time serving constituents.

He is now seeking the nomination for the Presidency of Ireland.

David believes successive governments put the interests of the establishment and the preservation of the system above the welfare of the people.

For years he has used his elected position in the Senate to speak out against this act of betrayal and was one of a handful of Senators to vote against the blanket bailout of the banks.

David will put the welfare of the people at the heart of his Presidency. This underpins the three pillars of his campaign, which have been informed by his entire life’s work — mental health and well-being, enterprise and culture.

So, what will make David Norris’s Presidency different?

Each month he will champion one county in Ireland. He will visit that county, meet its representatives and highlight its needs and celebrate its successes. Over the first 26 months of his Presidency David will visit every corner of Ireland to help unify the country.

His Presidency will focus on inclusion, regardless of race, religion, education, class or sexual orientation.

David Norris is the only candidate who has actually used the Constitution to help protect a marginalised minority. He has established businesses that created employment. He has set up counseling services to help people in need. Throughout his political life he has stood in solidarity with the marginalised and protected the human rights of children and adults. None of his opponents can offer what he offers in terms of his track record.

David is not only an independent candidate, but an independent thinker.

The government controls the Dáil, the Senate and most County Councils. By electing David as an independent candidate you will be ensuring that the last lever of power, the Presidency, will remain firmly in the hands of the people.

Remember, a vote for David is not only a vote for democracy, it is also a vote to help change Ireland for the better.

Throughout my involvement in politics, all I ever wanted was to make a contribution – a difference – to empower and unite people. I never sought financial gain or privilege from my involvement in politics and never will. I live in the same community where I was born and raised.

Travelling around the South in recent years I have felt anger at the impact of reckless economic policies pursued by the rich and powerful on ordinary citizens. People are struggling with mortgages, left on hospital corridors and young people are emigrating.

Political leaders must offer something better – hope – a better future for the people of Ireland. I am proud to have served in government alongside unionists. I cherish the relationship I developed with Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson. That relationship symbolises my philosophy that nothing is impossible and no problem is unsolvable. Ireland needs the same approach now: Irish people, here and abroad, all working together to see our nation succeed, to see it united, to see it rebuilt. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising it is timely that we have a President who believes that managing our own affairs is the right of the Irish people, not the IMF or EU. My committment to you: Making peace – I will use the Presidency as a platform to continue building the peace process and bring about national reconciliation.

International experience – I have met three US Presidents, numerous British Prime Ministers and was invited to South Africa by Nelson Mandela. I have been to Iraq, the Basque country and Sri Lanka to help in the search for peace.

People’s President - I will be a voice for the people.

Citizens contributing to their communities are essential for a healthy society. I will make Aras an Uachtarán a welcoming place for all sections of Irish society.

Leadership – If elected I will only take the average wage. This is something I have been committed to throughout my political life. I will bring the same energy, dedication, determination I brought to the peace process to the office of President.

Tá m’fheachtas oscailte do chách. Is feachtas bunleathan a bheidh ann bunaithe ar na prionsabail mhóra phoblachtacha agus dhaonlathacha a thugann buntaca do náisiún na hÉireann.

During this campaign I will seek to reach every parish in this land and talk to people up and down the country. I want you to join me on this journey.

I will be a people’s President – a President for a new republic in a new time.

I believe in Ireland’s future – in part, because I understand our past. We face hard times, but we come from strong stock.

I don’t appeal to any one class – I seek to appeals to those who are striving to cope; those in factories, farms, offices and shops who keep the country going.

As President, I will put the welfare of our people at the heart of the Presidency by continuing much of the practice of President McAleese, quietly working to make our country a better place.

Today we need to revive not only our economy, but also the core qualities that built our country. I want to help ensure that we drive our recovery with a sense of enterprise and social justice.

I also believe that we can build our future through our actions abroad. As a TD for 26 years and a Member of the European Parliament for the past seven, I have experience making connections around the world and being a voice to promote Ireland, our business interests, and our reputation overseas.

Since my nomination by the Fine Gael Party, I have travelled the length and breadth of the country talking to people about what they want from the Presidency.

By mid-September I had covered 16,000 kilometres, visited 111 Irish towns and cities and spent time in 43 electoral constituencies. I have spoken with and listened to people across the length of the country. For me, it has been an informative and invigorating experience, Over the course of the next five or six weeks the Irish people will make up their minds on who they wish to represent them as Uachtarán na hÉireann.

It’s vital that over the coming weeks the candidates engage in a thorough debate about the Presidency and about where Ireland sees itself at this crucial juncture in our history.

I understand our past, I believe in Ireland’s future, and if you give me your vote on October 27th, I pledge to work here and abroad to renew both our economy and our country’s spirit.

Ireland needs a President it can trust more than ever now. We are faced with constitutional crisis and fiscal crisis.

Under my Presidency there will be no loss of sovereignty. Ireland’s Constitution and the right of self- determination is safe in my hands.

The people of Ireland have the right to the ownership of Ireland and the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be Sovereign and indefeasible, otherwise our nations struggle for independence was in vain.

There will be no foreign landlords, especially bondholders and banks, I would prefer to burn the bondholders than the families of Ireland.

We need an Independent President with no political ties or boardroom or business favours to repay, a President who cannot be bought who listens to the people and represents everyone and can rebuild trust between the people and the institutions that have failed them. I will be that President.

I have lived in both the North and South and will continue the peace process, like outgoing President McAleese. My presidency will seek to bring home people’s children who have been forced to emigrate.

I feel the pain brought by emigration, my eldest daughter; her husband and my new grandchild recentlyhad to leave our country only a month ago to seek employment, as did my younger son last year. I have always been an Ambassador.

If elected President I will bring the experience and recognition of representing Ireland as a businesswoman and entertainer for the past forty years; As MEP in the European Parliament engaging with heads of Governments, heads of States and with Presidents; Associating with international leaders of Faiths and with leaders of business. I will bring this experience to the role of Presidency.

Written on behalf of David Norris.

Maynooth Students’ Union actively encourages all of its eligible members to vote this Thursday the 27th of October. This is your country and you are its future. Have your voice heard.

Áras an Uachtaráin, the home of the Irish President

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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A Brief History of Student Marches CONOR BOOTH

Students have always been well known for fighting for what they believe in. This can be seen throughout history and was highlighted recently in Ireland when the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), mobilized an estimated forty thousand students last year to march on Dublin in opposition to a proposed increase in university registration fees, further cuts to the student maintenance grant and increasing graduate unemployment and emigration levels caused by the government of the time led by Brian Cowen. This protest was a successful demonstration of students power in numbers and will certainly be used as an example for further protests.

However, student activism is an international activity. Activism has always been incredibly strong in the United States. Student Activism in the U.S dates to the beginning of public education but became truly prominent in the 1960’s backed by the National Student Association which was founded in 1946. Student activism in the States has often focused on educational issues but mainly focused on Civil rights in the sixties which was highlighted by the Student Non-violent coordinating committee which organized sit-ins and protests to fight for racial equality and for an end to segregation in public schools across the U.S.. A large amount of protests ensued in the sixties against the Vietnam war with protests and sit-ins nationwide. During this time, students played on a national stage when President Lyndon Johnson decided not to seek re-election which was partly due to the student demonstrations against the Vietnam war. Sixties protesting highlighted the role students played in changing American society with changes in attitudes towards social norms, reproductive rights and homosexuality to name a few. It wasn’t just the sixties which demonstrated student activism. The seventies also saw a lot of protesting. In may and

June of 1970, the U.S experienced its largest student strike in the nations history in response to the Kent State shootings which saw four students shot by the National guard in response to protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia. The student strike of 1970 saw more than four million students participate in both violent and non-violent protests across the nation. Today in the U.S, student activism is very much alive with protests against sweatshops and campaigns against higher tuition fees and it is clear that American students fight for their beliefs!

In the United Kingdom, student activism has been active since the 1880s when many socialist societies were formed in UK universities when a communist Brian Simon became the head of the National Union of Students. The sixties in the U.K were similar to America in that student activism came to prominence when the first student protests were held against the Vietnam war in 1962. Many anti-racism protests also occurred frequently in the sixties. Most recently, under Prime minister David Cameron’s government were the student protests of 2010.Students protested against the government’s proposal of spending cuts to further education and an increase to tuition fees. The first major demonstration which occurred on November 10th saw up to 52,000 students descend on central London. Further protests were held and on one occasion Prince Charles and his wife Camilla’s car was attacked and a student named Alfie Meadows suffered bleeding to the brain after allegedly being attacked by a Police truncheon.

Using these three examples of student empowerment and the pursuit of improvements in the education sector it is clear to any government that students are not to be reckoned with and with the upcoming marches planned in Dublin, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn will soon be very aware of Student activism and the effect we can have as students when we come together to fight for what we believe in!

Students marching on the 3rd November 2010

Maynooth Clubs & Societies Capitation NAOISE Ó CEARÚIL

MSU Vice President for Clubs, Societies & Union Development Clubs and Societies rely on capitation to operate throughout the academic term. This year a total of €228,740 has been allocated to clubs and societies.

Nearly all clubs and societies received the similar capitation as last year with many receiving an increase due to their growing activity. For the first time ever capitation has also been awarded to newly recognised societies to ensure that they can operate efficiently for the year.

If you joined a club or society on Fairs Day and feel that they aren’t doing enough to justify the capitation they recieved, let the club, society or myself know about it.

All of the figures in relation to capitation can be seen in the chart to the right.

If you have any queries in relation to clubs or societies please e-mail vpcsud@nuimsu.com.

Amnesty International: 1,400 Anthroplogy: 800 Astro 2: 1,390 Biology: 4,200 Cards: 2,200 Christian Union: 1,700 Classics: 300 Comedy:

0 Composers:

0 Cuallacht Cholmcille: 2,000 Dance: 5,000 Drama: 8,000 Bizz: 500 Fianna Fail: 600 French: 1,400 Games: 1,500 LGBTQ: 3,000 Gospel Choir: 2,000 JPII Theological: 900 Juggling: 1,400 Law: 1,000 Labour Youth: 300 Literary & Debating: 3,000 Maths 300 Mature Students: 1,500 Media: 3,000 MiNDS: 400

Music: 9,200 Omega: 2,100 PlayDo: 2,500 Pro-Life: 800 Samba: 1,300 St. Vincent de Paul: 500 Trad Music: 200 Tea: 300 Style: 1,500 Yoga: 2,800 Young Fine Gael: 1,000 Young Greens: 100

Aikudo: 3,000 Archery: 2,200 Athletics: 1,000 Badminton: 2,600 Basketball: 11,000 Camogie: 11,000 Equestrian: 2,600 Fencing: 4,500 Gaeilic Football (Ladies): 10,500 Gaeilic Football (Mens): 13,500 Golf: 6,000 Hockey: 2,000 Hurling: 11,600 Kickboxing: 3,200

MUCK:

Rovers:

Rugby:

Self Defense: Ski: Snooker / Billiards: Soccer (Ladies): Soccer (Mens):

Swimming:

Table Tennis: Trampolining: Ultimate Frisbee: Volleyball:

Waterpolo: Surf: Veggie: Film Making: Sinn Fein: Mundo Latino: Mental Health: AIESEC: Life Saving: American Football:

12,600 5,000 15,000 2,000 300 3,000 7,000 12,000 4,000 400 4,200 2,000 1,800 3,000 2,000

500 100 400 400 750 500 1,000 600

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Phoenix Jones and the Rain Superheroes

PARAIC KERRIGAN Super heroes are beginning to make the transition from the comic book to reality, as the real life super hero movement in the U.S. continues to gain momentum. Vigilante justice has not been an uncommon occurrence in the country, but it has certainly gained more attention, particularly recently with the unmasking of Phoenix Jones, from Seattle, Washington State. Armed with a skin-tight black-and-gold belted costume, a cape and a fedora, Phoenix Jones wears his cape at night and fights crime on the streets of Seattle. He’s the leader of a real-life superhero movement. Jones himself has said: “I’m definitely not going to let my fellow citizens be assaulted and not do anything”.

