SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

Student Independent News

NUACHTÁN SAOR IN AISCE VOL. 22 Issue 01. 06 OCT 2020

WINNER: BEST NEWSPAPER AT THE NATIONAL STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS 2019

NUI Galway Postgraduate INSIDE workers sign open letter to University to better conditions

By Conor Brummell News and Current Affairs Editor Deputy.sined@gmail.com The Postgraduate Workers Alliance Group in NUI Galway have penned and signed an open letter to the University Management Team to better work conditions for PHD candidates in the University.

The open letter, addressed to the President of NUI Galway Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, was also sent to the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation Simon Harris and Dean of Graduate Studies in NUI Galway, Professor Dónal Leech.

The letter was penned in protest of the fact that the University is asking postgraduate workers to do 120 hours of unpaid teaching throughout the course of the year, with no remuneration despite the fact that they will be putting themselves in classrooms during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

“The arrangements whereby postgraduates carry out teaching or related academic duties is exploitative and unjust during ‘normal’ times, and this unfairness is even more palpable given postgraduates are now expected to carry out these duties on the front lines of a global pandemic,” the letter states.

“When we accepted scholarships to carry out our research at NUI Galway, we signed a declaration to the Revenue Commissioners that, to the best of our

knowledge, there would be “no element of service (directly or indirectly) between the sponsor and I or between the colleges/university and I.” “Carrying out unpaid teaching work would represent a breach of this declaration.”

NUI Galway is a signatory of the European Researchers Charter, which includes the statement that “employers and/or funders should ensure that teaching duties are adequately remunerated.”

By requesting that postgraduate workers do unpaid work, the University would be in breach of this charter, according to the PWAG. “In light of these concerns that have yet to be adequately dealt with by the University, we have no option but to make it clear that we do not recognise any expectation of unpaid work as legitimate.”

“Consequently, as postgraduate workers at NUI Galway, we hereby declare our intention to refuse to carry out any work which is not remunerated at the existing collectively bargained rate,” the letter concludes.

The open letter is accompanied by a petition addressed to Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, demanding that the unfair working conditions faced by postgraduate workers be resolved as soon as possible.

At the time of writing, the petition had reached 415 signatures out of its 500-signature goal.

According to the guidelines for Research Degree programmes, where a programme is four years in length, “All PhD students should make contributions over six semesters or three academic years to cognate academic programmes, Photo: Oisín Bradley without extra payment.”

PAGE 12: Gary Elbert tells SIN about his experience running 100 miles through the iconic Connemara landscape.

It also states that, “Funded students must comply with the terms of any funding award. It is subject to a maximum of 120 hours per year.”

Dean of Graduate Studies Donál Leech has disputed the PWAG’s arguments, disagreeing with claims that postgraduate students are being exploited by the university.

“I disagree that postgraduate students are being exploited at this time. There is no change to our research degree guidelines during Covid-19, apart from issuance by me of guidance on how teaching contributions may be allocated within units (Schools, disciplines etc) during Covid-19.”

“This guidance required that no research supervisor or line manager will be expected to impel a research student to undertake an on-campus teaching contribution. Research students that are allocated teaching contribution should be supported to deliver the teaching contribution, whether on-campus or remotely.” he stated.

While acknowledging potential issues regarding oversight surrounding teaching contributions Leech noted that the Department are collaborating with the colleges and Student’s Union Representatives to address the problems.

Continued on page 1

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SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

INSIDE

Students Union call on TD’s to take meaningful action on college fees 4 University Parks Bus Service for Semester One 5 NUI GALWAY’S STUDENT HEALTH CLINIC:

“Students have huge power to prevent another lockdown” 6 Issues with ‘blended learning’ system leave students with unmanageable timetables 7 FLIRT FM AT 25: “No matter what hurdles we face, I want people to feel like the station is one of the constants.” 8 MOL NA MEÁIN: Pádraic Breathnach 10 Good to be Back 11 “I used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day. Now I can run 90 miles a week.”

Gary Elbert on undertaking the Connemara 100 Miles 12–13 Student Diaries 15 What’s the status for Macnas 2020? 16 Virtual tours, the new craze as people stay home 17 The Lex Fridman podcast 18 Modern feminist literature about much more than just heartbreak 19 Healthy, easy and inexpensive. Get cooking this autumn! 20 Covid-19, Inis Mór agus Saol Mac léinn 21 Bringing life back to your hair 22 STAYCATION JUNKIE: Northern Ireland 23 We are being priced out of education because of NUI Galway’s greed 24 Is the far right something we should be concerned about in Ireland? 25 COLLEGE & COVID: Getting into the swing of our new ‘normal’ 26 TUAIRMAÍOCHT: Tá Teamhair ina féar agus féach an Traoi mar atá! 27 Final year student Sarah Quinn fresh off her Irish 100m Hurdle success 28 Ex-NUIG Student made Captain of Liverpool 29 Handball Club plans for the year ahead with Covid-19 30 Ultimate Frisbee’s back and looking for new recruits 31

Well lads, how’s the form? It feels like an age since I wrote my last one of these for SIN, in my capacity as Deputy Editor all the way back in March.

So much has happened during that period, yet at the same time the last six months have felt like something of a monotonous blur, a real life ‘Groundhog Day’ of sorts, except in our version homemade banana bread and spoofers telling fibs about running 5k’s were the protagonists.

The return of the academic year may bring some sort of an end to the static nature of the last six months. Students will almost take pleasure in trying and failing to remember logins to their student emails and Blackboard accounts. While so much has changed since students cleared out of the concourse last March, the sense of relief at being back is still to be felt.

In a world of Pandemics and uncertainty, perspective rules.

Today’s pivotal problems of forgetting your mask on your essential venture to the shop or fretting over whether you are abiding by social distancing guidelines in a queue, would have been laughable less than a year

ago. Conversely, old squabbles over whether to go to Electric or DNA on a Thursday night, which seemed so important at the time, have now paled into the insignificant. You would take a night in either now in a heartbeat.

One thing that won’t change however is SIN’s commitment to continue to deliver the highest quality journalism to the student body. While our print edition won’t be seen on campus for the foreseeable, we are still very much alive and kicking on our online channels.

Students have often found themselves drowned out in the wider Covid discussion, but SIN’s dedication to making sure your voice is heard, and your story is told is unwavering.

Inside we have plenty of interesting stories to get your teeth into across an array of sections, and no, it isn’t all pandemic related, so don’t worry. Our new team of sub-editors have been a credit to themselves over the past few weeks, working hard to make the first issue as strong as possible, and for that I want to thank them.

If you have any interest in writing for the paper don’t be afraid to get in touch. With a house party shaped void in most student’s lives at the moment, maybe penning the odd piece in the paper might help keep you occupied during these drawn-out autumn days. If that prospect does interest you, you can get in touch with me over email at editor.sin@gmail.com Lastly, during these unprecedented times, it is important we look out for one another. So mind yourselves and stay safe.

NUI Galway Postgraduate workers sign open letter to University to better conditions Continued from page 1

EDITOR: Paddy Henry editor.sin@gmail.com LAYOUT: Shannon Reeves An bhfuil rud éigin le rá agat?

Cur litir chuig an Eagarthóir chuig editor.sin@gmail.com

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“There is a long-standing issue on oversight of teaching contribution by research students, and whether all units adhere to our guidelines. I am collaborating with the Colleges and SU representatives on mechanisms within our governance structures to address this.”

He also claimed there was inaccuracies in the open letter sent by the PGWA. “I note that there are inaccuracies in the PGWA open letter and in the petition. I do not know ‘who’ PGWA are, as there is no individual signature in correspondence from the PGWA.”.

“I do not have the authority to interact with any other representative body, such as a union or alliance, in my role as Dean of Graduate Studies.”.

Sarah Canavan, a PHD candidate in the school of Engineering in NUI Galway, is one of the signatories of the open letter and she feels as though there is a problem on how the University interprets the guidelines for PhD research.

“There is no consistent application of teaching hours across the board- they are interpreted differently by different departments,” she told SIN. “Some people have it in their contracts that they must do teaching, and others

don’t. Some schools have it that candidates must do a minimum of 120 hours, others state they must do a maximum of 120 and some say that candidates must do exactly 120 hours of teaching. It depends on where someone gets the funding for their PhD,” she continued.

Sarah also says that Ireland is behind the times when it comes to paying research students to teach, and that there is a grey area in the definition of PHD candidates here in Ireland.

“I’m originally from America, and I was paid during my undergraduate degree there to teach. I also spent some time in the Netherlands and the conditions for research students there and across Europe are a lot better than they are here in Ireland. Some research students get paid here, and others don’t- Ireland needs to be brought up to scratch.”

“It’s almost as if we’re told that we’re being rewarded by being taught how to teach. We are not recognised as employees by HR, yet we are still working for the University. There is also a disconnect between undergraduate students and PhD students and it feels like we are in between. It is beyond me,” she finished.

The Student’s Union has shown its support to postgraduate workers by

sending a letter to the University’s Management Team, asking for their co-operation in resolving the situation.

In the letter, Student’s Union President Pádraic Toomey said: “The ongoing issue of postgraduate students being required to undertake unpaid teaching is generating even more unrest in the current situation.

“We propose that you work with the trade unions and postgraduate representatives to find a solution to the issue of unpaid teaching, and the ensure the safety of postgraduate students engaged in teaching through the provision of adequate PPE equipment and safe teaching spaces,” he concluded.

A spokesperson from the Department of Minister for Higher Education, Research, and Innovation responded to a request from comment on the issue, stating that, “Universities are autonomous institutions within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997 and the management of their academic affairs, including the delivery of courses are matters for the individual institutions.

“However, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science would strongly encourage both sides to engage to resolve this matter.”

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NEWS EDITORIAL

By Conor Brummell Hello everyone, and welcome back to the first issue of SIN for the 2020/2021 Academic Year. My name is Conor Brummell and I am the News and Current Affairs Editor of the paper this year.

This year has presented us with its challenges, mainly that most of teaching this year will be online, and that SIN itself will be a virtual paper for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, I can assure you that SIN will be a constant this year, providing you all with the most up-to-date and reliable news stories about NUI Galway going forward.

With that said, the News section this issue is strong, and we have really hit the ground running! Caoimhe Killeen has reported on two very important stories, giving us the low-down on two international students who arrived in Galway for the year who faced difficulties when it came to securing accommodation and finding out information regarding quarantine when they arrived, and a story about the closing of An Teach Solais and how it is going to impact students within the LGBTQ+ community.

We have a story about a new initiative, lobbied for by Young Fine Gael NUI Galway, about Safe Cabs and making nightlife safer for students, written by Valerie McHugh. As well, our Editor Paddy Henry breaks down all you need to know about the discontinuation of the Park and Ride service on campus, and I report on the ongoing issue of unpaid teaching for Postgraduate Workers in the University.

There is all that and more!

Chomh maith leis sin, tá cúpla scríbhneoirí Gaeilge againn san éagran seo- tá agallamh déanta ag Eimear Nig Oireachtaigh le Pádraic Breathnach atá ar fheabhas. Scríobhann Micheal Hernon faoina taithí féin agus é ina chónaí ar an Oileán Inis Mór rith an dianghlasála agus déanann Erin Ní Bhroin anailís chumhachtach ar an suíomh le Jack Chambers ag úsáid Google Translate ar Twitter chun comhghairdeas a rá le Sam Bennett.

As always, SIN is on the look out for new contributors and if you think you have want it takes to get involved, or you simply have a story you would like to see covered, please get in touch at deputy. sined@gmail.com.

FEATURES EDITORIAL

By Saoirse Higgins Hi everyone, and welcome to the first issue of SIN for this year! I’m the new Features editor and I can’t wait to delve into the new academic year.

Although the past few months have been difficult for students during this pandemic, SIN will do it’s best to provide you the best possible insight to what is happening among students on and off campus.

We have some great pieces in the features section of our first issue, so let’s dive in!

To start off, we have our new columnists for the year. Gary Elbert takes on the Mature Student Diary, where he talks social class, and his experience getting into college. Tom Molloy details in his Final Year Diary his nerves about working online in the upcoming year, while Áine Fogarty starts First Year and tells us all about it in her first ever First Year Diary.

Also inside, Rachel Garvey raises awareness about Claddagh Watch Patrol who guard the Corrib and the important role they take on. Katie Barragry also delves into the special role pets have played in comforting us in lockdown, after the sad passing of the President’s Dog Síoda.

If any of you are interested in writing for the paper this year, and feature writing is your thing, don’t be afraid to send me on an email at features.sined@gmail.com, we would only be happy to hear from you!

ARTS AND ENTS EDITORIAL Alice O’Donnell Hello to one and all! My name is Alice and I’m this year’s new Arts and Entertainment editor. I’m a third-year student, studying English, History and Creative Writing. I’m so excited to get going, and if this issue is anything to go by, the coming year of SIN will be jam-packed with fabulously diverse articles written by a bunch of talented writers.

With another lockdown looming on the horizon, and many pubs and cinemas closing their doors it can be hard to fight off boredom. There are only so many times you can reorganise your room, right? Well look no further! Our wonderful contributors have provided some much-needed suggestions to starve off boredom. From podcasts to albums to novels, no matter what you prefer SIN has a suggestion for you.

To any first years out there – remember the word “Macnas”! Macnas is a Galway-based performance group who each year showcase an awe-inspiring show. Although this year is proving to be a little different from previous years (to say the least!) Macnas are undeterred and the show will go on! Rachel Garvey has gotten all the latest news on their newest production, Gilgamesh, as well as really interesting interviews about it.

This issue also welcomes the Book Club segment, where all things books are discussed. Fiona Lee starts it off with a fabulous article on three books she read over lockdown which all look at the lifestyle of a modern feminist. Heartache, romance, trauma, and strength – these books have it all.

Although it is regrettable that SIN cannot be a physical newspaper for the time being, have no doubt this has not impacted the quality of its contents. From firsts years to PhD students, there is something for everyone within these pages. A huge thank you to all the wonderful and talented contributors who have helped make this section one that I am very proud to present to you all. Hope everyone is keeping safe and well during this unusual times and thank you for picking up (or clicking on) this issue of SIN.

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FASHION & LIFESTYLE EDITORIAL

By Anastasia Sytnyk Hi guys! It’s me Anastasia the hedgehog mom! So nice to be back as a sub editor again this year and already seeing some familiar faces popping up in our volunteer group chat. It’s been a crazy year so far; I could swear March was yesterday and I was still the opinion editor and Covid-19 was far far away.

Now look at us! Halloween is approaching and I’m your new Fashion and Lifestyle editor.

The first issue is always the hardest in terms of the nerve wrecking anxiety of coming back and trying to come up with ideas people would love to write about, and also trying to so the job right!

But I must say this issue is looking good for one of our first issues of the new academic year. You guys already know that I’m always happy to help you out and include your ideas under my section and of course chit-chat about a few new additions to it!

So, as your new Fashion and Lifestyle editor I will be giving increased emphasis to on campus stories. if you have a story relating to fashion or lifestyle or something completely new, and it is in any way NUI Galway related, hit me up on my email, lifestyle.sined@gmail.com I will also be doing a recipes section where we will be giving you guys detailed recipes that are not only easy but also cheap! Another section that I will be working on will be a budgeting section where I will give you guys budgeting advice with each new issue!

I’m very excited to work with you for yet another year and hope to see some bright young talents picking up pieces from my section!

Hugs and kisses

OPINION EDITORIAL

By Darren Casserly Hello everybody and welcome to the first issue of SIN for this year!

My name is Darren and I’m the new Opinion Editor for this year. A lot has gone on since the end of last year’s edition, but hopefully you will enjoy this year edition just as much.

We’ve got a lot for you to enjoy in the opinion section this week talking about everything from tips to get back into the swing of things in college to debating the limits of free speech.

There really is something for everyone in this issue!

Katie Barragry writes about how the college experience will be different this year, while Valerie McHugh gives us her tips on how to get back into the swing of things in college.

Aoife Burke writes about a question that has definitely been on the minds of a lot of college students these last couple of weeks, Is college worth it?

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Along these same lines, Danny Brennan discusses whether students are being priced out of college.

Sarah Molloy asks if the growth of far-right movements should worry Irish people and Donagh Broadrick wonders if some topics such as mask wearing are above debate, or if everything is fair game?

Darragh Nolan also judges how the Irish government have handled this pandemic talking about everything from flattening the curve to ‘Golfgate’.

Finally, I would just like to thank all our contributors, and if you have any interest in writing for SIN this year, or have any questions or opinion pieces you think could be published, you can email me at opinion.sined@ gmail.com.

SPORTS EDITORIAL

By Oisín Bradley Hello and welcome to the first issue of SIN! My name is Oisín Bradley, and I’m happy to be taking over as Sports Editor for the upcoming year!

This year brings a lot of challenges to everyone both inside and outside of the University, and we, hidden away in the back pages are no different. That said, we are willing to embrace the challenge and produce a sports section of which you can all be proud.

We have an action-packed week for you, with everything from within the four lines of the football field to the mats of the Taekwondo classes and everything in between, and a bit of NUI’s Anfield interest thrown in for good measure.

Firstly, we turn our attention to the treasurer of the college athletics club Sarah Quinn, who will be giving us an insight into all things athletics. Sarah is well known for her exploits on the track as well, having surged to the title of National Champion in the 100 metre hurdles.

We’re also keeping track of the exploits of our past alumni outside of the world of sport. Niamh Fahey made national headlines this week, as she donned the captain’s armband for Liverpool. Fahey will be looking to help her Merseyside charges bounce back from relegation from the Womens’ Super League.

We’ve an excellent insight into Ultimate Frisbee from one of our own, as Fiona Lee offers an insight into one of the University’s more interesting societies. Elsewhere, we’ve been talking to leading figures in the Taekwondo and Handball clubs on how they plan on making a return in a time of uncertainty.

Galway WFC played out a tight and frenetic 1-0 win over Treaty United in the WNL, and our Editor Paddy Henry was on hand to capture the action in a fixture where Arts student Chloe Singleton was among the goals.

Finally, if any of our readers have any interesting stories you’d like to see covered, or indeed would like to contribute yourselves to this year’s issues, don’t be afraid to e-mail me at sport.sined@ gmail.com. Hope you enjoy the read!

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SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

Students Union call on TD’s to take meaningful action on college fees Paddy Henry The NUI Galway Student’s Union have called on local representatives to take meaningful action on student fees.

The Union has joined the USI and the NUS-USI in the launch of their ‘Education for All’ campaign which is calling for immediate action in higher education funding.

The organisation, which operates across the island of Ireland, and represents 374,000 students has demanded action from Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris on the matter.

In an open letter penned to the Minister the group outlined a number of key areas of concern.

Among these included the € 3,000 student contribution charge, which they want scrapped, A pledge to move towards publicly funded education, a publicly financed building strategy for student accommodation and a charter for student tenant’s rights.

They also called for a reform of student supports across the island that match the cost of being a student in the new decade and an end to precarious working conditions for academic staff.

Student’s Union President Pádraig Toomey called on students to row in behind the proposals and to contact their local public representatives to help the campaign fulfil its aims. “Today students are calling

on their TDs to sign up to a pledge which would commit them to campaigning on the issues outlined in the letter to Minister Harris. We are urging our local representatives to sign up to this pledge.”

Toomey also described the €3,000 student contribution charge as an impediment to accessing higher education in Ireland, “We want to see an immediate reduction of €500 on the student contribution charge in Budget 2021. This charge, which is the highest in the EU, is a major barrier to students accessing Higher education.” said the SU President.

The contentious issue of the student contribution charge came up for discussion in August, when it was announced by Education Minister Norma Foley that Higher level institutes would still be entitled to charge the fee in its entirety, regardless of if access to on-campus learning facilities are restricted Education Officer Emma Sweeney reiterated Toomey’s sentiments, also calling on students to take direct action in contacting their local TD’s and Councillors. “NUIG Students and their families are suffering greatly with job losses, financial uncertainty and continually increasing rent rates in Galway.

“We need our TDs to take action on Higher education and not treat it as an afterthought. Every €1 invested in Higher Education delivers €4 to the wider economy. Galway is a student city and without our students the city will suffer hugely.” she outlined.

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Accommodation aplenty for students as Covid crisis sees demand plummet

Pandemic and timetabling uncertainty see rise in students staying home for the Academic year.

Paddy Henry Student accommodation in Galway City has become the latest sector to fall foul of the Covid-19 pandemic, with accommodation complexes scrambling to fill unoccupied bed spaces ahead of the academic year.

With the college year back in full swing many students have chosen to ditch the convenience of campus proximity to comforts of home for the foreseeable as remote learning becomes the flavour of the month, owing to the current health crisis.

Campus Living, operators of NUI Galway’s on-campus student complexes, Corrib and Goldcrest Village have seen demand for bed spaces drop in comparison to previous years, which General Manager of the company Susan Clancy puts down to the uncertainty surrounding what lies ahead in the academic year.

“Compared to other years there has been less demand, there are still rooms available. We were full in Corrib Village, but we received a few cancellations.”

“It’s just the uncertainty of it all. People are unsure with the mix of online and on campus learning, but we are expecting to be full.” she commented With a number of cancellations in Corrib and Goldcrest pressure mounted on the complexes to provide refunds to students who had initially accepted places within the two student villages but chose against taking up a bed space owing to circumstances.

Campus Living ultimately confirmed that students would be entitled to a refund if they decide not to proceed with their booking due to having less time on campus than originally planned.

