Trinity News Issue 5

SOUNDTRACK

IRELAND’S FINANCIAL SITUATION BUSINESS 14

OF THE YEAR

IN SPORT WHO’S THE SOUNDEST OF THEM ALL?

rté

A ROUND UP OF THIS YEAR’S ACHIEVEMENTS SPORTS FEATURES 22

STARING INTO THE ABYSS

PROF. COLIN KEARNEY ON HIS AMBITION FOR COLLEGE FEATURES 10

TRINITY NEWS Est 1953

Most students will emigrate

Campus goes into lockdown after snowfall Aine Pennello & Caitriona Murphy Staff Reporter and College News Editor

TRINITY COLLEGE was brought to a standstill last week as a result of the bad weather. Classes were cancelled from Wednesday to Saturday and access to campus was heavily restricted.

On Wednesday 1 December, the College’s annual Open Day for prospective students was

ff 85% of TCD students plan to emigrate ff Lecturers advising students to leave ff Unemployment rate has tripled Caitriona Murphy & Michael Storn College News Editor and Contributing Writer

IN AN online poll conducted this week by Trinity News, 85% of Trinity students have said that they intend to emigrate. The poll asked students what they thought of emigration, whether they intended to stay or leave and if the current state of the economy had an effect on their decision. It revealed that “I can’t understand why everyone in this country doesn’t emigrate.” – Liza Cox many blame the economic crisis for driving them out of Ireland, believing that there are no jobs available for them once they graduate.

87 percent of students polled were in third year of college or above, thus facing imminent graduation.

Those who intend to leave, stating the economy as a factor in the decision, highlighted several reasons that encouraged them to leave. Many highlighted the lack of jobs and career prospects in Ireland for graduates.

Others stated that they did not wish to stay In Ireland to fix the mistakes of older generations. Liza Cox, a Junior Sophister student, commented, “At the moment I can’t understand why everyone in this country doesn’t emigrate. I heard someone saying recently that when a ship is sinking the rats are the first to leave which is funny but not very fair”. Other students also commented that lecturers have been advising them to emigrate.

Michael Gambon’s visit to the Phil was cancelled due to the weather conditions.

However 28 percent of respondents stated that the economy had not affected their decision to stay in or leave Ireland. Many believe that the media has grossly exaggerated the emigration issue and that students have always been interested in travel.

Jimmy Cleary, a SS student said that “I think it’s a positive thing to do, regardless of necessity”, whilst Ashley Cooke stated that “People gain skills that may be hard to acquire in Ireland”.

Others commented that Ireland has a history and culture of emigration.

“I think young people from poor countries throughout history have had to emigrate and it became part of Irish culture, especially after the famine” said Iseult Mc Lister. Many students have always intended to move abroad for a period of time after graduation but the economic climate may affect how long they stay away.

Of those who intend to remain in the country, respondents highlighted a desire to make a career and life at home and a responsibility to help the country. “Irish people have a duty to stand by their country and gain Irish

cancelled due to “adverse weather conditions,” said Admissions Liaison Officer David Byrne in an email to staff and students.

Secondary school and mature students, guidance counsellors, teachers and parents from across the country and abroad are invited every year to the College’s Open Day to get information on Trinity’s courses and student life first-hand from current students and staff members. This year, the Open Day was planned to feature stands for undergraduate courses, admissions, mature students, accommodation, and student sports and societies.

In addition, over one hundred presentations were due to be held in various lecture theatres to inform prospective students of specific undergraduate courses.

“A number of second level guidance counsellors contacted the Admissions Office yesterday to say that they supported our decision,” said Mr. Byrne, who received encouragement that “it was the prudent thing to

“People [who emigrate] gain skills that may be hard to acquire in Ireland.” employment” said Siofra Mc Allistair.

“I would see it as a last resort, I want to make my life at home in Ireland” said Daniel Farrell.

The findings of the survey correspond with a recent poll by Continued on page 2 

“A number of second level guidance counsellors contacted us to say they supported our decision.” – David Byrne

SS You don’t need a PhD in engineering to build a snowman, but it helps. Engineering PhD students put the finishing touches to their creation. Classes were cancelled and offices closed early last week due to the weather. Photo by Kevin O’Rourke

do”. At the time of going to print, no announcement has been made as to whether the Open Day will be rescheduled.

The decision to carry out lectures in light of the Open Day cancellation was left to the discretion of individual Continued on page 3 

Trinity Crèche to increase charges in new year Aine Pennello Staff Reporter

TRINITY COLLEGE crèche and day nursery services has announced it will increase service charges by nine percent as of January 4, 2011. With the upcoming holidays, staff pay cuts and government budget, Supervisor Michelle Butler told Trinity News that the charge was nonetheless “a necessity” to alleviate the nursery’s current account deficit.

Butler attributed the deficit to “large overheads due to legislation and HSE requirements,” meaning the nursery is liable to make certain renovations and maintain specific carer to child ratios.

The result has been “high staff costs”.

While the nursery is currently being repainted and has undergone a change in layout, Butler informed Trinity News that the funding for these and other renovations such as the installation of new play services and improved training on hygiene and safety was provided by other resources within the college, such as the Sports Centre. The fee increase is the first service charge increase since 2008 and is guaranteed to be the only such increase until September 2012, “just to put parents’ minds at rest” Butler explained.

While Butler said one or two parents have expressed concern about the increase, she said most parents believed the service was still good value for money. At €230 per week and

subject to subsidies, Butler said the nursery’s fees were “still below market rate,” quoting the weekly charges of Bright Horizons and Giraffe crèches as €255 and €248 per week respectively.

The increase in the charge is “a necessity” to allievate the current account deficit, stated Michelle Butler.

“Hopefully we won’t have too much of an uproar about the fees,” she said.

While the nursery is not currently operating at full capacity, with fortynine of its fifty-two spaces filled, Butler explained the remaining spaces were being held for children booked in January. Currently, demand for the

nursery’s “baby” places (age three to twelve months) makes up 48 percent of the waiting list, an age category for which the nursery has only six places.

Advantages and subsidies also cause the nursery’s high demand. For six weeks and three weeks respectively the nursery offers students and staff a grace period in which fees are not charged as a “goodwill gesture”. The nursery has also been successful in obtaining funding for parents through Early Education Childcare (EEC) and the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS), the latter of which is exclusive to non-profit nurseries. As a third option, a childcare assistance fund is also available and managed by the Senior Tutor’s office.

SS The deficit has not been caused by a lack of demand, as the nursery’s waiting list currently stands at 130. The list has narrowed as parents find alternate creches, or graduate.

Vol 57

Issue 5

7 December, 2010

2 NEWS THIS FORTNIGHT THEY SAID

“I believe I possess a unique set of skills and experiences for this University.”

Prof. Colm Kearney on his bid to become Provost

NUMEROLOGY

2.5 million kg The amount of turkey Irish families will eat over the Christmas holidays

1,932 The number of Trinity students registered to vote through the “I am a Vote” campaign

€10 million The cost of damages caused by Italian students during protests

50 €1

Estimated number of students who attended the “surprise conference” at the Department of Education

“Never forget the lies and the betrayal and the mistreatment of this country by this government”

COMPILED BY CAITRIONA MURPHY

“They are extremely rude, not what one expects from a bishop.”

Tory MP Nicholas Soames, criticising Bishop Broadbent’s comments on the royal wedding

Keith O’Brien, UCC Students Union President at a recent protest in Cork

“This spell of extreme weather has caused massive disruption to students”

“A flabby old chap” A description of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, as published in the documents released by Wikileaks

“We have a duty to stand by our country” DUCAC issues Continued from front page

Lansdowne Milward Browne for the Irish Examiner that showed that one in three students intend to emigrate.

Unemployment continues to be one of the main factors for people considering emigration.

The unemployment rate among graduates in Ireland has tripled in the last two years. This has caused more and more graduates to emigrate to countries such as England, Australia and America.

Last year the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed that joblessness peaked at 68,600 in March, compared

to 25,400 in March 2008. CSO figures for June 2010 revealed that the number of unemployed people under 25 years amounted to 91,646. Many Irish graduates are seeking emigration to Australia and the US by applying for work visas. Taking into account the most recent economic deterioration and budget cuts in Ireland, many are likely to stay abroad on a permanent basis. The implicit danger in this is the prospect of a ‘brain drain’.

However not all aspects of moving abroad are appealing. Irish students have faced criticism for being from Ireland.

Trinity graduate Robert Quinn who now studies in Princeton

told Trinity News “Being Irish definitely gives you celebrity status over here, but not in a good way. Everyone wants to know how we messed it up so badly.

As an economics student it’s especially difficult to have my opinion taken seriously. We really are the laughing stock of the world.”

Asked to describe life as an Irish student abroad, Dave Walker, who graduated from TCD in 2007, explained “there’s definitely a stigma attached to being Irish now. People are very sceptical of our opinions and of what we studied in college. Some people think we’re all as incapable as our state bankers.”

The show must go on: Trinity Fringe Festival to run from Friday 10 December

The daily fine now applied to library books that are two weeks overdue

GET INVOLVED We’re always recruiting new writers, photographers, designers, copy editors and advertising executives. To get involved, contact the editor of the section you’re interested in, at firstname.lastname@trinitynews.ie

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Puzzles:

Aoife Crowley Kate Palmer Cillian Murphy Caitriona Murphy Meadhbh McHugh Evan Musgrave Ralph Marnham Ines Novacic James Coghill Manus Lenihan Josh Roberts David Barrett Jonathan Creasy Iseult McLister Alice Stevens Jimmy Lee Varun Khanna Owen Bennett John Engle Anthea Lacchia Christine Shields Daniel O’Callaghan Kate Rowan Eleni Megoran Michael Gaskin Conor O’Toole

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TCDSU President Nikolai TrigoubRotnem on the measures taken

by College during the snow

THIS YEAR’S Trinity Fringe Festival has been rescheduled to start on Friday 10th. The Festival, which is coordinated by DU Comedy Society and DU Players, features several stars of comedy.

Frisky and Mannish, a cabaret double act, kick off the festival with a show described by the Independent as “The most purely entertaining

hour to be spent at this year’s Fringe...” Never mind the Panel will be running on Tuesday 14th, hosted

by Jarlath Regan and team captained

by Damo Clark and Andrew Stanley.

Celebrity guests and famous college faces are promised as well as a potential visit from Derek of Crystal Swing fame. Wednesday 15 sees a celebration of Trinity’s own talent

with performances from A Betrayal of Penguins, pictured, and Dead Cat Bounce. On the final night, Paul Foot will be performing his oneman show Ash in the Attic, which has received positive reviews. Following him is one of Ireland’s most popular comedians, Des Bishop and his show, My Dad was nearly James Bond.

Caitriona Murphy

50 years of visual art at Trinity Kalle Korpela Staff Reporter

CELEBRATING 50 years of visual arts in Trinity College, “George Dawson: An Unbiased Eye and contemporary art from Trinity College” is currently showcasing in the RHA. The exhibition highlights the contribution from the generations of people that have shaped the College art collection.

Dawson, a professor of genetics in Trinity, inspired the collection in the 1950s when he introduced the “College Gallery” hire scheme. In this scheme, original Irish and international artworks, along with prints and artist’s posters, were actively acquired for display in student and staff rooms on campus to encourage an interest in

SS Pablo Picasso, Homme Barbu Couronné de Feuillage

modern and contemporary art.

The anniversary exhibition features 35 works selected by Catherine Giltrap, curator of the Trinity Art Collections. Artists represented include highly regarded names such as Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Gerard Dillon, Roy Lichtenstein, Louis Le Brocquy, and Clare Langan.

Woven through the selection is a narrative recounting how the modern art collection at Trinity was formed and its contribution to Irish cultural development. The Provost described the event as “a scintillating glimpse of the richness of our collection.”

Related events include art tours around campus, an exhibition talk series and invited guest speakers from the History of Art Department.

theft warning Robert Ferris Contributing Reporter

SPORTS CLUBS have been warned about potential thefts at away games. In an email sent out by DUCAC last week, teams were advised that numerous thefts had taken place across Irish Univeristies, primarily affecting visiting teams.

DUCAC highlighted two specific incidents where teams were mislead by impersonators. In one case an individual posing to be a groundskeeper for one university welcolmed the team getting off the bus. the impersonator then showed them to their changing room and the pitch before stating that he would lock their valuables in an office for safe-keeping. He then left the premises with all the team’s valuables.

Another incident involved a individual entering a teams dressing room without knocking and acting in the manner of a coaching memeber of the opposition team.

DUCAC stressed to sports teams to remain vigilant and “to report anything suspicious immediately”.

They stressed the importance of keeping valuables safe and that most institutions will have lockers that you can all place valuables in. They advised that if there are no lockers visit the sports centre reception of the institution directly or leave your valuables with a person from your own institution/ team.

DUCAC did not state whether the teams involved in the theft incidents were from Trinity.

Christmas is coming...

Caitriona Murphy College News Editor

AS THE Christmas season closes in, Trinity societies are holding their own festive events. The DU Orchestral Scoiety hold their Christmas Concert on Friday 11th. After being postponed from last week, the Players are now holding their Christmas ball on December 13th at Clontarf Castle.

Another event on the 13th is the annual College Carol Service, held in the Chapel at 17.05 pm. The DU Photography Association is also holding its Christmas exhibition in the Back Loft. DU Food and Drink society are holding their annual Yule ‘N Joy on the 8th December in the Fallon and Byrne Function Room.

The event features a three course meal followed by a mulled wine and mince pie after-party. The VDP are running a Christmas Food drive this week in the Arts block and are looking for donations to fill Chrismas hampers.

All contributions are appreciated as well as hamper-packers. Christmas Decorations in support of Cancer Research at Trinity are on sale in the Hamilton and Arts Block this week.

Finally, Ents are kicking off the 9 nights of Christmas, starting on December 13th.

TRINITY NEWS

3 news@trinitynews.ie

PUZZLES COMPILED BY CONOR O’TOOLE THIS WEEK'S puzzle is from cruciverbalist Patrick Mangan, who has promised a batch of brownies to the first correct solution. Please send completed puzzles to puzzles@trinitynews.ie.

ACROSS 1. Fictional condition from which werewolfs suffer. (11) 6. Shorthand alternative to samesex schools. (4) 10. Relating to right angles (10) 11. Black gold (3) 12. Large Egyptian dam on the Nile.(5) 15. To temporarily shock or paralyse. (4) 16. Deviate from a vertical position. (4) 17. Leggy ladies could catch quite

a few scaly marines with one of these. (7) 20. A Croatian necktie (6) 22. Highly skilled or talented. (5) 23. Eleven, tweleve, thirteen...

How many does he need!? (5) 24. A seemingly endless argument or tirade. (4) 25. Classical dictionaries. (6) 27. Breaks free from confinement.

(7) 29. A former Russian ruler. (4) 31. Unwanted advertisements which clutter your mailbox. (4) 33. One who holds the door as you enter the library. (5) 37. Put on. (3) 38. 100% effective contraception.

(10) 39. In France, this axe is used to combat body odour. (4) 40. Is it a boy or girl? Hard to tell. (11)

DOWN 1. To come full circle and start again. (4) 2. Zesty subset of the fruit family.

(6) 3. Derogatory slang term for a beginner, or unskilled player. (4) 4. Rows or lines of soldiers, say. (5) 5. Indian type of rice. (5) 7. The Earth's outer protective layer. (5) 8. These juveniles are always up to no good. (11) 9. The last of the first generation PokÈmon. (3) 12. An arrogantly nasal annoyance. (4) 13. Fear that one is losing their hair. (8) 14. Times three for orangeflavoured liquer. (3)

17. The brotherly nature of poor Remus' murder. (11) 18. Youth subculture involving fixed-gear bikes and electro music.

(8) 19. Engage in commercial activity.

(5) 21. This Glass reigns electronica terror from her Crystal Castle. (5) 25. Fail to win. (4) 26. Jeeves no longer plays a part here. (3) 28. Your not pro if you can't do it quickly. (6) 30. __ ___ pain; American bakery chain with good bread. (2,3) 32. Pinkish edible crustacean. (5) 34. Curse, bewitch (3) 35. Sole, without anything more. (4) 36. Greek Olympian, son of Kronos. (4)

SS Students made the most of the snow, with over 40 participating in a snowball fight on 1 December. Photos by Kevin O’Rourke and Aoife Crowley

Walking in a winter wonderland Continued from front page

departments. While most arts lectures were cancelled, some tutorials and science labs were still held.

By Wednesday afternoon, the College website announced that due to deteriorating weather conditions, all Thursday lectures and evening courses had been cancelled. Services at the college such as Commons, the Postgraduate Reading Room and the 24-hour study space were also discontinued.

Students were informed on Twitter and Facebook, but an email was not sent out to staff and students until 6pm. During the interim hours, lecturers were unaware that courses had been cancelled, causing confusion.

The email announced that college services and offices would be open

from 9am-5pm, including the Library and Gym. However on Thursday afternoon students studying in the library were informed that it would close at 3pm.

Many students who had left the library were forced to return and retrieve their belongings, whilst others had to leave their items until the following morning. An email was sent out at 14.40 regarding the closure and stated that lectures were cancelled on Friday and Saturday, but that services on Friday would run from 9am-5pm. Yet once again on Friday afternoon, the Library closed at 3pm and an email informing students was not sent out until over an hour after the closure.

The email also informed students that ‘it is not possible to guarantee the maintenance of safe routes to and between all parts of College at all times

during normal opening hours’ and the College campus would close to nonresidents and staff at 3pm and would remain closed for the weekend. The Students’ Union organised access to Regent House for non-residents who wished to study on campus over the weekend. President Nikolai TrigoubRotnem stated that “Unfortunately this spell of extreme weather has caused massive disruption to students and college services. We are working with the college to try and facilitate students as best as possible”.

Conditions on College grounds were dangerous during the icy weather, with sections across Front Square and the Pearse street entrance closed off. Campus access was restricted to College students and Security opened a separate entrance opposite pearse street dart station and

students entering showed ID cards.

Several society and sporting events were forced to reschedule including Michael Gambon’s visit to the Phil, the Michelmas Orchestra concert, the

Careers Fair in the GMB and the Ents Silent Disco in the Pav. Many of these will be running this week, so students are advised to check with organisers.

SU campaigns for votes and Student Support Bill

Where’s your head at?

Conor Dempsey

Una Kelly

Staf Reporter

AS PART of Trinity College Students’ Union’s “I am a Vote” Campaign, 1,932 students have now registered to take part in the democratic process by adding their names to the Register of Electors.

The call by the Green Party for an election in January of next year resulted in over 500 students registering in the last two days of the campaign.

“Students have traditionally been viewed as a soft target.” – SU President Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem TCDSU President Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem said “Students have traditionally been viewed as a soft target by government because they tend not to vote. Now there are 2,000 extra votes out there that won’t be going to any candidate who helps in this government’s assault on students and the most vulnerable in our society”.

Trigoub-Rotnem also commented on the new legislation to assign grantawarding duties to one national grant agency, which was passed through the committee stage on November 25. The

7 December, 2010

plans were originally published on November 23 as proposed amendments to the Student Support Bill 2008. This plan, which has been welcomed by the USI, means in future students will know where to apply for their grant.

They will also have the grant paid into their own bank account on a monthly basis. Mr.Trigoub-Rotnem is positive about the move stating that the passing of the Student support bill “will mean students on the grant will no longer have to wait up to seven months for their grant to arrive.”

Almost 13,000 out of a total of just over 60,000 higher education grant applications for this year have still not been processed. In an article in the Irish Times, Fergus O’Dowd, Fine Gael Education spokesman stated that “Students are finding it impossible to make ends meet, are being threatened by colleges and are even dropping-out.”

33 Local Authorities and 33 Vocational Education Committees currently process grants. The Student Support Bill means the scheme should now be administered by a single agency.

Gary Redmond, president of USI stated that “The Student Support Bill must be implemented swiftly to deal with the increasing amount of students, who are returning to college and relying on grants.”

Staff Reporter

29 NOVEMBER to 3 December saw the Student Union and DU Amnesty International collaborate together on Mental Health Week, a campus-wide mental health awareness campaign which aimed to promote mental health services in College and inform students of how to look after their mental health.

The theme for the week was “Where’s your head at?”, a slogan designed to encourage students to think about what’s on their mind at the moment. The SU Welfare office “Seeing a counsellor does not mean that there’s something wrong with you.” – Steph Fleming liaised with Unilink, Student 2 Student, Niteline and counselling services to decide how best to promote them.

The “welfairies” could be seen at stands throughout campus providing students with information on the mental health services in college.

Halls residents were paid a visit on Wednesday with free tea and sandwiches and advice on how to look

out for each other. Many other events were scheduled, but unfortunately had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. A supplementary campaign is planned for the New Year, though a date has yet ot be set.

The message of the week was to remove the stigma attached to mental health issues. “Seeing a counsellor does not mean there’s something wrong with you,” says SU Welfare officer Steph Fleming, “its means you are very self-aware and you know when you need that extra helping hand, it means you’re taking good care of yourself.”

She describes the mental health services in college as excellent, with “extremely well informed, experienced and compassionate staff”.

Two well trained student groups, Student 2 Student and Niteline volunteer their services, while other college support services include personal tutors, the student’s union, the warden and assistant wardens in Halls, with someone always on call in both halls and campus accommodation.

“My concern at present is funding,” comments Steph. “The counselling service is due to lose two part-time counsellors who co-ordinate and train the Student 2 Student volunteers.

There is also a waiting list of at least a week for the counselling service,

however they do provide emergency appointments which is excellent.”

Tying in with the SU’s anti-stigma message, DU Amnesty International incorporated the ‘anti-discrimination’ “Tackling the taboo and contention that often masks mental health issues must be addressed.” aspect of Amnesty Ireland’s nationwide mental health campaign.

“While campaigning for the provision of adequate mental health services for the Irish people, DU Amnesty International is also committed to combating discrimination including stigma,” said Jane McGowan, President of DU Amnesty. “Tackling the taboo and contention that often masks mental health issues must be addressed and thus fair, necessary funding must be granted.”

Welfare officer Steph emphasised the importance of the campaign. “In times like these it’s easy for people to feel quite bleak and depressed, it’s important for people to spot the difference between a bad day and depression and I hope this week helps them with that.”

4 COLLEGE NEWS news@trinitynews.ie

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

TCD-India research award launch

Maths Professor receives Gold Medal from RIA Conor Dempsey Staff Reporter

IN A new initiative instigated by the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Science (FEMS), students and staff at Trinity College are being encouraged to explore collaborations with universities and institutions in India.

The initiative has been established to promote student and staff exchanges with the aim of stimulating research interactions.

A fund of €50,000 has been allocated by the Faculty Dean, Professor Clive Williams, to support the implementation of the plan. The fund will provide support for some or all of the costs of successful exchange proposals.

