tn2 Magazine Issue 6, 2012-13

ISSUE 6 23RD JANUARY 2013

FEATURES//INTERVIEWS//OPINION//REVIEWS

MAMA, COME HOME

TWO

CONTENTS

“I WAS FREE TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE AND TO PUSH HARDER IN THE VOCAL STYLE. I WASN’T AFRAID OF DISTORTING MY FACE AND SEEMING UGLY. I WAS ALLOWING MYSELF TO BE MORE ANGRY AND EMOTIONAL” - Martha Wainwright // 16

THE REGULARS 4 11 20 21 22 29 30

OPENERS HOMEGROWN THE ODD COUPLE THE CITYGUIDE FACES UNTIL NEXT TIME THE FINAL SAY

THE REVIEWS

THE FEATURES 8 12 14 16 19

WELL JUSTIFIED BEST BEFORE TO THE POINT PROSERPINA DECISIONS, DECISIONS

24 25 25 26 27 27

FILM BOOKS ART MUSIC TECHNOLOGY GAMES

Editor & Creative Director Aaron Devine Deputy Editor Henry Longden Copy Editor Eoin Tierney Online Editor Ciar Boyle-Gifford Editorial Staff Gabija Purlytė // Tom Lenihan // Deirdre Molumby // Declan Johnston // Paige Crosbie // Hugo Fitzpatrick // Paul Casey Alison Connolly // Jenny Duffy // Alana Ryan // Tara Joshi // Katherine Murphy // Fionnuala Gygax Isabella Davey // Ciaran McGrath // Claudia Carroll Photo Editor Matthew Wilson Illustrator Alice Wilson Creative Consultants Dargan Crowley-Long // Éna Brennan Special Thanks Damien Carr, Matthew Taylor and the Trinity Publications Committee // George Voronov // Clementine Yost // Dean Chalkley and Amy at Skinny Dip // SCAN // Ronan Burtenshaw // Nora Eastwood // Lorcan Cooper // Liza at Friction PR // Staff at EPB Department of Trinity College Library for their ongoing support TN2MAGAZINE.IE // 3

OPENERS

ASSURED ARCHITECTURE DESIGN The New Ireland Assurance building on Dawson street does not exactly stand out, nor is it particularly spectacular. Yet the longer you examine it, the more details reveal themselves.

Purposely designed

by O’Brien, Morris and McCullough, and completed in 1964, it seems to assert a proud Irish identity in all of its elements, beginning with the carved dedication on the left corner of the façade. The sober modernist lines of the building, rather than conjuring a sense of serial mass production and impersonal industrial materials, constitute a framework for custom-designed features and clear symbolically-charged ornament. The solid graniteclad side wall and the stone

the idiosyncratic pattern of mullions and transoms, which bears a similarity to the glazing system of Busáras, is carried over across both façades, making the design more conspicuous.

A shiny coppercoloured metal is used for the glazing bars as well as the massive interlaced ornaments which adorn the second floor of the three central bays, alluding to Celtic metalwork. The monumental double-door portal, obviously not very practical, is a statement reminiscent of heavy cast-bronze doors of medieval churches, and filled with heraldry. The Red Hand of Ulster, the ship of Galway standing for Connacht, the three crowns of Munster and the three castles of Dublin are

Photo by Michael O’Hanrahan

grid which appears to hold the glazing of the façade in place give the building a solidity and weightiness which its left-hand neighbour, with its all-glass front, lacks. On the other hand,

all united, of course, around the harp of Ireland, leaving no doubts with regard to the symbolic message carried by the decorative programme.

Gabija Purlytė

“WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY CHILD!”

LITERATURE Eleanor H Porter’s Pollyanna, a children’s classic, will be 100 this year.

And yes, it may be very sweet and a little bit cheesy, but it will make you smile. When Pollyanna is sent to live with her stern Aunt Polly, she couldn’t be happier. Pollyanna has a big heart (and a big mouth) but no matter how much trouble she gets into, or what misfortunes come her way, she is determined to stay positive, her strange behaviour leaving her aunt “curiously helpless”. Pollyanna calls it her “just being glad game”, in which something to be happy about can be found in any situation. Slowly, she begins to affect everyone in the town – from the maid Nancy,

QUEER AND LOATHING IN THE LAKE DISTRICT FILM Withnail & I contains some of the funniest lines in cult cinema, representing how the simplest of narratives can make a great movie, and has spawned the most dangerous of drinking games. Richard E. Grant was a teetotaller when he prepared for his first screen role, until his director insisted he become drunk to get him into the character of Withnail, an alcoholic, out-of-work, and thoroughly unemployable actor. Accompanied by his friend, the narrator, they embark on a country break that fails to be the idyllic holiday they had hoped for. The appeal of this classic 4 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

lies in the ensuing hilarity, forging a loyal following among students in the way it depicts the two men wondering what they should be doing next.

Much of the film’s promotional art was designed by Ralph Steadman, the illustrator famous for creating the gonzo style illustrations for the works of Hunter S. Thompson, most notably Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The tagline for the film probably sums it up best: “If you can’t remember the 60s . . . don’t worry. Neither can they.”

Tom Lenihan

to the mysterious and silent Mr Pedleton, to the picky invalid Mrs Snow, and even her bitter but lonely Aunt Polly. There is also a sequel written by Eleanor H Porter, but such was the book’s popularity that eleven other Pollyanna stories known as “Glad Books” were published, and there are several film adaptations. In the EPB department there is a lovely hardback copy of Pollyanna from 1913, the year it was first published. It has black and white illustrations, and some pages still uncut. As Pollyanna would say, be glad you can go and enjoy reading this charming tale. This book can be found and explored in the EPB Department of TCD Library.

Jenny Duffy

OPENERS

COOKING UP A STORM

FRONT SQUARE FASHION

FOOD

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

FOR THE BASE 250g digestive biscuits 150g butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING 200g cream cheese 200ml cream 1 egg white Tin of caramel 2 tsp salt

1. Break the biscuits into crumbs in a plastic bag. Add to the melted butter. Put into a 24cm tin and flatten to create the base. Chill for 30 minutes.

2. Whip the cream and add the cream cheese until the mixture is glossy.

3. Add half the caramel and one teaspoon of salt to the cream and cream-cheese mixture.

4. Whip the egg white to stiff peaks and fold into the cream and cheese mixture.

5. Pour over the biscuit base.

6. Mix the remaining caramel with a small amount of cream to make it more fluid, add a teaspoon of salt. Use this mixture to decorate the top of the cheesecake.

7. Chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Alex Simonin

JUKEBOX FLASHBACK JANUARY

2003

MUSIC In the chaotic aftermath of Y2K, which reduced much of the west to a smoking crater sent popular culture freefalling from the lofty heights it had achieved in the 1990s, there appeared a gaping vacuum in the market for a rebellious, angsty female pop star with a ‘tude.

Enter Avril Lavigne, whose debut album Let Go had, by January 2003, gifted her a third consecutive Billboard Number One. How could any of us have weathered the tempest of puberty without an empathetic voice to recount the bittersweet tale of a privileged ballerina and her lost love, the (perhaps hedonistically over-stylised) Sk8er Boi? Safe to say, it would have been Complicated.

Dónal Kennedy

STYLE Miss Aoife Leonard is a delectable Drama student who must be one of the few people who can pull off gathered denim jumpsuits that the eighties had otherwise exhausted. Her lopsided yet vertiginous ponytail lends a fellow recognition to the era of scrunchies and Def Leppard, while her delightful demeanour imbues an airy aspect to her otherwise earthy palette, from the bulky, woollen coat to the thick weft-knit snood.

Isabella Davey

MAGIC HAT BREWING #9 DRINKS Vermont is known better for its maple syrup than its beer, but here comes a delicious ale from the New England state that proves there’s plenty of other beer worth talking about from the northeastern region of the US besides Sam Adams and Brooklyn Lager. Pouring with a pleasant, deep auburn colour (it’s “not quite a pale ale” according to the label), it has a creamy head that holds well throughout consumption. This isn’t your typical winter ale as its first notes are ones of light fruit, with intriguing strawberry flavours coming to the fore, but its drinkability makes it a joy to sip or glug all year round. If you’d prefer to avoid the mild sweetness on these dark winter nights, it works just as well as an antidotal additive to chilli heat in a spicy winter stew or casserole.

Aaron Devine 23RD JANUARY 2013 // 5

OPENERS

GRASS ROOTS GAMING GAMES Eddie Lee struggles to call Kyoto a game. An “audio-reactive experiment” is how he describes it on his web-

discover.

The tree is the central feature of Kyoto and, according to Lee, it was the root

site. Kyoto’s limited amount of interactivity isn’t to its detriment however. It is arresting in its simplicity, allowing the player to easily submerge in its relaxing, ambient atmosphere.

Kyoto is set in one scene: a tree sits on a small island at night. The game is visually striking with its clean lines and dream-like colours. You interact with it by moving and clicking the mouse – and that’s all. Dragging the cursor across the water and grass will cause it to ripple and rustle. As you prod and poke at the scene, it

of the game. “I wanted to try to code some simple tree physics. So I did some research and implemented the physical interactions between the player and the leaf nodes,” explains Lee. “I found the interaction quite ‘fun’ and it occurred to me I can actually use these mechanics to develop a game around it.”

