UCC Express Vol. 20 Issue 2

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UCCExpress.ie | Volume 20 | Issue 02 | October 4th Tuesday

STIs on the rise Page 5 - News

Students celebrating the Indian Holi Festival in UCC (Photo: Clare Keogh)

UCC Receives Award for Outstanding International Student Satisfaction Maebh Butler - News Writer University College Cork achieved an ‘Award for Outstanding International Student Satisfaction’ with a score of 9.5+, and were recognised as the winner of ‘Most Satisfied Students 2015-16’. UCC’s International Student Blog, UCC International, equally conveys the longstanding sense of welcome towards its international students, as the friendly environment around the campus and within clubs & societies is discussed within various posts on the blog. Cork is also generally mentioned as being a “great city,” due to its safe and inviting nature towards its international students. One American student, Elena Montes, reflects in her blog post about how the students she encountered during her time in UCC aided her in establishing

a ‘routine’ for herself as she settled into both the city and the university.

Following its first place finish in last year’s International Student Satisfaction Awards, the Republic of Ireland now finds itself looking up from second place at Norway in the top position. Despite a slip in the rankings Ireland still maintains its impressive reputation amongst international students, according to StudyPortals’ latest findings.

Irish universities collectively achieved an overall score of 9.2 on the awards board, just shy of Norway’s impressive score of 9.3. Polish universities landed themselves in third place with 9.1 in the rankings, whereas the United Kingdom fell to fifth place with an overall score of 9.1.

These merits are handed out by StudyPortals based on a marking scheme that averages out the various universities’ collective scores, per country on average.

The awards are based on the comments of international students attending the institutions, with any awarded university must have received at least 20 reviews. The ‘Award for Outstanding International Student Satisfaction’ is achieved by a rating of 9.5 or higher, with a score of 9.0 and up resulting in the ‘Award for Excellent International Student Satisfaction’, and the ‘Award for Very Good International Student Satisfaction’ is achieved with a score of 8.0 and above.

UCC wasn’t the only Irish University to win big, with Mary Immaculate Col-

American election coverage Page 6 - Features

Interview: Mick Flannery Byline Magazine

NEWS INSIDE TODAY: 2

NEWS

FROM THE EDITOR

3 Motor Costs Rising Rapidly 6 Coalition Rejects Loan Scheme

FEATURES

9 Using Alcohol as a Crutch 11 Activism and Anxiety

Interview

12 Fiona Kearney

BYLINE

20 Siege of Jadoville 24 Genesis of Bon Iver

SPORT

38 Get Involved in Clubs 36 World Cricket Report

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor-in-Chief – Robert O’Sullivan News Editor – Chris McCahill Deputy News Editor - Ciaran O’Halloran Designer – Beth Alexander Features Editor – Mary Collins Photographer – Emmet Curtin Sports Editor – Dylan O Connell Deputy Sports Editor - Darragh Walsh Eagarthóir Gaeilge – Aoife Nic Gearailt Marketing Executive – Sarah Dunphy Online Editor – Evan Smith Byline Editor – Lauren Mulvihill Fiction Editor – Sophie Mckenzie Gaming Editor – Jonathan Soltan Music Editor – Cailean Coffey Film & Television Editor – Aaron Frahill Fashion Editor – Kenneth Nwaezeigwe Style Editor – Iris Maher Food Editor – Xander Cosgrave Staff Writers: Eoin Doyle Stephen Spillane Laura O’Connor Sarah McInerney Jill Kingston Niamh O’Reilly

Stand Up and Fight Robert O’Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief

When I was a kid, and even as I grew up, I always had a hard time standing up for myself. And I don’t mean physically, I mean having an opinion and sticking to it. Whether it’s because I had very convincing friends, because I was too anxious to lose them or whether I was just afraid of any form of verbal conflict, I’m not quite sure, but it was probably one of them. I was also probably misleading when I started with “as a kid” as it was the case up until about two years ago, and I still struggle with it to this day.

I remember, in secondary school, once buying a Playstation game I had absolutely no interest in playing just because my friends were playing it. And it wasn’t the typical case of “well, if your friends wanted to jump off a cliff, would you do it?” it was more “well, my friends are jumping off cliffs without me, and they keep telling me I’d love jumping off cliffs.”

Even though I knew it was almost a certainty that I would bloody hate that cliff, something in me made me feel bad for not walking to Game and buying it after school.

I still have that game somewhere.

And it wasn’t just this one time, it was all the time; opinions on films?

Changed. Ideas about what to do that day? Forgotten. Answers to questions I knew were right? Wrong answers given. I wasn’t a shy kid, Jesus, that couldn’t be further than the truth, but when confronted I would normally just capitulate & fold, nine times out of ten. At some point I realised this and… I wish it was more poetic, but I just said “fuck that” at one point. I know what I know, I am what I am, I believe what I believe; I may not be objectively right every time, but damn it, I will fight my corner as long as I feel I should.

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

If you take anything away from this week’s editorial it would be to stand your ground & stand up for what you believe in, no matter how small a thing it is. And I suppose, in some way, you may say I have a privilege in having this platform, and I should be grateful to be able to express (wahey) myself freely to the good students & staff of UCC...but no, it’s not a privilege; I worked hard for years, withstood mental & physical health issues, wrote obituaries for colleagues and talked people down from the metaphorical window ledge to get this job.

In an ideal world this paper would be 100 million pages long, with a column for everyone with every opinion and we all wouldn’t have to fight to standup for our beliefs; but as we all know, it’s not an ideal world, and this paper is only 40 pages long.

Song of the Week: 1979, by the Smashing Pumpkins (don’t buy TNA, Billy, it’s not worth it)

Robert O’Sullivan

FROM THE NEWS EDITOR

Open Your Mind & Engage The Other

Editorial Chris McCahill

I make the point of not doing your usual, run of the mill editorials, it’s simply not who I am. I was never one for talking about myself, what I did, what I’m doing and so forth, so those

editorials always bored me, and I never really saw the point. That’s why I prefer to talk about the big issues out there. In the first edition I wrote about taking offense, and this time I’m writing about being close-minded, as the two can be very related issues. For example, think of a few of the current or recent political events: with Brexit we saw on social media and in traditional media, almost a disbelief by the Remain side of how people could be voting to leave. Some supporters of the remain side were so assured of their own beliefs & opinions that, instead of tackling the issues of leave side, chose to insult and attack leave voters. This essentially left many remain voters so close minded that they could barely believe it when the vote went against them. We can see a very similar and worrying trend developing at home with the Repeal the 8th movement; many of its supporters, and those campaigning for it, often

too easily dismiss the pro-life side of the debate and fail to properly engage with the issues raised by that side. The pro-life side too is often guilty of this.

It’s that level of close mindedness on a political level that is a worrying trend for the future, it means we could continue to fail to engage with the big issues & questions we are faced with and then, as a result, a continuation of people becoming disenfranchised and disengaging with politics and political issues. This only serves to worsen the situation. It’s one of those issues that could probably be easily solved by people playing the devil’s advocate on big issues, such as the 8th Amendment, to better understand the other side of the debate.

Chris McCahill

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

Story Continued from the Front Page... lege & University of Limerick achieving an ‘Award for Outstanding International Student Satisfaction’ with a score 9.5+ The welcoming atmosphere was the key to their success, with one German Erasmus student said was apparent even on the Mary I. website, adding that she “experienced the openness and kindness of the [Irish] people” during her time at the college.

University College Dublin also received an “Award for Excellent International Student Satisfaction” this year with their score of 9+.

As UCC adds yet another award to its belt of achievements, both international and national, the academic year 2015-2016 is proved to be an all-round successful one.

Not just for UCC, but for Cork city in general, as both of its leading institutes of education were winners in the prestigious The Sunday Times Awards, with the top prize for University of the Year 2015/16 going to UCC, and Cork Institute of Technology winning the award for Institute of Technology of the Year. The Cork colleges will be hoping to do the double, as the Sunday Times Awards are to be announced any day now. and the current economic climate has forced many landlords in Cork city to sell properties instead of renting, which makes it increasingly difficult for first-time stu-

dents to obtain accommodation. These problems seem to have been further exacerbated by the closure of the old accommodation office, with the university moving to a new website-focused system that was launched earlier this year. This service seemingly does not have the resources to adequately help students find accommodation as it is a largely unmoderated, in contrast to other universities across the country, whose services appear to have far more direct moderation.

The accommodation crisis has also been worsened by the emergence of ‘scam artists’ who are trying to take advantage of student desperation for accommodation.

In a notable case an individual rented a room in the nearby Carraigbarre accommodation complex (opposite St. Finnbarr’s Cathedral), placed his room up on Daft.ie posing as part of the accommodation service in order to scam multiple students out of their deposits, even going so far as to print up fake invoices for deposits paid. The individual, whose current whereabouts are unknown, is now wanted by the Gardai in relation to this scam.

Carraigbarre accommodation service wished to inform people that, while they had nothing to do with the scam, they did aid students who fell victim to it in finding alternate accommodation for the academic year. Other instances of scams being perpetrated have also been reported in the local media and on social media, and

international students seem to be particularly vulnerable, having little or no local knowledge of the area or accommodation for UCC prior to arriving in Ireland.

Speaking about in a broader national context, Stephen Faughnan of the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) has said: “It is alarming that a student may be conned by a person purporting to represent our sector.” The organisation has referred to such scams as “a rare occurrence”, but has suggested prospective tenants ask landlords for identification, ideally a utility bill or membership card, in order to verify ownership of the house they are seeking to rent. They also urge tenants to inspect any accommodation before giving out any money, and to ensure receipts are collected for all money handed over.

While a new accommodation development for UCC has been given the go ahead near The River Lee Hotel, even this development has hit setbacks. While Cork County Council had provisionally granted planning permission for the new accommodation development, which would house around 250 students, it faced strong opposition from local residents & business owners. At the time of writing, the project was stalled over concerns over the effects the development would have on the local area, specifically on light & noise pollution and on the impact on social diversity of the neighbourhood.

NEWS

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Around the Universities: Around the Universities: Trinity College Dublin (TCD), traditionally Ireland’s top-ranking college, has been omitted from the Times Higher Education rankings at short notice, after it emerged it supplied incorrect data.

The fall of University College Dublin from the top 200 in a prestigious world ranking is slightly offset by improvements of NUI Galway and the Royal College of Surgeons, which join it in the top 250.

University College Dublin SpinOut secures €3 million in Horizon 2020 Funding. This is the first commercial lab-scale SXT microscope of its kind in the world, allowing researchers to illuminate whole single cells or tissue samples and produce 3D images that cannot be produced in any other way.

Burn-out among researchers has been identified as an issue by management at NUI Galway.

The two largest Institutes in the country – Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) – will be the only recipients of the largest €900,000 grant.

Young Drivers and College Commuters Hit by Increase in Car insurance Michelle Beazley - News Writer The accommodation crisis currently sweeping through Ireland’s third level students means that, for some, commuting to college from their family home via car or public transport is the only viable option.

‘Commuter culture’ often has the effect of creating a 9-5 way of life in universities, meaning students are regularly forced to miss out on activities offered after lectures end. However, with motor insurance, and other costs associated with owning a car, on a seemingly unstoppable rise, for student motorists their social life taking a hit is the least of their worries.

According to an annual survey conducted by the AA, the average cost of running a car in Ireland has soared by €255.82 in the last year to €10,849.42. For the majority of students this figure is financially unrealistic, if not totally impossible. While fuel prices have decreased, the AA has said that the 38.6% increase to insurance premiums is negating any savings Irish drivers might have made, with the rise following previous dramatic increases in 2014 and 2015.

Daily UCC commuter Aoife has described her costs of travelling to college by car as “incredibly difficult to afford.”

Commuting was once seen as an option where money could be saved, but with young drivers included among those most drastically affected by increases in insurance, it is becoming increasingly difficult for students to afford to commute by car.

While improvements in public transport has provided a viable alternative for some, it is considered inadequate to many students

living in rural areas. Students in their early twenties with older cars are being quoted premiums of €6,000 to €14,000, with some brokers refusing to insure them at any price in some instances. Shockingly, one-third of Irish motorists have reported their insurance rising by up to 50% in the last year.

The insurance industry has claimed the drastic increases in premiums are a result of similarly extortionate rise in payouts on insurance claims, although this defence was discredited by figures released to Fianna

Fáil TD Michael McGrath, which demonstrated that these payouts have in fact been decreasing since 2011.

A group known as Ireland Underground have been extremely vocal in their efforts to protect the interests of young motorists in Ireland. Speaking to the Express, Ireland Underground founder Kian Griffin has demanded reductions in the outrageous premiums: “students have enough to fork out for as it is, and, on a limited income, these recent premium hikes are dangerously unaffordable. Many are being forced off the road or forced to drive uninsured, unintentionally contributing to the increase.”

Mr.Griffin is confident of improvements in the next 12 months as the group, among others, has put “mounting pressure” on the government.

A possible solution to the soaring cost of insurance could be lifting the ban on insurance companies in Europe from operating in Ireland, whose premiums currently run up to 400% cheaper than those available in Ireland. Currently, an office located in the country is necessary in order for a company to insure Irish motorists.

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express NEWS €150,000 Up for Grabs for Cork’s ‘Stand Out’ Young Entrepreneurs

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Chris McCahill - News Editor The search for Cork’s best and brightest young business minds begins, with a prize of €150,000 on offer through three Local Enterprise offices (LEO) within Cork.

This search for bright young minds is part of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) Competition.

The campaign has just been launched in Cork, and is available to those aged between 18-35, with the prize going to a truly innovative and original idea/concept for a product or service that is either at the start-up or early development stage.

Cork’s three LEOs, Cork City, South Cork and Cork North & West, are each running the competition. These LEOs are seeking local entrepreneurs who stand out from the crowd, with entries being accepted up until the 14th of October. The competition is broken down into three different categories, with the first category being for the ‘Best New Idea’ with a top prize of €7,000 & a runner up prize of €3000; the second category is for the ‘Best Start Up Business’ (up to 36 months) and the third is for ‘Best Established Business’, both of which have a top prize of €15,000 for the winners, and €5,000 for the runners up in

each of Cork’s three LEOs. The IBYE competition, which is now in its third year in Cork, has shown-off a wealth of young entrepreneurs who continue to work with, and be nurtured and supported by, their respective LEOs. The investment fund of €50,000 from each of the LEOs is an example of one of the ways in which they work to encourage and help young people in realising their dreams of starting & developing their own businesses.

The first phase of the competition will see 15 finalists selected from each LEO in Cork, with the final 45 participating in an intensive ‘business boot camp’ which will be held from 4-6th of November. This boot camp could prove to be an invaluable experience for participants, as they will receive mentoring & support from business experts, which will help them to fine tune their business strategies and entrepreneurial skills.

The second phase of the competition is the County final in December, where three winners per LEO will go forward to represent their respective LEO at the regional finals and, should they be successful at that stage, they will go forward to the national finals representing Cork. At the final stage ‘Ireland’s Best Young En-

trepreneur’ will be revealed in early 2017.

The title alone isn’t the prize, with a win in the national finals netting the winner €2m investment in their business.

Adrienne Rodgers, the Head of Enterprise for the Cork City LEO said: “We are looking for young and aspiring entrepreneurs and business ideas that really stand out.

The IBYE competition gives budding business people a real opportunity to launch and grow their business with the investment fund that’s available to winners, not to mention the expert advice and business support that is offered. Last year’s competition was a huge success, with hundreds of brilliant entries, so we anticipate that the interest & entries will be even greater this year. Cork produced the overall winner of IBYE last year in James Foody, founder of Ayda, who won a further €50,000 investment at the national final; and we’re hoping we can make it two in a row this year!”

“The IBYE competition gives budding business people a real opportunity to launch and grow their business”

Adrienne further explained that “encouraging entrepreneurship among young people is hugely important for job-creation, as two thirds of all new jobs are generated by businesses in the first five years of existence – more start-ups and a thriving entrepreneurial culture will lead to more jobs being created. We would encourage all those aged between 18 and 35, who have an idea or a business to enter this year’s competition so that we can help them with the fundings and supports to bring their business to the next level.”

Last year’s winners were Breffney O’Dowling Keane of FruitCubed, Gail Condon of Writing for Tiny, and Jack Crotty of The Rocket Man from LEO Cork City; Patrick Corrigan of Musica, James Foody of Ayda, and Stephanie Lynch of On the QT from LEO South Cork; and Maeve O’Keeffe of Inspect 4, Stephen Murphy of Ride-On, and Aimie Musgrave of Crunch from LEO Cork North & West.

The closing date for applications is Friday, October 14th. For more information, or to apply, call (021) 496 1828 or visit www. ibye.ie, and follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter using #StandOut.

93% of Student Nurses Consider Emigration

Ciaran O’Halloran - Deputy News Editor

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) received the support of the USI (Union of Students Ireland) in their recent protest outside the Dáil on September 27th. The protest was organised to call for the restoration of incremental credit for nurses and midwives who graduated between 2011 and 2015.

At the end of 2015, the INMO, together with two other unions (SIPTU and the PNA) concluded an agreement with the HSE and the Department of Health that restored monetary recognition for the 36 week Nursing/Midwifery Internship from 2011 onwards. Yet, DEPER, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, altered a section of the agreement, and restricted the monetary recognition for graduates from 2016 onwards only. This amendment left nursing and midwifery graduates from 2011-2015 earning less than the nursing and midwifery graduates pre-2011. In individual terms, this is a loss of over €1,400 for those that graduated between 2011-2013 and a loss of over €1,000 for those that graduated between 2014-2015. Liam Doran, General Secretary of the INMO, called the situation regarding the incremental credit “grossly inequitable and nonsensical.”

nurse or midwife was extremely stressful. When it came to placement, 57% of student nurses claimed it had a detrimental effect on their physical health, and a further 52% said it negatively impacted their mental health.

“57% of student nurses claimed it had a detrimental effect on their physical health”

In backing the protest, USI President Annie Hoey stated “USI is supporting the INMO in their protest, calling for the restoration of incremental credit for nurses and midwives who graduated between 2011 and 2015.” She added: “there is already a national shortage of nurses in Ireland. If action isn’t taken by the government to restore the incremental credit, we risk exporting vital medical skills.”

“there is already a national shortage of nurses in Ireland”

This USI support comes on the back of a survey of over 600 student nurses nationwide carried out earlier this year. According to the survey results released by the USI, 93% of student nurses have considered emigrating when they qualify; of those 93% who thought about emigration after graduation, 80% said they felt completely voiceless as a nurse/midwife, 60% said it was due to a lack of sufficient financial support and 44% said it was due to the difficult working hours. Finally, another 36% said it was due to burnout.

The USI survey also showed that 95% of student nurses claimed that working as a

At a time when there is a shortage of nurses and midwives the unions are demanding the restoration of this incremental credit, along with the introduction of dynamic incentivised recruitment & retention initiatives in order to recruit and retain new graduates, hopefully addressing the severe crisis in staffing across the health service. Speaking in relation to the protest, Liam Doran said: “we are in a crisis with regards to nurses and midwives in this country. One of the reasons for that is a failure to grant this incremental credit.” He added that he would not rule out strike action, stating that “if it isn’t reversed, then certainly from an INMO point of view, we will take whatever steps we have to take to ensure that our nurses are treated equitably and fairly.”

NEWS 5 HSE Report Shows a 22% Increase in Syphilis Diagnosis in Men

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

Chris McCahill - News Editor

Coalition Rejects Loan Scheme Chris McCahill - News Editor On Wednesday the 28th of September, the Coalition for Publicly Funded Higher Education group, which is comprised by the USI, SIPTU, IFUT, IMPACT and TUI, at a press conference again pushed the case for publicly funded third level education. This included having a framework for how funding education would work, citing how it has worked for other countries and why it is vital for Ireland’s future.

A representative of the Coalition put forward their case to the Express, stating: “publicly funded education is a common good for every area of society – for economic, employment, tech, medical, scientific and cultural progress.”

“publicly funded education is a common good for every area of society” They added: “all major education unions, like the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), SIPTU, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), IMPACT and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) are all backing publicly funded education and against the loan scheme system. We are the organisations that are on the ground, familiar with the struggles and hurdles within the sector, and are collectively urging the government to choose the only longterm sustainable & practical option in the Cassells Report – a publicly funded third level education system.”

