College Tribune, Volume 29 Issue 11

The College Tribune Volume 29, Issue 11

Independent News for UCD since 1989 collegetribune.ie

Monday April 11th 2016

Student Health Service Will Not Move to New Facilities Despite High Pressure on System

• Two week waiting list for doctor and counselling appointments • Services need more staff but have nowhere to house them Seán O’Reilly Editor

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What could have been: the new Student Health Service Facility, as envisioned in the architectural plans for the new student centre. Image: FKP.

he €50 million extension which brought the student and sports centres together under one roof remains unfinished almost four years after its opening. The oversubscribed Student Health and Counselling Services were, according to the original plan for the centre, set to move into a new facility on the third floor.

This however has not materialised, and both remain in in situ above the students’ union corridor in the old student centre.

The third floor space in the student centre extension sits above a corridor which houses meeting rooms, society offices, and campus media outlets including the University Observer.

It is currently in an unfinished state awaiting fit out – the cost of which is as high as €1 million, according to Director of Student Services & Facilities Dominic O’Keefe. Speaking to the College Tribune, O’Keefe stated that the new medical centre was planned at a time when there was an intention to increase staffing levels in the Student Centre, but that this has not been realised as intended due to the difficult economic climate.

According to a publication produced by the architects of the centre, Fitzgerald Kavana-

Features

Politics

UCDSU launch ‘What’s in the Powder?’ Harm Reduction campaign

Cillian Fearon looks back on a visit to the Imperial War Museum

Jack Power reflects on the 32nd Dáil and the lack of a government

Pg.11

• 130 on waiting list for a counselling appointment at time of going to print

gh and Partners, the purpose built medical centre was to offer a space in which “the highly specialised medical, psychological and psychiatric needs of the student body can be addressed in an atmosphere of confidence and clinical rigour.”

While there is no concrete plan as to what the space will play host to, it is certain that the Student Health and Counselling Services are no longer being considered for a move. This is despite students currently experiencing a two-week waiting period for non-emergency appointments with both doctors and counsellors.

O’Keefe insists that the Student Health and Counselling Services will receive investment in the form of staff and that it is hoped to introduce an additional GP to the facility by the beginning of the 2016/20217 academic year in September. This, he hopes, will help in reducing the waiting time for an appointment to four days. He also spoke of plans to convert a corner office in the old student centre which will be made available for the use of the counselling service.

As to why the move will not take place as intended, O’Keefe cited a need to balance spending with the provision of services, stating “If we moved the medical centre from where it is to where it was planned to go, having spent a million Euro, what would

News Pg. 7

• Options being examined include external relief for counselling service

change?”

Speaking on the matter, UCDSU Welfare Officer Clare O’Connor quoted as 130 the number of students currently awaiting an appointment to see a counsellor.

She praised the work of both the Student Health and Counselling services in maximising the service available the despite limitations as being “absolutely brilliant” She added that she hoped to see an expansion of the services offered, particularly in Counselling, but that space limitations are proving difficult in making this a reality.

An assessment of the services provided to UCD students is set to be undertaken in association with Headstrong, a “non-profit organisation supporting young people’s mental health in Ireland.”

This assessment is expected to make a number of recommendations to university authorities and the students’ union which can be made to improve students’ access to mental health supports.

O’Connor also mentioned a service the organisation offer, ‘Jigsaw’, as being something which may be employed in UCD to alleviate the strain on services.

Presently, students have the option of approaching a student advisor, the welfare office, or the counselling service when in need of mental health supports. She

Continued on Pg.2

The Trib ArTS & CULTUre SUPPLeMeNT

music | film | fashion | arts

Pg. 14

Kevin O’Reilly chats to Nialler9

News / Letters

Student Health Service cont’d

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She described the monetary gap which needs to be bridged in order to meet staffing demands as being somewhere in the region of €30,000.

She also pointed out that while the SHS has had its budget reduced in line with all other university departments sees ‘Jigsaw’ as operating somewhere in between the advisors and counselling service by pointing students towards external supports which may be available

quicker than an appointment in UCD. Also speaking to the College Tribune, Dr. Sandra Tighe, Medical Director of the Student Health Service, added that while the SHS and Counselling Service do their best to provide as comprehensive a service to students as possible, that “the money’s just not there” to meet demand.

She described the monetary gap which needs to be bridged in order to meet staffing demands as being somewhere in the region of €30,000. She also pointed out that while the SHS has had its budget reduced in line with all other university departments and services since the onset of the financial crisis, that it had managed for the most part to maintain funding levels by introducing a consultation charge, currently €25.

As was reported in the College View, DCU’s Student newspaper last week, UCD’s charges are relatively high in comparison to other universities. A GP consultation currently costs €20 in DCU, however its student welfare officer, Domhnaill Harkin, recently

announced his intention to see this lowered to €15.

Meanwhile, Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin and NUI Galway students can avail of a vsit to their GP services at no cost.

Dr. Tighe added that “For a relatively small investment, we can provide much more” but that precisely what the SHS and Counselling Services require is difficult to define as it’s not certain what level of cover the services could or should be providing to students. This sentiment was echoed by O’Connor who added that there is some trepidation on the part of UCD to provide services which may also be provided by the HSE. According to figures produced

by UCD, student numbers based in Belfield stood at 20,704 in 2010/2011. During the 2014/2015 academic year, this number had risen to 29,751 with facilities and capital available to the Student Health and Counselling Services remaining much the same.

UCD refuses to divulge information on whether it has investments in fossil industries Seán O’Reilly Editor

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fforts by UCD students to set up a branch of Fossil Free at the university have been dealt an early blow as the fledgling group was denied access to information on precisely where the university has invested monies held by it.

Fossil Free is a movement which was established formally at the Australian National University in 2011. Groups have since also been established at universities in other countries, including Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast.

The groups encourage universities to remove investments they have from fossil fuel industries, including stocks, bonds, and investment funds, as a means of

reducing climate change.

Speaking to the College Tribune, a representative of Fossil Free UCD expressed disappointment that UCD’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Office has refused to allow it access to information relating to where monies held by the university are invested.

According to the representative, both the Trinity and Queen’s groups were able to obtain the information requested without issue. In Trinity’s case, documents obtained revealed that the University of Dublin had as much as €850,000 invested in the arms trade in addition to funds invested in fossil fuel concerns.

Since this revelation, university authorities there have engaged with the group and welcomed discussions surrounding where

the university should invest its monies.

Fossil Free UCD also expressed frustration with the FOI office for not working within the limits of the Freedom of Information Act (2014). According to the group, the FOI office at UCD delayed all correspondence until the statutory limit – if it elected to respond in time at all.

This is not the first instance of such behaviour occurring at UCD’s FOI unit. Requests for information submitted by both the editor and section editors of The College Tribune remain unfulfilled or were returned late.

A spokesperson for the FOI office declined to comment on the request made by Fossil Free at the time of going to print.

UCD Signs Strategic Partnership with Intel Cian Carton News Editor

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CD and Intel Ireland have strengthened their working relationship with the creation of a strategic partnership. Professor Andrew Deeks, President of UCD, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Eamonn Sinnott, Head of Intel’s Irish Operations and General Manager of Intel Ireland, at Intel’s Irish headquarters in Leixlip, Co. Kildare.

The partnership is focused on the areas of talent, research, and national policy associated with research and education.

Sinnott stated that the agreement signalled “a new strategic approach to our engagement with UCD which will consolidate and build on this important relationship.”

The agreement will see UCD and Intel work together on a number of research projects.

These are set to “explore broad areas for collaboration with a view to attracting new investment, informing key research questions and achieving breakthrough results for both parties.”

Intel is set to support a new structured Masters programme for the technology industry.

Deeks stated that the “creation of a tailored graduate scholarship programme provides excellent opportunities for the next generation of scientists.”

Intel has been employing UCD graduates since it set up in Ireland in 1989. Its Leixlip campus operates as its manufacturing base for the European market. Around 4,500 people are employed at the plant, which creates the technologies which power computers.

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Inside the Tribune News Pg.4 - USI Survey - President addresses HE Identity Crisis - Printing Problems - CAO Applications Pg.6 - News in Focus: GOP Pg.7 - Harm Reduction

Features

Pg.8 - Asperger’s - Peru 2 Pg.9 - University Ideas Pg.10- Shawna Scott - The Cavern Pg.11- Imperial War Museum Pg.12 - Student Cooking

Business Pg.13 - Working Time Panama Papers PP/Betfair Job Losses

Politics & Innovation

Pg.14 - New Dáil - Unexpectations Pg.15 - Reform Platform Pg.16 - USI Survey results In Focus

Gaeilge L.17 - Gàidhlig

Sport Pg.12 - Masters Roundup Pg.19 - Bridesmaid no more - Tottenham Match report Pg. 20 - Spurs v Man U - UCD Rowing success - The sad, sad end of the one and only Rory McNab

Read CT on the bus:

The College Tribune Team are Editors Seán O’Reilly Una Power PO Box 74 Student Centre, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4. +353 1 716 8501 editor@collegetribune.ie

Arts Editor Emma Costello

Features Editor Sinéad Slattery

Politics Editor Jack Power

Business Editor Adam Hetherington

Film & Entertainment Editor Niamh Crosbie

Sports Editor Neil Ryan

Eagarthóir Gaeilge Gearóid Óg Ó Greacháin

Music Editor Kevin O’Reilly

Turbine Editor Hans Offerman

Fashion Editor Emer Slattery

News Editor Cian Carton

Designer George Hannaford

Contributors Sinéad Keane Tara Casey Seán Hurley Shawna Scott Melanie O’Donovan Nialler9 Aoileann Kennedy John Butler Conor O’Leary Ruairi McCann

Ruth O’Hanlon Niamh Keely Ellen Devereaux Ayo Aogundade Cillian Fearon Daisy Kinahan Murphy Nicola Halloran Elaine McDonald Ciara Landy Eoghan Kennefick

Bill Horan Jack O’Sullivan Andrew Grossen Donncha Ó Murchú Chris Foley Ally Murty Rory McNab Seána Carty Leoné Mescal Conor Molloy

Editor Applications

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The College Tribune The College Tribune is welcoming applications for the position of Editor(s) for Volume 30 of UCD’s independent newspaper.

Job Description

This is a full-time and demanding job which requires the publication of a minimum of ten print editions of the College Tribune during the academic year. This involves unsociable hours under a high pressure environment. The candidate should have some experience in journalism, communications, and or media as well as being highly self-motivated. The position is open to staff of the College Tribune and external applicants.

Responsibilities

As an independent newspaper, the College Tribune receives no source of regular income from the Students’ Union or University Authorities. As well as producing a print edition of the paper each fortnight, the Editor(s) are responsible for sourcing advertising revenue to fund the print run. The Editor(s) are responsible for the appointment and management of an editorial and design staff and for the recruitment of new writers during Freshers’ Week and on a continuing basis throughout the academic year.

Experience

As Editor of the College Tribune, you will gain unique experience in the world of journalism, media/new media and communications. The position provides an excellent basis from which to establish a professional career in these fields. Previous editors enjoy distinguished careers in various national media outlets. Additionally, the experience of managing a self-sustaining SME is beneficial to anyone hoping to pursue a professional career in sectors such as business or advertising.

Wages

The Editor(s) will be paid depending on the surplus amount of income raised from advertising revenue for each issue produced once printing and other costs have been met.

APPLY NOW!

Applications

All interested applicants should submit a letter of application to the Editors which includes the following: • Outline of experience and suitability • News plan for the coming year • Advertising proposal • Ideas and suggestions for improvements to be made

Applications should be sent to: The College Tribune, LG18, Newman Building, UCD, Dublin 4.

Or, via email to editor@collegetribune.ie.

Applications must be received by Friday April 29th at 5pm

News in Brief Survey Claims 76% of Students Stressed Out by Job Search Cian Carton News Editor

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survey carried out by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has claimed that 76% of students surveyed are worried about getting a job after leaving college.

Three quarters answered “yes” to the question, “Are you anxious and troubled over actual or potential problems about finding employment after you graduate?”

23% of respondents said they have already secured employment before they graduate. This consisted of 21% of male respondents and 27% of female respondents.

Students most likely to be stressed out over securing employment were in their penultimate year, while the majority of students who had secured employment were in there final year.

The survey claims that only 26% of students believe their course has “adequately prepared them” for seeking employment upon graduation. Just over one third of those surveyed are Arts & Humanities students, with Business students the second largest

group at 20%. As UCD is not a member of USI, no UCD students were surveyed.

The release of the survey coincides with USI’s promotion of its Aftergrad Careers Fair. The fair is set to be hosted in Dublin Castle on the 13th April, and will run from 11am to 5:30pm. The theme of the fair is to build a career, rather than just getting a job. It will feature careers talks, workshops and 35 exhibitors. Louise Phelan, Vice President for Global Operations at PayPal in Europe, is set to give the keynote address. The event is being sponsored by Jobbio, an Irish start up for recruiters and job seekers.

USI is also supporting gradireland’s #FYI careers showcase in the RDS on Tuesday, 12th April, from 12pm to 4pm. Unlike a traditional jobs fair, the show is being described as an “experiential, informational event where you can explore career areas, talk to graduates who have just gone through the scary process of successfully finding their dream job.”

More on the USI Survey in Innovation, pg. 13

4 Role of Universities too narrowly defined, says President Higgins Cian Carton News Editor

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he role of universities today are only being discussed in a “narrow political and ideological space”, according to President Michael D Higgins. He made the remarks as part of his address at the European University Association’s annual conference, which was held in Galway on Thursday, 7th April.

In a wide-ranging speech, Higgins spoke about the perception of higher education, the challenges it faces, and the impact of technology in changing the nature of a university. He noted the “grave danger that debates about the role of the university today are taking” and how higher education worldwide “has certainly moved from the periphery to the centre of government agendas.”

Higgins said there was an incorrect perception that higher education must produce graduates designed to fill a role in the labour market, rather than focus on cultivating “life-enhancing skills such as creativity, analytical

UCard Printing Problem Solved Cian Carton News Editor

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“badly configured software storage component” has been blamed for causing a slowdown in the performance of the UCard printing system over the past two weeks. The issue has now been solved, following several attempts

by Copi-Print and IT Services to identify the problem.

On 4th March, students were sent an email from Copi-Print regarding the slow performance of the UCard printing system. Later that day, they sent a further email explain how the situation had been resolved following an investigation

by IT Services and a server reconfiguration.

On 30th March, students were again sent an email from Copi-Print regarding a similar issue; the self-service photocopiers and printers were working slowly. An update later that day said they had made several technical changes to the print server to rectify the problem. However, the issue continued and other measures were taken the following day. Copi-Print said it had identified a potential cause of

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This is not the first time Copi-print has been hit by software problems this year the problem and was implementing changes to the print server.

Copi-Print informed students on April 4th that their attempt to “rectify the slow performance of the UCard print server was unsuccessful.” They said they were going to “replace a software component” from which they identified as the source of the problem. Two days later, it was reported the system had been fixed. The problem was caused by a “badly configured software storage component, which has now been changed to an alternative one using a different connection.”

This is not the first time Copi-print has been hit by software problems this year. Last October, a computer virus was discovered on some of their public access

computers in the Newman building and the James Joyce Library.

Known as the “Shortcut Virus”, it changed users’ filenames to shortcuts and hid the real files on affected computers.

USB ports on computers were closed off to prevent the virus from spreading. IT Security later recommended Copi-Print shut down their computers as the Sophos Antivirus software being used on their systems was unable to detect other Trojan viruses, which were identified as also being present on affected computers.

IT Security was informed the virus had only been created that month, and a sample of it was sent to Sophos in the US for further testing. Copi-Print confirmed it began to rebuild its systems after the virus, and started testing different software which scans USB keys anytime they are plugged into a computer. One of these is now being used, and is capable of blocking the shortcut virus from infecting their computers.

There is no suggestion that the two software incidents are connected. As of going to print, no further issues with the printing system have been raised.

thinking, and clarity in written and spoken expression.”

Universities must recognise the “positive and liberating potential of technology and the critical role of emancipatory universal learning in enabling us to connect to the possibilities of an unknown future.” He said universities must be places where “minds are emancipated and citizens enabled to live fully conscious lives in which suggested inevitabilities are constantly questioned.”

They must be seen as “spaces which develop that intellectual courage which allows the rejection of exclusive or excluding ideologies, and encourages the seeking of truth from fact and the production of alternative solutions and action.”

Higgins spoke of the possibilities that digitalisation has created for universities to share their work, and cited the recent 1916 Oral History Collection as an example of success in this area.

He expressed hope that the “new instruments of information acquisition” can be utilised “without losing the independent reflective intellectual atmosphere of the

traditional universities.”

The EUA is a representative organisation for over 850 universities across 47 countries. UCD is an individual full member of the organisation, along with all of the other Irish universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). This was the first time the EUA have held their annual conference in Ireland.

This year’s conference was titled “Bricks and Clicks for Europe: building a successful digital campus.” The two day event sought to look at the “large-scale transformation [of European universities] in an attempt to address social, cultural and technological changes as well as the shifting expectations of students and society at large.” Plenary discussions were held on topics including “Digital technologies and their impact” and “Fostering innovation and managing change in learning and teaching.”

The full address given by President Higgins is accessible on YouTube, while there is a transcript available on president.ie.

UCD Receives 8,959 First Preference CAO Applications Cian Carton News Editor

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CD has received 8,959 first preference course choices in this year’s provisional CAO applications. The CAO recently analysed and released the data from the first application deadline.