Lee calls Kyoto a homage to the city he is currently living in. “Kyoto is a magical place – full of wonder, naturalistic beauty and a sense of mystery.” Kyoto – the game

TAKE FIVE // NUMBER 6 1

2

3

4

THE TRACK // DOLDRUMS // ANOMALY // After appearing on the B-side to Portishead’s 2011 release Chase the Tear, producer Airick Woodhead has rolled out another experimental track which tends towards synth-pop. It is disjointed and electronic while displaying an innocent retro ambiance. Available on Soundcloud.

THE FESTIVAL // CUBAN FILM SEASON // CERVANTES INSTITURE // Cervantes Institute have got together with the Cuban Embassy to install a film poster exhibition to go alongside their celebration of Cuban Film. On January 23rd, 24th, 30th and 31st enjoy examples of the defining na tional art from a selection of long-established directors tackling issues such as ethics, war, and vampires.

THE TICKET // AZARIA STARFIRE BURLESQUE SHOW // TWISTED PEPPER // €12 // On 2nd February Twisted Pepper closes its doors to chomping high-tops and welcomes a bit of class, well some sort of art anyway. Azaria Starfire, one of the best around, gives a masterclass in the sexy that we can all enjoy guilt-free, whiskey in hand.

THE APP // WHOSAMPLED // €2.69 // For the iPhone and Android this program dissects your music library or searched songs and tells you who has sampled, remixed and covered each song. It is also integrated with YouTube so you can listen to Jessie Ware’s original from the copious amount of remixes scattered around the internet.

gradually changes. The game – certainly manages to reflect gives little direction as to what just that. Play Kyoto at illogic will bring about these changes: tree.com/games/kyoto/ Hugo Fitzpatrick only by experimenting do you

JOIN THE CONVERSATION @tn2magazine 5 facebook.com/ tn2magazine 6 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

THE BOOK // SWANS OF THE KREMLIN // CHRISTINA EZRAHI // With the unfolding drama surrounding the controversies of the Russian Ballet, this well-timed release studies the survival and mutation of dance in the face of Bolshevik revolution.

Compiled by Henry Longden

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L

et’s go out on a limb. Is it possible that TV executives don’t actually watch TV? This is the conclusion I come to every time I stumble across another fantastic series that I am unable to find on the broadcast schedule for one of the 4 billion channels that come with the average Sky package these days. It happened with The Wire (which was eventually picked up by TG4 – had I taken those supplementary Irish lessons maybe I would have found out). It happened with Breaking Bad – one of the most critically acclaimed shows in

DOI

history still hasn’t found an up-to-date air slot on a mainstream channel on our side of the Atlantic. It happened with Mad Men – until the fourth season, Don Draper’s escapades were hidden in the deep recesses of BBC4, before being broadcast on RTE at the same ridiculous hour as TV3’s Psychics Live. I thought Sky Atlantic – on the basic Sky package and boasting a smorgasbord of the finest overseas television – would satisfy me, but even with Game of Thrones, Bored to Death and Boardwalk Empire, I am left wanting. Why is this happening? Why are some of the most intelligent, provocative, artful television programmes escaping our screens? Perhaps it’s a money thing. Then again, perhaps not: Homeland, although collapsing into absurdity in its second season, is from a premium American channel like all the aforementioned programmes and that jumped

T.V.

Walton Goggins, star of Justified, talks to tn2 about the upcoming season of the critically acclaimed FX show, and discusses his roles in newly-released films Lincoln and Django Unchained

right into the primetime slots on RTE and Channel 4. So I’ll never know why, but hopefully someone finds out and gets to fixing the problem soon so we can all have the finest, legally obtained televisual treasures with which to procrastinate.

Justified is one of those misplaced treasures. Although not being completely ignored, the best it gets is a graveyard slot on 5USA, crammed mercilessly between a couple of trashy detective series with a combination of the letters S, C and I somewhere in their acronymic titles. Set in Kentucky and centring on the exploits of Deputy US Marshall Raylan Givens (subtly portrayed by Deadwood’s Timothy Olyphant), the show, created by Graham Yost but based on the short story Fire In The Hole by Elmore Leonard, has received universal critical acclaim. Walton Goggins steps up to the plate as Givens’ unpredictable antagonist Boyd Crowder, the white supremacist-turned-Born-Again-Christian and ambitious career criminal. Just one fascinating part of the series’ rich character landscape, Crowder is the grease that keeps the wheels of the show’s plot turning. Talking to me during the filming of the Justified’s fourth season, Goggins discusses how he views his character so far: “I see him as a flawed, morally challenged person who has taken great lengths to accept who he is. So he’s OK with that and that’s the only

ING THE TIME WORDS Aaron Devine

“THE SHOW HAS REVOLUTIONISED HOW PEOPLE SEE THAT PART OF THE COUNTRY”

way I can see it, to kind of justify his behaviour. The things that Boyd does are in the service of something greater, they’re a means to an end for him – I’ve never seen him really as a villain.”

Would he have been attracted to the part as much if it were a simple case of playing a bad guy? ”I think that’s how he was originally conceived . . . Boyd was only supposed to be in the pilot. He dies in the short story that the show is based on, so once we had the opportunity, the powers that be decided to make Boyd an integral part of the show and, luckily for me, I had a lot of say in that. We had a very unique opportunity to reintroduce this person to the audience that they thought they had become familiar with. So, the person you meet in the pilot is unilaterally transformed in the second episode, and it’s rare that you get that opportunity. When it happens, it’s gold.”

Surely that’s one of the benefits of television, to have this time with a character and a story, to allow them to evolve? “You’re right on the money”, he says. “An actor worth his weight in salt would be a fool, if given the opportunity, not to delve into the mind and heart of a character over the course of . . . eighty-four hours. That’s when you really begin to understand what makes someone tick. It’s harder to do that with a movie.”

Given the rural, southern backdrop to most of the action, some critics have labelled Justified as “hillbilly noir”, perhaps glibly and unfairly. How does Goggins (born in Alabama) think the show has affected audiences’ opinion on an area of the USA that is somewhat dismissed as the home of fried chicken and dungarees? “I think it’s turned people’s conceptions on its head. It’s revolutionised the stereotypes and supports them simultaneously; the show in a lot of ways has revolutionised how people see that part of the country. Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens are very smart people, with an acute sense of humour, a very dry sense of humour.” The show also doesn’t consciously preach a message of righteousness about the people of Kentucky. Goggins agrees: “I don’t think it’s pedantic, I 23RD JANUARY 2013 // 9

FILM don’t think it talks down to its audience or the people that it represents but it actually builds them up. Like any great show, when you see your culture reflected in entertainment, while some stereotypical elements will be included, hopefully you will transcend those things and get to some larger truths of one’s culture and I think that’s what Justified does.”

Many of the characters on Justified are not what you would consider angels, with a rich culture of crime being portrayed throughout. Harlan County, where most of the action is specifically based, surprisingly isn’t fictional, so how does the show go down with the locals? “I think that’s been our greatest compliment: the fact that the people in Harlan, and the people in Kentucky in general, love the show. If we have their nod of approval and we have Elmore Leonard’s nod of approval then we feel like we’re honouring that which we set out to.”

His fine work on the show has not gone unnoticed. Although boasting an expansive list of film and television credits (most notably as Shane Vendrell in The Shield), Justified has helped him secure his first Emmy nomination and supporting roles in two of this year’s biggest films, as creepy Mandingo fight trainer Billy Crash in Django Unchained and Congressman Wells A. Hutchins in Lincoln. The masterminds behind those films, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg respectively, are two of the most iconic directors of their generation, so how does he feel about having worked with them both in such a short space of time, and how did each

new opportunities and that’s been happening my whole career. I’ve been doing this 22 years and each one has been a step closer to where I want to be, but each step has been a necessity and this last year has been a big step forward in that endeavour.”

But what exactly is that endeavour?

Where is it exactly that he wants to be? “I think it’s to collaborate with the best on a regular basis. I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to do that a number of times in my career.” So is he perhaps already there to some extent? “I’ve worked with the best in television for twelve years and I did The Apostle with Robert Duvall when I was 24. I’ve done a number of movies with a lot of my heroes and they’ve all been learning experiences. This has just been a very fruitful chapter and one that I will never forget.”

Effortlessly polite throughout our discussion, it seems that Goggins really doesn’t have a bad word to say about anybody. He certainly won’t comment when I bring up Tarantino’s recent outburst in the face of Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s questions on film violence on Channel 4 News. But I can’t help wondering what his take on the issue is. Not one to lose his cool like Tarantino, his reticence is matched only by his politeness: “I don’t think it’s really my place to comment.” So he really doesn’t have an opinion? “It’s not the place for an actor in my position to set policy or to weigh in. I’m just grateful that the conversation has started and it’s something that will be ongoing. What happened in our country is beyond unspeakable, it’s horrible and it’s time that a

TARANTINO OR SPIELBERG? “THAT’S LIKE CHOOSING BETWEEN FILET MIGNON AND FILET MIGNON - YOU’RE LUCKY JUST TO TAKE A BITE” experience differ? In his careful, considered way, he reveals that, “The similarities are evident in the way that you spoke about them: they are giants in the landscape of directors and film. Their contributions to this art form will long surpass their participation on this planet. They’re just pros, and when you work with people like that they have an ability to instil this confidence in you, you know you’re in the hands of one of the greats. Therefore, your ego goes out the window and you just turn yourself over to their hands and allow them to mould you whichever way they need you to be moulded.