Student’s Union Vice President and Welfare and Equality Officer Róisín Nic Lochlainn spoke of the need for similar student complexes to follow suit when it comes to students deciding against taking up prebooked accommodation, “We hope that other student accommodation providers and landlords in Galway will follow the University’s lead and provide refunds to students who no longer need 0accommodation. “ Many students and their families had to make tough decisions to book accommodation with incomplete information about how much time they would actually be on campus. Now that the picture is finally becoming clearer our students are finding themselves stuck with accommodation they can’t afford and no jobs available for them to pay the rent.” she said.

The availability of bed spaces isn’t just confined to Corrib Village however. Off-campus student accommodation complexes have also felt the affects of the pandemic.

Enda McGuane, managing director of Winters Property Management, the company responsible for the running of Dunaras, Gort na Coiribe and Centrepoint spoke to Sin about the challenges they are facing this year.

“There has been an availability of beds this year, but there has been factors that have contributed to this including Covid-19 and uncertainty around Leaving Cert results. There is a lot of uncertainty over CAO processes and appeals this year.” he said.

McGuane also pinpointed a lack of clarity with timetables as a reason for an availability of bed spaces, claiming that the uncertainty makes things difficult for students and parents alike, “It’s a mix of uncertainty, and clarity is certainly needed on timetables. Students in many cases don’t know what hours they are on campus for. It’s difficult for parents and students.” he commented.

The decreased numbers in students saying in Galway has in turn led to n increase on those commuting. Rail and bus services, running at a reduced capacity on account of the pandemic are expected to become heavily relied upon by the student body over the coming weeks and months.

SIN spoke to Mary Raftery, a Final Year Commerce student who, having lived in Galway City for most of her college education, has decided to commute by train from Woodlawn instead, claiming there was “no point” in looking for accommodation in the city.

“I don’t think I’ll have many hours on campus so, for example on a Monday and on a Wednesday I only have one hour a day and there’s no point really living in Galway when I don’t have many hours.

So it’s easier really to commute in and out every day by train.”

“I lived in Galway for first and second year, expect for the first semester but I’m only 40 minutes away on the train.”, she said.

The student also called on Irish Rail to facilitate for the extra demand on their services from students by adding more carriages to their trains at peak times, “Carriages need to be added onto trains especially on the Dublin to Galway route because there are so many people who rely on that service to come in and out of college every day.”, she claimed “As it was before Covid there was already so many students commuting and now the fact that so much more will be because there is less demand for student accommodation, they will have to add more carriages.”, she added.

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October 06 2020

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University Parks Bus Service for Semester One Paddy Henry Editor.sin@gmail.com Students have been left disappointed by the cancellation of NUI Galway’s on campus Park and Ride service for the first semester.

In an email sent to all registered students in the college on the 16th of September, it was announced that; “Regretfully, the Park and Ride shuttle service will not be operating this term.

When viable, the University intends to reinstate it in the future”.

The news has caused outage among Student’s Union Representatives who have called on the University to reinstate the service as soon as possible.

Disability Rights Officer Trish O’Mahony spoke to SIN venting her fury at the decision, highlighting the issues it will cause for people with disabilities on campus. “It is an utter disgrace for

students with disabilities. It is a long distance from one side of college to the other and the service is absolutely essential to all students.” she stated.

O’Mahony reflected on her own experiences as a COPD sufferer and wheelchair user to highlight the necessity of the service, telling SIN “To be quite honest, I’m a COPD sufferer and a wheelchair user and if I had to go to the other side of campus I would need oxygen.”

“I can’t see why if anything, they don’t put on extra buses,” she stated.

Student’s Union President Padraic Toomey also expressed his concern regarding the situation and asked the University to reconsider their position on the matter, “We are very concerned that the bus service operating between north campus and south campus is not running this year.

“This service is invaluable to students with disabilities as their only means for getting around campus. Bus

services elsewhere are operating with required safety measures, so it seems short sighted to completely cancel the service” he stated. “We ask the University to review the decision and ensure the service is in place when campus reopens.” he continued.

Due to the suspension of the bus service, the Student’s Union have called for a 50% reduction on the cost of car parking permits on campus. SIN understands that the fees generated by the University from parking permits have been used to fund the Park and Ride service in the past.

Toomey also implored the University to “show compassion” towards students in line with the principles of the University’s recently published Community Promise , “We’re hoping the University shows compassion, we need to see them working towards that ‘collective good’ that our President has talked about and not to cut resources”.

CityDirect, the company who has run the Park & Ride service have also expressed their disappointment at the decision. In 2018 the company signed a contract to continue to provide the service for 5 more years, however the University have “indefinitely paused” this agreement.

“The University are using Covid-19 and the fact that a lot of staff and students are remote working this semester as their reasoning for stopping the service.” said CityDirect General Manager Gerard Bartley.

“We still have buses on leases and they’re lying idle at the moment. To secure our contract with the University we had to purchase two low-floor wheelchair accessible city service buses, which seat 39 and can accommodate for 23 standees.”

“We’re paying €6,000 a month on loan repayments, that’s how much it’s costing us, for buses we bought specifically for the University.”

“We were carrying people with disabilities and mobility issues who rely on good public transport.” Bartley added.

SIN reached out to NUI Galway’s Buildings and Estates Department for comment on the matter but did not receive comment by the time of printing.

International students living off-campus during Covid-19 pandemic face lack of support from University

By Caoimhe Killeen International students at NUI Galway living off-campus have voiced their concerns over a lack of support from the University during the ongoing Covid19 pandemic.

Despite free transport being provided by the University directly from Dublin Airport to Galway, as well as rooms in Goldcrest and Corrib Village being offered for the mandatory two-week quarantine, students have experienced difficulties in areas from receiving course information to lack of mandatory testing upon their arrival in Galway.

Marlon Shoo, a Higher Diploma Psychology student from the Netherlands, was only sent questionnaires by the University to check for Covid-19 symptoms The first one was sent two weeks before leaving for Galway, and every day during his 2-week quarantine offcampus. But he was not advised to get an in-person test for Covid-19 by the University.

“It was nice, but there was no actual (in-person) check-up,” Marlon stated.

“There was no one who checked if you really didn’t have any symptoms...I think mandatory Covid testing would have been a good thing to install upon arriving in Galway.”

While he has begun to adjust to student life abroad, Marlon also added that there is room for improvement regarding orientation for non-Erasmus students.

“I’m not an Erasmus student so I don’t get information. I have one orientation hour, which takes place next week Monday (28th of September) after I’ve already had my first class of the semester.”

I just hope the University acknowledges the fact that incoming postgraduate students are in some cases also completely new to the university and therefore some more information would be reassuring for us.”

This lack of information may stem from the fact that no one was elected to the position of International Student Officer in the last round of SU elections, leaving the position vacant.

NUI Galway’s Student’s Union President Pádraic Toomey stressed the importance of protecting international students during this unprecedented time. “International

students have come from abroad to a new country and we need to protect them and make sure they aren’t forgotten.

Most students from Ireland can call home for when things get too tough, but our international students are here for their full term and we need to make sure they can make friends and have that opportunity they came here for.” he said.

“We need the university to have support in place to help them transition to their life here.”

He also stressed the need to elect a new International Students Officer as soon as possible: “As soon as elections can be held in person on campus, we will hold them. It’s important that all

these positions are filled, so that all our voices can be heard, and to know what’s important for international students.”

Even for returning students, supports outside of the campus space have been a huge help. Sina Ahmadi, a third-year PhD student in Computer Science and Engineering has been studying at NUI Galway since April 2018 and was living in off-campus accommodation.

After taking necessary Covid-19 precautions for over five months this year, he left Ireland in August to visit his girlfriend and family in his home country of Greece and planned to self-isolate upon his return- despite Greece being on the green list at the time.

However, his accommodation unexpectedly fell through while he was in Greece.

Sina was able avail of information as a tenant through Threshold who guided him through what to do when he was told he could not return to his accommodation after being abroad. he was able to resolve matters with his landlord, and he eventually found a new place in which to self-isolate.

The student described the experience as a big lesson to him, telling SIN: “We

all try to be kind and to compromise in many ways in our lives, despite all the difficulties, but some people don’t take the two sides of the story into account.

Covid-19 is dangerous, and we should all do our best to break the chains of transmission.”

These sentiments have also been echoed at a national level in Government not just for international students, but for those who are coming from other parts of Ireland to attend University.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Higher Education Rose Conway-Walsh spoke at special Oireachtas Covid-19 briefing last week, stating that among those starting University this September are young people who will be living away from home for the first time.

“Considering that Dr Ronan Glynn tells us that Covid is disproportionately spread by younger people, is it realistic to expect them to adhere to the rules on and off-campus? Circumstances that expose students and their families to infection must be minimised. The creep of Covid from campus to county cannot be allowed,” she stated.

6 NEWS & F E ATU R ES

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION AS STUDENT PARTY-GOERS FLOCK TO SPANISH ARCH, ONE DAY AFTER UNIVERSITY’S RETURN

Return of the academic year sees Spanish Arch thronged

By Paddy Henry Editor.sin@gmail.com @PadraigMacEinri Student revellers have been slammed by local representatives and residents, after scenes of mass social gatherings were captured on the Spanish Arch, just one day into the return of the academic year in NUI Galway.

The Spanish Arch and Claddagh area saw congregations of over 300 people on Monday (28th September), most of which were believed to be students.

Photos and videos of the Claddagh carnage spread like wildfire on social media, with the scenes causing outrage among Galway residents and local politicians.

Gardaí dispersed the large crowd

shortly after images of the gatherings began to circulate.

Speaking to SIN, Mayor of Galway City Mike Cubbard described the scenes as ‘a slap in the face to frontline workers.’

“The scenes are shocking and are a slap in the face to frontline workers, to those who continue to adhere to the guidelines and to the majority of students who were not there.”

“All those who went there should be ashamed of their actions, and whilst I accept that younger people have arguably suffered more than most in recent months, it is not an excuse to put the public health of all of Galway at risk”. he added.

The Mayor has called for an emergency meeting between the Student’s Unions of both NUIG and GMIT, An Garda Síochána , the Chief Executive of Galway City Council, and the Presidents of both colleges on the back of Monday night’s mayhem.

Cubbard slammed the reckless behaviour, calling for a meeting with the NUIG and GMIT Student’s Unions Yesterday, there were 390 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland, 21 of which were in County Galway.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that government health officials, were ‘very concerned” about Covid-19 infection rates in the city, with a localised lockdown in the county looking increasingly likely.

Disgusted students expressed their fury at last night’s events describing them as ‘embarrassing’ Other unimpressed college goers laid blame at the feet of the government for a lack of clarity.

Mayor of Galway City Mike Cubbard On Friday (25thSeptember), the Department of Higher Education Innovation and Research announced that all learning at Higher Education institutes would move to an online platform for at least the next two weeks. Some students argued that the announcement, three days prior to the commencement of the college year came too late, arguing that those who had intended to move from their homes to college had already done so.

NUI GALWAY’S STUDENT HEALTH CLINIC:

“Students have huge power to prevent another lockdown”

By Conor Brummell NUI Galway’s Student Health Clinic has reopened and are accepting appointments from students for all Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 health issues and complaints.

The service is operating in a different manner from the usual ‘walk-in service’ they provide, as they strive to provide remote consultations wherever possible for health advice and repeat prescriptions, in order to maintain infection prevention and control protocols.

As public health advice is constantly changing and the country faces a surge in Covid-19 cases, SIN spoke to Eoin Mac Donncha, Medical Director and GP of the Student Health Clinic about the upcoming semester, and the advice he has for student safety during the winter months.

“Though advice and guidelines change, there is certain elements of public health advice that are unwavering, and that is the basics. The key thing is keeping your hands clean, and away from your face- that is your mouth, nose, and eyes. Wherever you see a hand sanitising unit- use it,” Eoin says.

“What I would advise is for students to carry around one of those small

pocket hand sanitisers in their bags, because the amount of time I’ve seen one in shops that has been empty is ridiculous. “The next thing is to wear masks- legislation dictates that you have to wear masks on public transport, in buildings and in shops- but what I would say is that anywhere you feel someone might come into your two-metre space, wear a mask. In corridors, one-way pathway systems on campus-basically anywhere outside your accommodation where you might bump into someone, I would advise students to be wearing a mask.” he added.

In terms of keeping people protected, the Student Health Clinic wants to get every student using the HSE’s Covid Tracker app and the Student Health Matters app.

“There are two elements to the tracker app- it allows you to update how you’re feeling every day and if you’re feeling unwell, it gives you instructions on what to do next. You do not need WIFI for it to work, just your Bluetooth, and that is important because it’s how contact tracing works which is invaluable.

“It’s been highlighted to us in the cases we have seen in the last two weeks how well this app works. It removes the thinking on the student’s part of

whether they need to get tested or notthe app will do that thinking for you. In my opinion, it is brainless for a student not to have the app.”

The Student Health Matters app, on the other hand, is the perfect guide for every student to have. It has HSE advice, as well as having links to all the information one would need, without needing access to WIFI to use it.

In terms of socialising in the coming months, Eoin has no reservations about what needs to happen.

Students need to keep social contacts to a complete minimum.

“You’re going to have to meet some people from your class setting, as well as if you’re part of a sporting team, but that should be it. The ones that are necessary- academics, sport, your housemates- are fine, but beyond that, you should be trying to minimise social contacts as much as possible.”

Mac Donncha spoke about the problems house parties have caused recently in relation to the spread of the virus, “House parties are bananas.” he stated.

“They have unfortunately kicked off a load of problems for us in the past week, and that message needs to get out there. Things can get out of control very quickly.”

New year- same old problems.

Fresher’s flu ravages campuses across the country every semester, but how can students tell the difference between Covid-19 and the common cold?

“If you get any respiratory tack symptoms- such as a cold, a cough or a runny nose- you should probably self-isolate immediately for two days as we don’t want them circulating,” Eoin says.

Covid symptoms are quite simple: if you have any type of cough, or if you have a fever, you should get tested.

“There is one piece of equipment I would recommend every student gets this year, and that is a thermometer. It does not have to be fancy, just one that sticks under the tongue to measure your temperature is fine and they only cost a couple of euro.”

“Everyone knows what a fever feels like- the aches and pains, the chills and hot feeling at the same time- everyone knows them. The game changer is if we can confirm whether the temperature is higher than 38 degrees. That is a definite symptom of Covid-19.”

“The last symptoms people need to look out for is a complete loss of smell or a complete change or loss of your sense of taste. If that happens, stay in your accommodation, or get back there immediately to self-isolate and contact a GP.”

“If anyone is any doubt, don’t let the student try to decipher whether it is a cold or Covid. Get in contact and we will help you out. Err on the side of caution, and self-isolate.”

News came on Friday evening (25th of September) that NUI Galway, along with all other college campuses across the country, would be moving operations online for two weeks to combat the surge in Coronavirus cases nationwide.

The doctor warned of the precarious position Galway finds itself in currently in relation to Covid cases, and claimed that students have a big say in whether cases continue to rise in the city.

“I think at the moment, the power rests in the hands of students and the community of Galway. Practice hand hygiene, and if you are meeting up with social contacts, it must be at a minimum.

The fewer contacts you have, if anyone gets it, the less likely it is to spread.”

“Galway is entering a tipping point, and the next two weeks are crucial. Students have huge power to influence that.

Huge power.”

If you have any health queries, please visit https://www.nuigalway.ie/health_unit/ to book a consultation online.

For urgent queries, phone 091 492604.

N UAC HT

October 06 2020

7

GNÉ -ALTANNA

7

Issues with ‘blended learning’ #NUIGSafeCabs aims to make system leave students with nightlife safer for students unmanageable timetables

By Valerie McHugh

By Fiona Lee Students have raised concerns over their timetables on account of NUI Galway’s new ‘blended learning’ system.

Students will have both online and on-campus lectures as a part of the new structure. With online lectures potentially being scheduled directly before or after on-campus lectures, giving students only 10 minutes to travel between their homes and the college campus, which for most students is not doable.

SIN spoke to students about their timetables and how the blended learning and lack of confirmed classroom space for online lectures on-campus will affect their college year.

“My timetable currently has me down for six on-campus lectures and seven online lectures. This wouldn’t be a problem except many of them are directly after each other. For example, one afternoon a week I have a five-hour block of campus, online, online, campus, online lectures, in that order.

“It takes me at least 20 minutes to get home cycling, so there’s no way I’d get between campus and my home on time for my lectures, let alone unlock my bike and set up my learning space. As a result, I have to either rush from place to place and miss a minimum of a 10-minute chunk from every lecture, or I have to pick lectures to miss so that I can attend other ones properly. Either way I’m going to miss out on valuable learning time” Commuting students are also struggling with the mixture on online and in class learning.

One commuter spoke to SIN about the issues facing students travelling to and from college this year and called for every lecture to be made available online, “I’m a commuting student this year and my timetable is so awkward. With the mixture of online and in class lectures it’s very hard to gauge whether it’s even worth coming into college this year.”

“Some days I have to do a 2-hour commute for only 3 lectures! Everything should be available online in my opinion, it’s unfair given the situation, especially for students are vulnerable or live with vulnerable people.”, she said.

SIN spoke to Student Unions president, Pádraic Toomey, who is aware of the issue and is working towards a potential solution.

“We are looking for spaces on campus to facilitate online learning. We have been suggested that the Bailey Allen could be one of these spaces and we are pushing for that and more” he told SIN. The Student’s Union have been in contact with the members of NUI Galway’s University Management Team, outlining the issue in a letter, “Students will need spaces where they can participate in activities such as synchronous lectures and peer learning activities. These activities involve students using laptops and speaking. Obviously, the limited spaces in the Library and Reading Room are not conducive to these activities.

Pod type spaces would be ideal for this.”

The letter also highlighted the lack of sufficient social and study spaces on-campus.

“Instead of telling students where they can’t go, they will need spaces they can go. Social spaces will need to be created as places they can go between physical lectures, labs and tutorials.”

“Study spaces will need to be widely available for students to use between lectures, and for students who do not have suitable space at home or in their shared accommodation. The reopening of the library has been a welcome relief, but obviously space is very limited”.

No plans have been confirmed for public spaces on campus as of yet, with the college year already in full swing.

Galway LGBTQIA+ Students left devastated at loss of An Teach Solais Resource Centre

By Caoimhe Killeen An Teach Solais Resource Centre which provided support and resources to the LGBTQA+ community in Galway has closed, leaving the city without a vital centre for the community.

The closure of the Victoria Place office was announced last month by AMACH! LGBT Galway on their social media platforms, with the centre closing its doors on August 31st.

It cited a lack of sustainable funding and government support as the reason for its closure, as well as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The centre had faced closure since last November but had been able to stay open thanks to crowdfunding efforts of the local community via GoFundMe and through protests over its closure.

AMACH! LGBT Galway stated that the decision to close An Teach Solais was not an easy conclusion to come to, saying that: “We must focus on the future and continue to work hard for our community with the resources we currently have. We look forward to continuing our work building a safe, happy and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ people in Galway and the West of Ireland.”

AMACH! LGBT Galway was set up in November 2009 by members of the Galway LGBT community, with its official launch as a non-profit organisation in July 2010. Its mission statement is to “reflect equally the diversity within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community by encouraging positive participation from the community.”

They also provided support though educational and training workshops, peer support groups, free HIV testing through AIDS West, as well as a drop-in

service for appointments, and An Teach Solais was embodied in one of AMACH! LGBT Galway’s aims as “an accessible and safe Resource Centre that can be utilised by the LGBT+ community.”

While the centre had been holding online dropin clinics via Zoom since the start of the nationwide lockdown, the loss of the centre is still felt by many, the centre was described by An Teach Solais themselves as “a centre for the community run by the community.”

Some NUI Galway students who benefited from their services also expressed their sadness over the closure of the centre.

“Teach Solais represented community, and the simple act of popping in for a cuppa and a chat was enough to brighten your week. You could live your best queer life free from the fear of judgment or harassment,” said Callum Boyle-Ferry, Vice-Auditor of NUI Galway’s Bródsoc, a society for members of the LGBT+ community as well as anyone interested in LGBT+ rights, who organise social events on campus.

Callum also added that An Teach Solais was regarded as “a symbol of unity, and the loss of the centre is devastating to the Galway LGBTQIA+ population.”

Maeve Arnup, NUI Galway’s Students Union Gender and LGBT+ Rights Officer, and former Bródsoc Auditor also spoke to SIN about the centre’s closure: “I think it’s going to be a very difficult year for students in general, but even more so to LGBT+ students, who often first explore their identity in college.

“Usually they could find support and friends through the LGBT+ society, Bródsoc, or though Teach Solais, but now with college being mostly online and the closure of Teach Solais, I think it’s going to make things a lot more challenging for them,” she stated.

NUI Galway Young Fine Gael members have been lobbying for the Student’s Union to liaise with local taxi companies to create a contingency plan for students who find themselves unable to pay for a taxi home late at night.

The plan would allow a student card to be exchanged with the driver at the end of a taxi ride instead of payment, with the bill being reimbursed by the SU. The initiative aims to reduce the number of students taking unnecessary risks by walking home alone late at night due to not having budgeted for a taxi journey home or by accidentally running out of money.