He leads the gang known as the Rain Super Heroes and his colleagues go under the respective aliases of Red Dragon and Buster Doe, and can be seen walking around the city’s Capitol Hill at night. Jones describes his crime fighting and taking the law into his own hands as being inspired from him breaking up fights in bars. He went on to keep doing so until

people started to recognise him and it wasn’t till then that he decided to take the guise of a costume.

Jones has even gone on to adapt his car and costume to protect him, carrying around a taser and a grappling hook and even having emails sent to his superhero account online.

All this may be well and good, but Seattle police fear that the Rain super heroes may turn into vigilantes and consequently add to the levels of crime in the city. They also feel that they have not noticeably stopped any crime at all. Some members of the force even think that their actions might be counter-productive, with Detective Mark Jamieson saying: “Our concern is if it goes badly, then we end up getting called anyway, and we may have additional victims”. Acting as a superhero, he went on to say, is a big risk as people may become confused and frustrated over the use of costumes.

Jones describes that it is the apathy of people that also acted as a factor in encouraging him to his crime fighting ways. On one occasion a man broke into his car and smashed his window, cutting his son and causing them to make a trip the emergency room. Afterwards, it came to Jones’ knowledge that there were witnesses to the incident but nobody did anything or made any attempt to speak. Is it really the apathy of people that has spurred on this wave of crime-fighting? Maybe these people are unsatisfied with the way that the law is enforced in their locality, perhaps they’re just doing it for the media attention or maybe they genuinely just want to make the world a better place for their families.

Either way, it cannot be denied that Seattle’s vigilante movement is a significant one. To what effect, it remains to be seen.

Masked vigilante Phoenix Jones

The dawn of the Male Contraceptive Pill LYNDSEY FARRELL That awkward moment when your guy turns to you and says, “It’s ok, I’m on the pill!” Well thanks to nearly half a century of scientific research, this could soon happen to you, ladies!

The world was introduced to the first contraceptive pill in the 1960s, helping women to prevent unwanted pregnancies across the globe.

Since then a wide variety of birth control methods have been available for women, including patches, implants and injections. However, for the last fifty years men have been very restricted with their choices of contraception. They have been stuck with only three choices: condoms, a vasectomy and good old-fashioned abstinence. That is, of course, until now.

After forty years of research and experimentation, scientists have finally cracked the code on male contraception such as gels, injections, and, most controversially, the male birth control pill. Many would argue that this pill should have been on the market years ago, but let’s face it, stopping one egg a month is a lot easier than stopping up to 500 million sperm a day!

So how does it work? The female birth control pill contains a combination of different hormones that prevent the egg from being released. The male

A male contraceptive pill? contraceptive pill, street-named “the man-pill”, works in pretty much the same way. Synthetic testosterone in the pill stops the production of natural testosterone in the body, which is needed to create new sperm. This synthetic testosterone works as a replacement to stop the creation of sperm, and also to keep testosterone levels high in the body, reducing side effects such as low sex drive in the male. Another chemical found in the “man-pill” is a female hormone called progestogens, which is used to help control the testosterone in the body.

The male birth control pill is completely reversible and, if all goes well with funding, should

be on the market within the next six years. This is a huge step for men and women all over the world. Women will finally feel a sense of shared responsibility when it comes to preventing unwanted pregnancies. But will men actually be willing to go on the pill? I ran around campus to find out!

I interviewed both men and women around campus, some single and some in relationships.

Single girls didn’t seem to mind if men were on the pill or not, as they felt as though condoms were still more important for the prevention of STI’s (stay safe people!) Girls in relationships liked the idea

of the shared responsibility, yet didn’t see a point in stressing the idea with their partners too much; for the simple fact that they couldn’t trust their boyfriends to remember to take the pill regularly!

Surely men have more faith themselves? Afraid not.

While a handful of men in relationships support the concept, most single men and men in relationships agreed that they wouldn’t trust themselves to remember to take it, some even admitting that they were too lazy! After my mini investigation, I feel as though one can’t help but wonder if nearly half a century of research will go unnoticed by the majority of men.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Staying Safe this Hallowe’en Season FIACH O’NEILL

MSU Vice President for Welfare & Equality The Vice President for Welfare and Equality, in conjunction with Maynooth Students’ Union, wants to remind students and members of the community about Halloween safety. These safety tips are important to practice at all times, but perhaps come into focus more sharply when incidents occur within the community.

Take a few minutes to think about personal safety when celebrating this Halloween week: + Report suspicious or criminal activity immediately by calling Campus Security or the Gardai. + Stay in an environment where you can easily get help or move away from someone who is threatening your safety. Be aware of your surroundings. + If you go to a costume party, go with a group of friends you know and trust. + Always carry a photo ID and make sure your friends carry identification and phone numbers with them in case of emergency.

Make sure to be careful when crafting pumpkins! is threatening your safety. Be aware of your surroundings. + If you are intoxicated, your impaired judgment places you at a much greater risk for injury, unwanted sexual contact, or a brush with the gardai. Set a drink limit for yourself and stick to it.

(Or plan not to drink alcohol at all.)

+ Keep candle-lit jack-o’-lanterns and luminaries away from doorsteps, walkways, landings, and curtains. Place them on sturdy tables, keep them out of the reach of pets and small children, and never leave them unattended.

+ Know that alcohol concentrations in beverages are not strong enough to kill the flu virus. Students at other universities have contracted H1N1 apparently from playing drinking games.

+ Remind drivers to watch out for trick-or-treaters and to drive safely.

+ Leave your lights on even if you don’t plan on being in your room.

While this is an exciting time of year, sometimes taking days or weeks to prepare for, there are +Speaking of driving, be especially aware of those nonetheless risks involved when going out at young trick-or-treaters scampering about. They are night. Being aware of possible risks is often the excited about the costumes and sweets, and thinking first step in staying safe, especially when in a new about things other than those big heavy machines environment for first years! traveling down their streets.

Just because you are not a child anymore, doesn’t mean safety is not an issue on Halloween. + Keep in mind that the weather is changing and it In fact, adult behaviors and activities carry their is getting darker earlier. own risks and responsibilities. + Don’t let your guard down. Don’t assume people you’ve just met will look out for your best interests.

Watch out for your friends. If a friend seems out of it, is way too intoxicated for the amount of alcohol they’ve had, or is acting out of character, get him or her to a safety place immediately. + Some people who want to cause harm may take advantage of being unrecognizable in a Halloween costume. Stay in an environment where you can easily get help or move away from someone who

+ Be sure walking areas and stairs are well-lit and free of obstacles that could result in falls.

+ If you accept a beverage from someone, make sure that you know the individual, you have observed the drink being prepared, and you never leave it unattended. Exercise caution in any public setting with any beverage.

+ Make a plan to get home safely. If you do not + Consider your costume and avoid wearing one have a sober driver, use the nightlink dublin buses that inhibits your ability to see and move freely. Use or local taxi services. special caution when crossing the street and be sure motorists see you before you cross. + If you are hosting a party, think about how free-flowing alcohol and clumsy costumes may + When you are out with your friends, arrive impact your guests’ ability to navigate the room together, check in with each other throughout the and interact with one another. Make sure you night, and leave together. Form a buddy system so have basic first aid supplies handy and emergency that no one wanders off alone and agree on a secret phone numbers available. Keep fragile and “signal” for uncomfortable situations… valuable items out of reach. Be aware of food safety: keep foods hot or cold as necessary and + Never leave an intoxicated friend alone, and do don’t let people eat the dry ice in the punch (not a not hesitate to call emergency services if medical good thing). attention is needed. + Motorists should remain cautious and drive slowly. Party-goers should have a designated driver, or use a local taxi service.

as low-calorie treats and drinks. For party guests, offer a variety of fruits, vegetables, and cheeses. + Use party games and trick-or-treat time as an opportunity for everyone to get their daily dose of 60 minutes of physical activity.

Halloween as a child is fun. Kids trick or treated in groups door to door in familiar neighborhoods.

They attended supervised parties.

Halloween at college is a different.

Expecting trick-or-treaters or party guests? + Provide healthier treats for trick-or-treaters such

Pumpkin Carving Dangers Use caution during the Halloween season, and take steps to prevent hand injuries when carving.

“Every Halloween season we see four or five patients—both adults and children—who come into our office with severe injuries to their hands and fingers, treatment can often run three to four months from the time of surgery through rehabilitation.”

To prevent hand injuries, we suggest the following safety tips: + Carve at a Clean, Dry, Well-lit Area + Wash and thoroughly dry all of the tools that you will use to carve the pumpkin: carving tools, knife, cutting surface, and your hands. Any moisture on your tools, hands, or table can cause slipping that can lead to injuries. + Never let children do the carving. Let kids draw a pattern on the pumpkin and have them be responsible for cleaning out the inside pulp and seeds. When the adults do start cutting, they should always cut away from themselves and cut in small, controlled strokes. + A sharper knife is not necessarily better because it often becomes wedged in the thicker part of the pumpkin, requiring force to remove it, an injury can occur if your hand is in the wrong place when the knife finally dislodges from the thick skin of the pumpkin. Injuries are also sustained when the knife slips and comes out the other side of the pumpkin where your hand may be holding it steady. + Special pumpkin carving kits are available in shops and include small serrated pumpkin saws that work better because they are less likely to get stuck in the thick pumpkin tissue. If they do get

jammed and then wedged free, they are not sharp enough to cause a deep, penetrating cut. + Should you cut your finger or hand, bleeding from minor cuts will often stop on their own by applying direct pressure to the wound with a clean cloth. If continuous pressure does not slow or stop the bleeding after 15 minutes, an emergency room visit may be required.

Parents with Children: + Ideally, an adult should accompany young children on Halloween. If your children go out on their own, be sure they wear a watch and carry a torch and mobile phone. They should know when to be home and where to reach you in case of emergency. + Plan costumes that are bright and reflective.

Make sure that shoes fit well, masks are big enough to see clearly and capes are short enough to prevent tripping or entanglement. + Although tampering is rare, tell children to bring the candy home to be inspected before consuming anything. Look at the wrapping carefully and toss out anything that looks paranormal. + If Trick-or-Treating with a group of friends, your children should be aware of strangers. They should never enter a stranger’s home, no matter how nice the people seem. They should use the footpaths and not cross lawns because you never know who may be lurking in a bush. + Authorities should be notified immediately of any suspicious or unlawful activity under the full moon. + Avoid any haunted houses that could be dangerous. Only go to houses with a porch light on and never enter a house or car for a treat.

Fiach is Maynooth SU’s Vice President for Welfare & Equality, elected to deal with all issues related to the well-being of students, including mental health.

You can contact Fiach via the phone number and e-mail address below.

You can also add him on Facebook to stay up-to-date will all welfare-related news.

01 - 708 6070 welfare@nuimsu.com Facebook.com/MaynoothSUWelfare

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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The Resurrection of The Stone Roses ALLY KERR Legendary indie-rock band the Stone Roses formed in Manchester in 1984, supposedly named after a novel by Sarah Gainham. They scored many hits with singles such as Fools Gold, I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs The Drums and Love Spreads (their biggest single, reaching #2 in 1994 in the UK Rock Chart). The band were at the forefront of the “Madchester” indie scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which also spawned the likes of Happy Mondays and The Charlatans. In the year that their self-titled debut album came out they topped NME magazine’s readers’ poll in four categories - best new band, band of the year, album of the year and single of the year.