“all major education unions are all backing publicly funded education” Several European Countries that have

publicly funded third-level education have seen great results: Germany, which has 41 Universities ranked by the Times Higher Education to be among the best in the world, has a notoriously low cost for University degree courses.

Similarly in France, which has fees of less than €200 per year, has 27 universities ranked among the best. The United Kingdom, which employs a similar system to the one being proposed for

“as much as 70% of college graduates in 2015 in the UK are not expected to ever fully repay their college loans.”

Ireland, saw third-level education essentially become a drain on the British economy, so much so that the loan books were eventually sold to British Banks at the end of 2013. Furthermore, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, as much as 70% of college graduates in 2015 in the UK are not expected to ever fully repay their college loans.

Ireland’s third level fees, which currently stand at €3165, are the second highest in Europe, only being cheaper than the UK. Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland all offer publicly funded education and achieve far better results in university rankings than Ireland & the UK. The Coalition also sought to stress that the loan scheme option outlined in the Cassells report will be unsustainable in the long term, and could serve to increase emigration levels among young people and students.

Furthermore, it could deter young people from applying to, or continuing with, their third level education, and could affect & disable upward social mobility.

risk of contracting an STI. Getting tested is quick, painless and usually free at college health clinics, GUM clinics and sexual health clinics.”

The report also discovered that there were almost five times the amount of reported cases of gonorrhoea in men as compared to women in 2015 (1,083 to 221). However there were almost three times more reported cases of genital herpes reported in women as opposed to men (928-women, 340men); moreover, there were 239 reported cases in men with early infectious syphilis compared to only 10 cases in women.

The Union, which represents 354,000 students across the island of Ireland, has emphasised that early detection and treatment of STIs is absolutely vital to minimise the possibility of any long-term health damage.

As part of its ‘SHAG Week’ campaign, USI has also updated the website ‘shag.usi. ie’ with information on types of contraception, how to use contraception, details on emergency contraception and the importance of safe sex.

A HSE report has revealed an increase of 22.1% in reported cases of Syphilis. In response, the Union of Students in Ireland has launched its online SHAG (Sexual Health and Awareness Guide) Week, and is encouraging young people to get themselves tested.

The HSE report also showed that early infectious diagnosis were 2,290% higher in men than in women, with a ratio of 24:1 men: women. An increase in the reported cases of Chlamydia was also noted in the report, with 70 more cases reported, a significant increase on previous years; there were 6,815 people diagnosed in 2015 compared to 6693 in 2014. A noticeably smaller increase was seen in the reported cases of genital herpes, which rose by 3.3% from 2014.

“We are urging students and young people to look after their sexual health,” USI President Annie Hoey said. “This means getting tested regularly and using condoms & dental dams to protect themselves from the

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FEATURES

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

It’s all in the Swing States Stephen Spillane, Staff Writer.

States

The Tuesday after the first Monday in November is set in the United States Constitution as the date for Elections to the Presidency and to Congress. This year that date is November 8th and that night (or early the next morning) we will find out who will be the next President of the United States: Hillary Rodham Clinton or Donald J. Trump.

Pennsylvania Electoral College Votes: 20 2012 Result: 52% Obama - 46.6% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 1988 (Reagan) Pennsylvania has been a close democratic state since Bill Clinton’s 1st election in 1992, but with its out of work steelworkers, and its history of Reagan-Democrats, Trump could do well here. The polls, however, tell a different story; Trump hasn’t led in a state poll in the Keystone State since June, and with Clinton & her allies heavily outspending him on the airways in the state, it will be hard for him to close the gap with Clinton.

With National Polls showing a tightening race between the Democratic and Republican nominees as we get closer to Election Day, we need to pay more and more attention to the “Swing” or “Battleground” States. These 14 states are the states that political commentators, or election nuts, will be watching on the night of the eighth for swings towards either candidate. Of course these states are also important, as early voting gets under way in Ohio on October 12th, where 16% of the votes were cast by mail and 7.5% in early voting centres, and North Carolina on October 27th where 38.5% of the ballots were cast before Election Day.

“we need to pay more and more attention to the “Swing” or “Battleground” States” So what states will be the ones to watch?

They are: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona.

These 14 states represent 183 of the 568 Electoral College votes being contested by Secretary Clinton and Mr Trump, who will both be aiming to reach the magic number of 270.

Also among States to watch will be Maine and Nebraska: these two states are the only states that have the ability to split their electoral college vote, with the winner of each of the Congressional Districts getting one vote, and one vote going to the overall winner. Both Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District look set to vote differently from the rest of their state.

With Democrats having an inbuilt advantage in the Electoral College thanks to California and its 55 Electoral College votes, giving them about 200 guaranteed Electoral Votes to 150 for the Republicans, means that both parties place a lot of effort and importance on these swing states.

Let’s take a closer look at these Swing

Michigan Electoral College Votes: 16 2012 Result: 54.2% Obama - 44.7% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 1988 (Reagan) Michigan is generally considered to be leaning towards a Clinton win. She has led consistently over the summer, but with recent events she has seen her lead over Trump get tighter, just like the national polls. The Great Lakes State has been in the Democratic Column since Bill Clinton in ‘92 and doesn’t look like it will change colour in 2016.

Ohio Electoral College Votes: 18 2012 Result: 50.7% Obama - 47.7% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2004 (Bush) No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, and this year looks no different. This will be one of the fiercest Battleground States in this election cycle, and will see the Big Guns being brought out as surrogates on the campaign trail in the Buckeye State, including the Clinton Campaign rolling out the West Wing Cast around the state during one weekend in September. Trump has held close in the polling in Ohio, and recently opened a consistent lead over Clinton.

Florida Electoral College Votes: 29 2012 Result: 50% Obama - 49.1% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2004 (Bush) Florida is biggest prize on the table with its 29 Electoral College votes. Florida, of course, is ‘fondly’ remember for its marathon recount and “hanging chads” back in 2000 and it hasn’t lost a bit of its impor-

tance in Presidential elections. This was Obama’s narrowest margin of victory in 2012. Polling in the Sunshine State shows a close battle between Trump and Clinton, with both trading slim leads in recent state polling.

Iowa Electoral College Votes: 6 2012 Result: 52% Obama - 46.2% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2004 (Bush) Iowa is known for its ‘first in the nation’ caucuses, which help decide the nominees of the major parties; Iowa is also a swing state. Having voted Democrat in five of the last six contests, it could be considered to lean Democrat, but polling there shows Donald Trump edging out a lead since the end of the summer. The Hawkeye State will certainly be one to watch as Election Day nears.

Wisconsin Electoral College Votes: 10 2012 Result: 52.8% Obama - 45.9% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 1984 (Reagan) Wisconsin is firmly in the ‘clear Democrat’ category, having not voted Republican since Ronald Reagan’s re-election in 1984.

Clinton has consistently lead in the polling here. Similar to the national polls, polls in the Badger State have tightened as of late, and if Trump works hard he could make an impact here.

North Carolina Electoral College Votes: 15 2012 Result: 50.4% Romney - 48.4% Obama Last Democratic Victory: 2008 (Obama) Last Republican Victory: 2012 In 2008 North Carolina voted Democrat for the first time since Jimmy Carter’s win in 1976, and this year is proving hard for Clinton to open a lead here. Recent polling ranges from ties to Trump leading by between 1-5 points.

Virginia Electoral College Votes: 13 2012 Result: 51.2% Obama - 47.3% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2004 (Bush) This normally solid Republican state was brought into the blue column by Obama in 2008 and 2012. Prior to that, the last time the Old Dominion State went Democrat was for Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 Election. Demographic changes are why this state is now more competitive, and polling for this year’s election makes it likely that Virginia will vote for Clinton.

New Hampshire Electoral College Votes: 4 2012 Result: 52% Obama - 46.4% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2000 (Bush) New Hampshire is a bit odd among its New England neighbours who are solid Democrat support states. This is put down to the more independent nature of the voters in the Granite State, who play a unique a role in the presidential nomination cycle. This year, according to the polling, it is could be a close-run thing, with Clinton narrowly ahead.

Georgia Electoral College Votes: 16 2012 Result: 53.3% Romney - 45.5% Obama Last Democratic Victory: 1992 (B. Clinton) Last Republican Victory: 2012 Georgia has been a solid Republican state, apart from occasions when Southern Democrats run for President, evident from Jimmy Carter’s election victories in 1976 and 1980, as well as Bill Clinton’s 1992 victory. This year, with another Clinton on the ticket, the Peach State is back in play.

With Clinton’s strong showing in the South during the Primaries, Clinton could make victory here hard for Trump. continues on next page..

FEATURES

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express With polling in Georgia switching sides since the summer, now showing Trump ahead, it will be one to watch one election night.

Missouri Electoral College Votes: 10 2012 Result: 53.8% Romney - 44.4% Obama Last Democratic Victory: 1996 (Clinton) Last Republican Victory: 2012 Missouri has, until recently, been a true battleground state, with great accuracy at voting for the overall election winner. From 1904 through to 2004, voters in the Show Me State got it wrong just once in 1956, voting for Adlai Stevenson over Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower. Since 2000 Missouri has voted Republican, and this year looks to be no different. Missouri is showing a wide lead for Trump over Clinton, but everything could change as we face the final run into the election.

Colorado Electoral College Votes: 9 2012 Result: 51.5% Obama - 46.1% Romney

Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2004 (Bush) Colorado is nearly entirely surrounded by Red States (apart from New Mexico to the South), and has voted Republican for the majority of its history apart from Bill Clinton’s victory in 1992 and Obama’s victories in 2008 & 2012. Colorado is a state that is tightening in the polls, and with Libertarian Gary Johnson from neighbouring New Mexico on the ticket, it could mean a close margin of victory here. With state polls in the Centennial State mirroring the national polls in showing a tightening race, it really is all to play for.

Nevada Electoral College Votes: 6 2012 Result: 52.4% Obama - 45.7% Romney Last Democratic Victory: 2012 Last Republican Victory: 2004 (Bush) Nevada has been a swing state for the last number of elections; over the summer Clinton looked comfortably ahead in the Silver State, but since the end of summer Trump has seen a surge in support, taking the lead in a number of state polls. Neva-

da will more than likely see the candidates trade & swap the state ahead of the election in the hope of turning out every available voter.

Arizona Electoral College Votes: 11 2012 Result: 53.7% Romney - 44.6% Obama Last Democratic Victory: 1996 (B. Clinton) Last Republican Victory: 2012 Arizona has consistently voted Republican since 1952, with the only exception being Bill Clinton when he won the state back in ‘92, and it has been a closely fought state ever since. The Grand Canyon State is also showing some tightening in the polls, but in the reverse to national polls, as Trump finds his lead under threat in the most recent polls. While it certainly leans Republican it is certainly worth a watch.

With the election decided in these 14 states, and congressional districts in Maine and Nebraska, it will be a long night on November 8th to find out who will be elected the 45th President of the United States.

Intellectual Snobbery 101; How to be a University Wanker

What to do if you have been sexually assaulted If you have been sexually assaulted, you should try to get to a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit as soon as possible after the event. In Cork, there is one in the South Infirmary Hospital. Even if you go to the Gardai or The Sexual Violence Centre in Cork, they will refer you on to get you the immediate treatment you may need before anything else.

If you’re not sure if you want to report the assault, that is absolutely fine. The SATU cannot send on any information to the Gardai without your permission so you can still get the help you need without any pressure to report.

So what happens if you attend the SATU? • •

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Mary Collins - Features Editor.

Now that you’ve been in UCC for almost a month, people at home will start expecting you to sound more intelligent. This is incredibly unfortunate, as you’ve most likely spent the last month partying, shifting n’ drifting and scraping the bottom of

the intellectual barrel by doing introductory courses that you’ll look down on in about 4 months. Don’t become despondent just yet, however. I have compiled a list of factoids and sound bites to make you sound like the intellectual wanker you’re a sports jacket and a corncob pipe away from becoming.

Philosophy Plato You can’t talk about philosophy without a nod to one of the most pivotal faces in its development. He wrote dialogues in the form of conversations to illustrate continues on next page...

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You meet a forensic clinical examiner.

If you do want to report, or are unsure and still want to make a statement, a Garda will be present.

You will be asked for your account of what happened Your clothes will be tested Samples will be taken of your urine, blood, hair and nails Genital, throat or anal swabs may be taken, depending on the nature of the assault Emergency contraception will be issued if necessary You may be advised to take medication to prevent the development of an STI, e.g. PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis, used after potential exposure to HIV in emergencies).

There will be personnel there to help and support you throughout **If you are under 18, a parent or guardian will need to accompany you to the SATU.

YOU CAN STOP THE PROCESS AT ANY TIME. IF YOU BEGIN TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, SAY SO. continues on next side bar...

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FEATURES

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Plato, Rene Descartes, Friedrich Nietzsche and Jack Kerouac

Continued from last page... ....his philosophical standpoint, as opposed to just writing it down like a normal person. For Plato, true intelligence was the ability to grasp the existence of “Forms” with one’s mind, the theory of forms being that non-physical ideas represent the most accurate reality. Plato is unusual, in that his entire body of work (or œuvre, if you have notions) has largely remained unchanged. Some of his quotes are a tad cynical. E.g. “Love is a serious mental disease” but for the most part Plato is a quietly inspirational figure.

One of his shiniest pearls of wisdom that everyone should take on board is; “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

“Some of his quotes are a tad cynical. E.g.

“Love is a serious mental disease” Rene Descartes Famous for bar charts and one of the most widely disputed sentences in philosophy, Descartes coined the familiar phrase “I think therefore I am” (or in latin, for the ultimate intellectual snobbery, Cogito Ergo Sum). Descartes had a rather unsure worldview; genuinely, his philosophical outlook was to doubt literally everything, and anything left over can be used for a solid foundation of reality. Despite the flaws in Cartesian philosophy, he is one of the most popular philosophers in modern day, known for undergrads misquoting him to confuse the opposition in pub arguments.

Friedrich Nietzsche King of the emos, if only for this delightful snippet “To live is to suffer, to survive

is to find some meaning in the suffering,” he is also gets a bad rap for being linked to the political philosophy of the Nazis, although that wasn’t his fault (his sister gained ownership of his writing upon his death, and changed it to appeal to the Nazis). For Nietzsche, philosophy should reflect the personal beliefs of an individual, though to him this also meant a rejection of traditional values and religion. Also, if you’re wondering where Fox news coverage of the election gets off deciding that facts are optional, blame this guy; “there are no facts, only interpretations”.

Confucius Confucius was an all-around good guy, championing a philosophy based on study and ethics. Some people follow it like a religion, although it is technically a secular philosophy. It’s a complex system based on loyalty to one’s family, kinship within a community, righteousness and self-improvement. You know all of those nature photos with the inspirational quotes on them that attention-seeking people post on Facebook when their lives have hit a tiny bump, and they need everyone to know without them having to say it? Those quotes can usually attributed to Confucius, e.g; “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop” and “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it”.

Adam Savage Not necessarily a philosopher, not on purpose anyway, I just really love Mythbusters. Also the author of one of my favourite quotes “I reject your reality and substitute my own”.

English Jack Kerouac Kerouac is of the most well-known au-

thors of the last 100 years, and author of “On the Road.” Although he hated such labels, he was a pioneer of the Beat Generation, rejecting convention in favour of free expression & jazz music. He said: “Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion,” so if Freshers could branch out and wear different outfits, that would really help us tell you apart.

J.D. Salinger Not only famous for his cameo in the second season of Bojack Horseman, Salinger also wrote the initially controversial ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’ If you thought your teenage angst was bad, try this cutting social commentary: “I am always saying ‘Glad to have met you’ to somebody I’m not at all glad I have met. If you want to stay alive you have to say that stuff though.” In his book he also cautions against telling people stories about yourself, as it will cause you to miss the other people in the story. How cheerful!

“I am always saying ‘Glad to have met you’ to somebody I’m not at all glad I have met.”

Politics Karl Marx Often cited as one of the pioneers of modern sociology, he is one of the most recognisable names in philosophy and politics. Marx argued that everything in society, from cultural norms down to human behaviour, could all be derived from economic structures. Even society was brought about by the conflict between the ruling classes (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat). Basically, ‘the man’ is keeping us poor, work-

ing classes down for capitalist, material gains and “the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains” so we should rebel, though we need women for that: “everyone who knows anything of history also knows that great social revolutions are impossible without the feminine ferment. Social progress may be measured precisely by the social position of the fair sex (plain ones included).” Hear that, ladies? You are instrumental in instituting social change, even if you look like the back of a bus.

Ayn Rand On the opposite of the politico-philosophical spectrum, we have Ayn Rand. One for the rebels among you, her work has largely been criticised or ignored by academia. Another fountain of inspirational quotes, the most well-known being: “the question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” She was also a proponent of ethical egoism, which is when you only look out for ‘number one’. Her philosophy was the rejection of charity and groups (or altruism and collectivism, if you’re feeling fancy), and she was a significant influence on American conservatives. Of course, following someone that thinks “there are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil” probably explains why people think your party isn’t great at democracy…

Science Richard Feynmann One of the most famous physicists in the 20th century, Feynmann is also widely regarded as one of the most prolific philosophers of recent times. He worked on the Manhattan Project, sat on the panel of experts investigating why the Challenger Space Shuttle imploded, and won a joint

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The Sexual Violence Centre, Cork Located; 5 Camden Place Phone number; free call at 1800 496 496 The Sexual Violence Centre (SVC) is on call 24 hours a day from the SATU, so a counsellor can provide support while you are there and arrange follow up counselling if you choose.

Karl Marx, Nicola Tesla and Rosalind Franklin Nobel prize for his work in quantum electrodynamics. With such gems as “physics is to maths what sex is to masturbation,” it’s easy to see why having someone like this in your field makes you feel superior to those of us in lesser disciplines. If that wasn’t enough, this quote might swell your head to epic proportions: “Philosophers say a great deal about what is absolutely necessary for science, and it is always, so far as one can see, rather naïve and probably wrong.”

Nicola Tesla Tesla is probably best known for his work on alternating current (AC), which is used today wherever homes/buildings are hooked up to electrical supplies, as well as in plugs, wall sockets and several other things you use on an everyday basis. He remained single all his life, presumably because he was too busy getting screwed by Thomas Edison. He said: “I do not think you can name many great inventions that have been made by married men.” He supposedly walked 8-10 miles a day, and squished his toes over a hundred times each night, to stimulate his brain cells. He also fed pigeons religiously, even building a contraption to support one special pigeon while her broken wing healed. He did say something I think we can all agree with though: “The last 29 days of the month are the toughest.”

Santiago Ramón y Cajal The father of modern neuroscience, he contributed hundreds of drawings showing the arborisation of neurons in the brain that are still used by lecturers today.

His major contribution was discovering the foundation of “neuron doctrine” that the nervous system is made up of discrete individual cells (basic anatomy now, but ground breaking then). He was well known for being argumentative in

youth, but with age his disdain was saved for delightful statements like: “ I would be the last to deny that the greatest scientific pioneers belonged to an aristocracy of the spirit and were exceptionally intelligent, something that we as modest investigators will never attain, no matter how much we exert ourselves. Nevertheless … I continue to believe that there is always room for anyone with average intelligence.” …Gee, thanks. Jerk.

Rosalind Franklin Supposedly one of the most famous victims of the rampant sexism prevalent in science at the time, Franklin is known for her involvement in the discovery of the structure of DNA. She has been used as a figurehead for feminism, although her colleagues have stressed time and again that she herself was no feminist. She is probably best known these days for her X-ray diffraction images of DNA, which were later used by Watson and Crick to derive the double helix structure of DNA (not that they cited her, or gave her any credit whatsoever). All of that research was conducted in King’s College London, and had to stay there, so when Franklin left as a result of clashes with her supervisor, it was up for grabs, and the rest is history. Her quotes are few and far between, probably the most prevalent being: “science and everyday life cannot, and should not, be separated.”

Business Warren Buffet Considered to be one of the most successful investors of our time, he is consistently ranked as one of the richest men in the world. He’s known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” and is quite frugal in his personal life, despite having more money than several countries combined. He famously

claimed “I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute,” but that’s a lot easier to say that when you’re worth over 50 BILLION dollars (yes, with a B). He does however offer some sage advice: “there seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”

So relax, stop making life so hard for yourself!

