UCC Express Vol. 26 Issue 10

WRITES JAMES KEMMY | NEWS EDITOR

Last Tuesday, a group of over twenty UCC students traveled to Dublin to observe Taoiseach’s Questions in the Dáil chamber The event, organised by the university’s Government and Politics Society, also involved an exclusive discussion panel from senior political correspondents and an educational workshop on the Oireachtas’s legislative processes

Over the hour-long course of Leaders’ Questions, various opposition figures and independent deputies challenged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar These challenges were primarily criticisms surrounding newly announced cost of living measures, women’s health issues, and tenant evictions, among other pressing subjects With political dynamics intensifying as the next general election looms, and with Mr Varadkar having only recently reassumed the premiership, Leaders’ Questions serves as a consequential moment in the Dáil’s weekly schedule The session usually receives significant attention from the press and

provides a chance for TDs and opposition forces to hold the government accountable for their delivery on key issues With opinion polls consistently demonstrating a clear split between the centre-right government parties and a fragmented left, predominantly led by Sinn Féin, the political optics of parliamentary exchanges are quite salient in the current climate

Known for her confrontational parliamentary style, Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald lambasted Mr Varadkar and his cabinet for, as she sees it, failing to provide adequate economic support for renters in the €1 3bn spending package which included a €200 lump sum for lowincome families and similar supports for pensioners and people with disabilities. “For the life of me I can't understand how the three men leading Government, after two months in talks, could produce a package that is silent on housing” , McDonald remarked Also vocal was Kerry TD Danny

Healy-Rae and Ivana Bacik, leader of the Labour Party

Interestingly, it turned out to be an eventful week in Irish politics, with the Coalition Government announcing the much discussed cost of living package, Social Democrats co-leaders, Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy announcing their resignations, and a pioneering Citizens Assembly on drug use being launched

Following the chamber session, the attending students participated in a revealing discussion with senior figures working in Irish media Hugh O’Connell, Political Editor for Mediahuis (Irish Independent, Sunday Independent), Elaine Loughlin, Political Reporter with the Irish Examiner, and Sandra Hurley, RTÉ Political Reporter, offered their journalistic insights and advice to students in a valuable private session on the grounds of Leinster House Conducted by Reuban Murray, chairperson of the Government and Politics Society, the three reporters were asked a series of diverse questions about their experiences in the dynamic

industry that is political journalism

Noting that now is a particularly significant time to be working in current affairs reporting, Hurley pointed to rising political polarisation and the emergence of new social divisions, seen recently in antiimmigration rallies O’Connell meanwhile, spoke of the competitive and often brutal nature of the journalism profession, particularly in a Leinster House context Each journalist emphasised the intense and unpredictable reality of the industry but highlighted how rewarding it can be to hold power to account and promote the voices of those usually unheard in society

Lastly, the student visitors attended a presentation of the Oireachtas’ legislative process given by Parliamentary education officer, Conor Reale Here, they were informed about the technicalities of decision making and implementation processes in Irish governance, while career prospects in the civil service were promoted Various parliamentary procedures and customs were also discussed, ultimately heightening students’ awareness of political operations within our chief legislative institution Students posed questions on possible parliamentary reforms such as term limits for long-serving TDs and the lowering of the minimum vote age to 16

Undoubtedly, the trip was valuable and thought-provoking for students interested in politics, law, journalism, and public administration Gaining a perspective into the complex world of the parliamentary process was a positive experience and serves to politically engage students even further

THEIMPORTANCEOFBOOKS ANDTHERISEOFBOOKSHOPSINIRELAND

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VOTING ISN'T THE MOST WE CAN DO, BUT IT IS THE LEAST

CAITRÍONA NÍ CHONAILL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

Hi there,

I’m sure you’ve been approached to give signatures to Students’ Union election nominees on campus several times in the past week I have to say, I take my hat off to anyone running, as they are putting their hopes in the student population to place them in a position where they will be able to advocate for you, as a student, on a variety of issues For anyone who hasn’t seen a student election happen before, or just hasn’t paid attention in the past few years, here’s the rundown:

Nominations (the people going around with clipboards asking for signatures) ended on Friday 24th February They were asking for signatures because you need a certain number of signatures to be nominated and to be able to run for a position 500 were needed for a Sabbatical Officer (one of the 6 main positions in the Student’s Union - President, Communications and Engagement Officer, Education Officer, Welfare Officer, Commercial & Fundraising Officer and Entertainments Officer) 250 were needed to be a College Representative (Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences/ Business and Law/ Medicine and Health/ Science, Engineering and Food Science) and 150 for a Campaign Representative (Environmental and Sustainability/ Equality and Diversity/ Irish Language and Culture)

Sabbatical Officer Hustings occurs on the 1st of March, which is basically a Q&A where the nominees are asked about their aims and objectives should they be elected

Voting opens at 9am on the 6th of March and closes on the 8th of March at 2pm, so you don’t have much time to get your vote in! I would absolutely recommend that you vote, as each vote makes a difference and also, if you agree with someone’s aims and you think they would be a great asset to the Students’ Union, go and vote for them, they will need your support to achieve their aims! You do your voting online, so you don’t even need to leave your bed to help support the candidates Results are announced on 8th of March and will be livestreamed on the SU Instagram if you can’t be there in person The University Express will also be covering proceedings online throughout the events, chatting to nominees and making sure that you as a student understand how important the SU elections are and how the candidates can benefit you!

If you need to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Election week, boy do we have the issue for you! Find out about life abroad in the Irish section, view some stunning photos by our own talented photographer and learn about the importance of women in politics in our News section

Happy Reading!

JAMES KEMMY | NEWS EDITOR

Issue 10 is upon us! It’s truly amazing that the Express has witnessed such journalistic talent and dedication over the last nine editions and still we’re ever moving forward

With the arrival of spring, our campus is seeing fantastic levels of social and community engagement It is estimated that RAG week, with its variety of fun initiatives and events, generated close to €30,000 for local charities through donations Meanwhile, Refugee week, which took place last week and promoted the positive values of multiculturalism and diversity, comes

at a more important time than ever, as xenophobia and insular nationalistic attitudes are on the ascendant Additionally, a student trip to the Dáil to observe Leaders Questions and participate in a discussion with leading national journalists illustrates the strong political awareness and enthusiasm of our student body

The coming weeks hold even more exciting action, with the Students Union elections taking place amid a large field of promising candidates with strong visions I would massively urge everyone to exercise their democratic rights as a student and VOTE! At the end of the day, this is about our shared campus experience and we should all have a collective say in how student affairs are handled and by who Undoubtedly, it is vital that we feel close to the decision-making processes on campus

This issue contains some brilliant stories from our editors and contributing writers, focusing on womens’ experiences at the top of politics and in the legal profession, alongside other pieces on censorship in film and television, and boundary-breaking non-binary fashion Enjoy!

CELEBRATINGINTERNATIONALWOMEN’SDAY

3

UWRITES ORLA LEAHY | IRISH

The UCC Women in Law Forum 2023 is set to take plac Hotel on the 8th of March The Forum, a biennial event Law Society, is a celebration of the success and versatility o sphere

This year’s Forum will see two diverse panels of inspiring w share their stories, their wisdom, and their perspectives on both traditionally through Blackhall or King’s Inns, and be an engaging and informative careers Q&A panel, busines refreshments, and goodie bags for early birds! Following networking opportunities, the soirée promises to be a nig attendees live music and entertainment, canapés, social ne raffle, with awards for the best dressed individuals The enti completely inclusive, with attendance by all welcome, inc lecturers, and alumni

Jade Shannon, second year Law and Irish student, is the W for the 93rd session of the UCC Law Society After m planning and preparations, she is looking forward to welco of guests to UCC Amongst the lineup for the morning pan Appeal judge, the Hon Ms Justice Ní Raifeartaigh; PhD media and political commentary response to COVID-1 founder of the Foundation for Law and International Affair (Law and Irish) in UCC, Dr Shaoming Zhu, and; lead department of Comyn Kelleher Tobin, Denise Kirwan, with announced The panels will be moderated by three of th renowned lecturers, also yet to be revealed

Jade says, “I am so delighted and honoured to be Conveno am really excited to invite everyone to an entire day of e such important themes, ‘Equity Through Activism’ and ‘In The subcommittee and I are so looking forward to seeing ye

Tickets to the Forum can be purchased online via E Ticket, or Evening Soirée Ticket for €5, or a Full Day Ti

Jade is supported by a subcommittee of 14 young women some of them have to say about the Forum

Lucy Coleman (Sponsorship Officer):

“It has been amazing working with all the girls and getting to know people in older years. I can’t wait to see all our hard work pay off. It has been such a pleasure.”

Eva Given (General Coordinator):

“I feel incredibly honoured to be involved in the Forum and so grateful for the opportunity to work with such an accomplished group of women The day will be one to remember and I hope you are as excited as we are!”

Ruth McDonald (Finance Officer):

“I am so excited to have the opportunity to help put together such an important event celebrating the achievements of women throughout the legal sphere! It has been lovely having the chance to work with such a motivated team.”

Rosa Simmonds (Sponsorship Officer):

“It's been so much fun getting involved in this amazing event with such a great group. Just really excited to see the product of all the organisation now!”

Isobelle Fitzgerald (Social Secretary):

“Working with this amazing group of women has been such an honour I cannot wait to see the results of everyone’s hard work over the last few months!”

Comyn Kelleher Tobin proudly sponsor the biennial event, and the Women in Law Forum’s charity partner is the Cork Sexual Violence Centre. To learn more about the incredible work of the Centre, or how to avail of their services, visit https://www sexualviolence ie Follow the UCC Women in Law Forum on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, to stay up to date on the latest news and teasers!

