The College View Issue 4

Wednesday November 14th, 2018

www.thecollegeview.com

. Est. 1999 .

Proportional decrease of international students in DCU Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque Deputy News Editor @BrendanPalenque THE international student population of DCU increased by only 10 per cent between 2008 and 2018, according to the univerity’s Freedom of Information (FOI) office.

This is despite an increase in the total student body population by around 80 per cent in that same time period.

In 2008, 2,111 non-Irish citizens studied at DCU. That meant that 22 per cent of the total student body of 9,330 were international students.

Compared to the current academic year, 2,335 international students are currently studying in DCU. As there are around 17,000 students in DCU in 2018, international students now only represent close to 14 per cent of the total student population.

This year, more international students are from France than any other individual country, with DCU having 277 French students. However, in 2008, French students came third in the list, with 212 students in DCU. Germany was second with 216 students, and China was first with 240 students.

In 2018, fewer students from both Germany and China came to DCU, with 179 German students and only

114 Chinese students. Between 2008 and 2018, there was a decrease of around 48 per cent of Chinese students in DCU. In 2008, the top ten countries international students came from were: China, Germany, France, USA, India, UK, Nigeria, Spain, Poland and Italy.

In 2018, the top ten are France, USA, UK, Germany, India, Poland, Spain, China, Japan and Lithuania.

Only two countries left the top ten: Nigeria and Italy. Nigerian students fell from 166 in 2018 to 63 today – that’s a decrease of over 60 per cent.

On the other hand, the number of Italian students has actually increased from 45 ten years ago, to 77 today (an increase of over 70 per cent).

In 2008, international students came from 110 different countries. In 2018, international students came from 108 countries.

This decrease could be due to a different way of categorizing citizenship.

In the FOI office’s list of countries of origin for international students in 2008, Isle of Man and the Netherlands Antilles are listed separately.

However, residents of Isle of Man and the Netherlands Antilles are citizens of the UK and the Netherlands respectively. It is possible that this error was corrected some time in the last decade.

Number of international DCU students from each country

This information from DCU’s FOI office is based on the citizenship of the student and students with an unknown citizenship were excluded. Students studying DCU programmes delivered in Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University Saudi Arabia were also

Credit: Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque

excluded.

Curiously, DCU’s FOI office said that five students studying in DCU in 2018 are citizens of Yugoslavia. This is despite the fact that Yugoslavia officially broke up back in 1992, over 25 years ago.

As DCU was established only in 1975, it has existed in a world without Yugoslavia for longer than a world with it. DCU’s FOI officer Joe Maxwell said he would look into it but has yet to get back to The College View at the time of print.

Funds up to €125,000 will be used to recruit a new DCU President following the end of Professor Brian MacCraith tenure FUNDS of up to approximately €125,000 were allocated to help recruit a new DCU President.

The estimated figure was agreed by the Governing Authority at their meeting in September this year.

Members of the Governing Authority were told this figure was based on the previous amount spent 10 years ago which was inclusive of VAT. Minutes from the Governing Authority note the fee will be used to pay the recruitment agency and other expenses including advertising and travel for prospective candidates, which may in-

dicate the university is open to external candidates.

The tender for the recruitment agency had not been finalised by the September meeting.

The process to recruit a new President for DCU comes as the tenure of Professor Brian MacCraith ends in 2020.

Minutes also reveal Ms Marian Burns, the Director of Human Resources at DCU will work with the two committees that have been established to help with the recruitment process.

The two committees, the Search Committee and the Selection Committee are understood to have been selected at the October meeting of the Governing Authority.

Features

Sports

Graduation caps falling in the ranks

Smith gets the nod for Ireland team

Brian Mahon Contributor @thecollegeview

Page 18

Page 21

The first of the two Committee’s to begin their task, the Search Committee will aim to complete its work by March/April 2019, with the Selection Committee to complete its work by October/November 2019.

This should allow for the Governing Authority to be in a position to announce the appointment of the new President at its February 2020 meeting.

“I think the president of the university is a very important role and I feel like, the people who would decide these figures would know, I would not know what’s involved really in recruiting a university president,” DCUSU Welfare and Equality Officer Aisling Fagan when asked whether the sum of €125,000 was too high a fee to recruit a

Opinion

Controversial figures on college campuses Page 14

new president.

“From sitting on Governing Authority and seeing the process that will now be undertaken, it probably is an expensive process,” she continued.

DCU will be searching for only the fourth president in its history. Professor Brian MacCraith succeeded Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski.

Professor von Prondzynski, stepped down from his position as principal of Scotland’s Robert Gordon University (RGU) earlier this year after a conflict of interest controversy.

Prior to this, Dr Daniel O’Hare was the founding President of NIHE Dublin in 1977, the precursor to DCU. He served in the role for 20 years, stepping down in 1999.

Gaeilge

Tá an Ghaeilge á fhoghlaim ar fud an domhain Page 15

In response to a number of questions put to the university about the recruitment process a spokesperson said: “Further to your request for information regarding the procedure for appointment of the President, the University will not be releasing any information on the process at this time as it would not be in the public interest to comment until the process has advanced further.”

In recent times Irish universities have chosen Presidents who are almost exclusively from a STEM background.

All current presidents of Irish universities are also male, with no woman ever holding the post of President at any Irish university.

News

Glasnevin children design series of science books

Page 6

Editorial

2 INSIDE The Hype

Editor-in-Chief Callum Lavery

Movies Bohemian Rhapsody review Read on Page 4

TV

The laborious adventures of bad TV Read on Page 5

Travel

Wanderlust: Christmas Markets Read on Page 14

Facebook: TheCollegeView Twitter: @thecollegeview Read more on our website; thecollegeview.com Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief: Callum Lavery, Deputy editor: Gabija Gataveckaite,

Illustrations editor: Roise McGagh,

News editors: Cáit Caden, Ellen Fitzpatrick & Emily Sheahan Deputy News editors: Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque, Catherine Gallagher, Roisin Phelan,

Images editor: Alison Clair, Deputy Images: Mikey Walsh

Production editors: James Nolan & Rachel Halpin Features editor: Gabija Gataveckaite, Deputy features editor: Ciara O’Loughlin, Arts editor: Aoibhin Bryant, Deputy arts editors: Sarah Barrett & Aine O’Boyle, Lifestyle editor: Lorna Lawless, Deputy Lifestyle editors: Beibhinn Thorsch & Eoin Harte Gaeilge editor: Clíona Hughes, Deputy gaeilge editor: Jordan Hussain,

Chief Sub-editor: Roisin Cullen,

Podcast editors: Lucien Waugh Daly, Niamh Dunne & Ian Brennan, Website editor: Eoin Cooke, Advertising and Marketing: Eoin Cooke, Sub-editors: Ellen Butler, Róisin Phelan, Sabrine Donohoe, Clara Kelly, John Morley, Eoin Harte, Dave Kelly, Alex Barrett, Emma Costigan, Becky Ferris, Anja Zauers, Roisin Maguire, Shauna Burdis, Ruth Delaney, Sara Rountree, Dáire Denby, Tara McGahan, Lauren Allen, Natasha Lynch, Thomas Hamilton, Contacts

Sports editor: Gerard Grimes, Deputy sports editors: John Morley & Hugh Farrell,

editor@thecollegeview.com

Opinion editor: Orla Dwyer, Deputy opinion editor: Clara Kelly,

features@thecollegeview.com

Social media editor: Amy Louise Donohoe & Roise McGagh,

gaeilge@thecollegeview.com

Video editor: Lauren Timlin, Deputy video editors: Donal Corrigan, Dara Browne, Jenny Wong, Sathishaa Mohan

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opinion@thecollegeview.com

sports@thecollegeview.com Thanks to Sportsfile, SLC, Office of Student Life

O

Editor’s piece

ver one third of Irish higher level students experience “severe financial problems” while studying. From rising fees to pricey accommodation, students across the country are struggling to keep their head above water while completing their studies.

With an student’s average monthly income being €754 and their average expenditure being €832. It is with no surprise that 42 per cent of a student’s costs are covered by someone other than themselves, such as a parent or partner.

But, what about the students who do not receive financial backing from another party while balancing exams and assignments? It is these students who struggle worst of all with simply living.

I say this as a student who has survived like this for the past three years in DCU. And I write this as a student who is very, very tired of working late nights and rising early in the morning for lectures simply to maintain themselves in their damp digs and on their honestly atrocious diet.

With Irish students now paying the second highest fees in Europe and and with support such as the SUSI maintenance grant remaining the same as it was nearly seven years ago.

How can we feign disbelief when we learn that over 6,000 students will drop out in their first year of college?

That is one in six students in their first year; and with university attendance growing annually (a seven point eight per cent increase since 2013) this figure is only going to become worse.

13 per cent of DCU students did not progress from their first year according to a national study comparing students who dropped out in 2013/14 after their first year. One per cent higher than the national average.

This shows that this problem is more prevalent in DCU than we like to believe.

What is worse than working while studying is the constant moaning of others who did the whole experience when costs were lower.

No, we are not lazy millennials, we are not a generation of snowflakes or wrapped up in blankets and cotton wool. We are overworked, thinly stretched, and running on fumes in damp houses and with holes in our shoes.

We will always hear complaints about student protests, that block traffic and make a lot of noise. But without annoying students, complaining and campaigning about annoying student issues, our fees will remain high, our accommodation will remain bleak and our drop out rates will continue to increase.

But for now, we will continue to struggle to get by and will keep on being the annoying students that are looking for change.

But for now we will remain thinly stretched, skint and tired.

I am very tired.

News

DCUSU announce new student activist group

Callum Lavery Editor in-Chief @callum_lavery DCUSU Vice President for Education and Placement, Craig McHugh has announced the formation of a new student activist group within the college.

The announcement was made at the last Class Rep Council (CRC) on November 1st, 2018, where the idea was brought before the class reps for discussion. The group is planned to be a body of students who will assemble to protest or campaign for student rights or on student issues.

“The purpose of the student activist group is to target the confidence and supply agreement, which is going on now, to raise awareness on publicly funded higher education and also act as a group that is there that care about its student population, care about its universities, care about student

rights, on almost all issues, so things like, Shepard, student rights, and accommodation,” said McHugh.

The idea was met with mixed to positive reception from the CRC. Questions were raised around the funding of the group, the numbers involved and the whether preference will be given to students who are currently members of political parties.

McHugh explained that currently there is no set number of students planned and that preference will not be given to politically affiliated students.

The funding of the project will come from the campaign funds allocated to the Students’ Union. “It will be an informal group with formal funding… if we are spending loads of money on this we are not doing it properly,” said McHugh.

So far, McHugh has said that he has had much interest in the formation of the group, “we’ve had a significant amount of people come up to me and suggesting ideas on what we can do with it.”

“Significantly teachers who want to take action on what is happening now with the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), and also interest from class reps. We’re sending an email following this week.”

Similar groups as the one proposed

by McHugh have been seen on campuses in the past, most recently the “Take Back Trinity” movement

Vice Presdient for Education and Placement, Craig McHugh has announced the formation of a new student activist group within DCU.

in March, 2018 which saw hundreds of students occupy an on-campus building in protest of a €450 fee to resit an examination.

On the group, second-year education student and Class Representative Ellen Corr said: “I don’t really think the group is a bad idea, I understand that

the executives have an awful lot to deal with and this would allow more things to be dealt with at once, however, I would be a little dubious as to how successful it will be. But I guess there’s no harm in trying.”

Similarly, third-year computer applications student and Class

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Credit Cait Caden

Representative said that he was worried that the group could “set a pretty dangerous precedent if the union was to target one group in particular. I don’t feel like that was the spirit of the idea though and I absolutely think that it’s a good idea.”

Consent classes should be mandatory say DCUSU Ellen Fitzpatrick News Editor @elinfizpitryk

DCU Students’ Union Vice President for Welfare and Equality Aisling Fagan has said she doesn’t believe consent classes should be mandatory for students as it “defeats the purpose of consent.”

DCU SU have conducted a series of workshops to teach the meaning of consent through “an open and healthy discussion and conversation about consent”.

“I think mandatory in itself is the opposite to consent, I think making them mandatory also affects the workshops themselves,” said Fagan.

“I think in general, I think everyone should have to, well not have to because I don’t agree with them being mandatory. I think that people should have enough of an interest in general to attend,” she added.

Other institutions across the country are looking into mandatory courses on this topic or mandatory aspects of courses but as of now, this is not going to occur in DCU. “It could be something down the line that maybe DCU will look at but I think for the minute, under my influence, I don’t think that they should be mandatory,” said Fagan.

However, a small number of students

DCUSU Vice President for Welfare and Equality belives mandatory consent classes defeats the purpose of consent.

have risen questions over the effectiveness of these workshops and have questioned if they have any real impact on college students, despite the vast majority believing that these classes are benefiting most students.

Some asked if students who attended the workshops failed to obtain any knowledge, although the figures for turnout highly increased from those of last year.

When asked if she thought these

Credit: Alison Clair

workshops were effective, Fagan said that she truly believes that they have had a positive outcome.

“Yes, I do, we give evaluation forms to every student before and after the workshop and having looked at the

feedback from last year and all the different feedback from other institutions and comparing them to the feedback we got this year I think they were really, really good,” said Fagan.

Although some complaints were brought forward, the majority believe that these workshops were needed in college life and are having an impact on student’s understanding of consent.

“I thought the workshops were extremely useful. I felt like I already had an understanding of consent but the class explained consent in more detail and gave many examples of where consent was or wasn’t present. It was fun and interactive which made it effective,” said first-year student Emily Clarke.

Although the figures for the workshops have increased in attendance and participation, some can’t understand how these are impacting students and the amount of time being put into these classes.

“I think there needs to be a lot more work put into the consent classes. Although there was a decent turnout, I think it could’ve been more effective.

There should be more emotion put into it, for example, bringing in a rape victim willing to speak because the more personal it is and the more real it is the more likely it is to work, in my opinion,” a person involved with the workshops said.

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News

DCU reconsiders its relationship with Saudi Arabian university after murder of journalist

Brian Mahon Contributor @thecollegeview DCU and a Saudi Arabian university began discussions on the future of their relationship, after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy last October.

DCU has retained a relationship with Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) since 2012, when it signed an agreement to deliver two undergraduate degree programmes there: a Bachelor in Business Studies International Finance BSIF, and Bachelor of Marketing, Innovation and Technology.

“Dublin City University is monitoring current developments related to Saudi Arabia and is reviewing its relationships in that context,” said a DCU spokesperson.

DCU has also completed an indepth curriculum review with PNU as part of “broadening our offering from business to human performance, health science and nursing”.

In a statement, a spokesperson for

DCU has retained a relationship with Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) since 2012,

the Department of Education said universities are autonomous institutions and their governance and day to day management are matters for which the institutions themselves are responsible.

“The Department of Education and Skills has not offered DCU advice in this matter. It is for the judgement of different institutions as to whether engagement or disengagement at any given juncture advances or sets back

the cause of the education of women, human rights, accountability or press freedom in Saudi Arabia,” said Department of Education spokesperson.

DCUSU President Vito Moloney Burke commented DCU had to “make sure our students because those students in PNU are very much our students, are being represented as well and we are looking out for their needs so any decision that is made will have to be done so with their interest taken

Credit: Alison Clair

into account.”

Independent TD Clare Daly, who tabled questions in relation to the financial relationship between DCU and PNU said: “I’m delighted that the college is finally considering its relationship with PNU, I’m just sorry it’s taken so long.”

“While I fully recognise the horror of the Khashoggi murder, the daily slaughter of innocent men women and children through bombings & starva-

tion by Saudi Arabia was a sufficient reason to have had the relationship terminated well before now,” she continued Seamus Dooley, the Secretary of the National Union of Journalists said any review should take “five minutes” adding it was a “no-brainer”, ethically.

