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UCD Left To Pay €3 Million in Overrun Costs of Confucius Centre Construction to “Avoid a Diplomatic Incident” with China Jack Power | Editor

The delayed project is “receiving considerable scrutiny at the highest levels of the Chinese Government” according to documentation obtained by the Tribune The Department of Education rejected UCD President Andrew Deeks’ urgent plea for an additional €2.5 million to help pay for the “unexpected” inflation in costs. he cost of building the new Confucius Centre in T UCD has risen from the initial estimated cost of €7.4 million up to €10.2 million. The college’s bill for

the construction costs has now increased from €1.4 million to €4.1 million.

It can be revealed UCD President Andrew Deeks on the 8th of April this year, sent a letter to the Department of Education, seeking an urgent extra €2.5 million for the project. Writing to the Department secretary general Sean Ó’Foghlú, President Deeks claimed that UCD had already committed to the Confucius Institute Headquarters that the building would be finished by September 2016, and so the

college ‘had no option but to proceed in order to avoid a diplomatic incident’.

UCD agreed to build the Confucius Centre on campus back in 2013 as a purpose-built ‘temple style’ building to house the UCD Confucius Institute, which was set up back in 2006. The deal negotiated was that the Chinese government would pay €3 million towards the Centre’s construction. The Irish Higher Education Authority and Department of Education also agreed to match China’s contribution at €3 million.

In a supplementary Agreement signed in 2014 by college President Andrew Deeks, UCD agreed to put in the final €1.4 million towards the then estimated €7.4

million building project. At the time UCD claimed they would raise the €1.4 million from a combination of ‘fundraising activities and its own resources’.

However, in January this year when the college received bids from six construction companies for the contract to build the Centre, the estimated cost of the lowest one from construction corporation Glenman Ltd. was €10.2 million.

President Deeks stated in his letter to the Department head that although the ‘significantly increased project cost was unexpected’ the college had no option but to proceed to construction.

Continues on pg. 3

Editorial.

CT.

0430 Editor Jack Power Deputy Editor & Chief Designer George Hannaford News Editor Cian Carton Politics Editor Oisín MacCanna Features Editor Rachel O’Neill Music Editor Aoileann Kennedy Fashion Editor Naimh Cavanagh Food & LifeStyle Editor Ciara Landy Film & T.V. Editor David Deignan Arts & Events Editor Holly Lloyd Eagarthóir Gaelige Sophie Osborne

Editorial:

T

The Confucius Centre Controversy

he editorial of a newspaper is a space and opportunity for the editor to express the opinions of the publication, generally on a pertinent topic in recent news.

I feel there will be little revelations more pressing to UCD students in the coming weeks as the controversy emerging over the cost of the new Confucius Centre in UCD. €4,100,000 or €4.1 million is now the bill UCD has been left with in order to complete the project, to avoid a diplomatic incident with the Chinese government. €4.1 million out of the university budget; money that goes on student and staff services, in what appears to be a deal that was signed which left UCD open to carry almost all the risks involved. €4.1 million that now must be found from within the university’s budget, the same budget that supplies the funding for our Library, support services, and mental health services. The same budget that looks to keep teaching & learning facilities up to scratch or build more on-campus student accommodation.

The motivation behind UCD’s pivot to China; as covered in the Tribune’s first issue this year, appears to be an attempt to increase the college’s global image. The strategy behind this effort to be recognised internationally, is to then attract an increasing number of international (non-EU) students. Primarily because UCD charge international students generally between €17,000 - €25,000 a year to student in Belfield. In contrast they receive €9,000 from an Irish or EU citizen student (€6,000 from the state on a per-student grant basis, and €3,000 in the Student Contribution Charge). The spin of course is that UCD wishes to be an internationally diverse college, but as with many other things the bottom line is just that, money. This fawning over international students unfortunately appears to end abruptly after they’re through the gates and their fees are in the university’s accounts.

This urgent pressure to attract as many international students as possible has been precipitated by a withdrawal in core funding to third-level institutions by the Irish government. The result has meant UCD in this instance has rushed head first into a deal at almost any cost or condition, in order to broker a sweetheart relationship with China.

For example, UCD as outlined in our lead piece, agreed to be liable to pay any additional costs if the project construction

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exceeded the initial total estimated cost of €7.4 million. Furthermore, UCD have agreed to guarantee the free use of the building for the Confucius Institute for 50 years. And if the college ever decide to end its relationship with the Confucius Institute and cease its operation from the Centre, UCD will be liable to repay China €60,000 a year, for each year remaining on the lease from when they cut ties. The result of UCD’s overly accommodating negotiating strategy means now after the inflation in the construction costs, they alone are left to pick up the €4.1 million bill.

In the letter President Deeks sent to the Department of Education which the College Tribune obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the UCD President outlines that the college is currently spending €3 million on “urgent maintenance” works in the Newman Building. This money which President Deeks describes he had “already committed” to refurbishment works, has been spent on upgrading first floor tutorial rooms, more IT support in tutorial rooms, and for example refurbishing the toilets and the seating upholstery in lecture halls. These works over the summer were much needed to improve the characteristically dated learning environment of the Newman building.

It is unclear now how much the cost of servicing the unexpected €4.1 million cost of the Confucius Centre will have on delaying other refurbishment works and projects badly needed elsewhere by students to bring their teaching & learning environment up to an appropriate level. For example, much of the Newman building did not see any work done over the summer, nor did other older buildings such as Agricultural Science, or both the Science Centre West and North buildings.

It should also be noted that the Department of Education and the Irish government were more than happy to champion the Confucius Centre for its knock-on strategic trading and business importance between Ireland and China back in 2014. Yet now appear to be abdicating any responsibility for the project, leaving UCD to foot the inflated construction costs alone.

These are the kind of investigative stories that UCD does not want the students, staff or general public to hear about. But they are precisely the stories and controversies that need uncovering, and that is what I am hopeful to say the Tribune will continue to strive to do this year.

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Editorial Note 0430 We at the Tribune would like to wish the editor of our rival publication Roisin Guyett-Nicholson, a very happy 22nd birthday.

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According to confidential documentation from UCD’s Governing Authority (obtained under the Freedom of Information Act) the college requested an urgent increase in authorised expenditure for the Centre from €6.9 million to €10.2 million ‘to allow the project proceed to construction’.

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The Confucius Centre is being built beside the current Engineering building in Belfield, to house the UCD Confucius Institute. The Institute is one of hundreds promoted by China in universities around the world, to teach and spread awareness of Chinese culture and practices, and run Chinese language courses. The Confucius Institute is currently in a small building beside student Merville residencies.

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It is believed UCD approached the Confucius Institute HQ, Hanban in January 2016 when they learnt of the significant increase in construction costs, but it was reiterated that the Chinese government’s “financial contribution was capped.” In one of the original agreements between UCD and Hanban signed in October 2014, article II states that ‘UCD will be liable to pay any additional sums over and above the Total Estimated Cost should the actual costs of the development exceed the Total Estimated Cost’.

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Law Society’s financial end of year report revealed.

SU campus Abortion Referendum Special: Both sides argue their case.

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Reifreann ar Sheasamh Aontas na Mac Léinn i leith Ginmhillte le reáchtáil.

In President Deeks’ letter to the Department of Education he stated recent meetings with the CI Headquarters ‘have generated disappointment’ due to the complications and delays. The Centre in UCD is to be the first in the world to receive direct funding from the Chinese government for a purpose built Confucius ‘Centre’. As such President Deeks outlined that Hanban ‘have repeatedly emphasised that the project is receiving considerable scrutiny at the highest levels of the Chinese Government’.

failure to leverage any significant fundraising or philanthropic contributions towards the Confucius Centre. It can be revealed out of the €1.4 million the university had planned to fund mainly from philanthropic donations, to date they only have €110,000 committed.

President Deeks claimed despite ‘significant effort put into philanthropic fundraising, changes in the Chinese regulatory and economic situation over the last year or so has led to a certain disillusionment amongst potential donors’.

President Deeks asked the Department of Education in his letter this April if they ‘would consider increasing the Irish Government’s contribution to the project by €2.5 million’. But this plea was rejected by the Department. On April 14th Sean Ó’Foghlú, Department secretary general replied to say ‘we are not favourably disposed towards funding a project’ in which ‘the costs were significantly above the initial budget agreed with the Department and the HEA’.

UCD appeared to have anticipated some moderate inflation in the construction costs of building the Confucius Centre. Documentation from the university’s Capital Projects Group meeting on December 14th 2015, show they had revised the expected total cost of the project from €7.6 to €8.2 million.

Ó’Foghlú also outlined to the university President that in the Higher Education Authority’s approval letter for the project in 2014 it was made clear ‘that no additional exchequer funding will be made available to fund the cost of this project’ above the initial €3 million, and ‘nothing in your letter changes our perspective on this’.

Further documentation from a meeting of the UCD Governing Authority on the 22nd of March 2016 illuminate the apparent reasons behind the hike in construction costs. The head of UCD’s finances, Busar Gerry O’Brien stated at the meeting that the ‘increased cost was due to inflation in the construction in sector; a prolonged wait for the issuing [of a] fire-safety certificate; and the integration of some design changes.’ The minutes reveal that ‘members [of the Governing Authority] expressed concern at the increased expenditure’ but ultimately approved the funding.

The fruitless results of the UCD President’s urgent negotiations with both Hanban in China, and the Irish Department of Education will mean UCD are left to cover the entire overrun of the project, bringing their total bill to €4.1 million.

The funding problems of the construction works for UCD have been compounded by the

Short Story. p.29

The fourth part of our WWI historical short story.

Tech. p.31

Facebook’s plans for the future of VR.

It can be confirmed there was a six-month delay in obtaining a fire safety certificate from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county council for the Centre, and to obtain the certificate certain design changes were required, which resulted in an increased construction cost. There was also a more extensive service diversion of underground gas, power, and water supply lines required to clear the site for construction than previously expected.

Controversially the Director General of Hanban, Madam Xu Lin did not attend the 10-year anniversary of the UCD Confucius Institute this September in Belfield. But sent a letter of congratulations to be read out instead. The unveiling ceremony of the new Confucius Centre was supposed to be made alongside the UCD Institute’s 10 year celebrations, but it is still not completed.

In UCD’s negotiations regarding the ownership of the new building it was agreed with Hanban Headquarters in 2014 that ‘UCD will own the building … and guarantees its free use as the [Confucius] Institute for 50 years’. The document continues to stipulate that ‘if UCD ceased the operation of the Institute then it would return the balance of the [€3 million] contribution made by the Confucius Institute headquarters … at a rate of €60,000 per annum’ for each year remaining on the lease.

Turbine.

p.32 The true

breakdown of how our student fees are spent.

Sport. p.35

Anthony Foley: A tribute and snapshot of a brilliant career. p.3

#UCDNEWS

College President Andrew Deeks “Favours” Loan Scheme Cian Carton | News Editor

C

onor Viscardi, President of UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU), has confirmed there is an ongoing dialogue between the Union and UCD over third-level funding. Viscardi said he was liaising with both Professor Andrew Deeks, President of UCD, and Gerry O’Brien, Bursar of UCD, about the issue. He stressed the talks were merely “discussion based” at present.

Viscardi said the conversations with the two were about discussing the funding models for the sector and “highlighting and acknowledging the fact that the sector is underfunded.”

He said that “holistically and philosophically there is an agreement there that there’s not enough funding in the sector” but there are “disagreements over the funding model” between the sides.

The funding models being discussed come from the Cassells’ Report and include, increased state funding both with and without student charges, or an income-contingent loan scheme which makes university free at the point of entry. While Viscardi was pleased with the release of the Cassells Report, he noted each option has “pros and cons to it, there’s no clear answer and that’s perhaps what’s maybe delaying the decision making process” due to the “political ramifications [facing the government] of picking one.”

The minutes from the meeting of the UCDSU Executive from the 15th September stated that Deeks “preferred an income-contingent loan scheme”. Commenting on those notes, Viscardi said that Deeks was viewing the situation from a global perspective, especially in relation to the operation of third-level education in the UK and Australia, and believed the Australian system worked well.

Viscardi noted the technical complexity of implementing such a model as a major negative feature. Before taking up his role in UCD, Deeks had worked in the administration of both the University of Western Australia and Durham University in the UK. He holds joint-citizenship of the two countries.

UCDSU does not have a stance on

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fees, but has a “current standpoint” of highlighting the lack of funding of third-level education and wants to “alleviate the current financial burden on students.” Viscardi said that establishing a stance on fees “is definitely on our list of priorities,” and noted the concept of joining up with other students’ unions is “a bit of a challenge” given UCDSU’s lack of stance.

Despite not being affiliated with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), Viscardi received a letter from Annie Hoey, President of USI, which invited UCDSU to attend the national march against student fees held on Wednesday, 19th October. UCDSU participated in the vein of “an external youth organisation.” Viscardi said all the other students’ unions at the march were asking for free fees, unlike UCDSU, which only attended to highlight “the cuts in the education sector.” He stated there had been no indication of any further collaboration with USI, but if any mass demonstration were to be held, UCDSU would be present.

Regarding the issue on campus, Viscardi said that when they had put up an item for discussion on fees at the first Union Council of the year, a “lively debate” occurred with students arguing points for different funding models. He said the discussions held during Union Council would be a “good step in establishing a stance” which could be built upon in the future.

Viscardi said the main reason UCDSU is taking such a proactive stance on third-level fees this year is due to it being a topical issue. Previously, UCDSU issued a pre-budget submission calling on the government to increase core state funding by €168 million; to include €100 million to restore funding to 2008 levels, and a further €68 million to which would help reduce the student charge.

Last month, Professor Deeks called on politicians to implement the Cassells Report in a joint statement with Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost of Trinity College Dublin. He has not publicly stated any preference on which funding model in the Report he prefers.

UCD Students March Alongside USI for Free Fees and Increased College Funding Alison Graham | News Writer

The event was organised as part of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) “Education Is” campaign, which is calling on the government to introduce free third level education.