The information gives college administrators time to consider and plan responses to shifting demand for courses.

Applications for level 8 degrees has increased nationally by 3% to 65,031. 13.8% of these first preference choices were for UCD. The joint honours Arts programme has seen an increase in applications following a decline over the past number of years. The most popular subjects chosen by applicants were English, History, Sociology, Economics, Politics & International Relations and Geography.

Science has seen a 7% increase in applications, while first preferences for Architecture increased by 21.5%. Business and Law courses received over 1,000 first preferences between them.

Both Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine have seen decreases. The overall number of first preference choices for UCD has been welcomed by Professor Mark Rogers, the Registrar and Deputy President.

2016 has seen an increase in the number of people who wish to attend college, with a total of 76,081 applications on record CAO statistics for the first preference choices are broken down into 17 categories. Nursing, Architecture and Engineering/Technology have shown the biggest increase in first preference choices, compared to last year.

Trinity College Dublin received 7,998 first preference applications, while NUI Maynooth has seen a 5% increase in applications, which is being linked to its curriculum overhaul. Incoming students will be able to try out multi-subject degrees as part of their first year in college. The CAO Change of Mind will become available from May 15th up until July 1st, and allows applicants to alter their course picks.

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News in Focus

6

News in Focus: An Overview of the Race for the GOP Nomination Cian Carton News Editor

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hile candidates trade insults on the big stage, the fight for the Republican nomination to contest the presidential later election this year is far more complicated than any the campaign rhetoric you’ll ever hear. In order to better understand what is going on, here is a short breakdown of how the process works, and what to look out for over the coming months.

The Candidates

17 people entered the race for the Republican nomination. Only three remain. Donald J Trump, the billionaire property developer, author and tv star, is the current frontrunner.

Ted Cruz is a Senator for Texas. A lawyer by profession, he served as Solicitor General for Texas between 2003 to 2008, has argued nine cases before the US Supreme Court, and lectured in Constitutional Law at the University of Texas Law School.

John Kasich is the current governor of Ohio, a post he has held since 2010. He served nine terms as a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001.

Nomination Process

The Republican candidate for the election will be chosen at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, Ohio from 18th-21st July. At the convention, delegates chosen by the states through caucuses or primaries, cast their votes to nominate a candidate. Therefore, the focus of the election is always on the battle for delegates.

Originally, a party would hold a caucus for its members to choose delegates. At the caucus, the people who showed up would pick their delegates to represent their state at the national convention. Delegates could declare if

“

To win the nomination, a candidate must secure at least 1,237 out of 2,470 delegates.

Trump currently has 743 delegates, ahead of Cruz with 520 and Kasich with 143 they had an affiliation to a candidate or if they were neutral.

Primaries developed to make the process more democratic.

Here, voters choose a candidate through secret ballot, just like a normal election. There are both open and closed primaries. Open ones allow people from either party to vote, whereas closed primaries are only available for people registered as a member of a certain party.

To add confusion, some of the ballot papers list the candidates running or the delegates running.

Some states featured both and voters have been complaining about this system. The most common form of complaint was that it was difficult to tell which delegates supported what candidate.

Each state has different rules.

Colorado, alongside American Samoa, Guam, North Dakota, Wyoming and the Virgin Islands, opted not to hold any presidential caucuses or primary votes.

Colorado and North Dakoda The GOP hierarchy in Colorado decided on their 37 delegates.

Over 600 people applied to be delegates, and were each given 20 seconds to address the thousands in the crowd as to why they should be picked.

Both Trump and Kasich avoided Colorado. Representa-

tives sent on behalf of them faced a rough reception. The Denver Post reported how Kasich’s representative was roundly booed by a crowd after declaring Kasich to be the only possible candidate who could beat the Democrats.

The complex rules of obtaining delegates in Colorado hit Trump’s campaign the hardest.

Campaign materials handed out by his team on the ground contained misspellings and the wrong numbers for Trump delegates. Cruz took all 34 pledged delegates on offer, while the three unpledged ones also support him.

North Dakota always held a non-binding straw poll. The RNC now requires all primary and caucus votes to be binding. Following this change to the election rules, party leaders in the state said they did not have enough time to alter their caucus method by the deadline last year. With the caucus cancelled, North Dakota’s 25 delegates are set to be chosen by a committee of 11 GOP state leaders.

The Fight for Delegates

To win the nomination, a candidate must secure at least 1,237 out of 2,470 delegates. Trump currently has 743 delegates, ahead of Cruz with 520 and Kasich with 143. There are still 879 delegates available. During the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney’s opponents could only acquire 530 delegates combined, which highlights the closeness of the 2016 campaign.

Cruz has made up some ground following recent wins in Wisconsin and Colorado, but the next state on the campaign trail is New York, Trump’s home state.

As expected, Trump is a huge favourite, and enjoys popular support within New York City itself.

Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue is the home of his Trump Organisation. The main issue over the vote is how big of a margin he will win by, as a huge win would reverse his recent losses. Cruz still needs 705 of the remaining 867

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To add confusion, some of the ballot papers list the candidates running or the delegates running.

Some states featured both and voters have been complaining delegates to win the nomination outright. A major defeat in winner-takes-most New York, which has 95 delegates on offer, would significantly damage those prospects.

A Contested Convention?

As the possibility that none of the candidates will reach the quota increases, talk has shifted to what will happen at the Republican Convention. A contested convention will be the result of Trump or Cruz failing to reach the 1,237 total.

Commonly referred to as “brokered conventions”, delegates which were previously bound to vote for one candidate can choose whoever they wish if rounds of voting prove inconclusive. At this point, powerbrokers (hence the name) step in and try to do a deal.

John Boehner, former Republican House Speaker, sparked outrage after he said he would support Paul Ryan, Romney’s 2012 vice-presidential nominee, at a contested convention. His comments were viewed as an attack on the democratic process, by suggesting the GOP could ignore voters and go ahead and nominate whoever it wants.

Apart from not running for the office, there is another prob-

lem with Ryan. He has a terrible record of voting for conservative issues while in office (Cruz has one of the best). His record is so bad, that he is now facing a challenge to maintain his seat in the House, which he has held since 1998. Paul Nehlen, a local businessman from Wisconsin is set to take on Ryan in the Republican primary in August. Nehlen once volunteered for Ryan, but said he feels betrayed by his actions.

Another “brilliant” idea muttered in Establishment circles is to bring back Marco Rubio and give him the nomination. Rubio dropped out of the race, and said he would not run again for his Senate seat after suffering a humiliating defeat by Trump last month. He lost in his home state by over 440,000 votes. In contrast, Cruz beat Trump in Texas by nearly 500,000 votes, while even Kasich managed to overcome Trump by over 200,000 votes in Ohio, despite being a huge outsider.

Stealing the Nomination?

Given the GOP’s vehement opposition to Trump, a contested convention is being seen as their last chance to beat him.

While Trump has received the most votes out of the Republican candidates, his supporters are concerned that the Establishment could use the unclear rules at the RNC to “steal” the nomination for an Establishment candidate.

Rodger Stone, one of the most controversial and flamboyant republican analysts and consultants, has declared himself as a Trump supporter. In a recent column, he wrote that “party kingmakers may have the votes to knee-cap Trump in the rules and credentials committees, as they did Congressman Ron Paul in 2012.” He explained how the nomination will not be won on the first ballot, but rather the procedural votes on how the whole process will be carried out.

Continued overleaf

News in Focus

7

News in Focus: cont’d

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Rodger Stone wrote in a recent column that “[Republican]party kingmakers may have the votes to knee-cap Trump in the rules and credentials committees, as they did Congressman Ron Paul in 2012” Stone claimed that GOP insiders are using “Trojan Horse delegates” who will vote for Trump on the first ballot, but will also vote for the Rules and Credentials Reports which will allow the nomination to be stolen.

He has noted the possibility of delegates pledged to Trump who actually support other candidates.

In California, it has been claimed that supporters of Cruz and Ryan are applying to act as delegates for Trump.

Over the past few days, Trump has made a huge change to his campaign team. Paul Manafort, a friend of Stone, has been appointed as Convention Manager for the campaign. The political veteran was on hand during the Republican’s last contested convention, which saw Gerald Ford get the nomination in 1976. He has also worked with Ronald Regan’s 1980 campaign.

Reporters and analysts have identified Manafort’s role as more like that of a traditional campaign manager, who coordinates the operation form headquarters.

In contrast, Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s current campaign manager, is always on the road with Trump and acts more like a bodyguard. Expect less shock and awe tactics as Trump moves to more moderate positions.

Rule 40B

While Cruz is viewed as the Establishment candidate, the willingness of the GOP to consider other options further reflects how he was never their first choice.

Jeb Bush had that honour. After he dropped out, Rubio got the backing. Cruz is supported by them more so for the fact he is opposing Trump, rather than on

his own platform. He is not hugely popular amongst the Establishment like Ryan or Rubio.

Cruz’s strong denouncing of the GOP nominating another candidate reflects their cool relationship. He stated that “If Washington says ‘we have elections in 50 states, but we don’t like what the people have voted for and we have someone else who is going to get along and keep the cronyism going’, the voters would naturally say ‘to heck with you, we’re staying home’.” He spoke of how Republicans “are going to arrive at the convention where 80% of the delegates are going to be Cruz delegates or Trump delegates. Both Donald and I have been very clear that we shouldn’t be changing the rules because Washington is unhappy with how the people are voting.”

It has been noted that Trump and Cruz representatives would unite to prevent someone else from stealing the nomination.

During the 2012 campaign, Romney supporters succeeded in implementing what is now commonly referred to as Rule 40B. It states that for a candidate to receive the Republican nomination, they must have won at least 8 states on the campaign trial.

It was designed to keep out Ron Paul. It would be both ironic and hilarious in equal measure if this was used to stop Ryan, or someone else, getting the nomination.

Final Hurdle: The VP Fight

The choice of candidates for vice-president could offer one final shake-up in this race. Most interesting is Trump’s choice. To win support from the GOP Establishment, it seems likely he will pick one of them as his VP. Rubio’s name has been mentioned, and would represent a significant coup. In order to pacify Cruz, an offer of a seat on the Supreme Court would be difficult to turn down. At 45 years old, such an offer would give Cruz a very long career with the Court, and a chance to continue on the work of the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Conclusion

This is just a brief overview in the fight for the GOP nomination.

There will be many more twists and turns in the race. When following the events, always remember that politics is a show, and supposed enemies will be having a laugh together once the cameras turn off at the end of the day.

UCDSU launch ‘What’s in the Powder?’

Harm Reduction campaign with TCD & DIT Seán O’Reilly Editor

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riday April 1st saw the Welfare Officers of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), University College Dublin (UCD) and Trinity College Dublin’s (TCD) Students’ Unions come together with Drugs.ie in Dublin’s Mansion House to launch the ‘What’s in the Powder?’ information campaign.

The campaign is a follow up to ‘What’s in the Pill?’ which was launched in October 2015 as an attempt to arm those who elect to use illegal drugs with the information they need in order to minimise the risks involved such activities, if they choose to engage in them.

Dublin Lord Mayor Críona Ní Dhálaigh, who also launched the 2015 event, lauded the work of the three Welfare Officers, saying that the ‘just say no’ approach has proven ineffective and that a new focus on drug related crime and social issues is needed.

Speaking to the packed room, she said of the target audience of the campaign that “these are intelligent people who will make their choice regardless, what is needed is a humane and person focussed way of dealing with problems that arise.”

Also addressing the audience, DIT Welfare Officer Lisette Golden quoted Wilde in saying that while “‘Everything popular is wrong”, and that students are likely to be drawn to drug-taking because of its taboo nature, that “with a harm reduction approach, we’re trying to be realistic”.

Golden’s comments were echoed by UCDSU Welfare Officer Clare O’Connor and her TCD counterpart Conor Clancy who also added that they were pleasantly surprised at the level of support they had received in launching the campaign.

Clancy went on to applaud

the “breath of age, backgrounds, and experiences in the room”, something he felt demonstrated the increasing support for a harm reduction based approach to drug use since 2015’s launch which was mainly attended by journalists and interest groups.

Noticeably absent from both events were representatives from DCU’s Students’ Union. While DCU hosts an active chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ireland, which has lobbied before Dáil Éireann on decriminalisation, negotiations to include its Students’ Union in the campaign are said to have been unsuccessful as there was no mandate for it to take part in such campaigns.

National Strategy

At the Union of Students in Ireland (USI)’s national congress which took place in Ennis in late March, delegates of the umbrella body’s member unions passed a number of motions calling on it to support decriminalisation and harm reduction through a national campaign.

Speaking to The College Tribune, USI President Kevin Donoghue said that he hoped the work done by the three students’ unions could be continued, stressing that the form this will take remains uncertain.

When questioned on the impact not having UCD’s support in such a campaign might have, Donoghue appeared unworried, saying that the the USI is perhaps the strongest it’s ever been and that the absence of one uninversity from national campaigns would scarcely make a difference in their effectiveness.

UCDSU Welfare Officer Clare O’Connor expressed her hope that the campaign will continue to pick up steam over the coming year and that she and her counterparts will be working closely with their successors to ensure this happens.

She also expressed some

surprise at the positive reception of the work of the campaign so far, explaining that while some were initially sceptical of it as a radical departure from what had come before, that many of those who were initially uncertain had allayed their fears and had come on board.

She explained that initially, the project was a joint effort between UCD and Drugs.ie but that Trinity and DIT had become involved in the early stages. Since the launch of ‘What’s in the Pill’, “17 other third level institutions” as well as the Cork Drugs Taskforce had expressed interest due to the positive response it received.

Tony Duffin, director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project (Drugs. ie) also expressed his happiness at the support the campaign has received since its inception, adding that he also hopes to see a national harm reduction based approach to dealing with the problems associated with drug use.

He also expressed his thanks, and that of the three welfare officers to the campaign’s supporters, among them the Lord Mayor, the HSE and former Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy Aodhán O Riordán.

The continuation of the work started by O’Riordán in establishing an evidence based harm reduction approach to drug use is something that Duffin, and the three welfare officers hope to see continued as a matter of priority for the new government, when it is formed.

Speaking after the launch, Duffin said that while it is difficult to measure the success of a campaign aimed at providing information that “since October when we did the first part of the campaign, if we look at success from the point of view of dissemination that it’s been very, very successful.”

Features

8 Asperger’s, My Grandparents, and UCD

Sinéad Keane Features Writer

T

hat rotund baby and slightly less rotund toddler is me with both of my grandparents. My Nana was partially sighted and my Grandda was blind. My Nana was born with her disability but my Grandda’s life would be changed forever by a farming accident which robbed him of his sight. He would go on to become chairperson of ‘The National League of Blind’ a trade union for those with sight problems and would work

tirelessly campaigning for those with a sight issue to be treated equally in the workplace.

This was a hard task in the 1970s and 80s when people would automatically assume that he lacked a brain – something which was far from the reality. My mother’s most prominent memory of her early childhood is people looking straight past Grandda, no easy feat given he was over six-foot-tall and directing the conversation towards her. My Nana, as a woman who was always aware of her disability, rarely posed for photos because she was acutely aware of the fact that her eyes looked different to others.

You may be asking, why I am bringing this up? It’s because I have Asperger’s’ Syndrome. Asperger’s was first diagnosed in the

1940’s by the Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger and is classed as an autism spectrum disorder.

People with Asperger’s don’t lack intellect, with those with the condition often having average to above average intelligence. However, often social situations are challenging and it can also be difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. People with Asperger’s are more than able to excel at the academic level but it can be hard to translate their knowledge into real world situations. Depression is also very common among people with Asperger’s.

Recently I have been looking at the experience of my grandparents and seeing something of myself reflected in it. My reality is not the reality of others with Asperger’s - we are all different - but my experience over the past few months in UCD has not been the best.

Two lecturers have told me that they hadn’t heard of Asperger’s and didn’t understand what it was.

This is something which I found very surprising, as in 2016 we as a society have very much become more accepting of speaking openly about challenges in our lives.

Asperger’s and Autism have also

recently become openly discussed in the media – a positive step.

With conditions such as Asperger’s being diagnosed increasingly frequently, it seems to me that there is a need for training to be supplied to teaching staff in order that they can understand what autism spectrum disorders are and how they can affect students.

But for such a training programme to be a success, it needs to have some input from those living with the condition. This is not some pie in the sky notion - ASIAM (Autism Spectrum Information Advice and Meeting Point) founded by fellow Asperger’s suffer Adam Harris – has obtained funding from the Department of Justice and Equality to make such training programmes a reality.

Fourteen members of the public service are to be trained about the stigma surrounding autism spectrum disorders – something which it would be positive to see UCD engage in.

UCD states that it is committed to equality, and I’m sure that the intentions of the university are very well placed. Its Disability Support Service they do the best that they can within the limita-

tions that they work in. But we still come back to the point that a one size fits all system does not suit everyone. If you look on the disability support website and click on mental health difficulties, sight difficulties, or Asperger’s - all the advice is the same.

Support services need to be tailored to the needs of the student. The disability supports at UCD also seem to overlook the fact that students move form a very supportive environment at second level to a much more independent form of learning at third level. We encounter a whole different level of challenges and it can be difficult to speak up for fear of being stigmatised. This can see a sense of isolation grow among those suffering from any condition.

UCD could learn a lot from its northside counterpart, DCU, which aims to be the first autism friendly campus in Ireland. They are in the process of establishing a programme that will make the transition form second level to third level easier. As Ireland’s largest university, should UCD not be leading the way with such a project?