One student, a recent graduate from the International Finance programme which DCU runs in conjunction with PNU, however, said the relationship should endure Highlighting the beneficial academic aspect of the relationship between the two institutions the student said: “Indeed it should, it was so useful for us we learned and enjoyed learning, yes I would love it to continue.”

Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist and critic of the leadership regime in the country, was murdered in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul on October 2nd.

It is now known that Khashoggi was strangled immediately after entering his country’s embassy in Istanbul.

DCUSU pull no punches on MA of Choral Studies Mike Tyson’s talk in the Helix to be introduced as a

course in DCU in 2019

Dave Kelly Sub-Editor @Dave_Kelly_ Mike Tyson’s recent event in the Helix was condemned by DCU Students’ Union as they were ‘concerned’ with having a convicted rapist in a building situated on campus.

‘An Evening with Mike Tyson’ took place in the Helix on November 2nd. DCU stated it it had no affiliation with the Helix, which is a commercial body.

“At the end of the day and no matter who the individual in question is, I don’t think that it’s good enough to be invited onto a university campus by a commercial body, but regardless, it’s supposed to be a space where students are comfortable,” DCUSU President Vito Maloney Burke told the Irish Independent.

Tyson was convicted of raping an 18-year-old, Desiree Washington, in 1992. He served three years of his sixyear sentence. The event consisted of Tyson talking about his early life and how he got into boxing.

In a statement about the event that was released on Twitter, DCUSU said they “take our students’ safety and wellbeing extremely seriously and are concerned for those whom this visit might affect.”

“It is utterly disappointing and disrespectful that the Helix would host Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist, on DCU campus. Irrespective of whether you’re a commercial or academic entity, it is spectacularly tone deaf to invite a convicted rapist onto a student cam-

Rachel Halpin Production Editor @RachelHalpin_

DCUSU condemned the recenr event featuring Mike Tyson in The Helix

pus. The Helix is sending a message that they care more for profit than the comfort and safety of the students with whom they share their home,” said Amy Ní Cholgáin, Chairperson of DCU’s Feminist Society.

The Helix described the event as “unmissable”, claiming that Tyson has one of the most interesting life stories you could hear. However, the venue’s marketing manager, Louise Phelan, told the Irish Independent that the event was purely organised by a third-party.

“The vast majority of speakers acts and performances that take place here, that would include the Mike Tyson event, they’re engaged and booked by third-party promoters, we would never have invited him to come to campus,”

Credit: Wikipedia

said Phelan.

Controversial MMA fighter Conor McGregor was also in attendance at the sold out event in the Helix’s Mahony Hall where Tyson spoke about his life and career as well as signed professional photographs with those who paid extra.

A second date for the billed event ‘An Evening with Mike Tyson’ was proposed, however, this was shelved according to The Sunday Business Post, after representatives from DCU expressed their unhappiness with Tyson’s presence on campus.

Phelan refused to comment whether The Helix had the ability to refuse hosting the event. DCU’s Athletic Boxing Club refused to comment on the event.

DCU have announced that they will be introducing a master’s degree in choral studies in the School of Theology, Philosophy and Music for the academic year starting in 2019.

This degree will be the first of its kind in Ireland and will be allocated based on accreditation. It is available to people who have studied Music at an undergraduate level and to others who studied something else but have a high level of musical ability and a keen interest in conducting and/or composing.

Dr Róisín Blunnie, an assistant professor in music in DCU and conductor of the DCU Lumen Chorale and Laetare Vocal Ensemble and Dr Seán Doherty, a lecturer in music in DCU and choral composer, worked together to develop this master’s degree. Blunnie will be teaching modules on choral conducting and choral leadership, as well as supervising dissertations in the new master’s.

“Ireland is absolutely buzzing with choirs at the moment and we hope to provide a great course for conductors and composers to upskill and get all the expertise and background knowledge to give them confidence in their art,” said Blunnie.

“Choir singing is thoroughly alive

and kicking at the moment, and all those choirs need well-trained conductors and new music by great composers,” she added.

Lucy McGuinness is a graduate of Religious Education and Music for secondary level teaching. She studied music in DCU for four years and is currently working in a secondary school in North County Dublin teaching music and religious education.

This MA degree is one that she would consider doing after some years of teaching experience.

She thinks it will be a good course and is needed in college. “I feel it will improve on the overall standard of choral studies throughout Ireland,” said McGuinness. “I really do think it would be popular. We have nothing like this in Ireland. Therefore, the convenience of having such a fantastic course in the centre of Dublin will be extremely popular.”

Composition and Musicology lecturer in DCU who works in the choir industry, Dr Rhona Clarke said: “I think the new MA will be a great addition to the existing programmes in Music. It it is being introduced at a time of growth for choral music in this country and I would expect there to be great interest, especially among choral directors who seek a more academic dimension as well as further practical expertise.”

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Trinity Sport leak scholarship applicants’ personal information

Sabrine Donohoe Sub Editor @thecollegeview DETAILS of student addresses, phone numbers, personal statements and injuries were accidentally leaked in an email sent by Ross Hamilton, the Sports Development Officer at Trinity Sport, according to The University Times.

The email was sent out to 168 applicants of Trinity Sport scholarships, 68 of whom received a scholarship this academic year.

The breached data is undergoing deletion, and according to Head of Trinity Sport Michelle Tanner, a report will be sent to the Data Protection Commis-

sion – a mandatory action as of May 25th this year, when the EU GDPR came into effect.

DCU Elite Athletic Scholarship recipients Sophie Becker and Kate McGowan spoke to The College View about whether such a data breach could leave room for deliberate manipulation during a competition by fellow athletes.

“Personally I don’t think it [the data breach of personal injuries] can give an unfair advantage to your competitors… perhaps in other sports like hockey or something they might but I don’t think anyone is that low and would go to that level to get an advantage over their competitors,” said Becker.

“It would be quite hard to use the information in our personal statements to your advantage. But I would be disappointed in the people involved if it were to happen,” said McGowan.

“It’s personal information and I wouldn’t like everyone to be able to access it… It may be different to people involved in team sports with regards to injury, there isn’t any contact in athletics so it would be hard to use an injury against someone”.

Earlier this year, The College View

reported that a students entering DCU through an Elite Athletic Scholarship dropped by 62 per cent between the academic years 2016/17 and 2017/18; with just 35 scholars in the latter years versus 93 respectively.

“The application process was competitive, there’s a lot of talent in athletics in Ireland at the minute particularly in sprinting so a certain standard was needed to get a scholarship,” said Becker.

“The number of applicants for sports scholarships increases every year so it’s getting more and more competitive,” said McGowan.

The Trinity Sport scholarships are sponsored by Bank of Ireland and authorize financial grants of up to €3,500 to the most outstanding athletes. All recipients receive access to high-performance training, nutritional support, and physiology analysis.

This year, Trinity Sport offered scholarships in fencing, cricket, sailing, hockey, rugby and Paralympic swimming.

The Senior Sports Development Officer at DCU Yvonne McGowan did not respond to a request for comment in time for print.

News

DCUSU hold a Nurses Appreciation Day

Ellen Fitspatrick News Editor @elinfizpitryk

DCU Students’ Union held a Nurses Appreciation Day during Reading Week to acknowledge those students who work through the week.

The event was held in the Nursing Building, where a number of activities were taking place with the aim to make student nurses feel appreciated for the work they do.

“Today is to lift morale for students that study nursing because they spend so much time on placement, we just want to reward them at this point in the year,” said Vice President for Education and Placement Craig McHugh.

“It’s a very simple day to get students together, have a bit of music, a bit more atmosphere in the place because it’s not a very easy course,” he continued.

A number of first and final year nursing students attended the event where there were competitions to win a months leap card and games of operation. There was also refreshments and a candy floss machine.

Despite a good turnout from students that were on campus, both second and third-year students are on placement currently and were unavailable for the

event.

The SU is planning to conduct another event similar to this in February as by then these students on placement will be back in full-time education and will be able to attend.

“It’s hard to get them all at once, this is the first of two nursing appreciation days we’re going to do this year,” said McHugh.

A number of student nurses who are currently out on placement were dissatisfied with this event as many felt left out or that those on placement had been left aside in the planning of the event.

“I think it’s a good concept however only first and fourth years were present in the college at the time. I didn’t feel appreciated as did a lot of my other colleagues in nursing. Most people don’t realise what we actually have to do on a day to day basis in the hospital, we get no pay whatsoever and work almost 40 hours a week,” said second-year nursing student Jessica Collins.

“Maybe try have a day when every year isn’t out on placement, which I know it’s probably non-existent, or have a day for each individual year, like 3rd year appreciation day,” said Kathy Breen, a third-year nursing student when asked what could’ve been done to include all students.

Na Fianna hold their ground while Home Farm goes under construction for the new MetroLink

James Nolan Production Editor @JamesNolan97 NA Fianna GAA club will not lose their playing pitches to accommodate the construction of the new €3 billion MetroLink system following a campaign of opposition by the club and residents of the area.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland has instead proposed using lands owned by nearby Home Farm Football Club, who will receive €5 million in compensation as a result of losing their playing pitches.

The Northside station, which is set to be named Griffith Park, was originally due to be built on school pitches on Mobhi Road and lands owned by Na Fianna GAA club. It was also to be used as a construction compound for up to six years.

However, the club, along with resi-

Na Fianna GAA club successfully opposed the contruction of the new MetroLink on their grounds.

dents of the area undertook a campaign of opposition against the proposal, stating that the move would result in a generation of young players being lost to the sport.

The campaign also welcomed contributions from noteworthy people such

as celebrity architect Dermot Bannon, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Dublin GAA star Jonny Cooper.

Local resident Catriona McKeown says that the people of the area are delighted with the development, despite losing the Metro stop.

Credit: Róise McGagh

“The locals are delighted with the outcome. The fields around Na Fianna and Mobhi Road have so much history and facilitate sport for so many, it would have been silly to locate a stop there.

“The proposed Home Farm stop is

a win-win situation as it will take less time to build and is still close enough to facilitate people in the Na Fianna area,” said McKeown.

Dublin North West TD Noel Rock welcomed the changes outlined in the latest report on the new MetroLink as good developments while also mentioning that all concerned would be keeping a close eye on proceedings as Home Farm FC have been an important part of Irish sport for decades and this must continue to be the case.

“Under this draft proposal, there will be a stop constructed underneath Home Farm’s pitch with an 18-month build. Practically, instead of a six-year construction project involving all of the space at Na Fianna, there will instead be an 18 month construction period on a much smaller site beneath Home Farm FC. “It’s important we make sure Home Farm are looked after during these 18 months of construction. Everyone knows of Home Farm’s historic contribution to Irish soccer and how many underage players they have catered for. They are an intrinsic part of Irish sport and long may this continue,” said Rock.

Upon completion, MetroLink will connect Sandyford in South Dublin to Swords Estuary on the Northside with an estimated travel time of 50 minutes.

News

DCU settles High Court Case against university authorities

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Cáit Caden News Editor @AreYou_Caden_Me A DCU student settled a High Court case over university authorities decision to exclude him from his course because of alleged inappropriate behaviour.

Lifeng Han, DCU PhD student in computing, was excluded by the college authorities last February after a disciplinary committee believed Han’s alleged behaviour was of an unacceptable and inappropriate nature. His initial proceedings began in May of this year.

“I am happy that the matter has been resolved and that I can focus on my phd studies,” said Han to The College View.

(Insert this as the 3rd graf please and take out Han’s name in the last graf.

Declan Rafferty’s name and be kept in because he didn’t get back to me A DCU student settled a High Court case which has been going on for months. Lifeng Han was initially excluded from his course for alleged innapropriate behaviour which he said Credit: Wikipedia Lifeng Han, who is a Chinese nation- could be explained as cultural differences. al, stated that this alleged inappropriate behaviour, as recognised by DCU, committee also had a prosecutorial role Séamus Noonan allowed him to apply October, the application for which was struck out. for an injunction, in the event his ac- made on a one-side-only represented Mr Justice Noonan made the strike could be explained “by way of cultural in his case.

Han continued to live on campus commodation became in danger, durout orders and congratulated the parties basis. differences”, according to The Irish In the first week of November, coun- involved, noting that the case was in Times, however, he did not get the op- during his exclusion, however, was un- ing official court proceedings earlier able to use college facilities or attend this year. sel for Mr Han informed Mr Justice the court list for a while. portunity to plead this case. classes, as he feared his accommodaCounsel for Mr Han, Frank CallaThe “cultural differences” which he Noonan that the case had been settled, During his legal challenge, tion, as well as €16,000 he receives for nan was granted leave to challenge the said explained his alleged inapproprithat a costs order could be made in faHan claimed he was denied fair procedures. His reasoning for this was living expenses, were under threat be- decision of the disciplinary investiga- vour of his client and that any separate ate behaviour were not disclosed to the because a member of the disciplinary cause of the ongoing case. Mr Justice tion last May. The case came back in defamation proceedings could also be public.

Number of DCU students expelled for plagiarism decreases Brian Mahon Contributor @thecollegeview A number of students have been expelled from DCU for plagiarism according to the results of a Freedom of Information request (FOI).

The FOI request showed that 36 cases of plagiarism have been dealt with by the university since 2013.

One case has occurred so far in 2018, with four cases of exam regulation breaches also dealt with by the Student Disciplinary Committee. There has been no non-academic cases have come before the Committee in 2018.

In 2017, five cases of plagiarism

were dealt with, five exam regulation breaches occurred and two cases of non-academic matters were dealt with.

Of the 12 cases, 10 were upheld.

Figures in 2013 spiked for plagiarism in DCU as 11 students were accused, five for exam regulation breaches and five for non-academic breaches.

All but two of the 21 cases were upheld in that year.

The university declined to provide figures in relation to which faculties have experienced the most evidence of plagiarism stating: “We are happy to provide statistical information of students who were involved in cheating but given the relatively small numbers involved there is a danger that persons

could be identified if we provided the faculties in which the students were based.”

“The University is satisfied that between the use of technology and the vigilance of staff, it is taking all reasonable steps to detect plagiarism and, where it is detected, disciplinary action is taken,” said a university spokesperson.

DCUSU Officer for Education and Placement Craig McHugh said the disciplinary process was fair to students.

“What I would say to students that would feel the need to plagiarise, the stress can come and people may feel it necessary but obviously it’s in no one’s best interest, you come here to get an

education to better yourself and plagiarism essentially goes against that,” he said.

He added that the SU was there to help students and they were happy to assist them where they might be struggling academically.

The university also stated: ‘The cases above came before the Student Disciplinary Committee and the relevant policies are the Examination Regulation 2016-2017 and the DCU Academic Integrity and Plagiarism.”

However, these documents were only uploaded to the university website after October 3rd, 2018, when the last Academic Council took place.

DCU’s academic integrity and pla-

giarism policy document outlines the steps the university must take if it is satisfied a student has committed plagiarism.

Where a student is interviewed in regards to plagiarism, the document states the ‘interview panel will involve, at a minimum, the School representative and another academic member of staff. For example, the staff member who identified the alleged breach.

The student can, however, escalate proceedings to and have the matter referred to the University Disciplinary Committee. The policy also states the matter must be referred to the University Disciplinary Committee if the student retains legal representation.

8

News

DCU academics call for “Supported Transition” model for young people with Intellectual Disabilities

Catherine Gallagher Deputy News Editor @Cather_i_ne

A new report published by an academic within Dublin City University has called for a nationwide implementation of a “Supported Transition” model to aid students in second-level with intellectual disabilities to enter in further education, training and employment.

