UCC Express Vol. 26 Issue 9

CULTUREWARSAREONTHERISEINIRELAND WITHEDUCATIONALSETTINGSATTHECENTRE

WRITES JAMES KEMMY | NEWS EDITOR

The culture war phenomenon, something typically seen in American political debate, has been largely absent from Irish public discourse - up until now, that is Generally described as a feature of contemporary social dialogue, ‘cultural’ clashes involve deep polarisations over issues rooted in identity and see ideological struggles between groups with seemingly incompatible values

These divisions are often uniquely modern as they disregard traditional political factors such as class structure

and party alignment in favour of more complex, emotive criteria like religion, multiculturalism, perceptions of freedom, gender and sexuality While a certain vagueness surrounds the precise definition of this term, recent events in Ireland have highlighted just how divided political outlooks are and appear to suggest the increasing prominence of the culture war here

Emerging from the Covid era with its vaccine and lockdown controversies, came the major politicisation of public health strategy Initially seen in the US

and Britain, a highly contentious environment took root in relation to pandemic decision-making A brutal dilemma faced politicians as they sought to minimise the virus’s incidence rate on the one hand and maintain a degree of economic and social life on the other This area of policymaking fiercely divided groups, with the beliefs and convictions of either side seemingly going beyond opinion on pandemic management to a question of wider worldviews over the role of the state in society So steadfast were anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine campaigners, undoubtedly radicalised by internet conspiracy, that they often portrayed governments as sinister

and even oppressive, determined to encroach upon citizens’ liberties

This nature of debate could also be seen in the wake of the US Black Lives Matter movement In this situation, searing clashes between protestors and counter-protesters revealed deep-rooted tensions surrounding police authority and racial justice which had been simmering for years Something which mushroomed into a media and political storm, the BLM discussion saw the US’s political wings diverge even further, leading to unprecedented institutional partisanship and extraordinary civil fragmentation

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VALENTINE’SDAY

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WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

CAITRÍONA NÍ CHONAILL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

Hi there,

As we fully settle in to Semester 2, with the stress of exams and assignments looming in a few weeks time, I am currently reflecting on why we have all decided to put ourselves through this in the first place A bit melodramatic for a Monday, I know Having done a BA in English and Irish

and currently undertaking a Masters in Modern Irish, I find myself looking around at all my fellow Arts students as we undertake essays, readings, assignments, final year projects, dissertations and theses and wonder where all of our musings will get us in comparison to STEM, Medicine or Law graduates, who have a discernible skill as soon as they exit the graduation ceremony As someone who writes creatively a lot of the time, there always comes a point where I wonder “what is it good for?” (Absolutely nothing, I hear you reply) And yet, thousands of people apply for and complete Arts degrees every year, and go on to have successful careers afterwards, so they must hold some weight! My mind always goes to the Robin Williams quote in Dead Poet’s Society: "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race And the human race is filled with passion And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." The arts keep us afloat when real life has squashed our souls and rid us of our willingness to continue on What does anyone do when they wish to relax and unwind? They turn to the arts to reconnect with the goodness of humanity - to laugh at a comedy tv show, to hear a beautiful symphony, to appreciate a piece of art

And we have also connected with the arts in this issue - though perhaps in a less wholesome capacity! We have a great collaboration between the Sexpress and Film & TV on the representation of sex in film and tv Also covered this issue are an interview with the stars of UCC TV in Features, a deep dive into the cultivation of the sad girl in the Arts & Literature section and some recommendations on what to wear this Valentine’s Day in the Fashion Section

Happy Reading!

TALK TO STRANGERS!

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

Hey guys! I’m glad to see that everyone is surviving this second semester

We’re in it now, and we should all be proud of ourselves for making it this far Being a final year student I’ve been finding it hard to keep it together, all while making the most of my final months here at UCC

It’s never too late to get involved with societies, and there’s so many events happening every day They’re a great way to detach yourself from the

constant pressure college throws at you, all while being involved in student life

In this issue I had the lovely opportunity to interview Max Bell and Alison O’Mahony of UCC TV, and the Irish artist Amy Louise O’Callaghan Interviews are such a rewarding experience, and I am delighted every time I get to meet someone new and hear their stories Everyone has beautiful and vibrant experiences, and I just love bringing these stories together I’ve struggled with social anxiety for many years, but this job has taught me the magic of reaching out and connecting with people.

This is also the beauty of societies There’s always that moment at an event, where you’re sitting next to a stranger and it’s completely nerve-wracking trying to talk to them So, you start small-talking; asking about each other’s degrees and where you’re from and all the basic questions Slowly you start building stories of each other, and listening to each other’s experiences, you unlock a new part of the world Campus becomes that bit smaller, as you become that bit closer to your peers

Anyway, enough sappiness Get your assignments done, your readings sorted, and then get yourself a nice cup of tea and wind down with this issue of the Express Take care of yourself and happy reading!

As is often the case, sentiment in the political arenas of our two largest neighbours gradually comes to influence Irish public debate And so, the hallmarks of the culture war phenomenon can be seen in recent Irish developments, most notoriously through Enoch Burke’s religious compulsion and what he believes to be the essential defence of free speech against ‘transgenderism’ An evangelical Christian, Burke has ferociously sought to defend his faith-based principles in an increasingly secular society

While the politicisation of trans people is not necessarily new, it has only recently been explicitly demonstrated in an Irish context. Burke seems to view himself as a martyr in this fight however and having gained an inflated national profile from constant media coverage, will probably only further encourage extremists and ingrain social division á la the culture war paragon

Similarly, hardcore anti-immigrant rhetoric was relatively fringe in Ireland until lately With the mobilisation of large, nativist demonstrations in deprived areas however, the likes of Graham Carey and Wayne Bradley have pushed public opinion to more extreme places and triggered a debate around national values Seen recently in working-class parts of Dublin such as Drimnagh, Ballymun and East Wall, but also outside the capital in Fermoy and Mullingar, have been inflammatory gatherings of anti-asylum seeker groups Furthermore, these groups have proclaimed that they speak for a silent majority, with one banner at a recent march in Dublin city stating their cause speaks for 90% of Irish people. Undoubtedly, these developments have challenged the cultural perception of Ireland as ‘the land of a thousand welcomes’

The nation’s chronic housing crisis has undoubtedly exacerbated the immigration issue As the domestic population struggles to get onto the property ladder, disillusionment and anger has been levelled at the State’s allocation of emergency and temporary accommodation to migrants. However, such animosity is often more so ideological and part of a wider international trend of far-right populism

Seen in Trump’s anti-Mexican and antiMuslim bombasts as well as Nigel Farage’s ‘breaking point’ analogies during the Brexit campaign, a global movement hostile to multiculturalism has unmistakably formed This, and its inevitable countermovement of liberal,

pro-diversity groups is a typical example of the culture war

Interestingly, educational environments, universities in particular, are often at the heart of these kinds of clashes. That is not to say they are responsible for initiating such division, but that they are settings where impassioned voices converge and attract such types of debate given their intellectual basis As reactionary and fundamentalist forces gain traction in Ireland, it is likely that educational institutions and the values they espouse will become more consequential

In the case of Enoch Burke for instance, the school environment in which the legal controversy arose raises questions of young peoples’ right to gender identity expression In this situation, the age factor, and the fact that schools are a place where moral principles are supposed to be developed, gives the matter a heightened sense of contention

The gender controversy is also reflected in the recent confrontation between the Scottish and Westminster executives Here the Scottish Parliament’s ratified ‘Gender Recognition Reform Bill’ sparked a fierce battle of values between politicians and voter groups, ultimately being blocked by the UK Government on the grounds of threatening womens’ spaces and concerns over the legislation’s application to 16- and 17year-olds A major supporter of the trans community in this battle however were university students across the UK

Historically viewed as bastions of liberalism, with a more modern perception of having strictly progressive or even ‘woke’ values, third level institutions are at the forefront of culture wars There is now an increasing sense that political correctness was the precursor to ‘wokeness’, an allencompassing liberal outlook apparently exemplified in universities

Most prominent in the US, the classical ideal of free speech has been seen to clash with new efforts to repudiate hateful rhetoric in universities Such a debate has witnessed certain figures rise to the status of campus and social media sensation- most notably Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and his campaign to expose what he sees as ‘cultural Marxism’ pervading colleges According to Peterson, this term describes a sinister academic agenda that seeks to police speech and impose a rigid equality of outcome in a manner hostile to Western values

Although still relatively emergent in Ireland, there are indicators that opinion on salient social issues is significantly polarised along lines of educational attainment and age For instance, drug and sex work decriminalisation debates are predominantly student-led and can generate moral controversy around the reform of current legal norms

Garnered by Hollywood’s ‘Me Too’ movement meanwhile, came difficult conversations regarding sexual assault and rape culture Universities in Ireland have been very vocal in this area, with UCC’s ‘Bystander Intervention’ programme serving as an educational tool for understanding consent and outlining how citizens can become more proactive in situations of harassment

Despite this positive reform, ‘lad culture’ persists, with its backlash

claiming that behaviour in social settings is becoming excessively policed and that young men are being stringently targeted and castigated for their actions

Ultimately, all of these social quandaries fit the culture war label The main commonality between them is that their style of debate is wholly reductive and based in ideological furore, devoid of nuance or tolerance Because of the myopia adopted by the instigators of culture wars, there is very little room for common ground As these conflicts accelerate and become more mainstream, our social fabric will be challenged and rigorous, reasoned debate must be promoted

THREEYEARSSINCETHELAST IRISHGENERALELECTION

WRITES ATAKAN UZUN | DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

It is often said that a week is a long time in politics By that logic, three years is a political lifetime Recent days have marked three years since Ireland last held a general election, which took place on the 8 th of February 2020 The environment in which the election was held represented a vastly different one to what we know today Notably, it was just a couple of weeks before the country would be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and eventually enter into a two-month lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus Consequently, one of the main issues, which would become highlighted during the pandemic that became the catalyst for the holding of the snap election was the state of the health service

After a no-confidence motion was called by Independent TD for Cork South-West, Michael Collins against the Minister for Health Simon Harris due to the problems, surrounding the health service, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar decided to seek a dissolution of Dáil Éireann on the 14 th of January 2020 That was because it became apparent that the government would not have the mathematical support of 50% of the 157 TDs to survive the no-confidence motion The eventual agreed election date of the 8 th of February paved the way for a three-week election campaign to elect 160 members of the 33 rd Dáil

Fine Gael entered the election as the incumbent party with a total of 50 seats

Fianna Fáil, who were touted as the likely party to emerge from the election as the largest party, had 44 seats in the previous Dáil Meanwhile, Sinn Féin, who many were tipping to lose seats after their underwhelming performance in the 2019 local and European parliamentary elections came into the election with 22 seats in defensive mode The previous government was led by a Fine Gael minority coalition government with a number of TDs from the now-defunct Independent Alliance, kept in power through a confidenceand-supply arrangement with Fianna Fáil This meant that the 2020 general election represented a cross-roads for many political anoraks and observers to draw conclusions on the potential parties of the next government

In the campaign, Fine Gael ran on a slogan of ‘A future we can look forward to’, which placed Brexit as the centre piece issue of its manifesto, whilst

Fianna Fáil focused on its message of ‘An Ireland For All’, promising to address the housing crisis through measures to increase home ownership It also focused on measures to increase cash transfers in social welfare, along with a mix of tax cuts Through its manifesto, ‘Giving Workers and Families a Break’, Sinn Féin placed Irish unity at the centre of its manifesto, and fixated on a number of state-led solutions to address the accompanying problems of housing and economic inequalities They also promised to

Seven debates took place throughout the campaign with three on RTÉ One, three on Virgin Media One, and one on TG4

The first debate held was a straight head-to-head between Fine Gael leader, Leo Varadkar, and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, which was hosted on Virgin Media One by Pat Kenny The most notable event during this debate was Varadkar failing to address what was perceived as a lack of empathy on his part during his time as Taoiseach The following two debates, one on RTÉ One, hosted by Claire Byrne included a broad range of the parties in Dáil Éireann from the largest parties, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin to the smaller parties, the Social Democrats, Labour, Solidarity – People Before Profit, and the Green Party