Unfortunately, in 1996 the Stone Roses split up after legal wrangles with their original record label and many internal squabbles. The band’s split was very much a travesty and they left a huge legacy behind them. Fortunately, the band members could never bring themselves to hate each other as much as they would have prefered. After several rumours circulating over the past few months, the Stone Roses officially confirmed their reunion at a press conference in Soho Hotel, London on Tuesday Oct 18th.

The original line-up of the band were all present for Tuesday’s announcement (vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield, and drummer Alan “Reni” Wren.)

Brown formally announced that the band were to reunite fifteen years after their last performance and commented that his friendship with John Squire had been repaired. The group also hope to release a new album soon.

The reunited Stone Roses The band said the death of Mani’s mother earlier this year was the catalyst that brought them back together, even though the bassist denied any reunion rumours that surfaced shortly after the funeral. Happy Mondays’ vocalist Shaun Ryder also hinted over the weekend that Brown may have been motivated to reunite with the band after the recent split from his wife - Mexican model, Fabiola Quiroz. The band admitted that they each had personal reasons for the reunion. Brown criticised the current music scene, saying it was “boring, bland and corporate with nobody saying anything” and that people “needed uplifting in times like this”. Asked at the press conference how long the

reunion would last, Mani said it was a “suck it and see thing”, while Reni said he “would be happy with 12 months”.

The band and their huge fanbase are ecstatic about the reunion. Mani added at the conference that he had been allowed to leave his current band, Primal Scream, in order to “follow his dream”.

The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess and Elbow’s Guy Garvey have both been overheard talking about the news, claiming that the original Stone Roses line-up had been rehearsing together over the summer in Manchester. New Order’s Peter Hook also knew well in advance about the reunion: “Because the band had such a short life, there was always this wish

that they would reform - because they burned quite brightly and disappeared,” he said. “We’re all ready to celebrate the Stone Roses coming back because we all want to celebrate that wonderful, golden period in Manchester history.”

The band announced the news after some speculation that they will play two gigs in Heaton Park, Manchester on June 29th and 30th 2012.

A world tour will follow and they also promised to play new material. It has also been heavily rumoured that the band will play two Irish shows: Slane Castle on Friday the 13th of July and the Botanical Gardens in Belfast on Saturday the 14th of July.

Bert Jansch and Other Unsung Tragedies in Pop Culture

DYLAN COLLEY On the 5th of October 2011, the music industry witnessed the loss of a person to whom it owes a great deal. Someone without whom the way many of us listen to music would be immeasurably different today, though most wouldn’t even think it. After all, such iconic musicians as Johnny Marr, Paul Simon and Neil Young cite Bert Jansch as a major influence to their work. Our own Lisa Hannigan even performs a cover of Jansch’s ‘Courting Blues’. In a career spanning 46 years, during which he obtained two BBC Radio 2 Folk Lifetime Achievement Awards (in 2001 for his solo career and in 2007 for work with folk band Pentangle), Jansch has left behind quite a legacy with a hugely influential

back-catalogue. Even though the music industry saw this loss, many of the fans did not. In the week after his death, a Google search of his name yielded no news results whatsoever. On mentioning his passing in conversation, fans without fail responded with complete surprise and sadness. From a search through websites such as www.dead-celebs.com and other celebrity obituary websites, I found that there was nothing to find on Jansch’s death on any of them.

While on the sites, I decided to peruse the lists further only to find more saddening omissions.

One of which was Poly Styrene, lead singer of the punk band X-Ray Spex. Another battle with cancer, the punk-pioneer died at the age of 53, unnoticed to many pop culture subscribers. X-Ray Spex were known for their outlandish, colourful style not conforming to the stereotype of punk that had already developed by their 1978 debut album Germfree Adolescents. Poly was one of the forerunners of the idea that punk is about personal identity, not safety pins and raggy clothes. X-Ray Spex were also unique in their concern for the environment, unusal for the late 70’s, particularly with the single The Day the World Turned Day-Glo. Just like Poly, there have been many tragedies in the last year gone largely unheard of. For myself, the most tragic came December 2010: the

Bert Jansch in his youth loss of Don Van Vliet; better known as Captain Beefheart, pioneer of avant-garde psychedelia.

But possibly most shockingly obscured, in August just gone, Jerry Leiber died of a heart-attack. Just before Facebook was littered with memorials to Amy Winehouse, the writer of some of the most recognisable pop hits in history, such as Hound Dog

and Stand By Me, wasn’t even the top trending topic on Twitter the day he died.

After a long battle with cancer, Scottish folk singer and guitarist Bert Jansch died at the age of 67, the same day as Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Both tragic losses to the industry.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Tears from the last Smashing Pumpkin DEAN HEALY Sometimes in music history certain bands just won’t die, even when by right they really, really should. The Smashing Pumpkins are one of these bands. Groups have always had internal disputes, members often come and go, and musical directions evolve, or sometimes devolve, as a project gets further explored. This band is now down to just one of its founding members; lead singer Billy Corgan.

The Chicago native has discarded all of his original band mates, and has been totally vilified for it. His response has always been to recruit new musicians, write more songs and tour as much as possible to rebuild the increasingly shrinking franchise (for those keeping count, this line up incorporates arguably the fifth major incarnation of the band).

So why exactly is this alternative train still chugging along? Let us dissect.

Following in the successful mainstream footsteps of grunge and alternative acts such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins exploded in the early nineties alternative rock genre bringing hits such as “I Am One”, “Today”, “Tonight, Tonight”, “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” and “Zero” to the forefront of public consciousness. First album Gish was clearly the eye opener, but the most successful of their albums came with the subsequent releases of Siamese Dream and the double disk triumph that was Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Mellon Collie stemmed from over a hundred recorded tracks and took months to narrow down to the twenty-eight final songs, and when it was released the record went on to be astonishingly certified nine times platinum in the US. The album is categorically considered as one of the defining albums of the

1990’s.

But then it all went wrong. The band began to fall apart due to creative disputes towards their new electronic sound. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin suffered a heroin overdose. Public popularity began to wane and after a string of unsuccessful album releases including Adore, Machina/The Machines of God and the rejection by their record label of Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music the band finally met its end in 2000. A second chance was then offered in 2005 with Corgan trying to reform the band and only successfully convincing drummer Chamberlin to return. This resulted in two new recruits and the hard-hitting seventh album Zeitgeist. The work was received as a polarizing effort with Corgan later admitting “I know a lot of our fans are puzzled

by Zeitgeist. I think they wanted this massive, grandiose work, but you don’t just roll out of bed after seven years without a functioning band and go back to doing that”. Chamberlin has since left. But Billy Corgan still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

In December 2009 a free MP3 download of “A Song for a Son” was made available via smashingpumpkins.com with the promise of many more to come. Corgan had decided to release an album for free via the internet, that is to say a forty-four track album which was to be released through their website as it was recorded over a three year period. The album was entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and was the grandiose project that he felt loyal Smashing Pumpkins fans deserved for the commitment that they have shown through all the turbulent years. The project was to be released in the format of eleven four track EPs and so far ten tracks have surfaced through the medium before a slight tweaking of the system was announced.

Tracks eleven to twenty-two are now due for release through a new album entitled Oceania that is out later this year. The “album within an album” system is set to target casual listeners who have yet to gain access to the over arching Teargarden project. Are you all keeping up? I hope so.

To further complicate the whole scheme, The Smashing Pumpkins have recently announced that they are re-releasing and re-mastering their entire back catalogue with each album having an accompanying disc of previously unreleased

The last original Smashing Pumpkin, Billy Corgan B-side material. Every song they have recorded is to be revisited and this includes the previously rejected Machina II album that has never been released on CD before in its final completed format.

These albums shall slowly appear again on shelves over the next three years. There has also been a subscription service announced in the form of Smashing Pumpkins Record Club, a free download

service where you can gain free access to previously unreleased songs and alternative takes of tracks that shall not be making it onto the album re-releases.

It is certainly an interesting time to be a Smashing Pumpkins fan. The Gish and Siamese Dream rereleases are out November 29th with new album Oceania due to follow in December.

Return of the Great Cornholio! And Butt-head

ALLY KERR

The ‘90s was an era that spouted many unforgettable comical duos: Dumb and Dumber, Kennan & Kel, and Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar from Wayne’s World. Probably the most memorable of all has to be the legendary Beavis and Butt-head. And now, after spending nearly fourteen years off the air, Beavis and Butt-head have returned to our TV screens.

Beavis and Butthead debuted on MTV in 1993 during a golden era for rock music. The crudelydrawn cartoon was a staple of MTV’s ‘90s line-up and was even made into a feature film - Beavis and Butt-head Do America. Creator Mike Judge, whose other works include King of the Hill and Office Space, voiced most of the characters on the show, including both main characters. The characters made their debut in a short called “Frog Baseball” as part of an old MTV animation show called “Liquid Television.” The popularity of the short led to the development of the half-hour show. The original run of the show produced two hundred episodes, ending in 1997. In addition to their misadventures in a fictional town in Texas, the show also featured the two mentally-challenged

teenagers sitting in front of the TV, making a commentary on music videos (back in the day when MTV used to actually show music videos).

They ripped on some of the most inspirational rock bands (such as Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Faith No More) to the most obscure grunge and metal acts that haven’t been seen or heard since.

Judge said he stopped working on Beavis and Butt-head in 1997 because he “was getting a little burnt out.” The show enjoyed many reruns on MTV and had a successful spin-off series - Daria which was broadcasted on MTV from 1997 to 2002. However, after the cancellation of King of the Hill, Judge decided to take the offer from MTV to revive Beavis and Butthead. The new episodes will follow a similar formula but the mockery gets extended to viral videos, clips from Youtube, movies and television shows.

The new series will be both nostalgic and topical for fans. For example, the witless teenagers try to pick up Twlight-fan girls by getting bitten by a homeless guy they think is a werewolf. In addition to critiquing new music videos (yes, I can guarantee they will be ripping the piss out of Justin Bieber) the guys will also provide a social commentary to MTV shows such as Jersey Shore and Teen Mom. Although Beavis and Butt-head

Butt-head standing on Beavis in a new piece of animation

will act the same as they did in the ‘90s, they will look a bit different. The animation is more advanced this time and the characters won’t look as “wobbly” anymore. “Back in the day it was all shot on film and ink, and now it’s painted digitally – although it’s all drawn by hand. It’s just scanned in. So it gives it a different look. I actually think it looks pretty sharp. They still look the crappy way

they did, but now it’s just kind of beefed up – kind of like the movie was,” explains Judge. There will be a return of old characters too such as their neighbour Tom Anderson and their hippy, highschool teacher Mr. Van Driessen.

Beavis and Butt-head returns to MTV with brand new episodes starting on Oct. 27. Here’s hoping that someday they’ll bring back Daria too!

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“I know a place off the Red Light District”: Grand Theft Auto 3’s 10th Anniversity

RORY McCORMACK “I know a place off the Red Light District.”

With these words, Rockstar Games ushered in a new era of gaming, revolutionising the industry with the release of Grand Theft Auto III, a game which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.

To mark the occasion, Rockstar have developed ports of the title for a number of iOS and Android devices, due this winter.

The series began in the 90s as a violent shootingdriving hybrid from a top-down perspective, but it garnered only a cult following and little media attention. In 2001, when it moved into the next generation on the Playstation 2, gamers all over the world were taken by surprise, thanks to its outstanding 3D graphics and the open-world setting (a ‘sandbox’ game). Though anticipation for the release was fairly muted, it finished the year as the highest-selling game in the United States, despite only coming out in late October.

Set in Liberty City, a thinly-veiled pastiche of New York, the plot follows Claude, a mute smalltime criminal betrayed by his girlfriend and left for dead during a bank heist. Having escaped en route to prison, Claude is set up with both a small apartment in the industrial borough of Liberty City and a position working for the Leones, Liberty’s dominant mafia family. As the story progresses, the action moves to the Manhattanesque Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale, a suburban development reminiscent of the setting of The Sopranos.