From the findings of the report, they have urged policymakers to prioritise transition planning at an earlier stage within the post-primary school life-cycle for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID).

The report, “Progressing Accessible Supported Transitions to Employment (PASTE): Navigating the transition from school: Voices of young people and parents” was led by Dr Geraldine Scanlon, an academic within the Institute of Education in DCU. She has a broad background in education and more recently has moved towards the rights for children and adults with disabilities in Ireland.

Co-author Dr Alison Doyle of Caerus Education, is a teacher and psychologist who specialises in the management of educational transitions.

Between 2017 and 2018, they in-

vestigated outcomes for school leavers with ID, who engaged with the WALK PEER supported transition model during their final two years in school. They focused on capturing the viewpoint of students attending two special schools and also their parents, carers, recent school leavers and education professionals.

Following the publication of the PASTE report, Dr Geraldine Scanlon commented on the findings in a statement: “In keeping with the core principles of transition planning, the (proposed) model places the young person in the centre by assisting them to explore their aspirations and brings them to a point in their lives where they are able to make an “informed choice” about their future,” said Dr Scanlon.

Engagement with the supported transition programme had increased levels of self-awareness and self-determination that established ambitions for plans after school. However, significant gaps in acquiring knowledge in relation to rights and entitlements after leaving school was a reoccurring theme.

Sarah Lennon is Communications and Information Manager for Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with intellectual disability.

She said that “not-knowing and lack of

Significant gaps in acquiring knowledge in relation to rights and entitlements after leaving school was a reoccurring theme.

choice is very frustrating for people.”

“I think the lack of choice leads to people being almost grateful to get anything which is obviously no way to operate any sort of transition or progression route for people,” said Lennon.

The PASTE report cited that there is an “over-reliance” on day-care services, commenting on this, Lennon added: “For a lot of people, it is the option that is put forward. There are no inspected regulations or forced regulations for day services. We don’t have a good

Credit: Sonja Tutty

picture of the standard of services in Ireland; whether they are encouraging community participation or if they are more of a day-care environment,” she concluded.

University of Limerick named Sunday Times Irish University of the Year

Gabija Gataveckaite Deputy Editor @gabysayshey

THE University of Limerick (UL) has been named the Sunday Times Irish University of the Year 2019.

This is the second year that UL has taken the crown, after its first win as University of the Year 2015. This year, UCD was announced as the runner up.

“We are lucky enough and extremely grateful to receive the honour for 2019,” UL Student Life President Ciara Jo Hanlon told The College View.

“I think every university in the country strives for improvement and recognition, so it is great for UL to receive such an accolade,” she added.

“I don’t think it was unexpected because our new library opened this year

which was a massive capital investment and it’s now the biggest library in Ireland,” said the UL Student Life VP/ Academic Officer Matthew Murphy.

Murphy explained that the brand new Glucksman Library isn’t the only contributor to the achievement. “The university got excellent results and a good number of responses in the Irish Student Survey of Engagement, which I think other universities are putting more emphasis on now too,” he said.

“We have an excellent work experience programme in our co-op placements and it is well known that UL have a leading stature in terms of graduate employability,” added Hanlon.

Ailish Finan, a second year Arts student at the university, said the library has been warmly welcomed by students.

“It’s great news to hear that we’ve been named the university of the year as UL very much deserves it, we have excellent resources available in a wide range of areas,” she said.

“The brand new library was much needed and it’s a great addition to the university as it adds even more student supports to those that need it,” Finan said.

Each one of Ireland’s universities has won the University of the Year title at least once. Murphy recalls that when

he first started studying at UL in 2014, the university had just won the title for the first time.

“I’ve been here for five years now and when I first came in, it won the title and now we’ve won it again- it’s a great buzz around campus and it’s something to put into perspective as even more students choose the university,” he explained.

DCU has won the title twice before.

University College Cork have won it five times.

DCU rolls out all the stops on the new Monopoly board

Ellen Fitzpatrick News Editor @elinfizpitryk

DCU features on the new Dublin Monopoly board, which was launched on November 1st, 2018.

Monopoly: Dublin Edition was released in Smithfield and displays a number of prominent Dublin locations, including DCU. DCU is the only university to feature on the board, valued at 320 Monopoly Dollars. It is also seen as an image in the centre of the board.

The university is one of 30 Dublin landmarks that have made it to the board, along with the GPO, the National Botanic Gardens and Kilmainham Gaol.

“We are delighted with the inclusion of DCU on the new look Dublin Monopoly board. Like the university itself,

this edition is fresh and vibrant and it puts Dublin City University exactly where it should be - firmly on the map, and at the centre of all the action,” said DCU Deputy President Daire Keogh.

“Inclusion on the Monopoly Board is very positive in terms of building the profile of DCU. From a student perspective and for alumni seeking employment and promotion, this was seen as an excellent opportunity to position DCU among some of Dublin and Ireland’s most iconic names,” he continued.

“The licence for this particular edition of the game will run for five years, therefore the opportunities for exposure of the DCU brand both nationally and internationally over the period are

sizeable,” Keogh added.

An Irish edition of the Monopoly board was on the shelves a few years ago but was not an official Monopoly product, whereas this new Dublin edition has been officially released by Hasbro.

DCU is located on the green squares of the board, which are some of the higher valued squares. DCU is priced higher than Temple Bar and the Guinness Storehouse, two high ranking Dublin attractions.

DCU Accommodation are planning to rent out Monopoly boards for residences, with a €10 deposit needed to secure a game.

Their aim with this initiative is to make their reception more social for

international students who may not know anyone in DCU and want to get to know each other.

They are purchasing various games, most notably Monopoly: Dublin Edition as it includes DCU, in order to make DCU Accommodation more of a social spot.

“We take a €10 deposit if they’re bringing them away from reception and at reception, they don’t have to pay a deposit,” said Mairead McGarry, the Residential Life Coordinator for DCU rooms.

“We’re getting loads of more games in, we’ll definitely get the Monopoly board with DCU on it but we just haven’t got it yet.”

Science and Health

9

Irish patients will not be given medicinal cannabis until government find quality assured supplier Róisín Maguire Contributor @thecollegeview THE medicinal access programme, which aims to provide patients that qualify for medicinal cannabis treatment, is being delayed as the government cannot find quality assured suppliers.

Almost two years ago, the Minister for Health Simon Harris announced that a medicinal cannabis centre would be established. This announcement came after recommendations in the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) report were published.

This scheme aims to allow patients of multiple sclerosis, patients who are experiencing vomiting and nausea due to chemotherapy and patients with severe treatment-resistant epilepsy to access cannabis treatments to ease symptoms.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin criticised the delay, saying that the date that government plan to begin this scheme remains a mystery. The number of patients waiting for cannabis products is growing all the time due to General Practitioners endorsement.

Martin said this delay “cannot go on” as some patients from Ireland have to travel abroad to Europe every three months to access the cannabis treatment which has been prescribed by their GP’s.

Gino Kenny, People Before Profit TD, will push for his Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill, which he states is “currently under an effective embargo” by the Government, despite the Dáil passing the vote last year. He said the hold up is preventing children and people who would greatly benefit from cannabis treatment from accessing it.

Patients with epilepsy and others who qualify under the treatment access programme, which is meant to provide medicinal cannabis, will not be provided with the substance until a quality assured provider can be found.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the problem lies in finding a reliable supplier who is capable of maintaining pharmaceutical standards and safety regulations.

Harris shared this same opinion, saying that there is a lack of cannabis products in Ireland creating the most difficult barrier in overcoming for the scheme. He said that while cannabis products are not medicines, they must meet appropriate standards.

The Department of Health however, said that cannabis products will not be subject to the same rigorous safety, quality and efficacy standards that are in place for medicines and nor are the suppliers and producers but must be approved by the HPRA. The department said that currently, the Netherlands and Canada export cannabis products, however, the Netherlands only permits the export cannabis dried herb and does not allow the

export of cannabis oil which is vital for some Irish patients.

Until the Government can find a supplier, doctors are still able to prescribe medicinal cannabis for patients who must obtain this prescription themselves from a Dutch pharmacy, therefore, they must travel.

Licences have been granted for 12 patients, the majority of whom are obtaining their prescription from the pharmacy in the Netherlands.

Credit: Wikipedia

Harris said that his department has no control over the business decisions of manufacturers and cannot control whether they supply to Ireland. Officials went to Denmark last week to find suppliers however Harris said that this is essentially going off in new directions which will prolong the issue even longer. He said that we are two years on from the initial promise and progress is slow.

Over 6,000 children waiting over a year for a psychologist appointment Róisín Phelan Deputy News Editor @_roisinphelan OVER 6,000 teens and children are awaiting psychologist appointments in Ireland, new figures released by the HSE reveal.

This figure, among others relating to the age of the children, and lengths of their waits were released by Fianna Fáil mental health spokesperson James Browne who said, “these figures are very worrying and should act as a wake-up call for Ministers Harris, Daly and indeed all of their Cabinet col-

leagues.”

The figures show that 6,340 children were waiting to receive an appointment with a psychologist by the end of August this year and that 1,607 children had been on the waiting list for over a year. 109 of these particular children were under the age of four.

Browne said the waiting period is, “causing immense stress and anxiety to the children and families trapped on the list.”

They divided the children by age group and into nine different geographical locations called Community Health Organisations (CHOs).

This division showed the differences

between waiting lists in different areas of Ireland. For example, CHO4, which accounted for Cork and Kerry had 499 children on waiting lists between ages four and 17.

Whereas CHO6, which accounted for Wicklow, Dublin south-east and Dun Laoghaire, had no children between ages four and 17 on a waiting list.

There were several other examples of great differences between waiting lengths across the county displaying the disparities between demand and available service in different CHOs. DCU offers counselling services to its students, however, students say it’s

waiting lists are also lengthy.

A DCU student who avails of the colleges counselling services, Liam De Brún, said that the waiting lists are two weeks long at a minimum, describing the time as, a “horrific wait time for support while you’re going through a hard time,” stating that it’s “basically another two weeks of being alone.”

De Brún said: “Having to wait is an excruciating process because you don’t even know how long you’ll have to wait.”

He said he thought that the waiting period is so long because of the large numbers of students trying to access the services, but that students need “in-

stant access to services because a couple of weeks is not ideal when you’re going through hell.”

This comes after the announcement that there were a record number of 718,000 people on waiting lists to be seen or be treated by a doctor in September of this year.

In June, Minister for Health Simon Harris said that reducing waiting periods was a “key priority,” for him and that he planned to do so by, “seeking to build new capacity through the National Development Plan.”

Science and Health

10

Record number of patients will be on trolleys this winter Carrie McMullan Contributor @thecollegeview DESPITE increased healthcare funding in Budget 2019, over 1,000 patients are expected to be on hospital trolleys this winter according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).

The number of patients waiting to be admitted to hospital beds is expected to hit a record high this winter. Despite the allocation of €10 million to increase the number of hospital beds, the first 80 of the promised 600 beds will not be seen until next spring. This means that the bed-patient ratio will continue to rise over the next few months.

The current record is 714 patients on trolleys on March 12th this year, according to The Irish Times. Numbers decreased by a monthly average of 6.4 per cent until November when the numbers increased again by almost 50 per cent to 591 patients on hospital trolleys, according to the Irish Nurses

and Midwives ‘Trolley Watch’ figures.

The number of acute hospital beds stands at 5,360, according to the ‘Health Service Capacity Review’ for 2018. These beds are provided for patients spending 18 days or less in hospital. The report states that acute care is between 95 to 100 per cent capacity and an additional 2, 590 beds will be needed by 2031 to meet healthcare demands.

“At the moment it’s not bad like I feel the Rotunda do really well to manage the bed-patient ratio,” said Suji Kim, a midwife at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.

“I can’t speak for other hospitals but I feel like the Rotunda’s OK. It’ll definitely get busier for Christmas but never to the point where there’ll be women in the hallways,” she continued The Rotunda Hospital, like many others in Ireland, is understaffed which only adds to the problem, according to Kim. There is a shortage of nurses and midwives due to many choosing to find

Elderly people waiting n trolleys in A&E has already made headlines this year however the IMO state figures for patients on trolleys is set to get worse.

work in other countries and going on maternity leave.

Budget 2019 invested €17 billion in healthcare. This is the highest amount of funding the Department of Health has ever received, according to the Irish

Paralysed patients walk again after electrical stimulation

Medical Times. The IMO were unhappy with the outcome of the Budget and highlighted in a press release the fact that funding was given to private services over public health services.

The capacity constraints are the rea-

son for dangerous overcrowding and there is a requirement for more consultants, beds and general practitioners, according to a statement by Dr Peader Gilligan, President of the IMO.

Glasnevin children design series of science books

The three primary school children are working on the books in an effort to try and make science more understandable for those of a younger age.

Alison Clair Images Editor @aliclair_

Patients who suffered their spinal injuries years ago were able to walk again after electrical stimulation

Beibhinn Thorsch Deputy Lifestyle Editor @BeibhinnJourno PARALYSED patients walked again, even years after accidents, after a team of neurosurgeons and engineers used targeted electrical stimulation on the spine.

The research was published in the Nature Thursday journal, alongside a video.

The breakthrough has come after more than a “decade of careful research,” according to a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Gregoire Courtine.

Previous trials had achieved strong results when tested on rats, but were less impressive in humans. However, a breakthrough came after several months when three participants noted that they were able to activate their previously paralysed muscles on their own, after several months of training

with the electrical stimulation.

The technique is thought to have much higher chances of success when performed very shortly after a patient has experienced a spinal cord injury, and a start-up has been created with the aim to test it on these people in order to refine the technique.

A pulse is first directed at the muscle to tell the patient to begin an attempt at movement, which notifies sensors at the feet to send additional targeted pulses which trigger the muscle movements that are required to complete a step.

Neurons in the brain become reattached to the muscles as the patients join the thoughts of stepping with the electric stimulation that brings on the movements. Once these are reconnected, patients are often able to bring about the muscle movement without the electrical stimulation.

The results were unexpected, according to Dr Courtine who worked alongside neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch in

Credit: Carrie McMullan

leading the research. He said that the patients were able to take some steps on the ground without assistance.

Compared to continuous stimulation which makes walking jerky and unnatural for the patient, using only targeted stimulation allows the patient to walk in an almost ordinary fashion.

One patient who took part in the programme can now walk for up to two hours at a time Dr Courtine does not want expectations to become over heightened, he said that the patients who have been able to take steps still remain mostly reliant on their wheelchairs. Going forward, however, the doctor is looking towards nerve repair when the technique is combined with biological treatments.

The technique is being praised by experts across the world, being described as “a giant leap forward in the treatment of what was until very recently considered incurable paralysis.’’

Credit: Side Stage

THREE local Glasnevin girls helped design a national series of science books for children which they will also star in.

Lauren Boyd Smith, along with siblings Anoushka and Abhinav Sathiaseelan from Ongar, are members of Ireland’s most influential young people’s group, The Wonder Panel.

This group have been working, alongside the schoolgirls, on the four Science Apprentice books for the past five months. The girls have helped the team to form the questions and answers, in the hopes of making these books more accessible and understandable for Irish schoolchildren.

Home-schooled, Anoushka and Abhinav were recruited through a national competition by University College Dublin. They were chosen because they were deemed “stretchy thinkers,” which is a term they used to describe children full of wonder who enjoy figuring things out.

“Because we’re home-schooled our routine is different from most kids, but we love to read and learn and play during the day,” said Abhinav, aged 11.

The siblings have a shared interest in science, and in an interview with the Dublin People said: “the most interesting thing about being involved in

Credit: Wikimediacommons

The Wonder Panel was being able to help edit the books, giving ideas and explaining what was interesting from a kid’s point of view.”

