An Focal (XXIV. Edition 10) by An Focal ULSU

VOL. XXIV Edition 10

CHARITY WEEK 2016

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MARCH 2016/1

INTERVIEW: FROM UL TO HARD KNOCKS HOSTEL

UL GAA CONTINUED SUCCESS Pg 9

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Labour and Renua hit with Election result disaster The Labour Party, formerly the government junior partner, has failed to retain the majority of its Dáil seats and returns with only seven TDs.

TOMÁS HENEGHAN THE other main surprise from General Election 2016 was Renua Ireland’s failure to win or retain any seats in the Dáil, despite the high profile of leader Lucinda Creighton. There also remains a possibility of a second election this year as no clear majority coalition has appeared on the political landscape, with the only viable options being a coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil or a minority government supported from the Opposition benches. Despite heavy campaigning last month, the Fine Gael-Labour coalition government failed to return its massive majority and now returns with a combined number of 57 TDs. The surprise winners were Fianna Fáil who have jumped from 20 TDs to 43, following their failed 2011 election campaign. The election counts went on until last Thursday morning, with Longford-Westmeath being the final constituency to return a full set of TDs. This delay was due to a recount of votes and was not the only such delay in the 40 constituencies following the Friday 26th February election. Dublin Bay North saw a recount and resultant delay, along with Dublin South Central and Dublin South West. The delays were mainly a result of disputes over the last seats in both the Dublin South Central and Dublin South West constituencies, where Bríd Smith of the Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit and former Independent Senator Katherine Zappone, respectively, were

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eventually declared the winners. Wins from the Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Proﬁt brought the grouping up to one Dáil seat off matching the Labour Party, with new TDs Mick Barry, Gino Kenny and

Bríd Smith. Former People Before Proﬁt TD Joan Collins was also returned in a four seat constituency along with Bríd Smith. Despite now holding 23 Dáíl seats, Sinn Féin on the other hand was expected to do much better and gain more seats, including in the ﬁve seat Galway West constituency which ended up returning two Fine Gael TDs.

However Sinn Féin saw success in Limerick City where local city councillor, Maurice Quinlivan won a seat over Fine Gael’s second Limerick TD, Kieran O’Donnell. Labour’s outgoing Eduction Minister, Jan O’Sullivan scrapped in at the last count to take back her seat in Limerick City. Outing Fine Gael Finance Minister Michael Noonan was also returned to the Dáil.

With no clear government formation, it is expected Enda Kenny will speak to Micheál Martin over the coming weeks about the options for the two parties going forward. All main parties including Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour, Sinn Féin, AAA-PBP, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and Renua also secured more than the required 2% vote share to gain state funding for their parties.

Leinster House, where 158 TDs are due to begin work this week. PHOTO: HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS

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March 2016/1 NEWS

ULSU President hits Krakow for first UL Jailbreak The University of Limerick’s Students’ Union (ULSU) President, Colin Clarke led the first UL group of students to Poland last month as UL joined the charity competition, Jailbreak for the first time.

TOMÁS HENEGHAN MR Clarke’s team was the first UL group to arrive in Krakow, which was the ‘Location X’ endpoint of the competition. Describing the journey from Dublin to Poland and back again as “surreal”, Mr Clarke said: “[Jailbreak was] one of the best experiences of my life.” He explained: “The concept is fantastic as it brings together people from all colleges and you get to learn about other students’ unions too.” This year’s Jailbreak saw 220 students participate and was the first year UL students took part in the charity fundraising effort. Mr Clarke’s team began at Dublin Airport with a free trip to airport in a taxi. They then managed to get a free breakfast from the Dublin Airport Authority. After landing in Amsterdam and speaking to locals, Mr Clarke’s team solved the clue for ‘Location Y’, which was Warsaw, and set about finding a way to get there. However the flights were too expensive and so the team travelled by bus to Berlin and on to Warsaw by train. While on the train, the team were confronted by a ticket collector and not having any tickets, the team were forced to try to explain their situation. Eventually they paid €12, which was well below the original €200 ticket price. A further train to Krakow saw the team reach its final destination before the other 12

CREDITS EDITOR: Tomás Heneghan DEPUTY EDITOR: Eilís Walsh SPORT EDITOR: Marisa Kennedy IRISH EDITOR: Fay Langley CONTRIBUTORS: Áine Curtin, Aisling O’Connor, Anna Parkes, Cian Reinhardt, Ciara Corcoran, Claire O’Brien, Colin Clarke, Dave Tierney, Emily Kelly, Emma Craven, Frank Stafford, Graham Sturdy, Ilyana Keohane, Jamesy McConigley, Kiera Thornton, Kristofer Harte, Lauren Guilfoyle, Maoilíosa Ní Loideáin, Orlagh Ní Choisdealbha, Quinn Forskitt, Rachel Ní Mhórdha, Seamus Toomey, Seán McKillen, Shane McNamara, Shauna Ní Shé, Stephen O'Riordan, Tanya Crotty, UL Badminton Club PRINTING & LAYOUT: Midland Web Printing

UL teams. Mr Clarke’s group then travelled to Paris and in the confusion of the competition, they arrived at the wrong airport. However the team set a price

with a man in the airport to drive them to the right airport an hour before their flight. One the highlights of Mr Clarke’s journey for charity was receiving CCTV footage

from a bar in Krakow where some of his team had fallen asleep during their journey. On the return flight to Shannon Airport, the flight crew also bought into the

charity competition and strapped the charity bucket into a seat. Mr Clarke told An Focal he hopes more UL students participate in Jailbreak next year, after funds from this year’s initiative went to St Vincent De Paul and Amnesty International.

Pay increase for student nurses and midwives from beginning of this month TOMÁS HENEGHAN STUDENT nurses and midwives saw an increase in their pay from 55 percent to 70 percent of the 1st point of the Staff Nurse salary scale from the beginning of this month. The decision to increase the pay grade was announced prior to the General Election last month by then Minister for Health Leo Varadkar and now former Minister for Mental Health, Primary Care and Social Care, Kathleen Lynch. The change was made in conjunction with the then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin and is a result of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. This change means an increase in the rate of pay for the clinical nursing and midwifery placement by 4th year student nurses and midwives

and is expected to affect 1,400 students nurses nationwide. The planned change is expected to impact University of Limerick (UL) nursing and midwifery students at the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at the institution. University of Limerick Students’ Union (ULSU) Academic Officer, Marian O’Donnell welcomed the news on behalf of the Union labelling it “absolutely fantastic”. She said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news that our student nurses and midwives got the pay increase they have fought so hard for and deserve. “This has been an on-going battle for our students for a number of years and it’s a credit to both our current UL students and our graduates who campaigned & paved the way to this point. “Our students are expected

to put in a huge amount of work when they are on placement and it is only fair that their pay reflects the work they do.” The move was welcomed by various unions including the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), as well as other nursing unions nationally. On the increased pay plans, INMO General Secretary, Liam Doran said: “The INMO welcomes this restoration as it moves some way to correct a serious wrong done to young nurses and midwives in 2011/12. “We also acknowledge the recognition, by Ministers Kathleen Lynch, Brendan Howlin and Leo Varadkar, that this issue had to be addressed and that paying young nurses/ midwives less than the minimum wage was wrong

and could not be continued. “The INMO will continue to pursue the outstanding issue of granting incremental credit to recent graduates. We believe that this is necessary in our continuing effort to recruit, and retain, young graduate nurses/midwives to our health service which remains severely understaffed.” Meanwhile President of the USI, Kevin Donoghue said: “USI welcomes the action by the government to relieve the strain on financially crippled student nurses.” However Mr. Donoghue added: “While we are happy at the progress made, we are disappointed that the same incremental credit could not be applied to those who have qualified since 2011; and from whom it was removed, but acknowledge that the Department of Public expenditure and Reform has agreed to set

up a review of the effects of the reduction of this incremental credit on the ability of the Health Services to retain and recruit qualifying nurses and Midwives.” Further changes which came into effect at the beginning of the month include: • during the 36 week clinical placement the pay of the fourth year shall equal 70% of the staff nurse scale or €9.48 per hour; • 16 weeks after graduation the newly registered nurse/midwife will move to the second point of the scale (€29,497) which represents an increase of over €2,000; • the new arrangements also provide for a further review, and discussions, on the outstanding issue of granting retrospective incremental credit for the graduate classes of 2011 – 2015

Ninth annual UL Medical Ball raises over €6k for pediatric fund UL MEDICAL SOCIETY ON Saturday February 20th the UL Medical Society hosted its 9th annual Medical Ball at The Strand Hotel. This year marked one of the biggest yet for the event, attracting 440 guests and raising €6,700 for the Pediatric Oncology Fund at University Hospital Limerick. The guests comprised mainly UL GEMS students and faculty, and the class was pleased to have 115 out of the 130 4th year students attending. This year’s theme was Casino Royale, with the ballroom decked out in red, white, and black décor.

The evening started as usual with a champagne reception in the hotel’s lobby, followed by an evening of dinner and dancing in the Shannon Suite. Andrew Sheeran and Renee Neeson, violinists completing their Masters in Classical String performance at UL, provided music during the reception. Louise and Hatem of the UL Photography Society were also present to capture the event on camera, and took many outstanding photos of the evening. This year HIYA Entertainment provided wonderful entertainment during dinner, and blackjack and roulette tables after the meal were a great hit

with students and staff alike. Prizes for the night included a one night stay at The Strand, one night at The Clarion Hotel,

two nights at Breaffy House Resort Mayo, two rounds of golf at the Ballyneety Golf Club, a voucher for the

Pavilion at UL, 10 UL Sport Class passes, a voucher for The Cornstore, a full day hike courtesy of UL Outdoor Pursuits Club, two free passes for the Omniplex Limerick Crescent Cinema, a voucher for two to Delish, and a wash, cut, and blowdry at Niall Colgan Hairdressing. The UL Medical Society would also like to thank its sponsors for their generous donations, the funds from which will be going to the Pediatric Oncology Fund. Sponsors include MPS, MedMark, the Irish Medical Organization, AIB, and Ulster Bank.

March 2016/1 POSTGRAD

Postgraduates: Know your rights The world of postgraduate studies is an often-confusing place, filled with new challenges, experiences and potential pitfalls. Those on taught postgraduate programmes get the benefit of module outlines and course descriptions, while research postgraduates often find themselves thrown in at the deep end. To help both taught and research students, here is a quick guide to your rights as a UL postgraduate. It is very important that all students avail of the rights and support systems that they are entitled to in order to help them have the best university experience possible.

DECLAN MILLS Funding Many departments and faculties offer internal funding in the form of fee waivers and scholarships. These often come with conditions attached, one of the most common being that research postgraduates in receipt of such funding have to tutor for a certain number of hours a week. Make sure to ask for the conditions of your funding in writing when you are first offered it, so that there can be no subsequent confusion. Beyond that, the university occasionally offers other sources of funding, such as the UL40 scholarships for taught Masters programmes in 2012. At the state level, your best bet are the Irish Research Council scholarships, but remember you can only be rejected twice before being disqualified from future applications.

Employment Another source of income for postgraduates is working for the university. The Centre For Teaching and Learning and the Disability Office will employ postgraduates for various jobs including notetaking, working as an Orientation Guide, peer tutoring in the Regional Writing Centre and working for the First Seven Weeks programme. Students working in these positions are generally paid through the UL payroll system, which involves filling out a Casual Temporary Setup Form and getting it signed off on by your employer so you can fill out online claim forms for the hours you worked. You need to have claimed your hours by the second Friday of the month in order to be paid by the end of the month, which means that if you work during the end of a month and finish work on the last day of that month, you won’t get paid until the end of the following month. Bear in mind that often your employer will be handling a lot of administrative work and you may need to politely remind them to process your pay claim. You should also ask for a contract when you begin. You can also work indirectly for the university by being hired by Unijobs as an exam invigilator. These positions are only open to research postgraduates and while the hours are long the pay is quite reasonable. They pay out on

the 25th of each month and operate their own system for claiming hours that is independent of the UL payroll system. Just bear in mind that as you will be earning a lump sum of several hundred euro in two weeks you’re likely to be emergency taxed, and you will need to claim that tax back yourself. The final source of employment on campus is as a tutor in your department. These positions are mostly open to research postgraduates although taught postgraduates have also been known to work as tutors on occasion. In departments that offer fee waivers, many tutors will be working unpaid for at least some of their teaching hours, while those that are payed use the same Casual Temporary Setup Forms as other postgraduate employees. Most UL faculties have template contracts for their constituent departments to use when employing postgraduates, and those that do not have firm contracts have guidelines on employment conditions. It is ULPSU’s position that all postgraduate tutors – whether paid tutors or teaching in exchange for fee waivers – should be given a contract to sign, and we are working with faculty and department heads to this end. It is worthwhile noting that neither tutors’ pay nor duties are standardised across the university, so tutors in different departments and faculties are likely to have widely varying experiences.

Assessment Requirements For taught postgraduates, the question of assessment requirements is very clearcut, and works along the same lines as the undergraduate system. Assessment requirements will be on the module outline at the start of the

semester and will be from the usual selection of lab work/ group project work/presentation/written assignment/ performance piece/exam. With research postgraduates, generally the only assessment they have is their thesis (although STEM postgraduates will also often be drawn into existing group research projects). During the course of a research postgraduate degree, most research students will attend yearly progression panels which determine whether they have completed enough work to progress to the next year of their programme. The metric for determining progression should be explained to students and information any change to that metric should be distributed clearly and quickly.

Health, Welfare and Quality of Life All postgraduates are entitled to use the Campus Medical Centre (which charges a subsidised rate) and the Counselling Service (which is free). Students suffering from difficult financial services can get in touch with ULPSU about availing of the Student Hardship Fund and the Childcare Bursary as appropriate. All postgraduates, whether taught or research, are entitled to join as many of UL Wolves’ clubs and societies as they like, and also have the use of the PSU Common Room, which provides a microwave, kettle, and seating area with comfy couches and coffee tables. ULSPU also runs social events such as the PSU Ball to help provide a context for postgraduates to meet and socialise with each other.