Speaking of which, the developers included a seemingly endless amount of pop culture references, from the shootout on an airport runway (Heat) to the billboard advertising a film called Badfellas, not to mention the Leone Empire bearing a striking resemblance to that of one Vito Corleone. One of the in-car radio stations is simply the soundtrack to Scarface, a film Rockstar would effectively remake with Vice City, 2002’s sequel to GTA III.

Grand Theft Auto caused a storm of controversy upon its release, earning an ‘18’ rating from the BBFC and the release of a censored version in Australia. As you might expect from a game revolving around organised crime, the gameplay was very violent for the time, featuring a dozen or so weapons to get you through the missions, along with the ability to fit cars with a bomb. Coming hot on the heels of the 9/11 attacks meant the release was subject to much media scrutiny, sparking a moral panic among lazy parents the world over.

These anti-Rockstar campaigns were flawed, denying Rockstar Games the right to such artistic freedom as is allowed to film directors responsible for work far more realistic and violent than Grand Theft Auto. These controversies would continue to hound Rockstar with each subsequent GTA game, such as the ‘Hot Coffee’ debacle of GTA: San Andreas (Google it). Ultimately, the publicity would benefit the series, with it now standing as the fifthhighest selling gaming franchise of all time.

The real game-changer, however, was the freedom given to the player. You could boot up the game, watch the opening cinematic, and play for hours without engaging in the storyline. Many have disputed the claim that it was the first open-world game by saying that titles such as Elite and The Legend of Zelda brought the genre to the public long before Rockstar did, but these games simply did not offer the choice and variety found in GTA III. For example, one could do a job for the Luigi, the local brothel owner, or they could steal a police car and hunt down criminals, or compete in supercar races through the busy streets and so on. The influence of the game can be seen in the success of modern open-world games like the Assassin’s Creed series and the recent Batman: Arkham City. These games recognise the player’s desire for choice and variety within their gaming experience and GTA III was truly the first to integrate such disparate genres as shooting, driving and adventure, combining them under the umbrella of a compelling and terrifically scripted plot.

The atmosphere of the game is top-notch even today, presenting the player with a living, breathing metropolis, but isolating the player character from any kind of interaction with the citizenry other than car theft and senseless murder. Intentional or not, this leaves a cloud of melancholia hanging over Liberty City, fuelled by the menacing weather effects, often going from sunshine, to light drizzle, to a raging thunderstorm within minutes. It will be interesting to see how the software holds up on

GTA 3 10th anniversary updated artwork devices such as the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy SII when it is released in the next few weeks.

Whether or not the gameplay will be updated remains to be seen, but at least now those of us

craving a stormy, moonlit drive through Liberty will no longer have to fish for cables in the back of the wardrobe.

UCC appears in How I Met Your Mother

KEITH BRONI Editor-In-Chief

Fans of the hit American sitcom How I Met Your Mother studying in University College Cork were given a treat on the 10th of October. Their campus’ famed quadrangle was shown for several milliseconds during a scene within the sitcom’s 141st episode, ‘Field Trip’.

During the episode, the leading male Ted Mosbey (played by Josh Radnor) is taking his college class on a field trip to the construction site of a building he designed in hopes of inspiring at least one student to become an architect. After failing to gain access to the construction site, Ted ends up desperately leading his class through various locations in New York City, including the office of

one of the other lead characters, Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). When introduced to the class, Barney, a serial womaniser, decides to give a presentation to the class on the joys of college promiscuity.

“College, it’s a confusing time” he begins, dimming the lights to an expectant audience and narrating a slideshow which begins with the split second shot of a picture of UCC’s quad before moving on to the next picture.

Despite the relatively brief and insignificant nature of UCC’s appearance, Cork students expressed delight at their campus being featured; a status on the UCC Student Union’s official Facebook page garnered over 130 ‘likes’.

How I Met Your Mother first premiered in 2005 and is currently within its seventh season.

A screen capture of UCC’s apperance in How I Met Your Mother

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Life been good to Professor Green?

SHANE KIERNAN Since coming to prominence in mid-2010, Professor Green (real name Stephen Manderson) has made quite a good reputation for himself.

Having been active in the music scene since 2006, at just age twenty-three he released his first mixtape, Lecture #1, which was then followed by the self-produced EP, The Green EP. Having “fallen into rapping accidentally”, Green has become well-known for his free-styling and his naturally flowing method of rapping. With his first album having been released in July 2010, Alive Till I’m Dead charted well and received all-around positive reviews, with critics equating his debut to Eminem’s The Slim Shady LP. With Green’s early life in East London having a big effect on his lifestyle, having been a small-time drug dealer, hence the green in his name, he was also well-known for being highly intelligent, hence the professor aspect. Although he was raised by his grandmother, Green seems to not root his upbringing to his music, unlike other rappers on the scene today. His energetic and original sound was a breath of fresh air into the urban charts, which was then overrun by N-Dubz and Tinchy Stryder. Yet, there is one question to ask, where has he been for the last year?

With a new album due out at the end of this month, Green is looking to fly back into the charts with his latest, At Your Inconvenience. The

sophomore album has had two singles so far, both receiving modest airplay on major radio stations.

One thing is on everyone’s mind, can he do it again? Given his confidence, determination, and collaborative powers (especially with Example), I truly think he can. Opting for a darker, more mature sound from the singles, his sound is evolving from the cheeky Londoner that was heard on his debut into something much more worldly. There are also some quite unexpected string arrangements.

Speaking to Celina Murphy in the latest issue of Hot Press, Green had this to say: “One of the first times I performed with strings was this year at Somerset House, that was probably the hightlight for me so far. I tell you what though, it made doing songs like Read All About It really hard. You hear them cellos and with all that energy, it really hits home.”

The aforementioned Read All About It, the first single, having resonant lyrics about Green’s estranged father who hanged himself in 2008. The lyrics also remark on his success and reputation, showing he has not forgotten his roots and the level of expectation of his new album. What does he feel above baring his soul so openly?

“I dunno. The stuff that was hardest for me was probably Today I Cried because that wasn’t talking about what I was going through with anyone else, that was talking about what I was going through and what I probably am still going through with myself. Everyone was telling me that I must be on top of the world and I, for whatever reason, was not feeling that. That’s the one song that scares me because that’s exactly how I felt. On the first album I probably didn’t have the confidence to speak up as much as I do now.”

After appearing on the UK X Factor last Sunday night, Professor Green will be performing in the Venue at Your Clubhouse this coming Thursday the 27th of October. Tickets are still available at €15 for students and €20 for non-students.

Professor Green performing on stage

Campaining for Charity: Can Facebook get Nirvana the Christmas Number One?

SHAUNA LOUISE KELLY Most people will remember the 2009 campaign to get Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in the Name” to the UK Christmas Number 1 ahead of X Factor winner Joe McElderry’s “The Climb”. The campaign, which was started on Facebook, worked, leading to the large scale juxtaposition of eggs and faces, most notably on that of Simon Cowell. People have tried to replicate this feat since but none have worked, and last year’s winner Matt Cardle made it to Number 1 with his re-titled cover of Biffy Clyro’s “Many of Horror”.

This year, another such campaign has begun on Facebook. The creators of the page are trying to get

Nirvana’s 1991 hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the Christmas Number 1 spot. It would be easy to brush this idea off as a copycat of the Rage Against The Machine campaign, that is, trying to make it number one to prove that the public, and not music moguls like Cowell, control the music industry. However, this year’s movement has a more important meaning behind it. Brighton based children’s charity Rhythmix have been approached by the X Factor’s legal team asking them to change the name of their organisation, as one of the groups on this year’s competition shares a name with the charity. This news has not been well received, with both fans and detractors of the programme angry at the move.

Rhythmix is a charity which uses music to help young people, and as shown in a post on the campaign’s Facebook page, they do not want to change the name of the charity in any way, even if it means going to court. The idea behind this push to get Nirvana to number one is to give the money raised by the sale of the song to the charity so they can afford the legal fight against the X Factor, and any amount raised over this will go directly to helping the children of Brighton. Those behind the plan are urging the public to purchase copies of the Nirvana track between the 18th and 24th of December.

Nirvana circa. 1992

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A Blog from Abroad: Trinity to feature in Bollywood Film Toronta, Canada LYNDSEY FARRELL

CN Tower and skyline, Toronoto, Canada time. This will be his first appearance in Toronto since he was famously tackled on stage at a festival here by a crazed fan. Let’s hope that nothing similar Going abroad all by myself, I made the (very) happens! silly mistake of assuming I would be able to sort The Wilco show proved to be a good omen. After out living quarters within a booked fortnight at spending many hours glued to Craigslist and making a hostel, and avoid any nasty online scams by many, many unsuccessful calls, I was somehow able doing it all in person. As it turned out things were to find a great apartment right in the middle of the much more complicated than that – I had landed downtown area. In a strange piece of synchronicity, in Toronto at what is almost certainly the single the apartment turned out to be located directly busiest, hectic moment in the city’s calendar – The above a Wilco themed sandwich shop called Sky Toronto International Film Festival. Being a poor Blue Sky, which names all of it’s sandwiches after wee student, I couldn’t afford to attend, but I did run into Mr Bill Nighy in a bookshop who had been Wilco songs. If you’re ever out here, I recommend giving a talk at the Festival (my life is so rock n roll.) the “How to Fight Loneliness.”

So I ended up in one of the liveliest parts of town.

Speaking of which, I got to celebrate my 21st I’m within a minute’s walk of Lee’s Palace, which Birthday with a Wilco concert at the amazing in days gone by held host to the likes of the rising Massey Hall venue – fellow Neil Young fanatics Nirvana and I’m literally just around the corner will know why this is a big deal. Despite Canadian crowds turning out to be a much more docile bunch from a vinyl record store where parts of Scott Pilgrim Vs the World were filmed. Aside from all the than us wild Irish, the band played a fantastic set fun music stuff, I’ve been having a great time getting made up largely of new material from their just to know new people and getting my teeth into released album “The Whole Love”. I’m currently my new courses. So, my message so far to anyone looking forward to seeing a certain Mr Noel thinking of studying abroad - do it!

Gallagher play the same venue in just over a weeks

SEAN KELLY

Top Trends: Winter Woolies

Students and faculty of Trinity College were treated to the Bollywood experience as filming of the new spy-thriller Ek Tha Tiger took place on their campus in the last few weeks. The movie stars two of Bollywood’s biggest performers, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, and is set to be a big hit in its release next year. Members of Trinity College were excited to have their campus used in the movie, and were grateful for the chance to experience such an important part of Indian culture.

The storyline involves an Indian spy, Tiger (played by Kahn), sent to Ireland in search of a scientist at TCD who is suspected of selling missile secrets to Pakistan. During this mission, Tiger falls for dance student, Zoya (played by Kaif), who also works as the suspected scientist’s assistant. Ek Tha Tiger promises action, romance, and the traditional musical vibe associated with Bollywood movies.

H&M – amazing range of cardigans to wrap up in!

I did a haul Sunday myself - cold? Ppfftt! A bobble strings one retails at €39.95, but they do start from only €19.95!

Zara – brilliant selection of jeans! Every shape, colour, style etc. A super skinny pair costs only €29.95!

River Island – always good for something.. This winter i’m applauding them on their of accessories!

Hats, scarfs, gloves, bags, shoes, tights. They got’em all girls! Fur snood - £20

New Look – always good for some autumn winter glam. Put away the summer dresses, because sleeves can be sexy too! A gorgeous metallic light wool dress can be bought for £44.99.

Tesco – brilliant accessories again, at such great affordable prices! Stylish pieces that won’t break the bank. Bear face beanie - £5.

