The University Express - Vol. 23, Issue 8

University Volume 24 | Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February 2020

Express UCCExpress.ie

Ex-UCCSU President Running in General Election

Photo Credit: Celem Deegan

Writes Samantha Calthrop, News Editor and Ciaran Dineen, Editor-in-Chief

UCCSU presidency focused largely on mental health, setting up a panel to review the Student Mental Health Policy and linking up Niteline with student counselling.

Prior to his involvement at UCC, he was heavily involved in charity and fundraising for suicide awareness; he co-founded the Thomas Hayes Trust, a Kilkenny-based NGO that provides supports to those affected by suicide or who are struggling with their mental health. Alan has spoken publicly on many occasions about his history with suicide, having lost both his father and brother to it over the course of his childhood.

paigns, including the fight against the hike in the capitation fee, which arose in the final days of his premiership. Last year, Alan was interviewed by the Express after his term as president, where he stated, “As the years went by, I found myself identifying gaps within the student experience and I felt that I could do something about them.”

Mr Hayes was UCCSU president in 2018-2019, spearheading one of the more popular student union execs. As with his platform for the General Election, Mr Hayes’

In UCC, Alan became a very popular figure and he went on to be elected President of the Students’ Union in 2018. During his term, Alan was praised for his role in many different events and cam-

It seems that Mr Hayes is hoping to bring his experience and expertise to a higher role in government.

However, in the 5-seater that is Carlow/Kilkenny, the former SU President will have it all to do as it is a constituency that historically does not vote for independents.

In the 2016 General Election three non-party candidates ran and out of 15 candidates running they all finished in the bottom three, after only securing 2.3% of first preferences between them.

Mr Hayes is running under the campaign slogan “My story, my passion”. After announcing his intention to run on January 21, he has met with Carlow IT SU President Thomas Drury, where they discussed issues affecting the 8500 students of Carlow IT, including drug harm reduction and mental health. Addressing students and faculty in the college for a debate organised by KCLR96FM and speaking about his story Alan said, ‘my passion arose from realising that we weren’t the only family in that situation and I wasn’t the only one experiencing a lack of services and a lack of supports.

My passion also arose from realising that I wanted to develop things in the area of access and availability to education which is why I was Students’ Union President of University College Cork last year.”

An Interview with the Lord County Mayor

Advice for Surviving a Trip with Friends

Ghostking Interview

A Tribute to the Great, Kobe Bryant

Alan Hayes, former president of the UCC Students’ Union, is running as an independent candidate in the constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny in the upcoming General Election on February 8th. With his platform based in mental health, suicide awareness, drugs, and accessibility to education, he will stand for election alongside fourteen other candidates, including Fine Gael Minister, John Paul Phelan.

Page 4 News

Page 10 Features

Page 18 Byline

Page 39 Sport

Editorial

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Tis Election Season

Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief – Ciaran Dineen (Editor@UCCExpress.ie) News Editor – Samantha Calthrop (News@UCCExpress.ie) Designer – Fiona Cremins (Design@UCCExpress.ie) Features Editor – Róisin O’Donnell (Features@UCCExpress.ie) Sports Editor – Jack Maguire (Sport@UCCExpress.ie) Opinion Editor – Elisha Carey (Opinion@UCCExpress.ie) Online Editor – Edel Lonergan (Online@UCCExpress.ie) Proof Editor - Chloe Jesse (Proofing@uccexpress.ie) Marketing Executive – Ciaran Dineen (Marketing@UCCExpress.ie) Webmaster – Jonathan Hanley (Webmaster@UCCExpress.ie) Photographer – Caoimhe Leahy (Photographers@uccexpress.ie) Byline Editor – Cian McGrath (Byline@UCCExpress.ie) (Deputy Editor) Eagarthóir Gaeilge – Hugh Ó Raghallaigh Mac Gearailt (Gaeilge@UCCExpress.ie) Food & Health - Katie Kelly (Food@UCCExpress.ie) Arts & Literature Editor – Fiona Keely (Arts@UCCExpress.ie) Gaming Editor – Jack Coleman (Gaming @UCCExpress.ie) Music Editor – Fiona O’Connell (Music@UCCExpress.ie) Film & Television Editor – Eoghan Creedon (Screen@UCCExpress.ie) Sexpress Editor – Caoimhe Battault (Sexpress@uccexpress.ie) Fashion Editor - Katie Burke (Fashion@UCCExpress.ie) Deputy Sports - Sam Curtin (Deputysports@uccexpress.ie) Deputy News Maeve O’Sullivan (Deputynews@uccexpress.ie) Deputy Features - Molly O’Rourke (Deputyfeatures@uccexpress.ie)

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express Writes Ciaran Dineen, Editor-in-Chief Welcome to February’s first edition of the University Express, I hope everyone has shaken off the post-Christmas cobwebs and you’re well and truly back down to business. It’s been an exciting start to 2020 for student media in UCC following our relocation to our new offices in the freshly-opened Hub! We are loving our environs so far and it’s great to see so many students using the space in the atrium to chill out, grab a coffee, chat to friends and even get some work done. If you haven’t popped in yet make sure to do so!

The Hub has also provided the backdrop to a series of new political podcasts that I recently started on ‘The Ballot Box Podcast’. While I

had been thinking about setting it up for some time I needed a spark to get me going, the announcement of the General Election proved to be a worthy catalyst. Since then I’ve managed to interview six candidates running on Saturday 8th February, all coming from two of the closest constituencies to UCC, Cork South-Central and Cork North-Central. It’s been great to chat openly with these people and it’s reaffirmed my belief that despite the fact most politicians are much-maligned, they are for the most part very decent human beings.

Election fever has however spread outside of my confines in the Hub, with around 700 students signing up to the electoral register for the very first time on campus. I must say as a student of politics I found it very powerful to see so many people not just taking part, but engaged in the whole process. Election season continued to flourish last week and I must give a massive props to both GovPol and Law societies for holding an extremely well run election debate, where a number of parties had representatives acting on their behalf. One of my own lecturers, Dr Mary Murphy, chaired the proceedings in front of a packed out Boole theatre. All that’s left for us (relatively) young folk now is to walk the walk and get off our asses on Saturday!

In this week’s paper News Editor Samantha Calthrop brilliantly breaks down the debate held in UCC last week, while we also highlight that our former SU President, Alan Hayes is running in Carlow/ Kilkenny. Sticking with politics, Maeve O’Sullivan speaks with the Lord County Mayor, while she also writes about the appearance of former UCC student, James Leonard, on the Tommy Tiernan Show!

As always, happy reading.

Until next time, Take care, Ciaran.

editor@uccexpress.ie

Fake News

Writes Samantha Calthrop, News Editor You know, imposter syndrome being what it is, I often wonder how seriously anyone takes my news section. Implicitly, I hope you don’t take my news section too seriously. I mean, yes, this is real news; yes, I’m not actively lying; I do my best to mention my sources and back up my more whimsical additions with evidence. But you know behind it, there’s a twenty-two-year-old undergrad juggling google and a couple of press releases, don’t you? Perhaps one that’s fast at reading, good at grammar and stringing together related bits of information in one place for you, but realistically nobody more trustworthy or intelligent than you are. (Okay, maybe I’m talking myself down a bit. My news-editing skills are probably above the national average.)

Somebody decided that it was me who’d pick which news stories to write and show you every two weeks. How much do you trust them, and me? I wrote a piece about Coronavirus this week, once I saw the WHO had declared it a global health emergency. But you should know I did it pretty reluctantly. I personally think the whole thing’s a little overblown in the media. I think it’s dredging up a lot of racist sentiment, the Chinese government are doing a far more effective quarantine job than we would, and the disease has a whopping mortality rate of 2%... I could back up those things with some evidence, and indeed, later on in this issue I do. But are there are more facts that back up the opposite? Accounts from hospitals or officials that support the view that it’s a large risk to Ireland, that not enough is being done? Yes, of course, although none that I found in my first sweep; I’m sure I could find some if I looked harder.

Everybody has opinions. Everybody has an agenda. Me, Ciaran, the news editor of the Irish Times, whoever the heck posts those “science articles” on Facebook… We’re all trying to be as accurate and objective as we can, but at the end of the day, we’re just people deciding where to draw the line.

We choose what counts as news and what doesn’t, who to quote, where to look, what to ask. I’m not gonna stand here (well, sit here) and tell you I’m unbiased and telling the cold, hard truth. The only people telling the cold hard truth are the CSO and even they’re picking what methods to use.

I often wonder if you can tell anything about my political leanings or area of study based on this section.

I hope you can’t; it’s my job to let that affect me as little as possible. But there are places it comes out, and I guess it’s the responsible of any critical reader to look for it. But who am I to say, anyway? I just write the words.

news@uccexpress.ie #uccexpress

Samantha

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

News

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UCC Scientists Research New Worry as Banks Sell 0ff 1000s Uses for Farming Wastewater of ATMs Writes Samantha Calthrop, News Editor

Dairy and milk production creates a large amount of waste products, with outputs of grease, protein, or discarded whey and trimmings.

All that nutrient-rich substance is simply thrown away— but could be put to better use, says UCC’s Newtrients research project.

The EPA-funded project is headed by plant scientist Prof. Marcel Jansen, who is researching techniques to grow and process duckweed using this wastewater, which can then be used to create animal feed. Duckweed, or specifically Lemna minor, is a rapidly-growing, high-energy aquatic plant.

For most of history it’s simply been a common source of pondscum, but in recent years, its high energy production and nutrient richness have began attracting it attention as both a product and a possible carbon sink.

treated. That waste also happens to be some of the most expensive and difficult to treat, with only a small amount being re-used; whey, buttermilk, and greasy water are all by-products of dairy processing, much of which simply gets discarded. The waste is rich in fats and nutrtients, though, and many scientists are scrambling to come up with a use for it.

Ireland’s dairy industry is also coming under increasing pressure for more self-contained, economic solutions, with dairy farmers suffering from cattle inbreeding, expensive imported feed, and large outputs of water pollution.

It’s also rapidly growing, with increasing demand for exports of Irish milk and butter products.

UCC’s Dr. Niall O’Leary is also involved in the project, researching how to use the discarded fats and proteins to create bio-plastics. Newtrients have had their first peer-reviewed research paper published just a few weeks ago, on January 7th.

“Sustainable food production is essential if we wish to have the same quality and quantity of produce available to us in the future,” reads the Newtrients website, “Consideration needs also be given to sustainable milk production, and especially sourcing of sustainable animal feeds to replace high protein feeds imported from across the globe.”

While the issue of milky wastewater may not sound huge, the waste of Ireland’s huge dairy industry has the highest pollution potential, with disastrous consequences if the waste is left un-

The Newtrients consortium is set to hold a workshop at the Environmental Research Institute at University College Cork on resource recovery from dairy processing effluent later this year.

Writes Samantha Calthrop, News Editor

Criticism has been targeted at AIB and Bank of Ireland, both of whom have announced that they plan to sell a collective 1000 of their ATMs on to private companies, who may introduce extra charges. Presenter Eoghan McDermott and journalist Michael Wolsey have both taken to the media to voice their protests, and critics on social media have been calling for the selling to be made an “election issue”.

ing money, up to €3 per withdrawal in other countries. “At the end of the day, it will cost consumers more money,” said the chairman of the Consumers’ Association, Michael Kilcoyne.

Most of the ATMs being sold are located in shopping centres and newsagents, with ATMs in branches to be left untouched.

Private-owned ATMs usually include a fee for withdraw-

At the time of writing, the majority of the ATMs are thought to be being sold to Euronet, which already owns 600 freeto-use ATMs in the country.

There is also concern for ATMs in rural areas and for business that rely on foot traffic from ATMs. Private ATMs are not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and can set their own fees

In This Issue....

Features Unanswered: Jo Jo Dollard Part 2

Page 8 Food & Health Treats to Make Your Valentine Weak Page 20 Film & TV 8 Movies Destined to Fail in 2020 Page 22 Gaming Women in E-Sports Page 30

News

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Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

The RIC, Climate Change and Greta Thunberg: An Interview with the Lord County Mayor Writes Maeve O’Sullivan, Deputy News Editor

Should we condone the government for the plans of the RIC and ‘Black and Tans’ commemoration and what lessons should be taken from this controversy? Lord County Mayor Christopher O’Sullivan talks with Deputy News editor Maeve O’Sullivan about the recent news backlash, while also sharing his environmental plans for Cork, and how Greta Thunberg might play a role.

Throughout his political career, the environment has played a key role in the manifestos and actions taken out by the Mayor. With the buzz word Climate Change very much on our horizon, I asked the Fianna Fáil man what were his plans for the environment and what he believes we should all be pushing. ‘’I’m looking as a local authority for major reforms in terms of using renewable energies, creating biodiversity and protecting habitats. However, as a local authority we are very much hampered by national guidelines. Therefore, I would like to get in there [Government] and introduced legislation and build policies that give the councils far more flexibility when it comes to implementing climate action initiative as they are too hamstrung at the moment and even the current climate plan isn’t going far enough and the targets aren’t ambitious enough.’’

Mr O’Sullivan went on to stress the need to tackle the issue as soon as possible. ’We need to streamline policies as we are running out of times. It needs to happen yesterday ‘We are all about carbon reduction, excellent. We are all about

energy reduction, excellent.

However, we need to be more about biodiversity and habitat creation and I’m all about that.’’

Just this past week, the County Mayor announced his plan to extend an invitation to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg to come and speak at County Hall or to address the council via video-link. ‘’Climate change is a real thing.

If Greta does take up the invitation, we can’t just pay homage, we need to listen and take action.’’

With the announcement of the next general election to take place on the 8th of February and Christopher officially added to the Fianna Fail ticket for Cork South West, the Mayor expressed his wishes for the increased engagement of young voters. ‘’I wish a general election would engage the youth the way the recent referendums did. We had a massive turnout of young voters for the marriage equality and Repeal but general elections do not seem to engage young people. If you want to continue to see this social revolution and have an impact, it is just as important to vote in the elections as it is in a referendum. It is nearly more important in many ways’’.

Coming from the recent backlash that the government faced when they announced plans to commemorate the RIC and Dublin Metropolitan Police in Dublin Castle on January 17th, Christopher reflects on the thought process behind the Decade of Centenaries and what the government should

learn from the public outcry. ‘’We should learn lessons from how 1916 was commemorated. There were several events, across the country and both sides remembered. It was probably done from a revolutionary standpoint but there were monuments erected for all the dead.’’ ‘’I think the county isn’t ready for a stand-alone commemoration for the RIC or ‘Black and Tans’.

The public opinion on this matter was uniform, not such extreme republicans who didn’t want this to happen. You had people from all walks of life, different religions, different ages, political views. It as a wide spread sentiment. Perhaps even an anti -British sentiment. We have come a long way in our Anglo-Irish relations, from the Good Friday agreement and the Queens’s visit.

We are good at reconciliations.

However, I think this was probably a step too fair. If we are to commemorate the dead, it should be in a more wholesome attempt or it won’t go down well.’’