Sarah Canavan, a member of YFG in NUI Galway says, “It’s an idea we got from UL that we thought would really benefit NUIG students. It worked for them and it has been in place there for six or seven years. You hear all these horrible stories of people getting attacked on a night out, or something awful happening when someone is walking home alone. This plan aims to stop people endangering themselves by walking home alone.”

The YFG petition was welcomed by many students, receiving over 250 signatures. The petition has since been brought to the SU and a proposed plan has been established. The plan would allow the Student’s Union to pay the taxi driver for a student’s taxi trip if a student card were given to the driver.

Responsibility would remain with the student to collect their student card from the Student’s Union the next day and reimburse the Union for the taxi charge. Sarah continued to say that having this initiative in place could help students out if things do not go to plan on a night out.

“We all can overspend on a night out, or you might think you are going to split a taxi with someone and that might not happen. A lot of the time, you hear somebody saying that they didn’t have the money to get a taxi home late at night.”

The YFG and Student’s Union are continuing efforts to get the University to implement this contingency plan as soon as possible.

Canavan stated that: “No one has picked up on it yet as Covid-19 is the priority with people getting people back to college. Our hope is to have it implemented after the Christmas.

“We did want to start it this semester if we could, but with the timeframe it wasn’t possible,” Sarah finished.

Pádraic Toomey, NUI Galway’s Student’s Union President, agrees with the Safe Cab initiative but feels as though there is complications with its implementation this year. In a statement to SIN, he commented: “We met with some of the committee over Safe Cabs a few months ago. We are happy to support any initiative to help students, but the program has a couple of issues if we were to run it.”

“The problem we have with running the program this year is that any cards collected by taxi drivers would have to quarantine for 72 hours. When they would be left in our office, they would also need another 72 hours to quarantine before a student collecting them to ensure there is every measure taken to ensure people are kept safe.

“We are happy to support them and we feel if the Student Information Desk got involved to run the initiative, it would work better. They have more capacity for storage and to manage student cards as it stands,” he concluded.

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8 NEWS & F E ATU R ES

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

Flirt Fm at 25: “No matter what hurdles we face, I want people to feel like the station is one of the constants.”

By Conor Brummell Flirt Fm was set up in 1995 as part of a pilot scheme in community radio run by the Independent Radio and Television commission.

It was one of eleven stations in the scheme, and one of four that were run by Third-Level institutions. It was spear-headed by the Radio Society in NUI Galway, University Campus Galway back then, which had formed in 1993 with the intention of setting up a permanent student station in Galway. Then in 1995, the commission granted four ‘special interest’ radio licenses to Dublin, Limerick, Cork, and Galway.

Flirt Fm is one of 21 community radio stations in Ireland today, and SIN spoke to Paula Healy, current station manager at Flirt Fm, about the colossal achievement of making it to 25 years of broadcasting.

“There is a sense of achievement having got

to a quarter of a century,” Paula says at the start of the interview. “It should be just a celebration this year – but it isn’t just a celebration – it’s been a bit of a struggle over the summer. It’s going to be a bit of a strange one.”

Paula is of course referring to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the lockdown which started in March that meant the Flirt Fm team lost access to their studios, due to Áras na Mac Léinn being used as a HSE testing centre.

However, volunteers pulled together, prerecording shows from home to go out on air and keeping the show on the road.

“There’s going to be none of the usual things we do to celebrate,” Paula continues, saying that “there’ll be no pints, no meals out and no packing eight people into a studio to do a show together.”

“We are doing a 25-hour global broadcast though, and it’ll be nice to hear people’s voices

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and see their faces (over Zoom), but it will be a strange one. I’m hoping by the 30th Anniversary we’ll be able to cram people into the studios again.”

The 25-hour broadcast came together easily, says Paula, with volunteers actively trying to get involved with the celebrations, a testament to Flirt Fm’s legacy and the memories people have from the station. “I was delighted there were so many people in America and Vietnam who got in touch because they’re going to do those weird, middle of the night shifts because it suits their time zones,” she laughs.

“But it is lovely that people are so willing to come back and do things like this because it shows people do still have a grá for it.”

Paula has been a part of the furniture in the studios on-and-off since she started her undergraduate degree in NUI Galway in 1998, taking a hiatus, and then coming back as Assistant Manager in 2005.

“We are doing a 25-hour global broadcast, and it’ll be nice to hear people’s voices and see their faces (over Zoom)...

I was delighted there were so many people in America and Vietnam who got in touch because they’re going to do those weird, middle of the night shifts because it suits their time zones,” she laughs.

She tells SIN about some of her favourite memories of the station from that time.

“Michael D. Higgins came to launch the building in 2009, and he wasn’t President at that point, but he was still Michael D., so it was exciting! The photographer taking photos told me to put these massive studio headphones on his head, and we did but it felt so weirdbecause he is only small, and these headphones were massive on him. That was a bit of a buzz.”

“Another one would have been when I got the

broadcasting license submitted- I got the train up to Dublin and when I got to the desk to hand it in, I was so tired that when I was Instagramming it, instead of being like YAY! I was more like, yaaaay. I was so tired,” she laughs.

Paula also recalls the time that herself and Alan Meaney, former Assistant Manager of Flirt Fm, took part in a nineties vs noughties DJ set in the Róisín Dubh for a silent disco, and they were the noughties, lobbing Beyoncé and the works on throughout the night. That, and all the countless times they have had people sitting around the studios having coffee and chats, are some of her favourite memories.

Flirt Fm is known for honing creative talent in the studios, giving students their first steps into radio, and showing them the ropes.

There have been thousands of students trained in over the years.

Still, Paula feels that community radio is sometimes not given the recognition it deserves. “It’s frustrating when you hear ads going out [on commercial stations] – the HSE have taken ads out on community stations which is great – because Community Radio is so important as part of the conversation about keeping people safe. You hear adverts from the RSA, too, and it’s like why couldn’t that have been broadcasted on a Community Station?”

“Every Community Radio manager around the country is firefighting, struggling for the life of their station and it is so hard to push out what you do. But Community Radio stations are also covering what nobody else in the country is covering – we are the third strand of media in Ireland – and as a result, I feel we are sometimes overlooked.”

Paula and the Flirt Fm team are looking forward to the future and getting on with the new normal, albeit socially distanced for the foreseeable. When asked about plans, Paula says, “The University is changing, and so is the campus. There is loads more students and different courses. “I’d like to see more science-based broadcasting. The station is poised as a University-College Radio Station and we have the potential to put out scientifically backed up broadcasting and have it where people come to us for that information.”

“Apart from that, we’re just going to keep going as we are. Training is moved online, but I feel like there is huge potential there for accessibility for the likes of students in Shannon College or up in Mayo, or even for the student who is commuting one-day a week for lectures.

What I want is to reach out and pull people in, wherever they may be.”

“I think the key thing is in the next year or two, is keeping up the sense that Flirt Fm is a hub and a community, and that people feel like it is their station. No matter what hurdles we face, I want people to feel like the station is one of the constants,” she finished.

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10 F EATU R E S

MOL NA MEÁIN:

Pádraic Breathnach Le Eímear Nig Oireachtaigh

Is é seo colún nua Gaeilge ag SIN- ina phléann Eímear Nig Oireachtaigh daoine a bhíonn ag obair sna meáin, agus an bheart atá déanta acu maidir leis an teanga.

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

DOG DAYS — Pet support in Quarantine

By Katie Barragry

Tá seans maith ann go bhfuil a i t h n e a g a t a r P h á d ra i c Breathnach mar gheall ar a ról mar ‘Jacksie’ – an tábhairneoir i Killinaskully. Ach tá go leor déanta aige seachas sin – bhunaigh sé ‘Macnas,’ grúpa mór aisteoireachta i nGaillimh mar shampla. Bhí deis agam labhairt leis, agus bhí a lán le rá aige.

Thosaigh mé amach le ceist chonspóideach – “Conas a spreagann tú an Ghaeilge i do shaol féin?”

Tá cáil ar Pháraic as a mhacántacht, agus ba léir é sin dom as a fhreagra díreach: “Ní cheapaim go bhfuil aon dualgais orm an Ghaeilge a spreagadh.”

Lean sé ar aghaidh ag míniú go bhfuil go leor duine ag cur béime ar spreagadh an teanga, ar fhoghlaimeoirí an teanga, ar ghach rud seachas í a labhairt.

Ní aontaím go hiomláin leis - tá mé ag iarraidh an dá thrá a fhreastal, idir spreagadh an teanga agus í a labhairt. Is dócha go dtaispeánann sé sin mo phearsantacht féin níos mó ná aon rud eile. Tá mé i gcónaí ag iarraidh go mbeidh gach duine sásta!

Maidir leis an teanga ina shaol féin, úsáideann sé ina shaol pearsanta go minic í, ach “is fíorannamh” ina úsáideann sé an Ghaeilge ina shaol proifisiúnta.

Agus cén fáth?

“Níl mórán daoine i m’earnáil ag obair ina bhfuil Gaeilge acu.”

Bhí ionadh orm é sin a chloisteáil, ach is dócha go bhfuil mo bholgán féin agam ina bhfuil go leor Gaeilge ann, agus i ndáiríre, ní hé sin an saol do go leor daoine.

Ach ansin chuala mé abairt nach raibh mé ag súil leis: uaireanta fiú nuair a bhíonn tú ag aisteoireacht i scannán Gaeilge, is é an Béarla a labhraítear ar chúl stáitse.

An féidir leat sin a chloisteáil?

Sin an idéalú a bhí agam den

earnáil Gaeilge sna hEalaíona i smidiríní.

Ar ndóigh, ba bhreá le Pádraic níos mó obair a dhéanamh as Gaeilge, ach bhí fadhbanna eile aige maidir leis a chanúint.

Dar leis féin, níl sé ar a chompord riamh agus é ag labhairt as Gaeilge, go dtí go mbíonn sé siar abhaile lena siblíní - “Tá sé deacair nuair a airíonn tú nach bhfuil tú in ann a bheith oscailte, nuair nach bhfuil aon saoirse cainte agat.” Níor smaoinigh mé air sin riamh, mar bhean as Cill Mhantáin, le blas Baile Átha Cliath Theas orm. Láithreach, bhí náire orm faoi gach uair a chuir mé ceist ar chainteoir dúchais rud éigin a athrá. Ach ní hé sin an sprioc a bhí aige, bhí sé díreach ag labhairt go macánta.

Ní raibh ach ceist amháin fágtha agam – agus is breá liomsa rudaí a chríochnú ar fhocal dearfach- “Céard é an rud is fearr leat faoin nGaeilge?”

“An spraoi,” a deir sé. “Is é an chlisteacht teanga a thaitníonn liom is mó, agus an chaoi gur féidir leat rudaí a rá go leataobhach.”

Caithfidh mé a rá, is é sin ceann de na rudaí is fearr liomsa freisin.

Is féidir leat rudaí a rá as Gaeilge, agus nuair a deir tú an rud céanna as Béarla, níl an cuma chéanna air.

Bhí comhrá iontach agam le Páraic, agus tá go leor saothair aige atá le moladh. Bhí ról aige sa scannán Michael Collins, ach má tá tú ag iarraidh é a fheiceáil ag aisteoireacht as Gaeilge, molaim an gearrscannán ‘An Leabhar’ – pléann an scannán dúnmharú i bPáras agus tá na póilíní ansin agus na Gardaí i nGaillimh ag obair le chéile chun an duine a ghabháil.

For many of us lockdown was quite literally like being in the doghouse. We were confined to a small space, our movements were restricted and ultimately, we didn’t understand how we had ended up there.

It was as if we had been punished and were frankly, quite miserable about it.

Quarantine was undoubtedly a difficult time for everyone, and it is no secret that our lives have changed drastically in the last few months. Along with the constant anxiety of a pandemic, working from home, a lack of socialisation and nowhere to go took its toll on us. There was little escape and little to look forward to.

However, despite the often-monotonous days of confinement, many people will concur that their pets cheered them up during lockdown. Along with banana bread, home haircuts and YouTube workouts, that is.

We recently heard of the sad passing of President Michael D. Higgins’ dog Síoda. People offered their sincerest condolences to the Higgins family which is a testament to how the President’s dog had become a modern symbol of our country in recent years. There is something beautiful and unique about Ireland and its people as tributes began to pour in nationwide for the beloved canine. A mural has even been erected in Ringsend, Dublin of the Bernese Mountain Dog, entitled “Naomh Síoda Madra na hÉireann.”

A street artist known as High King Jack painted the mural of Síoda, depicting her as a saint. The witty caption that accompanied the artist’s photo on Instagram perfectly captures how many Irish people felt about the President’s adored dog, “In honour of an absolute unit in the world of Irish diplomacy; Michael D’s late dog…rest easy.”

For many, losing a pet is up there with the hardest things that life will

throw at you. Many of us grew up with a family dog; someone you played with all day and someone you secretly fed scraps to off the kitchen table. For others, it was a cat that would purr in your arms until you both fell asleep, or a rabbit that you would buy fresh carrots especially for. Many of us had a fish or two that required little maintenance but were important family members all the same.

What these pets have in common is companionship. Although, they can’t speak, they’re here for us. They interact with us. They entertain us. They distract us from our daily worries.

During lockdown, many of us felt increasing levels of panic and stress in our everyday lives. Our dogs and cats in particular played a calming role. Pets reduce our stress levels. They distract us and put our minds at ease. Be it going for a walk outside or lying on the couch together, their company just relaxes us.

When I’m home alone, I like the security of knowing my two dogs are in the house with me. They are big friendly giants but will bark and howl when needed. Pets reduce loneliness and feelings of isolation. They keep us company. Many domestic animals served as a vital lifeline for people during lockdown. They give us something to focus on and to care for, while comforting us in return.

Having a pet at home is a bond like no other. Our furry friends really showed their value, companionship, and loyalty during national quarantine. Unfortunately, we have recently seen rising reports in the number of pets, particularly dogs being stolen from households.

What would possess someone to take a family member away from their loved ones is beyond me. Please mind your pets, keep them safe and ensure they are protected when you’re not at home where possible.

There’s a beautiful quote from Marley and Me that sums up the value that dogs and pets in general have in our lives, “A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water-log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

Pets really are invaluable, so take care of them and they’ll take care of you.

GNÉ -ALTANNA

October 06 2020

11

The Importance of Good to be Back Claddagh Watch Patrol

By Sarah Slevin

By Rachel Garvey We all may have heard of them, we all may have stumbled across them on nights out, but do we really know the importance of what they do?

During a brief online interview with Claddagh Watch Patrol’s secretary, Deborah Carr, SIN learned that the volunteers in the organisation are always trying to build awareness of what they do and are always looking to recruit new members.

Delving further onto Volunteer Ireland’s website, a much larger insight was given into what the Claddagh Watch Patrol do, as well as what is required if people were to volunteer in the future.

“The volunteers patrol the waterways and bridges of Galway at night to prevent accidents and death and also to promote water safety. In the event of an incident, they will also alert the emergency services”.

Revellers on a warm evening down

by Galway’s wonderful waterways will be familiar with these volunteers, tending not to acknowledge them in the way that they should.

People need to know that these volunteers are here for our safety and well-being and their volunteer work deserves the spotlight.

“The volunteers mainly patrol at night and with the priority of safety first they assess situations if one may arise and attempt an intervention if necessary, and report incidents to authorities. Each team uses a radio and stick to safeguard designated zones and will have a supervisor overseeing every patrol. Their main patrol areas are O’Brien’s Bridge, Wolfe Tone Bridge, Claddagh Basin, the Docks, the Long Walk, and the Claddagh Quay.

The volunteers must have a calm, tolerant and objective method of interaction when dealing with vulnerable people where alcohol, drugs or a mental illness is involved”.

Each volunteer is also required to wear Claddagh Watch Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) when they are out on patrol.

Another reason why Claddagh Watch patrol deserves a lot of recognition is the hours that they work

when volunteering. While the majority of people are either in bed asleep or out on a night out, the patrol force commence their shift between 9:30pm and 10:30pm only ending between 2:30am and 5am. For people to be volunteering at that time is applaudable, especially being so close to freezing cold water for that length of time.

People genuinely don’t realise the importance of their role.

“Good observation and awareness skills are needed as well as empathy and the ability to work as part of a team. A great deal of commitment and punctuality is also essential and First Responder knowledge would also be a good bonus.” A lot of people have been hesitant to volunteer because they think that swimming is a requirement, but the ability to swim is not vital as volunteers are not permitted to enter the water at any time.

They truly are an organisation that deserve more credit and appreciation for what they do in keeping Galway’s residents safe.

Arrows and stop signs, a voice overhead in An Bhialann and table service at Sult – life at NUI Galway has certainly altered, to say the least.

As many of us return to our beloved campus, we are suddenly questioning the right way to walk to our destination; not because we are unfamiliar with our surroundings, but because of the freshly painted traffic-flow arrows scattered generously below our feet.

For those of you who tread these paths for the first time, you might gain peace of mind in knowing that you are in the majority when you are unsure which way to go!

Yellow jackets worn by friendly faces were around every corner. Each new student roaming the campus could have had their own personal guide: the abundance of these helpers and the scarcity of students was unmatched by any other Freshers week I can remember.

Despite Covid-19 restrictions being a recipe for confusion on such a widespread campus, a calm atmosphere encapsulated my orientation day. I even dare say, it began to give myself, and many of my new classmates, a welcome feeling of normality.

And maybe it was just the so-called ‘new normal’. However, getting to see people and

hear voices, albeit a safe distance away, is enough for me after the last 6 months.

But what about those confined to the four walls of their bedroom and the screen of their laptop?

Truth be told, we can only really guess the impact home-learning will have over the course of an entire academic year. And although online courses have existed for quite some time now, there is huge disparity between a course which is specifically made for online and one that suddenly needs to be adapted to fit into the online mould.

Arguably, the most important tool for students who are now finding themselves studying primarily online is communication. If communication lines are kept open, it will not only ease the transition but may also give opportunity for improvements and change. Speaking to lecturers, tutors, and department heads, even if it is virtually, will be fundamental in sustaining as much academic satisfaction as possible.

Not to mention, we are all still human beings behind the masks and the screens: social engagement is a powerful but beautiful force and we must never lose it!

It may be different, disappointing and disheartening that Covid-19 continues to disrupt our experiences, education and everyday life, but, like all living beings, adaption is vital and is well within our capabilities!

12 F E ATU R E S

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

“I used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day. Now I can run 90 miles a week.”

Gary Elbert details the myriad of emotions he felt as he undertook the Connemara 100 Miles

By Gary Elbert “It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,

whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who

spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” — Theodore Roosevelt

B

ACK IN THE DYING EMBERS of a surreal summer, an unusually crisp and clear Clifden morning saw the 2020 edition of Connemara 100 begin. I was one of the 51 competitors, a record number of entrants who undertook the challenge.

At the dawn of 2020, the intention was to run a 40-mile race and a 50-mile ultra in May before gradually progressing towards a 100-miler next year. A dangerous and virulent virus selfishly upended my personal athletic plans. I could now empathise with Carl Froch that time when the volcanic ash cloud disrupted his pugilistic plans. As the sobering reality of lockdown took shape, I sought a new target, a fresh challenge, something to get me out of bed at 6am and run for two hours in the rain and wind. Cancelled races fell like dominos.

All that was left was the Connemara 100, Ireland’s toughest road race.

My immediate goals were to consistently increase my weekly mileage and improve my running economy. As a long-time fan of weight training and plyometrics I often felt my running style was too stiff and lacked efficiency. Most running coaches recommended regular sprint training alongside the long- haul slow mileage endurance work. The sim-

By placing yourself willingly in adverse physical situations you are in effect challenging your brain and recalibrating what it thinks you are capable of.

GNÉ -ALTANNA

October 06 2020

13

Leaving Roundstone, Clannad’s ‘Newgrange’ oozed from the car stereo as I plodded on. We allowed our minds to wander alongside the music. I thought of the millions of Irish people who lived and died, the pain and suffering that haunted these lands during the famine.

ple fact of the human body in general is that when it is challenged it will respond with growth. It will become more efficient, faster, and sharper. And so it proved. I became faster and my running economy improved leaps and bounds. I mixed 30km runs with track sessions on the track. I ran every day, sometimes at 6am and often between 4 and 7pm. I wanted it. I wanted to complete 100 miles in one day. I wanted to know could it be done and if so, what would it feel like afterwards.

Why run 100 miles? Why do anything? Why scoff a pizza and watch Home and Away? Why smoke a cigarette when you know it will give you cancer?

Why ask another person why they do anything?

Knowing your why however is vital when undertaking endurance challenges. The supercomputer between our ears always veers towards avoidance of struggle and difficulty. And the computers signals are amplified after 50 miles of running and 30 degrees heat.

Why 100 miles?

Because the human body is more than capable of doing so. We as a species possess all the physiological hardware required to cover vast distances over a short period of time. We are nomads at heart, exploratory intelligent primates who like to roam and hunt and seek new territories not sat peering into a laptop

getting psychologically triggered by devious tech platforms.

Why? Because I want to test myself. Because I want to apply myself to a difficult and meaningful task that will bring the very best out of me. I want to observe my mind, how it reacts in times of adversity.

I want to study my mind, its weaknesses, its pretences, its tricks and ticks. And in this live psychological autopsy the aim is to apply the knowledge gained to apply in other areas of life. To become a better human.

This will be a serious test of my mental and physical resilience. I want to see can I pass the examination.

A sub 1.30 half marathon personal best kicked off May’s training followed by a first ever track marathon around the track in Westside Playing Fields.

