COLLEGE TRIBUNE /collegetribune
Volume 29, Issue 1
New group advocates elective SU Membership
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Independent Since 1989
collegetribune.ie
Una Power Editor
O
ver the course of their studies, students’ levels of contact with their union vary wildly. The union may be encountered by a student only once in their college career, when they find themselves in need of its assistance. Others may find themselves actively involved with the union, participating in its campaigns and events. And then there are some who may never have need of nor interest in the union, being aware of its existence merely through posters and pamphlets strewn across campus. Whatever their experience of the union, all students do have one thing in common: they are paidup members of the union as a matter of course. Once a student registers with UCD, or any other university, they automatically join the union. This circumstance has prompted recent graduate of law at this university, Samuel O’Connor, to take action. This week O’Connor launches Irish Students For Free Association, a lobby group which is campaigning for the abolition of compulsory membership of student unions, under the constitutional right to freedom of association. O’Connor contends that students should be “asked expressly” whether or not
Sam O’Connor, recent UCD law graduate and ISFA founder | Image, College Tribune
they want to join the union, and that if they desire to leave the union for any reason, this should be facilitated through proper mechanisms. O’Connor has first-hand experience of the difficulties of leaving a student union, which he was no longer happy to have represent him.
an easy disassociation procedure simply weren’t in place.”
In 2013 UCDSU held a preferendum on what stance the union should take on abortion. 45% of the 2527 students who voted, did so in favour of a stance supporting abortion on request of the woman. This was subsequently adopted into the constitution of the union.
“That’s simply not good enough.” says O’Connor, “It’s not up to any student to qualify their resignation; it should simply be accepted. That’s what the right to freedom of association means”.
O’Connor, who was in third year at the time, holds “a moral objection to abortion” and so felt uncomfortable being a member of a union which would take on such a position. In the wake of the preferendum results, O’Connor sought to disaffiliate from the student union. In doing so he was met with great difficulty. “The decision to leave was easily made”, O’Connor told the College Tribune this week, “However the mechanisms required to facilitate
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O’Connor’s request to leave the SU was initially denied by the then President of the Union, Mícheál Gallagher, and by the SU executive. It was only upon referral to their legal team that O’Connor’s request was allowed.
According to O’Connor he was initially content to leave his situation as it was, following the vindication of his request. But since his high profile departure from the union O’Connor has been approached by a number of students who wanted his help regarding leaving their unions. These students, stresses O’Connor, desire to disassociate from their unions for a myriad of reasons other than his own, ranging from dissatisfaction with their treatment at the hands of union officers, to strong unease with the actions of
individual elected representatives. On the back of this O’Connor felt that it was evident that students, from all over the country, were crying out for help in these matters. Irish Students for Free Association (ISFA) has been set up to advocate for students such as these, across all third level institutions, and ensure them ease of disaffiliation from their unions.
But the long term and main objective of the ISFA campaign is to abolish mandatory membership of student unions, instead making it something that students sign up to by express choice. O’Connor envisages this as being a process akin to joining a college society. He feels that student unions should set up a stall at Freshers’ Week, where students would go to sign up voluntarily.
The group’s website, www. leaveyoursu.com, presents students with the legal argument for the right to freedom of association; a right, O’Connor argues, that student unions have been remiss in publicising to those they represent. The website also provides an application form for those seeking to disaffiliate from their unions. By filling it out with their name, number and a registered university email address and submitting it, the student involved will be contacted by an ISFA representative who will help them with the disaffiliation process. The representative will send the disaffiliation request to the university on behalf of that student, along with any other requests from students belonging to the same university.
O’Connor is of the opinion that this will be “hugely beneficial to student unions. It will provide them with an impetus, which they have thus far lacked, to actually act in the best interest of students. It will provide them with an incentive to take action, which is actually representative of the student body, it will make them more efficient, and hopefully it will encourage them to provide a better service to students.” As for the possibility of students choosing not to join their union in order to avoid payment, O’Connor believes “a good union has nothing to fear from freedom of association”, that if the services provided are of a high standard, then students will be inclined to join. //
News
UCD Introduces Paid Parking
ELECTRIC PICNIC & MORE in
THE TRIB
CT
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Volume 29, Issue 1
Editorial: Once more unto the breach, dear friends Una Power Editor
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eptember has once again crept upon us, and we see ourselves being thrown back into academic pursuits. For first years, it is a time of excitement: many are living away from home for the first time; many more are enjoying a new level of social freedom; all are caught up in the excitement of a new landscape filled with new people. For those returning to UCD things may seem more routine. They have found a groove, formed groups, overcome the novelty of greater freedom and greater responsibilities. But this should not mean they do not seek out new adventures and activities. University, for whatever stress is attached to it, provides a wonderful opportunity for us to explore new things. You should use your time here to push yourself in new
directions, no matter what level you are at. I say this as someone who returned to third level in my mid-twenties. I had attended UCC when I was 18, but I didn’t fully seize all that the college offered. While I had fun there, and made wonderful friendships, I had remained steadfastly in my comfort zone. So when I came to UCD I made a pact with myself. I was to try out all the things I had wanted to the first time around, but had been too scared to do. To begin I took on a new language as an elective, Portuguese – a decision that would lead me to attend a summer language course in Porto and ignited my interest in the lusophone countries. Radio had long been an interest
of mine, so I rocked up to the Belfield FM station, knowing no one there, and sat in on a show. I met my co-editor, Seán O’Reilly, in Belfield FM. As I write this article we are sitting on a couch together watcing the original Star Wars. These were things I took on for first year, but I had vowed not to be content with that. In second year I became Auditor of the German Society. In third year, in a fit of utter madness, I began to study French and to write for this very paper. Of course this all created stress! Of course there were times I would have rather gone home, crawled into bed with my hot water bottle, than go to an evening talk or society event! Of course, when in the throes of essay writing, I cursed taking on extra work and wondered where such masochism ste-
med from! However looking back, with a degree safely in my paws, I am delighted that I did all that I did. I met people I would have never even seen if I had stuck to just my classes. I developed new skills and learned I was interested in things that I otherwise wouldn’t have even known existed. And so I say this to both those setting out on their university path and those for whom the finish line is on the horizon: keep exploring, exploit all the opportunities that university life offers. Go try trampolining; attend talks on subjects that interest you; run for committee positions; never be afraid to go to things alone. Because once you are out of university you will find that all these things are not available on one campus, are not so easy to discover and you may lament not taking those chances.
Editorial: Nehmen Sie es von hinten, sie sind eiskalt! Seán O’Reilly Editor
“T
ake it from the back, they’re ice-cold!” This phrase doesn’t seem particularly striking, but for whatever reason, it’s a piece of advice that’s stayed with me since a stranger in a Munich train station said it to me seven years ago. The concept has come up over and over again in different contexts, worded in different ways, but the idea is always the same. The most stripped back, no room for confusion way this presents itself to me is at the end of a glass of wine. I spent a few years working in an off-license to help pay my way through college. When I started, which was shortly after I began studying UCD, I knew next to nothing. One day while having a conversation with my manager I mentioned that the grapes harvested for a bottle that I particularly
liked must have come from very good soil. He explained to me that in the vineyard, vines which grow on better soils actually tend to produce inferior wine than those planted on poorer ground. Common sense would, naturally, tell you that this makes not the slightest bit of sense. Though the underlying theory which explains why this is the case is surprisingly sound. Those vines that grow on poor ground have to send their roots deeper and produce broader leaves in order to get the same nutrients as their well-attended counterparts. This ultimately results in the vines drawing in more sunshine and nourishment over the course of the growing season. This is not without its drawbacks however. Last year, to improve my German and gain some practical experience in the production of wine, I travelled to a village in rural
Austria and worked a vintage in the vineyards there. One sunny morning my task for the day was explained to me. I was to walk the vineyards in Käferberg and lop off bunches of grapes until there were only so many on each vine. When I asked the winemaker why this needed to be done, he explained to me that by reducing the number of bunches on each vine the plant would concentrate its efforts on the remaining grapes. These grapes would then grow larger and mature better than if the vine were left overcrowded. If you’ve read this far, you might quite rightly be wondering what this has to do with anything. So, the point: life at college is challenging, there’s always too much to do. Balancing enough sleep, a social life and good grades is difficult but not impossible. So take on too much, enjoy the challenges that you come across and over
Editors Una Power Seán O’Reilly
Arts Editor Emma Costello
Film & Entertainment Editor Niamh Crosbie
News Editor Cian Carton
Politics Editor Jack Power
Fashion Editor Emer Slattery
Sports Editor Neil Ryan
Business Editor Adam Hetherington
Tech Editor Graham Harkness
Features Editor Sinéad Slattery
Eagarthóir Gaeilge Gearóid Óg Ó Greacháin
Turbine Editor Hans Offerman
time, let things balance themselves out. Just like the grapes on the vine, if you struggle a little bit, at the end of the day you’ll be better for it. After all, it’s hard to recognise high points without lows to compare and contrast them with. Two months ago, while reading a trade magazine at work, I saw that the wine that was produced from the vines in Käferberg had won a trophy at an international wine challenge. I played a small part in that and it’s something I’m proud of, in the same way as I’m proud of all the things I helped make happen while I attended UCD. So you do the same, find something you love and obsess over it, see where it takes you. And at the end of your time at UCD, look back and see what you’ve achieved. It won’t seem like it at the time, but things will always work out fot h best.
Contributors: Kate Weedy Conor O’Leary Jennifer Smyth Thom Meighan Ruth O’Hanlon Rachel Cunningham Andrew Grossen Lucy Ní Nialláin
Jamie Fortune Ruairi McCann Matty Healy Luca Lombardo Shannen Plunkett Katherine Devlin Aindriú Mac an tSaoir Shawna Scott
Inside the Tribune News - Visa trouble for international students // 4 - Scooter headline Fresher’s Ball 2015 // 3 - Spinout Success for UCD incubator // 5 - Berkeley victims remebered in UCD // 4
Features - Humans of Dublin // 8 - Sex & Drugs // 9 - What to do in Dublin //6 - Experience: Accommdation Crisis // 6
Travel & Study Abroad
- Moving from study to work in Berlin // 10
Tech - Get the most from your DSLR Camera // 12
Business - Refugees resent economic benefits // 13 - Entrepreneurship, risk and reward // 13 - PP/Betfair Merger //13
Politics & Innnovation
- The Rental Crisis // 15 - Selection Convention Disrepancies // 14 - In Ireland’s Defence, DOD/DFI whitepaper released // 16
Gaeilge
- Teach na Gaeilge // 17 - Digs // 17
Turbine - Panic as Student Bar runs out of Fosters // 18 - Pilgrimage of dyslexics begins in Ernie. // 18
Sport - Dublin set for All Ireland Final // 22 - Kilkenny take Liam McCarthy cup // 21 - Rugby World Cup Pool Profiles, groups A, B & C // 19, 20, 21
Read CT on the bus:
Wednesday September 16th 2015
News in Brief
The Early Morning Rave announcement | Image, UCD Ents
UCDSU to Host Early Morning Rave
Cian Carton News Editor
U
CD Students’ Union (UCDSU) has announced that it will be hosting an early morning rave on Thursday, September 17th. The Astra Hall, in the Student Centre, is set to be the venue for the two hour party, which will kick off at 7:30am. In his UCDSU update email, which was sent to students on Thursday, 10th September, Marcus O’Halloran, UCDSU President, encouraged people to attend
the event. The email contains a link to the private event page on Facebook, which will be updated with further details of the rave. Once the music stops, there will be free coffee and fruit provided to help students stay awake for the rest of the day. The rave is part of several activities being hosted by UCDSU as part of Freshers’ Week, which runs from 14th – 18th September. //
Dear First Year Me Proves to Be a First Time Success
2015 Fresher’s Ball Lineup | Image, UCD Ents
Scooter Headlines Freshers’ Ball 2015 Cian Carton News Editor
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cooter, the German dance group, played to an excited student crowd at the Freshers’ Ball 2015 on Thursday, 10th September. This year marked the return of the Ball to the Freshers’ Week Marquee, which is located behind the Student Centre. The event had been held in Astra Hall for the past two years, and saw Basshunter and Cascada feature as headline acts. This year’s event had a similar dance
theme to the past two. The Dead Prezidents returned to support Scooter, having played at the 2012 and 2013 events. Jamie Duff and DJ Flip also entertained the crowd on the night. Tickets to the 2015 Ball cost €20. In contrast, tickets for the 2012 Ball, which was headlined by The Original Rudeboys and held in the Academy nightclub, cost €10. At the time, Eoin Heffernan, then UCDSU Ents Officer, spoke about bringing down the cost of the event as an enticement. However the price has increased incrementally over the past three years to a record high. //
Cian Carton News Editor
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ear First Year Me, a campaign by UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) to help incoming first years settle into university life, has been well received across campus. UCDSU has been asking returning students to pass on their advice from their time in UCD by writing it out on posters in the Student Centre. Other posters have been placed along the wall outside the O’Brien Centre for Science. Advice on the posters ranged from humorous money saving tips like “Don’t buy the books, torrent them!” to more serious ones, such as “Don’t mess with LibroCop.” The Union’s five Sabbatical Officers each made videos with their own tips, in order to promote the campaign. Cian Byrne, UCDSU Campaigns & Communications Officer, had this piece of advice for first years; “Unfriend your parents on Facebook. Just trust me, unfriend them.” while Education Officer Danielle Curtis reccomended thst students “Carpool and give / take lifts to college.”
Dear First Year Me Posters outside the Science Building | Image, UCDSU
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The hashtag #DearFirstYearMe also proved to be popular on Twitter. The campaign is set to continue in the run up to, and during Freshers’ Week. //
Filmsoc set up in the Fresher’s Tent | Image, Seán O’Reilly
Fresher’s Week Kicks Off Seán O’Reilly Editor
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he setup for Fresher’s week took place over the weekend ahead of a packed second week on campus. The annual event which sees both societies and sports clubs open up for new and returning members promises to be bigger and better than ever with well over 100 wildly varying activities on offer.
While the week provides students with their first opportunity to join UCD’s clubs and societies, it is by no means the only time to get involved. All clubs and societies are open to members throughout the academic year and can be reached through their facebook pages or official society email.
Events during the week include an early morning rave organised by UCDSU, an intro to media night run by the College Tribune, University Observer, Belfield FM and Campus Television Network, debates, eating contests and more.
