The Submarine, June 2012

The Submarine VOL 7 No 1 JUNE 2012 __________________________________________________________________________________________

FROM time to time librarians wonder what will become of their place of work. All libraries, be they public, academic, specialist or school have been affected by the changing nature of information.

Quite often these discussions centre on the future of the book. This is because the book, the historical technology for storing and conveying information, is location specific. Or rather, a collection of books is—that is, they are kept in a library. As the new digital technology, compact, portable and versatile, is not location specific, the need for a specific information place, the library, has come into question. If books go, do we need libraries?

Thus school librarians consider their wellordered shelves, their peaceful, near-silent environment.

They see expensive books and wonder if they will ever be used. They know that the vast majority of the library’s users are busily beavering away at Wikipedia and Google for their research—pupils want distilled information, they want it quickly, and they don’t particularly want to have to trawl through books to find it. Librarians know this because they’ve talked to pupils Molly Dunne designed the 10th and surveyed them. They also know that pupils can Anniversary Gala Concert poster approach information in a random and unstructured way, that cutting and pasting is normal, and that the idea of reading around a subject for its indirect benefits is less common than ever. How, they wonder, in this new environment, can the library serve them best?

Seth Godin, futurologist, has written an interesting blog on how libraries might evolve1.

“Wikipedia and the huge databanks of information have basically eliminated the library as the best resource for anyone doing amateur research,” he says. “Yet they (kids) need a librarian more than ever.” Why? Because the vast and often unregulated resources on the web require a knowledge mediator: “Post-Gutenberg the scarce resource is knowledge and insight, not access to data.”

Librarians are needed to interpret data and inculcate knowledge skills, and this is best done in a library. So far, so sensible. What is a little alarming, however, is Seth’s opinion of what that future library might be like. It should have, he says, “the vibe of the best Brooklyn coffee shop combined with a passionate raconteur of information.” This has become a popular view, that in exchanging the book for digital resources the library must necessarily cease to be a place of silence, thought and reflection and instead become a kind of feisty information stock exchange, presided over by a hypercaffeinated ‘information hound’ of a librarian (yes, he does call them that).

But school libraries in particular have an interesting and often overlooked attribute, and that is silence. Indeed, pupils routinely make more use of a library’s space than its contents. They study or read or write or pass notes, they use their laptops or think or gaze at a wall. Sometimes they sleep. The books on the shelves add value, but are not the primary attraction. What’s more, this silence is a rare occurrence in today’s world. It encourages a calmness and thoughtfulness that is vital to the absorption of knowledge. It is a calming energy which does not exist in a computer room or Chapel or in any other part of a school—they have their own, equally valid, energies—and it is also good for the soul. Curiously, the presence of books helps to bring this calmness about, rather as open water does in the centre of a city; recent research has shown that children are reassured by a library having books on its walls, whether they read them or not.

TMcC Librarian Information hound 1

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/the-future-of-the-library.html.

IN THIS ISSUE Editorial............................................................................................................page 1 Poetry Sadbh Sheeran…………………………………………….............................…2 On Reading, The Sub-Warden…………………………………………………………..3 5th Form Library Quiz, Oyinda Onabanjo……………………………………………...5 New Books in the Library………………………………………………………………6 Poetry, Mark Russell, Thomas Lyster, Hollie Canning...............................................7 What’s Reading Me……………………………………………………………………..8 Southern Ireland and the Liberation of France: a personal reaction, H. Morgan Dockrell............……………………………………………………………10 The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking: review, Jack Dunne………………………..12 The Leopard by Jo Nesbo: review, Mr Morris............................................................12 Barrington Stoke reviewed,Michael Murphy, Robyn Brady, Cormac McCooey, Petra Duran Basso, Janet Boyd..................................................................................13 Library News..............................................................................................................14 World Book Day 2012.................................................................................................15 Shoot the Messenger, Niamh Faulkner........................................................................16 ________________________________________________________________________

POETRY:1

Could it matter?

Didn’t I see?

A hillside, lined with people, Each to their own.

This poem is from Sadhbh Sheeran's winning portfolio for the Senior Poetry Prize 2012, one about a dear friend lost recently, 'a beautiful person' as she said at the Voices of Poetry evening.

Tight against the graves of others, All faced one.

I stood below his open grave.

Hands deep in my pockets, Feeling the cold now.

'Solstice'

Didn’t matter, Could see.

Not even standing room, so we gathered outside, Unconscious of the cold.

Hundreds of people, well known faces, Yet each of us alone.

Hands touched my back but all was numbed.

Sounds of mourning fled the hillside, No longer a need for speakers, I searched for friendly faces, Not brave enough to look to those i knew best.

I found two, far up the crowd, Recognised them well, they projected the hope.

The relief was great, softening the loss.

I couldn’t see, It didn’t matter.

All was broadcast to us by speakers, The penultimate moments, projected to the world.

Harsh.

I focused on the backs of heads in front Of me, following the voice.

Seeing matters.

It was Winter Equinox Growing dark, on the hillside lined with people , For one it would be the last time the darkness grew.

But the hope was there, within us all, The people on the hillside.

Couldn’t see, Didn’t matter.

The scent of flowers passed me, made my stomach churn.

Mother pulled me round and we followed His family.

See, it matters.