Finally, with the announcement of the general election, Christopher spoke on where he believes rural Cork should be in the next 20 years. ‘’Even though I may be one of the younger side of candidates, I do see merit in protecting rural traditions and their way of life, so to prevent rural isolation.’’ ‘’I believe there is a couple of ways this can be implemented.

The roll out of national broadband needs to be done soon so people can have connectivity no matter where they live in West

Cork. Therefore, people can live and work in West Cork and driving the local economy. That is something that is doable and inimitable if the will is there.’’ ‘’You don’t need to tell how what a beautiful place West Cork is.

Anyone who visits, loves it and returns. However, I don’t know are we selling it enough on the national and international stage, tourism for the most part is sustainable and creates jobs. It fills our streets with consumers and that is something that I think in terms of tackling investment, and getting it into rural Ireland is a big thing.’’ ‘’There is also a place for sustainable farming. Small farmers and farm holders are not being supported. C.A.P is going to be reformed in the next year or two and I would love to be in a position in the Dáil to be a part of that. I want to make sure the small farmer, including the beef farmer is supported but also be encouraged to be sustainable through CAP reforms.’’ ‘’We all eat food; we are all consumers of food. Yet the food producer is not being paid enough.

That also needs to be reformed and rural Cork is a part of that.’’

The County Mayor will feature on the Fianna Fáil General Election ticket for Cork South West alongside Deputy Margaret Murphy O’ Mahony and aim to return two seats to the area.

News

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

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Past UCC Student Shines on Tommy Tiernan Show Writes Maeve O’Sullivan, Deputy News Editor

UCC’s Refugee Week is set to take place on the week of February 3-7, three years after its inception and the university’s declaration as a University of Sanctuary. This year’s theme is, ‘What is Sanctuary?’, which will be discussed in talks and seminars as well as explored through art.

Key events include “‘Building Sanctuary : Building Connections’ with Natasha Maimba and Minahil Sarfraz, Youth Ambassadors for UNICEF Ireland” on February 3 and a Volunteer Fair by BetterTogether the 6th.

There will also be a focus on the rise of the far-right. One of the central events is a talk

by Dr Piaras MacEinrí on the question, ‘Is Ireland becoming xenophobic?’.

Free transport to events is to be made avaiable to residents of Cork’s Direct Provision Centres.

Saturday 26th of January saw Irish viewers inspired by Cork man James Leonard when he was interviewed on the Tommy Tiernan Show. In the discussion, James revealed how he overcame his heroin addiction.

The Cork native found himself introduced to heroin at the age of 21 after years of experimentation with other drugs. Tommy Tiernan was moved to tears as he listened to the young man share how he turned his life around from what was a low place. ‘’Throughout the heroin use, the craic left. There’s no more bonding. It’s very isolating.

Theft was the type of crime.

Doing desperate things to try and get the money for drugs.’’

James’ struggle of ten years left him wondering if he would ever be without the substance, despite the difficulties it imposed. ‘’Every day is a struggle. You look like sh*t and you are treated like sh*t. Society looks at heroin addicts as the worst in society.’’ When the effects of James’ drug abuse resulted in him passing out on the streets until two Gardai found him, saving his life. It was from here James took on the road to recovery.

Eventually the young man persevered and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Community work in UCC, moving on to a Masters in Criminology. Empowered by his experiences, James now works for the Cork Education and

Training Board Youth Services.

Tommy shared his own option on the drug crisis in Ireland. ‘’Underneath that mask of disgrace is a wonderful human being and it would make you think of all the young fellas and the young ones you see around the city’.

There’s beauty in them as well’’.

Those who tuned on the night took to twitter to express their admiration of the interview; viewer Anthony O’Loughlin said, ‘’No doubt you are going to make a huge difference to people’s lives for the rest of your life. Inspirational’’.

If you or anyone you know in need of drug related help, call the National Drug and Alcohol Helpline freephone 1800 459 459 or email helpline@ hse.ie for confidential support.

“Creating a university that is inclusive and engaged with its wider community is an ongoing process. Refugee Week is an important part of that process, a signal that we want to learn and engage supportively with asylum seeker, refugee and vulnerable migrant communities,” said UCC Deputy President John O’Halloran.

A full list of schedule events is available at https://www. ucc.ie/en/edi/news/edi/refugee2020/.

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News

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

UCC GE Debate: Shouts, Cheers, and Scepticism Writes Samantha Calthrop, News Editor

UCC’s Government & Politics and Law Society’s General Election debate saw four party representatives come to UCC and debate 2020’s election issues.

Moderated by Government & Politics lecturer Dr. Mary C. Murphy, councillors Lorna Bogue (Green Party), Colm Kelleher (Fianna Fáil), Thomas Gould (Sinn Fein), and Social Democrats candidate Ciarán McCarthy all took part.

The debate drew laughter, applause and plenty of criticism, particularly against Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Dr. Murphy grilled debaters on the big topics of housing, taxation, crime and direct provision.

Dr. Murphy had the representatives start on the topic of housing, one of the biggest election issues.

Fianna Fáil Cllr, Colm Kelleher stood representing his party despite not running for a position in this year’s General Election.

He defended Fianna Fáil’s record, saying that they’d always provided houses and defending the clustered-housing model that is often said to cause anti-social behaviour. When questioned on the party’s performance in their Fine Gael coalition, he described it as a “necessary evil” that prioritised the national interest on the par-

ty. (He also harshly dismissed the idea of low rent zones and a rent freeze as “not working”, much to the contempt of the other representatives.) He said that the key to fixing the crisis was to put pressure on the banks to give out more, higher mortgages, and more help-to-buy systems.

He defended Fianna Fáil’s plans to build 200,000 social housing units as entirely possible without Fine Gael’s influence.

Ciarán McCarthy (Social Democrats)’s theme for the night was ending intergenerational loyalty and breaking cycles, slamming the country’s past record. He also repeatedly said the housing crisis needed to be solved by “just getting it done”, and returned to that phrase whenever asked about social housing or land development. He described Irish society as “not fit for purpose”, pointing to high childcare costs, low starting wages, and soaring rents, asserting that “petty tax cuts” would not fix the problem.

(When questioned about the practicality of his party’s housing development scheme, he repeated his mantra of it being absolutely possible and just getting it done. “We just maintain the tax base. We can afford it.”) He also

called for a national rent freeze.

Cllr Lorna Bogue (Green) opened with the story of how she was affected by the previous government’s housing policy; she described herself living in a boxroom in Douglas after the 4% rent increase cap caused her to be evicted as her previous landlord sold the property. She pinpointed the problem as landlords holding too many rights and too many barriers being between planning and building, pointing to the European Vienna Model as a cheaper, rent-controlled, government-led housing system. She also levelled some very pointed criticism against Fianna Fáil’s Colm Kelleher, pointing out that he and his party had voted against 16 social housing units in Cork just two weeks ago. “We can talk about how much we love social housing, but unless you’re willing to vote in favour of it, it means nothing.” she said, prompting Cllr Kelleher to defend the decision, then concede and point out that the development was built anyway.

“Yes, because the rest of us voted for it!” was Cllr Bogue’s retort.

The next topic was crime and party views on Direct Provision, rolled together to save time. Cia-

rán McCarthy pointed to his career in refugee law, describing the direct provision system as a “stain on our country”, with waiting times inhumanly long. “We need to take this out of the hands of the private sector,” he said, criticising profit-driven models of direct provision centres. He described the press as overplaying the issue of crime, criticising “worship” of drug gang leaders— “These people are losers. They’re not criminal masterminds.” He pointed to the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau as needing to continue.

Cllr Bogue agreed with reforming direct provision, and took it a step further, suggesting that deportation altogether should be stopped and borders should be dissolved.

She said that asylum seekers should be permitted to integrate into society and work, and be allowed into the social welfare system as ordinary citizens. When Dr. Murphy asked about fear of immigration, such as the one that motivated Brexit, Cllr Bogue retorted that that was a “Racist, unfounded fear, and we shouldn’t give in.” She defended economic migrants, pointing to the large number of undocumented Irish migrants in America. “How many people is it acceptable to drown

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express in the Mediterrean?” she said, criticising current migration policies. On the topic of crime, she pointed to issues of community funding, and that the key to reducing crime rates was to provide community supports and prevent “brutalising”, preventing crime in the first place.

In contrast, when Cllr Kelleher started on Fianna Fáil’s crime policies, he said that crime must be, “smashed”. He described the need for more community guards, stronger anti-terror laws, and more action in the Special Criminal Court. He also made a note that he personally supported drug decriminalisation, although sheepishly conceded when Dr. Murphy pointed out that his party didn’t. He didn’t comment on the topic of direct provision.

At this point, Sinn Féin’s Cllr Thomas Gould had arrived, and he chimed in with stories of crime families in Cork that have been left untouched for forty years.

In particular he slammed Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s record, and said that younger criminals

needed to be challenged sooner. He also criticised lack of resources, pointing out the small number of guards, stations and cars in North Cork; “What kind of Mickey Mouse country are we that we have community police sitting in stations with no cars to take them?” he said. He also promised more investment in teachers and youth workers.

The floor opened for questions, taking three; one on opinions on devolution of power to local governments, one pointedly asking why Fianna Fáil should ever be trusted again after 2008, and environmental policy. All the councillors broadly agree on the topic of power devolution, all bemoaning the influence that Dublin has over Cork; Cllr Kelleher notes that local governments already control housing and property taxes. When pressed on trusting Fianna Fáil, he pointed out that the economic crisis was suffered globally, not just in Ireland, and wasn’t Fianna Fáil’s fault; Cllr Bogue chipped in to point out that the Green Party should also be held accountable, and that Fianna Fáil’s policies did

News absolutely affect quality of life after the crash. As for environmental policy, Fianna Fáil plans to build a wind farm off the coast, although Cllr Kelleher criticised the idea of free public transport, a stance which all three of his opponents disagreed with. Cllr Bogue, naturally, outlined the Green Party’s very aspirational climate policy, aiming for a movement towards a low-carbon society; she also colourfully described Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s policies on the matter as, “Two cheeks on the same arse”. Sinn Féin’s Cllr Gould outlined plans for stricter laws, such as a fracking ban and a stop to issuing oil drilling licenses, as well as slamming Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael for blocking public transport plans “for votes”.

Dr Murphy asked each party to give a short closing statement, although almost all of them failed to be short; Cllr Bogue re-emphasised her environmental policies, while Mr McCarthy pushed down on the novelty route, describing a “willingness for change”.

Cllr Gould also called on the desire for change, while Cllr Kelle-

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her’s urging to vote for Fianna Fáil largely involved criticising Sinn Féin, urging young voters to vote for anybody except them, because they “are not the same”.

Overall, the packed-out debate event seemed to go smoothly enough, albeit with Cllr Gould and Cllr Bogue frequently teaming up to criticise Fianna Fáil’s track record in the City Council. As Cllr Kelleher noted at the beginning of the debate, he was the target of most of the criticism, being the only representative of the “big two” parties. Dr. Mary Murphy shone as moderator in this debate, several times cutting in to refocus, counter points, and point out hypocrisies in all parties, and closed the debate with a call for all young voters to come out in force. “The young don’t traditionally vote in the same numbers as the grey vote,” she said, pointing out how the results of Brexit and previous general elections could have been different with a bigger youth vote.

The general election is to take place Saturday, 8 February.

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Features

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

Unanswered: Jo Jo Dollard Part 2 Writes Roisin O’Donnell, Features Editor

‘Fears were openly expressed that a serial killer was operating, either alone or with other like-minded predators, in an area of the country where instances of female disappearance had become so common that it had been dubbed the ‘Vanishing Triangle’.’ Alan Bailey, ‘Missing, Presumed’.

their theories about what happened to Jo Jo. One of the most prominent gossip by the public and the media was Jo Jo being taken by a local politician’s son.

The theory was quickly proven to not have much weight. Nothing has come of proposed burial sites such as a politician’s back garden and drainage ditches. The work on open drainage ditches had been completed more than a A memorial now stands where Jo year before Jo Jo’s disappearance.

Jo Dollard was last seen in Moone, The same goes for the cattle-byre County Kildare. It marks the last mentioned in part 1. Reportedly confirmed sighting of Jo Jo. It is every ditch and drain from Moone beside the very telephone booth to Castledermot was searched.

Jo Jo used to say her last known words and hitch a lift from an These theories derailed the search unidentified person. It serves as for information over the years. a reminder that she is still gone, The public had seemingly made twenty-five years later. But, like up their minds despite multiple so many other members of the investigations that proved the ruVanishing Triangle, the evidence mours unlikely to have any truth. is non-existent. What the public In 1995, investigators quickly ran and the investigators have to go out of leads and reliable witnesson is theories. Theories ranging es in the Moone area. The search from community rumours to con- extended past Castledermot to spiracies have made headlines Carlow. The investigation was across the country. Theories like messy. The scope had become too Annie McCarrick meeting an IRA wide and led to nothing. With noman in Johnny Fox’s pub, Eva where else to go, the Gardaí’s efBrennan having ties to convicted forts went back to where it began double killer Michael Brambrick in Moone. Gardaí accompanied or Jo Jo Dollard being abduct- by a film crew tried to recreate Jo ed by two petty English thieves. Jo’s final known moments. They hoped this would jog people’s As mentioned in the last instal- memories or show something ment of Unanswered, the commu- overlooked. Only this time with a nities in and around Moone had

crowd of onlookers from the village watching and an elderly driver interrupting the scene by asking the actress if she needed a lift.

shoved back into the car, overpowered by the two men. The car sped off in the direction of Waterford City. Given the time it took the taxi driver to report the sightIn Eva Brennan’s Unanswered, ing the memory was not fresh in the case of Marilyn Rynn was his mind. He couldn’t be certain discussed. She was murdered in what the people looked like. He Dublin by David Lawler a month was able to tell investigators the after Jo Jo’s disappearance. Law- make of the car, a Ford Sierra and ler was initially linked to Jo Jo. that he was certain it had an EnThe pub Jo Jo had spent her last glish license plate but could not evening in was one of his regu- recall any of the numbers. So late lar haunts. Sources say he would in the case, this information was spend his time in the Bruxelles more frustrating than helpful. pub watching female customers. If the taxi driver came forward Despite the closeness and the with this information earlier it killer frequenting the pub, Law- would have been easier to enquire ler was ruled out by Gardaí af- about the car, suspects could have ter ATM records showed that he been crossed out faster and the was in Blanchard’s town at the investigation could have moved time of Jo Jo’s disappearance. in the direction of Waterford.

For two years, Jo Jo’s case was What made this information imquiet. Her family and Gardaí were portant was the timeline. It was at a loss for evidence and answers. possible for Jo Jo to have ended In 1997, a taxi driver came for- up on that particular back road if ward to the Gardaí. At 1am on the she had gotten picked up by the 10th of November 1995, the taxi men at the Moone phone booth. driver was driving himself back When asked why he took so long to his home in Waterford. A car to report such a significant sightwas pulled over. Beside it a man ing he tried to make excuses was urinating. As the taxi driver such as the Gardaí he wanted to prepared to turn off a back road speak to two years ago not bea barefoot woman matching Jo ing at the station, having a busy Jo’s description jumped out of Christmas, going on holiday etc. the back-passenger seat. Clearly distressed she began to run but However, the English license was quickly grabbed by another plate clue turned the investigaman. The woman was promptly tion on its head back to initial re-

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

ports by the public. On the night of Jo Jo’s disappearance, it was noted in Moone that there were several men in a pub near the village speaking in British accents.