Full event listings can be found on posters placed around campus or at the UCD Societies Council website ucdsocieties.com //
News
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Volume 29, Issue 1
Signs in place around the Belfield campus detail the introduction of parking charges | Image, Seán O’Reilly
UCD Introduces Paid Parking Seán O’Reilly Editor
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fter toying with the idea for a number of years, university authorities have introduced paid parking on the Belfield campus as of September 7th. The system in place comprises of two parts, an annual permit system for members of the UCD community and an hourly rate for guests and visitors. Notice of the charges was first communicated to students and staff by email from UCD Registry on July 17th. This communication was among eight other topics as part of the “Get Ready for Registration 2015/2016”
circular. The email notice was supplemented by the installation of signs t the entrances and exits of all car parks. Permit costs for both staff and students are to cost €50 for the academic year while hourly rates are set at €1 per hour for standard spaces and €5 for “premium spaces”. The standard rate charge is to be capped at a maximum of €3 per day. Parking management is to be undertaken on behalf of the university by National Car ParkingServices (NCPS) which de
spite managing some 65,000 car parking spaces at over 850 sites across the country recorded a loss of over €200,000 in 2013 according to a recent report by the Irish Times The number of car-parking spaces permitted on campus by the NTA and DLRCOCO is currently capped at 3,000. Despite long-standing plans for the development of underground and multi-storey car parking on campus little has yet taken place in the way of development. //
Memorial Bench in the Belfield Rose Garden | Image Seán O’Reilly
University Community Remembers Berkely Victims Seán O’Reilly Editor
Over 600 staff and students joined in commemoration of three UCD students who died tragically in the June balcony collapse last Wednesday. Two seats have been installed in the Belfield Rose Garden which is located beside the Clinton Institute and the Belfield Bike Shop,
in memory of Eimear Walsh, Lorcán Miller Niccolai Schuster and the other in memory of all members of the UCD community who have passed away. The memorial ceremony wascomprised of a public ceremony in the O’Reilly Hall and a private visit to the rose garden by the families of the three students. Fr John
McNerney, UCD’ Chaplain who travelled to Berkeley to supportstudents in the wake of the accident spoke of the resilience of the injured students, stating that “There are many heroic stories to be told of these students being determined to live for each other, of trying to break the fall of the other.” //
Visa slowdown hits international students Seán O’Reilly Editor
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ome International students due to start classes on Monday September 7th have yet to begin their studies due to a backlog in the issuance of visas by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. If the issue, which affects non-EU students, is not resolved by Friday September 24th applicants will be unable to take up their places as they will by that time have missed one quarter of the semester’s lectures. Speaking to the College Tribune, Professor Ben Tonra, head of the UCD School of Politics and International Relations expressed frustration at the difficulties the
applicants are facing. According to Professor Tonra, the international students, some of whom are to study at UCD on EU funded Erasmus programmes are currently being dealt with by lecturers on an individual basis. This is because the unprecedented nature of the delays has left the university in a position from which it can offer little assistance. “There are simply not enough staff in the Department of Justice, which means all that we’re getting back is a deafening silence. If we want to be taken seriously, and we do, as a provider of education as an export business than they absolutely need to do better”, the Professor said. //
News
Wednesday September 16th 2015
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NexusUCD’S campus offices | Image, NexusUCD
150 Jobs to be Created in NexusUCD Cian Carton News Editor
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50 jobs are due to be created on UCD’s campus by SAS, a business analytics company. The positions are set to be established in its new Sales and Customer Contact Centre, which is located in Clonskeagh. It is estimated the investment will cost around €40 million, and will take place over the three year period up to 2018. Founded in 1976, SAS has nearly 14,000 employees worldwide, and generated revenues of $3.09 billion in 2014. It currently employs around 30
people at its office in NexusUCD. The jobs on offer will include roles for multi-lingual business development and sales specialists, customer engagement specialists, data scientists and software engineers. SAS worked with the Industrial Development Agency Ireland (IDA) to bring about the investment. It also has links with UCD’s Centre for Business Analytics and NovaUCD, which have been credited for bringing forth the timeline of the project.
Business analytics is a growing area in the Irish economy. Its operation centres on utilising data-analytics to make evidence-based business decisions, rather than relying on business instincts. Areas where it can improve business decision making include operational efficiency, understanding customers, identifying new opportunities or managing risk. The Centre will support sales of data analytics software to businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Speaking at a launch event by the company, Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, said that SAS’s decision to invest in Dublin was “great news for the city.” Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, said that the announcement was evidence that UCD is “continuing its evolution as an enterprise campus, with enhanced opportunities for leading businesses such as SAS.”
Located beside the main UCD campus, NexusUCD is known as the Industry Partnership Centre. It provides office space for companies that wish to work with UCD’s academics and researchers on projects. Feely stated that by locating its new Sales and Customer Contact Centre at NexusUCD, “SAS can continue to grow its engagement with the University and in particular with the UCD Centre for Business Analytics. Through this engagement SAS can access the rich research and innovation capacity of UCD” //
UCD Spin-Out Company to Receive €2.7 Million in EU Funding Cian Carton News Editor
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ncoMark, a UCD spinout company, is set to receive €2.7 million in funding from the Horizon 2020 SME programme. Founded by Dr William Gallagher and Steve Penney, the company operates out of NovaUCD and currently employs 10 people. The money will be used to help develop OncoMasTR, a cancer biomarker which helps doctors to best assess how to treat a patient with early stage breast can
cer. Des O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer of OncoMark, said that “the majority of early- stage breast cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy, despite many not benefiting from such treatment, thereby exposing individuals to severe side effects.” The OncoMasTR will aim to reduce the number of patients being treated with chemotherapy in cases where it is unnecessary. O’Leary said that the funding would help accelerate the development of the project, along with “creating employ-
ment opportunities and promoting the worldwide recogni tion of Ireland’s capabilities in the clinical diagnostics field.” Horizon 2020 is the European Union’s programme for research and innovation. It was launched in 2014, and is set to run up until 2020. Every year, it makes funding available to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the EU. 34 Irish SMEs have now been funded as part of Horizon 2020. //
Features
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Things to do in Dublin
Volume 29, Issue 1
Whether you’re back for another year or new to the city Shannen Plunkett Features Writer
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ention you’re from Ireland in any conversation and you will instantly find yourself with new friends. Our country is world famous for its culture, scenery and buzzing atmosphere and people travel from afar to see what we have to offer. Dublin, in particular, is a great hub of life and excitement. But for those of us who have grown used to the capital, or even those who have just arrived, it can be easy to miss the city’s hidden gems. So, here is your quick refresher. Let’s start with the basics, or perhaps the most important: where to eat. It is all too easy to stop by the trusted Wagamamas, Eddie Rockets or even McDonalds, but you’ll be missing out on a whole bunch of other good stuff. Dublin is packed with quirky cafés and fresh delis. Head down to Temple Bar and you will find food from all over the world,whether
you fancy burritos, burgers or a Mongolian buffet; but beware, the area can be pretty expensive. On Saturdays, Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, is host to a Farmer’s Market. This is a must for those searching for homemade cakes, yummy Mexican food or even the more adventurous looking to taste a bit of horsemeat. For a cool down a walk through George’s Street Arcade can offer a refreshing bubble tea at Bubblicity or a helping of self-served frozen yoghurt at Yogism (guess the weight in your tub and you get the FroYo for free!) while you check out the vintage books or jewellery stalls. And finally, for a chilled place to have a cup of tea or a mug of white hot chocolate, there is no place better than Accents Coffee and Tea Lounge located on Stephen Street Lower. It’s open until 11pm nearly every night
u (10pm Sundays) so it’s a good alternative to the pub for an evening catch-up. Also, on the first Sunday of each month, they hold the Slam Sunday Poetry Slam where local poets show off their skills and talent, but tickets must be booked in advance to avoid missing out. Dublin is a big supporter of culture and history and, as a result, the public museums and galleries are free for visitors. The Natural History Museum, the Archaeology Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland are found right in the city centre on Merrion Street. Each has an impressive collection and, seeing as they are free, there is no excuse not to go! Another culture stop-off is the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar. They show both old and new films that you won’t find in your average cinema. They also hold a
number of events throughout the year, such as the IFI Documentary Festival from 23rd-27th September, so check out their website to keep up to date on events. Of course, when talking about Irish culture, the Guinness Storehouse must be mentioned. It was recently named Europe’s best tourist attraction in the World Travel Awards, beating even the Eifel Tower and Buckingham Palace. A tour of the brewery is finished off with a pint of Guinness in the Gravity bar, with stunning 360° views over Dublin. Do make sure to bring your student ID with you to avail of the special student price. And finally, nights out in the city centre! It can be difficult to find a place to drink on a budget, but student deals such as €3 cocktails in Captain America’s on Grafton Street and happy hour offers in
T.G.I.Friday’s can help. Most nightclubs in the city offer guestlist or cheaplist on their Facebook pages which essentially translates as reduced or even free entry before 11pm. For those looking for live music, Whelan’s on Wexford Street holds regular gigs and also puts on a silent disco every Wednesday, alongside an Indie DJ during the week. Dublin is teeming with cool and interesting things to do and see, even for those on a budget. Whether you are a visitor from abroad or a native, it is worth making the most out of our fair city. For more ideas, check out the Dublin Event Guide on Facebook and the Happenings Facebook page. There are always things to do, if you know where to look! //
called in sick to try and make a viewing! The viewings themselves were morbid affairs - flaking paint, stained carpets and damp patches were commonplace. Any decent places were snapped up before we even arrived, a phone call or text on the way to Dublin to say they were already gone. It seemed like there were forces conspiring against us; landlords, employers and rising rent prices.
Unwanted: House Hunting as a Continuing Student Ruth O’Hanlon Features Writer
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e had been sceptical from the moment we saw dubious looking flags adorning the windows; the persistent smell of mould and flaking paint didn’t help matters either. But it was the window that was held open by an empty plastic bottle that was the final nail in the coffin. Yes, we were desperate, but not that desperate. Not yet anyway. Like so many others I had pinned my hopes on the college residences, praying I would be one of the select few second years chosen for on-campus accommodation.
After letting me down in first year, surely this time around the college authorities would be kinder. Alas, as was revealed during exam time, it was not to be. Continuing students were no longer welcome; first years and international students were. After I had gotten over my initial anger and annoyance, I could appreciate that first years did need some extra help in terms of finding accommodation. I had been in the exact same situation the year before and it had been no easy task to find somewhere to live in two weeks. However, what really got to me was how and when it announcedthat this would be happening.
The week before the exams! We didn’t even have a chance to challenge it! To add further insult they were actually increasing the cost; talk about exploitation. Thus began the never-ending hunt for accommodation. Weeks were spent trawling through daft.ie, rent.ie and dodgy Facebook pages where a camper bed in a room with five other people are advertised. Whoever said students have it easy has obviously never tried looking for somewhere to stay in Dublin as a student with a tight budget. My inbox had become a steady stream of rejection emails; a constant influx of ‘sorry, the landlord
isn’t interested in renting to students’ and numerous variations on that theme. Landlords don’t want students as tenants; it’s a simple as that. The minority, who will consider renting to our poor, penniless selves, usually want you to sign a 12 month lease or to pay an astronomical amount of rent. To be fair, there are some decent landlords out there who empathise somewhat, but they are few and far between. Any viewings I was offered were difficult to make. Typically we were only given two hours notice before one, and any time reasonable notice was given I was usually working. I’m lucky to still have a job with the amount of times I
Eventually, on the day of the CAO offers, when all hope had been lost and I had resigned myself to the fact that it was back to digs for a second year, we found a house. If you are interested to know how I managed to achieve this near impossible feat my only explanation is luck. Anyone looking for advice: all I can really say is to keep looking and try to not become disheartened. Positivity is essential here. Make friends with final years who may be moving out, get in touch with anybody you know who has a friend who is in a similar situation and team up. Reply to every advertisement you see within your budget. And finally: ask your Granny to light a candle. Best of luck! //
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Features
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Above: Migrants await a train to Munich in Vienna’s Westbahnhof | Image, Wikimedia Commons
Europe’s Refugee Response Andrew Grossen Features Writer
W
ith one image the struggle and desperation of many became apparent to the world. A helpless Syrian toddler washed up on the shore of a Turkish beach. The boy, three year old Aylan Kurdi, his year old brother Galip, and their mother Rehan, all died when their boat capsized as they tried to flee Syria with hopes of making it to relatives in Canada. The three are among the millions of refugees from Syria, many of whom have perished escaping the terror at home. Four million Syrians are registered with the UN as refugees, but millions more are not. Desperate to flee the dangers and instability of their home country, these innocent civilians are prepared undertake perilous journies across the Mediterranean. “I know the trip is dangerous,” said Mohammad Shaar, 22, speaking to the Irish Examiner as he waited for his chance to cross the sea. “These deaths didn’t start with the toddler. Many people have drowned...if European policies were not so brutal, our people wouldn’t have died in the sea. These people are obliged to make that trip. There is no other way for us.” Refugees seeking safety in Europe is not a new phenomenon, with human traffickers running vessels across the Mediterranean for many years.
However the vast numbers now reaching the southern shores of the continent, as well as the ever increasing number of drownings, has put pressure on governments to act, and act promptly. Germany, which will spend an extra €6 billion to cope with an anticipated 800,000 refugees in the coming year, has called for a flexible system to relocate refugees across the EU. The new EU quota plan announced last Wednesday seeks a unified response to this crisis of humanity across the states. The Guardian reports that under the new EU plan, Germany would take more than 31,000 migrants, France 24,000 and Spain almost 15,000. British Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain can take 20,000 over five years – however critics and opposition leaders in the UK have slammed this as too small a measure. Finland’s millionaire prime minister said on Saturday not only would Finland take in refugees he would make his home in the north of the country available them as well. The Vatican will shelter families of refugees who are “fleeing death” from war or hunger, Pope Francis announced Sunday. As for Ireland’s help in the matter, Tánaiste Joan Burton has said she expects the number of refugees that Ireland will accept over a number of years to be up to 5,000. This is a steep increase from the original number of 1,120. Following speculation that the Coalition was split over the number of refugees Ireland should
accept, Taoiseach Enda Kenny denied that such a split exists and stated that he “did not want to get bogged down in the statistics as the issue is about humanity and is a global problem and challenge, and Ireland will play its part.” Speaking about the EU plan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “an important first step” but cautioned against other European countries not being flexible. Countries that are opposed to the plan, and to taking in more refugees in general, are those on the frontline of this crisis such as Greece and Hungary. Athens has warned that the situation is “on the verge of explosion,” with tension rising across the Aegean Sea, where around 10,000 more people are stranded on islands without much provisions. Hungary vowed on Tuesday to speed up construction of an antimigrant fence onits
asouthern border with Serbia, fter refugees had broken through police barricades there. Harsher penalties in Budapest for anyone found to cross borders illegally are to be brought in on September 15. The UNHCR’s European director Vincent Cochotel warned that such laws could “lead to chaos”. There are other opponents to the plan as well Poland’s government objects to the EU plan of imposed refugee quotas, with Polish president Andrzej Duda joining David Cameron in criticising Europe. Denmark has even issued adverts in Lebanese media outlets discouraging refugees to come to Denmark. The adverts include warnings that benefits will be cut by 50%, that family reunification is not allowed for the first year after they arriveand that asylum seekers must speak Danish to stay there (although the
adverts were in Arabic and English). Despite the struggles, the pain and the hardship, those who have made it have hope for the future and for being welcomed with open arms. The latest group of child refugees was applauded upon entering Germany. They were given sweets, water and backpacks filled with clothes and taken to the fairground. Speaking to NBC News from a Vienna train station, 19yearold Mohammed said “there is food, there are people helping each other it shows me there’s a chance for a better world”. The words of the UN’s special representative for migration and development, Peter Sutherland, ”every country is held up to the spotlight” hold immense truth. Will Europe and the rest of the world respond to this crisis with humanity? //
A New York Times Map depicts the most frequently utilised access routes into the EU. | Image, New York Times
Features
8
Volume 29, Issue 1
Interview: Humans of Dublin
Taking inspiration from Humans of New York photographer Brandon Stanton, Peter Varga started the Humans of Dublin Facebook page a little over a year ago. The community has since grown to over 68,000 followers on Facebook alone. Features Editor Sinéad Slattery sat down with Peter to talk about Humans of Dublin, people’s reactions to the project and where he plans on going next. Sinéad Slattery Features Editor Sinéad: Did you ever do a photo project like this in your native Hungary? Peter: No, I didn’t even have a proper camera back in Hungary, but I always loved photography. I actually got my first semi-professional camera only last year, two months before I started my photography course. It was a challenge from a photographer that started my journey and led me to Humans of Dublin. I worked in a coffee shop. There was a regular customer who was a well-known photographer. We used to chat and he started teaching me about photography. Without realizing it, he became my mentor. He set a photography challenge for me. I had to create three photographs that captured feelings. That was the point when I first experienced a completely new side to photography. I enjoyed every moment and haven’t looked back since.
son that you ever approached, and if so, what happened? Yes, it
was a street artist who drummed. He was playing on dif-ferent everyday objects near the GPO. I was watching him for about twenty minutes until I gathered enough courage between performances to approach him. It went very well and grew my confidence. I decided to set a goal of three people for that day. I interviewed six people in about 2 hours. However it took a lot of practice to build my confidence to where it is now.
generally leads to a better story. While I might have an 80% success rate I only use about 20% online. However I value every conversation and grow with every meeting.