S

tudents from all over Ireland descended on the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square to march through the city in a demonstration against student fees, on Wednesday the 19th of October. Organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), students voiced their opposition to cuts to third-level education funding and called on the Government to implement a long-term, publicly financed solution.

Despite not being affiliated with USI, UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) led a large group of UCD students in the march from Parnell Street to the Department of the Taoiseach. USI had originally expected a turnout of around 5,000 people, but that figure proved to be wide of the mark, with various estimates putting participation between 12,000 to 15,000 people.

The event was organised as part of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) “Education Is” campaign, which is calling on the government to introduce free third level education, and opposes plans for a student loan scheme. USI’s stance is supported by the Coalition for Publicly Funded Higher Level Education, which includes SIPTU, Impact, the Teacher’s Union of Ireland, and the National Youth Council of Ireland. USI wanted students to come together to call on the Irish Government and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills to drastically increase third-level funding to colleges, as outlined in the Cassells Report.

The Cassells Report laid out three funding options; a predominantly state-funded system, increasing public funding but continuing student fees, or finally a deferred payment of fees through income contingent loans. A primarily state-funded system is

sought for as the other options are simply not feasible, according to students. This system would effectively abolish the €3,000 undergraduate student contribution which many struggle to meet.

While USI have welcomed the allocation of €36.5 million to the third level sector in the recent budget they believe that the funding is insufficient, and over €100 million short of what is urgently required.

Similarly, UCDSU proposed that the State increase core funding of higher education by €168 million in their pre-Budget submission.

At present, Ireland charges the 2nd highest rate of fees among EU countries in the OECD (after the United Kingdom), and its removal would allow more students to pursue further education. Furthermore, higher education would be free at the point of entry for all first-time EU students and for part-time learners, and may include the possibility of free tuition for postgraduate students.

The march has come at a time when universities and colleges across the country are feeling the detrimental impact of cutbacks to third-level funding.

State aid has been reduced consistently in recent years despite the fact that student numbers have increased. Staff student ratios are now above the OCED average, with the Cassells Report estimating a further 29% increase in student numbers by 2028 from the 2013 level. Meanwhile on campus, the UCD library service has seen a drop of 36% in staff numbers, as revealed by the College Tribune.

Images 12,000 Students marching on the streets of Dublin Credit - George Hannaford

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Seven Top UCD Employee’s Breach Government €200,000 Pay Cap Jack Power | Editor

Boris Kholodenko, Deputy Director of Systems Biology Ireland, is UCD’s highest paid employee on €256,930 a year.

T

he salaries of the highest paid employees have been obtained by the College Tribune under the Freedom of Information Act. Boris Kholodenko, Deputy Director of Systems Biology Ireland is the highest paid employee in UCD, earning €71,580 more than even college President Andrew Deeks. Kholodenko is a scientist who earned his Ph.D. in the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and worked in the Thomas Jefferson University in the USA before moving to UCD. It is believed he is availing of a strategic Science Foundation Ireland ‘Stokes’ scholarship and fund to set up the Systems Biology unit in Belfield.

Systems biology is a method of research that uses mathematical and computer–based methods to research and examine biological functions. The Science Foundation Ireland ‘Stokes’ fund is used by universities to draw down additional funds in order to headhunt strategic academics or researchers who are leaders in their field like Professor Kholodenko.

The Tribune can also reveal the salary of college President Andrew Deeks is €185,350 a year, making him the thirteenth highest paid employee in the college. Other senior administrative staff such as the head of finance (Busar) Gerry O’Brien makes €145,687, and the deputy President and Dean of undergraduate studies Mark Rogers makes €141,638.

However, 16 of the top 23 highest paid UCD staff are Academic Medical Consultants. Behind Prof. Boris Kholodenko there are eleven academic medical consultants on salaries from €222,735 down to €186,567. Six of those medical consultant’s salaries breach the Department of Public Expenditure

salary cap of 200,000.

Academic medical consultants are specialists in certain areas of medicine or surgery, and alongside providing specialist consultancy work in hospitals they also lecture in colleges on their subject.

The total cost of the top 16 academic medical consultants salaries to UCD is €4.6 million a year.

Other salaries of the best paid UCD staff the Tribune can reveal include a librarian earning €136,276 a year. This is in contrast to Trinity college’s top librarian pay scales which cap at €95,627. However, it is just one librarian in UCD earning €136,276 a year, whose name was not revealed in the Freedom of Information documentation due to their right to privacy. The librarian is on a salary equal to that of a full professor in UCD, which is also €136,276.

The six figure salary for the librarian comes as the Tribune revealed earlier this year that overall staff numbers have dropped by 36% in the last seven years.

In 2011 the then Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin introduced a pay cap of €200,000 for those working in the public service and semi-state bodies. The cap brought in was to only be mandatory for future appointments. But at the time the government called for those working in public bodies like universities on salaries above the cap to consider a voluntarily reduction in pay. Speaking at the time Minister Howlin stated “there is a need for leadership to be shown by those who hold high office across the public sector.” However, in UCD six academic medical consultants are paid in excess of the pay cap, as is Prof. Kholodenko, Deputy Director of Systems Biology Ireland.

#UCDNEWS

Referendum on Students’ Law Soc Got €20,000 in Union Abortion Position to Sponsorship from be Held Next Week Matheson Law Firm Jack Power | Editor

The UCD Students’ Union will hold a referendum over their position on abortion next week, following a petition by a group of students to change the current pro-choice policy stance.

The referendum and voting will be held on Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd of November, with voting stations available across campus. The motion of the referendum will be “that UCD Students’ Union should adopt a neutral stance on the abortion issue.”

The referendum was officially called on the 14th of October, and constitutionally the date of voting must be within 28 days of being called. Therefore, the date of voting could have been chosen for the following week, on the 10th and 11th of November. Instead a shorter campaign timeframe was chosen of three weeks.

But groups representing both the Yes and No side of the referendum are believed to be only now prepared to start campaigning this week, leaving just six term days for campaign to run on campus. The campus referendum held last year on whether UCD should reaffiliate to the

national Union of Students in Ireland (USI) was roundly criticised for being rushed and that not enough time was given to inform students or raise awareness of the issues being voted on. The result of that referendum saw UCD students reject re-joining USI by 74%.

The coming referendum was triggered as a group ‘UCD Students for Fair Representation’ gained the required 927 signatures to hold a referendum on the issue. The group are believed to want to change the UCDSU’s position on abortion from pro-choice to neutral. The Students’ Union adopted a pro-choice policy position following a referendum back in 2013.

The debating society L&H have scheduled a house debate themselves on the referendum topic. But the traditional ‘hustings’ run by the SU where representatives from both sides debate the issue has yet to be organised or advertised at the time of going to print. For more read the Tribune’s exclusive referendum coverage special on page 8 and 9.

Last Call for SPARC Applications for StaffStudent Project Funding Kevin Deegan | News Wrtiter

UCD SPARC (Supporting Partnerships and Realising Change), an initiative which encourages staff and students to work together to help make UCD a better working and learning environment, has returned for its third year.

Both staff and students are encouraged to submit their ideas for a project, with the closing date for applications this coming Friday, 28th October. Entrants are challenged to come up with innovative and inventive ideas to help make the campus a better place for everyone.

Since its inception, eight projects have been given funding of up to €1000 as well as project planning and implementation support.

In previous years, it has funded the “UCD Community Garden Project” with the aim of building and sustaining a community garden at Rosemount and also, in a similar project, www.collegetribune.ie

“Bring the Bees Back to Belfield” where bees were brought back to the Rosemount orchard in Belfield.

The aim of the SPARC programme is to push students and staff to create and improve on ideas for enlightening the university experience and for the wider community as a whole.

It allows for staff and students to come together as equal partners to develop and enhance their working relationship.

The UCD Career Development Centre has being promoting SPARC as a programme for students that provides a fantastic opportunity to enhance skills such as project management, problem-solving, communication, planning and organising, leadership and teamwork.

Further information is available at www.ucd. ie/careers/sparc which also contains the online application form.

Last Year Jack Power | Editor

The Tribune has obtained the Law Soc end of year 15/16 report and finances Law Soc spent €76,628 in total running their society last year. The society it can be revealed drew in €25,300 from sponsorship, with their main sponsor Matheson, an Irish law firm giving the society €20,000.

The highest percentage of the €76,628 spent was on competitive debating, which took up nearly 40% of the society's budget. These cost were primarily due to putting up those involved in debating in hostels.

The other big portion of expenditure for the society last year was spent on their Freshers’ Week stand and goodie bags. These bags included 2,500 cans of coke, 2,500 bottle of fruit juice, as well as 300 pizzas and 250 boxes of chicken wings ordered by the society during the week.

The society made €6,004 from Freshers’ Week membership sign ups. They increased their membership by 29% from 2014/15, up to 3,112 students from 2,401 the previous year.

Law Soc also made a €5,000 profit from the Law Ball it ran, selling tickets for €65. They society got A&L Goodbody (another law firm based in Dublin) to sponsor the Ball for €4000, covering some of the costs. The Law Ball brought in €22,000 for the society, and cost €17,000 to run.

In total Law Soc brought in €31,304 between sponsorship, Law Ball tickets and Freshers membership, but spent €76,628. Other income not revealed in the report would be grants the society received from the Finance Committee in UCD to run the society for the year.

The National Model United Nations trip was also a large expense for the society. For example, the price of putting 18 delegates up in a New York hotel was estimated by the society to cost €10,752.

The auditor of the society from last year James Green reviewed the year in the report, writing that he felt “what made the society great this year was how it managed to connect and engage with people like it hasn’t done before.”

On the increase in membership for the society Green’s report outlined it had been a welcome move in the right direction. “We also broke the 3,000 mark for the first time in several years but even more importantly reverse the downward trend in membership figures for the first time in even longer.”

The report also reveals that five years ago the “Law Society suffered financial catastrophe with a large debt stretching well into the thousands.” The report continues to outline that in “the aftermath of that, a constitutional amendment requiring the creation of a capital account requiring 10% of

future profits to be placed in the capital account.” The constitutional amendment may never have been adhered to as the report claims “in spite of this [amendment], no real steps had been taken to open a capital account.” The society this year have now put €10,000 in the account, and left some additional surplus in the society account for this year’s committee.

House Debates Guests Freshers Week Mooting Competitive Debates NMUN

*Graph above has been directly taken from the Law Soc report 15/16. The orginal source did not place percentage points on the graph.

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Politics.

Vote Yes – “Everyone in UCD Deserves to Be Fairly Represented” In a campus referendum special Politics editor Oisín MacCanna and Editor Jack Power sat down with both sides of the campaign to get their views, motivations and arguments.

L

ynch, a second year Science student, said the referendum was about getting “fair representation for all students, a neutral stance represents all students fairly, it doesn’t take any bias for one side or the other.” He continued to say “this particular issue is very contentious at the minute. in my personal experience if I’m talking to somebody about this issue, a lot of the time the response that I get is – it’s a very sensitive topic, and I don’t actually have a decision on it yet. If that’s what people are saying I think personally that its mad the SU have such a one sided stance on it.”

“This particular issue is very contentious at the minute … it’s mad the SU have such a one sided stance on it.”

When asked if the referendum to change the SU’s position on abortion was due to the current stance diverging from their own views, or if they personally were pro-life the two representatives stated they felt their own personal beliefs were not relevant to the debate. “Regardless of personal opinion we all want fair representation from UCD, I don’t think personal opinion matters per se” said Donal Lynch.

He continued, “I think everyone in UCD deserves to be fairly represented, whatever stance you may take on it personally, if you vote Yes to this every UCD will be fairly represent in it because we will have the neutral stance. And as well again from the information that we garnered when we were getting our signatures, it is on the minds of the students. And the students themselves would like this to go through”.

Above Vote Yes

Representing the Yes side, to change the UCD Students’ Union position on abortion “Everyone in UCD deserves to be from pro-choice fairly represented, whatever stance you may to neutral was take on it personally” UCD students Donal Lynch and The Yes side have built on from the original ‘UCD Students for Fair group who formed to gain the required 927 student Christine Doyle. Representation’ signatures to call a campus referendum on the SU’s policy stance.

Christine Doyle spoke about their campaign to gain the required signatures, stating it showed there was a definite level of support behind what they were trying to do. She said that in “under the two weeks we got 1,000 signatures really really quickly so it clearly something that is important to students.”

Left Artwork from the Vote Yes Campaign

www.collegetribune.ie

Christine continued so argue that “universities should provide a platform for this kind of debate, and intellectual discussion. I think if you’re only hearing one voice that’s not a true representation of what universities are supposed to provide for students.”

Both representatives from the Yes side felt the main feature of the coming campaign should be that each sides is respected and an orderly debate is allowed to take place on campus. Lynch was critical of previous abortion debates or talks that have been held in UCD and the toxic or heated atmosphere the issue can create. Recalling past debates on the issue he stated, “they’re violent, people had to be taken out the back entrance of Theatre O in Newman once because things had gotten so heated. We don’t need that on campus, we need fair debate, and we need orderly debate.”

He continued, “I do find on this position we’ve been campaigning for, there have been a lot of scaremongering tactics being used from particular individuals on the other side. It can be quite a hostile environment to campaign in … I can’t say that I personally have been attacked. But I have seen other people being attacked.”

Lynch’s main criticism of the Students Union’s current pro-choice policy stance was that it alienates opposing views on the topic from the student body. “It’s your classic case of groupthink to be honest, groupthink is quite a dangerous thing. If people get sucked into it it doesn’t help democracy whatsoever. The same applies to student democracy. If you have groupthink happening, then it contributes to an unfair debate.”

Students are automatically registered as a member of the Students’ Union upon registering to UCD, and around €28 euro out of the €247 ‘Student Levy’ UCD charge students goes towards the UCDSU, with the rest funding sports clubs, societies and the new Student Centre. But for Donal this automatic registration meant students were paying for something that they may fundamentally disagree with on a major issue like abortion. “If people want to campaign [individually] to repeal [the 8th Amendment], yes that’s absolutely fine, but to have the Students’ Union campaigning for that, something that students can’t opt of but are automatically brought into – I personally think that’s a bit mad.”