The next debate was the one which attracted the most controversy Prime Time, which hosted two debates to accommodate all party leaders, caused controversy as the original schedule for debates consisted of a head-to-head debate between Varadkar and Martin and excluded Sinn Féin president, Mary Lou McDonald Sinn Féin, who issued a legal threat to the exclusion of McDonald, eventually withdrew this legal challenge after RTÉ opted to reverse their decision The latter two debates of the election campaign took place between the deputy leaders of each of the respective large parties

During the campaign, six public national opinion polls were held As the election drew ever closer, on the 30 th of January, the RED C/Sunday Business

Post poll put Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, level on 24%, with Fine Gael trailing behind An election, which was once considered to be a walk-over for Fianna Fáil, and an underwhelming one for Sinn Féin would turn out to be the most historic election since the first election in 1918 The next Ipsos/MRBI/Irish Times poll gave Sinn Féin the sole lead with 25%, in comparison to 22% for Fianna Fáil, and 17% for Fine Gael, respectively

Sinn Féin would end up winning the highest percentage of first preference votes with 24 5%, compared to 22 2% for Fianna Fáil, and 20 9% for Fine Gael. However, as previously outlined, because Sinn Féin ran its campaign in defensive mode, it did not run enough candidates, meaning it could not be the beneficiary of the vote transfers Instead, its vote transfers would end up aiding other left-wing candidates from a number of parties, including Bríd Smith of Solidarity – People Before Profit In the end, despite not running enough candidates, Sinn Féin won 37 seats, compared to 38 for Fianna Fáil, whose Ceann Chomhairle was automatically elected, and Fine Gael, who returned with 35 seats

Out of the smaller parties, the Green Party and the Social Democrats were the biggest achievers Despite winning 7 1% and 2 9% of the first preference votes respectively, they both increased their seat share to end the election with 12 seats for the former, and 6 seats for the latter Labour, comparatively continued to experience the

consequences of their time in coalition government with Fine Gael from 20112016 They earned 6 seats, a net loss of 1 on the 2016 election Solidarity –People Before Profit lost 1 seat, but returned with 5 seats, whilst Aontú earned a sole seat as its leader, Peadar Tóibín, retained his seat A total number of 19 independents were elected to the 33 rd Dáil, with the overall number slightly down on the 23 independents elected in 2016, due to the unsuccessful bid of the incumbent Independent Alliance TDs to retain their seats

The fragmented nature of the 33 rd Dáil would pave the way for the longest period to form a government in Irish political history Interrupted by Covid19, the current three-party government, Fianna Fáil – Fine Gael – Green Party coalition government would not begin office until the 27th of June when Micheál Martin was elected as Taoiseach Agreed in this government was the introduction of rotating Taoisigh, with Martin handing over the reins of power to Varadkar in December 2022 In some ways, the period from June 2020 to December 2022 was the first half of the government Varadkar is now in the second full month of his period as Taoiseach, and the second half of this government has just begun, alongside a small-scale cabinet reshuffle

Varadkar and the current government hope to serve in office until February 2025 However, recent indications anecdotally discussed by him, mentioned an early autumn election in 2024 If it was to happen, it would represent the first autumn election to be held since 1923 Whether that happens, remains to be seen Nevertheless, highlighted by the preceding elections, the next general election that occurs in Ireland, whenever it happens, is likely to attract significant interest amongst the general public and political anoraks like myself In the midst of the Cost of Living crisis, accompanied with the current war in Ukraine, the next government will face a huge challenge to remain in office beyond the next election It will face a strong opposition, led by Sinn Féin, who are likely to learn from the mistakes made in the months leading up to the 2020 general election

INTERVIEWWITHAMYLOUISEO'CALLAGHAN REIMAGININGIRELAND

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

A Cork-born artist and UCC alumni, Amy Louise O’Callaghan is on an adventure to capture and reimagine Ireland’s vibrant mythology Her work brings Ireland’s rich culture to a modern audience, and re-interprets stories through crisp lines and vivid renders

You may know her from her Irish Mythology Tarot series, which combines the characters of Irish folklore with the different Major Arcana cards of a typical tarot deck She deftly intertwines Irish art forms with that of tarot, going so far as to display the figures’ names in ogham, alongside their portraits My favourite card is of the Star, represented by the salmon of knowledge The card shows a young Fionn MacCumhaill dancing in excitement as the magical, iridescent salmon is hoisted into the air

I had the pleasure of chatting with Amy and understanding her connection to Ireland’s magical history

Imbolc : the celebration of health, light and fertility.

Through her work, Amy Louise navigates the relationship between modern and ancient Ireland. She was drawn to Irish mythology by her love of fantasy She explains she is “ aware of how much Irish mythology has inspired various stories and media, despite still not being as popular as Greek or Norse mythology I always liked it because, put simply, it was Irish!”

This beautiful painting of Brigid shows her surrounded by animals native to Ireland, painted in shades of turquoise to capture the season’s return of life She stands framed with an interlacing design, used in the insular illuminated manuscripts found in ancient Ireland

She builds her connection with mythology, through her connection to the Irish landscape “When reading about stories and characters, the settings are down the road, which was always pretty fun to me Approaching it from an artistic perspective it came from a desire to help bring attention to lesser (or even well known stories) and bring a new perspective if possible Long story short, I want everyone to be as obsessed with thes d deeper ”

Beltane : the celebration of growth, summer and warmth.

For Beltane, Amy Louise depicts Clíodhna the queen of the Banshees leading her fairies to dance, as she takes on the form of a large rabbit This story is unique to Cork She symbolises love and beauty, and in folklore, is the patron saint of the county Allegedly, her palace, where she leads the fae to dance, is near Mallow

Amy Louise explains how art has altered her relationship with Cork and with the Irish language: “Mainly it’s made me proud of our little island and its culture and how unique it is, particularly with regards to its links to art and storytelling As someone who has never been good at speaking Irish, being able to be an artist makes me feel like I’m still managing to contribute to our culture if that makes sense ”

Amy Louise shows us with her art that there are many ways to keep the Irish tradition alive Our language is beautiful, but by empowering our cultures and traditions we make our rich history accessible to all “They say we ’ re a nation of artists and storytellers, and I really feel like art gave me the avenue to express my culture in a way I never did before ”

She goes on to explain, “I always like to keep this quote from Seanachai Eddie Lenihan in mind which is “the stories will die if they become canonical and fossilised and sacred We own them as much as previous generations did and we can adapt them to keep them alive” and that’s basically the mentality I keep when approaching my own personal interpretations of the myths ”

skill, and feast.

Amy Louise uses modern mediums to reinterpret Irish folklore She says, “I think it’s very easy to fall into a trap thinking there’s a “ canon ” way to draw and tell the stories, that everyone should have red hair and a green cloak, like they did in our school books, when in actuality, there’s no “correct” way, characters can look however we want, do whatever we want ”

What draws me to Amy Louise’s art is her vibrancy From the 19th century onwards, art representing Ireland, both visually and in literature, shows Ireland as a dark, dreary land Following the famine, literary figures and audiences thought Ireland too depressing to enjoy its culture Despite the hardships this country has faced, we have a rich culture celebrating the arts and innovation Amy Louise’s art reflects a positive light on our past, bringing it to life through striking colours and scenes

Lughnasadh : the celebration of harvest,

Painting of the Battle of Magh Tuireadh

The battle of Cath Magh Tuireadh sees the Tuatha Dé Dannan free themselves from the oppression of the Fomorians Lugh, from whom the celebration gets its name, leads the Tuatha Dé Dannan, and defeats Balor of the Evil Eye, leader of the Fomorians, with his sling

She continues, “from my point of view, I effectively treat the world of Irish mythology as a fandom that I just draw fan art for (it technically is too, I highly recommend checking out the Celticist community on tumblr) and pull from my love of decidedly modern things like anime and manga when doing it, to hopefully create something new and playful.” Her art portraying Irish mythology is showcased on her Instagram alongside paintings of Sailor Moon, Howl’s Moving Castle, and original characters Representing Ireland among these works playfully reintroduces our folklore into the everyday

Samhain : the celebration of winter, darkness, death

This piece depicts Fionn Mac Cumhaill defeating Aillen, who came from the Otherworld every Samhain to set fire to the palace of Tara With his harp Aillen would lull people to sleep, and one year Fionn Mac Cumhaill fought off his spell, and defeated the fire-breathing goblin with a poisoned spear. This victory led to Fionn becoming leader of the Fianna

“In terms of a creative process, I try to do as much research as I can ” Amy Louise begins, as she describes her steps in creating each piece “This is sometimes online if I can find reputable-ish sources (the fun/not-so-fun thing is that there’s a lot of contradictory information, be this due to oral traditions persisting or the fact that authors seem to be allowed publish anything and everything), but I also have built a nice collection of books I sift through for inspiration If I find notes on appearance I’ll take notes, but I’m never bound to that unless I find something fun, mainly I’m searching for things like fun stories to draw, associated symbols, etc ”

“My approach tends to be “character first, find a story later”, and I’ve a preference for action and storytelling, so I don’t often do portraits, or just like, a guy on a chair So if I want to draw Nuada, I’ll try and find interesting scenes or tales I can pull from. From that point I’ll sometimes draw some bits in my sketchbook, but 90% of the time I head straight to Procreate (I use an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil) and kind of black out from there ”

Finally, I asked Amy Louise what Ireland’s past means to her She explains, “while we know so much, there’s so much lost and ultimately unknowable, which makes me sad to think about to be honest Considering the past and what this country has been through, it’s made me immensely proud of what we ’ ve managed to keep, but also very mournful for what we lost, the total sum being impossible to ever really know Thinking about it makes me frustrated and protective also Much in the way so many people did in the past, so many people nowadays feel like they’ve an authority on our history, and the slightly unknowable aspect of very ancient Ireland makes it ripe for a whole bunch of misinformation and exaggeration, which while often hilarious, also frustrates me a lot ”

As a fan of her work for a while now - her delightful piece titled ‘Fairy Circle’ watches over me as I write - it was delightful to have the opportunity to chat with Amy Louise Understanding her approach to capturing mythology has shone a new light on my relationship to Ireland and I hope it inspires readers to strengthen their connection with what has nearly been lost

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

“UCC is my home ” Despite the cheesiness, Max smiles Alison nods in agreement, taking in her surroundings She adds that “UCC is very familiar, it feels so warm ”

We sit on the ground floor of the Hub, sipping Roots coffee out of our reusable cups, nibbling on brownies and lemon cake As always, the sun pours through the large windows and across all the students that, like us, have met for coffee There’s the constant clacking of keyboards that falls like white noise into the background Students are laughing, busying themselves with group projects and study sessions, or finding fun ways to procrastinate The student voice is at the heart of it all, which is why Max and Alison love the work they do

Any time you see a camera and a microphone on campus, there’s a good chance Max and Alison are the ones holding them Going into the Hub, you’ll have seen their videos explaining the laptop loaning system the building offers or UCC’s moves towards a plastic-free campus UCC TV has become a great lens on student life By both representing and engaging with students, the team brings our voices to the forefront.