Are there any particular stories that have stood out to you?
I don’t really have a favourite. Each story and picture shows you something new and reminds me how diverse and interesting Dublin is. Some of my favourites might surprise people, as they are not the most dramatic. However, keep in
Do you remember the first per-
Without people joining #TeamDublin the opportunity will pass and the great ideas for making Dublin ever better could vanish. If you are part of Dublin you are part of Dublin2020. Check out www. dublin2020.eu and follow the story on social media too.
Is this a full-time job for you and if not, what do you work as?
Do you have any tips for aspiring photographers / bloggers?
Yes, this is my full-time job. I also do event photography part-time. I grew HOD to where it is by putting ll of my free time and passion into it. I’m planning to create a book of the best interviews. At the moment I’m looking for designers and publishers, so if anyone is interested in getting involved or knows someone who would be, get in touch.
1. Believe in yourself and your project. 2. Get a mentor, and some idols to follow. 3. Read ‘Steal Like an Artist’ by Austin Kleon 4. Go out and do it! 5. Share your work! Don’t wait till you think it’s perfect! //
What is the Dublin 2020 campaign and why did you get involved in it?
How do you approach people?
The most important thing is to approach people with positive energy, and to make eye contact. At the beginning I don’t say that I’m going to ask questions. I just say that I’m working on a photography project and I have to collect portraits of random people on the streets. After taking some photos, I show them, and that’s when I start chatting. I tell them that I have to connect a few sentences for each portrait and would they mind if I ask one or two questions? But I always try to focus on the natural, interactive conversation rather than just asking questions.
Yes, every single time. People think that you must have a special technique and brilliant questions to get people to open up so quickly but it’s actually more about your energy, being naturally curious and creating a friendly conversation.
Out of every 10 people you ask: how many say yes, and how many of those photos go up on the page? That’s an interesting ques-
tion. About eight out of ten people say yes. That surprises some people but it’s true. These days I tend to approach fewer people, but spend much longer with them. It makes them feel more comfortable and
mind that I spend between ten and thirty minutes with each person and can only share a few sentences of the chat. That makes it a real challenge to capture the personality behind the story. Sometimes the simplest stories can be fascinating because of the storyteller.
Does it surprise you how open people are?
It’s about making Dublin a greater place for everyone who lives, works, studies, visits and plays in the city. It’s all about social change and giving Dublin back to the people. It’s really exciting. I’m very proud to be part of it and think if Dublin wins the European Capital of Culture some amazing changes will happen. The energy, passion, ideas and drive behind making Dublin a more inclusive, connected and people-centered home are inspiring. The Dublin2020 team reached out to HOD because I try to show how everyone is special and has a story. It’s the characters and diversity in Dublin that makes it such a special place. The Dublin2020 team wants to strengthen that and show it to the world. I really hope everyone gets behind it.
Peter Varga, The Hungarian born photographer behind Humans of Dublin is now working with Dublin 2020 European Capital of Culture bid
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Features
9
Doing it right: Scott on Sex toxic chemicals in them. There was one vibrator in particular that consisted of 70% DEHP, one of the Phthalates banned in both American and EU children’s toys.
Shawna Scott, Owner, Sex Siopa
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am a sex shop owner, or rather someone who sells sex toys on the internet. I love my job. It’s something I’m passionate about. It affords me the opportunity to say things I never thought I’d be able to say like “I’m going to an economics festival to talk about the sex industry,” or “This butt plug is tax-deductible.” I also get to help to people every day find news ways to make their sex lives more enjoyable and fulfilling, and to me that is the ultimate privilege of my job. However there is one aspect of working as an adult toy retailer that I find unrelentingly challenging and that is the fact that my industry is a bit like the Wild West when it comes to regulation. There is none! Zero! Sex toys and accessories can be made out of just about anything and it is perfectly legal to do so. For example - one of the most notorious chemicals found in cheap sex toys are called Phthalates (pronounced “thay-lates”). They are a family of plastic softeners that are found in everything from shower curtains and cosmetics, to food packaging. Because research done over the past 15 years is revealing just how harmful Phthalates are - They are linked to certain cancers, asthma, and are possibly endocrine disruptors, which affect hormone levels - governments have started restricting their use in many consumer products… except for sex toys. In 2008 the Bush administration signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act which effectively banned the use of Phthalates in children’s toys. Only 0.1% of a toy’s entire makeup can consist of Phthalates. In 2006 the Danish EPA had a several sex toys and some BDSM gear broken down using gas chromatography to see what was in them. Many of the items had
Smitten Kitten, a sex shop in the U.S. also sent a number of popular toys off for consumer testing in 2006. The results they got back were equally as horrifying. The report that they published showed the Vibratex Rabbit Habbit, the vibrator made famous by Sex and the City, had a make-up of 60% Phthalates. Sadly the lack of regulation extends to the labelling as well. Manufacturers aren’t obliged to tell consumers exactly what’s in their toys, and often times use what many would regard as misleading language. Doc Johnson, for example, have a range of products that contain Sil-a-gel. Sil-a-gel is a trademarked additive, and when you read the small print, it is not pure silicon - which is a popular bodysafe material. This issue with materials and labelling is starting to become a serious problem as more and more manufacturers & retailers are becoming aware of the fact that their customers want good quality, bodysafe toys. “Bodysafe” and “skin safe” are now being thrown around as buzzwords for absolutely everything and put in product descriptions for toys whose materials are questionable at best. A couple months ago, I stumbled across an Irish site who had actually screen-grabbed the Smitten Kitten’s homepage banner that proudly proclaimed their 100% bodysafe ethos, and tried to pass it off as their own. If you are in the market for a sex toy, there’s a few ways to shop savvy. Be sure to only buy toys made from bodysafe materials like silicone, hard plastic, tempered glass, properly treated ceramic, medical grade metals, properly coated wood, or properly polished stone. Stick with brands who are known for their good design and being bodysafe like Tantus, Lelo, Jimmy Jane, Fun Factory or BS Atelier. Stay away from toys made from PVC or Jelly. An easy way to tell if a toy has toxic chemicals in it is to smell it. A bodysafe toy shouldn’t have any strong smell, but a dodgy toy will smell quite plasticy. That smell is actually chemicals leaching from porous material. If you have a large jar and some
money to spare, you can actually see this in action! Buy a few jelly toys of your choosing, and seal them in the jar. As the months go by, you’ll notice the toys start to melt and fuse into each other. The reason this happens is because Phthalates don’t bond to the PVC that it’s softening, so it leaches out and makes the PVC unstable. Thus causing it to become a gross, gelatinous mass. So why would we ever put these things in our bodies? I’ve been asking myself the same question. I think a lot of it has to do with shame. The shame of sex, of buying a sex toy, of not wanting to return a faulty one, of not wanting to be seen legislating for stricter rules on adult toy manufacturing. I do my part by researching toys before I stock them and educating the public on the lack of regulation in my beloved industry, but to have anything done properly, it is going to take a lot more people to lobby politicians as well as government and other regulatory agencies and say “Consumer product safety is important, and that includes sex toys.” Plus with a general election coming up, how much fun would it be to quiz your local candidates about their sex toy knowledge? I know I will be! // Shawna Scott is the renowed, award winning owner of Sex Siopa, Ireland’s first design focussed, bodysafe sex shop. See what she’s got and read her blog at sexsiopa.ie Speaking recently, Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin alluded to the changing nature of recreational substance use in Ireland stating that “I was told 10 years ago we were basically dealing with 20 substances, now we are dealing with 420.” All 420 jokes aside this means that now more than ever before it is important to know what you’re taking and how to take it when it comes to MDMA. In Dublin, you’ll come across MDMA in two forms, crystals and pills. For the purposes of this article, we’ll deal exclusively with the latter. A typical dose of MDMA is 100mg, though individual presses can vary substantially. The pill pictured above has been seen in varying colours including pink, red, green and blue and is estimated to contain between 140 and 160mg of MDMA. Other pills such as the bar shaped Rolls Royce and Louis Vuitton pills can contain upwards of 200mg.
Yellow Strawberries, pills from a press currently available in Dublin.
Strawberry Fields, Taking MDMA Safely
I
t’s been three months since Ana Hick collapsed outside the Twisted Pepper and last week, news of Amy Thompson’s near death experience made headlines. As you’ve probably seen through your newsfeed, both were unfortunate victims of adulterated pills. In each case PMA and or PMMA were falsely represented as MDMA, an increasingly common occurence. A lack of clarity and a lack of education have proved catastrophic and despite the headlines, people continue to take recreational drugs. This article is the first in a series in whch the College Tribune will examine recreational substances and offer advice on how to take them safely. This piece shouldn’t be taken as encouragement to use any substance, rather it’s a guide to how to be safe if you choose to do so. Remember, everyone reacts differently and knowledge is key. For more see erowid.org MDMA is, as you well know, illegal. Therefore it is almost impossible to verify that what you haveis what you’re expecting. The sole manner in which this can be ascertained is through laboratory testing which is both slow and expensive to undertake. On the fly, best practice is to check the pill on pillreports.net. It’s important to remember that this information is not gospel and is entirely subjective, though a guide such as this is better than no information at all. If you see that the pill in your hand is adulterated don’t risk it. Throw it away and hope for better luck next time. If you’re able to, the best option is to do a semi-quantitative test yourself. Test kits are available online under the name EZ Test and while they too are not 100% accurate, they will give you a better idea of what you have. So, if you’re reasonably sure that what you have is MDMA what happens next? If you want, take the pill. It’s recommended how-
ever that you take half to start, wait and see how you’re getting on and then take the other half after you’ve come up which may take up to two hours. If you’re not feeling ok, don’t take the other half and wait it out. This may take upwards of four hours so keep calm. For best results, take magnesium before you take the pill. This will help with any jaw clenching Remember to keep drinking water. A few sips every 15 minutes or so is enough. Remember, too much can be as bad as too little. What can you expect to feel? Positive effects of MDMA include mild to extreme mood lift, increased willingness to communicate, and an increase in energy among others. Put plainly, you’ll feel really good, Do bear in mind that there’s always some bad to go with the good. This can be something as small as uncomfortable jaw clenching to a racing heartbeat, or the oft-encountered erectile problems in men. //
Travel & Study Abroad Berlin, ever beating heart of Europe
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Volume 29, Issue 1
Ruarí Tatschl Travel Writer
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t’s difficult to describe on paper how unique Berlin really is. Words on paper are simply not enough to do it justice. Without experiencing the city first hand for yourself, one can neither envision nor appreciate what it’s all about. Two years ago, I moved here having heard all the stories about how great it is, about its young, vibrant atmosphere and the endless history and culture of the city. The stories, as it turns out are absolutely correct but it wasn’t until I lived here for several months and got a taste of what Berlin is really all about, that I could comprehend just how special it actually is. Berlin is a city where absolutely anything goes. Appearance, sexual preference, age; none of it matters in the slightest. Locals care little for the opinions of others preferring instead to concentrate their energies on revelling in the abundance the city has to offer, embracing the magnitude of capability and the extraordinarily diverse character of the people who inhabit it. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with Berlin, a few months and the place had managed to carve out a part of me as much within me as I had within it. Berlin is restless, nothing ever sits still for long and there’s always something happening. That might be a planned event or something as simple as individuals performing on the streets. This takes on a whole new meaning at weekends, when Berlin really comes alive. Justifiably famous for its world beating Techno-scene, your nights begin and end when you decide. €10-15 will put you in a room with some of the world’s best professional DJ’s performing live in their element until the early hour of the morning or later. This said, Berlin is far more than just a party city. Its diverse and multicultural population allows you to meet personalities from all manner of backgrounds. It’s the kind of city where everyone, despite living their lives as individuals, can come together to share themselves and their home with you. The city, maybe more than any other can be said to have something for everyone with each district taking on its own style. From Mitte for the shoppers,to Friedrichshain for the hipsters, Prenzlauer-Berg for the artists and Wedding for the new arrivals, every slice of the city is a new adventure that promises to break that old stereotype of east and west. Put plainly, Berlin is one of a kind. Many might try but none can achieve exactly what it is that makes Berlin what it is. Accept no substitutes.