Lauren joined the Wonder Panel in April this year, after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Her Mum is part of the team who created the books and Lauren joined The Wonder Panel to highlight the importance of medical devices that help people manage their diabetes.

“I was excited to take part in the Wonder Panel, and especially the Superbodies book, because I use technology as part of my body,” said Lauren.

Lauren uses a sensor attached to her arm to scan her blood glucose levels, and is really excited about how this new technology allows her to manage her illness without using the traditional prick test to measure her blood glucose levels.

“My friends all think I’m a cyborg, which is pretty cool.”

The books Superbodies, Up In The Air, Illusion and How It’s Made are produced by University College Dublin and partners. They are also supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Science Apprentice books plan to encourage children and adults alike to explore the science, technology, engineering and mathematics of the world around us.

Business and Tech

11

Trinity students protest against Aramark running café on campus

Catherine Gallagher Deputy News Editor @Cather_i_ne STUDENTS in Trinity College held a protest outside Westland Eats café on November 1st to oppose the presence of catering company Aramark on campus.

Aramark is an external company which has a contract with Trinity to operate the café. The dissatisfaction from the student body is due to the fact that the company also caters for three direct provision centres in Ireland and accommodates 850 asylum seekers in Cork, Athlone and Clare.

Protesters congregated outside the Westland Eats for an hour during lunchtime. It is the first “Aramark Off Our Campus” campaign’s first action since the start of term in September. Banners displayed included “#BordersOffCampus” and “Westland Eats Funds Refugee Imprisonment.”

Speaking to The College View, TCDSU President Shane de Rís described “Aramark Off Our Campus” as a “grass-roots campaign” that the Students’ Union have supported and mandated on their council of support.

“Aramark is a company that has many different outlets and one of them is the running and administration of direct provision centres in Ireland, which have

Protesters congregated outside the Westland Eats for an hour during lunchtime. It is the first “Aramark Off Our Campus” campaign’s first action since the start of term in September.

particularly terrible conditions.

They (Aramark) also own Avoca and a number of different businesses. One of the college eateries on campus has been outsourced, where previously it was run

by Trinity Catering.

“The college is very aware of our objections to Aramark. We want to raise awareness and get students to boycott the

company by not availing of their services.

That is another aim of the protest, to make people aware of how ingrained direct provision is. You wouldn’t think of how companies are involved in direct provision, but actually are directly involved in it,” said de Rís.

The protest took place the same week that TCDSU held Refugee Week which

Credit: Alison Clair

saw a number of events being facilitated throughout the university in support of refugees and Asylum seekers in Ireland.

TCDSU also voted for a mandate to oppose the direct provision system in 2014.

Similarly, University of Limerick (UL) students also launched a recent campaign against Aramark, which operates several food outlets on the campus. UL Student

Life, the representative body for UL students, intends to run monthly boycotts to protest against the company’s presence.

The company subsequently handed out leaflets around the UL campus headlined “The Facts” to students last week. According to the UL student newspaper An Focal, the leaflet stated that Aramark is an “ethical and responsible company”.

Furthermore, according to figures in the annual report by the Reception and Integration Agency, €5.2 million euro was paid to Aramark by the Irish state for its participation in direct provision centres.

Caroline Reid, Communications Officer for the Irish Refugee Council said: “United, students are a force. Increasing awareness, amplifying the lived experiences of people in the asylum system, and shining a light on the continuing policy of direct provision are important examples of strong student activism.”

Reid added, “Other student bodies could look into the contracts that their campuses are engaging with and follow suit if they find contracts being awarded that violate their university ethos and the student body’s values. They (Aramark) are a large global corporation and have many investments which span our day to day lives in Ireland.”

Thousands walk out of Google in protest of company’s handling of sexual assault Emily Sheahan News Editor @emilyaine_s OVER 20,000 Google employees participated in a walkout across 50 cities worldwide, including Dublin on November 1st, in protest of the company’s history of protecting executives accused of sexual assault.

The demonstration came after the New York Times recently reported that Google had paid Andy Rubin an exit package of $90 million in 2014. Rubin was one of three executives protected over the past decade after accusations of sexual assault were made against him.

Subsequently, Google said that it had fired 48 people in the last two years for sexual harassment, none of whom had received an exit package.

Rubin denied allegations that he coerced a woman into having sex in his hotel room. “These false allegations are part of a smear campaign by my ex-wife to disparage me during a divorce and custody battle,” he said. The woman who made the complaint against Rubin worked in the division that he ran, Google Android.

Google then announced on November 8th that it would overturn its sexual

misconduct policy and end its practice of forced arbitration, addressing the first demand made by the organisers. “We will make arbitration optional for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims,” said the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai in an email to staff.

The company, however, did not meet all the demands listed. They have not announced any movements towards appointing an Employee Representative to the board or publicly disclosing internal reports on sexual harassment.

Other demands included “a clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously”, and “a commitment to end pay and opportunity inequity”.

“We walked out because tech industry business, as usual, is failing us. Google paying $90M to Andy Rubin is one example among thousands, which speak to a company where abuse of power, systemic racism, and unaccountable decision-making are the norm,” said the founder of Google’s Open Research Group, Meredith Whittaker.

The organisers of the demonstration, Google Walkout For Real Change, said that “sexual harassment is the symptom, not the cause. If we want to end sexual harassment in the workplace, we must fix these structural imbalances of power”.

The movement also called for Google to address the issue of systemic racism within the company. Organiser Stephanie Parker said that the issues “all have the same root cause, which is a concentration of power and a lack of accountability at the top”.

“The process by which we build a truly equitable culture must centre the voices of black women, immigrants, and people of color — those who too often pay the most in the face of these intersecting problems,” said organiser Demma Rodriguez.

Google Walkout For Real Change said this is the beginning of their work, not the end.

The demonstration brough people to recount personal stories. One woman said that HR silenced her when she made a complaint against a coworker. “I was told that Google was keeping silence for me, and thus I had to keep my silence, away from the press, away from my coworkers, I need to be silent. No more.”

Google Employees in Dublin walked out as part of a worldwide campaign protesting the companies handling of sexual misconduct

Credit: Ian Paterson

12

Four DIT students win ESB Inter College Challenge Joshua Freeman Contributor @thecollegeview DIT students have won the ESB Inter College Challenge at the Irish Management Institute in Dublin on Friday November 2nd 2018 Brian King, Lee Gibbons, William Tunstead and Cathal Kinirions from D.I.T took home the ESB Inter College Challenge McLoughlin Perpetual trophy with eyes now on the international prize at the ENGComm competition, in Montreal next year.

“In regards to our ambitions, we are going for the win,” King told The College View. “Ireland have performed strongly at ENGComm over

the last few years and we are going to give another strong performance next year.”

The Irish leg of the competition, now in its fifth year, comprised of 44 students from 11 institutions and universities with the task to come up with a way to enable the low carbon citizen of the future.

All the teams were given eight hours to research and design a solution. After this, they presented to an expert panel of judges.

Gibbon’s put the team’s winning mentality down to the stress coping mechanism that college has built in, “performing within time constraints is something all my team members had dealt within industry and college,

many weeks of the semester, multiple assignments and reports are due and the constant onslaught creates a level that is consistently resulting with the competition and nobody was stressed as we had continuously dealt with these tight time situations before.”

The DIT team’s winning concept was regarding a renewable energy solution for the agricultural sector based on a combination of solar panels, biomass and smart energy IT applications.

“As a team, we are confident in our ability to produce new and innovative ideas. That’s down to how well we work together and how much fun we have while we are working on ideas,” said Tunstead when discuss-

ing the team’s chemistry and how he believes they can go further.

The team will now head to Montreal, Canada, to represent Ireland at ENGComm 2019. Along with this, the four students will be given summer placements with ESB. Tunstead also echoed his team members views with regard to the international stage, “we understand that there is great competition out there all over the world. At the same time, we understand as long as we put the work in, we have as good a chance as anyone.”

Queen’s University Belfest and Trinity College came second and third respectively, with their students also receiving summer placements.

Irish to be full working EU language

Róise McGagh Illustrations Editor @roisemcgagh

IRISH is set to be a full official language of the European Union (EU) by 2022 In the next few years, there will be a substantial increase in the number of Irish-language staff in the EU institutions, including translators, interpreters, lawyer-linguists and assistants.

“Fiontar [the DCU school that delivers programmes through Irish] graduates will benefit massively from this development which makes me feel very excited for our students,” said Sorcha Ní Chonghaile, the DCU Student Union Irish Officer. The demand for translators over the next few years could create many jobs for students nearing the end of their degree.

Citizens of the EU have the right to use any of the 24 official languages when in contact with EU institutions, for example, the European Court of Justice, and must be responded to in the same language.

“The Irish Language needs the globalisation of her to ensure we have a more modern understanding of the possibilities of Irish but on a more practical level, this move will create countless jobs and will no doubt improve the appreciation of the language,” said Ní Chonghaile.

The Irish government was offered Irish as an official language when they joined the EU in 1972 but was declined. It was asked for in 2004 but due to a restriction in available translators, it was restricted to use in regulations

EU legal documents will be translated into Irish

adopted by both the EU Council and the European Parliament.

“I would be interested to see how the language would thrive in a professional working environment on a global scale seeing as it struggles to remain even a cultural language at a national level, but I do believe there’s enough interest among our generation to create these jobs,” said Anna Stenson, a third year

Credit: Rachel Halpin

B.Ed student.

All of the EU regulations and laws are published in the official languages and Members of the European Parliament (MEP) can use the language they know best when speaking in session.

“This language is part of our national identity and as such be treated with the same respect as other European languages,” said Alannah Nic A Bhaird a

fourth-year B.Ed. The chair of Cumann Gaelach DCU Ruairí Mac Aodhagáin said: “I think it’s very worthwhile to supply these jobs in the EU as the Irish language is an extremely important part of our national identity... It could also encourage more people to learn Irish if they want to live abroad within Europe.”

Business and Tech

NUIG and NEPHSTROM

granted funding for coordinated project Luke Redmond Contributor @thecollegeview A NUI Galway coordinated project will begin clinical trials on a novel stromal cell therapy to treat type 2 diabetes, it has been announced.

The cell therapy, known as ORBCEL-M, is being used to treat diabetic kidney disease or more commonly known as type 2 diabetes which is one of the primary causes of end stage renal disease or kidney failure.

The project is part of NEPHSTROM, a European Union funded project which 12 nations are a part of including Ireland, the UK, Germany and Italy.

In 2015, the European Horizon 2020 programme awarded €6 million towards the project. It is being led by Professor Timothy O’Brien from NUI Galway and the founding director at Orbson Therapeutics, a cell therapy company based in Galway. He said the trial may be a huge step for sufferers of the disease.

“In my clinical practice, I encounter patients commonly with diabetic kidney disease who face the unpleasant possibility of dialysis or kidney transplantation. The outcome of this clinical trial may give patients another alternative and new hope,” said O’Brien.

The European wide NEPHSTROM project is being led by Italian Professor Giuseppe Remuzzi, who said the project was critical for those who urgently need new treatment.

“The complementary skills and expertise of the four participating European centres provide a critical network demonstrating the clinical feasibility of this innovative therapy and the opportunity for additional coordinated trials in diabetic patients with progressive kidney disease for whom new therapies are urgently needed,” said Remuzzi.

According to the most recent survey in 2015 by Healthy Ireland, around 225,000 people suffer with diabetes in Ireland with at least 85 per cent of those being sufferers of type 2 diabetes.

The same survey estimates that 1.1 million Irish adults are at risk of contracting diabetes unless they “consider making changes to their daily behaviours in terms of eating healthily and being more active,” according to Diabetes Ireland.

However, Steve Elliman, the Chief Scientific Officer at Orbsen Therapeutics, warned the main goal was to slow or stop progressive diabetic kidney disease and not to necessarily cure it.

“We are optimistic taking ORBCEL-M to the next stage to further investigate the immunotherapy as a solution to slow or stop progressive diabetic kidney disease,” said Elliman.

Opinion

13

Controversial figures on college campuses The debate of freedom of speech versus safe spaces on college campuses is crucial when discussing contrversial figures, writes Clara Kelly.

Clara Kelly Deputy Opinions Editor @clarabkelly

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he question of controversial figures being permitted to speak on college campuses has continued cropping up as society continues to ask what is more important: free speech or safe spaces?

The idea of safe spaces in college campuses that started in ‘The States’ has seemingly grown and leaked into Irish society. Perhaps due to the fact that this generation is more than ever concerned with the concept of political correctness.

As young people and students become more and more involved with politics, this means both of these ideas start to meld together.

Youth being socially aware, involved in politics, voting, protesting and standing up for their beliefs, means the voices of young people are heard now more than ever before.

It is often the college students, sometimes even the secondary school ones, who are marching for choice and heading out to protest for affordable accommodation.

The same generation, actively involving themselves in the running of society, are the generation becoming more concerned with right and wrong.

As Ireland grows and becomes more diverse and multicultural than ever, it naturally shifts as a society.

College students now have access to the world on an entirely new scale and access to other cultures in ways their elders would not have, making it easier to identify what should and should not be said.

People have said this generation is offended easily, but I would argue they are just less likely to take injustices lying down or stay silent.

This makes the question of whether controversial figures should be allowed on campuses an even trickier one.

Free speech is important and everyone should be entitled to their opinions.

However, when an opinion is more than an opinion and rather an attack on another group of people, does it go too far?

After all, there is a big difference between saying you are not a fan of tea and diminishing the existence of tea altogether.

For some people, daily life can be scary enough without taking away the only safe spaces they may have.

Makeup guru and controversial internet personality star Jeffree Star held an event in the Helix earlier this year.

Bringing hateful people on to campuses may lead to them spreading these hateful ideas to peers, who may in turn then carry these hate-filled ideas on or, worse still, act on them.

Earlier this year, The Helix in DCU hosted makeup guru and internet personality, Jeffree Star. This received a mostly negative reaction from people on Twitter due to his previous plethora of racist statements.

Mike Tyson appeared at the same venue very recently and DCU SU re-

leased a statement distancing themselves from the event.

The reaction of students to these events and to others like it, show us that while young people don’t want to silence anyone, they cannot sit idly by and let these speakers strike fear into any of their peers.

Some have suggested that the best way of handling these situations is to let them come to the campuses and speak, but to also let the accompanying protests continue, peacefully.

Credit: Bobby Bruderle (Wikipedia)

Others have suggested that debates be had, between both sides so that people can learn from each other and voice their ideas, but with question and opposition. Without debate and learning as much about the other side as possible, nobody can formulate opinions.

But the most popular school of thought seems to be: how can you let these voices be heard if it means other voices have to be filled with fear in an environment that is meant to be a safe space to learn and to grow?

Dublin public transport must be addressed Public transport in Ireland’s capital is lagging behind other European cities and should catch up fast before people tire of waiting, writes Gabija Gataveckaite.

Gabija Gataveckaite Deputy Editor @gabysayshey

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hat makes a city?

Some may argue that if a larger town has a cathedral, it’s a city. In the modern day, there are many elements to a city, not just a larger church - shopping centres, business parks and a functional

public transport system. While Dublin ticks many of these boxes, the so called ‘metropolitan’ city miserably and utterly fails when it comes to public transport.

Infrastructure and, specifically, public transport have never been a priority for the Irish government. As the housing crisis and questionable presidential candidates consume op-ed columns and panels on televised morning politics shows, the topic rarely crops up.

The time has now come to finally ad-

Public transport in Dublin is far behind other European cities and needs to catch up.

dress yet another crisis on Dublin’s streets - our inefficient, unreliable public transport system.