There are differences in style because they are different people. Steven’s probably a little easier, a little more laidback and Quentin’s a little more enthusiastic and I have both of those sides to me. So to get to work with them back-to-back was a dream come true because it was an opportunity to take direction from two different styles and for each of them to be equally effective.” I have to ask. Does he have a favourite? He doesn’t reach for the bait: “That’s like asking someone to choose between filet mignon and filet mignon – you’re lucky just to take a bite.”

Do these recent experiences mark a turning point for the actor who, up until now, has mainly enjoyed a career in supporting roles on TV shows and independent films? “It’s not a singular turning point. It’s tantamount to living one’s life. There are many different things in my life which have brought about change and new growth and 10 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

dialogue begins and we’re having it now. It’s just unfortunate what it has taken for that to happen.” There’s a palpable sense that everyone in the film industry has been told to “zip it” by the powers that be, perhaps on the back of film lobbyists being summoned to the White House by Vice-President Joe Biden to discuss this issue of violence in films. Perhaps the industry is being used as a scapegoat for a much broader problem? “I don’t think this is the time or place to have that conversation.” And so I get back in my box . . .

What opportunities await Walton Goggins up ahead? He co-runs Ginny Mule Pictures, an Academy Award -winning production company, so can he see that taking up more of his time than acting in the future? “Probably not more than acting, but on par with it . . . I quite enjoy the muscles that one flexes when they’re behind the camera.” Can he see himself one day running a show of his own? “I like guiding people through the emotional experience of watching a movie or a television show. I feel like I’m really just understanding more of what it is I want to say and I hope that I can continue to participate in this industry in that way.” So maybe another TV treasure could be on the cards. TV execs: take note. We can’t have another one getting lost on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Justified Season 1 and 2 are on DVD release now with Season 3 being released on DVD on February 25th. Season 4 starts on 5USA in the Spring. Lincoln is released on January 25th and Django Unchained is in cinemas now.

One half of musical duo Solar Bears talks to tn2 about family life and the creative process behind their upcoming second album

E

HOM EGR OWN

xpansive, exuberant and emotive: the music of Dublin and Wicklow natives John and Rian is nothing short of epic. The duo, who met in audio engineering college, have garnered significant acclaim since their formation in 2010, creating a sound which fuses synths and live instrumentation, employing both analogue and digital recording techniques. In Rian’s own words, “We have an affinity for anything that suggests imagery, and try not to be restricted in our approach to that . . . You could say there’s a tendency towards saturation, distortion, damage etc. We love texture.”

Texture and depth are prime features of Solar Bears’ music. Their 2010 debut She Was Coloured In is beautifully subtle, a great record which merges soft, often slightly plaintive sounds with purposeful, strong rhythms and hazy synths – yet still manages to sound spontaneous and fun. How do they achieve such a sound?

“We’re always working as fast as possible to avoid any stagnation, and taking frequent breaks to avoid objectivity loss. Sometimes it’s an idea we have on the day of working, sometimes an idea we’ve had for a long time but never found a place where it fits.” Yet Rian is quick to deflect attention from John and his indubitable talent: “Since the beginning, many good people have helped us out in many ways. We’re indebted to them, and always try to remember that our current position is largely the result of the encouragement people showed to the project.”

In interview, Rian is incredibly humble and generous in his praise of others. Given that his dad is a notable composer who worked with the likes of Kate Bush and Paul McCartney, it seems fitting to ask how much of an impact his family life had on his musical interest. His answer does much to inspire jealousy: “The house was always full of engineers, producers and musicians because of this. It was a kind of hub for my friends to come and start projects too. Both

MUSIC

WORDS Alana Ryan

my parents are incredibly kind people: they have always showed undying support for their children. My dad would bring me to recording sessions at a very young age. He was enthusiastic about me watching how he worked. An amazing person. I feel incredibly lucky to know him.” Similarly, when I asked him how he felt about the current Irish music scene he’s quick to highlight other artists’ work.

He enthusiastically states that Solar Bears are “huge, huge fans of Sunken Foal. [He’s] completely doing his own thing. We think he is incomparable.”

At the minute the duo are putting the finishing touches on their second album Supermigration, whose lead single Cosmic Runner is out now. A track fuelled by an insatiable rhythmic structure and an eerie melody, it’s definitely worthy of countless plays.

Rian reveals that Supermigration will be very much a progression rather than continuation: “We started writing and recording in a well-equipped studio, whereas before we were using pretty basic gear in an attic space. We’d constantly be discovering things about the equipment as we went along this time round, which made for a lot of happy accidents and strange, unorthodox ways of tracking . . . we also fell in love with vinyl sampling and female voices on this one.”

It’s always difficult to pick from the relentless host of new Irish bands, but for me Solar Bears are close to the top of the pile. I don’t know if it’s their innate sense of melody and rhthym, their professional production or the diverse nature of their influences – few bands appear to have such a fervent love of cinematic film scores – which gives them the edge. But what I can say with certainty is that if you’re not listening in you are missing out.

Solar Bears new album Supermigration will be out in April of this year. Photo coutesy of SCAN - www.flickr.com/photos/afghaniscan 23RD JANUARY 2013 // 11

FOOD

NOSTALGIA FOR THE BITE

W

ith the constant rush to find new Dublin outlets that push the limits of interesting and alternative as a bar and restaurant critic, it’s easy to forget sometimes that this here city hasn’t always been six types of coffee and Mexican food. Hell, it hasn’t even always been Four in One and McDonalds. For a long time food and drink in Dublin came in some very standard packages. There was the pub for drinking and the restaurant for steak. The times I do get to do a little more reflection – that is to say time spent in the pub, and I do engage in those hypothetical games we all like to play on ourselves – I wonder what decade would have been the best to be a critic in Dublin. I’m now certain, in my own head, that it’s the 1970s.

This may not seem like an obvious choice. Surely it would be the 1950s, for the chance to meet Brendan Behan in every licensed establishment this side of the Shannon? Or the 2000s to gorge yourself on lobster saffron soufflé served on a bed of opulence with foam of decadence? Nope, definitely the 70s. While the 70s proved to be an era of extraordinary social change in Ireland, the revolution that took place in our capital’s eating establishments was possibly the least exciting phenomenon ever to have been given the moniker “revolution”. If it were a named revolution, like the October, Cultural or Velvet revolutions, it would be the Beige Revolution, in honour of the wallpaper industry single-handedly sustained by the meeting houses of the revolutionaries.

It was however the beginning of bringing food away from 12 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

homes and elite hotels and to the people. As with all decades of change too, it allowed ample scope for the reviewer to hypocritically jump between scathing and directly contradictory points of view: lamenting the passing of the old order, engaging in culinary nostalgia and openly embracing the new, writing off the old as outdated and irrelevant, without ever having to be held accountable for it. It was a golden age for passive aggressiveness, the fodder of the critic’s trade.

In Dublin in the 70s, people were generally either part of a coterie of wealthy individuals who dined out in an exclusive circle of hotel restaurants or they ate at home. The dining scene had been dominated up until that point by some of the most exclusive restaurants in Europe, usually situated in upmarket hotels (although Dublin Airport Restaurant was a big draw too). Francois and Michel Jamme’s French restaurant in Dublin was regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world. The Russell Hotel Restaurant was reviewed by the Egon Ronay Guide, which surmised that “words fail us in describing the brilliance of the cuisine at this elegant and luxurious restaurant which must rank amongst the best in the world.”

Brilliant.

Elitism in our day and age has had to hide beneath a series of euphemisms that have done nothing to remove its incendiary nature, but no longer allow for the comic caricaturing. You can almost hear pound coins falling from the mouth of the reviewer and hitting the floor here though as he speaks. For the first time, Irish chefs who had learned their trade from the continentals and the Michelin star chefs were setting up their own small house-based restaurants.

FOOD

Food and Drink Co-Editor Declan Johnston takes a fascinating trip through the history of Dublin's restaurant culture

ILLUSTRATION Alice Wilson

We had the arrival of such delightfully unpretentious-sounding restaurants as Snaffles and The Soup Bowl. Who wouldn’t want to eat in a place as charmingly named as Snaffles?

Food was being marketed to the wider public, and like many a fad before and since, we took to it with almost vulgar enthusiasm. Most of these new restaurants opened by amateurs were situated in Leeson Street basements. As is often our wont though, most of the restaurants on Leeson Street were merely restaurants with alcohol licences operating as all-night drinking holes. The food enthusiasts’ determination however meant that they made a big im-

today, what it must be like as a reviewer, to try coleslaw for the very first time.

The scale and detail of the reform was important. We wouldn’t have much of a restaurant culture in Dublin today without it; but it was so subtle, even the Catholic Church might have termed it conservative. Restaurants like Mirabeau’s stopped doing things like lifting up the chairs on to the tables around you when they wanted you to leave. Sometimes it was all a bit too much, one reviewer stating it was better to pay a bit extra “so that one doesn’t have that nagging feeling during dinner that the coats will go walking”.

While the city’s culinary privileged were swapping French and Italian for home grown, the silent majority were embracing the biggest developments in foreign food since a young Walter Raleigh stepped onto a Dublin wharf with a curious looking tuber. We were gaining Indian, Chinese and American food. Chinese restaurants had been in Dublin since the 50s, but they suddenly spread rapidly across the capital in the 70s, becoming available to all. There existed a brief period of ambiguity where they were slowly becoming too common for society’s best and brightest, but not quite ubiquitous enough to be disregarded. It made for brilliantly condescending reviews like this one in The Irish Times: “The delights of Chinese cuisine, while well-known to the sophisticated Irish gourmet, have only recently become available to a much wider range of the public.