Max began creating content for UCC through his placement in Digital Humanities

For many, work placements in this field are generally set in computer science “But there was no one in media ” He explains “There was a university videographer and a university photographer that covered events, but not social media ” Through AVMS, Audio Visual Media Services, Max was able to fill this gap It wasn’t long before Alison became a part of the team, interviewing and interacting with students to capture their voice

I first met Max back in 2022, during Green Week He says “We needed studentsstudents talking about student issues ” He and his team took to interviewing students across campus understanding what they knew of climate change and how they felt we could overcome this crisis Reflecting on this moment, there’s a strange yet brilliant connection that’s carried from that moment to now As Alison goes on to state, “People know us now ” It’s nice being able to change it up a little, and be able to interview the interviewers

This desire is shared by Max and Alison, and all the students that have participated, and will participate, in their content Whether it's by engaging with students or by creating content with a student audience in mind, community is what inspires them Reminiscing on a past project, Alison says, “It’s nice to get to know people You’re trying to get all walks of life and you need people who are uncomfortable in an interview ” Max adds, “You meet amazing people everyday There’s always someone new ”

Authenticity is a core element in capturing the student voice In order to do this, you need to be approachable Balancing production value with approachability was a learning curve for the pair Starting out, Max explains, the team used tripods, light reflectors, and large cameras to produce their videos He says, “technically speaking, it hit every note but it’s so unapproachable ” The team took the time to scale back, learn how to create their content using as little as possible Alison notes that while the high-tech has its value, “if it’s a phone, they’re [students] going to say what they want ”

I asked what it was like for them to work with UCC I had wondered if there were certain parameters that they were to abide by to share an image of UCC, that was filtered through its own values Thankfully, this is not the case Max explains that they

AlisonO'Mahony(Credit:MaxBell)

have the opportunity to “push the boundaries of what is going up on media ” To share “Honest comments, honest stories ” In their New Year’s Resolutions video, students laugh about skipping lectures, readings, and just hoping to pass and make money

The two uplifted the inner workings of UCC, from the support they receive from AVMS as UCC TV, to the people that they have worked with in creating their content Max explains that there’s “ a range of people and skills” behind each project, “but it’s all of these people coming together ” That’s when the magic happens

MaxBell(Credit:MaxBell)

They extended their admiration to the Student Union and the committees behind Clubs and Societies “The work they put in that you don’t realise!” Alison expresses Going forward, the two want to engage more with clubs and societies Max states, “I would like to help out clubs and socs - if a bit of media can help out their passions. ”

The pair are brilliantly creative, pushing the limits of what is expected of student media Entertaining videos such as “Escape the Orb,” engage with the student perspective by realising the jokes made by students The video format that plays on aesthetics and tropes that are at once familiar and nostalgic to students

Their video titled, “The 7 Sins of Greenwashing” is a brilliant satire that aims to educate students on how corporations cover up environmentally damaging practices, by offering an allusion of sustainability The team began working with Cian Pierce, former Arts and Literature Editor and Social Media Manager of this very paper, who they knew could bring a theatrical element to their work Max laughs as he recalls Cian’s decision to go under the bench in the Boole lecture theatres - a fate no student should have to endure Involving actors allowed the team to produce skits, providing a new format to reach students with

“Collaboration is key ” Alison smiles, talking of their latest project Alison took to interviewing students, alongside Communications and Engagement Officer Sinéad Roche, about their New Year's resolutions Alison explains the joys of working with someone, especially someone as electric as Sinéad, and to be able to banter with them The video is a pleasure to watch, as in capturing the laughter of Alison, Sinéad, and all the participants, the life of UCC is allowed to shine It starts the second semester on a light note, urging students to not take things too seriously, but also to not let go of their ambitions

On ambition, the pair had a lot to share Max begins by sharing his own experiences as a student, of coming onto UCC’s campus and viewing himself as one of many students “You don’t think you’ll get that position,” he says “You’re a student ” It’s easy to think there is little more to college than just lectures and assignments But by putting yourself forward, you can create the experiences you want to enjoy Alison advises, “if you follow what you ’ re passionate about, you ’ re going to find your way Even if you don’t achieve it, if you follow it you’ll feel fulfilled ” Part of ambition is staying true to oneself She continues, “It’s really nice to do something and not have to think about it. You don’t show it to anyone, you don’t post it online, you don’t get praise; just do it for you ”

I asked what the future had in store for UCC TV Max explained that he’d like to make “ an appreciation video for the library,” now that his time with UCC is nearing its end He wants to capture the building’s stories; “how it used to be, how far it’s come People don’t appreciate it enough ” But the team is excited to expand their subject matters Max goes on to say, “there are dates, there are events ” Max praises Alison’s timelining of the year, so that the pair have their finger on the pulse of student life They’ll happily listen to suggestions from other students of what they’d like to be covered Max says, “Students who know their own university come up with the best ideas ”

Importantly, UCC TV’s goal is to “document the good that’s happening. It’s hard to always read negative media ” For me, UCC TV has been a great reminder that college is not just a string of deadlines one after the next

Finally, we touch on the bitter-sweetness of being final year students “Until your final year, you don’t realise how fragile your student life is ” We laughed about trying to appreciate every corner of UCC in our final semester here Only now, writing this article, I realise that my voice won’t forever be a student voice While we all resolved to use the library more, if there’s one thing that you should be utilising, it’s your voice

AlisonOMahony(Credit:MaxBell)

MaxBell(Credit:MaxBell)

LOVEANDOTHERPOLICYDECISIONS

WRITES KATE O’FLANAGAN | DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR

Love makes the world go round Why, then, have governments historically spent so much time and legislation dictating how, and who, their citizens love?

The mainstream narrative surrounding the fight for same-sex marriage focuses on the easily digestible ‘love is love’ rallying cry, the fluffy, fairytale understanding of marriage It’s a nice idea But one that ignores the reality that the fight for same-sex marriage was not a sure thing, not a ‘safe’ idea for politicians to campaign on It was a fight borne out of the decimation of a community by an unknown illness, and the necessity of legal protections for couples

In an era where gay people were experiencing greater visibility than ever before, the 1980s AIDS epidemic highlighted the stark legislative differences between same-sex couples and their heterosexual, married peers Lacking the legal protections provided by the institution of marriage, gay men were left out of important medical decisions involving their dying partners, barred from visiting them by hospitals and excluded from wills and other legal documentation These men, often sick themselves, lost the homes and possessions they shared with their partners as the biological family retained all legal rights as next of kin In the decades prior, same-sex marriage had been regarded as a pipe dream, by some, or an acquiescence to a heteronormative society, by others Catalysed by the epidemic, attitudes began to shift By the late 1980s, with over 17,000 AIDS deaths in the United States and no cure, the legalisation of same-sex unions became a central goal of the movement and early strategies were formed The decades long fight succeeded in changing the tide of public opinion as individual states legalised same-sex marriage throughout the 2000s, starting with Massachusetts in 2004. Ultimately, on 26 June 2015, the United States Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage a fundamental right under the United States Constitution, with all the accompanying rights and responsibilities

2015 was a landmark year for same-sex marriage recognition with Ireland becoming the first country to legalise same-sex marriage nationwide by popular vote that May A huge leap for a society so influenced by the Roman Catholic church. Homosexuality remained illegal in the Republic of Ireland until 1993, when Ireland became the last country in Western, Central and Northern Europe to decriminalise homosexuality While the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform was founded in the 1970s to fight for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland, it took the involvement of the European Court of Human Rights to implement this change In 1988, David Norris argued in front of the court that the Irish laws, dating from the 19th century, rendering homosexuality illegal were incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights The court agreed In particular, it ruled that the criminalisation of homosexuality violated Article 8 of the Convention – the right to privacy

The right privacy comes up time and time again when it comes to laws infringing on what adults do with other consenting adults, and with their own bodies The right to privacy underscores laws surrounding same-sex and interracial relationships, access to healthcare and legal protections for transgender people, as well as access to both contraception and abortion Interestingly, while it is outlined in both the European

Convention of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann) does not specifically state a right to privacy Instead, the courts recognise that the personal rights in the Constitution imply this right

Interpersonally, the right to privacy extends to family life Article 41 of the Constitution acknowledges that the “State recognises the Family as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society ” But, what definition of family are they operating off of? Constitutionally, the idea of family is “founded” on the institution of marriage, i e , it is the presence of a married couple with a child that confers the title of family The census, meanwhile, defines a family as “ a couple with or without children, or a one-parent family with one or more children.”

Beyond conflicting ideas of what a family legally constitutes, governments have a long history of forcibly involving themselves in family life and tearing families apart Marginalised people were the targets of these political attacks From 1910 to 1970, between 1 in 10 and 1 in 3 Indigenous Australian children were removed from their families and communities by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions Forbidden from speaking their traditional languages or engaging in any form of cultural practice, and forced to adopt new names and identities, these children were forced to assimilate into White society Rationalised by being done for the ‘protection’ of the child, the reality is that the Australian government stole children from their families on the premise that Indigenous people were racially inferior to Caucasian people

Built on the same racist beliefs, these practices were also committed by the United States and Canadian governments against their Indigenous peoples Residential schools in the US were active from the late 17th to early 20th century, while the final Canadian residential school didn’t close until 1997 The tragic legacy of these government initiatives is one of traditional knowledge being lost, and increased instances of substance abuse, alcoholism, post-traumatic stress, and intergenerational trauma which still haunt Indigenous communities today

Governments around the world continue to pass laws and implement policies that undermine and disrupt the capacity of many people to love and feel loved, with serious long-term impacts on their physical and mental health 67 countries criminalise same-sex relationships Interracial marriages were banned in South Africa, under apartheid, until 1985, and it remains illegal or tightly regulated in some Middle Eastern Countries In the eyes of many governments, not all love is created equal

As Valentine’s Day approaches, itself banned in multiple countries, perhaps spare a thought for the people who lost love, romantic or familial, as the result of insidious government interference

HOWTOTACKLETHE DREADEDFYP

WRITES CONOR O'DRISCOLL | SKILLS CENTRE

coherent piece; all these obstacles will present themselves in some shape or form But there are ways around them The Skills Centre provides a space in which class groups can get together and, mediated by an experienced tutor, address some of these topics early-on and provide you with ideas on how to work effectively in your groups

Everyone will have to do a presentation at some point, if not in university, then in a job setting. Good presentations always have a few things in common: 1) Strong communication skills and body language, 2) effective slides (not filled with essays), 3) a convincing argument, and 4) an engaging narrative Here, little things go a long way For instance, a pet peeve of mine is when people read directly off the slides for their entire presentation and when these slides are full of essays The Skills Centre provides dedicated workshops to improve presentation skills and often participate in practice presentations whereby experienced tutors evaluate these skills and provide instructions on how you might sharpen them in the future

Implicit in all these services, is that the Skills Centre is providing a space for you to develop desirable professional skills For instance, being able to create, and convincingly answer, questions requires critical and analytical thinking; being able to work effectively in teams requires strong communication and collaboration skills; and strong presentation skills require excellent public speaking abilities. These skills are highly attractive to employers in every sector, illustrating how the Skills Centre can help you excel academically and professionally beyond UCC

More information on any of these topics can be found on our website You can drop in for a chat if you have a specific query, such as a request for workshops/seminars for specific class groups We are based in Q-1 in the Boole Library

Just follow the yellow footsteps.

As the semester rolls on, some of you may have major deadlines coming up In general, most mid-term assessments are due in-and-around the same time each semester (between weeks 8-10) Not only does this illustrate the importance of good time/project management, but it also highlights how training in academic writing and reasoning can be of immediate benefit to you – a topic addressed in my previous columns More information on how The Skills Centre can help you improve on these skills, and others, can be found on our website Just Google UCC Skills Centre

Somewhat unique to Semester 2 is the type of assignments which can emerge Specifically, research projects (such as Final Year Projects [FYP]), group assignments, and major presentations tend to crop up around now These types of assessments can be daunting because they require you to use your literary and academic skills in different, challenging environments and contexts

The dreaded FYP for instance, requires a consistent effort over long periods You cannot write a good one last minute When constructing an FYP, good academic reasoning and writing is the benchmark Here, you also must display a clear ability to undertake a full research project lifecycle, which involves creating a unique research question, comprehensively analysing this question and its wider implications, as well as answering the research question convincingly A deceptively simple sounding task

Surprisingly, these tasks are often not executed properly Elements of this problem stem from a lack of clarity regarding where your work fits within existing literature, how it differs, and importantly, how it contributes to this field The Skills Centre offer workshops on these topics, whereby we provide you with the scaffolding to develop these skills independently. Particularly relevant may be our Planning Your Dissertation and Answering The Question workshops Or we also host more discipline-specific workshops relating to business/lab reports, reflective writing, and scientific writing

Group projects can also be tricky to navigate Learning how to work with people you do not know personally, delegating work, merging different written pieces into one

LUNARNEWYEAR

THEBEGINNINGOFTHENEWYEARANDTHEARRIVALOFSPRING

WRITES BELÍNE CHAN | OPINION EDITOR

For most countries around the world, New Year is celebrated from December 31 st to the 1st of January, but for many Asian Countries, such as China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia (among others), they celebrate the New Year according to the Lunisolar Calendar Rather than following the Gregorian calendar (which relates to the patterns of the Sun, i.e., a solar calendar), the Lunar Calendar tries to correspond to the phases of the moon, which entails a period of 12 lunations The Lunar New Year is also known as The Spring Festival, as the festival celebrates the arrival of Spring The Lunar New Year does not take place on the same day each year as it falls after the second new moon after the Winter Solstice Therefore, the holiday is always celebrated between January and February This 2023’s Lunar New Year started on the 22 nd of January, and this is a holiday that is celebrated continuously for a few weeks Unlike the zodiac signs that countries might be used to in the west such as Pisces, Sagittarius, Cancer etc , the Lunar Calendar follows the Chinese zodiacs, which are followed by Japan, Thailand, China and many other countries also These zodiac signs are represented by 12 animals : Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig Every person is ‘assigned’ a zodiac animal, correlating to the year they are born in For example, if you were born in the year of 2000, your Chinese zodiac sign is the Dragon, or if you were born in 2003, yours is the Goat These zodiacs correlate to the Lunar New Year as the cycle of the 12 zodiacs is repeated, and every year a different animal is represented This year, it is the year of the Rabbit, which symbolises longevity, good fortune and peace People often believe that their zodiac sign is closely related to their horoscope, personality, and love compatibility, which is determined by their birth year

Here are some examples of some positive traits that each zodiac animal represents

Rat: Quick-witted, kind and adaptable

Ox: Reliable, determined and strong

Tiger: Brave, courageous and confident

Rabbit: Empathic, kind and trustworthy

Dragon: Lucky, imaginative and enthusiastic

Snake: Intelligent, organised and attentive

Horse: Energetic, ambitious and loyal

Goat: Calm, gentle and charming

Monkey: Sociable, optimistic and smart

Rooster: Hardworking, confident and honest

Dog: Helpful, timid and trustworthy

Pig: Generous, caring and passionate.