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Features

Watching the Wheels The Idea of a University Come Off: The Peru Two Seán” he said, Tara Casey Features Writer

I

n August 2013, Irish woman Michaella McCollum Connolly and Scottish woman Melissa Reid were jailed in Lima, Peru for attempting to smuggle 11kg of cocaine - worth almost two million euro - back to Europe.

The pair spent the next two and a half years of in a South American prison cell while the rest of the world forgot about them.

Until, that is, she was released on parole on Thursday, 31st March after serving less than half of her sentence. Upon release, she was photographed by various newspapers and took part in an interview with RTÉ, in which she attempted to explain what happened in the run up to her arrest, what prison life was like and what her future may hold.

The question is, however why is this she getting so much media coverage? Ancon 2, the prison where Michaella was jailed, and where her companion remains, is home to over 300 foreign prisoners, most of whom are there on drug smuggling charges.

Many of the prisoners relied on drug smuggling to support themselves and families through the economic downturn, with a large number of inmates hailing from European states.

What can be garnered from her interview is that this was not the case in her situation. She agreed to smuggle the drugs while holidaying in Ibiza and Mallorca when only 20 years old, ascribing her situation to a ‘moment of madness’. She was an ordinary young woman from Dungannon, yet now Paddy Power are taking bets on who will play her in the no doubt imminent film adaptation of her story, with three of this years’ Oscar nominees, Saoirse Ronan (8/1), Alicia Vikander (10/1) and Brie Larson (10/1), most likely to land the coveted role. Of all the stories of hardship and toil that goes with a prison sentence, why should this one be so interesting to us?

The main reason seems to be relatability. This is an ordinary Irish girl who made a mistake which saw her locked up in a South American prison - it could happen to any of us, right? RTÉ certainly played into this idea.

Many have commented on the interview questioning why her

“

Ancon 2, the prison where Michaella was jailed, and where Reid remains is home to over 300 foreign prisoners, most of whom are there on drug smuggling charges story was not questioned in more depth.

Indeed, the coverage of her release has almost grabbed more headlines than the actions which landed her in prison in the first place. While the interview reaped some sympathy, the majority of responses have been overwhelmingly negative negative. With many asking what the purpose of interviewing her was and whether or not she received financial compensation for her time. Most notably, the Irish Independent launched a scathing attack on the state broadcaster at the suggestion that it paid Michaella only for it to be revealed by the Times Ireland that the Independent’s parent company, INM, had itself offered to pay for an interview.

Of course her holding an Irish passport means that there is a certain level of interest to be expected from the Irish Press, but few convicted criminals are offered the same chance to explain themselves on release. Even those whose affairs are hawkishly watched by certain redtops.

Not to say that criminals are incapable of being remorseful, after all the idea of imprisonment is that someone has committed an improper act, not because they are necessarily evil themselves.

There is no need, however, for this kind of ‘public apology’. If prison has reformed the incarcerated then they, Michaella included, will reflect this by going on with their lives and doing good – not simply talking about it. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen, but the televised interview serves no purpose other than to whet the appetites of those who think that they might have done something different – were they ever to be in the same situation.

Seán Hurley Features Writer

O

ften, as I wander past the Arts Block in UCD, I like to take time to mull over philosophical matters. Recently, I’ve been asking myself the question “What is the whole point of university?”

Luckily there is a plethora of thought about what the purpose of a student’s life should be.

According to the career advisors, a student’s raison d’etre in university should be to study hard for that 2.1, to engage in some serious CV building and if possible to win the Nobel Peace Prize somewhere along the way.

By the end of university, a student should then be able to tapdance their way into any one of the corporate firms where hopefully by that stage they’ve learned to tie a tie for the job interview.

However, a good friend of mine had another take on the matter. “Seán” he said, “the whole point of college is to get some quality drinking done before work starts”. If that was the case, we were truly living the dream in that moment as we threw back a few pints in Wetherspoons, Blackrock.

Alas, when Cardinal John Henry Newman founded UCD’s forerunner in 1854, he had a completely different take on the matter. In his seminal work “The Idea of a University” he envisioned that the whole point of university was to grow in knowledge for its own sake.

The means of doing this was by cultivating the intellect and by developing a philosophical habit of mind which lasts throughout life. For him, a true liberal education consisted in teaching students to be able “to think and to reason and to compare and to discriminate and to analyse”.

Commenting on this, Princeton Professor Robert P. George says that a liberal education is not just about reading the great authors such as Aristotle and Shakespeare and knowing what they said but “It is about engaging with these thinkers; indeed, it is about wrestling with them and with the questions they wrestled with. It is about considering their arguments, or arguments that can be gleaned from their work; it is about considering the best possible lines of counterargument and examining alternative points of view”.

Both Newman and George stress that this should not be an

“

“the whole point of college is to get some quality drinking done before work starts”. If that was the case, we were truly living the dream in that moment

interminable process but that the proper object of the intellect should be the acquisition of truth.

One book I recently read in which the main protagonists embodied the liberal education that the above writers espoused was “The Karamazov Brothers”

by Fyodor Dostoevsky. While it is an intricate and complex novel, a relatively simple theme that permeated it was the pursuit of truth.

This theme manifests itself in a number of ways, from the grubby question of whether Dmitri Karamazov murdered his father or not, to more philosophical questions such as whether God exists. In searching for answers to both of these questions the respective protagonists were relentless in the pursuit of truth The detectives on the trail of the murderer left no stone unturned and stopped at nothing to extricate any confessions or obtain any evidence that they thought would help solve the case. A similar intellectual candour is evident in the often terse dialogues between the brothers Ivan—a disillusioned atheist— and Alyosha Karamazov—a former Novice—about the existence of God. Ivan via his parable “The Grand Inquisitor” outlines his scepticism in a God who would choose to gift humanity with freedom when they are so liable to squander it. He also powerfully challenges Alyosha about the idea of a “just” God who allows the brutal torture of innocent children. The beauty of the novel is that, while we never receive direct answers to these questions, paradoxically by the end of the novel we feel that through describing the tragedies that befall the characters in the story, indirectly Dostoevsky has provided us with a compelling answer.

The protagonists in the Karamazov brothers would cut strange

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figures around campus today. The characters in the book were of the conviction that there was a truth and it could be found.

The detectives were convinced that Dmitri was either innocent or guilty; there was no in between. Likewise Ivan and Alyosha held that there was either a God or there wasn’t; no middle ground there. It was immaterial how elusive or clouded these truths seemed at times, the characters were willing to stop at nothing to find the right answers.

Today I’d venture a sizeable percentage of students have succumbed to relativism whereby truth is subjective or in other words there is no truth at all.

There is no such thing as right or wrong; it’s all relative.

In discussing the big substantive issues reason and logic have become subservient to tolerance and equality with truth becoming some low class by-product. An example of how this relativism is manifested, is through the argument that abortion should be banned except in cases of rape or incest.

All too often this kind of relativism morphs into a tyrannical form of political correctness. In this scenario the idea of a liberal education is completely subverted as feelings and emotions entirely supersede reason and critical thought.

Safe Spaces and No-Platform policies are established in debating societies whereby any dissenting views are quashed in the name of tolerance. The ironic thing about this, is that it’s an intolerant form of tolerance which only tolerates views that appear to be in the driving seat. Anyone who dares to express their reservations on issues such as gay marriage or abortion is accused of inciting hate speech or of being a “homophobe” or a “religious fundamentalist”.

However, all hope is not yet lost. The future of free speech lies in the courage and tenacity of our debating societies on campus.

Rather than regarding social issues as foregone conclusions and by allowing only one viewpoint to be aired, I’d like to see societies at UCD continue to debate the hard issues.

The Philosophy Society and the Economics Society arguably hosted the most thought provoking event of the year by inviting in Milo Yiannopoulos. I’d like to see societies continue to push the boat out by inviting more counter cultural figures.

Features

Shawna’s centenary special.

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Image: Shawna Scott

Why I made a Tricolour Dildo Shawna Scott Columnist

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ver the last year or so, there’s been much talk about what forms the 1916 Centenary commemorations would take, who can be included, and how they can be included. Some felt there shouldn’t be any mention on Glasnevin Cemetery’s memorial wall of British soldiers who died in the rising. Others argued that any events should first be approved by the government.

I recently saw Trinity Student Union President and Seanad candidate, Lynn Ruane, speak in Liberty Hall about how she felt as a youngster that 1916 wasn’t for her; that because of her working class background, she felt disconnected from it. I sometimes feel the same, but for different reasons. Despite living in Dublin for 11 years - my entire adult life to be precise - and holding an Irish passport, the most noticeable thing about me will always be my American accent. Admittedly this part of myself at worst, results in minor frustrations when I’m told over and over that I’ll “never understand,” because I didn’t grow up here; or when a taxi driver tries to go the scenic route because he thinks I’m a tourist.

Sadly though, the thing I feel most disconnects me from the Rising, and in particular our Proclamation, is the fact that I’m a woman. Now I’ve nothing bad to say about the Proclamation itself. Like most I’d agree that it’s a beautifully worded document and was well ahead of its time in terms of including women.

I’m sad that those words were quickly ignored after Ireland gained independence, and apart from voting rights, women all but lost their newfound freedom.

Our Constitution squarely places our societal role in the home as mothers, which has had tragic

consequences ever since and still affects us today.

As the run up to the commemorations approached, I started to think about how I, an American-born sex shop owner could celebrate in my own way.

I wanted to celebrate the strides we’ve taken in the past 25 years for sexual freedom. We’ve made condoms legal without prescription; decriminalised homosexuality; made divorce and same sex marriage legal; and we now allow people to self-identify their own gender. These are incredible achievements, but we’ve still a long road ahead of us.

I also wanted to highlight the fact that I and scores of women in this country do not feel equal without bodily autonomy. I don’t feel equal, because I’m not trusted to make a choice about what’s best for me and my life.

So I chose to use my platform as a small business owner to create something that would give a nod to how far Ireland has come, but also how much work still needs to be done.

I got in touch with the wonderful women at BS Atelier, a studio in Madrid that handmakes silicone sex toys, to ask if they would make the Irish flag dildo of my dreams. They were only too delighted to be involved with the project. I decided that I would like to donate €5 from each sale to the Abortion Rights Campaign, and on Thursday the 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, I launched the toy.

I waited nervously for backlash, but apart from a few garden variety Twitter maniacs telling me I should be deported, the response was hugely positive, and the story was picked up by a number of media outlets. That disconnect that I was feeling before started to melt away and I began to feel like more of an active participant in my adopted country’s commemorations.

From the very beginning my

plan for Sex Siopa has been to help change Ireland’s attitudes towards sex and work towards creating a more open, sex positive environment. However, it doesn’t matter how many dildos I make, I cannot do this on my own.

Without trying to sound too sickly sweet about it, it’s going to take the lot of us - especially you young university folk - to make Ireland the sexually empowered utopia of the future that we want it to be.

There’s plenty of ways to go about doing this - admittedly some sexier than others - but all are equally important. Read as much as you can! Reading is sexy and knowledge is power. The more you educate yourself about sex, the better you’ll be able to understand your own sexuality and that of your partners’. Write to your local TD’s and let them know that gender equality, including repealing the 8th Amendment, is important to you.

And finally: be kind to yourselves and each other. Treat others with respect. Don’t shame them for the types of people or activities they’re into, and equally don’t let others shame you for those things either. Stop asking yourself if your body, kinks, lack of kinks, sexual identity, frequency with which you bone is normal. No one is normal. Our bodies as well as our myriad combinations of sexual turn-ons are all different.

That’s what makes us sexy!

If we all take on board that one piece of advice, I think that’ll be one big step in the right direction.

Shawna Scott os the owner of Sex Siopa, Ireland’s first and only design-focussed, body-safe sex shop. While this is her last column for the College Tribune, you can check out her blog and some of the brilliant products she sells at sexsiopa.ie

The Newman basement which plays host to The Cavern each month

Carving out a Creative Space on Campus: The Cavern Melanie O’Donovan LitSoc PRO

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riginally planned as The Coffee House Sessions, the end result proved to be something a little different than what we had thought and better than we could have hoped. One day, sitting on the Quad during Fresher’s Week, Aoife Brannigan, Training and Development Officer with the L&H and myself came up with the idea for ‘The Cavern’ – a monthly event showcasing the performance works of poets, musicians and comedians from UCD and around Dublin.

We had six sessions this year which were primarily organized

by LitSoc but helped along the way by L&H and ComedySoc. The Cavern proved to be something the likes of which UCD had never had before, but quite significantly, something it desperately needed. It is very much more than a monthly event that sees nameless faces come and go. From its first session back in September it created a community and a space for creative thinkers, artists and performers to showcase their talents and make friends with others who shared the same ambitions.

And make friends they did, regardless of whether they were fellow UCD students or students from other universities. Connections between colleges were created as well as links between aspiring artists. At each event since, we’ve seen the same faces popping up again and each time

they brought their friends who then brought their friends and every month when you walked into that gloomy locker corridor with the ominous hum you were greeted with smiling faces and the sound of laughter and chatter from strangers and friends alike.

We didn’t have prompts like pizza or wine to draw big crowds. With the help of the L&H who supplied a burco kettle for the hot water we offered herbal tea, biscuits and the promise of some of the best talented artists we could find - whether they be performance poets, musicians or comedians and without fail people came.

We had an Open Mic section at the end of the show for anyone to sign up and enter. The last Cavern session saw almost twenty sign-ups for the Open Mic. For me this was the ultimate success. I wanted to recreate the same atmosphere I experienced when I went to a weekly event in Dublin called The Monday Echo which used to take place in The International Bar. I was 16 when I first descended down those steps into the International to witness some of the best poets and musicians in the Dublin Arts Scene. It was like nothing I had ever seen before and it opened my eyes to see the struggles and accomplishments of real artists.

The atmosphere was nothing but welcoming and friendly and I wanted to try and recreate that in UCD and give a similar platform for budding artists – something I think we’ve achieved.

THE TRIB ARTS & CULTURE SUPPLEMENT music | film | fashion | arts

ISSUE 11 DATE 12.03.2016

COVER

Grand Canal | George Hannaford

2

MUSIC

Kevin O’Reilly chats with Nialler9 Words | Kevin O’Reilly

however recently announced that they shall not be renewing their broadcasting licence which means that Ireland’s only alternative rock station will continue to air for the next few months but will cease broadcasting by October 26th at the latest. Niall refuses to let this stop him however; ‘With TXFM going, my radio future is uncertain but I have the bug now. Radio is a bit special’.

While juggling Radio, Blogging, DJing and events I wondered how he keeps on top of it all; ‘When I realised that I basically do the same thing in different mediums I became much more at ease with my career. Generally, I operate Image Credit | Nialler9 &TXFM as a recommender and curator.

So I feature new music I like and took advantage opportunities on Nialler9, I make playlists on iall Byrne’s interest in Spotify, I pick songs for a radio that came as a result of the site’. music began at an early show on-air, I select tunes for an age, he recalls hearing his Nialler9 began to outshine other dad play records on a turntable music blogs in the country and this audience when DJing and curate was down to his early adoption of artists for a live event. Essentially, as a kid and then realising that online platforms. Starting in 2005 it's the same motivation, just in he could change the sound of different contexts. the music with his own fingers; when online publishing was still ‘I ruined many a needle’ he in its infancy he made sure that he I compartmentalise things in email, RSS, websites, bookmarks, jumped on the crest of the wave. confesses.

That and hearing Michael Jackson He also puts the success of his site and documents to try and stay on top of it. It is becoming more and for the first time were what down to the branding and design triggered a passion that would set that helped him to stand out from more difficult due to the sheer volume of music out there’. the crowd. him on a career path to become one of Ireland’s most influential It wasn’t long before Niall became When asked if all the slogging can sap the joy from music listening and successful independent music headhunted by radio executives he explained; ‘It can be tiring, and Today FM’s Peter McPartlin bloggers, amongst other things. there are days where you've heard soon came a-knocking to see if He explained how he turned his nothing but uninspired music love of music into a potentially he would be interested in getting that offers nothing new. Most involved with TXFM. Niall runs viable career: ‘About three years days though something comes into doing a blog for fun, I realised a new Irish music show on the along that changes my mood and that I was being taken seriously in station every Thursday at 10pm, the industry, So I pursued it more something which he claims he has makes it all worthwhile.’ I was eager to hear of some of the most rigidly, hired an advertising person always wanted to do.

N

interesting up-and-coming Irish acts that Niall has his eyes (and ears) on, he disclosed to me that he is particularly excited about; Saint Sister, AE MAK, Bitch Falcon, I Have A Tribe, and Burnt Out, to mention but a few.

For anyone interested in pursuing a career in music journalism, broadcasting or just the music scene in general Niall recommends starting to write and communicate with the world that you’re interested in as soon as possible.

He also praises networking; ‘I used to think it was a dirty word but it just means talk to people. It's how opportunities arise.’ Most of all he suggests going back to basics and doing what you love.

At the moment he is thoroughly enjoying running ‘Lumo’, a monthly night club in Bar Tengu on George’s Street with his two friends Gav and Simon; ‘Playing tunes to an interested audience in front of you is about as elemental as you can get. Direct feedback from dancing -and more recently singing- is the goal. Come down and dance with us!’

One One from from the the Crate: Crate: The The Popgun Popgun Plot Plot

A A B B

– Isaac the Alchemist, London Assurance, Marie – Isaac the Alchemist, Lloyd, Hollow Crown, LondonThe Assurance, Marie Supermodel Lloyd, The Hollow Crown, Supermodel – Svengali, Lemonade Man, Mr Debussy,Lemonade The Voyage of – Svengali, Man, Napper Tandy, World’s End Mr Debussy, The Voyage of

heard, it appears that the band are no more – having produced this self-titled gem in 2012 and apparently apparently called called it it quits. quits.