2

ON READING The Sub-Warden gave a talk in Chapel on Wednesday 23rd May 2012 on the importance of reading. It was preceded by an audio recording of the first five minutes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk, ‘The Dangers of a Single Story’. Her full talk can be seen at http://bit.ly/sccchapel.

I think that phrase ‘the danger of a single story’ is well worth thinking about. The danger is: we can have ‘single stories’ of people or issues. We think we know the truth about them. But people are complex, and if all we see is what we expect to see, we don’t see the truth. Chimamanda’s American roommate thought she would be interested in tribal music. But equally, Chimamanda herself was blinded by her relative privilege: all she could see about the family of her houseboy Fide was that they were poor. She never imagined that anyone in that family could make something beautiful.

delve into the wonders of scientific discovery, open ourselves up to many stories, to everything which is larger than ourselves.

I’ve lost count of the number of times parents have asked me at parent-teacher meetings: “What can my son/daughter do to improve his English?” And really, I could just say one word: Read. Your parents then expect me to say more than that, so maybe I should expand: Read Lots. But honestly, that is the single thing you should do.

But I go further now, since English as a subject certainly does not have any ownership of this idea. I believe that reading widely and deeply improves all your subjects in the same way that exercising improves any sport. And not just an obvious one like History, but also Science, and Economics, and languages, and even what might seem to be the further of all from reading – mathematics. My only attempt to prove this now is to say that someone who is intellectually incurious, someone who says he or she is bored by everything, is someone whose brain is not exercising, and that it’s very hard to partition that brain into the parts you want to develop and others you don’t really care about.

It’s important that we always question the single stories presented to us, and this leads me on to the second idea I would like you to take away from Chapel today: the importance of reading, and the life of the mind. Much of our lives, as teenagers and adults alike, is hectically busy. I think most people in this Chapel would agree that physical exercise is good for us, is necessary, and is usually enjoyable.

Exercising our minds is also all of those things. In our busy lives we need to take time to slow down, to think, to concentrate, to keep mental space for ourselves (this Chapel can provide that for us too), and one of the best ways to do this is by reading books.

So here are four questions, the first of which is a show of hands, the others just to be answered in your head. Here I am not asking about school books which you are using in your subject courses, but only ones you have chosen:

When we read a book, we can get pleasure in a story, take ourselves to another country, see into the lives of other people, start to understand another time in history, 3

To conclude: Over the summer and in the coming months ... If you’re in Primary, I or II you probably read more than anyone else in the school. Keep it up. III formers: push on after your Junior Certificate. In Transition Year you have a great opportunity to read as much as possible (and in English next year we will formally include a reading element in your course).

IV formers: you have two years left in school; now is the time to let your intellect mature. V formers: you are in the middle of that process – push on, don’t become obsessed by your coursework in any subject: broaden your horizons, read deeply away from the course in the subjects that most interest you.

1. Who is currently reading a book? [about 70% put up their hands] 2.

How many books a year do you read – here are the choices - 0 to 5?

Between 5 and about 20 (which would be one every two weeks)?

Between 20 and 50 (which would be one a week)? Over 50?

3. A question for staff only. It’s easy for us too to get lazy, to let thinking and reflectiveness be crowded out by the demands of our jobs and our lives. How many books have we read in 2012 connected with our subjects?

And all of you will eventually be VI formers, about to leave school. After your exams, you have lots of holiday time for reading, and then perhaps you move into a college or university. Don’t become one of those adults who only hears and believes single stories about the world and about other people. There are too many adults like that already. Inquire, be adventurous, travel, read. Be intellectually alert. Keep challenging others’ beliefs. Even more importantly, keep challenging your own beliefs. Always, always distrust the single story.

4. Think: What is the best book you’ve ever read? A supplementary question: Why? As a small way of encouraging all reading, at the end of term you and your parents will receive lists of recommendations compiled by the English Department, the librarian Mr McConville and some other teachers, of books you might enjoy over the holidays. (20 years ago, in 1992, the College took one of the most important decisions in its history, to build a new Library in the very heart of the campus.

Work started in 1993, and it opened in 1994).

_______________________________________________________________

DONORS The Library would like to express its sincere thanks to those who donated books or funds to us.

Dr G. Bannister, Mr J.R. Brett, Rev. N. Crossey, Mr H. Jones, Mr I. O’Herlihy, Dr David Sowby, Jack Stokes, Mr R Swift, the G.K. White Fund.

4

5th Form Library Quiz uiz 2011 Oyinda Onabanjo reports on last year’s Inter-Schools Library Quiz, Quiz and on how watching television is sometimes a good thing.

Saying to your friend, “Oh yeh, yeh, I’m competing in a Library quiz”, you’d immediately think, umm ok, and you’re not a nerd? However the answer is yes, I’m not a nerd because contrary to popular belief you don’t have to know the square root of pi or the emperor of Japan in the 5th century. century. All you really have to do is watch television... th frequently. So on the 17 February 2011, Lorcan Maule, Rosie Agnew, Claire Conway, Lingfan Gao and Patrick Tice set off to Muckross Park, Ranelagh at half one along with Leonhard Dihlmann and I as their supporters supporters to compete in the Fourth Annual InterInter Schools Library Quiz.