Tech
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Volume 29, Issue 1
Doing Digital Photography
How to get into photography and use your DSLR settings to capture an amazing image of a Fireball, become a fantastic photographer just like me, get your picture in national media and experience the emotional rollercoaster of being a media darling for 45 minutes! Graham Harkness Tech Editor
As you obviously already knew, I had a photograph published in not one but three national print papers, a few websites including thejournal.ie and the American Catholic website, which used the photograph as evidence of the coming of the Anti-Christ. This of course was a big thing for me; it came in the same week as free laser eye surgery through a Facebook like and share competition, so it was all go in the world of Graham Harkness that week let me tell you, the staff in the eye surgery place even went so far as to exclaim “Oh wow you’re the Graham Harkness from the paper?”. I even was stopped on the street to be asked about the photograph. Anyway as you can probably tell, the fact that I am writing this article means that my whirlwind adventure, which whipped me to levels of fame experienced only by the likes of a Fair City extra getting recognised while in the queue for a
chicken roll in Spar in Donnybrook, didn’t last forever.I got a few days out of it and even my kind-hearted gran is sick of hearing about it. So the question I was forced to ask myself was “How will I get some more mileage out of this 7 months later?” and the answer was clear … “Tenuously link it to a technology article by using it to talk about DSLR settings”. So with a focus on technology let me bamboozle you. The photograph was taken by using a method known as “long exposure” photography. This method of photography has become really popular since the semi-professional digital camera became affordable for your average Joe. This method usually involves taking a pictures where rather than the shutter speed being quite fast, the shutter is left open for a longer time period to capture more light. Some good examples of this are the milky way shots that you have seen all over your Facebook because that
irritating guy who watermarks his fairly uninspired images“Joe-Blogs’ Photography” has shared shots of the milky way over your Facebook feed. Then you have my photo… Equally uninspired content I plopped my camera on a tripod and pointed it across Dublin Bay. I then left the shutter open for about 3 minutes. This was too slow to capture star trails but not too slow as to leave the shot completely dark. The result is this image of a fireball as it crossed the sky. Using a DSLR allows you to control settings such as your exposure time so you can begin to play with the night sky and capture some pretty cool things. Your smartphone does a similar thing - have you noticed that when you’re in the jacks in Coppers (not that I would ever go to Coppers of course) and you’re trying to take an OMG selfie with your BFFFs but the image always comes out blurry and grainy. That’s because of three things: firstly you are
ugly which isn’t your phone’s fault, secondly the phone is trying to lengthen its exposure time a little to let more light in because the light in the jacks in Coppers is so crap (probably to hide the ugly). Thirdly, the phone does one other thing – it increases the ISO. ISO is the standard sensitivity for light that the sensor has in your phone. The high higher the ISO the more light you can capture meaning a DSLR camera. This means that while a phone image becomes unusable after a small increase in ISO, a digital camera can shoot at a significantly higher ISO without as much un usable noise or grain appearing
in the image. In my most amazing image you can see that because I was shooting at an increased ISO the image is pretty grainy! So the point of all this, other than trying to find a way to talk about myself for a bit, is to say this... Getting out there and taking photos is a fantastic way to spend your time. It can be relaxing and bring you to some fun places. You can start messing with the exposure time and ISO settings on even a cheap second-hand model and you too can take long exposure photography and artistic shots of the milky way and capture a Fireball of your own. //
Having seen my photograph in the Irish Times, Pitbull was inspired to pen the song “Fireball” as a direct allegory to my life and is now an avid photographer. #nottruebutabloodygoodsong
THE TRIB Trib
Inside: Picnic is Dead Banksy's dismaland Keeping summer going +
CUT THE SHIT blockbusters worth seeing
THE TRIB
2 // Music
Issue 1
Picnic is Dead
It happens every year, even as early as Sunday night. Someone will turn around and say that they’ve had enough. They’ll say that Electric Picnic has gotten too big for its boots and that they’re off to greener pastures at Body&Soul / Indiependence / Klangfestival #9. Are they right though? Seán O’Reilly weighs it up.
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n all fairness, the festival has gotten absolutely massive. 50,000 is no small achievement and some credit has to be given to the festival organisers for the planning, management and clean-up for an event of this scale. There is nothing else on the island of Ireland quite like Electric Picnic, and even further afield you would be pressed to find a festival of this scale which has managed to tread the fine line between small boutiquey quirkiness and the corporate element that goes hand in hand with expansion. In among all this there’s good and bad, 2015 saw the expansion of numbers with little growth in the arena area. I’ll put my hands up now and admit that this is only the second time I’ve visited Stradbally Hall, the first having been in
2013 when there was roughly 15,000 less of a crowd. By and large the expansion has been handled well, but at peak times, snaking queues and manky sanitary facilities give away the numbers. My experience this year was very good. For me, Friday began at 7am with a chorus of bells as I set off with one of the first Tour de Picnic groups. If you haven’t heard of it, TdP is a charity event which sees you cycle from Tallaght Stadium to Stradbally. You raise €380 for the years designated charity and then spin down, pick up your band and head in for a weekend of whatever you’re having. From start to finish the cycle was run flawlessly and I’d highly recommend giving it a go. On arrival on site, I had to nip in to use the facilities. Thinking I was getting in early
and wouldn’t have to worry too much about the sorry state of the campsite toilets, was left surprised when I found that for the thirty or so sit down toilets in the women’s, there were only four for men. This just isn’t enough and never really should have been allowed happen in the first place. Over the course of the weekend, I made the following observations: the search policy on the way into the arena is a waste of time and money. Queues end up being huge and the masses are waved through anyway. Why bother? The security staff are 50/50. Coming towards the end of the festival season, no doubt they’re sick of looking at a new dick-head wearing the same hippy inspired clothes as the last one, but where one will wave you through with a smile, the other will stop you,
empty your pockets and leave the €20 note you had just far enough out of your field of view that you’re likely to forget about it. There’s massive discrepancies in the way the security is run, and with the recent conviction of a steward for assault over the weekend, this is something which must be known Those who attended Picnic in its early days are often found to be berating both the loss of its charm and the influx of a younger crowd. But while the crowd is getting younger, it’s not necessarily getting any worse. There’ll always be those few heads who come on the weekend expecting a drink and drug fuelled mad one, but by and large these tend to either spend the majority of their time on the campsite or get sucked into the first place that sounds anything like playlisted radio. A great problem to have is
A great problem to have is that over the course of the three days, there’s just too much to do. Clashes force you to make tough choices while the plethora of food vendors draw you in and off the path to your next artist. The vast majority of shows I attended were excellent, but a few suffered from a mix that just wasn’t quite right. Weekend highlights included Shamir, My Morning Jacket, Gavin Glass, Stomptown Brass, Eskies, FKA Twigs, King Kong Company and of course, Florence + the Machine. Pick anyone off the lineup, big or small and give them a listen and you won’t be disappointed. With Spotify and YouTube playlists doing the rounds and speculation as to who’s going to headline 2016 already underway as ticket sales have opened, there’s a fair chance that while the picnic some people remember may be dead, the event is going to go on from strength to strength.
Arts & Culture Magazine
Music // 3
Wednesday, September 16th 2015
DIPLO ANNOUNCED FOR UCD Seán O’Reilly, Editor
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ollowing on from the tried and trusted “let’s get someone cheap and past it” Fresher’s Ball, this announcement by the Ents Crew is a breath of fresh air. If you look back through the archives, and I’m sure they exist somewhere, you’ll see that UCD used to draw in some pretty serious acts. For a number of years, Ents have either failed to capitalise on the universities’ scale and reputation or the money just wasn’t there to bring in the kind of acts that UCD deserves.
The hosting of the gig in Abbey Street and it being open on a limited basis to non-UCD students points towards Ents attempting to become a revenue generator rather than a drain once again. Though chances are, the money to get in an artist like Diplo is held over from the 2015 UCD Ball which, of course, never happened. Fingers crossed that this is a step in the right direction and not just a blip on the radar for the year. Could this be the start of a lead in to a bigger and better UCD ball, or will we get more and higher quality artists? Only time will tell.
When: October 12th Where: The Academy, Abbey Street Cost:€15 For more see ucdents.com
Get it while it's Fresh:
FIRST POPE Matthew Donovan, Music Writer.
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here’s not much yet from Dublin native First Pope, akaFabian Molloy, but what there is looks promising. A one man outfit, First Pope’s released material is drawn from Manchester’s On a Whim sessions. With more in the pipeline, expect to hear dizzying high notes, rich melodies and some seriously solid song writing. Original track ‘In the dark’ pulls at just the right strings, shooting right up the back of your spine and bringing on those little chills that accompany all good music. While a cover of Miike Snow’s Animal shows of Molloy’s range. If you’re a fan of stripped back acoustic, this is one to watch.
THE TRIB
4 // Film Fantastic Films, and where to find them F
Issue 1
Niamh Crosbie, Film and Entertainment Editor act: Going to the cinema makes you a more interesting person. Whether you’re a die-hard cinephile or you’re simply looking for a casual night out with your new college friends, the language of the cinema is universal. You can do it on a budget, it gives you and your new mates something awesome to talk about, plus you wake up the next morning without a hangover – what could be better? Whether you’ve just moved to Dublin, or you’ve suddenly found yourself short of cash (you’re a student now, get used to it), it never hurts to know where and when to catch the latest flicks without spending your weekly food money on one night out.
Movies @ Dundrum
Odeon Stillorgan
UCD Cinema
This isn’t just an obvious choice for those living in Dundrum; the Town Centre is just a thirty minute walk from UCD’s Clonskeagh exit. Monday nights at Dundrum’s cinema offer a movie ticket, a large box of popcorn and a large drink for just €9.99. On Tuesdays, Dundrum also offers the same deal for just €10, but this is only for third level students, so if you’re catching a movie here on a Tuesday night, make sure to take your student card along with you.
The Odeon cinema at Point Village, Stillorgan is also a forty minute walk or a quick bus journey from the front entrance of UCD. Odeon boasts “Films for Less” on weekdays, pricing its standard 2D tickets at €6 on Wednesday nights and €7 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights.
You don’t even need to venture into the unknown for cinematic bliss! If your Peer Mentor or an Orientation guide hasn’t yet pointed you towards the cinema in the New Student Centre, they have failed you (just kidding, but still). UCD Cinema offers viewing all year round, whether you’re looking for highly-anticipated blockbusters or something more artsy. Keep an eye on the cinema’s website and Twitter feed to find out which screenings are cheapas-chips, and which ones are free – you won’t regret it!
The Man from U.N.C.L.E
Also, keep an eye out for special screenings throughout the year, such as outdoor screenings during mental health week. I also advise you to become a member of FilmSoc during Fresher’s Week, as their membership card will admit you to all of their weekly screenings throughout the year. You won’t regret it!
Jennifer Smyth reveals why The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a surprising gem of a summer blockbuster.
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uy Ritchie’s latest blockbuster re-boots the 1960s TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E in the hopes of appealing to a 21st century audience. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer take on the roles of Napolean Solo, a CIA agent, and Illya Kuryakin, a KGB agent, forced to work together to prevent worldwide nuclear disaster. Having been less than impressed by both of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films, I was not exactly sure how to feel about The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The trailer did not do much in the way of convincing me this would be worth the cost of a cinema ticket but at the end of the two hours I had been proven wrong. Ritchie manages to create a 60s aesthetic that doesn’t seem forced or like he had just watched the early Bond movies again and really wanted
to make his own Goldfinger. The overall style of the film, from the music to the costumes, was nostalgic but remained enjoyable due to the actors’ performances. Cavill and Hammer have true on-screen chemistry together and, although I have never seen the original, I could not imagine better casting. Both George Clooney and Tom Cruise had originally been cast in Cavill’s role but were both unable to commit. Without Cavill this film would not have worked. He brings originality that neither Clooney nor Cruise would be able to achieve and a humour that meshes well with Hammer’s character. The same can be said for Alicia Vikander who plays Gaby Teller, a mechanic who is extracted from Germany in order to lead Solo and Kuryakin to their target. Some of the best scenes
in the film come from Teller and Kuryakin as they use a fake engagement as their cover for espionage. It’s the clichéd trope of two characters being forced into a fake relationship that turns into something more but because of the obvious nostalgic elements to the style of filmmaking it works without becoming yet another spy movie with the handsome male lead followed around by his silent, sexy ‘girl’. The Man from U.N.C.L.E is a well-executed film from its casting to its shooting. At times, the screenplay is slightly muddled but if you’re looking for something fun and easy to watch this is a clear choice. Without giving away any spoilers, the film’s ending sets it up nicely for a sequel. There’s room to make another story centred on these characters but it will take a
lot to come up with a second script that does not fall back into most of the same tropes that can be found in this edition. The Man from U.N.C.L.E is easy summer viewing that does not come across as lazy filmmaking (I’m looking at you, Fantastic Four). If you’re searching for a stylish blockbuster that is not meant to be taken too seriously then this is it.
Arts & Culture Magazine
Film // 5
Wednesday, September 16th 2015
Blockbuster Special: 3 Essential Summer Movies Third year Film students share their views on some of summer 2015’s hottest blockbusters, Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside Out, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Conor O’Leary reviews the summer’s ultimate car chase movie, Mad Max: Fury Road…. Mad Max Fury Road was one of this summer’s many exciting blockbusters, which brings a whole new intensity to the phrase “car chase”. Mad Max is a film about survival and forging a better life for yourself, even when you’re trapped in the worst of situations. Directed by George Miller , the film stars the talents of Tom Hardy as Max Rocktanansky and Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa. The film follows our protagonists as they journey across a post-apocalyptic wasteland with the aid of a number of pregnant female survivors, while trying to outrun theforces of the citadel that had chosen to keep them prisoner. Despite being part of a major fran-
chise, Mad Max does an excellent job of drawing the audience into the world of its film and giving them an understanding of the society and its people without needing any prior knowledge. While the background of many of the wasteland scenes can be rather visually uninteresting, it gives the viewer a good idea of the type of environment th tually come to care for each other at our main characters have grown up in and why they are so driven to escape and forge a better life for themselves; it makes for a good journey, although it can be a bit predictable. The film shows good character more deeply and help to fight for each other’s survival. The film has
great respect for its female characters shown both through the main character of Furiosa who is very driven and defensive of her team mates while also working well with her mal growth as we see the group even e counterpart Max as the two learn from each other throughout the film, with the pregnant women being equally useful to the team. The action throughout the film is definitely one of the film’s strongest aspects. While the film begins quite slowly as it establishes the world and society of the story, once the chase begins the plot moves at a brisk pace, keeping the story moving forward without ever feeling rushed. The many action scenes look fantastic while
being filled with tension, especially the many scenes that take place on top of moving vehicles. The continuous movement of the vehicles helps to give the movie a feeling of direction, and makes the audience feel that they are being taken on a journey of growth and survival with its characters which makes it all the more satisfying when the movie finally reaches its destination. However some negative aspects would be the film’s use of gory imagery as it is often unsettling to watch and leaves the viewer with a feeling of pain and disgust. While it does help to establish the brutali ty of the society, it could ruin the experience for the more sensitive moviegoer. Also, the action-heavy
Inside Out
Ruairi McCann reveals why Inside Out is a triumph of modern animation….