RESIGNATIONSOFJACINDAARDERNAND NICOLASTURGEONHIGHLIGHTTHEINEQUITIES

WOMENFACEINPOLITICALLEADERSHIP

The past two months have witnessed the resignations of two female leaders who were renowned for their stable and inclusive leadership These leaders were Jacinda Ardern, who resigned as New Zealand prime minister in January in the wake of growing domestic unpopularity, and Nicola Sturgeon, who stepped down in recent weeks in the midst of controversies surrounding transgender rights and legal quarrels regarding the authorisation of holding of a second Scottish Independence referendum Despite both politicians leading their respective countries by example, especially in the context of growing division and polarity in Western political discourse, both of them surprisingly cited personal burnout as the reason for resignation

In her speech, reflecting on the factors behind her decision, Jacinda Ardern said “I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility - the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice It’s that simple, ” she said. Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon concluded that “since my very first moments in the job, I have believed that part of serving well would be to know – almost instinctively – when the time is right to make way for someone else In my head and my heart, I know that time is now That it is right for me, for my party and for the country” , she said

Their resignations certainly highlight the barriers that women face in politics and leadership A recent piece by gender politics scholar, Rainbow Murray determined that “ women in public life tend to be judged more harshly than men ” Each aspect of their characters, whether within the political arena or outside, are closely scrutinised by the media The recent scrutinisation of current Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, for dancing and drinking with friends back in September 2022 is a clear example of the intense personal examination of female leaders in power Marin, who was criticised for representing a bad example as a political leader, and was subsequently accused of consuming drugs, was later cleared of any wrongdoing This was the perfect illustration of the disproportionate focus that is placed on

women in political leadership in comparison to their male counterparts Even with impartial judgement, it is highly unlikely that a male leader would have been subject to such tight scrutiny

Women are also at greater risk of violence, victimisation and intimidation within political leadership in contrast to men During the latter period of Jacinda’s Ardern’s time as prime minister, she was consistently on the receiving end of harassment and threats to her life A notable example of this was her visit to a small school in Christchurch, observing the progress of a government-operated lunch programme A visit that was expected to run smoothly, however, turned extremely nasty A number of protesters, opposing vaccine mandates which has been introduced by Ardern for those in health and educational settings, gathered amongst one another to chant “ go home Jacinda” , and called for an “arrest warrant” for “genocide” and for “crimes against humanity” On her departure from the school, as the protesters grew closer to her, she was rushed into a van and driven away quickly as protestors followed

Whilst she escaped unscathed, events like these would become commonplace in the final period of Ardern’s leadership as she became ever more subjected to death threats The abuse she received has gone so far that she needed “ more ongoing protection than any PM in New Zealand’s political history” Beyond targeted abuse at female leaders, female politicians generally are now at greater risk of being targeted through violence and intimidation for being ‘powerful and opinionated’ This was hinted at by Sturgeon, who referenced the growing ‘brutality’ of life as a politician When in political office, in occurrences where political debate takes place, female leaders and politicians are often the subject of scrutiny when it comes to their emotions A disparity when compared with men, if women fight their corner in politics, they are perceived as aggressive and condescending Male politicians in power by contrast are not having their emotions as closely observed

Because there are so few women in offices of political leadership, they also face the accompanying challenge of standing out distinctively as a leader upon departure, compared to men This places considerable pressure on them, especially when one considers they are more likely to be the bearer of unpaid care, and are also forced to consider the future composition of their family, even when in politics

Rainbow Murray argues that “ women ’ s growing presence in politics has been associated with political renewal – the replacement of the male, pale, and stale with a new generation of politics” As a result, they hope to lead and deliver on a new type of politics that is more open and inclusive The recent Covid-19 pandemic represented a significant opportunity for female leaders to lead a compassionate response to the onset of the virus

The early months of the pandemic highlighted a critical difference in the responses to Covid-19 in countries led by men and women A report led by the Centre for Economic Research and the World Economic Forum in August 2020 which studied the Covid-19 responses in 194 countries, found that countries led by women had “systematically and significantly better” Covid-19 outcomes, including having had less than half as many deaths on average as those led by men That was buoyed by the successful responses to the pandemic by leaders such as Jacinda Ardern, who led a unique response through the enactment of ‘Zero Covid’ This was done through border quarantine, contact tracing, lockdowns, and mass testing, with the end goal being the complete suppression of the virus in order to return to the resumption of normal economic and social activity According to a developmental economist at Liverpool University, Supriya Garikipati, female leaders “ were risk averse with regard to lives” , locking down their countries more swiftly than countries led by men, and were “ more willing to take risks in the domain of the economy ” The varied low-risk responses to the pandemic by female-led countries, thereby suggests that they were more willing to value the lives of ordinary people, compared to male-led countries

When quitting, women are also more decisive in deciding when their time to resign is Women politicians and leaders, therefore, seek to avoid the “staleness of their male predecessors by knowing when to quit” Reflecting upon the legacy of both Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern, both leaders led their respective states by example Supporting the view that women aim to be distinctive and leave behind a unique legacy when they depart from political office, Sturgeon and Ardern were forced to contend with a number of difficult issues Sturgeon came into power as First Minister and head of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) in November 2014, just after the people of Scotland rejected Scottish independence from the United Kingdom Despite leading the Scottish state at a time of considerable political difficulty, Sturgeon cemented the SNP as the largest party in Scotland, and leaves office with the party dominating the seat share of Scottish MPs for Westminster, and the Scottish Parliament

Ardern, by comparison, came into power as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party in August 2017, just seven weeks before the general election She led the party into the election and entered a minority government with the National Party During her first term as prime minister, she dealt with a number of pressing issues The first significant issue was her response to the Christchurch terrorist attacks on two mosques Throughout this response, she demonstrated her compassionate leadership and received international praise for that response As previously discussed, she also led New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic, pioneering some of the world’s lowest number of Covid-19 cases During the pandemic, in October 2020, she led her party to a majority, and despite this majority, secured an agreement with the Green Party for them to enter government with the Labour Party She leaves political office at a time of polarisation and division in New Zealand Nevertheless, her legacy as an inclusive and compassionate prime minister is likely to be remembered by many for some time

THELAD

THEFACEOFGENDER-RELATEDVIOLENCE

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

Content Warning: The following article contains references to sexual assault, rape, and gender-related violence. It also contains mentions of discrimination. Some readers may find the themes discussed distressing. If you are a victim of gender-related violence, the Rape Crisis Network provides links to local crisis and sexual violence centres.

“A lad is the archetypical Irish young man, likely plays GAA/soccer and FIFA Commonly wears a GAA jersey, or shorts even when it’s cold A lad is often misogynistic and has outdated views on and poor respect for women, their role in society and in relationships Though they are usually ignorant to this due to the prevalence of ‘lad culture’ making it widespread and thus seem acceptable Lads are also often discriminatory towards minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community and Irish travelling community. They often participate in and/or are complicit in casual sexism, racism and homophobia ”

Participants of a survey were asked to describe what they believed a lad to be, this was their response The aim of this survey was to analyse how the general student body perceived the lad Did he exist, or was he a myth created by popular media to stir tension against working class men? If he does exist, is he a threat, and a threat to who? 96% of participants identified the lad as a real figure Participants forged a vivid image of who wears the title of lad in Irish life

“Just highly filled with toxic masculinity ”

The lad is a British and Irish subculture that emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s Sociologist Rosalind Gill describes the lad as ‘post- (if not anti) feminist. ’ The lad is a self-constructed identity responding to equality movements that seek to disrupt the status quo According to Gill, they enjoy the binary; the societal structures that keeps everyone in their place, but with white, heterosexual, cisgender, upper-class men on top However, the lad is often associated with working class circles, and while he may benefit from these structures in one regard, he is oppressed in another Some sociologists argue that lads merely appropriate working class culture, and do not feel the marginalisation of class divide Survey participants offered that the lad can come from many backgrounds, and is not necessarily a gendered title

I bring up these figures as I believe the lad destroys diversity When the aggressive behaviour of the lad subculture thrives without little criticism, those most at risk of facing harassment hide their identities and are pushed further into the sidelines for fear of their life

The methods of harassment used by lads were then surveyed 92.3% of targeted individuals were verbally harassed 53.8% felt intimidated by lads This includes stalking, threatening looks and gestures. 38.5% were victims of sexual harassment. 28 2% were physically harassed, 25 6% were victims of cyber-bullying, and 7 7% experienced extortion and/or blackmailing

The lad is not one individual Nor is it one group of people The power the lad holds does not reside in the groups of anti-social men that loiter in the dark waiting to pick a fight The lad is the result of a systemic issue, the same one that allows gender based violence, and violence against people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people of different religious identities, to continue The lad is a culture One of hatred, aggression, and bigotry

One participant described the lad as a “himbo if you ’ re lucky An Andrew Tate fan if you ’ re not ”

Andrew Tate is a social media figure that has recently gained a lot of traction due to his blatant misogyny In Tate’s content, he often portrays men as the underdogs The oppressors are then women, who he and his following believe need to be controlled and returned to binary gender roles Under suspicions of rape and sex trafficking, Andrew Tate was arrested in December 2022

16-26 Plays GAA Straight Misogynistic Homophobic Transphobic Loud ”

“A male, between the ages of

As the lad enjoys, or at least, believes to enjoy, the status quo he is immediately threatened by those that contrast this ideal Many participants described the lad in association with bigotry 81% of participants noted that they had been harassed by lads, with 86% of those who had experienced harassment noting it as a result of their racial, gender, sexual, or religious identity 53% of participants who had experienced harassment admitted to concealing their identity to avoid further harassment

Tate panders to the idea that social change is oppressing men On social media, he presents women as solely sexual objects, and that by denying men sex they deny them a right This mindset extends across different communities to create a feeling that those who don’t fit within the status quo, are falling out of line and must be punished

Many who don’t adopt the sigma, alpha or hustler mindset may find it easy to laugh at Tate’s backward views, thinking his influence does not extend further than social media and lad culture Andrew and his brother Tristan claim to have made their money by bringing women into their studios to star in adult videos The brothers admit to bringing in women who claim to be in financial difficulties, and exploiting

this vulnerability to earn their wealth This admittance led t th i i f trafficking, all the more realised by Andrew’s detentio Twitter feud between climate activist Greta Thunberg an culture moment, his arrest confirms the systematic issue th

“They are misogynistic pricks that, left unchecked, can b etc ”

The survey encouraged participants to discuss their pers One participant explains “I've been cat called when they p I've never been physically harassed, but it is something I lads somewhere I need to pass by ” Another states, “I w member of a lad group, and the rest of the group harassed verbally ” Another says “ as a visibly queer, outcast fem target for harassment I often had slurs and crude remark is a person I fear ”

“People pleaser that craves attention A nameless fac plays GAA, drinks in a pub on the weekends ”

The ‘not all men ’ scapegoat even points to the systematic i and people who have been assigned female at birth (AFA common phrase and expanded upon it, stating ‘it could b Women's Aid, it is revealed that in 87% of victims of ge perpetrator was a man known to them Perhaps not all me alone give us ample reason to be wary of all men

“Awful individuals ” “Brutish, stand-offish and antag misogynistic, ableist, horrible people ” “Loud and obno dirty little fella ” “An a****** ”

Attending a vigil led by UCC’s Femsoc in remembrance o violence, was a bittersweet moment Bitter, as we looked handful of victims, lit candles in commemoration of t Student Union president Asha Woodhouse read out the nam lives will not be lost to time There was a strange sweetnes mourned this great loss Speakers urged for change, an rightly shed, I think that many flames of ambition were lit overwhelming sense of solidarity, and in placing these showed a passion to fight for all of them

The lad is the son of the patriarchy, born to uphold its so the majority of us to the sidelines With intersectionality for social change and bring an end to gender-related violen is that we work together We protect each other, we prote voices into one, thunderous noise We educate each other and we love each other The lad may seek to divide us, but his status quo

UCC Feminist Society Chairperson, Hayley, speaking at a Vigil in remembrance of victims of gender-related violence

UCC Feminist Society Vigil in remembrance of victims of gender-related violence

WHATEVERHAPPENEDTOTHE MOVIESTAR?