Now, travelling in the bus we were preparing ourselves ourselves to be up against glassesglasses clad, know-it-alls alls but all we encountered were normal 16-17 16 17 year olds like ourselves, can’t say we weren’tt surprised. The quiz began with a reading from Paul Howard, Howard author of the best selling Ross O’Carroll-Kelly Kelly books. The reading was from an extract from the latest of the series, The Oh My God Delusion; Delusion it was excellently read in the “South Dublin” accent and was very funny. It was very enjoyable.

The quiz consisted of six categories; General Knowledge, Music, Television, Movies, Sports and, of course, Books. The first round being general knowledge we were around joint third along with eight other schools, school as the quiz progressed we became aware that these questions were not what we expected at all and as the team’s faces grew more perplexed, I grew more and more agitated in my seat as I realised that this quiz was perfect for me! The television addict that tha I was, with questions such as “Upon listening to this song, please write down the television ad, this is from.” There I was jumping up and down in my seat with the answer! Of course it was Häagen Dazs...

We over-estimated estimated the types of questions that would be asked, we were thinking “Haha, you think you’re going to win? WE HAVE LING!!” Little did we know that Ling didn’t really watch television? Anyway, we trudged through as best we could, finishing humbly at sixth. We did well during the rounds of Sports Sports and Books with Rosie Agnew (our own resident book worm) and Lorcan Maule and Patrick Tice bickering away at whether Sports person of the year was Tiger Woods (doubtful) or Tony McCoy. Although unfortunately we did not win, it was fun day in which which had the opportunity to win spot prizes (We didn’t but at least we had a chance), eat free food and meet Paul Howard who kindly signed the school’s copy of The Oh My God Delusion.

Delusion Supporters were kept entertained with puzzles, riddles and several packets of Haribo.

Haribo The only shame was that we can’t do it again next year as it’s only for fifth year. I advise the current fourth year to definitely participate as it was a good experience.

Sadly the Library Quiz did not take place in 2012. The good news is that it will resume in 2013.

5

NEW BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY These are some of the books we recently added to our shelves.

Joking Apart: Donncha O’Callaghan by Donncha O’Callaghan Kenny Egan: my story by Kenny Egan and Ewan MacKenna Ruby: the autobiography by Ruby Walsh and Malachy Clerkin SAS Survival Handbook: the ultimate guide to surviving anywhere by John Wiseman The Time has Come: Ger McDonnell: his life and his death on K2 by Damien O’Brien The Ultimate Guide to Gaelic Football by Gavin Mortimer The 33: the ultimate account of the Chilean miners’ dramatic rescue by Jonathan Franklin Accidental Billionaires: sex, money, betrayal and the founding of Facebook by Ben Mezrich Anglo Republic: inside the bank that broke Ireland by Simon Carswell The Big Short: inside the doomsday machine

by Michael Lewis Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson Feeding the World: a challenge for the 21st century by Vaclav Smil Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a day by Philip Matyszak The Crowd in Rome in the late Republic by Fergus Millar Nelson’s Trafalgar: the battle that changed the world by Roy Adkins The Beauty and the Sorrow: an intimate history of the First World War by Peter Englund The New Cambridge History of Islam, vols 1-6 Taliban: the power of militant Islam in Afghanistan and beyond by Ahmed Rashid Afghanistan: a military history from Alexander the Great to the war against the Taliban

by Stephen Tanner The Tudor Chronicles 1485-1603 by Susan Doran The Wicklow Military Road: history and topography by Michael Fewer The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott Faulks on Fiction: great British characters and the secret life of the novel by Sebastian Faulks The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon poems in translation Greg Delanty, Michael Matto, editors The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal How to Live, or a life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer

by Sarah Bakewell Thin by Grace Bowman The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Classic Cars: a celebration of the classic car from 1945 to 1985

by Martin Buckley Top Gear 100 Fastest Cars by Matt Master The Big Book of Fashion Illustration by Martin Dawber Looking East: Portraits by Steve McCurry Michael Warren Unbroken Line: new work and retrospective by Carissa Farrell (editor)

JUNIOR FICTION

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney Gone series by Michael Grant The H-Bomb Girl by Stephen Baxter Jupiter Williams by S.I. Martin Lord Sunday by Garth Nix Skin by A.M. Vrettos Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr Bruised by Siobhan Parkinson Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman Abandon by Meg Cabot Angel by L. A. Weatherly Annexed by Sharon Dogar Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld Blood Red Road by Moira Young The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly Chalkline by Jane Mitchell Dancing in the Dark by P.R. Prendergast Everybody Jam by Ali Lewis Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning Heroes of Olympus: Son of Neptune

by Rick Riordan The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins SENIOR FICTION

The Anatomy of a Moment by Javier Cercas The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric Capital by John Lanchester A Clash of Kings series by George R.R. Martin Crooked letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin Emperor series by Conn Iggulden The Fear Index by Robert Harris The Great Night by Chris Adrian In a Strange Room: three journeys by Damon Galgut The Leopard by Jo Nesbo The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides Martyr by Rory Clements Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs New Irish Short Stories edited by Joseph O’Connor Northline by Willy Vlautin The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Pure by Andrew Miller The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt Skippy Dies by Paul Murray Solace by Brenda McKeon Tinkers by Paul Harding Will by Christopher Rush NON-FICTION

127 Hours: between a rock and a hard place by Aron Ralston The Big Miss: my years coaching Tiger Woods

by Hank Haney Buen Camino! A father-daughter journey from Croagh Patrick to Santiago de Compostela by Peter Murtagh

6

POETRY:2 Three entries for the Junior Poetry Prize competition on the subject of time caught the eye of The Submarine. Our thanks to Ms Smith.