The Yes side have claimed as the last referendum on the SU’s abortion stance was back in 2013, the majority of UCD students haven’t had an opportunity to have their say on the issue. Lynch said “it is a completely new student body in UCD right now, if we can just get some kind of a sense about what students want now I think that would be great for UCD” Both Lynch and Doyle stated that if the vote doesn’t reach quorum (the minimum percentage of turnout for the referendum to be valid), or if the pro-choice ‘No’ side win a majority that they wouldn’t give up trying to push for a neutral stance on abortion. “I’d say we’d just push for it again if that’s the case. I think we’d just try again and try again and again. Because it is important for students” explained Christine. This determination was echoed by Donal, “this is an important issue to me, it’s an important issue to everyone involved.

So yes we would of course keep going.”

Looking ahead to the vote Donal Lynch confirms the group were “very hopeful” of winning the referendum. Voting takes places next week on the 2nd and 3rd of November.

Politics.

Left Vote No

But Hazel responded to say the same could be said for Repealing the 8th Amendment, “they say it’s their money, well like it’s our bodies, let us decide what we do with them.”

Outlining her own political opinions she said she was firmly pro-choice. “I’m a firm believer in bodily autonomy, I don’t believe I have the authority to make a decision for anyone else regardless of what the decision is. I feel the 8th is such a restrictive and oppressive law. It’s an awful, awful, awful piece of legislation. That we have to export people, and not offer them any support when they come back.

Forcing people to leave to do something so tough and heart-breaking, I’m just glad that change is gaining momentum at the moment.”

She felt that voting for neutrality was in essence censoring the Students’ Union on the issue of abortion. “By silencing the Union, you’re just censoring it, it’s not something that I would ever welcome, and by being neutral you as censoring our Union.”

“By being neutral you as censoring our Union.

It’s not something that I would ever welcome” On the motion of the referendum Hazel felt the wording was “a bit tricky” because it wasn’t a decision between pro-choice or pro-life.

She continued to say “but I think everybody knows what the real issue is at play. We just want to continue on what the SU have been doing, it’s been their mandate since 2013.”

Looking forward to the coming week and campaigning on the ground across the campus she said she felt confident people who support the No side and that they would win the vote. “I think so, we’ve gotten such a great response so far, so many people have been excited to get involved. I think the best way is to focus on getting people involved and the voter turnout, so we were thinking of having information stall and mythbusting.”

Vote No – “Voting No Means You are Being Pro-Choice”

In a campus referendum special Politics editor Oisín MacCanna and Editor Jack Power sat down with both sides of the campaign to get their views, motivations and arguments.

Representing the No side was Hazel Nolan, who argued the Students’ Union prochoice stance on abortion should be retained.

H

azel, who is a second year History and Politics students, is leading the Vote No campaign. She firmly believes the attempt to change the Students’ Union policy stance from pro-choice on the issue of abortion to neutrality should be opposed and fought. “The SU has been following a mandate of being pro-choice since 2013. We feel like they should continue on with that because we feel that neutrality is a stance no matter what way you look at it. Being neutral is still saying something. UCDSU have been amazing pioneers for change in their history”.

“The SU has been following a mandate of being pro-choice since 2013. We feel like they should continue on with that” Hazel drew on examples where UCDSU led political change from the front, such as the campaign to legalise contraceptives. The controversial campaign saw the SU bring contraceptives and condom machines into the campus at a time when they were still illegal in Ireland.

Hazel felt claims from the ‘Vote Yes for Neutrality’ side that students who were pro-life, or undecided on the contentious issue were not being fairly represented by the SU were misguiding. “I don’t think fairness is the true issue here” she said. The SU she said was a “political structure”, which decided its stances based on majority vote. Personally for her she said this vote was about being “pro-choice and nothing to do with being neutral or fair, as stated before, being neutral is taking a stance in itself” she claimed.

“We democratically elect our government to represent us, we do the same with the Union. And sometimes not 100% of people at happy” but that doesn’t mean those individuals views are disregarded or invalid she said.

“The Students’ Union has always represented as many people as who vote on these issues. There is still room for different views to exist in UCD. Say if this passed, that wouldn’t make me neutral on the issue.

It’s not this high body that governs us, you have your own brain, it doesn’t take away from your own opinions” she said.

Hazel believed the SU should keep its pro-choice stance, as it could be a powerful voice in the upcoming debate around the Eighth Amendment. “The Students’ Union is quite a powerful thing, nobody else is out there marching on the streets for us. The Union have changed things in the past, we could help this change. For someone who is on the fence I would encourage them to vote No.” It was put to Hazel that those on the Yes side arguing for neutrality and others who opposed to the SU’s pro-choice abortion stance did not sign up to the SU, and involuntarily capitate it from the Student Contribution Charge. Therefore they shouldn’t have to pay towards something they disagreed with on such a contentious issue.

“Voting No means you are being pro-choice, you are striving towards everyone having bodily autonomy”

Below Hazel Noan, head of the No campaign

The No side representative put the genesis of the UCD Students for Fair Representation and their efforts to bring in a neutral SU policy on abortion down to the momentum the group UCD for Choice had gained on campus. “We knew this was going to happen, you’re never going to get 100% of people agreeing with you. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I don’t begrudge them for doing so, they’re exercising their own political rights”.

Concluding her argument Hazel said, “I think voting No means you are being pro-choice, you are striving towards everyone having bodily autonomy.”

Voting takes place next week on November 2nd & 3rd.

p.9

Features.

E

S RA MUs In an Erasmus feature special the Tribune gets the experiences of three different students stories. The decision to leave home for a year of study abroad can be a huge one, not to mention scary. For some the opportunities and freedom can make it the best year of their life. But there is also the less mentioned stories of those who don’t enjoy their Erasmus, and find it a lonely and sad year of isolation. We explore both through the eyes of three students, Calum, Rachel and Chloe.

www.collegetribune.ie

Features.

mus experience does not come easy at first. The few weeks prior to heading out to Dublin had been busy: prioritising lists, flights, and accommodation so much so that nothing would prepare me for what was about to happen when I eventually boarded the flight. “The parent send-off” at the airport and leaving home for the first time was always going to be a huge personal challenge.

From the car journey to departure gate there was a game of careful seating and glances rather than words; avoiding eye-contact at all costs. And you guessed it, then came the tears, hugs and goodbyes. Less than one hour into my semester abroad I sensed the year was going to be a learning curve with a steep uphill struggle.

“The parent send-off at the airport and leaving home for the first time was always going to be a huge personal challenge.”

OPPORTUNITY “Take full advantage of the trips, the different classes, and all that’s offered”

Features writer gives Calum McKeown, a Scottish student from Strathclyde University Glasgow, gives his initial experience of his year on Erasmus in UCD. Arguing the friendships made, opportunities to travel a whole new country, and even the different academic courses available makes an a Erasmus a year well spent.

I

have been studying in Dublin for just over four weeks now.

This isn’t a long time yet I’ve already made strong attachments to the people, culture and most of all, the city; an emotional attachment which surprisingly no one could have prepared me for and one which I imagine will make the numerous farewells extremely difficult. Since its inception in 1987, the Erasmus+ plus programme has placed emphasis on students accessing both opportunity and learning in another European country. It works using three easy steps; gain a second family, gain new friends and become a local.

“I’ve already made strong attachments to the people, culture and most of all, the city”

Following the initial period of host-family introductions, locating UCD and general settling in, my confidence in myself grew, and I began to settle in. The city became a list of endless opportunities. Being a very friendly city I found the streets to be bustling with a large number of tourists and students. I read only the other week in the Irish Times that the Erasmus scheme brings 7,200 students to study or work in Ireland annually, contributing an extra €14 million each year to the national economy. In an ever-increasing globalised world, amidst deep economic uncertainties, surely students learning from and interacting with other cultures abroad provides more pros than cons?

Second to the location and setting of what becomes a new home for a year are the people and the friendships you make. I found university classes function just as well socially as academically. Through my classes my knowledge of Irish political and social history has improved giving me and my fellow classmates opportunities to investigate and research key topics of interest, such as the Easter Rising of 1916. As a political science student, my courses have varied slightly from those in Glasgow yet new courses in business have provided new angles to my dissertation research. In addition I was able to pursue humanities courses

unavailable at Strathclyde University.

In particular those which focused on the Irish economy and politics, so I found the Erasmus allows that opportunity to study courses abroad your home uni doesn’t offer. Exposure to these new courses has opened up new avenues such as being invited to a lecture by Art O’Leary, secretary-general to the Irish President. This lecture brought me into contact with influential figures in politics and provided me with further lines of enquiry for my dissertation but also contacts for future work in this field perhaps.

During my first week there were a vast array of orientation events; from movie nights to ceilis. Being an Erasmus student requires a certain amount of bravery. Suddenly, you are faced with a completely unknown environment, with new transport and buildings. Who would have guessed that me taking part in an organised walking tour of Dublin would actually result in me making true lasting friendships? Less than a week had passed and my Facebook friends had doubled, with new friends from all corners of the globe, who I know with a single email would jump at the chance of a beer if I was to fly and visit them, or end up stopping by Dublin in future years.

Yet, ask exchange students what they enjoy doing most in their spare time and I guarantee that the most common answer is travelling. Life as we know isn’t patient - in a few years you could well find yourself stuck in a routine, work or family commitments; or simply stuck due to insufficient funds. Galway city, Co. Kerry and Northern Ireland are just a flavour of some areas I’ve visited so far.

The Erasmus experience has definitely made a positive contribution academically, professionally and personally.

That is not to say it came easily. The options available to me during my year abroad were not handed to me but were the result of maintaining an open mind and attitude, as well as a determination to develop and work hard. For all students out there thinking about taking the plunge, my advice would be to get out there. Take full advantage of the trips, the different classes, and all that’s offered on your doorstep. It’s definitely an experience that should be embraced by all those fortunate enough to have the opportunity. But perhaps like all unfamiliar endeavours requires a fine print: this experience will change your life.

Top - Dublin City

Below - UCD, Global Lounge

My choice to study at University College Dublin was easy. Being a Scot, means that some way down the line there is family heritage here, but also it helps to have a passion for Guinness, (aka “the black stuff”). On an unrelated note, I’m told that Guinness in fact makes your hair turn a darker; a usefully useless tip (that may or may not have an substantive backing)! So, after making my choice and having signed all the necessary paperwork, I packed some belongings into a holdall and headed off for Ireland - easy.

Well almost. See, the truth is, the Erasp.11

Features.

month one of the hardest of my life. The homesickness and loneliness consumed me like an illness. I found myself crying in bathrooms, hiding from my lab so I wouldn’t be embarrassed. Of course people notice and try to look after you but you don’t want to become a burden to them. Suddenly you’re crying every time you Skype your mum, your partner or your friends. Everyone expects you to be having the time of your life and then when you’re not, you feel guilty.

“Suddenly you’re crying every time you Skype your mum, your partner or your friends. Everyone expects you to be having the time of your life and then when you’re not, you feel guilty.”

DISAPPOINTMENT “The homesickness and loneliness consumed me like an illness”

In the second of our Erasmus series, Features editor Rachel O’Neill describes her own experience. Far from the adventure of a lifetime the year abroad is sold as, her’s has been plagued by loneliness, a longing to come home, disappointment and guilt. She takes you through her final year Erasmus in Frankfurt, highlighting the lesser talked about darker side of what can be a lonely and sad year away from home for some.

www.collegetribune.ie

E

rasmus has nearly always been sold to us as an incredible opportunity, a chance to see the world and study at the same time. I myself had always intended to go on Erasmus when I got to college. However, now that I’m here I find myself wondering is this worth it? Before I go on I should probably explain that my Erasmus is quite unusual. I’m a final year Neuroscience student and I’m over in Germany on Erasmus to conduct my final year laboratory project. I’m in the lab from 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday so it’s more like having a job than studying.

I arrived in Bochum on September 8th and I’ve wanted to come home ever since. There are a few personal factors that have played into this such being alone with no roommates for almost a month, being away from my boyfriend and having a mother going through chemotherapy for the second time.

Now the last reason in particular isn’t going to affect everyone but I feel like people not enjoying their Erasmus is something we should talk about a bit more. We may be a small minority but I feel that people tend to gloss over the hard parts of Erasmus.

Moving to another country is never going to be smooth sailing but nobody tells you about the crippling loneliness that you can experience. I might have just been unlucky but I’ve found the last

It’s for these reasons that I’ve felt like an imposter these last few weeks. I should be enjoying myself. I’ve already been to Frankfurt and Berlin. I’ll be heading back to Berlin and also going to Dusseldorf and Leverkusen to see a football match too. By the time I come home I’ll have watched many TV shows on Netflix and probably have written most of my thesis. But I’ll have done all of this to fill the time until I can come home. I’ll have done nearly all of this to distract myself from the homesickness and the loneliness I’ve felt since the moment I stepped off the plane. I’ve set a countdown to my flight home and I look at it every day, a little happier with every passing hour. This sounds obsessive and unhealthy because it is. Erasmus has made me obsessive about going home, making it nearly impossible to

enjoy anything about being here.

When I sit back and reflect on my first five weeks here I have to remind myself that this is not forever and that I’ll be home in a little under 8 weeks time. I am a little bit more hopeful that things can only get better given how hard they’ve been. I might get to go to two or three Bundesliga games, I might get to meet some more international students, I might get to experience a real German Christmas market. So I could have some really good experiences in the next few weeks. That being said, I can’t help but feel that my Erasmus experience will be overshadowed by my first few weeks here.

“I don’t want it to be but when you’re only abroad for 12 weeks, things stay with you a bit more than they would if you were here for a year. “ I cannot call quits on my Erasmus for reasons relating to my degree and thesis.

There are people who have ended their Erasmus after a month because they didn’t like it and I think those people are incredibly brave. It takes a lot of guts to realise that what you’re doing is making you unhappy and that coming home is the right decision for you. You should be allowed to back out of something when it doesn’t work for you.

