UCC Express Vol.26 Issue 11

ISCASHSTILLKING?

UCC SU ELECTIONS 2023

WRITES JAMES KEMMY & ATAKAN UZUN | NEWS EDITOR AND DEPUTY

Last week saw the culmination of the annual UCC Student’s Union elections

These decide who will go on to form the SU Executive for the next academic term Voting took place online from Monday morning (March 6th) to Wednesday afternoon, with the results being announced later that evening by incumbent president, Asha Woodhouse in the New Bar

Seeing a much stronger polling turnout than previous, pandemic-affected years, this year’s vote suggests that the full return to campus has boosted students’ political engagement By use of a PRSTV (proportional representation through single transferable vote) system, the same seen for local, general and EU elections in Ireland, students were able to rank their chosen candidates by order of preference, with the additional option of re-opening nominations for each position

Following the hustings sessions which took place for the part-time reps and sabbatical roles on the 28th February and 1st March respectively, voters were

able to gain a sense of what each candidate offered Hustings is an opportunity for those running for office to promote their manifesto policies and answer questions or concerns posed by students With a large turnout on the 1st March session particularly, there was vibrant debate and interest surrounding the future direction of the SU

SU Election ‘23 saw a wide range of roles filled, with the various branches of UCC student politics replaced with new faces These categories include six full-time sabbatical officers (including President), alongside three part-time campaign positions and four college representatives Details of the election results are categorised below:

President:

In a contested battle that generated much attention, commerce student Colm Foley was elected President over Alannah O’Connor, the current SU Welfare Officer

Speaking to the Express last week, both candidates discussed their manifesto priorities O’Connor emphasised aims

of removing the student contribution fee, creating a social fund for trans students in the process of transitioning and renewing a formal role for the university in college Christmas events Foley’s campaign meanwhile focused on the promotion of the Irish language, reforming educational extensions policy and building solutions to the student accommodation crisis, primarily through incentivising digs arrangements for local homeowners

Deemed elected on the first count after surpassing the quota, Foley will go on to assume the office of SU President following the conclusion of this academic year, replacing Asha Woodhouse who has served the last two annual terms as head of the Union Closing his campaign, Colm stated: “I’m not representing any specific student group, but every student of UCC equally I’m being myself, my heart is in the right place and I genuinely care. It would be an honour to serve in 54 College Road as President of UCC Student’s Union”

Welfare Officer:

Aoibhe O’Brien, final year Government and Political Science student was successful in her campaign for Welfare Officer, a role contested by two other candidates- Brian O’Kane and Kacper Pilarek Aiming to address a widespread “welfare crisis” being experienced by students right now, O’Brien’s messaging was centred on securing paid work placements for all students, providing specialised sexuality and gender supports and enhancing counselling services on campus by promoting the need for more university psychiatrists

Entertainment:

Another category contested by three candidates was that of Entertainment (Ents) Officer A race that saw the withdrawal of a fourth candidate midway through the campaign, Jill Mortel ultimately won a higher share of the vote than her final running mates,

WHATDOESUCCWISHTHEYLEARNEDINSEX ED?ACOLLABORATIONWITHUCCFEMSOC

BEWARE THEESSAYMILLS

EDITORIAL TEAM

Editor-In-Chief-editor@uccexpressie

CaitríonaNíChonaill

Designer-design@uccexpressie

EmerNeville

Photographers-photography@uccexpress.ie

AlisonTreacy

JackMurphy

NewsEditor-news@uccexpress.ie

JamesKemmy

DeputyNewsEditor-deputynews@uccexpressie

AtakanUzun

SocialMediaManager

EoinO'Brien

FeaturesEditor-features@uccexpress.ie

ClaireWatson

DeputyFeaturesEditor-deputyfeatures@uccexpressie

KateO’Flanagan

SkillsCentreContributor-skillscentre@ucc.ie

ConorODriscoll

OpinionEditor-opinion@uccexpressie

BélineChan

IrishEditor-gaeilge@uccexpress.ie

OrlaLeahy

Food&HealthEditor-food@uccexpressie

NathanCarey

Film&TelevisionEditor-screen@uccexpress.ie

RosemarieOByrne

MusicEditor-music@uccexpressie

CormacMcCarthy

SexpressEditor-sexpress@uccexpressie

CiaraBarrett

GamingEditor-gaming@uccexpress.ie

LukeCondon

FashionEditor-fashion@uccexpressie

KellieMurphy

Arts&LiteratureEditor-arts@uccexpress.ie

SarahKennelly

SportEditor-sport@uccexpressie

MarkCooper

DeputySportEditor-deputysport@uccexpress.ie

JackKelly

StaffWriters

SamanthaCalthrop

AnaMcGuire

THE FINISH LINE IS IN SIGHT

CAITRÍONA NÍ CHONAILL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

Hi there

It’s getting to that point in Semester 2 where everyone is burnt out, cranky and seriously considering why they chose to do a degree in the first place We have snow in March for some reason and everyone is stressed I feel you, I really do However, we only have 4 more weeks left in Semester 2, then we’re into Easter holidays, study week and exam time

For me, that means I have 4 more weeks in my last semester in UCC, and then that’s it Then I have a thesis to write (no biggie) and I’m out into the adult world! I promise you that these last few weeks are going to go by in a whirlwind of lectures, society events, end of year celebrations and it will pass in the blink of an eye Hang onto it while you have it as you only have a select amount of time to spend inside this student bubble that, I can promise you, will be cherished as you are coming to the end of it!

Awards season is also upon us, and I’d like to congratulate our News Editor James and Features Editor Claire for being respectively awarded runner up and nominated in different categories at the Student Publication Awards The National Student Media Awards are also coming up, so be sure to stay tuned on our social media channels to see how we get on!

We have coverage of the SU elections this issue, and we also provided coverage of all the candidates on our social media pages as you may have seen Learn the dangers of essay mills with the Skills Centre, use your cúpla focail for Seachtain na Gaeilge in the collaborative articles between the Irish and Music Editors, and learn what UCC wishes it had learnt in Sex Ed, in a collaborative article between UCC Sexpress and UCC Feminist Society Happy Reading

A LOVE LETTER TO WRITING

CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

Hey guys! A bit of a bittersweet one, as this will be my last editorial of the year It’s been an absolute pleasure to spend another year writing on the Express, working with such an incredible team I’ve so many fond memories of goofing around in the newsroom, running around campus like vampires, and chatting to so many wonderful people; from artists and writers to our infamous UCC Confessions

I really want to thank the Express and its delightful readers for allowing me the opportunity to write so frequently and passionately Writing has always been an important part of my life, but it wasn’t until I made it onto the team last year that I really began to trust my abilities

I'm quite a timid person, and social anxiety has been something I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember This year I wanted to climb outside of my comfort zone and start interviewing people Finding random people and shooting them that email has been nothing short of terrifying for me But getting to connect with strangers and hear their different stories and experiences, has been simply magical There’s nothing that excites me more than listening to others rant about their passions, and widening my scope of the world

I think that’s why I’ve loved every moment of the Express While I’m an editor, I’m a reader too I love flicking through those pages (both paper and digital) and seeing what all my friends have written about this issue It’s wonderful to watch everyone grow as writers Everyone brings something different to the paper, and everyone is brilliantly creative

Many thanks to the team, our readers and Chloe who if it wasn’t for her encouraging me to apply back in 2021, I would’ve missed such a wonderful experience

UCCSU2023 UCCSU2023

Credit:MaxBell(@MaxBellDH)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Es Ankum and Emily Terrie-Shannon. Jill has stated that she wants to re-build UCC’s entertainment scene as we emerge from the pandemic with an inclusive and socially conscious approach “There will be something provided for everyone”, Mortell promised in the election lead up, emphasising vintage clothes markets, broadening Cork’s student nightlife and providing screenings of large-scale sports events

Education:

BA History and Geography student Ali O’Mahony was elected Education Officer, winning over Bláithín Sheehy Basing her candidacy on three key pillars; academic inclusivity, student supports, and funding and accessibility, Ali will soon take over from current Education Officer, Stephen O’Riordan after May

Communications and Engagement:

A campaign fielded by candidates Phillip Brennan and Hayley O’Connell, it was Hayley who was victorious on election night, surpassing the quota on the first count Their manifesto was defined by increasing SU visibility on satellite campuses and a new town hall initiative which students are encouraged to attend to voice concerns about the work the SU is doing in representing students

Commercial and Fundraising:

Kayley Nolan ran uncontested in the Comms and Fundraising candidacy and was elected to the role on a mandate of maintaining financial autonomy for the SU “The role has a lot of potential to engage students in a different way through the people that I’ll be able to bring on campus ” , said Kayley speaking to the Express last week

CACSSS Rep:

Meanwhile, four representatives were elected to advocate on behalf of their respective discipline schools, known as colleges Running for the role of representative for the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, unopposed, Ella Barrett surpassed the quota in the first count, and was deemed elected She ran her campaign with a considerable emphasis on being a voice for students and liaising between class representatives and the Student Union Executive

Med and Health Rep:

Kacper Bogalecki ran unopposed for the part-time role of the Medical and Health representative He exceeded the quota on the first count, and was therefore deemed elected In his manifesto, he outlined his desire to advocate for student rights and welfare, improve student experience, and diversity of culture and inclusivity

Business and Law Rep:

Having run for the position of Business and Law representative, once again, a parttime role, Gearoid O’Donovan was elected in the first count, having run for the post unopposed He placed a focus on advocating for postgraduate students in his manifesto and addressing the concerns of students in his respective department

SEFS Rep:

Running for the part-time position for Science, Engineering and Food Science representative, Quinton Kelly secured the position in the first count, after being elected unopposed He promised to deliver for students in his manifesto, with communication, transparency and commitment

Irish Language and Cultural Rep:

Lastly, three students were chosen by voters to serve in part-time, campaign issue based roles Katie Halpin Hill secured election in the first count after running uncontested for the part-time role of Irish Language and Cultural representative (Ionadaí Gaeilge agus Cultúir) Having been co-opted into the position in October of last year, Katie is likely to continue to build upon the work she has done so far to promise the inclusion of the Irish language across the university

Environmental and Sustainability Rep:

Running for the hotly contested position of Environmental and Sustainability representative, Dearbhla Richardson was elected in the first count with 2,869 first preference votes, compared to her counterpart, Martha Cashell, who secured 611 FPV Placing a light on her passion for intersectional climate justice, she believed there was power in people coming together on the issue of climate change, and would continue to work to maintain UCC’s renowned reputation for being a green campus in her time as Environmental and Sustainability representative

Equality and Diversity Rep:

Competing for the position of Equality and Diversity Rep, Baromie Fullah came out the victor on the first count with 2,656 votes, compared to 1,137 for her opponent, Kevin O’Connor Baromie’s campaign was largely centred around improving digital and physical accessibility in UCC, along with establishing new focus group initiatives to generate anonymous feedback on equality issues

On the whole, the UCC SU Elections ‘23 witnessed strong candidate passion and widespread interest from the student body. With a host of political innovations proposed from the elected officers, time will tell if these are implemented successfully and perceived as popular

GFA25:ANINTERVIEWWITH BERTIEAHERN

WRITES JACK WALSH AND LUKE O'CONNELL | CONTIBUTORS

Two UCC students, Jack Walsh and Luke O’Connell, recently sat down with former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to discuss the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as well as the Peace Process and current political situation in Northern Ireland.

“You need everyone around the table’’ to get things done in Northern Ireland and “at the moment, there’s nobody talking’’ This was the assessment of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern when he spoke about the current political stalemate in Northern Ireland

Since last year’s Assembly elections, the DUP have been blocking the return of power-sharing over concerns surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol. Optimistic that the current British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, will be able to resolve the protocol issue, Mr Ahern suggested “ a green lane, red lane solution where there is an internal UK market and there's an EU internal market, and both of them respect each other ’’ Indeed, such a green and red lane system formed the backbone of the recently agreed Windsor framework which is hoped will resolve the current impasse

Acknowledging that getting the DUP onboard with any agreement will be no easy task, Mr Ahern said he doesn’t “accept that it’s an insurmountable task’’ , given the very contentious issues such as decommissioning, prisoner releases and reform of policing that have been resolved in the past

On the other major issue that has sparked uproar across all sections of the traditional sectarian divide in Northern Ireland in recent times, Mr Ahern noted that “there’s real hostility’’ towards the Troubles Legacy Bill Part of the measures contained in the bill include conditional amnesties as well as an end to all future civil actions related to the conflict According to Mr Ahern, “the British government think by passing the legislation, it is going to end the whole legacy issue’’. In his view it will not achieve this aim, and not only that, the view of many people regarding the real reason behind the bill is that it will protect British soldiers from further prosecutions, something a small group of Conservative MPs have been campaigning for As was clear from the discussion, an approach that only satisfies some will never lead to successful resolutions in Northern Ireland Mr Ahern was adamant that

“the legacy legislation should not be pursued’’ and a solution lies in the Stormont House Agreement Signed in 2014, this agreement contained solutions to legacy cases including a Historical Investigations Unit to investigate murders carried out during the Troubles in Northern Ireland