Reportedly this was suspicious... for some reason. The men were eventually cleared as British men on a fishing holiday after a landlady was able to vouch for them.

With the English license plate on their minds the Gardaí examined their records. On the 10th of November 1995, in Kilkenny two British men were arrested for attempting to steal money from a public phone in a pub. The petty criminals made a living on the road in their dark coloured Ford Sierra, (which had an English license plate), stealing from coin boxes using homemade keys. They were arrested, released and given a court date. They then fled back to England by ferry every now and then returning to Ireland. Two years later, Gardai were now trying to track them down. They believed that they could have travelled from Dublin to Kilkenny and could have possibly picked up Jo Jo. Miraculously, shortly after the Gardaí search began the two men were found sleeping in the same car they had been arrested with two years ago. The suspects and the car were brought in for examination. When asked about their whereabouts two years ago when interviewed separately the men were able to tell the same stories - they had stolen from Cork city phone booths that day, slept in an B&B that night and had decided to return to England after their arrest due to one of the pair’s mothers being ill. Once again, a landlady that ran the B&B was able to vouch for her British guests.

During the timeline of Jo Jo’s disappearance, she could assure the Gardaí that the suspects were in the B&B making a call back to England. She was also able to show them her guest book which included their check in and out date and their license plate number.

It was a year later in 1998 when the Jo Jo investigation had another lead to follow. Gardaí were contacted by a solicitor of a man serving time in prison. The solicitor claimed that his client had knowledge of what happened to Jo Jo and the potential burial site.

According to the informant, on the night of Jo Jo’s disappearance two cars heading for Waterford had pulled over to give her a lift. The occupants of the car were well known to Gardaí, two men in the first car - one a known sex offender and two females in the second car. The sex offender had dangerous intentions when he invited Jo Jo into the car. But these intentions were masked by his charm. The two cars separated. The women taking another way, not about to argue with the man. According to the informant, the man was physically intimidating. The number of people in the car, the timeline and direction the car would have been travelling in, matches the taxi driver’s story. What are the chances?

Later that night it was reported in Waterford City a woman ran out of a house in a state of undress screaming. She was then dragged back inside by a man that is reportedly the same sex offender as the one in the car. This woke neighbours up but no one called the Gardaí or went to help.

Features parking lot where one of the men attempted to sexually assault her.

She managed to escape this from escalating by jumping from the car. According to the woman, the men cursed at her and drove away.

Months went by with no development and Jo Jo’s case was taken over by village gossip again. In 1999, it is claimed a Gardaí source leaked information to the press, saying that Jo Jo had gone to England to have an abortion. This generated no new leads, spread scandal and did nothing for Jo Jo’s family fate in the Gardaí.

In 2012, Trace Missing Persons put together a post compiling new knowledge about Jo Jo’s disappearance. According to TMP, Gardaí have identified a Traveller man who they believe is responsible for not only Jo Jo’s disappearance but other crimes around the country. According to a senior source, “he murdered Jo Jo when the opportunity presented itself.

He had the perfect cover for picking up hikers and did so when he got the chance.” If this is the case The informant told the investi- it is unlikely the traveller man and gators he helped move Jo Jo’s any accomplices will be brought body and knew where she was to justice with no evidence, body buried. He agreed to show Gar- or written confession. Accorddaí. The Gardaí and the prisoner ing to TMP, he is still thought went to the supposed burial site to be in the Portlaoise Kildare outside the village of Castleisland region driving around in a van. in Kerry. The informant pointed In 2013, Mary Phelan (Jo Jo’s to a wooded area. A search team sister) spoke to the Indepenwith cadaver dogs were deployed. dent newspaper. She told them They spent three days search- she received an anonymous leting and found nothing. The in- ter from a woman claiming her formant believed they had not ex-boyfriend ‘was capable of dosearched the area correctly. An- ing anything’. She gave the letter other search was completed. Only to Gardaí but it does not seem then did investigators read the like anything has come out of it. informant’s record and saw that She is also certain the Gardaí on the day he had said he helped know what and who was responremove the body he made an ap- sible for Jo Jo’s disappearance. pearance in Carlow Court. This rattled the informant and he be- In 2018, Mary Phelan passed away gan to change his story. Proving without knowing what happened he had lied. It is now believed to her sister Jo Jo. In 2001, her he only wanted to help Gardaí brother Tom died suddenly. Like to get a weekend out of prison. many other disappearances in the Triangle, not knowing is someThe four people in the two cars thing a family can never recover were interviewed by Gardaí. They from. Her sister Kathleen Berdenied any involvement. Howev- gin still hopes for Jo Jo’s return. er, a woman would later come for- She told the thejournal.ie, “She ward saying that the night Jo Jo [Mary] poured her heart and her had gone missing she had gotten soul into trying to find her, even a lift from two men in a car with up to the last moments of her life. another car following behind. She It’s time for Jo Jo to come back had a lot to drink that night. The home to her family and be laid two cars pulled into an empty to rest with her Mam and Dad.”

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Features

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Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

Advice for Surviving a Trip with Friends Writes Molly O’Rourke, Deputy Features Editor

It’s that time of year again when the travel bug hits; every second person seems to be in the middle of planning some big trip for the summer months. Over the last week, I’ve heard so many different people tell me their plans for travelling this year, I’ve even seen people booking the library study rooms to plan out their J1s with friends. While holidaying with your group of friends can be an exciting idea, longer trips often make or break friendships. Travelling can be intense, stressful and tiring at times, which will naturally bring out the worst in people.

On top of this, differences in attitudes, budgets and interests can also come between friends on a trip. The following is some advice for your next group holiday to en-

sure you come home feeling just as close to the people you left with.

you will spend on an apartment.

Then, when it comes to the trip everyone can decide their own spending money budgets. That Consider everyone’s budgets. being said, it would also be unTravelling can become very ex- fair to choose expensive activpensive, very quickly if you don’t ities every day and eat out in make a conscious effort to keep high-end restaurants all the time. costs low. When travelling with It’s best to sit down before travgroups, or even one other friend, elling and see what trip would remember that not everyone will suit everyone’s budgets. No one have the same financial means. wants the awkwardness of being Choosing a luxury resort in a the ‘broke friend’ on a trip, so alpopular tourist destination may ways try to find a compromise. seem economically feasible to you, but others may prefer to spend less money on accommo- Consider everyone’s tastes. dation to allow more for activities. Similarly, it is important to take The best thing to do is to set a into account that the group you are budget for the trip. For example, travelling with will have different decide that €100 is the maximum interests and tastes. This isn’t too

big of an issue when you are travelling with 1 or 2 others, but groups of friends can have extremely different expectations of a holiday.

The easiest thing to do in this situation is to keep things casual. Rather than pre-booking activities/trips for every day of the holiday, consider taking things easy and seeing where the holiday takes you.

It’s best to discuss these things in advance and choose your destination around what people like to do. I, for one, would not be happy to spend a week of summer stuck in a city far from the sea, while I have friends who would love the idea. Keeping the holiday open allows you to plan as you go and make sure everyone gets to do something they want.

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

Understand that you may son suggests somewhere else need space. to go/something else to do.

Travelling with anyone for long periods can become very intense.

You essentially spend all of your waking hours together, and if it’s a jam-packed trip then you will more than likely be tired a lot of the time. It’s completely normal to want alone time while travelling, so don’t be afraid to let your friends know. Even getting up a bit earlier to take a walk before breakfast can help keep tensions low.

However, make sure that you are not letting yourself be forgotten. It is easy to fall into the habit of keeping the peace and making sure everyone’s happy, but don’t let this compromise your holiday either. Make sure you are voicing what you’d like to do and including it in the plan.

Designate a ‘parent’.

Features Travel with likeminded people.

As I’ve already said, everyone will have different experiences and expectations before they travel. To help the trip run smoothly, try to choose travel friends that you know you will get on with. Different attitudes towards nightlife, culture and even tidiness can all cause major tension while travelling.

I am an early riser, as I don’t When travelling with friends, it like to waste the morning in bed can become complicated if ev- while I’m travelling. This doesn’t Remember to make compro- eryone is trying to be in charge. suit everyone, so I make sure my mises.

Assigning someone the respon- friends are aware of it before we I have found that travelling with sibility of planning and organiz- travel. It means that I have offriends is often about compro- ing the important parts can help ten spent two or three hours exmises. It’s likely you won’t have minimise confusion. Obviously, ploring on my own while a friend enough time to see everything that everyone should be responsible sleeps in. This does not upset or everyone wants to see, so it’s im- for their own flights, money etc., annoy me, however, because I am portant to learn to compromise. but having one person in charge still making the most of my trip.

If you’re strapped for time, con- of reservations and maps can These simple tips can really make sider trying to do or see the num- make things go more smoothly. a difference to your travels. Sharber one thing that each person This person is essentially the par- ing holidays and memories with wants. This way, no one is left out. ent of the group, as they organize friends is a great experience, and You also have to be realistic with the others and tell everyone where most people become closer after this as well. If one person’s choice to go. I’ve been this person on travelling, however the smallrequires a full day, while some- many trips, which did not bother est of things can cause tension one else’s only takes 20 min- me, but it is nice to travel with a on a trip so try and avoid that by utes, then make sure that per- group and not have to be in charge. talking things out beforehand!

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My Au-pair Experience Writes Edel Lonergan, Online Editor Around this time last year, I began to think about spending part of my summer away as an Au pair.

I wanted to try something new and I’m very glad I did.

I study Spanish as part of my degree so I decided that I would like to spend a few weeks of the summer in Spain. If you are interested in Aupairing there are a few things to do and to be aware of.

1. Decide early if you want to go away for the summer. You want a good choice for families.

2. In deciding early and booking your flights early you save money. My flights were nearly 200 euro dearer if I had booked later.

3. You need to decide what age group of children you want to look after, young kids or older, boys or girls.

4. Do you want to be near a city or outside? This is important if you are learning a language as you will want to practice your language.

5. What are your duties, what is the money you will earn? It is a cultural exchange also so you don’t want to be an unhappy cheap babysitter.

6. Be open to new experiences. Making an effort with the language, people, culture and food.

7. Don’t be too worried about meeting up with other Aupairs. I made friends with some of the locals and had a great time and made friends I’m still in contact with.

8. Remember if it’s not working out and you’re unhappy you can simply just book a flight home, no summer is meant to be miserable!!!

The link for the site I used is aupairworld.com

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Opinion

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

CAN WE SEPARATE ART FROM THE ARTIST? And should we?

Writes Elisha Carey, Opinion Editor “Every time I change wives, I should burn the last one.

That way I’d be rid of them.

They wouldn’t be around to complicate my existence.

Maybe, that would bring back my youth, too. You kill the woman and you wipe out the past she represents.”

I was 17 when I found out that my all-time favourite artist, Pablo Picasso, was a flagrant misogynist.

The above words, a real quote coming from the great artist of the 20th century himself. When this side of the artist’s personality was revealed to me by my secondary school art teacher I was so taken aback. I wrestled with the conflict that was my love for his works and the horrendous words he had spoken about my gender in the past. Now, every time I look at ‘Les Demoiselles D’Avignon’, Picasso’s infamous painting of five prostitutes, I can’t help but think about what the interaction had been between Picasso and the women; was this a consensual and happy situation for the women? Or an encounter they were pressured or bullied into? ‘Les Demoiselles’, to me, was always such a visual treat. The figures composed of splintered geometric shapes, their haunting faces inspired by tribal African masks with eyes that watch you, daring you to watch them. I interpreted the piece as subverting the norm, the figures did not stand solely for the pleasure of the male gaze but to stand and gaze out from the frame themselves. Knowing what I do now of Picasso’s disposition towards women I can’t look at his works the same way, especially where women sitters are involved.

A piece I once thought represented female empowerment with the women gazing from the frame with confidence more likely represents their suppression. Each stroke of paint now feels like a lie.

Picasso is no exception. Terrible people make beautiful art all

the time. Michael Jackson is still renowned as one of the greatest musicians of all time, but it is alleged that he engaged in numerous counts of child sexual abuse.

Harvey Weinstein is a very talented film producer but over 80 women have made allegations of sexual abuse against him. Roald Dahl was a known anti-Semite.

George Orwell was homophobic.

There’s a whole host of celebrities who have allegedly slept with underage girls, including David Bowie, Elvis Presley and R. Kelly.

Kobe Bryant, who tragically passed away in the last few weeks, was an exceptional athlete. But he was also a man accused of rape.

Basketball was Bryant’s art. An artform he practiced with unparalleled skill. He was powerful and beloved, but potentially not a great guy. How are we supposed to commemorate problematic figures such as Bryant?

Many have glossed over his rape case as a mere blip in his career, as something that impacted his public image and life far worse than his, (alleged), victim’s. The rape kit exam performed on the woman at the time documented her injuries as “inconsistent with consensual sex.” The case ended up being settled out of court as the media pressured the woman to drop out of the trial.

When someone dies, especially in such a horrific way, we also feel pressure to remain silent when it comes to their uglier actions. I like how reporter and survivor of sexual assault herself, Felicia Sonmez, put it in her controversial and since deleted tweet: “any public figure is worth remembering in their totality. Even if that figure is beloved and that totality upsetting.”

As much as we love their art, it’s important to acknowledge that some of our favourite artists are capable of ugly acts. But can we still enjoy art even if it is creat-

ed by someone who has done bad things? Can we divorce art from the artist? And should we?

“I have assumed as axiomatic that a creation, a work of art, is autonomous” T.S Eliot once wrote.

To Eliot, once a poem was out in the open, it grew a mind and personality of its own, it was its own being now separate from him. Eliot felt he could no longer influence one of his poems once they were released. But I don’t think it’s that simple. Eliot’s idealism doesn’t really hold much water.

It’s not up to the artist themselves whether their art stays separate from them. It’s up to us, the consumers. Whether or not we can consume a piece of art without thinking of the mind behind it may not even be something we can control. When we hear something troubling about an artist, sometimes we can’t help but let it influence our interpretation of their work. This is something fans of Chris Brown have struggled with when listening to his music in the aftermath of his assault on Rihanna. The same way House of Cards fans struggle to watch the show given what they know now about Kevin Spacey.

When thinking of whether or not we want to support a problematic artist there are so many different facets to take into consideration.

For one, it matters whether or not the work itself reminds us of their odious acts. If a poet writes beautiful nature poems about flowers and trees, we are not likely to think of who they are as a person.

If they are a racist, homophobe or criminal it wouldn’t bleed into their poetry and spoil our perception of it in the same way as if they wrote poems about their hatred of a certain group of people. Many of R. Kelly’s songs allude to a disrespect of women and the same could be said of Chris Brown. But we wouldn’t necessarily think of the allegations against

Harvey Weinstein while watching ‘Pulp Fiction.’ It’s our intrusive thoughts that govern whether or not we can stomach continuing to consume these artists’ works.