Recipients thus far of the FEMS TCD-India research award are Professor Darina Murray, Dr JanHenning Dirks, Dr Paula Murphy, Dr Quentin Crowley and Dr Mike Peardon in collaboration with Indian institutions including Tata Mumbai, Bombay, IIT Kanpur and IIT Roorkee.

The Provost, Dr John Hegarty, is also keen to encourage collaboration between the Eastern country and TCD having led a delegation to India in the past two weeks, visiting leading universities and furthering educational links.

Commenting on the significance of the visit TCD Provost, Dr Hegarty said: “The purpose of the Irish visit to India is to strengthen links between Trinity College, and similar top-ranking Indian universities and institutes across a range of disciplines in the sciences and the humanities.

A key objective is also to instigate bilateral cooperation in the fields of teaching and research” As part of the visit, a strategic partnership will be signed with Dehli University, promoting collaboration in relation to research and student exchange Meadhbh McHugh

PROFESSOR SAMSON Shatashvili, holder of the University Chair of Mathematics, has been awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Irish Academy. This is the highest accolade one can receive from the Academy and is awarded for an outstanding contribution to the Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the Humanities.

Shatashvili was educated in Russia where he received a higher Doctorate

COURSES

Caitriona Murphy

Nanoscience course to begin at Trinity

College News Editor

STUDENTS will now have the opportunity to study nanoscience as an undergraduate degree at Trinity College Dublin. The official title of the course is ‘Nanoscience – Physics and Chemistry of Advanced Materials’ and it will provide students with a detailed understanding of the science behind materials such as polymers and lasers.

The first intake of students for this course will be in 2011. According to the head of the School of Chemistry, Professor David Grayson, “Graduates of this new nanoscience degree will be strongly sought- after in the knowledge economy where their interdisciplinary training in physics and chemistry will give them a clear edge in solving real life problems in high-tech industry”. It is estimated “Graduates of this new nanoscience degree will be strongly soughtafter “ that by 2015 nanotechnology will have a global market value of $3 trillion across a diverse range of sectors. It will be a vital part in Ireland’s economic future given the effect it has on a wide variety of industries including medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs and Information Communication Technology (ICT). “This degree course offers the opportunity to future students to get a well rounded and excellent grounding in some of the most relevant and advanced science in the world today” said Professor John Donegan, Head of the School of Physics. The first two years of this course will primarily consist of laboratory work and lectures. CRANN, Trinity’s flagship nanoscience institute, is recognised internationally as a leading institute for nanoscience research.

Mairead Cremins

of Science at the age of 30. This made him one of the youngest recipients ever “The biggest problem is that some very good people don’t get promoted” – Prof.

Shatashvili of a degree conferred on those who have made a substantial and important contribution to their field.

Shatashvili worked at the Institute

for Advanced Studies in Princeton and later at Yale before coming to Trinity in 2002. Shatashvili wanted to move to Europe an , attracted by the opportunity to “build something good” offered by the prestigious and historically significant post of Professor of Natural Philosophy.

In the time he has been here the Mathematics Department has expanded to include 16 academics with an excellent international reputation.

Shatashvili studies theoretical and mathematical physics.

When asked how the current moratorium on promotion was affecting the Department he has helped to build Professor Shatashvili commented that “the biggest problem is that some very good people don’t get promoted”. At a high level academics are part of an international recruitment market and will go elsewhere eventually if there are better oportunities available. Shatashvili remarked that “academic integrity should not be sacrificed” because of the current economic downturn.

Ireland’s first Student Managed Fund launched New Fines in

Library Aine Pennello Staff Reporter

SS At the launch were members of the Student Managed Fund Executive Commitee, which consists of Gavin Yates, Michael O’Sullivan, Daniel Philbin Bowman, Grace Walsh, Mairead Gallagher and Mark Halligan. Photo: Caitriona Gallagher

IRELAND’S FIRST ever Student Managed Fund (SMF) was launched last week in the Science Gallery. The fund, which began over a year ago, now involves over 100 students, and operates under the watchful eye of the Trinity Business School. The SMF was the winner of last year’s Trinity Dragon’s Den, an event run by the Entrepreneurial Society.

Gavin Yates, CEO of the fund, gave a brief introductction and explanation of the fund. He explained that the fund is made up of a Board of Directors, members of which include the Head of the Business School, Dr. Gerard McHugh and Associate Director of Trinity Foundation, Deirdre Tracey, an Advisory Board who supervise long term development and ensure that “students don’t make stupid decisions”, and an Executive Committee which consists entirely of the students themselves.

Set up in the manner of similar American student funds which

have seen great success, the TCD SMF receives its funds from taxfree corporate donations from companies such as Deloitte and Davy Stockbrokers. Mr. Yates stated that the SMF had sold the recruitment aspect to the companies, showing them that investing in the fund would produce graduates with extensive business and investment experience.

He also highlighted the publicity exposure that the companies would receive on campus. The fund also receives money through the Trinity foundation, CSC and alumni.

The development of the fund centres around growing the fund in the longterm and its primary goal is to educate students in wise investment. Mr. Yates stated that its future relies on student participation, growing the brand and building up a successful portfolio.

He anticipates that involvement in the fund will be a major attraction for employers and will differentiate Trinity from other universities who have yet to set up such a project.

A percentage of money raised through the SMF investments goes to

student projects, and other worthwhile causes such as the Trinity Access Program.

Dr. Jim Quinn from the Business School also spoke at the event and stated that the SMF “do the Business School a lot of credit”. He congratulated the students on their success and pointed out that involvement in the fund provided “a core element of the curriculum” in business education.

Alan Dargan, CEO Lansdowne Capital and a member of the Advisory board, advised the students that “the fund will be successful, or not, based on student performance” but also warned that an element of luck would be involved.

He pointed this out by saying that a year ago “I would have advised BP” as a safe investment, whose share prices collapsed after a massive oil spill in the gulf of Mexico.

The SMF plan to run talks during the year including a recheduled Internship workshop that was cancelled last week due to snow. For more information visit www.trinitysmf.com or follow them on Twitter at #TrinitySMF.

AS A feature of its new catalogue system, Trinity College Library introduced a policy of “progressive fines” last week. Students will now have to pay one euro per day on library books that are two weeks overdue.

This is double the daily fifty-cent fine students were previously charged.

The fifty-cent charge will, however, remain in play until the start of the two-week overdue period, whereby students will then accumulate progressive fines.

Student Union Education Officer, Jen Fox welcomed the new policy, believing it to be in the students’ best interests. “By the old system many students would simply keep a book overdue because the financial punishment was minimal,” Ms. Fox said. “The new progressive fines system should impact on this attitude”.

Similarly, Mr. Peare stated that financial penalties have proven the most affective method to motivate students to return overdue books.

However Mr. Peare was quick to point out that it was in the best interest of the students, and not the library.

“I don’t want to take the students’ money, I just want the books back,” Mr. Peare said. He also stated that the fines went towards purchasing more copies of books in the library.

As a consequence of the library’s “I don’t want to take students’ money, I just want the books back”– Trevor Peare.

Keeper of TCD Library new system, superfines have been dropped.

This week the library is also aiming to include more books in the automated Stack Service. While the service includes most of the library’s modern collection, it is hoped it will include up to eighty percent of the collections.

In addition, a search engine for electronic resources, Research Pro, is hoped to be fully functional by spring.

By using Research Pro, students will gain easier access to the college’s 300,000 electronic books and 30,000 electronic journals.

UCD and TCD establish alliance Mairead Cremins Staff Reporter

TCD PROVOST Dr John Hegarty and UCD President Dr Hugh Brady are the driving forces behind a new innovation alliance between the two leading Universities. The Innovation Alliance is described as “a partnership working with the educational sector, the State and its agencies alongside the business and venture capital communities to develop a world-class ecosystem for innovation that will drive enterprise development in Ireland” according to its mission statement.

Hegarty and Brady both agree that “this is a time of national crisis and evidence shows that during recession, innovation thrives”. When

SS The Innovation Academy launch group

the Irish Government published ‘Building Ireland’s Smart Economy: a Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal’ it set out a strategy for medium-term economic recovery

based around the concept of the Smart Economy. “New realities bring with them new opportunities.

The Government’s Smart Economy framework pinpointed the ingenuity of our people as the way forward for the country. In that context, as institutions with a relevant responsibility, we felt impelled to act and set out how we could advance the nurturing of that ingenuity” they continued. The Innovation Academy has been described as the educational centrepiece of the Alliance.

The merging of the two institutions shows a recognition of higher education as catalyst for innovation in Ireland.

It wants to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic benefit. The programme will

nurture entrepreneurs and encompass the creativity and innovation of the arts and humanities as well.

Through the merging of the two Universities, they will enhance Ireland’s reputation for PhD education and will also attract high-quality international students.

In the Academic Year 2010-2011, the Innovation Academy is offering the core modules of the Graduate Diploma / Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the first time. The modules focus on Creative Thinking and Innovation (10 ECTS) and Opportunity Generation and Recognition (5 ECTS).

The Innovation Academy is now open for applications from new TCD PhD students.

TRINITY NEWS

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7 December, 2010

6 NATIONAL NEWS nationalnews@trinitynews.ie

IN BRIEF RIAM

Salary of director questioned by Dept.

IT WAS reported last week in The Irish Times that acclaimed concert pianist John O’Connor received a salary of €225,000 for his part-time position as a director and teacher with the Royal Academy of Music.

In 2008, he worked 34 weeks to receive this salary.

Last year the Secretary General of the Department of Education described O’Connor’s salary as “inappropriate in the context of public service norms and for the operation of a modern organisation.” The Department went on to say that the Academy’s funding of €4 million would be reconsidered if the issue of O’Connor’s salary was not resolved.

O’Connor stepped down from the Academy earlier this year. The governing body of the Academy did not renew his contract for a further two years.

Fergus O’Dowd, Fine Gael spokesperson on education, called on O’Connor to repay all money which “appear[s] to be in breach of public service guidelines.”

At the time of going to print, O’Connor had not yet responded.

IFUT

Contract staff receive full redundancy pay IN TWO cases recently brought by IFUT, university contract staff who had been made redundant were awarded pay per year of service on top of their statutory entitlement by the Courts.

Mike Jennings, General Secretary of IFUT, who represented all of the claimants in these cases, said, “These cases make a strong legal point that when contract staff are made redundant, for instance, due to the expiry of their contracts, they must be paid exactly the same redundancy payments as permanent staff would have been paid had they been made redundant”.

IFUT estimates that there are several thousand workers on contract in Irish universities and many thousands more throughout the Public Sector.

Jennings stated, “What these important victories establish is that at least in the case of severance payments these workers must be treated equally. However, in many cases we believe that we can prove that the workers are in fact entitled in law to be made permanent”.

UCC

Mystery tours danger to health and safety LAST WEEK, Cork Student News reported that UCC is reconsidering its stance on mystery tours, due to concerns that such events constitute a major health and safety risk.

Speaking to Cork Student News, a UCC source stated that the decision was being taken following a number of possibly alcohol related deaths involving UCC students recently.

Last month Neil Flemming, a UCC Commerce student, drowned on his way to the Commerce Ball in the Rochestown Park Hotel. Last year, a UCC student died of alcohol poisoning.

It is understood that the College will not ban mystery tours outright, but will be placing more stringent safety measures in place, such as putting stewards on buses and limiting the advertising of such events.

Aoife Crowley

Students occupy Department of Education for “surprise conference” Evan Musgrave National News Editor

THE MANIFESTO

ON WEDNESDAY last a group of around 50 students occupied the grounds of the Dept. of Education to pursue a “surprise conference”.

The group was composed mainly of students from NCAD but students from TCD and DIT were also present.

The crowd remained on the premises under a marquee they had erected as a group of Gardaí looked on for a few hours before the students were requested to pack up early to avoid arrests.

Speaking to Trinity News, Wilim Abrook, Vice-President of NCAD Students Union said the aim of the protest had been achieved, which was “to open the conversation on reforming the way education is run”. The department was invited to take part in the conference, but declined to send a speaker. A manifesto was presented on the gates of the department to express the views of those involved.

A Facebook event was set up encouraging other students to join in. However a Garda line had been set up by the time many arrived, denying entry into the grounds of the department.

Abrook distanced this group from other student movements operating at present, highlighting that the group did not have a specific agenda, but that it reacts to developments and issues surrounding education in Ireland.

In this instance the group sought to open up the debate on who manages decisions in our education system. The group believes that the current system does not represent the true wishes or values of the students. The goal of unfurling a dialogue between the students and the department would be an inversion of the current mechanisms in how education is run in the country.

THE SURPRISE Conference 2010, is an event organized by a group of autonomous individuals with the view to starting a more open minded conversation about the future of Irish education than the one that is currently taking place. We feel that the current education system is expensive and inefficient and rather than simply making financial cuts we should make long term structural changes.

The location of the conference on the grounds of the Department of Education is significant on a symbolic level as well as a practical level. We believe that a more diverse range of opinions needs to be voiced within this institution and that these views need to be voiced by the people who will be effected by the decisions made. Also in keeping with our policy of openness we want to leave the platform open for representatives of the department to contribute their views and responses to the conference.

The conference was organized as a surprise in order to demonstrate the presence of a dedicated, organized body of students in Ireland who are prepare to have their voices heard and to act independently and in their own accord when they feel that pre-existing systems and channels of communication do not reflect the urgency and seriousness of their message.

SS The students occupied the Department of Education until they were moved on by the Gardaí

In what Abrook called a “change of emphasis”, the group insists that the students should be the ones with the main say in how education is run, with some input from the department.

The group pressed the point that many student groups are protesting against a system which we know little about. Abrook emphasised the wall that exists between students and the department, and how hence many efforts to protest against specific faults of the education sector are not achieving the success they should.

The group pushes for the department to actively engage with the group, believing an accurate knowledge of the running of the department is the first step in education reform. Though this student movement prefers to remain under the radar of the public eye, Abrook did reveal some information on its workings.

The group does not have a name and is not affiliated with one college, but rather is “an autonomous grouping of individuals” who seek educational reform through open minded conversation.

Atypical of other student organisations, this movement prefers not to use social networking sites to promote its events. Protests are intended to come as a surprise.

Abrook spoke of how the group is hoping to expand, “it’s mainly by word of mouth, membership is growing of its own accord from support from students, but we are actively engaging in this process by encouraging those who are interested to join in”.

While the manifesto was a reaction specific to the December 1st protest, Abrook noted there is likely to be more literature released, but that they would be related to specific events arising in the future.

“Fruitbatgate” lecturer triumphs in high court Evan Musgrave National News Editor

A UNIVERSITY College of Cork lecturer who was accused of sexual harassment in giving his colleague a copy of a research paper dealing with oral sex in bats has challenged the findings of his employers, who have suspended the lecturer from work.

Dr Dylan Evans blasted the internal investigation conducted by UCC for failing to interview, or allow for the opinions of, another woman was who present when he presented the paper to a colleague, Dr Salerno Kennedy.

In addition to this, the College is pursuing an Dr. Evans released a single , Fruitbatman, to cover his legal costs.

investigation into claims t h a t Evans has published confidential documents of the investigation on the internet.

The issue, which has already been dubbed ‘Fruitbatgate’ has spurred many fellow lecturers and scientists in the international community to sign an online petition in support of Evans.

So far the petition has garnered 3,880 signatures.

Dr Kennedy went on record to say that this sharing of the research of paper was not the first time Evans had inappropriately raised sexual subjects with her, following with the statement that she was “upset by his actions”.

Evans has defended presenting the paper, entitled “Fellatio by Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time”, as being normal as lecturers in behavioural sciences often share

research. Evans has claimed he wanted to discuss whether some traits could be evolutionary within humans, given their prevalence in the animal kingdom.

The two internal investigations conducted by UCC went against the favour of Evans, with one claiming he had breached the “duty of respect and right to dignity”. As a result, Evans will be required to undergo a series of sanctions, including a two-year period of monitoring and training.

Evans has said he will challenge these sanctions in order to have his named cleared and to get back to work.

The professor pointed to the fact that there was another academic present when he presented the paper to Dr Kennedy. UCC has defended its procedures and denies any bias against Evans in the process.

On Monday 1 December, the High Court President Justice Nicholas Kearns ruled against the sanctions, commenting that they were “disproportionate”, and returned the matter to UCC where President Dr Michael Murphy will now reconsider the matter.

Evans, who was awarded his legal costs, said he was “very happy” with the findings. UCC issued a statement saying it “welcomed” the decision, though it moved to initiate investigations into other alleged breaches of confidentiality by Evans. So far it has been estimated that €400,000 has been spent by UCC in their legal proceedings with the lecturer.

Evans released a single ‘fruitbatman’ earlier this year to cover his legal costs and has pursued a side career as a DJ under the moniker the “PhDJ”.

The story has been covered around the globe by New Scientist, The Telegraph and The Huffington Post.

SS The protest in Cork was much smaller than last month’s Dublin protest, pictured.

Students protest fees on Cork City streets Aoife Kelleher Staff Writer

STUDENT PROTESTERS turned out to one of the only parts of the country free from a blanket of snow last week.

Around 1,500 students braved the cold and took to the streets of Cork City in opposition to the feared cutbacks in third-level education and the rise in registration fee. This protest follows from a major protest in Dublin almost exactly a month earlier.

The protest was conducted peacefully, with a large Gardaí presence stationed en-route to the city centre from the start point of the march in the UCC campus.

Student Union leaders had been stressing the need for a peaceful protest in the days prior to the march, building on concerns from many that protesters would return to clashes with the Garda Siochana as seen on the day of the Dublin protest on 3 November.

Deputy President of UCC Students Union Daithi Linnane spoke of its success, saying “we put everything

possible in place to make sure that nothing bad would happen”.

The rally saw several speakers from student groups in Cork. UCC Students Union President Keith O’Brien told the crowd that students forcing students to pay for mistakes made by the Fianna Fail/Green Party coalition government was unacceptable.

Mr O’ Brien urged students to “never forget the lies and the betrayal and the mistreatment of this country by this government,” as he urged students to also oppose social welfare cuts and work to build a better, fairer and more equal society.

Among those who marched in support of the students were local members of the Socialist Party including Cllr Mick Barry who along with 100 members of the Social Welfare Defenders Group had earlier occupied Anglo Irish Bank branch in the city for 30 minutes.

The rally parted with a plea from O’Brien urging students to make sure they are registered to vote in the upcoming general election.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS 7 internationalnews@trinitynews.ie

NEWS FEATURE

Upward struggle for South African universities “Black universities coming out of apartheid were designed to function as detention centres for black intellectuals, rather than as centres to nourish intellectual thought.”

Monika Urbanski Contributing Writer

THE UNIVERSITY of Cape Town is engaged in a debate about just how far affirmative action should go to heal the wounds of apartheid. UCT is a public university. Founded in 1829 as the South African College, it is the oldest university in South Africa. During the apartheid era, when a system of legal racial segregation was enforced by the National Party in South Africa and minority rule by white people was maintained, UCT consistently opposed apartheid, and called itself a bastion of liberalism and racial integration. This era full of separation came to an end with the first multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela.

UCT, once a “citadel of white privilege”, is now resplendently multicultural. But as the New York Times reported recently, it is also “engaged in a searching debate about just how far affirmative action should go to heal the wounds of an oppressive history”. Affirmative action, which is an openly stated policy of admitting blacks who have substantially lower test scores than whites, has been debated frequently for many years.

The University was supposed to have settled this ongoing debate last year.

Nevertheless, debates at UCT are still ongoing.

At the start of the millennium South Africa began a radical restructuring of the higher education sector. The number of universities was cut from 36 to 23 through incorporations and mergers aimed at breaking down apartheid’s racial divides. Nothing captured the link between politics and apartheid education in South Africa

SS The University of Cape Town campus as viewed from the rugby pitches. Photo by Adrain Frith

more than the words spoken by Dr Hendrik Verwoed, Minister of Native Affairs, in 1953: “I will reform black education so that the Natives will be taught from childhood that equality with Europeans is not for them”.

And in 1999 Mahmood Mandani, an expert in African history, politics and international relations, voiced a similar concern: “Black universities coming out of apartheid were the intellectual counterparts of Bantustans (separate areas set aside for black people). They were designed to function as detention

centres for black intellectuals (rather) than as centres that would nourish intellectual thought.”

Today, more than fifty years after Dr Hendrik Verwoed voiced his concern, South African scholars and students are facing similar challenges.

According to The New York Times, many students coming from deprived backgrounds do support affirmative action the most, but also struggle in the academic system. Lwando Mpotulo, 23, would have never been admitted to study for a medical degree in UCT

Brain drain risk in France Ralph Marnham International News Editor

THERE SEEMS to be an increased risk of a “brain drain” taking place in France as academics and students are leaving for America, according to the Institut Montaigne.

Their report, “Gone for Good? Partis pour le Bon?” by Ioanna Kohler, “The acceptance of competition is more in harmony with the American culture than the French and Latin one.” says graduates of the elite French grandes écoles and the b e s t universities are being lured to the United States.

Academics constitute a much larger percentage of French émigrés to the United States today than 30 years ago. According to the report, between 1971 and 1980, academics represented just 8 percent of the departing population; between 1996 and 2006, they represented over a quarter of the departing population. Of the 2,745 French citizens who obtained a doctorate in the US from 1985 to

2008, over two thirds settled there.

The two subjects hit the most seem to be Biology and Economics, as France poorly recognises them, in comparison to the United States Two well-known French economists teach in the States at MIT. Olivier Blanchard is the Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund whilst Esther Duflo received a prestigious award, the John Bates Clark Medal, in 2010. Although emigration amongst biologists is more recent, it has steadily been growing. As Gérard Karsenty, Professor of Genetics at Columbia, explains, “Biology is an extremely competitive field. The notion of competition, the acceptance of competition is more in harmony with the American culture than the French and Latin one”.

Many French academics complain that in comparison to the American system, French universities appear to be underfunded, with a rigid infrastructure and administration that seem to prevent France’s scientific talents from reaching their full potential. According to Dr Chiappori, Professor of Economics at Columbia, “If the United States attracts some of the best researchers in France, it is also true that a lot of them become better in the United States.”

Students bring Pisa to standstill Katie McCarthy Contributing Writer

STUDENTS OCCUPIED the Coliseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa last Thursday in a protest against spending cuts for Italy’s universities.

Thursday was the second day of protests against the reforms, which, according to students, eliminate some areas of study and force schools that are running into deficit to close.

The “Block Everything Day” ahead of the vote on spending cuts brought Rome to a virtual standstill. Students jumped over turnstiles to protest inside the Coliseum’s amphitheatre, whilst others scaled the face of the ancient ruin to suspend a banner reading “No Cuts, No Profit!”. Students

7 December, 2010

blocked roads and central squares in Rome before surrounding the Chamber of Deputies as riot police maintained a tight cordon.