Highlighting how the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement should be used as an opportunity to look to the future, Mr Ahern said it is also a time for “reflection and some celebration of what has been achieved’’ Whether the institutions are up and running for the anniversary isn’t hugely important as long as they return soon “because it is hugely important for everyone on this island’’, not only those in the North He also stressed the importance of remembering the lessons from how the agreement was negotiated twenty-five years ago. It was, and remains, a compromise that nobody ‘won’ This is why it has endured Asked if he would make changes to the agreement, Mr Ahern pointed out that “the agreement itself is fine’’ but that the problems lie in the implementation That is not to say it can’t be reviewed because it has been already, via the St Andrews Agreement

in 2006 It remains a living charter

Looking to the future, Mr Ahern favours an all-island parliament with a regional assembly in Stormont which would form the institutional make-up of a united Ireland He cautioned against those calling for a border poll too quickly, saying it is “frightening to Unionists who think it's all a trap when it isn't’’ Invoking the example of Brexit, Mr Ahern said the preparatory work needs to be done so that people are informed when the time comes for them to vote He praised the role academia continues to play in figuring out what a united Ireland would actually look like, saying it is an important area of NorthSouth co-operation An area he feels, in general, that has not been exploited to its full potential

For the final part of the interview, Mr Ahern reflected on some of the regrets he has about his tenure as Taoiseach In particular, the projects he wished he could have devoted more time to, such as his work in the area of disabilities, seemed very much to the fore He was clear that the fact that the North took up so much of his time is not a regret but acknowledged it did not allow for much else when you included the day-to-day

issues he faced as well as his drive on infrastructure While the question of whether he misses frontline politics received a very adamant no, one was left with the impression he still enjoys being involved from the sidelines

According to him, there should be more of a formalised role for ex-Taoisigh so they can contribute in similar ways as ex-leaders from other countries do

Mr Ahern’s assessment of the European response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine was that the EU has done a good job and that “they've kept it together more than most people thought they would ’’ Russian influence in the Balkans needs to be countered, but other challenges facing Europe should be tackled too He identified energy as one of these. Staying with the EU, Mr Ahern felt that while the UK may not rejoin the bloc in the short term, he hopes that it will happen within a generation especially given recent polling which suggested that 60% of Brits now think Brexit was a mistake Mr Ahern couldn’t help saying, almost exasperatedly, that this had been pointed out to the UK at the time of the referendum, but “they wouldn’t listen’’

When asked to speak on some of the personalities he dealt with over the years, Mr Ahern said that one of the most important relationships he had with a foreign leader was with Jacque Chirac, who was “really helpful to Ireland, particularly on agriculture’’ Ian Paisley Sr was “a reasonable enough guy’’ when you articulated your case but getting him to talk with you “was the problem’’, with Mr Ahern recalling how it took ten long years for him to get a handshake from Paisley

Finally, and bearing in mind that the interview took place before he re-joined Fianna Fáil as a member of the party, Mr Ahern was asked whether he would consider a run for the presidency in 2025 His answer: “Listen, my main aim about the presidential run now is to see that I'm alive when it happens and then we'll see what happens But I want to be alive” When pressed that he hadn’t said no, Mr Ahern smiled, telling us to wait and see

ANINTERVIEWWITHDANNYDENTON

trying to be silly, but trying to step out of reason to give perspective on the more realistic stuff that’s happening It can only add depth, so that’s why I do it. Not with any absurdist agenda or anything like that but to step outside of reason ”

“I really like innovative stuff, stuff that challenges how work can be presented ” This is explicit throughout Danny’s writing, and I ask how he approaches innovation What is the methodology behind reinventing writing?

“It’s not romantic It’s mainly sitting at a desk and trying to make notes and work things out You do get your Eureka moments, but it’s mainly hard work ”

“I will be constantly scrapbooking, making mind maps and trying out different things When you see 20 ideas together on a page you start to see little links between them and you think, ‘well what if I tried that?’ and that’s where interesting stuff comes out of ‘In The Static’ wasn’t an accident I consciously asked myself a question But the two voices, that was a total accident. The accidents in a sense are deliberate, because you have to create a space for yourself; an imaginative space where you ’ re able to follow hunches You’re not trying to write something that’s perfect the first time around because that’s not possible If you did that, you ’ re not allowing for any madness ”

WRITESCLAIREWATSON| FEATURESEDITOR

Danny Denton is a writer of short and long fiction, and his debut novel The Earlie King & The Kid in Yellow was published in 2018 He works as a contributing editor for the Irish literary magazine The Stinging Fly But, you might know him as a lecturer of Creative Writing here at UCC I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Danny and discuss his latest novel All Along the Echo

All Along the Echo is a wonderfully strange novel that takes on an innovative approach to form that distorts time, space, and voice Radio DJ Tony Tony Cooney and producer Lou Fitzpatrick are taken across Ireland in a road-trip that unearths questions of their places in the world, and in their own narratives

I ask Danny about the use of absurdism in his work, and he responds by opening the biggest dictionaries I’ve ever seen

“‘Absurd: out of harmony with reason or proprietary ’ I think reason is a very limiting thing And so I would be interested in doing a writing project of my own is stepping outside of reason I don’t think it’s a surrealist novel; [All Along the Echo] it’s set in more or less the Cork that we live in now The rules of gravity apply Laws apply You have a chance to do this in fiction that you don’t have a chance to do in anything else: to reframe reality ”

“I wasn’t trying to deconstruct sense, ” he explains, “I was trying to add a different frame I was thinking with “In The Static” specifically that these radio waves are passing through us right now, all the time They’re just flying around the place Life is being lived inside the static, so actually we kind of live inside radio waves in a sense ”

“So trying to step out of reason, not

Recently Danny held a talk at UCC, and in it he shared a few pages from his writing journals Drawings stream across the pages of his notebook, catching lines and paragraphs of writing I ask him about this visual approach to writing

“It’s a mixture,” he begins “It’s visual for sure I would take photographs on my phone and think ‘that’s going to be useful to me later I’ll try to recreate that ’ It’d be more sensual because I’d be very aural as well I’d have playlists for every writing project, and I’d listen to them and there’d be certain things that I’d be like ‘there’s a sound in there that I want to put in a book somewhere, or a repetition ’”

“The thing I’m working on at the moment - I was listening to some music and I was thinking about the way a song repeated the same line over and over again I was wondering if you could get away with that in a novel What if you repeated the same line randomly 20

times in a novel, just sat next to or in between the other lines, what would happen to that line? So I’m going to try that.”

“Inspiration from music, inspiration from film, inspiration from image definitely I try to hear things or see things before or as I write them ”

Radio, and in particular talk shows, play an important role in All Along the Echo I ask Danny was his representation of different mediums an intentional decision

“Maybe ideas have their own agency. I was just obsessed with listening to the radio for a particular period of time and it started to seep into my writing When you then start to think about and write about that, the radio starts to say ‘do you realise how cool an art form I am? Do you realise how useful I’ve been to humanity? Do you realise the magic of what I do?’”

“FM signals stop at the horizon,” Danny says, as he gestures somewhere beyond his office and smiles “There’s something magical about that But, AM signals can go to the horizon and bounce down the horizon When you start learning about that, the magic of that, which has a basis in science, then all of a sudden you ’ ve got something that’s magical, useful, interesting, informational It takes 4 or 5 years to write a novel, so over 4 or 5 years you look into the science, and all of a sudden you ’ ve got this amazing tool to use in your novel.”

Following hunches, research, we begin comparing writers to scientists “I got my dictionary out the other week because I knew I was going to be asked if I was an experimental writer An experiment is a process you undergo in order to make a discovery or prove a point I don’t write to prove a point; I’ve no interest in telling people what to think Writing is to make a discovery I would say all writers are experimental, in that way they’re the exact same as scientists Probably scientists are trying to figure out what it’s like to be in the world, writers are trying to express what it’s like to be in the world ”

Naturally, the next question is to ask what discoveries Danny has made while writing

“I think through writing I came to understand the importance of empathy. Trying to get in the heads of characters made me better at trying to get in the heads of people I think if you ’ re empathetic, not only are you a good person, but you pay attention to the world If you pay attention to the world, that’s got to be a good thing Above all, be an empathic person, put yourself in the other person ’ s shoes, la-dee-blah ”

In All Along the Echo Danny explores non-place He explains, “I wanted a contrast in the novel between nonplaces - by which I mean dual carriageways, garage forecourts, places of transit, industrial estates - and real places It’s not an accident that in the novel they end up in Connemara where there’s none of those things There’s just paved roads, trees, lakes, bogs, sea, birds I wanted them to get lost and end up in a place, and for the magic to happen in a place ”

“One of the last scenes, they both go into a field, and there’s a transmitter. That’s another non-place, but they have to cross a field to get there The field is a place I tried to heighten the sensory language there, for them to feel the ground beneath their feet and to hear these things around them, while they’re inspecting this non-place I wanted these characters to experience these two things up-close together It’s not like one is good and one is bad It’s like one is more conducive to human experience, and the other isn’t, but human experience imposes itself anyways. ”

“If the novel was an experiment, that was one of my findings No matter where you put people or what situation you put them in, people try to explain the world to themselves, to each other Then trying to explain themselves to themselves, to each other ”

THENEEDFORTRANSPOSITIVITY

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

Now more than ever, trans allyship is needed With the tragic death of Brianna Ghey, a 16 year old transgender girl, it has never been clearer that trans lives are at risk A transphobic environment has been brewing in the United Kingdom for some time The transphobic campaign led by J K Rowling has fuelled British media with a violent hatred towards transgender individuals Under the leadership of Rishi Sunak this bigotry has become apparent in policy, as the prime minister blocks Scotland’s gender recognition reform bill, which would allow individuals aged 16 and older to receive a gender recognition certificate without a psychiatric diagnosis

This bill is crucial, as political theorist and trans activist Abigail Thorne explains, “There’s no way of knowing whether gender dysphoria is a real diagnostic pattern or just a collective invention ” The assessment of gender dysphoria follows a behavioural model that asks individuals invasive questions pertaining to topics such as masturbation habits and sexual activity Thorne continues, “Getting trans healthcare in England and a lot of legal transition too, requires you to go through that interrogation first ” What is important about the gender recognition reform bill, is that it would allow trans teenagers to avoid this humiliating assessment

In the United Kingdom, if a transgender person is prepared to undergo this assessment to obtain a gender dysphoria diagnosis, a long waiting list only worsens the process As of May 2022, the NHS’ (National Health Service) Gender Clinic notes that those who are currently receiving their first appointments, were initially referred in January 2018 In Ireland, the NGS (National Gender Service) they are receiving patients who were referred 3 to 3 and a half years ago Though, according to a Transgender Europe (TGEU) study, the waiting time for a first appointment is 7 years

TGEU recorded that Ireland is the worst country within the European Union for trans healthcare The study was divided into 6 categories; including the need for a psychiatric diagnosis to hormonal treatment and/or surgery and the waiting times for a first appointment within trans healthcare The other categories included the type of healthcare available, groups excluded from or forced onto longer waiting lists, the youngest age to receive puberty blockers and the youngest age to receive hormone treatment Ireland received 1 point due to its coverage of healthcare In this category, 2 points was the maximum

The reason I turn to British politics to understand the environment of transphobia, is that statistics relating to the quality of life for trans individuals in Ireland is sparse Though, the topic has been entering current media with the case of Enoch Burke Burke was suspended from his position as a teacher by refusing to comply with a student’s and the school’s request to refer to a student by their correct pronouns Following his suspension Burke continued to show up on school grounds, to which he was given a court order to stay away from the school Failing to follow this court order, he was jailed for 108 days

In turning to British media for a perspective on the reality transgender people face, it can be easy to put a distance between Ireland and our neighbour across the Irish sea We can desensitise ourselves to hate-crimes and deaths, like that of Brianna Ghey. In reality, this instance happened but a couple of hours away Borders, when so close together, do not entirely divide our social and political spheres In reality this is a global epidemic The transphobia in the British literary scene is unfortunately present in Ireland Novelist John Boyne’s defence of J K Rowling, is one such example When we read stories of transphobia and bigotry, we must remind ourselves that this epidemic is Irish too

On this note, there is one Irish resource that I have found on the life of trans people in Ireland, courtesy of Orla Egan’s Cork LGBT Archive, though to clarify this one particular story relates to Dublin A trans history of Cork has been difficult to find, and I hope that one day it will be recovered The archive preserves the “Friends of Eon” a glamorous group of trans people who strived to create a safe environment for trans people to socialise. The group was founded in 1978 by two trans women; Claire Farrell and Lola It was the first trans group in Ireland The archive showcases a Friends of Eon membership card

ISCASHSTILLKING?

WRITES KATE O’FLANAGAN | DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR

Technological advancements have changed the way people live their lives, from how we communicate to how we shop. The digitalisation of society is inescapable, and cash may soon go the way of the landline Sweden is set to become a cashless society this year, with the other Nordic countries close behind In Ireland ‘cash only’ signs have cropped up in cafés and shops Where did this change come from, and what could the knock-on effects be?