Poppy Poppy by by name name and and by by nature, nature, there are more than a few there are more than a few copies copies of of this this floating floating around around Dublin.

Dublin. II highly highly recommend recommend picking picking one one up up if you’re a fan of quirky, stringNapper Tandy, World’s End if you’re a fan of quirky, stringThis This is is aa really really nice nice little little find find which which infused infused pop. pop. has a bitter note to it.

After picking Unfortunately, has a bitter note to it. After picking Unfortunately, there’s there’s no no digital digital up ‘The Popgun Plot’, listening download included and none of up ‘The Popgun Plot’, listening download included and none of through and really liking what I’ve the tracks would appear to have through and really liking what I’ve the tracks would appear to have heard, it appears that the band made it online so the only way

Words | Seán O’Reilly Words | Seán O’Reilly

made it online so the only way you’re getting a crack at this is in analogue.

The The record’s record’s Discogs Discogs bio bio informs informs me me that that each each of of the the ten ten tracks tracks on on the record is a kind of homage the record is a kind of homage to to aa well-known well-known personality; personality; Isaac Isaac Newton, Newton, Dion Dion Boucicault, Boucicault, Marie Marie Lloyd, Frank Harris, Lloyd, Frank Harris, Colonel Colonel Thomas Thomas Blood, Blood, Marlene Marlene Dietrich, Dietrich, Svengali, Claude Svengali, Claude Debussy, Debussy, James James Napper Tandy and Rabbie Burns.

Napper Tandy and Rabbie Burns.

While a creative thread is definitely While a creative thread is definitely evident throughout, knowing this

evident throughout, knowing this has me interested again in sitting down for another listen.

Standout Standout tracks tracks include include ‘London ‘London Assurance’ Assurance’ for for its its lyrics, lyrics, ‘Supermodel’ ‘Supermodel’ for for its its seriously seriously catchy rhythm section, catchy rhythm section, and and ‘Lemonade ‘Lemonade Man’ Man’ for for its its lovely lovely guitars. guitars. Worth Worth aa punt punt for for aa tenner! tenner!

Pre Exam gigs to look forward to

MUSIC

Words | Aoileann Kennedy

Christy Moore, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis April 13th, 14th, 28th & 29th 15th, 16th, 17th April Vicar Street 3Arena If you have yet to witness the legendary Christy Moore perform live, fear not. Your time has come.

Arguably Ireland’s greatest living songwriter, Christy Moore returns to Vicar Street for two nights of folk-filled magic. I first saw Christy Moore perform at Oxegen in 2011 when he was a guest of Coldplay.

I will never forget the crowd’s reaction when he walked on stage, nor will I forget the hush that fell as he began to sing ‘Ride On’. Over 20,000 people harmonising that particular song is a memory that doesn’t leave you. He may not be as mainstream or as current as some of the other artists in this list, but there is no denying that Christy Moore is a living legend. A stalwart of the Irish music scene, Christy is massively respected by both Irish and international acts alike. Do yourself a favour and make sure you see him perform at least once.

It’s an experience not to be missed.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 15th, 16th, 17th April 3Arena Following on from their incredibly successful Marley Park concert, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis return to Dublin this April. After the release of ‘This Unruly Mess I’ve Made’ in February and the stellar success of single ‘Downtown’, it’s very clear that this duo aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

‘Downtown’ reached no. 2 on the Irish charts and received massive amounts of airplay on the radio in recent months. Macklemore has carved a unique niche in the music scene. His lyrics are often edgy or thought provoking, with some tracks like ‘Same Love’ and ‘White Privilege’ stopping you in your tracks. Other tracks like the worldwide phenomenon ‘Thrift Shop’ are fun, but always maintain a quirky element. In a world of bling and excess, Macklemore creates songs that go completely against the grain. He’s a breath of fresh air.

The Lumineers 17th & 18th April Olympia Theatre

Kimya Dawson 19th April, The Workman’s Club

With a sound that resembles a hybrid of ‘Mumford And Sons’ and ‘Of Monsters And Men’, The Lumineers have returned with a new album and a brand new host of future hits. Following on from their self-titled debut, the US quintet released ‘Cleopatra’ on the 8th of April, and if tracks like ‘Ophelia’ are anything to go buy, 2016 is going to be a very exciting year for the group. Their sound is very folk heavy, with an alternative rock twist. Their song writing is melodic and at times ethereal. If you haven’t seen The Lumineers live before, prepare yourself for a night of folky, anthemic songs and guys with beards. A night with The Lumineers guarantees to be a chilled out, relaxed and atmospheric, especially within the setting of the Olympia Theatre.

While you may not recognise the name, if you’ve seen the film Juno, you’ll recognise the voice. Kimya Dawson brings her unique brand of folky-punk to Dublin this April in the brilliant surroundings of The Workman’s Club on Wellington Quay. If you’re looking for something a little different, this is the gig for you.

Dawson’s unique, quirky voice is different from anything else out there. Her lyrics tell a detailed story in every song, guaranteeing that she’ll grab your attention for the entire evening. Tracks like ‘Tire Swing’, made famous by the film Juno, is a perfect introduction to her sound. For those of you a little bored with the usual offerings, this is the perfect opportunity to catch something a little different. Not bad for €20.

Dublin Buskers; Alex

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glowing and exotic melody drew me around the corner of Suffolk Street to the front of St Andrew’s Church where Alessandro ‘Alex’ was serenading Molly Malone with his bright and balmy guitar tunes.

I instantly recognised the flowing harmonics of John Butler’s ‘Ocean’ with Alex’s own personal twist, he also hammered out a few Ben Howard numbers with his guitar placed across his knees like a keyboard. Alex’s smile is warm and friendly as he explains that he’s been in Ireland about a year and a half since moving from his hometown of Rome, in which time he found a job and subsequently quit when he realised that he could

Words | Kevin O’Reilly make a living from busking.

He challenged himself to try living just from busking and finding gigs and he did. While on the street he plays with his acoustic guitar and amplifier, his Megadeth Hoodie betrays his true musical preferences. He told me that he grew up loving metal and electronic music but it was through practicality that he couldn’t bring his electric guitar and equipment from Italy so instead he bought an acoustic guitar and taught himself to play the music that he performs today.

In his case on the ground before him alongside a couple of euro coins is a copy of his album ‘ZAR; Sounds of Mind’. The album

took 10 hours to record in a studio in Ireland and he tells me it is a collection of instrumental songs from covers to his own compositions.

Alex’s style of music is entirely inspired by busking and his work on the street; ‘Every day I am here on the street when the weather permits me’, he tells me, ’I try not to busk every day because we get complaints from the shops.

There is lots of trouble and debate between the shops, buskers and Dublin City Council, we have to wait till July to hear the outcome But you know this is art, that is just business.’ Alex professed that his favourite part of busking is that no matter what kind of day he is

having he can just come along and play; ‘If a child or someone comes along and throws a coin in and smiles at you, it can just completely change your day!’.

His plan he explains is to make his music work for him and to make it provide for him for the future; ‘that’s the plan, this is just the beginning. I don’t want to spend my whole life on the street that’s for sure! I would like to make something concrete you know, make some shape of what I do’.

If you want to check out Alex’s music, you can listen to the utterly fantastic ‘ZAR; Sounds of Mind’.

On Soundcloud at soundcloud. com/user-516085449/sets/soundsof-mind-ep

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FILM

“A Nation of Storytellers” Irish Filmmaker John Butler Words | Niamh Crosbie

Niamh Crosbie chats with Irish screenplay writer and director John Butler, the man behind the 2013 hit The Stag and upcoming film Handsome Devil, about his experiences, his plans, and the ever-changing landscape of Irish film.

Q Who are your biggest

influences?

God, there are so many, and most are not necessarily doing what I do - David Bowie sits at the top of the tree for me, in terms of pure artistic derring-do. I remember loving Peter Sellers as Inspector Closeau, and as a reader (and occasional novel writer!)

Edward St. Aubyn springs to mind. Three total randos stuck together, there. But those in my current professional field: Alexander Payne, Jill Soloway, Billy Wilder, Tina Fey, Lena Dunham, Sharon Horgan, David Chase, Noah Hawley.

Q What has been your most rewarding experience, as a filmmaker?

Having my film close the Dublin Film Festival in the raucous manner that it did was a memory I will treasure forever. But I have to say that nothing is more rewarding than collaborating with actors who like to collaborate, and watching the thing come alive in the space between you, on a film set. It's magic!

Q Is there a story you would love to tell (or re-tell) more than any other?

Recently, I've been wondering whether there's a contemporary way to re-tell "The Sweet Smell of Success".

I really love that film, and if anything, the culture in which it's based has become even more venal in the decades since. I also think there's a superb film to be made about Roy Keane in Saipan. And I would love to remake "The

Breakfast Club" - even though fans of John Hughes would murder you for it (which is, of course, the best reason to do it!).

Q Do you have any funny or

unusual stories from the sets?

Not really. I've never worked on anything where there's been time or money to do anything other than work incredibly hard. And I'll let you in on a secret - I hate war stories.

Sometimes, you'll get people on a set who like to reminisce about how much fun they had on jobs years before, but I find myself thinking "we could be discussing this exact moment years from now if we weren't wasting it talking about the past!" Getting to do this work is a privilege and I'm trying to appreciate getting to make a film AT THE EXACT MOMENT I'M MAKING IT!

Q What are your opinions on current Irish cinema?

It is in great shape, as the last few years have proven. When I was starting out, it was rare to find Irish films connecting with Irish audiences, but they now do that, regularly. We are going to see these films ourselves, which is a less celebrated but equally important aspect of the Irish film success story. Film is also a powerful Irish export and it's something to be proud of - it's really important that the government doubles down on cultural investment across the board to ensure that this success continues. Without the money to support it, it can't sustain itself.

Q Where do you think Irish

cinema will be in the next ten years?

That depends on support.

It's definitely cool to see ‘Star Wars’ coming here, and ‘Penny Dreadful’, and so on, but the most important thing is that we continue to tell our own stories too. The voices of writers, producers and directors from this country have great value and we don't want to expend the creative energy in Irish TV and film as a studio facility for international productions.

We're a nation of storytellers and I hope we'll continue to recognise that.

Q What do you think is the

biggest challenge facing Irish filmmakers?

It's a good question. I used to think that it's never been easier to make a film, and never harder to get it seen.

But these days you can get your stuff seen in a million different ways - the problem is getting exposure in a wide way. As ever, the challenge is having something to say that is new or interesting. And that challenge is as old (older!) than cinema itself. Thinking about it now, it's weird how nothing changes at the heart of the matter - once you leave aside the technical aspects of making them and the business aspect of distributing them, the challenge of making films always returns to story, story, story. What do you have to say?

And a love of story courses through our veins, which gives us an advantage!

Q The Stag is a fresh

representation of the Irish on film - what do you think is the most important thing when making a film about a culture which is so often misrepresented by the industry?

The most important thing is not to set out to make a film about a culture that is so often misrepresented.

Tell a story. The Stag was, first and foremost, a comedy about me and my friends, people I thought hadn't been represented on screen before. Take care of the story, have something to say, and everything else flows from that!

Q What's on the horizon

for you after Handsome Devil?

I have a TV series in development in the UK, and another feature film set in LA. I also have a film set in Ireland that I'm just outlining at the moment that I'm very excited about. Outlining can take a long time, though, so I'll tell you if it's a film in a decade...!

John’s latest production, Handsome Devil, premiers later this year, and will star Andrew Scott (Sherlock, The Stag) and Moe Dunford (Vikings, Patrick’s Day).

FILM

Batman V Superman The Good, the Bad and the CGI

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(Minor Spoilers) Words | Conor O’Leary

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has been a highly anticipated film for comic fans and movie goers alike. There has been a great deal of discussion regarding it, leading to a very mixed reaction from fans and critics. This review will look at the reasons for its very mixed reaction and whether it lived up to its initial hype or whether it was a massive disappointment.

Positives | Most of the main cast gives stellar performance in their roles. Henry Cavill returns as Superman and really encapsulated the kindness of the character, while helping you to truly feel the moral dilemma he is going through.

His relationship with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is very well represented; the two actors have good chemistry, the film goes in depth with how Lois Lane fits into Superman’s life and how important she is to him, with their love for each other being an important part of the story.

Lois Lane is written well, and despite this film focusing mainly on Batman and Superman she is given a lot to do. And while in classic Lois Lane fashion she is sometimes a damsel in distress, this is forgivable as she is presented as very useful and makes a very important contribution to the narrative.

This film of course marks Wonder Woman’s first appearance in a live action film and although she isn’t in it too much, she has a lot of presence and is presented as

very powerful and her fight scenes highlight her role as a warrior demi-goddess.

It is a very visually attractive film, Zach Snyder being an excellent cinematographer, with a lot of the scenes from this movie feeling like something straight from a comic book. Gotham and Batman’s aesthetics look like something from the Arkham games.

Batman in this film is excellent despite some issues I have; Ben Affleck gives a stroller performance, encapsulating the dual sides of both Batman and Bruce Wayne, possibly being my favorite version of the character yet to be presented in live-action.

In addition, the soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL is excellent, my favorite being Wonder Woman’s track, which is called “Is She With You”, which you can find on YouTube.

Negatives | One of the main issues people have with this film is the plot, and while I can agree with some of the complaints I have a slightly more positive opinion than some.

Without going into spoilers, while it has a lot of good elements focusing more on emotional reactions than a big mystery narrative, it often doesn’t flow very well. While it was an enjoyable experience the editing of the plot often felt quite awkward.

Lex Luthor in the film is played

by Jesse Eisenberg - an interesting take on the character that isn’t too far away from the classic incarnation, but it was poorly cast.

While I liked his place in the story and his dialogue I feel that it would have sounded better coming from the likes of Michael Roseunboom from Smallville or Kevin Spacey from Superman Returns. Jesse just didn’t have the presence that those actors had.

The CGI in this film was not great; if you’ve seen the trailers you know about the presence of a certain monster, and the CGI on him wasn’t very impressive. Despite

the fact that I enjoyed the fights in this film it could have looked a lot better.

Another issue is that a lot is given away in the trailers, to be fair a lot of those points could be guessed at while watching the film but it’s still a problem when the trailers give away most of the plot.

A final issue was with how they portrayed Batman’s morality. This is a bit of a spoiler but it bears mentioning; Batman does kill by proxy in this, meaning only when he needs to save someone else, but this felt out of character for Batman. There have been plenty of stories where he has been put into situations where he could kill but found a better way and I feel this movie choose to remove a part of Batman’s morality. That is a problem, and even though by the end there is feeling that he has learned to stop doing this thanks to Superman’s influence, it was still painful to watch.

Review: The Witch (Robert Egger, 2016)

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he posters for The Witch have been doing it a slight disservice. At first glance it would look like it is your typical Hollywood-produced jumpscare fare. What it really is, is an intelligently constructed and performed psychological horror that builds its terror through atmosphere and empathetic, if not sympathetic, wonderfully realized characters.

Set in 17th century New England, a Puritan family are exiled from their settlement and forced to start anew, on a farm at the edge of a forest and wilderness beyond.

As crops begin to fail and the

Words | Ruairi McCann youngest child goes missing, paranoia starts to grip hold as the family suspect that a malevolent presence, see title, is at work all around them.

Though witchcraft and Puritan New England have been the focus of film before, few have the level of detail and authenticity this film has, with the realistic period dialogue, depictions of religious practice, costume and production design, all stemming from debutante writer and director Eggers’ experience growing up in New England and vast knowledge of the region’s history and relationship with

religion and ‘witchcraft’.

This attention to detail would all be for nought if it did not support strong performances and compelling horror. The former is there in spades with veteran British actors Kate Dickie and Ralph Ineson (both Game of Thrones), giving nuanced performances as the mother and father respectively.

Their anguish and helplessness as their family crumbles around them in tandem with their adherence to faith avoiding the condescending or caricatured pitfalls that can be easily stumbled into when acting as someone with such stringent religious beliefs.

If the film has a primary character, it would be Thomasina the oldest child, played by relative newcomer Anya Taylor Joy. The conflict between her blooming sexuality and her family’s rigid Puritan belief being both the narrative and thematic concerns around which the film orbits.

The film’s slow-burning narrative may prove inert for some, but its patience in setting up its horror elements alongside its dramatic one pushes The Witch over the line in terms of being a great film and makes it stand out from the crowd in terms of its horror contemporaries.

Final thoughts | In summation it had a lot of very strong elements that I loved, most of the characters were well represented it was filmed excellently, with an incredible soundtrack. But there were many serious problems primarily with the main plots editing and with the casting of Lex Luthor, some of the CGI and the portrayal of Batman’s morality.

Overall I enjoyed the film but there were a number of disappointing aspects, which hampered the experience a bit, but worth gong to if you’re a DC comic fan. I’d give the film a final score of 3 shields out of 5.

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FASHION

S

tyle Scrapbook: Travelling

As the holidays draw closer, Emer Slattery compiles some of UCD students’ favourite summer fashion memories.

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Ruth O’Hanlon “I got this vintage leather briefcase/handbag in Rome. It’s pure Italian leather and is nicely worn so the leather is not hard.

It only cost about €40. I bought it in a European charity shop chain called Humana Vintage which sells really quirky vintage items at decent prices. The best part was that all the money went towards an environmental charity!”