In Pisa, an estimated 2,000 students formed a human chain around the tower to prevent tourists from entering.

Protesters also hung out a banner that read “No to the Gelmini reform” from the top tier of the medieval tower.

Others lit red smoke flares and yelled slogans whilst bemused tourists looked on. Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini has defended the reform claiming it will create a more merit-based system, saving billions of euros over the next two years.

The Italian Government estimates the damage caused by the student protests to be €10 million.

if it wasn’t for the affirmative action policy. But his first two years were ones of humiliating failure. “I felt much more smaller,” he said to the New York Times. Today he is confident to graduate from medical school, but it took him a long time to adjust to his new environment.

Critics and supporters of affirmative action constantly debate whether the policy will actually be useful to black students in future or in how far this policy can actually help to heal the wounds of an oppressive history. Can

healing actually start through such means or should the use of racial preferences in admission to public universities be banned? There is no easy answer to this question, which is why the conflict surrounding affirmative action is still lacking a resolution.

The University of Cape Town is currently divided on affirmative action.

Both those against and those for the policy seem to have the same goal: Integration and equality for black students among a majority of white students.

Nelson Mandela once called education “the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”, which is why policies like affirmative action are supported by many. On the other hand postcolonial history has shown that the effects and damages of century long oppression on a people can take a long time to disappear.

South Africa has come a long way in the process of liberalisation from being a colonial power but still has a long way to go and many issues to solve.

As Mandela once said, “after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb”. This is proving to be the case for education in South Africa.

Dublin Institute of Technology SET YOURSELF APART. INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE WITH A POSTGRADUATE QUALIFICATION IN LAW POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA/MA IN LAW (NQAI LEVEL 9, FULL OR PART-TIME) Law is important to a career in business, finance, human resources, insurance, and in the public service or voluntary sector. The Postgraduate Diploma/MA in Law is ideal for graduates in any discipline who wish to set themselves apart with a legal qualification. The Postgraduate Diploma in Law is a one-year intensive programme. Students can pick from the ‘core’ modules (e.g., Contract, Tort, Property, Equity, Constitutional, Company, EU, Criminal Law) or a range of interesting optional subjects (Human Rights, International Trade, Criminology, Media, Intellectual Property law).

Graduates of the PGDip are eligible to complete the Master of Arts in Law. MA students receive individual supervision on a sustained research project, which will enhance their marketability by deepening legal research, reasoning and writing skills.

Also offered in the School of Social Sciences and Law: MA Criminology MA Child, Family and Community Studies Deadline for applications: April 22, 2011, though offers will be made on a rolling basis. Apply now to secure your place for next year!

To discuss the programme in more detail, call Bruce Carolan, Head of Department of Law at (01) 402-3016.

DIT – It’s a step closer to the real world For further information or an application form, please contact Ms. Emma Linnane at E: emma.linnane@dit.ie or T: (01) 4027181 W: www.dit.ie/socialscienceslaw

Visit: www.dit.ie

8 NEWS FEATURES newsfeatures@trinitynews.ie

Report highlights state of Irish prisons Manus Lenihan Deputy News Features Editor

A HYSTERICAL media circus that demands harsher sentencing together with the response of politicians who compete to appear to be “tough on crime” are contributing to a policy that is a “disaster for both prisons and society”, according to the annual Prison Chaplains’ Report. It paints a grim picture of overcrowding, drug abuse, violence and gang culture inside Ireland’s jails.

Mountjoy, built to house around 500 prisoners, held over 750 at one point this summer. 129 prisoners slept on mattresses or on the floor. Cork jail was built for 146- in July it held 334.

Women’s prison Dóchas houses 80 prisoners comfortably. This summer it held 180. In 2009, a third of prisoners drug-tested came up positive for cocaine, cannabis or heroin. There are 800 assaults by prisoners on other prisoners every year, some fatal, and

“The chaplains say that St. Patrick’s Institution for offenders aged 16-21 is in direct conflict with the UN convention on the rights of the child.” one in five prisoners are in confinement for their own safety. In St. Patrick’s Institution for offenders aged 16-21, a prison the chaplains say is in direct conflict with the UN convention on the rights of the child, one in four inmates are confined for 23 hours a day with nothing to do.

Some of the chaplains’ criticism echoes that made by former Governor of Mountjoy Prison John Lonergan this month. Larry Murphy, convicted of the

“No human being should be treated like that irrespective of what crimes he or she has committed.” abduction, rape and attempted murder of a woman, was released in August after serving his 10½-year sentence amid a media storm in which his movements were stalked by cameras and his innocent relatives plagued by media attention.

Lonergan insisted that “No human being should be treated like that irrespective of what crimes he committed.” The chaplains agree that the Prison Service and the media created a situation that was “appalling and irresponsible” as well as “shameful and dangerous.”

The report reminds us that around half of those in prison are on sentences of three months or less, while roughly 10 percent are imprisoned for violent offences. The chaplains claim that the media gives disproportionate attention to sections of the public that call for longer and harsher sentencing without addressing the real causes of crime. Politicians respond to this “sensationalising” and the result is a system that is “an insult to the dignity of any human being and an affront to the basic tenets of decency”.

The report also mentions that the site for Thornton Hall prison, despite claiming millions in public

SS The chaplains claim that the media gives disproportionate attention to public calls for longer and harsher sentencing of criminals, which is contributing to a “disaster” for prisons and society.

funding, now lies idle. It is difficult to imagine any massive injection of funds in the near future, but what this report emphasises is that the crisis in Ireland’s prisons is not an issue of resources. “The only obstacle,” it says, “is political will.” Prison policy seems to be informed not by experts but by headlines that are intended to

sell papers by any means necessary, including “a growing tendency to fabricate stories”.

Crucially, the report argues that as well as being inhumane, harsh sentencing is more expensive and less effective than opting for non-custodial options for smaller offences and 50 percent remission for good behaviour,

rather than Ireland’s current 25 percent.

The report expresses disappointment that now-retired Justice Minister Dermot Ahern declined to meet the chaplains following last year’s report.

By the time of publication, it will have become clear whether Mr. Ahern’s successor plans to take the prison chaplains any more seriously.

COMMENT

X Factor offers escape from recession One fifth of pregnant Irish

Molly Rowan Hamilton Contributing Writer

IN THE Late Late Toy Show last fortnight, a show which you would be forgiven for thinking would be the only place we might not hear about the recession, Ryan Tubridy talked incessantly about just that. Every faulty toy a child dismissed was described as being “broken; just like our economy”. A young boy would say that a toy was inadequate, to which the presenter would comment, “Just like our bankers… Haha!”. The laughter from the audience was there, but muted. We’re all bored of hearing about the recession.

And this is where the X Factor excels. It’s cheap and cheerful, but just how innocent? Is the X Factor and other forms of cultural amusement providing people suffering the gloom of a recession with an escape into a different world, or is it a low-brow form of entertainment distracting the agitation of the masses?

During the show, we can revel in something that is so far away from the drudgery of our repetitive lives, and

SS Kaie Waissel was an unpopular contestant

indulge in the ecstasy of a dream come true for some ordinary members of the public. The fact we can identify with simply another civilian means we can live through the contestants. There is someone for everyone – Mary for your parents, Matt for your little sister and One Direction for... me. Only. That’s why they include so many different categories.

There’s also the generic, usually comic, underdog. Wagner, labelled this year’s Jedward, definitely stayed in the competition far too long. That said, the nation loves Wagner. They loved Jedward. We want to show that our support, despite the criticism from the press, despite the boos from the audience, despite the cutting remarks from the judges, is unwavering.

By keeping those acts which are clearly not musically the best, we’re mocking something which has become a parody of itself. We’re asserting “voter control” and highlighting the ridiculousness of a programme that is completely a money-making venture, just as in the fight to make Rage Against The Machine beat last year’s X Factor winner Joe McElderry to

Christmas Number 1. Cowell no longer shames and humiliates the contestants because he’s trying to persuade us to download their performances straight away on iTunes and convince us to go and watch the X Factor tour. We are told each performance is “the best of the series”. The judges have used up every superlative, and it’s a wonder they haven’t run out of synonyms for “amazing”.

In a hundred years time, I’m sure

women smoke or drink

“Is X Factor a lowbrow entertainment distracting from the agitation of the masses?” sociologists will have a field day over the X Factor and how it influenced our society. However, I don’t think it will be in the way of middle class pseudointellectual snobs thinking it’s “idiotising the nation”. We must get over the idea that anything that is immediately popular should not be considered great.

Former contestant Gamu was headlining the BBC World News following her exit, and even the broadsheet newspapers have followed their tabloid companions in discussing the show. It has engulfed our society and become a cultural phenomenon which is sure to epitomise this decade.

So, as I sit in my dingy kitchen and see twelve excited faces clustered round our tiny TV, I note it’s a source of unity and something we can all talk about.

Anyone who claims it’s “numbing the nation”, as my local newspaper wrote, and preoccupying us with useless dreams which will never happen to any of us, is wrong.

Undeniably we certainly need to get away from the dreariness of the recession. FM104 has followed X Factor’s lead, starting a “recessionfree” programme on every evening at 10.00pm. X Factor is simply something jovial which our country needs.

James Coghill News Features Editor

A REPORT released last week has found almost one in five Irish mothers smoke or drink alcohol at some stage during their pregnancy.

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) followed the lives of 11,100 nine-month-old infants and their families for the Growing Up in Ireland study.

Women are more likely to drink during pregnancy if they are better educated, the report found, but expectant mothers are much more likely to smoke if they have fewer qualifications.

Minister for Children Barry Andrews said the figures gave cause for concern and perhaps new campaigns to highlight these problems were needed. “There are existing campaigns in this regard, run by the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive, trying to highlight the dangers of drinking and smoking during pregnancy,” he said.

“The incidence of it is clearly a concern as it arises from this report.

It has to inform policy, so it might be a case of simply more of the same.”

The report comes on the back of more positive news from the Office of Tobacco Control, which stated the number of Irish smokers has fallen in the last two years by 3.8 percent.

Yet Irish smoking rates remain stubbornly high, at 29 percent, and 16 people die every day in Ireland from the effects of smoking.

Chris Macey, head of advocacy at the Irish Heart Foundation, says a threepronged approach is required to tackle smoking prevalence. This approach would include increasing the price for tobacco products and comprehensive smoking cessation programmes in conjuction with stronger smuggling controls.

“If we don’t tackle smoking rates by helping people to quit, we are in grave danger of seeing the benefits of the very progressive anti-tobacco legislation we have introduced seriously undermined, with addiction and inevitably deaths from tobacco increasing,” he said.

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SOCIETY 9 society@trinitynews.ie

Fireside poetry with Adam O’Riordan Joel Ant Loll-McKeever Contributing Writer

ARRIVING AT the GMB for the Literary Society’s poetry reading with Adam O’Riordan, I’ll be honest, I had never heard of him before. I knew he was a prolific and successful young poet, but I had never read any of his work, nor the work of any poet still alive for that matter.

Not knowing what to expect upon walking in, I was struck at first by the informality of the event. The couches in the GMB had all been turned towards the fireplace where Maria Johnson of the English department was introducing

O’Riordan to an audience, relaxed and attentive.

O’Riordan read from his book of poetry, In the Flesh, intermittently explaining the stories behind each poem, some inspired by his love of his hometown, Manchester, some by First World War era letters of his grandfather’s, others by the misadventures of his friends during his student years.

Within the room, the pervading atmosphere was a traditional sharing of stories by the fireside.

O’Riordan’s poetry was fresh, personal and engaging

and conjured in the mind of the listener a vivid picture of a life that crosses nationalities and brushes with different eras.

After the reading the audience milled about discussing the work and I had the opportunity to converse with O’Riordan. A charming and utterly approachable man, perfectly willing to discuss his craft and the enormity of holding in his hands the book he had been working towards for years.

After the reading, myself and about a dozen interested listeners retired to the pub to share a drink with O’Riordan and swap stories, discuss the writers of the day and generally unwind.

All in all it was a very mellow, slow tempo evening and a welcome opportunity to step back from the hectic pace of college life and enjoy some good poetry and great company.

A beauty of a pantomine

Christine Shields Society Editor

I HONESTLY can’t say I’ve ever witnessed so many people have so much fun together on stage, than at the Vincent De Paul Society’s Beauty And The Beast Pantomime.

Running over two nights – 22 and 23 November in Belvedere College – the VDP produced an energetic whirlwind of a play, with the help of children from as young as four and five, along with students within the society. The performance was set in 2010 Dublin, 1990’s France and 1950’s America, in a bizarre cultural, international and chronological mesh. It included a number of adapted pop songs (such as Lady Gaga’s Telephone). There were also some interesting set designs, including rotating houses, dancing palm trees and vicious projected flames.

The chair of VDP, Stephen Denham, played

the horse Phillippe with wild enthusiasm, whilst the leading acts of Belle, Beast and Gaston were played by Katie Nangle, Richard Shaffrey and Owen Murphy.

All three characters had beautiful singing voices which were put to good use in numerous solos. Comic effect was provided by the hilarious and brilliant actor Sean Flynn who played Lumiere, the cheeky and quite charming candlestick.

Certain scenes in the play were projected on big screen behind the stage a la The Blair Witch Project, such as when the Twilightobsessed, rather camp Maurice (Belle’s father, played by Shane Jackson) is hunted by wolves in the forest.

The final, epic sword fight between Beast and Gaston, enacted on the steps of the Examination Hall in Trinity College, was also filmed and projected in the theatre to the amusement of many students in the audience.

The passion was gripping, as we all cheered

for the Beast and, hissing, wished ill upon he mightily good-looking (yet evil at heart) Gaston.

The children stole the show as their unbridled energy swung the panto along in a rather happy-go-lucky style.

Cogsworth the clock, played by the six year old Jordan King, especially melted the audience’s hearts. He was fitted in a clunky clock costume, and had a rather grumpy yet incredibly endearing personality.

When the curtains closed, it was clear the children’s adrenalin levels were hitting the roof. Bouncing in and out and around the stage, the show concluded with a bang, with much bowing, thanking and clapping.

The writers and directors Lauren Walsh and Ellen Flynn came onstage and were presented with gifts and tumultuous applause. They rather tearfully declared that they had thoroughly enjoyed working with each other, the children and other volunteers.

Choral songs sound round College Eanna Kelly Staff Writer

NOW, REASONABLY speaking, the Choral Society Concert would not be everyone’s cup of café au lait. Not being from Horseville though, I don’t listen to such neighsayers (solid).

And what an evening it was! The music vaulted high and dipped low and encouraged my fluttering heart to take flight. It was appropriately supervised too; there was little fear that it would descend into an all-out rave, which was important.

The evening’s programme comprised of the works of the 20th century British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. On seeing the surname “Williams” I initially thought of the Star Wars score writer (a John Williams as it turns out; jolly good showing again, Wikipedia!) and this mistake precipitated excitement. Actually, that’s probably what the evening (and every other evening) was lacking in most: cool lightsaber sounds.

The marriage of choir and orchestra was oft beguiling (even if they didn’t perform a much-sought-for rendition of I will follow Him). I asked one chorister, Jordan Hollander, how did he find the experience of the two

7 December, 2010

SS The Choral Society perfomed Ralph Vaughan Williams on 25 November.

days? ‘The works by Williams were tough to learn, especially the Hodie, but all the effort that we put into rehearsals paid off in the end”. Indeed. Looking at this choir I saw the

group the Von Trapps could have been.

I very much look forward to the Choral Societies performance of Verdi's Requiem next term in the Grand Canal Theatre.

This Charmless Man MARK WALSH is sickened by mumps, urinals and Lower Lecky bathrooms, which brings him to an exploration of the rules of etiquette for the urinal user

MY LIFE as a Trinity News social diarist has been pretty good. I’ve been living the high-life. Movie premieres, VIP lounges, and wild cocktail parties. Getting in with all the celebs. “What’s next?” I wondered.

What could possibly be in store for me - the little social butterfly, fluttering around, flirting and mingling everywhere I go – this week? Good question, that.

I didn’t attend any social events for this issue because I was sat at home with the mumps. Really, I got the mumps. The fucking mumps. Who gets the mumps these days? Well, me, obviously. So instead of being out getting my drink on, and my smoke on, and going home with something to poke on, I was in bed getting my mump on. Instead of going out to clubs and bumping and grinding, I was at home mumping and whining.

So that wasn’t very fun. I sat in my bed and felt sorry for myself and did lots of gambling online to pass the time.

The only good thing about all this was that it gave me a legitimate excuse to attend nothing for this column, and instead discuss the library bathrooms, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but have never had the opportunity.

I’m talking about the bathrooms by the Lower Lecky. I hate them so much. Firstly, the initial entrance is entered by both men and women. So then I try to be chivalrous by holding the door if I see a girl coming in after me – but is it really possible to come across charming or attractive when you’re quite blatantly going to be using the toilet in a few seconds?

Then, they’re unbelievably hot. Walking in there is worse than walking into a sauna, because you begin to wonder if the intense heat has been created by steaming urine. Next, and only the men will know what I’m talking about here, but what the fuck is with those urinals? To be more precise, what is with the weird grating before the urinal wall?

“You hear the noise and there’s nothing you can do to avoid getting a mental image of another man sliding his trousers down his legs.”

I think I speak for all of us when I say I prefer individual urinals, with walls in between each one.

But I can live without that. I can deal with just one big urinal wall. But these bathrooms have a weird grating thing that starts about two foot before the actual urinal wall. So where do I stand to piss? I’ve seen lads stand before the grating to do it, and also right up against the wall, so nobody knows the correct protocol. Neither looks correct. And every time I walk up to the wall, the washers go off. Every time. Surely they’re not triggered by motion? But it means I have the concern of them splashing the crotch of my jeans. I’ve enough worries of splashing my crotch with my own urine, nevermind an external splasher entering the equation.

So this means that now whenever I go in there for a piss, I go to the cubicles. I’ve noticed there always seems to be a few people occupying them, so you’ll always end up in a cubicle next to an occupied one.

Which is no big deal.

At least I thought it was no big deal. But now I’ve realised just how loud the sound of a man pulling down his trousers is. It really is so much louder than you’d think. You hear the noise and there’s nothing you can do to avoid getting a mental image of another man sliding his trousers down his legs and sitting down to do his business. This has to be the most vulnerable a man can be. I reckon if I walked in on Brock Lesnar as he was pulling down his trousers for a shit – in that awkward half sittingdown, half-standing, hunched over stage – there’s a slight chance I wouldn’t be intimidated. He’d just look so weak and pitiful.

I seem to bump into people I know in the bathrooms a lot too. And it’s always at an awkward stage, like before I wash my hands. I want to stop and chat to them, but I also want to make it clear that I’m going to wash my hands. And I have to quench the desire to tell them that I wasn’t doing a shit, but I merely don’t like the urinals in that bathroom.

Oh. At the end of my last column I gave my email address and asked people to email me about their society events for me to attend. I didn’t get a single email. Not one. Every day since it was published I logged into my email expecting lots of invitations and nice messages. And every time I was disappointed. I’ll try it again. Email me about any society events you’re organising or attending. I’ll do my best to attend and review in a lovely way. Email is mark.walsh@trinitynews.ie See more from Mark at www.walsho.net

10 FEATURES

Turkeys don’t vote for

INTERVIEW: PROF COLM KEARNEY

For this Christmas dinner, won’t someone please think of the turkeys,

A He’s the Business Killian McCarthy Staff Writer

AFFABLE, FRANK and pragmatic in the extreme: You’d be forgiven for thinking that Colm Kearney was a successful career politician were it not for the fact the he seems to exude sincerity, particularly in his love of Trinity. It’s something he sought to reiterate throughout our interview but more of that anon.

Originally from North Co. Dublin, Prof. Kearney’s journey to an office overlooking Pearse St. in Trinity’s School of Business and candidacy for Provost began as an Undergraduate Economics & Philosophy Student in UCD and progressed via a Masters from the same institution to further conferrals from Essex, Western Ontario and a Ph.D. from Warwick.

“A world-leading University that draws its funding from a government that has run out of money is not sustainable.”

It’s an impressive academic CV, largely born out of a love of academia – the essence of which he discussed at length and with great zeal – as well as knowledge and teaching and therein seems to lie Prof. Kearney’s central motivation for seeking one of the most prominent positions in Irish education.

But to view the job of Provost merely in an Irish context would be slightly myopic. His aspirations for Trinity go beyond the parochial. Being anything less than a World Leader in teaching and research would amount to a failure to maximise Trinity’s potential and that stands as a running theme throughout our interview.

No stranger to traveling the world (a number of years in the UK, Canada and in particular Australia lend him a strong international perspective) Prof. Kearney classes Trinity as being “among the elite of the World’s universities” but that “we’ll struggle to stay there” given the issues currently facing the College.

Which brings us on neatly to the thorny issue of funding. “The short answer is that the funding situation we’re facing is not sustainable. A worldleading University on the periphery of Europe that draws 90% of its funding from a government that in turn has run out of money is not sustainable”. At this point there surfaces an ideological conflict: The pragmatist acknowledges the need for change but the ideologue wishes to maximize access to Third Level Education. The fact that Prof.

Kearney leans towards the former draws on historical perspective as much as on pragmatism. Does that include some element of student fees?

“It has to”.

When pressed about what funding model he would find favourable he seems to digress slightly and discusses openness and transparency in terms of where funds are directed. What started as a digression comes back to a commitment to be respectfully open to students about where their money is being spent. He rails against the notion of following the UK model where he sees Third Level as being undermined and cast adrift. Still somewhat noncommittal about precisely what model he would favour, it’s clear that openness, transparency, student engagement and a system based on academic “talent and merit” are central to Prof. Kearney’s thinking. What that distils into remains to be seen.

I’m curious to find out what impact Prof. Kearney’s business background would have on his proposed stewardship of the College. Would we see increased market influence on teaching, sponsorship of Schools and Chairs, in essence a move away from tradition towards a businessoriented model? His response is quite impassioned: “One of my key motivations for applying for this job is a respect, an appreciation for what is different; what is special; what is unique about Trinity College… It is absolutely fundamental that Trinity respects its coverage of all the disciplines. Let others design a Third Level institution to service the market. Trinity College needs to engage in the pedagogy of educating for society”.

A holistic approach to education and an emphasis on quality to keep our graduates in demand, then?

“Absolutely”.

And so to the challenge of guiding Trinity through the pitfalls of the next

“Let others design a third level institution to service the market.” decade - is it a poison chalice? “Well, I’ve heard it said that it is… but I believe I possess a unique set of skills and experiences for this University at this time. It’s going to be very important that Trinity uses its fantastic ‘ideas power’ and rediscovers its core strengths which are research at a world level and top quality teaching”.

“We need to protect our autonomy, diversify our funding base, become more international and use our resources more efficiently”.