While the slow, almost inexorable shift towards a card dominated economic system was already underway prior to 2020, the pandemic accelerated the process When the world still wasn’t sure how COVID-19 was spread, any and all precautions were taken to limit the number of interactions between people Establishments that stayed open pivoted to card-only systems, while the rest saw their commerce moved entirely online EU-wide the number of cash payments declined from 86% in 2019 to 73% in 2022, while mobile app payments more than tripled, increasing from 3% to 10% One-off online payments also increased from 6% to 7% over the same period. By 2020, card payments accounted for 64% of all payments in Ireland, and almost 10% of all payments were made using e-money systems This increase was aided by the change to the maximum contactless payment made during the first nationwide lockdown, an increase from €30 to €50 While we now know that fomites (pathogen carrying surfaces) do not play a large role in the transmission of COVID-19, the preference of businesses and consumers for card over cash transactions has remained in place Some businesses no longer accept cash, opting for a card-only model

In Ireland, individual transactions are governed by contract law; terms of settling credit include payment methods As long as a business notifies customers in advance that they only accept payments in specified methods, they can legally refuse cash

For businesses deciding to go cashless, it is the high cost of handling cash that drives the decision Cash-handling businesses are subject to higher insurance rates Additional staff time is required for physical trips to the bank, where they are charged for lodging coins Bank charges on handling cash are currently 1.25% but are set to increase to 2% Contactless payments, meanwhile, sit at 0.19% per transaction In addition, card payments are faster for business, taking 1-2 seconds compared to the 7 seconds for cash payments

A cashless society would also benefit banks It is estimated that cash operations account for between 5% and 10% of total bank operating costs No cash eliminates the need for expensive ATM networks and salaried tellers A cashless society would hand an insidious amount of control over our everyday lives to banks Not just to banks, but to other corporate entities – tech companies, to name just one example

Contactless payments are, at present, free to the user – but what if there was no cash alternative? Would banks start charging us to buy the simplest of necessities?

If every transaction is carried out via card, then banks have access to an expansive map of your tastes, interests and actions What do they do with the unprecedented metadata collected on our spending habits? Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica controversy has already highlighted the insidious lengths political research firms will go to with our data What are the potential ramifications if we hand even more information to them?

As the Co-operative Society highlighted in their zine, RAT JPEG, in cashless transactions everything is watched and recorded And when your data is collected, you become the product

And what about security risks? There is some evidence in Sweden that the wide scale adoption of cashless transactions has led to a decrease in cash-related crimes like robbery and tax evasion, in addition to a reduction in black market activity However, there has also been a 38% increase in global cyberattacks from 2021 to 2022 A fully digitised cashless society is at the mercy of the digital infrastructure it is built on; a singular tech glitch could bring it to its knees

A cashless society doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can use some cash here and there. It means no cash. At all. No more tips pocketed untaxed. No more spare change for the homeless, or buskers No more tucked-away funds for those attempting to escape violence

Going cashless would leave many of society’s most vulnerable behind, namely the elderly and those on a low-income A level of internet literacy is required to function in a cashless society A level of internet literacy that elderly people often do not have; half of the 65-74 age group had never used the internet, as reported by Age

Action Ireland in 2018

To have a bank card, you must first have a bank account 12% of approved housing body Clúid’s social housing tenants don’t have a bank account In the United States, 30% of people don’t have access to a bank account Migrant workers and undocumented immigrants account for many of those without bank accounts, cash is an absolute necessity for them

Tangible currency can be easier to manage and budget with It is also useful when it comes to teaching children financial literacy Physical money they can hold and see has more of an impact than the nebulous idea of ‘money in the bank’

Even with the sustained increases in card and e-commerce transactions, it appears that Irish people as a whole are not in favour of going cashless

Last summer, Allied Irish Banks (AIB) announced that 70 of its branches would become cashless operations The data informing this decision was sound They had 2 9million daily digitals interactions, compared to 35,000 customer branch visits In the previous five years they had experienced a 36% decline in cash withdrawals from ATMs and a 50% decline in cheque usage. As well as an almost 50% decline in branch over-the-counter teller transactions, coupled with an 85% increase in mobile and online payments in the same timeframe And yet, they had to U-turn that policy decision due to public backlash and ‘unease ’ A European Central Bank (ECB) report that found a post-COVID increase in card and e-transactions also, paradoxically, noted that people across Europe “overwhelmingly” want to retain the option to pay in cash In November 2022, a Retail Banking Review published by the Department of Finance stressed the need to legislate to protect cash, in line with the ECB findings

Cash may no longer be king, but in Ireland, at least, it retains some of its power

BEWARE THEESSAYMILLS

WRITES CONOR O'DRISCOLL | SKILLS CENTRE

These websites claim to write outstanding-quality essays in minutes. The reason they can do this is because they scan the internet for relevant information, regardless of the underlying quality of the source, and attempt to create a coherent response to your query These services are not programmed to account for academic integrity and are subsequently rife with plagiarism

However, some of these services appear more sophisticated, such as ChatGPT Here, you prompt ChatGPT with a question (or essay title) and watch a relatively detailed answer be formed in a matter of seconds Like before, there is no indication of where the information came from, so there are still significant risks that the information is biased and highly plagiarised This lack of traceability in the source information should be a signal to not copy and paste anything these bots produce, for obvious reasons

Using the internet to complete academic assignments is clearly risky But I want to end by showing you how some of these sources, and the internet more generally, can be used sensibly to improve your understanding of academic content and elevate your learning

As we approach the business-end of the academic year, The Skills Centre would like to help you get through this busy period by reducing stress, maximizing productivity, and providing the building blocks to help you succeed

Our earlier columns have provided insights on how to excel in assignments/projects, namely those requiring group work and independent research More information on how we can help you in these endeavours can be found on The Skills Centre website (just google “UCC Skills Centre”), or you can drop-in for a chat We are based in Q1 in the Boole Library; just follow the yellow footsteps

As deadlines approach, it may be tempting to use automated services which claim to improve the quality of your assignments These services, which cover spelling- and grammar-checking, referencing, and essay writing, are generally bad news if you do not know how to navigate them properly

At the most basic level, websites which check spelling and grammar can be harmless But why sign-up when Microsoft Word will do just as good a job? Despite the appeal of their ads, websites like Grammarly are overrated in my opinion. A much better practice to improve your language skills is to read regularly

Using the internet to address more complicated issues, like referencing, can be trickier Googling something along the lines of “Harvard referencing style guide” will generally point you toward official documentation on referencing using the Harvard style, which is good because you can trust the quality of this information However, you can also be pointed toward unregulated websites like CiteThisForMe

CiteThisForMe is a popular website which formats reference lists and in-text citations for students Although sometimes this service works and produces “correct” output, it is not always correct This is where problems lie because, based on my experience, many students do always assume this output is correct This error in judgement creates bibliographies and in-text citations scattered with errors, errors which are often quite basic Although these issues are rather small in the grand marking scheme, they nonetheless bring down grades

The most problematic facilities are websites which offer essay-writing services These services typically pose as an older student, or some equivalent of a senior tutor, but are virtually always some type of Artificial Intelligence If you use social media regularly, you will see these “bots” crop-up all the time

New material can often be difficult to grasp This can create problems if students are only exposed to academic literature on this topic; as academic literature is typically written in a language which is impenetrable to mere mortals In these contexts, the internet can be an extremely useful resource Some of the services mentioned above, alongside other facilities (like Wikipedia) can serve to tangibly introduce students to fundamental concepts using accessible language

These sources are best used to inform your basic understanding of concepts, thereby facilitating your investigations of more nuanced academic literature They should never directly resurface in assignments, because of the risks highlighted above If you are struggling with essay-writing or referencing, the Skills Centre provide services which can help

UCCSUELECTIONS2023

ALISON TREACY | PHOTOGRAPHY

ST.PATRICK’SDAY THECELEBRATIONOFTHEPATRONSAINTOFIRELAND

WRITES ANA MCGUIRE | STAFF WRITER

It does not matter what your nationality or religious identity is, St Patrick’s Day is a national holiday that everyone can celebrate, and it is a positive and entertaining event that is celebrated by those all around the country There are multiple parades held all around the country, music, costumes and events, and it is celebrated on the 17th of March because it is the anniversary of St Patrick’s death (the Patron Saint of Ireland) It is also a religious holiday which falls during Lent Even though millions of us celebrate this holiday each year, we do not all know the exact story behind St Patrick himself St Patrick is said to have brought Christianity to Ireland, but before his arrival, he was a Roman citizen of Britain, and at the age of 16, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland He was held captive for over 6 years, and according to his writing, he believed to have heard God’s voice in a dream, telling him to leave Ireland When he eventually escaped back to Britain, he became ordained as a Bishop, and it was then that he relocated to Ireland as a Christian missionary, influencing the laws, culture and literacy of the country Even though St Patrick was not the first Christian or missionary to arrive in Ireland, he undoubtedly influenced its spread and popularised the religion on the island Although it is not officially clear, it has been said that St Patrick combined the Christian cross with the pagan sun to make this idea of the Celtic Cross seem natural to the people He founded Christian monasteries in Ireland, which were the heart for learning and literacy St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, Ulster, is one of the most famous cathedrals in the entire world, and it is said that he built this stone church at around 445AD, and also baptised his new followers there As St Patrick’s Day is a Christian celebration, it is still important to understand the religious aspects that people all over Ireland take part in Many will attend church for mass in the morning and then celebrate afterwards, whether that is by having a roast meal or by attending the parade and festivities The shamrock symbol is also something people wear, as it links St Patrick to Christianity and the concept of the Holy Trinity

Some interesting facts about St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s Day that you might not have known:

St, Patrick is also one of the three patron saints of Ireland alongside St Columbia and St Brigid

America was the first place to celebrate with a St Patrick’s Day Parade (not Ireland), as records show that St Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in 1601

There are Spanish Colonial documents consisting of entries describing the celebrations that took place in St Augustine at this time

St Patrick’s Day became an official holiday in Ireland in 1903

St Patrick’s real name is Maewyn Succat

The colour of St Patrick is actually a light shade of blue (known as ‘St Patrick’s Blue’), not green, and you can still see this light blue colour in the ancient flag of Ireland

According to Abarta Heritage, there are over 70 million people who celebrate St Patrick’s Day and claim Irish heritage

According to Ireland’s Hidden Gems, there are an estimated 500,000 people coming to Dublin for the parade this year

St Patrick did not banish snakes from Ireland contrary to the Irish lore, and there has never been any evidence of snakes existing in Ireland

According to the World Population Review, over 200 countries celebrate St Patrick’s Day, including the United States, Japan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United Kingdom.

Birmingham is known for holding the largest Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Britain The festival is characterised by a city centre parade covering over a two-mile route Organisers label it the world's third-largest Saint Patrick's Day parade after Dublin and New York

The ‘Global Greening’ has over 600 iconic landmark buildings around the world which will be lit up in green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day St Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral which stands on the site of a Benedictine Monastery, built in 1183

Ireland’s first St Patrick’s Day parade took place in Waterford in 1903

There are going to be plenty of events around the country to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, such as parades in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Killarney There will be a St Patrick’s Day and Night event at the Festival Quarter in Dublin, where there will be numerous bands, dance performances, céilís, food and a mini fair (all for free) The event is from midday to 10:30pm, so there is plenty of time for families and children to attend this event There is also the 16th Annual Aware Harbour Walk taking place in Dublin, where there will be over 2,000 walkers attending This is a great event that is not only fun but also raises awareness and donations for an important cause (supporting bipolar and depression disorder) The walk can be started from either Howth Harbour or Dun Laoghaire Harbour and will be taking place alongside the scenic route

Let’s take an insight to how other countries celebrate St Patrick’s Day in comparison to how it is celebrated in Ireland

Japan: St Patrick’s Day in Tokyo is celebrated every year with the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade that takes place along Omotesando Avenue The celebration starts off with an Irish cultural event which takes place at Yoyogi Park Events Square The event will have traditional music and dance performances, Irish sports (such as hurling), and an Irish gourmet booth where you can try Irish foods such as stew, and steamed oysters (as well as stout) Then, the parade starts from Omotesando and circles around to end there In the past, there have been marching bands, Irish dancers, musicians, and Irish Wolfhounds

Australia: St Patrick’s Day parades are held around Australia such as Brisbane and Sydney These parades feature people clad in traditional Irish costumes or dressed in green, traditional Irish foods, floats and Irish music Irish bars all around the country also have music, food and costumes to celebrate the evening, and nearly 1,500 people take part in the Sydney parade each year Despite all the celebrations that take place in Australia, it is not actually a public holiday Many Irish associations and historical societies hold events that give people the chance to learn about the history of Irish immigration and settlement in Australia These celebrations are a way of preserving Irish traditions and customs outside of Ireland

Netherlands: St Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year in the Netherlands and is also a national holiday One of the biggest celebrations takes place at Grote Markt in The Hague where there are plenty of Irish bands, dancers, music and entertainment There are also Irish markets where Irish food and beverages as well as products are available Well known Irish performers such as Sharon Shannon, the Kilkenny School of Irish Dancing and The King of Connaught will also be performing at The Hague There are also many Irish pubs all over the country such as the Aran Irish Pub, Folkclub Twente, O’Sheas Irish Pub and O’Reilly’s as a few examples, which will have live Irish music all weekend

St Patrick is often linked to the banishing of snakes, based on the story that he banished the snakes, causing them to drown, after he was attacked by them on a hilltop during a 40-day fast There are many other tales related to St Patrick such as the well-known story about St Patrick and the Shamrock It is said that he used the Shamrock to symbolise the Holy Trinity, (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), to the Irish pagans Or the story behind the term ‘St Patrick’s Pot (or ‘Pota Phádraig’), where St Patrick was served a shot of whiskey which he felt was too small In order to teach the innkeeper a lesson, he said that there was a devil in the cellar who would feed on the innkeeper’s dishonesty and to banish the devil, he had to change his selfish ways When St Patrick returned the innkeeper was generous with his servings, so St. Patrick and the innkeeper went to the cellar, and it is said that St. Patrick banished the devil