Time by Mark Russell From the pudgy pink face of a smiling little child To a grey hunched figure, warped by wrinkles and furrowed brows From a vibrant green leaf sprouting proudly from a branch To a dried out brown husk crunched underfoot on a cement path From a rust-coloured fox bravely facing a road To a slumped pile of matted, bloody fur To a cloud of swollen turquoise flies

Time by Hollie Canning

The passing of time can be savage, But the here and now is Golden.

Sometimes I wish we could just STOP...

Slow life down, embrace the moment...

Capture the scene, the clock ticks, A memory stored.

Time Means by Thomas Lyster

Seconds you must cherish, They will never return

Time means having time to enjoy.

Time means patience.

Time means tolerance.

Time means not having to rush.

The clock is our leader We eat when it chimes We sleep when it ticks We wake when it rings.

Time means not having to push.

Time means having time to gaze.

Time means having time to laze Time means relaxing.

Time means what we want it to mean.

Time can mean anything.

Time can be precious.

Time defines us; Small cute and sweet Tall, obnoxious, dismissive, Old, wrinkling, shrinking.

A baby born, an elder dies.

Our time will soon flash by Like a ticking time-bomb Tick Tock Tick Until BANG. Silence.

Darkness.

Peace.

Time is precise.

Time is significant.

Time is extraordinary.

Time is strange.

Time goes too fast.

Time goes slowly.

Time means everything.

7

WHAT’S READING ME ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In which The Submarine once again ventures into the world of those who read…and gets some odd results.

NICOLA DALRYMPLE – Holes by Louis Sachar is a brilliant novel. I particularly liked the way the ending was told bit by bit and the pieces slowly came together.

ALLY BOYD CROTTY – The last book I read was One Day by David Nicho lls. It was alright I suppose, but I found it a little bit boring—even I’d recommend it to others my age.

so

MR McALINDEN – No, nothing. Academic books for college, that’s all—Essential Teaching Skills (not!)

FERDINAND KRAMER – I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

At first I thought it would be a bit boring but we had to read it. Afterwards my opinion changed. Now I like this book, it is amazing.

FREYA PIERCE – My Sister’s Keeper by Jodie Picoult—I found it a really good read, however it was really sad! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

ERIK HIGGINS- Lies by Michael Grant. I love this book. Fast-moving, actionpacked, it would make a great movie if done properly.

MORITZ MATTHAEI – I read Killing Floor by Lee Child. The book is really well written and the story is amazing.

MR SWIFT – From Democrats to Kings by Michael Scott—it’s about 4th century BC Greek history, about how the first democracies of the time were overrun by the likes of Philip of Macedonia, Alexander the Great’s father, small, fractured city states being overrun by the rougher Greek-speaking peoples from the north. Very good.

FREDDIE MORRIS – Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. I liked this book because it had a great story to it and it was very specific and emotional.

8

MICHAEL MURPHY – An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington—because it’s a funny book and it makes me think about the world and all the stuff in it.

MR GIRDHAM – I do have time to read actually, with the little one sleeping a lot. Kevin Barry’s short stories, Dark Lies the Island recently won a Sunday Times Award. Try Beer trip to Llanudno—these Real Ale drinkers, Liverpool types, fifty-something, you can imagine, a day trip to Wales and what happens to them—it’s touching and very funny.

THE SUBMARINE: Do you find yourself perhaps relating to these fiftysomethings?

Exit Mr G, pursued by a bear.

CORMAC McCOOEY – Eragon by Christopher Paolini—like where it’s set and the storyline behind it. And Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz. It’s a good page-turner with a lot of action.

LUCY MAXWELL-BROWN – Jaws by Peter Benchley is about a great white shark that terrorises a small village in New England. The mayor wants to keep the beaches open for the summer but the sheriff wants to close them. Then he has to go and hunt the shark with this crazy fisherman and an oceanologist. I liked it, but I preferred the film.

MRS HEFFERNAN – Jeffrey Archer. I only discovered it was the second of a trilogy at the end. Which was really annoying! So now I’ll have to try and find the first one. And the third one! I like him, he’s a rascal. (Words that sound very like PR*ST*TUTE and CONVICTED LIAR erupt from Mr O’Shaughnessy). And Jilly Cooper too. She’s another rascal, I love her.

Riders, and there’s one about musicians too. (Players).

MS CULLEN – I’m going to start reading in the summer when I go to Spain. Just summer reading. I’ll have to try Riders obviously.

MRS HEFFERNAN –They’re good fun, she’s such a rascal, not like Angela’s Ashes, so gloomy.

MS CULLEN – I once stayed with my sister Angela in the States and I was reading Angela’s Ashes and her apartment caught fire and burned down, the whole block!

ALL: Angela’s Ashes!

MS CULLEN: Exactly!