There are many other traits, meanings and stories behind these zodiac signs, so it is without a doubt that Chinese zodiac signs hold great importance to the Chinese culture and Lunar New Year Because there are so many countries that celebrate the Lunar New Year, I will discuss some customs that relate to the Chinese and Korean celebration of it Food is an important aspect of Lunar New Year as it brings family together The meals can hold a symbolic meaning which will then pull through throughout the year. For Chinese New Year, fish is an important part of the meal as it symbolises wealth and prosperity Other meats are also eaten such as duck, chicken and pork Dumplings, rice, longevity noodles, fruit, spring rolls and rice balls are also important foods eaten to celebrate the New Year

Although different areas throughout Korea can have their own special dishes, in general, Koreans will have rice, soup, meat, seafood, liquor, fruit and vegetables as part of their New Year (Seollal) celebration Tteokguk (which is Korean rice cake soup) wishes good fortune and wealth (it is important to note that different regions in Korea have different ingredients for their soup, such as dumpling soup, or rice cake and dumpling soup, and soups with other meaty ingredients) Japchae noodles (Korean glass noodles), Galbi-jjim (Korean braised pork) and Bulgogi (beef grilled on a barbeque) are also popular dishes eaten during the celebration

Some other customs during the Chinese New Year include the wearing of red clothes (for happiness, good fortune, wealth and to ward off bad luck), ancestor worship, red money pockets, fireworks and festivals Other customs during Seollal are ancestor rituals (Charye), visiting family, playing traditional games, sebae (where you bow to your elders and receive money) and hanbok wearing(traditional Korean dress)

Chinese New Year festivals are at the heart of the Lunar New Year celebration, including important dancing dragons (a traditional Chinese dance performance where a team of dancers move a dragon prop to music), fireworks and firecrackers

Millions of people travel back to China to celebrate this holiday each year In other countries such as Mongolia, the festival is called ‘Tsagaan sar ’ or ‘The White Moon festival’ In Korea it is known as ‘Seollal’ and in Vietnam, the day is called ‘Tết Nguyên Đán’ , or ‘Tết’ (Festival of the First Morning of the First Day) It is estimated that around 2 billion people each year celebrate the Lunar New Year

Even though Ireland does not celebrate Lunar New Year as its own national holiday, there are many families and individuals living in Ireland where the Lunar New Year is part of their culture, and they carry on celebrating it here Additionally, there are also Irish people who enjoy taking part in the festivities

How Lunar New Year is celebrated in Ireland: As I have a Hong Kong background myself, the Lunar New Year festival is one of my favourite holidays to celebrate This year, I have celebrated it with some of my friends by cooking various dishes (dumplings, dim sum, spring rolls, lucky dessert), listening to traditional Chinese music, wearing red clothing for good fortune, and watching a movie in relation to one of my favourite Chinese legends, the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese Moon Goddess

I also asked some other students about their experiences in celebrating Lunar New Year in Ireland, and food was definitely an important aspect of the celebration One person mentioned how she had a large Chinese meal to celebrate, another mentioned that he hosted a small party with their roommates and invited some guests They handed out red money envelopes (filled with chocolate for a more affordable gift) and they made decorations as well such as banners/scrolls to wish good fortune for the year Additionally, they had a range of dishes from dumplings to vegetables, and from dim sum to meat dishes Another student mentioned that she watched a movie with her friend and had a meal to celebrate A friend of hers also gifted a box of biscuit treats for the celebration, sent all the way from her hometown in Macau

Societies in different universities celebrate this festival with students, providing food, games and crafts, and there are other events that take place throughout Ireland as well. In Dublin, there was a Mad Hatter’s Chinese Tea Party event, hosted by Asia Market Chinese food and Chinese folktales were part of this event that was directed at families Chester Beatty Library held a rice grain challenge, where you draw Chinese sayings on a single grain of rice They also hosted craft events and an online discussion event on Lunar New Year art There was also a flagship event which was organised by the Dublin City Council The event took place at Meeting House Square in Dublin, where there was a variety of music and show performances, including Cantonese Lion Dancers and Korean drummers, various games, authentic food, activities and workshops Although most of these larger Lunar New Year events take place in Dublin, it is great to see Ireland supporting and taking part in a celebration that means so much to the Asian community in Ireland However, in the future, it would be even better to see these events spread around Ireland, to make it more accessible to those who do not reside in Dublin Regardless of your background, there is something fun for everyone to celebrate when it comes to the Lunar New Year Whether there is Chinese lion dancing or traditional music, martial arts performances or traditional clothing, many countries all around the world celebrate Lunar New Year with customs and traditions relating to their culture This is a celebration that can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of where you are located

恭喜发财! (Gong-hei-fat-choy/ Happy New Year).

PODCHRAOLADHGAP

RUDSPÉISIÚILNUACHUNÉISTEACHTLEISNALAETHANTASEO

"Cuireann GAP go leor acmhainní éagsúla ar fáil do mhic léinn chun cabhrú leo ar a dturas ollscoile I measc cuid de na tionscnaimh seo, bíonn Nurturing Bright Futures – clár ar líne do mhic léinn dara leibhéil chun cabhrú leo an cúrsa ceart a roghnú Agus ar ndóigh ár dtionscnamh is déanaí - Your Compass – uirlis féinmheasúnaithe ar líne chun cabhrú le mic léinn reatha a gcuid luachanna agus tréithe a fhorbairt "

Bhíos ag éisteacht leis an bpodchraoladh nua le GAP le déanaí, is rud fíor shuimiúil é Conas a tháinig an smaoineamh don phodchraoladh chugaibh?

"Is fiú éisteacht leis an bpodchraoladh iontach sin! Nuair a bhíos mar bhall nua den bhfhoireann mí Aibreáin seo caite, phléigh Adel agus mé féin ardáin nua éagsúla a d’fhéadfaimis a úsáid chun teacht ar mhic léinn Tá an-tóir ar phodchraoltaí le blianta beaga anuas agus cheap an bheirt againn go mbeadh podchraoladh ina thionscadal nua iontach againn!"

LEORLALEAHY|EAGARTHÓIRGAEILGE

San alt seo, cuireann Orla agallamh ar scoláire gnó agus Gaeilge agus bainisteoir an phodchraolta GAP, Ailbhe Fitzgerald Is féidir le léitheoirí an podchraolta éisteacht leis ar Spotify Féach ar Instagram GAP@graduateattributesucc chun níos mó eolais a fháil

Ailbhe, conas atá cúrsaí? Do scoláirí agus léitheoirí eile, cad is GAP (Graduate Attributes Programme), agus cén sórt obair a bhíonn á dhéanamh agaibh?

"Dia is Muire dhuit, a Orla, go raibh maith agat as an agallamh seo a dhéanamh Is iontach an rud é go gcloisfidh níos mó mac léinn faoin gClár iontach GAP anois Is é sprioc an GAP cabhrú le mic léinn ar an athrú saoil acu go dtí an ollscoil, an taithí acu

tríd an ollscoil agus ar deireadh a dtodhchaí tar éis dóibh imeacht leo as an ollscoil Bíonn turas gach scoláire difriúil óna chéile Tá roinnt luachanna agus tréithe éagsúla forbartha ag GAP, agus is féidir le gach mac léinn a fhorbairt le linn a gcuid ama i gColáiste na hOllscoile, Corcaigh "

Cé mhéad duine a bhíonn ar fhoireann GAP? Tá a fhios agam go bhfuair tú deis iontach a bheith i dintéirneach le GAP. Cén saghas deiseanna cosúil leis sin a bhíonn ann do scoláirí le GAP?

"Tá triúr ball iontach ar fhoireann GAP – ár mbainisteoir Adel Coleman, Maggie O’Sullivan agus Clodagh O’Sullivan chomh maith. Bhí an t-ádh dearg orm bheith i mo intéirneach mar mhac léinn ar an bhfoireann sin i mí Aibreáin seo caite "

Is fíor a rá go mbíonn roinnt buanna nasctha le GAP; Saoránach Éifeachtach Domhnach; Líofacht Dhigiteach; Freagracht Shóisialta; Mian; Cruaitheoirí, Meastóirí agus lucht Cumarsáide maidir le hEolas, agus; Seasmhacht. Cad é aidhm GAP leis na buanna seo, an mbeidh fís agaibh go mbeidh na buanna seo ag gach alumnus UCC?

"Tá roinnt luachanna agus tréithe forbartha ag GAP a theastaíonn uainn a bheith ag mic léinn nuair a fhágann siad an ollscoil Áirítear leis na luachanna agus na tréithe meas, uaillmhian, líofacht dhigiteach, cruthaitheoirí agus go leor eile Ligeann ár n-uirlis nua Your Compass do mhic léinn a gcuid luachanna agus tréithe a thomhas agus iad a fhorbairt tuilleadh trí na hábhair uirlisí "

Clúdaíonn an podchraoladh na buanna a bhí liostáile agam sna heagráin Cén saghas cainteoirí a bhí agat ar an bpodchraoladh do gach ceann de na buanna sin?

"Bhí mic léinn againn ó gach cúlra agus disciplín éagsúil. Tá an podchraoladh lán le héagsúlacht! Bhí mic léinn againn ó chúrsaí eolaíochta, síceolaíochta,

polaitíochta agus go leor eile chomh maith le mic léinn Erasmus agus mic léinn PhD Is é an sprioc atá againn scéalta na mac léinn a phlé agus tús a chur leo, a muintearas, a bheith mar chuid den dturas acu "

An mbíonn tú ag baint úsáide as na háiseanna a bhíonn ar an gcampas nó cén saghas trealaimh a bhíonn agaibhse?

"Tá stiúideo podchraoltaí iontach leabharlainne ag leabharlann Boole ina ndéanaimid taifeadadh ar ár gcuid gcláracha go léir Is féidir le scoláirí an áit seo a chur in áirithe agus tá go leor acmhainní ann ar nós ceamaraí, micreafón agus soilse "

Tuigim go mbíonn a lán acmainní iontacha ag GAP, an Compass agus Nurturing Bright Futures ina measc. Má bhíonn am ag scoláire acmhainn amháin a bhaint úsáid as, cad a mholfá féin?

"Mholfainn do mhic léinn reatha Your Compass a úsáid – is uirlis iontach féinmheasúnaithe ar líne é chun do chuid luachanna agus tréithe a thomhas Tá deis ann, chomh maith, suaitheantas digiteach a fháil!"

Cén fáth go molann tú an podchraoladh sin agus cad é an podchraoladh is oiriúnaí chun tosnú leis dear leat?

"Tá na cláracha podchraolta anspreagúil Pléann go leor mac léinn na rudaí dearfacha ach ina theannta sin pléitear na dúshláin a bhí rompu san ollscoil Measaim go bhfuil ardchaighdeán bainteach le gach clár "

Go raibh míle maith agat as d’am, a Ailbhe. Beidh mé ag tnúth leis an gcéad phodchraoladh eile!