Whether you are celebrating St Patrick’s Day by going to a parade, having a meal after mass, or whether you are reading folktales or enjoying the live music, St Patrick’s Day is a wonderful celebration that brings everyone together regardless of background and celebrates Irish culture in the most colourful and joyful way

NílséImithearFad,TáanTeanga

FósBeosnaCairteachaCeoil

LE CORMAC MCCARTHY | EAGART

Sa bhliain 1983, chum amhránaí na Breataine, Bige Dafydd Iw o Hyd” Is amhrán as Breatnais é agus ciallaíonn an t-ainm “fós Scríobhadh é le linn ama a raibh teanga na Breatnaise ag fáil

Breataine Bige ag cailleadh a bhféiniúlachta Canann Iwan an éagsúla ar fud na tíre; stailceanna mianraí, cluichí sacair agus ru

Mar thoradh air sin, le himeacht ama, bhí an t-amhrán go poin náisiúnta neamhoifigiúil na Breataine Bige Rinneadh athbheo chanadh sa Bhreatnais. Anois, tá féilte ceoil ann; lán le grúpaí c is iad ag canadh as Breatnais, agus tá cultúr ceoil ann is cuirtea

Breataine Bige

Ach cad fúinn féin? Gan amhras, is iontach an rud é na clasaic fírinne an scéil, áfach, nach féidir le formhór na ndaoine éist

Bheatha ʼBhaile” nó “Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn” arís i leor oibre le déanamh againn fós, bíonn a lán grúpaí ceoil óga bhfuil eagla orthu fáilte a chur roimh an nGaeilge agus í a féachana idirnáisiúnta Déanfaidh mé iarracht cúpla grúpa a mh

Ar dtús, ní féidir linn dearúd a dhéanamh ar na grúpaí a bhíon na Gaeilge mar mhodh léirithe ealaíne Ealaíontóirí cosúil le Kn agus IMLÉ, ceoltóirí as gach cuid d’Éirinn. Go pearsanta, is ao Is tríréad rapcheoil iad Thosnaigh siad in 2018 nuair a gabhad spraephéinteáil an fhocail “CEARTA ” Dhiúltaigh an cara aon c nGaeilge amháin Tar éis sin, d’eisigh an grúpa a gcéad singil “ clú agus cáil orthu nuair a chuir RTÉ cosc ar an amhrán sin N iad ag seinm ag féilte ar fud an domhain ó Mheiricéa go dtí an U

Is grúpa hip-hop eile iad IMLÉ, is iad ag meascadh a gcuid stíle le funk agus R&B D’eisigh siad a gcéad albam in 2016 is bhí éileamh dochreidte roimh an albam sin Tugann amhráin cosúil le “Fún Orm” agus “Ná Bac” fuinneamh don teanga le séiseanna áille agus liricí inbhreathnaitheacha Gné ar leith dá gcuid ceoil a mbainim súp as is ea a gcuid armóin ghutha Tugann sé beatha don amhrán agus mar thoradh fanann ceol an ghrúpa i do cheann ar feadh laethanta ina dhiaidh sin tar éis duit éisteacht leo.

Tá an-tóir ag grúpa rac-cheoil ar an nGaeilge Grúpaí cosúil le Fontaines D.C , Corr Mhóna agus The Murder Capital as BÁC Cé go seinneann siad punk-cheol as Béarla don chuid is mó, comhcheanglaíonn Fontaines D.C. rac-cheol le ceol traidisiúnta na hÉireann Ar a n-albam is déanaí, “Skinty Fia” , léiríonn an chéad líne, “Inár gcroíthe go deo,” a mbród don teanga Seo grúpa atá ag tacú leis na Arctic Monkeys agus mar thoradh air sin bíonn siad ag tabhairt na teanga chuig an domhan go léir Ar an láimh eile, scríobhann Corr Mhóna a gcuid ceoil i nGaeilge amháin Is banna miotal trom iad as Iarthar Chorcaí Is suimiúil go bhfuil a gcuid liricí líonta le híomhánna faoin ndúlra agus faoin dtuath in Éirinn

Tá leaganacha Gaeilge d’amhráin tar éis éirí níos coitianta, chomh maith. Dar liom, is modh iontach é chun iarracht a dhéanamh an Ghaeilge a thabhairt isteach i ngníomhaíochtaí éisteachta daoine Sampla amháin den scoth is ea “ba mhaith liom bruíon le d’athair” le The Rubberbandits Is amhrán amaideach é i ndáiríre ach cuireann sé an Ghaeilge in aithne do dhaoine nach ndéanann amhlaidh de ghnáth Déanann an banna rac-cheoil áitiúil “The Drive” é chomh maith ina n-amhrán “Mossbawn” ach tá siad i bhfad níos dáiríre faoi Is banna ceoil iad ó Choláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh agus úsáideann siad an teanga go seasta ina gcuid ceoil Tugann a gcuid ceol dorcha meáchan don teanga le liricí géara agus canadh díshondach ar a n-amhrán “Gealt”

Is fiú cluas le héisteacht a thabhairt do cheoltóirí eile ar nós Kila a raibh baint acu leis an scannán Éireannach, Wolfwalkers, le déanaí; an grúpa Solas lena gcuid bailéidí áille rómánsacha (is gá daoibh éisteacht lena n-amhrán “Níl ʼ na Lá”), agus; bíonn Róisín Seoighe, amhránaí as Conamara, i gcónaí ag teacht ar bhealaí nua chun í féin a chur in iúl tríd an dteanga

Deireann seanfhocal amháin, “Beatha teanga í a labhairt ” Ina dhiaidh sin, ní mór an teanga a chur in iúl go healaíonta, chomh maith, le go n-éireoidh léi. Cé go bhfuil bealach fada le dul fós, is léir go bhfuil athbheochan ag tarlú. Bíonn an cultúr i gcónaí ar an gcuid is spreagúla leis an nglúin óg agus tá sé soiléir go bhfuil an ghlúin sin réidh chun glacadh leis an ngné seo de chultúr na hÉireann

SeachtainnaGaeilge2023leisan gCuallacht

LE ORLA LEAHY | EAGARTHÓIR GAEILGE

San alt seo, bíonn Orla ag caint le Oisín Ó Síocháin, Cathaoirleach na Cuallachta Gaelaí

Cad é aidhm na Cuallachta timpeall ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge gach bliain agus cén difríocht atá idir an aidhm atá agaibh an tseachtain seo agus aidhm na seachtainí eile i rith na bliana?

"Is é sprioc na Cuallachta i rith Sheachtain na Gaeilge deiseanna a chur ar fáil do dhaoine a gcuid Gaelainne a úsáid, agus cúrsaí teangan a phlé, trí imeachtaí a reáchtáil Gan dabht, ó thus go deireadh na bliana is iomaí imeacht a bhíonn ar bun againn, idir imeachtaí sóisialta, imeachtaí oideachais, turais agus eile Tá eolas anfhorleathan ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge, áfach, agus dá bharr san is iontach an deis é níos mó daoine a mhealladh i dtreo na teangan agus i dtreo na Cuallachta, chomh maith "

Cad iad na heachtraí agus imeachtaí a bheidh ar siúl agaibhse i mbliana?

"Beidh an clár iomlán le fáil ar ár leathanach Instagram, chomh maith le meáin shóisialta Aontas na Mac Léinn féin Beidh aoichainteoirí ag teacht chugainn ó gach cuid don dtír chun gach gné de shaol na Gaeilge a phlé. Beidh roinnt imeachtaí sóisialta ar bun againn, agus beimid ag obair i gcomhpháirt le Cumainn eile ar réimse imeachtaí eile Agus dar ndóigh, beidh buaicphointe na bliana againn ar an 15ú Márta, nuair a bhaileoidh ár mbaill in Óstán an Metropole ar Shráid Mhic Churtáin do Bhál mór na nGael!"

Do scoláirí nach bhfuil acu ach cúpla focal, an bhfuil deiseanna sa Chuallacht do dhaoine a bhaineann le gach leibhéal Gaolainne a bheith páirteach i Seachtain na Gaeilge?

"Tá gan dabht! Bíonn fáilte roimh chách sa Chuallacht, beag beann ar a gcumas Gaelainne Tá roinnt oícheanta scannáin eagraithe againn le linn na bliana, oícheanta a mhealann daoine le beagán Gaelainne chomh maith le cainteoirí líofa Bíonn Ciorcal Comhrá againn gach Luan sa Seomra Caidrimh ar a 1 a chlog; atá oscailte don uile dhuine. Chomh maith leis sin, eagraímid oícheanta do mhic léinn idirnáisiúnta, chun léargas a thabhairt ar chultúr na nGael is ar an dteanga féin."

Cad é an eachtra nó cad iad na himeachtaí is mó a bheidh agaibhse i mbliana?

"Ó thaobh uimhreacha de, níl aon dabht ach gurb é Bál na Gaeilge an t-imeacht is mó Cuirfidh an Bál críoch le Seachtain na Gaeilge, agus níl aon amhras ach gur oíche den scoth a bheidh ann Chomh maith leis sin, d’eagraíomar dhá thuras mhóra le linn 2022/2023; ceann amháin go dtí Oireachtas na Samhna agus ceann eile go Béal Feirste Bhí a lán oibre i gceist leis na turais gan dabht, ach tá sé ríthábhachtach dúinn go gcífeadh is go gcloisfeadh ár mbaill an Ghaelainn á labhairt taobh amuigh de Chorcaigh "

Inis dom faoin iris Breac, irisleabhar atá ar an bhfód le 3 bliana anuas.

"Is é Breac iris bhliantúil na Cuallachta Cuirimid fáilte roimh altanna ó mhic léinn na hollscoile, ar réimse mór ábhar – altanna nó aistí, píosaí próis, dánta, agallaimh agus eile! Ní mór go gcloisfí glór na n-óg, guthanna na mac léinn, agus tugann Breac an deis do dhaoine a gcuid a rá agus a dtuairimí a chur i gcló!"

Do scoláirí le suim sa Choiste féin, cathain a bheidh an deis acu a bheith páirteach mar chuid den Choiste sin?

"Beidh Cruinniú Cinn Bliana na Cuallachta á reáchtáil i mí Aibreáin Mholfaimis do gach éinne a bhfuil spéis acu sa Ghaelainn, a bhfuil a gcroí sa teanga, agus ar mian leo í a chur chun cinn san ollscoil, páirt a ghlacadh sa Choiste sin Tá ceithre phost déag ar an gCoiste, go gach bliainghrúpa Coimeád súil amach don data sin!"

An bhfuil aon eolas eile le roinnt agaibhse linn?

"Is féidir an Chuallacht a leanúint ar Instagram ag @anchuallachtucc - bígí linn a chairde!"

BUILDBETTERSALADS

BY NATHAN CAREY | FOOD & HEALTH EDITOR

With Spring just around the corner, it’s time to lighten up our meals with brighter ingredients from the garden Every year when the sun starts to shine that little bit longer in the evening there’s only one thing on my mind – a freshly made salad Salad definitely has a shaky reputation in the media and popular culture If you ask most people what a salad is they’ll jump to the classic iceberg lettuce and dressing archetype This likely stems from the universal experience of eating soggy leaves soaked in a heavy dressing Unappetising right? This preconceived notion of a salad's components leads to boring meals that make you wish you just packed a sandwich for lunch instead Salad is also often relegated to side dish status, being served alongside a “main meal” However, what if I told you that it doesn’t need to be this way Salads can be so much more than soggy iceberg, in fact some of my favourite ones feature hearty vegetables and grains in place of lettuce! Merriam Webster defines salad as “Various, usually cold, dishes such as small pieces of food mixed with dressing”. This broad definition allows salads to soar in terms of ingredients and flavour combinations I’ve compiled here some of the best ways to elevate your salad game to the next level

Why So Green?