WRITES KATE O’FLANAGAN | DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR

market, without a doubt But, beyond that, a greater shift ndscape The prioritisation of franchises, the glut of reboots in recent years, coincides with the decline of the traditional can be accredited to the increasing monopolisation of the the Walt Disney Company However, homogenisation was ng-card. They, too, used to diversify their output and bet on stars

tudios umbrella, the company used to have their distribution name called Buena Vista Touchstone Pictures was a a that released typically more adult-oriented films Notable ude Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Pretty Woman (1990) is perceived distance from the Disney label allowed a level with the public, allowing Disney to distribute films that did friendly branding However, as Disney bought up more , becoming more and more of a monopoly, they began to a Vista and Touchstone Both are now defunct separation of church and state There is just Disney Just maintain.

The history of Hollywood is the history of its stars The star system was built into the bedrock of Hollywood from the 1920s Movie studios contracted promising young actors for defined lengths of time, trained them to sing and dance, and constructed personas around them that they were to carry into their screen work and publicity The star system had disappeared by the ‘70s, paving the way for a new generation of stars, ones no longer locked-into a single studio The ‘80s and ‘90s saw the trend of the bankable star continue, launching the careers of many now iconic actors – Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, to name a few These movie stars earned the moniker through their box office draw They were the reasons people came to the movies

Throughout the 2000s, and into the 2020s, we have seen fewer and fewer megastars emerge from the throng The art of acting has not changed A-listers still exist, their names just don’t have the pull they once had The business itself is what has changed

but how?

The 21st century has seen a consistent decline in cinema ticket sales Peaking at 1.58 billion tickets in 2002, by 2019 box office sales had dropped by 22% This only worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic The revolving door of already known intellectual property – Marvel, DC, Star Wars – dominating the cinema listings can be attributed to this decline Film studios responded by reducing their yearly output and banking on proven commodities The notion of ‘star power ’ equalling financial success was dead in the water This ‘ go big or go home’ mentality embraced by the major studies also led to the decline of the mid-budget movie

Think Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998), Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (2000), Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society (1989); these mid-budget films were often vehicles for actors to display their range and play against type They could also be relied on to make a profit upon release If not solely in the theatre, then also via home-video release Now that streaming has effectively killed off the DVD market, these mid-budget films are often poorly marketed, or moved to streaming to get lost in the shuffle as soon as possible Even Knives Out, a major mid-budget hit with ex-007 Daniel Craig at the helm, couldn't keep its sequel in theatres for longer than a week before it was on the Netflix homepage

he entertainment industry has probably always been the end In the 90s, they intentionally and successfully lobbied the o rewrite copyright law in their favour Under the derisively use Protection Act, copyright is retained to the author’s r works of a corporate authorship the act retained copyright ork’s original publication, or 120 years from the creation, In addition, Disney intentionally acquired independent becoming the first to be acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1993, and proceeded to choke out, or buy, fellow established studios

FEATURES

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THEIMPORTANCEOFBOOKS ANDTHERISEOFBOOKSHOPSINIRELAND

WRITES ANA MCGUIRE | STA

Fiction, fantasy, crime, horror, science fiction, biograp more, are different genres of books Books offer a temp people who read them. When reading a book, you are filled with amazing characters, crazy plotlines and stu you are still planted firmly on planet earth, your mind power of books Even if you are not interested in escap all of life’s problems behind, there is a genre and a boo there Books are jam packed with knowledge of geography, science and much more Without books knowledgeable or advanced as a species

However, with the rise in technology, there has been popularity and sale of physical books over the years become increasingly popular during the past ten years it is an awful lot cheaper to buy books on a Kindle or also because it is a lot easier to only have to carry arou all your books are stored, opposed to carrying three or busy on holidays On top of this, since people are s commitments, they might not have time to sit down and eBooks comes in While people are driving to work or into an audiobook and listen to the book along the way, The con of this ingenious piece of technology is that m have shut down over the years because there was no hometown of Killarney alone, the Killarney BookShop to the public during my teenage years These closu childhood memories of spending hours in those booksh the stories I was the kid who sat for hours on the toile to hammer on the door! I never stopped reading as a ch reading as a twenty-one-year-old Books and fantasy w when the rise of Kindles and the downfall of bookshop devastated In my opinion, reading off of a screen is Most of the joys of reading, for me, come from ph turning every page I do not get that same experience turn the page However, the tide turned in favour of phy

There has been a much bigger appetite for books sin pandemic hit During the various lockdowns in Ireland soon many people’s passions for physical books were Journal, book sales in 2020 were up 4%, mostly dri online sales during the lockdown People depended Depository, a huge online website that has many, many However, the online presences of Dubray Books, Easo chains also felt the rise in popularity of books through enough, even after the various lockdowns came to an returned to normal, the popularity of physical books has

FEATURES

hth consecutive year of hich is astounding and ow there are over two ork City alone, Easons, y since 1986, moved to r 36 St Patrick’s Street, otel, right next to the the most popular book tablishment, they have the opposite side of St books The well known little over a year When he wake of some major Bray and as of 2023, the

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ity, think of the impact Take Kerr’s Books for 1992 and has become t recently won the Best clusion, physical books

JACK MURPHY | PHOTOGRAPHY

WRITINGINTHEDISCIPLINES SERIES

WRITES CONOR O'DRISCOLL | SKILLS CENTRE

Our workshop on Lab Reports seek to demonstrate how you can achieve a high level of professionalism in lab reports while also illustrating how you can highlight your ability to use sound scientific practices when experimenting as well as your skills in producing objective interpretations of results. This workshop builds on the premise that a student’s writing, and language therein, is an indication of their understanding of a topic, and so primarily focus on demonstrating how to write like a scientist

Our Business Reports workshop highlights how reports should generally be conceived in line with best professional practice We focus on report writing skills students typically struggle to develop, such as the ability to write clearly and concisely, while also demonstrating how we tackle issues like word limits, prioritising material, and writing for your audience

Our Literature Review workshops focus on how to critically analyse literature, present key themes, and discuss major trends in the literature, while also providing guidance on structuring the piece We demonstrate the difference between systematic literature reviews, which can be more challenging to produce, and, for want of a better word, regular literature reviews, and offer guidance on how to excel in producing both

Finally, our Dissertation Writing workshops prioritise introducing students to the skills needed to produce a magnificent dissertation (or Final Year Project) In this workshop we touch on organisational skills, proposing (and answering) research questions, structuring the main arguments, and creating bulletproof introductions and conclusions

Many of these columns have brought to your attention how the Skills Centre can help you develop generic academic and professional skills In these workshops, we provide you with the tools to incorporate these general skills into your disciplinespecific work.

But around this time every semester, The Skills Centre rolls out workshops dedicated to discipline-specific writing skills These workshops address concerns that not all assignments are the same and some require different techniques to others These assignments may take the form of group projects, presentations, lab reports, or dissertations This column seeks to highlight how our Writing In The Disciplines series can help you excel in these contexts

Every assignment must tell a story Whilst the ability to tell this story is not always at the forefront of marking schemes, it is always implicit as we are required to argue our point of view and answer a specific question, whether you are based in STEM or the social sciences Similarly, everyone must do a presentation, and the characteristics of good presentations are constant across disciplines.

We kick this series off with workshops on presentation skills The essence of a good presentation is that the listener can effortlessly follow your narrative and engage with the slides simultaneously The most important ingredient in this recipe is the narrative you produce; in other words, your ability to tell a story Subsequently, we seek to train you how to craft presentations which will keep audiences engaged and interested

In other settings, the skills needed to produce top-quality assignments and how they are applied may differ Subsequently, our sessions dedicated to Reflective Writing, Lab Reports, Business Reports, Literature Reviews, and Dissertation Writing, focus on developing and applying the specific skills needed to excel in these projects As a bonus, these workshops are hosted by tutors with expertise in the relevant discipline, so they can provide you with tangible advice on how to proceed

Our workshop on Reflective Writing focuses on how students can develop the skills to think, read, and write critically, and how these skills can be used to improve assignments requiring personal reflection We specifically highlight how students typically misinterpret what it means to write “reflectively” by tending to equate it with overly descriptive prose

Across these workshops, there are skills that you must have to do well Our job is to provide training in the development of these skills so that you can succeed in academic and professional settings If you would like to avail of these workshops, or have any questions, please either drop in for a chat or visit our website (just Google “UCC Skills Centre”) for more information

Conas gur thit sé amach gur tugadh an deis sin duitse?

"Tá an t-ádh orm gur éirigh liom teacht anso i ndáiríribh Bhíos fé gheasa ag Ceanada agus mé ní ba óige agus bhí spéis agam i scoláireachtaí ICUF ó chuala trácht orthu na blianta fada ó shin. Nuair a dheineas an cinneadh máistreacht a dhéanamh sa pholaitíocht, cheapas ná beinn in ann cur isteach ar rudaí cosúil leis an ICUF a thuilleadh, áfach Oíche amháin chuaigh mé féin agus mo chara Seán Ó hUallacháin chuig an Abbey Tavern i ndiaidh cruinniú Cuallachta le haghaidh dí agus dúirt sé liom go raibh sé tar éis iarratas a chur isteach go dtí an ICUF Mhol sé dom ceann a chur isteach chomh maith, ach ní raibh ach cúig lá fágtha agam go dtí an spriocdháta fén dtráth san! N’fheadar cad a bhí sa cheann agam ag an am ach dheineas an cinneadh cur isteach airagus anois táim anso i dTorontó agus tá Seán féin in New Brunswick!"