“I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute,” Medicine Hippocrates of Kos Best known for the Hippocratic Oath, the promise that any doctor you see won’t deliberately harm you, no matter how tiresome you are. He was one of the first people to believe that illnesses and disease are caused naturally, not by vengeful gods and superstition. Not bad for a guy who believed that the body was controlled by 4 liquids, or humours, right?

He advised people to be their own advocates: “if you are not your own doctor, you are a fool.” However, don’t go overboard; no doctor will take kindly to you whipping out WebMD to explain why the numbness in your hand is caused by stroke, when in fact you fell asleep on your arm again.

The rest of it is fairly self-explanatory; you’re going to be a rich overworked wanker in about 5 years anyway. God speed.

In addition to counselling, they also offer • Support for families of those who have been sexual assaulted • Interpretation skills for the hearing impaired or those with little English • Referrals to other services, or they can liaise with those organisations on your behalf • Accompany clients to GP services, hospitals, clinics, Garda stations or court

Where to get an STI Check in Cork If you’re having sex, you should get an STI check every 6 months.

Condoms can break, and aren’t always effective at protecting you from things like public lice (crabs), herpes or scabies.

What happens when you get an STI Check?

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Do not pee for at least an hour before the test. Preferably 2-3 hours.

The doctor will have a chat with you about any concerns you have.

Women; the doctor will examine your skin for any rashes or bumps. You might get a smear test, but that’s usually if you’re over 25. They may take swabs of your vagina, throat and anus, depending on your experiences. They’ll take a urine sample and a blood sample. continues on next side bar...

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ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

Misery Loves Company- my mental health journey so far Eoin O’ Byrne, Features Writer.

Using Alcohol as a Crutch

Katie Quinlan, Former Welfare Officer.

I love drinking. I needed to start with that statement because this isn’t some sanctimonious piece to shame you all into drinking less.

I hit rock bottom in April. I locked myself into my room and cut off all contact with the outside world. Nine months of drinking copious amounts of alcohol to avoid my problems had finally caught up with me.

I recently did an interview for an amazing mental health documentary my friends are making. They asked me to discuss government policy regarding mental health, they wanted the Katie who loses the head and ridicules the government for their lack of action. I was more than happy to cover this part of the documentary but towards the end of my rant I felt compelled to tell my own story.

I have anxiety. This isn’t new information.

I also have an incessant need to be liked as well as a need to predict what people think of me. For the last year my anxiety has been off the charts – sleepless nights, panic attacks and constant negative thoughts.

I spent the year in an office telling people how to work through their own anxiety, how to build resilience and encouraging them to seek professional help. All the while I was self-medicating, trying my utmost to forget how much I was struggling.

We all have a very distorted and sensationalised view of problem drinking. I wasn’t living on the streets, I wasn’t berating people in the middle of the day and I wasn’t always drunk.

Far from it.

I was leaving work after a stressful day, checking Yik Yak for my daily torrent of

abuse and heading straight for a pint. This pint turned into pints which ultimately led to me being out 4 or 5 nights a week. Cancelling counselling appointments because of hangovers or fear. Working 60 hour weeks and allowing no time for meaningful sleep or relaxation. This all culminated in a week of hell in April.

For five days I felt that if I left my room I would die. That’s not an exaggeration. I was absolutely terrified of everything outside my bedroom door so I turned off my phone and took refuge in my bed.

I had become the girl who used alcohol to solve her problems; the girl who couldn’t handle the stuff going on in her head and needed to self-medicate. This terrified me.

It’s insanely scary to see how easy you can fall into this kind of behaviour. What started out as me enjoying my first few weeks out of education turned into a pattern of me running away from my problems to a session somewhere, can in hand.

This was the first time I could fully understand the shame associated with mental health. Something inside me made me feel like I couldn’t tell anyone this. I felt weak, worthless and incapable of dealing with my own problems.

I thought the only way to solve this problem was to eliminate alcohol from my life, cut out what I believed to be the problem; but that wasn’t the problem.

“I felt weak, worthless and incapable of dealing with my own problems.”

My anxiety was the problem; the alcohol was just a faulty plaster I was using to hold

it all together. I needed to work on my anxiety, and in-turn my relationship with alcohol. This was my solution, if this is something you’re experiencing your solution may be entirely different. The point I’m trying to make is that there is a solution.

It’s been a tough four months. I kinda feel like I’ve rebuilt myself; I’m stronger, more self-aware and far from dependent on alcohol to fix my bad days. I still enjoy drinking regularly but on a much healthier, social level than before.

As students we’re perfectly placed to engage in problem drinking. It’s so easy for what should be a social activity to turn into something you rely on to get through your day.

My biggest problem was being afraid to tell anyone. I needed to get this out, it was eating away at me. That’s the best advice I can give here, tell someone. This isn’t something to be ashamed of. This might be something you can rectify yourself with the help of friends and family. It might be something you need professional help with, but it can be fixed, and you’re far from the only one who’s been through it.

By all means, enjoy alcohol and all that comes with it or enjoy sobriety and a hangover free life.

“ it can be fixed, and you’re far from the only one who’s been through it.”

Just be conscious of how many of your bad days are rectified by grabbing a bag of cans over addressing what’s really going on.

“Blood is thicker than water;” “curiosity killed the cat:” these are sayings and proverbs that have a very well established meaning for most people, however once you look closely you can see, at least if you look at them in full, their meaning can be interpreted very differently. For example, the full quotes are “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the waters of the womb,” which means the friends we choose are more important than ties of blood and birth; and “curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.” In their entirety they mean the opposite of their presumed, and generally accepted, meaning. Now you are probably wondering, how this ties into mental health issues, allow me to elucidate.

I always believed that the phrase “misery loves company” referred to miserable people wanting to bring everyone around them down to their level, to feel better about themselves. It’s the classical trope for bullies and their motivations, and it was a mentality that I applied to my life in broad strokes when I was younger, being a dick to people around me because I was unhappy. However, over the last few months to a year I have discovered another way of interpreting this phrase that is probably easier to understand if I describe the circumstances that this revelation came to me.

So at the start of 2016 the close group of plucky misfits I spent most of my college time with hit a bit of a rough patch; be it grief, anxiety, relationship troubles, abuse or family drama, everyone had their reason to be miserable and down.

Bar me. It reached a point where I was referred to as the happy/sane one of the group, which if you know me for the sarcastic, negative, nihilistic, generally dissatisfied person I am, you’ll know that is never a good situation to be in. Through perseverance, and a great deal of playing the sin-eater of the group on my part, one-by-one the people around me began to pull themselves out of their dark times. There was only one problem really: while everyone else’s life was getting back on track, I was stuck where I’d been for the last few years, never improving from that low lonely place. continues on next page..

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Now I’m not trying to blame my friends for the ensuing mental health issues I’ve experienced, all I’m saying is my life would have been much nicer if they had stayed miserable is all, not much to ask really.

And this is what I’ve learned, that being unhappy is a lot easier to deal with when everyone else around you is also unhappy, and that being surrounded by happy people when your own life is a bit miserable (or quite a bit miserable) is very difficult.

In the ensuing months, as exam and assignment pressure mixed with mounting personal issues, my mental health began to spiral downwards. Alcohol did not help, as it tends not to, letting my emotions get the better of me more than once, in very self-destructive ways. After one alcohol-fuelled breakdown, I put a cigarette out on the back of my wrist, another I slashed my arm with a knife. There is little I regret in my life

more than those actions, but they did give long as they used to. I am very glad for the me the impetus to seek proper help for my support of my friends and family over the problems. last few weeks, they have been a godsend, and I wouldn’t have reached some sense of Over the past few months I have been see- normalcy and emotional stability as quicking a counsellor, and have begun a course ly if it wasn’t for them. of antidepressants that I will be on for the next few months. I’m not quite sure if I Now, some might call my candour in this can say with any surety that I am over my matter improper, talking so openly about depression; my mental health story is not self-harm when mental health is somefinished, and I’m still writing it as things thing of a taboo still. However that is exgo. What I can say is, at the very least, that actly the reason that I am. The wheel has life is not as crushingly difficult as it was, begun turning here in Ireland towards and some of the murkiness has left. For breaking the stigma surrounding mental example, there was a period between Eas- health, and it’s a step in the right direction ter Monday and the final day of my second that fills me with hope. One day I would like year exams where I could not pick out a sin- to see mental illness talked about and treatgle “good” day; they were all just a grey blur, ed the same way as the common cold or and most of the weeks before that Monday flu, albeit without the fear of infection and were more or less the same. I still have my contagion. Until then, I will be as open as I ups and downs, just now there actually are see fit, in an attempt to reduce that stigma ups, and the downs don’t hang around as a little bit more.

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Men; the doctor will examine your skin for any rashes or bumps. They will swab your penis, maybe your throat/ anus, depending on your experiences. They’ll take a urine sample and a blood sample.

You’ll be told when to expect your results and how you will be contacted.

Where to get checked?

Student Health Centre Where; Ard Patrick, College Road, (next to the Chaplaincy).

How much; €20 When; Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 12.15pm, 2.15pm to 4.15pm.

Phone number; 021 4902311

Anxiety Versus Activism; how to have it all Sarah Dunphy - Express Marketing Executive

On September 24th, the annual March for Choice took place in Dublin. The march, in its fifth year, is an annual event that brings together those of us who wish to see a repeal of the 8th amendment in Ireland. March for Choice, like so many other displays of activism, are important in helping people feel like they are taking a stand against things they perceive as injustices.

Throughout my years in UCC, my political, social and ideological viewpoints have grown, and I have the tools to express and defend my views, but often, I don’t. Living with an anxiety disorder, and holding beliefs that sometimes need defending, is a difficult thing to do.

Activism is defined as the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change. My experience of anxiety causes me to feel numb, to feel like I can be defeated in the face of adversity and that I am not strong enough to be proactive in changing the things I disagree with. There are some days where I feel like I can take

on the world, and change it for the better.

There are, however, some days in which I feel like my anxiety is consuming me and all I hold dear.

Lately, I have started to attempt to reconcile my desire for action and my anxiety, but the question remains: how? Many of us will have strong opinions on certain matters, and want to feel like we’re doing something good to enact change for the better. March for Choice was a great display of people coming together to show their beliefs and fight for their rights. March for Choice was attended by thousands of people. Unfortunately, I was not one of them. The problem with anxiety and social anxiety, in my case, is that it prevents me from taking action, but also makes me feel terrible for not taking action. I feel like I am letting down a group of people who need my voice to be added to theirs in order to shout the loudest. Experiences of anxiety are different for everyone, and this is why I am writing about how it affects me specifically. If you are finding yourself in a position where you want to speak out and be active, but your anxiety is holding you back, I want you to know that

you are not alone.

There are many things that I have come to realise as being forms of activism. It may not feel like it, but conversations with friends can be a form of activism. Often I feel more relaxed with friends, and discussing social and political ideas can help with gaining confidence. With friends, you know that your views will either be backed up, or challenged. The beauty of a challenge from friends is that you can feel more at home in discussion and debate, meaning your confidence is probably higher than if you were to defend your views to strangers.

Every time you speak about your passions, you are being active. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who also want to speak about your passions is activism. Educating yourself in the area of you passion is activism. Taking to the streets to show your support is a great way to be proactive, but you should know that change can start from one conversation, and, if you can manage that, you are an activist.

STI/Gum Clinic; Where; South Infirmary Victoria Hospital, Old Blackrock Road How much; Free of Charge When; By appointment only: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday, 9am-12.30pm, Wednesday 2pm-4.30pm Phone number; 021 4966844 Youth Health Services (Only available to those under 21) Where; Penrose House, Penrose Quay How much; Free of charge When; Preferably by appointment. Tuesday & Friday 9am 1pm Phone number; 021 4220490 The Sexual Health Centre Where; 16 Peter’s Street, Cork City How much; €20 (approx) When; By appointment, Wednesday 9am – 5pm.

Phone number; 021 4276676

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INTERVIEW taged groups who might not have a tradition of attending university. UCC Students often intern and volunteer with us to support these outreach activities, such as our work with children living in Direct Provision. In some sense the Glucksman beckons people to come through the Main Gates (a bigger barrier than I realised) and see that UCC could be a third–level choice for them. We also do music gigs, screenings, events with student societies, and perhaps even the great coffee in Fresco might help to bring people in to check the art out for themselves!

Fiona Kearney Méabh McMahon - Staff Writer Méabh McMahon speaks to Fiona Kearney, Director of the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, about Irish attitudes towards art, the Repeal the 8th campaign, and previous exhibitions at the Glucksman. Ms Kearney has won scores of accolades over her career, including the Jerome Hynes Fellowship on the Clore Leadership Programme, which is the highest individual award offered by the Arts Council of Ireland.

As Director of The Glucksman, do you consider UCC students and staff to be your primary audience, or do you reach out to people further afield?

Future, current and past UCC students are perhaps our most important audience – we want to be a place that encourages students to try art as an audience member, or as a creative participant. A recent article on Cork City in Cara Magazine (Aer Lingus In-Flight magazine) was by a UCC student who said she spent most of her time in college at the Glucksman… I’m not sure we are always aiming for that level of cultural commitment! I also know there are lots of students who might never set foot in the building, so in the best possible way the student body challenges us to remain relevant. Of course, we also work with colleagues across all four colleges and encourage teaching in the Glucksman, as well as offering our own PhD accredited module on curating in the public realm for UCC students. I’d like to think that as a public space, we are a place that enables graduates to come back to visit, and if not exactly relive their student years, at least know that they are welcome on campus.

What kind of outreach programmes are The Glucksman engaged with?

We are very committed to wide access to university education, and we do a lot of work with schools, teachers and disadvan-

The Gluckman previously held an exhibition called ‘’Living Loss: The Experience of Illness in Art.’’ Illness is often a deeply traumatic experience for people and their loved ones. Was it difficult for you, while curating the exhibition, to find pieces that did not inadvertently glamourise illness?

The artist, Jo Spence, took on this very theme in photographs in the exhibition that documented her own experience of breast cancer, and leukemia. She took self-portraits posing as a glamour model with her removed breast clearly in view – it is challenging work for the viewer, but it reminds us to think about illness from the patient’s perspective.

I was very fortunate to work closely on the development of the show with UCC colleagues in Medicine & Health, and I was reminded by Professor Fergus Shanahan not to forget about the rage that the patient feels as well as the sense of dread, loss and relief that accompanies different stages of treatment.

What was the public reaction like to the exhibition?

Well, we’ve all been sick, and I do think the Irish like to lament about their health, so it was certainly a popular topic. It had excellent reviews in the Irish Times and the Sunday Times – we even had a full page in the medical journal The Lancet. Perhaps more importantly, our comments board was full of appreciative notes from people who had been seriously ill or who had relatives and friends that were suffering. The impact of the exhibition continues to reverberate and I think that is not just because of the calibre of the artwork, but also because audiences left with a feeling that their experience of illness was shared and understood. Just the other day I was contacted by a project officer in Headway to let me know about a group of brain injury patients she had brought to see the show, and how one of them, who by his own admission had quite conservative tastes, turned around and told her that he ‘never knew art could be like this’.

There is currently an artists’ campaign

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express to repeal the 8th amendment in Ireland.

Would you consider becoming part of the campaign?

Yes, I am proud to stand beside the other 2,757 artists who have signed. The Glucksman shop is also proud to stock the Artists Repeal the 8th badges.

There has also been public outcry about the removal of ‘Repeal’ graffiti in Dublin.

Should artists be free to express potentially upsetting opinions in public spaces? If so, what about Pro-life messages and artwork?

I wrote to Cian O’Brien, Director of Project Arts Centre to express my support of the Repeal artwork, a centre that has a distinguished history of advocating for social change in Ireland. They received far more expressions of support than complaints, but the mural had to be removed for planning reasons. Artists, like all individuals, are free to express their opinions in public spaces, as long as they do it lawfully.

As someone who has had IVF, I found the some of the No campaign posters on the marriage equality referendum very upsetting, but on another level it only deepened my commitment to change. Shock value is overrated I think. Much more compelling is the creativity of some of the repeal and equality campaign actions. For instance the #KnowYourRepealers hashtag on Twitter revealed the breadth and diversity of the voices seeking change.

Speaking of the the role of art in social change, previously you’ve described Belfast and the moment ‘’between the headlines… the uneasy quiet of an all too tenuous peace’’. Do you think art about the Troubles can be used to construct a unifying Northern Irish identity, or will it just continually bring up past traumas?

I think the reason I sometimes write long essays about art is to unpick the many complex issues raised in your questions above.

I think that art invites us to consider and inhabit other perspectives, to see things from a different point of view, and perhaps with that, comes understanding. Art is nuanced and its power lies in its ability to be both direct and layered in its meanings.

“Art is nuanced and its power lies in its ability to be both direct and layered in its meanings. ” Given the impact that art can have, do you believe that Ireland is currently attuned to the needs of its artists?

I think that people in Ireland have a great love of the arts and that in general we celebrate & delight in the success of our artists, which helps reinforce a creative identity here and abroad. Unfortunately, the Irish State does not invest enough in the arts, and Ireland is at the bottom of the EU league

table for spending on Arts and Culture. We need to change this. The National Campaign for Arts is a grassroots movement that lobbies to protect funding for the arts.

It is nonpartisan and does not receive public funding, and yet is at the forefront of supporting art spending both locally and nationally. Check out more about the campaign at ncfa.ie.

There is a lasting perception in Ireland that if you want to be successful in the arts, then you must study and practice outside of the country. Is this accurate?

Ireland has some of the best courses in the creative arts- including UCC - so definitely don’t leave to study, except for Erasmus! I think it is good for all of us working in the arts to experience and learn in other cultures and countries, but that should be for the benefit of your practice and not as the only way to be successful. The state needs to ensure that there are professional opportunities across all artistic disciplines and perhaps we all need to amplify and celebrate the work of artists who live and practice in Ireland

“The state needs to ensure that there are professional opportunities across all artistic disciplines ” Do you think gender is still a significant factor in determining opportunities for a young artist’s success?

As with most disciplines, the closer you get to the centre of power, the less women are present in decision making roles, so while I have many trailblazing role models, inspiring peers and emerging artists and curators I greatly admire, it is still more difficult for women to succeed professionally, particularly at the highest levels. I’m in awe of the young female artists and curators I see working today, but devastated to hear of the sexism and inherent bias that discriminates against their success. I’m glad to feel an activism and sense of urgency from current students to see change in Ireland, both young women and young men who want to live and work in a more equal state and who support each other as future parents and professionals. I’m optimistic about the future.

What would you say to young Irish artists, or indeed anyone considering getting into that line of work?

I hope you stay with it, stay creative, curious and appreciative of the arts. I think an education in the arts or indeed the humanities, produces people with exceptional critical thinking and imaginative approaches to the world, and that seems a very valuable skill set right now, whatever line of work you eventually choose for yourself.

GAEILGE

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

Rave cailte ag an Ravelóid Aoife Nic Gearailt Cuireadh an fheis cheoil Gaelach Ravelóid ar ceall le linn an tsamhraidh. Bhí an fheis cheoil lena bheith ar siúl idir an 10-11 Meitheamh i gCaisléan Árd Giolláin, Baile Brigín, Baile Átha Cliath.

Bhí ceol an fheis lena bheith trí mhéan na Gaelinne amháin, le ceoltóirí mór le rá a bheith ag teacht chuige, ar nós Delorentos, Kíla, Seo Linn, The Riptide Movement, Mundy and Ham Sandwich.

Dar ndóigh go raibh ar na eagritheoirí an fheis a chur ar ceall agus a chur ar athlá ar faidh tamallín.