Shoe Rack – great selection of boots! Wooly, furry, leather, suede, all styles.. Everybody needs a pair of winter boots! Beige fur trimmed ones are €60.

Salman Kahn was believed to have thoroughly enjoyed his month-long stay in Dublin. He felt very welcomed by the people and was able to enjoy the craic in a few bars around the capital on his days off!

He also thinks that, thanks to the successful filming of Ek Tha Tiger, more Bollywood filmmakers will be wanting to set sail to Ireland in the near future.

Ek Tha Tiger is believed to have made €1.5 million for the Irish economy and has created over one thousand short-terms jobs in Dublin’s City Centre. Overall, the filming of this movie has been a great lift for Ireland and is a chance to show some of our own culture to the world.

The Student Wine Guide ROB GILMOUR & SHANE McNALLY Max Ferd Richter 2009 A lovely example of Mosel Valley Riesling.

Crisp and refreshing as all Riesling should be, it is sweet with a Clean nose, the wine is extremely complicated with melons, pear, apple and a slight hint of citrus making up the main fruits of the wine there is a nice touch of clove and everything seems to have a thin blanket of honey coating it. To boot, it even has a floral smell as it opens which does not get lose on the palate, despite the mass arrays of smells and tastes each one is well defined. Delicious.

Available in the The Corkscrew for €14.99 (ten percent off for any Long Legs members).

Score: A- (89)

Tim Adams Shiraz 2007 MAEVE KAVANAGH

Salaman Khan and Katrina Kaif

The nose is a complex mix of chocolate, earth, eucalyptus, raspberry jam, leather and a hint of pepper. The palate is equally impressive with intense blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, chocolate, pepper and coffee. A full bodied wine, but with silky tannins that will become smoother with some more bottle age. This wine has the structure to age for many years to come. While normally retailing at €14.99 it will easily stand up to the likes of d’Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz, one of the most consistent sub €20 on the market. However at the offer price of €10 this is a no brainer. It is extremely rare to get a wine of such complexity at this price.

Available in Tesco. Score: A (90)

D’arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 2006 D’arenberg was mentioned in the last review, so why not review one of their wines we thought.

Every so often you will have the chance to try something very special, one of those sublime moments that you will remember for a lifetime and yes I am still talking about a wine. This wine was opened and poured into a decanter, the room then immediately became quiet (this was a house party, so no mean feat), as a beautiful aroma of red-berry and blackberry filled the room along with a floral hint. The wine then opened up, displaying chocolate, coffee, dates, thyme, cinnamon and mint on the nose. Every time we smelled the wine it offered something new. The palate was equally elusive with intense red and black-berried fruit, complimented by a delicious herbal quality. Chocolate and coffee crammed their way in there too. This review cannot do the complexity of this wine justice, you will simply have to try it yourself.* Available in the Mill for €42.95 (5% off for Long Legs members). Score: A+ (96) * I did say this was a special wine. Wait for a special occasion like an anniversary or graduation, or get yourself a sugar-daddy (mine was Rob).

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NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS Album. 42:27 minutes. Sour Mash.

Released 17th October 2011.

Any fan familiar with the catalogue of Oasis breakups-and-make-ups would not have been terribly alarmed at Noel Gallagher’s sudden decision to “quit” the band following an August 2009 festival spat in Paris. However, as the following days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, it soon became clear that this could well prove to be a rift to far, a wound to severe for any amount of time to heal. Certainly the noises emitting from the two resulting factions would suggest as much, with former Oasis (and current Beady Eye) bassist Andy Bell being the latest to lambast Gallagher-senior over his attitude and antics prior to the split. Coupled with the now usual back and forth jibes between Britpops’ one-time golden brothers, this would seem to suggest that a Stone Roses-style reunion is for the time being very much out of the question.

Talks of a Noel Gallagher solo project were afoot even while Oasis was alive and kicking, but with commitments to the band that made his name now behind him, the 44 year-old could finally hit the studio with producer Dave Sardy (a regular on more recent Oasis albums) to commit this much anticipated record to tape. The result is a

DUM DUM GIRLS ONLY IN DREAMS Album. 36:30 minutes. Sub Pop. Released 26th September 2011.

A lot can happen in a year. Since Dum Dum Girls first album release I Will Be in March 2010 they have grown up a whole lot. Originally the band suffered severely from stage fright, lead singer Dee Dee at just twenty-five got her first taste of the difficulty that is touring while married and sadly her mother lost her long battle against cancer.

Throw into the mix the sudden relevance and interest in your music and a year can pretty quickly pass you by.

Despite all this unregulated mayhem, this record details the unexpected discovery of musical confidence and it is pretty thrilling to hear on Dum Dum Girls sophomore effort Only in Dreams.

As an all girl alternative indie-pop band Dum Dum Girls have generally had one focus in music and that is on pretty, youthful emotion. They have tended not to care too much about aesthetic development, but on this album they

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sublimely confident and rewarding debut effort from an artist in a fine vein of form, with a warmth that makes it the perfect soundtrack to a stroll through campus on chilly winter mornings.

The record features among its ten tracks a handful worthy of a place among the pantheon of Gallagher greats. “If I Had a Gun...” in particular is a very special song, a masterful fusion of solemn verses with a lush chorus laced with the same heartfelt optimism that once compelled it’s composer to pen the likes of “Live Forever” in the face of the intrusive grunge movement.

Other standouts include “AKA...What a Life!” a vibrant pop tune fuelled by a galloping piano line atop a lively drumbeat, leading into epic repetitions of its title, and “Stop the Clocks” a song which previously leant its name to the 2006 Oasis best-of, and a track which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on the bands’ more experimental but flawed album “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”, with its dreamy instrumentation and lyrical allusions to the afterlife; “What if I’m already dead, how would I know?” Noel wonders, building to a classic Gallagher guitar solo and cascading climax.

Fans of Oasis’ later material will know that most of their post-millennium efforts came furnished with at least the occasional dud, and this first solo effort is no exception. But although the likes of “Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks” mightn’t measure up to the classics in the Gallagher canon, this reassured solo serving furnishes more than enough to suggest that its creator should still have a blossoming career ahead, with plenty of thrills for his tried and tested fan base along the way.

CONOR O’BRIEN

take a break from that sole focus. The emotion is still there of course and the prettiness is still there too, but it is now a lot more precise. Track “Always Looking” opens the album with a continuation of the cutesy vibe that has become accustomed with the band; and this time with some seriously pristine guitar work too. The best song on the album “Bedroom Eyes” is a jingle that is equal parts infectious and equal parts dreamy “I feel I’ll never sleep again/I need your bedroom eyes”.

This collection of songs it can be said does not waste disc space but perhaps just gets done what really needs to be done. There are some draw backs of course with the clean mixing process revealing some simplicity behind the lyrical drive, but this has always been the case with Dum Dum Girls. The lyrics are darker though, and the clearer mix also highlights the enhanced tightness that exists between the artists. Background vocals are now shared by all of the four band members. The longest song they have ever created appears on the second half of the album in the form of “Coming Down” and this track demonstrates they are now able to break away from the three minutes long formula. Interestingly with this record Dum Dum Girls may just have become their genres leading sweet hearts. The Smiths re-revival is still on.

DEAN HEALY

BLINK 182 NEIGHBORHOODS

band’s maturity since the days of ‘All the Small Things’ etc. This slightly darker tone rings through in the rest of the album, all the while retaining that familiar sound.

Track 2, “Natives” is really worth a listen. It’s fastwith off-the-beat drumming, matched by ecstatic Album. 36:34 minutes. DGC & Interscope. paced guitar hammer-ons and underlying rumbling bass. In the chorus we hear Hoppus on vocals for the first time, Released 27th September 2011. as ever a huge contrast to the much more high-pitched vocals of DeLonge. Again this has rather a dark edge to it, most notably in Hoppus’ choruses making references to Jekyll and Hyde etc.

Blink 182 are back! Having taken a four year hiatus, “Up all Night” was the first single released from the arguably the most important and influential pop-punk album, but by no means does that mean it’s the best band of the 90s have finally reformed, much to the song. Maybe it was released to give a taster for the album excitement of millions of fans worldwide. Blink took to the without giving away the best stuff prematurely, but for road for a world-tour in late 2009 for the first time together me it’s the album’s first hiccup. The next really notable since a heated break-up in 2005. Following on from this track is “Heart’s all Gone”. Again it’s a fast-paced track hugely successful comeback, the trio returned to the studio with extremely fast-paced drumming and excellent together to record Neighborhoods, their long anticipated instrumentation. As mentioned before, this album as a sixth studio album. whole does a good job of taking the elements of Blink’s First up on the album is ‘Ghost on the Dance Floor’. early years and adding a more mature texture to it and I This track immediately brings everything that has made think this particular track is the best example of that.

Blink so successful over the years to the floor. DeLonge’s This album is a really strong addition to Blink 182’s buzz saw guitar combined with Hoppus’ solid bass-line and already hugely successful discography. They’ve been precise snare and symbol-work of Barker, and the top layer hugely influential on a lot of the bands that are around of DeLonge’s highly distinctive vocals. It’s simple 3-chord today and I’d be glad to see them stick around to keep pop-punk and carries all of the elements that we have all influencing new generations. really come to associate with this band. However there is a MICHAEL O’TOOLE certain darkness to the track as well that perhaps shows the

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

THE LION KING 3D

Film. 90 minutes. Directed by Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff. Starring Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones.

Released 16th September 2011.

The Lion King is one of the most well recognised and universally adored animation films of the early 1990s. Imagine so, the excitement that resulted from Disney’s announcement that this pillar of 90s childhood “cinemagic” was to be re-released for the modern age in 3D. This made a lot of commercial sense for Disney, as even in a decade of stellar animated productions, The Lion King stands out as one of the most memorable and successful, achieving more at the box office than any other well-known classic including, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Toy Story. Even outside of the world of animation, The Lion King ranks as one of the most successful films of all time. With two Academy Awards recognising its musical achievements, a Golden Globe, an award-winning Broadway adaptation, a sequel, a prequel and the title of 20th-highest-grossing feature film of all time, The Lion King’s accolades are comparable to what one might expect of a more modern animation, maybe even a CGI production!

In 3D the film differs very little from the original however. The Lion King is a classic 2D hand-drawn animation, and that is part of its charm – the fact that it doesn’t need impressive special effects to make it a

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beautifully executed production, with a storyline that can be appreciated at any age and in any format. Apart from digital remastering, which improved colour and sound quality but which can already be seen on DVD releases of the film, little more could be done from a visual perspective to enhance the viewer’s experience. The point at which the contribution of 3D is most evident is the opening sequence, featuring Zazu appearing to fly from among the audience over the herds of animals heading towards Pride Rock. Unfortunately the original animators did not plan for a 3D release and from the opening on opportunities for effective use of the medium are few and far between. However once you forget that the film is supposed to be in 3D, you can enjoy Simba’s exploits in much the same way as in 1994. The greatest achievement of the 3D release is the introduction of the film to a new generation, and a chance for older fans to experience it once again on the big screen! For these reasons alone it is well worth the trip to the cinema.

From a financial point of view, the 3D release has proven very lucrative for Disney. The Lion King 3D took the highest position in the US box office both weekends it was scheduled to run, prompting many theatres to extend its run beyond the two weeks that were intended.

It even beat out Brad Pitt’s latest film, Moneyball, to the top spot – an achievement that not even Disney expected. As a result, Disney and Pixar are now working on re-releases of several other popular animations including Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid. Releases that will no doubt be welcomed with the same enthusiasm as The Lion King, but possibly more for their sentimental value than for the 3D experience.

AOIFE CARROLL

REAL STEEL

RADIOHEAD KID A

Album. 42:27 minutes. Sour Mash.

Released 17th October 2011.