Recourse Postgraduate students have

a number of options available to them when it comes to dealing with problems they encounter. Any queries about a module should be first directed to the module head, and any thesis-related queries to one’s supervisor. If that does not work, the next step for taught postgraduates is to turn to their elected Class Rep (and it is vitally important that people put themselves

forward for Class Rep positions). If the Class Rep needs help resolving the issue, they turn to the appropriate Faculty Rep on the ULPSU Council (there is one for each faculty in UL), and the Faculty Reps in turn can go to the Faculties Rep on the ULPSU Executive. At this point, if the Faculties Rep feels more support is needed, they turn to the PSU President for assistance. For

research postgraduates, the start with their Faculty Rep as there are no classes and therefore no Class Rep. If a student is having serious trouble or simply is unsure who their representative is, they can of course go higher up the chain by themselves, contacting the Faculties Rep, Vice-President or President. It is worthwhile noting that many department and faculty heads are open to being approached by individual postgraduates about issues they are facing within their department, so that is another available route. In the event that a dispute arises that requires a sit-down meeting involving members of staff and postgraduate students, the postgraduates are entitled to request that a representative of ULPSU attend the meeting with them to help advocate for them. And student who is employed as a tutor by the university on an ongoing basis is also entitled to join UNITE if they so wish.

March 2016/1 GAEILGE

Surfáil éinne? RACHEL NÍ MHÓRDHA IS í surfáil an spóirt is nua aimseartha, is "cool" le deanaí agus nach méanfar dúinn go bhfuil na tonnta is fearr ar domhan againn anseo ar chóstaí na hÉireann! Sa ghliúin seo, ina bhfuil an teicneolaoícht ag teacht go mór chun chinn agus ár saolta ag brath ar na meáin sóisialta, muid gafa lenár bhfón pócaí den chuid is mó den ama agus strus uafásach den saol ag cur de dhíth orainn ón saol mór thimpeall orainn, is í surfáil an slí is fearr chun do scíth a ligeadh agus éalú ó gach gnéith den saol! Tá surfáil in Éirinn tar éis teacht chun chinn ollmhór a dhéanamh laistigh de

20 bhliain anuas ón am go raibh na chéad na dtonnta surfálta sna 60idí. Ó shin, tá Éire tar éis na fíor laoich a fhesicint cosúil le;Kevin Cavey, Hugh O'Brien Mooran agus le déanaí ;Fergal Smith, Easkey Britton agus Alastair Menniy. Tá an t-ádh derag linn nach bhfuil muid ach 50 nóiméad sa ghluaisteán ón na dtonnta is fearr in Éirinn i Lahinch ( nó sa Domhain!) Agus níos mó ná sin, tá Club Surfála ar fáíl in Ollscoil Luimnigh agus díríonn said, ní amháin ar dhaoine le chuid mhaith taithí, ach go mór le tosnatheoirí freisin. Is slí an-éasca é chun cairdeas a dhéanamh ag na seisiún sa linn snámh, ar na turais miniciúl nó ﬁú amháin ag na ranganna Pilates! Bain traill aisti agus geallaim duit nach mbeidh sé amháin mar chaitheamh aimsire ach mar shlí bheatha!

Adventure of a lifetime:

Jailbreak 2016

Hiking boots, multiple pairs of socks, energy sachets, a well needed map of Europe, a tin whistle, deodorant, An Ghaeilge stickers to spread the love, a pack of cards, a travel diary, a camera to document our madness, Irish flag, banana outfit and of course, 200 bananas sponsored by Fyffes Ireland.

Culaith an lae

FAY LANGLEY THESE were the contents of our backpacks for Team Banana (Dara Murphy and Fay Langley) for Jailbreak 2016. With 36 hours to get to Location X, the aim of the game was to blag our way across the globe, by bagging romantic bus rides, glorious train journeys, or simply anything we could get for free to venture through estranged countries. Of course, this was all in aid of two fantastic charities; Amnesty International and Saint Vincent de Paul which I can't stress enough how amazing the work they do is. Each team had a target of €400 to raise in aid of these charities and Jailbreak surpassed their suspected target of €50,000 and raised over a whopping €53,000. Our adventure started off at Collin's Barracks at 9am sharp with a clue regarding where in the World we may have been heading towards! My team had 200 bananas to load off in order for us to hopefully gather donations for our travels and we ended up collecting well over a 100 euro in Dublin City alone. Clues were revealed every 2 hours which added to the thrill of the rat race! Kindly, Dublin Bus let us ride out to Dublin Airport for free to catch our ﬂight to Bremen in Germany which was generously sponsored by Cape

SHAUNA NÍ SHÉ Cad is ainm duit? Ciara Jaffray is ainm domsa! Cén aois thú? Táim 21 bliain d’aois. Cén cúrsa atá á dhéanamh agatsa faoi láthair? Táim ag stadéar ‘Guth is Damhsa’ san Acadamh. Cárbh as duitse? Is an Uíbh Fhailí dom féin. Is breá liom do stíl! Inis dom faoi céard atá á chaitheamh agat! Ah go raibh míle! Bhuel, fuair mé an gheansaí i Lifestyle Sport i gcomhair €75, an t-léine i Penneys do €8, na brístí géana dubh i Penneys chomh maith ar feadh €10. Slad mhargadh iontach nach ea?! Fuair mé na brógaí reatha ﬁonnuar i New Balance don phraghas €47! Tá an CAL ( culaith an lae) seo foirfe i gcomhair lá gnóthach ag rith ó léacht amháin go dtí léacht eile san aimsir neamh tuartha atá againn na laethanta seo. Woah slad mhargaí den scoth gan dabht! Go raibh míle maith agatsa as ucht labhairt liom a Chiara!

Clear Ferries. We made it to central Europe, therefore things were looking up for us and we decided to team up with 3 other teams who also flew on the same flight as us. We divided the cost of a train to Hamburg where we were accompanied by a lovely German guy called Melvin who basically served as a tour guide, a translator and who also played the ukulele. We finally had to part ways with Melvin and had to vouch for ourselves and made a consecutive decision to head towards Berlin as it had been finally revealed to us that Warsaw was Location Y. We had many encounters with German passengers on the trains jamming along with us and our ukuleles, taking videos and photos of us and even threw us a few euro here and there. We finally made it to the boarder of Germany and Poland to a town called Cottbus where things were looking hairy for a while; limited German to communicate with others, arrived at 3:30am without a soul about the place, funds looking pretty low to cater for our travel to Warsaw, no sleep for a solid 32 hours and limited energy or motivation.. Although, despite all, we made it to Warsaw with the help of the ever so kind German police who donated money to us and also sorted our train tickets out for us! At this stage, we were all drunk with fatigue, we were

Lá stairiúl I Luimneach le haghaigh comhairleoir Sinn Féin Maurice Quinlivan ORLAGH NÍ CHOISDEALBHA BA é Maurice Quinlivan an chéad Sinn Féin Teachta Dála ar feadh 93 bliain I

Luimneach mar sin bhain sé amach staitistic an-stáiriúl. Thóg sé an dara suíocháin le 10,517 votaí ar iomlán. Bhí na páipéirí nuachtán neamhspléach an- léirmheastach

I dtreo Sinn Féin le linn an bhfeachtais mar sin is torradh do-chreidte é seo le haghaidh Sinn Féin. Léiríonn Maurice go bhfuil sé an buíoch as an tacaíocht ar

fad, tá sé ar mire séin leis an torradh iontach a bhain sé amach tar éis an obair ar fad a bhí curtha isteach leis an ullmhúcháin le haghaidh an olltoghcháin.

Lá fuadrach a bhí ann le haghaidh páirtí polaitíochta na hÉireann ach tá na torthaí amach anois agus tá rudaí nua go dul i bhfeidhm.

hungry, we were lacking motivation but we had finally been told that Kraków was the final Location X AND we were told that we were in 3rd place. At 7:30pm on Sunday the 21st of February, we had finally arrived at Kraków train station with such a feeling of pride and accomplishment. Unfortunately, we were finally placed at 15th overall however, we were all ever so proud of our efforts and our outstanding team work skills that had been combusted at last minute with the other teams we had alliance with! We all travelled to Kraków without using any of our own funds which is absolutely amazing and highlights the utter generosity of people in today's world although that said, we all had to make our own ways home. We decided to milk out the experience in the cheapest as possible way by catching a bus to Prague for €16 to roam the gorgeous city, then by heading onto Eindhoven in Netherlands for €19 by plane, spending a night in a rustic hostel and then back home for €43 by flight. 9 trains, 6 buses, 3 flights and we were finally home! I honestly won't know how it feels to not sleep on public transport to substitute for a bed! Best craic and best experience ever. I implore any one to go out and do Jailbreak.

March 2016/1 THROUGH THE LENS

Game of Thrones star, Kristian Nairn plays UL’s 2016 Charity Week

UL’s icon Brown Thomas

Queue’s grow for Charity Week tickets

UL’s Living Bridge. PHOTO: MARISA KENNEDY

UL Wolves prepare for Charity Week’s Rave of Thrones

UL’s Plassey House on a sunny day. PHOTO: EILÍS WALSH

UL Rowing Club. Photo: UL Clubs and Societies

The Academic play this year’s Charity Week. PHOTO: MAOILÍOSA NÍ LOIDEÁIN

March 2016/1 POLITICS

Abortions for some, miniature Kerry flags for others TOMÁS HENEGHAN “Abortions for all.” “Booo!” “Very well. No abortions for anyone.” “Booo!” “Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others.” And that’s how elections go. You make promises, most of which you can either never keep to, or you must compromise on to go into power. General Election 2016 saw this reality played out for dozens of TDs and political hopefuls as their previous promises were dropped in favour of power and now the electorate demanded their blood. While the promise of abortions were not enough to save one party from almost certain demise, others faced the abortion of their own parties on Saturday and Sunday of the election count. Lucinda Creighton, Renua Ireland leader was the fatal casualty of GE16, as the Green were five years ago. As the hours ticked by, each of the party’s 26 candidates were wiped from the political map, with Creighton herself hitting the road before the last of her

election hopefuls. Late on Sunday night, one journalist commented on Twitter: “So Renua was a crisis that needed to be terminated #RepealtheCreight”. This was obviously a play on the circumstances behind the creation of the grouping which eventually became Renua. Dismissed from Fine Gael for opposing the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, which gave effect to the constitutional right to abortion in certain circumstances, Lucinda lead a number of her fellow TDs and Senators to the Opposition benches to wait out their sentences until 2016. Creighton took a risk though and formed her new party, a party which would take no stance on the issue of abortion, yet attracted many anti-abortion activists and voters. Perhaps it was the proposed flat-tax, the mandatory prison sentences or the prospect of holding parents responsible for their wayward offspring? Whatever the reason, Creighton’s party was all but aborted by the Irish electorate and have now left the building with 2.2 percent of vote. State funding has now been dropped on the party, so with another

But has anything really changed?

three years to wait for the local elections, there could be a rebirth and revival.

A kingdom with two kings Despite Renua’s losing streak, two victors did emerge in the mess and confusion that was General Election 2016. Their names: Michael HealyRae and Danny Healy-Rae of the now Healy-Rae dynasty. Topping the poll on count 1 with over 20,000 votes (one and a half times the quota) was Michael, the returning TD

renowned for his traditional flatcap who stepped into the helm for his now deceased father. However the shock was that on count 2 his brother Danny, now a first time TD, was also elected and the pair will now represent Kerry in what could be the highest form of parish-pump politics to be seen this side of the 21st century. If you were in the business of selling miniature flags, now would be the time to invest in the green and yellow flags of the Kingdom.

The two and half party system is dead, as declared by so many after the General Election results began to roll in. But now we’re facing into a double hit of “unknown territory” and “the same old politics”. Yes, the Labour Party is returning with 7 TDs but the party can hardly be considered dead and buried. The Green Party who went in three general elections from no TDs, to six and a government party, back to none and back up now again to two. As for the two big hitters of Irish politics, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, they may not have come out of the election with a clear and outright winner as they have so often in the past, but they remain the main players in the game. Between them, the pair continue to hold the keys to power. A scene from the Simpsons (back when it was good, even enjoyable to watch) perfectly matches the Irish electorate’s view of the political system in this country. “It’s a two party system, you have to vote for one of us,” declares one alien after

impersonating one of the US presidential candidates. A lone voice from the audience replies: “I believe I’ll vote for a third party candidate.” “Go ahead, throw your vote away,” is the response given. Now, we know how effective smaller parties and independent TDs can be, especially from the performances in the 31st Dáil from 2011 to this January. However in forming policy and legislation, these tasks remain the firm hands of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. Even if either of the two big parties decide to form a rainbow coalition to avoid going into power with each other, there will remain junior partners who will have to compromise on their policies more and who will have less of a voice in policy creation and implementation. Power rests with the civil war parties still, despite talk of political upheaval and earthquakes. The other sure thing about Irish general elections, which is perfectly exemplified in this year’s election, is that the smaller groups and parties, the babies in the relationship are chewed up and spit out whenever they do attempt to share the keys of the kingdom. Just ask Joan and Lucinda.

They are, like is so often said of rules, made to be broken. Even the great icon of the working class, Pat Rabbitte once said of making election promises: “Isn’t that what you tend to do during an election?” He was right though, that’s exactly what election season means. You’re obliged to make wild promises like reducing tax, fixing the health service, ending the scandal of patients left on hospital trolleys. That’s politics. The question now that

the election is over is, will this Grand Coalition now be formed (solely in the interests of the ordinary people of this country of course) and if such a revolutionary (the loosest sense of the word) move is to take place, how long will it last? Can Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael stay together once they birth this Grand Coalition? Shaking up the political system or just putting to bed century-old minor rivalries? We’re all watching. Your move Menda.

Are we ready for Menda’s Grand Coalition? TOMÁS HENEGHAN “Enda Kenny, what’s it to be? Micheál Martin?” “Labour. Labour.” “So you’re not going to do business with Micheál Martin, under any circumstances?” “Certainly not.” This is the conversation which took place between Claire Byrne and Enda Kenny three weeks ago in UL’s

Concert Hall. Kenny was firm, clear and concise. He would not be working with Micheál Martin in a fledgling coalition, the likes of which has never been seen since the foundation of the State. He would work with Labour, end of story. Now, as we are left reeling from the General Election with its surprise winners and its unpredicted losers, Enda sings a different tune. Labour is now no longer a viable partner and

its TDs are banished to the benches of Opposition to serve out their penance, as Fianna Fáil had done for the past five years. The Grand Coalition, as envisaged by numerous public opinion polls, the media and the general public is now a real possibility, with Kenny declaring, before Saturday’s count night was at its end, that he would have to do what was best for the country and form a stable government - a clear hint at what everyone already knew. Civil war politics is at its end, or nearly, depending on what happens between the time of printing and the time this article becomes available to be read. Does this mean however that Enda lied? No. Politics is one of the rarest of fields of public service where lies simply do not exist. Dáil privilege allows anything, truthful or otherwise, to be declared loudly by any of

the now 158 TDs (157 if you exclude the Ceann Comhairle) and nothing much, aside from a figurative slap on the wrist, can realistically be done about it. TDs in elections tell the public “we wont increase third level fees”, “we wont introduce water charges”, “we’ll never go into government with X,Y or Z (especially Z, he’s a real rotten apple)”. The helping of salt recommended when consuming political promises, especially during election season, leans more towards the 5kg bag than the pinch usually applied to questionable claims in any other circumstance. But, again, these are not lies. They are hopes, ambitions, goals, all open to the golden c word. Yes, compromise. All parties, left to right and every shade of red, blue, purple or green in between, are open to compromise. No compromise, no coalition. No coalition, no government. No government, well, anarchy, upheaval, the destruction of the State itself... apparently. Election promises are aspirations and nothing more.