Chuir na eagritheoirí an milléan ar an athlá de dheasca “a number of production factors”. D’fhás costasí an fheis go dtí thart ar €600,000 de bharr go raibh

orthu láthair na feise a athrú, costasí sábháilteacht ina measc. Anuas ar sin, ní raibh ach 1,600 ticeadaí díolta acu as an 5,000 a raibh ar fáil. Cé go raibh orthu deonú €35,000 a fháil ó Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta, Gnóthaí Réigiúnacha, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta, agus partíocht saor in aisce ó RTE2FM, ní rabhadar in ann na costasaí sin a chlúdach. Scairt seachtainí roimh an fheile, chuir na eagritheoirí fís amach ag cur brú ar daoine ticéad a cheannach - comhartha nach raibh chuile rud in áit. Cé gur le linn an céad bliain comóradh de 1916 a raibh an ócáid, agus go raibh said in ann é sin a úsáid mar stratéis fógraíochta, níor éirigh leo an fhadhb a leighsú. D’fhógair Tomaí Ó Conghaile, Cathaoirleach don Ravelóid, go raibh “dea-thoil shuntasach léirithe do Ravelóid i measc an phobail,

in Éirinn agus thar lear, a chruthaíonn go bhfuil éileamh mór ann le haghaidh féile chomhaimseartha cheoil as Gaeilge.”

Aisíochadh costais na ticeadaí agus in áit an Ravelóid, cuireadh “Ravelóid sa Chathair” ar siúl. Ócáid saor in aisce ab ea é ón 9-12 Meitheamh i lár Cathair Átha Cliath. Bhí scairt des na ceoltóirí ceanna i láthair, ar nós Mundy, Kíla agus Seo Linn. Fuair iad súid a cheannaigh ticéad don Ravelóid féin, an deis áit a chur in áireamh ar faidh na gigeanna.

Tá súil ag lucht na Ravelóide go gcuirfidis an fheis ceoil ar siúl an bhliain seo chugainn le cúnamh Dé. Is léir ó spriod na eagritheoirí nach bhfeididís spriod na nGael a dhéanamh dóiléir agus a shéanadh.

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10 Focail Library/ Leabharlann Book - Leabhar To study - Staidéar a dhéanamh Deadline - Sprioc-am Daydreamer - Aislingeach I need a nap - Tá néal in easnamh uaim To take a nap - Néal a ligean Reading room - Seomra leitheoireachta Any free plugs? - An bhfuil aon plucóid saor?

The wifi has gone down again Tá an wifi imithe arís Printer - Clódóir

USI ag cur iachail ar an Rialtas deonú Gaeltachta a chur ar ais Aoife Nic Gearailt Tá an USI tar éis feachtas a chur i gcríoch ag cur brú ar lucht an Dáil an deonú €1 milliún a chur ar fuilleamh don tréimhse foghlama sa Ghaeltacht.

Ní mór do daltaí a bheidh ag dul i mbun na múinteoireachta i mbunscoileanna, trí seachtaine a chaitheamh ann agus le haghaidh méanscoil, breis is mí.

D’fhógair an Aontas ina naighneacht réamh-Buiséad go gcosnaíonn an turas breis is €637 agus an deonú féin ach €860,000. Deirtear go bhfuil gar do 1,500 glacathórí in aghaidh na bliana.

Tagann an tonn seo scairt míosa i ndiadh gur d’fhógair an USI go mba chóir go gcuirfidis feabhas ar an tslí a mhúintear an Ghaeilge i scoileanna. Dúirt Kevin Donoghue, Uachtarán don USI 2015/2016, “Irish language is not “taught as a language” and that too much focus is put on literature instead of the oral practice.” Luaigh siad comh maith go gcuireann an tumadh a

thugann an tréimhse dos na daltaí, go mór lena gcuid líofachta.

Oll-cosc iad na taillí dar ndóigh, anuas ar tallaí beatha agus tallaí ollscoile.

Tá fíor eagla ann go gcuirfidh na tállaí bac ar daltaí ó cheantair mhíbhuntáistigh, a theastaíonn uathu freastal ar na tremisí Ghaeltachtaí. Bíonn ar daltaí am a thógaint as a bpostanna páírtaimeartha go minic agus íoc ar son a gcuid lóistín, fiú nuair a táid thíos sa Ghaeltacht. Cuireann sé brú gan iarraidh ar na daltaí, agus a muintir. Is chuid lárnach iad na Gaeltachtaí dár gcultúr agus dár dteanga agus cuireann siad go mór le tuiscint na daltaí ar ár gcultúr ársa is luachmhaire. Tá an USI ag cur brú ar an Rialtas ionas nach laghdófar an lárnachas atá bainte leis na Gaeltachtaí inár tsochaí, agus deis na ndaltaí a líofacht a fheabhsú. Tá an USI ag tnúth go gcuirfidh an Rialtas an deonú ar ais go luath ionas go bhfeabhsóidh an stáid go sciopaí.

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FOOD

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

Simple Risotto.

Xander Cosgrave, Food Editor

Servings; It counts as one portion if you don’t take it out of the pan.

Literally, if this was simpler, it would be plain rice.

Prep time - 5 minutes, Cooking time, 35-45 minutes What you need.

A pan.

A knife and board.

Something to make stock in, a jug or bowl.

Ingredients.

2 Medium onions, Or 1 big one.

2-4 cloves of garlic, depending on how much you like garlic.

350 Grams of brown rice, which is about two cups.

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil. A small knob of butter.

2 glasses of white wine, vermouth, or strong cider. (A glass for the dish, a Glass for you) 1 litre of vegetable stock (An Oxo Cube, and boiling water) 90 grams of Grated parmesan Salt & Pepper Extra things you can add.

A few leaves of sage, finely chopped.

A sprinkle of rosemary.

A carrot, Grated. (It’s really good) Chopped and cooked bacon, chicken or chorizo. Or Roast Veg. Or Mushrooms. It’s versatile.

How you make it.

1. Dice up the onions and garlic finely. You can add the carrot and sage here as well, if you’re using them.

Add the butter and olive oil to a pan and heat gently, toss in your veg and slowly cook until it’s all softened, it should take about fifteen minutes at most.

While doing this, prepare your stock, either by making your own, or using the magic of vegetable stock cubes and boiling water.

2. Add your rice to the dish, and mix around till it’s lightly coated in the oil. Turn up the heat until it goes a little translucent and starts frying lightly. Add all your booze, and cook it off. (This means let the liquid evaporate) 3. Once all of the booze has mostly cooked off, pour over some of the vegetable stock, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Don’t add it all at once, just keep pouring it in about a cup at a time and stir to make sure it doesn’t stick. Slowly cook the rice until it is al

dente, you don’t want mush. If you run out of stock, add some boiling water instead. Different rice types will take different amounts of time, but no longer than a half hour. This is boring because you have to stir a lot (So it doesn’t burn), but it is very impressive looking if you have someone over. ‘Oh yes I just need to keep an eye on the Risotto’ 4. Your Risotto is Almost done once your rice is cooked and when you draw your spatula or spoon through it, it takes a while for it to fill up the gap. At this stage,

take the risotto off the heat and add your cheese, mixing it through. Now you can throw in all those extra things, like Fried Chorizo, Chicken or whatever.

Tips Any hard cheese will do, Parmesan is just the traditional option, like strong cheddar is fine. You can also add shitloads more cheese, I’ve just put in the minimum, cheese is great.

I top mine with some fresh parsley, or green pesto, because it makes it take fresh and looks hella Instagramable.

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issue 2

Volume 2

Editorial

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literature ban is often backed up by fairly arbitrary reasoning is further evidence of it being a form of outright social control - take The Diary of Anne Frank, for example (for being “too depressing”), or To Kill a Mockingbird (for - ironically - racism). Banned Books Week, in drawing attention to and condemning this practice, is - without being melodramatic about it - therefore not only protecting ideas; it’s protecting our intellectual freedom.

The last week of September is one of my favourite weeks of the year. Is that, you may ask, because World Maritime Day happens to fall on the last week of September (the 29th, to be exact)? Well, no, and that’s not just because the only time I ever went sailing I got hit in the head with that giant log that they throw around the boat. What I’m referring to is Banned Books Week.

The ability to mass-produce and easily distribute books, letters, articles, and the like at a low cost has objectively been one of humanity’s greatest achievements.

Widespread literacy is more than simply a way of gaining more business for public libraries: it’s a major contributing factor to, among other things, lowering poverty rates, and enacting positive social change. The rise of the novel has even been linked to a general rise in empathy among people - being able to place ourselves in the shoes of a fictional character can have real-life effects on our perception of others. Those of us who have been taught to read and write at a young age probably can’t appreciate just how frustrating life would be if we were completely unable to do either.

However, as long as there have been readers, there have been people trying to control what, exactly, others are reading.

Outright banning a book or publication from public consumption is possibly the most extreme form of censorship there is. The practice of banning books is closely related to the hated practice of burning books, in that both are a symbolic way of killing an idea. The fact that any sort of

Books are simply a way of putting ideas into words. Radio or video can only do so much; it’s the written word that allows for the most discretion, the most freedom, and the most influence. And that’s why we have a responsibility to use it wisely. People too often confuse fact with opinion, or fall into that old trap of thinking something must be correct because, well, you want it to be.

Read everything, but choose what you believe wisely.

If you disagree with an idea, remember that it can’t be written down if nobody’s thought of it. Don’t ban: refute.

So, by that logic, can I say that Byline is a testament to human innovation? That’s a rhetorical question, because I’m going to. You can now say the same of that assignment you got a lower mark on than you were expecting. With all the wonderful stuff there is to read in the world, we’re glad you’ve taken the time to add us to your list. I’m sure you will be, too, mind - we’ve got a pretty excellent selection this week in Byline, whether you’re after fashion or gaming or anything in between.

Lauren Mulvihill

HOROSCOPES Aries (Mar. 21st - Apr. 19th) SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME that Shrek was first released 15 years ago.

Fucking hell.

Taurus (Apr. 20th - May 20th) - If you walk backwards across the quad you’ll pass every exam you ever sit.

This isn’t proven or anything, but Jupiter reckons it’s worth a shot.

Gemini (May 21st - June 20th) If we assume pregnancy is about 40 weeks long, according to my calculations your parents rode and thus created you around this time however many years ago. Enjoy that mental image.

Cancer (June 21st - July 22nd) - Karl Marx would be deeply ashamed of your recent conduct. How could you do this to him?

Leo (July 23rd - Aug. 22nd) - If you were a drag performer your drag name would be Offaly Good Looking ;) Virgo (Aug. 23rd - Sept. 22nd) - Remember, always believe in your bum.

Libra (Sept. 23rd - Oct. 22nd) - Don’t worry about that dream you had. It’s okay. We’d all shag Willie O’Dea if we got the chance.

Scorpio (Oct. 23rd - Nov. 21st) - You will live up to your sign’s symbol this week by growing four extra legs and a

with Mystic Greg

tail. Should probably go see your GP about that.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22nd - Dec. 21st) - Don’t let your memes be dreams.

Unless you have questionable taste in memes that is.

Capricorn (Dec. 22nd - Jan. 19th) - There will be an unusually high amount of small animals in your life this week. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Aquarius (Jan. 20th - Feb. 18th) Try to steal the bust of George Boole outside the library! G’wan, it’s just banter!

Pisces (Feb. 19th - Mar. 20th) - If you jump on the crest you might actually manage to get the ride at some stage.

Ophiuchus (34th Smarch - 19th Scotchtober) - You will be extremely gullible & believe that NASA give a damn about astrology. You will also donate all your money to Mystic Greg.

Hey, I just interpret the stars, I don't make them up (NASA do)

Fiction

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Editor - Sophie Mckenzie

Shournagh Line, the Portal to divine

Those wooden forms stand like those who first invaded them tall and erect; Deeper from green to gold to the setting sun; twigs and branches greet me like an old friend coming home.

This grey road mingles into the intertwining green limbs of the mossy tree’s over-head; Our beastly beige car navigates the course of the free flowing river; all flowing with The Shournagh line.

Those human forms blur in the cold grey sky; Leaves of what is left from the other side fall; Deeper from grey to the white of that smile; Arms greet me like an old friend coming home.

Katie Myers

The road, that grey snake of progress and the urban; Making its mark on the once un-spoilt undergrowth; Making its mark on it and me and me with cause and effect.

Along the Shournagh Line.

Green is where I come from I have observed its treasure; Monsters of elf and man reside; Heroes of these creatures also; Brown or gold?

Which is which?

On the Shouragh Line.

Grey and emerald come as one; Contrary is that fact; Green and grey are my ink and my actions; Leave and brick am I; Portal to the divine; As you and I dear brother; Ride on the shimmering Shournagh Line.

Which is the entrance and which is the exit?

Which is the better end?

This portal has many twists and turns; Trials and tribulations.

I learn from the grey of concrete structures and the people that make it gold;

Abolish War Wesley Martin

Living in a never ending era of terror, will things ever get better?

Will there ever be peace or will this carnage continue forever?

There’s a lack of affection in this world full of hate, So anger keeps rising at an alarming rate.

Unnecessary violence and deaths in religious wars,

The Song of Wandering Hamish Anon.

Genocide in many countries but the world still ignores.

Just think about all the people suffering overseas, Devastated by war and every type of disease.

Imagine this was your family dealing with this brutality,

Seven rounds later and I’m stilt-legged, staggering Past facades and fading fast Christ, I’ve lost them Somewhere between the Septim and the Centra.

Lads, lads, you know I can’t swim!

Imagine this was you living through all that insanity.

I swear I’m sick of seeing now, Everything’s septic and looks swallowed.

But I suppose the sky is clear tonight It’s safer off the streets, the waves Will call everyone back eventually.

Lads, lads, I’ve learned how to swim!

Why should they pay for the mistakes that others have made?

No hope, no future and a past they’d rather forget, Living life day to day under constant threat.

Constant threat of abuse and all kinds of violence, While the rest of the world just sits there in silence.

Why should they be the victims when the invaders invade?

How can they fear hell when they’re already there?

I really believe we all have an obligation to care.

And if we don’t end war, war will end us, This a vital issue that we need to discuss.

Humour

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Literature: Local reader buys new book despite having at least 17 in their ‘to-read’ pile Student Life: Student “too busy to go out” spends evening watching Netflix, regrets nothing Tech: Local man spends ages perfecting an e-mail, discovers typo after sending Business: Public somehow still shocked when corporations reveal unethical behaviours Crime: Your sports team was clearly robbed of that last match Politics: Enda Kenny’s joint-rolling skills show improvement Fashion: Record numbers of people who should have brought a coat recorded on campus TV Listings RTE One, Wednesday @ 4.12PM: Christmas ads.

They’re genuinely showing Christmas ads this early on. Ready your pitchfork

Sometimes I Cry at Nice Things Lauren Mulvihill - Humour Editor I stress-craft. Some people smoke, some people go for a run – I craft. We all have our vices.

There’s just something satisfying about stabbing a crochet hook through a ball of wool when you ought to be worrying about college or money or relationships or the rift in the British branch of the Labour Party or whether or not Steven Avery did it or, God forbid, safety measures in Cincinnati zoos.

About two years ago, just before I sat my Leaving Certificate, my house was covered in origami cranes. I bought a packet of coloured paper in a pound shop (€2 shop these days, because of the exchange rate) and used damn near all of it on making those stupid little birds which ended up in the recycling bin almost as soon as they had received their first taste of life on the outside. I tried scribbling motivational quotes on their wings at one point, but they were hard to read and harder to take seriously when you consider I was making birds out of paper when I should have been studying.

I’m sure there’s something poetic about channelling your upset into creating something beautiful – or trying to, at least. A lot of those cranes were on the deformed side, but they were my children and I loved them. I’m sure there’s something poetic in my stress-crafting, but I have yet to pinpoint it. What I do know is that, as I’ve gotten older, there’s been an awful lot more handmade items around the place than there were previously. That’s not because I’m feeling any more stressed than usual, understand: I think it’s the manifestation of a subconscious understanding of all the stress that goes on in the world now that I’m an Adult.

Life is hard. Bad things happen every day, and people keep being awful. I write a lot of comedy, so I should know. I, like most people, also consume a lot of news, whether I want to or not: it’s

hard to get away from death and destruction when it’s become a constant background noise wherever you go, whether that’s through the television, the radio, or the eBay, which is the collective term my grandmother uses for social media. If we were to get upset over every bad thing reported in the news, we’d all be catatonic.

Similarly – although this is something I’ve been aware of for years – ordinary people have a lot of shit to deal with. Bad things happen to good people. It’s that kind of thing that, if you thought too much about it, would drive you around the bend. Or to crafting, if you’re my way inclined.

I’ve learned to react to the harsher side of life with a kind of stubborn resilience over the years, which is probably why I lose my mind nowadays whenever something nice happens. I saw a photograph of someone feeding their aging dog his favourite meal the other day (it was a burger) and I cried. I cried, damn it!

“I’ve learned to react to the harsher side of life with a kind of stubborn resilience over the years” Let me make this clear, alright: I am not, generally speaking, an emotional person. It normally takes a lot to get me het up over something.

That’s not to say that distressing information doesn’t have an effect on me, but I’m quite composed when it comes to most emotional situations (unless I’m hormonal. I once had to take some time for myself because I forgot to give a friend of mine a spoon with which to eat a bowl of pudding, after which they claimed they hadn’t wanted the pudding that much, anyway. My poor, pre-menstrual heart). However, there seems to be some kind of switch in my brain that gets flipped anytime I see someone behaving in a particularly kind way. Or when anything or anyone is just pure and good. Or, I’m not going to lie to you, whenever I see a dog.

These situations are countless: there was that time I and two women working in a chemist had a laughing fit over a bundle of balloons; the time a man was really excited to show me his Irish thesaurus on the Luas; the elderly former monk who told me his life story on the side of the road; the kids who made me a tiny little campfire so that I could have a s’more one night at summer camp. Again, I thought I was pretty good at staying composed when it comes to this sort of thing. Apparently not. The group of kids I was taking care of for the summer made me a card out of purple paper for my birthday and wrote me little messages in it, and one particularly cheeky yolk hollered “don’t cry now, Lauren!” at me while I was stood reading it. What a little asshole. It was my party; I could cry if I wanted to.

Sometimes, I cry at nice things. If I’m having a rough day and someone says something particularly kind to me, I’m gone. At weddings, too, occasionally – if you were to catch me, mind, I’d probably make a joke about the divorce rate, but we’d both know I was only being a giant nerd-noodle. Almost anything on the Dogspotting group I’m a member of on Facebook will open the floodgates, depending on the time of day and my BAC. Don’t even get me started on that time Ralph Wiggum didn’t get a Valentine’s card and Lisa Simpson gave him one. Remember that? “I choo-choo-choose you?” Oh, my God. Stop. But there are far worse things in the world to be crying over and I have cried over far worse. Sometimes, a tiny dog with a tiny hat on just speaks to my heart. Sometimes, a jolly taxi driver will remind me that most people are good people. Sometimes, a random act of kindness will transform itself into a little lump at the back of my throat. Because I’m a tiny ball of feelings.

Sometimes, I cry at nice things, and I reckon that’s OK.

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Editor - Lauren Mulvihill

‘Mansplaining’ Not Actually a Thing, Explains Local Man Lauren Mulvihill - Humour Editor

ing’ of the subject. Also, I don’t think women can’t understand the concept; just that their own prior study, knowledge, and experience of it needn’t be taken into account if I, a man, have what I perceive to be the correct opinion on it. I’d hardly call that ‘ironic’, love.”

Local man and UCC student Diarmuid Lyons, 20, has been busy explaining the concept of ‘mansplaining’ to his female classmates this week.

Nicole O’Leary, 19, a sociology student who has first-hand experience of mansplaining, described the phenomenon in a statement to the press.

“Mansplaining is basically when a man explains something to a woman in a patronising way – usually something she already knows.”

Mr. Lyons interjected at this point, adding: “Well, actually, it’s when a man explains something in an exaggeratedly simplified and easy-to-understand way to a woman, and is perceived by her and others to be condescending.”

“Mansplaining is basically when a man explains something to a woman in a patronising way ” The concept of ‘mansplaining’ has entered the public consciousness in recent times

“at once patronising, disheartening, and intensely irritating”,

due a growing understanding of how widespread the phenomenon truly is. Mansplainers are generally regarded as arrogant and lacking in a sense of irony, according to Miss O’Leary.

“It seems to me to be an example of these men simply trying to show off their knowledge of a particular subject, despite usually understanding it on a superficial level. It

definitely seems to stem from prejudice – believing a woman couldn’t possibly grasp the mechanics of a particular subject or argument.”