The release of Radiohead’s fourth album, Kid A, in October 2000 was a landmark moment in the band’s career. Until then, Radiohead had been known for radiofriendly alternative tunes such as “Just” and “Karma Police”, but this album was a marked departure from their previous efforts. This did not stop it from receiving large amounts of commercial and critical acclaim. However, not everyone was happy with the album. Writing a review of the album for The New Yorker, English author Nick Hornby lambasted Radiohead for moving away from “the old-fashioned dynamics of rock” to a more electronic sound.

With influences stemming from Naomi Klein’s No Logo and 70s Krautrock, to jazz artists such as Charles Mingus, to describe Kid A as a bit of a mixed bag is only right in the circumstances. From the beginning of track number one “Everything in its Right Place”, we are introduced to the textured soundscape that is a theme throughout the entire album. However, it is on second track “Kid A” that Radiohead’s new direction definitely becomes apparent; Thom Yorke’s distorted vocals lend an

to fight robots and discover a sparring-bot, who begins to rise in the ranks of the robot boxing league, under Film. 127 minutes. Directed by Shawn Levy. the training and modification of Charlie and Max. The pair grow closer and as the time comes for Max to leave Starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lily, his care, Charlie is urged to become a better father. One Dakota Goyo, Kevin Durand. Released 7th question begs, can this happen in the high intensity world of robot boxing?

October 2011.

From the outset, this brave outing from Levy and Jackman is lacking in a certain ingredient. The abrasive, selfish character of Charlie leaves a sour taste in ones mouth as he elects to take money instead of a son he Hugh Jackman is known for two things, playing never knew; virtually from the beginning, we are left Wolverine and only playing gruff, manly roles; given with an almost un-likable character. Jackman’s previous his latest venture on the big screen, he doesn’t like defer endeavours on the stage have clearly left no lasting from his typecast role. Shawn Levy (Cheaper by the impression on his skill on screen, as the only things Dozen, Night at the Museum) took this loose adaptation missing from his performance were sideburns, a cigar, of Richard Matheson’s short story Steel, to make an and adamantium claws. amalgamation of Transformers and Rocky. While not Perhaps the only saving grace of the picture was, harbouring the effects and explosions of the former, it newcomer, Dakota Goyo’s performance as Max. deals out just as many punches as the latter.

Despite being only twelve years old, this young actor’s Set in 2020, in a highly Americanised future of state future seems promising. Well able to hold his own on fairs and bull fights, Charlie (Jackman) is an illegal robot screen with the likes of Jackson, Durand, and Lily; the boxing promoter, and former (would-be) champion, who headstrong argumentative child is heart-warming and owes large amounts of money to loan sharks. In light of comical throughout, adding a much-needed level of losing his robot, he also finds out he has a preteen son, emotional depth to the picture.

Max (Goyo), whose mother has recently passed away. As Overall, the film itself is somewhat of a opposed to taking his long-lost son under his wing and disappointment; moreover, the lack of heart and rigidity right his wrongs, Charlie allows custody of Max to aunt of Jackman leaves most of the empathy going to the and uncle in exchange for $100,000 to pay off his debts to robots that are being pummelled throughout the film.

Ricky (Durand). There is only one catch, Charlie must care In all honesty, your time would be better spent watching for Max for three months to get an advance on his money, Transformers and Rocky simultaneously. much to their discomfort.

SHANE KIERNAN Despite seeming heartless, Charlie shows his son how eerie quality to the sparse musical accompaniment, letting us know that this is a very different band to the one that recorded songs such as “Anyone Can Play Guitar”. “How to Disappear Completely”, with its mention of Dublin’s very own river Liffey, gives us an insight into Yorke’s distaste for the media and celebrity culture. With the repetition of “I’m not here / This isn’t happening”, we are reminded of his problems with the fame that surrounded Radiohead after the release of 1997’s OK Computer, which led to a nervous breakdown. Unlike many of the songs on this album, “In Limbo” harks back to Radiohead’s past work with its audible guitar riff. “Idioteque” seeps with imagery of an ultraconsumerist world (“Here I’m allowed, everything all of the time”); the repetitive backing beat creating a palpable sense of urgency about the song. “Motion Picture Soundtrack”, a song written before Radiohead’s best- known track, “Creep”, is hauntingly beautiful.

Kid A was also one of the first albums to receive marketing on the internet, with the circulation of short movies based on the album known as “blips”. Peer-to-peer sharing of bootlegs featuring Radiohead performing their new material live was rampant, so it was no surprise when the finished copy of Kid A was leaked on Napster a month before it was due to be released. Unlike many bands, most notably Metallica, Radiohead had absolutely no qualms about fans sharing their music online, something which they did themselves with the release of 2007’s In Rainbows. With the recent release of TKOL RMX 1234567, we are reminded of Radiohead’s continuing affair with electronic music, something which began with Kid A. SHAUNA LOUISE KELLY

THEMS THE VAGARIES Podcast. Episode length ~60 minutes.

Released online weekly(ish).

Them’s The Vagaries is a weekly(ish) podcast made by “two people of profound swagnificence”. The podcast is about music, pop culture and general goings on in Ireland at the time. The above mentioned makers of the podcast are Seán McTiernan and Karl McDonald, two freelance journalists and committed music lovers. The podcast, which is now up to 23 episodes of about an hour in length, is a member of the Palavr a podcast social network. The crux of this podcast is rap music, these two lads love it and that becomes evident very early one, but they do explain most of it and it does help spark an interest in finding delving more into the genre, it did for me. The pair travels around many of Dublin’s parks to get a pastoral feel to the podcast, a bit of atmosphere; this sometimes results in Heroin addicts being on the podcast for brief but memorable moments. Aside from ‘wandering vagrants’, the show also has some good official guests on it such as Dublin comedienne Megan Nolan, Come Dine With Me Ireland star/Irish music blogger Darragh McCasuland and many more. A favourite episode of mine and probably the easiest to understand, with regards to rap, is the one in which the pair dissect Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne. During this episode, Beyoncé’s pregnancy is mentioned, weeks before it was announced, so purely on

the basis of future celebrity events, you should listen to this podcast. But mainly, it’s just very funny.

Recurring topics on this podcast are E-40, Popical Island, Jim Corr, Danny Brown, the Illuminati, Karl being happy about people’s death, Seán talking down to Karl and the never ending debate of Prince versus Led Zeppelin. Said debate lead to the realization that Prince is the best musician since music was born with Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, which was obviously misleadingly titled. There is also a new segment, also their most consistent segment, is ‘Seán talks about rock music in a condescending way’ which likened St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy ‘it just sounds too much like a fuckin’ pillow’ and Male Bonding’s Endless Now ‘plugging a headphone jack into the colour beige’.

If you have a long commute this week (and I know a lot of you do!) or if you’d like to hear what the hosts have described as “just two lads deadpanning over what sounds like an aviary being burnt to the ground” (I know a lot of you do!) then visit http:// themsthevagaries.tumblr.com or subscribe on iTunes.

SEAN KEENAN

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22

October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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A Fair Protest? Or a Denial of Free Speech?

CHRISTINA MURPHY Due to security reasons, The Trinity College Philosophical Society was forced to withdraw an invitation to BNP leader, Nick Griffin. Originally scheduled to speak at debate entitled, ‘This House Believes Immigration Has Gone Too Far’, Griffin released an open letter about the cancellation on the BNP’s website. He outlined the cancellation of the event was an act against the protection of free speech and (perhaps for the first time ever), he was right.

It is not easy to stand up for someone who is unabashedly racist, homophobic, Islamaphobic, a Holocaust- denier and who believes that climate change isn’t real. Griffin’s opinions are shocking and disgusting to most. More importantly however, they are idiotic.

The notion, that Griffin would have had the capability of spreading hate to vulnerable members of the debate audience is inherently flawed. It is one of the main reasons cited by those calling for the invitation to be withdrawn. Nick Griffin was not offered a platform to preach his ideas to the masses. He was invited to debate them and would

undoubtedly have come under a hail of scrutiny and criticism from the vast majority of the audience.

What’s more, universities are natural hubs of debate.

If a debate cannot go ahead on a university campus, what does this mean for debate and discussion in wider society?

Anti Fascist Action Ireland believed that was their duty to stop Griffin spreading his doctrines.

On the 13th October, they interrupted the weekly Philosophical Society meeting, in protest. While the group may have good intentions, they have exposed the oxymoronic nature of the criticism spawning from the invite. The cancellation of the event was due in part to the threat of violence and intimidation at the debate. Why should certain groups be able to decide who gets a forum for their views and who should not? Any act, which denies freedom of speech, is reminiscent of fascism itself, in that it is undemocratic, anti-parliamentary and totalitarian in its execution.

When all is said and done, the Nick Griffin case, is not a question of differences in beliefs, rather, it is a question over whether we have the right to share our beliefs. When it comes to freedom of speech, we must allow everybody, no matter how reviling or disgusting their opinions are to us, to have their say.

Free speech is not available as an à la Carte option. If we deny any individual their right to express their viewpoint, we create a philosophy of dictatorship of speech. This ideology poses the same level of threat to society and our values, as the ideology of Nick Griffin and the BNP. We don’t have to respect what Griffin has to say, or who he is as a person but we have to respect his right to freedom of speech.

British National Party leader, Nick Griffin

A Soldier of Destiny by any other name?

MARK DILLON Fianna Fáil is not running a candidate for the office of President of Ireland this time around, but the intense probing of Sean Gallagher’s Fianna Fáil past in recent weeks has given the impression that the party are trying to sneak a proxy candidate into Áras an Uachtaráin. Gallagher has previously been a member of Fianna Fáil. He joined the party’s youth wing, Ógra Fianna Fáil, in the 1980s. He never stood as candidate for Fianna Fáil, ceasing regularly activity with the party in 2009 and resigning from the party’s National Executive in a letter dated 5th January 2011. From the looks of it, he doesn’t seem to have been a very influential or prominent figure in Fianna Fáil, yet some members of the media and some of his opposing candidates have striven to hype up his alleged involvement, resulting in men such as Martin McGuinness, a ‘former’ member of a terrorist organisation who fail to recognise organisations such as Dáil Éireann and the Garda Síochána as legitimate, making the ridiculous claim that Gallagher was part of an “establishment that ran Ireland into the ground”. As Gallagher says himself, “I was not at the cabinet table. I was a grassroots member working on a voluntary

capacity. I do not feel like I need to be answerable, neither do any of the grassroots members need to be answerable for what was happening at cabinet”.

And if his involvement in Fianna Fáil is put into context, it becomes clear that he was not exactly an isolated case among Irish people. As mentioned, he joined in the 1980s. This was a decade in which Fianna Fáil never failed to receive less than 44.2% of the vote, so Gallagher’s initial association with the party would not have had the same poisonous connotations as it seems to have today, since almost half the country were voting for it. Gallagher supported Fianna Fáil during the 2000s, along with 41.5% of the electorate in 2002 and 41.6% in 2007, most of them supporting the continuation of Fianna Fáil governance because they saw the times as being good under Bertie Ahern’s stewardship and, like Gallagher, were unaware, for the most part, of the risky financial policies being pursued at the time.

He ceased regular activity with the party in 2009.