It
has been twenty years since Pixar emerged on the scene as modern western animation’s most innovative and popular force with Toy Story. What followed were years of commercial and critical success that has only seemingly been disrupted in recent years. Cars 2, like its predecessor, was successful but largely disliked. Brave was better received but not to the same extent as Pixar have been used to, and Monster’s University was the prequel nobody thought was needed and was also met with a similar lacklustre response. Then there comes Inside Out, the fifteenth feature from the company and the third directed by veteran Pete Docter who also helmed Monster’s Inc. and Up, a film that matches the emotional and creative vitality of those aforementioned
films and arguably marks a return to form for Pixar. Inspired by the director witnessing the change in personality and emotional range in his daughter as she grew older and his own experiences of coming of age, Inside Out follows the pre-teen Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), whose life is guided by the personifications of her emotions, Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kahling), Anger (Lewis Black) and their de facto leader Joy (Amy Poehler). When a move across the country sparks a crisis in Riley’s state of mind and her core memories are scattered, the odd couple of Joy and Sadness are forced to find a way through the labyrinth of Riley’s mind in order to return them. In many ways, Inside Out is almost more a film for adults. That is not to say it would be
dissatisfying for younger kids, for it is full of both well-played and well-animated slapstick humour (bolstered by the casting of prime comedic talent like Poehler, Hader and Kahling) and the animation itself is exceedingly colourful and vibrant, especially the sequence in Imagination Land where it explores some more experimental visual stylings. But like Up, there is at its core the evocation of several emotional themes that will strongly resonate to those in the audience who have reached adolescence, adulthood and beyond. I have found no other mainstream Hollywood family film that has dealt with the themes of change, loss and the confusion and debilitating nature of mental illness in the effective way that Inside Out has, all without alienating the younger audience. To go into detail about how it achieves this
would require a venture into spoiler territory but I will say this is achieved by a combination of wonderful writing, performance and direction. The film is not flawless, its innovation is tempered by its gender normativity, in particular a certain problematic attitude to the female body as both Sadness and Joy are characterised as feminine with the unfortunate further characterization of Sadness as overweight and depressed and Joy as skinny and happy. Despite this, it is certainly one of the best films of the summer and Pixar’s best film in recent years.
moments often leave the plot feeling a bit straightforward and predictable. In summation Mad Max is a film about survival and trying to forge a better life for yourself, even when you’re trapped in the worst of situations. It is a film with excellent action, character growth and atmosphere, and while it does start rather slowly, it is a wild ride to the end credits. And while it does not have the most inventive of plotlines, its mix of good character growth and great action scenes will keep you interested from beginning to end.
THE TRIB
6 // Fashion
Issue 1
The Modern Model Katherine Devlin, fashion writer, examines the changing job description of the model- and what this means for fashion
When superstar singer Beyoncé appeared on the cover of the iconic September issue of American Vogue, there was a mixed reaction from readers. This was not only because she is professionally a singer as opposed to a model: but because the feature did not include an interview with her. The situation caused some confusion among onlookers since it is usually expected that featuring a well-known celebrity on the cover of a fashion magazine indicates some sort of exclusive story about their career or personal lives. In this case, however, Beyoncé acted primarily as a model, simply being photographed in the clothes. This role reversal is becoming more and more common. This year alone only two professional models appeared on the cover of American Vogue: Karlie Kloss in March and Cara Delevingne in July. However, Kloss shared her cover with singer and celebrity Taylor Swift whilst Delevingne appeared after making the career shift to acting. The line differentiating between models and ‘celebrities’ is becoming increasingly blurred within the industry, with actresses and singers now regularly expected to add ‘model’ to their job description. This hasn’t just been happening on magazine covers. Fashion brands are opting for celebrities over professional models to front their campaigns. The stars of Marc Jacobs’ Autumn 2015 campaign include iconic singer Cher, film director Sofia Coppola, actress Winona Ryder and singer Willow Smith. We note also that actress Jennifer Lawrence has been the official face of Dior since 2012 and that singer Katy Perry was recently named the new face of Moschi-no. This trend is also evident in men’s fashion, with Prada’s spring 2015 menswear campaign featuring a host of actors including Ansel Elgort, Ethan Hawke and Jack O’Connell. For professional models, this means that the pressure is on for them to have a fully-fledged public presence and celebrity image. We need only look at the so-called ‘Victoria’s Secret Angels’ who each have a trademark per-sonality for consumers to follow. In comparison, supermodels of the 80’s and 90’s such as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Linda Evangelista- who famously proclaimed that she wouldn’t “get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day” - were able to maintain successful modelling careers without the aid of social media. Models are no longer simply ‘mannequins’ chosen to appear in fashion magazines and campaigns based on looks alone. Brands want someone with whom the public have a relationship. Oftentimes, it is easier to have a well-known actress or singer represent a brand as consumers will relate the familiar public persona of the celebrity with the ideas and tone of the brand. Vogue Australia in their June 2015 issue referred to Gigi Hadid, who has 5.7 million Instagram followers, as a “social supermodel”. Karlie Kloss’ social media enterprise ‘Klossy’ allows her to have direct communication with her fan base on a multitude of platforms. Models like Cara Delevingne, Suki Waterhouse and Emily Ratajkowski are becoming actresses. This effort by models to have the popularity and individuality needed to succeed in today’s industry is also an effort to undo the perception that models have no personality or talent outside thir looks. This is having a heavy impact on the fashion industry and the public consumption of fashion. Well-known models distracts the focus away from the clothes. Fashion campaigns are increasingly feeling like platforms for the models to advertise them-selves whilst the clothes and the designers take the backseat. Take Balmain’s latest campaign, for example, which drew more publicity for the fact that it featured three pairs of sister mod-els (including Bella and Gigi Hadid and Kendall and Kylie Jenner) than for the clothes themselves. However, it must be said that the inclusion of well-known per-sonalities in fashion magazines and campaigns be they actors, singers or models- can only serve to introduce more people to the fashion industry as it moves towards becoming more accessible to a wider audience.
Arts & Culture Magazine
Fashion // 7
Wednesday, September 16th 2015
And the winners are...
Seána Carty reacts to the recently published International Best Dressed List by Vanity Fair.
V
anity Fair has sought out timeless elegance, contemporary originality and au courant style to create the 2015 International Best Dressed List. There were many unsurprising honourees in the Women’s category. Human Rights lawyer Amal Clooney’s red Maison Margiela gown at the Met Ball pleased the court and helped earn her inclusion on the List. Singer and style chameleon Rihanna (who regularly transforms her urban and edgy look) also made the cut. However, Vanity Fair’s choice in Taylor Swift is questionable. The singer and businesswoman’s style is preppy but she is not known for her groundbreaking originality. The men’s category brings about a heap of debs suit inspiration for male fashionistas. Of particular note is 65 year old actor Bill Nighy who was credited for his striking Anderson and Sheppard suit and Prada tie. Our favourite feminists, Emma Watson and Charlize Theron make an appearance in the Hollywood category. We need only look at Theron’s sunshine yellow Dior dress (pictured) - in which she dazzled at the Cannes Film Festival- and Watson’s white Ralph Lauren gown -worn at the premiere of Noah- to see why their spots were secured. The couples category is filled with notable powerhouse couples but Sophie Hunter and Benedict Cumberbatch were especially captivating winners having wowed spectators with their style success at the 2015 Oscars. Hunter- in a custom-made red Lanvin asymmetrical dress- and Cumberbatch –wearing a white dinner jacket- epitomised sartorial relationship goals. The winners of the Professionals category, such as Victoria Beckham, feel particularly deserving of the honour since they actually styled themselves. The Originals category makes for intriguing viewing too, particularly due the glorious style of FKA Twigs (pictured, wearing Christopher Kane at the Met Gala). The 2015 edition of the prestigious annual list is comprehensive, but we can’t help but notice that it is missing a few notable style icons: perhaps Lupita N’yongo or Rosamund Pike. Overall, it highlights that it has been a memorable year for fashion- and we can thank our lucky stars that there is not a Kardashian in sight.
Make-Up Masterclass: Contouring
Beauty vlogger Rachel Cunningham teaches us the art of contouring
Contouring, highlighting, sculpting and, more recently, strobing have exploded onto the makeup scene in the last few years. Almost-white concealer, sparkly cheeks and orange bronzers all add to the illusion of having high cheekbones and chiseled jawlines. The aim of highlighting is to bring out certain areas of your face and the aim of contouring is to sink them back in. With that said, here’s how to try it for yourself:
Step 1: Highlight
I use liquid concealers first and then powder products. A favourite of mine is MAC Pro Longwear concealer but if that’s not in your budget then Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer, NYX HD concealers and Catrice Liquid Camouflage are also great substitutes. Highlight under your eyes, the top of your cheekbones, down your nose, between your brows, your chin, around your mouth and between your jaw and cheekbone (see image 1). You then highlight with your shimmer products on the top of your cheekbones, tip of your nose, your cupids bow, above and below your brow bone and your inner eye (and anywhere you want to glow, really).
Step 2: Contour
Put down anything orange or anything with shimmer, glitter, sheen or shine- please! You want a cool toned shade to mimic what a natural shadow would look like. Cheekbones and jaws are the most popular areas but you can also contour your nose, temples, underneath your bottom lip and all around your forehead. (see image 2) Once you’ve mastered the basics it’s time to give ‘clown contouring’ a go. This is essentially colour correcting on top of contour and highlight and can be done in a “clown” makeup style
(see image 3&4). For a stepby-step guide to this I recommend searching online for @ belladelune on Youtube and Instagram who has several videos and pictures showing you how it’s done like a pro. Here’s my take on it: Learning any type of contouring requires a lot of practice as well as lots of looking like a Cirque du Soleil extra. Make sure to take some before and after photos to add some fun to the process!
THE TRIB
8 // Arts
Issue 1
A look at Oscar Wilde Emma Costello, Arts Editor
Irish
literature has been blessed with many great writers. From James Joyce to Roddy Doyle, Irish talent has stretched over generations. One Irish writer in particular is popular the world over. What he has done not only for literature but for society won’t be forgotten any time soon. Oscar Wilde was born into a family of Anglo-Irish Dublin intellectuals in 1854. How he was raised had a profound effect upon both Oscar’s character and his writing. His mother, Jane Wilde, wrote poetry for the revolutionary Young Ire-
landers in 1848 and shewould read these poems to Oscar and his brother, Willie. The poems ignited his interest in politics and as he grew older, Wilde became quite outspoken, as is evident in his work. Those who haven’t even read Wilde’s work may know that he was not particularly fond of women. This may be because his childhood sweetheart, Florence Balcombe, married Bram Stoker. This disappointed Wilde, but he remained stoic; he wrote to her, commenting on “the two sweet years – the sweetest
years of all my youth” that they had spent together. Another influence on his writing was Wilde’s forward thinking ways. He would comment quite often on sexuality not only in his work, but in public. Thankfully in modern society, this way of thinking is far more acceptable. However Wilde’s contemporaries were not so progressive, and during his life time anyone found to be gay was takenaway and sent to prison for two years. In a trial against Sir John Sholto Douglas in 1895, Wilde was accused of having committed “gross indecen-
cies”with a man. Major scandal ensued, as Wilde had gained quite a bit attention for his work, especially Dorain Gray and The Importance of being Earnest. Those who were close to Wilde advised him to flee to France, but he decided to remain and stand trial. He was found guilty. The judge remarked at his sentencing, “It is the worst case I have ever tried. I shall pass the severest sentence that the law allows. In my judgment itis totally inadequate for such a case as this. The s entence of the Court is that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two
Dismaland Thom Meighan, Arts Writer
A new theme park unlike
any before opened this August. A large pond in the centre of it with a misshapen Ariel and dirty water, this dark theme park had many people from around the area curious. Some thought that it was being built for a film, but information was released online on the 20th of August what was really going on – it was street artist, Banksy’s, latest art show. Open for just five weeks and located on the sea front at Weston’s Tropicana, the artist himself has said that the theme park, Dismaland –
Bemusement Park, is “an art show for the 99% who’d rather be at Alton Towers.” This dystopian theme park has many eye-catching features. There’s an old riot van commissioned for the streets of Northern Ireland half submerged in a swimming pool, a crumbling fairytale castle standing in the centre, two ballet-performing juggernauts, and more. Along with this, you can find a lot of Banksy’s typical wall graffiti art as well as some never beforeseen satirical art pieces of his. This isn’t a solo project of his, though. Other artists who
have pieces in the park include American neo-conceptual artist, Jenny Holzer, and Ed Hall, a pensioner who has spent the last 40 years producing every major trade union banner from his garden shed. There is also a rewritten Punch and Judy show by Julie Burchill, one of Britain’s most controversial and famous journalists. On the exhibition’s brochure the park is described as “The UK’s most disappointing newvisitor attraction”. It is a massive project to undertake, with many other people
involved; so what is Banksy’s goal with it? In an Irish Times article on the park, Banksy said “I guess you’d say it’s a theme park whose big theme is — theme parks should have bigger themes.” Could this be a dig at Disney now building a Marvel themed section in one of their parks? That by taking on the comic book company they are merely being money-grabbing and not remembering the message of Walt Disney? Banksy is doing exactly what he always does with his art – he’s making you think.
years.” Thus, Wilde spent two years in prison, being released in 1897, and lived the last three years of his life in exile. On the 30th of November, 1900, Wilde passed away from cerebral meningitis in Paris. Modern audiences of Wilde’s work show, perhaps, greater appreciation towards him and his legacy lives on in Ireland, with memorials bearing his sharply observed wit decorating our streets and parks, and his plays often gracing our theatres.
Arts & Culture Magazine
Arts // 9
Wednesday, September 16th 2015
The History of Jameson T
oday “Jameson” is pretty much a synonym for “Irish whiskey” the world over. In fact, Jameson is currently the world’s number one selling Irish whiskey by a fair margin. Although, what many people don’t know is the man that started it all wasn’t in fact Irish at all, but a Scotsman. John was born in 1740 into the Jameson family whose motto was “Sine Metu” or without fear in English. This motto was awarded to the Jameson family for their bravery in battling pirates on the high seas in the 1500s. Even to this day, the family motto can still be seen
Matty Healy, Brand Ambassador
on every bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey. Fast forward to a 40 year old John Jameson and we see the establishment of a distillery in Bow Street in the outskirts of Dublin city. This distillery, which would one day become the Jameson whiskey distillery, was often described as “a city within a city”. It was here that John Jameson would begin to build a family legacy that would eventually become a household name. The original distillery spawned over 5 acres and boasted a workforce of over 300 people. His employees experienced the best working conditions in the city.
Of course there were plenty of distillers but the distillery also housed doctors, blacksmiths, stonemasons, coppersmiths and of course the all-important coopers to build the barrels. For a long time Irish whiskey was the most popular spirit in the world, with output 50 times that of their Scottish counterparts. In the 1800’s there were hundreds of distilleries in Ireland. Sadly, though, when there is a boom there is generally a bust, and boy, did the Irish whiskey industry bust. From the mid nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century each knockback was followed by another. The Temperance movement, the Famine, Prohibition, the War of Independence, the Civil War and the Second World War all hammered their own nails into the coffin of the Irish whiskey industry.
Graffiti: Crime, art or in between? Irish
society has advanced leaps and bounds since the conservative 70s, to the budding model society of the 90s, all the way to the present day. The Irish are now proud to announce that theirs is a culture of acceptance, tolerance and equality for all. But even in our exemplar society, many activities are still seen as ‘anti-social’, even borderline illegal. How many of us have seen pre-teens skating around town, only to be harassed by security guards from neighbouring stores. These ‘fringe’ hobbies still have a hard time getting the respect they are due. None feels this more than the graffiti community.