Now it is Bray’s turn to savour the delights of Oriental cooking.” Yup. Even Bray got a bite of the cherry now.

Similarly Indian restaurants, which had also opened in the 50s, went mainstream, much to the chagrin of their former patrons, and reviewers began the scramble to find the highest class within a genre that was sinking quickly. A reviewer took delight when they found a restaurant which could be lavishly lauded for its superior methods. One reviewer, upon finding a restaurant utilising a style which was apparently particularly well-regarded in India itself, gushed that it had set itself a part as “a different class from the quick rice-and-curries which form the staple of most Oriental restaurants”.

Captain America’s revolutionised fast food in the city, becoming an on-the-edge outfit, constantly redeveloping and giving a chance to some of the best up-and-coming artists on the Irish music scene. Their menu was so edgy, that reviewers had to remind their readers that tacos, burritos and enchiladas were “no, not mules and insects, but lively dishes from Texas, New Mexico and Arizona”. The Minister for Labour Michael O’Leary (not that one) opened Dublin’s first McDonald’s in 1977. This engendered the most passive-aggressive of all the dining review responses, the age was passing, the king was dead, long live the king: “Michael Mehigan and his partner have just invested £100,000 in an installation devised to put minced meat in a bun and sell it to the public. They have opened Ireland’s first McDonald restaurant.” The “accidental typo”, that most devastating

“MOST OF THE RESTAURANTS ON LEESON STREET HAD ALCOHOL LICENCES AND WERE MERELY OPERATING AS ALL-NIGHT DRINKING HOLES” pact and eventually succeeded in putting the hotels out of business.

Dublin had proper, stand-alone restaurants for the first time.

There was a great deal of optimism among these new restaurant owners and perhaps even a bit of naïveté: they formed a Union in 1970 called the Irish Restaurant-owners Association. Yes that’s right, they called themselves the IRA. They grew steadily though and it was in Snaffles that Mick Jagger came to eat when he was in Dublin. The dishes that appeared on the menus at the time were alarmingly exotic for the Dublin public: fried calamari, mousse and even coleslaw were available for the first time. I can only speculate

weapon in the arsenal of the restaurant critic.

The 70s weren’t a great time for the overall quality of Irish food. Ireland didn’t receive a Michelin star between 1974 and 1989.

Haute cuisine as it were, went into steep decline. Food though was given to the people, and the world’s most timid revolution came to pass. Living through that must have been interesting in its own right. More in a University Challenge than a The Wire sort of a way, granted, but interesting none the less. In any case, it’s only idle speculation, the poor old TN didn’t have food critics back then. That was only possible in a post-revolution world.

23RD JANUARY 2013 // 13

GAMES

OUT OF THE ASHES The point-and-click adventure game is in demise, but we look at one company, Telltale Games, and investigate how its engagement with humanity spells its success

T

elltale Games was created out of the premature death of the adventure genre. Lucasarts, previously known for a slew of intricate, comedic, point-and-click adventure games, became a Star Wars factory. There was no longer any place in their company for the satirical edge of Sam & Max or Monkey Island.

It was the commercial failure of Grim Fandango designed by fellow Lucasarts employee Tim Schafer (also founder of Double Fine Productions) that had effectively killed their willingness to invest in the genre. The cancellation of a new Sam & Max game in 2004

by Lucasarts was the catalyst which led Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander to create a new home for point-and-click adventures.

Their gamble on the genre’s return to popularity paid off.

Releasing their games in episodic seasons, they found a way to deliver extended story-based gameplay to a modern audience unwilling to commit to long hours. Speaking with Gameinformer in October, Dan Connors pointed to the success of HBO as an inspiration: “We saw the strength in that model as the way to tell a story and it was 14 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

tied into our digital distribution strategy, which was to break the content up in a way that would engage people over time and have them return to you, instead of just building a one-time experience.”

Telltale, in helping the adventure game regain its popularity, have utilised two of the most famous names in the genre.

Sam & Max have been called back into duty three times, the most recent being 2010’s The Devil’s Playground. Guybrush Threepwood has returned only once for 2009’s Tales of Monkey Island, led by series veteran Dave Grossman.

Picking up a copy of the brilliant Monkey Island Special Editions or managing to get an old copy of Sam & Max working will show that Telltale’s games are true sequels to these classics.

Those who remember the original titles may initially mourn the loss of the SCUMM interface, but after a short time players will appreciate how Telltale have streamlined the experience of inspecting a rogue monkey or paranoid shop clerk. Both titles retain the sense of humour, and more importantly the absurd puzzles they built their names on.

Most of Telltale’s business though has been from movie and television tie-ins, like Back to the Future, CSI, and most recently the comic book tie-in The Walking Dead. While some of their work, like 2011’s Jurassic Park, has been criticised for being excessively linear, Telltale have displayed a gift for combining a strong narrative with interactivity. Or perhaps even more importantly, for making linear gameplay irrelevant in the face of quality storytelling.

The Walking Dead – which finished its first season in late November 2012 – has received “Game of The Year” awards from several high profile websites and publications, including Wired, Destructoid, and GamesRadar. For a point-and-click adventure game in 2012 – even one based on a successful franchise – this is a great achievement.

The Walking Dead is closest to Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, in how it prioritises the pursuit of humanity as an end in itself, often asking the player to take pride in seemingly mundane tasks.

The way in which the game deals with choice is quite different however. Whereas Heavy Rain was built on the promise of a playertailored story (there are 22 possible endings) The Walking Dead is more concerned with relationships. Different characters can die depending on your decisions, but the greatest moral questions posed are not simply reduced to a branching storyline. There may be no noticeable difference in the story except that you chose to try to be

GAMES a good person.

The tendency of the player to think “What can I get out of this?” is common. One look at the terrible fallout from the ending of Mass Effect 3 will suggest that players are not inclined to consider morality or choice in a video game as anything other than a way to unlock different content. It needs to represent their exclusive agency in that world, and if that reduces the story to mush, what does it matter?

This is a good argument against the branching approach.

No matter how many different choices are accounted for, there will still be those other ones that the player feels are essential. The Walking Dead shows that this does not need to be the standard. Whether they provoke the player to adopt on-the-fly survivalism, or encourage a move away from self-preservation, Telltale put the question front and centre, not the result. Although there are results.

A big reason why this aspect of The Walking Dead works – apart from the terrific voice acting and dialogue – is the young girl who is left in your care by circumstance. Instead of the player

becoming irked that not every choice branches off into a new scenario, Clementine makes them aware of not only what to say, but how to say it. As with Robert Kirkman’s comic books, the zombie apocalypse is the context. While there are thrilling action scenes which disguise their linearity with near-perfect craft, the moments which most impress are the ones which ask you to care for Clementine. And while it may not branch off in the severe fashion required by some, its final moments succeed in a way far beyond the adaptive trickery of Heavy Rain. As a rumination on the role of the parent, this is a powerful work. It is also as entertaining as any game in 2012.

The Walking Dead has certainly raised the profile of narrative in video games. Even with the genre’s taste for comedy, the story was always the primary concern. It has simply gained a new maturity. This was the potential that Telltale Games invested in, and something which fans of the genre have long waited to see.

While Lucasarts continues to suck the Star Wars barrel dry, the brave and ambitious people carrying on their heritage are doing great things.

WORDS Paul Casey

AND INTO THE DEAD 23RD JANUARY 2013 // 15

Y MUSIC

esterday Spotify recommended I take a listen to Scarlett Johansson, Joan as Policewoman, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Nick Cave. Apparently they are “related artists” to Martha Wainwright, the Canadian musician who, since releasing her eponymous debut in 2005, has been distinguishing herself as one of the most passionate and vivacious artists of her generation. It seems a slightly incongruous list, quite at odds with the sound of Martha’s music, so much so that I’m interested to see the singer’s own reaction to such comparisons. After a prolonged pause Martha’s voice radiates from the hands-free: “Well maybe they put Scarlett Johansson on ‘cause I look a lot like her.”

Witty, candid and incredibly warm, Martha is an absolute pleasure to chat to. Although burdened with the tiresome “daughter of, sister to” references, Wainwright is very much her own artist, and with three studio albums and one live record released in the last seven years she’s a pretty prolific one too.

Come Home to Mama, her most recent album, fuses elements of classical rock, electro and classical throughout it – an eclectic mix but one which works surprisingly well. Made during a particularly tumultuous period of her life (her mother Kate McGarrigle was dying of cancer during the recording period, and Martha had just given birth to her first child), the record is suffused with emotion. It’s a visceral work: raw anger and trauma coincide with elation and joy, so what was the artistic process like for her? “Actually sort of like making my first record in a way. At that time I was in my early twenties and there was a lot of anger and angst and naval gazing . . . I wrote [this record] pretty quickly.

It was a question of not wanting to stop. I know my mother would have wanted me to make the record right away.” To combine a new born with long hours in the studio and an exhaustive touring schedule is far from easy, yet Wainwright is sanguine about such an undertaking: “I wanted to find a path where I could have a child and tour . . . bringing him on the road as much as possible, incorporating him into our lives and of course we’re going to hit some walls but we’re adapting.”

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MUSIC

SPRING GODDESS Canadian singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright talks to Music Editor Alana Ryan about motherhood, her latest album, and the difficulties of being a women in the music industry

From the offset I was intrigued to hear about her experience as a woman within the male-dominated music industry. As a sector, it has courted continued controversy with the most recent notable example being cutting off Adele midway through her acceptance speech for Best British Album at last year’s Brit Awards – a move which prompted Lily Allen to tweet that “It was like the music industry’s attitude to women played out as a metaphor”. For Wainwright it’s imperative to be aware of the adversities but remain focused: “My mother always talked about it as sort of a hindrance; being a woman in the music business.