We must be conscious of our role in this equation. To completely separate the art from the artist is to minimise our own role as consumers of the work and it’s our role that is paramount, not the artist’s. When you decide to consume or support work from an artist who has behaved badly, you’re communicating to the outside world that their behaviour is not that big of a deal. The decision whether or not to separate the art from the artist is an intrinsically personal one, influenced by a plethora of different things: the severity of the issues with the artist, whether or not other people were involved in the making of the art and whether they are dead or alive, to name but a few.

You can enjoy problematic art and artists. The real challenge lies with being honest with yourself about it and not defending or dismissing the problems at hand but addressing them head on. This is one of those dilemmas that will never be satisfactorily resolved but it is important to grapple with and discuss.

The world is not black or white.

Everyone and everything lives in shades of grey and I encourage you to do what feels right. I still enjoy Picasso’s self-portraits and his ‘Guernica’, but I draw my line at financially supporting artists who are alive and the sole beneficiaries of my support.

Where do you draw yours?

Opinion

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

13

Don’t Let the Drip Drop!

Writes Aoife Gleeson

Ok, so I am probably the ‘worst’ environmental science student out there. I mean, I’m not vegan or vegetarian, don’t own an electric car, prefer flying than getting a ferry or train around Europe, and don’t even own a bamboo toothbrush. Utterly disgraceful!

So, therefore, I must be the most unfavourable prospective environmental scientist out there?

I’d like to redeem a few brownie points however by informing you all that I haven’t used cling film or tin foil in two years due to my rather impressive array of Tupperware, and of course have my trusty reusable water bottle and coffee cup, too. Whatever you do for the environment, I’m certainly not one to judge, but even if you change something small, you’d be surprised of the impact it can make in the long run. I’m sure we have all heard of the carbon footprint by now. For those of you who have been living under a rock, this is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere as a direct result of human activities. These include practices at both an individual and group/ business level, as well as the lifecycle of all products and materials.

At this stage, we are all, (some way), knowledgeable about how to live ‘sustainably’ and how to reduce our carbon footprint.

However, there seems to be a grey area when it comes to our attitudes around water. As a nation that experiences an awful lot of it, our approach to dealing with water is a funny one, one that can only be described as uniquely Irish, I suppose. In a recent lecture, I discovered that the water in our toilet bowls is treated to drinking water standards. This means that you could drink the water directly from the toilet if you so wished and be absolutely fine afterwards. Well physically anyways, maybe not mentally…

Putting that downright weird example aside, surely this is a complete waste of resources? Water treatment is already a highly expensive process so surely these resources would be more effective if they were allocated to a different section? I know college can be stressful at times but seriously, will you ever be stressed enough to take a glass of water from the toilet? I sincerely hope not!

As I mentioned earlier, most of us have probably heard about

the carbon footprint at some point in our lives. How many of you have heard of the water footprint, though? Similar to the carbon footprint, the water footprint measures the amount of water consumed by an individual, business or a product life cycle. It measures both the direct amount of water used, i.e. washing, cleaning, drinking etc., and also the amount of virtual water consumed. Contrary to the name, this is not the amount of water consumed online by a computer game or something. Virtual water in this context refers to the total amount of water used in the production of a product, i.e. the water we can’t see but consume indirectly. The lifecycle of a product more often than not has an extremely large water footprint.

To produce just one kilogram of beef it takes 15,500L of water.

One pair of leather shoes takes 8,000L to produce. One glass of wine takes 120L of water and one cup of coffee takes 140L. These are strikingly stark examples of the water footprint of just a few products and of the virtual water that we all consume obliviously. This list of examples could go on and on, but then I’d be in trouble with editors for taking

up the whole University Express!

Even though 71% of the world is covered by water, only 1% of this is readily available freshwater (not bound up in glaciers or ice sheets). Around the world, there are some countries that have come up with ingenious ways to preserve our water supply. Whether that is implementing water-recycling systems or substituting certain water supplies with grey water or even saltwater, (the toilet!), these minute changes can extend a path further into the future.

One drawback, however, might be that you will no longer get to drink the water out of the toilet bowl, how disappointing! I’d like to point out that this is sarcasm. I am not gone insane (yet). Swiftly moving on, my takeaway message from this article would be that you don’t have to be doing everything perfect to contribute to protecting the environment. A few minor changes by a lot of people can make all the difference and allow us to smoothly flow into the future without any meanders or turbulence. In the meantime, remember not to let that drip drop!

BYLINE

Editorial

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Another editorial… uh my mind is really running dry on these at this stage. I am writing this aboard a No.2 train in Belgium on Netsoc’s trip to FOSDEM, so I’m fairly fuzzy headed and bleary eyed as one can imagine. Thanks for checking out another copy of the Express and I hope you enjoy what Byline has to offer.

Seeing as I got all of my Byline editing out of the way this week early, it feels like about a month ago given how hectic it’s been the past few days here. This week’s Byline is just as excellent as always, with Eoghan Creedon’s predictions for the biggest flops of 2020 standing out for me! We’ve also got more tips from Katie Kelly’s Food & Health section, as well as a very interesting article from Jack Coleman on women in Esports. Special thanks has to go to Fiona O’Connell too who stepped in for me and interviewed Cork artist Ghostking is Dead in my absence.

All in all, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve done very little for Byline this week, but it shows how ridiculously excellent the whole Byline team is that what lays ahead of you is such high quality. I hope you at least enjoy the photo of College Road that I took about 2 feet from my front door! I think it’s a pretty nice photo and glad that it could be used as the cover for the section.

Besides the Express, as I said I’m currently in Brussels attending the Open Source Tech Conference FOSDEM with my friends from Netsoc, 29 of us went in total, so if you need me, I’ll be stressing about getting everyone back on the plane home. It’s been an excellent conference thus far, even if nearly every talk I’ve wanted to go to has been full to the brim. Shout out to GitHub for their excellent scarves and excellent post conference social.

Well, with that said, my train has just hit the station and I gotta jump off. Cheers for checking us out again.

Get out and vote on the 8th too everyone, have your voice heard and let’s get the best Ireland for everyone!

Questions and complaints can make their way to byline@uccexpress.ie, Cian.

Gaeilge

Hugh Ó Raghallaigh Mac Gearailt

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Inspioráid ó Poblacht na Seice: Anny Mlčkovská ag tabhairt spreagadh do mhuintir na hÉireann ár dteanga féin a úsáid Scríobhann Muireann Murphy “Beatha Teanga, í a labhairt”, nach é sin a dúradh linn sa bhunscoil agus na múinteoirí ag iarraidh sinn a mhealladh an Ghaeilge a úsáid. Ach, faraoir, tá an cuma ar an scéal nár oibrigh iarrachtaí na múinteoirí sin.

Chun an fhírinne a rá, tá Gaeilge níos fear ag an mbean óg as Poblacht na Seice,dárbh ainm Anny Mlčkovská ná an chuid is mó do mhuintir na hÉireann. I mo thuairim-se, tugann an bean inspioráideach seo míniú don bhfocal “teangeolaíocht”, agus níl sí fíu amháin críochnaithe san ollscoil. Is saineolaí í ar réimse leathan teangacha agus is í an Ghaeilge an ceann is fearr leí!

Cailín 23 bliain d’aois í Anny, a bfuil cáil uirthi sna Gaeltachtaí timpeall na tíre dá bharr an caighdéan atá bainte amach aici sa Gailege. Bhí sí ar raidió na Gaeltachta le déanaí ag caint mar gheall an dúil atá aici dár gcultúr agus dár dteanga dúchais.

D’fhás Anny aníos i gcathair Teplice, in iarthuaischeart Poblacht na Seice, mar sin bhí Seic (teangla an chosúil leis an Pholanais mar a thuigim) aici agus í sa bhaile. Nuair a nach raibh sí ach 14 blain d’aois, bhog sí go dtí Pirna, sa Ghearmáin, chun a hoideachas a chur ar aghaidh i scoil chónaithe. Ansin a thosaigh sí á labhairt Gearmáinise.

Ach ní go dtí gur thosaigh sí san ollscoil i Leipzig gur fhás grá Anny le haghidh foghlaim teangacha. Fad is a bhí sí ag staidéar, d’fhoghlaim sí 12 theanga. Dar le Anny, tá 5 cinn díobh san go líofa aici agus tá tuisceant idirmhéanach aici ar an gcuid eile. Ina measc na teangacha sin tá Béarla, Fraincís, Breatainnis agus Esperanto. B’í an Fraincís an teanga is deacra le foghlaim dar le Anny, agus b’e an Esperanto an ceann is fosa.

Dá bhlian ó shin a thosaigh Anny ag foghlaim na Gaeilinne ar an ollscoil. Mar a dúiris cheanna féin, is í an Ghaeilge an teanga is fearr le Anny thar aon teanga eile. Ní chiallaíonn sin gur teanga éasca í ár dteanga dúchais le labhairt.

Dúirt Anny nuair a thosaigh sí á fhoghlaim ar dtús nach raibh ciall dár leith ag baint leis an dteanga.

Nuair a chuir mé ceist uirthi mar gheall ar seo, duirt sí “Ar dtús, cheap mé ‘a Dhia, cad a chuir mé féin isteach ann?’”. Sin an meon atá ag mórán daoine Éireannacha a dúiris féin léi; cén fáth ba cheart dom, nó cén fáth gur gcaithifdh mé an teanga sheanfhaisenta, marbh seo a fhoghlaim? Bhuel, léiríonn Anny nach teanga march í an Gheilge agus is fíu í a fhoghlaim.

Lean Anny ar aghaidh go crua ag déanamh gach iarracht smacht a fháil ar an nGaeilge. Thosnaigh sí ag foghlaim na rudaí bunúsacha ar dtús; an fuamnú, conas focail a aithniú. Diadh ar ndiadh thosnaigh sí á léamh agus á scríobh, ag foghlaim cúrsaí gramadaí. Anois tá Gaeilge líofa ag mo dhuine.

Chuir mé ceist ar Anny an bhfuil aon leideanna aici le haghidh aon duine ag iarraidh an Ghailege a fhoghalim ó bhun. Dúirt sí an rud a dhéanann sí agus í ag foghlaim aon theanga ná glacann sí leis an tenaga i gceist mar thenaga aonrach. Déanann sí dearmad ar gach rud atá ar eolas aici mar gheall ar na teangacha eile atá aici. I bhfocail eile, ná chuir an Ghailege i gcompráid leis an mBéarla. Ceapaim-se fein gur leid an chabhrach é seo do mhuintir na hÉireann atá ag iarraidh an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim.

Tá sé ar intinn ag Anny scrúdú TEG C1 a dhéanamh gan mhoill.

Seachas an Ghaeilge féin a labhairt, tá suim mhó ag Anny i gcuideanna eile de chultúr na Gailege. Mar shampla, tá dúil mhór aici i gceol na hÉireann.

D’fhreatsal sí ar chúpla cúrsaí

sna Ghaeltachta timpeall na tíre agus fad is bhí ann, d’fhoghlaim sí réimse amhráin Gaelach, idir sean-nós agus amhráin níos nua aimsirí. Tá aithne aici ar roinnt ceoltóirí Éireannacha chomh maith, cosúil le Maria Doyle agus a leithéad, agus tugann siad spreagadh di na hamhráinithe a fhoghlaim agus a chanadh go poiblí. In airde ar sin, tá taithí aici ar rince Gaelach chomh maith, idir céilithe agus comortaisí éagsúla. Muna raibh go leor ansin, seineann sí an fheadóg stán agus ta sé ar intinn aici a thuilleadh uirlisí a phiocadh aníos.

Cén fáth go bhfuil a méid seo suime ag an mbean seo i gcultúr na hÉireann áfach? Cad iad na gnéithe dár gcultúr a mheallan í? Dar léi, is cosúil go raibh an Ghaeilge mar chuid dá saol i gconaí, go raibh sé i gceist aici i gcónaí teacht go dtí na tíre seo agus an teanga a fhoghlaim agus taithí a fháil ar an gcultúr. Tá sé i gceist ag Anny bogadh go dtí na tíre seo lá amháin agus an teanga dúchais

a mhúineadh. Deireann sí go motháionn sé “nádúrtha” di nuair a chaitheann sí ama sa tír seo.

Ach cad é tuairim Anny ar stad na Gailege sa tír seo faoi láthair?

Nuair a chuir mé ceist urithi an dóigh léi go bfuil an teanga marbh, d’fhreagair sí “Níl sí ag fáilt báis ...caithimid a bheith níos cuimsithí ina leith agus caithimíd í a úsáid ionas gur féidir linn a rá gur teanga beo í”. Caithidh mé a rá go naontáim léi. Ní teanga marbh í an Ghaeilge, ach caithfear níos mó iarrachtaí a dhéanamh chun í a chur cun cinn agus í a fhorbairt.

Nil aon dabht ach gur bean cliste, talainne, spreagúil í Anny.Is ait an rud é, ach is iontach an rud é go bhfuil an méid sin grá gus meas ag an bPoblachtach na Seice seo ar an nGaeilge. Thug Anny dóchas dom mar gheall an Ghaeilge sa tír seo. Is dócha má chloiseann a thuilleadh daoine scéil Anny, tabharfadh sé inspioráid dóibh an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim muna bhfuil sí ar eolas aici, nó í a labhairt má tá cúpla focal acu.

“Is cailín ana-thógtha leis an dteanga Gaoluinne í Anny M.”

INTERVIEW

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Interview by Fiona O’Connell, Music Editor Ghostking is Dead is one of of the household names in the Cork music scene at the minute, with each of its members now spreading their wings with their involvement in a number of musical endeavours - how did GKID actually come to be?

GKID as a project started about a year prior to me asking any of the live personnel on board. Some time around the beginning of my college experience, I decided I wanted to outfit myself with an arsenal of musicians who could help bring something a bit more ambitious than ‘guy with guitar’ to the stage. The solo act works for the studio, but the backup on stage is neccessary and appreciated.

As for the project itself, I’d played in bands and made music in company before, but had an urge to express myself undemocratically, and so GKID was born.

Ghostking is Dead’s sound is entirely unique - a culmination of hip-hop beats, self-produced pop with a jazzy element to it - who would you cite as your greatest musical influences and has that changed over the years of producing music?

Well, thank you! My influences are fluid, I’d hestitate to name anyone as a constant touchstone, although I am absolutely certain that I make subconcious reference to some artists consistently.

For the better part of a year and a half I’ve referred a lot to James Blake and Frank Oceans as paragons of the type of expression I’m most interested in. That, however, didn’t stop me making Deflector (whatever that track may be).

You’ve had a serious 2019, playing a series of whopper gigs, including a slot at the infamous Body and Soul festival, did you have a favourite gig of the year?

and images for marketing purposes. Is branding and the creation of an associated visual with your music something that you place particular emphasis on?

Of 2019, my favourite show would be a split between Body & Soul and Quarter Block Party.

The charm of each was almost an inversion of the other; Body & Soul was an opportunity to get out of Cork and out ourselves to a more objective audience, to feel like we were stretching beyond. QBP however is was a wonderful domestic expression, playing an incredible event that happens just up the road. Not to mention the antics of both, especially the chaos of your first weekend camping with the lads in the band. It got pretty jagged.