When pressed (lightly) for a statement, Mr Lyons responded thusly: “Well, actually, I’ve read one or two posts on Reddit that explain why mansplaining isn’t a thing, so I believe you’ll find that I have more than a ‘superficial understand-

Miss O’Leary and her fellow classmates have all publicly stated that the practice of mansplaining is “at once patronising, disheartening, and intensely irritating”, with Conor Redmond (20) adding “it’s very disappointing to see your friends being used as a platform for some sadcase to show off how smart he thinks he is”. Mr Lyons responded by saying “well, that’s his opinion”.

“I think this kind of person will always exist,” Nicole O’Leary went on to say to reporters as Diarmuid Lyons made his way out of the conference room. “I think he’s just very arrogant and perhaps a bit sexist.”

“Well, actually,” Mr Lyons screeched from outside, “you’re going to need facts and figures to back that opinion up, love!”

The Fashion Report, Autumn 2016 Lauren Mulvihill - Humour Editor Some fashions are born great; some have greatness thrust upon them. Most fashion, by definition, is pretty average. There is yet more that, like anybody who’s ever taken joy in anonymously insulting someone over the internet, are just insufferable.

Here at Byline we’re dedicated to bringing you only the crème de la crème of style this Autumn – a season which is shaping up to be one of the most memorable of the 2010s.

Baseball Caps Whether the recent re-emergence of this trend has gone over your head, or it’s made you wish someone would put a cap on your spending, the baseball cap is back and bigger than ever. After making headway on Instagram, baseball caps have reached their peak after years of sitting on the sidelines of fashion. These simple pieces have scored a hat-trick, previously experiencing a field day in the 1990s and early 2000s. Head down to your nearest clothes shop and pick up this wardrobe basic today.

Runners The modern student shows, yet again, that we have far too many people to see and places to go to waste time on an insensible shoe. What they will not do, unfortunately, is help you run from your problems.

Avocado When will this trend die, already? We waved goodbye to kale a long time ago, people: we learned from our mistakes.

Why are we insisting on keeping this one alive? People are wearing it on their faces, they’re eating it in salads – they could be using it as soap for all we know, since it’s “good fat.” The avocado is a small, green disappointment that has no place outside of the guacamole industry. And don’t get us started on that wheat intolerance nonsense.

Ophiuchus The sign of the Zodiac that everyone’s talking about is finally here! If you were born between the 30th of November and the 18th of December, congratulations – you may now be the holder of a

brand-spanking-new star sign, and will be forced to adopt some, if not all, of the following traits: a disregard for authority; rebelliousness; secretiveness; and curiosity. Don’t argue with us, man, argue with NASA. It could be worse – you could be a Libra.

“we learned from our mistakes. Why are we insisting on keeping this one alive?”

Moral Relativism Is there a universal ‘bad’? Is my negative your positive? Is the glass half-full, or is this analogy a logical fallacy designed to make quote-unquote pessimists reconsider their outlook on life and in so doing cease to criticise the established system?

Either way, moral relativism is the way forward this season! Take a walk in someone else’s shoes and finally understand that world peace is an impossibility due to our individualised perceptions of what is right and what is wrong.

Film & TV

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Top Cinema Picks: Young Offenders and Siege of Jadotville are rocking the show right now, so go watch an Irish film!

The Siege ofJadotville

New to Netflix: Luke Cage, Season One is out now (30th September), though if you’re a Marvel fan you’ve probably watched it back to front already - unless you got FIFA on the same day, in which case Luke Cage is available for your streaming pleasure whenever.

Just Out: The Magnificent Seven is a western starring Chris Pratt and Denzel Washington – it sounds good because the world had George Boole’s math in it. They didn’t understand it, but it was there.

Person of the Hour: Tom Hanks – the biggest hero ever, Sully has been absolutely dominating the box office, so he’ll be in with a shot for an Oscar come February next year – he won’t win (La La Land is going to be the best thing known to man once it’s out by the sounds of it), but he’s sound nonetheless! Also, nothing has left me more traumatised than when Wilson floated away. I was like six when I watched Cast Away, and that volleyball was the best friend a person could have.

Tomás Kiely Directed by Richie Smyth, based on the true story "Siege at Jadotville" (Maverick House) by Declan Power As a small boy growing up in the wilds of West Waterford, I occasionally heard my late father speak of this place in the Congo called ‘Jadotville’. An Irish army unit was surrounded and held out for six nights against a superior force. Sure, I had heard of the Niemba Ambush and massacre (in November 1960, nine Irish soldiers were slaughtered while on patrol serving with 33 Battalion ONUC – Ireland’s first UN fatalities), and I wondered: what was this ‘Jadotville’ thing? In 1997, I was given the book “Tough at the Bottom” by Captain Mick O’Farrell. The final two chapters of Captain O’Farrell’s memoirs were an account of this battle at Jadotville in September 1961. When I finished reading his account, I remember thinking “there should be a film made about this!” Nineteen years later, I get the privilege of covering the Red Carpet event for the Irish Premiere.

Part of the role of the 35th Battalion ONUC (Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo) was to restore peace and stability in the country. In September 1961, the UN established Operation Morthor in an attempt to eradicate and expatriate European mercenary elements from the Congo. Under the command of Commandant Pat Quinlan (Jamie Dornan), ‘A’ Company was tasked to provide protection to the white inhabitants in the small mining town of Jadotville, in the province of Katanga. Quinlan commanded a mere 156 men. These white settlers turned on their UN protectors and sided with the Katangese insurgents and all hell effectively broke loose. Miraculous-

ly, some would think, not one Irish soldier was killed in the onslaught – even after being strafed a number of times by a Fouga Magister jet, and surviving wave after wave of attack by a ground force of between 3,000 and 5,000. The attacking force was primarily comprised of Baluba warriors armed with European weapons and under command of Belgian and French Mercenary Officers. Some of the mercenaries had served in Algeria with the French Foreign Legion and simply headed to the Congo for the highest bidder after the French began to withdraw from Algeria. These officers had seen plenty combat action between the end of WWII, Indo-China, Vietnam, and Korea. In other words, they were well capable of fighting.

‘A’ Company, on the other hand, were considered ‘battle virgins’. To the Mercenary officers, he was an inexperienced battlefield commander, yet even Quinlan understands Rommel’s famous quote: “No plan survives contact with the enemy”. Add into this pot; poor intelligence from UNHQ in Elisabethville; a poor communications system; and no resupply resources, including no clean water and only a two day ration pack – this was a disaster waiting to happen. There is a palpable impression that while the UN Supremo Dr Conor Cruise O’Brien is covering his own ass, he allows A/35 to be sent out for slaughter. This is indeed highlighted throughout the movie.

In 2003, Declan Power began researching the archives and memories of veterans of A/35, and found out that upon their return home they were ostracised by their peers, regarded as cowards by General Headquarters and shut up by successive governments. The film is an outstanding adaptation of a well-researched book by Mr Power, and it was set to document the

bravery of these men in the aftermath of their war. For many years, few even spoke of their involvement in Jadotville to their own families, yet defended their good name to a public that neither cared nor knew what had happened. I asked Director Richie Smyth about the feedback from the veterans - so far, it had been positive. The veterans believed they had been portrayed well, and were mostly happy to see the fifty-five year wait for recognition come to a close.

This is Richie’s film debut and he has set a strong precedent, providing a magnificent portrayal of A/35. The camerawork takes the viewer right into the thick of battle, much as we are accustomed to in war commentary nowadays. The strange part is that you recognise you’re watching a typical war movie – loud bangs, bright explosions, shouting - but it’s all with Irish accents. There is a wealth of homegrown talent providing excellent performances; Jason O’Mara (Sgt Jack Prendergast), Michael McElhatten (Maj Gen McEntee), and Sam Keeley (Bill); Ronan Rafferty (Pte John Gorman), Charlie Kelly (Sgt Wally Hegarty), and Conor MacNeill (Quinlan’s Radio Operator).

“There is a wealth of homegrown talent providing excellent performances” As war movies go, The Siege of Jadotville keeps you gripped, especially as I was in the audience with actual Jadotville veterans and many of the cast - occasionally hearing an outburst from someone of “Jaysus, that was me!”

Overall I really enjoyed it, the vets enjoyed it, Declan Power was pleased that his diligence has paid off and the veterans are

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Editor - Aaron Frahill being recognised for their heroism despite overwhelming odds (they were outnumbered twenty-to-one at one point).

Richie Smyth and Kevin Brodkin (Producer & screenwriter) can be proud of their achievement and I look forward to their next project. Naturally, everyone is going to notice the small film nuances; they’re not worth mentioning, because the film did what it needed to do. It recognised the heroism and leadership of Quinlan and his men, and they can finally close that sad chapter after fifty-five years.

Sadly, Pat Quinlan didn’t live to see his name cleared and honoured for his leadership, and the fact that his decisions saved the lives of 156 Irish sons. He died in 1997, and the veterans who spoke of him still hold him in exceptionally high esteem – “He was a phenomenal officer. He scared the bejaysus out of us young lads, but all he cared about was keeping us safe. We really admired him. He was the reason we knew we could survive it.” Veteran Tom Gunn from Mullingar said “There wasn’t a hope of the enemy hitting us. We were too well dug in. Quinlan ordered us to dig trenches in the melting heat and watch our arcs of fire. By the time the first assault came, we were well dug in and we responded in kind; but at night time, you would barely want to blink in case they were coming. But the great thing was the food after we were taken prisoner: Spuds in their jackets, fresh vegetables and

Veterans at The Sige of Jadotvill Premiere Photo taken by Tomás Kiely

real butter. When we went back to Elisabethville we were back eating that disgusting margarine!”

Indeed, as prisoners of war, Mr Gunn recounts how they were permitted to keep their hurleys, and one day decided to play a ten-a-side game. “I looked over at the gendarme guarding us and he was watching the game, lads flakin’ the sugar out of each other. The guard says ‘what are they doing? I says ‘That’s our national sport; it’s

called hurling.’ The guard looks down and says ‘If we saw ye playing that before we’d probably never have attacked ye in the first place!’”

“the veterans are being recognised for their heroism despite overwhelming odds” Would I recommend it? Well, it’s seeing limited cinema release and it’s on Netflix

from October 7th, and yes, it is worth it. It is a true story involving Irish men who fought a superior enemy on foreign soil, but spent the next fifty-five years fighting a silent one at home attempting to get recognition and closure.

Sutherland returns to TV Drama with Designated

By Stephen Spillane 24’s Keifer Sutherland returns to the television screen with a new ABC Political Thriller, “Designated Survivor”. He Plays Tom Kirkland, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who finds himself thrust into the Presidency of the United States following a devastating attack on the Capitol Building. This attack, striking during the State of Union address, wipes out the President, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court and congress.

As the ‘Designated Survivor’, Kirkland is the sole remaining member of the Presidential Line of Succession.

Kirkland, who that day had been told he was being fired, finds himself having to deal with distraught White House aids, Military Staff and his own family in a time of national crisis. As an appointed official he has never held elected office, nor found his ‘presidential voice’ - something he will have to find quickly to bring the country together.

Meanwhile, on-the-ground FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q, Divergent series) investigates the bombing at the Capitol and

tries to piece together the unknown enemy’s next move.

Sutherland plays quite the different character from his Jack Bauer days on 24 with Kirkland. Playing a politician that’s at times nervous & out of his depth, but like all dramatic protagonists, will rise to the challenge he is faced with for the good of his country.

His wife Alex (played by Natascha McElhone, Californication), a supportive and hardworking attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is conflicted as she finds her family pushed into the limelight, becoming possible targets for future attacks as well as becoming the First Lady. She dotes on her children, the youngest being Penny (Mckenna Grace of Independence Day: Resurgence) and Leo (The Fosters’ Tanner Buchanan), the self-obsessed

teenager whose life is turned upside down.

Relying on surviving staff like White House Deputy Chief of Staff Aaron Shore (played

by Adan Canto, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and speechwriter Seth Wright (played by Kal Penn, House & How I Met Your Mother) to navigate his first steps in the Presidency, as they try to piece together what happened and who is responsible while simultaneously seeking to reassure the American public.

With the Pilot creator David Guggenheim (Safe House [2012] and Stolen [2012]) has set up a great story with a fantastic ensemble cast. This is certainly a series for fans of The West Wing and House of Cards, and anyone interested in political thrillers.

Designated Survivor airs Thursdays on Netflix.

Interview

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MICK FLANNERY Cailean Coffey - Music Editor Walking into the Corner House on Coburg Street, you get the sense immediately that you’re standing in a place built on stories.

With beer mats of every brand imaginable, posters, concert flyers, a signpost; pieces of paper scattered around the room, and photos of times past hanging on the wall, there’s no doubt that this building has held witness to a lot of deals, fights, make-ups and reunions.

There doesn’t seem to be a patch that isn’t taken by something or other, and talking to Mick Flannery you get the sense that, like our setting, his mind is packed - and has very little room for nonsense.

It takes us a moment to settle in the bar, with Flannery holding what looks like a Heineken in one hand and a brown bag in another. We exchange pleasantries, with Flannery taking a distinct interest in this writer’s future career choice as a psychologist, and names such as Freud and Stacks are used as though they are the most basic pieces of information a human can hold.

When we finally do get down to discussing Flannery’s career it quickly becomes apparent that none of it was a plan. His career started to take form after entering a Nashville songwriting competition, winning awards for his compositions.

“I entered because I wanted to see if my songwriting was, you know, good enough competitively, I suppose,” he says slowly, contemplating every word, “I didn’t travel to Nashville or anything. I just packaged up a CD, €30 registration fee and, you know, it came back positively.”

‘Positively’ is an understatement, with media across the world covering the event and his victory quickly becoming his calling card. Not only did it garner a lot of attention, but it gave him the confidence to attempt an ambitious concept album as his debut, recorded while studying in Cork. “I was in a course called Music Management and Sound in Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork and in the second year of that course they kind of left you to your own devices,” he recalls. “I was struggling for content or songs so I decided

to take one song and extrapolate the story, so I could write songs to the story. It had started as a musical where I was gonna write the libretto, but that didn’t happen because it was shit, so I just stuck to the songs. It was a slow affair because I felt very naïve and felt I had no authority to speak on such things, so I thought I’d make up a story, and that will give me authority because it’s my story.” The album was critically acclaimed, yet had its flaws - or as Flannery describes it: “I had confidence in parts of it but not in other parts, so then when they kinda balanced it out - so I understand why it didn’t do very well, because I know some of that is shit.”

After the debut, his stature began to rise and he suddenly found himself being hailed as one of Ireland’s best writers in decades; things were beginning to pick up speed.

Needless to say, Flannery was having the time of his life, but his songwriting wasn’t always on par with previous work.

“We were doing lots of gigs around the country, drinking a lot, having a lot of fun and driving around in the van, stinking. It was

just a great life experience for young people, for people 23, 24 years old. I didn’t really feel a lot of pressure. You’d have certain things that wouldn’t go your way, but by the time of the 3rd record there was a to and fro from the record company about whether the CD was ready or not. I submitted 12 or 13 songs and they came back and said “Hey, these aren’t ready” and I said “Aw, yes it’s ready. It’s grand”, but it turned out they were right, and another six months passed and better songs came, their experience showed and they were correct in telling me to wait.”

“he suddenly found himself being hailed as one of Ireland’s best writers in decades” Nowadays, Flannery is a lot more insightful about the social aspects of life in Ireland and abroad, and that in turn has influenced his new album, “I Own You”. Contemplating the themes of the album, he takes a sip of his beer and says “the new stuff is more socially aware and deals with grander themes than

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Interview by Cailean coffey

Tour Dates The Spirit Store, Dundalk 8th Oct, 8:00pm Róisín Dubh, Galway 12th Oct, 9:00pm Dolans Warehouse, Limerick, 13th Oct, 8:00pm Wexford Spiegeltent Festival, Wexford 14th Oct, 6:15pm Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow, 15th Oct, 9:00pm The Moat Theatre, Naas, 16th Oct, 8:00pm

one man’s romantic naiveties. That would be the main difference, that it’s more socially aware.” The title track from the album was given a very stirring and bleak music video, featuring a rich man in a mansion surrounded by people from minority groups and the working class. “The song is about wealth inequality and the anger that is borne out by people - a person whose dignity is being stripped away, who’s been disenfranchised, they just feel powerless and useless and their anger then is manifested in this break-in and assault of the rich man; the poor man getting into the rich man’s house.”

The album was influenced by events as far as America, with the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore playing a big role in the writing of many of the songs. “He was arrested, his hands tied behind his back and he was rolled, in the back of a truck, unable to support himself. They broke his back. He died and nobody was charged and there were protests.”

Looking out of the window, Flannery pauses for a moment before saying: “I think about the brothers and mother of that man and they are powerless, absolutely powerless; just picked off the street and killed. Terrible.”

Another sip follows.

“the new stuff is more socially aware and deals with grander themes than one man’s romantic naiveties.”

As confident and as strong as Flannery might seem, there is clearly a sensitive and

Kavanagh’s Portlaoise, Portlaoise, 21st Oct, 9:00pm

deep-minded individual and mindset within. When asked what keeps him up at night he replies: “I over-react to certain injustices. If someone does me wrong - I won’t give any particular examples - it sticks with me for too long. I’m one of the people that suffers and loses sleep while the other person doesn’t lose any sleep.”

“I try to imagine what it must be like for someone whose life is treated like nothing or is criminalized because of the colour of their skin and I’ll go, ‘oh, Jesus, my inability to sleep is multiplied by 1000 in someone else’s mind.’ I feel for them. Well, I don’t feel for them, really, as I can’t really empathize with it. I can only sympathise, but it bothers me how people can deal with that.”

Flannery takes a keen interest in the artists of today’s music who offer a sort of social commentary, and rap seems to be a firm favourite. Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West are named as forces for good, and Flannery remarks that West has “in essence made a piece of art out of himself by drawing the ridicule of people.”

As time begins to run thin, Flannery looks around the pub and lets out a low sigh. He’s got to leave to do a radio interview across town, and must ensure he doesn’t arrive late.

He slowly begins to rise, thanking us for the pleasure of the conversation and wishing us luck in our degrees, giving us his e-mail to send him on some psychology case-studies he’d find interesting. Just before he leaves,

The Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 22nd Oct, 7:00pm Saint Luke’s Glasgow, Scotland, 8th Nov, 8:00pm

he’s asked one final question: What do you hope for in the future? He stops, strokes his beard, wondering the best way to answer before responding: “I wish racism and religion would tie themselves together and jump off a fucking cliff.” And with that he’s gone, his mind a flurry of more pieces of information that some people can even fathom. Just like the walls of the bar, he’s witnessed and holds many stories and pearls of wisdom. He wouldn’t want it any other way.

Mick Flannery's new album "I Own You" is released on October 14th.

Night And Day, Oldham St, Manchester, 09th Nov, 8:00pm The Arcadian, Hurst St, Birmingham, 10th Nov, 8:00pm St. Stephen’s Church, Coverdale Rd, London, 11th Nov, 8:00pm Brotfabrik Frankfurt, Bachmannstraße, Frankfurt, Germany, 12th Dec, 8:00pm Studio 672, Venloer Str, Cologne, Germany, 13th Dec, 8:00pm

MUSIC

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Beginners Guide to Bring me The Horizon Sleepwalking Shadow Moses Can You Feel My Heart Avalanche Chelsea Smile It Never Ends Pray For Plagues Throne Drown Alligator Blood Top Five Metal-Core bands Asking Alexandria Of Mice and Men Pierce The Veil Sleeping With Sirens The Devil Wears Prada Albums Coming Soon Kings Of Leon – Walls (14th October) Lady Gaga – Joanne (21st October) Bon Jovi – This House Is Not For Sale (21st October)

From Breakdown to Domination Cailean Coffey - Music Editor We all face difficult times in our lives. No matter who you are, or what you do, there will come a time when it seems as though everything is going against you: it’s as though you have suddenly become the unluckiest person in the world. Everything seems to be falling down around you, and everyone has a distinct and different reaction to such circumstances. Some people appear angry, breaking everything in sight; some people show their sadness through tears; and others seek solitude, and take time away from the world. Justin Vernon is one such person.

