Volume XXI - Broadsheet - Issue 5

uo The University Observer BasketBalL UCD Captain Conor Meany on the upcoming national final

Black Lives Matter A look at the current unrest in north america

mental health Ireland’s Attitudes to mental health and Psychiatric care examined

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Ciarán Sweeney p18

martin Healy P4

gráinne loughran P8

photo james brady

Cian Carton News Editor UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) is set to propose a range of changes to its constitution, and will put a constitutional referendum to students later this semester.

The current constitution was introduced by former President, Pat de Brun, during the 2011/2012 academic year.

The biggest proposed change will be the return Campaigns and Communications Officer (C&C) position to the Union. Before the role was abolished, Paddy Guiney served as the last C&C Officer, during the 2012/2013 year. The position includes organising campus and national-based campaigns.

Feargal Hynes, UCDSU President, is hopeful that students will engage with the proposals and vote in the referendum. He said he understood that having a constitutional referendum is not the most “sellable” thing, in light of past turnouts. However, he believes that the return of the C&C Officer will encourage students to vote.

Currently, UCDSU’s part-time Convenors share the role amongst themselves. Originally, UCDSU had hoped that there would be greater accountability if its roles were spread

birds standing on the frozen lake on the first day of term

UCDSU Proposes Constitutional Reform out amongst Convenors. Hynes said that “the part-time officers haven’t been able to supplement the role of the C&C Officer,” and feels that the role would be better placed to achieve one of UCDSU’s main aims, that of greater engagement with the student body.

Alongside the President, there will be four officers; Welfare, Education, Graduate Education, and Campaigns and Communications.

As part of structural changes, C&C would also absorb responsibilities from other Officers. Equality will fall under the C&C position, along with the Campaigns Forum. C&C would also take over as chair of the ENTS forum, and become the official spokesperson for ENTS, a link which UCDSU has been lacking.

The Graduate Officer will deal with all matters pertaining to graduate students, including graduate welfare and education issues. The ENTS Manager is set to be renamed the Entertainment and Events Manager, in recognition of the logistical role they play in organising events. It will continue as a professional role.

Also making a return will be the non-binding referendum, known as a “preferendum.” Hynes sees it as a

way to gauge the student population’s opinions on “contentious” issues, without having to be tied to the result. There will also be a provision for online voting, which Hynes feels may attract some opposition.

Preferendums could be held online, at no great expense. Under the new constitution, there will be a clear distinction between a binding and non-binding referendum.

As part of the reform, Convenor wages will also be abolished.

These wages are costing UCDSU approximately €20,000 per year.

Part-time Convenors are paid for their work, up to a maximum of ten hours per week at the current minimum wage of €8.65 per hour.

Hynes stressed that they are only paid for what they are elected to do. Convenors are entitled to be paid one hour of wages for attending Executive Council.

The savings will be used to finance the wage of the new C&C Officer, who will be paid around €400 per week, the same as the other Sabbatical Officers. This reform proposal has seen support from some Convenors.

Conor Rock, Arts Convenor, said that the C&C Officer will take the pressure off the Convenors,

allowing “more free time for student engagement.” He said that the idea of Convenor pay is “not a bad one, but it is certainly not a necessity.” Éanna Ó Braonáin, Irish Language Convenor, said that Convenors were consulted about the move.

He said that being paid for their work helped them as they “didn’t have to worry about working as much outside the Union.” For him, removing the Convenor pay is a logical move, as the Convenors will have a lessened workload.

Hynes said that the original decision to remove the C&C position was mainly a financial decision, coming at a time when the Union was struggling with financial issues.

He said that he was concerned the SU did not “question everything,” something he noticed after first taking up his role as President, saying they have “often did things because they’ve done it that way.” The Board of Directors conducted a review into staffing structure, finding that wage levels in UCDSU were more than 10% higher than any other Students’ Union in Ireland. Instances of role duplication were also discovered.

A sub-committee of the Board reviewed the report, which was attended

by an external, professional HR consultant. The Board then decided that the current system of staffing structures was unsustainable, and made a decision in consideration of the debt level facing UCDSU, which resulted in the termination of the position of UCDSU General Manager, held by Philip Mudge.

Hynes defended the decision saying that they “don’t want to get to a stage that we’re not achieving the core aims of the Students’ Union just to be … popular, or just to make the easy decisions. It was about taking the tough choices now for the benefit of the long-term.”

UCDSU will be hosting public consultation meeting over the proposed constitutional changes on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st January, at 1pm in the Red Room, in the New Student Centre. Brian Mahon, UCDSU Research and Communications Assistant, explained that this would involve laying out the proposed changes to those in attendance, and expects them to be agreeable with students. However, he did say that UCDSU would take another look at certain proposals if they faced large opposition.