Niamh Keely “ I bought this necklace in the Camden markets when I was in London last summer. It is a replica of the time turner that Hermione Granger used in the 3rd Harry Potter movie!”

FASHION

Ellen Devereux

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“This is a tie-dye dress I bought on one of the Thai islands called Koh Phi Phi. It was actually a sarong so it was multi functional. I wore it as a dress in the evenings when it was slightly cooler (around 22°C); as a cover up when going to temples or sacred buildings; or as a blanket at the beach. The best part was it was only €6.”

“This photo was taken in the S21 prison in Phom Penh, Cambodia.

I bought a few of these dresses in Siem Reap because the patterns were so beautiful and exotic. The price was also amazing: each dress cost 6,000 Riel which is only €1.20.

They were ideal for wearing during the day while exploring the city because they were so light.”

.“Crocket tops were everywhere in the markets in Thailand and Vietnam. I wore this one to the infamous full moon party in Koh Phangan, Thailand and also at Electric Picnic. I bought it on Khao San Road in Bangkok for less than €4.”

“These harem pants are my favourite item of clothing that I bought while travelling south east Asia. These pairs cost €3 each and were bought in the Chang Mai night market, Northern Thailand.

They were really comfortable and light, ideal for the hot and humid weather. They were one size fits all and came in every colour and pattern imaginable.”

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FASHION

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Ayo Arogundade

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“This is a traditional West African skirt and blouse. The fabric is known as ‘ankara’ mixed with lace.

It was a present from my grandma during my recent visit to Lagos, Nigeria and was custom made.

The necklace was also a gift from her. In Yoruba (the language in the western part of Nigeria), the headpiece is called a gèlè.”

“This picture shows my hair over the summer, again done in Nigeria.

Despite the fact that it took several hours to have done, I absolutely loved having my braids.

Pictured: Seána Carty, Leoné Mescal, Conor Molloy in Morocco These exotic-looking unisex jumpers are called baja hoodies but are more commonly known as ‘drug rugs’ due to the fact they would originally have been made out of hemp. They are the perfect solution to the problem of what to wear while travelling as they can be matched with any type of bottoms and so are very versatile. They are ideal for holidays in warmer climes as they are made of very light material and can be worn at any time, be it as a cover-up on the beach to prevent sunburn or when it gets cooler in the evenings.

Versions made of heavier materials are also available which means you can get more wear out of them once you return home to Ireland.

SHORT STORY

Friday, 28th April 1916 Words | Cillian Fearon Illustration | Daisy Kinahan Murphy

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t was late into the night before the kitchen was clean again.

Blood had dripped off the table onto the floor. Mairead's mother kept scrubbing the floorboards where it had dried.

Mairead sat looking out her window. She was exhausted. The face of the injured man still etched in her mind. She looked down at her hands, they were still encrusted with blood. She slumped over to a bowl of water on the sideboard and began to scrub. She wasn't sure how long she had been scrubbing but when she held up her hands to the candle light they were pink and raw. The sound of explosions drew her back to the window. It looked as though dawn was breaking but the light was coming from the north. It was coming from the city centre. The skyline had an eerie glow which lit up her imagination in the worst way possible.

She stared out the window. What seemed like a moment later, she heard the door open behind her. It was her father.

"I thought you might be awake," he said. "I checked on John. He seems to be sleeping through the worst of it. Your mother seems to be sleeping through it too, after yesterday I'm not surprised." ”Will that man be ok?” Mairead asked looking at him.

“I don’t know dear,” he grimaced, “he lost a lot of blood.”

Mairead turned back to the window. The glow pulsed on the horizon. “What is it?” she asked.

“Fire...” her father replied softly.

“They’re burning the city?”

“Why should it be any different than the rest of Europe.” Jack said his eyes locked on the horizon.

They seemed to be looking further than just Dublin or even Ireland.

Mairead saw a great fireball burst in the sky. Seconds later she heard the thundering sound, like crumbling rubble.

“My guess is it’ll be over soon,” Jack said quietly, “There’s no way the rebels can compete with that kind of fire power.” Mairead sat quietly watching the blaze dance through the city. Smoke and fire swirled and twirled in the early morning. Fighting back the darkness with each lick of flame.

“Come on, best not to watch it. It will haunt you.” Jack said in a sombre tone, “I’m going to put some tea on.”

Mairead heard him go down the stairs and start clattering around the kitchen. She continued to gaze at the inferno that engulfed the city. There was a louder clatter from downstairs. Mairead chuckled to herself, if anything was likely to wake her mother it would be her father trying to make a cup of tea.

She went downstairs and watched her father bungle around the kitchen. He was useless at this sort of thing. He had lit the stove and put the kettle on it but couldn’t remember where the tea was kept. It didn’t surprise her, he was handed his tea each morning while he read his paper.

So, logically, he proceeded to open every conceivable cabinet in the kitchen. He was an excellent bottle blower but he without her mother he would be lost.

Eventually Mairead got up and found the tea for him, “Just sit down before you break something.”

Mairead began making the tea

while her father sat at the table. It wasn’t long after until her mother came down stairs.

“What are you all doing down here?” she asked grumpily.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Mairead said pouring her mother a cup of tea.

She then began to make the breakfast, something which was easier said than done. They hadn’t visited Madigan’s store since previous weekend before the madness had gripped the city. The family was luckier than most in the area. Her mother had preserved fruit in jars over the previous summer, some for making sloe gin and plum wine and the like, but mostly just to keep them in case of emergencies. They still had a couple of hens in the paddock at the back of the house to lay eggs, and when the weather allowed she’d go down to the beach to look for cockles.

Beth moved past her and began to wrap up a jar of blackberry jam, a half crust of old bread, two potatoes and an egg in a piece of cloth. “Jack can you take this around to Mrs Little next door?

You know she only heads down to the shops every second day; she’ll probably have run out of food by now.” Jack sighed and slowly climbed out of his seat.

“Can I do it?” Mairead asked jumping up and taking the package.

Beth and Jack exchanged a glance, before her father shrugged, “Ah let her go, she hasn’t been out of the house in days.” he said.

Beth scowled at him, “Alight,” she looked at Mairead, “Be back in five minutes or I’ll be dragging you back by your ear.”

Mairead quickly went to the door before her mother changed her mind. She opened the door to a murky street. The choking, acrid smell of burning lingered in the air. The early morning light had trouble piercing the haze. Mairead crept closer to the main road to get a better view. There were large plumes of black and white smoke billowing from the city centre.

Mairead saw movement ahead in the thick smog. She retreated back into her street and began walking towards Mrs Little’s house.

She quickened her pace. In the distance she heard shouting, it seemed to echo loudly through the empty streets.

Mairead knocked on Mrs Little’s door, “Mrs L, It’s Mairead from next door. I’ve got some supplies from my mother.”

The door opened a small amount revealing a little women hidden underneath a shawl, “Beth sent you? Oh she’s so nice.”

Mairead smiled and handed her the parcel. Mrs Little was all alone in the house. Her children had emigrated and her husband had died of TB two years ago. Her mother liked to keep an eye on Mrs Little, and anyone else who lived on the street for that matter.

“I’d better get back,” Mairead said. She walked back to the house through the murky street wondering what the future would hold for her fair city.

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ARTS

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A look at Alan Moore

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lan Moore is an English writer who works primarily in the field of comic book and graphic novels.

His work over decades has proven so successful that some of his most famous works, ‘From Hell’, ‘Watchmen’, and ‘V for Vendetta’ will be well known to many – despite them never so much as having glimpsed at a comic before.

Growing up in working class Northampton, Moore was a passionate reader from the age of five. He began reading comic strips, initially British strips, such as ‘Topper’ and ‘The Beezer’, but eventually also American imports such as ‘The Flash’, ‘Detective Comics’, and Fantastic Four.

During his time at Grammar School, Moore would write for fanzines, eventually creating his own, ‘Embryo’, in the late 1960s.

In 1970, he was expelled from school for dealing the powerful hallucinogenic drug LSD. He

Words | Emma Costello

would later describe himself as “one of the world’s most inept LSD dealers” in an interview with the BBC. Whilst continuing to live in his parents' home for a few more years, he moved through various jobs, including cleaning toilets and working in a tannery.

It wasn’t until the late 1970s that Moore moved into writing comics as a career. The big hits were not immediate however, with Moore cutting his teeth on small comic strips for a number of underground and alternative fanzines. He later picked up work in the states at well-known DC Comics, becoming the first comic book writer living in the UK to produce prominent work for an American publisher.

Having worked on substantial comics, including Batman (The Killing Joke) and Superman (What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?), he began creating characters which would stand

the test of time including ‘Swamp Thing’ and the aforementioned ‘Watchmen’. Moore would also prove instrumental in bringing about greater mainstream acceptance of comics in the US and UK, where their popularity and reputation had been on the decline since the close of the second world war.

In the late 80s through the 1990s, he left the mainstream industry and worked independently.

Producing experimental work, he created unique stories such as the pornographic Lost Girls, and the prose novel Voice of the Fire.

He subsequently returned to the mainstream late in the 1990s, working for Image Comics, before developing ‘America's Best Comics’, an imprint through which he published works such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the occult-based Promethea. Despite his own personal objections, his books have

provided the basis for a number of Hollywood films, including From Hell (2001), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), V for Vendetta (2005), and Watchmen (2009). Moore has also been referenced in popular culture, and has been recognised as an influence on a variety of literary and television figures including Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, and Damon Lindelof.

Gym culture; Squats the Story?

Words | Nicola Halloran

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n 2015, gym memberships over in the UK rose by a pretty staggering 44%.

Fifty years ago, gyms as we know them simply didn’t exists while here at UCD, the kind of state of the art, ‘free’ gym which we have access to was more or less unimaginable.So how did we get to where we are today?

The word ‘gym’ is a contraction of ‘gymnasium’ – derived from the ancient Greek word gymnasium.

Ancient Greek gymnasiums were places where athletes trained

schools and colleges were building gymnasiums. The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and associated organisations also built a number of gyms for physical exercise and social sports and games. This brought about the reintroduction of physical activity.

During the mid-19th Century, the Turnverein (Turner Club) movement led to the founding of Turners, German-American gymnastics clubs. These had a political as well as an athletic element, something which has thankfully fallen by the wayside.

It’s difficult to imagine asking someone if they’re a Shinner or a Social Democrat while they’re trying to push out the last few reps.

In the 1930s, Boxing Gyms were all the rage. This type of gym began to appear in the 1930s, with the founding of Cus D’Amanto’s Gramercy Gym in Manhattan for public games such as the in 1939. The purpose of these early Olympics. The root word facilities was more to train fighters ‘gymnos’ actually translates to than for general exercise.

English as ‘naked’, as contemporary Today however, classes like athletes performed in the nude – boxercise have made boxing something you’re unlikely to get gyms more mainstream, with away with here in UCD! many opening their doors to After the Ancient Greeks, gyms new members with no interest in disappeared for centuries. actually fighting but rather to keep Medieval and Renaissance life was fit and have fun. physically arduous enough, and The 1960s and 1970s saw the early ordinary people got all the exercise introduction of chains of gyms they needed working the land and in the US, something which later carrying out chores. spread to Europe and has become By the 19th Century however, commonplace. More and more of

these chains were founded through the 1980s when fitness became part of the business world and corporate gyms started to emerge.

Just a few weeks ago, Twitter announced that their San Francisco headquarters now features a CrossFit box, showing the continued push of fitness into the workplace and the emergence of greater responsibility on the part of employers for their employees’ health and wellbeing.

The 1990s saw the rise of the machines. For everything. The 90s were all about sweat bands on treadmills, something which has thankfully been relegated to the past. Over the last 5-10 years’ gym culture has continued to change dramatically.

No longer is it unheard of for both men and women to lift weights, and CrossFit boxes, strength and conditioning facilities and weight lifting clubs have been popping up across the country quicker than you can finish a set Despite a rise in sketchy information based on bad science and cheap sales and marketing pitches, fitness is becoming more professional all the time.

There’s an ever greater sense of community among gym-goers and encouragement to better oneself by competing with personal bests and those of our peers.The culture of any given gym can often make or break a fitness experience,

and thankfully the experience overall has become much more welcoming. While one gym may not suit your own style of exercise or the goals you’ve set for yourself; there’s another somewhere near which will.

Your ideal gym should make you feel welcome and push you to be your best. It should make you excited to keep going back and keep working out, inspiring you to move forward towards your goals. The gym you choose needs to fit your personality and your priorities.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone as your fitness level and goals shift. Think of it like outgrowing your favourite jacket or pair of shoes, you’ve had some good times together they fulfilled their purpose and now it’s time to move onto something new and exciting!

ARTS

Adaptation: Taking Sides Words | Elaine McDonald

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n a debate with friends on whether or not ‘The Shining’ was an inadequate adaptation or an improvement, both sides had relevant points. But one interesting thing came of the conversation; while one side had watched the film and the other read the book, neither haddone both.

Ultimately, while the success or failure of a film adaptation depends on stylistic tastes and opinions, to aggressively it will also rely heavily on fans abilities to aggressively argue the merits of a book over a film and vice-versa.

Adaptations come under immense strain due to box office expectations, the hopes of loyal fans and attempts to remain true to the original work and more than anything, a fine line needs to be walked between what looks good on a page and on screen.

A few film adaptations have proven so genuinely wonderful or awful that a genuine consensus has formed on the irreparable damage they’ve caused or credit they’ve brought to the film industry. However, these are few and far between. Regardless, there will always be those few who will appear from the shadows claiming that despite an adaptation’s successes or failures; the definitive edition was the book or that the film has left the source material in its shadow.

Arguments will be made over casting decisions, the chosen tone, or setting of an adaptation.

But conversely, there will be rebuttals over a film’s successes in bringing the source material to a much wider audience than it would otherwise have reached or that a film will have spectacularly embodied the essence of the novel Perhaps a better question than whether or not the film is better than the novel is what makes a good film adaptation?

To start, there are a few inarguable successes. The ‘Harry Potter’ series provided an incredible glimpse into the wizarding world, bringing the brilliance and beauty of the novels to life, infusing them with actors that fulfilled our every expectation of each character.

From the cheeky charm of the Weasley Brothers to, particularly in the later instalments, Tom Felton’s (Draco Malfoy) impressively punchable face, to Matthew Lewis’ (Neville Longbottom) lovable oafishness, each actor did excellent work in bringing the characters to the screen.

J.K. Rowling, of course, had substantial input into the shape that the film series took from the outset. This, more so than any other factor in the films’ production may have caused the successful transition from page to screen.

To the annoyance of the producers, who had begun preparing contracts with an American ‘Chosen One’, Rowling demanded that actors should only be chosen from a pool of Irish, English and Scottish talent.

The stories of her guiding the late Alan Rickman in his performance of Severus Snape go that little bit further in demonstrating that involving the authors, who it must be remembered are world builders, in the adaptation process can bring big wins.

Equally vital though is the vision of the director. Re-makes of certain films are a testament to this, most recently the Batman franchise.

Rebooted as a darker, more serious, and more politically aware series, Christopher Nolan sought to make the ‘The Dark Knight’ a superior adaption.

Gone were the bat suit’s nipples (Batman and Robin, 1997), the campy kitsch (Adam West era Bats) and embarrassing villains.

The new caped crusader was without the childish baggage prior efforts had stamped his character with.

When the series was taken over by Nolan there wasn’t a preposterous

cat mask in sight, replaced instead with far subtler characterisation.

Many felt that the success of this adaption was not simply a result of removing Jim Carey in a green jumpsuit but the choice of cast that reflected Nolan’s own personal expectations.

Christian Bale seemed the ideal embodiment of the moody billionaire Bruce Wayne and it didn’t hurt that he and Anne Hathaway looked far more polished than what had come before. The choice of cast played on having a mixture of current stars, such as Bale and Hathaway, and casting them alongside heavyweights like Michael Cain.

Nolan’s take on the series tapped into the mind-set of the time and fed into audience expectations, something which its successor ‘Batman V. Superman’ (reviewed in Film & Television) would appear to have failed at.

Hollywood is also not without its failures. Many of these seem to stem from efforts aimed more at grabbing low hanging fruit and easy money over honouring source material. One such case is Dr Seuss’ much loved ‘The Cat in the Hat’.

Mike Myers’ performance demonstrated that an actor’s larger than life personality can completely spoil a film. What appeared on screen seemed to be more interested in how ridiculous a performance could be coaxed from Myers than telling the

original story.

Lovable witticisms were replaced with cringy slapstick and while a good effort was made at attempting to adapt the visual style of the source material to the screen, the book’s looks didn’t fare well on the journey.

Granted this adaptation was aimed at a younger audience, but there has tom be some kind of line drawn at which people question what they’re doing. One reviewer for the Washington Post declared the film to be “as creatively inspired as a giant hair ball”.

There are also some things which, despite best intentions, should simply remain untouched. The ‘Twilight’ series embodies this, not least because the source material was particularly poor to begin with.

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ as adapted for the screen proved to be disastrous despite proving a moderate success at the box office.

An argument certainly could have been made that the novels were simply ‘too weird’ to make the jump, and based on what emerged on screen, I’d be inclined to agree.

However, the decision to squeeze three books into a running time of just 107 minutes probably killed this effort before it ever had a chance. Netflix’s production of an original series based on the same material will no-doubt prove interesting, not least as an experiment in what makes or breaks an adaptation.