Undoubtedly. I am personally insistent on a project being all encompassing in its expression.

I like when every sound, theme and visual asset and communication is unified, I think it just makes the whole project more satisfying, both to make and consume. It’s also just cool as hell.

As one of the founders of artist collective Hausu, what is your goal for the collective? Would you like it to extend beyond Cork City?

Hausu is one of a whole bunch of collectives that have blossomed in Ireland in the last 2 years. I personally don’t see it as an enterprise or something to be expanded, but rather something that exists to unify and contextualise the members. We have cats in Dublin, Cork, even got a guy in LA, but our roots stay Cork.

It’s part of what makes us us.

As for a goal, I just want to see all my guys winning. I want the lads to have the facility to make the best art and work together to really make something cool.

Both GKID and Hausu have very clear stylized ideas

On your latest single ‘Palm Tree’ you appear to voice your concerns about Cork City and everything it has become, as well as pondering the worth of caring about anything as the threat of climate change lingers. What is your relationship with Cork City at the moment, both personally and artistically?

The Irish have a tendancy to be quite attatched to where their from, and, famously, nowhere is that more true than Cork. It’s an opportunity, in moments of shakiness, to anchor your person to something.

I know that I’m an artist of some type and I know I’m from Cork.

However, I’m also well aware that, as things stand, the likelyhood of the future I personally strive for in my fields of interest isn’t possible here. That is often the truth to the young people of Ireland. It’s difficult to reconcile.

You’ve played Hausu collective shows as well as Ghostking shows in the likes of Cyprus Avenue, Fred Zeppelins, and the Poor Relation.

With an exciting upcoming gig in The Roundy with Damsel and Arthur Valentine I wondered - do you have a favourite spot to play in Cork?

Cork’s venue situation can be… shakey. Luckily we haven’t seen many closures in the last couple of years, but we’ve lost a lot of great spots over the last 4 or 5.

As it stands, The Good Room’s takeover of The Kino has turned it into an incredible spot for a show.

That ence the my

being said, Plugd’s presabove The Roundy and crowd it draws holds heart without question.

You’ve been massively involved in your GKID bandmate’s Alex Gough’s recent rise in the Irish music scene.

How do you balance playing guitar and producing for others while also remaining focused on your own projects?

Alex’s success has been pretty wild for everyone involved. I can only hope I have the honour of watching some of the other acts I involve myself with find the same heights.

The balance found itself quite naturally, I entered into a state of

19 solitary work to find the sound of my next project, while Alex’s band facilitated me getting back on big stages and feeling that forward momentum. It let me scratch both itches. As for producing for other people, that’s some of the most fun I have. I’ll always be plugging that into whatever time I have.

What are your goals for GKID for 2020? Are there any shows or projects you’re particularly looking forward to for the next year?

Honestly, just being back and consistent with the best stuff I’ve made to date. With the time investment I made in 2019, I’m in a place to craft some of my best art and get it all out in 2020. That comes first, and then aligning shows and other boons alongside it should be an easier case.

The Irish music scene appears to be at an endlessly flourishing and inclusive point in terms of diverse genres and creative endeavours. As one of such artists what are your thoughts on the music coming out of the country at the minute and have you any favourite (Cork-based or otherwise) artists contributing to this phenomenon?

It’d be easy to wax about some of the cats who are already making it, or people on the come up, or of course my beautiful Hausu boys. However, word to everyone doing it on the smallest scale.

Playing gigs in small venues and pubs, doing their own songs at open mic nights. Generating and fostering the culture at the grassroots level facilitates growth for everyone, today they’re doing that and next year they could be playing the 3 arena, who knows.

People with tenacity working hard and maintaining the scene even just by virtue of making music are the glue.

Also, word to all the lads creating absolutely bizarre and cool stuff purely for themselves and whoever cares to listen.

Your Dollar Pickle Records, Post-Punk Podge, Messyng, Acid Granny, etc. That’s art.

photo credit to Bartek Gruba/Hausu

Food and Health

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Treats to Make Your Valentine Weak Writes Laura A. Edgerton, Ballymaloe Graduate

Treating your Valentine to a sweet treat in Cork City doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, these budget-friendly picks will leave you smelling of roses.

The Chocolate Shop

Crawford Gallery Café

Casanova Gelato is great place to indulge this Valentine’s Day, with classic and fresh takes on gelato flavors. Sit down at the 13 George’s Quay location and savour one of their decadent sundaes, made with all-natural, organic gelato that will set you back between €5.95€6.95. It’s an inexpensive Valentine’s Day date, with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Crawford Gallery Café will win over your art-lovin’ honey,

with a beautiful slice of freshly made cake for €4.80 and a €2.20 cup of Barry’s tea served in a fine china cup. Parlay the classy but not fussy atmosphere of the café into the gallery, which is free to explore and makes for an exceptionally cheap Valentine’s day experience that feels luxurious.

Son of a Bun allows you the opportunity to pretend you’re at a 50’s diner, sharing a massive milkshake with two oversized straws for €5.50. The

The Cupcake Cottage

milkshakes may just be the best in Cork, and all the flavors are delicious, especially the Oreo.

The Chocolate Shop at the English Market carries local and exotic bars and bites from around the world. If you’re buying for someone with specific dietary needs, you’ll find vegan, dairy, sugar and soy free chocolates at this stand. For just €6 you can pick up a small box of 6-7 assorted chocolates or if your sweetie has an adventurous palate, why

not pick up a Willie’s Cacao white chocolate matcha green tea bar for €2.75 or a Menakao coconut milk and vanilla bar €4.50?

The Cupcake Cottage is the place to go if you’re looking to take home a few perfect cupcakes, with freshly baked sponge, unique flavors, and spot on decorations, these cupcakes are made with love and care. Popular flavors include red velvet, vanilla 99s and lemon cheesecake, and all of the cupcakes are priced at €2.40.

Editor: Katie Kelly

The Facts about Fats

Writes Katie Kelly, Food and Health Editor

Sparkling for your Sweetie

Writes Laura A. Edgerton, Ballymaloe Graduate Cava generally hails from the Catalonia region of Spain. Both cava and champagne are produced in the same way, with the bubbles naturally emerging after a second fermentation that occurs inside the bottle. Cava must be aged for a minimum of 9 months. Although its been around for about 150 years, the name cava was only coined in the 1970’s so it hasn’t had the time to be namechecked in novels and drank consistently by royals and celebrities as champagne, and it’s lack of notoriety has keep prices down on this high-quality sparkling wine.

Budget Pick: Contevedo Cava Brut, Aldi, €11.29

Do fats make us fat? What are “bad” fats? And are there really such things as “good” fats? With so much confusion and fearmongering surrounding this nutrient, it can be hard to know what to believe.

To simplify things, fat is a macronutrient which our bodies need to carry out certain functions, in the same way it needs carbohydrates and protein to carry out others.

The fat on our bodies is not solely due to consuming dietary fat either. When we consume calories in any form (from protein, fats or carbohydrates) in excess of our bodies’ requirements, it is converted to adipose tissue (i.e body fat) for storage. Fats have an important role in the diet, as they provide energy and are needed for the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. They are also required for energy, insulation of the body, protection of organs and the production of cell membranes in our bodies.

The trouble occurs when we consume too much of this macronutrient, or more specifically too much of the so-called “bad” forms of it. It is important to remember that no single food or nutrient is technically “good” or “bad” and it is the overall balance and quality of the diet which matters. However, when it comes to fats, the terms “good fats” and “bad fats” are sometimes used to distinguish between the different forms, as they have different effects on our bodies.

Saturated fats and trans fats are sometimes referred to as “bad” fats. Eating too much of these fats on a regular basis may have long-term impacts on our health and is linked with a higher risk of heart disease. Trans fats are found in cakes, biscuits and fried foods, while saturated fats are found in foods such as butter, coconut oil, pastries and in fatty meats. This does not mean that you have to avoid these foods for the rest your life, just that you should try to limit your con-

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Champagne is often used as a catch-all term for any sparkling wine, but unless it comes from the champagne region of France, under law, it cannot be called champagne.

Created accidentally in 1693 by the now famous monk, Dom Perignon, champagne has been in vogue as a celebratory drink for the last three hundred years. All champagne ages a minimum of 15 months before the cork is popped. There are less expensive French sparkling (mousseux) wines worth considering, like Crémant, made to the same high standards without the high price tag.

Budget pick: Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut, Aldi, €19.99

sumption of them where possible.

Current guidelines recommend reducing our intake of saturated fats and replacing them with unsaturated fats to reduce the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease. Unsaturated fats are sometimes referred to as “good” fats. These include monounsaturated fats, which are found in foods such as avocados, almonds, hazelnuts and olive oil. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in oily fish, nuts and seeds. Omega-3

fatty acids are a specific type of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Oily fish is a particularly good source of these, and it is recommended to consume two portions of oily fish per week for heart health.

So, in the end it all comes back to following the healthy eating guidelines and enjoying things in moderation! Remember that fat going into your mouth is not the same as the fat found on your body and try not to be scared by demonisation of this nutrient in the media.

Prosecco started in Italy but is now produced in countries like Australia and Brazil. If you’re looking for the real thing, search for a bottle that has a DOC or DOCP sticker as this certifies quality and Italian production. There is no aging requirement for prosecco and its meant to be consumed as soon as it’s purchased. This sparkling wine is made in a different method than cava or champagne, with the second fermentation occurring in a vat, and the wine is then bottled under pressure creating a variation in bubble aggressiveness. Sugar is added to prosecco in the vat, and as a result prosecco can vary widely from bone dry to candy-like sweet.

Budget Pick: Grifon Prosecco Frizzante, Supervalu €11.99

Film & T.V.

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8 Movies Destined to Fail in 2020 Writes Eoghan Creedon, Film & TV Editor

With a new year comes a whole new plethora of movies for viewers to indulge on. 2019 boasted a superb offering of movies.

Viewers and fans of all genres were spoiled for choice. Comic book fans got to experience the conclusion of the infinity saga with Avengers: Endgame, Sci Fi fans got to say goodbye to the Skywalker saga with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, horror fans were allowed to be scared senseless with the likes of Midsommar and Ready or Not, and we all got to rekindle our childhoods with the likes of Toy Story 4, The Lion King and Aladdin.

2019 was truly a great year for cinema. However, 2020 doesn’t seem to be as promising. At least at this stage that is. Moviegoers are always looking for the next big thing, the next epic franchise which they can speculate and theorise for hours over. They look for movies where strong bonds and lifelong relationships can be built over. Most of all, they want to be entertained. However, the

slate of movies set to hit the big screen in 2020 don’t seem to allow for any of that to happen.

While there is always room for greatly appreciated surprise hits, they are not able to be predicted.

The name is pretty self-explanatory; surprise hit. On the other hand, some movies are much easier to predict whether they’re going to soar to the top of the box office or sink like a stone.

Let’s look at 8 movies that are destined to bomb in 2020.

8) Morbius People say that Marvel movies are untouchable and that anything with their name attached to it is a success. That is all about to change with Morbius. Morbius will see everyone’s favourite Joker, Jared Leto, take on the role of Michael Morbius, the Living Vampire. Based on the recent trailer, the movie appears to have less than no plot. Over the next couple of months, expect to hear countless stories of Jared Leto going completely method by getting fangs surgically em-

bedded into his gums, sleeping during the day whilst hanging upside down or intentionally making himself blind because, you know… bats, only to be completely disappointed and underwhelmed by yet another comic book origin movie. That’s all it is, another origin movie. Surely the world is sick of them by now.

Sexy vampires and sexy Jared Leto; Marvel and Sony have just made the hottest movie of 2009.

7) The Invisible Man Not to be confused with the movie that was supposed to star Johnny Depp as part of the wet fart that was Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’. This iteration of The Invisible Man is set to star Elizabeth Moss, with modern horror icon Leigh Whannell at the helm.

While this movie does have the potential to be a great psychological horror, forcing us to ask ourselves questions about our own psyche and the state of our mental wellbeing, it is extremely important to remember one thing; this is a Blumhouse movie.

Blumhouse are very well capable of making well-produced, well-acted, profitable horror movies. Just look at Get Out, Split and Sinister to name a few. However, while Blumhouse are capable of making that calibre of horror movie, they don’t do it enough.

Their track record has more negatives than positives. For every Get Out you have a Ma, for every Split you have a Glass, for every Sinister you have a Truth or Dare. The list sadly goes on.

Keep in mind this is the same production company that produced all 47,000 Paranormal Activity movies. The Invisible Man is set to be a better produced, better shot, better acted Paranormal Activity movie, and I think we can all agree that the world does not need another Paranormal Activity movie.

6) Coming 2 America Belated sequels are always a tricky business. Take Blade Runner for example. That movie has been adored by such a loyal legion of

Editor: Eoghan Creedon fans for decades, yet when Blade Runner 2049 came out in 2017, absolutely no one went to see it.

It’s as if that loyal legion of fans were simply not bothered about it. If a 30-year gap between Blade Runner movies couldn’t work, what on earth makes you think that a 30-year gap between Coming to America movies could work.

Eddie Murphy no longer holds the star power he once held 30 years ago. Those who weren’t around in the 80s simply know him as the voice of Donkey from Shrek.

It is highly unlikely that moviegoers will come out in droves to watch Donkey attempt to make a bit that barely worked in the 80s, work for modern audiences.

5) Impractical Jokers: The Movie Impractical Jokers has been on the air since 2011. That’s 9 years.

Is that not mind blowing to you?

For those that don’t know what it is, Impractical Jokers is a hidden camera prank show where 4 friends give each other embarrassing tasks to complete in front of the unsuspecting public.

You’re probably thinking “how can they make a full-length movie about that?”, and you’re absolutely right. How can they make a fulllength Impractical Jokers movie?

Why would they make a full-length Impractical Jokers movie? They ran out of ideas for the TV show about 5 years ago. Normally, that is a sign that you should end things. Not make a bloody movie.

We’ll all be laughing at Impractical Jokers: The Movie, but for all the wrong reasons.

4) West Side Story The adaption of stage musicals to the big screen has a mixed history to say the least. For every timeless classic like Grease or Mamma Mia, you have Les Misérables or, God forbid, Cats.

West Side Story is a remake of the 1961 classic, which deals with serious topics such as street crime, gang violence, classism, racism and sudden outbursts of singing and dancing. However, musicals are not a big hit with modern audiences. While Mamma Mia 2: Here we go again made a very healthy worldwide gross of $395 million on a $75 million budget, that had the timeless classics of Abba songs to fall back on. What does West Side Story have other than synchronised finger snapping? It’s not an unreasonable assumption that the West Side Story remake will not perform like the Mamma Mia sequel, but more like Les Misérables.

It can’t be worse than Cats though.

Right?

3) Top Gun: Maverick Here’s yet another 30-year belated sequel. Top Gun (1986) is regarded by many as a quintessential 80s movie. The bromance between Tom Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman is the stuff of legends.

But does the world really need another Top Gun movie? Top

Gun (1986) is very much a relic of its time and it can’t even bask in the wave of 80s nostalgia as people are now sick of that. Paramount have not made a movie for Top Gun fans; they have made a movie because Tom Cruise probably wanted to fly a fighter jet.

2) Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog has already gone down in infamy, and it hasn’t even released yet. The movie is best known for making the iconic video game character look so terrible that it resulted is so much fan backlash that they had to change the entire character model.

It is highly commendable that the director took fans’ opinions to heart and decided to change it to make it more in line with the character’s original look. Which begs the question, if it could be done, why was it not done in the first place?

The redesign was so strenuous, that visual effects company, Moving Picture Company Vancouver, had to shut down as they ran out of money. That is both tragic and hilarious.

With all the attention around the redesign of Sonic, a key issue seems to have fallen by the wayside: this is a movie about a blue hedgehog that runs fast. How in the name of Christ are you supposed to make a cohesive story out of that? You can’t just have him run around and collect rings for 2 hours. Sure, throw a moustache on Jim Carey and tell him to be Jim Carey for a bit, while James Marsden drives a ball of blue fur around. There’s your movie, enjoy.

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Personal side note; I would much rather have seen this movie with the original character design. The movie is going to be terrible either way, I mean you might as well go full hog.

1) New Mutants New Mutants had to be at number one. Fox had such little faith in this movie that they pushed its release back by not once, not twice, not thrice, but four separate times. We have all seen this story before. Set in the X-Men universe, the movie is set to follow a group of students who attend a school which helps them harness and understand their powers. But this time, its spooky.

Fox obviously had a reason for consistently delaying the movie’s release. If it weren’t for Disney’s recent acquisition of Fox, we might never have seen New Mutants.

Who knows, maybe that reality might have been for the better?

New Mutants has been delayed for so long that the then teenagers now have full time jobs, families and are struggling to pay off their mortgages. At this stage it really doesn’t matter if the movie is any good or not. The movie has been in development hell for so long that seemingly both fans and the studio have lost all interest. Disney are probably just releasing the movie so they can free up some space on their hard drive and want to forget that this movie ever existed.

Music

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The Portrait of an Artist in the 21st Century; Music Collectives, Spotify, and the ways in which it’s all changing for the better Writes Fiona O’Connell, Music Editor

The rise of the music collective both on a national and international scale has been nothing short of meteoric and entirely revolutionary in terms of the way artists are represented and promoted in the music industry.

The aim of such collectives is essentially to provide strength in numbers; booking gigs is easier with a few names on the poster and music is more efficiently circulated when promoted by a number of like-minded individuals. The coming together of a group of said like-minded individuals is fundamental to the ethos of the music collective.

The bringing together of creative minds can make for both exciting musical collaborations as well as better, fully-fleshed out creative endeavours both more accessible to, and easier carried out by a group as opposed to the solo artist. This idea of the collective is not solely associated with music, they have popped up in many of

the art industries and continue to grow as both a trend and industry hack, if you will. It is easy to see how they have revolutionized the ways in which artists can market and promote themselves and their art independently, without need for an agent or manager.

The way in which we consume music is a hugely controversial topic in regards to our modern 21st century lifestyle (we need not delve into the ways Spotify have flipped this act on its head entirely). An element of streaming services less talked about however, is the fact that they allow any individual to upload their music onto the site. In 2018 the site trialled a beta feature in which artists could upload their music directly to the platform in the same way Soundcloud functions. In July 2019 this feature was removed and the site opted for giving certified distributors the exclusive rights to upload the music of their artists.

Some of the most frequently used distributors include the likes of Distrokid or Landr who charge artists a relatively small fee after which they can upload directly from their laptops to the distribution site and then to Spotify.

As much as the distributors are essentially just another hurdle to jump before getting music out there, it is still incredibly easy for one to upload music to the most used music streaming platform in the world, perhaps without even having step foot in a recording studio. That in itself would have been completely unheard of twenty years ago. As an artist, it feels like a huge privilege to be producing music in such a time, liberated with such huge creative freedom.

When we talk about this newly presented creative freedom, that’s not just in reference to the music. Technological advancements have allowed for the development of the likes of Canva,

a free, online graphic template site through which anyone can become a graphic design artist.

Literally anyone. The site allows for even the least capable buffoon to design and customise graphic images that can be used for any form of promotional services without paying a cent. This allows even further creative freedom to the artist, allowing musicians not only to produce and release their own music but also to design the accompanying visual art or promotional images for the single/ EP/album etc. At a time where image and the construction of a visual aesthetic is so highly valued, tools like Canva and Photoshop are invaluable in the creation of such an identity, allowing the artist almost full control over how they are perceived.

But where does the music collective play into all of this? Predominantly; promotion. Having a team of let’s say 10, with a collective

Editor: Fiona O’ Connell Instagram following of, let’s say 1’000, share your song on their story will rack up more numbers than the artist sharing it on their personal every day for a month.

Advertising a gig in a locally respected venue with a lineup of local artists is more likely to attract a crowd than the individual playing in their local cafe. This can be seen both here in Ireland and also on a global scale. In Cork City for example, in the last year alone, music collectives have made up a hugely significant portion of successful gigs in the city while highlighting some of the best talent all over the city. Let’s look at three of the best, for argument’s sake - Hausu, Angry Mom Collective, Teletext Records; three different outlooks and objectives all while racking in significant numbers of views and plays on their content.

Each cater for the music-lover’s needs, putting on shows to promote their artists and their material. But what’s in it for them you ask? An enriched music scene, filled with independent artists given the platform they deserve to release and promote their music to a wider audience. The ethos of the music collective is one of a shared musical experience, which is really what it all comes down to.

issues including what it means to be Irish, drug culture in the country today, as well as, and perhaps most significantly, mental health.

The naming of the collective actually came from an idea of attempting to not let oneself ‘harden up’, to remain soft and vulnerable; a notion many men have struggled with leading to higher rates of mental health issues both here in Ireland and on a global scale.

One of the most significant in the country today is Soft Boy Records.

Founded by Dublin rapper Kojaque and friend Kean Kavanagh, Soft Boy records has provided a platform in which the pair, along with some of their closest friends, can promote, release, and share their music with the world. In the music endorsed by the label, Kojaque and friends have tackled

In the same realm as the likes of Hausu and Teletext, Soft Boy Records functions without a lot of money or any form of funding. In a mini documentary about SBR, Kojaque states openly that a lot of the reason the collective has remained within the four walls of Ireland is financial. Lack of funding can put huge strain on creative endeavours such as found-

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ing your own collective and/or label. These phenomenal initiatives could flourish with funding or financial aid from the likes of the Arts council. As clichéd as it is obvious however, with great power, in the form of such artistic freedom and creative license, comes great responsibility. While the DIY element and attitude of this new generation of collective-founders and bedroom-pop producers is hugely liberating, it does make an artist entirely accountable for their choices and finances. It is important still, to remember that initiatives such as SBR or Teletext have totally enriched the music scene in their respective Dublin and Cork. In the mini documentary on SBR, Kojaque cites the collective’s aim as world domination, and honestly - they’re not far off it.

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Photos

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

Main Campus

by Caoimhe Leahy, University Express Photographer

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

General Election 2020 Debate Night

by Caoimhe Leahy, University Express Photographer

Photos

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SEXPRESS

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An Opinion Piece: Sex and the ill Body Writes Caoimhe Battault, Sexpress Editor

Trigger warning: body dysmorphia; illness.

My body is not my own.

This is a problem I know most people deal with in their lives, me included, for whatever reason. We are constantly shown a surface level appreciation for our bodies while a deep-rooted hatred is engrained into our brains. I’ve always hated myself in some way or another, my shape, my colouring, my weight, individual body parts.

I’ve even hated myself for caring, telling myself I am so stupidly shallow. Body dysmorphia has been my reality for as long as I can remember seeing myself. But then I lost my body. I got sick, a sickness which was all consuming.

I lost the ability to eat, to drink, to stand, to wash myself. The body I had fought with for so long had completely retaliated against me.

A rebellion against a ruler who had no regard for their subjects.

Stephen’s Johnson’s syndrome (SJS) is a rare illness which takes hold very quickly, so fast I could see the sores develop before my eyes, literally watch as my arms and hands and face started to dis-

tort, no longer my imagination but a real life threatening change.

This isn’t about dealing with the initial diagnosis or the long-lasting effects of being diagnosed with a life-long syndrome. This is about what this shit shit shit illness did to my sex life. My lovely, happy sex life. A sex life, I dare to say, I thrived in and adored.

I have the most beautiful partner.

He is my best friend and the most gorgeous person I know; he makes my days happy, he is warmth and love and sunshine for me.

He has always loved and adored me, made me, even as someone who hated the sight of myself, excited to be with him. Excited to have a body which he can touch and kiss and love. Throughout our two-year relationship I have been learning that my body didn’t have to change for me to love it, my mind did. I was healthy, I was capable. I could run, dance, kiss, have sex, laugh, eat. Those things are magical, those things make life worthwhile and they are reasons to adore yourself. But

that progress regressed massively in April 2019, when I awoke in his bed a different person.

The physical changes SJS causes are mostly just scars left from the sores. My arms, face and legs now leopard spotted with raw red. They will eventually fade completely, reappear for another breakout and I will have to wait for them to disappear again.

My face healed up quick (no one can tell me it’s not because of my immaculate skincare routine, I won’t listen to you) but now that my arms and legs have started to clear up again I still find myself covering up head to toe for every night out, every occasion.

That wasn’t the biggest battle.

It was the weight gain. I was on steroids for over six months, so I gained weight quicker than ever before in my life. I felt my ever familiar unhealthy thoughts crawl back from whatever dungeon I had banished them to: you’d think with a sickness that stops you eating you might get skinny (evil word), you thought you

were fat before? My skin changed even more: deep, purple stretch marks, which I had never experienced before covered my skin like a map of rivers and roads, winding and twisting leading to nowhere. My stomach, my thighs, my hips, even my arms, my chest.

My boyfriend tried to tell me: Caoimhe, if you saw another woman who looked like you, you would know she was beautiful. I knew this too. Stretch marks are not ugly. Weight is not ugly. Red scars are not ugly. There are no ugly bodies. Except mine. Mine was terrible. Mine was an abomination, an assault on the eyes. I no longer wanted him to lie to me, to adore me, worship my shape, my body. He was a liar. I knew he couldn’t like me. I felt guilty for keeping him, forcing him to be with me. That’s when I completely lost my body. I would try on clothes I had for years and they wouldn’t make it up my thighs, I would cry. I would berate myself.

I hated me again. I didn’t know myself; I couldn’t do what I had

Editor: Caoimhe battault always done. I was out of breath quicker, slept more, no longer wanted to swim, didn’t want to punish others with my body.

I would have sex. But for so many reasons it wasn’t the same. I was no longer confident, no longer felt this was a joy both parties were gaining from. I constantly worried about how this must have been shit for him, he used to have a confident, gorgeous little girlfriend. That’s who he fell in love with, not me. I was a different person, I did not deserve him.

Then the pain started. Like a wall inside me. Searing, screaming, not possible to endure. Of course, he did not push, he would be devastated to hurt me, even when its not his fault. I cried about it, a lot. Why was this happening now? Was I not dealing with enough shit? Was enough not taken from me? Was sex, something else I loved, off limits to me now too? I feared losing him because of this. It made me retreat, snap at him, I built up a protective wall to prepare myself for his imminent desertion of me.

I had been covered in sores, the illness effects your mucus membrane: my nose, my mouth and of course, my vulva. But they had cleared up. I had talked to the doctor and they told me it was possibly permanent internal scaring. Possible permanent pain.

This news threw me further away from my boyfriend. I fought with him for the first time over nothing. Picked and poked him, trying to make him hate me, give up on me. Leave me already. Obviously, he didn’t, he worked harder to help me. Never pressured, never pushed. I’m sure it actually made him feel more attached to me. He wanted to help me find myself again. He loves me and he knows I love him. He wanted to keep that.

Things developed and the trigger for my illness (we think and hope) has been discovered.

Thankfully, this explained the pain and it wasn’t permanent. In fact, I can use this pain as an indicator for when to get help. This has helped me, in a lot of ways, I no longer worry about an unexpected flare up, I know what to look for, I know how to take care

of myself. Things are getting better. I am starting to become myself again. Not that my body is changing, my brain is. And that’s hard, everyone knows that. And I am beyond lucky with the friends I have, the boyfriend I have and the amazing family I have. Regaining ownership of my body is something that’s gone hand in hand with regaining my confidence with sex. It will be a process which will take a long time, but something I am prepared to do. I will no longer punish myself for having changed, but instead praise myself for what my body has gone through and persevered.

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If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article the following organisations may be able to help: Samaritans Ireland: 116 123 Sexual Health Centre Cork: 021 427 66 76 UCC Crisis Text Line: 086 1800 280

Gaming

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Women in Esports Writes Jack Coleman, Gaming Editor

In the modern era of sport, the majority of traditional sports are segregated based on gender. This is due to the inherent physiological differences between the two sexes which would make competition unbalanced. Sports where these differences play a smaller role, like darts and snooker, often have their premier competitions open to both men and women. However, even in these sports we unfortunately still see fewer women than men competing at the highest levels. Research suggests that this is likely due to fewer women, in general, participating in sport due to social, individual and environmental factors. Attempts have been made to encourage female participation in sport, but this type of fundamental change takes time and it will almost certainly take generations for gender participation in sport to be equalised.

The disparity in participation doesn’t apply to the relatively new medium of video games, however. Despite the popular misconception that gaming is primarily a male hobby, studies show that the ratio of male to female players is actually much closer to 50/50.

This equality doesn’t carry over into the competitive side of vid-

eo gaming, however, esports is undoubtedly a male-dominated endeavour and it’s exceedingly rare to even see one female player playing at the highest level.

This isn’t an area where a lot of academic research has been conducted, but several reasons have been proposed for this disparity.

Firstly, there is a lack of female role-models in esports. Not only are there very few women professional players, but we also don’t see many women in supporting roles like coaching, management etc. which can give the impression that it’s unrealistic for women to pursue a career in esports.

Another potential reason is social attitudes towards video gaming, where it is primarily seen as a hobby for young men. This can discourage women from attending LANs, esports parties, competitions etc. due to the social pressure and the fear of being judged.

General sexist attitudes in the gaming community have also been cited as a reason. These reasons, among others, have had the knock-on effect of many women seeing professional gaming and esports as unrealistic career paths.

In order to encourage female participation in esports, there have been several attempts to establish all-female leagues and competitions. This isn’t unheard of even in other sports where physicality isn’t a factor. For example, chess has highly-respected female-only competitions. Ju Wenjun just defended her hotly-contested title of women’s world champion during the 2020 Women’s World Chess Championships in January.

All-female competitions are not as well-established or as well-respected in esports, however.

The “Women’s Esports League” was a recent attempt at establishing a regular women’s competition in the League of Legends scene. The first season of the league took place over two months in early 2019. Some prominent organisations decided to field teams despite the small prize pool. These included Beşiktaş, Singularity and Out of the Blue, the esports division of European aviation giants Airbus.

The event was a relative success with Out of the Blue coming out on top, but it failed to attract significant attention. A second season of the competition has not

been announced, almost a year since the inaugural season ended.