Certain people are perfectly suited for Erasmus and some are not. I think it’s important to work out which one you are before you sign up. It’s a lot harder when you work it out when you get here.

Bearing all that in mind, I am only one person. My experience of Erasmus will not be your experience but keep me in mind when you’re considering if you want to go or not. It might be the best decision of your life but it also might be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. Make sure you’re ready for it regardless.

Top - Frankfurt City

Below - Goethe University

Features.

FREEDOM “College should be about challenging yourself, like making new friends and exploring a new city or culture” The last in our Erasmus series, features writer Chloe McCumiskey gives her experience and advice. Claiming that college is about change and challenging yourself, and the Erasmus is the opportunity to do both. Her experience of Amsterdam offered the freedom away from home, the chance to fully experience a different city or culture, and the responsibility of living independently. She says an Erasmus will prepare you for life after university.

T

hinking about and planning for Erasmus may seem like a terrifying and daunting task when you are deciding about whether or not to go. Or you may have your mind set on going away, but are undecided on committing to going for a year long venture over a shorter semester away from home. There are some obvious worries most people mull over are not to be ignored; where will I live? Will I make any new friends? What if I can’t speak the language? But I’m here to assure you that Erasmus could be one of the best choices you will ever make during your time in college.

The first and foremost reason I would be inclined to do an Erasmus during my undergraduate degree would be for the sheer amount of freedom you attain during a stay away from home. At home it’s great to have everyone looking out for you, but if you’re like me and feel like you just want to break free from everything a year abroad is liberating.

I understand that there’s a tremendous amount of organising to go through to make sure you’re doing the right subjects for your course and checking you will attain the right amount of credits. Oh, and don’t forget to ensure all your subjects are taught in your mother tongue, or things might become slightly problematic. This is all of course before you start the arduous task of trying to sort accommodation from a whole country, or even a continent away.

But if you do take the leap, another benefit about being away from home is learning how to become more independent as an individual. This could be as simple as planning your meals each evening, or if you live with housemates you could all chip in and have your very own ‘Come Dine With Me’, every Thursday night. It could be managing your spending, which means knowing that your mum won’t be able to hand out a twenty every time you need a quick fix.

Particularly after that messy night out which leaves you with just €1.20 to last you the week.

Getting out of your comfort zone isn’t very appealing to a lot of people, but it is in fact very good for you. College should be about challenging yourself, like making new friends and exploring a new city or culture. You also get to the chance to share languages and cultures with people from different ethnicities that you probably would never have done while at home. Compared to UCD most colleges in Europe have classes with around thirty or so people in them, so you’ll get to know everyone really well. You’ll love sharing your experiences with them too and sharing stories about your Irish upbringing.

Believe me when I say this, if you find an Irish pub and you tell people you’re from the Green Isle, you will be everyone’s best friend for the entire evening.

(And yes, you will be called a leprechaun more than once - accept it and embrace it). I would normally be the very culprit to stay in my group of friends and not reach out to others, but Erasmus has changed my perspective on this, for which I am definitely glad of.

“You will be called a leprechaun more than once - accept it and embrace it.”

Attending college in Europe is so exciting. The same can be said for attending UCD and being in the city. For people like me from the country even the first year in UCD was amazing, as I found myself suddenly in the middle of a city waiting to be explored.

But the big cities of Europe are simply

the next scale up. Now Erasmus isn’t the only way to experience other cultures and travel to different and bigger cities.

Many students opt to head interrailing for a summer or two during their undergrad. The interrailing programme is also heavily funded by the EU like the Erasmus programme, to held foster and build a European identity between countries. It gives you another unique chance to see a whirlwind of cities and different places while meeting a host of characters while travelling. But it doesn’t let you really experience real life in a different city, moreso you get a snapshot of each city. Erasmus therefore lets you really ged in, get to know what life is really like in Berlin or Amsterdam and possibly make lasting friendships with people in those countries.

All the fun stuff aside, Erasmus can also be a great way to make new contacts in your desired field of study. Of course you’ll be coming back to your own country to finish out your degree and final exams for graduation after the year abroad is over, but I’m sure over half of you have thought at some stage whether or not you are going to be completing a Masters to top off your education before heading into the scary world of work.

The people you have met and interacted with during your time away could help tremendously in the years to follow if you decide to go back to study further or even go for an internship.

“If nothing else there’s always the added benefit of having a network of couches the world over to sleep on.”

If nothing else there’s always the added benefit of having a network of couches the world over to sleep on!

Erasmus gives you the chance to really understand other cultures and ways of life first hand, meaning you will be much more comfortable returning or travelling to another country in the future.

Left - Amsterdam Top - University of Amsterdam

p.13

Music.

The Decline of a Genre:

Where Did the Rock Go?

Adam Bielenberg | Music Writer

S

An Interview with ROMES:

Cracking the Music Industry One Stream at a Time.

Music Editor Aoileann Kennedy had the chance to catch up with Irish-Canadian band ROMES from their home in Canada. To talk about their music style, other Irish acts, and the impact Spotify is having on bands hoping to make it big.

ROMES

have been gaining momentum over the past year. Their single ‘Believe’ is getting regular airplay and is being featured in ads on Irish TV. The group have been playing as ROMES since early 2015. They met and began playing together at around age 12 while in still school in Bray. They grew up learning the basics: how to sing, how to play, how to write. They never set out to play a particular style, but as they grew up together, their styles and taste in music evolved together.

Brothers Jacob and Nick are originally from Canada, and when their parents moved back, the band decided to follow them.

Even though they’re based in Canada now, the band is still very loyal to their Irish roots. They still feel a sense of attachment to the Irish music scene and keep up to date with what is happening here. The guys are “over the moon” about the reaction of Irish fans, and still find it unbelievable when friends message them after hearing their music on the radio.

They are big fans of Irish musicians, giving special mention to fellow Wicklow artists Enemies and Hozier.

The band’s debut EP, ‘BELIEVE’, was produced and mixed by Grammy www.collegetribune.ie

award winner Tony Hoffer. Hoffer has worked with the likes of Goldfrapp and The Kooks, who each have a similar stylistic element. ROMES never set out to make a specific style of music, however they do draw some inspiration from genres like rock and soul. However, they make it clear to me that when they write their songs, “it depends on where our head is at, as opposed to making a decision to sound like something”.

The band gives a lot of credit to platforms like Spotify for spreading their music around the world. They tell me that Spotify has been “massive” to them in terms of reach. When they released their debut EP they didn’t expect their music to travel so far.

They are a testament to the power of such platforms to give small artists a chance to reach a wide audience.

Specially curated playlists are proving to be an invaluable tool for emerging bands. This reach has led to attention from some of the most influential names in the music industry. They were selected The Guardian’s ‘New Band of the Week’ the day their EP launched and have been highly praised in Canada. ROMES look likely to go from strength to strength over the next few months, and definitely one to watch in 2017. ROMES’ BELIEVE EP is available for download now.

ince 2010, rock music been struggling to find its place. The genre has experienced flashes of brilliance that have come and gone too fast like the New York City rock resurgence era between 2001-2003 which yielded bands such as the The Strokes, Interpol and The Rapture.

A couple of year later, the UK indie rock scene was revived with Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and a plethora of other acts were making solid rock music.

In recent years, the indie scene has generally distanced itself from electric guitars and taken on a more acoustic, poppy and synth-driven flavour with artists such as Alt-J, Years & Years, and Glass Animals flying the flag. True rock, in the style of AC/DC or Led Zeppelin seems to have fallen out of favour. The genre is experiencing a major lull as bands struggle to find traction in an industry that doesn’t seem to have room for them. Green Day a band synonymous for their number 1 pop-rock anthems released a new album this month ‘Revolution Radio’ to little fanfare.

No boundary-pushing album or rock masterpiece has come out in recent years. Rock is virtually absent from the charts. When you wade through the Irish Number One singles of the 2010s, very few could be classified as ‘rock music’.

Aside from being pushed out of the mainstream, there is no evident rock scene brewing underground.

Sub-genres such as post-punk and psychedelic rock have either taken

on a retro feel or done little to invigorate the genre.

The progression of music over the past twenty years has been largely dependent on the use of technology.

Digitized effects (loops and samples etc.) have not been incorporated into rock music to any meaningful degree. The closest anyone has come to this is Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails who has effectively created the ‘industrial rock’ sub-genre. Arguably, this has attracted little more than a cult following. It appears that the simplicity of rock music may be its downfall – the common verse-chorus-chorus structure along with its predictable instrumentation; drums, guitar, bass and vocals, struggle to find a place in the heavily processed mainstream. The genres that have flourished recently have been ones that are either characterised by the trendy electronic sounds that comprise EDM, dance and electronica, or the genres that can blend these sounds seamlessly into the music like hip hop or RnB. The whole aura of rock music is not sufficiently marketable in the age where music has come to assume an aura of consumerism and standardization typified by slick production and a greater emphasis on image.

This is not to say that rock will never return from the dead. The genre needs redefining – in the same way that Kanye West revolutionised hip hop with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or how Bon Iver redefined folk with their eponymous second LP. But for the time being, the genre tag rock is inseparable from classic rock.

HereCome the Girls: October 11th was International Day of the Girl. Music editor Aoileann Kennedy brings lists a few of her favourite songs by female artists:

Missy Elliot

Dolly Parton

(2001)

(1980)

Get Ur Freak On

9 to 5

In the Loop Music Editor Aoileann Kennedy looks towards upcoming gigs to catch around Dublin.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela 29th October The Academy

The Mexican acoustic duo return to their Irish roots at Dublin’s Academy. After starting off their career busking on Grafton Street, the pair’s career has skyrocketed. Not to be missed if you love classic acoustic guitar and Latin influences.

Tickets at €36.50.

Otherkin

Chance The Rapper

Dublin natives Otherkin play the legendary Whelans this November. They are the band to watch over the next year. Their debut EP was met with rave reviews, with the single AY AY receiving a huge amount of airplay.

Tickets at €13

The most exciting name in rap comes to Dublin this November. Hailed as the future of the genre by Kanye West, this has the potential to be a legendary performance.

Tickets are at €40.55 - Steep but well worth it.

11th November Whelans

23rd / 25th November The Helix

Albums in Review:

Muireann O’Shea | Music Writer

Bruno Mars: ‘24K Magic’ CT. Rating 7/10

B

Beyoncé

Tina Turner

(2013)

(1970)

***Flawless

Proud Mary

runo Mars and his posse are dancing all the way to the bank thanks to his new release. Mars’ latest release 24k Magic is basically the Uptown Funk after-party: The 2014’s smash-hit and defibrillator for pop music this decade. 24k Magic exploits all the usual vintage vibes, but with an electronic edge. His recent performance on Saturday Night Live was must-see TV moment in the US and it showed off just how talented Mars is. His voice, rhythm and showmanship are leading some to call him the Michael Jackson of his generation. In a year soaked with phenomenal R’n’B music, this track could be a little lost in the crowd. However, it’s solid beats and uptempo rhythms ensure that Bruno Mars has kept himself relevant at the top of pop music for another year.

Solange, ‘A Seat At The Table’

S

CT. Rating 9/10

olange Knowles, his of Beyoncé, comes into her own with a stunning record ‘A Seat at The Table’.

Full of social commentary, candid lyrics and poetic expression, this album chronicles the African American experience in a beautiful, raw and stirring way. It’s a self-described ‘punk’ record, which is fitting.

Its lyrical content is striking, and embodies what punk is it is a rebellion against an unfair and unjust status quo. It calls out hypocrisy and injustice, pulling no punches. As the title suggests, the core message of the album is understanding and equality. Tracks like ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ and ‘Cranes In The Sky’ are honest and emotional, capturing the complexity and layers of the current African-American experience in the States. There is beauty in her restraint on “Mad” or “F.U.B.U.”, and elegance in the hypnotic spokenword interludes. In a time when the issues of race, black femininity and police prejudice are front and centre, Solange has delivered one of the most influential pieces of art this year. She has captured a mood and has contributed to an incredibly important dialogue. p.15

Fashion.

SHAPE Niamh Cavanagh | Fashion Editor

It makes up everything in this world. Well‌.almost everything.

We are surrounded by it, judged by it, moved by it. It’s a huge property within design.

It can make or break a piece.

Clothing New Look Jervis Shopping Dublin Model Emily Cahill Make Up Niamh Cavanagh Stylist Niamh Cavanagh Photographer George Hannaford

Left to Right Velvet Lace Trim Slip Dress €29 Burgundy Longline Coat €44.99

Sometimes shape doesn’t have to reflect the surrounding nature.

Emily wears a robust set of check.

Left to Right Grey Grid Check Wrap €19.99 Navy Red Check Jumper €29.99

Facsimiles of the self are created through impressions of the subjective choice, or perhaps sometimes through fabrics that is.

Left to Right Knot Waist Dress €22.99 Green Rib Jumper €19.99

LifeStyle.

Lifestyle Instagrams to Follow

Autumn Recipes

a. Emilyskyefit

Ciara Landy | Food & Lifestyle Editor

Serves 2 - 4 Dairy free, gluten free and vegan

b. Thebodycoach

As the evenings get colder and more wintery, warming and comforting food it’s just what you need. I like to serve this one with quinoa or cauliflower rice but it’s delicious on its own too. The prep only takes a few minutes and then you can leave it simmering away while you change into your jammies.

Method

Kale & Chickpea Stew

A.

Heat the coconut oil in a pot on medium/high heat. Add in the ground cumin, paprika and ground ginger when the oil is nice and hot, the spices should sizzle.

B.

Next dice an onion. Add in the diced onion to the pot and toss it around to coat it in the spices. Cook for a few minutes until the onions start to soften.

C.

Next, peel and grate the ginger and mince the garlic. Add them to the pot and toss well. Let it cook for a minute or two while you remove the kale stalks. Add the kale leaves to the pot with the drained chickpeas and toss everything well.

D.