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THE TRIB ARTS & CULTURE SUPPLEMENT music | film | fashion | arts

ISSUE 11 DATE 12.03.2016

COVER

Grand Canal | George Hannaford

Features

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Shock and Awe: The Impreial War Museum, London different themes or times of war.

The real standouts from these are the First World War exhibition on the first floor and the Holocaust hile in London I found exhibition on the fourth floor. myself with a SaturThe First World War exhiday to kill, which of bition is really the jewel in their course landed me in a museum crown, in no small part because for several hours. That is not to there has put so much work into say that I don’t relish such an opdeveloping it for the centenaries. portunity, but with the abundance They force you down a corridor of museums in London you find and around the exhibition with yourself spoilt for choice. Thus a comprehensive narrative of the after much deliberation I stuck Great War. It takes you on a jourout and steeled my nerves to tackney through enlistment and then le the goliath that is the Imperial into the horrors of modern war.

War Museum.

The exhibition is remarkably well designed with a combination of It is, broadly speaking. awe audio tracks and projector screens pm adding to the story. There are plenty th of points to stop and listen to a more detailed description of the events if you like to take your time. It also has a number of round tables with seating. Each has its own audio track to provide more context to the story.

One table is particularly 4 minute walk to UCD campus emotive as they read out Rents fully inclusive of all bills and Wi-Fi a number On Site Spar and Insomnia of letters of British st th Book a room between April 1 and 29 soldiers describing to enter our draw to win an iPad mini* the shelling, while on the table sits For more photos of our rooms and rates see our website the melted remains of a British gas mask in a th *online booking and reservation fee must be received by the 29 April for the person to be eligble for the draw glass jar.

Cillian Fearon Features Writer

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inspiring. Walking towards the former Bethlem Royal hospital, you are greeted by two towering obelisks in the form of two 15inch Naval Guns. Coming up the steps and inside you arrive at a balcony overlooking the central floor. The museum is a monument to death in many ways. The open plan exhibition features great and terrifying machines from a century of war, including a V2 rocket, a spitfire, and the destroyed remnants of a car that had been used in a suicide bomb attack in 2007. They certainly know how to make an entrance. The museum consists of five floors, all of which discuss

AY D EN il 3-6 P O pr A 2 1

Montrose

Student Accommodation

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They have not left the Irish out of their narrative. There are a number of propaganda posters littered around the walls appealing for Irish farmers to join the fight. However, the most interesting area from an Irish perspective is their description of the Rising. It is generally quiet tactful, though the tone obviously doesn’t support the actions of the Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army. It includes a number of documents and personal effects of the leaders of the rising and glosses quickly over their executions and the destruction of Dublin. Perhaps the most concerning thing about it is the reaction of others to it. It is still seen by some in Britain as a betrayal, in fact one gentlemen looking at the panels over my shoulder found it amusing that Connolly had to be tied to a chair to be executed.

As the First World War exhibition goes on it becomes increasing more sombre as the fighting on the front intensifies.

By the end you are most likely going to feel incredibly worn by the attrition of unending horror, and that is only the first floor.

The exhibition could be done in as little as thirty minutes if you are very selective about what you read, however if you’re a museum enthusiast like myself, you’re looking at easily an hour to an hour and half.

I would discuss the Second World War exhibition in as much detail but it is largely forgettable beyond an intriguing exhibition on “Secret Wars”. It focuses on the history on intelligence organisations including MI5, MI6, and the Special Operations Executive.

The third floor hosts a collection of art works related to war and unless that is your particular area of interest you can give it a miss.

The top floor contains the Lord Ashcroft Gallery. It is a collection of heroes. It tells the stories of over 250 incredible people, all of whom are recipients of either the Victoria Cross or the George Cross. These men and women are

prime examples of the best that humanity has to offer and their stories of derring-do will shock and amaze. A keen eye will see that I skipped the fourth floor, that is because it needs to be discussed in more detail.

The fourth floor is haunting.

The Holocaust Exhibition is the best experience of the worst of humanity. It has a sombre tone, starting with the beginnings of the Nazi party and the rise of Anti-Semitism in Hitler’s Germany.

It then descends down the terrible road to the darkest chapter in the twentieth century. There are a series of interviews on screens throughout the exhibition. They are the survivors discussing every element of the holocaust, from the meeting childhood friends in Nazi uniforms to the starvation experienced in the Warsaw ghetto to the horrifying death marches.

It is particularly haunting to hear their voices, talking about the deaths of the friends and family.

The exhibition does a great deal to make the holocaust real for people.

When we read about the holocaust in schools, they are numbers on the chalkboard.

During my school days I met a survivor who had been in Bergen-Belsen, and I found the exhibition brought the memories of that talk flooding back.

Even with that experience there were some things that I wasn’t ready for. There are few things as distressing as a wall, twenty feet across and six feet high, made of nothing but shoes. The shoes of the dead. If you enter the holocaust exhibition be prepared to leave it emotionally and physically drained. A thorough visit to the exhibition will last an hour and a half at least but it’s not something that can be rushed. If you go to any of the exhibitions, go to this one because there is nothing like it. I will leave you all with the quote scrawled across the exit of the holocaust exhibition, “all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

Features

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Student Cooking – Without the Cooking Ciara Landy Features Writer

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xam season is rapidly approaching, and with that you’re going to need to be at the very top of your game. It’s absolutely vital that in the last few weeks before you sit down in the RDS, you keep an eye on your diet. Not so much for the summer to come but so you have enough fuel to give it your best on the day.

Remember to eat as well as you can and drink water regularly to get the best out of yourself in the tests. A big plus that’ll definitely stand to you during exam time is getting enough sleep to be sure that your body is working as well as it can.

The temptation to pull all-nighters over reading week is strong, but doing so will leave you tired, groggy and barely capable of functioning - and that’s not even going into how you won’t be able to enjoy this recepie!

This superfood salad plate is sure to set you on the right path for the RDS this May!

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 can of chickpeas well rinsed I medium carrot finely grated ½ medium butternut squash Cumin Coriander Coconut oil Handful of cherry tomatoes Olive oil spray Mild French mustard Good quality balsamic vinegar 250g cooked beetroot 25g goats cheese

Optional extras • • • • • •

Mung beans Green or red lentils Chia seeds Linseeds Cashew butter Carrot or cucumber sliced into batons

Method

1. Cube the butternut squash, removing the skin and any pith or seeds. Spray with olive oil and lightly season with 1tsp of coriander and cumin. Place in a nonstick baking dish and cook in a preheated oven at 205 degrees for approx. 35-40 mins. Half-way through the cooking time, turn over the pieces and re-season.

2. In a large bowl, place the chickpeas, carrot and finely sliced cherry tomatoes and mix through. Pour 2tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 1tsp of melted coconut oil and ½ of mustard into a small jar. Shake well and add this dressing to the bowl, stirring well until well-distributed. Add mung beans or lentils if desired.

3. Thinly slice the beetroot and serve with a sprinkle goat’s cheese and the chia and linseeds.

Optional: Add a drizzle of melted cashew butter for a sweet and creamy garnish. This recipie will serve two people so find a friend to enjoy it with!

Masters Roundup Neil Ryan Sports Editor

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anny Willet became the first British man in twenty years to win golf ’s most prestigious prize is stunning fashion in the early hours of the morning.

The reigning champions, Jordan Spieth, looked home and dry during the front nine, putting in a fantastic round of golf, as he had for the majority of the weekend.

However a bad slip on hole 12 cut Spieth’s score from -5 to -1 giving Willet the lead for the first time in the tournament. Spieth found the water twice on the par 3 as the pressure of the day seemed to collapse in on the young man.

Under this intense pressure the man from Sheffield, who had only last week become a father, seemed to absolutely grow in stature, taking everything that Augusta had to throw at him and responding with some of the best putting of his young career. In a day when the greens were playing as fast as they probably ever have the calmness in which he approached his final few rounds was that of a serial champion rather than that of a relatively inexperienced man.

Elsewhere throughout the

pack Shane Lowry, fantastic in the early rounds of the competition, faltered as the weekend went on but did have the pleasure of scoring a hole in one on the 16th that he shall surely treasure for the rest of his career. Rory McIlroy, the original great hope for European golf in the tournament again had an off weekend, his final score of +1 probably a decent reflection of a week where he was occasionally brilliant but often too haphazard with both his putting and his drives. Once again he will hope that his game will develop over the year so that he can finally get the green jacket that he so obviously craves above all other prizes in golf though to do so he will need to be much calmer than he has been of late.

That was the main difference between Willet and his competition on the day, when everyone else falter under the glare of competition he simply looked like he was enjoying himself. He seemed to shake off poor ball placement, in the incredibly rare times that he made and error, and simply get on with his game. A fantastic performance from a man who we will undoubtedly be seeing more of in the winner’s enclosure in the coming years.

Business

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Paddy Power & Betfair Cut 9% Of Jobs The Panama Papers: What You Need to Know Mossack Fonseca, the company at the centre of the revelations was based in Panama

Culture shock: Can Swedish work-day reductions work in Ireland?

More Swedish Products for Us to Build Eoghan Kennefick Business Writer

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n 2015, it was announced that a number of Swedish start‐ups had begun offering a standard six‐hour working day, as opposed to the standard eight‐ hours a day or 40 hour working week. This was in response to a trend that spread throughout Sweden, that of configuring a new work/life balance. The idea of less hours = more work has understandably drawn the attention of various businesses and individuals across the globe.

Yet, is this a realistic trend for Ireland’s workforce?

Considering the current workforce in the Dublin region, especially during ‘rush hour’, there are obvious signs that people are adopting this Scandinavian approach already.

Individuals parading gym bags, dressed in sportswear or sporting runners with their work clothes, all insinuates the Irish workers are rehearsing for something like this trend to take over. Substantiating this is the ‘healthy eating’ image observed; whether it is the healthy cafés now popping up around Dublin, the countless celebrity cookbooks or even the change in readymade meals in supermarkets. Ireland is waiting.

Nonetheless, the possibility of this six‐hour day being implemented is not exactly straightforward. In Sweden, the most discernible example relates to the Toyota service centres more than a decade ago. To combat dec-

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The idea of less hours = more work has understandably drawn the attention of various businesses lining satisfaction levels from both employee and customer, Toyota introduced two six‐hour shifts a day, leading to improved productivity and satisfaction levels all‐round. Yes, a clear success story due to the attractive working hours and subsequent competitive workforce, but not all jobs can easily translate into shift work.

Here lies a major stumbling block for this concept. Could you rely on a company not in work while you’re working? Or why acquire a client pulling fewer hours than any in the industry?

This notion of industry acceptance or industry tolerance is a salient factor for start‐ups considering this venture. Unless the big players in an industry begin adopting this new work/life balance and accepting it, then these start‐ups face a stronger uphill battle than they already had.

Either way, I think Sweden and notably Ireland are a long way off the prediction Keynes made 70 years ago that in a couple generations, we would be working fifteen hour weeks. One can hope though, can’t we?

Bill Horan Business Writer

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Our focus is on simplifying our structure and addressing key areas of duplication so we’re better enabled to innovate and deliver future growth

P

addy Power is set to cut 300 jobs following its recent merger with betting giant Betfair in February. The group, who have a combined workforce of 7,200 will also cut 350 jobs from Betfair with legal, finance and HR roles taking the majority of the losses. These redundancies are a result of duplication of roles across the now wider group.

“Our focus is on simplifying our structure and addressing key areas of duplication so we’re better enabled to innovate and deliver future growth” Breon Corcoran, Chief Executive of Betfair, wrote to staff.

Of the £50m (€62m) savings that Paddy Power and Betfair claimed would would accrue in the three years following the merger, up to fifty percent is likely to come from high­paying positions within technology, legal, finance, trading and risk.

Corcoran stressed that the group’s retail operations will not be affected, adding that the restructuring is necessary to create “one efficient business”.

jack O’Sullivan Business Writer

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hey’ve been called the biggest leak in history. But what are the Panama papers and why are they important?

They are 11.5 million leaked files from Mossack Fonseca, the world’s 4th largest off‐shore law firm, which detail the secretive industry of offshore finance.

Among the thousands of people mentioned in the files are politicians, drug traffickers, celebrities, sex offenders, billionaires, and their families. The firm set up hundreds of thousands of companies primarily in the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Seychelles and the Bahamas to hold funds anonymously and free of taxes.

12 world leaders are now known to have been using offshore tax havens. Notably, a trail of $2 billion from Russian state banks leads to Vladimir Putin through his close friend, Sergei Roldugin. Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, resigned Tuesday evening following revelations that he used to own (his wife now owns) an offshore company with millions of dollars’ worth of claims in Iceland’s failed banks.

Irish names in the papers include many relatively ordinary people like small business owners. Also appearing are well‐known business figures JP McManus and Dermot Desmond. Neither are tax resident in Ireland so it is no surprise to see their names here.

It is important to note that the use of offshore structures is

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Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, resigned Tuesday evening following revelations legal. It is reasonable to assume that most people using them are doing so legitimately, for example for reasons of inheritance or estate‐planning. However, what has garnered an outcry over the widespread use of tax havens is their enablement of criminal activities due to their anonymity. David Cameron, whose late father was shown to have run an offshore investment fund, spoke just last year of “the corrupt, criminals and money launderers” who make use of offshore company structures.

Mossack Fonseca has refused to discuss specific cases of alleged wrongdoing, citing client confidentiality. But it has strongly defended its conduct and admits no wrong‐doing.

The firm says it carries out due‐ diligence on clients and complies with anti‐money‐laundering laws. It stated it regrets any misuse of its services and tries actively to prevent it. Finally, the firm says it cannot be blamed for failings by intermediaries, who include banks, law firms and accountants.

It remains to be seen what will be the full fallout of the biggest leak in history.

Politics

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A New Left-Right Polity, Or the Same Old Politics?

Analysis of the 32nd Dáil Jack Power Politics & Innovation Editor

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olitics in Ireland is at a distinct and critical juncture after the 2016 General Election. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil combined have the lowest seat count ever in the two party’s history of shaping Irish politics.

The Labour Party have again faced the backlash at the decision to enter coalition government, and in their wake Sinn Féin and the radical left have achieved an unprecedented amount of seats respectively. The make-up of the 32nd Dáil is entrenching into two rival camps, a rising but fragmented left and the consolidating conservative centre-right duopoly of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The Cannibalisation of the Left

The fall from grace of the Labour Party was met with triumphalism from those not on the right, but the left. Covering the election, two illuminative anecdotes come to mind, in Joan Burton’s own constituency Dublin West I overheard one snide comment from a group of hardened Sinn Féin supporters on their wish to bounce a rock off the former Tanatise’s head.

Similarly, in the RDS count centre I listened to one party activist of the AAA-PBP attempt to describe to me how Labour were in fact more right wing than Fine Gael. The political rules of the game over the last five years for Sinn Féin and the radical left have been to stalk, harangue and seek to take down the Labour party wherever possible.

The gains of those two parties this March were the results of them feasting on the electoral carcass of Labour within working class areas. The inroads of smaller centre-left parties like the Greenss and the Social Democrats have

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Confrontation and animosity over who is “too far left” and who is “not left enough” has consistently divided the left wing spectrum in Irish politics. Labour view the radical left and Sinn Féin as irresponsible, conversely the far left view Labour as a right-wing outfit

also come from soaking up the disenfranchised middle-class liberal Labour support base. The tendency for those on the left to fervently attack Labour for sponsoring the austerity policies of Fine Gael, while heralding short term electoral gain will however, ultimately only hamper the growth of left wing politics in Ireland.

Labour were blamed for the austerity cuts they oversaw and received nothing for the cuts to public services or the welfare state they did prevent behind the doors of government. As such, in directing the frustration and indignation at the politics of austerity that has seen the working and middle-classes bear five years of regressive budgets and cuts, Labour’s electoral wipe-out has seen them shoulder the blame.

This highlights the innate problem with left wing politics in Ireland, that in the absence of

any definitive left-right policy cleavage the ‘left’ has been characterised by in-fighting and competition. Progressive touchstone issues such as increasing funding to the public state, access to abortion, social housing or protecting low-paid workers’ rights have not been rallying cries against the ‘right’, but instead a theatre of ideological spats.

Confrontation and animosity over who is “too far left” and who is “not left enough” has consistently divided the left wing spectrum in Irish politics. Labour view the radical left and Sinn Féin as irresponsible and unconstructive for their apprehension to entering government, and conversely the far left view Labour as a right-wing outfit by association with Fine Gael.

The result means there has been a traditional dearth of any progressive left wing bloc pushing consensus policy from across the floor of the Dáil. If the far left of the AAA-PBP and Independents4Change can ease their propensity for radical rhetoric and define platforms of common ground such as Repealing the 8th with the centre-left of the Greens, Labour and the Soc Dems, then left wing politics may take on a momentum to enact progressive change.

But if the current ideological squabbles over differences in policy variance are allowed to perpetuate in the next Dáil, the traditional character of a fragmented and argumentative left will only further solidify.

The Right to Govern

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, after weeks of posturing and angling, are now beginning to enter into talks on government formation.

As the two largest parties they appear to be the only viable avenue for a government, in some relationship. The reasons

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If the two can circumvent their personal partisan umbrages and sit at the cabinet table to govern efficiently by tackling salient issues like the rent and homelessness crisis, then they have the basis for a strong conservative centre-right Fianna-Gael coalition or spin behind their polices may be different, with Fianna Fáil’s more populist streak marketing themselves towards the political centre.

But the net results of their policy has been nearly undistinguishable: the creation of an open, liberal, market based economy, social conservatism, a two-tiered healthcare system, a housing market led by light-touch regulation and property developers, and a business-friendly corporate tax system.