March 2016/1 POLITICS

Time for age quotas? With a goal of increasing female representation in Irish politics, the last government, for the first time in a general election, introduced gender quotas. The quota required 30 percent of election candidates selected by a party to be women.

TOMÁS HENEGHAN THERE were disputes, court battles, arguments and straightup petulance from some male members of some parties over the quotas but they worked, each party had more than 30 percent female candidates in the lead-in to last month’s General Election 2016. However the question of gender quotas has the potential to throw up new ideas for many groups in society. There were strong attempts this year to engage younger people in the political process and perhaps they did engage more than in other elections, that has yet to be determined. What we must ask though is, if we, as young citizens, are to be encouraged to engage more with politics, would it not be helpful to see politicians like us, politicians who understand us. And enter the idea of age quotas. Should there be age quotas for each party, through which they must also ensure 30 percent of their candidates in an election are below the age of 35? An interesting statistic parties are unlikely to brag about in the post-election

ﬁasco that is currently engulfing Irish politics, is that only eleven of the new (and returning) 158 TDs are under the age of 35 years. 7 percent of the 32nd Dáil are under the age of 35. Apparently, or so I hear, we were going to vote for change, we did vote for change. However we have to ask why, in so far as age-representation goes, we are still massively underrepresented in our national parliament. Youth unemployment, emigration, college fees, and an accommodation crisis are all issues still heavily affecting the youth of Ireland. Our generation understands what is means to be young in Ireland right now, yet the majority of those deciding on the laws and policies of the nation are primarily above the 50-year mark. You can of course argue, these older politicians know younger people, they have children and grandchildren, they are part of parties with young wings. But is that enough? A common comment about politics from younger people and students is that it’s boring. That should be no surprise when you look at the

reality of Irish politics - it is primarily older men (and some women) arguing about issues on tv, radio and in newspapers, many of which will likely never directly affect them. Take for example the Eight Amendment and the debate of the issue of abortion. Will returned Limerick former Finance Minister, Michael Noonan ever experience a crisis pregnancy? No, probably not. Will Joan Burton or Frances Fitzgerald face an accident with a broken condom? Again, very unlikely. Shane Ross of the Independent Alliance? Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats? No, very unlikely. This is not to say the voices of all these politicians aren’t useful and important. The issue is that there remains a strong disconnect between the representatives we have and the realities of the lives we as younger people live. Similar to gender quotas of course, there is no way of democratically ensuring the electorate, as unpredictable as it has now become, will elect younger candidates. Take for example the referendum last year to lower the age of presidential candidates from 35 to

21. That initiative was torn apart by the electorate. They (or perhaps we) were having none of it. A 21-year-old couldn’t be let become head of State. A 34-year-old, similarly, couldn’t be allowed into the race for president in the future. However, much like gender quotas, by forcing parties to put younger candidates forward to the electorate, it might allow the electorate more ﬂexibility in choosing TDs. Despite ministerial posts often being seen by parties as a reward for years of loyalty to the party and its leader, we’ve also seen the effectiveness of younger government ministers. They can work just as tirelessly as

70-year-old party loyalists. As of General Election 2016, no such age quota exists. The leaders though in the youth TD category are currently Fine Gael, with first time TD Noel Rock (28), returning junior minister Simon Harris (29), returning TDs Helen McEntee (29), Eoghan Murphy (33) and Brendan Griffin (34). In second place is Fianna Fáil with first timers Jack Chambers (25), Lisa Chambers (29), and returning TD Robert Troy (34). Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (26) and Kathleen Funchion (34), as well as the Anti Austerity Alliance’s Paul Murphy (32) also hit the below-35 marker.

As this newspaper goes to print there is still talk of a second general election within the year, no clear government, no clear options, no one willing to do the needed deal with someone else to form a stable government. As a result now is the perfect time to pitch age quotas. Perhaps stubbornness will be overcome and a government will be formed and age quotas are to be put on the back-burner, however it’s never too early to plant the seeds and open the discussion. The question remains: Is it time for younger faces in Irish politics?

Time to talk about direct provision CIAN REINHARDT VOTING is done. A new Government is on its way and with it comes the hopes of promises and change. In the past ﬁve years we have seen water charges introduced, household charges added and a referendum giving equality in marriage. Though we have seen these changes, there is a part of society that has not changed. For the past 15 years Ireland’s asylum process has not changed, and may not get the change it needs for some time. “It has only been in the last 18 months that we’ve seen any sort of movement on the issue of Direct Provision. General election-time aside, the issue of Direct Provision just hasn’t been addressed in the past 15 years,” said Aideen Roche of Doras Luimní, an NGO aimed at promoting human rights and the well-being of migrants. Over those 18 months,

Government established the Working Group that would conduct a report on the Direct Provision system and look at many ways to improve the system. People can spend on average three years living in Direct Provision with many spending as much as 12 years in the system. That is two changes of Government without the ability to have any input in general elections. “Unfortunately, it was quite positive to see the issue of Direct Provision to ﬁnally be mentioned in the manifestos. I say unfortunately because it was the ﬁrst time it happened in 15 years,” said Ms Roche. Does this mean that we can expect change during the next term of Government? Looking at the manifestos put forward by the three leading parties in this election (Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin) we might not see much change. Realistically, we will have

either a Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil led Government. Fine Gael aims to “reform the Direct Provision system” by placing focus on families and children in the system, but does not mention any need to install a new system overall. As part of “an Ireland for all” in Fianna Fáil’s manifesto, they aim to spend €4 million to “improve Direct Provision”. They say they will increase the adult weekly allowance from €19.10 to €38.74 and the child allowance from €9.60 to €29.80. The manifesto does not mention if these raises are deducted from the €4 million mentioned. Speaking about the manifestos Aideen Roche said: “Residents of Direct Provision would love an increase in their allowance, they’ve already been promised that, it’s already been recommended in the Working Group report and it is something that should have happened a very long time ago.” Of the three leading

parties, Sinn Féin is the only group that sees a need to end the Direct Provision system. The party believes there is a need to replace the system with a non-proﬁt model that

has “integration and humanrights best practice at its core”. Ms Roche concluded: “You are getting excited about seeing something in

the manifestos, knowing that doesn’t necessarily mean much going forward. I think we are being fairly cautious about our optimism for change in the coming years.”

March 2016/1 CHARITY WEEK

Rave of Thrones EILÍS WALSH

THIS was an event that most people were looking forward to. For those that somehow don’t know about Game of Thrones, it’s a world renowned fantasy TV show. There’s dragons, incest (YES I KNOW) and that’s it. (Not really). But UL’s ENTS team managed to secure a performance from Kristian Nairn, an Irish actor who happens to play man of few words, Hodor from the TV show. I will have to admit I was very surprised when I heard about it. Yes, I was excited but I was surprised. I am one of those millions of Game of Thrones fans but I also was skeptical. Hodor? DJing? I had never heard of it. Was he any good? UL ENTS knew what they were doing getting this performance however.

First of all, the music that would be played is really appealing to college students. It’s what they listen to before a night out and then actually in the clubs. Working for An Focal, I had the privilege of getting a pass into the performance with my friend Pamela as my plus one. There was an electric atmosphere in The Stables. By the time we were ﬁnally allowed outside, chants of “Ho-dor, Ho-dor, Ho-dor” were breaking out among the throngs of students jostling for a good position. The DJs before Mr Kristian Nairn were surprisingly good. I have to be biased and speak out about the female DJ Sarah Hayes, who did both a fantastic job and looked ﬂawless at the event. I was delighted at the reception to her and the other DJs.

It just shows that we’ve very talented people in our university. By the time this set was over the crowd were craving the man event. I remember not being able to breathe as it was so crowded. I wrapped my arms around my friend, who is considerably shorter than I am, so I could prevent her being squashed by the taller people there. It was midnight by the time Mr Nairn made his way on stage, where he exclaimed “It’s been 17 years since I’ve been DJing in Limerick”. He was greeted by loud cheers and calls of “Hodor”. The man is one of the tallest people I have ever seen, but had a really big grin on his face. A stand out tune was an excellent remix of Birdy’s “Keeping Your Head Up”, which had me grooving to my heart’s content. My friend kept laughing at

Kristian’s foot tapping the whole way through, but I’m not sure why. Some of the tunes played didn’t have words, but what they had was amazing beats. I can still dance to instrumentals. It’s all about the beat. At the end of the night myself and Pamela found ourselves at the very front of the crowd, dancing away. After pulling a very happy Sam (co-op in the reception) to the front, we threw big grins at our dear friend Keith Quinlan and lo and behold we found ourselves getting a photo with Kristian Nairn himself. So a big thank you to Keith, a man some refer to as “king” of the SU and Kristian Nairn himself for providing us with great entertainment.

The Academic EILÍS WALSH

TUESDAY was day three of UL’s Charity week. There was great excitement as one of the main gigs of the week would be The Academic playing in Dolans. These boys had previously played for the university before, supporting Hudson Taylor in a gig hosted by UL Music Soc. However, this time these Mullingar boys would be the main event. There were a few support acts on in Dolans Warehouse such as Guilty Page and Dáithi but one that stood out the most in my opinion was The New Social. A ﬁve piece band from Mayo, these boys sang their own original tunes for the crowd which were received really well. I remarked to my friend

Maoilíosa that the lead singer’s vocals sounded a lot like that of the lead singer of Kerry band Walking on Cars. However they still had a uniqueness to their tunes, ranging from sad ballads to upbeat tunes to dance to. The Academic themselves graced the stage at about 11pm to rapturous cheers. Something I noted about their set is the band knew the right balance of tunes to suit the ground. They played sweet tunes such as “Northern Boy”, a song that tugged at my heartstrings a little bit and made me emotional. But then they played well known “Sometimes” and a banger of a tune called “Different”, the ﬁrst tune I ever heard of theirs. “Chasers” is a tune that has a very catchy guitar riff so keep an eye out for that in particular. There was

quite a bit of jumping around, swaying and swishing my hair. They knew well how to interact with the crowd, getting them to sing back lyrics and chants. There was generally a good atmosphere. I was delighted to note that their live vocals sound the exact same as on their recorded EPs. I had the pleasure of interviewing this band on my own blog last summer, so it’s been an absolute pleasure to watch these boys’ reach expanding throughout the country. I am extremely proud to be Irish so I support Irish music where I can, no matter what. Personally it weird for me to be back in Dolans after months of not going, I’ll admit a little nostalgic for me, having gone to D.I.E only in the warehouse in

Professor Green playing UL Charity Week 2016 my ﬁrst year of college. I found myself observing the room and remembering all the memories I had there. However it certainly was nice to return to listen to a talented up and coming Irish band. I genuinely wish them the best of luck and I encourage you to support them too!

Wolfie taking a break from Charity Week to read the last An Focal

March 2016/1 INTERVIEW

Hard Knocks Hostel: journey from Law to YouTube In the continued series of interviews with UL graduates, An Focal spoke to UL graduate Karen Murphy who left the university five years ago to pursue her film goals after completing her undergrad in Law. She is also the co-creator of web-series Hard Knocks Hostel.

TOMÁS HENEGHAN What did you study in UL and what, if any, impact did your time in UL have on what you’re doing in your life now? I studied Law & European Studies, (Law Plus now, I believe) with Sociology and French. Sociology was excellent grounding for documentary research, and for making me aware of problems with media representations, or under-representations. I spent more time doing Drama Society projects than actual studies, though. I directed for the first time there, and loved it immediately.

Hostel? Was there a moment or experience that pushed you to create the web-series? I was in film school during the day, and the hostel where I worked at night. Being in a film-frame of mind at the hostel, I saw an endless supply of hilarious incidents and characters, and I felt it was writing itself in front of me. Is there anything you would change about the series looking back now? No. There are things that I will avoid doing next time, but I wouldn’t change

During your time in UL, were you involved with any clubs or societies? I dipped in and out of a few, but Drama Soc was where I found my people. (People who would belt Disney classics, without irony, until 6am at some unfortunate person’s house). I showed up late to the first drama class, and was too shy to go inside. I found myself directing the next semester though, and by the end of it I had met some amazing friends and collaborators. Having left Ireland to live in Canada, what would It was mostly that I wanted to experience a new place, but I also wanted to go somewhere with opportunities to develop my skills. The film and TV industry is very active in Vancouver, so there are more opportunities for someone entering the industry.

After UL, you worked and studied in Galway for a while. Did this have an impact on what you wanted to do with your life? I had already decided that I wanted to work in film, but I wasn’t sure what aspect. I chose to do an MA in film direction & production, because it covered most aspects of filmmaking. It was intimidating to be in a class with people who had studied film already, and were much more technically proficient than me. Thankfully, my years of skipping class for drama and play reading worked to my advantage when it came to writing and directing, and I knew it was a path I wanted to continue on. What inspired create Hard

you to Knocks

What are your plans going forward? Do you think you’ll return to formal education again or have you plans to move back to Ireland in the near future? I don’t have a plan, apart from trying to keep writing and getting better at what I want to do. As far as more formal education goes, I anything about the series because its purpose was to be a learning experience, and what goes with that is a sense of letting go of needing it to be perfect.

you say were the main reasons for that move? Was it solely economic and employment circumstances or were there other reasons for your decision?

think the best way for me to learn at this point is by doing. If you could give one piece of life advice to current UL students what would that be? Would travel be an important experience for young Irish people? If you split your dress at the Stables, just drop into the SU where the kind staff will staple it back together for you. And don’t jump in the fountain. If you have the urge to travel, then certainly! And if you’re too broke, get a job at a hostel and meet people from all over the world anyway.