When the kale is bright green and starting to wilt, add in the chopped tomatoes. Stir everything and let it come to a simmer. Pop the lid on and leave it to simmer for about 20 minutes, then let it cook with the lid off for ten minutes before serving, you can add a dash of stock if it gets a little dry.

d. Thrivingonplants

Ingredients

c. Mymollypocket

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil 1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin 1 Teaspoon of Paprika 1/2 Teaspoon of Garam Masala 1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon Thumb Size Piece of Fresh Ginger 1 Onion or 3 Large Spring Onions, Diced 2 Cloves of Garlic, Crushed 200g of Kale 1 Can of Soaked Chickpeas 2 Cans of Chopped Tomatoes Optional: Stock

*For more or similar recipes visit www.thelittlegreenspoon.com or pick up a copy of Indy’s debut cookbook “The Little Green Spoon”, available nationwide at all good bookshops. Also for more great meal ideas visit www.donalskehan.com.

www.collegetribune.ie

LifeStyle.

Interior Watch

Skinted vs Minted Ciara Landy | Food & Lifestyle Editor Affordable unique pieces to add a bit of flair to any living space!

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 60g breadcrumbs 2 tbsp tahini paste or smooth peanut butter 1 large free-range egg 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 6 spring onions, thinly sliced 2 tbsp rapeseed oil Sea salt and ground black pepper For the roast cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil 1 small cauliflower, broken into small florets 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cayenne pepper Spiced yoghurt; 100g natural yoghurt 1 tsp garam masala Zest of 1 lemon

A bowl filled with fresh vegetables and plenty of good things can’t be wrong, right? This falafel bowl features spiced mini chickpea falafels, roasted cauliflower, spiced yoghurt and a crunchy salad.

A.

Preheat oven to 180˚C/ 350˚F/ Gas Mark 4. To make the falafels place half the chickpeas in a food processor with the breadcrumbs, tahini paste, egg, coriander and cumin and blitz until smooth.

Remove the blade and stir through the remaining chickpeas and the spring onions. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

B.

Form the mixture into 12 balls and flatten slightly.

Place on a plate, cover and set aside. Place cauliflower and chickpeas on a large roasting dish and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with garam masala and cayenne pepper.

Toss until coated. Place in the oven to roast for 35 mins until the cauliflower is charred and the chickpeas are crispy.

C.

Place a large frying pan over a medium high heat and add the oil. Fry the falafels in the pan for 4–5 minutes on each side, until golden. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the spiced yoghurt dressing and set aside.

D.

Divide the cooked quinoa amongst four bowls along with the remaining salad ingredients, cooked falafel and drizzle with the yoghurt.

Serve!

Method

Roast Cauliflower & Falafel Bowl

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Grapefruit home candle, 200g, Jo Malone London available at Brown Thomas.

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RODBINKA quilt cover with two pillows available from IKEA

PIUBELLE, Mer de Rose duvet cover, Brown Thomas

p.23

Film.

Internet Killed The Film & TV Writer Muireann O’Shea examines the ever-changing landscape of television and the cultural frenzy of binge-watching.

H

Swiss Army Man DIRECTOR: Daniel Scheinert, Dan Kwan.

CAST: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe Brendan Garrett | Film & TV Writer

E

very now and again excellent films pass and go unnoticed or underappreciated. This can be due to their abstract plots, their unprecedented characters that defy audience expectations or because their titles lack the word ‘girl’. Swiss Army Man is the latest in this rare breed of films.

The latest outing from writing and directing duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, or ‘Daniels’ as they’re credited here, this indie comedy-drama is a step up from their catalogue of short films that have come before (Interesting Ball, Pockets, My Best Friend’s Sweating). It stars Paul Dano as Hank, a marooned young man who is about to hang himself before spotting the bloated and flatulent corpse that is Daniel Radcliffe’s Manny. An unlikely pair to say the least, but a duo that will keep you enthralled throughout their brisk 97 minute fart-filled and heart-warming odyssey.

The calibre of acting from these two is outstanding. Dano reprises the role of the strange young man that he’s taken on before in films like There Will be Blood and Prisoners, while the former ‘Boy Who Lived’ delivers an awards-worthy performance despite playing a man who is dead. Showcasing an uncanny control over his facial and bodily movements, I’m moved to say that Radcliffe pulls off what may be the best portrayal of a corpse who can both talk and operate his rectum as if it was a jet-ski engine in the entire history of cinema.

Technically speaking this film www.collegetribune.ie

doesn’t offer anything as groundbreaking as Radcliffe’s performance however that’s not to say it’s lacklustre.

Audiences will be wowed by the saturated environments presented in each frame; striking oceanic blues, verdant forestry and the warm orange of campfires inhabit the screen throughout Swiss Army Man. The audio and sound effects are crisp throughout the adventure and this is particularly on point during a survival montage that occurs a little over the halfway mark.

Accompanying this sound and setting is an elevating acapella soundtrack that is interwoven into the dialogue, crafted

by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, the ‘do’s, ‘da’s and ‘ba’s adding to the absurd yet inspirational tone that is ever-present throughout this film.

And this kooky atmosphere is what’s ultimately so charming about Swiss Army Man. Never have I been so simultaneously confused yet satisfied by a movie, never have I had such morbid scenarios presented in such a way as to deliver The Sound of Music levels of heart-string plucking. Other filmmakers try to cheaply evoke emotions out of you with fatigued tropes and overused story-telling techniques, but here the Daniels offer audiences something new, something difficult to portray, something that needs to be seen to be believed. So if you make a trip to the cinema this week ignore Inferno, Bridget Jones’ Baby and The Girl on the Train because Swiss Army Man is a testament to all those movies that take the path rarely tread, and for this reason it is truly unique.

To binge, or not to binge, that is the question. Netflix has 83 million subscribers, which equates to over 200 million people having access to an account. 70% of them binge watch regularly.

Viewers themselves provide a few different answers. Many say that total immersion in a TV show improves the overall experience. Shows like Orange is the New Black are written to be binged, so watching it in 45 minute fragments punctures holes

in the story. Another reason is a fear of pop cultural exclusion. It reared its ugly head this summer, brandishing the threat of social pariahdom had you not seen Stranger Things.

Others claim that they binge watch to have control.

In which case, perhaps ‘binge’ is the wrong word to use. Its connotations are to that of a loss of control, when in fact binge watchers have more power than any other viewers. They choose when to stop. They cannot be duped by cliff hangers or disappointed by filler episodes, because the next episode is never far away. In the case of Whodunits, there is a lavish sense of completion to bask in when the mystery is solved.

We are not compulsively bingeing, but joyously feasting. Television seems more popular than cinema right now, although it's hard to compare the two worlds. Films function through box office, industrially rated by how much above their budget that they earn. Whereas television runs on ratings and viewing figures. But consider this over 100 million

3

Films For Halloween

a. Nosferatu 1922

Film In Review

ave you seen the latest advertisements for Sky’s Box Set streaming service?

They carry the brazen tagline “Lose Yourself” . Is that supposed to entice us? Is our desire to dissolve ourselves into fantasy television worlds that obvious? Hippies of the seventies went on epic drug induced quests to ‘find themselves’. Nowadays we would rather lose ourselves in the wars of Westeros or Washington DC. But is this such a bad thing?

Millennial, and the television shows we watch have a bad name. We, the fickle and mindless youth of the world are shamed for our screen shaped eyes and ten second attention span. It’s always pegged as the plight of the latest and youngest generation and it’s never true. The quality and realism of current television is extraordinary, brimming with stunning visuals and complex plots. Yes, bad content still exists, but why is watching television still considered to be IQ deflating? Try watching Mr. Robot or Game of Thrones with the same amount of attention that you give to Keeping Up With The Kardashians and see how far you get.

To binge, or not to binge, that is the question.

Netflix has 83 million subscribers, which equates to over 200 million people having access to an account.

70% of them binge watch regularly. Psychologists agree with Sky’s advertisement, we binge watch to escape, to forget the monotony of a life smothered by conversations about Donald Trump and the ever rising price of Freddo bars.

Film.

The Raw Colours of Hindi Cinema

Video Star

Paurush Kumar, Film & TV Writer, casts a critical eye over Bollywood Cinema in an attempt to highlight its cultural history and pinpoint how it can improve in the future.

hours of Netflix are watched everyday. A staggering statistic like that is only made possible by the modern technology which allows us to carry our films and TV shows around with us in our pockets. Binge watchings biggest motivator is its convenient mobility. To put a seventies classic in the context of the 21st century; the Internet killed the Video Star.

Even though binge watching abducts large chunks of our days, it’s not an all-consuming activity. 20 million people still tune in to watch The Walking Dead live. Fans of Sherlock survive, miraculously, with three episodes every few years.

We are not obsessed, but dedicated. Perhaps Sky’s advertisement is true, but we have not yet lost ourselves to television. We still go to the pub and complain about the weather and want to repeal the eighth. The only difference is that we’ve watched all four season of House of Cards in the meantime.

T

Above

Orange is the New Black

2016

1999

b. Blair Witch c. The Witch

he Hindi Film Industry, more commonly known as Bollywood, is India’s sole representative at the global level in the field of entertainment. Over the years, the industry certainly has grown in terms of recognition, production and technical aspects. However, recently the race to produce bigger and better films has directly lead to a degradation in the quality of films being produced – with more and more focus being placed on star power and profitability.

While the quality in Hindi cinema has widely decreased there are films produced outside of this rat race which place a greater emphasis on story.

Sadly such movies go unnoticed at the box office.

Hindi Cinema has tried to maintain the legacy and culture that the country has. Of late, this essence has been missing from more mainstream films. It goes without saying that making a profit has always been a priority – but there have been films to make it to cinema without a script and professional actors. Movies of the sort are actually the most common in the industry and these include films like Tiger Shroff’s ‘Baaghi’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Airlift’.

The comedy genre hasn’t really had any impact in the industry. We seem to lack writers who can perform in the genre. I’d recommend watching so-called comedies like ‘Housefull 3’ and ‘Chalk and Duster’ just to marvel at how awful they are.

Don’t get me wrong though, these films make money in Bollywood – which is why they keep getting made.

But most films are all about homogenous sets, high budgets, and star power. Bollywood Cinema is terrified of incurring losses, which is why most films tend to play it very safe. There is a prestige involved with reaching the ‘100 Crore Club’, which is associated with hitting a monetary target and carries an elite status within the film industry.

Somewhat tellingly there so hasn’t been a single film with a female lead to reach this club.

The importance of woman in the industry is

however slowly increasing, movie by movie. Films like ‘Gulab Gang’, ‘Aitraaz’ and ‘Mai’ places female characters at their front and centre. These movies are important because not only did they open to critical acclaim but they were also commercial successes, indicating to producers (and their purse-strings) that women can have a place at the forefront of Hindi Cinema.

Speaking of girl power, the country has started to recognise the unsung, forgotten female heroes of its history after the industry started to put forward its work on celluloid. ‘Mary Kom’, starring Priyanka Chopra (the highest paid Indian actress in the world, pictured above), is based on the life and career of the eponymous Olympic Medal winner. Kom was little known until she did the country proud by achieving a Gold medal at the 2008 World Boxing Championships in Ningbo, China. The film charts her personal journey to the podium, with many of the personal hardships she endured being deeply rooted in Hindi culture and society. The film’s success has helped to spark a new-found interest in biopics, which have proceeded to become a fixture in Bollywood.

Other films worth looking at include ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, ‘Bandit Queen’ and ‘Main aur Charles’ Films that are produced outside of the race for the ‘100 Crore Club’ tend to do well critically but underperform where it counts – the ticket office.

There are some big winners at film festivals like ‘Nil Battey Sannata’ (a personal favourite). It is based on a mother-daughter relationship in which, to get the best possible education for her child the mother enrolls in school alongside her. Encouragingly, similar budget films ‘English Vinglish’ and ‘Nil Battey Sannata’ managed to recover their costs entirely from theatrical revenue, which would seem to indicate that audiences are slowly and steadily shifting from poor to rich content movies. The hope is that, long term, the industry will come to be recognised by a quality standard of cinema rather than star power. p.25

Arts & Events.

Bram Stoker Festival Arts & Events editor Holly Lloyd takes you through the best horror themed happenings, including the Bram Stoker festival, ahead of the Halloween bank holiday weekend.

In The Loop;

1

The Entertainer

The Bram Stoker festival will take place this weekend from Friday the 28th to the 30th October, hosting plenty of day and night events throughout the Halloween bank holiday weekend. The festival is paying tribute to writer Bram Stoker who wrote the internationally recognised novel Dracula, which was published in 1897.

John Osbourne’s ‘The Entertainer’ will be screened at the Lighthouse Cinema on 27th October. A modern classic, it displays the sometimes harsh realities of performers, especially those in the post war era.

Tickets on sale for €17.50

2

The Magic of Shakespeare Sir Jonathan Bate, a lecturer of English Literature at Oxford, will give a talk on Shakespeare. Bates is a prolific writer on the subject. It’s on in the Royal Irish Academy this Thursday the 27th.

Tickets are €5/€3.

October 28th

Lighthouse Cinema Horror Movies The Lighthouse Cinema will screen horror movies from the thirties throughout the weekend. Listings including The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, and of course - Dracula.

Tickets are from €6-€8.

October 28th - 29th

Nightmare Plants

The Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin are putting on a special show, ‘Nightmare Plants’ from the 28th-29th October.

Set after dark in the garden’s victorian glass domes the evening will explore the dark side of plant life; hearing talks on venom and seduction. The event will also feature a dramatic performance depicting an old plant hunter, played by from Michelle McMahon. Tickets €10.

October 29th

October 30th

October 31th

St Patricks Park out in Sandyford will become the base for ‘Stokerland’, a Victorian style theme park that will run throughout the day for the weekend.

‘Tales from the Shadows’ a gothic puppet show will run for the day in one of Bram Stoker’s favourite spots, Marsh’s library by St.Patrick’s Cathedral. Expect ghoulish plots and lots of fun.

The National concert hall will present a live screening of the film Dracula. But the movie score will be played live by the Orchestra. Beginning at 8pm, on the 29th, tickets €27.