Student Capital Fund Oversubscribed

Exam Timetable may be Altered for Referendum

lucy ryan - Staff Reporter

cian carton - News Editor

The Student Consultative Forum has confirmed its Student Capital Fund (SCF) was oversubscribed for the first time in its history. The SCF provides yearly funding for capital projects, and is based upon an application process, which is not restricted to recognised clubs and societies. In total, the cumulative costs of grant applications made this year was €86,960. This was more than double the €41,000 available to applicants.

The funding scheme originated in 1990, when the Student Bar was making substantial profits, some of which was put into a student capital fund. Paddy O’Flynn, Director of the Student Consultative Forum, which administers the SCF, said that the bar became intertwined with UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU).

The closure of the bar marked the end of finance for the fund. It has been able to survive up to the present based on its reserves and it being undersubscribed each year.

O’Flynn affirmed that “funding has been stable for the past five to six years and it hasn’t been reduced.” He acknowledged that the “funds given out nowadays from the SCF are quite

small compared” to previous years.

The SCF gave out £1,279, 718.11 in capital funding between 1993 and 2002. Almost £1 million of this went towards the construction of the Old Student Centre and renovations to the Student Club. In contrast, it awarded just under €100,000 in funding between 2010 to 2013. The SCF grant history suggests it is the sports clubs that are the primary beneficiaries, as very few of the societies are in the market for capital funds.

The standard procedure for the allocation of the grant is overseen by the Executive Committee, which considers the applications, while the final decisions on applications are made at the general meeting. Payments are then made through the Bursar’s Office.

This year’s general meeting, held on the 18th December 2014, raised concerns over the application process. It was chaired by Dominic Martella, External Communications and Media Relations Manager for UCD. Normally, individual applicants would each make a written application in advance, and then make a presentation which the assembly would approve or reject. It

is alleged that applicants were told just before the meeting whether they had been successful, before they had been given a chance to present their cases, resulting in it only being attended by representatives who were in line to receive funding. O’Flynn confirmed that “the Chairman put the set of decisions to a single vote without any application.”

Several applicants received the full amount they requested. Some received partial funding, while others were completely rejected. The American Football Club received money for uniforms, while the Sub Aqua Club received money for safety equipment. The University Observer was awarded funding of €2,325 for web and branding development. Eric Lucking, senior Treasurer of the UCD Sub-Aqua Club, commented on his club’s dealings with the fund.

“We applied for €11,901.19 in our capital grant application from which we received €5,500. This money will go along way in helping us get to the highest safety standard that we constantly strive for at the club.”

UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) and UCD Registry are set to engage in discussions over the possibility of altering the exam timetable for Semester 2, if the government decides to hold the Marriage Equality referendum during the exam period.

Feargal Hynes, UCDSU President, said he met with the Registrar to confer over the referendum. Dominic Martella, External Communications and Media Relations Manager for UCD, confirmed that UCDSU had raised the issue with Registry and that “discussions will ensue.”

There are concerns that if the referendum were to be held on a date that clashes with UCD exams, it would make it difficult for many students to cast votes in their home constituencies.

National media has reported that the government had provisional chosen early May to hold two referendums, including the one on marriage equality. Currently, the Semester 2 exams are set to take place between the 5th to the 16th May. This has led to calls for the timetable to be changed, if necessary.

The Semester 2 exam timetable is set

january 20th 2015 Volume XXI issue 5 universityobserver.ie

to be released on the 30th March.

Apprehension over student voters is not just confined to UCD, with several other universities set to host exam periods during May. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has been advocating for the referendum to be held in April. In her Presidential blog on 17th December 2014, Laura Harmon, USI President, said it would be an “act of folly” on behalf of the government if it decided to hold the vote after the 1st of May. UCDSU has been calling for a “YES” vote in the marriage equality referendum, and recently participated in a voter registration drive with the UCD LGBTQ+ Society.

Commenting on the willingness of voters to support the proposal, Hynes said the the “issue at the moment isn’t with the students, it’s with the older generations.”

The marriage equality referendum is set to be held on the same day as a second referendum on the presidential age requirement.

Currently, an Irish citizen must be at least 35 years old to stand for the presidency. Voters will have a chance to reduce this requirement down to 21 years of age.

Poetry and Fiction Submissions of poetry and fiction from UCD students

Sarah Burke-Vaughan and tadgh Dolan otwo p14 & p15

Steven yeun an interview with the walking dead star

shane hannon Otwo P16

dublin pop up

Cúán Greene talks pop up restaurants and irish food david corscadden Otwo P6

young fathers

An interview with mercury prize winner alloysious massaquoi Seán hayes otwo p20 January 20th 2015

News

national news in brief Eithne dodd - Staff Writer

UCD LGBTQ+ Launch Campaign for Gender-Neutral Bathrooms niamh o’regan - Staff Reporter

Irish Journalists Wary of Social Media Over half of Irish journalists use social media for sourcing news stories, according to the results of the first ever nationwide survey on the role of social media in journalism.

Last week, the Digital Humanities and Journalism group of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), released its report Social Journalism Survey: First National Survey on Irish Journalists’ Use of Social Media (2014).