Cad é an rud is suimiúla faoin nGaelainn i dTorontó?

"Is dócha gurb é an rud is suimiúla ná gurb ann di in aon chor! Ní chreidfeá an oiread Gael atá ag cur fúthu sa chathair seo Tá 178 duine tar éis clárú dos na ranganna poiblí an seimeastar so agus bíonn ana-thóir ar ár gcuid imeachtaí Tá meascán iontach againn sna ranganna, idir Éireannaigh, daoine le teaghlaigh a tháinig ar imirce ó Éirinn na blianta fada ó shin, agus daoine ná fuil baint ar bith acu leis an dteanga ná an tír Ní bhíonn an meon diúltach ag muintir Cheanada i leith na teangan a bhíonn ag roinnt daoine aige

baile ach an oiread Dá gcífeadh na héinne aige baile an tsuim atá ag daoine thar sáile inár gcultúr agus inár dteanga, ní bheadh éinne ag rá ná fuil aon mhaitheas léi a thuilleadh!"

Tuigim go raibh deis agat óráid a thabhairt faoin nGaelainn os comhair an Oireachtais anuraidh Inis dom faoin deis sin.

"Mar mhac léinn polaitíochta, bhíos ar mhuin na muice nuair a tugadh an deis dom dul os comhair Chomhchoiste an Oireachtais le labhairt fén iris Breac anuraidh Bhíos ar Mheitheal Eagarthóireachta na hirise agus ba dheas a bheith in ann an taithí sin a roinnt le Seanadóirí agus Teachtaí Dála Ba chosúil go rabhadar anabháúil d’iriseoireacht Ghaeilge na mac léinn! Bhí Seán Ó hUallacháin i mo theannta an lá céanna agus nuair a d’fhágamar Teach Laighean, fuaireamair beirt amach go raibh agallaimh fachta againne leis an ICUF!"

An bhfuil aon phlean eile agat an Ghaelainn a chur chun cinn thar lear?

"Tá fuílleach pleananna agam don gcuid eile de mo thréimhse i dTorontó leis an ICUF Chuireas Tae agus Plé ar siúl san ollscoil le déanaí agus ba bhreá liom é sin a dhéanamh arís Chomh maith leis sin, mar bhall de Choiste Gnó agus Fochoiste Forbartha Chonradh na Gaeilge, ba bhreá liom craobh den gConradh a bhunú sa chathair Ní raibh craobh ghníomhach sa tír le roinnt blianta anois agus ba bhreá liom é sin a athrú Tá sé ar intinn againn Pop-Up

Gaeltachtaí, siúlóidí trí Ghaelainn agus ciorcail chomhrá a reáchtáil, chomh maith Beimid gnóthach go maith is dócha! "

Go raibh míle maith agat as do chuid ama, a Antóin, is scéal fíor-shuimiúil é sin Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat leis an dtréimhse atá fágtha agat!

IRISHFILMS CENSORED

Censorship is a word we may associate with strict dictatorships and authoritarian governments with full control over the press, film and television Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy took advantage of censorship as a tool to keep the perpetration of propaganda in motion When we examine the idea of censorship in Irish film and TV, it strays far from the belief of a neutral, unassuming country, and does not quite align with the democratic people’s republic notion that is widely accepted In fact, it challenges the accepted beliefs surrounding the way we perceive Irish screen media and has led me to wonder about why we had strict censorship laws in place which prevented many films and television series’ to be shown or screened on TV or in cinemas

Peter Martin proposed that Irish censorship seems to modern eyes to be a confusing remnant of a history we would rather not remember To think of the sheer volume of films and screen media that went amiss and lost all viewership due to censorship is perplexing Martin states that censorship is a piece of "ancient Ireland, " or an ‘old Ireland’ that was a less developed one, behind on the times and/or a conservative nation He suggests that it's difficult not to feel a sense of embarrassment when you look at lists of films that are considered today to be classics, and realise that they were banned due to censorship It's been about fifty years since film censorship faced backlash and the tide started to turn against it Although politician Brian Lenihan reformed film censorship in 1964-65, there were still some controversial decisions being made, such as the banning of the films The Life of Brian, Natural Born Killers and Bad Lieutenant, but they have been (though intermittent and increasingly rare, Martin contends)

So, why was there such an insistence to control screen media? Film was seen as dangerous and influential, far too powerful of a medium to send wrong or inappropriate messages to the population and ‘not something Ireland stood for’ It was easier to maintain control over or influence the citizens of Ireland to sway to one political side when the complicated and powerful force of film was out of the way Martin claims Irish film censorship was an integral part of the nationalist movement and worked in favour nationalist campaigners who were largely Catholic, laymen and priests It's clear that the banning of certain films had a strong connection to the religious attitudes felt in the country at the time When you take a glance at the list of films banned in Ireland, there is a clear pattern in the reason it was not allowed - it was a movie that did not project Catholic values, had demonic

representations, associated itself with witchcraft or violence, committed heresy and or mocked Christianity and God For example; Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, A Clockwork Orange and From Dusk til Dawn, to name a few, were banned for these reasons Even the Disney classic Fantasia, which is an animated film for children got the axe for not complying with what film censors approved of

Film censorship is unpopular for a myriad of reasons Primarily because it infantilizes an entire population largely made up of adults who should have autonomy over their own decisions and this infantilization of them suggests they need babying and can’t be trusted to watch movies that are unsuitable and so the films must be banned altogether before they can make that choice for themselves Additionally, the film censors of Ireland self admittedly knew little to nothing about movies James Montgomery was a retired Dublin Gas Company employee who, like all film censors and appeals board members until the 1970s, had no film experience James Montgomery played a key role in censoring films, but knew nothing about films at all Instead he knew The Ten Commandments, which determined his role as censor The censors acted as moral guardians, policing representations of sex, birth control, divorce and even dancing.

Today we can enjoy films and watch them with a critical eye, however it wasn’t so easy to watch what you wanted then Some argue screen media still suffers from censorship, it’s just a little harder to notice

THEDEATHOFNETFLIX

SAMANTHA CALTHROP | STAFF WRITER

Netflix is the beast of streaming services That's been a widely-known fact of life since about 2016, when Stranger Things released and cemented Netflix's place in the pecking order Netflix is now considered a household necessity alongside heating and electricity, and having a Netflix account is now one of the emblems of adulthood, along with a driving licence and a credit card My brother paid for his ex's Netflix for two years post-breakup But after Netflix has been at the core of society for so long, is it finally starting to wither?

2022 was a catastrophic year for the company financially Its stock pretty much plummeted as the pandemic-demand for streaming ended and companies like Disney+ and HBO Max elbowed their way onto the market 2022 saw Netflix announcing its controversial crackdown on account sharing - which has just been implemented in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain, with wider rollouts to follow “Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films,” reads a statement by Chengyi

Long, the Director of Product Innovation

The new Netflix pricing plan hopes to address that by charging users for every sharing account outside of the main household, but the investment in great new TV and films has also been on the downwards; Netflix has cancelled large amounts of its programming, including some well-known and well-received shows Resident Evil, The Baby-Sitters Club, and Dead End: Paranormal Park were all unexpectedly axed, often without the director knowing until the last moment It's been wellobserved that Netflix has been cancelling its animated programming left and right, which is a pretty good sign it's trying to trim off niche, less profitable shows to save money

Mind you, plenty of original showmakers are struggling to get their film made anywhere, not just Netflix "It’s never been harder to make originals But Hollywood keeps forgetting that all those sacred and lucrative IPs were once lowly and risky, all together now, originals," tweeted Jorge R Gutierrez, director of The Book of Life and Maya and the Three Creator of Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Craig McCracken has also cited the difficulty of pitching original IPs as the reason he's supported several reboots When asked if he'd tried pitching original shows instead of reboots, McCracken responded, "I pitched 16 originals to Netflix " Naturally, none of them were picked up

The streaming powerhouses are, of course, corporations; they're driven by profit, not creativity But the increased competition from rival streaming services is forcing companies to start shaving content for profit and narrowing their focus, which in the creative industry is usually something that happens before an intense crash in quality and value Surprisingly, if you stop creators from doing anything non-profitable, you kill originality and eventually start producing only garbage, but apparently Netflix has forgotten that one, because they're mainly dedicated to milking Stranger Things as far as they can

When I was a kid, we didn't even have Sky; I had to content myself with whatever was on TG4's afternoon programming Toddlers these days have instant access to every episode of the Pokémon cartoon (I'm not bitter ) But with increased profitseeking and the escalating numbers of streaming services out there, how long will it be before the Netflix days end and a new era begins?