March 2016/1 ERASMUS

Erasmus Diary Why I'd rather live in a kebab shop SEAMUS TOOMEY I'VE learned quite a few things in this one week of my erasmus semester. In this narrow space of time I've learned I'm unprepared, unorganised, incapable and damn well resilient. My first night I arrived and decided to get lost about the city. You see, around the time of boarding the plane, when boredom set in I read through my Erasmus e-mails. What I found was an email about my accommodation which said I couldn't check in after 2pm. Kind of a bummer seeing as I arrived at 9pm Krakow (Poland) time. I figured it would be a good chance to walk the city and figure out where my college was and the surrounding area. So for 13 hours (minus one for sitting in a pub enjoying some god awful karaoke) I walked around the city. I did end up learning a lot about the streets and found a couple of grocery shops, a health food store and a vegan restaurant. As well as that I was hit on by a 43-yearold Norwegian woman, saw a man urinate in the middle of

the street (while facing me) and experienced level 1, grade A, elite difﬁculty boredom. Finally it was 10am and my orientation began. I showed up, suitcase dragging behind me. After a walk around the city (again) I went for food. Now it was 3pm. “Ok, 2pm tomorrow I will be at my accommodation.” I found a hotel, grabbed a handful of WiFi and looked up

everything - where it was, how to get there - and set my alarm. With everything set out I would ﬁnally have a place to settle in and at last somewhere to put my now nuisance of a suitcase. But alas, fate stacked the cards against me. Arriving at my accommodation at 11am I didn't realise it was my accommodation and spent two hours walking around the area. No one spoke English

and everyone I asked pointed me in a different direction. So I found WiFi and e-mailed both my Erasmus buddy and my Erasmus coordinator in Poland. I got a reply within the hour and was told I’d be met at 4pm. I thought everything would get explained and the 2pm deadline won't stop me from checking in today, it’ll all be explained. Nope. Jolanta, my Erasmus buddy arrived, spoke with the accommodation and was told tomorrow that 10am would be perfect to check in. Not for me, so I booked into a hostel. “Tomorrow...I hope.” So now at 10am I was sat in an office signing random Polish contracts, quite possibly agreeing to slave labour for all I knew. Thankfully I was presented with a key (after I forked out my deposit) and was shown my room. I was sharing with someone, which didn't bother me, however that was about the only thing that didn't bother me. I soon discovered that I had no WiFi, was eight miles away from college and the city centre, didn't have any cutlery and shared a kitchen with 23 other people. The kitchen consisted of a gas stove and an oven that didn’t work. Also the room was tiny (imagine a bedroom in College Court). Imagine that being your bedroom, bathroom and living room all in one, and that you share it with someone else. Okay I wasn’t sure if I was going to stay and make it work (no WiFi and the kitchen was freaking me out) or try and find somewhere affordable and nice (which would require effort). Over the next few days, after getting into multiple arguments with the staff in my dorm, I decided leaving was good for my mental health. Apparently I wasn't allowed bring my key outside the accommodation either - No, really, I had to show ID every time and get my key when I returned. Why? No reason. All of these arguments ended the same way. I would be angrily met with Polish curses (the only polish I understood) and would reply “I’m very sorry, I only speak English” and try and figure out what they wanted. Then after being screamed at I would kindly inform them I was leaving because I was tired and wanted to sleep. Then I would leave while they got angrier with me for leaving. You don't want to hear about the trouble I had the day they lost my key in the reception. I decided I would compare

this to the vegan kebab shop I had been frequenting. The kebab shop had WiFi, was in the city centre, had a kitchen and the staff spoke English. I asked if I could stay, I begged, I offered to work for them - I honestly did none of these things, but I thought about it while stuck in my bed being kicked by my sleeping roommate (our beds were connected so we slept feet to feet and he was a kicker). “Okay I'm leaving, good riddance deposit, soyanara crazy reception staff and aufwiedersehen roommate.” I found a hostel and at €5 a night I’m comfy with my working kitchen, city centre location, WiFi and English speaking staff. I may rent a room, there’s some available, but honestly this is easy and comfortable for the time being. So moral of the story is don't give a deposit until you’re sure you want to stay somewhere, maybe grab a hostel for the first week and look yourself so you can check out different accommodation. Be prepared, there are options but above all don't worry, you’ll be fine. Also, it’s totally not okay to return to a reception and attempt to burn it to ash in a satisfying, revenge-filled, attempted murder spree, police don’t like that sort of thing and you will end up in jail.

March 2016/1 FRESHERS/CO-OP

Fresher’s Diary: Almost finished first year KIERA THORNTON IT feels as if I blinked and it was suddenly almost halfway through the semester. Where did the time go? I am already relatively near to the completion of my first year in UL and that is absolutely unbelievable. With first year mostly finished, you would imagine I would regret some things, not doing more of something or not doing less of something else, but I have to say I am reasonably satisfied with everything I have accomplished so far, as much as I wish I could just live first year again and again. Though, with the turn everything seems to be taking at the moment, it might not necessarily be long before I have accumulated some regrets. In the same time that I blinked, I also seemed to somewhat lose track of the sheer amount of academic work I have to do. I was flying along and now everything is beginning to pile up. Among the casualties are two mid-term tests in Week 7, a class presentation in Week 8 and two lengthy essays to be submitted before the break. Frightening, very much so, especially when you are yet to start working on most of the above. I am particularly behind on the material that I am supposed to base my political theory essay on and have not even

chosen my essay title yet, so it is fair to say I am in a very awkward place at the moment. Not to worry, you can be sure your fresher correspondent will prevail! I am incredibly confident. I am also aware that sarcasm can be difficult to detect in print media, but, in case I need to point it out, yes, I am being sarcastic. I also feel a little bit left behind in the whole process of sorting out co-operative education. I am due to go on co-op in the second semester of second year and I cannot help but feel a bit nervous over the fact that I am nowhere close to knowing where I want to go on co-op and what exactly I want to get out of it. I am very nervous about the whole co-op program if I am honest, my course pretty much requires me to go abroad for co-op and the prospect of spending six months in a foreign country doing a job that I may or may not dislike is very daunting. I am not quite sure where I should start with trying to sort my life out though maybe at least partially completing some work for my assignments would be a start. In fairness, I am not really significantly further behind in my academic work than I was at a certain point in my first semester and I still managed to come out on the other side of that semester with a QCA I was satisfied with. However, the sheer volume

of assignments, tests and other things to do was completely unprecedented and I am feeling just a tiny bit terrified. The worst part is that so many of the projects involve group work, something which makes me incredibly anxious as I consistently feel like I am struggling to live up to the expectations of others in my group. If not, I get the other extreme of doing the majority of the work for the others yet only getting an amount of credit equal to theirs at the end of it all. Give me solo projects and essays any time over group assignments because group work is truly the bane of my academic life. So, life is currently a whirlpool of uncertainty, it has to be said. As I am writing this I have little to be positive about, frantically trying to get assignments not just finished but even started and suffering from a very poorly-timed case of a cold. All this while assuming spectator status during Charity Week, not that I was ever really planning on taking a major part in the celebrations. Maybe I will be the beneficiary of some cancelled classes but beyond that there are few positives. Loyal readers, I ask you to keep me in your thoughts and hope for a more positive update in the next issue!

MY CO-OP EXPERIENCE:

Discovering the ability to surprise myself ANNA PARKES AT the age of twenty I presumed I had long ago lost the ability to surprise myself. I ignorantly believed I had ﬁgured out what in life could ignite my interest, and what I was dispassionate about. However, in the past week at the Learning Hub Limerick I surprised myself. As it transpires, I enjoy Science, a subject I have dedicated little thought to since the hazy days of Leaving Cert Biology. This week, an enthusiastic young group of students from the Northside Family Resource centre were welcome visitors of the Science Hub. I am already two months into my co-op placement, which is slightly terrifying – where did those weeks cheekily disappear to? With the refreshed knowledge that the grains of sand are slipping ever more rapidly through the timer, I decided there was no time like the present to join in with Science Hub. And oh how it was a wise choice to make. Under the watchful eye of Sean, the enthusiastic and encouraging leader of

Science Hub, we prepared for the morning ahead. Snapping on some protective goggles and donning a porcelain lab coat had us all riled up for what was to come. The children got involved with various experiments involving food, testing for components such as starch and lipids. The group appeared to embrace their time at the Science Hub, learning a lot while seamlessly incorporating fun into the mix. It is a startling reminder that there actually is pleasure to be derived from learning. What is really crucial is the method of learning. Who amongst us could ﬁnd stimulation from reading dense paragraphs on nutrition located in an outdated text book? Not me for one. Yet when the children were left to their own devices there was a constant buzz of excitement in the room. The only time the young scientists were not in charge was at the end of the session. Sean displayed an impelling experiment christened “Elephants Toothpaste” to round off the morning in style. The children left with cheerful gratitude and content smiles decorating their faces.

Flicking through photos at the end of the day I stumbled across one of myself with a grin wide enough to rival my comrades.

That’s not to say English is not still my greatest passion. It always was, and I hope it always will be. I’m not planning on dropping out of my

course to embark on a scientiﬁc degree anytime soon. Yet, I hope to spend more time in the Science Hub than originally anticipated.

What a privilege to discover I have thankfully not yet lost the ability to surprise myself.

March 2016/1 LOOKING BACK

Looking back to ’93 EILÍS WALSH I wasn’t even alive when this article was published. This fortnight we’re looking back at an article from March, 1993. This seems apt as we are currently in the month of March ourselves. The piece’s title caught my eye “Hungry Thieves Caught Red-Handed”. The article discusses an incident where two male Business students were apprehended after stealing bags of food from fridges and food presses. Multiple break ins had been reported in recent times and it seemed that the Gardai sussed out who it was. Now we all know that students can get desperate at times, we’re not by any means in the richer demographic of the population. Times can get tough, the struggle is indeed real. Most of students’ diets consist of a mixture of pasta, pizza and a pint. Why? One of the main reasons is that you can buy pasta and sauce for the grand total of about

€1.50. Most of us go broke on a regular basis. However, I would like to think that the students currently attending

the university would stoop so low as to rob someone else’s food, let alone break into people’s houses.

In saying that, no one is going to deny that students can do really stupid things in relation to obtaining

“freebies”. And in fairness can you blame them? With extremely high student fees, students generally take advantage of free things because they can’t afford it. So take for example when Supermacs visits the university, offering free Papa John’s pizza if you sign up with your phone number, email address and

name. You’re going to do it. For many it means that you save even five euro because your lunch is sorted. A lot of people underestimate how expensive college can be. However, that’s not to say that students don’t do really silly things. On more than one occasion I’ve observed students, “borrowing” glasses from either Scholars or The Stables and they never return. Some students like to collect a glass from different drinks; be it Fosters, Bulmers or Heineken. A label on a water tap in The Stables states that due to the fact that students fill their one litre water bottles on a regular basis rather than buy a new one (I totally understand why you would do that), the taps break. I am not sure if there is a scheme put in place for students struggling in terms of buying food. As we all know, students avail of the grant, which is perfectly acceptable. Perhaps there should be? I am not sure what would inspire a student to go around stealing food from other people’s houses. But it should make you wonder, how desperate do some students get?

March 2016/2

The new engagement AISLING O'CONNOR

enough. If marriage was the way to solidify a relationship it simply wasn’t cutting it. “Will you take this knife Why live together, when you And stab it though their heart? can live apart? Romance was Will you take these vows in need of a renaissance, so So death will do you part?” marriage was replaced with sacrifice. Although, many had their theories about pop“I do”, she said. Red dots ulation control. However, speckled her white dress. in general the change was She pressed the dagger flat accepted, revered even. against his chest, his hands The first new ceremony I closed over hers and they attended was between two shared their last glance friends of mine. I sat there before he was ushered to with a massive lump in my the Executionary. A scream throat, my hand like a vice pierced the cathedral and the on my boyfriends. More organs began to play. tears were shed at the new marriages than at the old. *** The “speak now or forever One no longer had to wait hold your peace” line had for death to pull them and been dropped. Afterwards, their partner apart. Marriage the mother of the sacrifice was an immediate death senhad confided in me that she tence. One party pledged wished her daughters fiancée to die, while the other held had choose to die instead. the name of their love and I couldn’t respond, but put the knowledge that they a consoling arm around her had performed the strongshoulder and led her outside. est gesture of love on their I began overhear young behalf: they died for them. It girls swoon at the thought had been realised that being of someone sacrificing their bound to one another wasn’t lives to prove their love to

them. Billboards with fancy urns for lovers’ ashes or suggesting putting them into lockets lined the streets. The “Pre-honeymoon” was developed, offering one ﬁnal romantic getaway for couples. Talk shows were alight with celebrity couples, to the disdain and despair of fans, announcing their own engagement. It gave a thrill to the relationship, apparently the last few months leading up to the big day were ﬁlled with devotion and adoration. Some even felt insulted when their partner wasn’t willing to give up their life for them. *** As I lay there, idly tracing a heart into the back of his neck, I hoped against all hope he didn’t love me enough to die for me.

CREATIVE WRITING

Growing up DAVE TIERNEY Each thread, each thought, stitched with care My soul got stuffed in a teddy bear Each hug, each tear, each moment kissed My love gone but only half missed Each child, each friend, whom I adore Farewell for you don’t need me anymore

Six Word Stories STEPHEN O'RIORDAN

The longest winter was ﬁnally over. He touched my cheek. I smiled. QUINN FORSKITT “Why us?” “because you never left.” KRISTOFER HARTE

Broken plate, broken arm, broken home Dark alley, black cape, “thank you!” Rag week, what the fuck happened?

March 2016/1 BEAUTY

College inspired look College girls face some serious challenges when it comes to their make-up: we need to get ready in a hurry (damn you 9 a.m lectures!), try to look as naturally pretty as possible but still want to have fun with our make-up.