The Horror Expo will take place on the grounds of the Freemasons Hall from 14:00-2:00. It will feature all things horror in talks, readings literature and art and will end with a candlelit screening of silent film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, with live music. Tickets on sale for €42. The Liquor room will present The Poetry Brothel, a night of poetry with an embellishment of jazz musicians, body painters, Burlesque dancers and magicians thrown into the mix as well. Tickets are just €20, a steal for a night full of entertainment.

Macnas will present a Samhain parade through Henry Street at 7:30 on the Bank Holiday Monday.

Macnas are known for their vibrant parades, and this promises to be just as spectacular with its eerie edge, if you happen to be passing through town.

And the great thing is, this is a free event for all, so make sure that you go!

Stokerland

www.collegetribune.ie

Horror Expo

Samhain Parade

Arts & Events.

Events in Dublin

3

The Beautiful and Damned

4

Jeff Mills

The Hot 8 Brass Band

This evening will take inspiration from F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of the same title and will bring the roaring 20’s to the Sugar club with a spooky twist.

Expect a fabulous night with essential fancy dress, set for the 29th October.

Tickets are €34.

Jeff Mills will play with the RTE Concert Orchestra in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. Known as the ‘Godfather of Detroit techno’, he will perform on 30th October to display his ‘Light from the Outside World’ production. Tickets €25

The band known for their feel good music originating in New Orleans.

They preform jazz and blues, taking inspiration from the likes of Stevie Wonder and Louis Armstrong. They play on 30th October at the Sugar Club, tickets just €20.

3

Campus Events

5

(Halloween Special)

Jeffrey Sachs receives Econ Soc Award

L&H Abortion Referendum Debate

Gavan Reilly Working in Journalism Talk

The Economics Society will award famous economist Jeffrey Sachs their ‘Tom Kettle’ honorary award this Tuesday at 3:00pm in the Fitzgerald Chamber. Sachs is a US economist and professor in Columbia University, and has written three New York Times best sellers. He has also been a special adviser to United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-Moon on Millennium Development Goals.

The L&H are hosting a debate on Wednesday with the motion that “the UCDSU Should Stay Neutral on Abortion.”

The debate comes ahead of the campus referendum on the Student Union’s stance on abortion which will take place on November 2nd and 3rd. The proposed referendum is to change the UCD Student’s Union’s stance on abortion from pro-choice to neutral.

The University Observer are bringing in one of their past deputy editors Gavan Reilly, now a political correspondent for Today FM. The talk will be on working in journalism and radio, what it’s like, how you can break into the field, and inevitably look back on what he got up to as a hack in UCD. The talk will be on this Friday in the Fitzgerald Chamber from 2:00, and is open to anyone interested.

p.27

Gaeilge.

Sracfhéachaint ar Chailíní Aimsire TG4 Stiofán Ó Bhriain| Scríobhneoir Gaeilge Cailíní Deasa! I bhfocla uaisle an Athar Ted, “nach cailíní deasa iad uilig”. Ó, a léitheoir uasail, is deacair an rud é cur síos sásúil a dhéanamh ar Bhéithe breátha TG4 i dteorannacha an ailt seo. Ní maith le pobal na Gaeilge teorannacha, is eol do chách é seo, ach glacfaidh mé leis an dúshlán seo, ar mhaithe leatsa, a léitheoir uasail. Cogar, nach binn a mbéil, nach dathúil a ndéanta, nach galánta a ngruaig, nach caomh a gcoirp! Spéirmhná na Gaeilge! Goile, a léitheoir, agus éist le m’aisling.

Mar a deir an seanfhocal ársa, a chum mé féin maidin inné, “idir tost agus toradh, tagann taighde”. Agus más fíorfhocal sean é an seanfhocal, tá an-chuid taighde déanta agam ag scrafhéachaint (go dílis agus go minic, d’fhéadfá a rá go gafach) ar réamhfhaisnéisí na haimsire, agus na bandhraoithe binndheasa a mbíonn á dtabhairt.

Caitlín Nic Aoidh, Mairéad Ní Chuaig, Fiona Ní Fhlaithearta, ainmneacha na n-uasal a chuireann beocht sa chuisle agus teas san fhuil, a léitheoir uasail. Ainmneacha a bhíonn ar bharr teangacha phobal na teanga ar fud an oileáin seo, ar tí teacht as béil achan fhir nuair a chloistear “Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir” ó ghlór na teilifíse. Nach glas iad ár gcnoic féin agus banríonacha brionglóideacha seo inár measc.

Caitlín Nic Aoidh, úll Uladh, deaGhael Dhún na nGall, taisce Thír Chonaill! Réalt an Tuaiscirt a bhíonn ag dealramh ar fhir fhánacha na Gaeilge, a bhíonn ag cur geasa orainne lena blas breachta, a bhíonn ag scaoileadh paisin istigh in achan bhuachail nuair a deir sí ‘seacht’ mar ‘seart’. Dia ‘ár sábháil, beannacht na Naomh ar Dhún na nGall, agus beannacht na nAingeal gléigheal ar Chaitlín Nic Aoidh.

Mairéad Ní Chuaig, caor Chonnacht, cailín Chonamara, Iníon an Iarthair! Ní binn béal ina thost agus í ag tuar na haimsire. Le chuile bhraon dá blas a thiteann ar chluasa na bhfear Gaelach, ardaíonn iontais uathu. Bronntanas cluas agus bronntanas radhairc í Mairéad Ní Chuaig agus tú ag iarraidh “Súil Eile” chun féachaint níos fearr a fháil uirthi. Nach bhfuil an t-ádh orainn, a léitheoir uasail?

Fiona Ní Fhlaithearta, córóin cheantar Chamuis, Gile na Gaillimhe, Iníon Iarthair Eile! An t-ádh dearg orainn gur tháinig sí aniar chun saol na bhfear a ghealadh. Bhuail croí

Seamus Ó Braonáin| Scríobhneoir Gaeilge

achan bhuachaill níos sciobtha i ngan fhios dóibh nuair a d’fhill Fiona Foirfe abhaile ón Astráil. Ar thóir a glóir agus a héadain de shíor a bhíonn tú, a léitheoir uasail, agus nuair a thagann do dheis, tapaigh é, a chara. Ó, nach iontach an suaimhneas agus an sólás a bhíonn ort i ndiaidh réamhfhaisnéis na haimsire le bean de na béithe sin?

Nach maith é saol na bhfear agus radharcanna sásúla mar sin os ár gcomhair? Nach bhfuil an t-ádh orainn, a léitheoir uasail? Ó, mo léan, níor smaoinigh mé. B’fhéidir nach bhfuil na spéirmhná seo feicthe agat go fóill? Bhuel, molaim duit é a chur ina cheart go láithreach. Ná bí buartha. Tiocfaidh an t-ádh.

Anois, a léitheoir, b’fhéidir go bhfuil tú ag smaoineamh go bhfuil an t-alt seo cineáilín gneásaíoch nó cineáilín frithfheimineach. Ná bac, níl ann ach “locker room talk”. Más féidir le Donald Trump, Rí na gCunt, cac níos measa a rá, nílimse ag déanamh dochair. Ach an difear idir an scríbhneoir seo agus an tÍseal Trump ná gur jócanna iad na focla a scríobhaim ach is jóc é Trump mar dhuine. Olc na nDeamhan ar an máthair a rug é!

Mo bheannacht duit, a léitheoir, bail ó Dhia ort. #AisghairAn8ú

How do you ensure that you’re the Disruptor and not the Disrupted?

The EY Better Questions Challenge disrupting a campus near you. Launching November 2016.

Register your interest at eyirelandcareers.ey.com

© 2016 Ernst & Young. Published in Ireland. All Rights Reserved. 10918.indd 10/16. www.collegetribune.ie

Reifreann ar Sheasamh Aontas na Mac Léinn i leith Ginmhillte le reáchtáil Ó thús na bliana, tá feachtas á rith ag an Aontas ar son aisghair a dhéanamh ar an ochtú leasú. Thug an leasú cosc bunreachta isteach ar ghinmhilleadh trí aitheantas a thabhairt ar cheart beatha an linbh sa bhroinn. Tá grúpa mac léinn bailithe faoin ainm “Grúpa Mac Léinn COBÁC ar son Ionadaíochta Cothroime” ag iarraidh go nglacfaidh an Aontas seasamh neodrach i leith cheist an ghinmhillte.

D’éirigh le Grúpa Mac Léinn COBÁC ar son Ionadaíochta Cothroime líon na sínithe chun achainí a dhéanamh chuig Aontas na Mac Léinn reifreann a reáchtáil ar a sheasamh i leith ginmhillte. Tá dáta socraithe ar an reifreann i ndiaidh cur isteach na hachainí. Tá an reifreann le rith le linn Seachtain 8 an seimeastar seo.

Is ballóid dhá bhealach atá ann a iarrann ar bhallraíocht vóta a chaitheamh ar son nó i gcoinne na foclaíochta: “ “Ba cheart d’Aontas na Mac Léinn, An Coláiste Ollscoile Bhaile Átha Cliath seasamh neodrach a ghlacadh i leith cheist an ghinmhillte”.

Is é an fasach atá ag Aontas na Mac Léinn faoi láthair ná toradh ballóid ceithre bhealach ó 2013. Sa reifreann sin, vótáil an tromlach ar son seasamh ar son rogha a ghlacadh.

Short Story.

October 24th, 1916.

Dear Mother,

The winter is beginning to set in rather severely. I hope the weather is better at home. We got the first snow fall yesterday. Not so long ago it would have filled the men with a certain joy and wonder, now it is yet another reminder of another winter spent away from home. It really isn’t like home. We complain about the rain in Dublin but this is something else. The rain conducts the cold with a tenacity I have never known. We struggle to get warm in the first place and it’s even harder to stay warm. The cold bites into the men as bad as any bullet.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for the rain and sleet. We stand waiting in the sodden trenches each day but even the officers know better than to force half frozen men over the top. We are practically solid as we stand shin deep in ice cold mud and water. I fell over earlier as I could no longer feel my feet. My toes had gone completely numb. My boots were submerged under the rancid freezing water. It is not as bad as one of the sentries last night. The poor fellow has had three toes amputated from frostbite. Poor chap.

I used a mirror to survey no man’s land just before dusk. The shell holes were filled with water from the last few weeks of rainfall. They had frozen with the drop in temperature and had stayed frozen through the day. I thought the winter last year was grim, but at least the German’s are suffering as bad as ourselves.

We are starting to struggle with the rations as well. There are supposed to be supply runs taking food to the front and injured to the field hospital three or four times a day. Now we are lucky if we see a transport once a day. The roads coming to the trench have fallen into disrepair. The constant rainfall and now the freezing weather is wreaking havoc. As a truck headed off yesterday, the road collapsed beneath it. It rolled over and off the road.

There were several injured men in it and a couple of medics. Two of the injured men died and one of the medics was concussed. It is beginning to wear heavily on the men’s nerves.

They are cold and hungry. It makes them in a foul and rebellious mood. For the time being there is nought to do but to sit and stare at the Germans until the cold kills one or both of us.

Short Story Part 04 Cillian Fearon | Short Story The war continues on the Western Front as Private Peter Keegan faces the freezing winter conditions and tension within the barracks.

Pvt. McKenna received a letter this morning. His father owns the butcher’s shop down off Thorncastle Street in Ringsend. The letter said that his brother was being detained in Frongoch after the Rising. They are releasing all the low level prisoners taken from the GPO first but they have his brother pegged as a ringleader of some sort. The way McKenna tells it, his brother is a bit rough and tumble but not a bad sort. It didn’t sit well with many of the chaps here. Every Mick and Paddy seems to have been shipped off if they ever said so much as a hello to a Republican.

Now while most of us were sympathetic to McKenna, one of the new officers drafted in, . Lieutenant Clemens made a snide remark. McKenna cleaned his clock and put him to sleep with a right hook. When Clemens came to, he took out his pistol and went looking for McKenna with a perturbing determination. It took three of us to talk Clemens out of shooting him. Clemens is a sod and pillock. We are hoping he won’t last long, and have actually started a betting pool to see how long he sticks it out. I’ve got three shillings on three weeks. One of the lads has put a pound on McKenna killing him within the week.

I don’t know what is to come in the next couple of weeks. We haven’t really moved over the last couple weeks. We haven’t seen real action since the Battle of Ginchy back in September. I fear that only means a big offensive will come soon. We haven’t had it through the official channels but the men are whispering. They are nervous, saying it is the calm before the storm. Another fruitless surge of life over the top, to be met with only death or a near escape of it. This is the way of it, over and over again. You would not think the war would last this long taking such a toil on life for every yard gained, but there seems to be no end in sight, one quickly gives up hope up of a breakthrough or crushing surge.

It seems our generation is destined to waste half of it’s youth in this monotonous and endless ritual of death.

I hope to write to you again soon. I hope that you and father are well. I don’t imagine I will see you before Christmas. I hope you are safe and that you are looking after each other. I will be home as soon as I can.

With Love, Pvt. Peter Keegan.

p.29

Tech.

The Rise And Fall of the Samsung Note 7 Conor McGovern | Tech Editor

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ith the world’s eyes locked to their phones nearly every other minute it is no surprise that the mobile phone industry is in the public eye once again, this time for all the wrong reasons. Earlier in September, Apple came under criticism after they released their new innovative iPhone 7 without an audio jack, leaving space for competitor Samsung to get one up on Apple’s dominance.

But just two months after the release of the new Note 7, Samsung have confirmed its cancellation after continuous complaints of overheating, fires, and even explosions.

Initially Samsung’s reaction to growing criticism was to sweep it under the carpet and hope the problems disappeared, but the Note 7’s problems weren’t vanishing nor could they be ignored. Instead of immediately offering sufficient refunds for consumers Samsung waited until they received “enough” evidence to prove that it was in fact the Note 7 that was at fault.

Samsung released a statement to the public stating that; “Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device”.

It is estimated that two and a half million devices have been recalled and Samsung issued a software update that limited battery capacity to sixty percent, while also beginning to carefully develop an alternative replacement phone for those users affected by the issues.