It’s not that I have anything against iceberg lettuce, but we have a rocky relationship with a 96% water content, iceberg really lacks any strong flavour of its own Of course when dressed up appropriately it can serve as a nice salad base but honestly there are a myriad of better options out there Why settle for watery mediocrity when you could build a salad base out of spicy rocket or chicory Combining greens together is another great way of bulking up any salad Try adding smaller leaves such as pea shoots, broccoli or radish microgreens. These young plants are crisp and fresh and add a delicate flavour to dishes Microgreens are rich in many vitamins and are a great source of iron and zinc. They also elevate the visual appeal of salads with their wispy tendrils On the topic of greenery, I cannot forget to mention herbs Layering tender herbs like coriander, mint or parsley into your leafy mix is a true game changer I like to go with about one quarter herbs to 3 quarters of other greens to balance out flavours and allow them to truly shine If you want to get super fancy you can even add some edible flowers to adorn the top of your salads (just be sure they really are edible before adding them!) Perhaps you want to skip out on greens altogether, that’s alright! Using a different base for your salads can take them in new directions Grains like quinoa, buckwheat or barley provide a blank

canvas upon which you can build up layers of flavour Mixing spices with other ingredients cut into small bite size pieces evokes a chopped salad vibe and are great for on the go lunches or meal prepping The grains will hold up much better than tender leaves In my opinion herbs shine the best in this application adding a zing to the heartiness of grain salads

Get Veggie With It

Next up on the chopping block, or chopping board if you will, are vegetables! Veggies are an excellent way of bulking up a salad into lunch or dinner status Many classic salads include sliced raw vegetables like cucumber or shredded carrots However when I think of vegetables I want them grilled or roasted to bring out their natural sweetness and add a caramelized note to the fresher ingredients Think sweet potatoes roasted on high until they are velvety on the inside and crispy on the outside, or mushrooms glistening in sesame oil after being blasted with heat on a hot pan Cooking your vegetables beforehand allows you to be creative in your salad making, incorporating ingredients that you mightn’t have thought about using before If you do plan on adding thinly sliced raw onions or other alliums, be sure to shock them in cold water for about a minute before adding This quick step eliminates their strong bite and crisps them up even more Edamame is another great vegetable to add into your salad bowl These immature soybeans are a vibrant green colour adding a pop of colour to your dishes as well as being a superfood containing plenty of fibre and lots of healthy fatty acids

Pick a Peck of Pickled Peppers (and other veggies)

Another way of elevating the vegetables you are adding to your salads is to transform their flavours through the power of pickling There are two ways to go about this The first method involves submerging your chopped produce in an acidic brine usually composed of vinegar and spices An easy way of creating your very own pickles is to add one part water and two parts vinegar to a small saucepan Adding one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of salt is usually a good starting point in terms of flavouring. I also like to add some whole black peppercorns or fennel seeds. Heat the whole solution until it just starts to boil then remove Add your chopped vegetables to an airtight jar and pour over the pickling liquid Once stored in the fridge, your pickles should be good to eat within about 24-48 hours, with the flavours becoming more pronounced the longer you leave them The other method of transforming vegetables is through the process of fermentation This process harnesses the microbes already present in the air and on your produce to create a tantalizing sour flavour Lacto-fermentation takes longer than vinegar based pickling, but yields a deeper more nuanced flavour Hardy vegetables like cucumbers, beets,

asparagus and radishes do best here as they can hold up to the fermentation process better Add the veggies to a jar on a zeroed scale and fill with water leaving about one to two centimetres of headspace Record the weight and calculate how much salt you will need for the brine 2-3% is best for most vegetables but a quick google will help you figure out the specifics. Add the salt to the jar and mix well ensuring the salt is fully dissolved Place a heavy object on the veggies to ensure they remain fully submerged in the brine (specific fermentation weights can be found online if you plan on making lots of these) Cap the jar but not too tightly as gas will need to escape to prevent a build-up Place the jar on your counter at room temperature for about a week before you start enjoying it Once the desired taste is reached they can be stored in the fridge with the lid tightly fastened Pickled and fermented vegetables are a great way of adding a sharp flavour to your salads and can be a great way of cutting through a creamy dressing

Dress It Up

The final step to bring your salad together is to add the perfect dressing and toppings There are many schools of thought on this topic but I’m going to focus on some prominent favourites Vinaigrettes are an excellent way to add an extra zing of flavour and are really simple to make yourself The classic ratio is 3 parts fat to one part acid but I personally prefer a little extra acid. Fats like olive oil, sesame oil and mayonnaise serve as great partners for acids such as lime juice, rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar Other great flavours including miso, garlic, ginger or gochujang can be combined with these to create next level dressings Grab a small jar, add all the ingredients and give them a good shake to emulsify Pour over your other salad components and toss well ensuring every bite is even If you're a texture person like me, as an extra special treat you can add some crispy crunchy toppings My favourites are chopped toasted nuts, sesame seeds or crispy onions These final touches really do make all the difference!

And there you have it dear reader, I implore you to go forth and create some delicious salads! As always if you are inspired by or make any of the recipes featured in the Express, we would love to see them! You can post a picture on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #ExpressCooks.

YOURMOSTINDEFINITEGUIDETOTHE SAGAWARDSANDAFITCHECK

WRITES KELLIE MURPHY | FASHION EDITOR

To be honest I had never heard about the Screen Actors Guild Award until literally just now, when I read about everyone’s speculation over what Aubrey Plaza was mad about, and then the subsequent clean up On stage scuffles aren’t new to award ceremonies From the slap Will Smith delivered to Chris Rock to the viral confusion of the Moonlight/La La Land winner of the 2017 Oscars for Best Picture I find it a well deserved win for moonlight and La La Land annoyed me anyway (I can’t stand movies that are musicals, I refuse to accept the mix of screen and stage) but the Will Smith slap was a defining moment in award show history and pop culture But this online speculation of Aubrey Plaza seems a bit overblown. Aubrey Plaza and the rest of the cast of White Lotus won a SAG award for Best Ensemble in a drama series The whole cast was delighted, including Aubrey Plaza but there were moments where she seemed quite annoyed Is it ideal that she wasn’t having a good time when accepting the award? No, but she probably wasn’t having a good time having to read speculations about her She could be having a bad day, it could be part of her characteristic off putting, sarcastic humour that she’s well known for or it could be about something we are not privy to

There seems to be a point of contention where her co-star Jon Gries says something to her, and she then begins to fix her dress This seems to be a moment where Gries is warning her of a wardrobe malfunction and Aubrey saves the day, which for the same reason caused murmurings This is probably because Plaza’s face remained unimpressed throughout her time on stage but I wouldn’t be too happy if my boob was at risk of falling out of my outfit while I was on a stage in front of hundreds of people with thousands of viewers at home, especially if it had to be pointed out to me There was also a moment were where Aubrey Plaza didn’t clap while the rest of the cast did at the end of F Murray Abraham’s speech where he gave support for the victims of the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria and those in Russia suffering under Putin’s regime, and Ukraine who are resisting invasion from Russia She appeared to be saying “Jesus Christ '' during the applause and congratulations to each other for winning the award for best ensemble in a drama series This seems to be in reaction to nearly being elbowed in the face which can be seen in various videos including one by ET Canada Overall Aubrey Plaza seems to have had a good time at the SAG awards, she presented with Jenna Ortega where they both carried out a skit that used Aubrey’s trademark dry wit and various photos show Plaza celebrating her win I think her unimpressed face was simply her face and no one is really going to be delighted after nearly being elbowed in the face and having to save themselves from a possible wardrobe malfunction Aubrey hasn’t responded to people’s confusion but according to Entertainment Tonight, her co-star in White Lotus, John Gries has responded

saying that he asked her to move forward since she was blocked He then warned her that “you might want to fix that first'' in reference to the cutouts on her dress He also stated that he texted her the next day to ask her if she was mad and she said she wasn’t So that seems to be done and dusted

The rest of the SAG awards included wins for Brendan Fraser in The Whale He received a well deserved win for his tender and heart wrenching acting which got him the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Lead Role Michelle Yeoh won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Lead Role for her acting in Everything Everywhere All at Once which I unfortunately haven’t seen but I do plan on it! Jennifer Coolidge, a constant source of light in this dark world, received an award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her role in The White Lotus Jessica Chastain also won an award for her role in George & Tammy, receiving the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series or Limited Series

So now, we go to the red carpet, where I’ll rank and review various winners and special mentions outfits:

Aubrey Plaza: Aubrey wore a shimmery bronze dress inspired by the 70’s and made by Michael Kors It was also custom made so we won't be able to buy it off Lucky Duckies easily, but I will try I really liked the dress because it gave us minimum effort with maximum results The cut of the gown was really simple but it worked really well, showing off Plaza’s abs and giving us a slit up the front of the dress which created a symmetrical look with her criss-crossing straps These straps did cause a slight controversy but I like them just because they looked cool I’m a fan of glitter and I’m a fan of Aubrey Plaza so I’ll give this four out of five stars She lost one star because the seam above her leg slit looks a bit like a zip and I don’t like that

Brendan Fraser: this man wore a completely black suit with a matching bow tie This was an underwhelming look for Brendan but I think it allowed the attention to remain on his work rather then what he wore which is a nice way of looking at the traditional suit. The dicky bow was a fun departure from the usual tie and he did match his glasses frame to his suit which is a great mark of steadfastness For his emotional acceptance speech and his successful return to the glare of Hollywood I give his outfit three out of five stars

Michelle Yeoh: the dress felt very whimsical and fun, while still giving a daring aura I really enjoyed the dress Michelle Yeoh came to win and she did, and this dress was only a plus in my eyes She looks great, and the contrast of the black with the forward yellow fringe, which was sequined, gives us an eye-catching look The dress was designed by Schiaparelli which she matched with yellow diamond earrings and ring by Moussaieff I give this dress five out of five stars

Eddie Redmayne: Eddie Redmayne didn’t come out of the SAG awards with any wins despite being nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in The Good Nurse but I did give a silent cheer when I saw his red carpet look At first glance I thought it was boring, indeed it had the potential to be boring But upon closer inspection I adored it I thought it was just a white shirt with black pants but it seems to be a white shirt with a sculpted collar, creating a cascading tie that serves as a statement for this overall simple look Unlike Harry Styles' red carpet look for the BAFTAs I liked this particular neck piece I think it looks like a revamped pirate shirt, it just lost the tackiness and kept the suaveness Four out of five stars for Eddie

EDITOR’SPICKS:PLAYSTATIONPLUS

BY LUKE CONDON | GAMING EDITOR

After a joyous six months, my subscription to PlayStation Plus Extra has concluded. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Sony’s game subscription service, and in honour of this I’ve compiled a list of some of my favourite titles that are currently available on it Although PS Plus Extra grants you access to plenty of recognizable games like Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War, and Bloodborne, I’ve focused on some slightly more obscure titles here so that you can get the most out of your subscription

Enter the Gungeon

Released in 2016 and developed by the aptly named studio known as Dodge Roll, Enter The Gungeon is an outrageously addicting indie rogue-like game You’ll initially take control of one of four characters, whose questionable decisions have led them to the Gungeon, a randomised gauntlet that is full to the brim with (you guessed it) guns These aren’t your average point-at-enemy-and-shoot firearms, however –Enter the Gungeon features a ridiculously large array of equally ridiculous weapons for players to delight in Some might choose to play it safe with a boring old AK-47, but a true Gungeoneer will arm themself with a more silly alternative, like the AKEY-47 (it’s a gun in the shape of a key that also fires keys) Also, you can dodge roll through enemy bullets That’s why the studio is called Dodge Roll

If you’re lucky enough to own two controllers (and, more importantly, have a friend), Enter the Gungeon’s local co-op mode can be utilised to make the task of conquering the legendary Gungeon a little less daunting It’s more forgiving than single-player, and the second character is given a number of advantages, including a limited-use revival item, so Enter the Gungeon’s multiplayer mode is an ideal way to introduce an uninitiated friend/lover/work acquaintance to the world of gaming

Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is a game unlike any other, but it can be loosely defined as an exploration puzzle game set in a fictional region of outer space (not to be confused with the similarly named Outer Worlds, Obsidian Games’ role-playing title that is also set in a fictional region of outer space) Playing as a cute little alien astronaut, you’ll fly around a charming solar system, exploring planets and space stations in search of answers to the universe’s mysteries: why are we here? Who came before us? Why is the sun exploding every twenty-two minutes, obliterating us in a fiery inferno?

One of these questions is, obviously, a more pressing concern than the others Outer Wilds’ gameplay loop is restricted to cycles of twenty-two minutes; you’ll begin by blasting off from your home planet, attempt to explore and gather as many clues as you can in that time, and then be sent back in time to try again. A game mechanic like this might sound oppressively restrictive, but in Outer Wilds it’s quite the opposite The only thing you retain through these loops is information, organised into a handy chart on your spaceship, and as you progress through the game you’ll use what you’ve learned to piece together a number of harrowing tales Uncovering Outer Wilds’ many mysteries makes for an absolutely enthralling experience, and if you’re left wanting for more you can purchase the excellent Echoes of the Eye add-on, separate to PlayStation Plus

If you’re looking for a more wholesome, laid-back experience, look no further than Slime Rancher You control Beatrix LeBeau, an entrepreneurial spirit that has recently arrived on a sparsely populated frontier planet Armed only with her trusty vacuum gun, she’ll quickly become accustomed to the art of slime ranching, the practice of capturing adorable blob creatures and raising them to produce valuable materials To procure different types of slimes you’ll have to scour the wilderness surrounding your ranch with the help of various unlockable gadgets, including a jetpack and dash boots

Slime Rancher is a relaxing farm simulator that lets you unwind however you see fit You can set up a route that encompasses your ranch and leisurely walk around feeding your slimes and harvesting their materials, with the occasional excursion into the wilds to spice things up Otherwise, you can focus on roaming the planet and playing through the game’s storyline, or even achieve advanced relaxation by automating your ranch to become fully self-sustaining Whichever way you play, Slime Rancher offers a charming alternative for those who need a break from the intense nature of life (or even just other video games)

Slime Rancher

EDITOR’SPICKS:XBOXGAMEPASS

BY LUKE CONDON | GAMING EDITOR

I’m more of a PlayStation guy myself, but Xbox’s game subscription service differs from its competing counterpart in that it’s available on both Xbox devices and PC, rather than being restricted to a singular platform Microsoft frequently run an offer that allows customers to buy a single month of Xbox Game Pass for just one euro, which was more than enough time for me to sample some of the service’s finest games on PC Again, a number of big-budget titles have found their way to Game Pass, but the following list is composed of smaller games that you might have missed

Signalis

Scarcity is the name of the game in Signalis, a survival horror isometric solution game by Rose-Engine studios As you fight your way through an underground facility filled with unspeakable horrors, you’ll constantly find yourself lacking in ammunition, health, and the courage to go on Signalis’ Lovecraftian inspirations are evident in its every facet, from enemy design to the overall atmosphere of confusion and otherworldly terror You won’t find any jump-scares here, but the game’s horror isn’t impeded by this; after a few hours in Signalis’ oppressively unsettling corridors, a mere jump-scare starts to sound infinitely preferable