It’s quite a mission statement for a prospective Provost but from my conversation with Prof. Kearney I can’t imagine him shirking the challenge. His goals are clear, his motivation born of a love of the institution he seeks to lead, his background especially relevant in the current climate. A pragmatist in challenging times, he fires a parting shot: “He who pays the Piper, calls the tune” and call it, he just might.

s Hobbes once wrote, the life of a turkey at Christmas is “nasty, brutish and short” and, if recent research is anything to go by, this isn’t far from the truth. This Christmas Irish families are expected to eat their way through 2.5 million kilograms of turkey, costing an estimated €13 million. However as the recession bites, industry insiders are predicting a shift in buying habits away from locally sourced and free range birds towards supermarket bought, frozen ones – according to research published in The Irish Times, “The nation could, collectively, save itself around around €10 million over the next four weeks simply by making the switch”. But how many households will? And, more importantly, what

“94 percent of Irish families will eat turkey on Christmas day.” is the difference between an organic, free range, dolphin safe, line caught turkey and its frozen cousin?

Turkeys, or Meleagris gallopava to give them their scientific name, were first imported to Ireland in the early sixteenth century after a British farmer, William Strickland, bought six of the birds from American Indians during his travels.

In order to flog what were considered his strange and foreign creatures Strickland was forced to sell the birds as a breed of guinea fowl, only admitting that they were a different species once they caught on.

And caught on they did.

Indeed, owing to their value for money, turkeys became an instant hit in Britain and Ireland, but only became the festive bird of choice after a celebrity endorsement from King Edward VII (who described the meat as “delectable”).

Over the next fifty years turkey quickly overtook pheasant, goose and even swan to become the main staple of the Christmas feast and in this regard little has changed – today 94 percent of Irish families eat turkey on Christmas Day. What has changed however, is the way that the birds are reared

and, especially in the last five years, the type of birds that people buy. It goes without saying that until the mid-stages of the twentieth century turkeys were reared on a fairly low intensity basis. Back then, months before Christmas, people placed their turkey orders with local butchers who would pass them on to local farmers and poultry farmers. Most birds lived outdoors, ate household scraps and led what we would call fairly “humane” existences.

In 1950, Bernard Mathews opened his first turkey farm in Norfolk (which today produces two million turkeys a year) and what was casual poultry farming developed into a high intensity, low welfare industry.

Supermarkets quickly became the point of sale and easy-cook turkey “crowns” (turkeys that have had their legs removed) started to appear on shelves (which would have seemed bizarre ten years earlier).

Turkey production today is a pretty fowl business. Birds are hatched or arrive as day old chicks to large-scale factories almost identical to those that produce chickens. After a few days the birds are moved out of their pens via a conveyor belt. As they move along the conveyor belt factory workers pick up each bird individually and, using scissors, cut-off the birds back legs which is done to prevent them moving too much. The young chicks then, whilst hanging from their necks, have the end of

their beaks removed with a powerful laser. From here they are thrown

“The young chicks then, while hanging from their necks, have their beaks removed with a powerful laser.” down a shoot into artificially lit, overcrowded pens with only food and water pipes to amuse them. After 9 to 25 weeks the birds are stunned electronically and have their throats slit – any birds that do not last to slaughtering age are collected and ground, many of them still alive, in industrial scale macerators. The surviving birds are packed, frozen and shipped to hundreds of supermarkets and retailers across the country.

The very cheapest turkeys (you can get Brazilian birds at Lidl for €6.99) have, until this year, usually been consumed at constant levels throughout the year with only marginal increases at Christmas – people have tended to treat themselves to a fresh turkey to celebrate Jesus’

birthday.

This year, however, almost all industry forecasts are predicting an increase in frozen turkeys. “The recession has made people scrutinise every last penny of their spending”, remarks one analyst, “what we expect to see this Christmas is people prioritising spending on gifts over food”. Others suggest that, whilst people will still “go fresh” on the big day, they will buy more frozen turkeys in order to host additional meals for distant relatives.

“We’re definitely seeing a longterm trend for shoppers buying more than one turkey at Christmas”, says supermarket frozen food buyer Rebecca Cook, “with

Give her a cracker

Paul Hans talks through the intricacies of present buying for the uninitiated

IN THE coming weeks everyone with a girlfriend will be racking their brains trying to come up with the perfect present.

It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of the Christmas present – get it right and you can expect a year of relationship bliss; get it wrong and you could be chucked before Boxing Day. Some blokes will opt for perfume, others will go for jewellery, whilst others will want to take the plunge and opt for lingerie.

The reasoning behind getting your partner sexy undercrackers is fairly obvious - it’s that age old tradition of giving someone a gift from which you are the main beneficiary. However, what is less straightforward is picking

and buying the right stuff. Most men know exactly what they want (something lacy, preferably crotchless) but almost all will struggle to know what would suit their girlfriend or indeed what they can get away with.

So, without sounding like that plonker Neil Strauss, here are a few handy hints.

Firstly, according to the aptly named Zoe Banger of giftsforyourgirl.com, “getting the size right is absolutely vital.

You could buy her the most beautiful silk set from Agent Provocateur; but if it’s the wrong size she’ll still look and feel like Bridget Jones”. But getting the size right isn’t as easy as it seems.

In terms of the knickers this is fairly self-explanatory (girls have a number just like us boys which can easily be found out), bras on the other hand are a strategic nightmare. Unsatisfied with having just a number or a letter, the fairer sex decided to have both when describing their over-shoulderboulder-holders. In brief (pun

TRINITY NEWS

11 features@trinitynews.ie

X-mas Always the real thing writes Eoin Coghlan A BRIEF HISTORY OF TURKEY

TURKEYS ORIGINATED from Mexico, not Turkey as their name suggests.

Nobody knows just how the turkey got its name. One theory claims a resemblance between the turkey’s head and the helmet of a soldier of the Turkish Empire was the basis for it.

Another suggestion is that it comes from the wild turkey’s call, which sounds like “turk-turkturk”. Another likely explanation is that in the 16th century, merchants trading along the seaboards of the Mediterranean were known as Turkes. They included the birds in their merchandise, and thus they became known as turkey fowls.

Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy turkey, although it was Edward VII who first made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas.

Turkey was a luxury right up until the 1950’s, when they became more accessible and affordable for everyone. shoppers enjoying multiple events as they celebrate with their different families”.

Also adding weight to the argument that fresh turkeys aren’t completely stuffed is a recent survey which found that 76 percent of households would be happy to

“What we expect to see this Christmas due to the recession is people prioritising spending on gifts over food.” spend 50-70 percent more for a fresh bird. Only time will tell which way Irish families will go. What is certain, however, is that if you want to sit-down to a guilt free gobble on 25 December, the only bird to buy is a free-range and organic one.

Josh Roberts takes a look at one of the most successful Christmas marketing campaigns of all time

F

or over twenty years the arrival of Coca-Cola adverts on television has been the sign that Christmas is finally here. You know the ones - those bright red trucks, covered in fairy lights driving through the snow to deliver the Christmas supply of Coke. The tune which accompanies the trucks has now become so synonymous with Christmas itself that even the faintest whisper of “holidays are coming, holidays are coming” conjures up images of the adverts’ scarf wearing, perfect-toothed kids and parents (incongruous not least because cola rots teeth). There are also the ones with Father Christmas and the ones with those cute and cuddly polar bears. Coke have been setting the festive advertising benchmark for well over seventy years and now, with a Christmas worldwide advertising budget of nearly $1 billion, their grip on the market is stronger than ever. But how did they so deftly capture this Christmas market? And, more importantly, did they change the colour of Father Christmas’ coat?!

Coke’s Christmas advertising began in 1931 and was almost entirely Santa-centric – the polar bears and red trucks didn’t appear until the late seventies. The adverts depicted a fat and jolly Father Christmas enjoying a bottle of coke with cheery kids who’d stayed-up to meet him and raiding household’s fridges for a tasty and refreshing bottle of coke. They were incredibly successful and magazine cut-outs of the ads quickly became collector’s items (ones from 1954 when Santa wears his belt backwards are particularly prized). However, in the last few years Coke’s Father Christmas ads have been embroiled in controversy as Scroogean cynics have tried to argue that Coke’s depiction of Santa is a cruel perversion of the real St. Nicholas.

They claim that Coke deliberately made Santa fatter and changed the colour of his coat from green to red in a bid to make him more identifiable with the red label of Coke. This is not true - the Santa chosen by Coke to be its Christmas figurehead was in

fact just one of the many hundreds of interpretations of Father Christmas that existed at the time. Indeed, through the centuries, Santa Claus has been depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to an elf. He has worn a bishop’s robe and a Norse huntsman’s animal skin. He ranged from big to small, fat to tall and even appeared as an elf and looked “a bit spooky” according to a Coke

spokesperson.

It was the Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nash who first created the red-coated Father Christmas in a picture for Harpers Weekly in 1862 which caught on because the big man appeared jolly and friendly. Coke simply picked up on the zeitgeist and ran with it; not the other way around. It wasn’t until the late eighties/early nineties that the ads started to take a different reaction with a shift in focus towards the more secular – the trucks appeared in 1992

and the polar bears arrived in 1993 (they were originally intended only for the Hispanic market).

But what is it that has made the adverts so successful? Firstly, as anyone in the industry says, Coke are so phenomenally good at adverts because they stratify the market into lots of subsections and then create adverts to appeal to each of them. This was clearly seen at the recent World Cup where television adverts were subtly adjusted for screening in each country - for example in the Swedish adverts the footie fan extras in the background eat different snacks to those in the UK ads. At Christmas, the old magazine adverts showed Santa’s sack over brimming with toys, miniature cars for boys and toy ponies for girls.

More recently, the polar bear advert targets girls and the trucks are aimed at boys. Running the campaigns simultaneously means that both target markets are being tapped into. Secondly, Coca Cola is quite unique in the directness of its slogans and advertising messages. Coke’s slogans are direct and compelling “Drink Coca Cola” is one example.

Finally, Coke’s ad men are very deft at advertising away problems with the product. When faced with the fact that people prefer to drink booze at Christmas, Coke spotted the market for designated drivers and will this year give away free coke to them via a link on their website.

of a present, not a damp squib intended) the measurement or number in a bra size it how big she is around the chest area; whereas the letter is the “cup size” or the volume of boob.

To contextualize, Paris Hilton is a 32-B whilst Katie Price is a 32-F. Getting the size right is imperative so get sneaky and find out the exact figures.

Once you’ve ascertained her exact dimensions you can set about deciding what sort of thing you’re going to buy.

As a general rule all novelty clobber is to be avoided, as is anything red or anything too experimental. “All too often men see something they saw in an adult video and assume that it’s appropriate for their partner”, says style guru Katherine Marsden, “nothing screams ‘I think you look a bit like a hooker’ more than red silk or crotchless underwear”.

“For a safe bet”, remarks Marsden, “pick out something that looks feminine and in which she’ll feel both comfortable and sexy, steer clear of thongs unless you know for sure that

7 December, 2010

she wears them”. Another key thing to remember is that there are plenty of alternatives to the traditional items which will achieve the same effect – camisoles for example are feminine,

“Agent Provocateur offers customers the chance to see one of their attendants slip into your potential purchase.” comfortable, inordinately sexy and easier to get right. So don’t feel like there’s no room for manoeuvre.

Now you know her size and have a vague idea of what you want to get it’s time to go shopping. In these enlightened times most men chose to go online to get this sort of gift.

The positives are obvious: it’s cheaper, quicker and, providing that the packaging is fairly subtle, free of embarrassment. Favorite websites include lasenza. ie, annesummersireland. ie, intimate-linger. ie and secretbite. com. However, for all its pluses, shopping online suffers one major hindrance – the lack of informed advice from shop staff. In stark contrast, a visit to a lingerie shop, awkward as you may feel, offers plenty of trained professionals.

These women spend five days a week surrounded by bras and pants so if you do decide to pay them a visit don’t hold back for the sake of looking a bit silly and be sure to ask any questions you may have – it’s only embarrassing if you make it embarrassing. Perhaps the biggest perk of physical shopping is that in some boutiques it’s possible to see the products “on”: Agent

P r ovo c a t e u r, for example, o f f e r s customers the chance to see one of their oh-so-sexy shop attendants slip into your potential purchase.

O n c e you’ve found and bought something be sure to get it gift wrapped (there’s no point ruining sixty quid of underwear with some shoddy Happy Birthday paper), pop it under the tree and look forward to Christmas Day content in the knowledge that you have done something pretty special.

“When it comes to gifts for women it really is the effort that counts”, says columnist Catherine McIntyre, “we love lingerie because we know how difficult it is for men to get it right”.

MINCE PIES: A BUYER’S GUIDE THERE ARE many things about Christmas that people don’t agree on. Mince pies are not one of them.

Devouring a mince pie is gloriously easy - picking which ones to buy is, however, much much harder. In the name of research I undertook the challenge of tasting mince pies from each of the big supermarkets to find the best one.

First-up are those offered by the largest supermarket chain in Ireland, Tesco. Tesco differentiate their mince pies into three categories: value (the cheapest), deep fill (medium priced) and finest (the most expensive). The shortcomings of the value offering are easily identifiable on the first bite.

The pastry is too crumbly and the minimal offering of mince inside is so acidic and tangy that, even as someone with a good constitution, I found myself experiencing tremors of indigestion. The deep fill one, still priced very reasonably, is much better. The increased butter content of the pastry makes it malleable without being soggy and the filling is much more neutral. On the downside the mince is slightly too fine (if you like a bit of crunch this isn’t for you) and heating them up is also problematic – two minutes in the oven and the pastry roof began to implode. The ‘Finest’ pie is indisputably great. It is warming

“It seems that, in an effort to keep costs down, both producers have opted to go long on pie and short on mince.” without being over powering, it keeps its shape and is much bigger than the its economy brethren. That said, the price tag is somewhat on the hefty side and they do suffer from having too much air between the mincemeat and the pastry roof.

I lumped the pies from Aldi and Lidl together as they share similar benefits and almost identical flaws.

Both offerings are cheaper than those across the road at Tesco; but this does show in the tasting. The main problem is thickness of pastry – it seems that, in an effort to keep costs down, both producers have opted to go long on pie and short on mince. On the plus side, however, the little mince inside is very good.

It doesn’t taste as man-made as the Tesco value ones and, unlike the deep fill ones, there plenty of texture to it.

Turning away from supermarkets for a minute, I also sampled those on sale at Starbucks and Cafe Sol. In Cafe Sol I suffered disappointment.

I found two very anaemic looking pies in the counter and they tasted as bad as they looked. Starbucks do two type of pie so I decided to try both – and they won. The pastry was buttery but also a bit chewy, the mince had subtle citrus high notes and in terms of size they are hands down winners.

So there you have it. For a real treat you should head to Starbucks; for a basic pie then get the Tesco deep fill and if you don’t really care then Lidl or Aldi are your best bets.

Rebecca O’Leary

12 WORLD REVIEW worldreview@trinitynews.ie

COMMENT

Fit for a king?

Lauren Shaw speculates on the upcoming royal wedding and looks at some of the controversy surrounding it

T

he date has been revealed. 29 April 2011 is when Prince William will marry Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, making it the 15th royal wedding there in its thousand year history.

The Very Rev Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster Abbey, is delighted by the couples decision, stating “We are very pleased they have chosen Westminster Abbey for their marriage, and look forward to the detailed planning for what will be a great and happy occasion for the couple themselves, for their families and friends, for the country and Commonwealth and for well-wishers across the globe.”

However, it seems that not everyone shares in the international outpouring of joy at the upcoming marriage which was announced on the 16th of November. Take the Right Reverend Peter Broadbent, who claims that “I managed to avoid the last disaster in slow motion between Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll, and I hope to avoid this one too.”

This bold statement epitomizes his views on the recent announcement of the royal engagement. His cutting remarks appeared on his Facebook page on which he likens the couple to “shallow celebrities” predicting their marriage will not last more than seven years given that the royal family are “philanderers” with a record of marriage break-ups. He then goes on to condemn the “nauseating tosh” which surrounds the event, suggesting a party in Calais for all good republicans wishing to avoid it. He said the wedding should belong to the family and was not “some piece of national flimflam” and criticises the media for producing “fawning deferential nonsense...out of their every orifice”.

While he has faced fierce criticism from British MPs and church members and his comments have been dismissed as “cruel, childish,

“The Right Reverend likened the couple to ‘shallow celebrities’, and predicted the marriage wouldn’t last, as the Royals are ‘philanderers’.”

unnecessary, and unchristian”, I cannot help but warm to Bishop Broadbent who freely expressed his opinions on the matter regardless of the fact that his immediate superior the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, is a close friend of Prince Charles. Tory MP Nicholas Soames, also a friend of the Prince of Wales, denounced the Bishop’s comments as “absurd” and “ridiculous”, saying: “They are extremely rude, not what

“I managed to avoid the last disaster in slow motion between Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll.” one expects from a bishop.” But what does one expect from a bishop? Was the wedding to receive his blessing simply because it is royal? According to some papers the embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the row occurred just two days before the Queen was to open a new session of the general synod. While Broadbent has since apologized for his comments, it appears to be too little too late as Bishop Chartres has said, “I have now had an opportunity to discuss with Bishop Peter how his comments came to be made and I have noted his unreserved apology. Nevertheless, I have asked him to withdraw from public ministry until further notice.”

While the Bishop’s comments were harsh, they are perhaps a dose of reality needed in a week in which several more newsworthy events have been overshadowed in the British media by the prospect of a royal wedding.

Having said that, it is clear that William and Kate are a popular couple, with polls showing that the British public would prefer William to ascend to the throne in place of Charles. Charles has recently hinted that if he were to become king his wife would be known as Queen Camilla as opposed to Princess Consort – a

SS Above: Three generations of British royal couples; Prince William and Kate announce their engagement.

sensitive issue with the British people who now appear to be more in favour of a King William and Queen Catherine. A recent newspaper poll has revealed that nearly half of people believe it is a good thing that William is marrying a “commoner” rather than an aristocrat. But will Kate rise to the challenge of being the future Queen of England? She may learn from other Royals such as Prince Philip who has consistently dealt with his public duties with eloquence and sensitivity.

A few highlights have been perhaps his question “you are a woman aren’t you?” when receiving a gift from an indigenous woman in Kenya or his verdict of Beijing, China during the 1986 official visit there as “ghastly”.

While this apparent detachment from the world are what many love to hate about the royal family, it is what others love to love. While the Dutch royal family are commended for their down-to-earth attitude and use of public transport, I am not sure that this is what the Brits want from their monarchy. Although it is indeed outdated and unrealistic, a high percentage of the population enjoy buying into the pomp and centuries of tradition associated with the royal

family and especially a royal wedding.

The same newspaper poll has shown that over half of British people believe that the forthcoming wedding will cheer the nation at a time of austerity.

A great number of people really do care who will design Kate Middleton’s wedding dress or are curious as to whether the couple will live in Kensington Palace or St James Palace.

The wedding between William and Kate will no doubt be the event of the year with thousands of citizens lining the streets in the hope of catching a

“They can receive a free Royal Doulton plate marking William and Kate’s engagement.” glimpse of the happy couple. I can imagine the hundreds of people who will avail of the newspaper offer in which they can receive a free royal Doulton plate marking William and Kate’s engagement by collecting just fifty tokens. An irresistible offer, but perhaps I will save mine for old Bishop Broadbent.

Unpluggable: How one leak rocked the diplomatic world Wikileaks has been exposed to government and international criticism. Siri Bjorntvedt discusses the recent controversy surrounding the site ON 28 November El País, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Guardian and The New York Times simultaneously published excerpts of over 250,000 American diplomatic cables from 250 American embassies around the world. The cables show how the United States used its embassies to gather extensive

“President Sarkozy was described as ‘susceptible and authoritarian’, and Kim Jong-Il was referred to as a ‘flabby old chap’.” information on politicians and leaders.

WikiLeaks’s editor Julian Assange, is now wanted by Interpol.

The leak of the American diplomatic cables show that so-called “human intelligence directives” issued either in Hillary Clinton’s name or Condoleezza Rice’s name instructed embassy officials to get information

on military installations, weapons markings, vehicle information, as well as iris scans, fingerprints and DNA. The directive specifically asks for details relating to the United Nations’ leadership’s telecoms and IT systems.

The leak could also prove politically important; they show that Saudi Arabia pressured the US to attack Iran and that 2010 was regarded as a critical year

by Israel relating to Iran and its nuclear facilities. They show that China is ready to end its uncompromising support for the North Korean regime, and to accept Korean unification. The cables accuse Russia and its intelligence agencies of using mob bosses to carry out illegal operations, with one cable describing Russia as a “virtual mafia state”. The cables suggest that Americans believe Saudi donors to be the biggest financial supporters of terrorist groups, and it details how the Americans helped Yemen cover up the bombings of AlQaida targets by American planes.

Revelations such as these might prove both embarrassing and damaging for the Americans and the countries affected. However, they might also help defuse some of the tensions in the Korean peninsula.

FOCUS ON: WIKILEAKS Launched in 2006. Within a year, the site claimed a database of more than 1.2m documents.

Julian Assange, its director, spends much of his time in Sweden where media laws are among the most protective for journalists.

It has won several awards including The Economist’s New Media Award.

Some of the cables are less politically significant but still attracted much attention. American diplomats had many unconventional ways of describing world leaders; Dmitry Medvedev was said to be playing “Robin to Putin’s Batman”, President Nicolas Sarkozy was described as “susceptible and authoritarian”, and Kim Jong-Il was referred to as a “flabby old chap”.

The White House condemned the release of the documents as they claimed it put people at risk. However, Mr. Assange, had contacted the State Department in advance seeking information regarding individuals who might be “at significant risk of harm” because of WikiLeaks’ actions, but the US State Department had refused to enter talks. The reactions in the United States were largely negative.

Sarah Palin called Mr Assange “an anti-American operative with blood on

his hands”. Republican Congressman Peter King, the new leader of the Homeland Security Committee, wrote in a letter to the Obama administration that WikiLeaks should be put on the American list of terrorist organisations.

In early December the American government opened a criminal investigation into whether Mr Assange can be charged under the Espionage Act for releasing secret diplomatic documents, and police in Mr Assange’s home country, Australia, are looking into whether or not he has broken local laws. Mr Assange is already facing criminal charges in Sweden for rape, and on Wednesday 1st December, an international arrest order was sent out through Interpol.

The condemnation of Mr Assange has clear parallels to the case of Daniel Ellsberg, a former American military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in 1971. The Pentagon

Papers showed how the Johnson, Kennedy and Nixon administration had been misleading the public about the War in Vietnam, and in 1971 the US government claimed that the publication of the Pentagon Papers would cause irreparable injury to the defence interest of the United States.

Mr Ellsberg has since become a vocal supporter of both Mr. Assange and Mr. Manning, the officer suspected of handing over the documents, which were accessible to over 3 million US government personnel, including low ranking soldiers. The ACLU has maintained that without whistleblowers the American public would not have known about the CIA’s secret overseas prisons, the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program, the fact that the civilian death toll in Iraq was much higher than thought or that American soldiers were going into battle without adequate body armour.