I remember almost packing it in after 33km as the rain started to fall. Building your mental toughness is vital for ultra-running and the only way to do so is to place yourself in such positions where your mind is screaming at you to stop but you consciously opt to control the narrative, re-calibrate the internal voice, changing it from automatic to self-directed. Much evidence exists of exercise changing the shape of the human brain. I can attest to it. The training of the body must be the primary foundation before the mind can then be retrained.

I used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day.

Now I can run 90 miles a week. The transformation involved serious physical and mental rewiring. I enjoy that process. The journey continues. It is not the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is the pursuit. In the striving for mastery peace can be discovered.

By placing yourself willingly in adverse physical situations you are in effect challenging your brain and recalibrating what it thinks you are capable of.

Preparing for Connemara 100 served a timely reminder of the limits my own mind was placing on my concept of potential.

By mid-June I was cranking out 80 to 90 miles per week. I would run a marathon on a Sunday after already running a 100km in the previous 4 days. Monday evening, I was out on the road again. I went for the time on my feet approach.

I ran fatigued, I ran when I did not want to. I keep churning out the miles. On any given week you could spot me on the motorway coming in from Oranmore or chugging along the Prom in the lashing rain. I refused to allow weather conditions to impede on what had to be done.

My final heavy week involved a sevenday, 100-mile training block which began at 6am on a horrendous morning of hailstones in Connemara and finished sprinting up the hills and trails around the Algarve town of Lagos. Returning

home to taper and self-isolate I began to relish the challenge now which was so tantalisingly close.

A year ago, I was eliminated on day three of Ultimate Hell Week, the RTÉ television show where civilians take on the Irish Army Ranger selection course. The performance haunted me for months. I approached Connemara 100 as a shot at redemption.

It was a sumptuous crystal-clear day when 51 brave athletes jogged out of Clifden. Ultrarunning is about troubleshooting problems as much as the actual running and on the day, luck blessed myself and my team. Between mile 40 at Maam Cross and mile 56 at Leenane the demons screamed loudest as the heat exceeded 30 degrees. I had the impression at one stage of the mountains mocking me. How dare you come here and disrespect this sacred ground.

Leaving Leenane at 7pm, hobbling, it looked like a tall order. 44 miles to go with the legs seized, dehydrated, sunburnt, limping out of the town where the Bull McCabe sank pints. Hobbling, damaged, limping but still moving forward.

Undefeated.

Unwavering.

Resolute.

Resilient.

The camaraderie amongst the fellow runners is what keeps you going. These events have a magical and reality shifting psychedelic quality. They offer an experience that distils the very best of human beings in their purest form. We are running from one point to another and we are willing to endure pain and suffering to do so. We want to overcome.

We want to achieve. We want to accomplish. We want something to make us smile if we’re lucky enough to reach old age. We want to sip whiskey on a rocking chair while looking back on a life with some big proud shiny moments that mix with the whiskey to warm the soul.

Running back down the Inagh Valley 62 miles in and surfing off a second wind as the heat died down, I felt a warm glow of satisfaction that money cannot buy.

Its very difficult to describe the spiritual effects of participating in these events, they offer a corridor into a higher plain of consciousness.

We headed into the night renewed and refocused. But just when you think you have dispelled the demons they will return; one of many life lessons packed into an ultra-event. Before turning off towards Roundstone you are greeted with an impossibly cruel sign stating Clifden 15km.

I cursed the race director “Why didn’t he just leave it at 80 miles!”

The night crawled in and we marched on to Roundstone, alternating between walking and running fuelled by Tailwind, Nurofen, and thoughts of the finish line.

Leaving Roundstone, Clannad’s ‘Newgrange’ oozed from the car stereo as I plodded on. We allowed our minds to wander alongside the music. I thought of the millions of Irish people who lived and died, the pain and suffering that haunted these lands during the famine.

The poverty, the poetry, the misery, the ghosts of our past seemed to rise from the dark fields around us as we ploughed on deep into the night.

Spotting the lights of a crew car ahead my chief crew member remarked.

“Time to take a few souls, kid”.

Reaching Clifden at 5am, relief washed over me in repeated waves. A final hilariously cruel twist means a runner must lap the town 3 times before crossing the finish line.

By then I had mentally checked out and ended up losing 4 places. This is something I aim to fix next year.

I was neither elated nor emotional.

I expected to finish. My training had brought me here, I knew the work I had put in. I knew what I had done in the three months prior. The experiences and emotions shared along the way with people from all walks of life provides the fuel to keep you going when times get hard. Another valuable lesson learned in the crucible of endurance. The man in the arena. That old Roosevelt quote. The credit belongs to the man in the arena.

Do you want to be an observer or do you want to be a participant in the arena of life?

Hard times, negative thoughts, and challenging situations are a revolving and relentless fact of the human condition.

This race was a reminder of the deep reserves of resilience, respect, and empathy we all possess when we strip away much of the unnecessary and destructive elements of modern life.

I was one the of lucky 39 who finished the race in conditions more suited to California than Clifden.

A sub 24-hour finish and memories that will last a lifetime. Moments engraved in my brain triggering new fresh narratives pulsating with hope and anticipation.

All for less than a hundred quid.

Shout out to all those lovely people who were a part of the journey.

Roll on 2021.

EVENT w e r C Want to learn how to organise events?

Join the SU Event Crew!

Contact su.president@nuigalway.ie for more info

@nuigsu

NUIGalwayStudentsUnion www.su.nuigalway.ie

GNÉ -ALTANNA

October 06 2020

First Year Diary

Mature Student Diary

By Aine Fogarty

By Gary Elbert BA Connect Journalism with Psychology, Sociology and Politics

Hey everyone, my name is Aine Fogarty and this is my first-year diary. In this diary I will document my experiences during my first year here at NUI Galway.

I am studying Arts with Creative Writing. I am from Offaly and I went to the Sacred Heart school in Tullamore.

To start off, I’ll tell you a few things about myself.

I spend most of my free time reading and writing fanfics, which is why I gravitated towards a course with creative writing. I’m a die-hard Harry Potter fan and embarrassingly, I love Twilight too.

When I decide to take a break from reading, I usually will binge shows on Netflix. At the moment, I’m re-watching Misfits for the fifth time!

My acceptance into first year creative writing was a shock. When I received my calculated grades, I was below the points needed for it. Thankfully, the course points dropped drastically, and I secured a place.

Galway has been the city I have dreamed of experiencing college in for years, and to finally have achieved it was an amazing feeling as I’m sure many of you felt too.

Starting college wasn’t easy though. Moving away from home was scary and making new friends was daunting to me, but in the end, I had nothing to worry about. I’m living in Corrib Village and my roommates and I get on great.

Orientation week as we all know was very different this year. The online introductions to subjects helped me greatly with making my decisions on what subjects to take, but it was still sad not to be able to experience it in person on campus. I ended up choosing English, Philosophy and Psychology to go along with Creative Writing.

Even though lectures and tutorials will mainly be online this year I am still looking forward to

the experience and have no doubt that making friends will be just as easy as it would be face to face.

I will admit I am nervous about the upcoming weeks of lectures and tutorials. It’s going to be quite a change from secondary school, and I bet it won’t take long for assignments to start piling up and deadlines start approaching.

The events planned for us will help lessen the stress of all the assignments! Replacing the barbecue this year is a pizza evening and it should be a great opportunity to meet new people and have some fun.

With the stress of upcoming lectures and tutorials, I am very excited to sign up for Societies and Clubs. Part of the college experience is trying new things and to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and joining societies is where I will begin.

The virtual societies fair will give me the chance to see what all the societies are about and sign up for ones I’m interested in being a part of. The Potter society, the LGBTQ+ society and the feminist society are already on the top of my list!

I am really excited to continue this diary and document my experiences of this year!

Final Year Diary

by Tom Molloy Typical, just when I thought not being able to have a proper night out this year might be an incentive to get into shape and make my Fitzgibbon debut, clubs and societies have no idea what will or will not be taking place this year.

I’ll play it safe and just stay grossly unfit.

Seriously though, I hope that in the midst of this ongoing pandemic we can be afforded the opportunity to enjoy a relatively normal final year. That said, it is important we do not lose sight of what is really important. The health and safety of our friends and colleagues.

It is difficult to see how college life can resemble anything close to normality for the first semester of this year at least. It is going to be difficult to adjust but we have no other option only to get it done.

Although the final year of your undergrad is supposed to be all about the grind. You only get to do it once, unless you have to repeat, or you’re one of those people who have like twelve different degrees. It is a year that is supposed to live long in your memory.

This year will do that, but for different reasons.

These novel circumstances however, might be an added incentive to check up on friends, making sure that they are doing well and keeping on top of the workload. Above all else though, make sure you look after yourself and limit your close contacts. The virus hasn’t gone away but, if we can be clever about it, we’ll be back to normality before we know it.

From my personal point of view, I’m worried about how I am going to study online. I am the type of student who has always tried my best to keep my

college work on campus, be it in the classroom or the library. I treated college like a nine-to-five, with all of my notes done by hand, picking up my laptop only to write an essay. It’s going to be difficult not to let that line get blurred when all learning is online.

Only time will tell. I foresee a lot of bookings made for library places.

Aside from all the Covid talk, your final year is when you are supposed to be at your most comfortable in college. Your friend groups are cemented, you know your favourite places to hang out, and the city is now your second home. You’ve come a long way since freshers’ week. Maybe take some time now and then to reflect and congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come and the effort you’ve already put in.

This is the start of something different in life now. Whether you undertake a postgrad, go straight into the working world, or go drink sticks of Heinomite with the ‘rock lads in the ARKBar, you will meet all sorts of fascinating people from all kinds of backgrounds. All other things aside, why not get excited?

Mature student. It is a curious phrase. You never hear the phrase ‘immature student’. I suppose I am a mature student.

Heading into my final year as an undergraduate, I reflect on my journey so far. The Access foundation programme was the key to returning to education. After many years in the wilderness, harbouring vague notions of further education, it was the kind and supportive NUI Galway Access team who awarded me a place on the programme back in 2016.

I remember the excitement I felt upon walking into the first floor of the library. A deep repository of knowledge and ideas; the product of millions of hours of study, toil, and labour stretching across many centuries of civilisation.

I remember picking up a book, ‘The Intellectual Life of The British Working Classes‘ detailing the autodidactic intellectual explosion amongst the proletariat in the decades after the Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution. The book describes the emergence of libraries fuelled by a rapid thirst for knowledge amongst people historically alienated from education.

If you are looking for academic inspiration look no further.

It is a huge and detailed read, packed with awesome stories of ‘ordinary’ people allowing their intellectual curiosity to triumph over their lowly economic positions. To quote one reviewer, Johnathan Rose, author of the book, “believed the fundamental motive behind the modernist movement was a corrosive hostility toward the common reader”.

Rose poured scorn on how writers and academics sought to elevate themselves above the public with “unnecessary

15

and exclusionist Marxist jargon, modernist obscurantism, and postmodern opacity”. Orwell was another critic of such deliberate obfuscatory practices. To sum up, the approach was and can often be; “I am going to write in such a tortuous and jargon heavy manner because that will make me look more intelligent and learned. And to hell with the transfer of ideas to the general population. Leave that to the tabloids.”

“Mutual Improvement” societies sprung up across Britain fighting not only against establishment educational apartheid but also against an unease and distrust of education amongst the ‘working classes’ themselves.

Looking closer to home, considerable weight is still given to the notion that the iron grip on thought and morality exercised by the Catholic Church deliberately stunted the intellectual development of the Irish labourer and factory worker. The Church actively discouraged intellectual inquiry amongst the masses it could be argued.

Why study when you can continue to suffer and guarantee your place in heaven?

Class as a concept has been shunted aside in favour of other more superficial identities. But the basic concept of the advancement and improvement of the underclass remains a topic of fascination to this diarist.

I recall receiving top marks for a Sociology paper during my access year. The sense of confidence and joy that little academic pat on the head gave me was transformative. I had spent years under the unfortunate assumption that pursuing my intellectual interests was futile in the labour market I occupied.

Indeed, book groups amongst young working-class men remain conspicuous by their absence.

Comhairle Chomhaltas na Mac Leinn

AN FÉIDIR LEATHSA BHEITH AG CEANN AN tSLUA?

Bí í d’Ionadaí Ranga! Le tuilleadh eolas a fháil, dean teagmháil le su.education@nuigalway.ie @nuigsu

NUIGalwayStudentsUnion www.su.nuigalway.ie

16 A RT S & E N T E RTAIN M EN T

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

What’s the status for Macnas 2020?

By Rachel Garvey Last year Macnas celebrated its 33rd anniversary by wreaking havoc out onto the streets of Galway city during the spooky month of October, a couple of days prior to Halloween, but this year the locals will not see an annual parade.

Instead, the masters of storytelling will cause their mischief online and although this year will prove to be a completely alien experience in regards to another parade cancellation, people are still grateful that Macnas have found a way around the Covid restrictions to celebrate and perform their epic and strange tale.

SIN spoke with Macnas’s Executive Producer, Brídín Murphy Mitchell who gave some insight into what is in store for Macnas 2020.

“Unfortunately, due to the Covid restrictions, it won’t be possible for Macnas to stage our usual parade anytime soon as it always attracts crowds of 60,000 plus onto the streets.”

“However, we do have an exciting project called Gilgamesh unfolding over the next six months.

Gilgamesh is the world’s first hero’s journey, and originated in Mesopotamia and is the earliest surviving work of imaginative literature written on 12 stone tablets over 3,000 years ago”

Brídín also shared the news about Macnas 2020 with information regarding what to expect from their project, “The story centres on Gilgamesh, which will be a dramatic new interpretation of the world’s oldest story, a young tyrannical king who rules the majestic city of Uruk. He is a superhuman, meaning he is two-thirds god and one-third man and is obsessed with fame. Gilgamesh, being a cruel and unjust king wants to find the secret to immortality to become a god and live forever. The citizens of Uruk cry out to the gods for help.

In turn, the gods listen and create a wild man sent to challenge and rival Gilgamesh by the name of Enkidu. Along the way, one will encounter monsters, marvels, creatures, and gods in a story which explores contemporary themes of human relationships, power, corruption, loneliness, friendship, love, loss, revenge, mortality, and death.

Gilgamesh will come alive on screens in the west of Ireland, and burst onto the streets of Galway city and county where audiences can also experience the adventure live and follow the story out into the wilds of rural Galway in December, before playing out in the Black Box Theatre in March 2021” Speaking about the event Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture CEO, Patricia Philbin, said

“­Macnas is a formidable company that has always been exciting and ambitious, pushing the boundaries of theatre and storytelling. Gilgamesh is a project which challenges these possibilities even further, working in a new way and exploring new platforms.

We are excited to see it unfold across Galway and online as part of our European Capital of Culture celebrations. Audiences are in for a treat”.

However, with great appreciation from Macnas fans towards its organisers for hosting the event online, there also comes a great deal of disappoint-

ment due to the parade’s cancellation.

Individuals young and old have always expressed a huge interest in Macnas in the years previous, and with that interest it has sparked growing curiosity among Galway’s locals in the city centre, rural areas and beyond, who converge onto the city every October to look on at these mischievous performances.

Although the experience won’t be the same as watching the parade in person, the online experience will be just as enjoyable; Macnas wouldn’t dare to disappoint its audience.

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SIAMSAÍO CHT

17

Emmy awards 2020

By Alice O’Donnell Lights, cameras, action, applause?

Referred to by host Jimmy Kimmel as the “Pandemmys”, this year’s Emmy Awards had to be adapted to the current climate and it was certainly different from its 72 previous versions.

A reflection of the past year, this year’s Emmy Awards were full of social distanced hosting, group zoom calls and was performed to an audience of cardboard cut-outs.

A core element of this year’s Emmys was its lack of a live audience. Instead, the producers relied heavily on collective streaming. Cameras were set up in each of the nominees’ homes, inadvertently adding a feeling of personal connection between the at home audience and the stars. Creating more excitement and tension, Emmy producers were stationed outside each of the nominees’ homes and once the winner was announced a key worker would present the trophy to the winners live on air.

Of course the flip side of this is that the losers had to watch the producers leave with their almost – Emmy, (for a glimpse of this sad reality check out Ramy Youssef’s video on Twitter where he waves goodbye to his Emmy).

As always, the show was touched with calls for political activity and justice. US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who sadly passed away a few days previous, was remembered in acceptance speeches.

Regina King wore a shirt that called for justice for Breonna Taylor and Mark Ruffalo was among those who called for the public to vote in the upcoming American Presidential Election. Anthony Anderson invited host Jimmy Kimmel to chant “Black Lives Matter” with him. The fact this was all done in the home of celebrities only served to

Sadly, there were no wins for Ireland.

Normal People missed out on all four of their nominations, with director Lenny Abrahamson and writers Sally Rooney and Alice Birth going home (or rather staying home) empty handed. add to the importance of their messages, rather than subtracted from it.

Sadly, there were no wins for Ireland. Normal People missed out on all four of their nominations, with director Lenny Abrahamson and writers Sally Rooney and Alice Birth going home (or rather staying home) empty handed.

The show also missed out in the ‘Outstanding Casting’ category, and Paul Mescal lost out on the Lead Actor award to Mark Ruffalo.

Fiona Shaw was nominated for the second time for her role as Carolyn Martens in Killing Eve and also sadly lost out.

But who won big this year? Without a doubt Schitt’s Creek dominated the Emmys, nabbing a

win in nine categories, including ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series’ (Catherine O’Hara), ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series’ (Annie Murphy) and ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’.

Zendaya’s win in the category of ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series’ is also worth mentioning. The 24-year-old managed to beat acting veterans such as Jennifer Aniston, Laura Linney and Olivia Coleman, as well as last year’s winner Jodie Comer, who had held the record for the youngest win in the category at the age of 26. Zendaya’s win overtook Jodie’s record, making her now the youngest Lead Actress winner.

Zendaya won the award for her work in the TV

series Euphoria, and in her speech acknowledged and thanked the young people working to make the world a better place.

Overall, the Emmy Awards of 2020 were wellreceived. Although being praised for its adaptability and the remote acceptance speeches, many felt the in-studio hosts’ jokes and banter fell short without its usual buoyancy of studio laughter.

However, while some award ceremonies opted to either delay, cancel or pre - record their shows, the Emmys must be praised for their ambition and initiative to create a live, adaptable Emmy Awards for 2020. As the saying goes, the show must go on.

And for the 72nd Emmy Awards night it most certainly did!

Virtual tours, the new craze as people stay home

By Alice O’Donnell Did you know you can watch animals at Dublin Zoo all from the comfort of your own bed? Or even take a tour around Disney World without even leaving your house? Due to Covid-19 limiting the number of visitors that galleries, exhibitions, and theme parks can take, many places have resorted to bringing their attractions to the visitor instead.

Although this idea of virtual tours was mainly aimed for the period of lockdown, many museums and theme parks have chosen to leave their virtual tours up. Below are some of the top places you can visit for free all from the comfort of your own home.

a million visitors every year. Although no virtual tour has been established yet the zoo does have live webcams from three of their enclosures. The elephant webcam looks out over their pond and visitors are encouraged to look out for the matriarch Bernhardine, her sister Yasmin and their daughters Asha and Anak.

Similarly, the penguin webcam is a fabulous opportunity to see the animals up close, especially if you tune in 2:30pm for their daily feed.

The African Savannah webcam is my personal favourite due to the vast number of animals that call the exhibition home, including rhi-

nos, giraffes, zebras, and the very rare scimitar - horned oryx. These webcams are a lovely thing to pull up and leave on your computer when you are working and quickly put you in a relaxed mood.

Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History The Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History is one of the most famous museums in the world, ranking as the 11th most visited museum in the world. Founded in 1910, it now holds over 145 million items, as well as being the home of

Disney World

National Gallery of Ireland

As someone who has never gotten to experience the most magical place on earth, I do appreciate being able to go through the theme park Google Street View style.

The huge amount of areas to explore is staggering, including Disney Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom Park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

Although for obvious reasons a virtual tour of Disney World Resort is lacking the atmosphere, food, and rollercoaster experiences of a real- life visit, it is still a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. The other downside I had was that I found it quite confusing to navigate, and the area map was not as clear as in other virtual tours.

Dublin Zoo Dublin Zoo, founded in 1831, is now officially Ireland’s biggest family attraction, and welcomes over

numerous animal specimens, fossils, meteorites, and human artifacts.

The virtual tour being offered by the Smithsonian is well work a look. It is extremely easy to navigate and the picture is very clear. With the 360° camera used you can turn and zoom in on various parts. The only downside I found with the tour is that it is not possible to move through the exhibition using your mouse, and instead you have to jump forward to the next point. However, this can be forgiven due to the huge amount of virtual free tours the Smithsonian offer, including past, present, and permanent exhibitions as well as narrated tours.

To find it, simply look up virtual tours on the Smithsonian Museum website.

Image: Dublin Zoo

The National Gallery of Ireland is one of my favourite museums in Ireland, and the virtual tour does not disappoint. In a Google Street View manner, you can easily navigate your way around the gallery. If a particular painting grabs your interest you can choose to view it fully, with the website also offering a full biography of each painting.

The virtual tour is well worth the visit. Unlike the Smithsonian Natural Museum virtual tour or Disney World Resort virtual tour, the National Gallery of Ireland’s virtual tour comes very close to mimicking the full experience of being there in person, minus the crowds. It is a pity they have not included their entire collection in the virtual tour but the part they have included is done to an extremely high standard.