Signalis fully commits to its genre, and makes no concessions Effective inventory management is necessary to ensure your survival, a mechanic reminiscent of the Silent Hill games that paved the way for modern survival horror titles The game’s pixelated art style is detailed enough to allow for clear level and character design, but still works to enhance a general sense of unease by obscuring the finer details of darker areas and mangled hostile creatures Signalis doesn’t slack in the story department either; beyond the surface level of scary monsters lies an intriguing and somehow even heart-warming narrative

Frostpunk

Frostpunk is a resource management and strategy game with a survival-based twist Many strategy games are characterised by in-game goals of expansion and conquest, growing a mighty empire from humble beginnings In Frostpunk, you’ll recognise early on that your humble beginnings are only going to get humbler Tasked with managing a group of survivors living in a frozen Earth that has been ravaged by climate change, your decisions will shape the fate of one struggling settlement rather than the usual strategy game fare of sprawling cities or even intergalactic domains Growth isn’t necessarily something to strive for in Frostpunk; expansion means more mouths to feed, homes to heat, and people to keep alive

Frostpunk’s narrowed scale retains the epic feeling of grand strategy games by providing a more intimate connection to the characters you’re responsible for. Instead of numbers on a list, you’re dealing with a small population whose lives you can directly influence This makes the game’s important decisions all the more difficult; will you risk the lives of your people by sending them out to hunt for food, or deprive them of heating in order to conserve power? Playing like a tyrant might grant you a better chance of survival, but Frostpunk will rightfully make you feel bad about doing so

For those who don’t mind a bit of reading, Citizen Sleeper offers a poignant adventure with a focus on narrative The game derives much of its inspiration from the acclaimed 2019 role-playing game Disco Elysium, including its prose-heavy style, usage of dice mechanics, and themes of class struggle and anticapitalism However, Citizen Sleeper sets itself apart by opting to focus directly on the individual stories of its wonderful cast of characters, using them as vessels to highlight inequality and injustice under an advanced capitalist regime

In Citizen Sleeper, you control an unnamed person/robot (it’s hard to explain) who, after being enslaved by a corporation, flees to a distant space station and desperately attempts to eke out a living there Every in-game day, or ‘cycle’, you’ll use dice rolls to determine how effectively you perform odd jobs to earn money, with high rolls granting a better chance of success By completing tasks like these you’ll get to know the game’s characters, through a text-based medium Some you might want to help out, and some you might want nothing to do with, but each of them has their own compelling tale Citizen Sleeper specialises in this style of down-to-earth (well, down-to-space-station) writing, and the resultant narrative is as engrossing as video game stories get

Citizen Sleeper

CEOLASCEOLDRÁMAÍ: NÁDÉANDEARÚDARCHEOLNAGCEOLDRÁMAÍ

WRITES ORLA LEAHY | EAGARTHÓIR GAEILGE

Is aoibhinn liom dul chuig na ceoldrámaí, tá suim mhór agamsa agus ag mo mháthair sna ceoldrámaí a thagann chuig an amharclann Bhord Gáis i mBÁC cúpla uair i rith na bliana as an West End i Londain Shasana Anois is arís, tagann siad chuig Corcaigh, chomh maith, go dtí Áras na Ceoldrámaíochta Bhí an t-ádh dearg agam deis a fháil ticéad a bheith agam do The Phantom of the Opera i Nua-Eabhrac, sular tháinig deireadh leis an seó; i ndiaidh don seó 35 bliain bheith bainte amach acu ar stáitse

Gan aon agó, bíonn eolas ag gach uile dhuine faoi na hamhráin cháiliúla as Mary Poppins Ba é Mary Poppins ceann de na chéad cheoldrámaí a chonaic mé beagnach deich mbliana ó shin Is rud draíochtúil é an príomhcharachtar a fheiceáil ag eitilt thar an lucht éisteachta, nó Bert, an glantóir simléar, a fheiceáil ag crochadh na bhfallaí lena scuab Is fíor a rá gur bhaineas fíor-thaitneamh as an gceoldráma seo, go mór mór nuair a bhí mé mar pháiste brionglóideach

Tar éis roinnt ama, thosnaigh mo shuim ag athrú nuair a chonaic mé roinnt ceoldrámaí eile Is fíor a rá go bhfuil crosánacht oiriúnach do gach uile dhuine, athraíonn an saghas ceoil idir gach aon cheoldráma Mar shampla, faightear glór briosc i roinnt de na hamhráin in Wicked, cosúil le “Popular” , agus amhráin eile a bhíonn mar cheoldrámaí den scoth, cosúil le “Defying Gravity ” Taitníonn ceoldrámaí áirithe liomsa is bíonn cuid acu san brónach go leor; is sampla deas iad na hamhráin “Stars” , “On My Own” agus “Bring Him Home” as Les Misérables Uaireanta eile, athraíonn an t-atmaisféar agus bím ag gáire in aonacht leis carachtair a bhíonn ag canadh leo, mar shampla i gcuid de na hamhráin in Mam Mia

Le gach ceoldráma, insíonn na hamhráin scéalta na gcarachtar Thar na blia chuala mé roinnt scéalta, gach amhrán is é saibhir le mothúcháin - uaigneas a brón, grá, áthas, náire, aiféala, agus sceitimíní Gach uair a théim chuig amharclann, mothaím scéalta na gcarachtar Tugaim buíochas do na haisteoirí bheith ag canadh go hálainn is go proifisiúnta ar an stáitse Is rud iontach é aiste paiseanta bheith ar stáitse le grá do na scéalta a mbíonn siad ag canadh fú Tugaim buíochas chomh maith don lucht gairme taobh thiar den stáitse; l t l

As na ceoldrámaí atá feicthe agam, luafaidh mé trí chás de na hamhráin is tábhachtaí Sa cheoldráma Blood Brothers, canann máthair an chúpla an t-amhrán, “Tell Me It’s Not True” , amhrán ina mhothaíonn sí a pian tar éis na heachtraí a tharla ó thus go deireadh an cheoldráma Is deireadh cumhachtach é an t-amhrán seo don taispeántas féin In The Phantom of the Opera, is amhrán álainn agus goinbhlasta é Think of Me Canann Christine, oibrí Thigh na Ceoldrámaíochta i bPáras na Fraince faoin Phantom nó faoin dTaibhse, duine a mbíonn fhios aici faoi ach duine a bhí fós sa doircheacht ag an am sin Tar éis an cheoldráma sin a fheiceáil, chuala mé an t-amhrán arís nuair a bhíos sa phictiúrlann ag ceolchoirm André Rieu - veidhleadóir agus stiúrthóir a chuireann taispeántas cáiliúil ar siúl ó áit amháin ar fud an domhain trí scáileán dhá uair sa bhliain Ag ceolchoirm amháin, chan soprán amháin é agus leagan den chéad scoth a bhí ansan Anuas air sin, is aoibhinn liom an t-amhrán, “Wouldn’t it be Loverly?” sa cheoldráma My Fair Ladyamhrán a chuirtear os ár gcomhair dúinn is a léiríonn cé chomh fada is atá an príomhcharachtar, Eliza Dolittle, ón réalt-scoláire a bhí sa bhrionglóid Ag deireadh an ceoldráma, áfach, taispeánann “Without You” an chontrárthacht sin ó thús an cheoldráma Ardaíonn an ceol sna drámaí seo na mothúcháin agus bíonn tionchar mór ag na scéalta éagsúla a bhaineann leo ar na lucht éisteachta go deimhin

Tá dúshlán agam do mo chuid léitheoirí; go ndéanfadh sibhse iarracht ceoldráma a fheiceáil an bhliain seo, mar scannán (bíonn beagnach gach ceoldráma le fáil mar scannán, chomh maith) nó in amharclann éigin Is taithí iontach é chun tábhacht an cheoil, agus úsáid an cheoil i rith an tsaoil agaibh, a fheiceáil

DUCKSY’SVIDEOVAULT

WRITES ORLA LEAHY | EAGARTHÓIR GAEILGE

Musician and songwriter Ducksy unearths some marvelous musical gems from the world of YouTube

2nd Grade – “Strung Out On You”

A great single taken from the group’s latest album Easy Listening A future power pop classic with a catchy guitar riff! https://www youtube com/watch?v=bHEjcVCTaxU

Mo Troper – “I Fall Into Her Arms”

A wonderfully retro low fi production and a gripping Beatlesque melody Check out Mo’s album MTV, which, in my humble opinion, is one of the finest of 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 7YdTx-oCRQ

South Hill Experiment – “Chameleons”

An excellent psychedelic track! I was very impressed by the video which features actual singing chameleons! The track also includes some gloriously funky bass playing which is a real added bonus for me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkM6LhCgw1Qbass

The Heavy Heavy – “Miles and Miles”

A fabulous musical travelogue, slightly reminiscent of 1970s pop (it makes me think of some of Eric Clapton’s earliest solo material and groups like “Middle Of The Road”) The duo’s Mamas and Papas type harmonies win me over every time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1Q07rusb4w

Garbage – “Stupid Girl”

This week’s classic cut Released in 1996, it has deservedly become a classic over the years It was written by all four members of the band (Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig) and uses a drum sample from The Clash’s “Train In Vain” and percussion part from REM’s “Orange Crush” According to lead singer Shirley Manson the song is an "anthem for a girl who won't settle for less than what she wants it’s really about squandering potential, [it's] our version of Madonna's 'Express Yourself', but a little more subversive "[9]

Interestingly, she later added: "A lot of females still find it difficult to find their own voice in society It's just that women have a different set of problems from men [it’s] a song of reproach to a lot of people we know", both male and female we could have called it 'Stupid Guy,' but we thought another song about a strident female dissing a guy would be tedious "[12]

Marker’s bassline has a really hypnotic quality and he reputedly based it on James Jamerson’s classic licks from the Motown era The core of the song is Erikon’s jangly, menacing guitar hook which lingers on in your memory long after you’ve heard it.

Given the song’s quality, it is unsurprising that it was a sure fire hit with critics Select's Ian Harrison called the song "Duran-like", describing it as "mighty doomy pop neatly tailored to enhance one's natural discontentment "[57] Vox magazine's Craig McLean called it "malignant, dirty, devious, sneering pop",[58] while Metal Hammer's Pippa Lang compared Manson's " ever-so-sexy, sibilant" vocals to Trent Reznor's [59] Kerrang! described "Stupid Girl" as "a classy piece of predatory pop perfection that wields an iron punch beneath it's [sic] velvet glove "[4]

The video has also taken on a somewhat mythical status Directed by Samuel Bayer, it was inspired by the title sequence from David Fincher’s 1995 film Seven To compliment the delightfully brooding nature of the song, Bayer cut the film into pieces and soaked it in his bath, applying deliberate fingerprints and abrasions to the footage before putting it back together by hand [53]

He later explained: “Film is generally treated like this pristine canvas if it's scratched, it's considered ruined I wanted to add to the excitement of "Stupid Girl" with a really organic video, something that had a handmade quality "[111 Looking at the video now, nearly thirty years later, he certainly accomplished what he set out to do!

https://www youtube com/watch?v=O9eNTgAuMls

David “Ducksy” Moynihan is a singer – songwriter from Cork, Ireland For more information about his work, go to: http://ducksymusic com/ His latest record: “What Is Yet To Come” is currently streaming on Spotify.

WHAT’SNEWONNETFLIXINMARCH2023?

WRITES SAMANTHA CALTHROP | STAFF WRITER

Keeping up with the amount of new television shows and movies that are on the various streaming sites nowadays can be a headache Between Netflix, Disney+, the new Paramount+ streaming site and many more, trying to decide what streaming sites to keep and what to get rid of can be difficult Netflix used to be the only online streaming service available since it launched in 2007 However, ever since the launch of Disney Plus in 2019 and HBO Max in 2020, competition between the streaming services has been stiff However, even though Disney Plus has all the animated classics we have all come to love, the entirety of the Marvel franchise and tons of fun, light-hearted television series and movies, while HBO has plenty of original TV shows and movies plus all your favourite cartoons, Netflix has some hugely successful movies and TV shows For example, the global Netflix original hit series Wednesday took the world by storm and fans of the Addams Family and newly recruited fans are already highly looking forward to a season two To make picking a streaming service and something to watch this month a bit easier, in this article I am going to go through two TV shows that are having another season this month and a murder mystery movie to round off the month! But before I begin, beware of spoilers as I will be running through the plots of these various forms of entertainment

You Season Four Part Two

To start us off, Pen Badgely is reprising his role as the stalker serial killer Joe Goldberg in season four part two of the hit series You After the success of season three in October 2021, filming for season four began in earnest in March 2022 in London Season Four is being dropped in two halves The first five episodes of Season Four released on February 9th 2023 and fans eagerly binge watched them The end of season three left us on a cliffhanger Joe poisoned his wife, Love Quinn, and faked his own death so it looked like she killed them both After faking his own death, Joe leaves to go to Paris on a hunch that Marianne, his obsession, is there with her daughter However, we have moved to another capital city in season four: London In the capital of London, Joe has taken on a new challenge: teaching He takes on the persona of Professor Jonathan Moore who teaches at the Royal Holloway in the University of London However, Joe’s peace and attempt at turning over a new leaf slips through his fingers when dead bodies start appearing

A serial killer is on the loose and it’s not our favourite stalker This ‘Eat the Rich’ killer is determined to frame Joe for his crimes and wreck his attempt at bettering himself, or at least becoming less murderous Joe has a new name, a new job and a new love interest Kate, played by Charlotte Richtie, is last seen at the end of season four part one asking Joe out on a date However, he turns her down as he needs to dispose of a few corpses, including his college colleague Malcom and Kate’s friend Gemma Joe did not commit these murders but it is revealed to be Rhys Montrosse, the son of a duke who was born into poverty with a single mother He is slowly killing off the rich and privileged and framing Joe for his crimes With the pair both in London, it looks like there could be a serial killer showdown before the season is up. With season four-part two dropping on March 9th, we can look forward to more suspense, a showdown, more exploration of Kate and Joe’s budding relationship and possibly learning more about his son Henry We are on the edge of our seats already!