This reflects the common trend of a drift away from Fianna Fáil that year, shown in the results of the 2009 local (24% for FF) and European (25%) elections, although Fianna Fáil were still the second largest party in the state, beating Labour by 10% in both elections. He resigned from the national executive in early 2011, feeling, like others, that Fianna Fáil had become overly concerned with holding on to power in the months preceding his resignation, saying that “to (him) that wasn’t what politics should be about”. This view was held by many who had still leaned towards Fianna Fáil at the time, reflected in their fall from 24% (26th Sep 2010 Red C) to 14% (7th Jan 2011 Red C) just after he left. As he said himself, he “moved away from party politics”, as did many other ex-Fianna Fáilers, electing 14 independents in the 2011 general election (or 19 if you include members of

Does Sean Gallagher’s Fianna Fáil past really matter? the loosely associated United Left Alliance), up from 5 in 2007. Gallagher’s story reflects the story of many ex-Fianna Fáilers. He supported the party for years, but disagreed with “the overheating, the mismanagement of the economy, simple things like the withdrawal of medical cards” and became “disillusioned that the party had moved away from the grassroots” and so he discontinued his relationship with the party. The fact the many Irish people can identify with this may explain some

of the 39% he was at in the last Red C opinion poll. Some may point to his role in the Fianna Fáil National Executive as evidence of deeper collusion with the party. But a very successful businessman is always going to have a an easier time than an ordinary party member in becoming a member of bodies like this. To believe that politics shouldn’t work like this is idealistic, to believe that it doesn’t is naive.

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October 25th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 3

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Double Date with Michael D and David SHANE McNALLY

NUI Maynooth last Thursday was set to host a debate of epic proportions, a stand-off between the two favourites for the presidential election, Michael D Higgins and Seán Gallagher, with former favourite David Norris also featured. However the anticipated head to head between celebrity and veteran was not to be. This was quite aptly made known by Norris poking his head into the packed lecture hall, proclaiming ‘it’s not me that’s late’.

Seán Gallagher was apparently held up at an interview with TV3. It was noted by many that this was to be expected from the TV candidate. Norris and Higgins made the most of the time they had to both give inspiring speeches.

Higgin’s opening speech was one centred on a renewed Ireland, one that looked to ‘real values’.

Being set in a University, Higgins provided an intellectually stimulating speech that attacked the very system that has created the mire that Ireland finds itself stuck. Higgins spoke of solidarity, where ‘people work together, rather than as an individual consumer… Being a consumer is just one aspect of your existence, but not the definition of your life.’ Higgins went on to say that the power of ideas was immense and that Universities are the source of such powerful ideas. However every story has two sides, there were the irresponsible ‘University trained experts’ behind unregulated markets on one side. On the other hand the very ideas that can change Ireland for the better can come from these institutions. Higgins ‘My wish for you is that you will fulfil lives of others, not just your own.’

Norris started slowly after an admittedly tough act to follow. Starting by outlining many of his achievements and commending the creative spirit of institutions such as NUI Maynooth and of Ireland in general through the ages, he then got into his stride and was up to the high standard of oration

that Higgins had set. Norris stressed that he has and always will ‘put the people first’, something that governments past and present were not doing.

What truly sets Norris apart is the isolation he finds himself in government and media sphere, something he was keen to address, even having a go at some well known journalists in the front row, much to the audience’s delight.

When Norris asked ‘what kind of government believes they can hit their own people’, while slamming his right fist into his left palm, he solidified the vehemence that both candidates had for a system of politics and economics that has led them and the country they wish to represent to the sorry state it is in now.

Both candidates set the room alight and Gallagher’s absence was only noticeable if you were to look at the empty chair. The two candidates even joked that if there were a vice presidential role that they would give it to each other. What was most striking about this debate was, given the space both candidates excelled and broke the mould of soundbites and empty rhetoric that has characterised much of the debates to this point. They were inspiring and moved an entire room, rather than speaking to their political minions. Forget about one dimensional celebrity candidates and look for some substance.

Shane is the Deputy Editor and a Co-Creative Director of the Student Obsever, a current events blog run by current and former students of NUI Maynooth. You can find them via the following links:

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Senator David Norris shaking hands with Michael D. Higgins after their debate

Missing Pieces in Ireland’s Civil Partnership Bill KATE PHELAN

Last month saw Ireland’s first celebrity civil partnership take place since the bill came into force in January of this year. Ireland AM presenter Alan Hughes and his partner Karl Broderick decided to tie the knot on the 30th of September, exactly 18 years after they first met. Speaking to VIP magazine, which featured the couple’s big day on the cover, Hughes commended the huge strides that have been made for gay people’s rights in Ireland since then, pointing out that homosexuality was only decriminalised in this country the year before he and Karl met. He also stated that he has been overwhelmed by the public support of their marriage, having feared there would be a backlash.

It would certainly seem that Ireland has come a long way in those 18 years. Not only are the majority of people ok with civil partnership, they’re also cool with the idea of having a gay President, or at least they were before David Norris’s campaign took a nosedive. Having been the epitome of a trailblazer for gay rights in this country, his popularity in the early stages of the Presidential race has been held up as a sign of how liberal we’ve become as a society.

At closer inspection though, cracks start to form in this rosy picture. While some couples like Hughes and Broderick have embraced Irish civil partnerships, others have been disappointed by the many ways they differ legally from traditional marriages. Last week a group called Marriage Equality released a report titled ‘Missing Pieces’,

highlighting 169 legal differences in total. It shows that couples in a civil partnership in Ireland are being denied rights that married couples have in a range of different areas like family law, inheritance and immigration. Of most concern is the nonexistent legal protection of children of same sex couples.

Paula Fagan, author of the report, claims on the group’s website that civil partnership in reality is a far cry from equality. She points out that same sex couples are not even legally recognised as a family unit under civil partnership, and are still not allowed to apply to adopt together.

So how liberal are we really? This report shows that gay couples are still being discriminated against in Ireland in legal terms, in spite of the fact that last year’s Irish Times Behaviour and Attitudes poll showed 67% of those surveyed felt gay people should be allowed to marry. So while there’s no denying that we’re on the right track, maybe those opinions should be reflected in our legal system before we can call ourselves a gay-friendly country.

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theprint@nuimsu.com Facebook.com/ThePrintMSU Karl Broderick and Alan Hughes show off their rings

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October 11th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 2

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The age of Planned Obsolescence

DAMIEN MURPHY

This year marks another anniversary of the longest lasting light bulb in the world. It hangs, emitting a dim light, in the Fire Department in the town of Livermore, San Francisco, and is 110 years old.

How it still lights after a century of use is a mystery. Its inventor Adolf Challeit took the secret to his grave. How is it then that the average life of a light bulb today, over a century after Challiet’s invention, is a mere 1000 hours?

It’s the same reason why our printers, washing machines, televisions, computers, etc last no more than a few years– they’re built to fail so you’ll be forced to buy another one. Welcome to Planned Obsolescence.

Leaving aside Challiet’s wonder bulb, when Thomas Edison was granted a patent for his light bulb in 1890 it had a life of over 1200 hours. In 1924 manufactures were advertising light bulbs that could last more than 2,500 hours. Not surprisingly, the big electrical corporations weren’t too enamoured with such longevity.

A longer lasting light bulb spelt diminishing profits. Something had to be done. In 1923 a group of the biggest electrical companies, which included Phillips, General Electric and Osram, set up the Phoebus Cartel which would control the manufacture and supply of light bulbs globally.

Through this organisation a body was set up, candidly named ‘the 1000 hour committee.’ It did exactly what it said on the tin; ensure that manufacturers would conform to a standard that would guarantee your bulb gasped its last after little more than 1000 hours of service.

Although there have been many patents filed for light bulbs lasting 25,000, 50,000 and up to 100,000 hours, the standard light bulb today only lasts 1000

hours.

At least today there are guarantees and warrantees that enable the consumer to claim his or her money back, should something go wrong with the product they’ve purchased. But quite often, around the same time as the warranty expires the item starts to break down.

Inkjet printers are notorious for this. There are 109 million search results for “my printer wont print,” on Google. We’ve all been there, a pop up appears on screen telling you that something is wrong with your printer. You call the manufacturer with the hope of fixing the problem, but you are informed that it will cost more to fix the printer than to buy a new one.

A video clip titled ‘The Dirty Little Secret of Inkjet Printers,’ on atomicstrip.com, explains that one of the problems with the printers is something called a ‘waste ink reservoir.’ Many printers have a system of self cleaning and they do this without being prompted by squirting ink through the print heads.

This ink must go somewhere, and it collects in a black sludge at the bottom of the printer. Because of this you are compelled to buy ink cartridges sooner than would otherwise be necessary.

Another clever (or irritating) way manufacturers cut short the life of a printer is by inserting something called an EEPROM chip. This chip can store data, such as the number of pages you have printed. It can also be programmed to stop the printer printing above x number of pages.

Just last year Hewlett Packard settled a lawsuit taken against it on foot of three separate claims.

One claimed that HP’s ‘low on ink’ messages confused customers into replacing cartridges prematurely. The others claimed that cartridges stopped working on undisclosed expiration dates, and that the printers were using colour when

printing in black and white without providing the consumers with the option to disable it.

In 2003 a class action lawsuit was filled against Apple, the company that claims to be the leader of innovation. A lawyer, Elizibeth Pritzker, filed the suit after coming across a documentary by two brothers Van and Casey Neistat called “iPod’s Dirty Little Secret.”

Casey had bought a first generation iPod “for around $500” an after 18 months the battery stopped working. A recorded conversation with Casey explaining his problem to an Apple customer care rep was played in the film.

The reps response: “Eighteen months? OK. It’s past its year which basically means there will be a charge of $225 plus a mailing fee to send it to us to refurb it, to correct it. But at that price, you know, you might as well go get a new one.”

Manufacturers of electronic goods can often get away with this extreme form of planned obsolescence. Because the average consumer finds these products complex and intricate, we’re nearly amazed they work at all. The same concept is used more conspicuously in other industries.

In the 1930s chemical giant DuPont announced the arrival of nylon as an alternative to silk.

Engineers and workers at the plant took the first products of nylon stockings home to their wives to try out. The results were exactly what the engineers had strived for; the stockings were not only comfortable, but also durable and didn’t run.

However, DuPont wasn’t looking for a long lasting stocking; this would not be very profitable.

So it was back to the drawing board for the engineers to weaken the nylon in the stockings, making them less durable.

Thus a new school of engineering had arrived. It was no longer a case of design and produce the best and most sustainable product you can, but to make

one that would achieve the greatest return.

As originally conceived by the economist Bernard London in the 1930s, planned obsolescence was an ingenious idea. In theory, it would sustain jobs and growth in industry through the constant consuming of goods. But it was based on a view of the world that was ignorant of finite resources and of the environmental impacts of consumer waste.

Today, the cons of the built to fail system far outweigh the pros. The idea of ever growing consumption is simply unsustainable. We are now at a pivotal point in human civilisation, one of worry over peak oil, food and water shortages and a burgeoning global population.

We must strive for a sustainable future, but to do this inspiration must be sought from our past. A renaissance of old school engineering is needed; a system of building the best, not the most financially lucrative. Adolf Challiet’s light bulb in its 111th year of illumination is a testament to human ingenuity, a literal beacon of hope.

Europe launches its own Ireland to switch totally Global Positioning System from analogue to digital from French Guiana Television come 2012 KARL O’DWYER

BARTLEY HUDSON

With a roar of rocket engine breaking the peace of the surrounding jungle, Europe has begun an ambitious project to create its own satellite navigation system called Galileo, to help ease Europe’s dependence on the American Military’s Global Positioning System.

The first pair of satellites were launched at 10:30 GMT (12:30 CEST) on 21 October from a brand new complex at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana atop a Russian built Soyuz rocket. This was also the first Soyuz to be launched from a site outside of Baikonur in Kazakhstan or Plesetsk in Russia.All of the Soyuz stages are reported to have performed perfectly and the Fregat-MT upper stage released the Galileo satellites into their target orbit at 23 222 km altitude, 3 hours 49 minutes after liftoff.

Fraught with delays and set-backs the €20 billion euro project aims to be completed by 2019 and promises to provide better accuracy at higher altitudes then its American and Russian rivals (known as GPS and GLONASS respectively) as well as a global “Search and Rescue” function which will alert emergency services and relay the position of a user in trouble as well as let the user known when help is on the way.