9

A PERSONAL REACTION TO ‘SOUTHERN IRELAND AND THE LIBERATION OF FRANCE’ edited by Gerald Morgan and Gavin Hughes MORGAN DOCKRELL (OC), former member of Staff.

The very title of this book, launched in TCD on 18 May, set off many emotional vibes in me. Born in 1939, I was aware of the war from early childhood.

Photographs of relatives, in particular my father's elder brother, Colonel Hayes Dockrell, a medical alumnus of TCD, who served in North Africa, Holland, Normandy and Germany, culminating with helping liberate Belsen; my mother's cousins from Canada (in the RAF) and an assortment of family friends, were prominent in uniform on the mantelpieces of family houses. The war was of daily concern to us, more than just an “Emergency”.

From the age of eight I had daily visual contact with the two war memorials at Castle Park, which highlighted the heavy casualties from such a small school. I had been thoroughly conditioned to accepting that there had been an Irish dimension to the war, and had been brought up to revere those men and women who had joined the fight against evil powers. I was not then aware that PLU (‘people like us’) were in a minority in our part of the island of Ireland.

An unforgettable memory is of Uncle Hayes, on leave in 1944, in his parents' castellated house in Sandycove Ave West, lying in bed, groaning and moaning in a semi-conscious state, repeating in anguish, with reference to the young victims on the Normandy beaches: "Oh the eighteen-year-olds!"

As a military doctor and active soldier he had to fight and later attempt to repair the damage, to both friend and foe. My first thoughts went to him when reading the title of this book on my invitation from Dr.Alyn Stacey to attend the launch. I am proud to be related to a man who had heroically helped in the liberation of France and other countries under the Nazi scourge. I am also proud to have enjoyed the friendship of Dr.Owen Sheehy Skeffington and RBD French, those men of such moral courage, who represented the true spirit of TCD, in whose joint honour this so essential and timely book is dedicated.

"This collection of essays" ( I quote from the back-cover blurb) "sets out to correct an injustice to citizens of the Irish Free State, or Twenty-Six Counties, whose contribution to the victory against Nazi Germany in the Second World War has thus far been obscured."

Dr.Morgan, in his Preface points to this "injustice"- " It is possible for us to claim here that the Irish who fought alongside the British in the Second World War were at one and the same time Irish patriots and the liberators of Europe. They surely deserve to be honoured in their homeland as well as on the beaches and in the towns and villages of Normandy".

The book provides massive evidence in support of correcting this injustice: A theme of the contributors is that lack of recognition and respect for Eire volunteers in their homeland reveals a yawning gap in the national moral consciousness. The appalling account told to me recently by one such volunteer, a well-known journalist, who on returning from active service in 1945, as, in Heine's phrase, a good soldier in the wars of liberation of Mankind, was greeted by a former colleague with the immortal words: "You treacherous ****!" Thanks in large part to Kevin Myers, for raising public awareness of the Irish contribution in both World Wars, a more balanced attitude appears to be making itself felt. Queen Elizabeth's highly successful visit seems also to have helped in making many old prejudices fade away.

Another "injustice", a sub-section of the national one, is the attitude of Official TCD to its war dead from World War II. My theory is that those governing TCD believe that to even have a memorial to the one hundred and eleven alumni who were killed on active service would be to run the risk of being dubbed "West Brits". TCD has indeed become a cringe-fringe. Trinity saw fit to confer an Honorary Doctorate on Mr.Sean McBride, at one time chief of staff of the IRA. Instead of conferring such a degree on TCD alumnus Mr.Justice Pringle, who frequently sat in judgement on Mr.McBride's clients, at the risk of his life, the defender of subversives was honoured. Trinity should bear in mind the words of one of its most courageous sons, Senator Dr. Owen Sheehy Skeffington, on the question of his possible re-election to the Senate, and apply them: “I would rather be rejected for being what I am, than be elected for what I am NOT”.

10

The contributors to this important book consist of a team of distinguished academics from Ireland and Britain, together with the heroic journalist Kevin Myers, whose regular column in The Irish Independent should be required reading for those who have fallen for xenophobic propaganda, and two former soldiers from the Irish Army.

Eire's neutrality is much discussed. Dr.Morgan reveals a most sympathetic understanding of de Valera's masterly achievement of keeping Eire on a course of "benign neutrality", which left the way open, particularly to the Border, to many who volunteered for the British armed forces via Northern Ireland.- though NOT, it should be noted, for the 5000 volunteers from the Irish Army who joined the Allied forces. RBD French put the question of neutrality in moral terms, which were probably the reaction of many TCD volunteers, in The Church of Ireland Gazette, 8 September 1939, when the War was barely a week old.

Nazism is founded upon everything which a free man must abhor. It is a doctrine of physical force and brutality, gaining its ends and enslaving a great country by tyranny and oppression. We, who live in Ireland, may remain as a nation neutral in this struggle, in the sense that we shall not enter the war in arms. But neutral in the wider sense we can never be.

The speech of 3rd September 1939, by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, also put the situation in stark moral terms: ...it is evil things we shall be fighting against - brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution.

Columbans will no doubt be keen to see if due honour is paid to those of our World War II dead who were also Trinity alumni. It is. Gerald Morgan's constantly expanding list of The Trinity College Dublin War Dead 1939-1945, provides a sad reminder of how schools from Eire (as from 1949 the Republic of Ireland), and of course from Northern Ireland, responded to the moral call as formulated by RBD French, that man of great moral courage, who later, together with Dr.Skeffington, did so much in 1968 to protect TCD as an independent institution.