It’s a man’s world, but that’s sort of it with most professions unfortunately.” I’m keen to know whether she feels it’s her responsibility as an artist to alter that power dynamic, and if asking Japanese musician Yuka Honda to produce Come Home to Mama was a conscious decision to bring more women into the fold? “Absolutely. I felt very strongly about it. I never really exercised a strong feminine or female camaraderie in my music because I didn’t want to be sexist one way or the other. It was a case of ‘Whoever is the best we’ll go with,’ which often meant more men and male decisions. But with this album I met with a few [male] producers and at the end of each meeting my distinct impression was he doesn’t get it. [The music] is a very female story; I’m talking about marriage and how it can be difficult, I’m talking about my mother and motherhood and all these other sort of things. I felt I needed someone who was aware of what those things are.”

Feminism is a subject which Wainwright is evidently passionate about, so I’m compelled to push for further insights into the sexual imbalance in the musical sphere. With this latest record she elucidates it wasn’t solely a case of wanting to work with people who could empathise with the motherhood experience, but rather that on a fundamental level she just wanted to be comfortable in her own creative space. “I wanted to be in an environment where I wasn’t the other. You know you go into a studio and there are ten guys and you’re usually the only woman, you always have to change perhaps in some way.” If this is what 23RD JANUARY 2013 // 17

MUSIC a confident and established singer still feels despite a lifetime immersed in the industry, one cannot help but wonder what it must be like for a younger female artist just starting out.

In terms of technique, the presence of Yuka Honda had a very liberating effect on the Canadian: “I was free to be more aggressive and to push harder in the vocal style, I wasn’t afraid of distorting my face and seeming ugly . . . and I was allowing myself to be more angry and emotional.” A strong personality, it’s hard to imagine her ever being the shy, self-conscious type, yet there is a notable shift in tone with this latest collection. On songs such as I Am Sorry and All Your Clothes her vocals power through with aplomb, reminding us of the range and emotional depth which we glimpsed on Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers – her live tribute to another great female musician, Edith Piaf. Similarly the electro flourish which opens Four Black Sheep, a track which her aunt Anne McGarrigle produced, is an exciting little surprise that adds a real contemporary feel to the record.

On the subject of her own musical style Wainwright admits to taking her own anger into the songs. It was this natural gravitation towards the darker depths of human nature which prompted the young Martha to leave Canada – a place which is imbued with a “culture of ease and is very relaxed and less competitive” – to seek out the turbulence of New York City. “I tend to be aggressive and that started early on as I was trying to get attention basically by using swear words or being overtly sexual.” Was this desire for atten-

“I WAS TRYING TO GET ATTENTION

BY USING SWEAR WORDS OR BEING OVERTLY SEXUAL”

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tion symptomatic of her competition with her brother Rufus, or a desire to differentiate herself from her surname? “No, it comes with everyone else, it’s a sort of a fear of not being noticed – and I just came out that way.”

It appears that despite her overtly confident demeanour there’s a real vulnerability there, a latent anxiety, proving just how human and relatable Wainwright is.

My final impression of Martha Wainwright is

how perfectly her life fuses with her music. Such phrases as “work-life balance” would be flippant and futile if used in conjunction with this singer. Music is in her blood and in her brain; there is little reason to assume that anything could ever alter this. In her own words: “Because music was sort of the norm it’s not separated. I don’t treat my artistry as if it’s a separate entity . . . it’s all fluid.” And fortunately for the rest of us this intertwining of art with life means she’ll continue to document the highs and lows of humanity with perception and wit for some time to come. For her there is no choice: “I just couldn’t stop working, it’s not good enough as a hobby.”

Martha Wainwright plays Roisin Dubh in Galway on February 2nd and The Pepper Canister Church, Dublin on February 3rd and 4th. Photos of Martha courtesy of Dean Chalkley --- deanchalkley.com

STYLE

PURCHASE THE SENSIBLE SHOE No more shall our battered, bruised and gnarled trotters squeeze into 2012’s Jeffrey Campbells, with practicality topping preposterous as the order of the day.

Nicholas Ghesquire, for his final round at the French fashion power plant plonked his Balenciaga turbo babes in leather-soled lego clumps that gave more than a nod to the Shellys London 90s punk planks.

Speaking laterally, monk straps have revealed themselves as a tour de force in their own right, even seducing the king of sling backs and sore ankles, Christian Louboutin, into creating a beautiful two-tone buckled brogue. Reference Grenson’s

for perforated perfection in their inimitable designs, or Alexander Wang for the softest of leather and chicest of buckling.

On the subject of practicality, let us not forget about Christopher Kane’s hideous summer contraptions which, although they resemble Jesus sandals with stacked heels, never work out successfully on sand.

DEC S ONS

New year, same old you? Here’s a round-up of 2013’s trends that may end up gracing your back, and those that should have stayed respectfully in 1976.

WORDS Isabella Davey

PARRY STUDS

PONDER

POWER COLLABORATIONS

Whether or not the world needs more over-zealous designers spraying their aesthetics, 2013 is set to be a culmination of power players teaming up with the big labels after years of quirkiness, and independents vying for our attention. The transferral of Alexander Wang to head Balenciaga is the main collaboration that’s got commentators clucking with excitement. The streamlined and ready-to-wear aesthetic is deeply embedded in both Wang’s and Balenciaga’s creativity. Cristobal’s designs previously upheld a recurrent style throughout, seeking lashings of black lace and exceptional tailoring. Let’s hope Wang accepts this, rather than leaving us bereft of slinky eveningwear and intricacy that dubbed the creator “an architect of bygone figures of vanished forms”.

Another mash is the appointment of J.W Anderson to Versace’s diffusion line, Versus.

“Versus is all about fun, change, and digital. I can’t wait to present this collaboration!” Donatella Versace commented when asked about the collaboration between the two. Here’s hoping for more Anderson structure and less Versace exposed nipples.

However, I feel the prize for most ridiculous combination is Katy Perry and crisps. One can only assume that “Pop Chips” taste like glitter, kittens, bubblegum tears and whipped cream trauma.

With every New Year the plans to cut carbs, double gym hours, experiment more, or buy less crap always ends in failure and too many guilty affairs with Topshop lace. By February we have realised that no matter how much we embrace utilitarian chic, admit fuschia pink is the new white, and that black is doomed to be the attire of boring consultants and fat people. Ralph Fiennes (or is that just me?) will never fall for us and our updated fashion sense.

In accepting this, we must also remember that the headline act of everything that went wrong in 2012 was studs, a trend that deserves to be crucified, impaled and exterminated. Let studs delve back to being the corpse of the 80s and eradicate themselves from all items that aren’t crotchless latex fetishes or reminiscences of Johnny Rotten in 76.

Exchequer Street’s new embarrassment is Cherrie Bum, a travesty of unflattering velveteen and virginities stolen too soon. Their worst offender? A horrifically studded bra. You have been warned.

23RD JANUARY 2013 // 19

SEX/OP

THE ONE WITH A TWIST MONDAY She could do better, my friends tell me on a daily basis. Today, one likens her to pornographic actress Faye Reagan, who I pretend not to know.

“And I don’t mean Faye Reagan these days,” he adds. “I mean when she was fresh and still super thin. I’d say she rides like Nina Carberry too.”

As I am about to respond, she sits down beside me. She kisses me on the cheek before turning to the lads to ask if they had watched Liverpool and Man U, but I’m not really listening because I feel like the King of the Buttery, maybe even of the whole western part of campus.

“ONE FRIEND LIKENS HER TO PORNOGRAPHIC ACTRESS FAYE REAGAN, WHO I PRETEND NOT TO KNOW. ‘AND I DON’T MEAN FAYE REAGAN THESE DAYS,’ HE ADDS. ‘I MEAN WHEN SHE WAS FRESH AND STILL SUPER THIN’ ”

TUESDAY My sister lines up her putt. “She’ll leave you for someone handsome,” she says. “Has she cheated on you yet?” I intentionally walk across her line.

“Don’t walk across my line.” She practices her putting motion. She’s annoyingly assured on the greens. “She’s got such a cute face,” she says. “Always smiling. She reminds me of Nina Carberry in that way. A real sunny manner about her.” She putts, sinking it from about nine feet, and stays silent as I two-putt from five. “Mind you, she’s all sweetness and light but I’d say she rides like a porn star.”

WEDNESDAY The postman comes. “Four score and seven days ago, you brought forth on this woman the words, ‘I love you’. I thought that was the best day ever but I was wrong because every day since then I have loved you more and felt more wonderful. I hope I’ve worked An Post out right and that this gets to your handsome self on the right day, otherwise that first line will just look stupid. Love you xxx.” I show the note to my sister as she leaves for the driving range. “Oh my God,” she says. “That’s so lovely. She must feel guilty about something, probably cheating on you.”

ACTION MOVIES: BRAWN OVER BRAINS FILM Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Norris and Willis – self-aware geniuses, violence promoters, or just old actors who refuse to retire? However you feel about these action movie heroes of the eighties to nineties, their popularity remains undeniable with films such as The Last Stand, Bullet to the Head, and A Good Day to Die Hard due for release over the coming weeks.