But the historical antagonism between the two parties still holds deep sway within the membership of the two, and the parliamentary parties may not able to similarly overcome their rivalry.

Yet the best move for the two parties may be to put their historical baggage aside, refrain from political point scoring and to focus on putting out good policy. There clearly exists in

Ireland a space for centre right conservative politics to continue to win elections, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil while at a low ebb compared to their usual electoral heights still make-up more than a majority of seats in parliament.

It’s important to remember that near 40% of the Irish population voted against Marriage Equality, and a referendum on the contentious social issue of abortion would be much closer to an even divide across society. If the two can circumvent their personal partisan umbrages and sit at the cabinet table to govern efficiently by tackling salient issues like the rent and homelessness crisis, then they have the basis for a strong conservative centre-right Fianna-Gael coalition that could contest and win future elections.

Yet civil war scars may prevail in derailing any cooperative move between the two parties, and see their relationship regress back to traditional winner-takes all party politics.

Turning Point

The configuration of the next Dáil may be the closest thing to a polity divided along ideological left-right lines that Ireland has ever seen. But what that will really mean will be constituted by the actions of the left and right respectively.

If Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil can construct a responsible, working government they would have the backing of conservative Ireland and those supporting right wing politics – a solid platform to share power equally on. The left if it wants to seek to enact progressive reform and real change must rise to this shift and address its own historic inadequacies - fragmentation and ideological in-fighting. The politics of left and right in Ireland may be about to change.

Politics

15 UCD, DCU and UCC Political Scientists Launch ‘Political reform platform Jack Power Politics & Innovation Editor

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Lesson of 2016: Expect the Unexpected Andrew Grossen Features Writer He won’t last. He is just having his fifteen minutes in the political spotlight. He has no chance.

Back in the summer and autumn of 2015, these statements could have easily applied to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders; not any more. In the last few months the American electorate would prove thoee statements false, making the 2016 Presidential Election an exciting and turbulent one in all aspects. The media, the pundits, and the political scientists underestimated the resonating effect Sanders and Trump’s outsider messages had with voters and are now seeing the effects.

Both candidates have embodied the ‘anti-establishment’ sentiment that is undeniably prevalent in the United States. The difference between the two parties in regards to the ‘establishment’ question is that the establishment candidate of the Democratic Party is the frontrunner, and has the most likely chance of securing the nomination. The Republican Party has only John Kasich who is significantly behind Trump and Ted Cruz in both popular votes and the delegate count.

Republican voters have denounced their party’s establishment which Cruz has called ‘the Washington cartel’ and Trump has labeled as ‘dishonest’ and failures. The anti-Trump feelings in the Republican Party are so strong that politicians who have vehemently criticized Cruz are now backing the Texan senator.

Sen. Lindsey Graham joked about Ted Cruz’s murder and unpopularity just weeks before he endorsed the candidate. The only possibility for an ‘establishment Republican’ to win the nomination is if in a brokered convention (which after the Wisconsin pri-

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Both candidates have embodied the ‘anti-establishment’ sentiment that is undeniably prevalent in the United States mary is now highly likely) Kasich or another name is put forward and wins, which would disregard the votes of over fourteen million people.

Currently it is uncertain if Trump will go to the convention as a victor but realistically the Republican nominee will be one of the two front runners. With Trump or Cruz, the GOP establishment is probably going to nominate a leader who views them unfavorably, which could hurt the message of moderate Republicans and the party in their legislative agenda should they win in November.

As of now, either a Trump or Cruz ticket would lose to Clinton or Sanders in a national election according to polling.

The Democrats, as mentioned, are not at that stage of discontent and condemnation of their party’s establishment - however it is significant and growing. Bernie Sanders is now locked into a gritty battle with Hillary Clinton over the future and direction of the Democratic Party. Riding a wave of momentum after straight victories in six states, the senator from Vermont is only 219 pledged delegates behind the former Secretary of State (not including the 479 unpledged ‘superdelegates’ Clinton has).

His national poll numbers are closing in on Clinton’s as well.

According to the RealClearPolitics poll averages, on 1 January Clinton was at 54.7%; today she

is at 49.7%. That is compared to Sanders who rose in that same time from 30.7% to 43.8%.

Hitting Clinton hard about allegations of the political influence her wealthy donors have on her, Sanders ties her to untrustworthiness and inconsistency. Clinton, refuting these claims, stands by that she is the most experienced and most qualified for the job.

In a week, New York will hold its primary. The Brooklyn-born Sanders is seeking an upset to Clinton, who was a senator for the state. The Sanders campaign sees a potential brokered convention as a positive but mathematically that possibility is very low if Sanders does not win a significant amount of New York’s delegates.

If Clinton wins there, her lead grows with almost certainty of receiving the nomination, though Sanders has made it clear he is in this until the nominee is selected.

The lead Trump has held, and the steady rise of Sanders and Cruz, make it clear that there is serious discontent with the status quo of Washington and those who keep it that way. The primary fight has been longer that was expected with developments that have challenged long held assumptions on the political and electoral process. It has made the terms like populism, progressivism, socialist, fascist, establishment, and delegates, relevant in the political conversation of not just America, but the world.

And the world has watched the circus that is the primaries sometimes with fear and anger, sometimes with hope and inspiration.

Entering 2016 there were sixteen Republican and Democratic candidates, now there are five candidates left. Two will emerge as their party’s leaders (assuming there is no third party bid) but only one will eventually become the 45thPresident of the United States of America.

CD Politics Lecturer David Farrell is among a group of political scientists who have formed Smaointe (Irish; Ideas), a group focused on advocating for and pushing political parties on the issue of reform. Jane Suiter of DCU, Eoin O’Malley of DCU and Theresa Reidy of UCC make up the other political scientists behind the movement. The College Tribune sat down and spoke to Farrell about the movement for reform, the make-up of the next Dáil, and the potential for change in how politics runs in Ireland.

“In 2011 we had been part of a larger group that was behind the ‘Reform Scorecard’ initiative, which coded up the manifestos of each of the parties on political reform. We were able to say in that election Fine Gael had the most ambitious political reform proposals. But then what we found out that it was fine to agree to put things into their manifesto, but it was quite another thing for them to deliver. We four decided to regroup in the lead-up to this election. We would set out some places where we thought reform was important, and what we specifically said was these were proposals that could be implemented in the first 100 days” The first acts of the 32nd Dáil were for the first time to elect the Ceann Comhairle by secret ballot, a policy pushed heavily by Smaointe. The election by secret ballot has the effect of making the Ceann Comhairle not simply beholden to the party of government but to the entire parliament.

The Ceann Comharile elected was Sean Ó Fearghaíl of Fianna Fáil, and if Fine Gael do go on to form a minority government on there own the diffusion of the powers may give the áail a more robust character for debating issues and hearing out opposition speakers.

Interestingly in that regard for Farrell is a smaller proposed reform that would give the Ceann Comharile the power to question the accuracy of government statements of response. “The Ceann Comharile can say to a minister that a written rely isn’t a correct answer and they should do it again, that was meant to have happened but it was never properly implemented, but that’s no put back on the table. But also

that the Ceann Comharile can do that with oral answers, that’s very powerful if the Ceann Comharile makes use of that.”

The second pillar of Smaointe’s reform package would be to reconfigure the Dáil business committee, who control the agenda of the lower house. Farrell stated that the agenda-setting powers of the government should be cut back to avoid problematic parliamentary habits such as the guillotining of bills. Farrell proposed as system where “it is not longer the situation that it has been in the past where the chief whip of the government effectively tells the Dáil business committee what the Dáil business is going to be. It should be a case of the government making a bid to the business committee, and working with it – but nevertheless the business committee deciding.”

The other major policy point of Smaointe’s agenda has been the reform and empowerment of Dáil committees. The changes of rules constituting committees has also been changed to a Du Hondt system, which is more proportional.

“So we were proposing that the committee chairs we allocated by Du Hondt, and Fine Gael introduced that proposal. For Farrell, “the allocation of committee positions should be taken away from the party leaders direct gift, so the party leader can make a case, but there should be some Dáil process that decides.” In achieving that the filling of committee positions and chairs will be both done a proportional system to parties seats in the Dáil, and also ratified and examined by the Dáil. Coupling that Farrell stated Deputies should only sit on one committee, and that this would facilitate committee work to be taken seriously.

The absence of a clear stable government with a majority in parliament for Farrell has now forced the political parties to look at moving towards consensus policy-making rather than the traditional adversarial winner takes all system. “It puts it to all of the Dáil, 158 deputies to be more mature in how they operate, so we no longer have to have this silly harping from the sidelines.

That’s the way it happens quite well in other parliaments. It’s a step in the road away from our traditional old adversarial style, to more towards this consensus politics that is more mature.”

Innovation

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Survey data released y the USI shows that most students are unsure about what comes next after graduation.

76% of Students ‘Worried’ about Employment Prospects after Graduation Jack Power Politics & Innovation Editor

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he Union of Students Ireland have released the results of a study into student’s attitudes on the employment prospects and chances of securing a graduate job when they leave college. The pilot study found that up to “76% of students are worried about securing employment when they graduate” and only 26% of students felt “their course has adequately prepared them for seeking employment when they graduate”. The survey touches on the heart of a key conflict in higher education, between the drive from colleges to provide a rounded education, and the demand from employers and businesses for suitable graduate employees.

The uncertainty facing many students as they start into their final year exams is indicative of a competitive and fast-moving jobs market into which they will have to wade into over the summer.

The survey found that only 23% of students had secured work shortly after graduating, with many finding the transition from higher education difficult.

The graduate market has become increasingly saturated with workers, meaning the undergraduate degree is becoming the equivalent of the status quo, and pressuring many students to continue on in education to postgraduate education. However, the study found that even at postgraduate level 79% of students responded in the affirmative to the question “are you anxious and troubled over actual or potential problems about

“

The uncertainty facing many students as they start into their final year exams is indicative of a competitive and fast-moving jobs market into which they will have to wade

finding employment” upon finishing their studies.

Faced with this uncertainty and difficulty in finding employment many students initially take up working conditions as unpaid interns or on precarious shortterm contracts. The causalisation of labour and tacit acceptance of working for free has proliferated across even the graduate landscape and eroded the worker’s rights and expectations for many now entering careers.

The National Youth Council of Ireland released statistics outlining that young people were hardest hit by the recession, with youth unemployment in Ireland in February 2012 peaking at 31.6%. The Higher Education Authority in inspecting the progress of Level 8 graduates in 2008 found that the average salary bracket was between €21,000 €24,999.

The collapse of the emerging graduate market has fuelled competition for scare work and allowed employers to perpetuate a race to the bottom amongst graduates who are settling for

precarious or exploitative working conditions just to secure a job.

Daniel Waugh, USI Vice President for Campaigns responded to concerns that the national Student’s Union has been demure on standing up for graduate workers rights. Waugh stated that, “USI have been leading the charge in fighting for graduate working conditions.

Abolishing JobBridge and precarious work has been included in our lobbying efforts and two of the core asks in our General Election Manifesto in 2016.”

Waugh continued, “We have a new campaign with SIPTU to introduce a living wage and campaign to inform students on their rights at work. Our petition for a living wage garnered 5,000 signatures over a week while we handed out 2,000 workers’ rights booklets to students across 3 campuses. USI are now partners with NYCI and will be building similar coalitions with other youth organisations to tackle the issue of exploitative internship schemes like JobBridge.”

UCD Campaigns and Communication Officer Cian Byrne when pushed about the lack any parallel effort from UCD stated that he had been working with companies like Jobbio to open up employment avenues for students. “With the help of other sabbats, I’ve been working on our website to incorporate platforms built by Jobbio for student jobseekers. Jobbio have developed a section of their job listings specific to UCD students.”

While the USI attempt to push the government to legislate to ensure better student and

“

Faced with this uncertainty and difficulty in finding employment many students initially take up working conditions as unpaid interns or on precarious shortterm contracts

graduate working conditions, the debate around what kind of education colleges, courses and universities should supply is ongoing. Employers and businesses have been traditionally critical of the caliber of graduates coming out of higher education in Ireland, stating that they are not fit or equipped to fill working roles.

However, universities have defended themselves by claiming it is their role to provide a rounded education to students in their given field, and not act as a conveyor belt of pre-packaged employees suited to meet employers’ demands. UCD’s Strategy for 2015-2020 states that as a university it will produce graduates who are “equipped with the knowledge, skills, experience and attitudes they need to flourish in present and future Irish and global societies.”

Dominic Martella, UCD External Communications and Media Relations Manager, highlighted that statistics of the class of 2014 showed 64% of them were employed. Yet this evidently does not square with many student’s

unease and trepidation about what kind of future prospects awaits them upon leaving college.

Daniel Waugh also weighed in on the higher education debate, saying “we must beware of big business dictating how education is delivered.” He stated, “Employers and careers services should be open to two way communication where the employers highlight the deficits in skills in graduates and careers services work with each college course to facilitate in remedying the lack of skills needed. I don’t believe colleges should gear their courses towards ‘pre-packaged’ employees but we need to be cautious of rounded education becoming too rounded.” Comparatively, in a European context employers and businesses social insurance payments to the state in Ireland are among the lowest.

Therefore, the onus may be on employers to being to contribute more to raising the standards of Ireland’s higher education system, with a view to benefiting from the graduates it produces.

UCD final year undergraduate or postgraduate students will after the 21st of May be entering the jobs market, and many will over the course of the summer or next year be found taking up unpaid internships, transient work on precarious contracts, or work unrelated to their aspired career.

The perpetuation of a climate of uncertainty and worry over one’s future it seems has become a unfortunate right of passage for many young people in Ireland’s current market.

Gaeilge

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Baill de ‘Comunn Ceilteach Oilthigh Dùn Èideann’ ar chuairt chuig an Ollscoil.

Ceachtanna gur féidir le lucht na Gàidhlig a fhoghlaim ó na hÉireannaigh (Dar le hÉireannach amháin!)

Donncha Ó Murchú Scríbhneoir Gaeilge 1. An Ghaeilge agus an córas oideachais

Bhí an Ghaeilge i gcónaí mar chuid lárnach de chóras oideachais na hÉireann, agus í mar ábhar éigeantach ag leibhéal bunscoile agus meánscoile. Is cinnte gur buntáiste é seo mar go bhfuil blúire éigin don teanga ag gach éinne. Os rud é nach bhfuil an teanga ach mar ábhar roghnach in Albain, is cinnte nach mbeadh oiread is focal ag an gcuid is mó den bpobal. Chreid rialtas na hÉireann gurb í an tslí ab fhearr leis an teanga a chur chun cinn ná tríd na scoileanna, ach tá laigí ag baint leis an bplean seo dar liomsa.

D’fhéadfaí a rá gur cheap an rialtas go ndéanfadh an córas oideachais an teanga a chur chun cinn leis féin, gan aon chabhair ón taobh amuigh, ach chun go spreagfaí an teanga bíonn gluaiseachtaí seachtracha ag teastáil freisin. Má dhéantar ábhar éigeantach den Ghàidhlig in Albain, ní mór don phobal a chinntiú go mbíonn siad gníomhach ar an taobh amuigh ionas nach sa seomra ranga amháin a labhraítear an teanga.

2. An Ghluaiseacht Dheonach

Mar a luaigh mé thuas, caithfear a bheith gníomhach taobh amuigh den seomra ranga freisin. In Éirinn, tá an t-uafás daoine ag obair go deonach ar son na teanga. Bunaíodh Stáisiún Raidió deonach i mBaile Átha Cliath sa bhliain 1989 darb ainm Raidió na Life, agus tá sé tar éis dul ó neart go neart

ó shin. Ní hamháin sin, ach tá stáisiúin ceoil bunaithe anois darb ainm Raidió Rírá, a chuireann na ‘hits’ is déanaí amach trí mheán na Gaeilge. Ar an iomlán, tá an Ghaeilge éirithe ‘cool’ in Éirinn!

Tá an fhuirseoireacht trí Ghaeilge tagtha chun cinn go mór le déanaí, agus is cinnte go bhféadfadh na hAlbanaigh dul in iomaíocht linne ó thaobh cúrsaí grinn de! Tá sibhse beagnach chomh greannmhar linne! Tá feachtais curtha i gcrích ag daoine óga leis na meáin shóisialta a aistriú go Gaeilge, agus anois tá teacht ar leaganacha Gaeilge de Facebook, Twitter agus Google. Maidir le cúrsaí spóirt, tá club iomána agus peile bunaithe, Na Gaeil Óga, a théann chun páirce trí Ghaeilge. An príomhrud, a déarfainnse, ná a bheith gníomhach go deonach agus gan a bheith ag brath go hiomlán ar an Stát. Éiríonn le daoine aonaracha anchuid a bhaint amach ach a bheith spreagtha chuige.

3. Obair an Rialtais

I ndeireadh na 70idí, chuir gluaiseacht na Gaeilge, go háirithe Conradh na Gaeilge, tús le feachtas ag lorg cearta teanga don Ghaeilge. Tugadh an tAcht Teanga isteach, a chinntigh go raibh cearta na gcainteoirí Gaeilge ar chomhchéim leis na cainteoirí Béarla.

Anois, is féidir do chuid gnó ar fad a dhéanamh leis an Stát trí Ghaeilge. In 2010, bheartaigh an rialtas Plean 20 Bliain na Gaeilge a bhunú, a mhairfeadh ó 2010-2030.