Still in its relative infancy compared to our European counterparts, the Irish graffiti community is an active and lively one. Tourists flock to areas like windmill lane and the Bernard Shaw Pub on Richmond Street to admire some of the wildly creative pieces on show there. For instance, the artwork outside the Bernard Shaw changes quite frequently and is a popular tourist site. Add to this an ever growing list of quality spray can retailers and official websites to guide young aspiring graffiti artists, Dublin is quickly becoming a beacon for Irish graffers up and down the country. One of the oldest and most recognizable spots in Dublin’s
By the 1960’s there were only 3 distilleries left in the Republic; Jameson, Powers and Cork Distill eries Company. Instead of fighting for what little market share was left they decided to save the industry and join together in one company and centralize all production in Midleton County Cork. Irish whiskey is now going through its second boom and Jameson is once again at the forefront. In the 1960’s, nobody remembered what Irish whiskey was. Thanks to the hard work of Jameson, Ireland is one of the most popular regions for the production of whiskey. Thousands of people come from the four corners of the world every year to see the birthplace of Jameson Irish whiskey and that number is only set to grow. To me, that sounds like a good enough reason for a Jameson ginger and lime! Matty has his own blog, Potstilled. com, for more whiskey history and information.
Luca Lombardo, Arts Writer
graffiti history, Windmill lane, is still impressive today. Located just off the quays, the lane is covered in graffiti, from complex multi-coloured art to simple ‘tags’. The legality of bombing this wall is constantly in question, as is the existence of any legal walls in Dublin. This is where Ireland is lagging behind compared to the rest of the European countries. Partly due to the lack of widespread urban graffiti culture, Dublin county council has never had to deal with the very real issues that cities like Rome, Paris and Brussels had to deal with in the 90s. Tagging was so widespread, trams would be covered in letters and derelict
buildings would sprout massive murals overnight. This forced town councils to cater to the need of these artists and gave rise to the huge number of legal walls now present in most European capitals. When a large chunk of the demographic feels ignored by the people in power, they search for a way to be heard and to express their viewpoint. This was made abundantly clear recently as the marriage referendum took place. Feeling ignored by the politicians, many street artists took matters into their own hands and Dublin experienced an explosion in the number of pro equality graphs. Some were simple rainbow coloured
hearts appearing on street corners. But others took on a much larger scale, such as the multi-storey mural depicting two men embracing! Graffiti has a very unique way of getting its message across and I think it’s this urban quality that makes it so popular. A great ally for Ireland’s graffiti culture is the internet. With an unlimited supply of tutorial videos and local suppliers, the web has provided aspiring graffiti artists with all the tools necessary to create their own art. So whether you want to try your hand at it yourself or just want to appreciate the wild and unrestrained beauty of graffiti, there are plenty of ways for those interested to pick this hobby up and embrace it!
10 // Events
What's On?
THE TRIB Issue 1
Una Power, Editor
Theatre
Tiger Dublin Fringe – Until 20th of September, www.fringefest.com
A
few days are left of the Tiger Dublin Fringe festival, which runs in several venues across the city. The festival provides a great chance to catch new works in the areas of theatre, art, music, performance art, dance and much more. While the festival can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to quality, reviews of productions can be readily found at this late stage. But then again, there is the caveat of “one man’s treasure…” If you’re looking for something unsettling then check out You’re Not Alone (16th-19th Sept, Peacock), a play centred on the theme of male loneliness, whose programme warns of its distressing content. While troubling at times, this performance has been noted by many critics for its moving nature. For those seeking an immersive experience Mother You (16th-20th, Block B Cultural Space) is the answer. Set in a disused warehouse this piece, the audience is invited to become part of a township that is home to corruption and prophecy. Dance, live performance, video art and ritual are combined in this experimental work. Of course there is a lighter side to the Fringe! Scotch & Soda, playing in the wonderful Spiegeltent on the 19th and 20th, is a mesh of circus performances, comedy and music. To see acrobats complete daredevil stunts with jazz music blaring out head there this weekend.
Cinema Luckily we don’t need to venture far from Belfield campus to have a cinematic night out. UCD’s own cinema may not show the very latest
blockbusters, but it does supply a great mix of documentaries, art house works and those big name titles which you may have missed in the cinema first time around. This Friday, the 18th, is Culture Night, and to celebrate that UCD’s Cinema is putting on two films free of charge. Anime lovers should pop along at 6pm to see A Letter to Momo. The film follows the story of Momo, a young girl whose father has recently died and whose mother has relocated the family from Tokyo to a remote island, where time has seemingly stood still. Full of fantasy and mystery the movie sees Momo adjust to her new surroundings and deal with her grief. The second offering for Culture Night is You’re Ugly Too (8.30pm), an independent Irish film that found great favour with critics this summer. Aidan Gillen stars as convict on compassionate leave to take care of his orphaned niece (Lauren Kinsella). It explores the relationship between this mismatched pair, watching them learn to deal with one another’s tics and faults. There are a number of summer hits playing this week too, such as Mad Max and Jurassic World. If you are quite the film addict then check out UCD cinema’s season pass: 30 movies for €25 in semester one.
Freshers’ Week Festivities Perhaps you missed out on the Freshers’ Ball and Scooter. Perhaps you avoided it like the plague. Whatever the case there are still a bunch of new semester’s antics to get up to. On Wednesday night Concrete Jungle holds host to a Pillow Fight party. Yes, that’s right. The latest gimmick is chucking feather sacks at one another. But as gimmicks go this does sound like a decent sort of one. Sensible-ish clothing is much to be recommended.
And then if you are the kind of weird person who likes to leave their pillow before 7am, you should pop along to the SU’s morning rave. It kicks off at the ungodly hour of 7.30 on Thursday morning in the Astra Hall, and word has it that there are some kind of goodies in store for all those early birds who go along.
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Business
13
Paddy Power & BetFair Merge Adam Hetherington Business Editor
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52% of the combined business with Betfair investors holding the remaining 48%. However, its primary listing will be on the London exchange, while a secondary listing is planned for the Ireland.
The group plans to establish its headquarters and staff in Dublin, where corporation taxes and less regulation in relation to gambling are more attractive. Paddy Power shareholders will own
The merger has been estimated to cut €69 million annually for the group through shared expertise. However, according KPMG 83% of all mergers fail, with the primary reason being stated as a clash of cultures between the two companies. The question remains whether the aggressively marketed Paddy Power and the more restrained, onlineonly Betfair can really create meaningful synergies across the group. Or if this is an illplaced a reaction to the €3 billion Ladbrokes Gala Coral tiein announced this summer. //
addy Power and the London listed betting exchange Betfair have recently announced that they have agreed a €5.5 billion merger, creating one of the world’s biggest gambling groups under the name Paddy Power Betfair. The new group, dubbed “Betty Power” in the industry, expects to make annual revenues of €1.5 billion and is currently valued at €8 billion on the stock market.
Entrepreneurship: A Risky Business Jamie Fortune Business Writer
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orldwide, Ireland is renowned for its 12.5% corporation tax rate and in turn attracting multinational companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook. This influx of multinational corporations has proved beneficial with regard to job creation the desired effect of this low tax rate. However is this preference towards multinational companies having a detrimental effect on Ireland’s small and medium sized entrepreneurs? Globally Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax rate has come under serious scrutiny; such is the effectiveness of this tax rate. However the need to implement a more advantageous tax system, combined with a change of supports and incentives for indigenous businesses must be a current point of interest for the Irish government. As it stands there is effectively a disincentive for entrepreneurs to set up small and medium businesses here in Ireland. It may in fact be said that the current tax system actively penalises entrepreneurs as they do not receive the standard employee tax credit
Syrian Refugee, Illustration by Daisy Kinahan Murphy
Skilled Workers Seek Refuge in Europe
Business experts and leading economists state that Syrian refugees could provide numerous economic benefits for Europe. Kate Weedy Business Writer
of €1,650 which reduces income tax liabilities on their earnings. Even though these entrepreneurs are taking on all the risk of establishing a business, they do not receive the tax credit allowance which all other employees in Ireland receive. After supplying Irish citizens with employment it should be imperative that entrepreneurs would receive adequate cover when finding themselves in difficult times. However there is currently a serious lack of social welfare supports for entrepreneurs who find themselves in these situations. Entrepreneurs also find themselves paying an additional Universal Social Charge (USC) of 3% on top of all their current personal taxes; in some cases taking their personal tax rate to 55%. When this is all said and done, after possibly supplying other citizens with work, taking on additional stress and risk, along with added taxes with less tax credits, entrepreneurs often find themselves liable to a 33% capital gains tax (CGT) when winding down the business.
M
any EU citizens have objected to the welcoming of refugees into Europe, stating that it could create a financial strain on a barely recovered Europe and that an influx of what they believe to be unskilled workers could lead to increasing unemployment rates and a dependency on the social welfare system. Recently, however, business leaders have began to urge European governments to consider the economic advantages of welcoming refugees onto European shores. Apart from the extremely important moral and humanitarian imperative to offer protection to the countless numbers of Syrians, Afghans and Eritreans fleeing war and oppression, European businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the economic benefits of accepting asylum seekers into Europe. Ulrich Grillo, the head of the powerful German BDI industry federation, said this week that integrating refugees into the jobs market will not only be helping the refugees “but also helping ourselves as well.” This is largely due to the fact that European countries, especially Germany where the majority of refugees are traveling to, are experiencing rapidly aging populations and low birth rates. This is causing a significant depletion of Europe’s pool of skilled labour. The German employers’ federation BDA estimates that the country is still lacking in engineers, programmers and technicians. The healthcare and leisure sectors are also in need of qualified workers and some 40,000 training places across all sectors are expected to remain unfulfilled this year. The Prognos think-tank forecasts that this shortage of qualified workers will continue to exist in Germany and it will rise to 1.8 million in 2020 and continue to grow to an estimated figure of 3.9 million by 2040, if nothing is done. If Germany is Europe’s strongest economy then what is likely to happen to smaller, weaker economies, such as Ireland’s? Incoming refugees could be the solution to many of these problems, as Mr Grillo states that many refugees are young and offer important skills through “really good qualifications.” The importance of these economic benefits will be highlighted further once meetings between EU justice and interior ministers commence in Brussels on 14th September. // It is time for the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, to assist and provide an incentive for indigenous entrepreneurs to establish their own business. This is
of utmost importance to extend the economic recovery to all corners of Ireland, and in particular to small towns and villages where SMEs are the
main source of employment. //
14
Party Selection Conventions indicate towards Drama of Election to Come
Politics
Volume 29, Issue 1
Jack Power Politics Editor
T
he slow summer months have seen the Irish political main stage fall quiet, with little entertainment emerging from the corridors of the Oireachtas. The real political drama has been taking place across the country from constituency to constituency, at each party’s selection convention. The contests for a place on the ballot have given rise to tensions and heated drama within all the main parties. Labour’s selection conventions seemingly ring a death knell for the out of favour coalition partner. Only one out of their twenty-six selection conventions so far has even been contested; Senators John Whelan and Loraine Higgins, TDs Emmet Stag, Jan O’Sullivan and Anne Ferris, and Councillors Pamela Kearns and Mick Duffy have all been put on the ticket unopposed. The party have only completed 26 out of 40 conventions, in what could be ascribed to an absence of willing runners. In Cork North Central no candidates managed to put their name forward before the nomination deadline, a curious circumstance given Labour’s having a sitting TD in the constituency. This gave rise to the rumour that Kathleen Lynch would not attempt a return to Dáil, though this was quashed with her late nomination and subsequent selection. The perceived lack of local activism and competition among Labour’s constituency bases is a troubling sign for what is a party in crisis. The party press officer Dermot O’Gara maintained when broached on the matter that - “In a lot of cases only one candidate put their name forward… [and] all of the seats we’re contesting we have a chance of winning, there’s no doubt about that.” Labour also have the highest number of out-going TD’s who will not be running for the Dail again; Eamon Gilmore, Pat Rabbitte, Sean Kenny, and Ruairi Quinn are among the seven exiting representatives. The exodus of these veteran members will leave a vacuum of seats, primarily in Dublin, which the party will find difficult to retain.
The replacement candidates come from a crop of senators and county councillors who will have to overcome their own lack of experience and their party’s damning public opinion ratings. Cllr Carrie Smith’s attempted uphill battle to wrest back Eamon Gilmore’s seat in Dún Laoghaire is just one example of the challenge the party face. If the political tea leaves of the selection conventions are telling of a party’s future, Labour will have much to fear from the coming election. Fianna Fail from the outside appear to have moved forward from their electoral mauling in 2011, and Michael Martin has steered the party back to a polling position of around 20%. Yet a closer look into the dynamics of their selection conventions would suggest that old ways die-hard. The party’s conventions show a revival of the old boys club networks and a comeback of some familiar faces thought since gone in Fianna Fail. Sean Haughey has been contentiously chosen to run by party HQ in Dublin Bay North, despite losing the convention vote to Deirdre Heaney. The returning brigade also includes ex-junior minister Conor Lenihan, who claims to have been approached to run in Roscommon-Galway. Mary Hanafin is the third former minister to come out of the woodwork by contesting the Dun Laoghaire convention - to the agitation of the younger Cumman candidate Kate Feeney. The fallback to Fianna Fail’s old names could certainly have been a catalyst in the recent departures of emerging politicians Averil Power and Patrick McKee. The party also trail furthest behind in securing their gender quota of 30pc female candidates, and seemingly have tried to alleviate this by cynicall tagging women onto the end of their tickets. Cllr Sinead Guckian was approached to run in Sligo-Leitrim, as was Cllr Siobhan Ambrose in Tipperary, but both as the party’s third candidates on the ballot. Fianna Fail’s problems down the road will therefore be that their in-party politics are working too much like they used to, and not enough lessons have been learnt.