While the site came under a massive cyber attack when it was supposed to release the documents, it is clear that, unlike in 1971 when an appellate court ordered the New York Times to halt its publication of the Pentagon papers, WikiLeaks will prove difficult to stop.

WikiLeaks has announced that they will take on the BP and the Kremlin but the biggest leak next year will apparently concern a major American bank.

TRINITY NEWS

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7 December, 2010

14 BUSINESS SPECIAL: IRELAND’S FINANCIAL SITUATION

Staring into the abyss rté

Business Editor Owen Bennett reflects on the Budget 2011 and wonders what the future will hold for Ireland, Inc.

A

t present, for every €2 the Irish government yields through taxation, it borrows €5 on the international markets. Obviously, this situation is unsustainable. However, our elected representatives have only recently grasped a fact that seems to be intuitively self-evident, albeit with the help of the IMF. Since 2007, the Irish exchequer has been living far beyond its means.

Unwillingness on the part of the government and the Irish people to face up to this reality has resulted in a ballooning national debt. As such, the bond markets have finally lost patience with our profligacy and have pulled the plug on our borrowing. In order to reduce our debt burden to sustainable levels, the government has been forced to unveil a four-year budgetary plan, with the aim of cutting the deficit by €15 billion by 2014, a seismic task.

The plan confirms that €10 billion will be saved as a result of spending cuts and a further €5 billion will be raised through increased taxation. There will be cuts of over €2.8 billion to the social welfare bill while the minimum wage and public sector pay levels will also take a hit. On the tax side, both VAT and income tax will increase, while the tax base will be widened to incorporate more people into the system.

With such a huge fiscal adjustment looming, it is necessary to reflect on the possible consequences and whether the tough measures proposed will go far enough to bring the country back from the brink of bankruptcy. It must be remembered that a process of slashing and burning will not necessarily resolve our budgetary woes. Unfortunately, there is the very real danger that the cure may kill the patient and our economic affliction

“It must be remembered that a process of slashing and burning will not necessarily resolve our budgetary woes.”

Who runs the IMF? The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a specialised agency run by the United Nations, with 187 member countries.

Why was it set up?

It was set up in July 1944 as the Second World War was ending, and was originally intended to ensure exchange-rate stability. The IMF also encouraged member nations to eliminate exchange restrictions that hindered trade. Over time, the role of the organisation has changed.

Presently, its chief aim is to act as a lender of last resort in a crisis, and as a trusted advisor who can bring expertise from across the globe. The IMF effectively provides subsidised loans to ailing countries. At present, the Fund is charging an interest rate of 5.9 percent on its loans to Ireland, significantly lower than what the bond market is demanding.

In order to help countries in economic difficulty, it encourages countries to enact the right economic measures, even if they are very unpopular. Often it is the Fund’s job to push through tough measures that an unpopular government does not have the political support to implement.

Where does the IMF get its money?

SS All downhill from here? Illustration by Eoin Beglin

may spiral out of control. The danger is that by taking €6 billion out of the

“Government may inadvertently hinder prospects for growth.” economy in 2011, the government may inadvertently severely hinder prospects of economic growth. An increase in income tax, allied with higher VAT, will reduce citizen’s purchasing power and thus weaken consumer spending.

Moreover, cuts in capital spending to the tune of €2.5 billion over three years will reduce investment and hamper efforts to address the problem of Ireland’s appalling infrastructure. In addition, cuts in the education budget, and in particular the decision not to reintroduce tuition fees, will further diminish the government’s aspiration for a “knowledge-based economy” in the coming years.

At the launch of the four-year plan, the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, stated that economic recovery in Ireland would be “export-led”. However, with recent data suggesting the global economic

WTF IS THE IMF? From the headlines that have filled the newspapers for the last few weeks we are all aware that it is not a good sign if your country is being linked with the International Monetary Fund. But what exactly is the IMF and what has it done with our economy?

The Fund uses contributions from its member countries. These contributions are levied based broadly on the country’s relative size in the world economy. These quotas are reviewed every five years.

The IMF also generates income from its lending operations. Lending generates income for the Fund as, like a bank, the IMF charges more to its borrowers than it pays to its lenders.

In 2008-2009, this lending margin

recovery is losing momentum, this reliance on foreign demand for our exports may be unsound. Also, given that in the past, Department of Finance estimates have been woefully inaccurate, one could be forgiven for doubting Cowen’s claim that we can “certainly be optimistic about our economic prospects”. Blogging after the unveiling, Trinity’s Professor of Economics, Kevin O’ Rourke, deemed the government’s estimates on growth and inflation to be “wildly overoptimistic”.

However, the most gaping and fundamental flaw with the Government’s four year strategy is not in relation to what it contains, but what it does not contain. The half-hearted attempt to tackle the largesse of the public sector is simply not enough.

For instance, 75% of Mary Coughlan’s education budget is earmarked for pay and pensions; 70% of Mary Hearney’s health budget is ring fenced for the same purpose. In effect, the Government has shot itself in the foot by consenting to the Croke Park Agreement. One of the main stipulations of the deal is the pledge not to cut public-sector pay or numbers until 2014. Given our current fiscal quagmire, this situation

was one percent.

So what happens when a country calls in the IMF? The governments of developed countries are often reluctant to access the Fund, given the stigma attached to such a measure. Instead they often continue borrowing from the market for longer periods of time at often increasing levels of interest.

This means that, when the IMF is finally called in, rigorous structural adjustment is invariably required.

After a country applies for assistance, negotiations begin. A team of experts from the IMF will visit the county and begin discussions with government officials. The Fund will already have a good understanding of the country in question before it even begins these discussions.

Indeed, there is a permanent “Irish desk” at the IMF headquarters in Washington DC, and officials regularly conduct reports on the health of the Irish economy.

How is it working in Ireland?

Ireland is receiving a combined EU/IMF loan of €67.5 billion with an average interest rate of 5.83% and an additional €17.5 billion in money from Ireland’s own exchequer. This gives rise to the €85 billion total of the bailout. The banks will receive €10 billion of this sum in return for

is ludicrous. Editor of The Sunday Times, Frank Fitzgibbon summed up the irrationality of the deal: “The government have effectively taken the major player out of the market and said you’re not going to be affected by all this.”

Simply put, one cannot rhapsodise

“Trinity’s Prof. Kevin O’Rourke deemed the government’s estimates on growth and inflation ‘wildly over-optimistic.’” with conviction with regard to the future prospects of the Irish economy.

In one respect the Irish government is currently facing a Catch-22 situation.

By failing to act, the government runs the risk of defaulting on the national debt, yet by neutralising this risk by means of a savage budgetary plan, they may jeopardize the chance of economic growth. In effect, the prospects for Ireland, Inc. are far from certain.

a massive overhaul of the existing financial structures. They will also be able to access a further €25 billion if required.

The government will be given access to €50 billion to fund current spending if market bond yields remain at their current heights.

So how will all this affect Ireland?

Negotiations for the €85 billion bailout proceeded smoothly as many of the cuts proposed by the government ran along similar lines to those favored by the IMF. The fate of a number of capital projects, such as Metro North, hang in the balance.

The IMF will probably put a strong emphasis on structural reform with an overhaul of the tax system being considered.

The labour market, in particular the public sector, are also likely to be overhauled with a considerable emphasis put on wage competitiveness, that is, a reduction in the minimum wage.

“It is the Fund’s job to push through tough measures that an unpopular government does not have the political support to implement.”

“The governments of developed countries are often reluctant to access the Fund, given the stigma attached to such a measure.”

Hannah McCarthy

TRINITY NEWS

business@trinitynews.ie

COMMENT

“High minimum wage is a hangover from better times.”

In light of the impending reduction in the minimum wage, Lorcan Clarke questions its necessity

T

he minimum wage is to be reduced from €8.65 to €7.65, according to the four-year budget plan. This is a welcome change, as a return to competitiveness is crucial for the country. Ireland’s unemployment rate is currently the second highest in Europe, behind Spain. Our minimum wage is also the second highest in the European Union, behind Luxembourg, the richest country in the world per capita.

These two statistics are not consistent with one another in the slightest. Change is needed. Either we lower the unemployment rate down to around four percent via a miraculous boom, or we decrease the minimum wage. One of these is more realistic, than the other; if you don’t know which, then you probably ought to stop reading this newspaper and return to Dáil Éireann.

The minimum wage is designed to protect workers in vulnerable positions from being made to work for an unfairly low wage. An unfortunate side-effect of this is that, by its nature, it distorts labour markets.

The first question we must ask is whether it really protects the most vulnerable in society. The most vulnerable are the unemployed, and these are the very people who are harmed the most by the minimum wage. Open up any economic textbook and you will read that minimum wages create unemployment. There

is, however, an exception to this: if the minimum wage is set at a level below the existing market-clearing wage level, then it does not distort the labour market at all. But surely setting it below the existing level will be pointless? Ireland’s minimum wage was introduced below the existing level, and as such it did not create unemployment but served as a barrier to cases of exploitation where improper information exists or where employees cannot leave their jobs for other reasons. The Irish Ferries scandal is one such example. Without a minimum wage, this kind of wage exploitation would not be illegal.

Today, the market-clearing wage rate has fallen well below the minimum

wage, meaning that businesses that can only afford to hire people to work for €8 an hour cannot do so. Small businesses in financial difficulty are worst affected. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate nears 14%. There are unemployed people who are willing to work for €8 and businesses that want to hire them, but the minimum wage acts as a barrier.

Unfortunately, these are not the only losers. The economy suffers because businesses cannot produce as much with fewer employees and larger expenses. Foreign direct investment is less attractive because of uncompetitive wage rates. The public finances are spent on unnecessary dole payments instead of health or education.

“The most vulnerable in society are the unemployed, and these are the very people who are harmed the most by the minimum wage.”

The unemployed lose confidence and are denied not only financial benefits but also job satisfaction and the sense of belonging to a work community. Ireland loses; we all lose.

Minimum wages serve an important purpose, if set at the right level, but they

“Foreign direct investment is less attractive because of uncompetitive wages.” have to change in line with decreases in the actual wages in an economy. When wages fall, the number of people’s incomes on the minimum wage level increases. The minimum wage has to decrease in order to stay at the same level relative to the wages. Prices have also decreased, meaning the real value or purchasing power of the minimum wage has increased. The minimum wage can buy more groceries now than it could in better times.

International commentators frequently note that trade unions in Ireland are acting as a barrier to competitiveness.

Employment registration contracts that outline higher minimum wages for specific sectors, mainly in the construction industry, need to be reviewed. These contracts were agreed between unions and large construction firms, many of whom are no longer around; however, the agreements are also binding for small firms, which damages future enterprise. These essentially higher minimum wages are a hangover from a time when the construction industry was booming. Not only does the current minimum wage level belong to a time which has passed, but it will undoubtedly prevent that time from ever returning.

FINANCE ROUND-UP It has become apparent that fears of contagion across the Eurozone have not abated. Bondholders now fear that peripheral Eurozone members, in particular Portugal, are on the verge of sovereign default.

Last week, the euro dropped to a tenweek low against the dollar. European officials have been defiant, with France and Germany declaring that the euro will not be allowed to fail. Privately, however, it is accepted in Brussels that, should Spain default, it is unlikely that Eurozone members will have the means, or will, to shore up the country.

THE WEEK IN NUMBERS

€85bn

The maximum amount of money the Irish government may draw down under the joint EU/IMF bailout plan

5.9%

The interest rate Ireland shall pay on loans received under the bailout, a rate almost twice that agreed for the Greek bailout plan

4,200

The fall in the number of people signing on to the live register, the biggest fall in unemployment since November 2009

52%

The percentage of the population who think the government’s fouryear austerity plan will do more harm than good to the economy

0.9%

The rate by which the Irish economy will grow in 2010 according to the European Commission, only half the level predicted by the government in its fouryear budget plan

Getting to grips with the National Recovery Plan Vanessa Chanliau analyzes the main features of the recentlyunveiled National Recovery Plan

T

he government’s attempts to address the huge deficit have accelerated. At the request of the EU and in an effort to ease bondholder fears, the government recently released details of a four-year National Recovery Plan.

The plan shall serve as a “prerequisite for future economic growth” as the government attempts to fill the €18.5 billion gap between government receipts and spending. The target amount of savings is €15 billion by 2014.

The plan is more focused on cutting government expenditure rather than increasing the tax rate, with over 65% of savings arising from spending cuts.

Accordingly, Ireland will see a reform in social welfare, public sector pay and capital spending.

As household demand remains weak, focus has been on strong export-led growth. As such, while the government is focused on reducing the deficit, measures taken must not be detrimental to exporting industries.

The minimum wage will be reduced from €8.65 to €7.65 in an attempt to increase employment, especially among unskilled and young workers, where unemployment is most prevalent. The government expects this measure to lead to the creation of an estimated 90,000 new jobs. One must remember that, despite the proposed 10% cut, the minimum wage in Ireland will remain one of the highest in Europe.

Further, the government will

7 December, 2010

attempt to incentivise employment by reducing welfare spending, which at the same time allows for higher national savings. The government will also set out to “re-invigorate activation policies” to reduce unemployment.

This entails a number of policies related to education and training of the unemployed, as well as “increased

“One must remember that, despite the tenpercent cut, minimum wage will remain one of the highest in Europe.” engagement with the unemployed” (in the form of group interviews and workplacement programmes.)

Corporate tax will remain unscathed. A low rate of corporate tax has attracted businesses such as Google, Pfizer, Microsoft and Intel, as well as other multinationals. Such firms employ nearly one in seven Irish workers. Fear of losing such valuable investments has pushed policymakers to leave corporate tax untouched. This move has sparked outrage in Berlin and Paris, with both German and French officials claiming that such a low tax rate distorts competition.

While the corporate tax rate will not change, income tax will play a part

in increasing government revenue.

Currently, half of income earners do not pay tax, which is clearly a flawed state of affairs. The National Recovery Plan holds that “all taxpayers must contribute according to their means,” and as such, the government will increase the rate of income tax so as to raise €1.9 billion, as well as cut the number of tax breaks to the tune of €755 million. In addition, pension-related tax reform will increase government revenue by €940 million.

Allied with a reform of the direct tax system, indirect taxation will be adjusted in 2013, when VAT will rise from 21% to 22%. Items not currently subject to VAT will also be assessed, in accordance with the economic goal of increasing revenue without affecting production. The recovery plan states that “increases in indirect tax are less economically damaging than direct tax increases as they affect consumption rather than production.”

The tendency has been towards front-loading, as it is believed that drastic measures will be less damaging than prolonged austerity spread evenly over four years. Cuts in expenditure and increases in taxation will take effect most significantly early on in the implementation of the National Recovery Plan. The government plans to save €6 billion in 2011. For this reason the 2011 budget, to be announced later this month, will be set so as to re-inspire confidence in Ireland’s ability to manage its own finances. The 2011 budget will therefore outline the “reform of budgetary architecture”, according to the 140-page outline of the National Recovery Plan. Details

“Currently, half of income earners do not pay income tax, which is clearly a flawed state of affairs.” as to how the taxation system will be restructured will also be discussed.

Needless to say, Budget 2011 and those in the coming years promise to be the most severe in the history of the State.

16 TRAVEL travel@trinitynews.ie

An Odyssey in Oz Exams got you thinking about summer plans? Don’t worry, help is at hand. Jimmy Lee got a hold of former student Tolly Mack’s journal, and found a few excerpts that might help spark some ideas

th – Per

Dolphin

swim – N ovember

009 er 2 ctob

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2009

10 ay – April 20 Kuranda railw

Maori fi sh! – No vember 2 0

18 December, 2008 Congratulations, old man. You’re ohso-close to graduating from uni. I’ll soon have a degree in a field that isn’t hiring at the moment, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do! I miss the days when you could just go off and doss for the summer. Welcome to real life, Tolly.

But I am in no way ready for real life yet. I’m barely 22, for God’s sake. I’m still young, and quite frankly, I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into “the rest of my life” in a few months’ time. But I definitely need a break from the usual Irish scene. I have no idea where to start.

Time to start googling!

J1s are pretty overdone, but where else could I get work with an arts degree? Didn’t Tom head off to Australia last year? How the hell did he manage to do that? He was a bigger dosser than I am! Let’s see, Australian work visas… nice, a Facebook page. Not bad. Looks like a lot of Irish are headin’ over there. I wouldn’t mind a bit of a mix though… Oh wait, ChoongHyun Lee, that’s definitely not Irish! Jaysus, there’s a lot of crazy names here. Looks like it’s not so Irish-only after all. Brilliant.

So apparently, according to this site, getting a visa to work in Oz is dead easy for

Perth

09 by night – 20

09

students! I’ve just got to fill out the online application, and I’m more or less sorted! Hmm, only thing is I’ve pretty much only got enough money to last me about a week after the flight over.

I’m definitely going to need to get a job to be able to do anything.

14 June, 2009 Now that was a party. Could’ve done without those last few tequilas though, bloody Canadians! Ross, what an absolute legend, can’t believe he made it out past the beer-tasting in Fremantle. Not sure how he managed to try a pint of every microbrew and was still able to see! This YHA hostel’s been great for meeting people, but I’m seriously low on funds. Might as well check out that Job Shop that Ross was telling me about and see if they have anything for me!

24 October, 2009 Can’t believe my six months here in Perth are almost up. Feels like I just got here. Working on Rottnest Island as a boat porter has been great craic, definitely the most random job I’ve ever had. But now that I’ve got some cash to blow, I might as well take a welldeserved vacation. I’ve been dying to head up to Ningaloo Reef. Not sure just how they let you get away with actually swimming with the whale sharks… Ah well, you only live once!

I’ve ever had a St Patty’s like that before. Then again, I’ve never done St Patrick’s Day outside of Ireland before. It’s true what they say: on St Patrick’s Day, everyone’s Irish!

There are some differences. Real Irish wouldn’t be up for going rock climbing the day afterwards!

This city’s mad for its outdoor activities, it’s almost harder not to get into one. Didn’t think I’d be rock climbing in Brisbane this time last year. I’m still rubbish, but whatever, it’s fun just to be outside in the sun and not have it be grey, drizzly and overcast!

on – April 20

10

14 June, 2010 Absolutely gutted I’ve got to leave already, I’ve barely seen anything so 9 ber 200 far. Well, that’s not entirely true… I did Novem – k a e r get to go scuba-diving with sharks in Scuba b the Great Barrier Reef, camp out in the rainforest with a proper Aborigine guide, and see (and eat) kangaroos.

Not too shabby for a workin’ man!

Still got loads of money, but my visa’s almost up and I’m definitely not ready to leave. I haven’t even seen the Outback yet – the bloody Outback!

Never even touched a surfboard.

Honestly, who goes to Australia and doesn’t surf? Such a waste of skin. Apparently, it’s possible to get a second Working Holiday Visa, and with jobs everywhere, I’m pretty sorted. I’ve even got enough to take a trip out to Thailand with the Little Crea tures micro lads! brew – Jun e 2009

20 November, 2009 One can only hope that finding a job with my History degree will be this easy in Ireland. The Job Shop found me another job, all the way across the bloody country in Brisbane.

Ah well, I guess the point’s to get out and see things, might as well go all out.

Queensland’s supposed to be pretty good for scuba and stuff. Typical Irish, they’ve got me working in a pub… they’ll probably have me dancing jigs in a Happ leprechaun suit. y 18 March, 2010 The pub was pretty epic last night. Not sure if

Cape Tribula ti

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in! – Nov embe r 20

10

il 2010 t – Apr

res e Rainfo Daintre

Forget ’roos and Fosters, cork hats and flying doctors Fearghal O’Nuallain Contributing Writer

MELBOURNE IS a European city stranded on the other side of the globe.

It has more in common with Milan or Athens than it does with its more rustic cousins in the Outback. Forget ’roos and Fosters, cork hats and flying doctors; to understand Melbourne you have to think about coffee. Not a skinny caramel decaf mochaccino hurriedly gulped from a paper cup, but a rich complex short of macchiato sipped in a boho café. It’s far south enough to have seasons, and even penguins for that matter. It doesn’t get cold enough to snow, but the winter wind from Antarctica cuts like a bowie knife – not exactly what you’d expect from an Australian city.

The laws are made in Canberra, the money in Sydney, the sheep are shorn in Perth, but it’s all about lifestyle in Australia’s cultural capital. Melbourne is where work is something that earns a good life. The lifestyle is laid back and funky; shrimp on the barbie on a Saturday evening with a glass of wine, after a surf in St Kilda, after an afternoon nursing a cool box full of “coldies” at the cricket in the

Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Melbourne has its roots in the post-war years, when thousands of Greeks, Italians and Yugoslavians arrived from war-torn Europe in search of something better. As well as their hopes and dreams, they brought with them the southern European way of life: a respect for food, wine, and sitting on a terrace drinking a coffee and watching the world happen.

Striking a healthy balance between New-World pragmatism and European style, Melbournites are fashionable and savvy without taking themselves too seriously – could a city that gave the world Dame Edna Everage ever get too uppity? Its urban landscape is a patchwork of boho, ethnic, and high-street, its districts cultured by its immigrants – Hungarian, Serbian, Vietnamese, Greek, Chinese, et al.

Melbourne is a must-go destination for those who love the good life. It’s not too hot on old-school architecture or history, but it’s dripping with contemporary consumable culture.

And, if you get bored of imbibing, ogling and generally just soaking up the lifestyle, there’s plenty to keep the back-packer busy too. A pilgrimage to the Neighbours set is a must, or, if

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS JUST A CLICK AWAY • Australian work visas: www.australia.com/ workingholiday www.facebook.com/ AustralianWorkingHoliday • YHA Hostels: www.yha.com.au • The Job Shop: www.thejobshop.com.au • Little Creatures Brewery:

www.littlecreatures.com.au • Dolphins and penguins: www. rockinghamwildencounters. com/au • Coral-reef diving: www.quicksilver-cruises.com/ diving.htm • Daintree Rainforest: www.daintreerainforest.com

you don’t fancy heading out to the suburbs, the Neighbours nights in St Kilda are good for a booze-up; think of a club night where the entertainment is provided by drunk actors from Neighbours instead of a DJ. Renting a ute (Australian for pickup truck) and driving the picturesque Great Ocean Road – 248km of winding tarmac – is a relaxing way to kill three days. Bring a tent and you can camp on some of the best beaches in the southern hemisphere. The route hugs the “Shipwreck Coast”, named for the 50 ships scuppered on its jagged rocks, where the full might of the Antarctic Ocean carves some impressive monuments and savage formations from the limestone bedrock. “The Twelve Apostles”, twelve closely-grouped pillars rising from the surf, are justly the main tourist attraction, but if you don’t want to get your eye taken out by an excited Japanese salaryman with a telephoto lens it is best to avoid stopping at the designated viewing platforms.