The problem with these leagues is that they’re not profitable due to low viewership and engagement by fans. Esports viewers generally seek the highest level of competition possible, and through streaming, this is always readily available to them. The level of competition in all-female leagues has always been much lower than in the game’s premier competitions. The gulf in skill is especially noticeable because of in-game ranking systems that many games possess. It’s very simple to find out the ranks of the players you’re watching and aside from a few outliers, many of the female players aren’t ranked in the top divisions of their respective games which reduces the prestige of these competitions in the eyes of viewers.

That doesn’t mean these efforts shouldn’t be supported, however. Even if they aren’t well-supported or followed by the general community, these competitions have encouraged many women to pursue at least temporary careers in the esports industry and this, in turn, encourages more wom-

Editor: Jack coleman en to get involved in the future.

Take Stephanie “MissHarvey” Harvey, for example. MissHarvey spent several years playing for Counter Logic Gaming’s female Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) team, CLG: Red. She achieved great success in the game’s female circuit, becoming world champion five times. After she ended her playing career, she transitioned to a management role within the organisation as the Director of Esports Franchise Development & Outreach.

CLG: Red is still active and supporting young women in esports, and that should be commended.

Despite the barriers facing women in esports, it’s not completely unheard of for a woman to become an elite player. Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon is an example of a woman who has reached the top tier of competition in her game,

Overwatch. Geguri is a 20-yearold Korean off-tank player currently playing for the Shanghai Dragons, a team competing in the Overwatch League (the biggest competition in Overwatch).

Her username is a misspelling of the Korean word for frog (gaeguri) which has led to her fans affectionately calling her Frog and waving frog signs during her matches to show support. Since her debut, Geguri has become one of the League’s most popular players due to her aggressive playstyle and bubbly personality.

However, even an elite player like Geguri has had to face prejudice to her gender. Several prominent community members claimed she was “aim-botting” in her games and promised to quit the game if she proved them wrong. Geguri recorded herself playing while a camera recorded her mouse hand to prove her skill was legit-

imate. Many of her accusers did end up quitting Overwatch due to the significant backlash they received from the community. As we gear up for Overwatch League Season 3, Geguri is still an active player for the Shanghai Dragons.

Geguri’s story is inspiring and it isn’t the only recent triumph for women in esports. Though the situation seemed dire for many years, there has been a noticeable increase in the presence of women in esports in many different roles and across many different regions. Two League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) teams have appointed female CEOs ahead of their 2020 seasons, Nicole LaPointe Jameson was appointed the CEO of Evil Geniuses and Tricia Sugita is the new CEO of FlyQuest. Since last year, former esports journalist Kelsey Moser has been the head

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coach of the academy team of 100 Thieves, another LCS outfit.

The broadcast for the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) prominently features women, with Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere hosting the event, Laure Valeé conducting interviews and Indiana “Froskurrin” Black working as a caster. In the area of esports journalism, there are highly-respected talents like Ashley Kang and Emily Rand producing great content on a daily basis.

With women like these leading the way, the future of women in the esports industry looks bright.

If we can tackle issues like prejudicial attitudes and can start actively supporting women looking to get involved in the industry, then there’s no reason why esports can’t become the most equal-opportunity sport out there.

Fashion

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Louise Kavanagh Interview Writes Katie Burke, Fashion Editor

In a world heavily influenced by social media and where every blogger seems to be wearing the same trends, it can be refreshing to find an Instagram feed fuelled by colour, creativity and uniqueness. Someone who fully encapsulate this vibe is Louise Kavanagh (@louiseagh_ on Instagram), an Irish fashion designer and stylist, specialising in embroidery, appliqué and beading. With dramatic headpieces, handcrafted showstopping outfits, and colourful makeup looks, Louise’s embodies the fun and adventurous sense of fashion that many people can only dream of.

were just from talking to people.

I landed a freelance position with [designer] Christian Cowan when I first got here by finding a mutual friend who worked with him. I went to a party, introduced myself, and I showed up a week later. I’ve worked on several shoots for Vogue which I also landed from being friends with a guy I knew from a styling job I did in Ireland two years ago”. In a time where connections seem to solely be made on social media, Louise challenged this by making her mark in person. “Surprisingly, a lot of my connections have come sometimes from waitressing, -working in midtown has introduced me to meeting connections who are costumers on Broadway or TV productions. I would have to say who you know plays a massive role on where you want to get to”.

With such a talent for pulling off extravagant looks, it’s easy to think that fashion was always Louise’s primary career goal, but she says this was not always the case. “Growing up I wasn’t aware of what ‘fashion’ was, I just really enjoyed dressing up from a young age and it continued on throughout my teens. I was very involved in drama and of course the dressing up element. When it came time to go to college, I turned down the opportunity to go to drama school and went to art school to study fashion [instead]”.

Having worked in the fashion industry in both Ireland and abroad, for Louise the biggest difference between the two industries is the imbalance of job opportunities and monetary support for fashion graduates to help make their dreams come alive in their home country. “I crave for the booming industry you see in New York and London to happen at home in Ireland. We have so many talented design graduates whom all move abroad soon/straight after graduation to seek employment because these are the cities where we can afford to make a wage for ourselves with the skills we have”.

Many of us base our perceptions of the fashion industry on pieces of popular culture, such as The Devil Wears Prada. Having worked in the fast pace of New York, the advice Louise has for

anyone hoping to make their mark there is to see beyond the glossy exteriors. “What people don’t share online is their second or third job they might have to support themselves. So, one thing is to not beat yourself up if you’re working 3 jobs when it looks like everyone just has one job – they nine times out of ten times don’t!”.

In a demanding industry, it can be easy to not want to rock the boat but for Louise self-respect is everything, “If they aren’t paying your bills (or barely paying your bills) pay them no mind.

Sometimes in this industry peo-

ple get carried away with saying “YES” to every opportunity, even unpaid, and the more you say yes, the more that is expected of you”. Today, people are constantly burnt out from trying to juggle it all and Louise’s advice is to “be careful in these situations and respect your time and creativity and don’t allow yourself to get too burned out in the beginning while you’re young -this industry is a marathon not a race”.

In spite of all this, Louise has had some incredible career highlights. “All the opportunities I’ve ever come about in New York

America has had a big influence on Louise’s life since she was a child, influencing her Make America Fake Again collection.

Influenced by the clothing stories from classic Hollywood movies, and Sex and the City; the reality of New York was slightly different to the glitzy version one might expect. “Living in New York is nothing like the ‘American dream” it’s made out to be in the movies…one minute your dressed in all black bartending and then later that night your sitting in a VIP booth with Amanda Lepore, Mark Ronson and Violet Chatcki dressed head to toe in glue gunned feathers looking like a million dollars. It’s kind of fabulous”.

Having worked on projects surrounding the Repeal the 8th campaign, and her work questioning the reality of the American Dream, would Louise consider her work to be inherently political? “I guess politics for some is a very touchy subject and people therefore can end up hiding their opinions when really we should be openly talking about current political climates when it affects our futures…The world doesn’t need another t-shirt so as a designer I prefer to create

Editor: Katie Burke things that create conversation”.

Another huge political topic today is climate change. Sustainability is important to Louise, especially in terms of re-using fabric to create new items and shopping primarily in second hand or vintage stores.

“One quarrel I have with sustainability is that a lot of the sustainable branded shops I visit are all very minimalist, whereas I am very much a maximalist”, but it is still important to Louise that she makes an effort to make her extravagant style eco-friendly where she can and try to experiment more with print now rather than items covered in plastic sequins.

With such a loud style, clear fashion influences for Louise are drag and rave cultures; something she immersed herself in while living in New York. “I love seeing the New York city drag queens perform because they’re so glamorous-they build their own wigs and make their own costumes and they always have something very inspiring to say. Their style has influenced me in how I now like to play around with makeup as a woman from a drag perspective”.

Louise frequented a club in New York called LeBain, a club kid night where you’re only allowed in based on your outfit. This challenged Louise to put her design

skills to good use, as she and her friends trawled charity shops to find an item to rework into one of their elaborate get-ups. For Louise, events such as these, reminiscent of how you would imagine Studio 54 to be and drag shows beyond the realms of Ru Paul’s Drag Race are so much more than pop culture commodities.

“I really think the drag scene is so conceptual and hard working -it’s not just a man in a wig after dark playing around with makeup, it’s a form of performance art and the best queens always have something inspiring to say”.

Now home from New York, Louise has set her sights on the cos-

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tume industry. “I recently took a trip to LA to see all the vintage and costume stores and was amazed that costumers have the job (and budget) of going to these stores after research and buying pieces to add on to the character they’re building”. The bottom line will always be sustainability and creativity for Louise, as she says, “I feel like costume might be a great way to remain creative and sustainable as its not contributing to a mass production. I hope wherever my craft takes me, I want to always stay educated on the topic of sustainability as it is so important for young designers -and way more innovative!”.

Arts & Literature

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All Aboard Flight EI 164 for A Holy Show Writes Fiona Keeley, Arts & Literature Editor

Described as a collision between Father Ted and Airplane by Verdant Productions, A Holy Show tells the story of a 1981 Aer Lingus plane hijack in a warm and humorous way. It takes characters created by writer and director Janet Moran and brings them to life onstage through the talents of Roseanna Purcell and Mark Fitzgerald. This play brought tears of laughter to my eyes and made me kneel over with laughter, as I recognised phrases I would have grown up with in my own childhood. Despite the warm, comedic value of play there are some sobering lines from characters that remind you about some of the horrors in Ireland in 1981. These lines are skilfully placed in the script when we learn more about the characters onstage. While it is a comedy production, the lines serve as a reminder that there is a more sinister reason that some of these characters leaving Ireland. I had listened to this show on the radio in October 2019 and I was really excited to see how it was going to be created onstage.

Based on a true story, many will remember reports about this event appearing on news screens

around Ireland nearly forty years ago. Flight EI 164 from Dublin to Heathrow was taken under duress by an individual on the plane, Larry Downey, who had a bewildering agenda behind his actions.

Armed with a bottle of holy water and insisting he must speak to the Pope to find out The Third Secret of Fatima, Larry Downey acts as the antagonist in a story that begins to unfold onstage.

While history tells us a frightening tale of that day, Janet Moran has captured the essence of that story and has turned it into a play that examines relationships, life decisions and how all onboard react to the idea of the plane being hijacked. Roseanna Purcell and Mark Fitzgerald portray every character on stage to perfection. A young girl, a worried mother, and two cabin crew members that deliver some fantastic lines throughout the performance, just to name a few. I walked out of the theatre convinced that there had been at least ten actors on stage but in this case the vocal talents and acting skills of these two actors were so diverse they were able to bring so many characters to light throughout their performance.

The set design greatly added to the entire experience of watching this play. As I walked into the theatre, I could have been boarding a plane. When the set design influenced where I took my seat in the auditorium, I knew I was only at the start of a fantastic evening. I talked to writer and director of A Holy Show Janet Moran after the play to find out what it was like to prepare for this production with the cast and crew, “So we did A Holy Show twice before, in the Peacock [Theatre] in the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2018 and then again at the Edinburgh Festival last year with a different cast.

It’s been really intense because they only had two weeks to get up to speed and everything, but I couldn’t have asked for better.

I mean you saw yourself how brilliant they are, but they were so generous and kind. The other thing about this time is we have a new set design, so it was really exciting working with the set designers. [He is] a man who is just out of the Lir Academy and I think his work really elevates it as well, so it’s just been fabulous and I’m just really happy with where it is now”

A Holy Show put a touch of history into its production and interspersed digital artefacts from 1981 during the play. It brought a touch of magic to a play being performed in the 21st century when the story was set in the late 20th century and greatly contributed to its cultural context.

Watching former Minister for Transport Albert Reynolds at Le Touquet Airport in France in 1981 served to sweep me back in time to 1981. I watched those newsreels as if I was watching them on my own TV despite the fact I was not even born when flight EI 164 happened, yet that is how entranced I was with the production.

A Holy Show brings history, humour and fantastic characters together to tell the story of one ill-fated Aer Lingus airplane and the people aboard it. It explores both the behaviour of people and the results of what conversations with other characters and what being on a hijacked plane can do to all involved. This is a production not to be missed.

A Holy Show appears in the Everyman Theatre on February 17th and runs until February 20th.

Editor: Fiona Keeley

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Let’s Talk About Zines

Writes Fiona Keeley, Arts & Literature Editor itive NOW.” (Raw Power #1).

In the years afterwards, zine culture began to penetrate many different areas of social culture. In the 1980s, punkzines were published such as Maximum RocknRoll. Often abbreviated to MRR, it focused on hard rock or punk music and featured interviews with music artists of the genre.

Queercore was a social and cultural movement that grew as an offshoot of punk zine subculture in the mid-1980s. It expressed its support of the LGBTQ+ society through the creation of zines and other forms of artistic expression.

The creative process of zines is something that has existed for almost eighty years as they date back as far as the 1930s. Originally known as fanzines, this label was shortened to zines as the years moved on.

very beginning of the inspiration for zine movement. Their publications spread large ripples in their own local communities and beyond and we still see the effects of Common Sense and 95 Theses in the world today.

The difference between zines and magazines is zines are self-published works while the latter are published on a corporate scale.

The original concept of fanzines was borne out of a certain societal interest and in some cases to turn their back on the mainstream media of the time. Many people credit The Comet, a science fiction publication edited by Raymond A. Palmer and Walter Dennis, to be the first fanzine. It first came to market in 1930 as the creators encouraged by the popularity of the first science fiction magazine four years earlier. This was the first of many zines that would dive into areas of interest like science fiction and punk as the decades progressed.

Between the 1930s and 1960s zines started to become more commonplace as individuals and communities began to engage in the ever-growing trend. Within these thirty years it became much easier to produces zine literature than it had been in the early 1930s. Cheaper ways of printing had been invented and the drop in costs allowed more producers to enter the zine market. By the time the 1970s emerged, punk rock zines were starting to appear on shelves across the world. This was also the first decade that zines started to appear in Ireland. The first zine appeared in March 1977.

Raw Power by Stephen Rapid encouraged other Irish artists to join the artistic and zine movement with his introduction: “And most of all don’t sit around doing nothing. If you want to see these bands let them know, if you’re in school organize a dance, get them to play. Form your own bands if you don’t like any around at the moment. Write your own fanzine so that other people will know that there are others like them. Don’t follow fashions start your own. But do something pos-

The lineage of zines can be traces back through centuries rather than just decades. One of the main trademarks of zines is that they are self-published works and tracing our way back through history, historians look to figures like Ben Franklin with his literary publication Common Sense in 1775 and Martin Luther’s 95 Theses 1517 as being part of the

The swing of zine culture in the 1990 saw the formation of the Riot Grrrl zine Bikini Kill by the band of the same name. The Riot Grrrl movement, defined itself as a network of men and women who wanted to change societal outlook through creative means, creating zines. That movement, which started on the west coast of America expanded as the 1990s progressed.