TÍRGANTEANGA TÍRGANANAM

LE KATIE ENGLISH | SCRÍBHNEOIR CÚNTA

Bhí nóiméad Iúiríce agam i rith na Nollag Bhí mise tógtha leis an nGaeilge Thosnaigh mé ag labhairt agus ag foghlaim na teanga nuair a bhíos trí bliana d’aois Táim bródúil as an nGaeilge go huile is go hiomlán agus beidh go deo Ach an nóiméad lúiríce a bhí agam thar an Nollaig; bhuel is é sin le rá; nílim ag déanamh mórán chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn go ginearálta agus níl aon bhaint agam léi mar theanga i ndáiríre

Tharla sé sin agus mé ag léamh na leabhar ‘Motherfoclóir’ agus an dara ceann ‘Craic Baby’ Seachas mé bheith ag pléascadh amach ag gáire gach cúig nóiméad is mé á léamh, thug mé faoi deara nach raibh cuid mhór de stair na Gaeilge ná an teanga féin ar eolas agamsa fiú D’fhoghlaim mé an-chuid focal nua agus seanfhocal chomh maith

Bhris na leabhair seo mo chroí, mar thuig mé go raibh mé tar éis an-chuid ama a chur amú in ionad am a chaitheamh is mé ag iarraidh snas a chur ar mo chuid Gaeilge. Bhraith mé nach raibh mé i mo Ghaeilgeoir ceart; ní raibh an t-ainm nó an gradam sin tuillte agam

Is ormsa an locht ar fad, mar tá na huirlisí nó an trealamh agam chun í a fhoghlaim (raidió, ríomhaire, guthán, leabhair, srl ) agus tá fonn orm í a fhoghlaim agus tá an grá agam di I mo thuairim féin is í an Ghaeilge an teanga is deise ar domhain agus ar feadh bliana, d’fhág mé í sa chófra lem chuid leabhar agus anois tá deannach ar na leabhair sin

Cúpla rud nach ndéanaim agus gur chóir dom iad a dhéanamh i ndáiríre.

Bheith ag éisteacht le níos mó podchraoltaí as Gaeilge Éistim le RTÉ Beo ar Éigean ach caithfidh me níos mó a lorg

Bím ag léamh i gcónaí ach ní go rómhinic go léim aon ní i nGaeilge Táim chun é sin a athrú i gcóir 2023 Táim tar éis an leabhar “EL” le Thaddeus Ó Buachalla a cheannach chun tús a chur leis sin Beidh mé ag seilf na Gaeilge in Waterstones go rialta i gcaitheamh na bliana 2023

Nílim ró-thógtha le rudaí a chur suas ar na meáin shóisialta ach i spiorad na bliana nua, b’fhéidir go gcuirfidh me níos mó rudaí suas Táim ar thóir cuntas nua le Gaeilge ar Instagram Má tá cinn ag daoine – seol scéal chugam!

Cúnamh a thabhairt do dhaoine agus iad ag iarraidh an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim don chéad uair nó don deichiú huair É sin a dhéanamh ach gan iad a chur síos Caithfidh mé a rá go raibh mé gránna sa tslí sin nuair a bhíos i bhfad ní ba óige agus mo thuistí ag iarraidh bheith ag éisteacht is ag cabhrú liom Anois agus mé i bhfad níos sine, níl aon tseans go mbeidh a leithéid ag cur as domsa Bíonn daoine ag éirí í a fhoghlaim, lig dóibh é sin a dhéanamh

Chun a bheith dearfach don chéad uair san alt seo, táim ag iarraidh a rá (agus sibh a chur ar bhur suaimhneas), nach bhfuil sé ‘riamh ró-dhéanach’ rud éigin a athrú nó a thosnú i do shaol Má tá tú ag iarraidh úsáid níos mó a bhaint as an nGaeilge i do shaol laethúil, déan é! Ná lig do na guthanna (i do cheann nó timpeall ort, tú a stopadh) Má tá tú ag streachailt leis an nGaeilge faoi láthair, lean leis an nGaeilge Níl aon luach níos áille ná an Ghaeilge Cuir muinín ionam, is éireoidh tú

Tá an teachtaireacht seo le haghaidh na ndaoine óga; go háirithe aon duine atá ag tosnú amach ó thaobh na Gaeilge dhe is sibh anso ar an ollscoil – le bhur dtoil, ná déanaigí dearúd ar cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an Ghaeilge dúinn ar fad Bígí bródúil aisti, caithigí an fáinne, agus bainigí úsáid aisti ar bharr bhur gcinn is bhur ngutha.

Is í an Ghaeilge an tseoid is deise atá againn, ná lig don ndeannach teacht uirthi ionas nach mbeidh meirg ar do chuid Gaeilge

CONDOMS,CHOKINGANDCONNELLWALDRON THEVARIOUSDEPICTIONSOFSEXINPOPULARFILM ANDTV

WRITES CIARA BARRETT

| SEXPRESS EDITOR AND ROSEMARIE O’BYRNE | FILM & TV EDITOR

In a day and age where there is a new, incredibly warranted, focus on the importance of consent and bodily autonomy, it doesn’t bear thinking about the volume of misinformation and inappropriate portrayals of sex and relationships that still exist in the film industry That’s not to say that it has never been well executed Television series like Normal People and Sex Education have reminded viewers that, despite the fantasies that plaster the big screen so often, at the end of the day, moments of intimacy involve flawed and multifaceted human beings Having sex and relationships portrayed in this meaningful way is at its core a revolutionary act The prevalence of sex as a focal point of mainstream media in recent years has proven to have its upsides, increasing and encouraging general sex positivity, and educating the masses on things that aren’t always talked about in school Although this representation of BDSM and kink culture has helped give sexuality a refreshing change in reputation, running wild with information you saw in a movie might not yield the best results The way in which BDSM is shown in the media can have a lasting negative impact on the culture as a whole Pop culture today encompasses both the good and the bad in terms of how sex and kink culture are shown, from Sex Education to Fifty Shades of Grey, and everything in between

E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, for example, which portrays sex through a lens which caters to the male gaze, in a dangerous guise of female empowerment While the film may first appear progressive by exploring the theme of female sexuality, which is often a controversial one, the reality is that the movie falls victim to the problematic belief that women should compromise on their own feelings of comfort and safety to prioritise a man’s pleasure Fifty Shades claims to destigmatize sex, especially more taboo matters like BDSM, however, what it actually does is perpetuate even more harmful ideas surrounding the subject by misinforming its viewers about such practices. This proves that not all representation is good representation, especially if it involves relying on negative stereotypes Ana conflates violent sex with passion and love which is obviously a dangerous message to send an impressionable young audience, especially without adequate information

The representation of feminism in the film franchise is ambiguous and confusing, as it appears to succumb to conservative ideologies about gender roles, where the feminine partner in a couple should be subservient and submissive to the masculine figure There is certainly still room on the market for a film to offer the type of sexpositive representation Fifty Shades of Grey promised, yet failed, to deliver

BDSM stands for bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism While it can be fun, taking part in BDSM can be dangerous if not researched thoroughly and discussed clearly with your partner A large issue with Fifty Shades of Grey in comparison to other examples of media centring around BDSM is that it’s plausible in theory. People who enjoy the books or movies can find themselves relating to Ana, the main character This ability to insert yourself into the storyline of a book or movie can be harmful if what is portrayed is dangerous Fifty Shades of Grey was a source of BDSM fantasies for many over the years, and people began to get ideas about experimenting in the bedroom While for many this just involved the inclusion of handcuffs or vibrators during sex, some began to introduce other things, including choking Choking can be extremely dangerous if not properly researched Sex is all about pleasure, you’re not trying to kill your partner ‘Choking’ is actually a form of sexual asphyxiation, and involves putting pressure on the sides of the neck, not the trachea, and not for long periods of time This slows blood flow through the veins at the side of the neck which creates a feeling of lightheadedness, associated with intensifying feelings of pleasure

Another example of this is the Polish film 365 Days This film glamorises sexual violence, as the main character Laura falls victim to several instances of sexual violence by her kidnapper who has given her 365 days to fall in love with him This film blurred the lines between love and abuse, and several young teenagers took to TikTok and Twitter to discuss their love of Massimo, the man who kidnapped Laura While Massimo tells Laura that he won't do anything without her permission, the portrayal of consent ends there as he regularly forces her to participate in sexual acts

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shows miss out on in sex scenes, and normalises it on a very public platform Although the show was created by the BBC and based on an Irish novel, it was a hit across the world, demonstrating just how simultaneously awkward and comfortable sex is Viewers were shown that just because the sex they have isn’t seamless, or silent, or aggressive, doesn’t mean that it has to be, and what’s been deemed as ‘vanilla’ across social media isn’t inherently wrong

This only further perpetuates that sex is a given in a relationship, and romantic relationships (or being kidnapped and forced to fall in love) create a space in which consent is implied The assumption of implied consent is extremely dangerous, and places many people into relationships in which they feel unsafe An alarming number of young people who watched this film expressed the opinion that assumed consent in relationships was the norm, when it doesn’t actually exist If it is not explicitly and enthusiastically given each time you engage in sex, it’s not consent

While these films show the dangers of how sex is portrayed, the Irish show Normal People offers a stark contrast When Normal People, adapted from Sally Rooney’s novel, hit our television screens during lockdown, we were only delighted to be offered some escapism from the mundanity of everyday life Normal People is a show which honours the mundane, and furthermore, showcases the magic in it. Differing from what we’ve seen previously, Normal People displays sex as a form of intimacy within the relationship, not strictly control or power The first time we see Marianne and Connell have sex, it’s very different to what we’ve grown accustomed to In this scene, there is a real emphasis on the humanity of the pair, like the title of the series, they are just ordinary, ‘normal people’ Marianne’s bra gets stuck over her head, there is giggling, and nervousness, and they have a cup of tea beforehand, yet again showcasing the beauty in the mundane and ordinary Without turning it into a joke, the couple use a condom, which is so important for young people watching to see being normalised Safety is also important to both parties, and we see both Marianne asking Connell to use a condom, and Connell having them readily available While this may seem like an arbitrary addition to the scene, it highlights the importance of safe sex, and how it doesn’t take away from the moment, or ‘kill the mood’ Consent

Netflix series Sex Education offers some of the best representation of sex in terms of diversity and inclusion The premise of the show is genius as it allows its viewers to be educated about the world of sex, gender, sexuality and relationships in a very casual way Main characters Maeve and Otis run an advice service at their school for their peers to ask questions about sex In turn, the show explores and answers a lot of questions that teenage viewers are too afraid to ask Unlike the outdated ‘birds and bees’ chat or some clinical, sterilised lecture you would get in an SPHE class, Sex Education is informative but very entertaining The well developed characters act as healthy examples for viewers, and there is a strong emphasis placed on the importance of communication Adam, a character who grows up in a household of toxic masculinity, realises that he is bisexual and finds out what that means He is forced to confront his flawed communication style when he begins to date Eric, and it is explicitly addressed that communication is vital to avoid a toxic relationship, especially when sex is involved The series destigmatizes sexuality and reduces the shame surrounding it When one character is sexually assaulted, she sees a therapist and sends a healthy message that there is no shame in speaking up about negative or non consensual sexual experiences with someone you trust This scene is coupled with an exceptionally powerful depiction of the characters's friends banding together to help her in overcoming her trauma, rather than brushing it under the rug, or taken as something that needs to be taken in stride. The show tackles the normalisation of sexual assault in society, as the character didn’t realise she had even been assaulted, as well as debunking the harmful rhetoric that in order for the assault to have occurred, they need to have touched you or physically harmed you in some way It is refreshing to see sex portrayed as more than just the heteronormative examples commonly seen in television LGBT sex is validated and the show has amazing queer representation, including ace, non-binary and other identities outside the bracket of cisgender/heterosexual The myth that people with disabilities can’t have sex is debunked in Season 3, when a character who uses a wheelchair has sexual experiences Sex Education proves that sex is not just for white, straight, able bodied cis people, and can be a pleasurable experience for all, or if you’re on the asexual spectrum and it’s not your thing, then that’s just as valid too

is freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic and specific

When Connell and Marianne get intimate with each other for the first time, Connell reminds her that she can say no or stop at any point, and that it ‘won’t be awkward’ This small act of reassurance goes a very long way and communicates to not only Marianne but the viewers at home that it’s okay to change your mind. We’re consistently shown smooth sex scenes on TV and in film, where no one involved really talks and everything just flows However, this isn’t how sex really is in real life Sex is awkward, and it can even be funny at times There also comes a time for everyone where they’re just not really that into it While it may not seem very important, the way Connell treats Marianne during sex has helped in breaking down the barrier between what’s real and what only happens on screen