TANYA CROTTY EVEN before we pick up our bag of magical goodies were faced with some inevitable questions like how can I create a look that's pretty but not overdone? And what’s appropriate for college, anyway? If you continue reading this article I’ll be answering these queries as well as providing a sample look for a typical day in college. When you're trying to create a beauty routine for going to class, hanging around campus or heading to the student bar, you should always keep things simple. There's just no room for false lashes or pigment pots at 8 a.m - sorry ladies! So, there are very few products that you'll actually need when creating a subtle but natural look for college. First of all, you'll need a decent primer to ensure your makeup stays on throughout the day. We all know just how hectic the college day can be from lectures to tutorials to labs so, we simply don't have the time to top up our faces. You need not worry though, there are plenty of inexpensive primers on the market, but I've decided to use Seventeen's version of the product when creating a sample look for college. To use simply

distribute a pea size amount evenly across your face. I normally use a spare foundation brush to do this, but you can also use your ﬁngers. Turning to foundation next, you should always choose a colour that blends into your skin and makes it almost unnoticeable that you're wearing makeup. There are numerous types of foundations from liquid to powder to mouse so, choose your personal favourite. However, I love liquid foundation for college as its quality of coverage is just what you need to hide the evidence under your eyes that you've been up all night writing an assignment- trust me, we've all been there! I generally tend to use L'Oreal True Match in shade Vanilla Rose as it's an extremely lightweight and natural product. I use a tapered foundation brush to apply it all over my face and blending it onto my jawline and neck. The next step I take when creating a college inspired look is contour and highlighting. Although these techniques are loathed by D.I.Y make-up mavens, I've found an affordable product by NYX that simpliﬁes the process. I use the Wonder Stick in shade lightmedium when I'm preparing for college. Using the darker side of the Wonder Stick I

begin to contour my face. I apply some to my temples, hairline, cheek bones and the sides of my nose. Taking a damp beauty blender, I then blend the contour out and merge it into the base of my foundation. Next I concentrate on the lighter side of things - highlighting. I apply the lighter shade of the Wonder Stick on my chin, under my eyes, between my brows and on the bridge of my nose. Following on from that I blend it all out with a damp beauty blender and apply translucent powder all over my face, concentrating in particular the areas I recently highlighted. I normally use Rimmel London Stay Matte translucent powder when getting ready for a long day in college as it helps to set my make-up. Turning to blusher next, I always use products by Beneﬁt Cosmetics. In the sample look I have created, I'm wearing their blusher called Coralista as it's a very natural pink. Using a large blusher brush, I apply a small amount of product to my cheeks. Once I'm ﬁnished with my face, I then turn to my eyes. I'm conscious that you may only have between 10-20 minutes to get ready in the mornings so I've kept my eyes quite simple for this look. I apply Catrice

Better Than False Lashes to my bottom and top lashes, and next I pop some black pencil eye liner directly on my waterline. For my college make-up routine I always use L'Oreal Infallible eye liner. When I'm heading into college I like to keep my lips on the nude side. I ﬁrmly believe that dark and exotic lip colours are a huge NO, NO when you're heading to class so, do yourself a favour and keep your best lip colours for your next student night out! I personally like to line my lips with the P.S Love lip liner in shade 06. For lipstick, I use a nude/brown shade by MAC which goes by the name of Velvet Teddy. Lastly for my brows, I use NYX Tame and Frame brow pomade in shade 02 chocolate. I dip an angled brush into the pomade and outline and ﬁll in my brows. I try to have them a reasonable shape and thickness for college, nothing too out there! I then blend out the pomade and brush my brows using a spoolie brush. In the end, I end up with a very natural look that's extremely suitable for college. By keeping things simple you avoid putting on too much make-up and looking overdone. Remember: you only need the bare minimum when getting ready for college!

The finished look.

Product and Price List: Seventeen Long Wear Primer - €6.99 L'Oreal Paris True Match Vanilla Rose - €14.99 NYX Wonder Stick light-medium - €13.99 Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder - €5.99 Beneﬁt Cosmetics Coralista - €34.00 Catrice Better Than False Lashes Volume Mascara - €4.99 L'Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Liner - €7.69 P.S Love Lip Liner shade 06 - €1.50 MAC Velvet Teddy - €19.50 NYX Tame and Frame 02 chocolate - €7.49

Beauty:

exfoliator recipe AISLING O'CONNOR WHAT I love about this exfoliator is that it’s completely natural so you’re not adding any chemicals to your skin, plus my face feels amazing after using it – it’s so soft and radiant! Coconut oil moisturises and cleans the skin while coffee, acts as the exfoliator, and tightens and brightens the face, plus it leaves you with a nice glow. It’s vegan, and there’s only 3 ingredients so this is simple but effective. Ingredients: - Coffee grounds - Coconut oil - Water (Tip: Coconut oil can be pricey but KTC in Tesco is only €2.39) The ratio of coffee to coconut oil is 2:3 and add

small amounts of water as you mix until you get a paste like consistency. I put it in a small container and use a spoon to mash it all together. Coconut oil can be quite hard so while adding water helps break it down, lightly heat until soft if needed. When applying it, rub the mixture between your hands to soften and apply to an already wet

face in circular motions. One thing I will say is the coconut oil doesn’t rinse off easy so what I do is splash my face, dry a little, and use wet cotton wool to get the rest off. And there you have it, a homemade exfoliator than smells amazing, and leaves your face feeling fresh without the funny ingredients.

March 2016/1 HEALTH

How to: Survive as a coeliac ÁINE CURTIN HI, I’m Áine and I’m an alcoholic. Wait no… coeliac…. yes, I am one of those people who ask “is that gluten free?” but it’s not by choice! It’s actually quite similar to being an alcoholic or even a drug addict. You know how good the stuff is and you know how to get it but you also know how bad it is for you. Sometimes when people ask “why aren't you having some pizza?” I feel like it’s something to be ashamed of. I won’t get into too much detail about what effect it has on my body but basically, the small intestine is broken down by the gluten and it’s impossible to intake important nutrients like iron, meaning most coeliacs present as anaemic before being tested for the disease. For more information, check out the Coeliac Society of Ireland, it’s actually something that's very dangerous if undiagnosed. Something that has been ingrained into the Irish people is you can’t have a “bald” cup of tea. But as a coeliac, you get the horribly awkward conversation that normally goes like this: “Are you sure you won’t have something? “No I won’t, I’m ﬁne thanks.” (Internally cringing at everyone thinking this is by choice) “Can I make you something? What about a ….. Wait what can you eat?” Then comes the whole “pizza, bread, cakes, biscuits … anything with wheat, oats or barley etc.” (Yes that means no beer too!) Then chances are you will then be offered a rice cake or two with them just awkwardly letting the conversation drift and evacuating out of the situation as soon as possible. If I’m honest I am basing this

story on one aunt in particular, she always seems to make a big deal of it. Always asking the same questions or making sure to loudly say something like “oh I don't have anything Gluten Free”... Others seem to understand I’m an adult and I am capable of understanding that she isn’t going to have gluten free things on tap. It’s like she has a default button that makes her do this exact thing every time I visit. One question I get very often is “what would happen if you ate something with gluten in it?” this question is something I love getting though, because it’s one that you can have fun with. I remember my cousin asked me and my reply was, very blatantly may I add, “Oh I’ll just blow up” or if I’m

feeling very morbid I’ll say “Oh I just drop dead”…. They need to be used with caution though … some people are extremely gullible. At a stretch it could be brushed off as ignorance of the disease (yes, it’s a disease) but really it’s just plain silliness, just imagine someone dropping dead from a couple of breadcrumbs?! If this were true my enemies would have the perfect murder weapon! When coeliacs are at a restaurant, 90% of the time the ﬁrst thing they look for are the letters GF or Gluten Free alternatives available (if they deny this they are lying, believe me). The worst thing about having to eat in a restaurant that doesn't have this facility is that you have to ask

the waitress/waiter what they have for us awkward patrons. They normally don't know so they head back to ask the chef and that normally takes an extra 5 minutes. That’s one of the worst things about being coeliac, having to make my friends wait every time we go out to eat. If I could be as bold to make a request of the restaurants on campus and in the Castletroy area, make Gluten Free alternatives and advertise it on your menus! It honestly makes such a difference and with the amount of people in Ireland excluding gluten from their diets increasing tenfold, it will be well worth the reprint. The recent trend of healthy eating and becoming a gluten free, lactose free vegan annoys me if I’m honest. I think

people who eat healthy should be commemorated, as I am writing this I’m making my way through honey and cinnamon gluten free cookies, but it’s when people take on these trends and fad diets that really gets on my nerves and they only do it to lose weight. Now people who are genuine and can’t handle eating meat because of their morals have my respect. They see something they don't agree with and decide they are going to have nothing to do with it. Deciding to commit to something like restricting your diet in any case is something that should be thought out and not used as a quick ﬁx to losing weight, trust me, avoiding something like gluten does not mean you are going to lose weight. Also I

really couldn’t care less if you think farmers are being ‘cruel’ to cows for milking (yes I have gotten this lecture), if that’s what you think then ﬁne, that’s your opinion. However do NOT try and tell me all this and try to convert me! Sometimes being coeliac has the opposite effect and you gain weight. Yes, your options are limited to fresh produce like fruit, veg and meat that hasn’t been processed but if I’m honest since I have gone coeliac, my intake of fruit and veg hasn’t increased that much. It means instead of having the chicken ﬁllet roll then you end up eating the salad but then you end up getting something else as well like a bar of chocolate or a snack bar. People think just because you’re not eating carbohydrates that are associated with bread and pasta but realistically it just means you’re eating gluten free alternatives of them. The amount of gluten free pizzas I have eaten since starting college is scandalous. That’s a 9 inch pizza all by myself because people either feel guilty for eating something Gluten Free or they can’t imagine eating something that they perceive to taste like cardboard. I can’t count the amount of times I have baked something at home and my dad has refused to try it. If I could bet on it, I’d be seriously rich! In conclusion: we coeliacs don't die if we eat single breadcrumbs, making changes to your diet should be a commitment to becoming healthier, not to lose weight. The letters GF on a menu are like little gems of gold that make my day (sometimes my week), and my dad is very unsupportive of my attempt to making GF foods at home.

Mind your Mental Heath 9: PTSD AISLING O'CONNOR POST-TRAUMATIC stress disorder (PTSD), like the name suggests, can be caused after a traumatic experience and leaves the sufferer with high anxiety afterwards. It can be caused prior to experiencing incidents such as assault, being mugged, life threatening situations, sexual assault, accidents, car crashes and witnessing natural disasters. It is highly common in army veterans but anyone can suffer from PTSD. Symptoms include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, irritability, out bursts of anger, always feeling “on guard”, nightmares, insomnia, ﬂashbacks, and numbness.

Treatment: - Meditation: Whether it’s an at home practice or in a class, meditation is great for reducing stress and calming one down. UL’s Mindfulness sessions have guided mediations so are highly recommended to anyone who needs them – even if you don’t suffer with PTSD. They take place in MC2004 (Millstream

building) from 10-11am Mondays and 2:00-3:00pm on Wednesdays, and there are Relaxation Classes from 13:00-14:00pm on Mondays and Fridays. - Therapy: various types of therapy are recommended. Cognitive, or talk, therapy not only allows one to vent but also helps recognise thinking patterns and suggests alternative ways of thinking to combat the PTSD. Exposure therapy allows one to face their fears in a safe environment and teaches one how to cope with these situations in the best way possible. An example being virtual relative programmes which allow one to re-enter the initial traumatic experience. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), this sounds like it’s quite a mouthful, it’s similar to exposure therapy but features guided eye movements that help to process traumatic memories and change reactions to them - Medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines. - Regulating sleep patterns, by going to bed and getting up at the same time. Avoid caffeine after 6pm and exercising before bed as this tricks the body into thinking it’s the middle of the day. Before trying sleeping pills, as they are notoriously addictive, herbal remedies are recommended such as camomile and sleep teas, and lavender essential oils.

March 2016/1 COMMENT

Books vs Kindle AISLING O'CONNOR WITH the rise of the kindle, tablets, and the iPad I find myself clinging to books more and more. I’m not the kind of person who has a snobbish attitude towards e-readers because reading is great on all forums (unless you’re on the bad side of a fan-fiction site… then I’m taking a few steps away from you) but I personally prefer books. I like carrying what I’m reading around college, organising my bookshelf when procrastinating and sighing wistfully at the fact that my actual goals for the future is to have a library worth of books in my house. I love old book smell, cute book

marks from Book Depository, and the little indents on the spine of a well-read book. I find turning the pages to be a more pleasant experience than swiping a screen and I can only look at electronics for so long until my eyes start to burn. I love book shops, going through the shelves, talking about the ones I’ve read and want to read. I walk around with a book list on my phone and it only seems to grow and yet I always impulse buy books that aren’t even on it. Like always, one thing supplants another. CDs replaced cassettes, which replaced vinyl. Now people don’t even buy CDs anymore (and my sentiment towards CDs is similar to the books). Record stores are almost

renowned at this point for struggling to stay in business, as far as I know, book shops are not in a peril like that but it’s a scary thought. I saw a short film a few months ago called “The Last Bookstore” which was set in a world where books had become obsolete and absolutely everything was digital. A young boy discovers it and as it turns out, was the first person to enter in years. The line that got me the most was when the shopkeeper said he recalls queuing outside a shop at midnight for a book about a wizard. Maybe I’m over thinking here, as far as I know books aren’t in danger of dying out but I would be devastated to see a world like that. I’d be a hypocrite to say that I’m against technology

because I perhaps spend too much time on the internet, but I’d hate to see everything lost to it too. I understand that it’s much easier to have everything stored on the one device, I can’t exactly carry around my bookshelf and having several books in your bag isn’t a pleasant experience. I have to go to the library, a shop, or check online if there’s a certain book I want to read. I realize the convenience of a tablet but when I’m reading something online, regardless of what it is, I struggle to get into it. On the other hand, if you give me a really good book I could be so engrossed that I struggle to pull myself away. So for me, I’ll stick to my paper backs and maybe one day my library house dream will be a reality.

An illusion of superiority EMMA CRAVEN “NEW Media and English”. I remember seeing the course name and instantly feeling a wave of relief. It involved English, which I love and know I would be able to both study and enjoy, and also Media, something that evolves and morphs continuously. I felt as though I had finally found a course that I had a real interest in. (Rather than studying something maths or science based as they are both fields which I have never held a passion for.) The career options are both broad and reassuring. Journalism, teaching, publishing, advertising or media production to name a few. Putting this course down as a real option felt ideal, and I looked forward to getting started. I have met a great deal of

people who have the same passion for English as me. The lectures are new and interesting (Although I’m sure Restoration & Augustan literature sounds horrendous to many people!). But enough about me. This article is not about how happy I am with the choice I made. It is about how others feel about the choice I have made. It’s not uncommon for those who study humanities to be thought of in a derogatory way. I have noticed that some people who do courses or have interests which are different to mine, can on occasion have this sense of superiority, an illusion of superiority almost. It is not a majority, as typically when I meet new people in a college setting, a conversation will arise about our courses and most are impartial to it It is a minority. A minority

of people who seem to think that if you do not do a course like theirs, involving numbers or equations, then your course is lesser in comparison. What I never understood about these people is the sudden interest they have in relation to your future. “So, are you gonna write a novel? You’ll never get a job. You can only be a teacher!” Now 9/10 times these people are surrounded by completely different job opportunities in comparison to mine and have also got a different set of skills. I have never enjoyed working with numbers, but words are my skill. Writing, thoughts and ideas. Just like maths or equations are another person’s. The fact that my course name doesn’t have the job description in the title of it does not make it any less than yours.