Maybe a little longer than it seems Netflix is still the big boss among streaming services, and a 'reduction in profits' doesn't mean too much when you're still one of the biggest producers out there, and those reduced profits are still happily in the billions The penny-pinching phase of TV still has a few death throes to get out of its system before reform

So, in this modern day, what do you do when your favourite shows are spread across five different platforms that all cost more than you have? Easy. Piracy of movies and shows declined in the wake of Netflix's arrival to greatness, but now it's more tempting than ever to just get out there and download what you want for free Is that h f l h ? M b l l B l h h d

ATASTEROFCORK’SVIBRANT STUDENTMUSICSCENE

WRITES MÉABH NÍ CHONAILL | CONTRIBUTOR

Coming together for a stellar night of music on February 15th, three Cork-based acts showcased the variety and pure talent of Cork’s student population UCC’s Kane’s Basement and Violet Club were joined by MTU scholar Noah Synder onstage at The Roundy Although all three acts are post-Covid performers, the effects of the pandemic are barely to be seen “After two years of having nothing on, people are so willing to come out and give us support There's a lot more people creating as well who had that time in lockdown to hone whatever they had ” states Cormac McCarthy, lead singer of Kane’s Basement. To see the wealth of talent and music that the city has to offer, one need only visit the various music venues throughout the city on any given night “You could go to a different band twice a week if you wanted to There's always something on, in Fred Zeppelin’s or the Spailpín [Fánach]” advises Violet Club bassist Isaac Wolfe

This particular gig highlighted the supportive and close community that populates these gigs First to take to the stage was soloist Noah Snyder, a Kilkenny native studying music in MTU Entertaining the audience with a mixture of originals and covers, Synder’s vocals shone through, accompanied by his guitar as he sailed through his set, seeming relaxed and at home on the stage Part of the joy of performing for him, he says, stems from the relationship between audience and performer “I love being on stage and I love interacting with the crowd I love being able to kind of tap into a little bit of charisma ”

On the topic of his musical influences, Synder takes inspiration from the greats such as Jeff Buckley and Led Zeppelin when songwriting “As far as harmonic stuff, and musically, I love Bill Evans, Red Garland, and Keith Jarrett. They would be my favorites ” Singing of love, loss, and fun, Synder’s originals showcased a more personal and vulnerable side to the musician as well as his laid-back nature before jumping into fan favorites such as “The House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals

Upon arriving in Cork, Snyder discovered the vibrant music scene “It was totally a new world for me, like when I moved down here I mean, there's metal gigs around, you can see Jazz in Crane Lane Monday nights, the 115 jam on Thursday nights I mean, there is just so much more variety There's something there for everybody, which is rare ” Snyder has put himself out into the midst of the gigging scene as he hopes to pursue music as a career, meaning that he is now only at the very beginning of his journey “You have to take the first step, and once you do that, then the door is right open, but nobody's gonna hold your hand. So you have to put yourself out there initially”

Hoping to release his original music on Spotify at some point in the near future, Snyder’s future plans centre around performing and playing “Really what I want to do is just perform and play my own music on stage and hopefully people enjoy it as much as I enjoy playing it”

Following Snyder onstage are Violet Club They joke that they are well versed in controversy after their impromptu practice on College Road last year, a decision which would prove to garner them some very useful publicity “That’s how we got a lot of gigs at first, we blew up kind of off that” laughs the band’s bassist, Isaac Wolfe The group’s line up of Paidí Brennan (guitar), Isaac Wolfe (bassist), Sean Brosnan (guitar), Sammy Hovhannisyan (drums), Dan O’ Donovan (trombone) and Grace Campbell (vocals) took to the stage to perform some of their new material along with fan favorites

The group formed in September 2021 with members Isaac, Paidi and Sean meeting in Brookfield accommodation at UCC “We were starting the band and Sean and Paidi were asking me: we ’ ve guitar, a singer, bassist, do we have anything else? And I was like oh my roommate Dan plays trombone” explains Isaac

Credit: @violetclubcork on instagram

The addition of the trombone led to them adding on the tr McCarthy, who whilst no longer officially playing with crowd by joining the band for a song or two during their Violet Club without mentioning the group’s frontwoman G after meeting them at UCC Music Societies’ “Speed Date

The band instantly clicked, says Grace “The next night, before, and we just played a song, it was a Fleetwood Mac unbelievable” Going on to perform many gigs around C course of the next year, their repertoire consisted of covers for a year and a half and we all kind of got sick of playing band, now joined by Sammy Hovhannisyan on drums, have EP imminently and performed newly composed origina “Between the Lines” and “Take Two” onstage “We ac originals, it’s so much fun ” smiles Grace The transition seems to have gone more than smoothly for the band unmistakable Violet Club sound, whether that be due t vocals, the groovy feel to their music or all of the above ele hard to get into it first though with the originals because w scene and they’re very different markets People actually ju we used to play Mr Brightside ” admits Isaac

The band plan to continue gigging, not just in Cork, whils to day lives Grace, now a teacher, jokes “I teach through th feel like Hannah Montana ” There can be no doubt but that see great success as they invite more and more fans to “join

Last on stage but by no means least are UCC’s Kane’s Ba piece consists of Cormac McCarthy (vocals and guitar), T O’Connor (drums) and Patrick Kiely (lead guitar). A rela the four members originally performed in a band called Gla Cormac as their singer and forming the band Kane’s Basem after one practice session, it was clear to the members tha says Cormac “The chemistry was off the charts, some peop we were like, oh we’ll have to do this again, it was a bit then the band has released two singles: “Rosalind’s Song” on track to record further songs Taking a strategic approach the group hopes to accumulate a solid following before rele want to have a decent-ish following You don’t want to pu fall flat on its face ” points out drummer Neil O’Co songwriting process the band prefers to collaborate, respective thoughts When working on “Afterparty” , fron writing process “I had that opening riff for about 4 years and over again, trying to get something going with it and band” The song was met with enthusiastic applause recognised the opening notes and immediately joined the ba

Onstage the band seem to have limitless energy and an unfi From the audience’s perspective, the band are having the frontman Cormac and bassist Tom jamming to their own b saxophone for a song, sporting a fabulous faux pink McCarthy put on a show The band certainly display great qualified for UCC’s Battle of the Bands final and with their Basement are set to scale even greater heights in the future

These three acts can often be seen around the city, playing on and off stage Each shows a different side to Cork's gro acts like these at the forefront, the future of Cork’s music sc

Credit: Jack Murphy

SEXUALHEALTHINUCC

WRITES MICHAEL HANRAHAN | CONT

There has been a significant increase in the rates of sexually trans (STIs) among young adults aged 19-24 years in Cork & Kerry

In 2022, there was a 43% increase in Chlamydia notifications and in Gonorrhoea notifications among 15-24 year olds to the HSE Dep Health Area D (Cork & Kerry) compared to 2019 figures

STIs are infections that are passed on through sexual contact with s an infection Many people who have an STI will not have any sym do have the potential to make people unwell or cause long-term reproductive system.

Here is some useful information about STIs and the actions you ca them

Symptoms of STIs:

Many people do not have any symptoms. If they do have sym include:

Men and people with a penis:

Discharge from the tip of the penis

Pain or discomfort passing urine

Pain and swelling in one or both testicles

Women and people with a vagina:

Bleeding after sex

Bleeding between periods

Change in your normal vaginal discharge

Pain passing urine

Pain in your abdomen (tummy)

Some people may have bowel symptoms such as diarrhoea, pain, mucus discharge or bleeding from the back passage

How to Prevent STIs:

Remember to practise safe sex and always use barrier protection (e.g condoms/ dental dams) with new or unknown partners, even if you are taking other forms of contraception or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Using protection every time you have sex will greatly reduce your risk of contracting an STI

If you have a new sexual partner, it is a good idea for both of you to have an STI Test before having sex You may not have any symptoms, or know you have an STI. Even if you don't notice any symptoms, you can still pass an STI to a sexual partner, so it is important to be tested

Limiting your number of sexual contacts will also reduce the likelihood that you will contract an STI

Free Condoms:

You are able to access free condoms from both Student Health and the Students' Union Welfare Office (Ground floor of 54 College Rd)

You can also request free condoms from sexualhealthcentre.com

Free Contraception:

For females and people with a uterus aged 17 to 25 years you may also be eligible to access free condoms and other forms of contraception from participating GPs and pharmacies Visit sexualwellbeing ie for more information

How to get Tested:

If you do not have any symptoms of an STI you can get checked by ordering a free, anonymous home testing kit online from the HSE (visit sexualwellbeing.ie for more information).

If you have symptoms of an STI, or have had recent sexual contact with someone who has an STI, you should contact the local STI clinic (contact information below), the Student Health Department or your GP

Contact information:

STI Clinic, South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Old Blackrock Road Tel: 021 496 6844

STI Clinic, Youth Health Service, Penrose House, Penrose Quay, Cork City Tel: 021 4937250

UCC Student Health Department, Ardpatrick, College Road, Cork Tel 021 4902311

A list of other STI clinics in Ireland is available from: sexualwellbeing.ie/sexualhealth/hse-sti-services-in-ireland.html

For more information about STIs and sexual health please visitsexualwellbeing ie or man2man ie

WRITES CIARA BARRETT | SEXP

I reached out to UCC students to find out what they were dying to know about all things sex Here’s how it went

For me, penetrative sex doesn’t really feel that great I don’t know if that’s weird or not, and I was wondering if other girls had the same experience?

"It’s not weird at all! For the vast majority of people with vaginas, penetrative sex is not as good as clitoral stimulation, but there are also things you can try to help improve penetrative sex! The G Spot, the most sensitive part of the vagina internally, is located on the inside of the clitoris, and can be a bit awkward to hit properly Angling yourself upwards is a helpful way of guiding your partner to this spot I would definitely recommend putting a pillow or two just underneath your lower back to help angle yourself up, and to take the strain off your legs and back while doing so so you ’ re not distracted by it! It is also common to require both clitoral and penetrative stimulation to orgasm, and introducing a vibrator can be a great way to do this. Sometimes this can be off putting to your partner. They may see it as competition, or as a commentary on their abilities However, toys are your friend, not your enemy, and they can make things a lot better and a lot more fun for everyone involved!'

What does consent actually look like?

"Consent is not as subjective as people make it out to be Asking for consent should come as an open question, ‘do you want to do this?’ Consent is never implied, and should always be asked for before any sexual activity Giving consent should always be enthusiastic and informed You should always know your partner's full intentions, and be aware that you can stop at any time Sometimes, if you ’ ve been having sex with someone for a while, one or both of you may assume that consent is a given This isn’t the case, and you should always be prepared to stop as soon as your partner tells you to, regardless of how long you ’ ve been having sex for previously Consent can also be rescinded at any time, and this can come in the form of telling your partner to stop, or a predetermined safeword for when things are a bit too much "

When is it acceptable to bring up the conversation of kinks or triggers?

"This conversation should always happen before you have sex, regardless of whether it’s a one night stand or not Make sure that the conversation takes place before any sexual acts or kissing have begun, as it’s imperitive that you have your partners full attention and they’re not just agreeing with you to get things moving Make sure you ’ re being heard and acknowledged, and do the same for your partner

If the person you ’ re having sex with doesn’t react well to the things you discuss, primarily things you ask them not to do, that's a definite sign that you ’ ve dodged a bullet and you should not be having sex with them "

As an asexual person, I’ve always wondered how you really know you want to have sex with someone Do you just do it randomly? Is there a feeling?