In the first essay in Southern Ireland, the ironically titled “Patria non immemor” (the Homeland is not unmindful), by Dr. Sarah Alyn Stacey, the first two TCD war dead she mentions who died for the liberation of France in 1940 are Columbans, George Morris and Herbert Oswald.

The Homeland however proved to be exceptionally mindful of hundreds of the regular Irish Army who had deserted to fight for the liberation of France, and who were arrested on returning to Eire in May 1945. What a fate for a gallant soldier who had fought on the Normandy beaches, or an airman who had flown regular missions over Germany! No 'Nelson touch' here! The then Minister for Defence, Oscar Traynor, in answer to a question raised in the Dail about the hundreds of cases pending, replied: "I am afraid I cannot share the deputy's apparent solicitude for deserters. They are, in my opinion, worthy of very little consideration."

There we have it! Men who had fought against unspeakable evils had become non-persons in their own country. National xenophobia ruled the day. The current Minister of Justice, whose race suffered so much from the murderous policies of Nazism, must surely bestir himself and issue—I echo Kevin Myers here—"an unconditional pardon to those Irishmen, both living and dead, who joined the war against Hitler's Germany. The spirit of Islandbridge demands it".

I went through many mood fluctuations while working my way through the eleven contributions which comprise Southern Ireland and the Liberation of France : ten essays plus Dr.Morgan's Preface—pride in the heroism of my fellow-countrymen and women, including specifically members of my own family and three educational establishments; shame and anger at the treatment afforded to so many of our Irish volunteers by both their country (ca.50,000 volunteers and 5000 fatalities) and in the case of the TCD alumni, by their alma mater (TCD provided some 1600 combatants in World War II, of whom one hundred and eleven lost their lives); and an overdue respect for de Valera in preserving the neutrality so necessary for the survival of the State.

A balanced judgement on the Irish contribution, written at a time of intense conflict in 1944, is that of General Pat Scott, commanding the 38th (Irish) Brigade, then fighting its way through Italy: “It is a matter of great concern to all of us who come from Ireland that when the war is over it won't only be remembered against her that Eire was neutral. We hope that the magnificent deeds wrought by the sons of Eire against the barbarisms of Germany and her allies may be remembered to her credit. It is sometimes overlooked that the services of Irishmen from any part of Ireland are given of their own free will.”

It has been bad history to write the Irish contribution to final victory in World War II out of the national consciousness. As Eoghan Harris recently so memorably pointed out, “Bad history is the bedrock of the Real IRA, as it was of the Provos before them.”

Bad history, in an Irish context has led to, in Yeats' immortal line, Great hatred, little room...

The spirit of Islandbridge is beckoning. Ireland be proud! TCD be proud! St.Columba's College and Castle Park School are proud already.

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STOP PRESS: On Tuesday 12 June 2012 the Minister for Defence Alan Shatter told the Dáil that the Government apologised for the manner in which the deserters were treated by the State after the war. He said the Government recognised the value and importance of their military contribution to the Allied victory. Up to 4,500 soldiers fled from the Defence Forces during the Second World War and did not return to their Irish units. Many of them joined the British Army. After the war, the De Valera Government published a list of those who deserted. Anyone who was mentioned in this book was banned from getting a public service job at any level. It is estimated that about 100 of the deserters are still alive. (Source—RTE)

REVIEW – THE GRAND DESIGN BY STEPHEN HAWKING AND LEONARD MLADINOW – JACK DUNNE One gloomy Tuesday afternoon I was set the task of reading ‘The Grand Design’ by Steven Hawking. Sighs and moans ensued but when I actually opened the book and started to read it I was quite surprised. It is a simple, concise and understandable book. It has well thought out explanations and clearly written questions and answers. Of course there are difficult parts such as Quantum mechanics and mtheory but if read over a few times you will actually understand it. Some of the questions asked are; when and how did the universe begin? Why are we here?

Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the nature of reality? Why are the laws of nature so finely tuned as to allow for the existence of beings like ourselves? And, finally, is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation?

These are the most fundamental questions someone can ask about the universe, and most would agree that there was only one history. However Hawking disagrees and proposes that there are multiple histories that all exist simultaneously. He says that the history we believe is in essence the history we ‘create’ rather than the history shaping us. This book is an intriguing, somewhat startling assessment to life and our understanding of the universe and beliefs. Definitely worth the read for both the budding and experienced scientist alike. ___________________________________________________________________________ REVIEW - THE LEOPARD BY JO NESBO - MR MORRIS I am immediately wary of novels that are 600 pages long. It would want to be a very good story to warrant that length and they rarely do. This is my first dip into the world of Harry Hole, the detective created by Jo Nesbo, one of several Norwegian writers of crime novels that have become very popular. Like so many detectives, Harry has a blemished past (or present), is unlucky in love, mistrusted by his bosses, unreliable but intuitively clever and insightful. In this book Harry has disappeared: having previously cracked the case of a serial murderer, the 'Snowman', and maligned by his bosses for all his good work he ups and leaves. Two new murders, with a similar and crafty methodology happen and, of course, Harry is lured back to solve this new case as the murders pile up. There: I have given you the story in two sentences but Nesbo requires 600 rather laborious pages to unravel the plot and with lots of Oslo street names, layers of police bureaucracy, a banal love interest, a sick parent, avalanches beckoned at will, the necessary internet whizz-kid, it left me underwhelmed. Still, I did read the 600 pages and I did wonder what was going to happen next. The murder weapon was the best bit. Read it for yourself!