Their sexual relationship illustrates mutual respect and the importance of trusting your partner and feeling safe with one another to communicate throughout This is why the portrayal of sex in Normal People is so powerful and well executed, despite it displaying the bare minimum requirements to a healthy sexual encounter Viewers of the show learned that awkward sex is normal, and that people talk to one another and communicate throughout The show highlights things that other films or TV

The way sex is portrayed in film and TV can be jarring, misinformed and downright problematic Fifty Shades projects a harmful narrative about kink culture and inappropriately depicts what a BDSM relationship should look like However, the healthy sex representation in shows like Normal People and Sex Education confirms that positive and educational portrayals of sex matter. Screen media exposes us to many things that we may not otherwise get the chance to see, but that doesn’t mean we have to take what we’re shown as ‘the done thing’ Have sex that you enjoy, not sex that you think you should be having based on what you see on a screen No one knows what kind of sex you enjoy better than you do Experimenting can be fun, and you might learn things about yourself that you didn’t know, but that doesn’t mean it's a requirement If you do decide to experiment or try new things, always ensure that you’ve researched it properly, and that both you and the person you’re having sex with understand what it is you’re doing, the risks if there are any, and that they can always tap out or say no if they’re uncomfortable or unsure Having fun and enjoying yourself is more important than whatever you’ve seen other people do, and you should never feel under pressure to try things that you’re not comfortable with because of what you witness on TV

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WRITES EMILY DOLLERY | CONTRIBUTOR

In recent years, post punk (especially in the UK and Ireland) has seen a revival of sorts Notable releases including Gilla Band’s “Holding Hands with Jamie” (2015), Black Midi’s “Schlagenheim” (2019) and Dry Cleaning’s “New Long Leg” (2021) have all provided newer, more abstract perspectives to the genre Gilla Band frontman Dara Kiely’s accounts of chicken fillet rolls and bleached moustaches certainly feel a world away from the emotive (and occasionally melodramatic) lyrics one would find on a record like “Disintegration” or “The Queen is Dead” I have certainly found it intriguing to observe these newer bands’ tendency to shirk sentimentality in their work altogether, but, to me, this reads like a reflection of the neurotic political conditions of the last ten years

Dry Cleaning’s most popular song, “Scratchcard Lanyard” , involves a string of seemingly unrelated statements spoken by a seemingly disconnected Florence Shaw In live performances, her apathetic delivery is amplified as she tends to stand almost entirely static, sighing into the microphone, almost rolling her eyes I absolutely adore this song, most of all for the main hook: “Wristband, theme park, scratchcard, lanyard/Do everything and feel nothing/Do everything and feel nothing” . The line feels like a moment of clarity in a sea of lyrics that bear seemingly little meaning: “I think of myself as a hearty banana/With that waxy surface” But, others interspersed in verses of nonsense reveal a sense of weariness, or a sort of existential angst: “I’ll be okay, I just need to be weird and hide for a bit/And eat an old sandwich from my bag” “You can’t save the world on your own/I guess ” The music video depicts Shaw wearing a dollhouse on her head and drinking from a tiny glass, singing into a tiny microphone, remaining relatively expressionless all the while The contrast between the driving, more lively instrumental and the unenthusiastic vocals is reflected as the camera zooms out and we see Shaw standing static, staring right at the viewer with her head trapped in the house, while her bandmates are free to move as they please The closest ‘canonical’ group I could compare them to would be Talking Heads, due to the warm, prominent bass lines and funky guitar tones, but

it’s difficult to describe the band in simple terms The lyrics could be providing an insight into the neuroses of a struggling idealist, driven to near-madness by a monotonous but unrelenting life

It likely goes without saying that the song resonated with me a lot When I Googled the lyrics for the first time, I discovered that the hook I had become so fixated on had been lifted from a tampon advertisement

While studying 20th century art movements, I came across this quote by Francis Picabia:

“Dada is like your hopes: nothing like your paradise: nothing like your idols: nothing like your heroes: nothing like your artists: nothing like your religions: nothing”

This felt like a perfect summation of the movement’s very core; the anger and hopelessness underpinning the amusing and nonsensical works being created Nihilistic humour from a generation who felt totally disempowered during a time when the upper class acted as the gatekeepers of culture Studying the writings of Marcel Duchamp and Tristan Tzara (for me) rendered conspicuous the prevalence of their ideas in contemporary art and music in the present day. Of course, the particular genre I’m examining has always been political and often satirical (Morrissey singing “I say, Charles, don’t you ever crave/ To appear on the front of the Daily Mail/Dressed in your Mother’s bridal veil?” immediately springs to mind) but the more cacophonous soundscapes and unusual vocal deliveries of the other bands I have mentioned does seem like a more recent trend in post punk

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WRITES CORMAC MCCARTHY | MUSIC EDITOR

“I feel I could do the soundtrack for Mission Impossible rather than a folk album.”

- Kieran Hurley, lead singer of The Love Buzz on songwriting during COVID, developing atmosphere in a live performance and the next adventure

Kieran phones me at 3 o’clock on a Tuesday, just as I’m exiting my lecture We haven’t organized a meeting yet, but he asks whether I’m free to meet in The Roundy I have other plans, but the University Express comes first, especially when I’m about to interview the lead singer of the hottest thing to come out of Cork since the plans to build an incinerator were unveiled

We head upstairs, to the pub’s unassuming venue room where the curtains are drawn, the light trickling in through the cracks I’m drinking a cup of tea; Kieran had already had his before I arrived We settle into the interview and I crack into the biscuit that has come with the tea

The band, a three-piece turned four-piece, have been going for a few years now, building up their reputation around Ireland and moving slowly into the UK The Love Buzz are known for their full-on, somewhat bellicose, stage persona while balancing that with their captivating musical stylings “The dynamic on stage is a lot different than to the rehearsal room When we go on stage, we really do switch into something else Where as in the rehearsal rooms, it’s a lot more chilled out ”

The writing process is also a more relaxed affair “We don’t jam very well, and when we do jam we don’t really write anything The best way is for one of us to write something at home and then come in We sit on things for years The new songs, we write them and then play them for a year and then record it To record a song its better just to know it very well ”

Covid certainly had a benefit to Kieran’s writing ability, scheduling writing times for himself and churning out potential songs “The first EP, “Candy Flip”, was very much a group effort, but when it came to [the second EP], it was during COVID, so I sat at home every day, writing every day There’s some songs I would write and I don’t want to record them. The lads would egg me on because there’s some goofy songs that we’ve written over the while ”

While the music comes easily, Kieran has a different method for writing the lyrics. “I don’t like to write lyrics myself The last lyrics session we did was us standing around in the gaff, just with a notepad for about three hours Just spitballing It’s basically like a writer’s room I felt like I was in The Simpsons”

While the music comes easily, Kieran has a different method for writing the lyrics “I don’t like to write lyrics myself The last lyrics session we did was us standing around in the gaff, just with a notepad for about three hours Just spitballing It’s basically like a writer’s room I felt like I was in The Simpsons”

They’ve grown musically and commercially over the years but have they figured out who and what they are? “As you get older, you become more of an artist and define your sound better There’s a lot of bands under 25 that are figuring it out and then there’s an older crew who have completely figured it out I don’t really know if we have We’re always trying to decide what people like about our music, but to figure out what people like and keep doing it is stupid To keep progressing is what we ’ re trying to do We’re trying to mess things up a bit ”

While the band are known for being primarily a punk band, they are always venturing into different genres They recently released what had previously been a vinyl-only single “Kaleidoscope” on all digital platforms. It incorporates a more electronic/triphop sound into proceedings “All of us want different things, and what ends up happening, just happens Oisín, the new guitarist, is so new, he’s trying to figure us out Aidan [the bassist] is a really raw creative force, like very experimental And then I just try to write a pop song ”

The band themselves have made quite an impact on the local Cork scene They supported the legendary Sultans of Ping last Friday in the Opera House Further than that, their influence on youth culture in Cork is quite something “We went to see a band called Pebbledash in May I was watching them and then had to go for a pee and a pint halfway through their set, which isn’t very nice but you know, duty calls But then I came back, and someone was like ‘They just covered your song Harp’. I felt so bad Even to think that a band would cover our song in Fred Zepplin’s is mad to me But I don’t want to let it get to my head at all I wish I caught it ”

Like any artist on the train of momentum, Kieran has big plans in sight for the band but is very careful with being mindful of himself “We try to put it all in adventures A good mentor that we had before, she said to pick your adventures and manifest them. Because that used to work for us before Supporting the Sultans of Ping in the Opera House makes me feel that Cork is [motions ticking sign] for me now So to play a load of festivals over the summer, in Europe, Ireland and the UK; that’s an adventure And then after that, the next adventure would be to go back and record a whole load of music We’re going to release an album next, all new stuff with stuff that we ’ ve been playing for a while There’s a song on there that I wrote when I was 18 ”

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WRITES LUKE CONDON | GAMING EDITOR

Perfectionism can be a blessing, but it’s just as likely to be a curse Whether it’s college work, regular work, or trying to get your hair just right in the morning, we’ve all been guilty of pushing things a bit too far in the name of being flawless, often to no avail Gamers aren’t exempt from this trait; on the contrary, perfectionism is what drives many players to spend countless hours chasing down every single collectible item available, or tailoring each minute detail of their multiplayer loadout to attain the best possible chance at victory Speedrunners, players who aim to complete a game in as little time as possible, have built a whole community around a playstyle that strives to eliminate any errors and achieve an unbeatable record Games commonly include a progress bar to measure story and side content progress, and the allure of seeing that bar hit 100% is enough to keep many players occupied for unholy amounts of time. Indeed, mechanics like these are amongst the core foundations of modern game design, and without them many great video games would cease to function

There’s the blessing side of the coin; now for the curse part Most games allow you to play your own way, to at least some extent; shooters allow you to choose your weaponry, for example, and sports games allow you to choose what players you’d like to field Role-playing games, in particular, give players unrestrained freedom in creating a character and painstakingly tweaking their every attribute, ability, and trait Doesn’t really sound like a curse yet, does it? Well, it’s when you bring perfectionism into this mix that things start to go wrong Inevitably, people start to look for the ‘best’ way to play a given game, and so players will run tests and delve into games’ code to find the weapons with the highest damage, the most effective character builds, the optimised methods of gathering in-game experience points, and so on This is the basis of my gripe with ‘min-maxing’ , ‘ save- scumming’ , and ‘XP grinding’ (don’t worry, I’ll be explaining these terms); by focusing on getting absolutely everything right, gamers often lose sight of having fun and instead turn what could be an enjoyable experience into a slog.

The time-honoured tradition of Min-Maxing has its roots in tabletop role- playing board games, like Dungeons and Dragons Players would ‘minimise’ negative aspects of their characters and ‘maximise’ positive ones in order to be as efficient as possible – hence the name ‘min-maxing’ This entails carefully allocating points awarded upon levelling up to specialise in certain powerful abilities, whilst neglecting less useful skills As soon as video games became sufficiently complex to allow in-depth character building, the practice was carried over Unsurprisingly, Min- Maxing is most common in role-playing video games, which share similar mechanics to their tabletop predecessors Outside of this setting, it’s less frequently referred to as Min-Maxing, but it still exists in various forms across all games that feature customisation mechanics Today, Min-Maxing is easier than ever; online guides and YouTube tutorials are plentiful for almost every game with a player count above zero

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Min-Maxing, as long as you enjoy it It’s often the best way to ensure your character is as powerful as possible, and in a multiplayer setting this is absolutely necessary to give yourself a fighting chance; Pokémon players who want to prove they’re the very best have been subjecting their poor creatures to a special type of Min-Maxing called ‘EV Training’ ever since the

release of the first games in 1996. However, the fact that this level of effort is necessary to even compete online highlights one of the primary issues with MinMaxing: in competitive play, you don’t have any other option If you’re going up against real people, you can bet that they’re going to give themselves every advantage they can get, and so you’ll have to follow suit unless you want to suffer through an endless cycle of demoralising defeats This leads to the formation of a status quo often known as the ‘meta’ in online play, and what ensues is a stale scene where only certain characters, weapons, and strategies see the light of day

In single player games, Min-Maxing isn’t forced on players, but even having the option to do so can have detrimental effects With many games offering an overwhelming amount of gameplay options, the fear of playing ‘wrong’ can prompt players to go straight for a guide, rather than curate their own unique playstyle Simply copying methods from an online source is the path of least resistance, and will produce an overpowered character quickly, but in doing this players miss out on the fun of experimenting with different builds, or the triumphant feeling of prevailing over enemies unassisted; the destination takes priority over the journey, and the overall experience suffers for it.