Most of the cities on Australia’s back-packing trail are worth a twoweek visit. But Melbourne’s a place to stop, put down some roots and drink up the good life.

TRINITY NEWS

SCIENCE 15 science@trinitynews.ie

Comet’s images make a Deep Impact Stephen Keane Staff Writer

ON THURSDAY 4 November, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, received new images of a comet from the Deep Impact spacecraft. These images were met with aplomb from the scientific community, as they gave an incredibly detailed visualisation of the nucleus of an object over two hundred million kilometres away from the Earth.

The images were taken as the spacecraft passed within 700 kilometres of the comet Hartley 2. Had the spacecraft come any closer, it would have run the risk of being damaged

by the gases and debris being ejected from the comet’s surface.

The images revealed a curious peanut-shaped nucleus, spinning slowly and ejecting material as it is heated by the sun.

Images like these have only been taken on four previous occasions, each with different comets, and so far each has been shown to have an entirely different-looking nucleus. This is the smallest nucleus viewed so far, but it is also one of the most active, emitting more gases per minute than the others. This extra activity might also lead to structural instability. This is certainly true for Deep Impact’s original target, the comet Boethin, which dis-

integrated before it could be observed.

It is unclear how Hartley 2 formed its distinctive narrow, smooth centre and rough, rounded ends. Perhaps the comet was squeezed into an elongated shape due to the extreme rapidity of its spin. The shape may also have formed as a result of a collision between two separate bodies earlier in the comet’s history; however, this does not fully explain why the surface is smooth in certain areas and rough in others.

Further research will no doubt shed light on these unresolved questions. The images were taken as part of NASA’s EPOXI mission. The Deep Impact spacecraft used in this mission has already provided the most exten-

sive observations ever made of a comet. It will continue to transmit images of Hartley 2 until the end of November, when it will be decommissioned.

Scientists hope that, by studying images of this and other comets in detail, they may learn what causes the large variation between comet nuclei.

Comets are essentially large snowballs that were created at the beginning of the solar system, so their physical characters and mode of formation can give insight into the conditions of the early solar system and how it evolved.

Studying these comets can also help us understand the formation and early growth of rocky planets, such as Earth.

Cosmic reincarnation Daniel Davis Contributing Writer

TRADITIONALLY, THE birth of the universe is explained through the lens of the Big Bang, the great cosmic expansion that took place 13.7 billion years ago. However, discoveries published this month regarding the nature of the universe’s cosmic background radiation suggest that the Big Bang may simply have been one of several expansion events in an æons-long cyclic process of expansion and contraction. Many cosmologists in recent decades including Stephen Hawking have posited this idea of a series of Big Bangs divided at intervals by a “Big Crunch”, but, until recently, the substantiating evidence for this view was fairly limited. The prevailing cosmological theory in recent years has instead been a model of “cosmic inflation”, in which the universe expands in a stretching space-time fabric not unlike the surface of a balloon.

“This is what is seen as a circle in our cosmic microwave background sky, and it should look like a fairly uniform circle.”

New research by scientists at the University of Oxford and Yereven State University offers what may be the first concrete evidence of a cyclic universe. The data cited by the researchers suggest concentric circular patterns in the cosmic background radiation, the microwave sea that has

RESEARCHERS AT Oxford University have completed the first in-depth study of brain evolution across mammal species. The research covers hundreds of species and charts their development over 60 million years of evolution.

The results of the study yielded some unexpected conclusions, showing for a link between the sociability of species and brain size.

According to Dr Susanne Schultz, the lead author, the result “overturns the long-held belief that brain size has increased across all mammals.

Instead, groups of highly social species have undergone much more rapid increases than more solitary species.”

This research, among other things, demonstrates why dogs have larger brains than cats: their highly sociable nature has made greater brain development necessary to successful group interaction, while the solitary nature of cats has led to less substantial brainsize increases over time.

Galactic birthing earlier than thought

SS New research offers evidence of a cyclic universe

permeated space in the wake of the Big Bang. These circle patterns are the product of smaller-than-average variations in the nearly uniform cosmic background. Dr Roger Penrose, the project’s lead researcher, contends that these patterns undermine the mainstream cosmological hypothesis: if the conventional model is correct, they should have been erased by the rapid expansion of the cosmos.

Penrose claims that the circular patterns in the background radiation provide “a look back, past the glass wall of the most recent Big Bang, into the universe’s previous episode.” The circles themselves are, according to the detailed mathematical models worked out by Penrose and his team, the prod-

uct of black holes of supermassive size colliding with one another during the universe’s previous existence.

The waves in space-time generated by such collisions would be spherical and

“The new research has already met with considerable criticism.” uniformly distributed, and this is the pattern reported by the researchers.

“This is what is seen as a circle in our cosmic microwave background sky, and it should look like a fairly uniform circle,” explains Penrose.

The new research has already met

Enda Shevlin

with considerable criticism, most notably from Princeton cosmologist David Spergel, who claims that Penrose’s research has not accounted for a number of variables that might lead to inaccurate results, commenting that it “does not provide enough detail about the analysis to assess the reality of these circles.”

While the verdict on the accuracy of Penrose’s research remains to be decided, his claims have succeeded in reigniting the debate over universal origins. The cosmological, as well as philosophical, significance of the nature of the universe cannot be overstated, and this new research offers one further insight into this old and storied question.

What has caused the most interest about this discovery is the potential it represents for aiding in the furtherance of vaccine design. It means that both current and future vaccines, which rely as it stands almost wholly

Contributing Writer

7 December, 2010

Socialising is good for your brain size

ASTRONOMY

Trimming viruses down to size YOUR IMMUNE system loves you.

You get a cold, your immunity gears up, and it unleashes a horde of primed scavengers and antibodies to neutralise the teeming mass of virus-infused gunk in your throat. Job done, right?

Well, yes. But the devil is in the detail, and as it turns out, our antibodies have had an ace in the hole the whole time. It just took a group based in the University of Cambridge to finally uncover it.

You are bound to have at least heard of, if not be already familiar with, antibodies and their basic role in stopping and preventing infection. Antibodies quite literally latch onto, neutralise and label for destruction anything that doesn’t belong in our bodies.

What has always been asserted is that antibodies carry out their dirty work outside of all other cells, as opposed to within. So, once antibodies latch onto and tag the outside of an infected cell or a germ, it is just a matter of time before either our immune scavengers engulf both for destruction, or our killer cells burst the infected cell.

ZOOLOGY

“Even rotavirus, which kills thousands of children in developing countries, can literally be picked to pieces by the protein TRIM21.”

SS New discoveries on the immune system may help in creating better vaccines

Either way, the threat is thoroughly neutralised.

But it turns out that antibodies have been working overtime. Whilst the above still holds true, they have also been taking a more active role in the process. It has been shown that antibodies that have actively tagged the

tonsillitis virus can effectively drag the virus into a bystander cell and, once inside, kill it. Lending a hand here is TRIM, a molecule which is expressed inside most tissues – hence every infection, no matter where it occurs, can potentially be cured, as TRIMs, and antibodies, are everywhere.

on antibodies to be effective, could possibly be boosted by amplifying the immune process. By increasing its activity, it becomes possible for a vaccine to potentially destroy a substantially greater amount of germs.

Immunologists are in a race to outgun and outsmart viruses as they continue to evolve new and ingenious ways of avoiding and penetrating our defences. This new discovery is an opportunity to TRIM them down to size, so to speak.

NEW RESEARCH from scientists at Tufts University has overturned established models of galaxy formation. The new data suggests that the universe’s oldest supermassive galaxies may actually have developed billions of years earlier than previous models predicted, thus placing the observable data at odds with the best current mathematical outlines of the universe’s formation.

The galaxies, which may have formed as much as 15 billion years ago, when the universe was still young, are vastly more massive than our own galaxy. the Milky Way. Further research is underway in order to uncover the discrepancy between mathematical modelling and the new observations.

HEALTH

Cancer scanner cuts wait times for biopsy A NEW tissue-imaging system developed by scientists at the University of Illinois is being heralded as a far quicker means of identifying cancer cells in tissue biopsies. The technical details of the system are due to be published in the December issue of Cancer Research.

The technique, called non-linear interferometric vibrational imaging, was successfully tested on rat breastcancer cells. The device produces “easy-to-read, color-coded images of tissue, outlining clear tumour boundaries, with more than 99 percent confidence.” All of this can be read in less than five minutes, drastically reducing the wait time of people seeking the verdict of a cancer diagnosis. This will hopefully aid in the reduction of prolonged stress in the run-up to biopsy analysis.

John Engle

18 OPINION PROFILE NICK SPARROW

Flying high Director of the Trinity Foundation, Nick Sparrow, speaks to David Barrett about charity, Trinity, and the connection between the two

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s the Director of the Trinity Foundation, one would expect Nick Sparrow to have a rather inflated sense of selfimportance. In actuality, he is remarkably unassuming.

Sparrow went to Trinity, where he read Experimental Physics – and liked it so much that he stayed for five years after the habits of living in Botany Bay caused him to fail third year. Sparrow never wanted to go into science. though – “Physics was always a general degree for me,” he explains.

After graduating, he qualified as an accountant, working initially for KPMG, before setting up his own practice and becoming progressively more disillusioned with the corporate world, despite his very obvious success in it.

Then, quite by accident, he stumbled into a job raising funds for Belvedere College. At that time the prestigious Northside Jesuit private school was in considerable financial difficulty. By the end of his seven-year tenure it was not. Following on from this success, he became the director of the Trinity

ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

College career – President of VDP and Auditor of the Physics Society.

Tried Judo but got beaten up too much!

Favourite ABBA song – “Has to be Dancing Queen.”

SS Line drawing by Cat O’Dea, colour by Aoife Crowley

Foundation.

As I was sitting in the meeting room in the East Chapel, with coffee and biscuits in hand, waiting for Sparrow, I was idly wondering what the Trinity Foundation actually was. Was it the same as the Trinity Association and Trust? Surely, if I had only the faintest idea what they did, it couldn’t be that important, right? I could not have been more wrong.

As it turns out, the Trust and Foundation are two very different organisations. The Trust is an alumni organisation, while the Foundation describes itself as an organisation for “building relationships".

Sparrow is clearly enthusiastic and passionate for what he does. He explains that most people care, sometimes very deeply, about particular issues, but that the vast majority cannot actually do anything about them, and what the Trinity Foundation does is “connect your passions to things happening around the University that can have an impact”. It is more profound than simple fundraising, although that is certainly part of the job description. What Sparrow does is connect people with those who can

help them to achieve their goals, and, in an ideal situation, to help them to acquire a greater understanding of the thing they are helping and to benefit through personal development.

Sparrow maintains, quite ardently, that to some extent he does not matter.

It doesn’t matter if the potential donor likes or dislikes him, as that will not impact whether or not they donate.

What really matters is the project itself and those academics who passionately believe in it. According to Sparrow, what he is doing is “building a community around these academics.”

That’s all well and good, I was thinking, but don’t American universities have what are, in essence, charity machines that constantly rake in cash?

Why doesn’t Trinity have something similar?

Sparrow explains that Trinity is now at the point that US institutions were at in the 1950s. “Americans and the Irish have a different attitude towards their college. Americans define themselves by where they were. A Stanford graduate will always be first and foremost a Stanford graduate. The Irish define themselves by place – by whatever field they grew up next to.”

Sparrow contends that neither attitude is better than the other, but suggests that in America the simple phrase “Stanford needs your money” would suffice, but the Irish are a little more discerning: someone needs to explain why Trinity needs that money and what specific good would it do.

While this writer was appreciative of his nation’s discerning nature, I was curious to hear more. Sparrow explains that part of the reason why Ireland does not have the same mindset of “giving back” to universities that America has is that in Ireland it is rude to talk about charity.

“Philanthropy is not part of the general conversation in Ireland,” declares Sparrow, and it is hard to disagree with him. In America, by contrast, there is nearly peer pressure towards being charitable!

Before the interview ended, I wanted to ask Sparrow about the recession. Surely it has made his job much harder? “The funny thing is, nobody questions the fact that the universities need money anymore.” Let’s hope that the government feels in the same charitable mood towards the universities over the next year.

Mental health: tackling the final taboo Ciara Finlay argues the first step in solving problems with mental health is to combat the stigma behind the illness

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s a society we have become accustomed to the idea that our poets and our artists, our Van Goghs and our Plaths, are troubled, tender souls. However, we do not give our teachers and telemarketers the same consider-

ation. Indeed, the Health Service Executive’s 2007 report, Mental Health in Ireland: Awareness and Attitudes, revealed that three out of five adults “do not believe that people with mental health problems should do important jobs such as being a doctor or a nurse.”

The role of the doctor is to prevent the recurrence of the 500-or-so suicides every year in Ireland, and the role of the nurse is to follow the 11,000 admitted to ED for deliberate self-harm, to protect them from themselves. The only greater threat to the people among these startling statistics is the stigma attached to the mental illnesses that plague them.

The gateway to mental health services for many is their local GP, and yet many more do not make it even this far due to fear of social exclusion and stigma acting as stronger paralysis than the

depths of depression. This may be why the lowest reported quality of life was “by those who had experienced mental health problems themselves.”

“Stephen Fry would have risked being institutionalised on account of his homosexuality up until the 1970s.”

Nonetheless, we don’t bat an eyelid when we hear that actor and author Stephen Fry is bipolar. Admittedly, Stephen Fry would have risked being institutionalised on account of his homosexuality up until the 1970s in many so-called “civilised” countries.

Furthermore it was not until the introduction of the Mental Health Act, 2001, that the law in Ireland came into line with international human rights stand-

ards. Within the past decade we have learned a lot on this subject; notably, the World Health Organisation “calculated the global burden of disease and found that mental disorders ran second.” Surprisingly, the WHO reported that mental disorders exact a greater toll on the health of the world’s population than AIDS, TB, and malaria combined. Here we encounter the next big problem with mental illnesses, namely that if so many people suffer from them, they must cost us an awful lot to treat.

The reality is that in 2010 only five percent of the budget for health services is dedicated to mental health. A Vision of Change, a policy document produced in 2006, highlighted the costs outside the health sector in lost employment or absenteeism. This adds to already unfavorable circumstances, as the loss of a job not only represents the loss of an income, but of a social network, and even a support network.

Furthermore, those people with mental illnesses are “the least likely of all the disability groups to gain employment in the open labour market.”

In these circumstances perhaps the bohemian lifestyle of an artist is the best which one can expect. But it ought not to be. As a society, we ought to recognise that mental illness is not so very different from physical illness.

The same 2006 report contains the statistic that one third of adults surveyed felt that there is something about people with mental illness that makes it easy to tell them “from normal people”.

The reality is that people with mental

“The lowest reported quality of life was by those who experienced mental health problems.” health problems do not walk around in top hats taking tea with singing march hares, nor do they march about with a neon sign saying “crazy”. It’s time to talk about the last taboo.

TRINITY NEWS

OPINION 19 opinion@trinitynews.ie

Rape capital of the world goes unmentioned Alannah NicPhaidin wonders how the world’s biggest bloodbath continues to go unnoticed

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he Democratic Republic of Congo. This failed nation state, previously known as Zaire, has had about fifty years of independence from Belgium, yet the conflict that has been going on since 1988 has enveloped the entire nation. Often people find it easy to ignore because it does not play a large role on the international stage, and it most certainly is not a powerhouse. Yet it is the twelfth largest nation in the world, and the home to 71 million people. These 71 million people have the second lowest nominal GDP per capita, and as a nation they are the second poorest in the world.

The war was continued by the spill over from the Rwandan genocide, with the history growing so convoluted that

it is difficult to distinguish between allies and enemies. The conflict eventually involved numerous different countries’ militaries, including those of Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and eventually the UN peacekeepers who are still there today.

One of the main reasons why the conflict has dragged on for so long is the rich mineral abundance in the country such as diamonds, copper, zinc and coltan. This prolonged conflict has lead to the deaths of almost five and a half million people, most from disease and hunger. It is estimated that almost half of these were children under five.

There was a huge international outcry during the conflict in Darfur, a conflict that had clear victims and clear perpetrators. Darfur made a nice

story that could fit into a short article with an attention grabbing picture. The problem with the DRC is that there are so many different perpetrators and so many victims it is much more difficult for the average reader to get “their heads around it”, thus making it less likely to get the attention that it deserves and the reaction that it needs.

Some of the stories that have emerged out of the Congo are simply put, terrifying. Widespread usage of child soldiers, cannibalism (because the flesh of an enemy has magical powers), and notably sexual violence. The sexual violence has reached a level where rape has become a social norm rather than an exception within a somewhat civilised society. A report by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative showed that 60 percent of rape victims in South Kivu were gang raped by armed men, both by government soilders and by rebel soliders. Shockingly, more than

half of the assaults took place in the victims' homes. It is not unusual for women to die from these rapes and assaults, due to the brutality of the attacks and the nation’s crippling lack of health care, or put more bluntly, a crippling lack of care for women at all.

These women continuously live in fear, and once raped they are often isolated from their family and community as they are seen as unclean. The men who commit these crimes go unpunished with very few exceptions. In 2009 alone, the UN estimates that over 8,000 women were raped.

One of the reasons why the International Community is so reluctant to speak out against Rwanda is, ironically, the shame they feel because they did nothing substantial to stop the genocide in 1994. They must stop shying away from clearly reporting on Rwanda’s continuous violation of the Congolese rights.

When Ireland was a democracy David Barrett outlines what he misses about the days before Brian Cowen.

I MISS all that hope and change nonsense. But what I miss most of all is that simple commodity of the democratic process: trust. I miss that if a government minister says something simple, like, for example, that it is “fiction” that the government is in talks with the IMF over a potential bailout, that I can believe such a simple “yes-or-no” statement. I miss being able to believe that, fundamentally, the government is concerned with the welfare of the public

“There is something wrong when a government can shake your faith in the whole process” and the state’s future. I miss the days when the government’s most realistic policy was not just simply to pray for salvation – thank you Eamon O’Cuiv.

I miss when laughing at a government minister for saying that “Brian Cowen is an honourable man” did not seem like a sadly appropriate response. I miss when ministerial cars knocking down protesters did not seem deeply symbolic of how out of touch the cabinet is.

I miss when RTE would provide a balanced account of events, instead of

proclaiming that every speech Brian Cowen makes is “a strong performance by an Taoiseach” even in one of Ireland’s darkest hours, brought about entirely by that same Taoiseach. I miss the days when they would not cut off the most critical press conference in the history of the state just at the point that the questions got the most difficult.

I miss when students would not mutter darkly that a march is a waste of time as no one would listen to them.

I miss when idealism was not the same thing as naivity. I miss the days when those same students would not engage in half joking, half serious, discussions on where they should emigrate to. I miss when gallows humour was not the order of the day.

I miss when Ireland was an actual democracy. I miss when the Taoiseach was chosen in the preceding general election by the people’s vote. I miss when the promises made in election manifestos actually meant something.

I miss knowing what I am voting for in a referendum. I miss being able to vote to fill a vacancy in the Dail – as the constitution says I am entitled to do – and not to have to rely on High Court decisions for my right to a public representative. I miss being able to say that the government was free of secret constituency deals to benefit the people who voted for Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae over everyone else in the state. I miss the days when govern-

ment ministers would not accuse political opponents of falsely being a pimp and then get defended by his colleagues for doing so. I miss when my choice at a general election was not rendered completely meaningless by the current government dictating all policies of any importance through the medium of a ‘four year plan’. I miss elections being about choosing between grand sweeping visions for the future of the country rather than simply selecting who is likely to be the least awful manager of the public finances.

I miss the days when the IMF being sent in is not greeted with a sigh of relief. I miss the days when the government throwing its hands in the air and admitting that they have led the country to disaster and need outside help would not be greeted with the mental soundtrack of Handel’s ‘Messiah’.

But what I miss more than anything else is my conviction that history won’t repeat itself.

There is something wrong when a government can shake your faith in the whole process. Fi-

anna Fail has caused me to question a system that has let them to wreck the country – whether negligently or deliberately does not matter. For that loss of faith I, for one, hope fervently that t h e y lose every seat they have.

E

7 December, 2010

Cromwell.

The library contains many other works of historical and literary significance that have for so long remained hidden from public view. There is the Carta de Foresta of Edward I, 28 March 1300 (MS 606; c.1300). There are two manuscripts of Langland’s Piers Plow-

A VIEW FROM NEW SQUARE

GERALD MORGAN

man, one (MS.212; c.1390-1400) containing the only biographical details of Langland known to us. Fiona Somerset has recently edited two unique copies of the Wycliffite Dialogues (MSS 244 and 245). There is the rare collection of eight Waldensian manuscripts (MSS 258-64 and 267), written in a dialect of Provençal and mostly dating from the sixteenth century, on the religious conflict in Savoy. The papers of Cornelius Ryan, author of The Longest Day (1959) and A Bridge Too Far (1974) are in the library’s possession. So too the papers of R.B.D. French, lecturer in English (1930-1974) and BBC editor of Latin American News in 1942-1945, but there is a fifty-year embargo on the most important of them.

We need to ask ourselves why these works remain hidden from view. The answer, even in this world of economic gloom, is not so much the lack of funding as the lack of a proper allocation of resources. The library requires a pres-

Wikileaks adds fuel to diplomatic rows ANOTHER WIKILEAKS report has fuelled the fire of diplomatic discord in the international political arena. Thousands of reports have been leaked by the site, ranging from memos written by high-ranking US State Department officials to damning appraisals of Russia’s post-Soviet government.

In regards to the Kremlin, dozens of leaked memos have called attention to the cronyism and corruption rife within the Russian government. Apparently, though Russian president Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stand as public figures against institutionalised corruption, the pair’s rise to power has been accompanied by media censorship and the silencing of opposition voices.

Whatever opinion one may have of WikiLeaks, which has been excoriated by the US government for endangering the lives of military servicemen and women and exposing information potentially damaging to national security, it must be admitted that the political pot is being provocatively stirred.

I sense that WikiLeaks will continue to relish its role as thornin-the-side.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

SS Illustration by Matt Ryder

“There is something amiss when the library is closed to scholars, but open to tourists” veryone recognises the Old Library, built 1712-1732, to be one of the glories of College. Tourists come in their throngs to visit the Long Room and to take a brief but awe-inspiring glance at the Book of Kells. The Copyright Act of 1801 and private bequests ensure that we have a collection of books to match the building and indeed to exceed its capacity.

In 1741 the former Dean of St Patrick’s, Bishop John Stearne, bequeathed the 1641 depositions or witness testimonies of the massacre of Protestant settlers (MSS 809-841) and these have been hidden from the world until launched online in splendid style on 22 October 2010, the anniversary of the Catholic rising of Sir Phelim O’Neill.