18 A RT S & E N T E RTAIN M EN T

Joji – Nectar album review

By Daniel Brennan Joji’s ascension in the world of music is unlike that of many others who possess his skill – for years he was best known as his YouTube persona Filthy Frank, who made all those edgy videos you liked when you were 16. But he’s far more than just a young adult with too much time on his hands jumping around being silly in a pink suit now, and Nectar is the most obvious proof of that yet.

His breakthrough projects, 2017’s In Tongues and 2018’s Ballads 1 showed great promise in areas, and featured hit songs like ‘Yeah Right’ and ‘Slow Dancing in the Dark’, but also felt lacking in substance to some extent. On Nectar, that issue is more than resolved. On this project, Joji is a far more mature songwriter than on his previous albums. The instrumentals have more depth, his vocals have improved, and most notably, he’s developed a real knack for pumping out catchy, poppy hooks on almost every single song.

Pictured: Joji, and, below, cover art for Nectar

The most notable songs on Nectar are the singles that were released in the weeks and months leading up to the full album’s debut. ‘Gimme Love’ might just be my favourite song of the year so far, with the song’s catchy refrain being stuck solidly in my head since the single’s release in April.

The pounding bass line and drums in the first half give way to soulful vocals from Joji, as well as a gorgeous piano line, harmonised vocals and string section to bring the song to a beautiful peak.

The song feels like a far more refined version of what Joji was trying to do on previous projects, with the production and songwriting being complete standouts.

‘Run’ is a complete break from the norm for Joji though, being a mix of a rock and pop ballad. His trademark falsetto vocals are met with a guitar riff and harder-hitting percussion, leading to a rather unexpected guitar solo at the end of the song. Trust me when I say that it works.

‘Sanctuary’ is a spaced-out pop banger, plain and simple. The chorus especially is another example of just how far he has come as a pop songwriter,

The Lex Fridman podcast

By Donagh Broderick What if there was a podcast dedicated to talking about artificial intelligence, martial arts, philosophy, internet culture, and love? Well if that sounds like it’s up your alley, the Lex Fridman podcast is for you.

Viewers of the Joe Rogan experience may be familiar with that name, as Lex has appeared on the popular podcast four times – his last outing on the hit podcast coming just last month.

Founded by the titular Lex, a Russian MIT graduate who specialises in artificial intelligence and machine learning, the weekly show hosts experts in the field of science ranging from Elon Musk to Michio Kaku to Jack Dorsey, as well as renowned thinkers and philosophers of our day such as Steven Pinker, Noam Chomsky, and Richard Dawkins.

The podcast engages in conversation with them in the areas that these people specialise in while also not being afraid

to veer off in other directions from diet to their thoughts on the current political culture online.

Formerly known as the Artificial Intelligence Podcast, Lex has changed the title recently to his own name in order to reflect his own desires for the podcast to be a place to talk about topics and ideas other than just the science of AI. While fundamentally a science orientated podcast, the layman can easily find something to enjoy there too. That is because as well as being a scientist, Jiu Jitsu is a major part of Lex’s life and he never misses an opportunity to talk at length to a guest about it if he can. This is another aspect of what makes Lex such an intriguing host.

Unlike most people in his field Lex has a deep desire to constantly improve himself and push his limits to become tougher both physically and mentally and not just be intelligent.

While not possessing a distinct

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

accent, Lex’s tone of voice can perhaps be a bit monotonous to some, but his message of love and kindness and his nuanced takes and observations on controversial topics as well as the topics themselves discussed are sure to be of great interest to anyone.

As Lex loves to point out about himself, his Russian background means he tends to romanticise bizarre things and that certainly comes across in his love of classical literature and taste in music.

In an internet landscape of hatred and intolerance, Lex is striving to be a voice of empathy and love for those who listen to him.

With Lex broadening the scope of his podcast, profiling characters such as JiuJitsu coach Ryan Hall, and a chat with former navy seal turned ultra-marathon runner David Goggins also in the pipeline, now is the optimal time to jump onboard the Lex Fridman podcast which can be found on YouTube, Spotify and on Apple podcasts.

and you’ll have “If you’ve been waiting for falling in love, babe you don’t have to wait on me” running laps around your head in no time.

The first half of Nectar is excellent, but sadly in the second half the narrative of a relationship not quite coming together gets a bit tired, as well as some relatively similar instrumentals to the first half of the project. Songs like ‘Normal People’, ‘Afterthought’ and ‘Mr Hollywood’ are good songs on their own, but overall if they were cut-out, the album would have a better flow at around 45 minutes in length rather than the total 53 minutes, and the romantic story being told would progress at a more expected pace, in my opinion.

The final three songs pick up the pace again both narratively and musically – ‘Reanimator’ is a much - needed change of pace instrumentally, with electronic producer Yves Tumor taking the reins.

Once the drums kick in about a minute and a half in, it felt like I was loading into a Gran Turismo race in the absolute best way possible.

Penultimate track, ‘Like You Do’ is a great piano ballad and marks the

first point in the album where this relationship feels more normal- No one loves me like you do. There’s an overriding feeling of dread throughout too, almost like Joji has realised too late that this was more than a fling. Joji’s vocals are the focal point here, and he gives a great emotional performance.

‘Your Man’ is the final song, carrying elements of the two previous songs – a more electronic inspired instrumental as well as a conclusion of the story – as well as tying the album up nicely; “I’ll be your man, oh man”.

Overall, Nectar demonstrates a much more musically mature Joji, whose songwriting is the shining light on this album. His improved vocals, song structure and production provide a much more substantial project than anything he’s released before, and show that he’s ready for the leap into pop superstardom. Despite the album maybe running a bit long at points, the content is so consistently good that I already can’t wait to see where he goes next.

Score: 8.5/10

C U LT ÚR

October 06 2020

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SIAMSAÍOCHT

Ruined

Modern feminist literature about much more than just heartbreak

By Elliot Gallogly

By Fiona Lee

Golden grains glow under the sun in her eyes, hand a shade and glasses on her head, pinning up hair.

Brown stones stand stacked, old and tired, grey in the shadows under her eyes, flecked with fire.

The door burned black and away with dated flames.

These three books all tell a story of heartbreak, trauma, loss and three strong and very real women who, despite all their emotional and physical battles with life lived to tale their tale. Stark accounts of serious and harrowing issues are addressed so intimately and honestly that your heart will ache with empathy, or familiarity, but feel enriched by the complex characters and interactions that are filled with spots of humour and jabs of life’s painful truths. Think Bridget Jones mixed with Sylvia Plath!

All three women’s stories begin with a breakup with long - term boyfriends they truly loved and follow with how they coped with this loss and built themselves up again.

CREATIVE CORNER

You can see the sea from here. It sparkles, white fairies dancing atop the waves, magic dust wound through her hair.

Protect her. Flecks on stone white as her skin, cracked, she runs a hand over it.

How old it must be.

Out of Love by Hazel Hayes

Sand sneaks into open - toed sandals, t-shirts stick to sweat - slicked chests, and we should go swimming later; it would be a pity not to use the pool when we’re here for so short a time.

This book is unique in the way that it is a story about a breakup, told in reverse. It begins with the narrator’s boyfriend coming to pick up his stuff from their apartment after ending a four-year relationship, and

Sacrament

being scrubbed and soaked too many times. I remind myself that they don’t see the same red as I do.

Mahon lifts a chalice, beckoning his disciples. Biddy is up first, head held high as he faces her before me. I don’t mind the wait. When he turns the light catches on the cup. For a second, I see steel instead of silver, the quick swing of a hatchet, then chalice again. The wine inside shifts, deep red and too thick. Viscous. I take a small sip as he blesses me. I let it coat my teeth, my tongue; try to tell myself it’s His blood, not his blood. I have to look up at the crucifix to swallow. Father Mahon hands me a communion dish and I go to where a line forms at the edge of the church.

After a parade of the parish, there are only a few thin wafers left. I keep my gaze on the communion as I murmur the same words again and again, until a voice forces my eyes up, to see faces I’d had faith I wouldn’t see.

“Amen,” it’s the voice of a father, who offers me a weak smile before walking on.

The mother comes next.

They were never holy. But I should have known that now they would need something to believe in. My hand shakes as I offer her the eucharist. Her lips are pressed thin, but they turn upward when it touches her tongue. The lines between her eyes ease, her shoulders settle. She departs.

Last in line, their little girl. No, not little, but their youngest now. I hesitate. She’s holding a tiny blue elephant, a toy that can’t have been anybody’s but his.

My grip slackens. I let the sacrament fall.

By Mary-Kate Barrett I thought it would be better if I brought myself back to the ritual of it all. The repetition, sitting, standing, kneeling. Not thinking.

But the high ceilings seem to amplify everything. Maybe they left all this space so that prayer could fill it up. A rising tide with each Hail Mary. My thoughts don’t ascend. Instead, weighted down, they rattle inside my skull, a cage for the restless little fowls. Their screeches suffocate the small church sounds, coughs and clearing of throats. Yet, somehow the worst of it seeps through, from infant’s cries to shrill laughter at some secret joke.

Father Mahon doesn’t need to ask us to kneel. Our knees sink in soft, sigh - like thuds that punctuate the prayer. My head rests on the wooden back of the frontmost pew, between clasped veiny hands. Its glossy varnish is chipped from nervous nails, but it smells of citrus, clean without any sharp disinfectant scent. I breathe it in, thoughts thinning at the choir’s soprano soloist.

My brief sanctuary is shattered by a sharp prod at my shoulder; Biddy Boyle, eyes boring into me from a web of shrivelled skin, she glances to the altar and back. I follow her as she goes and kneels at the right side of the church. On the left, I take a similar perch. People are watching me now; my face reddens at the thought.

My hands are scarlet too. But only from

how she has coped since.

Each chapter delves into the past of their relationship, eventually concluding with the exciting moment they first met. This innovative way of storytelling depicts the realities of a relationship and lets the reader join the woman in experiencing the heartbreak and reflecting on all the bad moments, all the great moments, and debating “Did we ever truly love each other at all?” Hazel was born and bred in Dublin so I must celebrate her writing for being unapologetically Irish with her references, colloquialisms and nostalgic love letters of the Dublin coast, picking out films in Xtra-Vision as a child, and coming home to a sweet smelling stew made by her Mammy .

It sparkles with wit, honesty and is a wonderful read!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Emotional and sexual abuse, drug abuse / alcoholism, grief and mentions of suicide.

The Flat Share

by Beth O’Leary This is the most light-hearted, romcom style of the books listed so if this is more your type

of read, this book is for you. It tells the story of Tiffy, who moves into a flat share after her gaslighting boyfriend breaks up with her, and how she escapes this toxic conditioning of doubt and insecurity.

However, it’s not the typical flat share with housemates. Leon, a night nurse, sleeps in the flat while Tiffy is at work, and she gets the run of the place the rest of the time. Hopefully a not so typical situation that highlights the housing nightmares for modern metropolitan dwellers! This man also happens to be very handsome, kind, and happily exchanges notes via their countertop with Tiffy, building their relationship long before they ever actually meet.

Add in demanding clients, obsessive exes and brothers wrongfully incarcerated, this book won’t leave your hands until you finish it. It’s full of humour and sweet, awkward moments, plus it depicts the realities of an emotionally abusive relationship and how that can negatively affect the mental health of the victim even after the relationship ends.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: gaslighting, body - shaming, anxiety and emotional abuse

19

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams After a confusing breakup, labelled as a ‘break’ with long-term boyfriend Tom, Queenie struggles to get back on her feet. After years in a relationship, the dating scene is pretty foreign, and trying to navigate men who treat her like nothing but a sex object and always seem to be very casually racist, Queenie’s confidence and self-worth depletes rapidly. She also must deal with problems at work, childhood trauma, financial strain, decrepit living conditions, and, most exhausting and upsetting of all, daily encounters with racism and dismissive attitudes towards the Black Lives Matter movement, so it’s a rough time for her to say the least.

This book illustrates real issues such as every-day racism, the stigma against mental health and therapy and toxic sexual and romantic relationships. It is darkly funny, clever, heart breaking, and depicts the perspective of a black woman navigating life in the UK with obstacles every step of the way. This is an utterly essential read!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexual violence, mental health, miscarriage, childhood trauma, graphic sex, and race

20 FA SH IO N & L I F EST Y L E

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

Healthy, easy and inexpensive.

Get cooking this autumn!

By Enya Tierney As the weather gets colder, grey landscapes become more common and the days get shorter, our tummies crave more nourishing foods packed with flavour and spices that leave us feeling satisfied and full of energy.

And the best part is that you don’t need to spend a fortune, use unhealthy ingredients or spend hours in the kitchen to enjoy a meal that will make your body and soul feeling happy.

SIN suggests two dishes packed with flavour and superfoods that you can prepare in advance and eat in the Bialann on those rainy college days.

SUPER EASY LENTIL SOUP You can make a big batch on the weekend and have your soup ready for whenever you need it during the week as it preserves perfectly fine in the fridge.

This lentil soup is perfect if you are on a budget but you want to stay healthy and energized. Lentils are legumes, they are high in protein, carbohydrates, and fibre. The spices and vegetables combined with these have amazing properties: they are high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and more.

The beauty of this soup is that you can pretty much change the ingredients and adapt it to whatever you have on your fridge and spice rack.

INGREDIENTS (FOUR PORTIONS) • Two cups of red lentils • A tin of chopped tomatoes • Vegetables of your choice: SIN recommends half an onion, three cups of frozen carrots, and two handfuls of spinach.

• 3tbs of turmeric • 3tbs of cumin • 3tbs of chilli powder

• 1 tbs of curry powder • 1tbs of garlic powder • 1 cube of vegetable stock • A pinch of salt • 2tbs of oil

COOKING METHOD: 1. Start by putting a large saucepan on a high heat and pour the oil of your choice before it heats up. As you wait for the temperature to rise, peel and chop the onions finely.

2. When the oil is simmering, add the onions and occasionally stir them for a minute or two until they are a light golden colour. Add the cumin, turmeric, curry, chilli and garlic powder and stir for 30 more seconds or until the spices start to release their aromas.

3. Put the frozen carrots in the saucepan and keep stirring until they are completely defrosted.

4. Add the lentils, the chopped tomatoes and three cups of boiling water.

Remember that there should be a 1:2 lentil- liquid (chopped tomatoes and water) ratio. Put the spinach, vegetable stock cube and salt in the saucepan before you reduce the heat to medium and let everything simmer for 15 minutes. It is important to not over-stir the lentils for them to have a nice texture but still do it once in a while so they don’t stick to the saucepan.

5. Add more water if you desire a more liquid consistency and feel free add more spices if you want more flavour once it’s done. You can enjoy them straight away or put them in the fridge once they have completely cooled. If you prefer a smooth texture you might want to blend the soup, but the texture is very rich already, so you don’t have to.

PROTEIN OAT PANCAKES These pancakes will give you all the macronutrients you need to rock your workout at the gym, keep you energized through a long study session and satisfy your sweet tooth. You can top them with berries, yoghurt, nut butters, or whatever you want!

INGREDIENTS (TWO SERVINGS) • Half a cup of flour • A cup of oats • 2 teaspoons of baking powder • 1 teaspoon of salt

• Optional: a teaspoon of chia/ flax seeds • 1 1/2 cups of chocolate protein milk • One egg

COOKING METHOD 1. Blend the oats with a food processor or a blender and put them in a big bowl. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing them well.

2. Mix the milk and the egg into the mixture and stir thoroughly. Make sure the batter is not too thick at the start as it will thicken more on the pan when the oats absorb some moisture.

3. Use some oil to grease a pan and heat it on a medium temperature.

When the pan is hot, pour some batter onto the pan. Make sure not to pour too much of it, as it will be harder to flip.

4. When bubbles start to appear on top of the pancake and the batter gets solid on the bottom, flip the pancake with a spatula.

5. When the batter is solid, put the pancake on a plate and repeat the process until all the batter is gone. Top them with whatever you want and enjoy!

Colour Therapy for Adults

By Anastasiya Sytnyk Remember when you were little and would spend countless hours colouring in a flower or little cartoon character?

The relaxing yet fun activity that we all used to love and now that we are adults, we miss. The excitement of turning the next page to colour in something new, and the smell of freshly paired pencils are lodged in everyone’s mind. Do you ever feel jealous looking at all the new exciting colouring books?

Did you know that there are adult colouring books now? Many adults have admitted to feeling too embarrassed or too busy to find time for colouring, which is a shame considering how many benefits colour therapy has! If you are

one of those people who are afraid, embarrassed, or too busy to find time to explore colour therapy, consider these benefits below:

1. Colouring improves motor skills and vision!

Did you know that the concentration we have when colouring keeps both of our brain hemispheres engaged and our obsession with staying within the lines gives a sense of relaxation and releases our creativity?

2. Helps reduce stress and anxiety!

Did you know that colouring gives us our brain the same at-peace state as meditation? Colouring helps relax our

amygdala, which is the front of our brain! Not to mention this leads to a much more pleasant sleep.

3. It’s free entertainment.

You can take with you wherever you go!

What is so fun and simple about colouring is that it is travel friendly. You have a break from work? Why not colour?

You’re waiting in line or are at the airport? Whip out your colouring book and kill some time! If you’re too shy to colour in public, you can always colour before bed or after work to relax.

Now, are you missing the feel of a pencil or crayon in between your fingers and the little imprints it leaves if you’ve been colouring for too long? Then your

next question is probably “Where can I get my very own adult colouring book?” the answer is simple!

You can find adult colouring books in your local Easons store or online! Below are a few places you can purchase your very own colouring book without leaving your home:

1. Colorit.com has a large selection of affordable adult colouring books as well as other art tools like pens, markers, and pencils all of which are of great quality! Shipping is free and so are returns! They also have a blog where you can read what others have to say about their experience with colouring and what benefits it brought them.

2. Bookdespository is another great online adult colouring bookstore which offers free delivery and a vast majority of engaging colouring books to suit all types of interests! Similarly, to Colorit, bookdespository offers affordable colouring books and colouring equipment.

3. Waterstones offers not only colouring books at great prices, but also offers different formats such as softback and hardback to suit their customer preference. On their website, you can also find podcasts, blogs, and events tied to art and colouring for adults! However, their website does not offer free shipping.

We hope you found this guide helpful, and we wish you a relaxing colouring!

FAIS EAN

October 06 2020

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Covid-19, Inis Mór GET UP TO 15% OFF agus Saol Mac léinn STUDENT TECHNOLOGY ON Bhí Samhradh spéisiúil againn go léir leis na constaicí nár fhaca muid riamh dá bharr ar an víreas Covid-19. Bhí orainn cleachtadh a fháil ar neart rialacha sláinte agus dualgais pearsanta nach raibh orainn a dhéanamh riamh. Bheadh sé an-éasca dearmad a dhéanamh gurb é seo an tréimhse ghairid a mbíonn ag mic léinn tríú leibhéil chun airgead a shaoirsiú agus beagán craic a bheith acu. Faraor ní mar sin a d’fhorbair an scéal I rith an Samhraidh.

Is as Inis Mór mé, ceann de na hOileáin Árainn amach ar chósta na Gaillimhe. Is oileáin mór turasóireachta é agus is beag gur tháinig stad uile le hairgeadais agus rath an oileáin go hiomlán. Is cinnte go bhfuil a fhios ag chuile duine cá raibh siad, nuair a ndeachaigh an fógra amach ón ia-Thaoiseach Leo Varadkar faoin chéad Lockdown. Bhí mé féin ag bailiú mo chuid éide agus leabhair go scioptha chun dul agus suíocháin a fháil ar an mbád deireadh a bhí ag filleadh ar ais go hInis Mór. Bhí mé faoi bhrú ollmhóir mar gheall nach raibh a fhios ag aon duine cé chomh fada a mbeadh an tír faoi shrianta taistil.

Nuair a bhain mé an bpríomh bhaile amach, ba chosúil le háit nua dom é. Ní raibh mé in ann ceol a chloisteáil ó na tigh ósta, nó gasúir áitiúla a fheiceáil ag léim ón sean chéibh ag snámh. Thit ciúnas mór ar an oileán a bheadh plódaithe le daoine ag baint sult as an ngrian agus cultúir na hoileáin de gnáth. Bhí sé seo le fanacht linn ar feadh sé mhí fhada uaigneach.

Le cúig bhliain anuas bhí mé ag obair go lán aimsire cúig lá in aghaidh na seachtaine gach samhraidh. Chuir sé as dom nach raibh mé in ann leanúint leis an traidisiún pearsanta. Tar éis cúpla seachtain ba chosúil le luaidhe mo phluid. Ní raibh suim agam éirí nó aon duine a fheiceáil, rud go raibh ar go leor daoine déileáil leis. Cuireann sé faitíos orm breathnú ar an chaoi ina chaith mé na laethanta ar fad agus sin rud a d’fhoghlaim mé le linn lock-down agus sin aire a thabhairt do mo chuid meabhair shláinte agus am a coinnigh do na rudaí is tábhachtaí. Sin do chlann.