Budget 2019 saw the allocation of €2.36 billion for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, consisting of €755 million in current spending and €1.61 billion for investing in infrastructure. Once analysed, the allocated sums just feed into what we already have - adding another runway at Dublin Airport (amid talks of a third terminal), improving local roads (a project

Credit: Alison Clair

long overdue, as residents in rural Ireland will confirm) and extending trams on the Luas.

None of the above address the drastic need for a complete overhaul in the city’s public transport system. We remain to be the only major capital city in Europe without a train network to the airport; a nightmarish system for any tourist who arrives between midnight and 5 am, when buses are not in operation.

The scandalous €368 million Luas Cross City, which seemed like a good idea, failed completely- not only did it completely jam College Green, but it takes just as long to walk across the city as it does to travel by tram.

Dublin Bus is infamously known for its unreliable routes, with any trip on average taking approximately twice as long as it would by car. Meanwhile, the new DART system sees even more complaints of services being late, delayed or cancelled altogether.

Dublin city is gasping desperately for a metro line - and it will finally get one in 2027. The MetroLink project will see Swords and Sandyford linked, with, finally, a stop at the airport and even DCU itself. While this is good news, 2027 is much too far away - Budapest opened its first metro line in 1896 and Amsterdam closely followed in 1977 . Today, the underground metro

“

Inefficient, unreliable

systems are the heart of transportation in both cities.

According to CSO figures, Dublin airport saw a 4.8 per cent increase in passenger numbers in comparison to quarter four in 2016 and 2017, a significant increase in the short space of 12 months. More so than ever, Dublin is seeing a staggering influx of people, commuting in and out of the city. With tenants paying an average of €1,500 a month in rental costs and a public transport system that leaves much to be desired, these figures will gradually fall, as basic facilities are simply not there to sustain a large populatio As our society loses its attention span and time dissolves into money, waiting around for a bus just doesn’t cut it. For a city to sustain its busy professionals, it needs to evolve alongside them; otherwise, they will leave, and find another city that has not only beautiful Romanesque cathedrals, but reliable and fast public transport.

14

Opinion

Is a second chance one too many?

The public either forget or forgive the wrongdoings of celebrity felons on a regular basis, writes Ciara O’Loughlin.

Ciara O’Loughlin Deputy Features Editor @ciara_olo

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o the public forgive celebrities for the crimes they have committed, or do they simply forget?

DCU Student’s Union condemned an event held in the Helix on November 2nd which starred former boxing champion Mike Tyson.

The event, An Evening with Mike Tyson, sold out the Helix which holds a capacity of 1,860 people.

Tyson was found guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman in 1992. He was given a sentence of six years in prison but was released in 1995 after serving just under three years.

It is not uncommon for celebrities to commit a horrible crime, be slammed in the papers and then months or years later continue their career like nothing had happened.

In February 2009, Chris Brown was arrested for assaulting his then girlfriend Rihanna. Shocking photos emerged of Rihanna’s face just days after the assault. Chris didn’t receive

jail time, however, he was placed on a five-year probation and was sentenced to community service.

In 2012, just three years later, he won a Grammy for the best R&B album of the year for his album F. A . M . E .

Along with this he has been nominated for a Grammy more than 10 times since the assault.

In summer 2018, he had a number one hit song called Freaky Friday which was impossible to get away from. I would find myself singing along to the catchy tune if it came on Spotify or the radio.

One day when the song came on, I remember thinking: “Isn’t that the same guy who

beat up Rihanna?” I found myself feeling instantly guilty for supporting him by listening to the song on Spotify, for which I pay a subscription service.

As it was a number one hit, I assume most people have not had this thought.

The incident with Rihanna occurred almost 10 years ago. Have people forgot-

Celebrity felons are forgiven.

ten about the horrific incident or have they forgiven him?

Or, even more depressingly, do they just not care?

Mike Tyson was convicted of rape 36 years ago.

S i m i l a r l y, have people just forgotten about it, or do they believe that he has changed and should be forgiven?

On the DCU SU’s post on Facebook where they condemned the visit, there were many negative comments underneath with people calling them things like “a load of snowflakes”.

One commenter said: “According Credit: Megan Hannan to DCU SU there is no

such thing as a reformed character, or rehabilitation, forgiveness or making amends. Once a crime is committed you are a rapist, murderer, thief or whatever forever. Is that it?”

“

We need to take responsibility

People can change, and they do, but there always needs to be consequences to the actions that people take.

Celebrities like Chris Brown and Mike Tyson still have successful careers while their victims will undoubtedly hold the trauma that they put them through forever.

As consumers, we need to take responsibility for people and companies that we are supporting. If Mike Tyson was unable to sell an event like this in the first place, there would be no argument.

Picking the right side in identity politics Vilifying people on racial terms rather than political is unhelpful and fuels hate, writes David Kelly.

David Kelly Sub-Editor @thecollegeview

D

on Lemon, a celebrated news anchor from CNN, has called for a halt of the demonization of people while simultaneously vilifying white men. The logical inconsistency here could not be more obvious, yet Lemon has unapologetically doubled down on his statement, cherry picking some statistics to justify his racist comments.

Despite uttering a severe moral hypocrisy within the same breath, Lemon specified that we should be mostly concerned with white men who happen to be far-right. He cited a 2017 report from the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund and the Centre for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal, which found that from 2008 to 2016, there were almost twice as many terrorist incidents carried out on U.S. soil by radical right-wingers compared with Islamic domestic terrorists.

Ironically, the fundamental problem with Lemon’s statement is identical to the fundamental problem of Trump’s rhetoric. Lemon proposes, whether intentionally or not, that people and white men are somehow separate.

Johnathan Haidt, an American moral psychologist and Professor of Ethical

Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business, refers to this phenomenon as “common enemy identity politics”, something distinct from “common humanity identity politics”.

By creating a dichotomy of people and white men, Lemon is positing that white men are the enemy of the people, not dissimilar to how people accuse Trump of vilifying groups such as Mexicans, or Muslims. Rather than

identify the problem as being political, he does so on racial terms.

Lemon identifies a reasonable problem of right-wing extremism, not white men. Trump identified a reasonable problem; illegal immigration, not Mexicans. It is critical that those in the public debate be precise in their speech.

The alternative is further polarisation.

When Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his brilliant ‘I Have a Dream’

Vilifying a group of people by their race instead of their political beliefs fuels hatred.

speech, he didn’t vilify or exonerate a group based on their race. He didn’t call for division or resentment. He asked the people to search for the common humanity in us all.

King used rich, evocative language that united white and black people under the banner of humanity. This rhetoric, permeated with Judeo-Christian values, was the foundation of one of the most successful civil rights move-

Credit: Ramzpaul.com

ment in history.

This is what Haidt calls “common humanity identity politics”. This is the philosophy that those who claim to support tolerance and diversity should be using. The problem with the farright and the far-left is not that they play identity politics, but that they play the wrong kind of identity politics.

Common enemy identity politics is essentially a form of tribalism. Historically, tribes have viewed their tribal identity as paramount, and often view outsiders with suspicion and hostility.

This is antithetical to the values that activists such as King put forward, values centred around the divinity of the individual.

Realistic conflict theory posits that tribal groups fight due to the actuality or perception of the world being a zero-sum system. Common enemy identity politics is a manifestation of Marxism, an ideology with a similar theory.

Marxism is a political ideology that posits that there are two categories of people, oppressed and oppressor, and that society is a constant conflict of power between these two groups.

Common enemy identity politics pits tribes against one another in a zero-sum contest for power. This is not how progress is achieved. We need to identify the humanity that unites us and solve problems as one group of sacred individuals, not as tribes doomed to conflict.

15

Gaeilge

Tá an Ghaeilge á fhoghlaim ar fud an domhain Insíonn Róisín Ni Chuillinn dúinn faoi dhaoine thar learr ag foghlaim na Gaeilge

Leabhair nótaí

Róisín Ní Chuillinn Príomh-fho-eagarthóir @CullenRoisin

T

á na hÉireannaigh i ngach cúinne den domhain i 2018. Is é eisimirce cuid ár gcultúr, ár gceol, ár dteanga.

Chuir eisimirce deiseanna ar fáil don ghlúin an bháid bháin go hairíthe i rith an DrochShaol. Mar is eol do chách, tá clubanna CLG san Astráil, i Meiriceá, fiú sa tSeapáin. Ach, níor chloiseamar faoi na ranganna Gaeilge atá ar siúl chuile lá sna tíortha seo- áis iontach don diaspóra na nGael. Tá pobal breá láidir Gaelach ar fud an domhan. Tá sé i bhfad níos éasca an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn i Ré an Nua Teicneolaíocht nuair a bhí sé sna blianta An Gorta Mór.

An bhfuil sé níos éasca teanga a fhoghlaim gan bhrú na hArdteiste, gan

Credit: Alison Clair

caint faoi rudaí Gramadach, gan an eagla ag baint leis An Mhodh Coinníollach ? An bhfuil níos mó áiseanna ar fáil i Meiriceá, ar líne agus ar do ghuthán póca nó sna scoileanna san Iarthar na hÉireann? Cad a spreagann daoine an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim gan tionchar a gclann, gan tionchar An Córas Oideachais?

Tá suíomhanna ar líne d’fhoghlaimeoirí teanga i Meiriceá mar shampla : “ Daltaí na Gaeilge.” Tá ranganna ar siúl i mbeagnach gach stát agus tá sé fíor éasca teaghmáil a dhéanamh le múinteoir i do cheantar. Ba í Ethel Brogan an bunaitheoir- bean ón Chathair Ard Mhacha.. An aidhm a bhí ag Brogan agus atá ag “Daltaí na Ghaeilge” sa lá atá inniu ann ná “ Chun an Ghaeilge a mhúineadh agus í a chuir chun cinn.”

Tá Tomás Ó Cathail ag múineadh an Ghaeilge i nDeisceart Nua- Deirsí. Dar leis tá pobal breá i Meiriceá go háirithe i Nua Eabhrac agus i mBostún.

“Ar scor ar bith tá pobal measartha láidir d’fhoghlaimeoirí anseo in SAM ach go bhfuil siad scaipthe fud fad na tíre” Thosaigh sé ag múineadh an Ghaeilge ina bhaile i 1980 ach thóg sé sos beag. “Tá mise ag teagasc na Gaedhilge ó bhí 1980 ann, ach sos 8 nó 9 mbliana nuair a bhí mo pháiste óg.”

Cuireann sé na teicnicí a bhí foghlama aige i mBéal Feirste i bhfeidhm.

“Leanaim don chóras a d'fhoghlaim mé i mBéal Feirste sa Chumann Chluaim Ard.” Tá a lán béime ar Ghaeilge labhartha in ionad rudaí Gramadach ina ranganna. Ach, tosaíonn sé briathra agus rudaí mar sin a phlé nuair a thagann siad amach. “Rang atá dírighthe ar chomhrá. (Ní bhíonn rang gramadaí ann ach go fíor annamh le rudaí a mhíniú.)”

Spreagann ár gcultúr agus ár gceol daoine an teanga a fhoghlaim, rud a bhí a rá ag Joe Cullinane freisin (an tOllamh in DCU atá ag foghlaim Gaeilge faoi láthair).

"Is iomaí rud a spreagas daoine leis an Ghaedhilge a fhoghlaim. Ceangailt le na sínséireacht, suim sa cheoil nó sna damhsaí Gaelacha. Nach cuma.”

Ach tá cúiseanna difriúla ag gach foghlaimeoir teanga. Thosaigh Johanna Drasner Haban ag foghlaim an teanga nuair a bhí uirthi éirigh as a post de bharr a míchumas. Níl aon ghaolta aici in Éirinn nó aon rud.

"I’ve been retired due to disability (mostly housebound) since 2009, so am always looking for meaningful things to do. A few years back I began learning Irish with Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, and other online resources. I’ve been to Ireland twice, I’ve always felt a connection of a kind I could never articulate.”

Is aip saor in aisce é Duolingo, ar fáil IOS agus Android. Tá clú agus

cáil ar in Éirinn, thar learr, agus sna scoileanna. “The world’s most popular way to learn Irish”- dar leis a suíomh gréasáin. Tá sé diríthe ar stór focal.

Chabhraigh Twitter go mór le Johanna nuair a thosaigh sí ag foghlaim an Ghaeilge. Ba áis é chun teagmháil a dhéanamh le cainteoirí eile. Agus chonaic sí caint faoi chéim mháistreachta i UCC ar twitter. Is céim “Gaelic Lit” trí Bhéarla go hiondúil é ach bhí modúl as Gaeilge freisin.

"One day I saw a tweet about this new program. It seemed like a perfect way to learn all the things I wanted to learn through the lens of language and literature.”

Tá na meáin sóisialta agus an Pobal Gaelach ar Twitter fíor-thábhachtach do Johanna mar is áis é chun a cuid Gaeilge a cleachtadh. “My biggest challenge is that being disabled, it’s hard for me to get out into communities of speakers.”

Dar léi níl pobal láidir don fhogh-

“

laimeoirí teanga i Seattle. Agus tá sé deacair teanga beo a fhoghaim gan a bheith ag caint le daoine eile as Gaeilge sa saol realaíoch. “I’ve had almost no real-world experience with it. I did do a course of lessons with a tutor over Skype, but it’s not quite the same. And since I moved from California to Seattle this year, I’ve looked for Irish language groups but can’t find any that are active.”

Gan aon dabht tá daoine i Meiriceá atá ag foghlaim agus ag múineadh an Ghaeilge agus tá deiseanna fostaíochta do na daoine le chéim Ghaeilge nó taithí ag múineadh í. I Ré an Nua- Teicneolaíochta tá sé i bhfad níos éasca aithne a chur daoine cosúil leatsa atá ag foghlaim an Ghaeilge freisin. Ach, fós tá sé tábhachtach am a chaitheamh sa Ghaeltacht nó fiú in Éirinn chun a bheith líofa go leor agus chun taitneamh a bhaint as an teanga beo sa saol realaíoch.

Spreagann ár gcultúr agus ár gceol daoine an teanga a fhoghlaim

16

Gaeilge

An tionchar atá ag scéalta idirlíon bréaga Pléann Jay Gorman cúrsaí eitice maidir le scéalta idirlíon bréaga thar na bliana

Jay Gorman Scríbhneoir @thecollegeview

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HÁINIG sé amach le déanaí nach Justin Bieber a bhí ag ithe an burrito sa bhealach áiféiseach sin agus feiceann sé ar nós nach féidir linn rud ar bith ar líne a chreidiúint.

Ba scéal bréagach nua é an pictiúr de Bieber ag ithe burrito ag tosú sa lár. Chruthaigh an cainéil Youtube ‘Yes Theory’ an íomhá le leathchúpla Bieber, Brad Sousa, chun cleas a imirt orainn ar fad.

D’eitil na leaideanna taobh thiar de ‘Yes Theory’ Sousa isteach go LA chun an pictiúr a thógáil. Scaip an íomhá ar líne ag tosú go príomhúil ar Reddit.

Bhí a lán daoine caoibheasach feargach faoin modh n-ithe seo agus d’fhoilsíodh cuid mhór ailt agus tvuíteanna faoin eachtra. Tháinig scoilt ollmhór idir daoine de bharr seo agus bhí a lán mothúchán agus tuairimí láidir acu faoi.

Thuig mionlach daoine nach Justin Bieber a bhí ann fiú ach bhí roinnt sásta fós páirt a glacadh sa dráma chun píosa craic a bhaint as.

Ba rud greannmhar agus spraoiúil go leor é an scéal seo agus thaitin sé go mór le formhór duine. Ach le

stádas na hidirlíone sa lá atá inniu ann is féidir le daoine scéalta i bhfad níos dainséirí agus mailíseach a scaipeadh.