Media is everywhere! It is used in political, social, cultural and educational senses all around the world. Where would we be without it? Social media is being used every day. And as for English. Learning the beautiful and breathtaking writings of different authors and the way in which the English language shapes the world is a spectacular thing. The skills in which you develop from studying English are not tied only to technology or marketing or writing, but to what you are most passionate about. The tools which you acquire will not lose their value. They will never be obsolete, regardless of them not involving figures or formulas. After a while of listening to how awful some people think my course is and hearing all of the reasons why I’m wrong

for doing what I want to do, I began to realise that sometimes people’s opinions don’t change, and after a certain amount of trying to explain yourself (which really you shouldn’t have to) there is no point in continuing to. There are facts, explanations and a small amount of reasoning for everything, but only so many different times and ways of saying it. Jokes get old and they can hurt, but my advice for anyone doing a course like mine or doing an Arts, Humanities or Social Science degree, who are being criticized for the choices the make in their life is don’t get caught up in it. Disregard the negativity being thrown at you for doing what you want to do. The happiness I have found from being able to study this course will not be taken from me because of an illusion of

superiority belonging to other people. Everyone should do what they hold a passion for, whether that is an English degree or an Aeronautical degree. Different people have different attributes, skills and interests, but unfortunately it takes some longer than others to grasp that. We live in a multicultural diverse world made up of millions of contrasting people, with different ideas and views. If more people could see that, then maybe we could all be equitable and not feel the need to disrespect and discredit one another. So, if you find yourself sometimes shining an antagonistic assumption on those who are studying or are interested in something that you don’t understand or care for, maybe reconsider your judgement, it could surprise you!

March 2016/1 REVIEWS

MOVIE REVIEW TOMÁS HENEGHAN ‘ALL the President’s Men’, ‘Veronica Guerin’, ‘Spotlight’. These movies span both sides of the Atlantic but what both have in common is the stark depiction of the value of investigative journalism. While ‘All the President’s Men’ depicts the series of events leading to the downfall of a US president and ‘Veronica Guerin’ brings to life the work of martyred Irish investigative journalist, Veronica Guerin, in the area of Dublin drug gangs in the 1990s, ‘Spotlight’ looks at the team of journalists who shone a light on the abuse of children by Catholic priests, and the subsequent cover ups, in Boston over the space of decades. The movie centres around the Spotlight team at the Boston Globe in 2001, as they investigate both the abuse of children by priests from the 1970s in the Boston diocese, and the cover up by those in charge of the

SPOTLIGHT

priests. As an Irish person in my early 20s, it’s not difficult to recognise the stories being brought up in the movie. From abusive priests being moved from parish to parish, and country to country, to the attempts by the Church hierarchy to shut the stories down, these are all familiar to us from decades of almost identical stories in an Irish context. However the movie doesn’t place sole focus on the heart of the story of child abuse itself. It looks further and to the dilemmas faced by journalists globally, especially those in the investigative field. Spotlight looks at the ethical issues of writing so publicly about someone’s painful and traumatic abuse story. It depicts the dilemma journalists still face to this day of when to print a story and where a line can be drawn between the need to warn people of potential danger and the duty to gather all information first. The first issue was brought up

on several occasions throughout the 2 and a half hours, with some on the team running to publish the information they had and being held off until the story was fully complete. Another harrowing scene, addressing the second issue raised by Spotlight, involved one of the journalists discovering one of the abusive priests had been living near his home.

Concerned that the community did not know the information and had a right to know, the journalist appeared to struggle with keeping the information to himself until it came to publish the full story. These two issues, faced by many real-life journalists, are depicted perfectly in Spotlight. Adding to this is the overall emphasis carried in the movie

on the impact a story can have on a journalist’s personal life. Journalists are not removed from their work, no matter how hard they may try to be. When they go home at night, they still think about the story they are working on. One character, depicted by Rachel McAdams, struggled with how she would tell her devoutly Catholic grandmother about the story she was working on when it was published. Another, Mark Ruffalo’s character, became so involved in the story he was researching, he broke down entirely in one of the later scenes. As with ‘All the President’s Men’, Spotlight’s investigation was ignited by the smallest pieces of information and while ﬁrst only looking into the knowledge of one Archbishop of the abusive history of one priest in Boston, the team discovered a series of abuse cases and cover-ups. ‘Spotlight’ was a refreshing display in a new age of journalism where fact-checking is

now no longer held the highest regard. News now must be quick and can be based on rumours or speculation. The new goal is to get the website hits ﬁrst, before any other publication, whether the information is factual, fairly presented or entirely accurate or not. The Spotlight team, in clear contradiction, took the hours, days, weeks and months to slowly and meticulously gather all the information and extract and verify the truth before publishing their expose. Having now been awarded Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards (Oscars), ‘Spotlight’ has earned its place as one of the greatest investigative journalism movies of our age. A well-deserved success that will now stand alongside ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘Veronica Guerin’ as examples of quality journalism. It will also stand as a beacon and example of professional journalism for new and young journalists globally.

Album review: The Life of Pablo GRAHAM STURDY AFTER months of hype, excitement, rumours, delays, title changes and general confusion, Kanye West’s seventh studio album was ﬁnally released last month. The follow up to his polarizing 2013 album, comes ‘The Life of Pablo’. While his fans may have been exasperated at the gruelling amount of time they had to wait for the album, they have now been rewarded with one of Kanye’s best albums to date. The title of the album references three iconic men by the name of Pablo; Pablo Picasso, representing creativity, Paul (Pablo) the Apostle, representing religion, and Pablo Escobar, representing opulence. But more than anything, The Life of Pablo is a Kanye West album. There’s no reinvention taking place here, like the introspective, apologetic Kanye we saw on his 2010 album, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. Or the aggressive, egotistic Kanye we saw on 2013’s ‘Yeezus’. Instead, we get an album that portrays the Kanye some have come to know and love – the cocky, humorous and driven Chicago South-Sider who has no problem rapping about a range of topics. Kanye drops between topics

such as God, Artistry, Drugs, Family, Friendship, Fame and of course, Taylor Swift. However, the transitions aren’t always very smooth and the album plays differently to any record he has made before. While many of his albums before have had consistent motifs, The Life of Pablo plays like a Greatest Hits record, songs with entirely different moods and styles following each other

on the album. Kanye gets away with this as every song on the album truly holds its own. Yes, the album has no real cohesion in terms of a mood or meaning. However, Kanye’s production roots have put him in position to cultivate different sounds and talents and implement the best sounds into an album. Without letting up the album jumps between Rap, Pop, House, Trap, Soul,

Gospel and even Reggae. From the ethereal ‘Ultra Light Beams’, the Violent Screech of ‘Feedback’, the Classic house beat of ‘Fade’, or the sparse Piano arrangement that is ‘FML’, The Life of Pablo is a musical journey, albeit sometimes a bumpy one. Famous, a song known for it’s controversial lyrics regarding Taylor Swift opens with Rihanna singing the hook and Kanye doing a bit of rapping before sliding into Sister Nancy’s 1982 Reggae Classic ‘Bam Bam’. Of course Kanye doesn’t entirely forget that Hip-Hop is Hip-Hop and truly delivers some word class rap songs. The Andre 3000 assisted ‘30 Hours’ and the lyrically profound ‘Real Friends’ are both excellent offerings, and the Kendrick Lamar assisted ‘No More Parties in LA’ is a rap master class from arguably two of the best rappers alive today. To understand ‘The Life of Pablo’, hell, to understand Kanye West is no easy task this time around. Shrouded in imagery, reﬂections and double meanings ‘The Life of Pablo’ asks a lot of the listener, and does require a certain appreciation for Kanye’s brand of egotism. If you’re ready for a challenging listen give ‘The Life of Pablo’ a try. Just hurry, because apparently the new album drops this summer.

Hawk’s ‘Once Told’ ILYANA KEOHANE I first heard Hawk perform around this time last year at Dolan’s warehouse in Limerick. I was at Out in UL’s annual Queerbash (side note: make sure you all attend this year, because it’s going to be epic as per usual) and Hawk were playing in Kasbah, right above us. The theme of last year’s Queerbash meant that everyone was dressed as if they were going to the beach; it was raining outside and I was wearing a goddamned Hawaiian shirt, without a care in the world. And while everybody was limbo-ing and adorning each other with colourful leis and flowers, I stepped out into the smoking area and heard Hawk playing upstairs. Clearly they sounded amazing, as it was enough to pull me away from the gayhem (like mayhem, but for LGBTQ people). Since hearing Hawk for the first time, I have loved every song they’ve released, and their latest is no exception. ‘Once Told’ is equal parts beautiful and haunting, with an entrancing music video that only intensifies the song’s underlying message. “Once Told was written in protest against the current Irish laws on abortion, where it’s illegal except in very rare circumstances,” explains the lead singer, Julie. “Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion regulations in Europe.” All of their music is available on Spotify, and you can watch ‘Once Told’ on their YouTube channel and Facebook page. They performed at Other Voices last year, and they frequent Limerick often enough, so keep an eye out in Dolans and Cobblestone Joes - this is band you don’t want to miss!

March 2016/1 SU UPDATES

The importance of an active, lobbying Students’ Union

COLIN CLARKE I love this job, it’s a fantastic privilege to represent 14,000 of your peers. The role of the president is a vital one as it commands a certain level of respect from the university. Unlike other members of the

union or the university, the university cannot help but listen to the president as they are the voice which represents student views. But with the role comes a responsibility in that you must actively lobby the university and relevant statutory bodies in order to improve many aspects of the student experience. This year, as a union, we have placed a lot of emphasis on increasing the activism of the SU. One of the first things we did once we took over from last year’s team was to release a press release stating that there was a severe need for increased counselling services in UL due to an increase in students seeking help. Press releases and media coverage has increased five-fold this year.

ULSU Welfare update

CIARA CORCORAN HI everyone! I have to start by saying thank you all so much for all your donations during Charity Week -you were all fantastic! It’s been a crazy few months planning this and you’ve all made it a huge success. A big shout out to all the volunteers who stood in wind, rain and sunshine to help us out, we couldn’t have done it without you. Also to Keith who organised a savage line-up this year. All four charities were extremely impressed with your generosity and enthusiasm and will certainly put all your funds to great use. The Raft Race and FIFA tournament are happening in Week 9 so make sure to take part to raise even more money. The winners of the Raft Race will win a weekend trip to a European destination (T&Cs apply!). The Sex Confessionals were on campus in Week 5, which was brilliant. CoCoTV were so

impressed with all your knowledge of STIs and contraception and said you were all way more craic than DCU and GMIT. Love your Body Week went really well in Week 4. We met a lot of you who had really positive things to say about your bodies. Keep an eye out on Facebook for your photos! In other news, childcare bursaries closed in Week 4 so I’ve been assessing them and will be letting everyone know the decisions in the next week. Student Assistant Fund applications remain open until March 25th so be sure to apply. The ‘Walk and Talk’ mental health walk with Mary I and LIT will be happening in Week 10. The ‘Pay it Forward Festival of Kindness’ is happening From March 12th to 17th in town and across campus. If someone does something nice for you make sure to spread the kindness as far as you can. The Medical centre is also currently looking for a new director which we have been able to have input on. The Tender Document has been released and we hope to have some responses in the coming weeks. Week 8 is Road Safety Week and the Crash Car Simulator will be on campus on Tuesday and there will be lots more activities across campus during the week. Best of luck to everyone running in the elections in week 7!

In four years there was almost a 100% increase in students looking to talk to someone with figures of nearly 1,000 students going through the counselling department last year. I see those numbers as a positive thing as more people are seeking help and talking about their mental health. The problem was that even with the notable increase in demand there was no increase in services or resources. Nationally we are running campaigns like Please Talk and Mind Your Mental Health which are working but then we are not accounting for the success of the campaigns with increased resources. For me the importance of lobbying was highlighted when the university announced it was going to invest to clear counselling waiting lists. I brought the issue of student welfare in terms of counselling up at every possible meeting. We were then forced to go to the Limerick leader in order to raise awareness and to force the universities hand. It was through governing authority that we were able to muster enough support to ensure the university could no longer ignore the problem and in October they announced an additional 20 sessions per week which was in effect another full-time counsellor. This was to be in the interim period until a full term solution could be agreed. Earlier this month a new deputy head of counselling full

time position was agreed by the university and is expected to be confirmed shortly by the recruitment committee. Head of counselling Declan Ahern said that this was going to be the first full time counselling position any of the seven universities has gotten in years. He also acknowledged that without the Students’ Union lobbying for this it would not have happened. It’s great to know that your work will directly have a positive impact and help struggling students. Another instance when activism proved important was when the crisis in the medical centre occurred and we were left without any doctor on campus some days. Students’ were being told that they would have to go to the Castletroy Park Medical Centre and pay €40 and claim back €15 from the university. This was a situation that was never going to work as students simply don’t have the money and would rather afford to eat for the week than go to the doctor. The reality is that we need a fit-for-purpose medical centre that engages with students needs and will also support our welfare officer and the union in promoting general health and well-being among students. The amount of sessions was a huge issue and students are constantly complaining that there is not enough and there had been a steady reduction over the last few years. In November, after student council mandated a walk-out protest unless the situation was resolved, we increased the number of General Practice

clinics from seven to ten and maintained three contraceptive and STI clinics. We now must ensure that we continue to stand up and fight for increased student services and that is

what I’m doing at the moment sitting on the tender committee for the new medical director. We need a stronger, more efficient Medical Centre.

