our social diarist’s enthusiasm peaks: societies 9
mark walsh is… donor a charmless report man inside
dublin revenge flick savage director Brendan Muldowney talks retribution
hub shortlisted for award: news features 8
world building of the year?
Two
Trinity News Est 1953
Security guard impersonated Garda officer
Pay rises may breach freeze
EngSoc build up membership numbers
Anthony Burke Staff Reporter
Stopped motorists for speeding Unlicensed firearms found at home Receives 18 month suspended sentence Conor Dempsey College News Editor
A former College security attendant was convicted of impersonating a Garda, possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of child pornography during the summer. William Derwin of Dolmen Way, Poppintree, Ballymun, was given an 18-month suspended sentence by Judge Patrick McCartan in the Dublin Circuit “Vetting procedures apply to all security staff...principally based in references and referees” Criminal Court on 29 June. Derwin pleaded guilty to impersonating a Garda, possession of a Beretta pistol, a 9mm Glock pistol, a rifle, 175 rounds of blank shotgun ammunition and child pornography at his home on 9 November, 2008. Derwin was stopped by Garda Robert Roe who spotted a Ford Mondeo driving at 120 km/h around Dublin’s north inner city. Roe said that the car looked like an official unmarked Garda car. Derwin stopped his vehicle when the marked car sounded its siren. He told Roe that he was a Garda “on the job” and was allowed to continue. Still suspicious of the car, Roe sent
27 Trinity academics were promoted over the summer, and are set to receive pay rises in a possible breach of the Employment Control Framework for Higher Education. The move is defended by College and attacked in the national media. Trinity was criticised heavily in the media over the summer for the announcement that it would promote 27 members of the academic staff. 17 academics have been promoted to Senior Lecturer, seven have been promoted to Associate Professor and three to Professor. The current maximum salaries for these positions are €94,035, €110,066 and €145,952 respectively. The salaries of individuals will depend on their point on the scale. The College is subject to an Employment Control Framework for the Higher Education sector, as part of the public service
its registration to Garda control who confirmed that it was not an official vehicle. Derwin was then pulled over again after he was seen breaking two red lights at speed. When his house was searched a range of garda paraphernalia were found including handcuffs, a radio scanner, a utility belt and firearm holster, Garda badges, camouflage gear, Garda-style shirts, ties and gloves as well as a Pearse Street station calling card. Roe told the court that Derwin was “almost proud” when showing the Gardaí his substantial collection. Derwin would use the radio scanner, which he bought at a Dublin communications store, to listen in on Garda frequencies where he learned to recognise certain call signals, though he could not broadcast messages of his own. He claims to have bought his starter pistols from a man in Meath and his various items of Garda uniform from an army surplus store. An album containing 72 pictures of naked and semi-naked boys was also found at Derwin’s home. The pictures were printed on A4 photographic paper and were of boys aged between eight and fifteen years old. Derwin denied that the images were child pornography at first but later he admitted to having experienced sexual Continued on page 2
“Micromanaging universities is not a good idea, but more crucially it is not even neccessary”
SS Freshers’ Week started early in Trinity Hall on Saturday, where societies and the SU braved the wet weather to seduce newly-arrived residents. Photo: Richard Conway
Nursing lecturer arrested for poetic graffiti Conor Dempsey College News Editor
“Poor old dear Paul Horan”, a Trinity nursing lecturer sharing a name and perhaps “literary as well as criminal aspirations” with Joyce’s character from Finnegans Wake, was arrested on 10 August after writing words of a Jonathan Swift poem on the wall of the Tavern Pub in Carlow. Horan, a published poet, inscribed in marker the words of an eighteenth century poem written by Swift after a visit to Carlow town that read: “Small town, poor people; high church, low steeple.” Horan had been celebrating his forty-first birthday the night before
his artistic endeavour, which occurred early the following morning. The story was reported in two local newspapers, The Carlow People and The Carlow Nationalist, as well as in The Sunday Independent. Speaking to Trinity News, Horan reiterated the apologies he had made in those publications as well as in writing to the publicans involved. He added that he wished to apologise to the College community if his actions have been damaging to Trinity’s reputation. Horan, who was released after a caution for criminal damage, has said to Trinity News that his actions constituted a prosecutable criminal offence, that he was treated leniently, and that things “could have been a lot
more serious”. Horan repeated that it was “a stupid thing to do”. When asked what he would say to any Trinity student with their own literary aspirations, who might follow in his footsteps, he made it clear that he was not proud of his
actions and did not advocate graffiti, literary or otherwise. He did point out however that when done tastefully, as on the outside of the Bachelor’s Arms pub on Bachelor’s Walk, poetry can make a charming addition a pub’s exterior.
recruitment and promotion moratorium. It is understood that until this framework expires in December these promotions are in title only. The framework requires that between January 2009 and December 2010 all institutions in the Higher Education sector reduce staff numbers by six percent. Malcolm Byrne, Higher Education Authority Head of Communications, said that this reduction must take place across the board and at all points on the scale, not just amongst part-time or temporary staff. In the case of Trinity this means a reduction of 115 staff from January 2009 levels of 1892 staff members. After 2010 the ECF will run out but the HEA have said that institutions will then be required to remain at or below the reduced staff levels. Institutions are required to comply or they may face removal of Government funding. There is some confusion as to whether the promotions are in breach of the ECF conditions. The College plans to implement pay rises when the ECF runs out in December. The public moratorium constitutes a complete ban on promotion, but speaking to Trinity News, Byrne said that there is a “certain level of flexibility in institutions in exceptional circumstances”. When
Vol 57
Continued on page 2
Issue 1
21 September, 2010