Tháinig gach lá ina dhiaidh a chéile agus tar éis scath beag níor thug mé faoi dhearadh cén dáta a bhí ann nó cén lá den tseachtain a bhí ann. Thánig deireadh leis an neamhchinnteacht ar deireadh nuair a chuir Comharchumann Inis Mór ráiteas

amach, go raibh vóta poiblí le bheith againn chun cinneadh a dheanamh faoi theorainn an oileáin agus turasóireacht Inis Mór a thosaigh arís. Anois cheapfadh gur éasca an cheist é seo le freagairt ach mo léann tháinig raic mhór as seo. Le daoine ag argóint agus ag triail an focal deireadh a bheith acu ar leathanach Facebook an Comharchumann. Tháinig sé sin as an fhaitíos a bhí ag daoine, ní amháin faoina gcuid sláinte féin ach sláinte daoine leó.

Tar éis neart díospóireacht, tháinig torthaí an vóta poiblí amach ar son an rúin, agus bhí an t-oileáin ag oscailt don phobail arís. Tar éis cúig mhí líonta le faitíos agus sár sláinteachas pearsanta a cleachtadh, bhí maidhm turasóirí ar an mbealach.

Ghlac muid ar deireadh go raibh orainn bogadh ar aghaidh go drogallach, ach bhí fadhb mhór amach romhainn. Ní raibh plean oibre, straitéisí nó caint ar aon sórt tacaíocht ón rialtas. Is rud é sin a chuir fearg ar mhuintir oibre an oileáin agus daoine le clann i ngrúpaí a bhí go mór i mbaol.

Tá mé sé seachtainí anois i ré nua oibre leis an víreas agus tá mé compordach ar deireadh. Táim ag obair i mbialann i lár baile Chill Mhuirbhigh darb ainm Teach Nan Phaidí agus táim chomh sásta go bhfuair mé post anseo. Tá cleachtadh agam a bheith mar freastalaí ach tá gach uile rud athraithe go mór, agus muid ag obair le taobh Covid 19. Tá srianta mór orm mar freastalaí ar an méid daoine a bhfuil mé in ann freastal a dheanamh orthu ag aon am amháin. Chomh maith leis sin tá orm masc cosanta a chaitheamh tríd an lá. Cruthaíonn sé seo go leor deacrachtaí le cumarsáid simplí a dheanamh le daoine, mar shampla bhí bord agam a raibh triúr bean ann a bhí bodhar. Go hiondúil labhraim go mall do dhaoine a bhíonn ag léamh beola, ach ní raibh mé in ann é sin a dheanamh mar gheall ar an masc. Rud a bhfuil mé an-bhuíoch de ná go bhfuil bainistíocht an bhialanna an-tuisceanach agus bhí neart rogha tugtha dom maidir le trealamh féin cosanta nó (PPE).

Is mé ag deireadh an tSamhraidh anois agus mé ag tnúth le haghaidh a thabhairt an tráchtas. Caithfidh mé rá go bhfuil go leor féin fhorbairt déanta agam an tSamhraidh seo, agus go bhfuil meas níos mó agam ar na rudaí a bhfuil mé beannaithe leo. Is iad sin mo shláinte, mo chlann, mo chairde agus na deiseanna a bhfuil ag teacht i mo threo; agus le cúnamh Dé go gcoinneoidh sé sin.

How to sell stuff on Depop

By Anastasiya Sytnyk You want to find a way to get rid of your stuff but also don’t want to donate it for free?

Have you heard of Depop?

Depop is an app that you can use to post your clothes and other items for sale and also buy clothes and accessories!

You might be confused as to how it works at first but don’t worry, it’s pretty straight forward!

3. Take photos Take photos of the items you wish to sell and identify why you wish to sell it, and maybe describe the size of the item and any other significant details (don’t forget to use hashtags!)

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1. Create your account

5. Advertise your Depop

This step is pretty easy, fill in some of your personal details, like your e-mail, password and some personal data to verify your identity! (Don’t worry your data is protected)

Advertising brings traffic to your account and helps people find your items and request them!

2. Personalize your account

Try and bring your follower count up to bring even more traffic to your account and attract more potential customers!

Add a profile picture and a little description to help people connect with you and trust you as a seller!

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22 FA SH I O N & L I F EST Y L E

5 Best coat styles for Irish Autumn

By Anastasiya Sytnyk Irish autumn can either be hot or cold, stormy or windy (or maybe both?) and as always unpredictable.

This means that our job to dress according to our weather never really works out.

However, there are always tricks you can utilise to trick the Irish weather and stay stylish whatever the weather or circumstances!

So why not take a look at the different styles of coats that are perfect for the Irish autumn and where you can buy them.

1. Long coats galore!

Long coats are a must during the weird stage of being too warm for a fluffy coat and too cold for a simple cardigan. Long coats give most of your body some coverage meaning you are kept cosy but not roasting!

2. Raincoats are a must!

Raincoats are a blessing to all of us. Not only are we cursed to have rain at least three times a week and a drizzle once a day but the wind really doesn’t help either.

Raincoats come in different colours so you can really style up with a cute print raincoat or a basic tone raincoat and not only be stylish but also protected from the ever changing weather trends.

3. The puffier the better Puffer coats are all the rage because of the different designs and colour stories, but also for their ability to keep you warm on a windy day, cold day, and if it’s a warm enough day you can wear a light puffer coat on top of a t-shirt and not worry if the weather gets a little chilly!

4. Bring on the Windbreaker Windbreakers have been a trend since the 80’s and probably even before that. They are perfect for any weather condition and can be worn on top of something cute or basic. Windbreakers come in colourblocking designs that are all the rage right now, and not to mention are brilliant for hiking or going to the grocery store!

5. Furry coats Faux fur on the inner lining of the coat and possibly on the outer lining is perfect if you get really cold even if it may not be as windy or wet as usual. If you naturally get cold from the slightest breeze a nice furry coat is certain to keep you warm and stylish!

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

Bringing life back to your hair

By Anastasiya Sytnyk

Step 1: Picking out your treatment

Our hair is one of the first things we notice about ourselves. If your hair is messy or you’re having a bad hair day, that will have an effect of how you see yourself throughout the day. Will it be a messy bun or ponytail kind of evening? But when your hair is freshly washed, styled and healthy you feel a hundred times better and that’s simply facts.

Sadly, sometimes to reach our hair goals we need to change how our hair naturally looks, for example if you’ve got curly hair, you’ve always wanted straight hair, and if you have straight hair you always curl it! It’s a never-ending battle and unfortunately, we need to damage our hair to win.

Heat damage is one of the most common hair problems today, from drying it with your hair dryer, to using the curling or straightening iron you are inevitably destroying your hair. This does not mean that you have to stop styling your hair the way you like it however.

One suggestion to avoid such a predicament is to be more mindful of how you apply heat and what your haircare routine is! So, lets give those dry split ends a little breather, shall we?

In order to revive your hair, you need to figure out what the problem is. Are you not applying enough conditioner and not leaving it in long enough for it to work? Do you have a dry or itchy scalp or maybe you find that your hair is just too oily. If you have colour treated hair, you need to take that into consideration too!

Once you have figured out the problem you can go straight to step 1!

This is the foundation for recovering your hair.

You need to invest in your hair revival and speak to a consultant or your hairdresser and ask for advice about what shampoo and conditioner you should be using to cater the needs of your scalp and roots. There are specific brands that focus on colour treated hair, and have intensive ingredients to help undo the damage that the bleach or dyes have done as well as ones that protect the colour you have and let it stay in longer.

Step 2: Heat protection Heat protection does not come with your shampoo or conditioner which means you need to buy a specific serum or spray that will help you against heat damage. There are different serums that protect against certain degrees of heat. If you are using heat on your hair daily or more than twice a week talk to your hairdresser about a stronger heat protecting treatment plan that you will need to add after each wash or before heat appliance.

Step 3: Trimming helps Cutting off some of your hair can be stressful, especially when you’ve been growing it out for a long while. But let’s face it, sometimes the damage is beyond repair and you will need to get a trim. Experts advise that you sign up for a small trim once every 10-11 weeks depending on your hair status.

Step 4: After shower care Once we get out of the shower, we have a tendency to just wrap up our hair in a towel of any sort and go about our day or go straight for the dryer. Experts have been advising that people replace towels for simple cotton or linen t-shirts which are more gentle on your hair, and will soak up more moisture, rather than you rubbing your hair and damaging it when it’s at its most vulnerable. So why not try drying with a t-shirt and when brushing your hair use a wide toothed comb in gentle brushing motions.

Step 5: Watch your diet Food can sometimes be the best remedy. If you want to really keep your hair in a good state, you need to invest in foods that are natural helpers. Foods to include in your diet include eggs, berries, spinach, fish, sweet potatoes, avocados, and nuts.

A healthy diet affects your whole body as well as your hair so, if you are looking for strong, luscious locks a change of diet can give you just that.

Step 6: Hair food Hair masks and hair food are all very important for damaged hair. Most of the hair masks have specific instructions and recommendations as to what they are best suited for. Speak with your hair stylist about which brands you should look out for and which nutrients they should include.

Happy treating!

MASKNE – our new skin crisis

By Anastasiya Sytnyk We are all suffering from our new skin enemy, Maskne!

Maskne is a new term that many experts and bloggers have been using to refer to the acne caused by prolonged wearing of face coverings.

Maskne is not the only skin issue people have been suffering with since Covid-19.

Apart from Maskne many have experienced a flare up in conditions like eczema, rash and stress. all of which have had negative effects on our skin. Do not take this as a discouragement from wearing your mask, (even if you could you wouldn’t be able to go about your business without a mask after face coverings were made mandatory in most settings in late July) but instead interpret the information in a way to help yourself avoid problematic Maskne and protect your skin.

Eavanna Bree, one of the top Irish Skin Therapists, with 28 years of experience in the Industry and founder of Akina Beauty and Laser Clinic in Dublin, has spoken out and given a few tips and tricks to help treat this skin inconvenience, “Since it became mandatory to wear masks in public, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of clients who

come to the clinic or contact me about their concerns with Maskne.

There is some frustration about this condition, with some clients saying they are wearing the masks, not touching their faces and therefore should see a reduction in acne but instead unfortunately we are presented with this new phenomenon”.

However, before we get into the tips for treating Maskne, here is a bit of info as to what it is caused by. Wearing a mask for long periods of time creates a lot of moisture from sweating under the mask which surrounds your mouth every time you talk, breathe or touch your mask. The sweat and humidity in your mask causes bacteria to grow and promote the breakout of blackheads and pimples.

This can be made worse if you have suffered with problematic skin before face covering.

In relation to Maskne Eavanna said: “The important thing to remember is that there are lots of different steps we can take in order to help with this new condition. The severity of the Maskne may differ between people but one important piece of advice would be that reusable masks are washed frequently, ideally after every use to minimise the spread and transfer of bacteria”.

Now that you know how Maskne happens, take a look at five steps you can take to treat and minimise these breakouts: Step 1: Make sure to cleanse your skin with a gentle cleanser. Speak to a dermatologist or skin expert, to make sure you are using the best

Photo: Engin Akyurt on Unsplash cleanser fitted for your skin to avoid further aggravation.

Step 2: Clean/ change your masks regularly to avoid large build ups of bacteria.

Step 3: Do not change your skin routine or intensify it. Let your skin recover from the daily battle of face mask wearing.

Step 4: If your skin is vulnerable to sunshine continue to wear sunscreen as the mask is not made to protect you from sun rays.

Step 5: Do not pop or squeeze your skin! At a time when your skin is vulnerable squeezing and irritating it can open the wounds to infection and further irritation and scarring.

FAIS EAN

October 06 2020

7

NÓ S MAIRE ACHTÁLA

23

Staycation Junkie: Northern Ireland Travel Junkie: Prague

By Donagh Broderick

By Saoirse Higgins With the surge in local tourism due to restricted travel during a pandemic, a trip up north was the destination of choice for many staycationers over the past few months, and it is one that is definitely worth it. Although Northern Ireland is small it has a varied amount of scenery and amenities for you to enjoy from Belfast City to the Giant’s Causeway.

Belfast Belfast is a beautiful widespread city that is very affordable. A hotel in the middle of the city is reasonably priced especially booked a few weeks in advance. It is filled to the brim with atmospheric pubs like ‘The Thirsty Goat’ and ‘Fountain Lane’ who serve gorgeous pub food in a safe and clean environment.

The city also has lovely options for your breakfast needs, including the small chain Maggie Mays that did one of the best full Irish breakfasts I have ever had.

From there the city is bursting with shops, especially within the Great Victoria Shopping Centre, which is beautiful in itself. The city is also filled with beautiful architecture and parks from Queen’s University to the Botanic Gardens. Both are a wonder to the eye, with beautiful flowers blooming in their gardens.

While visiting the Botanic Gardens, along the lovely little paths to explore different areas of the garden, there was a Ferris wheel where you could see the whole city in all its beauty.

Belfast also has the famous Titanic Belfast Museum. Its exhibition was interactive and engaging from start to finish, with a detailed history about the tragic Titanic. I recommend you visit as it has something for everyone’s interests.

The Giant’s Causeway If you have made it as far as Belfast it is well worth the extra hour to travel to the Giant’s Causeway. It is free to do the trail, however if you want to pay for a guided walk and parking next to the trail then you will have to buy a ticket from the visiting centre.

The walk to the Giant’s Causeway is one of Ireland’s most beautiful landmarks and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The wild North Atlantic

sea battering the prehistoric basalt columns is magical and worth the walk every time.

Derry Another Irish city worth your time is Derry.

A city filled with history; it has lots of experiences to offer you. From its famous walls to its iconic Bogside murals, the city will fascinate you with its visible history.

It also has a range of restaurants to suit your appetite, with ‘The Pickled Duck’

offering a lovely range for breakfast and ‘Odie’s Bistro’ with their mouth-watering burgers for dinner. Furthermore, it is also worth stopping by for a cup of tea in Derry’s craft village with its charming cafés and shops situated on a pedestrianised square.

So, if you are planning your next staycation, I think the North of Ireland should be a strong contender for your list with its bustling cities, beautiful landmarks, and delicious food.

While Covid-19 has put a dampener on most of our travel plans, it doesn’t mean we cannot make plans for when things become easier and on anyone’s travel list should be the Czech capital of Prague.

Having had the opportunity to visit the city with a friend two years ago I have dreamt of the opportunity to visit again since.

The city is an absolute delight to the eye with historical architecture from a plethora of architectural styles from across the centuries, all blended and interlocked to create the most picturesque and beautiful city I have ever had the pleasure to visit.

Any street you walk down or large building you find is sure to have an interesting history to it. Some of the top spectacles to visit include the astronomical clock tower, a marvel of clockwork engineering that every hour has its automata parade, the palace where you can see the changing of the royal guard, a large segment of the Palace grounds can also be visited for free.

The old city quarter surrounding the clock tower is also a must visit. Part of the city’s charm is being able to pick a random road or street and just explore it where you are sure to find something new you had not heard about on the tour brochure.

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During our visit myself and my friend decided to explore a tunnel near our Airbnb house only to end up at the massive National Monument at Vítkov Hill.

History buffs will be spoiled from the KGB museum to the museum of communism as well as the sex machine museum for those looking to see something a bit more, unorthodox. Truly it would be impossible to run out of new sights and attractions to explore on a trip to this city.

Being in the Czech Republic the costs are also quite cheap by Irish standards, allowing you to enjoy the local cuisine such as beef goulash served in a bowl made of bread as well as the local beers such as Staropramen. The Czech Republic has a long history associated with beer brewing and is believed to be where the Pilsner beers originated. Beer connoisseurs will be spoiled for choice in the central European city.

While dominated by old architecture the city has also joined the modern era, as can been seen from places such as Karlovy Lazne, a five story nightclub which is one of Europe’s top clubs. The city is internationally known for its LGBT friendly attitude.

Without a doubt the city of Prague should be on your travel bucket list post Covid-19.

24 OPI NIO N

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

We are being priced out of education because of NUI Galway’s greed

By Daniel Brennan People from lower-income backgrounds are being priced out of university more and more – and greedy institutions like NUI Galway are the reason why.

It may feel like a lifetime ago now but think back to July, when it was revealed that NUI Galway would not be waiving their €295 repeat exam fees. Many other third level institutions across Ireland had either significantly lowered or completely scrapped repeat exam fees as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Students at NUI Galway were told directly, by the bursar of the college, that the €295 charge was a “quite modest” fee. At the best of times, it would be almost too ridiculous to print that quote as a piece of satire mocking the attitudes of universities towards their students, never mind during a global pandemic.

What makes that “quite modest” statement even more disgusting is the actual cost of running the exams themselves – as The College Tribune found out under a Freedom of Information request earlier this year, the cost of holding a repeat exam in NUI Galway was €10.98 per student.

That cost included the cost of hiring venues for the exams, the cost of paying staff to invigilate exams as well as the cost of exam materials.

It was already ridiculous that students had to pay €295 for an in- person repeat exam, never mind that, as stated previously, in the middle of a global pandemic, they still dared to charge the same fees for online exams.

Repeat fees are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the multitude of ways that NUI Galway tries to rip its students off. This year especially, it has become clear to me that the main goal of the university’s man-

agement isn’t to provide the best quality education they possibly can, or indeed to provide the best campus environment for students to thrive in. All they care about is that your fees are paid in full and on time, and that their pockets are filled to the brim with your money.

I am entering my fourth and final year as an undergraduate Arts with Journalism student, and in every single one of my four years, myself and many others have experienced the same issues over and over again with the NUI Galway registration website when trying to select modules for the year ahead.

The fact that this has been a repeated issue even though once Britain leaves the European Union in a few months, we will have the highest university fees in the EU, is quite frankly ridiculous.

The registration website looks like it has been pulled straight out of 1999, when the rest of NUI Galway’s lovely webpages that any prospective students would see are all up-to-date and modern.

It took me 45 minutes to select modules for two subjects, because the servers kept crashing so often – and I was one of the lucky ones in that regard.

Then comes the issue of student accommodation, where NUI Galway is seemingly in the back pockets of the student accommodation providers and landlords of Galway city. Students were explicitly told for months in emails and in other communications to secure accommodation in Galway for the upcoming academic year, despite not knowing what their prospective timetables might look like.

Students were only given “indicative schedules” on the 31st of August, where many students who had booked accommodation in Galway for the upcoming year and had already paid a deposit and

perhaps even a month or two of rent, were then informed that they would only have a few hours of in-person lectures and tutorials a week, after NUI Galway had previously told them that 30% of their learning time would be oncampus in the first semester.

Why would they delay releasing this information for so long when they had almost six months from the university’s closing in mid-March to figure out a plan for students that could inform them whether or not paying for accommodation was at all necessary?

Or if what we were told was true and the “indicative schedules” were still being put together the day of their release, why did they wait so long to put the schedules together?

In my opinion, it was to scare students into getting student accom-

modation, and at the very least pay a deposit and a month or two’s worth of rent to their respective landlords or accommodation agencies, to squeeze all the money they could out of students to fill the coffers of the private rental sector as a favour.

What’s sad is that NUI Galway aren’t the only university that try to take all that they can from their students, although they are among the worst.

Young people across Ireland are having to consider whether getting an education is worth the outrageous fees and exploitative accommodation charges.

Last year, I had to take a placement that was near my home in Donegal I would have had to drop out otherwise if I had to pay for accommodation again.

This year, with my brother also starting university, if it wasn’t for the

uncertainty of Covid-19 which allowed me to stay at home, I would have had to face the choice of either deferring for a year, trying to get a loan and sinking myself into debt or dropping out altogether because I simply could not afford to pay for accommodation, despite having a part time job and a parent that works.

I know I’m one of the lucky ones too, and there are many out there far worse off than me, who have either lost their jobs or have been unable to get a job because of the pandemic, and whose parents may be in the same situation. If I can barely afford to go to university and get an education, I can only empathise with the many others who have already been priced out altogether by a system designed by and for the richest and most well off in our societies.

Is college worth it?

With rent prices as well as college fees rising every year, is it worth the price of admission for most students?

By Aoife Burke There are two arguments here. For and against. I will start with for as I believe college is worth it.

I can speak about my own struggles to get here. From graduating from the Athlone Institute of Technology with a higher cert in applied social studies, I believed I would get straight into university. SUSI said no and made me wait 5 years. The longest 5 years of my life spent struggling to live on the dole, in a terrible house share situation.

However, the wait was worth it. I found NUI Galway to be more professional and organised than any other university I attended. It is worth it as everyone is so nice and friendly and the university itself is extremely supportive.

I have found I have been graded fairly in exams and although I am twice the age of the other students, it is ok. We are all in this together! I am closer in age to the lecturers, so it isn’t like they are “teachers” (although they are) but rather friends.

I spent years in the workforce working as a secretary with no degree. Believe me I was making tea and taking abuse

Photo: Oisín Bradley off people who had degrees who felt they could treat me however they wanted.

There was also a pay issue too. Low wages and job insecurity. Being unable to afford a safe area to live in.

If you have a degree you have a world of choices ahead of you, and it’s never too late to do one. I know people who have grandchildren who are at university.

Having a degree matters, otherwise it’s a lifetime of dead-end jobs.

Against the point? It depends on your financial situation. We are currently in a recession. There is no shame in getting SUSI funding. You get exactly the same parchment on graduation. You have to be able to afford a place to live. Some students live in hostels, but they are at times unsafe.

I do think the back to education allowance should increase. I also think they should bring back the €500 you got at the start of the year.

At the end, graduating makes it all worth it. My higher cert not only got me into university, but it’s protected me from snobbery. I do recommend access courses as there is funding throughout your degree.

I think SUSI funding should be available for everybody and fees should be abolished, similar to what is done in Scotland.