The sustained historical analysis of these depositions will in due course transform our understanding of this period of religious conflict in Ireland that until now has been bounded by the dread name of that English ogre, Oliver

ROUNDUP

ence of greater significance than tourists, however grateful we may be to them. It requires librarians and scholars. The fact is that the Departments of Manuscripts and Archives and of Early Printed Books have been scandalously underfunded for many years.

The situation is no better now than it was in 1975 and the present recession is no justification for it. There is something amiss when the library is closed to scholars and students but open to tourists.

It is a failure of judgment at the highest academic levels. We are not a museum and we are not a hotel. And we are not a car park. We claim to be one of the world’s great universities. We can hardly expect to be believed by the outside world when we restrict access to the books that ought to place us among the top ten of the world’s leading universities. gmorgan1066@gmail.com

ABSURD WEATHER conditions have disturbed the lives of most every Dubliner, leaving many with little idea of how to cope with daily routines. Worse still, the sleet and snow promise to continue well into next week.

Temperatures are expected to drop below minus twelve degrees at night. Dublin airport has managed to plough enough snow to allow flights to take off as scheduled, but the rest of the city seems to be in a state of frenzied confusion.

Public transport is touch-andgo; Trinity – as you will know – has cancelled classes, as has UCD. Even the High Courts have postponed hearings. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the place of warmest refuge has turned out to be the pub, with its sacred alter of hot ports and whiskeys.

Along with twenty other Trinity students, I received the news of the College’s closure whilst holed up in the Duke for a quick, restorative pint on Wednesday afternoon.

Needless to say, one easily turned into several. We sat, cheery and mirthful, our eyes drawn now and again to the whipping blanket of snow falling silently.

I feel as though I may not be alone in saluting extreme weather conditions and their ability to put our boundless human solipsism in check. So ring a friend, have them meet you in the local, share a few laughs, and enjoy this brief respite from quotidian drudgery.

Jonathan Creasy

20 EDITORIAL

HEAD TO HEAD: MASS PROTESTS

TRINITY NEWS Est 1953

“There are always idiots up for a bit of fighting and smashing stuff”

towards some revival of the collegiate spirit, which modern conditions tend to discourage

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BALANCING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING RECENT DOCUMENTS circulated to the Board of the College by the Provost have indicated that a portion of the funding cuts will be made up with an increase in the fees levied at students. The document stated that a “greater contribution by students to the cost of their education in whatever form… is a distinct possibility but by no means a certainty, and there would be a direct interplay between any revenue raised in this way and government allocation.”

According to the Provost’s email to staff and students with respect to the “Financial Situation”, Prof. Hegarty proclaimed that “either scenario represents an enormous problem and one that cannot be managed without drastic and far-reaching action”. He briefly mentions the “prospect of increased student charges” but fails to mention (as outlined in his board address) that a best case scenario would include “Any increase in Student Contribution offset by additional cuts in Grant”. This means that students will be expected to make up the reduction in State funding.

Staff too will be affected. In his email the Provost mentioned that “The College’s actions will focus on: … (b) cutting costs by ceasing activities and/or by introducing greater efficiencies in the use of staff resources”.

However, in the board circulation, it is noted that “Cost reduction can only take place through pay and non-pay.

Since 70% percent of our total expenditure is accounted for by pay, it would be unwise to focus cost reduction only on the non-pay side. The mechanisms to reduce pay in a significant way could have significant HR implications and constraints in light of agreements in place and existing legislative requirements”.

If the current administration implement the proposed measures, the next Provost will have to deal with student groups bitterly opposed to fees and charge increases, staff unwilling to take pay-cuts based on “agreements in place” and a cumulative College deficit between €80m (best case) and €117m (worst case) by 2015.

One mantra which could be followed is that of our contemporaries in Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard; “Raise friends not funds”. This concept revolves around the need to develop alumni networks and generate private fundraising support for college activities through bodies associated with Trinity such as the Foundation.

In certain US institutions, university presidents have led the way by making large personal donations. Both of the candidates currently confirmed to be running for the post of Provost have expressed clear visions for how the College should be funded going forward. Both policies reflect the need to properly address private funding, something the current administration has failed to do.

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WEATHERING THE STORM THE SNOW left many out in the cold last week as Trinity went into hibernation. Confused tourists scuttled about the perimeter, peering through railings and rattling gates. Libraries were shut at 5:00pm, sorry, 3:00pm. The poor unfortunates in Regent House froze to death as their central heating buckled under the pressure. Snowmen of epic proportions were constructed and deconstructed. Full-scale igloos were built. Everything was cancelled.

Everything aside from Trinity News, that is. We bravely soldiered on despite the adverse weather conditions that prevented many from answering phones or emails.

Typing with one frost-bitten finger and squinting through the thick, freezing fog that enveloped our office, we worked day and night to fulfil our duties to you, the College population. We hope you enjoy this issue, but if not, newspaper is a wonderful insulator, as we have discovered.

FIACHRA FALLON VERBRUGEN

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS are bad.

Why? Simple. They undermine the cause.

You start off with a situation where a significent proportion of the country’s population feels reasonably sorry for third level students having to pay fees (if only because they are related to a third level student). Then you have a day of protest where a few thousand 18-22 year olds march from Parnell Square, past a hospital dealing with massive cutbacks, down O’Connell Street, past the Spire (the definition of unneeded expenditure that must now be cut back on), past homeless people begging for money for a hostel for the night, past the centre for African Aid in Ireland, past the window fronts of businesses that have been forced to close down rendering massive unemployment, across the bridge, down D’Olier Street, and past the State service centre for disadvantaged families.

The taxpayers of the country watch as a couple of thousand arrogant, self-entitled teenagers march onto College Green and around the giant gothic castle that is Trinity College, while the people of this entire state pay taxes for a few thousand teenagers to learn about... what? Practical skills that will contribute immediately to society as a whole? No. Things like Theology, Philosophy, Sociology and any number of ridiculous humanities courses. As for you lot down in the Hamilton that think you’re different, or you Law students that consider yourselves somehow special – do you think that the citizens of Ireland actually care about whether they get more GP’s that charge them 50 quid for a consultation? That they want more solicitors who charge through the nose and fail to get them anything from their court case against the banks? Do you think anyone gives a damn about whether we have a new generation of students with undergraduate degrees in Theoretical Physics? And why would they want to pay for you Bess heads? So you can be the next generation of bankers and economists, who will tell us that everything is ok until suddenly it

turns out that less than 100 years after we won our independence the British own our asses again? This is what you do to public perceptions of your cause. How is this not bad?

Once you embark upon a national demonstration there are only two outcomes. One: every single student in Ireland turns up and the people of Ireland suddenly start to do some maths and figure out how many different sets of fees they’re paying for and where that money could be otherwise allocated. Or two: Hardly anyone shows up. And the people of Ireland go “ah, sure if the students themselves don’t care why should we?” and we drop yet further in their list of things that should be financially prioritised. How is this not bad?

And that’s assuming that the march goes perfectly. Which it doesn’t. Students get locked, they are loud, they are obnoxious and there are always idiots up for a bit of fighting and smashing stuff. Why is this bad? Because this is what makes headlines on the news and in the newspapers. And who does this scare?

Older people. Why is this bad? Because even if a national demonstration led to a referendum on the issue, the students will lose. Every time.

Why? Because students don’t vote.

Do you know who does vote? The old lady who lives in an apartment on Nassau street who looked out her window to see a group of students shouting and watches the news report that night that tells her they were a band of hooligans. She votes. The elderly couple who were jostled as the sea of students made their way down O’Connell street. They vote. And they always vote. And national demonstrations, combined with media sensationalism, turn them against you. You need them to be on your side.

Who are national protests good for? Elected representatives of students who want to have their moment in the limelight to deliver a speech.

For you? For me? For anyone who actually cannot afford for a hike in the registration fee? They do only damage to the cause.

“Mass protests mobilise forces to take a stand against injustice” SARAH CLARKIN

WHAT THIS country needs is a small but healthy dose of collectivised protesting. Like Persephone, Ireland has been tricked into an impromptu trip to the Land of Hades, and without a bargaining tool of our own, we are following news reports from around the world of further cuts and increased taxes, barely omitting a murmur of remonstration. We are kicked again and again, promised that this will be the last time, that these cuts will maintain stability, and when it is revealed what we knew deep down all along, that we were lied to yet again, what do we do? Cast a doleful, dejected stance to the rest of the world and accept what is happening to the ordinary people because we are told we have no choice.

The fact of the matter is, the ordinary people did not cause this mess. Sure, there was overspending in the boom time, but not everyone became a spoilt Celtic pup. The rich/poor divide in Ireland increased hugely during the Celtic Tiger, a fact that is not elaborated upon in the media. There were some sections of society that increased their wealth, but as the tiger roared, the distribution of wealth became more and more unequal. If we do not take a stand against proposed cuts that will tie the hands of at least the next two generations, they will come into effect without even a grumble registered from the general population.

Most people in Ireland do not stand by these cuts, and the only way to showcase our disapproval to what our government is doing, supposedly in our name but certainly not our interest, is to take to the streets- mass protests energise society, they mobilise forces to take a stand against injustice. The papers will only print what the public mood dictates; the public needs to start dictating, to reinvent the sense of community that we lost during the boom times and stand up for those who are being hit the hardest. Contrary to what some quarters would have you believe, highlighting the disapproval of large section of society to government policy in the form of peaceful marches in and around the

capital is not akin to the horrors of communism, but a legitimate means of exercising ones democratic right in the most effective manner, indeed a necessary one in a Republic where we are citizens, not subjects.

According to Economics Professor Morgan Kelly, “the Irish economy is like a bleeding patient from two gunshot wounds. The government has moved to staunch the smaller, budgetary hole, while continuing to insist that the litres of blood pouring unchecked from the banking hole are manageable.” The Irish crisis is not bottoming out, job losses are averaging 6,000 a month and company closures are 25% greater than this period last year. The Health Service is set to lose 3,500 beds at a time when more people than ever waiting for extensive periods of time on trolleys in A&E. Despite the furor over the medical cards, Minister Eamon O’ Cuiv had signaled that cuts to the old age pension are not outside the remit for government discussion. Clearly, the policy of making comparatively small budgetary cuts while pouring an infinite amount into fledgling banks is failing even more drastically than O’ Cuiv.

It does appear that the whole situation is the proverbial one of doom and gloom, of hopelessness and heartbreak, of desperate despair, and indeed for many, it is. Yet, it is not too late to take the decision making into our own hands, as it should be in this democratic isle. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions protest, which despite the hype, did not become hijacked by the “undesirable elements of society”, was hugely successful, and depending on which reports you read, saw between 50,000 and 100,000 people from all sections of society protest en masse against the government’s proposed 15 billion in cuts, which the Fianna Fail/ Green coalition have no mandate to sign. Financial institutions have collapsed due to the greed of a rich elite and an impoverished society- the only way to affect real change is to take to the streets, before we swallow the pomegranate, and remain trapped in an infinite winter of our own making.

TRINITY NEWS

OPINION 21

LETTERS

Letters should be sent to letters@trinitynews.ie or to Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2. We reserve the right to edit submissions for style and length. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Trinity News.

LETTERS@TRINITYNEWS.IE

“FREE HUGS” DON’T CURE DEPRESSION Madam – I was somewhat taken aback when I read in the weekly SU email, that during Mental Health Week, the Niteline mascot (is he a bear?) will be giving out free hugs.

One of the biggest problems facing

Mental Health is the stigma that, in 2010, it still faces. Stigma isn’t always about being associated with a particular religion, race or having a physical deformity. It can be about a man not wanting to see his GP on account of not wanting to be seen to be in need of a hug.

Free Hugs from a Big Cuddly Bear will increase awareness of mental health issues, which is of course an ad-

mirable goal. However, the inevitable result of associating psychiatric and psychological treatment with “think happy thoughts” and a cuddle needs to be avoided.

There are many other ways to raise awareness.

Mental Health is a good week, but I would urge restraint on what I’m sure would be a fun day for the organisers, the Man-in-Bear-Costume and most

of the general public. Hand out some leaflets, or raise some money for one of the many under-funded Mental Health services in Dublin. Don’t start hugging people.

I would like to think that the organisers had mental health workers advise them on this matter.

Yours, etc, Peter Wheen

Rate of emigration will get worse before it will start to get better AS THE country falls down an economic rabbit-hole, the issue of emigration has become a massive talking point. On the day the government announced its four year plan, #imleaving trended on Twitter, as users announced their plans to jump ship.

USI calls this a “youth exodus”, quoting a survey which appeared in The Irish Examiner. This showed that one in three aged between 18 and 24 planning to emigrate in the next 12 months. Our own survey of Trinity students, which was predominantly taken up by Junior and Senior Sophisters, found that 85 percent plan to emigrate.

However, many of the respondents

to our survey stated that the coverage of emigration in the media was entirely one-sided. A quarter stated that it had always been their plan to emigrate, at least for a period of time, and economic considerations simply bolstered their resolve. Many went on to say that the perception of emigration as purely a negative force is misleading.

They stated that as graduate emigrants travel, they come in contact with new ideas, make connections and make money. If they return, they bring these resources back with them to Ireland, and if they don’t return, they provide a network around the world boosting Ireland’s reputation as a knowledge economy.

Are we building up a sense of

crisis regarding emigration? People “planning” to leave is not tantamount to people actually leaving, after all.

According to the CSO, net outward migration is the highest it’s been since the 1980s, but less than half of those emigrating are Irish. The CSO estimates that 5,000 Irish people are emigrating each month, which is not an insignificant number, but not so high as reports would lead you to believe.

We will have to wait until this year’s Senior Sophisters graduate to see whether or not there is a full-blown emigration crisis. The best laid plans go often awry, so while we do not expect over three quarters of students to leave, it is clear there will be a spike in the figures for June through to September.

Emigration will get worse before it gets better. There is an inevitablity that those of us who grew up during the boom will seek warmer economic climates, but more could be done to encourage graduates to stay.

Providing small, accessible grants to start ups and innovative business ideas would do much to dispel the stagnant atmosphere. It has also been pointed out that many of the buildings that now lie dormant could be rented out to these start ups for nominal rates. The spirit of entrepreneurship is dormant in this country, and needs a kick if we are to stem the tide of emigration.

Aoife Crowley

College’s “secret societies” DUBLIN UNIVERSITY is not known for “secret societies” like some of the universities of the United States. We have nothing like Harvard’s finals clubs, or Yale’s Skull and Bones.

The DU Knights of the Campanile probably comes closest. It allows members of different sports clubs to wear a distinct tie and have occasional meetings – usually not-very-secret sessions in the Pav and quite noticeable streaking.

The Knights have undergraduate imitators in the form of the DU Heraeans, a more recent concoction serving little purpose.

One sometimes hears of a Catholic group called the Society of St Michael.

However, a former auditor of the Hist assured me that it could not exist. If it existed, he said, he would surely be a member.

Apart from these groups, Trinity has been connected with several Masonic lodges.

The earliest record of Freemasons in Ireland is in a Trinity text, according to T Desmond Williams’s 1973 Secret Societies in Ireland. Desmond Williams’s book records: “The first printed reference to a lodge occurs in the text of a Trinity College Commencements harangue in mongrel Latin delivered by an undergraduate, John Jones, in 1688: it refers to a lodge in the college…

“There had been a great deal of building done in Trinity in previous decades – all that now remains is the brick row facing the entrance, known as the Rubrics, and we must assume that the Masons who contracted for the work had their lodge in the college.”

This 17th-century lodge is also mentioned in Knoop and Jones’s The Genesis of Freemasonry (1947).

The Irish Times of November 28, 1896,

7 December, 2010

Left: The opening page of the By-Laws of the Trinity College Lodge 3153.

Below: The shield of the Dublin University Preceptory preserved in the Freemasons’ Hall on Molesworth Street.

who was at Trinity and was one of the founders of Dublin University Magazine, was a member of a Trinity lodge, but I have not seen a source for this.

OLD TRINITY PETER HENRY

names several lodges associated with the University: the University Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter 33, the Trinity College Lodge 357 and the University Preceptory.

The University Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter 33, is likely one lodge, probably the same as the University Lodge No 33 mentioned in Representative British Freemasons and in Lodge No 3153’s bylaws.

Trinity College Lodge No 357 was first mentioned in the Irish Times in 1882, and was probably founded in 1874.

It still exists today – medicine lecturer Dr Patrick Plunkett’s membership, for example, is mentioned on the School of Medicine website, and the late Meath Hospital surgeon Dr Derek Robinson’s membership was recorded in his obituary in 2008.

A shield of the Dublin University Preceptory is preserved in the Knights Templar Preceptory Room of the Freemasons’ Hall on Molesworth Street. Its “AO 754” refers to the Masonic

Anno Ordinis, which counts from AD 1118, the year the Templars were founded. AO 754 in the more familiar calendar is, therefore, 1872.

The shield shows a version of the arms of Trinity College impaled with another coat of arms.

A lodge for graduates in England, Trinity College Lodge No 3153, met four times a year at the Freemasons’ Hall at Great Queen Street in London. Its Grand Master in 1946 was Sydney A White, but I have not seen a record of it since then. The lodge was most likely founded in 1906.

It has been asserted that Isaac Butt,

O N E ENCOUNTERS nasty little regulations everywhere in college, usually invented to decrease the already pathetic workloads of some administrators.

Nothing under the sun is new, of course, as this note from TCD: A College Miscellany in May 1932 illustrates: “A strange notice has appeared on the walls of the GMB forbidding members of the college to leave bicycles in the porch of that building. It is hard to find any reason for this, except perhaps the incurable passion of some minor bureaucrats for interfering with the unfortunate people within their petty jurisdiction.” pehenry@tcd.ie

THE PUBLIC EDITOR WHILE SCOURING Trinity News for breaches of journalistic ethics over the past few weeks, I could not fail to notice that this newspaper does a lot of things very well. One of the paper’s major strengths is the unique window of access it provides into college life, both environmental and intellectual.

I am continually impressed by the “Art in College” column in Trinity News Two, the culture supplement of Trinity News. Each week, an exemplar of the College’s collection of sculptures, paintings, prints and carvings is briefly discussed by Jennifer Duignam.

In the most recent issue, we learned about the Sogno series of prints by Arnaldo Pomodoro, which can be seen dramatically suspended in the lobby of the Smurfit Institute of Genetics.

“The use of metallic paint or dye in the central design recalls the artist’s earlier bronze monuments,” she wrote, evoking another of Pomodoro’s works in the College: the “Sfera con Sfera” globe sculpture displayed outside the entrance to the Berkeley Library. I have found that knowing such specifics imbues any walk through the College with a greater sense of beauty.

Another of the paper’s great virtues is its role in encouraging opinion journalism by students. Again and again, I am delighted by the authenticity and intelligence of the many voices published in these pages. One example was the piece called “Ignorance greatest opponent to LGBT civil rights”

by Ciara Finlay, which appeared in the third issue. The tone was both personal and informative, a combination which made for extremely persuasive reading. “I was ‘outed’ at a rehearsal for the school musical - ironic, I know,” Finlay confided, before going on to call for an informed discourse about gay rights in Ireland. “We must challenge [...] lies with honesty, and thwart ignorance with education,” she wrote.

Such sentiment might well stand as a mission statement for the vibrant Opinion section.

Indeed, even as protest leaders chanted slogans outside the Department of Finance, these pages were home to a more nuanced and thoughtful debate. In a piece entitled “Remind me again what we’re in college for?”, Michael Gilligan questioned the value Ireland places on third level education. “I will not venture to say that it is inherently beneficial for students, that the cost of education should go up, but it may be beneficial for our education,” he wrote. In “Are tuition fees a necessary evil?” a Comment in the Business section of the same issue, Caitriona Gallagher agreed, with one proviso: “Fees have not stopped students [in the US and the UK] from continuing their education so the same should happen here, as long as there is a system of financial aid in place.”

It is my belief that while readers first pick up this newspaper to read the news, whether it pertains to College, Ireland or the world, the opinion and criticism pieces lend the paper tremendous lasting substance. Trinity News serves an important function in enabling students and faculty to share what they really think about current events, based on their own involvement and observations. It is a forum that enables its readers to engage directly with the writers’ experiences at home and overseas. The “Trinity Abroad” column is particularly noteworthy on this score. In the last issue, Peter Schwartzstein wrote from the school of Sciences Po in Paris, where the strict academic code dictates that “every essay paragraph is meant to be of equal length.”

Though I will adopt once again my incorrigibly critical tone in the next issue, I feel it is important to commend the paper for employing these journalistic features to peer beyond the surface to locate a hidden truth in art, opinion and experience.

Cillian Murphy, Public Editor To contact the Public Editor, email public@trinitynews.ie

22 SPORTS FEATURES sportsfeatures@trinitynews.ie

Soundtrack of the sporting year Daniel O’Callaghan, Kate Rowan, Killian McCarthy, James Hussey and Keith Monaghan reveal their soundtrack to the sporting year 2010 CLUB CAN’T HANDLE ME – FLO RIDA FEAT. DAVID GUETTA LeBron James’ leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat THE SYSTEM in place that dictates when college graduates and independent basketballers declare themselves eligible for the NBA ensures excitement throughout the league and a healthy sense of competition on an annual basis. In 2004, when LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade were drafted, the world looked on in wonder at how these young men would transform the fortunes of their various teams.

The summer of 2010 became

memorable because the respective contracts of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade expired simultaneously.

LeBron James became the main player in the “summer of the free agent”, listening to each prospective new team. The drawn out wooing process of “The King” heightened the tension to a crescendo, until, in an ESPN special named “The Decision”, LeBron declared his wish to join the Miami Heat.

The greater American public and basketball fans around the world held no issue with James’ choice of franchise. The problem lay in the manner in which LeBron dumped his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and entered into his own world of flashing dollar signs, celebrity interviews and a newly formed “Big Three”.

LeBron, from Akron, Ohio, informed the team that had watched his meteoric development during his early career, minutes before

“The Decision” was aired. Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert issued an open letter immediately after the ESPN spectacle finished, branding James “selfish” and “callous”, citing his move to Miami as a “heartless betrayal” against the city that had given him so much.

It was not LeBron’s move to Miami that prompts this choice of song.

The controversy that surrounded it, emphasised by “The King’s” posturing and apparent ingratitude to Cleveland, became far bigger than the transfer or the summer’s basketball. James is hoping that the club can handle him this time round, and that he eventually achieves the number one he desires.

USHER – OMG The New Orleans Saints win the Superbowl

FIREWORK – KATY PERRY Spain win the 2010 World Cup

LET’S PUT this in context: An onside kick is something that happens late in games when your team needs the ball back.

It’s predictable and it smacks of desperation. Now broaden the context: The New Orleans Saints suck. In forty-four years of trying they never even made it to a Superbowl, let alone managed to win one. Big-name drafts, loyal fans and expectations that were modest never seemed to help and to thicken

PERENNIAL WORLD Cup underachievers Spain finally ignited at this year’s tournament in South Africa.