It’s too early to be sure of the impact that this

The switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial television has arrived, however the details remain unclear for many. Furthermore, surveys have shown that 23% of the populous are entirely unaware of any change. Alas, never fear; we have the details you’ll need to pick your daily dose of Judge Judy off the airwaves. Cutting straight to the brass tacks, 24 October 2012 is D-day. On this date, all analogue television transmission will be switched off nationwide. Unfortunately however, the program ‘nationwide’ will remain on the air. If you hail from Northern Ireland, it is also worth noting analogue transmission will simultaneously switch off in the north on this date. While digital television is poised to replace analogue television, both services currently run parallel.

RTENL, an RTE subsidiary, is responsible for the digital switchover, with Saorview being the title given to the new digital service. Saorview was launched by Pat Rabbitte TD on the 26 May of this year and currently carries eight television channels, including RTE1, RTE2 HD, TV3 and TG4. The main motivations behind the switch are primarily based on the numerous advantages digital offers over analogue. The most striking benefit is simply digital signals are significantly more robust against distortion. Through the use of channel coding

Galileo satellite launching in French Guiana new technology will have when it becomes available to the average user, it may be possible to get very accurate position information by building a device to use GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, or its search and rescue feature might find its way into future cars. But what is for certain, love it or loath it, the humble Sat Nav will be with us for years to come.

methods, a digital signal can suffer from significant levels of interference and still deliver perfectly clear sound and picture. By comparison, an analogue signal under the same conditions would resemble a certain television from “The Ring”, prior to a little girl climbing from it. Other benefits of digital transmission include lower power consumption, cheaper electronics and the ability to broadcast in high definition.

Despite popular belief, digital television can be received with a regular aerial (or coat hanger for a more ghetto aesthetic). However, rather than connecting the aerial directly to your television, you must first connect to a digital television receiver, known colloquially as a set top box. Set top boxes retail from fifty to one hundred and fifty Euro although several television models on the market come with a digital television receiver built in. The good news is that if you rely on a television provider such as SKY or UPC, you won’t have to change a thing, as these already carry the channels available on Saorview. An important caveat is that not all set top boxes are compatible with Saorview. This applies especially to set top boxes bought in the UK, so to ensure your desired set top box is compatible, consult the Saorview website for a list of approved products. So now that you’ve been warned, there is no excuse not to have your picto-cube prepared for the digital future of television.

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A Friendly Footie “Did You Know?”

ALAN FINN

Football is a beautiful and diverse game, played all over the world by thousands of players throughout history. All the time, there occurs fascinating and intriguing little stories that are often spread around the footballing globe. But often there are many stories and anecdotes that don’t get widely told. This article contains just a few short stories of interest that are far too little known for my liking.

Have you ever heard of Arthur Wharton?

Probably not, but really you should, as he is an historic figure in the sport. In 1886 Wharton became the first ever black footballer to play professionally. In the football league nowadays, it’s nothing new to see players of different races and colour playing for teams, however back in Arthur’s time it was a strange occurrence. In 1886, after one year with Darlington, he was signed by then English football powerhouse Preston North End. Many would think during Arthur’s era, he would have been subject to racism, however this is far from the truth, he was a favourite of the media and fans alike and was considered the best goalkeeper in England at the time. Unfortunately, Wharton died a tragic death. By the end of the 1920s, he had become poverty stricken and became an alcoholic, and eventually passed away in 1930. His death was very much unrecognised, when he was buried at an unmarked grave. Anti-racism groups however have been fighting to make this forgotten hero a recognised name in football, and in 1997 got a headstone for his grave and are currently campaigning to have statues erected in Darlington, Rotherham and possibly even Preston in honour of his impact on football. It’s also commonly assumed that he was the first ever black footballer, but Andrew Watson from British Guiana predates him by a decade. Watson, however, never turned professional despite even making 3 appearances for Scotland.

Gordon Ramsay and Liam Neeson - Footballers ?

Gordon Ramsay and Liam Neeson are both very well known as a chef and actor respectively, but

did you know they were both very keen footballers who also considered making the sport their career?

The foul-mouthed chef always had a great love for football and played it a lot as a youngster, and was quite impressive. Glasgow Rangers spotted his talents when he spent much of his summer holidays at their youth academy as a teenager and did enough to play in a few friendlies to prove himself, however a serious knee injury ended his hopes of ever becoming a footballer, so he went on to become a now very famous celebrity chef. Liam Neeson was also particularly fond of the sport, but only discovered he had a natural talent for football when he played while attending University in Belfast. Bohemians manager Seán Thomas spotted his potential playing in a match, and offered Neeson the chance to go on trial for the Dublin side.

He only played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers and wasn’t offered a contract to continue playing.

Why are they called Sheffield Wednesday?

I’m sure I’m not the only person who at times wondered why they were named Sheffield Wednesday. Sheffield is often proclaimed the original home of football because of the club Sheffield FC, the oldest club in the sports history who were formed in 1858. The Hillsborough area of Sheffield felt they were in need of their own football club, and already getting to the interesting parts of their history, they were originally a cricket team!

The club was formed by a group of working class lads who only had the one day off every week (guess which one...), and having developed an interest in the then only new sport, they formed a new club on Wednesday September 4, 1867 , that would be called Sheffield Wednesday. They also chose the name as it significantly distinguished them from other local clubs Sheffield United and Sheffield FC.

Sligo Rovers overlooked 2010 record 2010 Cup Double Winners Sligo Rovers hit the headlines last year when Ciaran Kelly pulledoff the incredibly rare feat of saving every spot kick in a penalty shoot-out in the FAI CupFinal against Shamrock Rovers. Four to be precise. Something

that is often overlooked is the fact that they went through their entire FAI Cupcampaign without conceding a single goal. They came up against Athlone Town, the one game Richard Brush played in, and won 1-0. Two months later, it was Kelly’s turn in goal, he also helped Rovers to a 1-0 victory, this time away to Finn Harps. The Quarter-Final brought their highest scoring result in a 3-0 victory over Monaghan United while the Semi-Final brought about one of the finest performances the fans had ever seen as the booked their place in the Final with another 1-0 victory. This time, it was away to Bohemians. After 120 minutes, the final was a goalless stalemate, and penalties were needed, and not one single person would have predicted Ciaran Kelly would do the unthinkable when he saved all four penalties as he proved to be a remarkable Cup hero and played his part in a remarkable journey, much of which is overlooked.

Who ate all the Pies?

Another goalkeeper story, this time about the origins of the feelings hurting chant which is ‘Who ate all the Pies?’. As we know, football fans are very inventive and creative with songs and chants and use popular songs themes and replace the words

with something about a player, this one was is well associated with the traditional English past time of eating meat pies at half time. When there aren’t enough to go around, the fans proceed to aim the chant at a rather rotund player, official or opposition fans. This chant originated all the way back in Victorian times, 1894 to be exact when Sheffield United fans aimed the chant at their own ‘keeper, William ‘Fatty’ Foulke who weighed a whopping 25 stone! Fatty did himself no favours either, he had a habit of hanging from the crossbar during a match, and finally, his weight proved too much in one match when the crossbar broke in half. He is a bit of a legendary figure at Sheffield United for two altercations. The first was with a referee. After the full time whistle had blown with many still in the ground on hand to witness the incident, an arse naked Foulke emerged from the dressing room to confront the ref about a decision he had made!

Next, he clashed with Liverpool’s George Allan in 1898. The players had a small falling out when Allan knocked the ball from Foulke’s hands. The large ‘keeper picked Allan up, turned him upside down, and threw him straight into the mucky surface! I think it goes withoutsaying Allan was awarded a penalty.

First game for Rugby Club LEE MITCHELL

On the 12th of October the NUIM Rugby team had their first Fresher’s game against DCU. It was a great game resulting in a victory for Maynooth to the tune 54-17 . It was a great team effort with the backs standing out in the game. The team got great quick ball from scrum half Emmet Quinn and was greatly distributed by out half Stephen Dwyer.

The centres where solid and gave the team a great platform to attack out wide where the pace of the Maynooth back three cut through the defence.

The set piece was strong with good line out wins by Connor Quinn, Shane Brennan and Chris Devaney. David Barnes making his comeback with good line out throws .The new lads on the team

enjoyed their first rugby game and had a solid game. It was a good start to the campaign and the team are looking forward to the remaining games.

Sligo and Shelbourne heading to Landsdowne

CILLIAN SHIELDS Sligo Rovers and Shelbourne will meet each other in Lansdowne Road for the 88th FAI Cup Final after successfully progressing from their respective semifinals. Both teams got past stern opposition on away grounds to reach the showpiece finale of the League of Ireland season.

Rovers were the first of the teams to book their place in the final after overcoming Bohemians in Dalymount Park courtesy of a goal from ex-Gypsy Jason McGuinness in the 73rd minute. In quite an even encounter, Sligo were able to absorb the second half pressure put on them from a Bohs team missing several key players due to suspension.

Chris Fagan, Anthony Flood and Liam Burns were all ruled out of the game because of an accumulation of yellow cards. Bohs were told that some players got their quota of bookings to require a suspension in the recent league match against St. Patrick’s Athletic. Bohemians played three other games in between the Pat’s game and the cup semifinal, but for some laughable reason, the FAI suspended the players for their most important game of the season.

Shelbourne’s semifinal meeting with St. Patrick’s Athletic ended in a very entertaining tie, with Shels coming out on top after a replay in Richmond Park.

The Saints were cruising in the first game played of the semifinal, with a goal up already thanks to Danny North. If Shels’ worries hadn’t been daunting enough already, they were then reduced to ten men after Colm James was sent off for violent conduct on Anto Murphy only two minutes after conceding the first goal of the night.

But Philip Hughes, in excellent form for the first Division team, had other ideas. His awareness helped him capitalise on some poor Pat’s defending, after they were unable to clear the ball from their danger zone. A neat finish followed, setting the replay up in Richmond Park.

Pat’s were sent down to ten men in the second

encounter with The Reds, helping the Tolka Park outfit on their way to a 3-1 victory that will ensure European football for them next season. Goalkeeper Gary Rodgers saw red for taking Kevin Dawson down in the box, also resulting in a penalty, which was converted.

For the Saints, the result means their wait for cup glory goes on, as it has now been 50 years since the last time they lifted the FAI Cup. On the other hand, this will now be Sligo Rovers’ third cup final in a row. They have a great chance to retain the cup after they defeated Shamrock Rovers in last year’s final in front of a 36,000+ crowd at Lansdowne Road.

The Bit O’ Red will be determined not to let their excellent season go unrewarded, as it looks now as though Shamrock Rovers are in too good a position not to win the league.

Shelbourne are in the division below Sligo, but that by no means indicates an easy victory for the Premier Division club. Shels are also in a somewhat similar league form to their Cup Final counterparts.

The Tolka Park team blew a ten point lead at the top of the table and could now miss out on winning the league.

Nevertheless, promotion would still be the number one target, but Shels fans still feel

disappointed with the way their team have allowed Cork, Monaghan and Limerick into the race for the top spot.

Reaching the Final also means that Shelbourne will host at least one team from the continent in next year’s Europa League. Since Rovers will earn a European berth from their league position, the spot can then go to the runners up of the cup if they don’t already have it secured.

The last time Shels played in Europe was in the 2006 Intertoto Cup when they beat FK Vétra but were unsuccessful against Danish side Odense BK.

Cillian is a second year student of both Spanish and Media here in Maynooth. He also co-runs his own football news and commentary blog, ‘Balls Out In Public’, along with two non-Maynooth students, Alan Finn and Robert O’Reardon. The blog can be found via: ballsoutinpublic.wordpress.com. twitter.com/BOIPfootball