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Mrs Heffernan asked some of her pupils to have a look at our

Barrington Stoke ‘Quick Reads’…

Flint by Chris Powling, reviewed by MICHAEL MURPHY This story is about a young boy and an old man who they call ‘the Bosun’.

They are captured by a pirate called Flint, and he uses them to bring out his treasure. In my opinion this is a good book. I thought the whole story was well put together.

Dead Men Don’t Talk by Catherine Forde, reviewed by ROBYN BRADY Alan has moved into a new house with his mum, his mum’s boyfriend Sam, and his sister Jen. When they arrive Alan picks the biggest room at the very top of the house where all sorts of things happen. Alan has to learn an important lesson—but from who? I personally liked this book. It was good and spooky. I would recommend it for 10 year olds and over (caution: may scare little people).

Hornet by Chris Powling, reviewed by CORMAC McCOOEY This story is about a man called Hornet. Well his real name is James Elroy Hornet. He’s called Hornet because he likes to sting people.

This guy Hornet now has to pay back a guy for ten years in jail. I liked the setting, it’s about cowboys. Hornet seems a cool nice character because he’s a bit like James Bond.

Respect! by Michaela Morgan, reviewed by PETRA DURAN BASSO Tully is a young boy and his mum has died. He’s black and he lives with his step-mum, brother and dad. His dad dies and his step-mum doesn’t want to keep him. Tully and his brother go to an orphanage. There he gets respect from everyone because he’s a star playing football. Then he joins a football team. Later he has to go to the First World War. I think this is a really interesting book. It helps you to understand how you can hurt people’s feelings, and to know how to respect others.

Alligator by Theresa Breslin, reviewed by ROBYN BRADY Jono has been offered an alligator by his friend Crusher. Jono accidentally says the wrong thing and ends up with the alligator! What will he do with it? How will he get rid of it? Personally I enjoyed this book. It’s easy to read and it’s interesting. I would read another like it. JANET BOYD, however, disagreed: This book is about a boy called Jono. His friend Crusher comes to his house and Jono ends up with an alligator. So he puts it in his mum’s boyfriend’s lockup and a robber finds it. I thought this book wasn’t good. The story didn’t make much sense, and you got bored reading it.

Dead Men Don’t Talk by Catherine Forde, reviewed by JANET BOYD. This book is about a boy called Alan. He and his family move to a new house and he wants a bedroom at the very top of the house away from everyone. When he is in the bedroom a lot of scary noises happen like laughter and things moving. I think it’s a good book but would have liked it more if it was scarier because the title made you think it was going to be very scary.

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LIIBR RARY Y NEW S Library Committee formed. This year saw the formation of the inaugural Library Committee consisting of Lorcan Maule (secretary), Rebecca Stewart, James Glenn-Craigie (6th Form), and Kezia Wright, Aifric Treacy and William Maire (5th Form). Given the growing complexity of library provision (laptops, ebooks and web on top of print-based media) it was becoming increasingly apparent that a good two-way communication channel needed to be established between library management and pupils. After our initial meeting in February to discuss structures and timing, the Committee met three times. A summary of the minutes of our final meeting on 14 May gives a flavour of how well the Committee worked and the range of topics it covered: Internet: The Internet has improved this term and the Committee look forward to the increase in bandwidth next year under the Department of Education’s rollout.

Sockets: Sockets have been installed underneath each carrel in the SRR at the Committee’s Audio Books/ebooks: The library is expanding its collection of ebooks and audiobooks, purchasing audio books that are on the English Leaving and Junior Certificate syllabus; however some books are not available in audio format.

Third Level Texts: More third level textbooks have been added to the Library, covering Nursing, Psychology, Politics, History and Economics. These help pupils assess the requirements of third level courses they might be considering. Further textbooks will be added in due course.

Audio textbooks: Some progress has been made on how audio textbooks, particularly from Irish publishers, might be made available to pupils who need them. The Library will liaise with Mrs Heffernan next term on this subject.

Library Laptops: Mr Crombie has purchased two laptops for use in the Library. They will be available next term.

Returning Books: The Pupils’ Council suggested having a library collection box in each house as a supplement to returning books directly to the Library returns shelf. This might motivate people to return more books and to gather up the books that are lying around in house. The Library will look into this idea.

Short Story Competition: The Library is hoping to inaugurate an annual short story writing competition, starting next term. Details to follow.

Thank you: Mr McConville and Mr Brett thanked the Committee for their time and for their suggestions on how to improve the Library. They stressed how valuable it was to have opened communications with senior pupils in this way. Consideration was given to whether next year’s Committee should include 4th Form members. Current 5th Form Committee members were asked if they would consider joining the Committee again next year.