Following the breakup of his band, DeYarmond Edison, the disintegration of his relationship, and his contraction of Mononucleosis hepatitis (Glandular Fever) in 2007, Vernon left his North Carolina home and retreated to his father’s cabin in the snowy woods of Wisconsin. A few “Northern Exposure” DVD’s, his own thoughts, his brother’s wire-strung guitar and the most basic of recording equipment were all that kept him company during the winter months. During his time of solitude, Vernon began writing and recording one of the most heartbreaking albums of all time, “For Emma, Forever Ago”. The sparseness, the flow of the melody and the often nonsensical lyrics combined to create an album of such raw emotion and power that, when originally released, without the help of any label, created such a big buzz that it was reviewed on Pitchfork & was named its album of the week. Vernon played every instrument on the album but did not want to put his own name to it, instead lending it the moniker ‘Bon Iver’ (derived from a greeting used in the “Northern Exposure” TV series).

Success came quick, and fast after the album was released. Within weeks Vernon was signed to the indie record label Jagjaguwar records. Singles from the album were used in shows such as One Tree Hill, Chuck, Grey’s Anatomy, House, and many more since. The lead single, ‘Skinny Love’, garnered a large amount of attention and eventually lead to the rise of Birdy’s career. ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ made numerous “Best Albums” list for 2008, and was also ranked number 98 in Rolling Stone’s “100 Best Albums of The 00’s”. He featured as a musical guest on all of the major American talk shows, and was contacted and has contributed to music by the likes of St. Vincent, James Blake and Kanye West. Vernon played a big part in the writing and production of Kanye’s 2010 masterpiece “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, featuring in the songs ‘Monster’ and the song ‘Lost in The Woods’, which sampled Bon Iver’s song ‘Woods’(Featured on the 2009 EP ‘Blood Bank’) . Vernon, however, was not always at peace with his newfound fame, and has spoken out about his hatred of the traditional music industry cycle of Album, Press, Tour and repeat. Vernon always sought escape and experimentation, and in this frame of mind his self-titled second album ‘Bon Iver’ was released to the waiting public.

“Success came quick, and fast after the album was released. ” ‘Bon Iver’ was officially released in June 2011, despite Apple accidentally releasing the album earlier that May. It was critically acclaimed and the difference between this new album and ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ is clear. The use of wider instrumentation, more horns, a little bit more electronics and a

wider emotional connection gave the album the feel of a bigger, more expansive project, and with 3 years in the making, it lived up to - and over-exceeded - expectations. The second album carried Bon Iver to another level of the celebrity pyramid and lead to one of the most surprising Grammy victories of all time, with the band winning the awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, as well as being nominated for Record of the Year for Holocene.

“with 3 years in the making, it lived up to - and over-exceeded - expectations. ” Following the release of the album a world tour followed, and as the tour concluded it was clear the band were getting tired. On the final night of the final leg of their world tour (Dublin, in November 2012), the band announced an indefinite hiatus from music and promptly disappeared from the public eye. Traces of music were heard in the proceeding years, with Vernon recording a new song, ‘Heavenly Father’, for the soundtrack of the Zac Braff film Wish I Was Here in 2014. However, towards the end of 2015 and the start of 2016, Bon Iver began to creak back into life. They announced an Asian tour for February of 2016, and soon after, tracks began to leak out. A European tour was announced and eventually, almost as all hope had faded, a new album was unveiled and has just been released - ‘22, A Million’.

This album takes a much more electronic feel, but from the early singles it is clearly a very Bon Iver-esque album, minus the guitars. Bon Iver are back to take over late-night listening, and there seems to be very little that can stop them now.

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Editor - Cailean Coffey

Jon Bellion – The Biggest Artist You’ve Never Heard Of Cailean Coffey - Music Editor When Jon Bellion announced his debut Irish show last week, there was a surprising lack of excitement at the prospect of seeing one of America’s brightest talents live. Given his popularity in the U.S, it was presumed that tickets to his European tour would be some of the most difficult to grab this year. However, his show in the Academy, one of Dublin’s smaller venues, failed to sell out in the first week, and was quickly changed to an all-ages show in an effort to sell more tickets. So what is Ireland missing?

Drake Vs. Beyoncé: Who Won? Cailean Coffey - Music Editor There are lots of different ways to approach music nowadays, and people often find it very difficult to keep up with the latest albums and singles - but making time to listen to and properly understand the latest releases of Drake and Beyonce took more time than usual. 50 minutes of Beyonce and 82 minutes of Drake seemed like an insurmountable challenge at points, but only after giving them a listen did it become apparent that there’s one clear winner; and 90% of this victory was due to the method of album release.

Beyonce released Lemonade, a femaleempowering album that tells the story of the emotions of a woman who is having doubts about her husband’s fidelity and the struggle she is going through in an attempt to understand him. This would be an entirely understandable and normal album theme were it anyone but Beyoncé, especially since her husband is Jay-Z, who owns the streaming service which the album was exclusively streamed on for a week. Lemonade (named to symbolize the bitterness of the album) was a complete surprise. No one knew it was coming, there had been no official announcement of any sort, and people were oblivious to the fact that Beyoncé was even recording music.

Then, she tweeted a picture of the album cover, sending critics and journalists into a frenzy trying to connect the dots. There were rumors from various sources as to when this album would appear - there

always is - but when it was finally released exclusively on Tidal, the world was united in its surprise.

This method of release has been tried before (Beyoncé did it originally in 2014, and was even more recently copied by Frank Ocean for his eagerly awaited album Blond) and it gives the artist a distinct advantage: there’s no expectations. When no one was expecting anything, anticipation couldn’t build and this meant that upon release, no one could possibly be disappointed. Anything that was released will immediately be seen in a more positive light. Audiences will also most likely give more time to the project, in order to understand it and to form an opinion on it.

Beyoncé has only seen the positive side of a quick release the first time, so why would she do it any other way? She’s found the perfect way for her music to get the most publicity possible, and that is by saying nothing.

“people were oblivious to the fact that Beyoncé was even recording music. ” Drake, however, has had a very different approach. Drake announced his album Views From The 6 two years ago in a radio interview, and since then the name has been crushing him and leaving little room to breathe. The moment the title (a reference

to his hometown Toronto) was announced, people started building it up into this mythical wonder that would rock the music world, and define Drake’s career. Since that announcement Drake has released two mixtapes titled ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’ and ‘What A Time To Be Alive’, a collaborative album with fellow Toronto rapper Future. In both these releases he referenced Views from the 6 and added fuel to the fire, leaving the album with an impossible mountain of expectation to climb. The album was given a release date two weeks before it was officially published, exclusively with Apple Music. Upon release people are calling it a disappointment, saying that they “expected more” from Drake, but of course it would be impossible to match two years’ worth of expectation and excitement, even if you made the album 82 minutes long. Drake let himself down, and let the music down. A solid piece of work has been graded as a failure all due to the hype, expectation and countdowns to its release.

“She’s found the perfect way for her music to get the most publicity possible, and that is by saying nothing.”

Jon Bellion is a singer, songwriter, producer and rapper from Long Island in New York City. He began his career in music as a songwriter for other artists, with songs such as “Trumpets”(Performed by Jason Derulo) and the hook from “Monster” (Performed by Rihanna and Eminem) under his belt. While he was writing music for other people, he was also saving some for himself, and released four free downloadable EPs. This garnered a lot of attention, and Bellion was signed to Visionary Music Group in 2012. Following the release of the free tape, ‘The Separation’, Bellion embarked on a sold-out American tour.

Bellion released his debut album ‘The Human Condition’ on June 10th 2016 and has been touring the States since, selling out everywhere he goes. The album is an incredible mixture of pop and hip-hop, with the single ‘All Time Low’ set to be one of the songs of the year. Bellion himself has called it a calling card to Disney, with every song given an individual illustration and storyline. The card worked, and Bellion has met with Disney representatives already about scoring a movie, thus realising one of the musician’s biggest dreams. In America “The Human Condition” reached number 5 in the Billboard Top 200, no mean feat for a debut album.

While Bellion sells out arenas in the States, it’s unclear why he can’t sell out the Academy here. One thing’s for sure: anyone that does get tickets for the show are in for a treat, if live YouTube videos are a testament to anything. There will be a time when he’s known world-wide, and tickets will be a lot harder to find.

Jon Bellion plays the Academy on the 12th of April 2017, and tickets are on-sale on Ticketmaster.ie.

GAMING

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Upcoming Releases

ReCore: In a League of Its Own? ness’ in their potential customers’ minds.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the huge games that cost €70 or more. Games these days are more expensive to make than they’ve ever been, there’s no getting around that; however, there’s still a discrepancy in the pricing of games at this tier. To be perceived as a high quality game it has to be priced the same as something like The Last of Us, or else it will probably be seen as ‘lesser than’ by the general public.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location I literally didn’t even know this game existed until writing this sidebar. That probably says more about it than I ever could.

Mafia III You may play as a black guy in ‘60’s America, but don’t let the white man stop you from following your dream of building a crime organisation to take down the Italian mob!

Paper Mario: Colour Splash STOP THE PRESSES. A GAME IS COMING OUT ON WII U IN 2016!

100ft Robot Golf Giant robots playing golf!

Drop this paper and buy this game!

By Jonathan Soltan - Gaming Editor The recent release of Comcept and Armature Studios’ new action-adventure game ReCore got me thinking about mid-tier games; in the current gaming landscape they are very rare things indeed. A few years ago they would have been the domain of companies like THQ, but no longer. Games seem to come in only three types now: free-to-play, €10 indie games and huge budget €70+ games like Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty. Recently, however, ReCore released with a price of €40. One would think that, in this future of digital distribution that we live in where a company can simply upload their game onto a digital marketplace for whatever price they want, that this wouldn’t be a big deal; It is.

Choosing an appropriate price point for their game is a big gamble for developers. The unfortunate thing is that a game’s price really has nothing to do with its quality (or lack thereof).

It’s all to do with how the general public perceives it. For example: a game like ‘Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’ released on the PS1 at full price - as it should have been, since it’s a great game that’s packed full of enjoyable content; were that game to release today, however, most people probably wouldn’t pay more than €20 for it, just by virtue of the fact that it’s a 2D game. Since a lot of people would view it as “not a full game”, they wouldn’t be willing to pay as much money as the content may warrant. This leads us into a situation where a developer may not be able to charge as much for a game as they think it’s worth because the way it looks may already be associated with ‘cheap-

While The Last of Us is undoubtedly worth that price tag, should a game like Lords of the Fallen cost just as much for us to buy? As soon as you start to play you can tell that it has nowhere near as much polish as any Naughty Dog game. Maybe if it was priced in the more reasonable €40 region, it wouldn’t stick out as much.

“a game’s price really has nothing to do with its quality (or lack thereof). ” So here we find the dilemma: If you’re an indie studio making an ambitious game, should you go above that €25 soft cap that seems to be the limit for games perceived to be “indie?” And if you’re a big enough studio that’s making a big game, but nothing on the level of Uncharted, should you maybe drop down to €40 if you think that’s what it’s worth, or stick with €70 because you don’t want people to think it’s a lesser product? I don’t have a solution, but I do know that a more flexible price model can only benefit us gamers.

Are Annualised Games Really Worth It?

By Jonathan Soltan - Gaming Editor Now that the newest FIFA game is out in the wild, I once again got to thinking about the nature of annualised games. In particular, sports games, since they seem to be the most common perpetrators of this. Games like FIFA, PGA Tour, NFL and NBA come out every year without fail, but what do they really add over the previous games?

Can you really justify the purchase when more often than not the newest release is just a glorified roster update?

I feel like if these series skipped a year and came out every second year, everyone would benefit: developers would get a less nerve-wracking schedule and gamers would (hopefully) get an improved game when it does come out. Especially now, in a world where most consoles are constantly connected to the internet, could developers not simply release an update with roster

changes in it, and call it a day until the newest game comes out? Then once the game does come out, the time between games has not only created some anticipation, resulting in increased sales, but also gives developers time to actually work on meaningful updates to features, or add new ones altogether.

“I feel like if these series skipped a year and came out every second year, everyone would benefit ” Just look at a series like Assassin’s Creed.

The only game in the series that had more than a year gap before it was the second one. Not coincidentally, I feel, that game is widely regarded by fans to be the best in the series. Even though subsequent games usually had totally new settings, stories and characters, fans still got franchise fatigue and lost interest. And that’s a series that ac-

tually did try to change it up as they went along.

Contrast this with how Rockstar treats Grand Theft Auto. There was a five year gap between the fourth and fifth games in that series; Rockstar used that time to make an entirely new engine and game world. They also added the ability for you to play as three separate characters throughout the game, and switch between them whenever you want. Due to their work, and the break between games, GTAV has sold over 65 million copies. That puts it at the fourth best-selling game of all time. The original Super Mario Bros. is in fifth place at 40 million copies.

That’s quite the gap. If Rockstar had done what they did back in the PS2 era and kept releasing games every year, they most certainly would not have reached such monumental sales numbers.

Obviously, it wouldn’t make sense for sports games to only come out every five years, but I can’t help but feel that giving these games a bit more time in the oven would only mean good things for everyone.

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Editor - Jonathan Soltan

Remasters, Remakes and Reimaginings: What they mean for the gaming industry

By Kieran Barrett - Gaming Writer Many people feel a strong sense of nostalgia when it comes to their favourite video games. Whether it’s our favourite characters, the gameplay or the story, we feel an attachment to our beloved series. Does it come as a surprise, therefore, that game developers have recently begun to target customer nostalgia in flooding the market with a wave of HD remasters?

While remasters & remakes offer people who never played these games a chance to experience them with upgraded graphical fidelity, they may also seem like a quick cash grab by the developers. Take for example, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which originally released in 2011 and is one of Bethesda Game Studio’s best-selling games, and is set for the release of a “Special Edition” in the coming months. Remasters such as this are greeted with mixed responses from players.

It’s an opportunity for the game to attract new players to the fan base, but what does it offer those existing fans? This is the problem that the gaming industry faces, especially in the newer generation of consoles, as we are greeted with a plethora of higher resolution versions of games which are still fresh in

our mind.

Does this point to a lack of originality in the gaming industry, or is it just smart business on the side of the developer? Well, these types of remasters wouldn’t exist if they didn’t sell, and they are a proven way to make some fast money for developers as the work involved is minute in comparison to a completely new story.

Therefore, game remakes are an interesting topic as they are technically a new game, yet they feature the same characters and stories we already know. For example, the recently released Ratchet & Clank reboot for the Ps4 was described as a “reimagining” of the original.

Production director Shaun McCabe stated that “Ratchet and Clank is a new game that takes elements from the original.” The story elements and world progression are extremely similar to the original, and yet the gameplay was vastly improved due to the advancement of the technology in the fourteen odd years between the original and the remake.

This is the main attraction of remaking a beloved franchise. It allows the developer

to bring us a more complete version of the game that they envisioned all those years ago. It is no surprise to see that other companies are now following suit, with other vastly popular series getting the makeover treatment.

Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy VII are but two other notable examples of upcoming remakes. The value of these remakes and remasters depends purely upon the individual consumer and so there will always be a market for them, regardless of the criticism.

My Journey Towards the Darkest Dungeon (So Far), Part One

By Jonathan Soltan - Gaming Editor A skeleton warrior scores a critical hit on Dismas, my Highwayman. Dismas can’t take the stress of such a blow and cracks under the pressure. He is now Fearful and moves to the back of the line of his own accord to avoid taking further damage. This stresses out the rest of my group. The stress of Dismas cracking causes my Crusader, Theo, to crack as well. He is now Abusive. It’s finally my turn again, and I try to kill an undead crossbowman at the back of the enemy lines by getting my Grave Robber to throw a dagger at him. She misses. “Is that the best you can do?” Theo shouts at her.

This stresses her out. I’m sure you can see a pattern here.

Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook studios is a game all about stress management. It’s been out on PC since January of this year but only recently released on PS4 and Vita. In any other dungeon crawling game, you will most likely find yourself cleaving through wave upon wave of enemies. Not so in this game. Any given encounter could end in the complete destruction of your party, not least because, if

only after many successful dungeon runs that it was revealed to me that once someone gets too strong they will refuse to quest through a lower level dungeon, seeing it as beneath them, and not worth their time. That was quite the crushing blow to me, I can assure you.

It makes sense, though. The main fun of the game is that, even when you’re winning, it’s only just a few unlucky hits and you’ll be a sobbing ball of stress. Allowing you to just grind up your levels on your favourite characters would eliminate all the challenge.

you’ve been in a dungeon for a while already, you’re probably not in the best of shape.

At least if push comes to shove you can always retreat from a battle, though be aware that doing so will make your party members lose confidence and get stressed out. And if you just can’t hack it anymore and need to leave a dungeon, thus abandoning your quest before your party dies horribly? That’s a big heaping bowl of stress right there.

Not since Demon’s Souls have I played a game

where it felt like the game was actively fighting against me so much, trying to stop me from winning. At the same time, though, I can feel that the game wants me to succeed. It just won’t make it easy for me. After suffering through a harrowing first few encounters, I got ultra-conservative: only attempting the easiest dungeons, making sure to bring a surplus of supplies with me.

For a time, then, I did very well, and improved my favoured party members quite a bit. It was

“even when you’re winning, it’s only just a few unlucky hits and you’ll be a sobbing ball of stress.”

As it stands now I’ve just beaten my first boss (and it only took one try). As such, I am entirely too confident, and will probably suffer a humiliating defeat that causes the death of all my strongest party members, including my main Leper, Gillian. Check this space in the next issue to find out how badly things went for me, and to see my final verdict on the game.

Autumn Fashion Lookbook

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fashion

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Editors - Kenneth Nwaezeigwe and Iris Maher Going VintageCharity Shops 101 Mary Collins - Features Editor You’re a poor student who is tired of wearing the same jeans you had in transition year and you’re looking for some new threads to wow that absolute ride in your course, but you’re down to twenty quid a week, and clothing is expensive, right? Wrong! Here is your comprehensive guide to the seemingly little-known treasure trove that is charity shops.

Tricks of the trade-Things to know before you hit the (charity) shops Generally: the more known the charity, the better the options. Some shops are more expensive than others, but everything is still cheaper than retail.

Everyone is Judging You All the Time. Really. Just Stop Wearing Hollister, Please Mike Jeffries - Fashion Writer Ah, college: the place where you don’t have to wear a uniform anymore, so you can wear the exact same style of clothes as everyone else instead. It’s a sort of tribalism, really, the different ways people dress - like an American high school show, but with more drinking, and worse teeth: the sea of club jerseys and O’Neills pants coming out of a Boole 3 lecture in something that will lead to a career in teaching; the swathes of preppy Law and Med students who are going to make more money than you ever will; the resurgent Scene Kids who will wear a parka when it’s 25 degrees outside, preparing them for the heat of a life behind a coffee machine in a bespoke cafe; the hipsters who haven’t got the memo that it’s not cool anymore... the list goes on and on.

You can deal with all this, I mean, it’s like school, except instead of everyone having to slightly modify the same uniform, you clearly see from a distance which social group is full of people that you would immediately detest. And if anyone tells you that, like, you ‘shouldn’t judge people on their appearances’ - they’re right, you shouldn’t, but you absolutely will. The most noticeable group of these are the ‘Hollister Crew’. You can no-

tice them because they actually unironically call themselves that, and they wear a set of clothes that is designed for Southern California.

That’s it, though: Hollister is a city in California, and you’re wearing clothes that are supposed to be designed for there... in Ireland, an island that is definitely not in California. It’s also made by Abercrombie and Fitch, and the guy who runs that is mostly famous for saying that unattractive p e o p l e should not wear his clothes, so I’m sorry to say t h a t you’re supporting a dickhead by wearing the clothes that are designed to be a slightly SoCal cheap knockoff of Abercrombie and Fitch. I’m not against branded clothes, but I am against obnoxiously branded clothes. Like, a pair of Umbros with the logo on the upper thigh, sure. I don’t think there’s such a thing as

tasteful tracksuit pants, but you can try.

Having ‘Hollister’ branded all over you is like being a walking billboard, except you paid for the privilege, and you’re not famous enough for it to be cool.