What started it all is often referred to as the “eighties action movie”, a category now regarded as cliché and excessive in its set pieces, exuberant acting and cheesy one-liners.

However, the action movie has some important historical and cultural significance. Its increasing popularity in the eighties coincided with the decreasing popularity of the western; it was regarded as the new genre to define Americanism. Action movies became a way of dealing with and con-

“ACTION WAS REGARDED AS THE NEW GENRE TO DEFINE AMERICANISM” fronting post-Vietnam War failure and the diminishing masculine identity. This can be seen in particular in the first film of the genre, First Blood, in which we find a broken Vietnam veteran who everyone turns against, projecting their own guilt and shame onto him. Traumatised by war, he fights because he has nothing else. This can also be seen in its sequel, Rambo, the eighties action movie which rewrote the events of Vietnam

“THESE FILMS ARE ENTERTAINING BECAUSE OF THEIR UNASHAMED SPECTACLE, AND EVEN THOUGHT-PROVOKING IN THEIR INSISTENCE OF THIS MUSCULAR, KICK-ASS MALE IDEAL”

SEX OP

THURSDAY We walk across campus, hand in hand. She’s wearing a white T-shirt with a blue rectangle on the front and the words ‘Yves-y does it’ on the back. I don’t get it but I don’t care because her strawberry-blonde locks look so lovely against the blue and white. I hope she’s not cheating on me.

FRIDAY “I don’t believe it,” I say. “You love him?” She wears a look of apology on her beautiful, freckled face. “I’m not going to apologise for the way that I feel,” she says. “But why didn’t you tell me before? Why did you let it go on like this?” She shuffles on the couch and looks around, anywhere except at me. “I just . . . I just didn’t know how.” I turn towards the television and shuffle away from her a little on the couch. She holds my hand, squeezing. “Please don’t hate me,” she whispers. “I can’t hate you,” I say, “I love you.” Sometimes love means getting over your girlfriend’s admission that she venerates Stephen Fry as an icon for clever people. Everyone has a flaw or two.

Submit your anonymous sex diary www.tinyurl.ie/tn2sexdiary 20 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

as if the USA had won the war – “See!” the action movie says, “Those values of individualism, strength and honour which are so important to the white male’s national identity are stronger than ever.” It also displaced concerns surrounding masculinity onto something that was more controllable than emotional closure – the huge, muscular body instantiated the complete character of its hero and left little room for insecurity.

The sexist connotations of these films plainly depict women in passive, ineffective roles. One example occurs in Commando (the original Taken), where the hero has been detained and his female accomplice, in a bid to save him, aims a bazooka at his captors. However, she cannot handle his “big weapon” and shoots it backwards thus destroying a car and proving to be more of a hindrance than a help. Still, I find these films vastly more entertaining because of their unashamed spectacle, and even thought-provoking in their insistence of this muscular, kick-ass male ideal. In this era of recession where we have found ourselves unable to control the systems that we are responsible for creating, perhaps such failures are provoking a need to reaffirm strength, control and dominance again.

Deirdre Molumby

EASTERN PROMISES

TRAVEL

Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is a true cultural crossroad. For centuries it was situated on the boundary between the Latin and Byzantine civilizations, while in the Jewish world it had the reputation of the Northern Jerusalem. Today, the ducal pastel-coloured Old Town neighbours the massive Soviet sculptures of the Green Bridge, artefacts of the necessary, if painful, memory of the occupation. It’s a city whose skyline is replete with the spires of Baroque churches and which has erected a monument to the legendary musician Frank Zappa (who has no connection with Lithuania whatsoever).

If you’re still not convinced, here’s some advice to make you book that flight.

WORDS Gabija Purlytė WHAT TO DO . . .

•

•

•

Go see a ballet at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Housed in a grand, somewhat retro-modern building, the theatre consistently puts on shows that receive international acclaim, while the standing tickets are dirt-cheap. Check www.opera.lt/en for the repertoire.

Visit the Museum of Genocide Victims in the former KGB headquarters. Complete with authentic torture rooms and bullet holes left from executions, it’s an educational experience not for the fainthearted. Tickets are under a euro for students.

Take a half-hour bus ride to Europos Parkas, an open air sculpture museum located at the geographical centre of Europe. Over 90 works are permanently exhibited in a 55-hectare area of picturesque woodlands and grasslands dotted with natural springs, and include large-scale sculptures by world-famous artists Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sol LeWitt and Dennis Oppenheim.

WHERE TO EAT . . .

Amatininkų užeiga Didžioji Street Try cepelinai (or didžkukuliai). A Lithuanian classic, these enormous zeppelin-shaped dumplings are a delicious incarnation of potatoes and meat.

Balti Drambliai Vilniaus Street This vegetarian restaurant set in the cellars of the former Radvilų palace serves inspirational dishes from various cuisines, with special attention given to Indian food, and plays alternative music ranging from reggae to Indian bhajans.

LOOK OUT FOR OUR BUMPER TRAVEL GUIDE, COMING SOON!

WHERE TO DRINK . . .

Tores Užupio Street The alfresco seating area here looks down on a breathtaking panorama of the city. While prices are on the high end by local standards, a half-litre of beer still costs only 7 Litas (about €2).

3 GREAT FREE ACTIVITIES IN VILNIUS • • •

Exploration on foot of the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is obligatory. Make sure to go into churches, many of which have impressive Rococo interiors, peep into courtyards and don’t get lost in the university.

Read the constitution of the Republic of Užupis, a charming bohemian artists’ neighbourhood. It includes articles such as “everyone has the right to cry” and “a dog has the right to be a dog”.

The Kaziukas Fair takes place on the Sunday nearest to St Casimir’s day on 4th March. Stalls selling traditional craftworks and foods fill all the main streets and squares of the Old Town. It’s your chance to stock up on wooden spoons while jostling in a crowd with a necklace of bagels around your neck.

Dolce Wine Club Vilniaus/ Islandijos Street Does what is says on the tin. A sophisticated and cosy place, with delicious snack plates.

SAGE ADVICE Don’t be disheartened if you find service staff or other locals “unfriendly”.

It’s just customary reserve, and excessive gregariousness of the Irish kind may be looked upon a bit suspiciously . . .

F A C E S

SARA GRIFFITH TCD GEOGRAPHY GRADUATE

TO TCD STUDENTS: “DON’T BE AFRAID TO SAY ‘HI’”

F ILM // L ITERATURE // ART MU SIC // TECHNO LO GY // GAM E S

REVIEWS

FEATURING THE SESSIONS

BY DEIRDRE MOLUMBY

REVIEWS

THE SESSIONS BEN

FILM The Sessions has already received acclaim at such international festivals as the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Sundance and the Hollywood Film Festival, earning nominations for its talented cast and attention for its director Ben Lewin. Based on a true story, The Sessions is about Mark O’Brien, a poet who suffered polio in childhood, who is now paralysed from the neck down, and spends many hours of his daily life in an iron lung. At the age of 38, Mark decides to make some alterations in his life: he begins to see Father Brendan for regular confession, hires a new personal assistant, and decides he wants to lose his virginity. For the latter, he is advised to see a sex surrogate due to his particular needs, and Mark begins an exhilarating new chapter in his life.

Academy Award winner Helen Hunt is in her element as the friendly, gentle and patient surrogate. Hunt researched her role by meeting with Mark’s true-life therapist, Cheryl Cohen Greene, and Hunt even had some of her lines in the script changed so they would be true to Cohen Greene’s words. Meanwhile, John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene) is touching in his portrayal of Mark O’ Brien. Mark’s personality bursts from his body in spite of its very limited movement, and his sense of humour could bring a smile to the most cynical of faces – when his first assistant asks Mark for a favour, he asks whether she needs help moving furniture.

William H. Macy, well-known for playing uptight, “proper” characters in films such as Fargo and Pleasantville, plays the priest who becomes Mark’s best friend. His character in this film, Father Brendan, is introduced first by his voice, which is imme-

LEWIN

diately striking and affirmative in its delivery of a sermon. Father Brendan is sweet and understanding towards Mark, but Macy also brings comic relief to the film in his humorous reactions to Mark’s details of his new exploration of sex. Macy commented that it is the humour which “helps the audience want to get to know these characters so fully” and indeed the chemistry between all the characters is always genuine and heart-warming. It is no wonder that the cast won the Jury Prize for ensemble acting at Sundance.

It is possibly the first mainstream film to address sex surrogacy, a topic on which Helen Hunt said, “I think having your life’s work be helping people have pleasure in their lives and not feel weird or hung up about things, that’s a beautiful thing.” However, there are multiple levels to The Sessions. It is not only about sex, intimacy and love, but also about spirituality, bravery, friendship and expression. As a consequence, the film can be awkward to watch. At times it is hard to know when it is inappropriate to laugh, and one scene near the start of the film where Mark asks some wheelchair users about their sexual activities puts the audience in a particularly uncomfortable position. One wonders if it’s perhaps the intent of the director to give you an uncompromisingly alternative viewpoint from which to explore the lives of the differentlyabled. In any case, one does relax and become used to the film’s humour as the movie progresses. In spite of the upbeat music and happier moments of the film exhibited by its trailer, the audience does leave the cinema feeling more morose than they might have anticipated. Overall, though, The Sessions proves to be a thoughtful, moving film.

Deirdre Molumby

II.I

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REVIEWS

THE CARRIER SOPHIE HANNAH LITERATURE There’s nothing like a crime novel to help combat post-Christmas lethargy. After the jolliness of the seasonal festivities, there’s something to be said for having the living daylights freaked out of you. A good thriller is also a nice distraction from essay or exam related drama: “at least I’m not such-and-such a character” etc.