Spain had never passed the QuarterFinal stage before this year. For 2010, the predictable script was apparently set again as an organized and defence minded Switzerland stunned the Iberians by beating them 1-0 in the opening game.

This time was different though. This squad of players was not only technically gifted but they also knew how to win. Of the eleven that took to the field for the final, eight players had won the Champions League and six of them had won the European

the plot still further, let’s look at one of their legends: Archie Manning.

Ring any bells?

Me neither. He was good but the rest of the Saints weren’t so during his tenure from 1971-1982 they won precisely nothing. But were it not for the likes of Archie Manning we wouldn’t have the nature-nurture debate and nature (and Archie) gave us Payton Manning. According to NFL.com only 7 men have ever played the game better and Payton, unlike his 7 superiors, is still playing.

And he plays for the Indianapolis Colts who faced off against his father’s old team in Superbowl XLIV and were expected to win. But what’s sport without romance?

Romance dictates that the favourite doesn’t always win.

Romance lifts an entire city out of the mire.

The mire? Let’s rewind to Hurricane Katrina and all it represents. Now fast forward to last February with the whole world watching. Would you feel the weight of history? Would you feel the need to re-write it? Would you lead a city to its very first Superbowl?

THE CLUB IS ALIVE – JLS Inter Milan rise to win Champions League OR RATHER, this club was alive under the regime of Jose Mourinho.

Inter Milan re-established themselves as giants in Europe during Jose’s reign from 2008-2010 and the crowning moment of their success was perhaps not the Champions League final itself, but the semi final two legged encounter with Barcelona. The second leg at the Nou Camp was the game that captured the world’s attention, Barcelona, under Pep Guardiola, were playing the kind of football that some felt should force them to start their matches with handicaps but this time they

genuinely were. They needed to win by two goals to make it to the final at the Bernabau, home of their arch rivals Real Madrid who had already been knocked out.

Barcelona kick started the game and maintained a frightening pace, all passes being sent through Xavi Hernandez, who controlled the centre of the park from the first minute.

A l t h o u g h Barcelona were on the front foot, Inter didn’t look out of their depth until Thiago Motta was sent off in the 26th minute for raising a hand to Busquets’ face.

The Spaniard fell to the ground in a shamefully overdramatic way,

THE CLIMB – JOE MCELDERRY Manchester City’s ascent of the Premier League table TRANSCENDING EVERY major event of the past year, money has again proven its place as the C.E.O. in the boardroom of international sport. Skill, talent and industry all take a back seat when it comes to importance in the global athletic arena.

Who cares if Yaya Touré cost the GDP of a small country to sign for Manchester City? His name sells shirts in Korea and the Far East and gains prestige for a club once left struggling for credibility amongst the big boys of English football.

This has been the year of Manchester City and Arabian multi-billionaire, Sheikh Mansour, the contents of whose wallet could replenish the National Pension Fund.

David Silva, Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli et al can count themselves lucky to be at a club where money is

no object. The Sheikh could buy the city of Manchester itself, never mind the City of Manchester Stadium and seems intent on bankrolling the blue half of Lancashire’s metropolis to world domination. The ingredients are all there – loyal fans, a pot of cash that could shame a nation of leprechauns, a growing panel of quality players and, of course, the Gallagher brothers.

The disappearance of most X Factor winners could prove hauntingly similar to Roberto Mancini’s fate should he fail to win any silverware with City during his tenure.

The pressure on the ex-Inter Milan great is enormous and one feels that if success is not forthcoming in the near future, the axe will be dropped with alarming rapidity. For the first time in decades, the blue half of Manchester expects great things; failure to the sound of “Blue Moon” is simply not an option.

Championships two years earlier.

The Spaniards recovered from their opening loss and won their next five games en route to the trophy. Their philosophy of “Tica-taka”, which involves a series of intricate one and two touch passing, constant forward movement and interchanging positions, reminded us why it is called the beautiful game.

The club’s 2008 youth academy saw Barcelona sweep all before them while playing this magnificent brand of football. The Spanish World Cup squad featured nine graduates from Barca’s youth system.

Ironically, their opponents in the final were Cryuff’s native

Holland. Cryuff based his footballing philosophy on the ‘total football’ which he had so brilliantly exhibited as part of the great Dutch team of the 70’s.

He had brought this to Barcelona and Spain during an eight year stint as Barca manager. The final should have been a celebration of this style.

However, in one of the biggest let downs of the sporting year, what ensued was 14 yellow cards and a drab 1-0 victory for Spain after extratime. The final summed up the whole tournament in that it never really took off. The saving grace however was that Spain had finally won the World Cup and did so in style.

BAD ROMANCE – LADY GAGA A year of sporting scandals earning his team a one man advantage for the remaining 70 minutes. This left Inter at a severe disadvantage but then again, us against the world is Mourinho’s favourite fixture. Ramon Bésa wrote recently in El Pais that at the Nou Camp, Barcelona’s goals fall like autumn leaves: naturally, beautifully and serenely. But on this night Barcelona’s attack of Messi, Ibrahimovic, Xavi and Pedro quested for goals more in the style of a razor leaf attack by Ash Ketchum’s Bulbasaur.

The remainder of the game was spent entirely in Inter’s half. Like a game of chess, Barcelona just needed one player in Inter’s side to move out of position so that they could thread a pass to Ibrahimovic, Pedro or later Bojan. But as the final whistle went, the night became Mourinho’s as he led the Inter Milan pitch invasion only to be shepherded off by officials and the Nou Camps sprinklers.

REVELATIONS about Sportsmen’s private lives continued into 2010 and just as it seemed the appetite for scandal was starting to die down, the New Year brought with it a whole bunch of Premier league footballers’ dirty laundry being aired publicly.

It is important to look beyond the sordid details of the indiscretions made by English soccer stars; John Terry, Peter Crouch, Wayne Rooney and the very public divorce of Ashley Cole from media darling wife Cheryl and to examine some of the moral issues that can get forgotten in a frenzy of gossip.

Whether you strictly stay with the back pages or are a devote of glossy magazines you will have read of these “bad romances” and the consequences such as Terry being stripped of the England captaincy and the Rooney “will he stay or will he go?” saga at Manchester United.

However, one of the more interesting

results was the public’s reaction.

When news of Terry’s cheating ways hit the headlines there were a large amount of male fans interviewed who said it didn’t matter about his life off the pitch as long as he did his job on match days.

This could be considered as a fair view of what happens in one’s private life should be kept that way but it could be argued that as high profile figures, Terry and Rooney need to remember that they are role models to youngsters. It was the public relations guru Max Clifford who summed up these “bad romances” stating that these stars are “divorced from reality”.

TRINITY NEWS

COLLEGE SPORT 23 collegesport@trinitynews.ie

A Hat trick for DU fencers

Orienteers find their feet at training weekend

Declan Gibbons

Rosalind Hussey

Contributing Writer

DUO Secretary

ON SATURDAY 20 November 2010, DU Fencing Club played hosts to a unique team event: the Trinity Cup. As with most team competitions in the sport, the Trinity Cup consists of teams of three fencers apiece, facing each other in a format known as the Italian relay. Matches are played one after the other, in a relay fashion, so that each individual member of a team faces up against each of the opposing fencers.

Here comes the Italian part.

First round ends when a fencer scores five points, but points are carried over, so regardless of where you finished in your first bout, to win the second, you gotta hit ten.

Third round it’s fifteen, and so on to a glorious 45 points. Tiring, to say the least. (The hall is generally littered with drooping fencers moaning pitifully for Lucozade, before bouncing back to hit the piste again). The fights themselves have a very focused dynamic, which gives the fencers a chance to play with strategy – sneaky ploys like tiring out an opponent for a fellow team member, or using the best fencer as an anchor (which means saving them till last). Not getting hit is a good one too.

This is, perhaps, what makes team competitions more interesting to observe. The varying nature of tactics employed by teams makes for a very

ON A chilly weekend in November, Dublin University Orienteers (DUO) invited students from all over Ireland for a weekend of training and craic.

We gathered on the Nature Reserve of Bull Island to avail of training courses planned by international athlete, Ruairi Short. This island provides one of Ireland’s most technically challenging maps as the terrain is very intricate, with subtle contour features made all the more difficult to interpret through the long marram grass growing over the sand dunes on the island. The 30 students were split into groups ranging from beginners to intermediate to elite, with Trinity students – along with help from DIT student, Colm Hill – teaching skills and co-ordinating the entire day for the designated groups. The aim was to challenge everyone, but lose no-one a mission that was successful.

After training everyone headed back to town. This was a great opportunity to make new friends from all over the country, along with a number of Erasmus students, as well as catch up with old acquaintances.

Sunday morning proved more difficult for some than others to get out of bed. This day provided the opportunity to orienteer in another Nature Reserve, The Vale of Clara, deep into the Wicklow Mountains.

Dublin club, Ajax, had planned a Leinster League event and we wanted to put our newly-learned skills to the test. This proved a very demanding area with vague features to navigate off and tough run ability in certain places.

The club is looking forward to the Intervarsities in February where Queens University are organising a weekend with races in 2 different disciplines – long and sprint.

RESULTS OF THE TRINITY CUP 1. DUFC 1 2. DUFC 2 3. Mine’s a Pint 3. UCD 1 5. Maynooth 6. DUFC 4 7. DUFC 3 8. UCD 2 9. UCD 3

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY FENCING CLUB TEAMS DUFC 1: MF: Lachlan Sykes and Danny O’Gorman WF: Anna Smith MS: Jack McHugh WS: Helen Naddy (c)

varied fight, as generally no two teams in a fight will adopt the same strategy – each wants to catch the other team off guard by acting “against the mould.”

ME: Colm Flynn WE: Kate Cunningham DUFC 2: MF: Declan Gibbons WF: Viviane Brefort MS: Jean-Baptiste Muller WS: Rosanna Mallinson ME: Alex Kelly (c) WE: Dell Watson DUFC 3: MF: Kevin Rebb and Li Dong WF: Molly Garvey MS: Chris Mills (c) WS: Brenda O’Doherty ME: Patrick Theiner WE: Rosanna Hans DUFC 4: MF: Killian Hanlon WF: Geraldine Davies MS: Rodrigo Gonzalez and Brady WS: ME: Rory Greenan (c) WE: Caroline von Konig

What makes the Trinity Cup unique is the way in which it approaches the Italian relay format. Instead of three male foilists facing each other, or three female epeeists, Trinity Cup teams are mixed, with a competitor in each weapon on each team. Which means teams of 6 – male and female foil, male and female epee, male and female sabre – pitched against each other to a top

“What makes the Trinity Cup unique is that it approaches the Italian relay format.” score of 30. This distinctive approach makes for a much more diverse competition, hallmarked by a greater sense of variety and camaraderie.

Last year, DUFC secured all top 3 places on the podium despite strong competition from UCD, NUIM and other clubs. This year, DUFC dominated, with a particularly strong first team, consisting of seasoned international fencers who have represented Ireland and one from

Canada. But the competition is not all about the experienced and international standard fencers. Beginners play a vital role in the tournament, and two of the Trinity teams entered are made up from mainly beginners in order to give them experience of fencing in a strong competition. Despite the different format of the Trinity Cup compared to traditional team events, the competitive spirit was no different. Each fight still has the same pressures on it as if it were in a standard relay match. Each fencer still has the same desire to reach 5, 10, 15 etc. first. Interestingly, the determination is perhaps even stronger here. Because the order of fights is chosen at random, there is no way of knowing whether the strongest or weakest weapon on a team will be first or last. Inevitably, there are miss matches between women’s foil, men’s epee, so a team weak in men’s epee could find themselves having their last fight against a team very strong in that weapon, which changes the whole dynamic of the fight.

This is not the only team event that Trinity hosts. In January and February, they host the Duffy Memorial Epee and then the Trinity Team Foil.

CANCELLATIONS AND CLOSURES All sport matches were cancelled over the weekend due to weather conditions. The Sports Centre was closed on Friday 3 December and remained closed all weekend. The Sports Centre re-opened at 9am on Monday 6 December 2010 after further advice from College.

Trinity Rugby Colours win against UCD Dominic Gallagher Staff Reporter

IT WAS a bitterly cold night on the cusp of winter, 3 days before the first snowfalls, when Trinity confronted UCD in their home ground in Belfield. It was a match which to the inexperienced would suggest only one outcome, a win for UCD. Their team contained 8 players who had represented Leinster at under 20s level, 4 of whom had gone on to make the Irish under 20 squad, Peter Du ToiT, James Tracy, Alex Kelly

“Trinity started badly, knocking on the restart and giving away a penalty” and Sam Couglan-Murray. Trinity had 2 provincial players, Munster fullback Jack Constigan and Leinster and Irish outhalf Cathal Marsh.

How on earth then did Trinity manage to thoroughly outplay and beat such a star studded team? It would be too easy to roll out the clichés that Trinity “wanted it more” or “worked better as a team” although in both cases it is true. No, credit must be given to the individual players themselves, that

7 December, 2010

they were simply better, in terms of conditioning and also in the less flashy elements of the game that are often underrated. They showed defensive brilliance, no better exemplified than in their inside centre CreuseCallaghan, and a measured ferocity at the breakdown from the whole pack.

Trinity started badly, knocking on the restart and giving away a penalty at the resulting scrum which UCD’s Nial Earls would convert for a 3-0 lead. However they were soon jolted awake by their openside flanker Dyllan Greene who hunted down the UCD’s number 8 Paddy Dix, after he tried to take a wide arc outside him at the scrum. Trinity seized the opportunity for a turnover and went through a sustained period of possession.

However despite the strong running of Jack Kelly through the centre, Trinity failed to gain much ground but still managed to force a penalty which Marsh fired over to level it out at 3-3.

UCD responded strongly and after repeated attacks the space opened for a dangerous break from Kelly which was stopped 2 metres short of the line

by Constigan. Quick ball meant an overlap of the 3 men for UCD on the left wing and the ball was fired wide to exploit this. Yet Trinity wing Ariel Robbel was alive to the threat and expertly fired off his wing to wrap up the inside centre and prevent the pass.

THE TRINITY U 20S TEAM

Darragh Crosby Paddy Carroll Darragh Kiely Jack Kellly Liam Curran Warren Larkin Dyallan Greene Paddy Lavelle Billy Glynn Cathal Marsh Niyi Adeolukun Robert Creuse-Callaghan Ed Barry Ariel Robles Jack Constigan Johnny Meager Barry McGuinness Brendan O Connell Hugh Kelleher (Greene 60) Edward Tate Will Scott (Curran 45) Howard Jones

The chance to get a try was gone and UCD could only huff and puff away at a resilient defence before luckily coming away with a penalty to lead 6-3.

Trinity again seemed as if they had been provoked into action and immediately replied. After regaining possession they rampaged to within 10

“In the words of attending Trinity rugby legend Niall Blake Knox, there were “sporadic displays of brilliance”. metres of the UCD tryline. Billy Glynn, the Trinity scrumhalf, picked the ball from the base of the ruck and veered wide to the left.

The UCD defence pounced on him but the ball had already been shipped inside, behind his back, to the onrushing Darragh Kiely who steamrolled through the gap for a try which Marsh easily converted.

Yet the 10-6 lead was short lived as UCD engineered a bit of their own magic. Runs from David Lynch created the momentum to unleash their standout performer, Couglan-Murray on the wing, who finished well in the

corner despite a despairing Trinity closeline tackle.

In a gripping end to the first half Trinity unleashed one more salvo.

Maverick outhalf Marsh danced through the first line of defence on the halfway line before being hauled down. A quick ruck from the Trinity backrow enabled Glynn to capitalise on the disordered defence, making a clean break straight through. Speedster NIyi Adeolukun caught up with him in time to receive the pass from Glynn as he drew the fullback, and Adeolukun flew in under the posts for another converted try.

Both teams were held tryless in the second half as they exchanged 2 penalties apiece to bring the score to 23-17. In a tough physical encounter Warren Larkin and Paddy Carroll were particularly damaging around the breakdown while Darragh Crosby and Darragh Kiely nullified UCD’s much touted front row. Paddy Lavelle capped a very good display with a brilliant final 20 minutes in which crucial steals pulled Trinity home.

It wasn’t a complete performance

by Trinity but it certainly contained, in the words of attending Trinity rugby legend Niall Blake Knox, “sporadic displays of brilliance”. As the floodlights dimmed on UCD’s home pitch Trinity walked off with a great win to light the weeks to come.

SPORT

collegesport@trinitynews.ie

THE FULL MATCH REPORT

Trinity’s unbeatable team

SS Trinity storm to victory. Photo by Martin Connolly

Conor Bates Staff Reporter

THE DUBLIN University American Football Team secured its first ever championship when they beat UL Vikings in Limerick. The game lasted for 3 hours and 45 minutes and showcased a brilliant performance from all involved: coaches, offence, with the defence playing a gargantuan role in the victory.

The journey to the championship began early on Saturday morning with a 7 o’clock train to Limerick and would prove to be a long day for a courageous team. The game kicked-off at 1 p.m.

Trinity started brightly after kickoff and made their intentions known by forcing early fumbles on the Limerick offence. Defensive lineman Ziad Foty recovered one such fumble and almost returned it, being stopped just short.

The offence took the field and shortly this possession was converted for 6 points by star running back Rob McDowell. The pacy player received a simple handoff before darting into the end-zone for the game’s opening score.

Trinity missed a 2-point conversion

after the touchdown.

A tough battle ensued for the remainder of the half with both team defences performing admirably. The pitch tore up very easily and as a result both sides struggled to perform on offence. Passing became a fruitless task and both sides began to favour the running game.

Trinity proved the more successful at this undertaking with the running backs, and the occasional scramble from quarterbacks Alex Canepa and James Marron, resulting in yards for the side. Trinity’s defence were excellent in countering the UL running game, as defensive ends Foty and Marcel Roesberg boxed-in the opposition players. Hard-hitting linebackers Hunter Inman, Stephen Carton and David Barker were also ever-present in the defence’s brilliant tackling. The half arrived with Trinity leading 6-0.

Immediately after half time, UL scored a passing touchdown, against the run of play. A lobbed pass to a nimble UL receiver, followed by a 20 yard run, gave the Vikings their opening touchdown. They too missed

a 2-point conversion, leaving the game at 6-6.

Again, the battle resumed and the game became a case of both sides going “3 and out”. Both offences continued to pursue a powerful running game in the ever-worsening conditions.

To their credit, the Trinity offence made some progress in the tough conditions but the circumstances did not provide at all for a Final score was to be 12-6 in Trinity’s favour passing game and first downs became harder to achieve as the game went on. Once more, the defence put in a great shift in the second half; consistently quelling the Limerick momentum and effectively turning over the ball.

The game ended at 6-6, which brought the promise of overtime. The overtime that followed saw many contentious official decisions and drama in the form of missed field goals. In the early stages of the 1st

quarter of overtime, McDowell carried a ball into contact. After a number of players failed to bring him down, the ball popped loose, and was recovered by wide receiver Lorcan Smullen.

Smullen burst with possession and carried the ball roughly 75 yards, dodging tackles, ankle-taps and the soggy and lump terrain to run in the winning touchdown. Unfortunately, however, the play was disallowed: the official had inadvertently blown his whistle to signal the end of the play.

Trinity’s premature celebrations were heartbreaking, but truly spurred them on to victory In the 2nd quarter of overtime, Limerick successfully advanced down the field to the Trinity goal-line. It was here that the defence performed their greatest achievement of the day: they held out in an inspiring stand. After three unsuccessful Limerick attempts to score the game-winning touchdown on the Trinity 2 yard line, they instead opted for a clutch field goal. Limerick, in fact, kicked what appeared to be a good field goal, but the officials again disallowed the attempt, declaring it to have missed.

Trinity recovered a fumbled UL punt late on in the 2nd overtime quarter, the 6th overall, and had a field goal attempt of their own.

Unfortunately this kick, from multifunctional QB James Marron, fell just short. Ultimately though, it was to be Trinity's day.

After a successful defensive spell in the 7th quarter, Trinity forced the UL Vikings into a punting situation.

They chose to fake the punt and instead pass the ball up-field. The pass was shallow, with little velocity, and linebacker Carton intercepted it to leave the Trinity offence in a great scoring position. Again the ball was offloaded to McDowell who cruised into the end-zone for the win in the third quarter of overtime. This time the team could celebrate as they had definitely won: the final score read 12-6.

Carton was awarded man of the match, and celebrations were had by every member of the team, staff and players, as a tired and battered but brilliant and deserving Trinity claimed their first championship on a wondrous day in Limerick.

Success at Intervarsities for Trampoline Club Orla McManus Contributing Writer

ON 12 November Trinity trampolinists headed to Limerick to partake in one of the most anticipated competitions of the year, Intervarsities. With 33 competitors representing Trinity, there was a great buzz in the run up to the competition. Training was intense with up to 20 hours of bouncing to perfect routines in Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Elite levels. On arrival the group headed to the University of Limerick for the general warm up where they mixed with other competitors of clubs from around the country. It was a welcomed opportunity not only to focus on final coaching tips for everyone, but also to

gauge the level of competition.

With an early start on Saturday, the

“The competition continued on into the Advanced levels and once again Trinity triumphed adding more medals to their collection.” sports hall in UL was packed, with six Olympic size trampolines occupied for controlled warm ups. The competition

began with novice men and ladies.

The standard was high yet everyone performed brilliantly considering for most it was their first competition in the sport.

The Intermediate competition began shortly after. Trinity was successful, winning medals with Orla McManus claiming gold and Grainne O’Malley taking home bronze in the women’s category. Ciaran O’Neill impressed both the spectators and the whole panel of judges as he not only placed 1st in the men’s category but achieved the highest mark of the entire Intervarsities competition.

The competition continued on into the Advanced levels and once again Trinity triumphed adding more medals to their collection. Tatiana Kusz

finished in 2nd place following a very impressive routine and Jim O’Hagan was awarded a gold medal when he scored higher than all others in his

“Trinity narrowly missed out on a gold medal by less than 2 points.” category.

The Elite competitors took to the trampolines next, performing routines with up to seven summersaults with a number of twists and body landings.

Competition was tough. Trinity most experienced trampolinists achieved

high marks with Brian O’Halloran ending the day in 4th place.

The competition was wrapped up on the Saturday afternoon and all gathered in the Stables Club on campus that evening for the awards ceremony. UCC were the overall winners with Trinity in second place, narrowly missing out on gold by less than 2 points. In the team competition silver was won as the collective marks of Ciaran O’Neill, Tatiana Kusz, Orla McManus and David Jebb added up to an impressive score. The huge success of the club was celebrated that night as the long hours of training had paid off and, judging from the number of medals and trophies being brought back to Dublin, it had all been worthwhile.

TRINITY NEWS