An aidhm a bhí ag an bplean ná tacaíocht a chur ar fáil don Ghaeltacht, chomh maith

“

Tugadh an tAcht Teanga isteach, a chinntigh go raibh cearta na gcainteoirí Gaeilge ar chomhchéim leis na cainteoirí Béarla le líon na dteaghlach a labhair an Ghaeilge ar bhonn laethúil a mhéadú. Plean idéalach is ea é, ach chun go n-oibreodh sé tá obair bhreise ag teastáil. In ainneoin nach féidir brath orthu siúd amháin, tá sé ríthábhachtach go dtuigfeadh an rialtas a bhfuil le déanamh ar son na teanga. Nuair a bhíonn na pleananna socraithe, tugann an pobal céim ar aghaidh arís é.

4. Bí Fíochmhar!

Chun go gcuirfí do theanga chun cinn, caithfear a bheith fíochmhar ar son na cúise, gan éirí as go dtí go bhfuil an méid a bhí uait faighte! Léirigh ‘Lá Mór na Gaeilge’ i mBaile Átha Cliath in 2014 go bhfuil beocht i measc an aosa óig. Tháinig breis is 10,000 duine amach ag léirsiú ar shráideanna na príomhchathrach ar son ceart teanga. Molaim do lucht na Gàidhlig an rud céanna a dhéanamh. Bíonn an-chraic ann agus sibh ag screadaíl ar na polaiteoirí as Gaeilge! Ná géill dóibh, bí fíochmhar ar son na teanga!

5. An Ghluaiseacht sna hOllscoileanna

Táim cinnte go bhfuil sé mar an gcéanna in Albain, ach tá ról lárnach ag na hollscoileanna i gcur chun cinn na teanga in Éirinn.

Tá an Cumann Gaelach in UCD, áit a bhfuil mise ar an ollscoil, mar cheann de na cumainn is mó san ollscoil, le breis is 2,000 ball.

Tá sé tábhachtach go mbeadh íomhá fhuinniúil ag an teanga chomh maith, chun go nglacfaí léi mar theanga nua-aimseartha.

Is iad na mic léinn a thugann an íomhá seo don Ghaeilge, leis na himeachtaí éagsúla a eagraítear.

An dearcadh a chaithfidh a bheith agaibh ná ‘aon rud a dhéantar as Béarla, is féidir é a dhéanamh trí Ghaeilge’. I mbliana, beimid ag glacadh páirte i gcomórtas Gaelbreak (Jailbreak trí Ghaeilge), mar shampla.

D’fhéadfaí a leithéid a dhéanamh in Albain chomh maith, táim cinnte: Turas ó Ghlaschú go dtí an tOileán Sgitheanach, gan airgead agus gan Béarla! Pointe tábhachtach freisin, is fiú go mór na t-léinte, meallann siad na sluaite!

6. Fáilte theangeolaíoch

Tá dúshláin mhóra roimh an nGaeilge mar sin féin. Is iomaí duine a bhfuil Gaeilge acu i gceantar ar leith nach bhfuil an Ghaeilge go láidir ann, agus táim cinnte go bhfuil a leithéid le feiceáil in Albain. Ach conas a chuirtear deiseanna ar fáil do dhaoine a dteanga dhúchais a labhairt? Do dhaoine áirithe atá ag foghlaim nó a bhfuil spéis ar leith acu sa teanga, ach nach bhfuil an deis acu í a labhairt, is minic a bhraitheann siad imeallaithe ó phobal na Gaeilge.

Conas a bhfáiltítear roimh na daoine seo, ionas go bhfeicfidh siad gur le gach éinne an teanga, seachas leo siúd atá líofa amháin? Más féidir moladh a thabhairt do mhuintir na Gàidhlig, déarfainn leo a chinntiú nach dtagann aon rian den mhóiréis theangeolaíoch isteach, mar cailltear daoine lácha dá bharr, daoine a bhfuil paisean acu don teanga ach a bhfuil muinín bhreise uathu le hí a labhairt. Bígí fáilteach do gach éinne!

For wherever your summer takes you

Get set with a student credit card Apply online or ask in branch today boi.com/summertravel Lending criteria, terms and conditions apply to all credit cards. Credit cards are subject to Government Stamp Duty of â‚Ź30. Credit cannot be offered to anyone under 18 years of age.

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Sport

Tottenham 2015/16

Bridesmaid No More Chris Foley Sports Writer

C

laudio Ranieri’s tears after the final whistle at the Stadium of Light today were the product of 246 days of toil to get Leicester to where they are today: 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League. Forever the Bridesmaid but never the bride, Ranieri has been a league runner-up 3 times in his managerial career, but now looks set to finally go all the way, and in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Ranieri’s appointment back in August was met with a reaction that was lukewarm at best, with Leicester legend Gary Lineker describing it as an “uninspired appointment”. Unusual when you consider the relative pedigree of Mr. Ranieri in comparison with his new employers. Despite never securing a league title, a C.V. boasting Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Roma and Valencia among others, was surely an over-qualification for a position at a recently promoted club not harbouring any ambitions beyond Premier League survival. In England alone, Ranieri’s last job (At Chelsea ending in 2004), saw him lead the club to the Champions League semi-final and their highest league finish in almost 50 years. Surely such an appointment would have excited fans more accustomed to the Nigel Pearson’s and Ian Holloway’s of this world.

Well if they weren’t excited then, they certainly are now. The uninspiring Italian having turned a team of rejects into the talk of European football. As much as Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez will gain the plaudits, and their rise has been well documented, Leicester’s success story has been as much a triumph against rejection as one is ever likely to see in sporting circles.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, eternally living in his

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father’s shadow, was given his chance by Manchester City almost a decade ago, before being flogged to learn his trade in the lower leagues with Cardiff, Coventry, Notts County and Leeds United respectively. This season has seen him discover the kind of form that has made him famous in his own right, and will surely see him collect the goalkeeper of the year award at the end of season awards.

The back four, which has shipped the third lowest number of goals in the league this season, epitomises the makeup of the Leicester City squad. Right-back Danny Simpson, released by (soon-to-be Championship club) Newcastle United before being deemed surplus to requirements at (already a Championship club) Queens Park Rangers, has at the age of 29, finally reached the potential expected of him back in his youth team days at the once great Manchester United.

Captain Wes Morgan, who made his Premier League debut at 31 after a decade playing second-tier football, was once released by Notts County after they deemed him “too heavy” to play for them.

While Robert Huth, the only player in the team with a Premier League medal, was released by mid-table Stoke City just a year ago. Even Austrian captain Christian Fuchs has found himself at Leicester more through necessity rather than choice, having been released by German club Schalke 04 in 2015.

N’Golo Kante, the closest thing football has had to Claude Makelele since Claude Makelele, is a product of French 2nd division football, and Danny Drinkwater was, like Simpson, once a young hopeful at Manchester United before doing his time in the lower leagues. But most bafflinf of all is probably the fact that Mark Albrighton, a player who has featured in all but two of Leicester’s games this season, was

released by bottom-club Aston Villa just two years ago.

So what has Claudio Ranieri done to transform this team of nobodies into a team on the verge of becoming Premier League champions? Many have put the success down to the team spirit ‘The Tinkerman’ has created in the camp, although something tells me that it takes more than buying a pizza after the game to motivate a team of millionaire professional footballers. Others have put it down to the way in which Ranieri has managed to keep his player’s feet on the ground over the course of what has been a rollercoaster season for them. For the vast majority of the squad, competing at the business end of a league table is something they will not have been accustomed to, and his constant reminders of the 40 point target he was given during pre-season have served to ensure that his squad has not been overwhelmed by the sudden attention they are being subjected to. But as much as Claudio Ranieri deserves the praise he is getting, something tells me that this Premier League season cannot be put down to anything other than fate. Perhaps Jack Rodwell’s miss today with the goal at his mercy was a sign that destiny has shown its hand this season, and the underdog will finally triumph.

In an era when romance in football has long been pronounced dead and trophies are awarded to the highest bidder, it is a source of comfort to know that somewhere in South London, a Russian oligarch is meeting with his 12th manager in as many years, trying to figure out how he can improve upon on the current position of 10th place his £1billion worth of talent has provided him with. While in the East-midlands, the first coach he ever sacked is looking forward to Champions League football next season.

Neil Ryan Sports Editor

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he last time a team finished above Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City but didn’t win the title was when Ipswich Town finished second in 1981. Things have changed a lot since then, Aston Villa won’t be finishing top this year, and the financial might of England’s premier clubs has long protected the status quo.

This goes some way to explaining why this year, as a Spurs fan, I can’t quite be content with second. Spurs have never finished above fourth in the Premier League and Mauricio Pochettino has the team playing higher quality football than I have seen in my lifetime. Spurs have been really enjoyable to watch this year. They are perhaps the most coherent team in the Premier League. They have the top scorer (at the time of writing) and both the best goals for and against tallies. Their goal difference is nine better than anybody else. They have the league’s best young player, Dele Alli.

The team is built around young, hard-working and likeable personalities, with world class “old” heads like Dembele, Vertonghen, Alderweireld and Lloris who lead the team with class. I should be happy but when I look at the table and see Leicester City ahead of us, I feel like we deserve more. If it were Manchester City or Chelsea seven points clear above us, I would be able to easier accept our falling just short this year. With Leicester leading the way, I find myself constantly thinking that

Read online at rabble.ie

the old footballing truisms will prove themselves once again and the inevitable collapse will arrive.

Then, just as I somehow manage to convince myself that relegation dogfight mainstays Sunderland are exactly the type of team that Leicester will be dreading playing against, they grind out another hard fought win and move closer to the title.

Second place is a massive achievement for this young group of players and only a starting point for a great team which should go on to accomplish much more. If Pochettino stays, Spurs are set up to challenge for titles for years to come. With just a couple of key signings, particularly another striker, Spurs should challenge again next year, and if the likely Champions League campaign is anything like the 2010/11 season then it will be a joy to behold. Spurs is full of players who deserve to be playing in the Europe’s top competition and it will help them keep hold of players unlike they have done in the past, especially since the current team is much more of a system led team and not set up to showcase the excellence of players like Bale and Modric, setting up a nice shop window display. This Leicester story is beyond human understanding and their excellent fans and the lovely Claudio make it somewhat easier to accept, even if some of their players definitely do not. There’s plenty to be optimistic about and I’m going to enjoy this wonderful Spurs team right up to the moment when Jamie Vardy scores a 120th minute winner in the Champions League final against us next year.

Sport

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Trinity Overall winners at Rowing Championships as UCD take Senior 8+ Opinion: Spurs v Manchester United Ally Murty Sports Writer

A

fter Manchester United’s victory over Tottenham on the opening day of the season, few could have predicted that the latter would find themselves in the race for the title come April.

Yet Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, a side of youthful attacking valour anchored by French/Belgian experience knew that a win at White hart Lane would move them six points clear of Arsenal, their North London rivals in third.

Despite beginning poorly against a United side who themselves needed 3 points to close the gap on their city rivals in their hunt to return to the Champions League, Tottenham eventually found their stride shortly after Harry Kane had a close-range shot saved by David De Gea. And soon, their pressure was rewarded when, during six minutes of ruthlessness, the home side scored three to put the game beyond any reasonable doubt.

Spurs have the highest goals tally of anyone in the league.

This is largely down to the high-octane seemingly telepathic attacking quartet of Eriksen-Alli-Lamela-Kane. There was no secret of Kane and Eriksen’s abilities. The duo carried Spurs for the majority last season. But Lamela, a player dismissed by a large section of pundits and supporters-and more significantly Dele Alli who only last year was plying his trade in League One have been revelations. And, provided they’re not sold on, with a combined age of just 22 ½, there are plenty more years to come from them. Spurs’ success this season is not a blip in what some are describing as a season of underachievement for the ‘bigger’ teams. The tectonic plates of the Premier League are shifting.

There is a stronger emphasis on compatibility and sustainability.

You can see this in the falls from grace from Chelsea, Newcastle

United, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Spur’s opponents on the day, Manchester United. And the unprecedented achievements of Spurs, Leicester and to a lesser degree, Bournemouth. This is perhaps the reason in fact that in recent weeks teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Villa have turned to youth to incorporate a model of more longevity.

But youth alone does not always get you far. Teams must adopt better recruitment policies that centre about best fit, balance and sustainability. It’s the reason Spurs’ central defensive pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld and finely-balanced full backs, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker have leaked the least goals of any team in the Premier League. And the reason Chelsea’s ageing ego-infested side of yesteryear are squandering in tenth place. Racking up sixteen shots, Spurs’ attack tormented Manchester United (a side who themselves have only let in thirty goals during the season) while also remaining defensively resolute throughout the match.

As for United, Louis Van Gaal (if he is still in charge after the Euros of course) must recognise their need for another striker. Thirty-nine goals from thirty-two games is simply not good enough. Against Spurs, bar one chance for Anthony Martial they didn’t look close to scoring. And while you wouldn’t bet against Wayne Rooney rediscovering his consistency once fit, the England captain is thirty-one in October-he can’t be a long-term solution. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashord and Martial are clearly gifted players and will develop into free-scoring strikers with time. But at seventeen and nineteen respectively and the latter arriving from a different league they cannot be expected to spearhead the side’s attack just yet. United have a solid defensive line. And in Juan Mata and Ander Herrera, gifted assist-makers.

They just need somebody to score.

Seán O’Reilly Editor

U

CD Boat Club saw a solid performance at the University Rowing Club Championships held at the national Rowing Centre in Co. Cork on Friday.

The day’s action was described as being both highly competitive and exciting with conditions on the water proving rough on the day.

Standout performances from UCDBC included those of David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney who bagged UCD’s first win of the day leaving nearest finisher NUIG six lengths behind to take the Senior 2- in the morning.

UCD also achieved a solid performance in the Novice 8+, while UCD lost out to Trinity College Dublin at the colours race a month ago, UCD have put in Trojan work and managed to close the gap to two and a half lengths – a further two and a half lengths ahead of third place finishers Queen’s University.

In the afternoon events, the intermediate 8+ narrowly lost first lace to a competent NUIG team who took an early lead.

UCD put it up to the Galwegians, closing out the race just a half-length back and a full length ahead of third place UCC. UCD’s big win on the day came from the senior 8+ who in a solid performance took the race by a half-length. Both the intermediate and senior 8+ were up against challenging conditions with rough water hampering efforts, despite this the senior 8+ powered through.

UCD Ladies Boat Club also produced some impressive performances on the day, taking second place in both the 8+ and 4+ races.

UCDBC will be back in action next weekend at the 2016 Trinity Regatta which is set to take place this coming Saturday at Islandbridge, Co. Dublin.

We Need to Talk About Kevin Rory McNab Limb Analyst

W

ell, it’s finally happened.

This ride on the gravy train could only last so long for one who has quaffed so merrily from its meaty juices, but it’s still tough to accept. I’ve been demoted. No longer will you see the glorious title ‘Sports Writer’ appended beneath my name in these pages. No longer, as your eyes alight upon my name in, will you be guaranteed a whimsical, if admittedly slightly partisan, account of an Arsenal match, or, on one unfortunate occasion, a disastrously miscategorised article about bestiality. Now, my purview has been narrowed. I am expressly forbidden from writing about football matches in their entirety and can apparently only be trusted to write on the individual limbs of sports-people. So, it is with great regret and the threat of serious legal action against the editorial board of this paper, that I begrudgingly accept my new title of ‘Limb Analyst’.

The limb we’ll be focusing on this in this issue has been through the mill recently. It is a leg, it is a left leg, it is Kevin Doyle’s left leg.

During the initial 23 minutes of Ireland’s 1-0 win over Switzerland in the Aviva stadium last Friday things were going very promisingly for Kevin Doyle’s left leg, as indeed they were for his right.

Both of them were fulfilling their raison d’etre; 1) kicking balls, and 2) propelling the upper half of Kevin Doyle around in pursuit of aim no. 1. This all came to an unfortunate end however after a seemingly innocuous tackle from Switzerland’s Timm Klose landed studs up on Kevin Doyle’s left leg.

Doyle furiously twirled his hands round one another in what can only have been the international sign for ‘Help, there is a massive gaping wound on my leg, in light

of this, please make Daryl Murphy remove his tracksuit, I am unable to continue’.

For those of you who were fortunate enough to avoid seeing the horrifying photograph Kevin Doyle posted on Twitter of the resultant gash, allow me to paint you a word picture. (For those of you who did see it, I’m sure there are local support groups meeting in pubs in your area, people will inevitably be driven to alcohol to cope with the trauma.)

Imagine if someone were to make a biscuit cutter in the shape of a small banana or of Tom Selleck’s moustache in full bloom. Imagine if someone were to then press that biscuit cutter into Kevin Doyle’s left leg to remove a segment of skin, revealing all the muscles and tendons beneath, that’s the sort of thing we’re dealing with here.

I’d just like to make it expressly clear that the above is merely an illustrative description and not a step-by-step guide of how to get the same leg wound look in the absence of access to a clumsily tackling Swiss defender.

Doyle said in his tweet that “it could have been worse” and indeed it could have, both for Kevin Doyle’s left leg and for the Ireland squad. Despite having fallen behind Daryl Murphy in the pecking order, Doyle is an experienced international who, in the brief time that he did have on the pitch, showed that he still has a lot to offer. As such it is fortunate that the injury was not worse; a further inch or two lower and it could’ve resulted in a sprained or broken ankle; a couple of feet further up and he may have become a eunuch; 50 yards or so to the right and the tackle could’ve devastated the face of a small child in the front row.

In the grand scheme of things, Kevin Doyle’s left leg, and a hypothetical child’s face, got off quite lightly.