In today’s world, zines can either be print objects found on shelves or digital literature found online. The internet has given zine producers a worldwide bookshelf to publish their product to their audience. So, what is next for zines - or perhaps e-zines - in the 21st century? While people still make print zines the advantage that the internet brings is that they can now spread the ideas in their zines to a much bigger audience. The internet allows different zine communities to connect across different cities, countries and continents transforming multiple local zine communities into one worldwide community. Print media is an important strand in the zine story, and it has not disappeared. But the reach of online presence cannot be underestimated. It can expand a zine artist’s audience to like-minded contemporaries around the world not just in their local zine communities which could serve to strengthen the spread of zine culture in years to come.

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Sports

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

UCC to face DCU in Fitzgibbon Semi Clash Writes Jack Maguire, Sports Editor

With the Fitzgibbon Cup coming to a climax, excitement is building as the semi final line ups are complete. Last Wednesday night saw the ‘clash of the colleges’ at the Mardyke. University College Dublin travelled to Leeside to take on UCC in the Fitzgibbon Cup quarter final, vying to book themselves a semi final spot and a showdown with DCU Dóchas Éireann on the 8th of February in Dublin.

After throw in the game immediately burst straight into life, and it was the Dublin College who broke first with a thundering run from Michael Cody who forced a fantastic save from UCC shot stopper Shane Hurley. The resulting 65’ was pointed by Ronan Hayes and it was first blood UCD. The Cork side wasted no time in hitting back when Conor Boylan struck a fantastic point from the

left to even the tie again. Even from this early stage it was easy to see that UCC were stronger and more confident going forward. After some quick-fire scoring from Billy Hennessy, Robbie O’Flynn and Shane Kingston, UCC raced into a three-point lead. A minute later UCD were awarded a penalty which Ronan Hayes despatched into the bottom left corner to make it a one-point game.

In usual Shane Kingston fashion, the Douglas man raced towards goal from the wing and converted a fantastic goal to put seven points between themselves and the visitors. The confidence in this UCC team was evident in their fluid movement and build up play. Whilst UCD missed several chances, UCC capitalised on all their mistakes and went into the half time break with a nine-point cushion, 1-13 to 1-4.

UCD had no scores from open play in the first half with all their scores courtesy of placed balls scored by Ronan Hayes. Just after the restart, Eamonn Egan of UCD took a heavy blow to the stomach but he soldiered on.

Mark Coleman put in a fantastic nights work, and he got the scoring up and going a minute into the second half with a brilliant point from distance. 5 minutes into the second half, UCD made a double substitution in a bid to bring the game back with McDwyer and Foley making way for O’ Flynn and Desmond. Shane Conway was very impressive from start to finish, and he knocked over six points for the Cork University. UCC never looked in any trouble as their solid defence and effortless play going forward meant there was never great pressure on them.

UCC made several changes in the

closing stages of the game with Neil Montgomery, Brian Turnbull and Bill Sheehan all making appearances. As UCC were cruising to victory, Charlie McGuckin broke through the Cork defence and netted a fine goal to bring the deficit back to five points.

That’s all there was to be, as referee Fergal Horgan blew the final whistle to confirm UCC’s progression to the penultimate tie of the competition. The final score, UCC 1-20 – 2-12 UCD. It was an exciting game despite being fairly one sided. UCC looked flawless on the attack despite the occasional misplaced ball. After Wednesday nights victory, UCC will travel to Dublin City University Sportsgrounds to take on DCU. it promises to be an intriguing contest with DCU having overcome a thrilling encounter with Waterford Institute of Technology on a scoreline of 1-23 to 2-14.

Sports

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

37

Opinion: How Jill Ellis And The USWNT Have Revolutionised Women’s Football Writes Conor Daly

Back to back world champions. Olympic champions. Arguably the highest profile women’s football league in the world. Women’s soccer in America is in an extremely strong position and a great deal of credit has to go to outgoing head coach Jill Ellis.

while the English FAWSL has just over 100,000. Admittedly one must take into account population differences however it could also be argued that the amount of English people interested in football in general is far higher than in America. This is slowly changing in the US but will always be held on a leash to some extent due to the prominence of sports like basketball, American football and so on.

Figures published in October showed that last year’s Women’s World Cup had the Players like Carli Lloyd and Alex highest viewing figures in his- Morgan have been to the foretory with over a billion peo- front of the sport’s recent rise to ple tuning into the watch the global prominence. People are tournament. Over 80 mil- starting to recognise the skill lion of those watched the fi- associated with the game and nal between the USA and the coming to the realisation that Netherlands, in which Amer- these athletes work just as hard ica retained their title and as their male counterparts. Anyexclaimed their superiority. one who watched the World Cup this past Summer will attest to The NWSL is also making huge this. Some of the games in that strides, particularly since the tournament were as good a game World Cup has peaked peo- of football as you would see anyple’s interest in the sport. where. The semi-final between While the league is currently in England and the USA stands out the off season as of the end of in particular. Both sides played October, many are excited by some impressive football and the prospect of the new season provided a fitting example in reand the impact the world cup lation to the quality of the sport. will have in terms of the overall engagement with the sport. This rise in quality could arguably be associated with teams The social media presence of trying to follow the example set the league could be one reason by America. With three world for its recent progression. The cup wins to date and a three in a NWSL instagram page has in row attempt on the cards for four excess of 320,000 followers years time, this team is undoubt-

edly setting the standard for the rest to follow. While they may be criticised at times for their arrogance, in particular their 13-0 drubbing of Thailand in the world cup, one may argue that they have earned the right to have a bit of arrogance. Without justfying it, it is the trait of many of the greatest sportspeople; Usain Bolt, Muhammad Ali and so on.

This advancement in US and ultimately, world soccer, has to be in some way attributed to head coach Jill Ellis who recently stepped down from her position. She created a culture of winning in her squad and back to back world cup victories is all the proof you need.

Just like any successful football manager, Jurgen Klopp is a current example, creating a positive culture within your team is the first step to winning trophies. The current Liverpool side epitomise that. While individually they may not be the best team in the world, their work rate and togetherness create a side that in recent times has been literally unbeatable.

One could argue Ellis did the same for US football. She created a team that believed they were better than anyone else.

This could be perceived as aforementioned arrogance but when you win back to back world cups, arrogance is just confidence backed up by performance.

Since the world cup last summer, NWSL attendances have seen large improvements. Indeed the two largest ever crowds at a regular season game have been recorded in the aftermath of the US team taking the world by storm. Additionally, the victory parade of the team when they arrived back in the states was pretty remarkable. Swarms of people watched the squad parade through New York to catch a glimpse of their history makers.

Roughly six months on and Jill Ellis is no longer at the reigns. She announced she would be stepping down from her position and you can’t blame her for wanting to go out on a high. The reception she received in her final game displayed the respect and appreciation the fans and her players had for her.

In her wake she has left a team vying for an unprecedented three world cups in a row and an invaluable culture of winning. As the rest of the world aims to play catch up for the next four years, it is unquestionable that the increase in quality we will see at World Cup 2023 has to be in some way attributed to arguably the most successful coach and team in women’s football history.

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Sports

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

A Tribute to the Great, Kobe Bryant Writes Jack Maguire, Sports Editor

After the devastating death of NBA Hero and worldwide inspiration Kobe Bryant, I decided to dedicate this page to him and his achievements throughout his career. The 41-year-old died tragically in a helicopter crash last Sunday in California along with his 13 year old daughter Gianna and 7 others. Kobe was one of the best known athletes on the planet and created a wonderful legacy over the course of his 20 year career with both the Los Angeles Lakers and the USA National Team.

Kobe was Born in 1978 to Joe and Pam Bryant. Kobe’s father Joe was also a professional basketballer who played with the Philadelphia 76’ers and Houston Rockets to name but a few. Kobe moved to Italy with his family at a young age but maintained his interest in basketball and returned to the USA every Summer for the Summer League. Kobe enjoyed incredible success at High School level where he played with Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia from 1992-1996. Bryant’s talent and unreal performances earned him the National High School Player of the Year Award and several other accolades. Bryant became one of the first players to be drafted straight from High School. Kobe was No.13 pick in the draft and it was agreed between the Charlotte Hornets and LA Lakers that they would trade

their draft pick for Lakers Centre, Vlade Divac. After Kobe’s agent Arn Tellum managed to persuade other teams not to pick him, and they convinced Divac to move to Charlotte, the dream move was complete. At 17 years old Kobe’s dream came to fruition.

Bryant made his first appearance for the Lakers away to Dallas Mavericks where he netted 12 points. At 18 years of age, Kobe won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1997 fending off challenges from Michael Finley and Ray Allen.

1998 saw Kobe make his first start in an All-Star game where he lined up alongside greats of the game including Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal. Kobe was vital to the Lakers success in the following seasons as himself and ‘Big Shaq’ created a formidable pairing on the court.

Perhaps the most notable of Kobe’s early Lakers years was the mighty comeback against Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference Finals. Lakers faced a 15 point deficit in the final quarter, but they valiantly fought back to claim victory 89-84. The LA Lakers won three consecutive NBA Finals from 2000-2002.

In February 2002, Kobe was named All-Star MVP for the first time thanks to an incredible 31 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

On 22nd of January 2006, Kobe racked up an incredible 81 points

in a home victory over the Toronto Raptors 122-104. This was the second most points scored in a single game, only second to Wilt Chamberlain who landed 100 points for Philadelphia Warriors over the New York Knicks back in 1961. 2008 saw Bryant achieve the ‘Holy Grail’ of professional basketball when he was crowned Most Valuable Player. In a season when the Boston Celtic’s were victorious in the NBA Finals, Kobe received the award having lead the Lakers to yet another Final.

The USA travelled to the 2008 Olympics with a star studded team to try and claim gold. USA eased through to the final where they defeated Spain 118-107, with Kobe scoring 20 points. USA would also win Olympic gold in London four years later, again defeating Spain 107-100 in the Final.

Kobe netted 17 points in the final.

The 2010 NBA Final saw the Lakers face off with the Boston Celtic’s once again. The title would be decided in the final game of the series, with the Lakers narrowly emerging victorious 8379, 23 points courtesy of Bryant.

This would be his final NBA Title, bringing his final tally to 5. In December 2014, Kobe moved above Michael Jordan into third place in the NBA all-time scoring list after landing 26 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After suffering several injuries in

the final couple of seasons of his career, Kobe retired from the NBA in April 2016. As you would expect, he signed off in spectacular fashion, netting 60 points in a 101-96 point victory over Utah Jazz at the STAPLES Centre. It was an emotional goodbye to one of the greatest the world had ever seen. Kobe wrapped up his career as the all-time leading points scorer for the Lakers, totalling 33,643 points, as well as being the 3rd highest points scorer in NBA history, which LeBron James only overtook Kobe into 3rd place the day before Bryant’s death.

The world was devastated with the news of Kobe’s passing. Tributes began pouring in for the well loved star soon after the news with former Presidents of the USA, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton paying tribute on twitter, while close friends LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal made heartfelt posts on Instagram.

Basketball lost one of the alltime greats, and the world lost an inspiration. Although he is gone, Kobe Bryant’s legacy and memory will live on all over the world in the hearts of million’s of adoring fans.

Sports

Issue 8 | Wednesday 5th February | University Express

Munster’s Depth Issues and Why We Can’t Blame Leinster Writes Sam Curtin, Deputy Sports Editor

The Six Nations got underway last weekend and at the time of publishing, we will have seen an Ireland team featuring just three Munster players in the starting XV against Scotland and two more on the bench.

Of those five, three came through the Munster Academy (the lowest in the professional era). Those who regularly bash Leinster for having more money, larger population etc are not incorrect but it is not the reason for Munster’s demise when it comes to producing International calibre players. There is one elephant in the room that needs to be addressed as to why this is the case and it needs to be poached: the AIL. The AIL you ask? The All Ireland League which is the club game in Ireland and historically a stepping stone for future internationals to hone their skills before while also playing with their native province’s academy/B team. It has also been the main breeding ground for Munster in the past and ingraining that tribalism that the province is renowned for throughout the world.

Clubs such as Cork Con, Garryowen, Young Munster and Shannon typify what Munster rugby is all about but it would appear that their influence is waning. In the 2006 Heineken Cup final, 12 of the starting 15 began their careers in the AIL before making the step up to the province. In 2008, it was the same number and the only exceptions were their foreign signings. Anyone who knows the Munster AIL clubs knows that

Munster rugby is in their DNA and that their playing philosophy reflects this; cup rugby, kick to the corners and a never say die attitude.

Judging by the numbers in recent years, the numbers of AIL graduates is dwindling, the provinces have become more academy and schools based which suits that of Leinster with a large private schools system due to population. Munster are not so lucky in this sense and this is reflected in the Academy. Since that 2008 final triumph, Donnacha Ryan, Simon Zebo, Keith Earls and Peter O’ Mahoney are the only players from the AIL to become regulars at international level. In this period, Munster have not made a European final appearance, have won just one PRO14 title in 2011 and failed to make the knockout stages this season. Attendances at club matches have also declined. For a province that does not have the same resources as Leinster when it comes to schools rugby, having an academy with such a small and select pool to choose from is not enough to compete for major honours.

There are some bright sparks however, current Academy prospects Craig Casey (scrumhalf who made Champions Cup debut this year) and out half Ben Healy who are both U20 Grand Slam winners are regarded as two of the brightest prospects in Irish rugby at the moment. Cork Con are unbeaten and on an eleven-match winning streak to sit pretty at the top of D1A followed by Garryowen in second place; both clubs have been huge

suppliers to Munster historically and placing greater faith in the league will lead to a thriving province. Two other extremely important actions must also be taken: the notion of having to attend a rugby school in order to be in the shop window for the provinces must stop while also encouraging younger players to play club rugby where they will come up against senior, mature players and this will only help to develop their physical attributes and get them used to being put under pressure in a real match environment which does not happen at academy level where the focus is more on skills development and less game time.

There is no reason why a balance between both of these could be found with Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’ Connell and most recently Simon Zebo speaking of the benefits of playing senior club rugby while taking their first steps on the provincial ladder.

To conclude, the period for players coming through the club system is narrowing year on year to make it as a professional as the sport becomes more systems based. Munster needs a strong academy which will be greatly helped by a strong AIL and club game which is the heartbeat of any sport. With school’s rugby becoming the be all and end all in the dream to become an international rugby player, time is running out to fix this problem. However as Munster people know, to the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible.

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FAI Funding And Reform Planned Writes Jack Maguire, Sports Editor

It was announced last week that The Government will give the FAI an interest free loan of €2.5 million every year for the next three years “to safeguard our interest in the Aviva Stadium” said Shane Ross. Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport also announced that Sport Ireland funding for football development programmes will be doubled from €2.9 million to €5.8 million over the next 3 years.

It is estimated that the Football Authority of Ireland are in debt of €62 million and are in urgent need of cash to keep the organisation above water. Ross welcomed the decision saying “we can now look forward to a rigorous rebuilding of the FAI from a toxic, autocratic, unfit for purpose organisation to a fresh, cleansed association that can honourably represent and support Irish football, at home and also on the world stage”. The coming year will be massive for Ireland as they bid to secure their place at Euro 2020. They face Slovakia in Bratislava on the 26th of March and could face either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Northern Ireland in the play off final to decide who makes it to Euro 2020. There will be four games of the tournament held in the Aviva, and if Ireland were to qualify, they would play two of their games on home turf.