With all things considered, I would argue that college is worth it. If you can survive, I say do it!

TUAIRIM

October 06 2020

25

Is the far right something we should

be concerned about in Ireland?

By Sarah Molloy Ireland is known for being a welcoming country full of friendly people whose roots extend all over the world, but do we tend to turn a blind eye to harmful far-right advocacy on our own soil?

It is easy to disregard the bigoted content we sometimes see on social media because we’re always told “it comes from a pathetic troll who’s harmless, really they’re only looking for attention and you should ignore them.”

However, there is a person behind those disgusting comments who is capable of inflicting serious damage beyond our timelines. We have all seen and condemned plenty of examples of farright activism on the global scale; you only need to glance at the US and you’ll find a plethora of examples from white

supremacist marches, to the racist views and policies of a president who is still venerated by many American people.

Closer to home we can see how right-wing politics is gaining traction in Poland and the UK. The ruling Law and Justice party in Poland increased its vote share in their October elections with its ultra ‘traditional Christian’ values, and we all saw how Brexit was voted in on a xenophobic misinformation campaign. It is easy to say that we’ll never be like that, because the Irish people are too sensible, and we know better. However, this is a dangerous assumption to take for granted.

At the General Election in February, there was a clear increase in far-right candidates putting themselves forward, who saw an opportunity owing to the increase in right-wing populism in

Europe. They didn’t have much luck in those elections however, but they might be more fortunate next time.

Racist attacks are on the rise in Ireland. According to figures released by the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), the number of racist incidents reported in the first three months of 2020 were double what they were in the same period of last year.

This could be because the perpetrators of these incidents are growing in numbers and those responsible feel more confident harassing people in public, or perhaps the victims of these crimes are now reporting them more often. It’s likely that it’s a combination of the two.

Over the summer it seemed that every week there was a new video of someone being verbally or physically assaulted by racist white Irish people. One such

Photo: Waterford Whispers News

Are some topics above debate?

By Donagh Broadrick The conversation around the wearing of masks to prevent the spread of Covid19 in this country, as well as the wider world has not been without its fair share of controversy.

Some claim that masks do not work while others insist they absolutely are essential to keep the curve flattened.

Those in Ireland, be they professors such as Dolores Cahill or radio presenter Jennifer Zamparelli have voiced scepticism around the effectiveness of what has become the government strategy, and have this notion put up for debate.

While most people it would seem, are not interested in such a debate it does raise the question. Are there topics which are above discussion?

Initially it would seem that this is obvious, who would honestly engage in a debate over the Holocaust, the morality of slavery, or the safety of vaccines?

Such things are considered almost universally reprehensible, what is to be gained from attempting to trivialise things that are so thoroughly considered discussed and done with? How does that benefit society at all?

However, debate on these topics

and the allowance for people to do so is essential for the maintenance of a liberal democracy. Philosophers of liberalism, such as John Milton observed in the essay Areopagatica, the censor must assume to themselves above all others in the land the grace of infallibility and incorruptibility, which man is clearly not.

Liberal democracy is founded on a number of underlying principles, one of which is that members of society are entitled to voice their opinions and engage in discussion on any topic that they may choose.

By doing so the ills and grievances of society can be exposed and rectified, thus ensuring the continued stability of the liberal state.

When we declare that certain topics are no longer up for debate, we take away the right of the citizens to do this vital function. Telling people that they cannot question a topic does not make them suddenly change their mind on it.

No holocaust denier was ever convinced of their beliefs because denying the holocaust became illegal in their country. Instead they saw their convictions reinforced by viewing the power of the state as a mechanism of preventing

them from saying what they believe to be true. Their beliefs in turn became a sign that what they have to say cannot be opposed through any other means but force.

In contrast, no one voices support for slavery anymore. Why? Because the debate has been so thoroughly had over the centuries that the arguments for slavery have become so pathetically weak that no one could realistically make them.

Shutting down debate on any topic no matter now repugnant is ultimately an act of censorship. The scope of what can be censored is ultimately without limit and the more often we censor the more normalised the concept becomes.

This in turn creates new extremes closer to the centre, which in turn must be policed. There is no objective line that can be drawn of unaccepted or acceptable speech. Therefore, there are no topics which can be above debate. To place anything above such scrutiny is to assume we have reached the peak of all knowledge and enlightenment, and if history is any indicator, we are not the first people to believe such a thing about ourselves, and we are very unlikely to be the last.

incident was captured on our own college campus. Some of them were old, some of them were young. This is clearly a widespread problem throughout Irish society that needs to be addressed.

In June, a Europol report stated that ‘violent right-wing extremism’ is growing in Ireland. This is very concerning.

This violence is being fuelled by racist and Islamophobic attitudes spread online by so called ‘Irish patriots’.

We have all seen these ridiculous accounts online that do not represent the majority of Irish people. We are told not engage with them and move on, but we shouldn’t just pretend they don’t exist because the people behind these accounts are part of a growing movement.

We have all seen how they have used the pandemic to exploit genuine fears in our communities, spreading misinformation among frightened people creating widespread panic and anger.

Most people were furious at the antimask protests we have seen in Dublin throughout the pandemic, with little to no social distancing in sight at such events.

Anybody who has lost someone to Covid-19, or been infected by it themselves, would be appalled by it. These protests are a consequence of the rise of the far-right in Ireland. They are spearheaded by activists like Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters who have tried use this pandemic to further their own political agendas.

We have all seen these ridiculous accounts online that do not represent the majority of Irish people. We are told not engage with them and move on, but we shouldn’t just pretend they don’t exist because the people behind these accounts are part of a growing movement.

We have to do better and realise that the ‘noisy few’ have the potential to become violent and shouldn’t just be ignored. White supremacy and xenophobia should have no place in Irish society so we cannot allow the far-right movement to gain any more traction in this country.

26 OPI NIO N

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

COLLEGE & COVID – Getting into the swing of our new ‘normal’

By Valerie McHugh It is fair to say that life as we know it has changed astronomically, and for college goer’s, life has become utterly unrecognisable.

Long lectures in stuffy lecture halls and trips along the Quincentenary bridge in the lashing rain have temporarily become a thing of the past, and a significant amount of our college degrees will now be earned online.

But nonetheless, the academic year of 20/21 has commenced and getting back into the swing of our new normality will be a challenge. So, whether you are staying at home, commuting, or hibernating in your college accommodation, here are some tips to get you started on the right foot.

1. Make your own Covid-19 ANTI-PACK and bring it everywhere you go.

In this day and age masks are a fashion staple. It has become one of those things you check off in your head before you leave the house along with your keys and wallet. Ensure that you pack a suitable mask (the quirkier the design the better) in your bag when taking a trip to campus or to town.

Also, try and prepare for plan B by packing a second one in your bag for days when a late night may lead to forgetfulness. Along with this make sure to pack some alcohol hand sanitiser (70% or more) in your bag and use it before you eat or touch your face.

Other useful bits and bobs for your ANTI-PACK are sealable bags to dispose of your used masks, tissues, anti-bacterial surface wipes and hand cream – because all that hand sanitiser plays havoc with your skin!

2. Set up a study space at home They say ‘home is where the heart is’ and whether your heart is Corrib Village or your hometown, this new ‘at home’ college set up is just as important as before, and good grades won’t come easily. If you are spending lots of time in online lectures, it will be helpful to create a suitable study place for yourself.

Get yourself a makeshift desk, a comfortable chair and make sure there is a plug socket nearby to keep your electronics charged.

Also, a pencil holder never goes to waste, and it is always useful to have a few spare pens lurking around.

Finally, don’t forget to have a snack drawer nearby with healthy goodies for those essay marathons. Things like fruit, nuts and crackers are perfect for snacking on, and a sneaky packet of Jaffa Cakes will never go astray!

3. Set a daily reminder to check your e-mail It is now easier than ever before to forget your NUIG email exists and ironically, it is the main source of communication between lecturers and students in our current climate. If you are prone to forgetfulness, set a reminder on your phone, or even leave a sticky note on your mirror for when you are brushing your teeth, to ensure you keep up to date with communication from the NUIG faculty and your peers.

4. Make a timetable Things have been up in the air recently, and keeping on top of class schedules and deadlines is more important than ever. Get yourself a wall calendar and pin it in your study space. Don’t forget to include time for relaxation in your schedule, because it is still important to take a study break!

5. Unmute your class group chat Most students are in a course group chat, and generally they fall into one of two categories. Either the chat buzzes one thousand times a day and you have it muted, or the last message in the chat was sent during RAG week of first year where a guy in your course invited everyone to his mates cracking house party.

Nevertheless, we are living in previously unimaginable times and staying in contact with people in your course while studying from home can be really useful, especially around assessment times. If one does not exist, make it your priority to get in contact with your Class Rep and try and get one set up.

But most importantly, make sure you look after yourself this year, both physically and mentally.

Get plenty of exercise and make sure to plan some socially distanced down time that adhere to the public health guidelines. Remember, the NUIG counselling service is also available if you are struggling or feeling overwhelmed.

Troy Bolton once said, “we are all in this together” and even if it has become a cliché recently, it still applies. We will get through this, and by following these tips, life might be just a little bit easier.

Covid-19 vs College 2020

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It’s fair to say that a very different academic year is in store for students in these unprecedented times.

On-campus lectures have been substituted with online learning for most of us. Many students have chosen to live at home while others are commuting to college when needed. Alternatively, others have decided to move back to Galway after a long few months at home.

Whatever you have decided to do for the upcoming semester, there is no doubt it will be a different college experience to what we’re used to.

Not only will our course of study have changed dramatically in comparison to last year, but also socialising, living arrangements, clubs, societies and nights out will differ significantly also.

As students, we are very capable of adapting to new ways of life and we have to do what we can to keep ourselves safe while also maintaining some sense of the ‘university lifestyle’ that we are used to.

What will I miss about college this year? Above all, I’ll miss the spontaneity. There will be no more, “Oh sure we’ll all go for a few pints after this lecture,” because the group I’m with might exceed the current six-person pub limit. There will be no more prolonged “study breaks” spent doing absolutely nothing in the Bialann. There will be no more nights out without strict planning in compliance with the constantly changing regulations.

Of course, house parties, pre drinks and nights out in Galway city will be severely missed but we must be compliant. We have to make a conscious effort to fight this virus.

Many of us will miss the freedom of living away from home and everything that comes with it.

In college, we are used to constantly being surrounded with people of our own age group and

having our best friends living close by. That everyday class interaction and discussion has been shifted to Zoom and Blackboard.

We can’t access the library without booking in advance. The same can be said for going out for meals or to the gym. Many of us feel trapped in our hometowns as our college friends remain together in Galway. It just isn’t the same.

Some will find positives in remote learning. Many of us won’t have to pay rent at home and are saving money this semester as a result.

Pre-recorded lectures may add flexibility to the everyday lives of students. We can manage our studies to suit our own personal timetable because we are not chained to a fixed schedule anymore.

That usual Thursday evening lecture could be uploaded earlier in the week, allowing you to get it over and done with. This also means that some students might have the option to work more part-time hours outside of college. Equally, we may find it easier to engage in sport, clubs and societies as a result.

However, some students may find they have to develop personal self-discipline and time- management skills with this newfound freedom and lack of academic structure. Online learning is going to be a different experience for everyone.

It will be more challenging for some than others.

I genuinely believe the most important thing to keep in mind is making an effort to stay engaged.

Try your best to stay connected with your friends and classmates – be it online or in small groups, safely and adhering to government guidelines of course. Keep on top of your work where possible and reach out to your lecturers if you are struggling.

We haven’t prepared for this, we don’t know what is ahead and we’re all learning as we go along.

Above all, mind your mental and physical health and check in on people. Be careful, mind yourselves and stay connected. Oh, and wear a mask.

TUAIRIM

October 06 2020

27

TUAIRMAÍOCHT: Tá Teamhair ina féar agus féach an Traoi mar atá!

Le Erin Ní Bhroin Thug an gníomhaí teanga, bunaitheoir Fianna Fáil, iar-Thaoiseach agus Uachtarán na hÉireann Éamon de Valera an líne chinniúnach, “Ós í an Ghaeilge an teanga náisiúnta is í an phríomhtheanga oifigiúil í,” i stair na Gaeilge dúinn i mBunreacht na hÉireann in 1937. Thug a gharmhac agus an tAire Gaeltachta deireanach a bhí ag Fianna Fáil, Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla dúinn i 2003. Thug an tAire Gaeltachta reatha agus comhghleacaí páirtí de chuid Uí Chuív, tvuít a bhí scríofa le ‘Google Translate’ dúinn i 2020.

Dé Domhnaigh 20ú Meán Fómhair 2020 bhí an bua ag rothaí de chuid na hÉireann, Sam Bennett, sa staid dheireanach den rás ar an Champs-Elysées agus é ag caitheamh an geansaí glas fosta. Ar ndóigh, bhí muintir na hÉireann bródúil as an éacht agus ár n-ambasadóir agus thosaigh cuid dár bpolaiteoirí ag cur an bród seo in iúl agus iad ag déanamh comhghairdeas leis an lúthchleasaí.

Ní raibh an tAire stáit Gaeltachta agus spóirt ag glacadh col leis an chomhartha seo.

Chuir an tAire Jack Chambers an teachtaireacht seo ar Twitter ar an lá céanna: “Comhghairdeas, @Sammy_Be . A dhéanamh an náisiún bródúil agus ag tabhairt ardú meanmanatá go mór de dhíth, dúinn go léir. Éacht curaidh”. Má tá tú ag streachailt leis an tvuít seo a léamh,

Jack Chambers, Teachta Dála

GET INVOLVED Ways to get involved with your SU this year Bealaí le páirt a ghlacadh i do Chomhaltas i mbliana



Take the Charity Challenge Glac páirt sa Dúshlán Carthanachta Join the Welfare Crew Glac páirt sa Chriú Leasa



Run for Election Seas sa Toghchán

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Become a Class Rep Bí i d’Ionadaí Ranga

níl tú i d’aonar agus níor ghlac sé i bhfad do mhuintir na Gaeilge a oibriú amach gur Google-Translate a bhí i gceist.

Ní nach ionadh go raibh Gaeilgeoirí ar fud na tíre ag fiuchadh le fearg. Ní mothúchán nua é seo dúinn. Is minic a fheiceann muid comhartha bóthair leis an fhocal ‘ar ceart’ scríofa ar in áit ‘ ar dheis’ nó urú agus séimhiú imithe ar strae.

Rud amháin é nuair a léiríonn an chomhairle contae áitiúil easpa cúraim ach buille maraithe na muice atá i gceist nuair a thagann sé ón Aire stáit Gaeltachta. D’fhéadfaí a rá, nach rud mór é, ní ann ach tvuít ach ar a laghad, bíodh tuiscint agat ar fhrustrachas na nGaeilgeoirí.

Tá an Ghaeltacht i mbaol, tá ár dteanga náisiúnta i mbaol agus tá muid ag tarraingt ar an seans deireanach. Tá lámh Dé de chuid Maradona, pas ‘Sé do Bheatha, a Mhuire de chuid Roger Staubach agus cic saor de chuid Stephen Cluxton de dhíth orainn. Mar sin de, ní bheadh iontas ar dhuine ar bith dá ndéarfaí nach bhfuil muinín ar bith ag muintir na Gaeilge ar an Aire nua nuair nach bhfuil sé ábalta trí abairtí, 22 focail agus 138 carachtair a scríobh go cruinn.

Connecting Ireland’s student cities and towns

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Anuas ar seo, tá sé deimhnithe againn cheana féin nach cainteoir dúchais nó cainteoir líofa é an tAire Jack Chambers. Is maslach ann féin é sin do chuid daoine. Ach, an bhfuil muid ag creidiúint nach bhfuil Gaeilge ag ceann amháin ar a laghad de na comhairleoirí speisialta? Nach bhfuil uimhir Uí Chuív aige le téacs a chur chuige nó seoladh ríomhphoist chun léamh profaí a dhéanamh air? Ní dóigh liom é. Ó mo thaithí féin ag obair i dTeach Laighean, d’fhéadfadh le ceann de na huiséirí fiú é a cheartú dó ar an bhealach amach sa tráthnóna.

I ndeireadh an ré, an fhadhb is mó a bhí ag muintir na Gaeilge leis an tvuít seo ná an easpa measa. Sin í an fhírinne shearbh. Níor bhac sé le scéal a chur chuig na comhairleoirí speisialta, chuig Ó Cuív nó duine ar bith eile mar ba chuma leis. Siamsa a bhí ann, agus nach cuma faoi chruinneas nuair cuir i gcéill atá ann. Mar Ghaeilgeoir, ba mhaith liom comhairle a chur in iúl don Aire, tá cruinneas teanga tábhachtach, tar éis an tsaoil, gan cruinneas d’fhéadfaí Fianna FAIL a chur air.

Cork

Contact studentsunion@nuigalway.ie for more info Déan teagmháil le studentsunion@nuigalway.ie le tuilleadh eolais a fháil

@nuigsu

NUIGalwayStudentsUnion www.su.nuigalway.ie

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Book online at www.citylink.ie or call 091 564164

28 SPORT

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

“I’ll just have to take it in my stride!”

Fresh off her Irish 100m Hurdle success, final year student Sarah Quinn talks Tokyo, balancing college and sport and forging friendships in the college athletics club.

By Oisín Bradley Sports Editor sport.sined@gmail.com NUIG final-year Commerce student Sarah Quinn completed a remarkable feat in late August, as she secured gold in some fashion at the Irish Life Health National Senior Championships.

Whilst that victory was a stunning success, it’s already firmly in the rearview mirror, as the Ballinrobe native is already eyeing up a ticket to the bright lights of Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

“Paris 2024 would be the one that I’m aiming for. I know Tokyo has been postponed until next year and no-one really knows what’s going to happen.”

“I’m going to aim high and go for it, but being realistic and thinking about my age profile, Paris is my goal and what I’m working towards, as well as all the World Championships in between.”

While looking to the future is important, it’s also nice to look back at previous successes and to reminisce, and Quinn felt it was due reward for her diligence over a trying time for everyone in sports and further afield.

“It was a great way to finish off the season. I’m only 22 and have a lot of years left in the sport. It’s good to have things coming together so soon.”

“Long-term, my ultimate goal would be the Olympics. It’s the ultimate goal for a lot of people in the sport. Shortterm, it (the National Championships) gave me a big boost after lockdown.

“I kept on the programme during

lockdown and it was just a nice indicator that the everything was going in the right direction and the hard work was paying off. It’ll really give me a nice boost to work even harder into the Winter now.”

When Quinn, a national champion in both indoor and outdoor codes, started in NUIG she found it a challenge to adjust and find the balance between her studies, social life and commitments as an athlete. However, her close friendships steadied her focus, and markedly assisted in her development.

“It can be overwhelming when you come into college and all of a sudden, you’re training six days a week and learning five days a week. Your new friends in your course are going out three or four nights a week and you really want to put yourself in that position, but you know that’s just not possible. It’s about finding the balance which will bring the goals you want to achieve.

“Coming to college in first year, it’s hard to find that balance and it takes you a while to figure out that you actually need eight hours of sleep to perform at your best!”

“After the first semester, I found my feet and found the group of people I wanted to achieve my goals with. I found the people who will push me all the way to be the best athlete I can be. I realised I was where I needed to be to push on.”

When asked about the sacrifices she had to make, the member of St. Colman’s South Mayo AC offered a different and refreshing perspective. It’s obvious that

even from such an early point in her career, her drive and determination to reach the summit are clear to see.

Sarah Quinn. Photo: Galway Bay FM

“Everything I do is a choice, it’s not a sacrifice in the slightest.

It’s a privilege to do a sport to the level that we do compete at.”

As if all of her tasks before this weren’t enough, Quinn also plays a pivotal role in the organisation of the college Athletics club.

“I’m actually co-treasurer along with Sinéad Tracy, another one of our athletes. Last year I was on placement, so she took the bulk of the work. There’d be a lot of work involved in grant applications and all that sort of craic. Sinéad was the main person behind that last year.”

This year is destined to be somewhat up in the air, but Quinn is determined that whatever is thrown at her and the club this year, she’ll “just have to take it in her stride!”

“This year we’ll see what’s going to be happening with the club and what we

decide to do. That’ll decide how much work will be required for it. It’ll be interesting to see if the varsities and all that stuff go ahead. Those would be our main tasks, but no-one knows what’s going to happen come January.”

When quizzed about why she would recommend joining the athletics club, the tight-knit nature of the athletes was what she immediately pointed to.

“Although athletics can be quite an individual sport, the culture that we have in the college for both the distance and the sprints club are both very teambased. Although you might be taking part in an individual sport, you still get the atmosphere and support of the team.

“Athletics in NUIG is very unique in its team atmosphere and the way everyone looks out for each other. Some of the best friends that I’ve made since coming to college are my running friends.”

This exceptional athlete might have the brightest of lights in her path in the future, but it is clear that even from a simple phone call, her passion for the community she has fostered in Dangan burns bright, and she wants everyone from beginner to seasoned athlete to share in it.

“To anyone who’s looking to try it, I’d say just give it a go! It’s not as daunting as it might appear to be. We have a great thing going in NUIG and it’s a fantastic group to be a part of.”

SPÓIRT

October 06 2020

29

Galway WFC 1-0 Treaty United

By Paddy Henry & Oisín Bradley at Eamonn Deacy Park.