I mean, you’re wearing an outfit that is at best uninspired, but still something you put effort into, because no one is that Faux Preppy by chance. It’s not even a very cheap knockoff of actual Abercrombie: it’s just too middling in every possible metric to be worthwhile. Just commit to a pair of leggings that say ‘swag’ from Penneys.

You’ll be just as bleh, but with more money for cans. If you’re going to put some effort into an outfit that doesn’t actually do anything interesting, at least make it cheap as can be.

C’mon.

All of this doesn’t apply to nurses. You guys can wear whatever you want; you deserve it.

The first time you go, it can be overwhelming.

Fun fact: it’s ridiculously easy to spend much more than intended when everything is less than a fiver. Make a budget and stick with it.

It’s also easy to buy things you will never wear because they’re so cheap, but this isn’t particularly cost-effective. When the inevitable happens and you open your bag to find a hideous excuse for a cocktail dress staring back at you, donate it back and try not to smile when you see a fresher wearing it at the Arts ball two weeks later.

The thing about charity shops is that everything you get is a one-off, so going frequently is key to getting the good stuff. Good times to go are usually a week or three after the sales are on - everyone’s getting rid of their old clothes or new clothes that they have decided they don’t want.

Do NOT ask for a discount, or haggle with the cashiers. It’s phenomenally cheeky to ask for a discount on clothing when they’re already cheap, and all the proceeds going to charity. Don’t be that guy. No-one likes that guy.

In the same vein, do not ask to return an item for a refund. If you’re giving something back, donate it again. Remember, the money goes to charity and the people working are usually volunteers.

Charity shops have sales and special offers too.

Barnardos on North Main Street offers a loyalty card that you get when you spend €5, and it works like the stamp cards you get for Coffee Dock: fill it and get a €5 credit-note in store.

Most shops have a sales rack for discounted items up all the time, in addition to normal sales.

Not all charity shops accept card, so be sure to hit the ATM before you go.

It’s not just clothes, either. You can get just about anything you want in a charity shop: shoes, home wares, books; I found an ice cream maker once! It’s hard being a student with little to no cash flow, but that doesn’t mean you have to look like it. Get out, treat yourself to something new (ish) and wear it with pride; you’ve earned it.

fashion

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Top Style Pick My top style pick this week has to be the top coat.

It’s such a staple to have in your wardrobe for autumn and winter.

It’s so versatile and manageable with an array of outfit combinations, from urban streetwear to formal tailoring. The top coat has you covered.

My advice for picking out a top coat is to pay attention to the fit. You want one that’s loose fitting but not oversized, as then you’re free to wear it as part of a layering combo.

A/W fashion has at its core muted colours and layers.

So when picking out a top coat pick a colour that works well with a variety of other colours.

There’s a wonderful topcoat in New Look on Opera Lane right that you could have a look at.

Editors - Kenneth Nwaezeigwe and Iris Maher

Do Brands Define Style?

Kenneth Nwaezeigwe - Fashion Editor I was interviewed a few months back by a friend of mine as part of his masters in Marketing. The interview was about whether or not brand loyalty plays a part in what we purchase. This began a thought process which centred on what defines our style, whether or not our style is centred around what brands are popular, current fashion trends and do we buy certain clothes solely based on the fact that there’s a name attached to them.

As a society we’ve become so commercialised and brand-orientated that we buy items just because of the name associated with them. We’re all striving to fit into what society deems trendy at a certain period in time.

If you walk through campus you see a lot of people wearing the same style of clothes, and this leads me to wonder that, as a society, have we lost our sense of individuality?

Lauren Hutton, who’s graced the front cover of Vogue magazine once said: “Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year’ by designers, Style is what you choose” This statement, for me, allows for us to express our true individuality. It gives us back our liberty. To be truly stylish we need to exercise our ability and privilege of choice. I’ve always been a firm believer that our style is an extension of who we are as people. Your own personal style is the type of person you want the world to view you as. To say that brands dictate your style is to say that a certain brand defines you as a person.

My personal style is that of a dapper individual. It’s how I feel inside, I love the attention to detail in men’s tailoring, it suits me and it expresses what I want the world to see. My personal style is still evolving and I’m loving where it’s going.

Gianni Versace put it best;

students could take a leaf out of her book, her house only containing what she “needs”.

Living away from home probably means less space to store your things, so think pragmatically when bringing your clothes, books and other necessities. You are not moving away forever and will definitely be heading home to visit your family in the near future.

“Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live”every season, a trip down to Penney’s will be the best option for you.

Is less really more? Personally, I’m on the fence. Remember you do not have to commit to the same style just because you wore it last week. College is great for experimentation when it comes to fashion.

““Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year’ by designers, Style is what you choose”

Although I’ve previously mentioned the primary colours of this trend, the occasional block of colour makes an appearance.

Whether it be a pair of loafers or runners, the occasional splash of colour adds a little extra something to this trend.

Another misconception which I think is prevalent today is that fashion trends dictate style. Style is not meant to fade. It’s meant to be the constant thing in your life. Your style evolves as you age, It never fades, it never dies but it grows as you do. It’s not defined by fashion trends but rather your own personality influences the fashion trends. Rather than buying into the “fast fashion” craze, look for statement pieces that express your own individuality and lets your own personal style evolve.

Minimalism is not exclusively linked to fashion, however: influencers such as Rachel Aust have channelled this trend into a lifestyle. Aust has a series of “minimalist” videos on her YouTube encouraging others to declutter their lives in more ways than one.

Her beliefs filter right down to the people she associates with; if someone is impacting her life in a negative way, Aust has no problem removing them from it.

When it comes to her interior design habits,

“Style is not meant to fade.

It’s meant to be the constant thing in your life. “

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ENTS

Society Events

SSDP - 7pm, Boole 4 Weekly Rehearsals - Choral Society 7pm, Geography Lecture Theatre Screening: Beowulf - Mythological Society - 7:30pm, Kane G19 Hangul Workshop - Korean Society 7:30pm, Kane G07

For up-to-date listings go to Lowdown.netsoc.co, with new events announced every day Tuesday 4th: Media Night - Journalism Society 5pm, ORB G.39 EGM / Get Involved - Networking, Gaming and Technology Society - 7pm, Common Room Screening: What’s In My Baggie? -

Wednesday 5th: Meatless Meetup - Animal Welfare Society - 6pm, SU Common Room (upstairs) Model UN: Humanitarian Crisis in Syria - IR Society - 6pm, Council Chambers (North Wing) EGM - UCC Sinn Féin - 6:30pm, Muscrai (top floor, Student Centre) Branch Meeting - UCC Labour - 7pm, TBA Christianity Q&A - Christian Youth 7pm, WGB G.05 Setting Up A Business With Social Media - LGBT Society - 7pm, Civ Eng 110 David Naessens talk - CCAE Architec-

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

ture Society - 7pm, Copley Street campus Friends Quiz - Hope Foundation Society - 7pm, Café Oasis (Student Centre) Thursday 6th: EGM - Geological Society - 7pm, Kane G01 EGM - Historical Society - 7pm, West Wing 9 Screening: Italy v Spain (football) - collab - 7pm, Urban Jungle (Shears St.) Friday 7th: Rock Climbing & Dine - South East Asia Society - 5pm, Mardyke Arena Eid Celebration & Potluck - Islamic Society - 5pm, Western Gateway Building Monday 10th: Weekly Meeting - Sinn Féin Society 6pm, Student Centre EGM - Animal Welfare Society - 8pm, Boole 1

Club Training Times:

For more up-to-date listings, including additional training times, go to sport. ucc.ie/timetable Mondays: Aikido - Hall 2, Mardyke Arena - 4:30pm Badminton - Hall 2 & Hall 3, Mardyke Arena - 6pm Basketball - Hall 2, Mardyke Arena 8:30pm Boxing - Studio 7, Mardyke Arena - 8:30pm Chess - Aras na Laoi, G18 - 6:30pm Cricket - PBC Sports Hall - 6pm Dance (Beginner Jazz) - Studio 7, Mardyke Arena - 7:30pm Darts - New Bar, UCC - 7pm Fencing - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 7pm In-Line Hockey - PBC Sports Hall - 8pm Judo - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 8:30pm Kickboxing - Hall 3, Mardyke Arena 8:30pm

Mountaineering - Climbing Wall, Mardyke Arena - 8:30pm Powerlifting - Elite Squad Gym, Mardyke Arena - 8:30am Rowing (indoor) - Studio 7, Mardyke Arena - 4pm Rugby (Ladies) - Squad Gym, Mardyke Arena - 7:30am Soccer (Ladies) - Synthetic Pitch, Mardyke - 8pm Squash - Mardyke Arena - 7:10pm Waterpolo - Mardyke Arena Pool - 10:30pm Tae-Kwon-Do - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 8pm Tennis - Sundays Well Tennis Club - 7pm Trampoline - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 5pm Ultimate Frisbee - Synthetic Pitch, Mardyke - 4pm

Tuesdays: Athletics - Mardyke Arena Running Track - 6pm Dance (Beginner Irish) - Studio 4, Mardyke Arena - 7:30pm Juggling & Acrobalance - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 9pm JuJutsu - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 7:30pm Karate - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 6pm Kung Fu - Studio 5, Mardyke Arena - 8pm Olympic Handball - Hall 1, 2 & 3, Mardyke Arena - 4pm Olympic Weightlifting - Elite Squad Gym, Mardyke Arena - 3pm Powerlifting - Elite Squad Gym - 5pm Rugby (Mens) - The Farm, Curraheen

Road - 6pm Soccer (Mens) - Synthetic Pitch, Mardyke - 4pm Swimming - Mardyke Arena Pool - 7pm Sub Aqua - Mardyke Arena Pool - 10:30pm Volleyball - Halls 2 & 3, Mardyke Arena - 6pm Wednesdays: Archery - Electrical Engineering L1 - 7pm Aussie Rules - The Farm, Curraheen Road - 6:30pm Basketball - Hall 3, Mardyke Arena - 7pm Canoe - Mardyke Arena Pool - 10:30pm Cricket - PBC Sports Hall - 6pm Dance (Beginner Hip-hop) - Studio 4, Mardyke Arena - 8:30pm Equestrian - Mardyke Arena Track - 7pm Kickboxing - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 7pm Motorcycle - Workshop, Cooperage (Sundays Well/North Mall) - 7:30pm Soccer (Ladies) - The Farm, Curraheen Road - 6:30pm Table Tennis - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena 5pm Thursdays: Aikido - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 4:30pm Dance (Advanced Jazz) - Studio 7, Mardyke Arena - 8pm Fencing - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 7:30pm Juggling & Acrobalance - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 9pm JuJutsu - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 7:30pm Karate - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 6pm

Trad Night - Traditional Music Society - 8:15pm, UCC Old Bar Tuesday 11th: Japanese Cultural Panel - Japanese Society - 7pm, Boole 4 Weekly Rehearsals - Choral Society 7pm, Geography Lecture Theatre Wednesday 12th: A&L Goodbody Educational Visit - Law Society - 6pm, Hayfield Manor Hotel EGM - Italian Society - 6pm, Kane G18 Model UN: Humanitarian Crisis in Syria - IR Society - 6pm, Council Chambers (North Wing) Branch Meeting - Labour Society 7pm, venue TBA Thursday 13th: EGM & Hercules Screening - Mythological Society - 7pm, Kane G01

Kung Fu - Studio 5, Mardyke Arena - 8pm Powerlifting - Elite Squad Gym - 5pm Rugby (Mens) - The Farm, Curraheen Road - 6pm Swimming - Mardyke Arena Pool - 7pm Trampoline & Gymnastics - Hall 2, Mardkye Arena - 4:30pm Weiqi (Go Club) - ORB 1.01 - 7pm Fridays: Boxing - Studio 7, Mardyke Arena - 5pm Canoe - Club Shed, Mardyke - 2:30pm Dance (Mixed Piece) - Studio 7, Mardyke Arena - 9pm Olympic Handball - Hall 1, 2 & 3, Mardyke Arena - 5pm Ultimate Frisbee - Hall 1, 2 & 3, Mardyke Arena - 3pm Weekends: Badminton - Hall 3, Mardyke Arena 12pm, Saturday Fencing - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 4pm, Saturday Judo - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 2pm, Sunday Karate - Hall 1, Mardyke Arena - 2pm, Saturday Rowing - National Rowing Centre, Farran Woods - 8am, Saturday & Sunday Waterpolo - Mardyke Arena Pool - 7pm, Sunday Tae-Kwon-Do - Studio 1, Mardyke Arena - 2pm, Saturday

33 Oifig Fiontair Áitiúil Local Enterprise Office

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• Want to compete for a part of Cork’s €150k investment fund & be considered in the shake-up for Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur?

If you answered YES to these 3 questions, then your Local Enterprise Office • Are you aged 18 - 30?in Cork wants YOU!

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“Allow your personality to shine through - it is your business for a reason! Take a step away from the crowd and stand out.”

Breffney O’Dowling Keane Founder, FruitCubed

34

PHOTOS

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

Photos curtusry of Emmet Curtin Photography

PHOTOS

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ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

World Cricket Round-Up Tea Time Fillers:

Robert O’Sullivan - Editor-in-Chief

While it’s time to dust off your winter coat and pack away the bat & pads here in Ireland, it’s still summer somewhere, and the truly beautiful game continues as normal. So pop the kettle on, make yourself a sandwich and queue up Soul Limbo by Booker T & the MGs on Spotify, it’s time for your world cricket report.

IRELAND The ongoing long-term development of the Irish national side continues in 2016, with matches against top Test teams in Australia & South Africa abroad, and Sri Lanka & Pakistan at home, with the former being the most recent ties. Cricket Ireland’s campaign to become a Test-playing nation could have been buoyed with wins against any of the aforementioned teams, however it was not to be. The young Irish squad, robbed of veteran Ed Joyce through a knee injury, was given valuable experience on the world stage in the first game against South Africa. South Africa, preparing for a tour from visiting Aussies, fielded three debutants against the ‘Boys in Green’. This was certainly a gamble, but one that paid off, as batsman Temba Bavuma became only the second South African to score a century on his ODI debut. South Africa posted a dominant score of 354 for 5 against the middling Irish pace. Ireland could only manage 148 in reply, with Kevin O’Brien getting a top score of 41. He did much better than his brother Niall, who missed the game with a head injury suffered when he fell in the bathroom prior to the game.

Ireland didn’t fare much better against an Australia A team fielding second string players, again falling foul to proper pace bowling. Ireland batted first this time, posting a score of 198 all-out. It looked like Australia were going to clean-sweep the Irish lads, with Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh getting David Warner out caught & bowled for 48.

Questions must be asked of the Irish team at the end of their 2016 season, as other associate nations seem to be eclipsing their successes in the shorter forms of the game, and we must really ask: is Test cricket worth it?

AUSTRALIA While Australia are enjoying continued success under captain Steve Smith (including the complete dismantling of Ireland in South Africa), not all is well Down Under. The Australian team has always revolved around its fast bowlers, and the revered brotherhood that is the informal group: the Fast Bowlers’ Union

Daniel Herlihy - Sports Writer 1. The national sport of Afghanistan is Buzkashi, where teams on horseback attempt to place a goat carcass in their opponent’s goal.

2. The 1947 All-Ireland Football Final between Cavan and Kerry was contested in New York City, to mark the mass emigration of Irish people to America 100 years earlier during the Great Famine.

(FBU). The Fast Bowlers’ Union is, as its name suggests, a group for the specialist fast bowlers in the Aussie national lineup who can clock up over 87mph on the speed-gun. The current Chairman of the FBU, Mitchell Starc, is currently sidelined with a knee injury, and all-rounder Mitch Marsh had claimed the role of interim-Chair for the tour of South Africa, despite being excluded from the Union during the last Ashes series.

Marsh claimed to have called Starc to get his blessing for the role, though no one seems to have informed Starc of this phone-call. Speaking on Cricket.com. au’s ‘Unplayable Podcast’, Starc said “I hope [Marsh] is listening, because I’m still waiting for that phone call. He said he’d called me to discuss this and that’s a blatant lie.” It’s unknown how this has been received in the Aussie camp in South Africa, but it certainly won’t help Marsh, who many already see as an outsider in the squad.

The Australia-South Africa ODI series continues on Wednesday October 5th, Sunday October 9th and Wednesday October 12th.

ENGLAND The singing of Jerusalem seems to precede English joy more & more these days, as England have capped off a decent summer with a tied Test series with world number one Pakistan and a 4-1 ODI series win against the same opposition. And with only two five-day games & a limited-overs series against Test juniors Bangladesh on the horizon, their luck shows no signs of running out. The tour of Bangladesh isn’t without controversy, as limited-overs Captain Eoin Morgan and star Alex Hales decided not to tour following security concerns. These concerns stem from the July 2016 terror attacks in Dhaka, and their decision to

3. The original baskets in basketball were actual peach baskets, so after evpull-out was made despite claims from ery score, someone had to go up a ladboth the Bangladeshi government & the der to retrieve the ball.

ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board) that there was no risk to their security on the tour. Former Irish international Morgan has had an interesting tenure as ‘Captain Morgan,’ most recently featuring both personal & team success. Hales, previously hailed as the future of English cricket, had finally seemed to fully reach his potential against Pakistan, helping his team to break the ODI record for highest team total.

While Morgan is replaced as captain by Jos Buttler for the tour of Bangladesh, he is expected to return as captain on a tour of India in November. While the players have said they take no issue with Morgan’s withdrawal, the English set-up and fans are notoriously unforgiving to Irish-born players, with Ed Joyce & Boyd Rankin having less-than-stellar English careers.

RANKINGS Test: 1. Pakistan, 2. India, 3. Australia, 4.

England, 5. South Africa, 6. Sri Lanka, 7.

New Zealand, 8. West Indies, 9. Bangladesh, 10. Zimbabwe.

ODI: 1. Australia, 2. New Zealand, 3. South Africa, 4. India, 5. England, 6. Sri Lanka, 7. Bangladesh, 8. West Indies, 9. Pakistan, 10. Afghanistan, 11. Zimbabwe, 12. Ireland.

T20: 1. New Zealand, 2. India, 3. South Africa, 4. West Indies, 5. Australia, 6. England, 7. Pakistan, 8. Sri Lanka, 9. Afghanistan, 10. Bangladesh, 11. Netherlands, 12. Zimbabwe, 13. Scotland, 14. UAE, 15. Ireland, 16.

Oman, 17. Hong Kong.

Womens: 1. Australia, 2. England, 3. New Zealand, 4. India, 5. West Indies, 6. South Africa, 7. Pakistan, 8. Sri Lanka, 9. Bangladesh, 10.

Ireland.

4. The world’s fastest sport is jai alai, a variant of squash, which is popular in the Basque region. The ball has been recorded reaching speeds of 328 km/h.

5. The first man to cross the finish line in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics, Fred Lorz, was later disqualified as he had hitched a lift for 10 miles in a car.

6. Rugby and association football only split in 1863, when a decision was made to ban the practice of shin-kicking, or ‘hacking’ from the sport of football.

7. Brazil formed their first ever national football side to play a match against Exeter City (currently in League 2) in 1914.

8. Ireland’s first President, Douglas T. Hyde, was removed from his position as patron of the GAA in 1939, due to his attendance of a football match between Ireland and Poland the previous year.

9. Aston Villa’s first match ever in 1874 saw the first half played under rugby rules, and the second under football rules.

10. Ireland’s first Olympic medal as an independent nation was won in the event of painting. Jack B. Yeats brought home a silver medal in 1924 for Team Ireland for his painting ‘The Liffey Swim’.

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

UCC 5-2 Fermoy FC FAI Intermediate Cup First Round

Dylan O’Connell - Sports Editor UCC opened their FAI Intermediate Cup campaign this weekend in dramatic style in Fermoy, completing a five goal comeback to knock out Fermoy FC, finishing 5-2 at Carrig Park.

UCC started well, and their early possession was rewarded when Darragh Lucey’s pass was found by Timmy Murphy inside the Fermoy penalty area, only for the Glanmire man to be brought down by Josh Hurley, with the referee signalling for a penalty. Up stepped Timmy Murphy, who drilled the ball low into the left-hand side of the post, only for Fermoy keeper Gavin Dawson to pull off on excellent save.