This definitely varies from person to person! Some people have sex because they want to, purely because it feels good and they enjoy the pleasure derived from it There’s usually a feeling that can be caused by any number of things, whether it’s the way you feel about someone, external stimuli like porn, or even just the way that someone touches you That’s another huge variable for everyone Some people can

be turned on by being touched in even the most arbitrary of places The back is a common one for some people, but any body part applies really, it just really depends on the person As for having sex randomly, some people just really enjoy having sex and so can be turned on randomly for no discernible reason

What types of aftercare are there after sex?

Aftercare is a really broad term that actually originates from the kink community, and can differ from person to person Aftercare is essentially how you and your partner support each other after sex, and it can take on various forms depending both on the individual, and the sex itself Emotional support is really important, and can be really good for building trust and improving communication. This can be anything from talking about the sex itself and what you enjoyed to give a bit of an ego boost, to just spending time together having some food or watching a movie Physical aftercare is also extremely important, and includes things such as drinking water and peeing to avoid UTIs Depending on any kinks involved, physical aftercare may extend to caring for physical injuries Mental aftercare also takes on a new role where kinks or BDSM are involved, as they can leave the dominant participant feeling mentally drained, and concerned that they may have hurt or upset you, along with overthinking in terms of taking things too far It is important to reassure your partner after sex, as there are any number of feelings that can arise for many reasons These could be anxiety after BDSM play, or shame from somebody with a very religious background or who struggles with mental health issues These are just a few of the forms that aftercare can take on, but it’s important to have a conversation with your partner about what aftercare looks like for them and for yourself No advice column will ever be able to advise you on that better than your partner can

ELDENRING,ONEYEARON

WRITES LUKE CONDON | GAMING EDITOR

It’s been just over a year (two days over, to be exact) since Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s most recent and by far most successful Role-Playing Game, hit the shelves Since then, the game has won several prestigious Game of the Year awards and sold over seventeen million copies FromSoftware are no strangers to success (their previous game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, also won Game of the Year), but Elden Ring’s ever-increasing sales are nevertheless a record high for the developers, whose critically acclaimed games never quite managed to fully break into the mainstream – until now

Elden Ring is notorious for its difficulty, as are most FromSoftware titles, so few would have been surprised if the game had remained in the same niche as its predecessors: very hard games, for very determined players Somehow, FromSoftware managed to create a project that did just the opposite, finally achieving the widespread recognition that their games have deserved for a very long time, whilst retaining the traditional staples of their series that existing fans love Now that the post-launch hype has died down, we can take a look back at Elden Ring and figure out how exactly this perfect storm for success came about

FromSoftware are by no means trend followers, and yet when Elden Ring was confirmed to be an open world game, breaking away from the more linear structures of the beloved Dark Souls and Bloodborne series, more than a few eyebrows were raised – my own included Lazy open world games have become so common that hearing an anticipated game is adopting the feature can be almost dread-inducing When developers bite off more than they can chew, their large open worlds tend to be filled with uninteresting landmarks and come off feeling lifeless and shallow

Thankfully, FromSoftware were able to completely buck the trend; Elden Ring’s world, known as the Lands Between, is devoid of the copy-and-pasted points of ‘interest’ that open world titles are usually oversaturated with. Instead, the game does away with map waypoints and encourages players to explore on their own, resulting in a uniquely rewarding gameplay loop with new surprises around every corner The open-world fatigue affecting many gamers today could have hindered Elden Ring’s success, but by reinventing the system FromSoftware were instead able to capitalize on the prevalent desire for an open world game that doesn’t feel like a chore to play

Elden Ring’s success can also be attributed to accessibility The majority of FromSoftware’s games, being fiendishly difficult, are highly intimidating to new players, who can’t be expected to get the hang of tricky gameplay mechanics like dodging and parrying immediately Historically, the games’ communities have been no help on this front, as players asking for tips would often be met with phrases like ‘skill issue’ and ‘get good’ rather than helpful advice Difficulty is at the core of FromSoftware’s games, so it’s unsurprising that many were wary of Elden Ring’s new options for players who struggle with certain aspects of the game

However, Elden Ring’s ‘spirit summoning’ system is a worthy lifeline for those who find themselves at an impasse Players can reanimate the ghostly remains of monsters and warriors to fight by their side, weakening and distracting enemies This lightens the burden on players, giving those who don’t have the time to memorise attack patterns or the reaction speed to avoid incoming attacks a fighting chance

Alternatively, Elden Ring’s open world format allows players to pick and choose their battles, skipping over harder adversaries until such a time as they feel ready to take them on By throwing players a bone and giving them the choice to negate some of Elden Ring’s difficulty, FromSoftware have made a game that appeals to an infinitely larger audience

A final (purely anecdotal) theory I’d like to present is that of the role of social media in boosting Elden Ring’s popularity Upon the game’s launch, my TikTok feed would throw Elden Ring related videos at me constantly, and I was astonished to find that many had racked up hundreds of thousands of likes In comparison to the few videos I’d seen that featured previous FromSoftware games, this seemed like an unprecedented phenomenon It’s hard to tell whether this quirk in the TikTok algorithm was a result of Elden Ring’s growing popularity or a cause of it, but I’d be willing to put my money on the latter.

Elden Ring’s adoring fanbase continues to grow, and with creative designer Hidetaka Miyazaki’s recent hints that a new expansion pack is on the way it’s unlikely to slow down any time soon

INPENTIMENT,ARTSTYLEISEVERYTHING

WRITES LUKE CONDON | GAMING EDITOR

I briefly mentioned Pentiment in my last article, citing it as an example of a game that does decision-making right, but after finishing it recently I realized that the game really deserves an article to itself It’s not what you’d call conventional; Pentiment is a visual novel/adventure game hybrid in which players take control of a working artist by the name of Andreas Maler, who decides to put painting on the backburner in order to solve a series of murders instead This isn’t because sleuthing is more lucrative, however, as the game is set in 16th century Europe and Andreas is actually doing quite well for himself (careers in the arts were more viable back then) Instead, Andreas’ foray into forensics comes about as a result of worldly circumstances out of his control, and indeed most of the game revolves around characters reacting to the ever-changing world around them Pentiment goes through great pains to hammer home this theme of change: changing people, changing politics, changing places and above all changing ideas To avoid spoilers, I’ll skip over the minute plot details and instead focus on one of Pentiment’s primary methods of conveying messages: its art style

Pentiment’s graphics are, simply put, beautiful Not beautiful in an 8K resolution, more-realistic-than-real-life kind of way, but in a ‘this looks like a talented monk sketched it hundreds of years ago’ kind of way That’s the style Pentiment seeks not only to imitate, but surpass Thankfully, the game’s art team weren’t constrained by the many hindrances medieval-era artists faced (pages being damaged, ink fading, dying of plague, that sort of thing), allowing them to combine 21st century graphical fidelity with 16th century manuscript-writing techniques and create a truly unique look

The most obvious manifestation of this is in the design of backdrops; each area of the game features foreground elements against different painting-style backgrounds that are simple, yet elegant The striking and vibrant features of both interior and exterior locations go a long way towards grounding players in the game’s historical setting Even transitioning between areas adds to this effect; instead of tiresome loading screens, the game zooms out and plays a seamless page-turning animation to maintain immersion Pentiment isn’t a ‘videogame-y’ title: it’s a piece of art, and it wants you to remember that

These surroundings are populated by characters that are two-dimensional in design (although their personalities are anything but) Most match the manuscript-esque style of the rest of the game, although there are a few exceptions; Brother Senhat, a visiting Ethiopian priest, is illustrated in a manner that resembles 16th century art from that region, rather than a European style Characters who are children have smooth and simple designs, whereas older ones are highly detailed and intricate, in order to better represent their more developed countenances Despite being based on static illustrations, the personalities of Pentiment’s cast are wonderfully animated, with lively facial expressions and movements. Their speech is entirely text based, but characters are given their own ‘voice’ through the usage of different writing fonts for different people; for example, monks speak in an ornate religious calligraphy, whilst some literate townsfolk talk in the neat typeface of the newly developed printing press

So why go through all this effort, rather than sticking to the safer pixel art style many modern indie games rely on, or even borrowing from the realism of big budget releases? Pentiment’s title gives some of it away The word is defined by the game’s developers as ‘a reappearance in a painting of an original drawn or painted element which was painted over by the artist’; essentially, a change made during the painting process becoming visible Time to get a little abstract; this is a reference to one of the artistic techniques used in the game, but it’s also a metaphor for Pentiment’s underlying messages of change If Pentiment is the painting, then its very human stories from a bygone age are the elements that it makes visible The game’s depictions of rebellions and religious reformations are only made real by transporting us into the unstable world of 16th century Europe through the usage of an authentic art style that is wildly different to what we usually see today Pentiment’s art, and in turn its story, shows us that the only constant throughout history is change

Or that’s what I think, at least If you want to form your own take on Pentiment, you can try it out yourself through the Xbox Game pass subscription service available on both Xbox and PC, or by purchasing the standalone game on either platform

THEBRITAWARDS

WRITES KELLIE MURPHY | FASHION EDITOR

I consider the Brit Awards to be a sort of an underdog when it comes to the world of award ceremonies, not that I know much about it Despite having some of the best talent in Britain there, and the most memorable names like Mick Fleetwood, the Beatles (who won three awards) and Freddie Mercury (who made his last public appearance there), it was seen as frumpy in the past For more see Mick Fleetwood and Sam Fox presenting the Brits in 1989 Their stint as presenters would go down in history as one of the most embarrassing moments in British television and exemplified the sorry state that the Brits was in at that time For fear of harming your sensibilities I would recommend not watching Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood efforts at presenting It was so grotesquely out of tune, they seemed to be reading two different sets of cue cards, Fox seemed to be just as confused as I was and Mick Fleetwood was drifting off into space The award ceremony was unorganised and it seemed to be the death knell of the award show, in comparison to other award ceremonies such as the Oscars which has almost always managed to maintain a popular image of class and poise

But the Brit Awards went through something of a revamp in the 2010s The Brit Awards have always been one of the biggest award ceremonies in the music industry, which you can learn from a glance at notable attendees and winners but to avoid stagnation they turned to some saviours, most notably Vivienne Westwood who designed the trophies taken home by the winners in 2011 The Brit Awards completely changed the award ceremony, giving it much needed modernisation to bring drama back to the ceremony, replacing its lacklustre energy with something louder One of these changes was the voting system for Album of the Year, which changed from music executives casting their vote to fellow musicians in the efforts to make the winning album feel more deserved and more relevant than other interests that may motivate the voting preferences of the industry executives Overall, the Brit Awards has transformed from the eighties to the modern day triumph where the best of the UK’s talent meet for one night in the hopes of an accolade What has always been maintained in the Brit Awards, whether it was going to the dogs or reaching new heights, was fashion Pop stars have a great habit of wearing looks that are memorable through beauty, shock or both at award ceremonies and this has stood the test of time I think a running commentary of the latest awards outfits is the perfect illustration of the changes that the Brit awards has gone through while still sticking to its core purpose, a celebration of Britain’s music and stars