Shadow and Bone Season Two

Stalking and murders is not for everybody, if that is not your cup of tea, maybe a high fantasy show will scratch that itch Shadow and Bone is based on the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology written by Leigh Bardugo which were, and are to this day, extremely successful In my opinion, TV shows do not measure up to books However, season one of this TV show blew me away In season one, we followed the story of Alina Starkov, played by Jessie Mei Li, an orphaned map maker who discovers she is a powerful Grisha, a Sun Summoner who is the only one with the power to destroy the Shadow Fold that divides the nation of Ravka in half By her side is the ever loyal Mal, a fellow orphan and potential love interest The other potential love interest of season two was General Kirigan, played by Ben Barnes, who is the leader of the Second Army and is also known as the Darkling However, his place as a potential love interest is shattered when he is revealed to be the one who created the Fold and he attempts to use Alina’s powers to expand the Fold, not destroy it. At the end of season one, the Darkling is left to the mercy of the monsters inside the Fold, seemingly left for dead. But to close the season with a bang, we see the powerful Grisha storming out of the Fold, looking worse for wear but more powerful than ever

Season two of this show will pick up on this ending shot as Alina and Mal are determined to fight Kirigan and save Ravka from ruin But the Darkling has only grown more powerful with a new army of apparently indestructible shadow monsters and fearsome new Grisha recruits Alina and Mal must journey across nations such as Novyi Zem and Shu Han to find mythical creatures that will amplify her powers But they cannot do it alone! Along the way, they will rally their allies they made in season one Fan favourites the Bastard of the Barrel Kaz Brekker played by Freddy Carter, the dagger wielding Inej Ghafa played by Amita Suman and the charming Jesper Fahey played by Kit Young will reappear in this sequel Tagging along for the ride are two more familiar faces, the couple that was destined for each other, Nina Zenik played by Danielle Galligan and Matthias Helvar played by Calahan There are a few fresh faces joining this mixed and matched crew in the form of twin Heart renders Tamar Kir and Tolya Tul Bataar and Wylan So get ready for more friendships, new romance, bigger battles, epic adventures and a shocking family secret that could ruin everything on March 16th, only on Netflix

Murder Mystery 2

We are rounding off this list with a comedy murder mystery starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler In 2019, the surprise hit of the year was the comedy Murder Mystery, which is a parody of the entire detective fiction genre Nick and Aubrey are a married couple who end up on a billionaire’s yacht while on a trip to Europe The downside of being on the yacht is they witness the murder of the billionaire, and while trying to solve the murder, most of the guests are slowly picked off too as they make their way around Europe Murder Mystery ended with both Nick and Audrey being exonerated, their marriage somehow still intact despite Nick's lying and general uselessness, and the couple is gifted a trip on the famed Orient Express thanks to Interpol The trailer for the sequel shows us that the couple are struggling to get their detective agency off the ground when they are invited to their friend’s wedding on a private island However, they soon find themselves in the cross hairs of an international abduction as the groom is kidnapped from his own wedding The suspense is killing me already! The number of new additions to the cast is insane but some notable ones are Mark Strong, Enrique Arce and Melanie Laurent This sequel is sure to offer up a bundle of laughs at the end of a hectic month, I am looking forward to March 31st already!

WHATDOESUCCWISHTHEYLEARNEDINSEXED? ACOLLABORATIONWITHUCCFEMSOC

WRITES CIARA BARRETT | SEXPRESS EDITOR

February 27th- March 1st was dubbed Sex Week by UCC Feminist Society, and so they took to campus to find out what exactly UCC students wished they had learned in Sex Ed Submissions came in from countless students across campus In this issue, I’m going to share the highlights and explain exactly how poor sex education has impacted us as a whole

A big topic that was explored with this campaign was vaginas, with multiple students agreeing that they were never actually taught about the anatomy of a vagina Several people of all genders agreed that they weren’t actually aware of how many parts a vagina had, including one submission which read “I thought you peed out of your vagina ” The lack of education on vaginal anatomy was also cited as playing a large role in why people with vaginas don’t always enjoy sex We’re never taught what parts are supposed to feel good and which parts are not meant for sexual activity The negative effects of this are significant The lack of understanding on the anatomy of a vagina can be a massive cause of excruciating UTI’s, and many people with vaginas left feeling as though they’re “broken” for struggling to orgasm or just not enjoying sex.

Staying on vaginas, discharge and vaginal health were common denominators in what people wished they had learned in their RSE classes Several people discussed never even hearing the word in schools, and living in fear during their teenage years thinking that they had somehow magically contracted an STI from a toilet seat (which is not possible, by the way) The lack of education on vaginal health can be a really scary and embarrassing experience for people with vaginas in their teenage years When things like that aren’t discussed, it’s hard to be the one to start the conversation The culture of shame surrounding vaginal health stems from the fact that we are never told that it’s normal for these things to happen One submission said it best, “I wish I had learned that vaginal itching and painful urination can just be a UTI, not an STI ”

LGBTQ+ Sexual Education was another very common theme across the campaign, with submissions varying from “I wish I had learned that trans people exist!” to “How does gay sex work?” While many Irish people consider us a progressive nation, we continue to see a lot of influence from the Catholic Church in education MA Women’s Studies student and Feminist Society Campaigns Officer Chloe Boland informed those involved with the campaign that while Ireland is definitely improving in certain areas, the creation of the new SPHE and RSE curriculums for primary schools was overseen by a panel of Catholic bishops, and they have included that while they acknowledge the existence of the LGBTQ+ community, it is still considered a sin within the Catholic Church The curriculum summary in full can be found on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) website. A massive lack of comprehensive and inclusive sexual

education is a prevalent flaw in our system, and something we need to discuss more and fight to introduce There was a large variety of topics brought to the forefront in the discussion of LGBTQ+ sexual education, ranging from broader topics such as the fact that asexuality is a valid sexuality, to more specific topics such as how to prepare for sex with things such as douching The lack of education on how to actually have sex as a member of the LGBTQ+ community is extremely harmful, as many people had to turn to unrealistic portrayals of sex in porn to learn what it was they could actually do

Building off of LGBTQ+ sex, HIV was a very important part of the conversation The general consensus surrounding HIV and sex education was the need for clarification that HIV is not just a ‘gay thing’, but something that everyone should be cautious of when participating in any sexual activity The idea that HIV only impacts gay men is an extremely outdated and exclusionary view, and has proven to be exceedingly harmful to people of all sexualities and gender identities. It was raised that the importance of education surrounding HIV and the medications we have available for it today should not be framed as something that only applies to gay and bisexual men, but to everyone, and not just when discussing sex Perpetuating the idea that HIV is inherently sexual and only affects gay men puts so many people at risk, and does nothing in terms of harm reduction or awareness

As well as HIV, the topic of porn came into play in the discussion of LGBTQ+ sex education and beyond Sex education continually proves itself to be lacking on both the sex side of things and in the education aspect Many people found themselves turning to porn to learn what it was they should be doing during sex, especially those who could not participate in the style of sex which emphasised sex as a task for procreation It was agreed upon by all students that while (ethically made) porn can be fun to watch, it is quite simply not realistic, and doesn’t portray sex the way that it is in real life An important part of the conversation surrounding porn pertained to fetishisation within porn, primarily surrounding the fetishisation of people of colour This perpetuates the harmful stereotype that people of colour, and primarily black women, are inherently hypersexual While a large part of this stems from people feeling as though they need to watch porn to learn about sex, it can also be attributed in no small part to the ‘alpha male’ influencers taking over the internet bit by bit, and encouraging the idea that we can learn everything we need to know about sex from watching heteronormative porn littered with poorly depicted elements of BDSM

An important topic that was spoken about an awful lot was consent Many students did not remember learning anything about consent after junior infants, where they were taught about personal space Consent is possibly one of the most important and incredibly overlooked aspects of sexual education Students agreed that college is too late to open the conversation of consent, and while organisations such as ACTIVE* Consent do incredible work on college campuses across the country, it can be too little too late by the time we get to university. Consent needs to be a key point on the RSE curriculum, spanning from junior infants to sixth year Any conversations students could recall that were even tangentially related to consent generally took place in single sex girls schools, and manifested as thinly veiled victim blaming, teaching what female presenting people should do to avoid being sexually assaulted

While there were many more key points brought up in the discussion on what we should have been taught, the final one I want to touch on here is education surrounding pleasure, masturbation, and orgasms Only one person recalled ever being taught that pleasure and masturbation are good things, and that sex and sexual arousal are not solely tied to reproduction Many stressed the need for education on how to masturbate safely, including what is safe to use and how to ensure that it’s a pleasurable experience Others tied this back to the anatomy of vaginas, and how the internet's running joke on the struggle to find the clitoris could easily be solved by education on anatomy and pleasure centres Sex is often taught as a chore, and something that’s necessary for reproduction People want to see the focus shifted from pro-creation to pleasure, and a tool to enjoy yourself, express feelings for people, and relieve stress

The list only goes on, including topics such as pregnancy, contraception, gender identity, illnesses such as endometriosis, and many more It’s clear that the way we teach sexual education needs a complete overhaul, and students' voices must be at the forefront of that Negativity and shame surrounding sex and sexual health is detrimental to people of all ages, sexualities, and gender identities, and it’s time that we stand up and bring this to light.

INAUGURALLAUNCHOFNEUROFESTIVITY

ACELEBRATIONANDEXPLORATIONOFNEURODIVERSEART

WRITES SAMANTHA CALTHROP | STAFF WRITER

Neurofestivity - A Celebration and Exploration of Neurodiverse Art, a one-day festival featuring works by neurodivergent artists,was launched at UCC on March 10th. Curated by UCC Theatre Artist-in-residence Jody O'Neill, in association with Cork Opera House, Neurofestivity took place across five events at UCC's Department of Theatre, all showcasing writing and performances by neurodivergent creators

Students from the neurodiverse community of UCC were invited to present their inprogress works at 2pm in Conn A, and emerging artists were welcome to attend

Writers and performers Stefanie Preissner, Kel Menton and Ian Lynam presented readings from upcoming works and took questions, and also sat on a panel with AsIAm CEO, Fiona Ferris Artists from the Neurodiverse and Dyslexic Visual Artist’s Group were also exhibiting at the festival

“In my experience, there is a unique creativity and fusion that occurs in spaces where neurodivergent artists come together," said Jody O'Neill, "I’m looking forward to seeing what conversations will take place on the day and where they will lead us in the future ”

Jody O'Neill is an award-winning playwright and actor, and her play What I (Don't) Know About Autism received critical acclaim on its release in 2020. She is a vocal advocate for neurodivergent artists in Ireland

In an interview with the Irish Examiner in 2022, Jody O'Neill spoke about her experiences with receiving an autism diagnosis at the age of 39, and her hopes to establish a community of Neurodiverse artists in Ireland "There's more of an understanding of autism as being a fundamental part of somebody's make up In the arts, more and more people are presenting as neurodivergent But I do think the prevailing language in the media is about disabilities There is a long way to go and I hope I can find a way to be a part of that change because it does have to happen "

"We are denying people the right to education on the grounds of disability We're still categorising people as having special needs But there's nothing special about us We are all as human beings entitled to an inclusive education and we should have access to employment "

"I think in terms of actually making our venues more accessible, we have a lot to learn We need to engage with people who have a lived experience of feeling uncomfortable in a venue and seeing what venues can do to shift that "

Free tickets for panels and readings were available from Cork Opera House at https://www corkoperahouse ie/ Attendees of Neurofestivity could also buy discounted tickets for the play Daughter of God by Roderick Ford, which was performed at the Granary Theatre at 8pm March 10 as part of the event

Daughter of God is a 16+ story of magical realism It follows the story of a mother and her three daughters, who isolate themselves from society

"Leaning into magical realism, Daughter of God explores the autistic experience of life in a neurotypical world, and the struggle to exist in a society that does not fit, " reads the play's description

“This festival is an opportunity to bring neurodivergent artists together and explore the processes of making work in today’s society, " says Eibhlín Gleeson, CEO of Cork Opera House

"There is much to celebrate and much to talk about and we hope this will be the start of a wider platform for the presentation of work by this exciting community of artists in the future ”

All events took place in CONN 1, The Connolly Building, unless stated The programme of events for Neurofestivity was as follows:

12.30 – Items of Inspiration – Open Lunch The event welcomed members of the Neurodiverse Visual Artists Group who hosted an open informal lunch, sharing items of interest and inspiration in their work

2:00pm – Works in Progress – Student Presentations. This event welcomed students from within the neurodiverse student population in UCC to present works in progress across a number of artforms