‘XP Grinding’ is closely tied to this behaviour In order to acquire the in-game currency, or ‘experience points’ necessary to unlock abilities, players usually need to defeat enemies or complete activities XP Grinding is the streamlined version of this process that involves discovering a certain location or enemy encounter that can be repeated indefinitely until the desired amount of currency has been acquired It’s dull and repetitive, but an inevitable extension of the Min-Maxing process; players will seek the fastest way to achieve their perfect character, and from there they can breeze through the rest of the game unchallenged

WRITES KELLIE MURPHY | FASHION EDITOR

I want to preface this with a reminder that single women are the happiest people on the planet According to a behavioural scientist Paul Dolan, unmarried and childless women are the happiest subgroup in the population, while men enjoy more benefits from marriage including a higher wage and increased life expectancy Women have a lower life expectancy then those who remained unmarried and never had children So, in short if you’re a he/him reading this, sorry that you’re missing out, and if you’re a she/her, just be happy if you’re single and lonely on Valentine’s day, at least you can live just a bit longer to feel even more miserable about it Personally, I love being alone on Valentine’s Day I take comfort in the fact that Valentine's day feeds into capitalism, urging people to spend an extraordinary amount of money for no other reason then they might love someone, and everyone else is doing the same One day you’re sending dry texts to someone whose tactical Tinder photos you admired and the next you’re trying to paper mâché a box into existence at two in the morning because apparently if you delve into arts and crafts it means you love them more Stay safe out there I would prefer to stay single and wait for the Valentine’s day sales (where I can safely stock up on chocolate and more gift sets of body wash that even the last-minute shoppers didn’t want) but others might not feel so positive, or indifferent, about Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day has long been lauded as a day that celebrates love and for individuals its meant to be a day to celebrate your relationship with your partner But Valentine’s Day can often create complicated feelings for people, one of the reasons being the celebration of relationships The image of Valentine’s day that is perpetuated in social media and Hollywood can often make those who have low self esteem and mental health issues feel lonely as it highlights how alone they may feel Mind reports that people with low selfesteem on Valentine’s day can often feel distressed as it presents idealised and romanticised relationships which you inevitably measure yourself against, and could make you feel unworthy of these relationships There’s also the fact that Valentine’s day feeds into consumerism, where the primary, and ideal expression of love is gift giving Combined with the reasonable expectation of heartfelt, love filled comments and the near obligatory gifts of chocolate, jewellery and cards can be pretty taxing on your bank account This all takes place in one day where your efforts are revealed to your significant other as the pinnacle of love which in my opinion can be utilised as a way to neglect your partner within your relationship, and then go on to compensate through a lavish celebration So let’s keep the negative aspects in mind while I tell you what to wear for a day when you don’t have anything to do, because this holiday is meant for literally anyone else but you I don’t think anything could make you feel worse then watching your parents

get ready to go out and celebrate what I hope is a successful marriage while you sit on the couch wearing a tracksuit I can’t really relate but I can tell you my go to outfits as a perpetually single girl for Valentine’s Day

Without further ado, here’s Kellie’s survival guide to dressing on Valentine’s day.

Morning:

I don’t think there’s any other option then fluffy pyjamas I think the more cheesy, fluffy and ridiculous they are the better Nothing makes you feel more secure in yourself and your loneliness then having to get the post in a pyjama top that has dancing monkeys on it and then get barked at by your neighbours annoying dog Your day of celebration can only be improved with you trying to walk back in your front door before getting caught by that really good looking neighbour a few doors down who you just know would love you if he would only return your frequent and persistent greetings. Since you have no plans you can safely go back to bed and rot until its becomes a disgrace to waste the day anymore The fluffy pyjamas are a particular favourite of mine on Valentine’s day They’re warm and cosy so you’ll feel toasty when you crawl under your duvet and wrap your arms around yourself because no one else will be The warmth created by your icky, sweaty pyjamas whose legs have wrapped around your thighs, creating a horrible pantaloon contraption is particularly appealing because you know no one is seeing you in bed today except for your mom to tell you you’re a disgrace and to get up because your Dad’s just made a fry to celebrate their decades of adoration Thanks Mom and Dad

Now for the big outfit:

The lunch with your friends ensemble I think nothing looks better then a skirt with tights if it’s cold, and without tights if you’re feeling risky because you’re showing the general public, who are actually really invested in your love life, that you still got it Bonus points if the skirt is your go to black skirt that you wear at Christmas By the way, this will not remind you of when both your aunt and Nana asked if you were seeing anyone and then made faces of disappointment when you said no, but on the bright side your aunt got very excited when you told them you would have way less fun at clubs Thanks for the support aunty! If you’re feeling positive, I would go for a red or pink top which will be especially helpful in detracting from your glare at your friend who has a significant other for the first time The unhelpful calorie counting by

your friend who’s sitting holding the butter hostage is incredibly offensive to you as your toast is getting cold It is also unwanted especially in between her repeatedly reminding everyone at the table of the plans she and her S O have together which runs parallel with your own date with a Chinese takeaway You feel briefly united with your other trusty friend who subtly pulls faces at you as the butter thief says for the third time how expensive the Gucci belt she bought her boyfriend was You take comfort in the fact that your pink jumper looks much more on trend than theirs

By dinner you are at home with a Chinese takeaway and your sister who is insanely positive about being single on Valentine’s day She quickly reminds you to pull yourself together and just because you don’t have someone to spend one day with doesn’t mean you’re in any way alone or unworthy of love. You then candidly reveal that you think the oversized expensive teddies are stupid anyway You realise that your singlehood is not necessarily a bad thing Your friends being happy and in love isn’t insensitive to you and your needlessly hurt feelings You’re still worthy of love and amazing and why shouldn’t that be the case? So, I don’t recommend your go-to Valentine’s day outfit be the tracksuit pants and dirty hoodie that’s lying in a pile on your chair I think no matter your relationship status if Valentine’s Day is important to you then act like it Wear what makes you feel good even if you’re just laying around the house Wear something that looks beautiful and go celebrate love with your friends, or celebrate yourself by wearing your favourite clothes that make you feel good in your skin and confident Have a happy Valentine’s Day, whatever your plans are!

Wear what makes you feel good even if you’re just laying around the house. Wear something that looks beautiful and go celebrate love with your friends, or celebrate yourself by wearing your favourite clothes that make o feel good in o r skin and co

WRITES SARAH KENNELLY | ARTS & LITERATURE EDITOR

Women’s pain is rarely taken seriously, routinely portrayed as a problem that is threatening, irrational, and sometimes even beautiful It is morphed into something that functions for men, an alluring trait that makes her different from the rest There is no depth or reasoning to this melancholy, it is just an innate part of being a desirable woman From the damsel in distress, to the tortured beauty queen, feminine sadness is neatly enclosed in a single identity Their despair is not a trait of their character, but their entire character And when prince charming swoops in to save her, women are taught to embody her The sad girl becomes something to covet, rather than something to empathise with

The cultivation of the sad girl is not just the latest microtrend on TikTok but a longstanding literary tradition It can be traced back to Aristotle who argued that we cannot live a beautiful life without a little bit of sadness This assertion was closely followed by Shakespeare whose female characters became the archetype for sad women in literature Following this, Edgar Allan Poe went as far as glamorising the bodies of beautiful dead women, claiming that “[t]he death of a beautiful woman, is unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world”. What this shows us is not a concern for the fate of women, but a romanticisation of their pain It is not their struggles that are lamented but the regrettable loss of a beautiful woman This perpetuates the belief that a woman’s worth is determined by her desirability which is made all the more enticing by a dejected personality

And because women are taught to chase the desire of men, the sad girl becomes the model for feminine perfection Although authors play an important role in the cultivation of this tired trope, the cultural response has been equally influential If you are part of the generation who grew up on Tumblr, you will know that the idealisation of depressed women was an unfortunate characteristic of the website Entire blogs were dedicated to publishing images of crying girls featuring poems and quotes alluding to suicidal ideation This prompted the glamorisation of self hatred, spawning thousands of posts encouraging eating disorders, self- harm, and substance abuse This showcases the harm that mass media can cause when it perpetuates harmful tropes that fall into the hands of impressionable audiences Teenage girls came to idolise characters with mental illnesses because their sadness is what made them worthy of attention. This spawned a generation of young women who were encouraged to adopt dangerous coping mechanisms rather than seek adequate help

Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel The Virgin Suicides embodies this idea by detailing the suicide of five sisters who are thin, white, and dazzlingly beautiful Although the book claims to be a critique of the fetishization of sad women, it is anything but The protagonists are perfect caricatures of the unattainable and problematic beauty standards enforced by society It frames their mental illness as something intriguing and mysterious which attracts the attention of several boys in their class Eugenides fails to analyse the roots of their depression and presents it as something innate to their personalities This only furthers the idea that feminine sadness is onedimensional and not worthy of more nuanced analyses. The novel is just one example of many narratives that aestheticize women’s pain, packaging it as a sexy quirk, with a fine pink ribbon tied around it This genre of literature serves no purpose but to catch the sight of the male gaze, disempowering women and arousing men

Another core element of the sad girl is her appearance, it follows a strict set of guidelines that rarely change; conventionally pretty, skinny, white Authors continuously reinforce these unattainable beauty standards by creating heroines that conform to them This prompts women to aspire to a narrow representation of womanhood that leaves many others on the margin Because fat women don’t fit this rigid image of beauty, they are not afforded the same empathy in many narratives Instead, their characters are often dehumanised, making their depression seem trivial The romanticisation of sadness only extends to thin women who are portrayed as worthy of male desire

The sad girl is also inseparable from her whiteness, contributing to racist myths about mental illness in black women Historically, black femininity has been juxtaposed with white femininity which has been portrayed as fragile and innocent This is a prejudiced representation of black women that fails to afford humanity to these characters Whiteness is central to the identity of the sad girl and is weaponised to perpetuate racist ideas against black women Although not every text that glamorises feminine sadness is racist or fatphobic, many work together to create exclusionary beauty standards that become synonymous with the trope

Fortunately, in more contemporary literature, authors are challenging this misogynistic representation of sad women Sally Rooney has been applauded for her creation of multi-dimensional female characters that struggle with their mental health However, her protagonists are always white, rich, and thin, contributing to the idea that conventionally attractive women are most worthy of a reader’s attention

For example, the character of Marianne from her novel Normal People often skips meals and her thin frame is consistently alluded to throughout the text The emphasis on Marianne’s body weight serves no purpose in the narrative and fails to draw attention to the harms of disordered eating As a result, her representation of feminine sadness is not free from the exclusionary ideals that she claims to denounce

On the other hand, Ottessa Moshfegh successfully satirises this phenomenon, acting as a brilliant critique of the sad girl trope It follows the life of a woman who yearns to escape reality through the use of prescription drugs that put her into a comatose state Although the protagonist is white, thin, and wealthy, she is entirely unlikeable, exposing how readers too often afford empathy to women on the basis of their appearance The novel also exposes how capitalism has led to the commodification of every aspect of our lives, even female sadness, especially through the use of social media Although the text is not perfect in its representation of sad women, it successfully highlights the ills of this trope and why he must abandon it

Although the sad girl genre has produced some of my favourite books, women deserve accurate representations of their sadness Women should be written as nuanced characters that have emotions completely separate from the influence of men The fetishization of their struggles has led to the romanticisation of mental illnesses that have very real and ugly consequences If we continue to portray this as a desirable quirk through characters like the manic pixie dream girl we trivialise their experience Furthermore, by design, this trope works to exclude women of colour and plus-sized women from the narrative This has created a sub-genre that spews many problematic messages and is dangerous for the young teens who follow it closely. As #SadGirl continues to trend on BookTok, I hope that we can platform books that challenge the negative legacy of all things sad girl

BLOWITUP: THEGAA’SLOVE/HATERELATIONSHIPWITHTHEIROWNRULES

WRITES MARK COOP

It is All-Ireland final day in Croke September, or even the modern fixture final day nonetheless The turf has been an abundance of matches, and perhaps f aside, on a Sunday in January Derry’s legions of their devoted fans in a bid to Merrigan Cup A cagey afternoon of foo fateful conclusion In the dying mome Glen’s Danny Tallon took a quick ’45 from distance going harmlessly wide T been a forgettable and unremarkable c crucial fact; Kilmacud Crokes had sev finale, with sixteen players defending th Shane Cunningham had even been pres Stand, GAA Twitter was firing on all already being written Shane Walsh’s co may have fuelled the fire of public op who lit the spark

After an uninspiring game of cat and mo Glen, as well as submissions by the Cro be replayed At the time of writing, it is cup, play the replay or launch into a outcome, the farcical nature of the pr almost anyone involved in Gaelic Game its own rules has been an undeniable fe foundation

The Mysterious 1905 Hurling Final of 1907

The 1905 All-Ireland Hurling Final between Kilkenny and Cork (delayed due to difficulties in obtaining pitches and club-level backlogs) took place in Tipperary town in April 1905 in front of just over 5,000 spectators The Rebels prevailed after a splendid encounter, on a scoreline of 5-10 to 3-13 Later that month, it emerged that Erin’s Own H C (Kilkenny’s representatives in the final against St Finbarr’s of Cork) had lodged an objection to the result, alleging that Daniel McCarthy was “in the service of the British government”, in his role as an Army Reserve for the British Army The objection was grounded on Rule 6 of the GAA, introduced ten years previously to prevent spying on republicans within GAA clubs The rule set out that “police, soldiers, sailors of the Royal Navy, militiamen, or pensioners of the constabulary, army or navy, shall not be allowed to play hurling or football”. Despite Tom Dooley of St Finbarr’s argument that the rule made no mention of army reserves, the decision was made by the GAA president that the game would be replayed In June 1907, the final was replayed with Kilkenny winning well If this can be considered a first test of the GAA’s ability to apply its own rules, it did not bode well for the future.