Tá réimse ollmhór fírinne ann sna scéalta seo. Tógann roinnt dóibh eachtraí nó ráitis as chomhthéacs agus roinnt eile is bréag dhíreach iad.

Smaoinigh fiú ar fhógraí le ráitis ar nós “Ní chreidfeá seo” nó “Is fuath le dochtúirí an duine seo mar gheall ar ár n-earra nó seirbhís”. Tuigeann beagnach gach duine anois gur beagnach bréaga iomláin iad seo ach fós an sprioc atá acu ná daoine a mealladh agus víreas ríomhaire a thabhairt dóibh nó a n-airgead a ghabhadh.

Tagann scéalta amach gach uile lá ar líne faoi dhaoine atá ag streachailt le hairgead agus ag lorg cabhair. Freisin, tagann beagnach an líon céanna scéalta amach faoi daoine a bhíonn ag liginn orthu gur seo an cás chun airgid a thógáil ó daoine córtasacha.

Ar nóta níos polaitiúila, le linn na toghchána is déanaí sa Bhraisíl chuaigh roinnt scéalta timpeall maidir le calaois vótála. Thosaigh seo le nuacht ón suíomh dheas-ailternach ‘Info Wars’ ag rá go raibh na meaisín vótála ag vótáil le haghaidh iarrthóir áirithe go huathoibríoch.

Comh maith le sin bhí scannal ollmhór le WhatsApp bunaithe ar scéalta bréaga sa tréimhse seo. Scaipeadh pictúirí mar fiainaise do calaois vótála agus mar iarracht gaol a chruthú idir

An íomhá conspóideach a cheaptar gur Justin Bieber a bhí ann

iarrthóir agus cóip coiriúlachta.

Creideann formhór daoine cuid mhaith den eolas a léann siad ar líne agus cruthaíonn seo fadhb eiticiúil ollmhór as an bhfeiniméan seo. Ní féidir le daonlathas feidhmiú sna coinníollacha seo ar barr sin, cruthaíonn sé atmaisféir teann idir na hiriseoirí agus an pobal.

Ní féidir linn na scéalta seo a sto-

Credit: Youtube

“

padh ach caithfidh aicsean éigin tarlú ina gcoinne. Bí níos curamaí faoi cad

atá á léamh agus á scaipeadh agat ar líne.

Is fuath le dochtúirí an duine seo

Leithghabháil chultúrtha i dtreo na hÉireannaigh Pléann John Morley an coincheap conspóideach ó thaobh na hÉireannaigh de.

John Morley Fó-eagarthóir Gaeilge @johnmorleysport

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E blianta beaga anuas, tá an téarma “Leithghabháil Cultúrtha” á úsáid ag na daoine a cheapann go bhfuil siad ar bharr an tsochaí. Ceaptar mura bhfuil tú ag tabhairt meas do gach uile duine an t-am ar fad gur ciníochaí nó duine salach gan cineáltas tú.

Sa lá atá inniu ann beidh do phost agus an íomhá atá tógadh agat scriosta i bpreabadh na súile toisc gur bhraith duine eile brónach faoin rud greannmhar a dúirt duine éigean nó nár thaitin leo an t-aoir a bhí ráite agat.

Is rud fíor-sheafóideach é leithghabháil cultúrtha. Téann sé i gcoinne óráid saor in aisce, rud atá thar a

bheith tábhachtach chun saoirse a choimeád i bhfeidhmn.

Nílimid in ann a bheith cairdiúil le daoine timpeall an domhain má táimid ag iarraidh a bheith crosta aon uair a thosaigh duine ag magadh faoi dhuine eile. Nuair nach réitíonn tú le duine eile, nó an t-aoir atá siad ag úsáid, tá cead agat siúl fúthu. Is domhan mór é.

Bhí daoine ar thaobh clé den phobail ag tabhairt amach faoi Apu. Cloiseadh gach mac máthar agus gach uile iníon athair ag tabhairt amach faoi Apu. Afách, Ní chloiseadh mórán daoine as an India ag caoineadh faoi. Bhí daoine atá ag iarraidh pictiúir marfach a léiriú faoin tsochaí an chéad domhain ag caoineadh faoi agus iad ag rá go bhfuil íomha cíníocach léirithe.

Agus tá an ceart acu. Is íomhá simplí agus ciníocach é Apu agus is é sin an fáth go bhfuil sé greannmhar. Tá na scríbhneoirí ar an chlár seo ag aoradh Apu sa bhealach céanna a bhíonn said ag aoradh muintir na hÉireann nuair a bhíonn leipreachán ar meisce ar an gclár.

Ní rud dona é leithghabháil Cultúrtha nuair atá cothrom na féinne i gceist. Agus tá sé i gceist sa Simpsons. Bíonn siad ag magadh gach uile dhuine. Is seans é an clár seo do gach duine a bheith ag gáire le chéile fúthu

Ach níl siad ag cabhrú. Tá said ag tógadh ballaí idir daoine, go háirithe daoine le dath difriúil ar a chuid craiceann.

Is gá dúinn mar dhaoine an tseans a bheith ag gáire agus ag caint faoi gach uile rud le chéile. Fiú amháin na rudaí atá deacair a n-aoradh.

Is rud maith é leithghabháil cultúrtha. Beimid níos gáire ná ríomh leis.

“ Apu ó ‘The Simpsons’

féin. Nach rud maith é sin?

Is cuma liom faoi leithghabháil culthúrtha. Má atá sé an fhadhb is mó sa rás do chearta daonna, tá an rás rite agus tá an bua againn.

Is arm é leithghabháil cultúrtha do daoine a bhaineann le smaointe Karl Marx chun fís nua den domhain a chruthú. Is cuma leo má atá daoine

Credit: Hollywood Reporter

brónach faoi Apu. Tá siad ag iarraidh saol a chruthú gan na daoine atá in uachtar an tsochaí. Cultúr na fir díreach, bán a mharú.

Cuireann na feiminigh an fís seo go bhforleathain. Tá siad ag cabhrú daoine atá croíbhriste tar éis “The Simpsons” agus an íomhá ciníocach faoi Apu nó carachtar eile sa tsraith.

Bhí daoine atá ag iarraidh pictiúir marfach a léiriú faoin tsochaí

Features

The return of the white Celtic Tiger

17

The use of party drugs is as rampant as it was during the boom years

Cocaine, the expensive party drug, has once again made a comeback in the nightlife scene.

Ciara O’Loughlin Deputy Features Editor @ciara_olo

P

ills shaped like ghosts, clear plastic bags and stamps of LSD; Irish students are sneaking a lot more than naggins of vodka into night-

clubs.

The use of psychoactive drugs in Ireland among the 15-24 year age group is the highest in Ireland, according to the 2017 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction report on drug use in Ireland.

‘Sniff’, ‘Charlie’, ‘blow’, also known as cocaine, has found a home in the back pocket of some students on nights out. The expensive party drug that was once associated with the Celtic Tiger era has made a comeback amongst the middle class.

Austin Prior, an addiction counsellor at the Rutland Centre in Dublin says that the frightening thing for him is that taking cocaine is now seen as socially accepted.

“I work in private practice and I see a growth among professional people

and the self-employed. They could be plumbers or electricians, solicitors and people with senior business jobs in high-profile companies. There seems to be a tacit acceptance that they are just party people - they are doing their jobs, and at the weekends they take cocaine,” he told The Irish Independent.

It’s not only cocaine that is being seen as socially acceptable amongst the middle class. The use of MDMA has jumped significantly in recent years with a total of 4.4 per cent of young Irish adults reporting to have used the drug in the last year, compared to a reported 2.6 per cent in 2007.

It should also be considered that this figure may be higher as many young people will not admit to taking A class drugs.

Last summer, drug testing facilities were available at seven festivals in England. They were run by a non-profit organisation called The Loop. According to the organisation, 8,000 people had drugs tested anonymously. Those who had drugs tested were given results about purity levels, contamination and drug safety advice from volunteers.

Catherine Byrne, Minister for State at the Department of Health with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy stressed that the safest option is to not take illegal drugs.

“I am not asking anybody to bring illegal drugs to any festival, I am asking them to be careful about their health and look after their health - illegal drugs are killing people all across the world.

But I do think that anything that can be put in place through the new strategy –

Credits: Kristian Hammerstad

‘Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery’ or uneducated background. junior minister, said the approach has – is very important for us to do,” the “Drugs amongst students has defi- been criticised.

Minister said. nitely become a bigger thing. I first She said that such drug-testing kits Students for Sensible Drug Policy, started taking drugs when I started col- could inform people that the drugs they are about to consume are safe when they are in fact not.

Speaking about this, Moore said that “these kits have serious limitations but they are better than nothing”.

He then explained that there is a grey area around the legal status of himself using these kits to test drugs for students who ask him to do so. As he would technically be in possession of the drugs this is something he cannot condone. also known as the SSDP, is an interna- lege. Music festivals definitely bring a “The better solution would be to have tional non-profit organisation which is lot of people in contact with drugs that both test kits that people can distribfocused on reforming drug policy. they wouldn’t otherwise take,” a DCU ute amongst themselves and friends or “Worldwide at the moment, there are student, who wished to remain anony- come and buy for a small fee at a feshuge issues surrounding how different mous, told The College View. tival as well as a large tent where there countries deal with drug users mostly “I went to Boxed Off [an electron- would be a chemical testing centre in it. as a criminal issue. We would rather ic music festival] and not one of my This would be much more detailed and it be dealt with rightfully as a medical friends wasn’t on one thing or the oth- a lot more reliable than the [previously and mental issue,” said Declan Moore, er,” they added. mentioned] test kits,” he added.

Chairperson of the SSDP society in Boxed Off is an annual electron“On nearly every night out I have DCU. ic music festival which this year, took in college at least one of my friends is “We neither condone or condemn place in Fairyhouse race course in Na- taking drugs. At the start I was shocked drug use, but we want people to be re- van, Co. Meath on September 29th. Joe but now it is seen as normal,” a student alistic about the fact that drugs are an Hayes, a 19-year-old student, died after who asked not to be identified told this integral aspect of society,” he added. becoming ill at the music festival. He newspaper.

Talking about the rise of drug use was brought to Connolly Hospital in “I don’t think people realise the seamongst students, Moore said one of the Blanchardstown from Fairyhouse but riousness of the drugs they are taking. biggest hypocrisies we have as a society was pronounced dead the following day. I definitely think there is a sense of is that it’s not a one size fits all law in The Irish government has been called peer pressure and trying to act cool inregards to drugs. on to look at allowing the provision of volved,” they explained.

He explained that university level drug testing kits at nightclubs and fesAs students continue to take risks by students have a privilege to an extent, tivals after the UK has set an example. popping a pill at a festival or taking a as if they are caught in possession of This would allow drug users to gain dab out of a plastic bag, the Irish govdrugs the average penalties they receive feedback regarding the potency and ernment are now being called on to intend to be less than penalties received content of what they are about to con- tervene in current drug policies. by those who are from a working class sume. However, Catherine Byrne, the

“

On nearly every night out I have in college at least one of my friends is taking drugs

18

Graduation caps falling in the ranks

Features

With universities battling against funding cuts, DCU faces a new challenge: rising in Europe’s ranks Callum Lavery Editor-in-chief @callum_lavery

W

ith universities across the country falling in global rankings, Students’ Unions have not kept their displeasure at the lack of funding in higher level a secret. From larger class sizes to higher fees, inaccessible grants and lack of accommodation, third level students are finding it harder than ever to access a college education.

Many have felt that the lack of investment has led to Ireland’s falling ranks. Six of the eight top ranked Irish universities dropped places in this year’s QS World University Rankings, including DCU, who fell from 391st to 422nd globally. €10.8 billion was allocated to the Department of Education in this year’s budget, with €150 million of this going towards higher education with 3,500 additional undergraduate places being made available. However, the Irish University Association (IUA) has said that the investment only equates to €57 million in extra funding when prior commitments to national pay increases are taken into account.

“I think it was extremely disappointing but not surprising… We’re seeing a €57 million increase in the sector

but, widely across the sector, it is being recognised that that is not enough to support universities and ITs. There is a huge gap now between what universities are able to provide with the money they have and what is needed and we see that reflected in things like the rankings,” said President of the USI, Síona Cahill.

“What we are seeing on the ground is increased student teacher ratios, we are seeing less support in terms of research and an increased number of postgraduate students in particular taking on significant extra duties, like tutoring outside of their own research hours in order to get through their postgraduate.”

students will not mean an increased number of places. I think what it may mean in the future is a closing of the doors of many domestic students in favour of international students because they are paying significant fees.

“A lack of places available is not the only reason why Irish universities are struggling. Applications to Dublin universities are becoming lower each year as many students can’t afford the cost of city living.

Tens of thousands of students receive help with their college expenses through the SUSI grant system however, the grant has not risen in several years,” he added.

“We see that Susi grants have not risen since 2012, the facilities like student services, stuff like that are not funded enough to deal with demand and colleges can’t afford to provide accommodation for students at affordable prices for students,” said De Rís.

Despite Irish universities falling, Cahill believes that global rankings are not the best way to measure the performance of Irish universities.

She said “a lot of it is self reported, so I would query the results of any of the university ranking systems in place because I think it is political, it’s self reported and is rarely peer reviewed”.

“

Applications to Dublin universities are becoming lower each year To supplement the lack of investment in higher level, many universities are seeking international students who’s higher fees bring more money into the university. “Trinity has made a very sustained effort to increase the amount of international students, who pay higher fees, to increase income from that revenue source,” said TCD Students’ Union President Shane De Rís.

There were 23,127 foreign students

DCU fell from 391st to 422nd in this year’s QS World University Rankings.

in publicly-funded colleges in 2017, up from 19,679 two years earlier, according to data from the Higher Education Authority. However, the increase in international students entering the Irish third level system means that many Irish students are missing out on the opportunity to access third

Credit: Sabrine Donohoe

level education in their own country.

“Increasingly, institutions are looking at international students and international student fees to significantly supplement the money they are bringing in to run their institution. My concern, and my projection, is that an increased number of international

Bless me Father, for I have sinned

With the blasphemy referendum costing millions to the taxpayer, it was the second vote held on constitutional change held this year

belief and the second is that it is a large expense for little change.

However, the state was aware of this and costs were kept to a minimum by holding the referendum on the same day as the presidential vote.

Róisín Maguire Contributor @thecollegeview

O

n October 26th, Irish citizens voted to remove blasphemy from article 40 of the Constitution.

This means that the government will revoke the law which made it illegal to say something that is offensive to a religion.

However, the word ‘blasphemous’ is the only part being removed and it is still considered a serious offence to publish or say something that may offend any religion. The 2009 Defamation Act outlined that blasphemy is punishable by a fine of up to €25,000.

So what happens now without the word ‘blasphemous’ in the Constitution? The only memorable case regarding blasphemy in Ireland is the Stephen Fry case. Fry was investigated after comments he made about God in an interview with Gay Byrne on ‘The Meaning of Life’ in 2015 when he was asked what he would say to God if he met him. “I’d say bone cancer in children: what’s that about? Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain? If a god did indeed invent the universe then that god is quite clearly a maniac…”

No one in Ireland has ever been prosecuted because of the blasphemy

“

it is still considered a serious offence to publish or say something that may offend any religion

Blasphemy remains a serious criminal offence in other countries.

law, however, it is important to consider the consequences of free speech when it comes to religion. When Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, well known for its brand of satire, published cartoons of Muhammad in 2015, the paper’s office was stormed and 12 of its staff including its editor were shot dead.