The Carrier is Sophie Hannah’s eighth psychological thriller and the blurb sounded more than promising. A delayed plane, a room shared with a frightened stranger, a coincidence that is too unnerving to be true. Hannah’s intent was undoubtedly to grab the readers from the beginning. This she manages: I was intrigued. But the novel flounders fairly rapidly, even if the premise is excellent.

Characters are introduced with no regard for how much information a January reader can retain. To add to the confusion, the characters all seem oddly similar, making distinction even more difficult. The women are either terrified, or some variation of the devil incarnate: snappy, cruel and controlling. Hannah’s male characters fare no better. Some are openly abusive, others more subtly so. None seem like real people; all seem troubled by deep psychological defects. I couldn’t help but wonder how they were all managing to maintain such committed relationships given their many issues.

The protagonist, Gaby Struthers, seems to be comprised entirely of contradictions. Initially I was impressed by Hannah’s use of firstperson narrative for Gaby’s chapters. The reader is given an insight

II.2

ALICE MAHER ART The former UCD teaching spaces in Earlsfort Terrace, which were successfully transformed into the hub of Dublin Contemporary 2011, have now been installed with Alice Maher’s midcareer retrospective entitled Becoming – an unmissable exhibition by one of Ireland’s most highly acclaimed artists. Maher has embraced the possibilities offered by the venue with its multilayered history and unique physical qualities. She created a series of “miniexhibitions” with their own titles, treated as self-sufficient installations and differentiated with the help of lighting designer Aedín Cosgrove of Pan Pan Theatre Company, but united and enriched by the themes and motifs that run across them. Curator Seán Kissane described it as a labyrinthine exhibition for a labyrinthine building.

The diversity of media and techniques used in the artwork is almost unbelievable. It includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video animation and installation, in traditional materials such as pencil, charcoal, acrylic or bronze as well as uncon-

HODDER & STOUGHTON

into an arrogant and self-righteous individual. This would have all been well and good if the character’s conduct had in any way corresponded to her pithy internal dialogue but sadly it did not. Nor was said conduct adequately explained by the author.

The police detectives involved in the central case add to the general confusion.

While the novel is marketed as a standalone work, two of the characters have appeared in a number of Hannah’s previous novels. This goes some way towards explaining why they are so poorly introduced. There is absolutely nothing wrong with recurrent players, as proven by some of the greats of the genre, but a little warning would be nice.

Although significantly more editing would not have gone amiss and could have resulted in a considerably more readable piece of work; Hannah is clearly an intelligent and articulate author and the premise of the novel is really very clever. The myriad plot intricacies and twists within The Carrier will probably be enough to keep you reading, but for some that may not be enough. Alison Connolly

IMMA // EARLSFORT TERRACE

ventional ones like snail shells, berries, brambles or rose thorns.

Most of the works are amusing and unsettling at the same time, rich in literary and artistic references. Maher revels in the ephemeral, the in-between and the uncanny, which locates her work strongly in the surrealist and the feminist traditions. The transitional, hybrid states captured in the title of the retrospective show up in the works in a variety of ways. The Godchildren of Enantios, for example, is an installation where the forms of kitsch porcelain figurines are cast in bronze, combining “high” and “low” art, the sweetness of the children figures contrasting with the piles of severed heads at their feet. Their style echoes the reliefs on the mantelpiece in that same room; the long wooden table on which they are displayed, purposely-designed for this work, helps to complete the impression that the art is just a part of what might be a typical Victorian interior, making the weirdness of the sculptures even more acute.

Although singling out any of the works is extremely difficult, the video animations are certainly a highlight. There, human figures change and mix sexes, morph into animals and objects, brilliantly accompanied by the eerie soundtracks of Trevor Knight, delving into the realm of the grotesque and the Jungian subconscious. Another favourite is L’Université, an installation created specifically for one of the old lecture theatres, where Maher spotlighted 120 items of graffiti on the desks inscribed by generations of students. The titles are essential hints to the meaning and possible interpretations of the works, so brush up on your Greek mythology and fairytales, and prepare for an afternoon of unexpected encounters and sometimes nervous laughter.

Gabija Purlytė

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23RD JANUARY 2013 // 25

REVIEWS

EVERY THIN G EVERY THIN G ARC SONY

MUSIC Not quite fitting the cavernous, wistful mould of their Phantom-fodder contemporaries, Everything Everything have fostered a reputation for chucking subtlety out the window in favour of head-scratching arrangements, razor-sharp production and unabashed bombast. Their 2010 debut, the Mercury prize-nominated Man Alive, showcased this “indie prog” perfectly: the album glitched, grooved and philosophised for 50 minutes – with just the right amount of breathing room in the milieu. Have the Manchester quartet managed to re-bottle that lightning with Arc? The rather frustrating answer is that they have, but it’s a much smaller thunderstorm this time round.

Lead singles Cough Cough and Kemosabe certainly see the band firing on all cylinders from the get-go, capturing all the lyrical eccentricity (“Sold your liver but you still feel in the red/Sold my feelings now I’m hanging by a thread”) and meticulous musicianship that sets them apart from the landfill. That “bounce”, familiar to fans through tracks like My Kz, Ur Bf, makes a welcome reappearance here, as lovingly crafted basslines and urban-inspired drums create a signature sound which is paradoxically both danceable and unconventionally layered. The humble guitar is also put to good use, with sonic diversity keeping things fresh around the treble end. I’d wonder what combination of technical wizardry and old-fashioned amp-fiddling gave birth to Don’t Try’s magnificent retro punch, but I’m too busy shufflin’ to care. The axe also wisely hung up for the string quartet-driven Duet, which allows Jonathan Higgs’ vocals to shoulder their way into the spotlight. Whether his soaring wails and metaphysical pseudo-rap strikes you as charmingly poignant or just

RCA

plain irritating is as divisive as that yeasty brown stuff you spread on toast. Indeed, never has a frontman shown such affinity for falsetto vocals since Irwin Sparkes of the Hoosiers (remember them?) – but it’s music to this reviewer’s ears.

The problems begin around 20 minutes in however, when the proceedings take a noticeable dip in tempo, scope and, sadly, originality. It’s not that Everything Everything can’t pump out a serviceable slow jam – one need look no further than the mournful beauty of The Peaks to see the Mancunians are more than capable of successfully simmering down – it’s just that there’s so bloody many of them. Almost half the record limps along against brooding background of sparse guitar lines, somnambulant piano and meandering verses, given only occasional respite by the excellent aforementioned rhythm section. The real pity is that all of this could have been so easily avoided: a leaner and more varied tracklisting would have avoided Arc’s “mid-life crisis” entirely, and given some wonderful music a context in which it could be much better appreciated.

In short, Arc is half the album it could have been. At ten or eleven wisely distributed tracks, this would have easily been on a par with its stellar predecessor. What we got instead is a flawed masterpiece – it’s the work of a band that seems reluctant to play to their strengths. That being said, when they do, they play to win. There’s no denying that a lot of the material here showcases a near-genius collective at the peak of their powers, and by that token Arc will likely be remembered fondly by fans and critics alike. If Everything Everything have fallen victim to the sophomore slump, they have at the very least stuck the landing.

Dónal Kennedy

II.I

BURIAL // TRUANT/ROUGH SLEEPER LP Burial, aka William Bevan, is one of the most beloved artists in the blogosphere – and one of its most elusive.

Anonymous until 2008, Bevan has remained aloof and continues to be reluctant to participate in interviews or talk about his work.

Once in a while, however, the silence is broken by another highly anticipated release. Truant/Rough Sleeper, his latest 12” LP, lives up to his preceding work. Truant’s opening, which is marked by build-up and slow release, combines with a rich vocal sample and Burial’s trademark use of static. Within minutes you know this is an artist at the top of his game.

The flow into the B-Side is timed well. After the intensity of the end of Truant, Rough Sleeper eases you in again as the track grows in depth approaching the finale. A more rounded work than his last release Kindred, Truant/Rough Sleeper is well-deserving of the hype surrounding it - http://bit.ly/VTG9Sb Megan Agnes Skelly

VILLAGERS // {AWAYLAND} {Awayland} provides an interesting offering of electronic progression to accompany the already customary guitar and piano ballads of Conor O’Brien’s previous work. For each recognised stylistic motif that Villagers produce, there is an equally surprising sonic turn just around the corner. Single The Waves is perhaps the most forwardthinking track on the album, with its scary Thom Yorke-ish electronica. Rhythm Composer too deserves some merit for its explosion into self-referential sonic and lyrical bravado.

If you listen hard you can find elements of many successful bands from the last ten years here: there are touches of Noah & the Whale, Elbow, and Mumford & Sons to be found for fleeting moments in some songs.

But this does not take away from the record. It contrarily only serves to demonstrate O’Brien’s ability to consume and then push the popular folk genre forward. In {Awayland} Villagers have produced a new set of esoteric tales for us to rejoice in, and they truly deserve to be rejoiced in wholeheartedly - http://bit.ly/PS0B07 Dean Healy 26 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

REVIEWS

SCRIVENER

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LITERATURE

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LATTE

TECHNOLOGY Every writer has a favourite set of tools: the right desk, chair, paper, pen or keyboard. It’s all in aid of easing the tortured path between inspiration and words on screen or paper. With Scrivener, Literature & Latte does its level best to provide the last link: a suite of software designed by and for writers.