Chloe Singleton’s strike on the cusp of half time proved decisive as Galway WFC edged out a stubborn Treaty United on a crisp evening at Eamonn Deacy Park.

On a night perfectly suited for football, the Tribeswomen started brightly, putting pressure on the Treaty defence.

However, they couldn’t break the deadlock until NUIG Fresher Singleton’s well-placed finish, which proved to be the only goal of the tie.

The Tribeswomen’s early pressure seemed to pay off, when a clever ball whipped into the Treaty box was headed home by Shauna Brennan three minutes in, however the goal was ruled out for a foul on the keeper.

The home side didn’t let their heads drop and continued to put the away side under the cosh, with Singleton and Aoife Thompson proving to be a thorn in the Treaty side with their lightning pace and silky footwork.

Galway were forced into an early change when midfielder and NUI Galway student Sinead Donovan was forced off with an ankle injury.

Despite losing a key player, the home side were unfazed and continued to put pressure on the Shannonsiders, controlling the midfield and dominating the wide channels.

While chances in the first half were few and far between, Galway will have considered themselves unlucky not to have found the net on one or two occasions. Substitute Savanagh McCarthy found the lively Singleton with a wonderful through ball midway through the

Galway WFC: Abbie Ronayne, Shauna Brennan(Aoife Lynagh), Shauna Fox, Keara Cormican(C), Meabh De Burca, Chloe Singleton, Aoife Thompson, Lyndsey McKey, Sinead Donovan (Savanagh McCarthy 3’), Jamie Turrentine (Lucia Lobato 62’) Therese Kinnevey.

Treaty Utd: Maeve Ryan, Marie Curtin(C), Alannah Mitchell, Maggie Duncliffe (Chloe Connolly 62’), Aoife Horgan (Doherty 65’), Gillian Keenan, Shannon Parbat (Lauren Keane 70’) Tara O’Gorman, Eve O’Sullivan, Cara Griffin, Cayla Davis Referee: Beachlan Folen first half, jinking past the Treaty defenders and forcing Maeve Ryan into a smart save on her right hand side.

The Tribeswomen’s pressure finally paid off at the end of the first half, when Ireland international Singleton raced onto a perfectly weighted ball to slot home past the Treaty ‘keeper into the bottom right hand corner for her second goal of the season.

The Limerick side began to find their rhythm in the second half with Cara Griffin causing the Galway defence havoc on the flanks, however the home side soon settled back into the game.

Galway continued to pressure the Treaty backline as the second half drew on but couldn’t quite find the killer pass to split the resolute Shannonsiders defence.

Treaty rang the changes just after the hour mark in the hope of salvaging an unlikely point in Terryland, but the

Galway outfit continued to press and should have added to the scoreline with Lyndsey McKey and Aoife Thompson coming close late on.

The win sees the Galway outfit put daylight between themselves and Treaty in the race for the top five with Billy Clery’s charges opening up a five-point advantage over their western rivals.

Speaking to SIN after the game, Singleton was critical of her sides inability to find the killer pass to unlock the Limerick ladies’ rear-guard, however expressed her relief that the points wouldn’t be heading back down the M18.

“I think we need to be more clinical going into the final third. Particularly in terms of getting our heads up and finding that final ball into the channels.

That’s what we need to be working on coming into next week for sure.

Singleton caused some concern to the home bench when he went down in the

62nd minute, but she shook it off much to the delight of the few United fans gathered in the North Stand.

“It was just a fifty-fifty challenge and the Treaty player caught me on the ankle, but it’s fine and I’ll probably be grand for next week. A bit of ice will probably do the job!”

Looking ahead, the First-year Arts student forecasts it’ll be down to the wire between themselves and Cork when they make the journey South to the banks of the Lee in a fortnight. But for now, the Tribeswomen have their sights firmly fixed on Wexford Youth’s visit to Eamonn Deacy Park in the FAI Cup next Saturday.

“Cork have passed us out now. It’s looking like we’ll be neck-and-neck in the race for the Top 5. Before that, we’re home to Wexford in the FAI Cup though, and hopefully we can progress to the next round.”

Ex-NUIG Student made Captain of Liverpool

By Oisín Bradley It’s been a momentous time for ex-NUIG student Niamh Fahey, as she has been named as the captain of the Liverpool Ladies side. Fahey will don the armband for the Reds this season having been there since 2018 and has been a key cog in the Merseyside machine since her signing.

Fahey will be looking to build on a disappointing campaign last season, which saw her side relegated from the top tier of English football by the slimmest of margins, going down on predicted points per game after the season was voided due to the pandemic.

Fahey will be hoping to taste league silverware in her first stint as captain as her charges are well in the mix to go straight back to the top of the footballing pyramid. Liverpool have had a strong start to life in the Championship, with two wins and a draw to their name from the opening exchanges of the campaign The ex-Chelsea midfielder, who received a sports scholarship during her time in NUIG, having graduated from her

2-year Science degree, recently penned a new deal at the club and has been rewarded by gaffer Vicky Jepson for her consistency in the heart of the midfield despite their relegation to the second tier.

Speaking with LFCTV, Fahey expressed her joy at being handed the opportunity. “It’s an amazing feeling.

It’s something I never thought would happen,” she said of her appointment.

“For me as a supporter, now being captain is beyond my wildest dreams and I’m going to embody the spirit of the club through my captaincy and bring out the values of a Liverpool player.”

“It’s been a really enjoyable pre-season and we’re working really hard to get back up to the Women’s Super League, where we feel we belong.”

“We’re under no illusions that we need to be at the top of our game in every game. We have to be up for the fight but also show our qualities.”

Fahey has played for Salthill Devon locally whilst also having played for Galway Ladies, the precursor to Galway WFC. Fahey had her fair share of successes at Eamonn Deacy Park, scoring

the winning goal to land Galway the FAI Cup title in 2007, converting from the penalty spot against Raheny United in a 1-0 final win.

In her interview with Liverpool’s in-house media, she paid tribute to last season’s captain Sophie Bradley-Auckland, who made the brave decision to step away from the game as she planned to protect the residents of her family-run care home from Covid-19.

“It’s a very unselfish decision from Sophie to put the care home and the vulnerable people there first. That’s the type of person she is,” she said.

“We’re going to miss her massively but we know, respect and are proud of her decision.”

Fahey has also been capped by the Republic of Ireland and deputised in the centre of the Irish rear guard as Vera Pauw’s side fell to a 3-0 defeat to Germany. The Girls in Green will also be looking to bounce back with Fahey in the side, as a win over Ukraine would leave them essentially home and dry for 2nd spot in Group I of qualification for the Euro’s in 2021.

30 SPORT

Connacht Rugby elect first female President

By Oisín Bradley Connacht Rugby made history last week, as they became the first ever provincial club on the island of Ireland to elect a female president.

The club from the West made the announcement on their social media platforms on the 14tth of September that Ann Heneghan would be taking over as President of the club in a landmark move for Irish Rugby.

This comes as a landmark moment for the club; however, the move is not without merit. Heneghan has been involved with the Province at numerous levels, taking up many roles within the Westerner’s hierarchy. Her roles have included Junior Vice-President in 2018, as well as the position of Chairperson on the Connacht Rugby Supporters’ Club back in 2003.

In a statement from Connacht Rugby on their website, Heneghan expressed her “honour” at being elected to the role.

“It is a great honour to be elected as President of Connacht Rugby. Having been involved with the Supporters Club at a time when the future of Connacht Rugby was in jeopardy, it is particularly pleasing to see how the Province has grown and flourished over the intervening years.”

SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01

Handball Club plans for the year ahead with Covid-19

By Conor Brummell Covid-19 restrictions will inevitably be in place for the foreseeable future, and with it, clubs and societies will have to adapt to ever-changing public health advice to ensure events and training sessions run smoothly.

SIN caught up with NUI Galway’s Handball co-club captain Ashling Mullin, to see how they are preparing for the year ahead, in the face of the “new normal.”

“NUIG Handball are lucky in the sense that the National GAA Handball Association have released guidelines for us to follow that represent public health advice at each level. It breaks down what we as a club can do - which takes the pressure off of us as a college club, knowing what we are doing is right at all times,” Ashling says at the start of the interview.

“Unfortunately for the foreseeable future our competitions that usually take place this time of year won’t be going ahead. Our Intervarsities are postponed until 2021, so we are preparing for that currently in the hopes it will go ahead.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, NUI Galway’s Handball club have already missed out on competitions this year. “We’ve missed our One Wall Intervarsity which usually takes place in June, which is always our strongest competition in terms of bringing medals home to the club.

“Our 60x30 and 40x20 doubles competition usually take place in both October and November. However, it seems unlikely that these will go ahead.”

“It’s disappointing,” Ashling continues, “but it’s important now that everyone is adhering to social distancing guidelines. I do hope however that we’ll be able to get back to playing competitions soon!”

GAA Handball have started back their 60x30 Singles Championship nationally, but Mullin says that this was restricted to just Senior and Minor Championship grades, with a few key underage grades in the mix only.

“I still have an All-Ireland final to be played, and it’s in the books for November.

Here’s hoping,” she laughs.

In terms of getting the college handball team back training, things seem unclear now, especially as all on-campus activity has been suspended to combat the spread of Covid-19. Once those restrictions are lifted, however, Ashling hopes they can get back to training as soon as possible.

“Our 40x20 alley is based in the Kingfisher, so once we get the go-ahead from the University, we’ll resume training. We will probably have to break up training times, with different timetables and sort people into groups to run training sessions with as limited numbers as possible.”

The Handball club usually jets off to America each year to take part in collegiate tournaments over there. However, per the joint-captain of the club, these are probably off the cards this year. “We can look forward to what we have here instead!”

With that being said, the Handball club’s numbers have been on the rise the last few years, and Ashling says everyone from beginner to advanced is welcome.

“It doesn’t matter what standard you compete at, everyone is treated the same!”

“We look forward to welcoming new players to the club every year, but this year in particular, Fiona Tully is a key player we will be welcoming on board.

“She is starting a PME with NUIG this year, and has been a phenomenal player in the ICHA tournaments previously, as well as claiming the majority of Women’s Open titles at each event with DCU and has been a strong competitor in the US too. She will be a great addition to the NUIG handball family,” Ashling finished.

If you want to join the NUI Galway Handball club, they are currently setting up a google form where people can sign up which will be shared on their social medias.

You can also get in contact with the club via their Instagram (@Nuig_Handball_) or NUIG GAA Handball Club on Facebook.

Football – Western Hygiene Supplies Division Two “I am particularly looking forward to engaging with all of the volunteers involved in the game across the province. Connacht Rugby’s vision of “Grassroots to Green Shirts” reflects the ambition we have for the game at all levels and I look forward to playing my part on the next stage of that journey.

“While it will be a different type of season, I look forward to bringing my experience from different roles to this position and I relish the opportunity to be involved, at a historic time for Connacht Rugby as we celebrate 135 years of rugby in the Province.”

Heneghan is a graduate of NUI Galway, having received a BA in English and Politics in 1988. Ann is also the principal of law firm Heneghan and Associates, which operates in both Galway and Claremorris.

The change in President should hopefully result in a change of fortunes for Andy Friend’s squad, as they failed to impress in the previous campaign.

Connacht kick off their Pro14 campaign against Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground on Saturday 3rd October at 5.15pm.

Colts race up the League table NUIG COLTS 2 – 1 WEST UNITED B

By Oisín Bradley The NUIG Colts followed up their openingday draw against Craughwell United with a 2-1 victory over West United’s B team.

The result left the men in maroon in 4th place at the time of writing, as they form part of a three-pronged chasing pack for the top spot.

Ray D’Arcy’s men were looking to build on the opening-day share of the spoils in their travel East to face Craughwell, and Alan McCann’s header after the changeover did just that as they secured the points in a competitive tie.

NUIG raced out of the blocks after the kick-off, and were right to feel aggrieved that

they were not further ahead come half-time.

While Colm Tummon rattled the onion bag for the Colts to move the hosts ahead in Act One, in truth they were wasteful and couldn’t double the United deficit.

The opening exchanges of the second half were almost a mirror image of the previous 45. Unfortunately for Colts however, it would be the visitors from cross-city who upped the ante to put the NUIG defence under the cosh.

In the 60th minute the pressure truly told and the back-line caved. After a sumptuous delivery from Neville Murphy, Jim Ryan made no mistake with a header to break the deadlock and level proceedings.

In truth, the pendulum of momentum had well and truly swung the way of David Griffin’s charges, and it would be fair to say the NUIG goal came against the run of play.

Following a tasty delivery into the square via the left boot of Colm Tummon, Alan McCann

found himself in plenty of space to do the rest and head home to return to the ascendancy.

West United never let their heads drop despite the hammer blow to the score-line, and kept asking questions of a dogged rearguard until the dying echelons. NUI swatted away any blows that came their way excellently, and notable performers at the back included Darren Sinton between the sticks, as well as seasoned campaigner Rico Casey.

In the end it would be McCann’s header that was the decider, and the men from the College ensured that their Claddagh counterparts would not be leaving Dangan Sports Complex with bragging rights and points in tow.

The result moved Ray D’Arcy’s men to four points in the Division Two standings, and leaves them level on points with both Kinvara United and Craughwell United, the latter of which holds a minimal lead on score difference.

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SPÓ IRT

October 06 2020

Ultimate Frisbee’s back and looking for new recruits

Players’ Testimonies I’m now the Women’s Captain in the club, and I couldn’t be happier that I started playing in my first year of college. The team was so welcoming and friendly that it was hard to not keep coming back, and since most people start playing in college, the club adores getting beginners involved. The Ultimate Frisbee community in Ireland is small but strong and is growing all the time. You will get to know people from all over at tournaments (both nationally and internationally) and you’ll really feel like you’re a part of something special. On top of all that, it’s a great

O’Brien looking to ‘Kick-start’ the new year with Taekwondo

By Oisín Bradley Sports Editor sport.sined@gmail.com

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Photo: Caolán Herbert

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ticularly active in competitions all across Ireland.

Last year alone, four or five of us drew in 33 medals across nine competitions. We would have had more chances to get medals were it not for Covid.

We try to go to as many Inter-Varsities as possible.

“From a competitive standpoint, we have so many sessions and we try to go to as many as possible to gain an edge on other clubs.”

When asked about why any aspiring martial artists would choose Taekwondo over similar sports, O’Brien was quick to point out the strengths his team had to offer.

“I’d say that our training is a little more allround. We do a good bit of fitness, as well as plenty of self-defence as well as heavy technique to get the basics rounded. However, we also do a lot of sparring to hone techniques outside of our classrooms.”

The strength of talent on offer in the Taekwondo club is nothing to be sniffed at, and per O’Brien, the class is evident as soon as you walk take in a single session.

“There’s ability there for sure; three of us got onto National Squads recently and we’re aiming to go to the World Championships in March. We also have a number of Black Belts from the Irish squad who come in to train with us, so you’re tapping into an immense pool of talent when you train with us.”

P •N á Bí i Do

It’s a new dawn for Taekwondo Club chairman Christopher O’Brien and the rest of the NUI Galway Taekwondo Club, as they look to find a new way to operate in the current climate.

O’Brien and the rest of the committee have had to get their thinking caps on to come up with a plan to navigate the waters due to the impact of Covid-19.

However, the idea of online classes for their students is one which makes sense for the seasoned campaigner.

“In the past few years, we’ve run training every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday to accommodate as many people as possible. As you know with the whole Covid-19 issue everything is a bit up-in-theair, so at the moment we’re going for a virtual session every Monday and Thursday which anybody can join in on. One of our black belts will be instructing in that.”

“On Wednesdays we’ll have an actual physical session for beginners, whether that be beginners or first years.”

O’Brien, who is currently training to receive his purple belt, is acutely aware of his responsibilities, and is committed to providing a classroom which is enjoyable for both tutor and student, and he insists that his door is always open for any advice.

“It’s my job to keep the club going in the day-today sense and make sure that all of our members are getting their enjoyment out of sessions. If anyone has any recommendations for how to make training better, or anything they want to cover they can come to me or the committee and we’ll go about making it enjoyable for everyone.”

The club has been to the fore when pitted against their counterparts from across the length and breadth of Ireland, and their haul of accolades from last year alone speaks for itself.

“As a club we’re very active in Inter-Varsities.

A lot of people are joining us just for exercise, however there are four or five of us who are par-

For more information about trainings, Covid-19 policies within the club, throwing tutorials and other information, please head to our Facebook page, ‘NUI Galway Panteras (Ultimate Frisbee)’ and pop us a message!

Mhasc

A good and very common question. Ultimate Frisbee is a non-contact team sport that mixes elements of American football, basketball, and soccer. It is played using a disc and a point is scored when one team catches the disc in the opposing team’s ‘endzone’.

It’s a fast paced, engaging sport that involves running, jumping, laying-out and mastering different types of throws, both standard ones and trick shots!

It can be played indoors, outdoors on grass and on beaches. The indoor season is postponed at the moment due to the pandemic, so thankfully we have other options! There is a Women’s Division, Open Division and a Mixed Division.

Do

What is Ultimate Frisbee?

way to keep fit whilst having immense fun!

Tadhg Cleary, our PRO, shared his experience joining the club.

“I got into Ultimate at one of the drop-in sessions and gave it a go during my orientation in 1st year. I saw frisbee and thought it would be nice and relaxing, but I ended up out of breath and sitting on the floor with the biggest smile on my face. After that, I knew I was hooked”.

Alice O’Donnell, our Secretary in the club said, “The NUIG Ultimate club is extremely dedicated to growing the Women’s team and has partnered with the ‘20x20 – Women in Sports Campaign’ multiple times. While the frisbee club has pushed me as an athlete, it has without a doubt allowed me to grow as a person and increase my confidence hugely. It’s fantastic to be part of a club that values growth, participation and media coverage of women in sport to such a high degree”.

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With the pandemic going on, we have all lost out on our hobbies and fun activities, whether it’s a dance class, art workshops, or even going to the gym, it hasn’t been easy on anyone. It has been especially hard on people looking to start new things, when clubs and groups are barely carrying on with their current members, let alone beginners.

It can be hard, and sometimes even intimidating, to start a new sport as an adult, but you need not fret, because Ultimate Frisbee is one of the most beginner friendly sports out there, and the one of the most welcoming too!

It’s also a self-refereed sport. Everyone on the pitch is responsible for knowing the rules and implementing them fairly. All conflicts are discussed, and players come to an agreement on what happened and how to proceed. This refers to ‘Spirit of the game’ and it plays a big role in Ultimate. This is a wonderful part of the sport and a reason a lot of people stick with it It encourages respect and good sportsmanship between players and creates a positive community.

In other sports I’ve played, there has always been rival teams or generally toxicity around players from other clubs, whereas in Ultimate, I have befriended fellow players all over the country at tournaments. We’re a sound bunch really!

Be

By Fiona Lee

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NUI Galway is committed to providing three reusable facemasks to every student

Collect yours from the Students’ Union Pop-Up in the Quadrangle

Check our Social Media for Opening Hours @nuigsu

NUIGalwayStudentsUnion www.su.nuigalway.ie

Coiste Gno EXECUTIVE

COMMITTEE

Vice President / Education Officer Leas Uachtarán / Oifigeach Oideachais

2020 -2021

Vice-President / Welfare and Equality Officer Leas-Uachtarán / Oifigeach Leasa agus Comhionannais

President / Uachtarán

Emma Sweeney

Pádraic Toomey

su.education@nuigalway.ie 086 385 3658

su.president@nuigalway.ie 086 385 5502

Róisín Nic Lochlainn

su.welfare@nuigalway.ie 086 385 3659

Mature Students’ Officer Oifigeach Mic Léinn Lánfhásta

Gender and LGBT+ Rights Officer Oifigeach um Chearta Inscne agus LADT+

Disability Rights Officer Oifigeach um Chearta Míchumais

Erin Mac An tSaoir

Michelle Mitchell

Maeve Arnup

Patricia O’Mahony

091 493 570 su.gaeilge@nuigalway.ie

089 966 6847 su.maturestudents@nuigalway.ie

091 493 570 su.lgbt@nuigalway.ie

085 212 0689 su.disability@nuigalway.ie

Oifigeach na Gaeilge Irish Language Officer

Postgraduate Taught Officer Oifigeach na nIarchéimithe Teagasctha

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Sebastiaan Bierema

Clubs Captain Captaen na gClubanna

Kirsty Moran

087 781 0130 su.pgtaught@nuigalway.ie

091 493 570 su.pgresearch@nuigalway.ie

085 882 4797 su.clubs@nuigalway.ie

Convenor of the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies / Tionólaí Choláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sóisialta & an Léinn Cheiltigh

Convenor of the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences / Tionólaí Choláiste an Leighis, an Altranais & na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte

Convenor of the College of Science and Engineering / Tionólaí Choláiste na hEolaíochta agus na hInnealtóireachta

Claire McHale 091 493 570 su.arts@nuigalway.ie

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Postgraduate Research Officer Oifigeach na nIarchéimithe i mbun Taighde

Evan O’Flaherty 091 493 570 su.medicine@nuigalway.ie

Aoife Buckley

087 775 0227 su.scienceengineering@nuigalway.ie

Positions to be filled next semester/Poist le líonadh an chéad seimeastar eile: Societies Chairperson • SU Council Chairperson • Convenor of the College of Business Public Policy & Law • International Students Officer • Ethnic Minorities Officer

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