4:00pm - Readings of New Work. Writers and performers, Jody O’Neill, Stefanie Preissner, Kel Menton and Ian Lynam presented 10 minute readings of new work This was followed by a Q&A session

6 30pm The Neurodivergent Artist – A Panel Discussion Panel Discussion welcomed Fiona Ferris (Deputy CEO, AsIAm) in conversation with invited neurodivergent artists, Stefanie Preissner, Jody O’Neill, Kel Menton and Ian Lynam

8.00pm – Daughter of God by Roderick Ford, Granary Theatre. In Daughter of God, a mother and her three daughters have isolated themselves from society and are bound together by secrets, sickness and mutual dependency Their situation is about to change with devastating results when one of them gets an opportunity to have a different future

CONCUSSIONINSPORT

WRITES JACK KELLY | DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR

The RFU announced it would change its rule on the height of tackles in junior games next season as part of long-term player-protection plans to reduce concussions in the sport The move has been unanimously approved by Rugby Football Union Council members in an attempt to support player welfare, notably reducing head impact exposure across the community game - clubs, schools, colleges and universities at both age-grade and adult levels - covering the National One division and below in the men's game and Championship One and below in the women's game

However, arguments have been made that this rule change is fundamentally flawed with Irish Captain Johnny Sexton being a notably vocal opponent to the amendment When asked whether it would make a difference he said: "Not at all Definitely not You can get a knee in the head You can get a hip in the head Most concussions, they come from those There was a study done a few years ago and there were a lot of red cards given for high tackles and 100 per cent we need to get them out the game but none of them resulted in concussions, whereas a lot of them came from knees to the head and hips to the head I am not sure who puts these rules in place but I don't agree with them, especially for a taller man like myself who likes to tackle hard "

Sexton does make a coherent argument that does make sense But with endless hours of Six Nations on our screens at the moment, we are enthralled by the savage hits dished out by these 100+ kg athletes It is somewhat gladiatorial and simply compelling However, surviving these brutal hits over the eighty minutes of a rugby match has been described as ‘like surviving a car crash 50 times a game ’ For reference, a car crash at 40 mph will produce forces of around 40 G’s The highest force ever recorded on a rugby pitch? 205 G’s

In an interview with ‘The Sportsman’, Dr Lorenzo Masci, a Consultant Sports Physician at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, spoke about the severity of tackling in rugby ‘They are getting so big we are often seeing injuries that we only see in motor vehicle accidents I saw an injury of a player who had sustained a sternal fracture, the bone at the front of the chest wall where the ribs come in. You don’t see those injuries unless you have been in a major motor accident ’ Why is this? Undeniably attributable has been the accelerated development of sport science over the last twenty years breeding a new type of sportsperson; freak athletes

Research carried out by CNN found that the average All Black back is four inches taller and 14 kg heavier than they were in 1974 A remarkable development bridging on being frankly frightening This growth far exceeds any other sports Of course, this athleticism has coincided with professionalism being ushered in in 1995 and has brought the game to

new heights Naturally, as humans it goes without saying that there is a primal element within our psyche that endears us as viewers to the strongest and fastest athletes our population has to offer repeatedly running into each other If you haven’t watched international rugby yet, do, it’s great!

As great as it is from the safety of the stands, the ferocity of the tackle has generally been accepted as an occupational hazard within the game but there remains the risk of serious head and neck injury Furthermore, the link between concussion and dementia is a major concern

According to TheBlitzDefence, between 2006 and 2009 there were only two rugby union players who retired due to concussions or brain injuries Contrast this with the numbers of retirements due to the same reasons between 2016 and 2019 increasing to 35 Either awareness of the seriousness of these injuries has grown or players are feeling the full effect of the new level of what was already an attritional game and getting out while the going is still good

As mentioned, the potential long-term neurological effects of concussions and other knocks to the head in professional sport have attracted significant attention and research interest over recent years Confirmation in 2014 that former England footballer Jeff Astle died as a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a form of dementia) and that it was caused by regularly heading the ball ignited a furore on the risks of this practice in particular

New guidelines introduced this year limit the number of “higher force headers” professional English footballers are allowed to make each week in training to 10 These are usually headers following a long pass (more than 35 metres) or from crosses, corners or free kicks.Similar guidelines had already been adopted across all children’s football leagues in the UK But the question remains: do headers really cause dementia?

Recent work carried out at the University of Glasgow by neuropathologist William Stewart and his team analysed the death certificates of Scottish men They found higher rates of dementia among former professional footballers compared to the general population, with ex-footballers about 3.5 times more likely to die from a neurodegenerative disease, such as that which causes dementia, than men who didn’t play football professionally

Stewart’s group also showed that dementia deaths in former professional footballers were greater among those who had played in positions where heading tended to be more frequent, like central defenders, for example

nIn the world of American football, the NFL had to pay out $765 million due to concussion related injuries to over 20,000 retired players Controversy regarding concussion has loomed over the NFL for quite some time due to their outdated concussion protocol, the list of players who have died due to CTE and their denial of any link between their antiquated protocol and its effects

David Webner and Grant L Iverson conducted a study titled ‘Suicide in professional American football players in the past 95 years’ and found that most of the men suffered from multiple life stressors prior to their deaths, such as retirement from sport, loss of steady income, divorce, failed business ventures, estrangement from family members and medical, psychiatric and/or substance abuse problems An inextricable link was drawn between those who suffered from head injuries causing substance abuse, failed relationships etc thus leading to suicide

There are a wide range of examples to back this up Most famously the case of Aaron Hernandez April 19th, 2017, at approximately 3 a.m the former New England Patriots tight end was found hanging from a bed sheet in his prison cell in Shirley, Massachusetts Hernandez had recently been found not guilty of a 2012 double homicide, so one can imagine that his suicide came as a complete shock A postmortem brain scan would later reveal that Hernandez had been suffering from CTE The scan was performed by Ann McKee, PhD, lead researcher of the CTE Center at Boston University, showed evidence of brain atrophy, damage to the frontal lobe, and large portions of black spots created by tau proteins “We’ve never seen this in our 468 brains, except in individuals some 20 years older,” said Dr McKee

Similarly, the posthumous brain examination of Phillip Adams, a 32-year-old retired journeyman N F L player who shot and killed six people before dying by suicide in April, revealed that he had an “unusually severe” form of C.T.E., a degenerative brain disease found in athletes and others with a history of repeated hits to the head

By their nature, contact sports will lead to injuries That goes without saying but the goal for all organisations should be to create conditions that safeguard players from 1 Being concussed or suffering neck injuries 2 Having suitable protocols (in-game and return to play) that protect players should they be unlucky enough to suffer a head or neck injury 3 The bottom line is that player welfare should be the priority and not telling a player to get on with it for the team's sake Athletes are getting bigger, stronger and faster All contact sports make for phenomenal viewing due to this athleticism and preserving this physicality is key to sports popularity but the evidence points to a need for a review of the protocols to prevent head injuries

FROMTHERUNNINGTRACKTOTHEBOARDROOM HOWEMMACOFFEY’SFINALBENDTURNEDADVERSITYINTOOPPORTUNITY

students in secondary school might have decided to knuckle down and focus their energies on the Leaving Certificate; not Emma

Coffey

The Emergence of FinalBend

She decided that she wanted to stay connected in some way to athletics, the sport she loved “I had really put all my eggs into the one basket ” Coffey says, but now was a chance to try something new A new sportswear brand called FinalBend was born, in a bid to cover a gap in the market that the young entrepreneur had spotted Smaller clubs and smaller markets were not being served by the “big brands” , and Coffey was willing to take on club orders in the tens, rather than the hundreds Clubs were delighted to finally have access to sleek, high-performing athletic wear which did not break the bank Partnerships with Munster Athletics and Athletics Ireland’s ‘Forerunners’ campaigns were the next steps to bringing the brand to wider audiences, but Emma’s focus with FinalBend remained on athletes in competition One major global catastrophe would dramatically change the way her business was run

The Lock-Down Years

WRITESMARKCOOPER| SPORTSEDITOR

When an athlete comes around the final bend of a running track, their race is well and truly in the melting pot, with a world of opportunity before them Some will lose their lead and fall to the back of the pack, while others will find something deep within themselves to push for the top spot on the podium The young Emma Coffey is most certainly one of those who continually finds another level within themselves to push to the next level. When injury cut short her promising athletic career, Emma was in a final bend in her own life She could have felt sorry for herself and put her time into more leisurely pursuits, as most seventeen-year-olds would have done However, such was the unrelenting ambition and drive of the young Cork student, an eco-friendly sportswear brand was born; Aptly named “FinalBend” I was lucky enough to chat with Emma this past week to speak about everything from her early sporting life to her ambitious future business plans

An Active Upbringing

From an extremely early age, Emma and her sisters were involved in a myriad of sporting pursuits “Our parents would bring us straight from school to ballet, then onto gymnastics and swimming, and we got our homework done in the car along the way ” Such was the packed sporting schedule of her younger years, it was no surprise that Emma excelled in athletics, where she found her niche in the pole vault Success in competition for the event brought widespread attention, in particular when the young athlete took home the 2017 National Girls Under-17 Pole Vault title in Athlone With the world at her feet and eyes firmly locked on a UCC Quercus Sports Scholarship, disaster struck for Coffey A back injury would spell the end for a promising career on the track, and as Emma puts it “There was now a void in my life, some spare time, for the first time ever, and I didn’t know what to do with myself ” As previously mentioned, most fifth year

“All my business was based around events and competitions happening up and down the country ” Whether it was Nenagh, Athlone or Castleisland, Emma relied upon athletes competing to sell her products “When the pandemic hit, everything was stopped ” From March 2020 to late January 2022, there were some level of restrictions on athletics events in Ireland For many months, every event was simply cancelled in the name of public health Emma’s business model had fallen apart overnight, and as she puts it, her decision was simple.

“Adapt or die”

Coffey decided she would take her business directly to consumers, utilising digital marketing to attract athletes from across Ireland As a Commerce student in University College Cork, Emma was no stranger to marketing practices, but her use of new trends and media platforms set her apart With “zero-cost customer acquisition” , a series of viral TikTok videos and Instagram posts saw “exponential growth” for the brand. One unique aspect of the online marketing space was that the young entrepreneur had no control over who engaged with FinalBend’s posts or purchased her products “The people purchasing were no longer just purely athletes who wanted performance [they were]

people who simply liked the brand and the design of the sportswear ” Coffey was quick to diversify her offerings, leaning into the ‘athleisure’ market Her products now fell in a space between performance and leisure wear, allowing her to attract a broader client base As a result, her sales revenue increased rapidly, even allowing her to take on staff members for the first time This new-found success was capped off with an appearance on the Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy, in an episode celebrating indigenous Irish brands

Balancing Act

While the success story of Emma Coffey is certainly to be admired, one would have to say that her daily life must be exhausting When pressed on her workload, the student / business owner reminded me of her days in the car doing homework “I’ve always had a lot on, I’ve always been busy, it would feel wrong if I wasn’t doing a million things at once ” A Commerce student at UCC, Coffey is also a member of the Quercus Programme where she is a recipient of the Innovation / Entrepreneurship scholarship Besides financial support, this programme’s most important contribution for Emma is in helping her build connections “You’re surrounded by people as motivated as you, which is always helpful as you ’ re a product of your environment” The programme aims to offer support to students who are excelling in areas outside of academia, and for FinalBend’s founder, it has “opened many doors I might not ever have known where even there for me ” Balancing a full-time university degree and a blossoming business cannot be an easy task, but Coffey takes it in her stride Even when there were hard times, such as when the busiest shopping season of the year coincided with her Christmas exams, the student never let the workload get the better of her Her ability to stand back and look at the “bigger picture” is what truly sets her apart

Giving Back

In spite of her packed schedule, a key priority for Emma now that she has become a shining beacon for young entrepreneurs is to share her experiences with as many people as she can. “I give talks at primary and secondary schools as much as I can, to show them what’s possible ” Especially for girls and young women, Coffey feels it is important to let them know that there is a pathway for them Cutting down any gendered narrative, Coffey is resolute in

mentioning that she “ never saw any adversity as a woman in business” , and is eager to share that message with the hopeful young girls she interacts with She feels that her position has led her to be an accidental “spokesperson” , and a duty is now there to share her experiences and her story to help others

Taking time to speak on the support for women in sport, Coffey welcomes the evolution over the last five to ten years, and that “ a great ecosystem” is now developing for female athletes in Ireland Emma’s work with ‘The Shona Project’ and ‘Forerunners’ to promote opportunities for women and share her own story will undoubtedly inspire future generations of young athletes and entrepreneurs

Where to Next

In terms of FinalBend, Emma is determined to branch out into the European market, with 99% of sales currently coming from Irish customers

The brand has a powerful mission statement of providing eco-friendly, affordable sportswear to its customers

Developing the brand and diversifying their product line is the current goal

However, never one to focus on one aspect of her life, Coffey offered an insight into her new project; A digital marketing agency UCG ie is a “creator led” Business to Business marketing platform where Irish and European creators can be linked to brands in order to produce “authentic advertising” Teaming up with her sister Orla for this new venture is an exciting new challenge for Emma, and the two Coffeys are enjoying “exponential growth in an emerging market”

There is no doubt that whatever the future holds for FinalBend, UGC, or Emma Coffey, it will not be static and it will not be dull Once she finishes her final university exams in May, the world will most certainly be her oyster