Ballot Papers are becoming increasingly defined ahead of the yet to be set general election | Image, Trinity College Dublin
Sinn Fein are a party busily preparing for the next election; buoyant from a popular term in opposition, they have the most conventions completed of any party. Their active local branches have been greatly mobilized over the past year through the water charges opposition and anti-austerity movements. But these independently minded local Sinn Fein organisations have come into conflict at times with the more authoritative styled Party Head Office. None more controversially than in the Cork East selection convention, where Cllrs Kieran McCarthy and Melissa Mullane were removed and suspended from the party. The two councillors had touted they would be contesting the Cork selection convention, to the ire of sitting SF TD Sandra McLellan. In protest over 70 Sinn Fein branch members resigned in solidarity with the popular councillors. The exact reason for their removal and sus-
pension was not revealed, though Kieran McCarthy tied it to the political dynamics of the selection convention. The damaging episode provided Sinn Fein with an unwanted scandal, and will be a question for them going into the campaign cycle, which is how to best manage their particularly active local members from above. Enda Kenny will lead Fine Gael into the next election on a mandate to renew the party’s term in government on the message of “recovery”, but the party is still be expected to lose up to 25 seats on their 2011 election results. This constriction has lead to a building in-party tension at their selection conventions. Fine Gael tickets have been heatedly contested, as sitting TDs and ambitious councillors jostle for positions. Minister Richard Bruton failed to be chosen in his Dublin convention, with Stephanie Regan and Naoisi O’Muiri
beating him, forcing Bruton to be added onto the ticket later. The result of this convention will mean Regan and O’Muiri will likely split the Fine Gael 2nd vote after Bruton gets in – a dangerous outcome potentially to be replicated in other constituencies. The Fine Gael press office responded plainly that -“Fine Gael is the largest political party in the country with over 30,000 members. The majority of conventions are contested, as is healthy for any democratic organisation.” Fine Gael’s electoral strategy will no doubt be meticulously planned out. But if they cannot effectively co-ordinate their constituency conventions, they may encumber the field with too many of their own candidates. The political analysis of each party’s selection conventions is telling of the challenges they will each face going into the coming election, and provides a telling reminder that all politics is indeed local. //
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Politics
15
Student Residences at Merville on the Belfield Campus | Image, Seán O’Reilly
Dublin’s Rental Housing Crisis Perpetuated by Lack of Political Action Jack Power Politics Editor
T
he housing and accommodation crisis that has engulfed Dublin continues to worsen, thanks to the lack of any decisive political action. Rent levels have shot up repeatedly as the capital is undergoing a renewed spike in property values. The result is that many students, particularly in UCD, are at pains to try and find affordable accommodation near campus as the academic term starts this September. Property prices have had a resounding comeback in the capital, as the lack of housing units in the city has seen the competition to secure rental housing run upwards unchecked. Yet the real economy for the majority of ordinary people is that wages are stagnant, job security is transient, and the availability of credit is scarce. The market therefore is to the distinct advantage of the landlord. This leaves students seeking accommodation, long-term renters, and those looking for first time mortgages on the wrong side of an increasingly unaffordable market. Rents in the last year have seen a standard 10% rise across the city centre and the south side of Dublin, according to the latest Daft.ie report. The political response from the government to the escalating situation
has been laissez-faire at best, leaving those at-risk and under pressure to the will of the market. The rise in rent feeds on from the impasse many families and professionals now face in trying to take out a mortgage, pushing them back into the rental market. This subsequently overcrowds the field, and hikes up the prices landlords can exact. The Central Bank’s plan to try and plateau Ireland’s boom-bust property cycle was to increase the minimum deposit required for a mortgage. This decision has led to a drop off in mortgages, and created a fierce competition for a declining number of rental housing units in Dublin. The paradox of the Central Bank’s decision however, is that now most working families cannot save up enough for a mortgage deposit, due to the increasing cost of rent year on year. The complex issue is being left to fester by the government, who are hesitant to take significant action for fear of making the crisis situation worse. The impact for students is that they are both priced and stigma tized out the market. The shortage of housing units and abundance of willing renters means landlords can be selective with whom they
rent to, often openly stating “No students” when advertising. The uptrend in rental prices for even modest units is also simply pricing students out of the market. UCD has a sizeable portion of students whose home county is unrealistic to commute from, and so they must find housing near Belfield for the college year. These students also find it the hardest to find solid employment without connections in the city, and are left to rely on savings from summer work at home, maintenance grants, or assistance from their parents. The tentative financial stress of an expensive college year living away from home is only exasperated by this indefinite rising cost of rent. Third year Arts student Adam Duffy is one of the many frustrated students who have been looking for accommodation near UCD over the summer. “I personally have had a lot of problems with the unreliability of landlords and sub-letters on daft.ie. There’s a clear lack of suitable accommodation, [and] many landlords are taking advantage of this and vastly inflating prices for really sub standard rooms. A lot of people seem toexpect students to settle for crappy overpriced accommodation. This is simply not good enough.”
Minister Alan Kelly is said to be preparing a package of rental regulations to combat the crisis and bolster renter’s rights. Their focal point however is distinctly targeted at long-term renters, with increases to rental security the main policy point. The government has, however, been remiss in its efforts to deal with student’s specific grievances. Landlords, under the aforementioned reforms, will have to provide evidence of three similar price increases in their area before they can raise the rent. This loose form of rent control is a welcome initiative, but one that simply comes too late in the day for students seeking housing for the immediate college term. The government’s paralysis in finding a solution before the start of this college year only illuminates how low students factor into the priorities of the policy makers on Merrion Square. Incoming UCD Student Union President Marcus O’Halloran gave his take on the crisis when speaking to the Tribune –“Its extremely disheartening, the cost of accommodation is atrocious, and there’s no sustainable model in place to fix it… something has to be done now.” O’Halloran calledout Minister Alan Kelly over the summer for his lethargy in ad
dressing the unfolding crisis, and only now has he secured a meeting with the minister for early September. “Its too little too late, it shouldn’t be accepted. There’s a disengagement with students in the country… and the government are ashamed”. The Union President emphasized the rent-a-room ‘digs’ scheme as a potential solution, and was adamant that UCD needs to fast track their building projects in a major way. But the reality is many of the university’s expansions and developments to increase on-campus accommodation will not be ready before 2020, which is little consolation to desperate students struggling to find housing this September. The government’s hands off approach to finding a solution over the summer has seen the crisis spiral to the extent that many unfortunate students will have to defer college for a year if they fail to secure housing in time. Those who did manage to find a room or flat in Dublin’s bear-pit rental market will likely be left paying extortionate prices for poor quality accommodation. //
16
Innovation
Volume 29, Issue 1
Dé Céadaoin, 16 Meán Fómhair 2015
Gaeilge
17
Canúintí i dTeach na Gaeilge: Mo Thathí Orthu
Pléann Aindriú Mac an tSaoir a thathí ar cannúintí éagsúla a chloisteáil i dTeach na Gaeilge.
I
s Nordie mé as Lúr Cinn Trá, Contae an Dún – tháinig mé chuig Baile Átha Cliath don Ollscollaíocht, agus bhí mé an-sásta mar fuair mé áit i Scéim Chónáithe Bhord na Gaeilge. Sular tháinig mé, bhí mé anmhuiníneach le mo chuid Gaeilge – rinne mé Ard-Leibhéal, d’éirigh go maith liom agus bhí mé i ngrá leis an teanga. Ansin, bhuail mé libh – “Na Free Staters”.
Digs: Ní Mór an Míbhuntáiste Roinneann Lucy Ní Nialláin a taithí ar lóistín a fháil tar éis torthaí na hArdteiste agus an chúis go gceapann sí nach droch rogha iad ‘Digs
Bhí a fhios agam gur dhoiligh libh mé a thuigbhéal as Béarla fiú! Daoine as Corcaigh ag labhairt ag 100msu. (Sea, bainim úsáid as msu, in áit km/u!). Daoine as Cill Dara ag labhairt gan a mbéil a oscailt agus “Dublish”, fuaim cosúil le bó ag fail bháis! Ach ansin, thosaigh sibh (Na Free Staters) ag labhairt i ‘nGaeilge’. Cuirim Gaeilge i marcanna cáinte mar ní hí Gaeilge atá ann. Swahili. Bhí orm Swahili a thuigbhéal. “Taw shay ag daynivv na Dána”. B’fhéidir nár chuala sibh fíor-Ghaeilge ríamh, ach domhsa (doosa) agus dúinn sa Tuisceart, deirimid “Tah shay ag janoo na Dána”. Difir bheag… Créid é nó na créid é, tháinig na céad daoine chuig ár n-oileán go Dún na nGall. Mar sin, beidh mé ag argóint gurb í ár nGaeilge an Ghaeilge “ceart” – agus go gcaithfidh sibh bhur gcuid Gaeilge ar fad a athrú. Ansin, beidh mé abálta sibhse a thuighéal agus ní bheidh aon ghá orm suigh sa choirneal liom féin cosúil le duine ó Tahiti, gan leid ar bith faoin cómhra atá ar suil. Ach, níl drochscéal atá ann ar fad – de réir cosúlachta, tá na daoine eile sa teach ag baint an-sult as mo chanúint. FiFi bocht, ag gáire gach uair a deirim rud ar bith! An cailín gan bróga ag athrá achan rud! Agus an reachtaire ag spochadh asam an t-am ar fad! Fáilte roimh saol an Nordie. “An dtig liom an tuaille a fháil?” Dada le léamh! “Eh…an féidir liom tuaille a fháil?” ‘tooalye’. Céard (focal úr dom) é sin? Is léir go mbeidh cúpla troideanna ann. Ach is é an rud is measa ná - Dearthair. Déanann sibh ar fad neamhaird ar an gcéad cúpla gutaí ansin. Drechker? Drechker?!?! Tá mo cás críochnáithe.
C
osúil le gach fresher anuas is aníos na tíre, táim ag tnúth go mór le saol na hollscoile a bhlaiseadh. Rugadh agus tógadh mé i gContae Maigh Eo, agus is é seo mo chéad uair as bhaile i m’aonar. Bhí mé agus mo thuismitheoirí trína chéile agus muidne ag smaoineamh ar lóistín don bhliain a bheadh os mo chomhair. Is beag lá dá dtéann tharainn inniú nach mbíonn caint ar easpa lóistin i mBaile Átha Cliath dona mic léinn. Ní féidir leat an nuachtán a léamh nó an nuacht a chloisteáil ar an raideo gan scéal éigin iontu faoi ardú cíos. Fágadh daoine óga gan dídean, agus iad ag ullmhú do tréimhse nua ina tsaoil.
Chun an fhírinne a rá, rinne mé dearmad glan ar m’ainm a chur síos le haighaidh lóistín campus! Chuaigh mé ar líne an oíche roimh BnaG Tribune Advert 84x133.pdf 1 28/08/2015 10:08 na offers agus fuair mé cúpla uimhreacha Áfách, le bheith macánta, tá sé iontach suimiúil dúinn ar fad na canúintí eile a chlutéilifóin ar suíomhanna ar nós collegecribs. instin. Tá sé dóchreidte an méid difir atá ann idir na canúintí, fiú idir Gaillimh, Corie agus daft.ie. Ní raibh drogall ar bith orm caigh, Tír Chonaill agus Baile Átha Cliath. Rud maith atá ann, go bhfuil ár dteanga ‘digs’ a fháil - is eard atá i gceist leo dar liom chomh ilghnéitheach sin. Ach bím buartha, mar má theann an Ghaeilge thar saille agus ná mo sheomra féin i dteach le clann áitiúla. tá canúintí Ghaeilge ann ó Hawaii, feicfidh sibh mise i gcoirneal éigin ag caoineadh.
Chuir mé glaoch orthu go léir ar maidin agus chuaigh mé go dtí Baile Átha Cliath níos déanaí le mo chlann chun na seomraí a fheiceáil. Bhí an t-adh dearg agam áit a fháil in aice na hollscoile. Beidh mé ag fanacht le bean an tí thart ar trí nóiméad siúlóid ón ollscoil. Fanfaidh mé léi gan brú orm bilí a íoc ach amháin mo chíos! Ullmhíónn sí dinnéar gach lá dona clann féin, agus mar sin ní bheidh orm aon cocaireacht a dhéanamh - buíochas mór le Dia! Ní féidir a shéanadh go bhfuil an-chuid deacreachtaí ag na mic léinn agus iad ag iarraidh lóistín a fháil don bhliain. Tuigim nach dteastaíonn gach scoláire fanacht i digs mar gheall go bhfuil ‘saoirse agus craic’ uathu, agus tá clú agus cáil ar saol sóisialta na cathrach. Is é tuairim an phobal gur rud cúngarach é digs. Faraor, ni mar a bhíonn sé - de gnáth, bíonn an-saoirse ag lóisteoirí. Caithfear a admháil go bhfuil buntáistí a bhaineann le digs, go háirithe sa lá atá inniú ann. Go hiondúil, bíonn sé i bhfad níos costasaí lóistín a fháil i dteach príobháideach sna bruachbhailte ná seomra shingil a aimsiú i dteach clainne éigin níos giorra don ollscoil. É sin go léir ráite, beatha duine a thoil; agus beidh mé go sona sásta ar lóistin ag mo bhean an tí - i mbliana ar ndóigh!
Bord na Gaeilge UCD www.ucd.ie/bnag Join us 2015-2016
LEARN IRISH- MAKE FRIENDS- HAVE FUN FREE LANGUAGE COURSES @ 5 LEVELS Bígí Linn: www.ucd.ie/bnag/ga/
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Volume 29, Issue 1
News in Brief: Hans Offerman Turbine Editor
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ollege started back last week, a lot of students are having trouble finding accomodation. This week is Fresher’s week. There’s a whole load of really heavy stuff going on out there in the real world.
Photo of the Week: President Deeks photographed in Australia
University President attends function in Australia
Hans Offerman Does everything around here
O
Addict dog kicks the hard stuff
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heartwarming story of an addict dog who overcame temptation hit headlines this week, warming the hearts of millions. The dog in question, Monty the Dog, had been struggling with a two-year addiction which at its peak entailed upwards of seven tennis balls a day. Now over a year sober, Monty reflected on the struggles he’s faced in an interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on the most recent edition of Saturday Night with Miriam. Speaking of the trialing period, Monty said “woof woof, woof, woof woof woof woof, pant pant, woof woof woof, woof woof bark.” and offered the following advice to anyone who might be struggling with the unwanted effects of tennis balls; “pant pant pant, woof woof, woof bark woof, woof woof woof.” Support network Good Boy Ireland have praised Monty the Dog for the openness of his approach to such a difficult subject.
Fashion Update:
ver the summer break, university president Andrew Deeks attended a number of functions representing UCD to the wider academic and business communities. These functions typically entail much hand-shaking, back-patting and photo-opportunitying and serve the function of allowing the president to establish the kind of links which have established UCD’s sterling reputation as “Ireland’s Global University.” One of these networking events ‘Turn it up: A new vision for Australian manufacturing’ took place not far from the president’s childhood home in Perth, Australia. The event ran particularly smootly with little upset, though the College
WANTED: Revised and up to date books. If you can help email library@ucd.ie
FOR SALE: UCDSU Commercial Services Ltd. All offers considered
MISSING: “Free Fees” last seen in the late 1990s. Contact Jan O’Sullivan
WANTED: A good man for a righteous cause. Visit the Belfield chapel for more.
Turbine understands that a bottle of corked wine was returned to the kitchen at the request of an attendee. towards the end of the evening. The networking event was part of a larger conference attended by a number of well known Australian and Kiwi researchers and focussed on solving logistical issues which stem from the Oceanic islands resting upside down in relation to the bulk of their trading partners. “The monetary costs are well into the millions” said researcher Alan Dunham, “with export products having to be produced and packaged in specially commisioned facilities to ensure they will function correctly when exposed to the stresses of continuous upside-down use.” //
WANTED: First year undergraduate students for pharmecutical trials.
TWENTY yo arts stu-
dent wltm Ag students w/ road frontage. SeeCoppers
Everything on this page is satire, like a cheap Waterford Whispers. If you find yourself getting worked up over anything you’ve read, step back; take a deep breath; and get a grip.