Harry Styles: It would be a crime not to mention Harry for his four brilliant achievements alone. Winning four Brit awards, Styles has swept through the Brits trailblazing with his fame and fortune and paying homage to his life changing time as a member of One

Direction

m of the Year, This was an o been prouder ened

Harry Sty was expecting something very funky at the award ceremony And I did get that, I just kind of wish I didn’t get it in that way Now before you start going off on a tirade I’d just like to say I usually love Harry’s fashion sense, I think it’s fun! Just not this time The silhouette of the suit, matched with his tie? Scarf? Made him look like a wine glass I did not want to drink from it The severe, dull colour of this year's Brits outfit pales in comparison (see what I did there) to Harry Styles' 2022 Brit Awards outfit which even came with its own matching handbag! I would wear 2022’s suit, I have admired Harry in 2022’s suit With this suit I just squinted my eyes at it I think a positive to this year’s suit is its use of aviation techniques with the nice little ends of his suit jacket and pants so that he could be buoyed along with the air as he ran around the O2 arena after his well-deserved wins But it is a fun silhouette even if it didn’t appeal to me personally Three stars out of five, one for winning four BAFTAS, one for effort and another for confidence

Jodie Turner Smith: an elegant actress and model who appeared in Zayn Malik’s music video for ‘Pillowtalk’ and played Anne Boleyn in the Channel 5 series Anne Boleyn in 2021 She will be in a spin-off of Star Wars, a series called ‘The Acolyte’ Jodie Turner Smith is a rising star in Hollywood and her dress to the Baftas didn’t fall short of her path to fame Shiny, silver, and beautiful, her dress is reminiscent of the eighties and a futuristic film combined to make this stunning creation Sheaths of silver fabric cross over her stomach and torso, with one arm bare and the other covered by a close fitting sleeve and a silver cape shielding it, creating a beautiful silhouette Unlike Harry Styles, her dress actually looks like something I could feel, and look, good in It was designed by Zuhair Murad, a Lebanese fashion designer and she wore silver Chopard jewellery to match The silver dress paired with silver jewellery and what seems to be metallic blue eyeshadow creates a starstruck effect And in true movie star fashion Turner-Smith gets four stars out of five She lost out on one star because I didn’t like the high neck on the dress, it feels a bit unnecessary when you see everything that Turner-Smith has going on with the torso, especially considering her creative V-neck which I think is the best thing about the dress as it makes a beautiful knot effect

FASHION

Sam Smith: The singer was aptly described by Bazaar as a star that “made headlines in an inflatable latex suit by Harri ” Whoever Harri is I want a written apology Smith probably thought that this look was camp and pushing new boundaries in fashion He was probably right because it could always double as a tent if you’re stuck for one Sharp corners must have been Sam Smith’s enemy at the Brits for the danger they posed to his sensitive blow up outfit and the time it would have taken him to waddle around them To be fair to him, it is memorable and it would almost look cool if he didn’t inflate his pants into the shape of a love heart Maybe he was driven by feelings of ardour My favourite thing about this outfit is his boots, but that’s probably because they're the only thing you could actually wear I think the look would have been improved by a row of buttons going along the centre of his

ANEWCANONOFQUEERPAINTERS: SALMANTOOR

of a scene Toor’s paintings are never simplistic or minimalistic, containing multiple images that never seem to clash with one another, perfectly blending into the scene They are beautiful, passionate, and masterful, asserting their rightful place in the top echelons of New York artistry

However, it is not just the aesthetics of Toor’s paintings that have earned him the title of one of the most influential artists of his generation Their subject matter goes deeper than appearances, exploring his experience as a queer brown man living in both the United States and Pakistan Growing up as an effeminate boy in Lahore, he was relentlessly bullied and feared the discovery of his sexuality in a country where homosexuality was denounced at both a societal and political level When he moved to Ohio as a teenager, the threat of homophobic violence remained but racism became an added layer to his experience of oppression

For centuries, queer people have used art to reveal and express their identities in ways that defied heteronormative ideals This was explored through hidden queer codes such as peacock feathers and green carnations that indicated the sexuality of an artist or their subject However, as the LGBTQ+ liberation movement grew, so did the representation of their experiences in art More artists began to throw hidden symbols to the wind, in favour of raw and open portrayals of Queer life This became especially prevalent in the Western canon of art after the Stonewall riots where Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe used their art to highlight the tragedy of the HIV AIDS epidemic

This opened the door for other artists to unapologetically express their queer identity through artistic mediums Since then, there have been troves of talented LGBTQ+ artists who have created paintings, installations, and performances that have changed the art landscape and helped to challenge prejudiced ideas of queer life

Salman Toor, a Pakistani-born American painter, is one of the many brilliant queer artists who are becoming household names in contemporary art Born in Lahore in the 1980s, his genius talent was recognised from an early age by his teachers, family, and friends He was engrossed in the world of art, spending most of his school days in the art room getting lost in creation Although Toor’s natural talent was obvious, he worked incredibly hard to receive a scholarship at Ohio Wesleyan University where he obtained a Bachelor degree in Arts Finally, in 2009, he completed his MFA in Fine Art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where he still resides today

It wasn’t until a decade later that he would receive the recognition that he deserved, exploding onto the New York art scene with his first large-scale exhibition that gained him worldwide fame Now, sitting at a cool 139,000 Instagram followers, Toor is making a name for himself in an industry that seemed entirely out of reach just a few years prior

If you have ever seen one of Toor’s paintings, it’s not hard to understand how or why he has risen to fame in such a short period of time Often coated in Emerald green, they easily catch the attention of an audience, emanating a dream-like quality that is impossible to take your eyes off of As you look closer, the figures in his art flicker with a movement that seems so real it is like they are laughing, dancing, jumping from the canvas right before you He has mastered the skill of bringing these characters to life, sketching emotions that appear so striking, you almost forget they are fictional No matter how much time you spend studying it, a new object seems to appear from the dark and reveal itself This undoubtedly stems from his fascination with miniature art, focusing on the finer details of each and every aspect

Despite this, his experience as a queer man was not entirely characterised by violence, trauma, and oppression Once he moved to New York to complete an MFA, he discovered a queer community that allowed him to feel both safe and joyful Toor began to experience the joy of drag shows, queer kinship, dinner dates, and vibrant parties This allowed him to flourish as a young man, opening him up to an idea of LGBTQ+ life that seemed impossible in another life For example, in “The Queen”, a queer person is dressed in beautiful garments and jewellery, embracing other queer people in what seems like a joyous scene Although the painting is set in Pakistan, Toor shows that there is hope and space for queer people to enjoy life and their sexuality openly

Toor’s paintings act as a medium for him to explore the multifaceted nature of queer life that involves sadness, sex, and friendship They act as a way to defy binary representations of queer men as either hypersexualised or brutalised The subjects of his art affords humanity to these identities, showing them in scenes that are usually reserved for heterosexual “normalcy” From a playful pillow fight, to a movie night, to a man aimlessly scrolling through his phone, queer people are shown in moments where their sexuality is not the focus of their portrayal They are enjoying everyday mundane things that are rarely associated with queer life which is often depicted as chaos in one way or another

They also work against racist representations of Brown men that either vilify them or fetishize them Firstly, Brown men are at the centre of his 18th-century inspired paintings rather than the previous oversaturation of white characters He refuses to follow Eurocentric standards, highlighting the beauty of long noses and body hair in many of his paintings This becomes a form of empowerment for Toor, reclaiming space in the surrealist genre of art that has historically turned its back on people of colour It also allows him to speak on the oppression of South Asian people in the United States This is particularly evident in the painting “Immigration Men” that depicts the cruelty of deportation Through his art, Toor is bringing important social issues to the forefront of the conversation in the contemporary art scene, a historically prejudiced and ignorant industry.

Salman Toor’s paintings promise to please any audience with their fine artistry But it is their ability to educate audiences about the queer experience that has been the most impactful His success is indicative of how the art world is changing, rather than exploiting queerness, it is beginning to celebrate it and all the multilayered aspects that go along with it Toor’s art shows us how dire the need is to platform representations of the LGBTQ+ community and communities of colour in order to debunk myths that still pervade mainstream media today It also gives us a window into a life that has been so erroneously misrepresented for centuries

WRITES SARAH KENNELLY | ARTS & LITERATURE EDITOR

Top Surgery

By William Keohane

Two lines of light, wounds open the past drops out – a cluster of red stars –from my chest and onto the table; metal instruments

latex vinyl wrapped trained hands, mopped brows, pie slices of artificial brightness above. I look down at the flat plain, new man.

And ask the air: is this mine? all of it – every inch of scar and –Yes the voice carrying me says. This is your chest.