The blasphemy referendum shed

a light on this issue and created a precedent for other countries where blasphemy is punishable by the death sentence. A recent case in Pakistan saw a woman called Asia Bibi convicted for insulting Muhammad but she was acquitted last week. Bibi is a Christian woman and this decision angered many in the majority Muslim country.

Credit: Sonja Tutty

Referendums can cost the taxpayer between €3 million and €4 million.

As the only change that will be made to the Constitution is the removal of the word ‘blasphemous’, it is difficult to say whether or not this referendum was useful.

There were arguments for keeping the word ‘blasphemous’ in the Constitution. The first is to protect religious

DCU student Courtney Fitzmaurice gave the view that there wasn’t “any way of getting around the cost” and that it was “another step in removing the power of the Church in Ireland”.

Fitzmaurice also mentioned how there wasn’t enough media coverage around what happens now that the referendum passed and how her parents didn’t fully understand what they were voting for because there was a lack of discussion and debate.

Many argued that the referendum was overdue as Ireland has a long history of combining the church and state authorities. Sonja Tutty, a student in DCU said, “as a Christian, I voted to remove blasphemy because not only is it pointless but it also goes against freedom of speech and freedom of religion. It gave the Christian church the upper hand and goes against religious equality.”

Features

19

A shining light in a dark corridor for women’s rugby Fiona Coghlan is one of Ireland’s most accomplished rugby players- but the women’s game has still a long way to go

Credit: Joe.ie

Women’s rugby is increasing in popularity in Ireland.

Taidgh Beahan Contributor @thecollegeview

D

espite having only started playing rugby after arriving at the University of Limerick, Fiona Coghlan is one of the most decorated players Ireland has ever produced.

She won four league and cup medals as a member of UL Bohemians before making her Leinster debut in August 2002 and helping them to three interprovincial titles in 2005, as captain in 2011 and then again 2013. However, she is best known for captaining the Irish women’s national side to their first ever Grand Slam in 2013 and subsequently being awarded Sportswoman of the Year by The Irish Times/ Irish Sports Council. Coghlan also happened to be captain when Ireland defeated both England and New Zealand for the first time and retired as an international after a fourth-place finish at the World Cup in 2014.

The path to such success is never easy, but as a female player, there were even more boundaries to be overcome.

The first of those being that while she was trying to survive as an elite athlete, Fiona was also working as full-time PE

and maths teacher in Lucan Community College, as the women’s rugby in Ireland doesn’t have professional status.

“You just had to be very organised,” she explained. “Particularly around match schedules, the only days I missed were Six Nations, it might be five or six days a year but I would have a topic covered by that point so they [the students] would have a test so I’m not missing a teaching class. Time management was really important, even just getting a wash done, or going to the shop, you`re trying to squeeze it in.”

The women’s game is considerably younger than the men’s game, with the first international being held in 1993, a point that Coghlan made, but she also admonished the clear lack of investment and attention given to women’s rugby in Ireland.

“Evolution-wise it’s a younger sport, however in order to grow the sport you need to invest significantly in it and I don’t think that was done. In the IRFU’s new strategy they’re planning to do it at the grassroots level, but internationals still won’t be paid,” she said.

“What they will probably get is per diem (daily allowance) ... which we never got. If I was away on international duty for the Six Nations it was covered by the government, but if it was a friendly or whatever, it was off my own

back. We eventually got petrol money for the last couple of seasons going to international camp, but not weights and stuff, so you’re out of pocket,” Coghlan added.

Being a loosehead prop, scrummaging is also a key part of the game, and proper preparation for the strain it puts on your body and its tactical use as a set-piece is essential. So, Fiona went out of her way. “For years our scrum coach was up the north, and the IRFU said we can’t go up there because there’s no physiotherapist. But I wasn’t having that as a barrier. We used to drive up the north every Thursday for a scrum session,” she remembered.

“If I didn’t do it, would I be in a worse position? Whereas I went, I got better as a player, and I know that’s maybe not right [having to do that in the first place] … but if they put barriers in front of you, you have to knock them down, and that was our way of knocking them.”

How much of that lack of funding comes down to negligence on the part of the IRFU and how much of it can be accounted for by the value society as a whole places on women’s sport is up for debate, but the success of 2013 was unambiguous. The question is was that capitalised on in the way that it should have been in order to promote the game and give the senior side the recognition and resources it deserved?

“No, and for two reasons,” she answered.

“Firstly, I don’t think they foresaw the success coming, and then as result of that I don’t think they invested anything into the grassroots and that’s a problem. We have very small numbers playing women’s rugby at senior level... but what you have to do then

“

ever about the game. The growth of women`s rugby in Ireland is her forethought, even when asked about what she considered to be her greatest personal triumph as a player.

“Coming out with a trophy is huge, but I think it’s more about the exposure that the game got. To get more people involved is a greater triumph because

If you really want something, you’ll knock down the barriers

is invest in club rugby and get more kids playing at a younger age and they haven`t done that to date.”

“They will hopefully do it in their new strategy, they`re planning to double numbers across the board, but it wasn’t done after the Six Nations, it wasn’t done after the World Cup (in 2014), except for the national team going into the high-performance unit,” Coghlan added.

Even though it has been four years since her retirement Fiona is still involved, doing punditry work for RTÉ, and is very clearly as passionate as

it opened the door up to more people.”

“We’d never been on TV until 2013 and as a result of that there are young girls looking at it going ‘oh, girls actually play rugby.’ It’s an opportunity for them where it never was before.”

The drive that Fiona Coghlan had to force that progression is hard to overstate, and it shows best in the advice she offers to girls who find themselves in a similar position to what she found herself in at UL, “If you really want something, you’ll knock down the barriers, you’ll find a way.”

20

Features

From a warzone to a classroom

Direct privision not only dominates headlines, but divides public opinion

Mosney is one of the 34 direct provision centres in Ireland.

Donal Corrigan Video Editor @thecollegeview

T

he DCU Students’ Union sabbaticals sit anxiously in the waiting room of The Garda National Immigration Bureau.

It’s a small, stuffy room and they are the only people present as supporters.

Everybody else around them is waiting to see if they will be deported from Ireland or if they will be allowed to stay.

After a 20 minute wait, DCU student, Shepherd Machaya, returns from his hearing and it’s clear from his face that he is fatigued by the last few weeks.

He has been told by The Department of Justice and Equality that his deportation has been extended until the new year. He tells the sabbaticals that before entering the bureau, he thought he would never see them again.

Machaya is one of the few asylum seekers in Ireland that was granted the opportunity to attend third-level education in Ireland. The process that people

living in direct provision go through to attend an Irish university is often criticised by refugee activists and the applicants themselves. It’s known as the pilot support scheme, which was introduced in 2015 by then Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan. She now openly criticizes the scheme and what it has manifested itself into being.

There are many requirements to meet to be eligible to apply for third-level as an asylum seeker in Ireland. The applicant must be an asylum seeker for a minimum of five years. The applicant must also have attended at least five years in the Irish school system and have a Leaving Certificate. Those with a deportation order against them are not eligible for this application. While this may be an excellent opportunity for refugees in Ireland, the reality presents a lot more obstacles.

This has proven to be a tedious process to go through for people living in direct provision. The language barrier proves an even greater challenge when living in this basic accommodation.

With the inhabitants not being allowed to leave the direct provision, they are unable to integrate into society and develop their English. Asylum seekers are given €21.60 a week by the Irish government. Machaya, for example, attends one lecture on DCU campus every Saturday. This means that transportation costs alone can completely consume his weekly income. This puts pressure on the universities then to fill in the gaps where the government fall short. The university had to provide Machaya with a laptop and mobile

Credit: RTÉ

phone in an attempt to help him keep up with his studies.

With all these challenges facing asylum seekers looking to access university, the results of this scheme can be disheartening for the applicants. The first year of the scheme only saw two asylum seekers being eligible for university out of the 39 that applied. In 2016, only one student was accepted out of 15 applicants. In total, only five asylum seekers have been accepted into third-level education in Ireland since the pilot scheme was first in place. The Irish Refugee Council has since called on the government to reduce the five year requirement to three years. This is in an attempt to encourage the currently depleting number of applicants to apply to the scheme.

This year was especially discouraging for asylum seekers who managed to have successfully applied to enter into third-level education. The scheme was stalled until the third round of CAO offers, which meant most of the college courses were already filled up.

The Higher Education Authority said the delay was due to “applications being reviewed form different areas” and had knocked this on to the third round.

The previous two years that this same system was in place the department had managed to get the asylum seekers applications in on time. The Department also added that they felt this was not a disadvantage to the applicants because so few of them applied anyway, it would not affect the CAO system.

“Our nation is not looking after asylum seekers, even ranging from basic

welfare. And education falls under basic welfare,” SU President, Vito Moloney Burke, said. The campaign gained over 14,000 signatures to prevent the DCU

“

Our nation is not looking after asylum seekers, even ranging from basic welfare

student from being deported back to Zimbabwe. “[Shepherd] is gunning for a job in the tech sector. This is an understaffed sector,” Moloney Burke said as he expressed his frustration with the system of granting access to asylum seekers into third-level education.

Universities such as DCU, University College Cork and University Limerick are among many colleges trying to make third-level education more accessible to asylum seekers in Ireland.

The Universities of Sanctuary is a system now in place which aims to welcome refugees and asylum seekers to third-level education. This is done various schemes such as grants, facilities and accommodation etc. DCU became the first university in Ireland last year to commit this system and make their university more welcoming for people in direct provision.

The university set aside 15 academic scholarships for asylum seekers, which is how Shepherd became a student. A Mosney book club was established which provides books for people living in the direct provision centre who are unable to borrow books from public libraries. The Languaculture space initiative was established to provide a platform where students can teach beginner level English to people in direct provision. Last year saw the first DCU Refugee Week, where events were held throughout the week to raise awareness among students and staff.

DCU President Brian McGrath said “our designation as a ‘University of Sanctuary’, while very welcome, is not a final destination in itself, however, rather it is an important marker on a journey. We are driven on this journey by being true to our values of inclusion and equity of access to education”.

Sport

Smith gets the nod for Ireland team

21

Céire Smith talks about her boxing career coming up to the AIBA Championships

Credit: thefightingirish.ie

Céire Smith wins the 51kg title at the 2018 National Elite Championships

Hugh Farrell Deputy Sports Editor @HughFSports

D

CU alumni Céire Smith has been selected for the Ireland team in the AIBA World Women’s Elite Championships.

The featherweight flew out to New Delhi on the 11th with the prelims beginning on the 15th.

Smith, who has just graduated from DCU, has been boxing since the age of 15. She began in Cavan boxing club training under Brian McKeown, who she remains with to this day. She competed in her first world championship in 2010 at the age of 17.

She said “This is when I began training on the high performance unit alongside the men and Katie. The head coach at the time was Billy Walsh. I continued to train full-time and in 2012 aged 19 I finished top 12 in the world.”

Smith missed out on London in 2012 but decided that she would pursue a college education. She started studying Sport Science and Health in DCU while continuing to train full time.

In 2014 Smith hit a bump in the road, “Unfortunately, I missed out on the

world championships in Jeju, Korea due to health issues. This was a major blow as I was hoping to progress higher from the worlds in 2012.”

Within a year, Smith was back to full health again, “I returned to major international competition in 2015.

Along the way I beat the current world champion from USA Marlena Esparza in the Felix Stamm multinationals in Poland. I then finished top 8 in the European games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

I was beaten here in a split decision to Russia who was the current European champion.”

“I deferred 2016 from DCU in order to prepare for the qualifiers however, I was defeated in the European qualifier

by Ukraine on a split decision who was in Rio and I also lost in the world qualifier to Columbia on a split decision who was Pan Am silver medalist and also qualified for Rio.” The unfortunate run took a bit of a toll on Smith and she decided that it was time for a break.“I had missed out on so many split decisions that I just needed a break to clear my head,” Smith told The College View.

Following on from there, she completed her placement in Australia thinking her boxing days were over but the draw towards the club was too strong

and the passion reemerged. Smith became the captain of the squad at this point and realised that she had unfinished business.

“I was confident having beat GB 51 kg champ in London and so I decided to enter the Ulster championships around three weeks later. Here I defeated the current Irish champion Carly Mc Naul.”

With the knowledge that she couldn’t train as hard as she would like, with final year study taking up a lot of her time, she had to decide if entering nationals would be a good idea. While it was a tough decision she decided to consult with her coach before committing.

She decided to compete in this and then take a step back so she could prioritise her studies for a while. Smith went on to win the final 5-0 against Niamh Early and continued with her final year in DCU. Once her final exams were complete she thought it was best to return to boxing while being able to fully commit.

“When I finished in June I rejoined the team in the national institute in Abbottstown under Bernard Dunne.

I competed in Romania a number of weeks back and lost to the eventual gold medalist.”

“It was a tough contest but great to be back in with top international opposition and shake off the ring rust. It’s also getting used to 3×3 minute rounds unlike when I left in 2016 it was 4×2 minute rounds. It’s been great being back and I’m looking forward to the upcoming World Championships in India.”

DCU Boxing has also been a great experience for Smith with her saying, “It’s class...it has progressed so much since I started in first year. I’ve enjoyed being on the committee and helping coach the guys.”

“

All of the hard work is done and it’s a matter of performance now “Derek and Terry have put so much work into the club and that was extremely evident when I returned for final year from Australia . The level of talent is just continuously growing and it’s down to the hard work of the coaches.”

Smith represented DCU in the nationals this year and said she was delighted to deliver the first elite senior

title to DCU Boxing Club.

“I feel the club contributed massively to my own return to the ring as DCU boxing club made me realise how much I both enjoyed and missed the sport. The atmosphere in the club is always so welcoming and it’s great seeing people join for not only competing but for fitness or the social aspect.”

“When you walk into DCU boxing club and see everyone train together it’s almost impossible to not want to be a part of it” Preparation has been key for Smith, “We have had a lot of preparation for this World’s (World Championship).

We have had a training camp in Sheffield with Team GB.” “The past number of months have been very busy and the team had worked incredibly hard. This final week is about fine tuning and focus now. All of the hard work is done and it’s a matter of performance now.”

Smith is grateful for the sports development team in DCU saying they were extremely helpful in her final year.

“They were very supportive in helping me return to my sport and get back to where I am now.”

“I will also miss DCU boxing club.

I’ve had many years of enjoyment there.”

22

Sport

DCU Ultimate Frisbee make intervarsity final Sean Fitzgerald talks to The College View after DCU Ultimate lost 10-6 to Trinity in the mixed intervarsity final

John Morley Deputy Sports Editor @johnmorleysport

T

he DCU Ultimate Frisbee team reached the mixed Intervarsity Final losing out to an experienced Trinity side in the showpiece by

10-6.

Hailing from American college campus’ and ever growing in Ireland, DCU Ultimate treasurer and member of the mixed team Seán Fitzgerald describes Ultimate Frisbee for the uninitiated.

“It’s like American football, in that you have to get the disc into the endzone, you have to catch it in the endzone. That’s how it works,” said Fitzgerald.

“It’s a game that people can pick up and play well quite easily but, it’s difficult to be very good at it,” he added.

Fitzgerald highlighted the tough nature of the tournament referring to the quick turnover between games.“It’s all so compact, you play a lot of games so it’s a hard couple of days,” he admitted.

The side finished second in their group after three intensely close matches.

“We went universe point (sudden death) against Trinity, universe point against NUIG and then we went to universe point against UCC,” said Mark Cunningham, Secretary of DCU Ultimate.

“In all three of our group games

there was only one point in it,” said Fitzgerald.

“Trinity beat us by one. We were second in our group then which meant we didn’t have top play a team below our seeded team,” he added.