Your PSU update

SEÁN McKILLEN HI everyone, I’m back with some updates about what’s been going on in the PSU. On February 19th, we hosted our annual PSU Ball. It was held in the Pavilion Club on the North Campus and was a fantastic night. I would just like to thank everyone that got

involved and helped out. In particular I would like to thank my VP, Elaine O’Connor, for all her hard work in dragging the event together. I’d also like to thank the Pavilion Club manager, Emer Mulcahy, as well as all her staff for making it such an easy-going and enjoyable night. I highly recommend the Pavilion Club as a venue for student events. A big thank you goes to all of the people that purchased tickets for the event. We donated 20% of all ticket sales to the local branches of the Simon Community and the Samaritans. With your support we managed to raise €1,000. This means a great deal to the charities and will help with their local efforts. Our final thank you goes to our band for the night, Drive. They played an excellent set and had the entire Pavilion Club rocking for over three hours. We hope that by substantially

lowering our ticket prices and giving everyone the chance to be a part of it, we will help to establish a precedent. Students are charged enough to attend college; further undue burdens do not need to be heaped upon them in the search for profits. This policy has governed all of our decisions taken as a Union. I hope this continues long into the future. The PSU hosted a Charity Week event in the Scholars last Monday evening. We brought a whimsical new event to the campus, Ringo: Music Bingo. It was hosted by Ronan Leonard. We got a pretty good turnout on the night, certainly more than we were expecting. Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed a trip down nostalgia lane. We didn’t have a cover charge on the door but still managed to raise €200 for the Charity Week fund. I’d like to personally thank Elaine, Aédín and Audrey for all their

work on the night. Without your help I would have been stuck trying to explain the rules of Music Bingo on my own. Congratulations to the ULSU for putting on a tremendous week for everybody. You all deserve every bit of credit that is coming your way this week. Finally, we had to postpone our scheduled elections in February. The rescheduled elections will take place in the first week of April. Anyone thinking of running for either positions (President or VP) are welcome to pop into my office for a chat about what those jobs entail. I’d be delighted to pass on any advice that I can. Having had a great year in the job, I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in trying to make a difference. You can contact me at sean. mckillen@ul.ie for any further information. All the best, Seán

March 2016/1 REFERENDUM

Do you want a new student centre? On the 13th of April 2016 you will be asked to vote YES or NO on the introduction of an annual student levy commencing in September 2017 to contribute to the development and build of: a student centre; enhanced sports facilities; Maguire’s pitches upgrade, to include two multipurpose all-weather pitches. IF we vote yes, the project development will begin in the academic year 2016-2017 and we will not pay a levy in that year. The levy will commence on a graduated basis in September 2017. Students will pay €36 in AY2017-18 and AY2018-19, i.e. 40% of the levy. The full levy, €90, will come into effect in AY2019-20. Thereafter a €2 increment will apply each year to offset inﬂation increases. If we vote no, the projects will not be undertaken and no levy

will be introduced. The total cost of the project is €28,590,000. If the referendum passes UL have agreed to cover 45% of the capital costs as well as the maintenance and operational costs of the building. The remaining 55% will be covered by the student levy. It is estimated that the student centre building would be built within 3 years and Maguire’s pitches would be ready within 2 years. The current Student’s Union building was purpose built for

3,000 students. UL’s student population has now grown to 13,647. This growth in population essentially means that we have outgrown the current student centre. A potential location for the centre has not been conﬁrmed, however the centre will move towards the Plaza giving it a central location. The SU aims to include a chill-out area, games room, SU Café as well as facilities to reheat food and make hot drinks, a suite of bookable meeting rooms, a creative hub, a multifunctional

entertainment area for events such as music, big screen sporting occasions, guest speakers and the Comedy Club. In order for the referendum to be valid at least 15% of students (~2047) must vote. A simple majority of the votes is needed for the referendum to pass. If you have any queries or concerns regarding the referendum, contact your SU president Colin Clarke or the Student’s Union General Manager Martin Ryan.

Academic Year

Levy

2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 2024-2025 2025-2026 2026-2027 2027-2028 2028-2029 2029-2030 2030-2031 2031-2032 2032-2033 2033-2034 2034-2035 2035-2036 2036-2037

€0 €36 €36 €90 €92 €94 €96 €98 €100 €102 €104 €106 €108 €110 €112 €114 €116 €118 €120 €122 €124

March 2016/1 EDITORIALS

Mixed messages from GE16 TOMÁS HENEGHAN THE marathon is over - though at points it was more of a brisk walk than anything. General Election 2016 will see a new coalition, a new national political dynamic and some more now unemployed politicians. However there remains one overarching question, currently baffling both the public and political pundits alike. What did it all mean? This question is open-ended and could be open to numerous studies, polls and questions, yet the area which can firstly be looked at is what the result of the election meant for the abortion wars currently intensifying in Irish society. Both sides of the debate were quick out of the traps on Saturday and Sunday after the election, both claiming entirely different meanings from the election results. Labour loyalists were shocked - some even distraught - that we, the electorate had thrown out any opportunity of repealing the anti-abortion Eighth Amendment. Anti-abortion groups claimed the election showed zero grassroots appetite for a referendum on repealing the Amendment. Both were off the mark so entirely that it only served to make an embarrassment of both. The sharp rise of other parties which have committed to a referendum on the issue would

easily contradict both sides. Sinn Féin, Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit and the Green Party all have a clear commitment to repealing the constitutional amendment. Many returned independent TDs are also vocal prochoice campaigners. Fine Gael, despite the loss of about 20 seats, has also committed to holding a citizens’ convention to address the issue, and if public opinion polls are to be believed, there would be an almost definite chance of a referendum being held. On the other hand, the parties which made no commitment whatsoever on the issue of a referendum, such as Fianna Fáil now counts amongst its ranks new pro-repeal TDs, where there were either none, or very few previously. Finally Renua, the party established as a result of opposition to abortion legislation, and often viewed by many as an anti-abortion party, failed entirely, losing its previous TDs and all 26 candidates failing to gain a seat. For some denouncing pro-choice voters for giving Labour the boot, they failed to acknowledge that pro-choice voters had already witnessed the party shoot down legislation to repeal the Eighth Amendment while in power. Amongst the many other reasons the electorate said ‘no’ to Labour, they were also unwilling to take the chance of being let down again on the issue of abortion by a party that voted against at least three pieces of abortion legislation over their five

Charity Week in the SU EILÍS WALSH THIS editorial is being written on the second last day of Charity Week 2016. The last two days have been fairly hectic what with fitting in events, writing articles on them, taking photos and trying to have fun all at once. I think we’ve managed it. To those who did not attend a single event during Charity Week (why didn’t you?), let me recap what mad things we’ve been up to. On Sunday the 28th, we kicked off Charity Week with the county colours. I attended this with my friend Katie. Neither of us have a major interest in GAA or the genre of music being played in The Stables that night but we still soak in the atmosphere. We arrived at 10pm and left after about an hour, but my sources tell me the place was packed at about 11:30pm. Monday afternoon was when we winced and laughed along with Tom our editor and Aidan one of the co-ops as they got their legs waxed in the name of charity. All I could hear was shrieks of laughter as people dyed their hair purple, a weird red colour and blue. I’ve never seen such strange haircuts being carried out in my life. Then in the evening we packed into The Stables to watch Kristian Nairn, an actor from Game of Throne play his set for a rapturous crowd with some support from great student DJs. Tuesday night had students pack into Dolan’s Warehouse to watch Mullingar band

The Academic. These boys got the crowd going and I confess to myself to shaking my hair like a lion tossing their mane. Not very gracefully, but we can you do. Supports from The New Social and Daithí interacted with the crowd. I always admire how music brings people together. Wednesday saw the headliner gig of the week with Professor Green gracing the stage in the Courtyard. Support from one the co-op students Daithí, and Chris Ward livened the crowd up. I will confess knowing only one of his songs, but I soaked in the hyped up atmosphere, the beats and my friends’ infectious good moods enough to dance myself. I took myself out of my comfort zone when I went to Crush 87 but Charity week is a chance to change things up. We’ve yet to find out how much money was raised, but I am fairly sure we did really well this year. People were still generous and made an effort to get involved, despite the early part of the week being particularly rainy. I donated about €15 euro myself, unfortunately I couldn’t spend more. What I was most happy with was people’s willingness to get involved and donate whatever they could, even if it was 20 cent. All in all, Charity Week was an interesting experience for me. Experiencing it as someone involved with SU was completely different from just being a regular student. There were perks; such as our passes into events, meeting Kristian Nairn (Hodor) and getting inside gossip. If someone asked me to do it all again the next week, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

years in government. As for anti-abortion activists. They have, similar to the 2014 local elections, completely missed the meaning of the election, choosing

instead to attempt to reframe the election as an anti-abortion one. It is true that the Labour Party had made reform of abortion laws one of the legs of their election campaign but even amongst prochoice activists and voters, this was not enough to save them. It is also true that Fianna Fáil saw an increase in the number of their conservative TDs. However this, again was not related primarily to the issue of abortion. Looking to the other side, and proving that it really is the “economy, stupid” which sways voters, vocal pro-choice and anti-government candidates saw a sharp rise in their votes. Despite the choppy waters ahead for Irish politics, what we can be sure of about General Election 2016 is that the election was not about abortion - it was, as elections always has been, about the economy, stupid. Just like marriage equality in the lead up to last May’s referendum, repeal of the Eighth Amendment is a movement of grassroots campaigners, unions, activists and organisations. The movement does not depend on the who rules Dáil Éireann at any particular time. In the past three years public opinion and, to some extent, political opinion has swung towards a more broad understanding of the issue of abortion. The public and politicians alike are seeing the failure of current, and 33-year-old, Irish abortion laws in serving the country’s citizens.

March 2016/1 SATIRE/ENTERTAINMENT

UL Top Yaks UL to ban skinny tracksuit pants

There should be breathalysers on atms and credit card machines after 9pm

Porn has genuinely ruined my life. My boiler is broken but I’m terriﬁed to call the plumber My aunt SUSI emailed me today xx Including ﬁnes from security in your rag week budget cause you know you’re a mad bastard Just used the word ‘paradigm’ in a report. Does this mean I’m an accomplished academic? You know it’s cold outside when you go outside and it’s cold The Thursday of RAG week, may God have mercy on us all...

Following a decision from UL’s Dress Code Committee (ULDCC), as of April 1st skinny tracksuit pants will be banned from UL campus. The decision was made after a massive influx of students was seen to be wearing the pants in September 2015.

CLAIRE O'BRIEN “When it started, it was grand. They were just ugly pants,” commented Lorraine O’Neill of UL’s Dress Code Committee. “However, as the academic year progressed, more and more students began to sport the pants and it soon became an epidemic.” The situation has certainly

become more grave, with ULDCC denouncing groups of students wearing the trousers as “visually offensive”. The ULDCC is one of UL’s less active committees, as they have been dormant since the Poncho craze of 2005, in which the committee outlawed the wearing of crocheted ponchos on campus. The pants ban prevents the possession and wearing of the tracksuit pants. The ban also

applies to on-campus villages. ULDCC will be performing weekly raids of the villages; anyone in the possession of the hideous pants will be subject to eviction. A large ceremony of pantsburning will take place on March 31st. The occasion is called the ‘Pantaloon Purge.’ And will take place in the Students’ Union courtyard. Refreshments at the event will be provided by ULDCC.

Boredom level: In lab reading college times article about how long sex should last You know you’re shook when you take the steps in the main building one at a time

ACROSS 2 What does the Swahili word Simba mean? 5 What's the name of the place where Niamh and Oisín travelled to on a white horse? 6 Aboriginal word for Ayers Rock in Australia 10 What was the name of Macbeth's best friend in the play? 11 A country where it is legal to marry a dead person 13 Which city in Ireland is called the Marble City 14 A food who does not go off 16 Name given to a female swan 17 A group of rhinos are called? 18 Who voiced Zazu in The Lion King?

DOWN 1 What is the Finnish language called? 2 What language is the Book of Kells written in? 3 What marsupial animal likes to hang upside down and play dead 4 Which name was created solely by the author of Peter Pan? 5 What is the name of the youngest Egyptian pharaoh to rule Egypt in the history of the empire? 7 Which year did the ﬁrst human heart transplant take place? 8 Which bird is known to push baby birds out of a nest? 9 What colour liquid would Coke be if you removed the food colouring? 12 The capital of Australia 15 What nationality was the author who wrote Gulliver's Travels?

Edition 9 crossword solutions DOWN

ACROSS

1 Blue 2 Joaquin Phoenix 4 Cobra Bubbles 6 Thumper 8 Spaghetti 9 Phil Collins 10 The Genie 15 Dopey 16 Archery 18 Frozen

3 Nuka 5 Piano 7 The Huns 10 Grandmother Willow 11 French 12 Left 13 A clock 14 1937 17 Flounder 19 Purple

March 2016/1 CLUBS & SOCIETIES

UL Filmmaking Lock-in - Cult Classics EILÍS WALSH OUR Filmmaking Society is in its second semester of existence and I can genuinely say we’re having a blast. We welcomed old faces back to our merry band of people and also some brand new faces. To break the ice we decided to hold our first event of the semester; a lock-in. Last semester we did the exact same but we want to change one thing; the film choices! Evan, our events manager came up with the brilliant idea of having themed lock-ins. This way we could introduce new members to the wacky world of cinema, based on genre, franchise or theme. Our

chosen theme for this lock-in was Cult Classics. Films whether years old or brand new that have accumulated a huge following. Everyone arrived on time surprisingly and we welcomed some international students; French and Spanish, two girls whom we were delighted to have. The committee supplied the lock-ins munchables. It was certainly heavy for Maoilíosa (Vice President) and I to carry the food from the shop, however it was not long before the food disappeared into our stomachs. Five films were voted the favourites out of a set list and these were the following: • A Clockwork Orange • The Big Lebowski

• Fight Club • Monty Python and The Holy Grail • Office Space I will fully admit that I had seen only one film on this before (Fight Club) and was therefore extremely intrigued and excited at the prospect of seeing these films. As a member of the filmmaking society I took it upon myself at the start of second year to be more open minded in terms of watching films. First up was “The Big Lebowski”. I had no idea what to expect and I am also not going to spoil it for those that have not seen it. I will just tell you it was one of the wackiest, funniest and at times down-right silly films I have ever seen. The

madness that unfolds onscreen had me at times looking at my friends mouthing “What is going on?” However, despite saying this, I would highly recommend it. Next, “A Clockwork Orange”. This was a film that had intrigued me for years because of its strange title, I always wondered if the film did have something fruit related in it? This film shocked me at times, within the first few minutes I found myself having to avert my gaze and genuinely felt sick to my stomach. Despite saying that I was able to appreciate the film’s weirdness and soon understood why the film was considered a revolutionary cult classic. Monty Python and the Holy

Grail. I fell asleep for most of this film unfortunately. However, the parts I saw were absolutely hilarious. Think cows being thrown out of windows, bodies with severed arms and heads still hopping around and shouting obscenities, people “riding” through the countryside on pretend horses. Yes, really. Finally, Office Space. I knew this film from seeing memes around the internet. This film was strange also, but funny. Each worker that was focused on within the film had their own quirks, which added to the hilarity. Everything worked and I understand perfectly why this film is a cult classic and I don’t think the hilarity of the film will be lost no matter how

many times you watch it. What is soon becoming the norm in our lock-ins is the fire alarm going off. In midst of sending off an order for at least fifteen pizzas, the alarm screeched into existence for no apparent reason. Which meant that all of us had to stand out in the courtyard wearing different variations of pyjamas. But there was no fear, as we soon sorted out the problem. Despite falling asleep many times throughout the evening, I had a really enjoyable evening. We want to give a huge thank you to Anthony Carey for allowing us use of his projector and other equipment for the lock-in. If you’d like to join us, check us out on Facebook.