THETEAMTHATJUSTCOULDN’TBEBEATEN

COLLEGETAKEBACKTHEIRSIGERSONCROWNINMARATHONCAMPAIGN

WRITES MA

On the 11th of January crowd watched the Uni campaign against the Un visitors late in the game would have to take the w that considering the Lim McLaughlin and Jack Gl and UCD were also in certainly didn’t lose th manager Billy Morgan F the first half, working sco of Within the group ther beginning to develop tha and crossbones would go

A gutsy performance f frustrated for large perio

Tuam would be the only campaign A third-round settled, but a sensationa eight-point deficit to ea metres out two minutes

UCC men looked unusua served them well as the were all on target while C second time With the s Foley who emerged the into the next round The d

The following Wednesda venue for the quarter fi making up top counterac points in the first half Catháil O’Mahony’s glorious solo goal was all that separated the sides at the interval A tit for tat half of football was to come, with the College looking to have secured their place in the semi-final in the dying moments, before a long ball into the box was gathered by Matt Og McGleenan and fired into the net Another twenty minutes was to come for a tiring UCC. St. Mary’s took the lead for the very first time in the game in the first period of extra time, but the man of the moment O’Mahony popped over a free in the 83rd minute to level the affair Penalties again Herlihy and Mahony both delivered, while Dylan Foley pulled off an incredible hat-trick of saves having employed effective Emiliano Martinez style tactics It was left to Mark Cronin to carry UCC into the final four, and the Nemo Rangers man blasted the ball past Charlie Smyth to keep the Sigerson dream alive

TU Dublin would be the next test of the group’s resilience in Carlow’s Cullen Park UCC took 31 shots, and scored just 13 times With seventeen turnovers and the same number of fouls, the College looked a tired, beaten side A fourteen-minute spell without a score spelled danger for the underperforming Cork side, with Robbie McAllister twice denied a pivotal goal by Foley Daniel O’Mahony was a colossus for the College at the back, but the game was well and truly in the melting pot Only for a heart-stopping tackle by Na Gaeil’s Damian Bourke, there could have been a third consecutive extra-time At the final whistle, UCC were the ones into the final

Ireland Final though, because everyone knew that a similar performance against UL would simply not be good enough However, they say semi-finals are for winning, no matter how you get the job done A final in SETU Waterford was waiting and UCC would be marked underdogs

The rain-soaked and wind-swept showdown had all the hallmarks of a classic encounter UL took the lead early on, before a fortunate mis-kick from Catháil O’ Mahony found the fist of Dylan Geaney for the game’s first and only goal Mark Cronin could have delivered a second inside the first five minutes, but his effort clipped the outside of the post UCC were guilty of some lazy tackling in the opening fifteen minutes but the challenging wind put pressure on the UL free-takers keeping the College in the driving seat UCC went thirteen minutes of the first half without a score, before O' Mahony, Falvey and Herlihy all pointed from play, with Geaney and Cronin on target from placed balls A half time lead of two points was less than full value for their lively performance, and with a gale against them in the second half it was inevitable that UL would come out fighting From the 35th minute on, the Limerick side countered UCC’s early three-point blitz with seven of their own For a fifteen-minute spell, UCC failed to score once, and there was a feeling in the stadium that UL’s purple patch would be enough Write off this UCC team at your peril

Points from Geaney, Cronin and Mahony gave UCC the lead once more, before a Jack Coyne effort tied things once more The bodies were tiring at this stage, with the situation so dire even the UCC Express Sports Editor himself had to be thrown onto the pitch (Who’d have thought? Not me) Substitute Michael O’Gara of Austin Stacks looked to have delivered the killer blow, but Millstreet’s Darragh Cashman held his nerve to take the game to extra time for the third time in four games UCC would have to go to the well again to win their 24th Sigerson Cup Having lost the toss, the College would be playing against the powerful breeze in the first half You wouldn’t have thought it watching the game, as scores from Herlihy, Tipperary senior Sean O'Connor and Mark Cronin gave the college a two-point lead going into half time of extra time With the wind at their backs for the second half, they defended in packs, making a series of incredible interceptions and tackles Geaney tapped over a free in the only score of the last ten, with UL failing to find any way to break down the UCC defence, and their long wait would go on for a first Sigerson title When referee Sean Hurson blew the final whistle there were scenes of utter jubilation from the boys in the skull and crossbones

The great Billy Morgan fell to his knees in front of the stand, overcome with the emotion of such an unlikely title He was quickly swarmed by his management team of Brian Cuthbert, Charlie McLoughlin, John Grainger, Mick Reynolds and 1995 Sigerson winning captain Paul O’Keefe The players were hugging friends, families and teammates, chanting and beaming with pride Anyone who watched the game live on TG4 or were in Waterford for the win could see just how much it meant to these young men

Mark Cronin was awarded the TG4 Man of the Match, it could have gone to any UCC player.

The lads celebrated their win with a tour of West Kerry, made all the sweeter with George Sigerson in tow. What a team. And as Killian Falvey tweeted on Wednesday night, “What a win.”

In his speech, captain Jack Murphy spoke of the 50 odd players who had played a part in the team over the course of the year, and of just how much it means to keep the tradition of UCC football alive. While

ANALBEADS,BRIBESANDDOPING THEHISTORYOFCHEATINGINSPORT

WRITES JACK KELLY | DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR

relevant now more than ever However, in a wider sense, this case (potentially) falls under the umbrella of being a massive sporting scandal, ultimately based on a form of cheating But where does it rank among other scandals? And why is cheating so deeply rooted in all sports?

Of course, there have been once-off instances of cheating in sports Whether you were born or not, everyone is aware of Maradona’s cheating or heroics depending on what side of the Irish sea you reside Similarly, Irish people of a certain vintage will never be able or want to forget French legend Thierry Henry’s infamous handball against the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup 2010 Qualifier Incidents like these can be categorised as in-the-moment events more than likely bred out of the ruthless pressure cooker that is professional sport and structured cheating That does not excuse these incidents but instead is an explanation It is rule breaking in an instinctive sense rather than rule breaking being a calculated and justifiable means to an end within an organisation Systematic cheating that is organised and funded is incomparable to gamesmanship and is, perhaps surprisingly, more widespread than expected and has been this way for quite some time. Bribery, doping (financially and through the use of illegal performance enhancers), and virtually any unfair advantage have been deployed across a wide variety of sports

Beginning with the Chicago White Sox team from the 1919 World Series If you ever wondered where the phrase “say it ain’t so, Joe” originated, it was a line from a Chicago Daily News Journalist about the baseball superstar “Shoeless” Joe Jackson after allegations that his team, Chicago White Sox, had fixed the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds Unfortunately, it was so

On Monday the 6th of February 2023, the Premier League charged Manchester City with breaching its rules on over 100 occasions If proven, this would be an unprecedented number of offences committed by a club in the competition The independent commission, which will consider the charges, could recommend that City be expelled from the competition, suspended or docked points if it finds the club guilty Those sanctions are listed in the Premier League’s handbook but a commission is clear to apply any punishment it considers appropriate

The six-times Premier League champions have been accused of failing to give “a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”, failing to “include full details” of player and manager remuneration, failing to comply with rules regarding financial fair play and failing to cooperate in a Premier League investigation that has concluded after more than four years

So the most successful team in domestic football over the last decade was not only owned and run by a state accused of a litany of human rights abuses but now they are allegedly guilty of an unrivalled number of financial offences that benefitted them greatly during what is undoubtedly the clubs most successful period

An argument could be made that this is just one of the many examples of unregulated club ownership having a pernicious effect on the football landscape Fair point, calls for an independent regulator regarding football club ownership are more

Despite the fact eight players on the team were acquitted by jury in a 1921 public trial, and crime boss and gambler Arnold Rothstein – suspected of offering bribes after he made a significant profit on the team’s loss – was never indicted, the Commissioner of Baseball was unconvinced, and permanently banned the players involved This dark episode has since become known as the Black Sox scandal The players maintained their innocence, including Jackson Despite the fact he had signed a confession, which mysteriously went missing from the courthouse before the trial.

One of the most unscrupulous examples of cheating in the history of sport can be attributed to the Spanish Basketball team from the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. During the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney eight teams of athletes with intellectual impairment or learning difficulties competed in the basketball tournament, adapted for competitors The Spanish team won the gold medal easily There was just one problem: 10 of the 12 competitors did not have disabilities When the team were running away with their first match, their coach instructed them to play less well And when suspicions arose by people who recognised them, players were instructed to wear dark glasses and fake beards on their return to Madrid airport to lessen attention

Team member and undercover journalist Carlos Ribagorda then blew the whistle on the ruse and returned his medal The Spanish boss ultimately responsible for the machination was convicted of fraud But the consequences were long lasting. Thanks to the scandal, events for those with intellectual impairments were discontinued by the International Paralympics Committee, and were only brought back in 2012.

bar in a corridor

The culprit was Shane Stant, who had been paid to break Kerrigan’s right leg (he didn’t, but still injured her enough that she could not compete, which was the aim) Harding won the competition

Stant, who confessed to the FBI, had been hired by Harding’s ex-husband and bodyguard The extent of Harding’s involvement is much debated to this day Harding confessed that she found out about the plot in its aftermath, did not report it and pleaded guilty She avoided prison but incurred a large fine and carried out community service It was the end of her career She briefly turned to boxing, but trouble continued to follow her

In recent times, public opinion has softened towards Harding, who grew up in poverty and worked hard to achieve success in a privileged and affluent sport There has also been much more acknowledgement of the abuse and duress she had suffered in her life For her part, Kerrigan has forgiven Harding In 2017, the film I, Tonya won a number of awards, with Margot Robbie playing the lead

Perhaps the most famous of all cheats, Lance Armstrong was the darling of world sports – handsome with a pop star for a girlfriend, celebrity friends and a philanthropist who had raised thousands of pounds for cancer charities after he himself was diagnosed Armstrong’s story is unique in that he recovered from terminal cancer to become a seven time Tour de France champion- it was a Hollywood type story Then it all came crashing down

Armstrong had been the subject of doping rumours for many years but it was in 2012 when he was finally charged He was stripped of all honours, including his seven Tour de France titles and Olympic medal People abandoned their yellow Livestrong wristbands To protect his secret, Armstrong was also a bully to his team and journalists After a partial confession in an interview with Oprah, he did not exactly endear himself by saying he would do it all again if he had his time over, and also for facilitating the doping of – and pressurising of – others Armstrong’s fall from grace has inspired numerous documentaries (The Armstrong Lie and Seven Deadly Sins by David Walsh among the best)

Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, world No 1 and already the “rock star” of chess, accused the American Hans Niemann of cheating after the 19-year-old ended

playing with the white pieces but maintains he prepared for an opening move and “by some ridiculous miracle” Carlsen played it Carlsen was not buying it and

for the first time ever – quit the tournament In a delicious twist, the two were fated to meet again two weeks later, this time over the internet After playing a single move Carlsen again rather dramatically resigned in protest

Other prominent figures in the chess world have weighed in Niemann admitted he had cheated twice before, years ago, but put it down to youthful indiscretion He has even declared he is willing to play naked to prove his present innocence; which might not be enough considering some detractors have suggested he used vibrating anal beads to receive signals.

And there you have it, a condensed account of a hundred year history of cheating in sport that demonstrates a skewed moral compass across various sports But what is pertinent is that- no matter the method of cheating- there are a myriad of scenarios where the end result is the culprit being caught A cliché, but ‘cheaters never prosper’ rings true so why do it?