However, things would in fact get worse for Samsung as just two weeks ago a replacement Note 7 began smoking on a Southwest Airlines plane; since then there have been seven similar stories in which the replacement phone have been caught smoking.

Edward Snyder, the managing director of Charter Equity Research said it was vitally important the Note 7 was removed from the market as soon as possible. Snyder said; “This

Retrospective:

Legend of Zelda, Wind Waker HD Conor McGovern | Tech Editor

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wo weeks ago I presented you with a review of a classic video game remastered (Resident Evil 4). This week is no different as I delve into the world of one of Nintendo’s most beloved and successful franchises and one of their most controversial games, Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD. Originally released thirteen years ago for the Nintendo GameCube, it is no surprise that Wind Waker would receive a re-release for the Wii U. Where some remakes fail is their lack of ability to adapt with the times and re-connect

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has probably killed the Note 7 brand name, who knows if they’ll even re-release it”.

Samsung first attempted to blame poorly made batteries, and attempted to switch to a new provider in hope for an answer but after recent faults in the replacement phones it is clear that the fault is not only just in the battery but in the phone itself.

It is unclear if perhaps the Note’s development was rushed to get onto the shelves in order to compete with the iPhone 7. In the competitive attempt, it looks obvious that the short cuts have taken quite a toll on the company who relies heavily on its phone products.

In the last five years Samsung has had the highest market share in the mobile phone

industry, selling twenty five percent of the world’s phones. After such an extensive marketing strategy hyping up the Note 7 for months it came as no shock that millions worldwide bought into this hype. But with the amount of incidents and the severity of the situation Samsung were left with no choice other than to halt the production of the Note 7.

Samsung have already started to feel significant losses since the start of this ordeal, in the U.S. mobile phone providers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have stopped selling any of the remaining phones. Samsung’s shares fell drastically in the last seven days, losing 18 billion dollars in value. Compounding that is that after the designing, manufacturing, recalling, re-manufacturing and re re-calling of the Note

with their target audience. However, Wind Waker not only recaptures those who played it over a decade ago, it genuinely feels like a new game. Back in 2003, the gaming community waited with anticipation and excitement for the new instalment of the Legend of Zelda franchise which Nintendo had been hyping for months as a realistic action adventure. Instead fans were treated to an artistic cartoony game which critics called “too kiddie”. Wind Waker came under increasing fire from fans and critics a like and it looked as if Nintendo had damaged beyond repair a great franchise.

Although its contemporaries have long since been lost to the video game graveyard, Wind Waker has been able to stand the test of time.

The timeless classic of a young boy who travels the seas in search for his kidnapped sister who then winds up fighting a dastardly villain who aims to take control of the whole world creates a thoughtful and heart-warming adventure that perfectly encapsulates the Legend of Zelda The new “HD” remake is nothing more than a texture update with a new lighting system but, to be honest that is all that was needed, these new updates make for a more immersive and impressive experience . Its dynamic longe-

vity can be credited to the excellent combat system in which the player must adapt to each enemy using skill and rhythm. The charming characters, structured story combined with artistic cel-shaded style makes for a wonderful well-rounded video game.

The wide open world and increased draw distance of the camera makes the travelling between islands a daunting and isolating feel, which rather than creating a lethargic experience actually builds suspense, intrigue and a sense of true adventure. For example, the many mysterious islands that you come across throughout the game entice you to explore and discover new terrains and riches.

The most notable addition is a second screen on the Wii U controller allowing players to swap out items and weapons without having to pause making it feel more seamless and realistic. There is an added sense of an achievement when you can view every sea and treasure chart, the camera controls are much smoother and the animations in game are faster and sharper.

If you’re a returning fan then you are in for a treat as your love for this game will be re-kindled. Wind Waker holds up as a marvellous

7 Samsung have spent over 9.5 billion dollars which has been lost to thin air.

This also spells disaster for Samsung’s market share as they estimated between 15 and 19 million sales between their third, fourth quarters of 2016, and the first quarter of 2017.

Surprisingly, users of the Samsung Note 7 has increased by 10% since the phone has been discontinued, as previously stated Samsung sold 2.5 million units but has confirmed that 1.9 million have been returned.

What is worse is that a country like Vietnam who relies heavily on the Samsung brand for their economic growth. Samsung contributed to the growth of tech manufacturing within Vietnam with the total workforce connected in some way with Samsung coming in at around 400,000 people, including 130,000 company employees. This is a huge blow for the Vietnam economy with the Government hoping for a rise of 6.7% in economic growth this year.

Alan Pham of VinaCapital Group, Vietnam’s largest fund manager stated, “This is the risk of putting all your bets on one company or industry. But that is the natural progression of a developing country it starts by exporting commodities then turns to manufactured products, industrial products.”

It is fair to say that Samsung’s competitors will be boosted by this and we could see a massive shift from android to Apple. For example, Apple’s stock took its biggest jump since last December, obviously some of this is due to the release of the iPhone 7 but it shows that investors have jumped ship to a more reliable organisation. This is also a huge positive for Google, who have begun their massive push into the mobile phone market after recently releasing the Google Pixel Phone. Google are sure to get a huge boost in sales with such a huge hardcore android presence who are in search for a high-tech and reliable alternative for the iPhone 7 and Samsung’s Note. game full of magnificent and unique surprises. For those who have never played this game before, the Wii U provides a great way to experience this amazing adventure.

Tech.

Facebook Looks Ahead to Wireless VR Headsets with Oculus Rift Conor McGovern | Tech Editor

Tech editor Conor McGovern takes an indepth look at Facebook’s plans for virtual reality, and just how they plan to integrate the developing technology into their social media platform.

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acebook’s third annual Oculus Rift event occurred last week, showing off what they have in store for the coming months. Mark Zuckerberg founder of Facebook and owner of Oculus stated earlier this year that he was excited to take on a more significant role in the Oculus Rift development. Of course since buying Oculus back in 2014 for 2 billion dollars, Zuckerberg has been very excited to invest in the world of VR but more in a social networking sense than gaming.

The third key note Oculus showed off a demo of Facebook VR in which user avatars in different locations were able to connect with each other in a chatroom and were able to talk and play games. Along with Facebook VR, rumours suggest that Oculus are planning on creating Instagram VR which could allow users to upload 360 degree photos/videos.

Facebook’s VR Product Manager Mike Booth stated that he expected the Oculus to be released “as soon as possible”, he went on to explain that Facebook was eager to release the first Oculus Rift in order to get sufficient feedback from its early users.

Facebook have stated that they will be investing 10 million dollars to help create independent games for the VR headset.

For those of you who are interested some of the launch titles include Eve Valkyrie, Chronos, Edge of Nowhere, Damage Core, VR Sports Challenge, Esper, AirMechVR and Lucky's Tale.

One of the most encouraging updates to the Oculus is newly

developed controllers, without which it had been at a disadvantage to competitors like Playstation VR and HTC vive. The new controllers fit perfectly in your hand and in addition to the buttons and thumbsticks the controller is able to track your other fingers that aren’t touching the controllers.

The keynote then turned to the near future by showing off the upcoming wireless VR headset which will be called ‘Santa Cruz’. Design wise it looks the exact same as the Oculus Rift, but Santa Cruz has everything you need for VR within the headset including room tracking. The idea for a wireless VR headset is an attempt to close the gap between the expensive Oculus Rift headset and the Samsung Gear VR, this is indeed a step in the right direction for VR as users who do purchase the headset will not need a computer or smartphone to connect it to.

Zuckerberg was quick to point out that this is just an idea for now, so with no release date announced it could be years until we see a wireless VR. This keynote was a clear indication of what Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s true intentions are for VR, it will be interesting to see whether this increased attention to a more social networking VR experience will pay-off for Facebook, especially with their biggest rivals coming from the gaming industry and obviously focusing more on that aspect of VR. It is important to look at how the Oculus Rift compares to its competitors, as things stand the Oculus Rift is priced at 599.99

Image Above Zuckerberg is excited to invest in the world of VR

dollars which 100 dollars more expensive than the Playstation VR with their highest bundle being priced at 499.99 dollars.

The HTC vive however, is priced at a staggering 800 dollars.

Here in Ireland, we are still awaiting official release dates and pricing for the Oculus Rift, the Playstation VR is being priced at 399.99 euro (GameStop) while the HTC vive comes in at 899.99 euro. This is certainly a bold play by HTC especially when up against the Oculus Rfit which is expected to be priced around 500 euro and Playstation who do of course have a slight advantage already over the vive and oculus with 43 million Playstation 4 consoles been sold worldwide.

HTC representatives claim that the company has sold over 140,000 units for their VR experience. Back in August HTC's China regional president for VR Alvin Grayling claimed the firm had sold 100,000 units but, chairman Cher Weng explained that now this number is well over 140,000. His statements are backed up after recent reports suggesting that HTC profits rose 40% between the period of August and September.

With the holiday season fast approaching it will be interesting to see which VR system will sell the most and which will be left playing catch up. For the Oculus Rift the next series of weeks will be vitally important if they are to really make an impact in the VR market. p.31

The Turbine A lway s S ati r ical - O c cas ional l y H u mou rous

Turbine Reveals Breakdown of Third-Level Fees Tadhg Treacy reveals figures for the Turbine that outline the true cost of running a university, and why our student fees are well spent by the powers that be. ollege costs. We can’t get away from it. Now, after C government plans to ignore the higher education funding crisis were met by hundreds of enthusiastic

college students eager for an excuse to miss a day of lectures, the Department of Public Expenditure has drafted the following emergency account to illustrate why universities are so expensive to keep open: €9,000 per student grant: I mean we’re practically giving it away at this stage, would ye ever grow up and reach into your own pockets for once? €25 million bribe to Dublin Bus to stop striking: Look, we had to throw this one in somewhere and it’s not like anyone’s actually going to read a report on university fees. €2 million per coffee shop opened up within 10 metres of the previous one: As part of our programme to make university campuses more artistic and like the ones we see in those films at the Dáil movie night, (No, Mr Adams, we saw “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” last time), we’ve incentivised coffee shops to operate all over the gaff. You hardly thought Costa and the like were opening up a third shop in UCD because it made “good business sense”, did you? €5.50 ministerial lunch: Minister Richard Bruton’s lunch expenses following claims from the Education Minister, “I was going to go get my packed lunch from the car, but your student protests through town wouldn’t let me near it. In the end I had to get one of those fancy O’Brien’s sandwiches, and there’s no way I’m footing the bill for that one myself. You’re only hurting yourselves at this stage.”

An Open Letter to Society: Adulting is Hard Turbine writer Darryl Hennessy grapples with his own foreboding existentialist crisis in turning twenty-two

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eing a responsible adult is shit… Being an adult at all for that matter is shit.

An adult is basically just a depressed, quickly aging container filled with regret, desperately clinging to any shred of identifiable youth leaking from itself. It’s pretty whack.

They have to worry about an income, a place to live, not dying alone, etc. I say “they” because I’m absolutely in denial over this turning 21 craic. You know what that means? 21? I’m a year away from being a Taylor Swift song.

I’m old as shit. The truth hurts. My interests now are knitting and drinking white wine to the sound of whatever old people listen to. Nickelback, probably. When did you realise you were old? The first time you got served without ID? After organizing your sock drawer? That bubble bursting pregnancy scare? Doesn’t matter; what matters is the cold, objective truth that we’re old and probably going to die soon.

At 20, life is pretty much half over anyway, what’s the point anymore? It’s not even the fun half that’s left. It’s the oppressively relentless, crushingly ruthless realities to look forward to. Feel like spending a nice summer day chilling on some grass, maybe drink a couple cold guys with friends? No more of that for you. How about a letter labelled “urgent” instead because you forgot to pay your mortgage this month.

But hey, at least in being old as shit we don’t have to dwell on the people we once fell for, hoping for any, literally absolutely any sign of mutual attraction (oh the joys!) Because guess what…You’re already spoken for, oldie. Love isn’t even a thing anymore for you now. You come home and there’s a loveless stranger in your house. You grunt in greeting and

he/she/it returns the call. There’s some oldie food sitting on the table; salad and beef or some other pitiful arrangement serving only to remind you of your relationship with your fleeting youth. You haven’t had sex since your birthday (special occasion: one year closer to the end). You go to bed at 9 p.m., and sleep a dreamless sleep. You wake up too early and continue the grind. C’est la vie!

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling very existential about turning 22.

Towards One Glorious Unanimous Student Body Karl O’Reilly |Turbine Editor

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here is discord within our student body. Right and left, students are feuding over this and that, who represents what, and just what it is that a representation represents anyway.

The harm is that further disunity within the student body is likely to render it entirely incapable of performing simple human actions.

For example, it will not be able to jog.

Were all of us to take suddenly to the streets in our low state of synchronicity, the day would likely go down in history as a dark one.

Nor could the body date. As it is, few people are interested in dating all 30,000 of us at once. If we cannot become proactive and find a consensus on who we would like to ask, we are

likely to go entirely without.

None of this has been to say that we must act to become some behemoth creature. I only point out that it is a possibility should it be desired, and that improving our synchronicity may be a fun project to attempt over the remainder of the term, towards greater efforts at being represented entirely equally.

Sport.

United and Liverpool Play Out Uninspiring Goalless Draw Jamie Duff | Sports Writer

Man Utd 0 Liverpool 0

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espite being the centre of a great deal of pre-match hype, Monday night’s Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester United proved to be a dull affair, with Jürgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho’s sides each leaving Anfield with a point. While grateful to avoid defeat, both managers will rue the goalless draw as a missed opportunity: a three-goal margin of victory would have seen Liverpool draw level with league leaders Manchester City, while a United win could have seen them leapfrog the hosts for fourth place. That being said, United, who entered the match as underdogs, will likely feel more satisfied with a draw than Liverpool.

For the all the firepower that these two teams possess, quality play was a rare sight. Both sides had stretches of inability to maintain possession, sometimes due to sloppy passing, others due to frailty in the face of defensive pressure from the opposition.

Chances were also few and far between: Liverpool and United’s attacking players struggled to produce anything of substance.