Sport Rugby World Cup Profiles
19
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Neil Ryan Sports Editor
Pool A Fixtures
England v Fiji (18th Sep, Twickenham, 20:00) Wales v Uruguay (20th Sep, Millennium Stadium, 14:30) Australia v Fiji (23rd Sep, Millennium Stadium, 16:45) England v Wales (26th Sep, Twickenham, 20:00) Australia v Uruguay (27th Sep, Villa Park, 12:00) Wales v Fiji (1st Oct, Millennium Stadium, 16:45) England v Australia (3rd Oct, Twickenham, 20:00) Fiji v Uruguay (6th Oct, Stadium MK, 20:00) Australia v Wales (10th Oct, Twickenham, 20:00) England v Uruguay (Oct 10th, Etihad Stadium, 20:00)
England
Australia
There
will be no second chances for the English. Pool A will rightly claim its place as the group of death and with all of the pre-tournament expectation placed firmly on their shoulders their mentality will be questioned. The advantage of playing in Twickenham, their right as tournament hosts, may well be offset with one misstep. Any taken here will be disastrous. Going into the tournament Stuart Lancaster will have been hoping that some of his more serious decisions will be have been made for him with performances in the warm up matches. But the question still remains as to who will play in 10. Both his options are young and dynamic and both come from great rugby pedigree. George Ford has previously spoken of how he was in the English dressing room with his father Mike, at the time a defensive coach with the English, when they last con-tested a final in this tournament in 2007. Farrell’s father also has a strong rugby back
CT
D
ominant victors in the Rugby Championship this year Australia enter this tournament with something that almost beggars belief; a workable scrum. For years the Australian’s set pieces were seen as subpar but as victory against New Zealand this year has shown they have finally turned a corner under Michael Cheika. With a blend of pace and power in the pack it is impossi-ble to see them being bowled over by Northern Hemisphere strength. They enter into this tour-nament with a strong pecking order in vital positions with the excellent Quade Cooper
ground having played for his country in both Rugby Union and Rugby League. The differences in their respective styles may Lancaster wishes his team to play against certain opponents. While Ford is undoubtedly the better ball player, Farrell has a physicality that is lacking in his compatriots game. It would not be surprising to see them mix and match throughout the pool. The other problem position for the English lies in inside centre, where their options are limited with none providing a truly natural fit. Lancaster and his coaching staff will have hoped to have solved this position come the 18th because if they have this is a team with tournament winning potential. Their pack is strong and commanding and outside they have some of the fastest players in the tournament. If they can get off to an easy strong start the crowd may carry them over. Don’t and they will find Twickenham to be a lonely place indeed.
Wales expectedto dominate from 10. The pack also boasts in David Pocock and Michael Hooper two players who are absolutely devastating on the break down. Expect them to win a lot of turnovers for the Wallabies. Their backs are without question fantastic and in Israel Folau they have a genuine contender for one of the best in the world. At scrumhalf they are weak and in this their tournament may be lost. Without a good link between the pack and the backs they will struggle greatly throughout the competition. With one and the sky is the limit.
Uruguay For a full disclosure I know absolutely nothing about this
team. If they share the mentality of their footballing brethren they will be competitive throughout. Don’t expect them to score bar the odd penalty mind.
This is the first in a series of articles ahead of the Rugby World Cup, for more see collegetribune.ie and our next issue, hitting the campus on September 29th
Sport,
in association with
W
arm up games are meant to prepare you for the tournament. Ideally they are not meant to put two of your starting players in hospital. Leigh Halfpenny is a serious miss for Wales, one of their most consistent performers over the past few years. Their strong showing in the six nations should have stood them in good stead (they lost the championship on points difference after all) but now it is very difficult to see them progressing from the group. Their recent form against
England leaves something to be desired, they lost their last two games to England and last won in Twickenham in 2012. In Gatland however they have one of the most experienced coaches in the game and their squad is one of the most experienced in the cup. North will lead the cadre of young Welsh players aim-ing to prove that they are more than the sum of their parts but they may rely on results from elsewhere.
Fiji The Fijians have been giv-
en a stroke of horrible fortune in the draw for this group. They enter the tournaments as the winners of the Pacific tournament. In their ranks they boast some of the best athletes in the tournament and their offloading game has gained admirers throughout the l
world. Their traditionaweakness in set pieces may be behind them judging on the pre world cup fix-tures and if any of their opponents underestimate them they will find a horrible surprise. More than likely to be king makers of the group; a win for them and someone will undoubtedly miss out.
Sport
20
South Africa The South Africans
Pool B, Fixtures
S.Africa v Japan (19th Sep, Brighton, 16:45) Samoa v USA (20th Sep Brighton, 12:00) Scotland v Japan (23rd Sep, Kingsholm Stadium, 14:30) S.Africa v Samoa (26th Sep, Villa Park, 16:45) Scotland v USA (27th Sep, Elland Road, 14:30) Samoa v Japan (3rd Oct, Stadium MK, 14:30) S.Africa v Scotland (3rd Oct, St. James Park, 16:45) S.Africa v USA (7th Oct, Olympic Stadium, 16:45) Samoa v Scotland (10th Oct, St James Park, 14:30) USA v Japan (11th Oct, Kingsholm Stadium, 20:00)
are one of the harder to predict teams in the tournament. Their performance in this tournament is exemplary. Since their first appearance in 1995 they have won 25 of the 29 matches that they have played in. Their opponents in this group won’t pose much of a threat from a quality standpoint, physically however they will be tested by the Samoans. The aging members of the squad will be a worry but all are proven performers for the Africans. Jean De Villiers and Fourie Du Preez are still incredible players despite their age.
The political nature of the team is always in question due to the country’s poor racial history. This has resulted in outside pressure that the team is “too white” however the players should be used to it by now. In Handre Pollard they have a young player for whom the future of South African rugby will be based. Their performance in the Four Nation’s tournament left a lot to be desired finishing dead last. They will need to try and stay injury free to play their usual abrasive style and hope that this year was an aberration rather than the start of a trend.
Samoa Japan Undoubtedly one of the most physical of the sides in the Japan have a terrible history in this tournament and will
tournament (violent might be more appropriate) they will cause some serious damage to opposition players throughout. Whether they have the actual ball playing talent to beat serious opposition might be moot if they injure enough of their starters. Expect the game against South Africa to provide more involuntary winces than “Man Getting Hit by Football”. If Scotland can survive the physical challenge they might well come out the victors. The winner of that contest will undoubtedly finish second.
require a much better showing here. They will be hosting the next competition and need to improve to build a base for a stronger showing in 2019.
Volume 29, Issue 1 USA The Americans,
much like the Japanese, will not be bringing much to the competition. Their final game will be interesting and competitive. They have some Irish representatives that will be of interest. The sport is in its infancy in the States with many colleges now starting to play it. The viewing figures that they get
Scotland The Scots showed in their
warm up game against Ireland that they might be a bit more prepared for this tournament then their Six Nations campaign let on. Their pack and backline, while not that impressive, should be capable of getting them out of their group. The question for Vern Cotter and his coaching staff is whether or not they go for
from American audiences may be more interesting than the team’s performance. The country represents a new market for the sport and I would not be surprised if there was serious thought to giving them the 2023 World Cup to launch a professional league to Ireland’s loss.
broke in the opening two games against Japan and USA or do they try to keep something in reserve for the Samoa clash. That will be where their tournament is decided. The physical challenge will be daunting and it will be interesting to see if they play a weakened team against the South Africans to preserve their men for the Samoan challenge.
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Sport
Wednesday September 16th 2015
Pool C
New Zealand The All Blacks enter
as favourites and it is very difficult to look past them retaining their crown. The talent throughout the team is astounding. They have the perfect blend of pace and power, their game awareness and management is second to none and their sheer experience will allow them to deal with any situation that they come up against. In Dan Carter they
Argentina The prospect of
have possibly the best ever kicker of a ball and he will control every match that he plays in to a ridiculous level. The Sonny Bill Williams question will dominate their coaches’ mind before the tournament starts. His talent is unquestionable, he would be the star player of any other team in this tournament. HoweverMa’a Nonu and Conrad
S mith orm such an effective midfield partnership that breaking them might be a risk for even a team such as this. Then again Williams has the talent to destroy teams by himself so I have no idea what the decision will be. Expect the entire squad to play throughout the pool and Namibia to concede close to 100 points.
a game against Ireland more than likely awaits the Argentinians later in the tournament. A match that will, unfortunately, not be causing much apprehension amongst the Pumas. They recently earned their first ever victory against the South Africans in a 37-25 win in Durban and will be
coming into this tournament full of confidence, not least Juan Imhoff who scored a hat trick in that game. The paucity of the competition throughout the pool might convince them that they have a chance against the All Blacks, a team that they have never beaten. The fact that they play them first in the group
Namibia Played 15
Tonga Georgia Have conceded 731 points Pushed Ireland close once
world cup matches, lost 15 world cup matches, conceded 974 points. Will try their best and might win their first finals game against one of Georgia or Tonga but expect New Zealand to push them close to 1100 points conceded by themselves.
in tournament play. Will be there to make up the numbers and again might pick up a win against the other minnows but their matches against Argentina and New Zealand will be nothing more than an exhibition.
Fixtures
is a shame as it would have been a much greater spectacle if they met them in the final match in a straight shoot out for first place but maybe if they are to have any hope it will be against a team not quite at the races. Even that is impossible to imagine.
upon a time and may even do the same to Argentina. Probably won’t though. Basically the same lies in store for them as does for the Namibians and the Tongans.
Tonga v Georgia (19th Sep, Kingsholm Stadium, 12:00) New Zealand v Argentina (20th Sep, Wembley Stadium, 16:45) New Zealand v Namibia (24th Sep, Olympic Stadium, 20:00) Argentina v Georgia (25th Sep, Kingsholm Stadium, 16:45) Tonga v Namibia (29th Sep, Sandy Park, 16:45) New Zealand v Georgia (2nd Oct, Millennium Stadium, 20:00) Argentina v Tonga (4th Oct, Leicester City Stadium, 14:30) Namibia v Georgia (7th Oct, Sandy Park, 20:00) New Zealand v Tonga (9th Oct, St James’ Park 20:00) Argentina v Namibia (11th Oct, Leicester City Stadium, 12:00)
See Pool D at collegetribune.ie
CT
Sport,
21
Kilkenny & Galway at Croke Park | Image, Wikimedia Commons
Kilkenny win All Ireland, The Sun Continues to Rise, Nothing Will Ever Change Kilkenny 1-22
Galway 1-18
Neil Ryan Sports Editor
W
ithout a shadow of a doubt, this group of Kilkenny players are the greatest ever assembled in the game. Their mastery is so complete that at this stage it no longer even seems impressive. The ball goes up. The ball goes over. The flag is raised. Repeat, repeat, repeat like the unre-lenting march of time. Galway’s hopes were dampened by the injury to Canning. But the match couldn’t have started better. Galway pressed, they dominated the loose ball. Their forwards sprang to life will Kilkenny’s faltered. They piled on the scores, but also the wides; and it’s the wides that kill you. Kilkenny’s talent is such that what they do no longer seems to have an effect
in association with
on proceedings. They will win the ball. They will have their moment. The scoring metronome will start and they will never miss a single beat. Galway on the other hand had their chances. They had a lead, they had the chances to make it more severe, give the notion at half time that maybe, just maybe they could make it stick. Lax defending lead to a goal for Reid. He will not score many easier on this stage. The goal kept the Cats in the game in truth. They were poor, their midfield had yet to adjust to the match and their forwards were manfully marshalled by the Galway defenders. They couldn’t match the hectic tempo that Galway were setting. The pace was
too much for some of Galway’s forwards too. Wides flew out from score-able positions. Five by the time the first half drew to a close. That is the basis of Kilkenny’s success. You will get wides, we will not. You will adapt to us, we will not. Galway’s dominance could not be sustained. Kilkenny’s was next to invisible. It seemed as if with every single possession they scored. Points from 50, 60 meters were lasered over with a precision that beggared belief. Galway could find no answer. The king watched on from the RTE studio enjoying the match as a spectator. The kingdom seems to be safe in his absence.
Sport
22
Volume 29, Issue 1
Dublin v. Mayo | Image, Cathal Noonan, Irish Mirror
Dublin power through Mayo to set final date with Kerry Neil Ryan Sports Editor
A
fter a very trying week for the GAA this was a reminder of everything that September football could be. Free flowing, full scoring, combative and skilful both counties gave a good account of themselves with Mayo paying the price for some naïve defending. Mayo had the better of the first half with a smattering of scores from midfield that broke the Dublin defenders discipline with O’Shea dominant in claiming kick outs. Paddy Andrews kept Dublin in the game with some well kicked scores. Connolly was understandably subdued after a ridiculous last minute reprieve from the baffling GAA disciplinary process. Rock’s free taking left something to be desired and it is clear that he will need to improve greatly to
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maintain his place in the fifteen for the final. Mayo had no such issues with scores coming in from all over the field and a midfield so dominant that in the first half it appeared as if Cluxton was terrified of giving possession away to them. This would not be maintained in the second half however as O’Shea bafflingly decided to choke slam his man to the turf and was lucky to escape with just a black card. The loss in midfield had a disastrous effect on the match for Mayo. Aiden O’Shea cut an increasingly isolated figure up front. Mayo would have been much better suited moving him back into midfield. The goal that O’Connor scored, despite a hint of illegal-ity not noticed by the umpires,
Sport,
should have led to a Mayo victory. They went four points aheadwith an incredibly easy chance to make it five. The tactical naivety of Mayo was astounding to see for a team that has been in this position so many times before. At no point in this period did they look to kill the game with possession, instead they played incredibly loosely, giving the ball away all over the field. At this point the Dublin bench was unleashed on Mayo and the difference was incredible. Where Bastick was ineffective in midfield MD Macauley was superb. The loss of O’Shea immediately noticed by his sheer power. His name must surely be on the starting sheet for the final. Brogan and McManamon are pure winners and as soon as they entered the fray you feared for Mayo. Brogan’s in-
in association with
stinctive finishing was worthy of the premiership and his set up for Philly McMahon’s goal was superb. To consider that the defender ended the match with 1-2 from play, and that with better finishing it should have been 2-1, tells you everything that you need to know about the two teams. Dublin with scorers all over the pitch simply overloaded Mayo in the space of five minutes. Another loss for Mayo in this fashion must bring into question their game management skills. They fought back against a Dublin side down to fourteen men missing their midfield and failed to win the game. Again they led Dublin and again failed to maximise their opportunities. Dublin can take solace however
after a hard fought win against the only serious opposition that they have played in their campaign so far. After this Kerry will have been forewarned on the quality of their bench, as if they needed to be, and will need to ensure that they can mark McManamon when he inevitably makes his appearance from the bench. Mayo’s status as the perennial bridesmaid of inter-county football is well trodden by now but you would have to wonder just how much disappointment these players can stomach before they give up the ghost. The dearth of relatively competent competition in Connacht may fail to inspire them, though hopefully Roscommon can make the step up from underage success next year.