Jimmy Cooney Cuts Long Hot Summer Short

Reigning All-Ireland champions Clare led by thre points in the replayed All Ireland Semi- Final of 1998 against Offaly coming to the close of the game Referee Jimmy Cooney made the farcical error of blowing the final whistle prematurely with two minutes of normal time still left on the clock

Newbridge of Nowhere

Following a disappointing league campaign in 2018 in which they were relegated to division two, Cian O’ Neill’s Kildare tenure looked to be coming to a premature close Wins against Derry and Longford in the qualifiers went some way towards easing the pain of a humiliating Leinster Championship exit at the hands of Carlow, but the atmosphere amongst Lilly White supporters was not exactly jovial The only saving grace was that as first out in the draw, the Leinster side had home advantage, or at least they should have With Croke Park citing policing and crowd control around Newbridge with the Irish Derby being held in the Curragh on the same day, they unilaterally moved the match to Croke Park Ticket sales were opened for the double header in Dublin, with a GAA official quoted in the Irish Times as stating that “the game has been fixed for 7pm in Croke Park, and that is not going to change under any circumstances” Cian O’ Neill and Kildare had other ideas, and in an RTÉ interview, the manager maintained that “On Saturday night we’ll be in St Conleth’s Park”. Ultimately the GAA were swayed by public pressure and ultimately agreed to an all-ticket game in Newbridge with additional policing presence, with Kildare springing a shock to knock Mayo out of the championship

Diarmuid Connolly’s Magic Hat-Trick of Appeals

Having been issued a red card by referee Maurice Deegan for striking Colm Boyle in the 2015 All Ireland Semi-Final, a one match ban was issued to Diarmuid Connolly

With the Mayo game ending in a draw, a replay was to be played and both the player involved and Dublin were anxious to have one of their star players involved

A first appeal to the Central Hearings Committee was unsuccessful, as was a second appeal to the GAA’s Central Appeals Committee When that verdict came down, it was widely believed that Connolly would miss the replayed semi-final and the drama would come to a close However, the St Vincent’s clubman pleaded his case to the independent Disputes Resolution Authority, chaired by former Supreme Court justice Hugh O’Flaherty The appeal was successful on grounds that Connolly’s rights to fair procedure was breached, and he was cleared to play in the replay The series of appeals illustrate the failings within the modern system of justice and oversight offered by the GAA in cases of disciplinary proceedings The lack of sound, reputable institutions within the organisation to handle such matters places the finality of a referee’s decision firmly in the spotlight. Former Cork hurler Diarmuid ‘The Rock’ O’ Sullivan described the decision as “Setting a precedent ” for the GAA appeals process, and his sentiment was echoed by much of the nation The general message sent was that with enough resources, there are ways to circumnavigate the rules of the game and the organisation

Louth’s Leinster Hopes Thrown Away by Joe Sheridan

With Louth leading 1-10 to 0-12 points in the last minute of the 2010 Leinster Senior Football Final, Meath had a free and kicked it deep into the opposition half only to have it cleared away Meath won the ball back and kicked at goal but the shot was blocked and Joe Sheridan came across and fell over the goal line, effectively throwing the ball into the net Aaron Hoey of Louth pleaded with Martin Sludden to consult both umpires, yet the referee consulted only one umpire, before the green flag was waved once again In effect, the goal handed Meath the title, but the drama had not subsided With an air of injustice, Louth fans began aggressively protesting the result, invading the pitch and attempting to confront Sludden after the final whistle A steward was also injured by enraged spectators after being hit by a bottle

The Meath county board did not offer a replay as Clare had done in 1998, and as a result the GAA’s rules could not provide a solution An amendment to the rules of the game since has allowed the game to be replayed at the discretion of the GAA themselves

Back to the Future

As GAA people, all we want is to see the rules of the game applied consistently, with clarity and equality For far too long, the GAA has failed in its duty to make strong decisions in the interests of the game As seen with the recent Kilmacud v Glen soap opera, even when regulations exist which the GAA can use to solve issues (Rule 6 44 (ii)), the administration have been reluctant to make tough choices of their own accord Change has to come in the form of stronger decision making and clearer regulations, and that change must come fast If not, it won’t be long before players, managers and supporters begin to question what there is to play for.

THEROLEOFSPORTBEHINDTHEIRON CURTAIN

In 6 out of 8 appearances at the Summer Olympic Games, the Soviets were top of the medal haul But the sporting success was not necessarily produced in the most wholesome, athlete friendly environment Much of the Soviet Union's success can be directly linked to the governments tightly run sports programs, whereby sport was used as a means to cleanse their communist movement on the world stage An early example of what is now known as ‘sportswashing’

Physical education and sport came to prominence in the Soviet Union during the 1940’s Like all aspects of Soviet life, the physical education program was controlled by the Communist party and its development was harnessed and adjusted to suit the needs of the party Due to sports ability to achieve non-sport objectives, it was hijacked by the Communist party to politically indoctrinate and train the masses After the 1917 Russian revolution, sport was used as a means to prepare the population for defending the socialist state In 1948, the USSR sent experts to the London Olympics and subsequently entered the competition in 1952 thus signalling the beginning of a dominant era for the state The USSR was the major giant of the communist countries and it was the first country in the post-war period to utilise the full extent of the political significance of sport

‘Massovost’ (mass participation) was the central pillar of the program The result of this philosophy was the centrally controlled and organised program that made the state a sporting powerhouse on the international stage Sport was made available to everyone and, under the Communist party, became widely available for everyone This was a major change from the Tsar regime of the past where sport was mainly reserved for the elites in Russia

On the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched a full scale invasion on Ukraine and subsequently caused tens of thousands of deaths and the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War The mass devastation and disruption of the war on the lives of Ukrainians has been well documented and every day the scenes of the destruction are broadcast around the world Many armchair experts regularly make their predictions about the potential end result of this latest act of Russian Imperialism but who actually knows what the future holds for the citizens of Ukraine?

Certainly, we more often than not take sport far more seriously than what it should be and events like the war offer us a chance for perspective, but on the flip side, sport plays a vital part in our lives That is undeniable and Ukraine has given the world a wide range of sporting icons The Klitschko brothers in boxing, Andriy Shevchenko in football and Faina Melnik in athletics to name a few These sportspeople are legends in Ukraine and are embedded in the country’s identity on the international stage Following some research into these heroes, it became clear that they all grew up behind the Iron Curtain. They were introduced to their sports under the rule of the Communist Party Furthermore, it is interesting to investigate what sport looked like in the USSR

To do a quick sport history lesson, the Soviet Union lasted from 1922 to 1991 During this period, the sporting success of the Soviet Union was unprecedented, claiming an incredible 1,010 medals (395 Gold, 319 Silver and 296 Bronze)

The first step in the organisation of sport was the ‘kollektiv’ which was basically the spine of the sport system for the average person In 1967, there was 201, 876 kollektiv with 50,528, 200 members The kollektiv were set up in factories, offices, state farms, schools and higher education institutes with the goal of having people athletically organised at their place of work or study The financing of these kollektiv was provided by the state and trade unions They allocated considerable amounts of money to build stadiums, equipment, finance competitions and to pay coaches and instructors The exact figure spent on striving for sporting excellence was never made public by the Russian government

The dedication to sport is best evidenced by the sheer number of facilities recorded in 1975 By that time, in the USSR, there were 2,895 stadia, 42,000 gyms, 1,231 swimming pools and 90,000 soccer pitches with untold numbers of running tracks, basketball courts, ice rinks etc The most impressive sports complex was located in Moscow; the Central Lenin Stadium A 450-acre site, the complex had a stadium capable of hosting 105,000 people, a 50 metre swimming pool with seating to cater for 15,000 people, an ice arena with a capacity of 10,000, a 20,000 seater stadium able to host handball, volleyball, or volleyball, seven soccer pitches, two archery fields and thirty tennis courts

Like any good system of propaganda, it targets the next generation. There was only one youth organisation in the whole of the Soviet Union This organisation was divided into three categories based on the athletes age (Oktobrists for seven to ten year olds, Pioneers for ten to seventeen year olds and the Komsomols for the eighteen to twenty-five year olds) All children were encouraged or perhaps, more aptly, pressured into participation but entry into the Komsomols was far more selective and rigorous

Award systems were also established and controlled by the state The systems were Ready for Labour and Defense fitness programs and the All-Union Sports Classification System, each viewed as vital to ensuring participation for the Soviet sports program The goal of the first program was to make physical activity a part of the daily life of Soviet people across all age groups and to bring talented athletes to the fore The second program was used to award those for a high level of excellence in a particular sport The standards of excellence were set by the state from Class C to Honoured Master of Sport The two sport reward systems were successful in stimulating interest in athletic development and raised physical fitness levels across the population of the Soviet Union

The recent revelations into Russia’s state-sponsored doping program acted somewhat as a throwback to the similarly systematic approach to doping used in the USSR The state did not stop with just mass investment into sporting facilities- doping was everywhere

Before the Soviets announced a boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Soviet sport officials sent details to the head of track and field team The team should inject its top athletes with three kinds of anabolic steroids The officials provided measurements and timings to ensure optimal doping conditions. This operation was overseen by Dr Sergei Portugalov, who, nearly 40 years on, is viewed as a central figure in Russia’s doping controversy All of this information was leaked by the New York Times

The leaked document provided new evidence of how far back Russia’s statesponsored doping stretches but also how clandestine the operation was Two former KGB agents were accredited to work in the anti-doping centre during the Olympics “They filled the containers [of urine] that allegedly were from the athletes,” recounted Popov, who handled sports journalists at the time “Naturally, they didn’t have any doping, and that’s how these samples were clean.” “And if some kind of sample was really taken from an athlete in order to guarantee that there’d be nothing there, the samples were simply replaced with obviously clean ones,” he added Antidoping measures had first begun in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City By 1975, the International Olympic Committee had banned anabolic steroids, the drug often used with Soviet athletes The next year, at the Montreal Summer Olympics, 12 athletes were disqualified for using these steroids.But within four years, in Moscow, not a single disqualification for doping occurred. At the time, Moscow was under more than ordinary pressure to ensure that no scandals hampered the Games

The United States and 64 other countries had decided to boycott the Olympics in protest against the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

It seems like history repeating itself Russia is again under pressure for an unwarranted invasion but more specifically what does this systematic approach to doping tell us and the commitment investment in sport tell us about sport behind the Iron Curtain? Sport and politics were clearly intertwined and desperation in this area created a ruthless environment that bred a plethora of elite athletes but the role of sport was not what it was elsewhere It was not for play and love; but more so for political socialisation A strategy still in use today

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