DCU felt extra strain in the tournament as they only had the bare minimum requirement of girls on the team putting immense pressure on their endurance.

“We have really strong girls. Áine and Alex both made the Ireland U24’s this year,” said Fitzgerald.

Cunningham triumphed the DCU sides achievement in the competition citing that compared to other teams they “had no fourth-year men at all”.

After a relatively easy win against UCC in the quarters, the DCU players faced a stern challenge against NUIG in the semis.

“NUIG was a tough game. They were probably stronger than we were expecting them to be,” said Fitzgerald.

With the players we had lost the previous year, people were expecting us to not play very well. Look they definitely weren’t expecting us to make semi-finals,” he added.

“We shook the tournament really.

Everyone was like who are these lads,” Cunningham proclaimed proudly.

“We lost to Trinity in the final but, they won it last year. Everyone was expecting them to get as far as they did,” admitted Fitzgerald.

On reflection Fitzgerald saw the natural progression of the DCU Ultimate

DCU Ultimate at the mixed indoor intervarsity tournament

culture and is less surprised than most on their recent consistency of performance.

“

You play a lot of games so it’s a hard couple of days “People wouldn’t have expected much of DCU last year too, but we got to five finals and won our first outdoor

Credit: DCU Ultimate Frisbee

intervarsity’s last year so its been a good year,” he said.

DCU Ultimate now host the men’s indoors competition and both the Secretary and Treasurer are hopeful of their side’s chances.

“Cork won it last year and they’re very strong again. UL and Trinity would be quite strong, but we’ll fancy our chances against whoever is in our groups,” said Fitzgerald.

“We would be disappointed if we didn’t make the semis,” added Cun-

ningham.

“There’ll probably be about twenty teams. There’re new colleges starting to field teams now like WIT and Letterkenny as well,” said Fitzgerald.

“We’ll be hoping to get three teams because it is in DCU,” he added.

The two concluded with praise for the DCU ultimate coach and Female Club POTY Fiona Mernagh on her part in creating a “winning tradition” in DCU Ultimate that was absent in the club before she stepped in as coach.

Boyle causing a racket in the badminton world Sara Boyle speaks about her recovery from injury, competing for Ireland and her goal of reaching the Olympics. where she wants to improve.

“At the moment I struggle a lot with injuries. I was in Bulgaria, I went over my ankle. Over the summer I had a block of training but before that I had four or five months out with a shoulder injury.

Ian Brennan Podcast Editor @IPJBrennan97

T

hese are busy times for badminton player Sara Boyle as she prepares for her second tournament in the same week.

Last weekend, Boyle competed in the Irish open at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown, Dublin in both singles action and with her doubles partner Rachael Darragh.

This weekend, the 21-year-old is headed to the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, again to compete in both singles and doubles action.

Boyle faces a familiar face in her first match in Glasgow in the singles competition.

“In the Scottish I’m in qualifying, in the singles I play an Estonian girl called Kati-Kreet Marran who I know quite well. Hopefully I win that.

Meanwhile on the doubles’ side of things, it’s less favourable.

“In the doubles we have the fourth seeds, French, which will be a tough match in the main draw.”

These tournaments are key to any future plans Boyle has come next June when the European Games are on in Minsk in Belarus.

“ My big goal is to qualify for the Olympics

Sara Boyle and doubles partner, Rachael Darragh

“At the moment I’m actually concentrating a bit more on doubles because myself and Rachael are trying to qualify for the European Games.”

The Business Studies student from Dublin says she prefers the singles side of badminton. However, she does still

Credit: Matt Browne / Sportsfile

enjoy playing with Darragh.

“I do love playing with Rachael, me and her are good friends as well so that’s nice and I like the team element.”

“Overall I prefer the singles because the shots are more suited for me, I’m more of a technical player than a pow-

er player so I struggle a bit in doubles sometimes.”

Boyle has consistently been qualifying for the main draw in tournaments throughout the last couple of years and putting in solid displays. She is not without weakness though and knows

“For me, getting to the next level I need to put in solid training blocks without getting injured is the main thing at the moment.”

For Boyle, her ambitions are very clear.

“My big goal is to qualify for the Olympics. I’m not sure if this is a chance for 2020, I’m going to look at how the next few tournaments go and re-evaluate in a couple of months if I’m going to start for the qualification which is May to May, a year long.”

“It depends on how the next few months go, on how my injuries go and if my levels are improving I will definitely go for the 2020 Olympics and if not, I will train and hopefully go for 2024.”

Sport

Farrelly honoured after stellar season

23

Niamh Farrelly spoke to The College View after she was nominated for WNL Senior Player of the Season.

Gerard Grimes Sports Editor @gerardgrimes11

P

eamount United and DCU midfielder Niamh Farrelly has been nominated for Women’s National League Senior Player of the Season

award.

Farrelly’s Peamount United fell just short in the FAI Women’s Cup Final two weeks ago, losing 1-0 to Wexford Youths, despite dominating large periods of the game.

“It was a disappointing result. We played some good football but just didn’t take our chances on the day,” Farrelly told The College View.

Peamount finished third in the Women’s National League this season, behind champions Wexford and Shelbourne Ladies.

James O’Callaghan’s Peamount did deny Wexford a fourth title this year, as they beat the Ferrycarrig outfit in the League Cup final.

Farrelly wants Peamount to look at the positives, including winning the league

cup, and to push on further next season.

“We have to reflect and work on what let us down this season but also take the positives from the season as a whole.

“Winning the league cup will give us confidence to push on next season to hopefully bring more silverware back to the club,” Farrelly said.

The 19-year-old’s performances have been recognised this season having been named the Continental Tyres Women’s National League Player of the Month award for September.

Farrelly was also nominated for Senior Player of the Season alongside Peamount and DCU teammate Amber Barrett, Galway’s Aislinn Meaney and Wexford trio Kylie Murphy, Rianna Jarrett and Lauren Dwyer.

However, she stressed that she wouldn’t have gotten any award without her teammates.

“Getting the player of the month was brilliant for my confidence and obviously to be nominated for Senior Player of the Year alongside great players like Amber and Rianna is great,” Farrelly said.

“But no individual award is close to winning something with your team.

“I wouldn’t have gotten any award without my teammates who have pushed me in training week in and week out and have helped me improve throughout the season so I’m thankful for them,” Farrelly continued.

Farrelly was the Ireland U19 captain but has made the step up to the senior squad this year.

She has, however, been ruled out of

Niamh Farrelly celebrates after Peamount’s win over Shelbourne in the FAI Women’s Cup semi-final.

the squad for the final training camp of the year, as the Women’s National Team prepare to face Belgium and Wales in the new year.

“

Getting the player of the month was brilliant for my confidence

“Unfortunately, I was ruled out with concussion after the clash (with Edel Kennedy in the FAI Cup final).

“It was disappointing for me but I’m looking forward to working hard over the off season and hopefully getting myself into the next senior squad in January.”

DCU Soccer beat IT Sligo 3-2 in their first league game this season, with a long-range strike from Farrelly, in her only game to date due to Peamount commitments, and a brace from Abbie Molloy, completing the comeback.

Credit: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

DCU have fallen to two heavy defeats since but with players like Amber Barrett and Lynn Craven, along with Farrelly, set to come back into the fray, Farrelly believes the squad can do well.

“As a squad, we are only really getting to know each other but there’s some very talented players in the group and I know we can do well.

“Abbie was brilliant when she came on against Sligo and we also have the likes of Amber Barrett and Lynn Craven who will no doubt make a huge impact to the team.”

DCU hurlers fall to the Scotsmen in hybrid game DCU Hurler Killian Doyle spoke to The College View about the challenges faced in adapting to playing in the shinty-hurling international for Ireland against Scotland.

Eoin Harte Deputy Lifestyle Editor @EoinHarte98

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our DCU students played for the under 21 Ireland Hurling/Shinty team that fell to Scotland in Abbotstown on Saturday, losing 6-7 to 1-10.

Killian Doyle, currently in his final year in DCU studying Education and Training, was one of the four hurlers who represented his country.

He spoke to The College View about the challenges the players faced in adapting to the hybrid game.

“I wouldn’t say that the pace is much faster, but it is a lot more physical. The game is really a no rules game, well that is what it felt like playing at the weekend.

“The only real way to give away a

Killian Doyle celebrates scoring a point for Westmeath against Offaly in the Leinster S.H.C Quarter-Final.

free is to kick the ball or catch the ball.

It’s not overall hard to adapt apart from those two simple rules of not kicking or catching it.”

This was not the first time the Doyle tried his hand at the game, as the Westmeath man played in Scotland for the under 21 side the previous year. At that time Doyle had no intention of returning to the hybrid sport.

“It was a great experience but one at the time I promised myself I would not do again. I have never played or seen such a physical sport.

“My first thought was that this is pure lunacy, but a sport which takes a great deal of skill to play but the skill nearly goes out the window as you just try and keep the ball moving so you don’t get killed.”

Credit:Piaras O Midheach/Sportsfile

The physicality was not the only difference the Irish had team with their Scottish counterparts.

“The Scots have a completely different skill set to that of ours. Their core skill is striking the ball on the ground.

“My first thought was that this is pure lunacy

They could hit the ball 80/90 yards on the ground.

“They obviously can’t solo run because their Shinty sticks are too narrow and they can’t catch it. So yeah, their skill set is different in the way they only really hit the ball on the ground.

“Sometimes they take it down on their chest and double on it which is outrageous,” he said.

While the Irish team were unsuccessful in their efforts, Doyle was proud of what he had achieved.

“Although it’s not a massive game or event compared to the Aussie rules or similar competitions it still meant a great deal to represent my country.”

With the Hurling/Shinty exhibition match now done and dusted, Doyle’s attentions will turn to helping DCU in the Fitzgibbon Cup. Doyle was part of the side that made the Fitzgibbon Cup final last year and is hopeful for the season ahead.

“After having a relatively good year last year getting to the league final and Fitz (Fitzgibbon Cup) final we were still disappointed that we won nothing.

“But hopefully we can go one step further this year and win out both competitions. We have a very strong panel so hopefully we can push on this year.”

SPORT

INSIDE

Killian Doyle was one of four DCU hurlers who represented Ireland in the U21 shinty/hurling international in Abbotstown.

“More physicality” the solution to camogie’s plight says Twomey 20x20 ambassador, Laura Twomey hopes to use her status with the Dublin team to be a visible role model for young girls.

John Morley Deputy Sports Editor @JohnMorleysport

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urrent Dublin Captain and 20x20 ambassador Laura Twomey has suggested that the introduction of “more physicality” in camogie would “let the game flow” while also increasing audience and player participation.

As an ambassador for the 20x20 initiative, Twomey hopes to use her status with the Dublin team to be a visible role model for young girls with aspirations of participating in sport.

“We’re visible to younger females and athletes around Ireland. They have a role model to look up to,” said Twomey.

After obtaining a job in Raheny following her PHD in DCU, Twomey is keen to follow her ambassadorial role through in her workplace.

“I’m teaching in an all-girls school in Manor House in Raheny.”

“An area that I’m trying to bring it through in the education system is to expose the girls from first year through to sixth year to as much sport, be it in PE or outside school, as I can,” she said.

One of her big focuses in secondary education is to try and discourage drop outs and keep girls involved in sport.

In terms of her platform with the

20x20 ambassador, Dublin camogie captain, Laura Twomey.

Dublin Ladies Camogie team, Twomey furthers her message to girls throughout the true-blue schools and communities.

“We do a number of different initiatives like camps for both younger girls and older girls at various times of the year to try and increase participation numbers, specifically of camogie,” said Twomey.

“Obviously just even using social media, using your voice to try and raise awareness of the actual (20x20) campaign,” she added.

Twomey lamented the lower view-

ership of camogie compared to Gaelic football, putting it down to structural and promotional failings.

Twomey has echoed fellow Dub Eve O’Brien’s views that rule such as the tackle, the hand pass goal and the compulsion of skirts need to be changed.

“There’s not a uniform way of refereeing games, so I think if different rules that myself and Eve (O’Brien) have been speaking out about for the last while were implemented, or were brought out of the game it might encourage more people to get involved it also might encourage more players

Credit: @INPHO / Morgan Treacy

to stay involved in the game,” said Twomey.

“I just think for me a big one is the handpass goal.”

“They have a

role model to look up to

“I know its been a kind of trademark of the game for the last number of years, but I just really think it takes away from the skill of the game and I think we’ll see a lot more better kind of shooting and goals in the game and it would make it more exciting and more interesting for people to watch.”

“I don’t know about bringing in or allowing a shoulder,” Twomey told The College View.

“It’s up for debate. Obviously, defenders and that might be more on the side of bringing it in, but I suppose at the moment we’re just so restricted in what we can and can’t do.”

“Any sort of physicality and there’s a free pulled up against you,” she added.

“If refs are all on the same page, and that has to come from the camogie association where there’s a rule change regarding physicality.”

“The condition and strength and speed of players these days is just improving and the access to resources help that,” said Twomey.

“You could potentially introduce shouldering, but you could also word it in another way.”

“Not necessarily a shoulder but allow more physicality into the game and I think that in turn would let the game flow,” she said.

“The All-Ireland finals were very stop starty.”

“For supporters watching it, it can be very frustrating,” she added.

Corcoran putts her way to the podium in the hills

Elisa Corcoran talks to The College View after she won a bronze medal at the Irish Intervarsity’s Golf championship.

Conor Breslin Contributor @thecollegeview

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lisa Corcoran was all smiles as she claimed a bronze medal for DCU at the Irish Intervarsity’s Golf championship in Rosapenna, Co Donegal.

The 19-year-old from Rathfarnham described the result as an absolute joy and honour and hopes there is more success to come for her in the near future.

“It was unreal to represent the college at that level. After round one I was coming last.”

“It was a tricky course and I quickly had to adapt to it, but I made sure I wasn’t coming home without a medal,” Corcoran said.

Corcoran described herself as quite a sporty individual growing up playing camogie, football, tennis and swimming.

She began playing golf at the age of ten when her father bought Corcoran her first set of golf clubs.

“I remember going out to the back garden and just hitting a few golf balls around.

It felt natural to me,” Corcoran told The College View.

“I quickly started moving onto the local golf course and partaking in competitions.”

“I had and still have an absolute love for the game,” Corcoran said.

Her coach, Dave Kearney, could see the talent in the then 12-year-old and began coaching and driving Corcoran to be the best she can be.

“Dave and I agreed I had to drop all other sports and become clearly focused on my golf game.”

Alongside her recent bronze med-

“

I made sure I wasn’t coming home without a medal

al, Corcoran has stated her greatest achievement in golf was being able to represent Ireland and play at the Under 18 Home Internationals in Lanark Golf club in Scotland in 2016.

There she won two out her three match plays with Ireland coming second in the competition.

More recently Corcoran played in the 2018 Amateur Women’s Irish Open in Co Louth where she claimed a top ten finish.

“That was a huge lift for me as I only recently came back from a shoulder injury.”

“I was in such pain that I was thinking about pulling out of the competition all together the week before, so I was extremely surprised with the result I got,” said Corcoran.

Today Corcoran is lingering one shot off a scratch golfer with a world Amateur ranking of 932.

Her routine consists of continuous practice on the course and building the small details of her game off the course such as gym work, core work and proper dieting.

Elisa did admit however that she has

Elisa Corcoran in action

more work to do before she reaches the next level of the game.

“Ken Robinson at DCU and Dave Kearney are always driving me on.”

“I hope in the next ten years to reach

Credit: Irish Ladies Golf Union

the international circuit for women’s and who knows maybe professional if it turns out for me,” said Corcoran.