The midfield lacking in creativity and often were forced into periods of ineffectual lateral and backwards passing by their defensive counterparts.

Ultimately it was a night to forget for the star players of both teams. Much was made in the prelude to the game of the injury-induced absences of Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana from Klopp’s starting eleven, and both were badly missed on the night.

Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, and Sadio Mané, who have looked irresistible at times this season, struggled to get out of second gear for much of the first half. Englishmen Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge were mostly anonymous throughout the match. Emre can was handed his first league start of the season, but an accidental collision with Mané in the thirty-third minute typified Liverpool’s lacklustre showing.

Jose Mourinho’s blockbuster summer recruitments Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic fared little better. While struggling players sometimes need big games to help them find their form, this was not such an

occasion for Pogba. To say he was played off the park would be unfair: the Frenchman looked decent on the ball on occasion and provided a couple of goal scoring opportunities to striker Ibrahimovic whilst playing in his preferred number ten position. Nevertheless, these periods were fleeting, and for much of the game he was soundly handled by the Liverpool defence. Ibrahimovic’s display was even less convincing. Despite a couple of semi-threatening runs at the Liverpool goal, the Swede’s most memorable moment was a squandered fifty-third minute header which was well-wide of the mark.

However, it was not all doom and gloom for the attacking players. Liverpool’s linkup play improved a great deal throughout the second half, aided in no small part by Lallana’s fiftyninth minute replacement of Sturridge. David De Gea was twice forced into action to keep United’s clean sheet, stifling a good run from Can in the fiftysixth minute, before leaping to defend a brilliant long-range effort from Coutinho in the seventieth. Likewise, Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young both looked lively on the wings for United, providing probing runs and crosses throughout the night.

Ultimately though defensive discipline rather than attacking flair proved to be the order of the day. Dejan Lovren put in a classy performance for Liverpool, confidently nullifying United’s efforts to attack the eighteen-yard box. Similarly, Ander Herrera had a major hand in stifling Liverpool’s usually rampant midfield with his work rate and intelligent tackling and interceptions.

The man of the match, in my opinion, was Antonio Valencia: the converted right-back got the better of James Milner on several occasions with his jinking attacking runs, while his impressive defensive work saw him deny Firmino a crucial opportunity in the eighty-third minute.

Both teams will look to improve in their next league fixtures. Liverpool host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, while United travel for a big game against Mourinho’s former club Chelsea on Sunday.

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p.33

Sport.

Leinster Cruise to Opening Weekend Win Against Castres Eoghan Brennan | Sports Writer

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einster began their Champions’ Cup campaign with a comprehensive 33-15 win last Saturday afternoon against Castres in the RDS. It was a comfortable victory for the home side as they dominated from the first whistle and came away with a bonus point win to get their European campaign off to the perfect start.

Leinster had the better of the opening exchanges, as Joey Carberry linked well with his two centres, Henshaw and UCD player Garry Ringrose, to set Henshaw clean through the Castres defence down the left flank early on; before winning a penalty in the opposition 22 which was nudged into the corner by Carberry. The decision to forgo the kick at goal paid off as Leinster went to the maul which powered over the Castres try-line for a grateful Sean Cronin to dot down with just 8 minutes on the clock and make it 5-0.

Leinster continued to play the better rugby as they dominated both possession and territory with fly-half, Carberry at the heart of everything. However, it was the front 8 that would prove their worth again as another lineout in the Castres 22 would be taken to the maul. Sean Cronin broke free to catch the French side asleep around the fringes to rumble over to make it 12-0 with his second try of the game on the 25-minute mark.

The sole bright spark to come for the French side was from the dangerous 19-year-old Antoine Dupont. The scrum-half spotted a mismatch with Devin Toner at the edge of a ruck and easily side-stepped the big secondrower before his jinking run was eventually brought to a halt on the Leinster 22 by a hightackle. Benjamin Urdapilleta knocked over the penalty straight in front of the posts to get his sides first points of the day.

Leinster’s third try of the day was almost identical to the first two as on the half hour mark they once more turned down the kick at goal and turned to their maul from a lineout.

The Leinster pack again proved too strong for

LEINSTER XV: 15. Rob Kearney 14. Zane Kirchner 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. Isa Nacewa 10. Joey Carbery 9. Luke McGrath 1. Jack McGrath 2. Sean Cronin 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Devin Toner 5. Ian Nagle 6. Rhys Ruddock 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jamie Heaslip Image Left A comfortable victory for the Leinster side

their opposition and this time Jack McGrath was the man to touch the ball down to make it 19-3 following a second successful kick from Isa Nacewa.

It would be Castres who ended the half more positively as, against the run of play, they mauled well from a lineout before a former UCD scrum-half McGrath charged in at the side to collapse the maul and concede the penalty try in the process. His punishment was furthered as a yellow card was brandished meaning he would spend the first ten-minutes of the second half on the side line as the teams headed in to half time at 19-10.

Leinster kept the ball tight in the opening exchanges of the second half as they coped well while down to 14 men. Isa Nacewa showed

his experience by controlling the game while filling in at scrum-half. His good play was rewarded, deep into the Castres half he spotted a gap around the ruck and sprinted in to give his side a bonus point fourth try and he made it 26-10 to Leinster.

Carberry continued to show his class as he kept his side moving forward with inch perfect kicks off both feet. This territory would lead to yet more good work by the Leinster pack as their mauling once again proved the undoing of the visiting the defence. Castres replacement second row of Thibaut Lassale was penalised for collapsing a Leinster maul and earned himself ten minutes in the sin-bin.

This allowed Leinster to close out the game as they made it 33-10 with a penalty try as a

result of several dominant scrums impeded by the Castres pack.

Castres would go on to get what was little more than a consolation score off the back of a maul from replacement Anthony Jelonch, giving the scoreboard a more respectable look on what was Leinster’s day. It may not have been a perfect performance from Leo Cullen’s men against a poor Castres side but they will be nonetheless delighted with their bonus point win. Leinster’s second Cup game against Montpellier was played out on Sunday in the Aviva.

The next round of Champions Cup games comes around in December, with Leinster playing Northampton back-to-back, first in England, before a home game in the Aviva on December 17th.

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Sport.

Anthony Foley: A Snapshot of a Brilliant Career Conor Lynott | Sports Editor

Following the sudden death of Munster coach Anthony Foley last week in France, Sports Editor Conor Lynott paints a tribute to the Irish rugby legend with a look back over the highlights of his career.

Kings of Europe at last After Jim Williams had left Munster in 2005 Foley was rewarded with the captaincy.

Heineken Cup final heartbreak in 2000 and 2002 had ignited a drive and desire matched by few other teams to finally claim Europe’s premier competition. After easing through the group stages with five wins out of six Munster came out on top in their quarter-final clash with Perpignan thanks to a sublime kicking performance from Ronan O’Gara. Then came a semi-final tie against arch rivals Leinster on an electric day in Lansdowne Road. But there was no stopping Munster 10 years ago as they steamrollered their Irish counterparts 30-6 to set up a final against Biarritz. In front of 75,000 people on May 20th at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Foley led his province to the pinnacle of European rugby glory winning 23 – 19. At the post-match press conference the captain shared an emotional moment with Mick Galway as two Munster legends united in joy.

Foley makes his Ireland Debut against England It was January 21st 1995 and Ireland were looking to make it three wins in a row over what was, at the time, a vastly superior England team preparing for an assault on the World Cup later that year. Lansdowne Road was the venue and the opening match of the Five Nations was the occasion. A 21-year-old Anthony Foley made his debut in an Ireland shirt along a back row which included Mick Galwey, David Corkery and Paddy Johns. Also making their first bows in the green of Ireland that day were Niall Hogan and Paul Burke. However it was Foley who stood from the rest.

While Ireland were never really in touch with the visitors (England ran out 20-8 victors) Foley was already making a name for himself.

A quick tap and go in stoppage time allowed him to burst through the England line and go over for Ireland’s only try of the game, adding a glimmer of positivity on a dull day in Dublin.

It’s 200 up for Captain Foley Now 35-years-old Foley’s career was beginning to wind down in 2008. He had passed on the captain’s armband to Paul O’Connell at the start of the season, but not before he reached a landmark of 200 caps. It came in Belfast and a Magner’s League clash with Ulster. The Northern province would run out victors on a scoreline of 19-9 but, after 13 years with the province, Foley had made history by becoming the first Munster player to reach 200 caps. Injuries were beginning to take their toll on the 35-year-old and he would retire at the end of the 2008 season after missing out on selection for the Heineken Cup final win over Toulouse.

A Double World Cup Representative The 1995 World Cup was a momentous occasion for many reasons, and it was also Foley’s first involvement with Ireland at the very height of the game. After defeat to the mighty All-Blacks in their opening Pool C match, Ireland came up against Japan in Bloemfontein needing a win to maintain their chance of advancing past the group stages. That win came about by a margin of 50-28 and Foley came off the bench to make his World Cup debut. He missed out on selection for the 1999 tournament as the province of Munster was largely ignored in the 30 man squad.

However, four years later he was back in for the trip to Australia but was unfortunate as injury plagued him in the build-up. Foley only made two starts in the group stages – against Namibia and Australia – and then suffered the disappointment of being dropped for the first time in four years for the quarter-final with France.

A Munster Debut on a Wednesday afternoon

Back in 1995 it’s fair to say that Munster weren’t the biggest draw in the counties around the south of Ireland. Garryowen and Shannon (from who Foley had recently joined Munster) ruled the roost around Limerick.

But then came along the Heineken Cup. The new-fangled European competition didn’t quite capture the imagination straight away.

Munster’s first match, a home clash against Swansea was even played on a November Wednesday afternoon in order to avoid disrupting the national league. Foley started at flanker in an exceptionally strong team of which every member would at some stage be capped for Ireland. Munster won 17-13 and a European odyssey of which Foley would be a centre point for years to come – had begun.

The first taste of Silverware in the Red of Munster

The 2002/03 Celtic League was just the in it’s second season of the new competition which pitted teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales against each other. Foley had been on the Munster side which lost 24-20 to Leinster in the final the previous year and were therefore out to set things right. And set things right they did in spectacular fashion. Six wins out of seven games in the pool stages saw them ease into the quarterfinals where they would dish out a 33-3 hammering to Connacht before racking up a 42-10 victory over Ulster in the semi-finals. Foley started at number eight again in the final where Munster overcame Neath 37-17 to lift their first trophy outside Ireland.

Appointment as Munster Head Coach

After a Munster career spanning 13 years and a record caps tally, Foley was brought back into the fold as forwards coach in 2011.

He fulfilled that role for three years before finally getting the job he craved when, on July 1st 2014, he officially took up the role as Munster head coach. He led Munster to the Pro12 Final in his first season in charge where they were beaten by Glasgow Warriors before taking them into the current season with the assistance of director of rugby Rassie Erasmus.

The news of his sudden death last week will no doubt leave a hole in the hearts of Irish and Munster rugby. But a distinguished legacy and legend as well.

p.35

College Tribune.

CT. Sport

Heartbreak for UCD AFC as They Fall Short of League Promotion Playoff Spots Jack Power | Editor

Match Score UCD AFC 1 Drogheda 2

www.collegetribune.ie

UCD

AFC have fallen at the last hurdle in their bid to win promotion to the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, and were overtaken on the final matchday weekend by Cobh Ramblers.

Heading into the last round of games, UCD were sitting in 3rd position on 48 points, with Cork side Cobh Ramblers just behind them on 47 points. The Student side had by far the tougher final game, playing away to Drogheda who were in second place on 49 points.

Drogheda made use of their home advantage to take the lead in the game, but UCD fullback Mark Langtry managed to pull the Belfield side back level in the first half. It would be Drogheda who got the next goal to settle the nervy promotion tie, winning 2-1.

The loss would prove a devastating one for the Belfield lads, as it allowed Cobh Ramblers to leapfrog them and claim the last promotion playoff spot.

Cobh Ramblers had as straightforward an opponent as one could hope for, lining out in their must-win game against bottom of the League Athlone Town. Cobh seized their chance to sneak past the despondent Students at the death, with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Athlone. The ever-sharp forward Rob Lehane putting Cobh ahead, before a late

second goal from the Ramblers secured the win for them. The vital win saw them move past UCD, and now they go into a promotion playoff against Drogheda to rise into the Premier League of Ireland. Limerick City gained automatic promotion to the Irish top tier, winning the first division comfortably after a strong season.

The drama of the final day saw celebrations in Drogheda and Cobh, but despondence and heartbreak for the travelling UCD faithful and the players. The Students were relegated from the top tier of League of Ireland back in 2014, and have played in the First Division league since then. After their fall from the top league the Students took a year or two to re-group and build their team back up. This year under talented coach Collie O’Neill the Belfield side looked like it had done enough to make the jump back into the Premier LOI, but it was not to be.

Looking back on the season the UCD side have a lot to be proud of, having again stuck to their guns as a team that is not afraid to pass the ball and play with flair. The lads in blue have become an incubator for a lot of homegrown emerging Irish talent. The best example was the rise of youngster Dylan Watts this season, the nineteen-year old became one of UCD’s most creative suppliers of quality chances from midfield. His impres-

sive performances earned him a transfer to English Premier League champions Leicester City this September. But Watts dream move away highlights the plight of feeder clubs like UCD who build their squad arounds rising young talent, which is often their best and brightest are lured away or abroad. The constant challenge for UCD each year is then trying to balance developing promising talent, but also hanging on to it for more than one season.

In a testament to the UCD squads strong performance over the year was recognised in the nominations for player and team of the year by the Player’s Footballing Association.

Three Students players made the team of the year, defender Maxi Kouogun, captain and midfielder Gary O’Neill, and prolific forward Ryan Swan. The rest of the team of the year were made up of players from league winners Limerick F.C. UCD captain Gary O’Neill was also one of three players nominated for First Division player of the year, alongside Limerick’s Chris Mulhall and Shane Duggan. The work will now begin towards the next season, as the young Belfield side look to put together another team to challenge for promotion back to the Premier division of the League of Ireland.