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World Book Day 2012 World Book Day fell on 3 March this year but due to other commitments, both for the Library and for pupils, our approach was low-key. One thing we have consistently undertaken though, with the help of the English department, has been a whole school vote for St Columba’s Favourite Book. There are no restraints on what can be chosen—prose, poetry or plays, fiction or non-fiction, for any age-group and in any language—and, needless to say, they do not have to be books stocked by the Library. Also needless to say is that the accolade of St Columba’s Favourite Book is hardly going to rattle the world of publishing or cause a run on a particular author’s book: what it is really about is a quick personal focus on a book that meant something, and hopefully implicit in that idea is the thought that books are important.

We had a smaller return this year of 101 votes but yet again an impressively wide range of authors and titles were selected, 77 authors being voted for, and 74 books. Our top author, as he was last year, was Robert Muchamore of the Cherub and Henderson’s Boys series with 5 votes, followed by Malorie Blackman with 4 votes, and William Golding and Suzanne Collins with 3 each. Muchamore’s young secret agent books, with their topical and relatively gritty content have great appeal, while Malorie Blackman’s well-written ‘inverse racism’ sequence continues to engage readers. The first Cherub book, The Recruit was published in 2004 and Noughts and Crosses in 2000 which gives some idea of their continuing impact in the fast-moving world of young people’s publishing. Golding’s Lord of the Flies was first published in 1954, and is on this year’s reading list, but there is no denying that the power of the story itself has remained in the memory of voters. Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy is a powerful evocation of a dystopian future, its appeal supported by a recent film release. Both book and film reviewers have noted that despite the grim premise of teenagers fighting to death for food rations, for the entertainment of others, the real emphasis of both film and books is the evolving relationships between the protagonists.

All the authors mentioned, apart from Robert Muchamore whose multiple titles make it difficult for any single book of his to stand out from the rest, have books that feature in our Favourite Book category. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, the vampire-human romance, makes a re-appearance with 4 votes, tieing for first place with Noughts and Crosses. They were followed by Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games with 3 votes each. ___________________________________________________________________________ The Irish Times - Thursday, May 31, 2012

Mystery return to Navan library of book taken out in 1932 AISHLING PHELAN ------------------------------------------

NAVAN LIBRARY had a piece of its history returned to it last weekend when a mystery borrower returned a book that was originally taken out in 1932.

The book, which was returned 80 years late, built up a fine of over €4,000 by the time it was popped through the library’s letterbox.

Meath county librarian

Ciaran Mangan said he was shocked when he found the book in the library’s hallway. ‘‘It was an item that had been out on loan effectively since it was published and put into stock and the system in 1932.

We’re delighted to see it back.’’

Based on the original 1930s fine of one penny per week, the librarian calculated that the book had incurred fines of €4,160.

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There are no details on the original borrower because the library’s computerised records only date back to 1994.

The book is a 31st International Eucharistic Congress pictorial record, a photographic account of the last time the congress was held in Dublin in 1932.

The 50th International Eucharistic Congress takes place in Dublin next month.

S H O O T

T H E

M E S S E N G E R

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In which Niamh Faulkner CUTS LOOSE at Homo Tweeticus, not to mention F***bookers The idea of compulsive sharing on social network sites repels me. Truth be told, I am embarrassed to be a member of ‘The Facebook Generation’, a generation of people who spend half their lives trawling through terabytes of trash, accumulating an abundance of meaningless ... I would say ‘knowledge’, but what can you learn from flicking through countless photos of a person you’ve met just once?

Don’t think that by writing this I am somehow immune to the succubus that is social networking. I do go on Facebook, but only when I’m at home, and this is where I’m probably the only personal who praises the school’s prehistoric internet access. No internet = no Facebook = no life being wasted skimming through countless albums with titles like “I am a member of a generation which firmly rejects privacy.”

However, I do put my foot down at Twitter. I’d rather be impaled on a railing than face the possible – probable – inevitable dependency on other people who are as lacking in finesse as I would be. This is what my friends mock and taunt me about, telling me I was born in the wrong decade, and that the ‘70s would have suited me much better. Well, I care not: pardon me for thinking that posting life’s biggest dilemmas (‘Tomatoes or cucumbers in my sandwich?’) makes for an aimless, underachieving individual...

I experienced an epiphenomenon the other night, while taking lights in the fourth form dorm. There I was, talking away to the girls about summer holiday plans, when She Who Shall Remain Nameless bounded over gleefully, announcing that she had tweeted Nameless Girl II’s wall, wing, account or whatever it’s called. You would have thought it was Christmas morning from the look of elation in Nameless I’s eyes. Like a pair of – well, giddy schoolgirls, they proceeded to tweet each other. While sitting next to each other.

What has the world come to when its inhabitants achieve gratification from conversing via the icon of a blue bird while practically sitting in each others’ laps? I could actually see Aristotle, Galileo, Pythagoras and Newton turning in their graves. In centuries to come, when publishing Evolution of the Species, Part II, Darwin II will observe that through time Homo Sapiens had evolved, developing strengthened thumbs (capable of sending 3,500 texts a minute), vocal chords which diminished to a whisper through lack of use, and irises in the form of the ancient symbol ‘f’. This was Homo Tweeticus.

Needless to say, when I started ranting in dorm about the degenerative effects of Twitter and how all friendships will soon be virtual, Nameless I and Nameless II weren’t listening. Maybe I should have tweeted about it. #getalife 16