As stated on the developer’s web site, Scrivener is designed to make it easier to write long pieces.

It separates works out into smaller documents, called scrivenings, which can be pinned to a virtual corkboard, marked with descriptive text or keywords, and rearranged as needed. It even holds notes and source materials in text, audio, video or image form for instant access.

Scrivener’s workflow takes some getting used to, but it’s flexible enough to offer several options for viewing and working with your con-

dows flavour, and there are rumours of an iOS version in the offing. Its wealth of features is intimidating at first, but it comes with a 300-page PDF manual and among its many templates is a thorough tutorial. It costs $45 (Mac) or $40 (Windows), but education discounts are available, and it’s kept fresh with regular updates.

For casual writers, Scrivener could be complete overkill, but for those writing long pieces regularly, features like a progress tracker, automatic backups and integration with cloud-based apps could be lifesavers.

Even quirkier elements like the character name generator could help with breaking through writer’s block.

Despite its occasionally idiosyncratic ways, Scrivener has something to offer most writers. Its ability to store the research material associated with a piece could be very handy for students trying to pull together their

tent. When you’re done, the program’s powerful compile function will output your work however you want it: eBook, PDF, Word document and more.

However, this isn’t just an organisational tool, it’s designed for writing. A full-screen mode fades everything else to black, leaving only a blank, scrolling sheet, with a text entry point kept at the centre of the screen.

If you’re the sort of writer who needs to avoid distractions, it could be invaluable.

Originally developed for the Mac, Scrivener now also exists in Win-

notes and sources. The developer has clearly noticed this: the standard templates include several for academic essays.

You may not need all of Scrivener’s features. You may not want to dive in and learn how to leverage its organisational abilities. But if you need to pull together that project that’s been in the back of your mind or been resisting your efforts to meet a deadline, it could be exactly what you need. http://www.literatureandlatte.com/ about.php Ciaran McGrath

FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT

GAMES Finally scaling the top of a mountain, a wide expanse of hills, river and jungle stretch out in front of us. A hang glider is situated nearby which brings us gradually down into an encampment of enemies. With no ammo loaded, we try to take them on with a flare gun. Soon the whole area is ablaze and only with the quick hijacking of a parked jeep do we manage to escape. As we drive away the fire reaches a fuel deposit and an explosion rips the camp apart. None of this was part of a main story event. Far Cry 3 is all about what happens in between.

Far Cry 3 is a first-person game set in an open world. Almost immediately you can head off in your own direction to explore the lush tropical islands. Climb radio towers, hunt sharks, clear out camps of pirates and track down ancient relics, all before you even touch the main story. This is where Far Cry 3 excels: out on your own, meandering through the island doing as you please. Simple leveling and character progression adds some welcome pacing to the island wanderings.

The world is populated by some wonderfully acted and deliciously insane characters that make up for the somewhat lacklustre plot. They are wonderfully well-realised – special mention must go to Vaas, the psychopathic pirate antago-

I

nist, and Willis Huntley, the patriotic but cracked CIA operative. The story missions themselves are much better than the exposition that surrounds them, and their scripted nature complement the emergent chaos of the rest of the game nicely.

If the story doesn’t keep you playing, crashing jet skis, starting forest fires, and running away from tigers will. It’s the myriad of small, random occurrences, each somewhat different to the last, that makes Far Cry 3 as enjoyable as it is.

Hugo Fitzpatrick 23RD JANUARY 2013 // 27

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Have your article, photograph or illustration published in Trinity News.

All Entries to chairman@trinitypublications.ie with the subject ‘FreshComp’. Theme: 'Beginning University'.

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UNTILNEXTTIME...

... SOME EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES TO FILL THE CULTURAL VOID

Wednesday 23rd January ART Repetition // Monster Truck Gallery and Cross Gallery FREE (until 26th/31st January)

Thursday 24th January MUSIC Junior Spesh presents: Eats Everything // Twisted Pepper 22.00 // €10

Friday 25th January FILM Lincoln // Released in cinemas nationwide

Saturday 26th January MUSIC The Certain Three Tour // Whelan’s 20.00 // €10

Sunday 27th January FOOD Sunday Jazz Brunch with Stella Bass // Cafe en Seine 14.00-16.00 // FREE

Monday 28th January DANCE Body and Forgetting // Abbey Theatre - Peacock Stage €18 (until 2nd February)

Tuesday 29th January ART EU-topia Group Exhibition // The Market Studios // from 17th January // FREE

Wednesday 30th January MUSIC Piano Masters Series // Nikolai Lugansky // National Concert Hall 20.00 // From €20

Thursday 31st January ART // BLACKWORKS // Solo show by printmaker Iain McEllin // Copper House Gallery FREE (until 1st February)

Friday 1st February FILM Dublin Chinese New Year Festival: The Year of the Snake// Light House Cinema // 1st - 9th February €7.50 per film

Saturday 2nd February STAGE Jason Byrne // Vicar Street 19.30 // €28

Sunday 3rd February STYLE Purevintage Fair // Clothing - jewellery - crafts - posters // Dublin Co-op // Newmarket Square 11.00 - 17.30

THE FINAL SAY Neasa

Conneally

“IF TOURISTS WANT TO VISIT THE VOMIT-STAINED OIRISH THEME PARK THAT IS TEMPLE BAR AND DRINK VASTLY OVERPRICED PINTS OF GUINNESS, SHOULDN’T WE LET THEM?” Happy year of The Gathering everyone!

In case you’ve been living under a rock, The Gathering is a government initiative designed to coax the 70 million people who claim Irish ancestry back to the old sod throughout 2013 so they can explore their heritage, experience the craic agus ceol, and most importantly, spend lots and lots of money.

What initially can be seen as just another tourist campaign has drawn widespread criticism, most famously by the actor Gabriel Byrne, who said “People are sick to death of being asked to help out in what they regard as a scam. Most people don’t give a shit about the diaspora [in Ireland] except to shake them down for a few quid.”

Many people have accused The Gathering of being yet another cynical move from a cynical government; this isn’t the first time they’ve targeted the diaspora in a get-rich-quick scheme, the launch of Certificate of Irishness, in which Irish-Americans could pay for a meaningless piece of paper for the bargain price of €40, was a complete failure, with only 1000 people signing up in the first year.

Another reason that people find The Gathering so disheartening is that it’s yet more of the same old tired Irish tourism clichés of Guinness, shamrocks and dreary pubs. The very expensive-looking website is a combination of soulless corporate sponsorship and made up “facts” about leprechauns and faerie folk. For example, did you know that “Every international sporting event featuring an Irish team is supported by hundreds of leprechauns clearly identifiable in their big green hats, their faces framed by bushy ginger sideburns and beards”?

Yeah, me neither.

This does us all a huge disservice: we should be advertising the fact that we’re a young country, with modern cities, beautiful scenery, and miles and miles of unspoilt coastlines. Our meat, fish and fresh produce is among the best in the world, and our emerging craft beer movement results in much more interesting things than what you’ll find in St James’s Gate. Our literature output is world famous and we should emphasise that you’ll find people working in global internet companies and high-tech industries rather than dancing at crossroads or searching for pots of gold under rainbows.

Surely, some would argue, attracting more tourists

could only be a good thing; after all, we do need the money. Indeed, last August, when thousands of Americans suddenly arrived for the sell out “Emerald Isle Classic” American football game in the Aviva stadium, the queue to visit the Book of Kells snaked all the way around New Square as far as the ramp of the Arts Block, and fivestar hotels reported being completely booked out. Of course, we all quietly ignored the fact that Notre Dame refer to themselves as the “Fighting Irish” and that their logo is, yes, you guessed it, a leprechaun.

People stared in bemusement as the cheerleaders and marching bands of the Pep rally ground traffic to a halt, and it all felt like there was a party going on in your own house that you were expressly not invited to.

Should we not give them what they want though? If tourists want to visit the vomit-stained Oirish theme park that is Temple Bar (which, during the American football match, was installed with a pretend thatched cottage and women in shawls with a donkey. Seriously), where they can drink as many vastly overpriced pints of Guinness as they like, listen to ear-splitting trad music, and buy tat in O’Carroll’s gift shop, shouldn’t we let them?

Even how we treat our tourists when they arrive is indicative of the “cute hoor”-ism of some Irish people. We rip them off, be it with dodgy taxi drivers who take the long way around, vastly overpriced restaurants and hotels, and an unattractive dollar-euro exchange rate. The demise of the Celtic Tiger means that prices have dropped, but Ireland is still one of the most expensive places to visit in Europe.

The Gathering, instead of being an excuse to bring home Uncle Sam, should be seen as an opportunity to examine how we present ourselves to the world and how we treat both our tourists and our emigrants.

Over 1 million Irish-born people live abroad and there is no real attempt to acknowledge them in any meaningful way, such as letting them vote in elections and referendums.

The fact that we are trying to attract rich tourists, while doing nothing to stem the flow of young, educated people emigrating to London, Canada and Australia, says more about Ireland now than any slick-branded initiative ever can.

Follow Neasa on Twitter: twitter.com/neasaconneally

HIDDEN AGENDA PRESENTS

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+ Support from

ISAAC TICHAUER (FRENCH EXPRESS/AUS)

THE BUTTON FACTORY SATURDAY FEBUARY 2ND

RYAN Hemsworth (WEDIDIT/CA)

The Button Factory Wednesday February 6th Tickets: €8/6 Doors: 11pm

DOORS 11PM TICKETS €15/12

Movements.

Movements.