Against the run of play, a long ball forward

by Kevin Dolan split the UCC defence, allowing Gavin Quirke to run through 1-on1 with keeper Cathal O’Hanlon. Fearing the worst, O’Hanlon ran off his line and, with a cool head, Quirke lobbed the ball soft & over

O’Hanlon into goal, giving Fermoy an early lead inside ten minutes. UCC responded well to this early setback, pressing well. A clever link up between Timmy Murphy, Rob Lynch and Josh Henry in midfield gave UCC a good spell of possession, but the college could not create a chance. Despite this period of ball retention, Fermoy doubled their lead with Gavin Quirk bagging his second of the afternoon, when the striker found Fermoy keeper Dawson’s long ball, outwitting Ben McAuliffe and Sean Laughlin in defence to lob keeper O Hanlon. With the scoreline at 2-0, UCC headed into the changing rooms at half time fearing the worst.

The College began with a second-half substitution of Jason Cullinane for Josh Henry on the left flank. From the restart UCC pressed on with an early corner being headed in by Daniel Pender, only for Jonathan McCarthy to head the ball off the line. Fermoy defended deep, holding their lines in a tight unit.

Timmy Murphy connected well with Shane Daly Butz to set up Rob Lynch, but his cross was gathered up safely by Gavin Dawson.

A foul on Timmy Murphy by Taran Kelly gifted UCC a free kick just outside the penalty box, which was turned in and fumbled into the net awkwardly by Waterford man Daniel Pender. With their lead halved, Fermoy gathered their line to lick their wounds, as UCC put on the pressure. Daniel Pender soon found space on the left side, but his square ball couldn’t connect with Mark Murphy. Moments later the equaliser came, when Shane Daly Butz set up Pender to slot it low and into the right hand side of the goal. Moments later, a tired Fermoy defence was again punished, with Mark

Murphy running wide to tee off Timmy Murphy for a pass to set Daniel Pender up once again. Despite the now-one goal deficit Fermoy held their lines well, with Josh Hurley producing a crucial block to deny David Dalton seconds later.

In the stand out moment of the afternoon, Daniel Pender captured the imagination of spectators by back-heeling it low and into the bottom right hand side of the goal following a McAuliffe corner. With the scoreline at 4-2, UCC were now very much in control. Fermoy pressed on in the closing moments, hoping to claw one back, but it was UCC who would finish the strongest when Daniel Pender broke through and found himself one-on-one with Gavin Dawson, the keeper saving the striker’s effort, but Shane Daly Butz was there to hammer in the rebound.

Full time score in Fermoy was 5-2 to the college, a result that manager Noel Healy was delighted with heading into the 2016/17 league season: “I’m happy the way we played at times. We only played for 45 minutes so there was a lot more we can do” Fermoy: Gavin Dawson, Thomas Clancy, John Hurley, Ian Snee, Jonathan McCarthy, Taran Kelly, Wayne Galvin, Kevin Dolan (John Barry 15’), Gavin Quirke, Matthew Quish, Eric Roche.

UCC: Cathal O’Hanlon, Brian Barry, Ben McAuliffe, Sean Mcloughlin, Sean O Mahony, Rob Lynch (Mark Murphy 80’), Timmy Murphy, Josh Henry (Josh Cullinane 45), Darragh Lucey, Daniel Pender, Shane Daly Butz.

Galwegians 31 - 14 UCC Ulster Bank AIL Division 1B Dylan O’Connell- Sports Editor

UCC started off the game well, and eased into an early 11 point lead inside the opening twenty minutes at Crowley Park.

UCC impressed well in the early stages, as winger Kevin O’Keeffe kicked two penalties while fellow winger Cillian Ansbro brought it over the line after an impressive run by lock Darragh Moloney.

Glaswegians fought back, and in the 19th minute Connacht Academy recruit Matthew Byrne scored an impressive try to bring the hosts back into the game. The UCC early dominance soon faded when Cormac Brennan dummied his way through, getting the hosts second try and a

12-11 half-time lead.

From the opening whistle the home side started well, and soon an intercept from new out-half Mitch Lam set up hooker Jack Dinneen’s 42nd-minute try. Lam converted the spot kick, and O’Keeffe successfully landed a penalty three minutes later.

UCC fought back, but all hopes of a point were dashed with a 57th-minute bonus point score for Glaswegian’s replacement prop Conor Carey. To add further misery for the Leesiders, the Glaswegians snatched another late point thanks to an Aidan Moynihan try, which was coolly converted by Mitch Lam. Galwegians: Aidan Moynihan; Matthew Byrne, Cormac Brennan, Brian Murphy

(capt), Ed O’Keeffe; Mitch Lam, Barry Lee; Jason East, Jack Dinneen, Conan O’Donnell, Matt Towey, Eoin Tarmey, Paul Hackett, Josh Pim, Anthony Ryan.

Replacements: Conor Carey, John Moloney, Ronan Moore, Alan McMahon, Dave Clarke.

UCC: Chris McAuliffe; Kevin O’Keeffe, Kevin Slater (capt), Murray Linn, Cillian Ansbro; Charlie O’Regan, Richard Walsh; Peter McCabe, Ben Burns, Charlie Slowey, Darragh Moloney, Ben Mitchell, Richard Moran, Conor Barry, Daire Feeney.

Replacements: Danny Collins, Michael Shinkwin, Graham Smith, Andrew Dorgan, James Kiernan.

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Reaching Out and Reaching In Dylan O’Connell – Sports Editor Flashback to 2011: A 15 year old Dylan was off collecting his Junior Cert results, eating Burger King and reading the adventures of Green Lantern & the Blackest Night. In another room my father was off debating the transfers, and Cork’s chances of reaching an All Ireland final. The idea of sports was a foreign concept: the very idea of football made me want to run in the opposite direction. I was a tag. A teenager who liked to be on his room, a piece that did not fit and he enjoyed comic books and video games.

Flash-forward to 2016. I’m after spending five hours on a bus, my neck sore from reading this month’s Liverpool FC magazine, and my jersey is starting to fade. My stomach rumbles, my head somersaulting through ecstatic fantasies; this could be it.

Win tonight and it is ours. Cork City till I die.

Sports found me in the same way life did; in a haze of blood and thunder one Sunday afternoon. While I found friends and a social life through drama and theatre, it wasn’t until discovering the beautiful game that I fell in love.

Despite it all, I have never kicked a ball.

Despite everything I have never won a try.

Sports is not something I just enjoy for staying fit or to depress me every week, it becomes a friend.

Whoever you are, wherever you are; you could be reading this in the archives in 10 years time, or sitting down in the Boole Library trying to dodge another essay, or even you’re part of my own family: sports is more than winning.

Sport is the group of friends we turn to, the closing chapter, the glue that brings us together.

Football gave me friends. Rugby gave me & my Dad some laughs while GAA breaks our heart.

If I could ask anything of you, it’d be to go out and get involved. Sign up and get in there, kick a ball, learn the martial arts, lift a weight. Do what you want to, the way only you can, and the world is your pitch.

SPORT 5 Reasons Why You Should Join Sports Clubs At UCC

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

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Darragh Walsh - Deputy Sports Editor When some people hear the word “sport”, they become overwhelmed with a sense of neglect, and immediately refrain from the use of the word both physically and mentally.

Not only does sport enhance your physical well-being but it also drastically improves your mental health.

Whether you’re a couch potato or a gym rat with no intention of playing sports, I hope these 5 reasons will persuade you in motivating you to join one of the many clubs on offer here in UCC. 1) Keep In Shape. Of course, the main reason for playing sports is to get fit, lose weight etc. I believe that joining a club in UCC will make exercising seem fun and exciting, not something so mundane and difficult.

If you want to join any club in UCC just to keep fit, then that’s perfectly fine, these clubs will be happy to accommodate you. As a member of the Athletics club myself, I know firsthand the number of people that are there to lose weight or keep fit. Don’t be intimidated, there will be many people there that are in the same boat as you.

2) To Make Friends and Socialise. Upon joining the club(s) of your choosing, you will immediately find that you have a lot in common with the other people in the club. Having similar interests to someone will always lead to continuously-flowing conversations; everyone hates them awkward silences, and communica-

tion is essential in being a member of a club. Exposing yourself to an environment where communication is key will pay-off big time in the future, as your conversational skills & ability to play a role in a team or as a leader could come in handy.

3) To Build Self-Esteem and Confidence. Being a member of a club will almost always make you feel good about yourself. You immediately become proud of yourself for getting up and doing something, and when you do something right or good within the club, the respect earned from your teammates or coaches is huge. For me, and for probably a lot of other people too, there is no greater feeling than this. On the other hand, constructive criticism is extremely beneficial: not everything you do will be right, and you’ll become a better motivated person as you learn from your mistakes and apply them to your everyday life.

4) To Experience Academic Success.

Studies from across the pond in Amer-

Table of Results: Pos

ica have shown that competing in any sport can lead to an improved standard of education. And when you think about it, it makes complete sense; sport is known to give you more energy throughout the day, helps you to think clearer and to be more creative.

It also sharpens focus, enhances your mood and can even improve your memory. An absolute no brainer in my opinion.

5) It Could Go Somewhere.How do Pos you know if you’re any good at something if you’ve never tried it? College is the place to try new things, and you never know: maybe you could be one of the best in the world at something, and you don’t even know it; just imagine, you could even be the next Lionel Messi or Katie Taylor at your sport of choice.

Approach everything you do in college with a positive frame of mind– whether it’s playing sports or doing your exams – and I guarantee you will reap the benefits.

Barclays Premier League

Team

Man. City

6

Pl

W D

Liverpool

7

5 1 1 16

Tottenham

6

4 2 0 14

Everton

7

4 2 1 14

Arsenal

6

4 1 1 13

Chelsea

7

4 1 2 13

Man Utd.

6

4 0 2 12

Crystal Palace

7

3 2 2 11

West Brom Southampton

7 6

2 3 2 2 2 2

9 8

Watford

7

2 2 3

8

Bournemouth

7

2 2 3

8

Leicester City

6

2 1 3

7

Burnley FC

6

2 1 3

7

Hull City

7

2 1 4

7

Middlesbrough

7

1 3 3

6

Swansea City

7

1 1 5

4

West Ham

7

1 1 5

4

Sunderland

7

0 2 5

2

Stoke City

6

0 2 4

2

Team

L

Pts

6 0 0 18

Division 1B Rugby

UL Bohemian

Pl

3

W D

L

Pts

Buccaneers

3

2 0 1 10

Ballynahinch

3

2 0 1

9

Ballymena

3 2 0 1

9

Old Wesley

3 2 0 1

9

Galwegians

3 1 0 2

6

Naas

3 1 0 2

5

UCC

3 1 0 2

5

Dolphin Shannon

3 1 0 2 3 0 0 2

4 2

3 0 0 15

Rebel Ladies Reign Supreme Dylan O’Connell - Sports Editor

Last weekend a total of 18 UCC Students, past and present, were on the Cork Ladies Football team that won an unprecedented sixth All Ireland title in-a-row following a 1-7 to 1-6 victory over Dublin at Croke Park.

On the squad of current UCC Students included Meabh O’Sullivan, Roisin Phelan, Doireann O’Sullivan, Marie Ambrose, Mairead

Corkery, Maire O’Callaghan, Orlagh Farmer, Hannah Looney, Libby Coppinger, Emma Farmer, Eimear Meaney, Kate Leneghan, Shauna Cronin and Niamh Cotter.

Cork were also managed by UCC alumni & Cork native Ephie Fitzgerald.

This has been Cork Ladies sixth title in a row, adding to a total of 11 titles for the Leesiders in 12 seasons.

SPORT

ISSUE 02 | UCC Express

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Table of Results: Continental Tyres Women’s National League

Pos

‘Scouts Are Gay’ - A Tale of Rovering Laura O’Connor - Staff Writer

“Scouts are gay:” the most common insult that gets thrown at our little organisation as we pass ‘da biys’ on the street in our full correct uniform. Indeed, if we are to use the term “gay” in the same context, Scouting Ireland can be a pretty “gay” thing to be involved in: many of the scout groups across Cork city are still all male, with no intentions of changing, and indeed, many still have the religious undercurrent that wouldn’t be out of place in 1970s Ireland.

However, dear reader, if one were to argue against the gayness of scouting in the 21st century, I’d direct you to the Clubs and Societies being set up in colleges around the country, with scouting and Girl Guiding as their main theme.

These clubs are called Rover Clubs/

Socs, and are cropping up in nearly every major university: NUI Galway, Maynooth University, University College Cork, the Institute of Art and Design in Dun Laoghaire. Indeed, if one checks the history books even in Trinity College there’s evidence of Rovers being established there in the past, with work being done to ensure their reestablishment.

The focus of these Rover clubs is primarily outdoor pursuits: the club in UCC in particular prides itself on its focus as a club to celebrate all outdoor activities, be they camping in a field in the middle of nowhere, singing songs around a campfire, hiking up a mountain or rushing through a town trying to discover all of its main landmarks under a time limit. Rover Clubs tend to collaborate with other Rover clubs too, meaning plenty of Intervarsities &

chances to meet other like-minded people from across the nation. With scouting also being in part a charitable activity, Rovers Club takes this into account, Pos and actively attempts to fundraise for a selected charity each year.

Events planned for UCC Rovers in particular this year are plentiful. They include: Film Screenings A Game of Thrones Themed weekend in Fota Campsite Scavenger hunts around campus On-campus campfires Themed outdoor pursuits workshops RoverFocus; a gathering of all Rovers from across the island of Ireland And much, much more. So don’t delay; give the Rover captain a shout on rovers@uccclubs.ie if you want to sign up, and start your real outdoor adventure.

Team

Pl

W D

L

Pts

Wexford Yths

11 9 2 0 29

Shelbourne LFC

11 8 2 1 26

UCD Waves

12 8 1 3 25

Galway WFC

12 7 1 4 22

Peamount Utd

12 3 0 9

9

Cork City WFC

12 2 1 9

7

Kilkenny WFC

12 0 1 11 1

SSE Airtricity League

Team

Pl

W D

L

Pts

Dundalk

26 20 2 4 62

Cork City

26 17 7 2 58

Shamrock Rvrs

29 15 6 8 51

Derry City

29 13 11 5 50

Sligo Rovers

28 10 9 9 39

Bray Wndrs

29 11 6 12 39

Bohemians

29 11 5 13 38

St. Pats Ath

26 10 5 11 35

Galway Utd. Finn Harps

28 9 7 12 34 26 6 5 15 23

Wexford Yth.

25 4 5 15 19

Longford Town

28 2 7 19 13

HJK Helsinki 0-0 Cork City FC UEFA Youth under-age set-up in Ireland.”

Finishing up, the coach urged home support to come out and back the Rebel Army in the home leg, admitting that: “I think playing in front of a packed Turner’s Cross could almost be worth a goal for us, a huge help. We’re hopeful the support will come out and I’m sure the Helsinki team won’t quite know what to expect. It will be a huge advantage and we’re very much looking forward to it.”

Dylan O’Connell- Sports Editor REPORT: HJK Helsinki 0-0 Cork City U19s claim fantastic UEFA Youth League result Cork City Under 19s recorded a historic 0-0 draw in Helsinki last Wednesday in the UEFA Youth League. Stephen Bermingham’s side will return to Turner’s Cross for the second leg on the 18th of October after dominating the tie but failing to score.

The Leesiders started the game well, with Captain Cian Coleman having his goalbound shot well saved.

Minutes later, Cork City’s Garan Manley was brought off injured shortly after, suffering an ankle injury.

HJK Helsinki goalkeeper Robin Kallman never saw a dull moment, as Coleman forced a full length stretch to deny the Rebel Army’s low-struck shot on goal.

A barrage of chances came for the Rebel Army, as Alex Byrne’s shot went just wide and Conor McCarthy’s shot was turned away, closing out a dominant performance for the Leesiders just before half time.

HJK Helsinki: Kallman (GK), Bockerman, Olander, Halme, Vesiaho, Jama (C), Ylatupa, Lingman, Stavitski (Jalkanen 83), Hyokyvirta (Ulmanen 77) Kouassivi-Benissan (Malolo 66).

Subs: Mattila (GK), Malolo, Hieta, Salmi, Vertainen.

Yellow card(s): Stavitski.

From the restart City pressed forward.

The visitor’s best chance came from Kevin Taylor’s excellent free-kick, bouncing off the crossbar and away to safety.

HJK pushed forward late on and created a number of chances, but City held out to bring it the tie back to the Cross.

On the result, Cork City under 19s Coach Stephen Bermingham was empathic: “It’s a fantastic result and we’re absolutely delighted with the performance. It’s great for the players and the club, but I think to come away to a strong side like Helsinki is a great signal for the entire league and

Cork City: Coffey (GK), Taylor, Phillips, Manley (O’Sullivan 14), McCarthy, Coleman (C), Byrne, Drinan, Fernandes, Ogbene, O’Riordan (Welch 67).

Subs: Mylod (GK), Crowley, Leonard, O’Regan, Hurley.

Yellow card(s): McCarthy.

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UCCExpress.ie | Volume 20 | Issue 02| October 4th Tuesday

​Valerie Mulcahy during the national anthem before the 2015 All Ireland Final ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne​

Rebels Roles Reversed?

Dylan O’Connell- Sports Editor

As this edition goes to print, the 2016 All Ireland series will have come to a halt. Tipperary have claimed the Liam McCarthy, Kilkenny have won the Camogie for the first time since 1996, and Cork Ladies Footballers will have won yet another All Ireland title.

On the other side of Leeside, things appear more grim; the hurlers faced a humiliating loss to both Waterford and Wexford in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and the All Ireland series respectively, while the footballers tasted the unforgettable loss against Tipperary and Donegal to prolong the drought.

What is present is a war on attitudes on the GAA in Cork. The results have led to a rush of blood to the Cork County Board, with massive restructuring and new appointments creating a ‘glass half empty’ attitude to the GAA in Cork.

No matter how many times we say it, Cork’s problems are evident across the

board. Since the 2013 defeat to Clare, people are quick to point out the lack of club successes, the lack of university selection, lack of underage success and colleges as key reasons to justify the lack of silverware. Still, the fact of the matter is that Cork Ladies GAA is alive and thriving.

Since 2005, when Cork last won the Liam McCarthy Cup, and 2010, when the footballers last tasted Sam Maguire in 2010, Cork Ladies footballers have won 11 All Ireland Senior Football titles, 9 National Lady Football Leagues, 6 All Ireland Senior Camogie titles and 3 National Camogie League titles. On the club scene, Milford GAA have won three All Ireland Club Camogie titles, while Cork clubs have been ever present in the footballing All Ireland, with Inch Rovers winning the title in 2010, while Mourneabbey contested the 2014 and 2015 finals. At underage levels the successes are still filtering through, with the Cork minor footballers winning 4

All Irelands since 2005 and contesting 5 finals.

Despite these successes, which includes the 2014 and 2015 consecutive Double All Ireland titles (a feat never managed in male GAA history), Cork GAA has been cast as an organisation in chaos.

If the roles were reversed, and the Cork Senior Men’s hurlers and footballers had grabbed a hold of the sport, with a totalled 29 titles in 11 years, people would be calling for the death of GAA and competition itself. In Leinster this exact problem is currently a hot topic for debate when you take into account Dublin’s dominance of the Leinster Senior Football Championship, and Kilkenny’s 8 All Ireland titles & 9 Leinster Senior Hurling titles since 2005.

Jim McGuinness and the pundits have been quick to take on this dominance with a new branding of the All Ireland Championship.

Across Ireland though, it is an argument which we have to address. Not only is it

confined to the successes and attitudes, but a broader attitude that presents itself. One case in County Down, where Catherine McGourty won the Puc Fada event and received a medal; in the male equivalent, Paddy McKillen from Tyrone won the event and his prize was a ski trip.

Sexism is a question in GAA 2016.

We cannot talk about the Championship restructuring or the Sky Sports deal when there is a case of inequality in our games. For Leeside, is it a glass half empty perspective? Or a sexist undertone to GAA in Cork? Do we need another glass? What is certain is a need for change at the heart of attitudes to the games in Cork, and in Ireland as a whole.

Preview: Inside - Siege of Jadoville, Get Involved in Clubs, Using Alcohol as a Crutch