It’s never too late to join UL BADMINTON CLUB

Going for gold EMILY KELLY & FRANK STAFFORD UL archery club has represented the college at two separate intervarsities so far this semester. The first competition was hosted by GMIT at the Kingfisher hall in Galway on the 13th of February. This was attended by nine members of our club eight of our members competed in the recurve bow classes and one competing in the compound bow class. All our archers did very well here representing the club with Sean Flavin coming away with first in guest recurve, Frank Stafford coming joint fourth with 2 other archers and just seven points away from bronze in the intermediate recurve class and Devon Long coming sixth in a very competitive compound category. One of our new beginners Conor O’Brien also did very well scoring above 400 points on a 60cm face target which now means he will be shooting the smaller 40cm target face and was also awarded a white pin. This was followed by an intervarsity held by DCU two weeks later on the 27th of February. UL was again well represented with nine archers competing. Our archers also did well here with Sean Flavin again coming first in the intermediate recurve category, Frank Stafford coming in fourth with just 3 points separating him from silver and Devon Long coming in seventh in the compound category. The next intervarsity will be hosted by NUIG and is the final competition of the year with all the scores from all five intervarsities this year going towards the final awards. Apart from our success in intervarsity competitions, we have also organised club activities such as a bowling trip. We organised a great evening out where many of our members went bowling and had a great time. We welcomed in many new members this semester who are on Erasmus and also existing students who have decided to try out a new sport. This semester, we welcomed two new committee members into our archery committee also. We also have a few upcoming events in the pipeline for our club before the year is out.

ON Wednesday, the 24th of February, the UL Badminton Club held a tournament for all the recreational players in our club to take part in. It was a great success with over 30 entries turning up on the night to take part. The quality from everybody present was great to see and it proved to be a blast of a night of badminton. Coming out on top at the end was the pairing of Alexander Arun Johnson and Kevin Chun beating Kiran Varmans and Stéphane Molo in a very close final. This has been a busy semester for the club with events like

this and an extremely successful table quiz that was held in the Sports Bar in Week 4. In the coming weeks we will be sending two teams to the Intervarsities, which is being held in NUIG this year. It will be a big weekend and we hope to come out with something on the other side. Like our Facebook page (UL Badminton Club) and Twitter page (@Ul_ Badminton) to keep up to date with what is happening in the club. You can also email ulbadmintonclub@gmail. com if you have any queries. It's never too late to join so head on down to the Sports Arena and join in on the fun.

UL record a historic first win in the Mixed Division SHANE McNAMARA AFTER what can only be described as a nail biting weekend, UL Ultimate Frisbee are this year’s Indoor Inter Varsities Mixed champions. On Saturday, the 23rd of January two teams travelled to Cork to make history. Our second team finished in the top 12 bracket which was a huge achievement for them despite acquiring injuries. They remained positive throughout the tournament and were a credit to themselves both on and off the pitch displaying amazing performances of ultimate. Needless to say, after beating UCD in the semifinal on universe point, the

first team were on a complete high. This high could be felt by the Mardyke Arena and even friends at home as the final was going to be live streamed. Now the only thing that stood between UL and that trophy was the infamous UCC. UL were most certainly the under dogs throughout the tournament but as the old saying goes: “it's not about the size of the dog in the fight but it's about the size of the fight in the dog”. The taste of victory is addictive and our win against UCD most certainly left us hungry. We told ourselves to approach the final like it was “just another game”. Everyone was relaxed and yet had the perfect amount of butterflies required to

stay focused. We took every point as it came and never let our heads drop. UCC went up 4-2 early on in the game but with the help of a quick pep talk and extremely clinical offense and gritty defence we brought it back to 5-4. We then traded for a while until it was 7-7. Bodies were tired, hearts were pumping and it was anyone's game to take. Suddenly it was universe point again, game to 8. We did it before so what was stopping us from doing it now? It was now down to luck. UL started on offence giving us a head start. Now all we had to do was retain the disc and hopefully get lucky in the end zone. We were swinging the disc and being very clinical with each and every

pass. No one was taking a chance. Suddenly Andrew Meade saw a gap in UCC’s end zone, he popped a pass into the air for Gary Gilmartin to snatch out of the sky. As soon as his feet touched the ground the atmosphere was electric. The crowd ran onto the pitch and soon everyone was covered in sweat. We headed home that night with 2 trophies, 9 gold medals and memories that will last a lifetime. We would like to thank UCC for their outstanding spirit on the pitch. It was a fantastic display of sportsmanship. I'm sure we will see them on the field sooner than we would like. However this time, we might stand a little taller.

March 2016/1 SPORT

GAA Fitzgibbon Cup Final, CIT Sportsground

Success continues for UL Mary Immaculate College claimed their first Fitzgibbon Cup final win in an absolutely stunning game that will imprint on the minds of each spectator lucky enough to witness it.

UL MARY I

2-23 1-30

LAUREN GUILFOYLE AFTER playing 60 minutes in tough conditions yesterday, the Limerick students endured another 90 minutes today before Mary I claimed the title in a 2point win. Spectators were treated to an initial 20-minute period of extra time and then a further 10 minutes in order to separate the sides, Limerick senior hurlers Darragh O’Donovan and Cian Lynch supplying the winners at the 89th minute. It was UL that started the day the brightest, with Tom Morrissey bagging a goal after just 4 minutes, but Mary I’s afternoon of reluctance to let UL power on kicked in straight away, replying with four points from Lynch, Linnane and 2 frees from Adare sharpshooter Declan Hannon. Mary I dominated most of the play in the first half, with UL struggling to contain Hannon along with the full forward line which was an ever present threat, John McGrath and Hannon adding 3 points each from dead balls to leave the sides level 1-3 to 6points with 26 minutes gone. The stability of Paul Maher

between the sticks for UL was evident, tending to shots on goal with ease, and had Jason Forde on hand to hold up the ever threatening Hannon, escaping with just a yellow card and popping a point over the bar at the other end for good measure. Tom Morrissey entered the score sheet once again with a point in the 30th minute, but was quickly followed up by an equalising score from O’Donovan to leave the sides all level at half time. UL 1-6 MIC 0-9. The second half resumed with the pace and intensity as witnessed in the first, and the hugely influential McGrath had his first green flag of the afternoon raised 2 minutes after the restart. Mary I’s attacking efforts had them 6 white flags over the next 12 minutes despite the substituting of 2013 All Star Colm Galvin succumbing to injury, Cian Lynch getting the credit for two of those, with UL's only response from Kilmaley’s Aidan McGuane. McGrath launched his second attack on the Mary I defence and came away 3 points the better for it once again, to leave UL trailing by just one point with 15 minutes remaining. Linnane and Meagher added 2 points to Mary I's total, but the collective efforts of McGrath and substitute Tommy Heffernan were enough to force extra time. The score at the end of normal

time read UL 3-12 Mary I 1-18, with UL losing Jason Forde 5 minutes from time through injury. The first period of extra time saw UL take a 2-point lead on two different occasions, with Conor Martin and Cathal McInerney opening their accounts, while Corry and Gallagher raised their input with white flags for Mary I at the other end. UL had a one-point advantage at the break UL 3-18 MIC 1-23. 3 quick points from Mary I’s Reidy (2) and Cahill put them back in the driving seat, but just wasn’t enough as Tommy Heffernan added his 4th and 5th point from play since coming on in the 68th minute, to leave UL needing one to equalise. John McGrath stepped up and duly obliged, adding his 7th of the game, forcing the sides into another period extra time. Having played a game each the day before, the Limerick students were facing into their

140th minute of competitive action to decide where the Fitzgibbon Cup trophy would spend the Summer months. Despite Heffernans point in the 86th minute, his 6th point from play since his introduction in the 68th minute, Mary I rustled up three scores from All Ireland U21 winning stars O’Donovan and Lynch to put the nail in ULs coffin and send them back up Treatyside with no silverware in hand. Mary I claiming the title after a 90-minute-long battle with captain Richie English leading the acknowledgements, UL 3-22 MIC 1-30. Not many would have been sour with the final result reading a draw with the potential of a replay in the Gaelic Grounds, such was the quality of entertainment on show, but Eamon Cregans’ men showed the desire to push on and claim the title for the first ever time for the teacher training college, joining the role of honour. Declan

SOCCER

Brave UL falls just short JAMESY McCONIGLEY IT was a real ‘cheers but no cigar week’ for UL in the Collingwood Cup this year, reaching the final but falling at the last hurdled. UL overcame Mary I in a pulsating quarterfinal, where it took extra time to decide who would advance to the semi-final. Mary I took the lead but Oisin Mc Menamin grabbed an equaliser. Mary I missed a spot kick that would prove crucial. 90 minutes couldn’t separate the sides and extra time would prove pivotal. Garbhan Coughlan scored his first of the tournament from the spot to send UL into the semi-final against Trinity College. The match was over shadowed by the horrific injury UL’s centre half Jack Lynch received. The following day, UL squared off against Trinity, Trinity started on the front foot and Foley headed

them into the lead. UL left it late to salvage a draw, 84 minutes on the clock, A.J O’Connor glanced a header past David Minahane in the Trinity goals. The Dublin side were then reduced to ten men when Ben Muhammad was given his marching orders for striking an opponent. The final whistle was sounded and UL dug out a draw. 109 minutes gone, Barry Hootan hurled a long throwin into the danger zone, the ball was

nudged into the back of the net by the on rushing Óisin Mc Menamin, sparking scenes of jubilation from the UL side. UL progressed into their first final since 2008. UCD stood in the way of UL winning their first ever Collingwood Cup in 102 years. Due the inclement weather, both sides found it hard to adapt to the conditions. UCD dominated possession but it was UL carving out the early

chances, Garbhan Coughlan thumping his effort goal wards but smartly tipped away by Niall Corbet in the UCD goals. 21 minutes gone and Johnathan Hannafin’s clearance found the feet of Garbhan Coughlan, Coughlan’s dipping effort smashed off the underside of the UCD bar and into the back of net. Advance UL. Conor Mc Guire slid a through ball into Oisin Mc Menamin’s path but his effort was palmed away by Corbet. UL had the wind in their sails and UCD were grateful to hear the half time whistle. UCD searched for an equaliser and they found it from the boot of Kelly. Clever play between the dynamic Timmy Molloy and Georgie Kelly found Andrew Walsh pulling off a brilliant save but the rebound was headed home from close range by Georgie Kelly. UL lost both Brian Nolan and Paudie O’Connor through injury in the second half. It was nip-and-tuck between the two sides for majority of the second half. Bolands late strike won it for UCD and crowned them champions for a record 43rd time.

Hannon had 1-12 to his name and was superb throughout, exuding dominance right from the throw in. UL had a huge leader through John McGrath, but it was Tommy Heffernan’s quality of scores, 6 in total from play, that was the huge talking point of the 2 periods of extra time. Linnane, O’Donovan and Lynch impressed throughout for the eventual winners, whilst the

impact of Paul Maher and Jason Forde, especially in normal time, cannot go un-noted. The Fitzgibbon Cup will venture back to Limerick once again for the Summer months, but will have to get used to the city surroundings in a new home, a testament to the efforts of Cregan who has been involved with the Mary I side for a huge number of years.

Sigerson Cup Semi-Final UL MARY I

1-09 4-12

UUJ was the venue for the highly anticipated Sigerson Cup semi- final vs UCD on Friday last. UL had travelled up to Belfast in high spirits and there was a genuine belief that despite being rank outsiders for the match, the team could pull off a big shock and qualify for the final. UCD began the game strongly and were helped with the aid of a strong breeze. After 16 minutes, the highlyimpressive Dublin outfit were 2-5 to no score ahead. Aidan Rowan of Longford got UL on the scoreboard which was sandwiched in between points by John Heslin and Paul Mannion for UCD. UL lost David Larkin to a black card shortly before half time and shortly after Niall Kelly buried past Colm O’Driscoll to well and truly finish this game as a contest. Half time score of UL 0-2, UCD 3-9. UL, to their credit, came out at half time and put in a fantastic second half performance which started right in the full back line with Kerry pair Cathal Long and Eamonn Kiely (captain) leading by example with a number of excellent interceptions and tackles to dispossess the talented UCD forwards. Luke Boland added a lot to the side and Ruairi Deane began to dominate midfield as UL enjoyed their

best period of possession. Bryan O’Shea scored four fine points in the second half, including a 45 and two from play and UCD struggled to match Brian Carson’s men’s attitude towards the second half. A second goal for Kelly after a mistake in the UL defence was cruel for the Limerick-based team who were much the better side in the second half scoring 1-7 in the process. Ian Bourke scored a fantastic individual goal on 54 minutes; however, it was too late for UL whose season came to a disappointing conclusion on a cold day in Belfast. However, despite this result, UL can be extremely proud of their endeavours. A good league campaign coupled with an excellent buy-in by the entire panel meant that Semester 1 was extremely successful. A beneficial number of trainings and challenge matches during January 2016 prepared the team for a difficult Sigerson Cup game vs IT Tralee. After overcoming the Kerrybased team, the team then went on to beat Queens University Belfast by a single point, much to the excitement of a large UL crowd in attendance. A corner has been turned with regards to the outlook of outsiders on the standard of football in UL. Qualifying for the Sigerson Cup weekend was a key goal this year, but there is much more to come from this talented bunch of footballers reigning from West Cork to Cavan and Clare to Wexford.

March 2016/1

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