In order to get the broadest range of responses, the survey was open to all professional journalists in Ireland. Respondents worked in a range of media varying from print to broadcast to online-only publications. They operated across a wide variety of fields in all areas of reporting, including news, arts, sports and technology. 58% of Irish journalists use social media for news leads and content but very few rely on it for verifying information, preferring instead to directly contact the individuals in question.

Dr Bahareh Heravi, leader of the group at Insight NUI Galway, said that “very few journalists use specialist tools to validate information, instead relying on the practice of contacting individuals directly.” This was reflected in the finding that over half of the journalists questioned said that they believe social media undermines traditional journalistic values.

TCD to Receive €70 Million Loan for Capital Projects Trinity College Dublin is set to receive a €70 million loan from The European Investment Bank (EIB) in order to help finance proposed capital projects at the university. Approved in principle, both sides are yet to agree the term and interest rate on the loan. A formal deal is expected to be reached in the coming months.

Some of the funds will be used to finance the establishment of the new Trinity Business School, which was announced as part of the university’s €600 million, five-year strategic plan last October. It will be co-located with an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, which will see that development costing around €70 million.

The loan will also facilitate improvements to its IT infrastructure, the purchase of a location to host the Institute of Population Health, along with a cancer research institute at St. James’s Hospital. The estimated total cost of all these projects is approximately €148 million.

TCD also hopes to raise €20 million for capital projects from philanthropic donors, some of which are believed to be graduates of the institution.

A spokeswoman for the university declined to name any donors at this point in time.

The UCD LGBTQ+ Society has launched an online petition for gender-neutral bathrooms to be fitted in UCD buildings. The petition, which was initiated on petitions.ie, was created in the interest of safety and well-being of all UCD students and staff using the toilet facilities on campus, according to UCD LGBTQ+.

For some students, choosing a bathroom can be a stressful and potentially dangerous experience.

Tim Keegan, LGBTQ+ Welfare Officer, said that having a genderneutral bathroom would provide them with “a great deal of peace of mind” as going to the bathroom as a trans person can be an ordeal.

They may face harassment as well as verbal, psychological and even physical abuse, over whether or not they are in the “right” bathroom.

As a result of this, going to the bathroom throughout the college day can be a source of unnecessary anxiety and stress. Keegan believes that “by adding even one genderneutral bathroom per building some of this tension can be alleviated.”

A similar proposal was made last year to Campus Services, but it was “brushed off” by both

students and staff, according to Louise Keogh, LGBTQ+ Auditor.

She said they received a slightly more sympathetic response this year, from the HR department for staff, however they alone do not have the power to implement it as a policy. Therefore, the society are hoping to work alongside the staff network and UCDSU in order to get their voices heard on the issue.

UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) and UCD LGBTQ+ have traditionally enjoyed a good relationship, with the two organisations working together throughout the first semester in registering students to vote in the upcoming marriage equality referendum. UCDSU is in favour of the policy and has noted in previous council meetings that “gender composes more than binary male and binary female” and as a result, those who do not identify as either binary male or binary female have no toilet facilities on campus. From this, the Council has mandated that “the Gender Equality Coordinator, LGBT Coordinator and Welfare Equality Officer to work together to lobby the university to provide at least one gender-neutral bathroom on campus for students that need

it.” Conor Rock, UCDSU Arts Convenor, believes that the Newman Joyce Project, which consists of the revamp of the Newman building and the connecting bridge to the James Joyce library, provides a great opportunity to incorporate genderneutral bathrooms into the building.

The Gender-Neutral Bathrooms campaign will be run this semester, in conjunction with the society’s YES Equality campaign for the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum, which is expected to be held in May of this year.

Powering Kindness Campaign Returns Roisin Guyett-Nicholson - Staff Reporter Students are being invited to take part in the third annual Powering Kindness campaign, sponsored by Electric Ireland.

The initiative, which runs runs from Saturday 17th January to Friday 23rd January, seeks to promote three different charities and provide funding through everyday acts of kindness.

The UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems is supporting the Marie Keating Foundation throughout the campaign this year. The foundation plans to use any funds raised for their Comfort Fund which helps families that are suffering financially from the effects of cancer.

The Comfort Fund pays particular attention to families that see a reduction in income due to cancer treatment or caring for a sick relative. It aims to provide financial support to pay bills and childcare costs. With the potential boost to this fund from the Powering Kindness campaign, the foundation claims it could help over 100 families.

People are asked to get involved by performing an act of kindness and logging their efforts online.

The charity with the most acts of kindness logged will receive the largest share of a €130,000 fund, which was increased by €30,000

by Electric Ireland in 2013. The organisation that comes first

Volunteers Sought for Law B&L Day emer slattery

will receive €60,000 in funding, with the next prizes amounting to €40,000 and €30,000.

With little demand on time and money, this campaign seeks to help charities and raise awareness through everyday actions. Sample acts are described on the Powering Kindness website as “holding the door open for someone” or “giving up your seat on a train,” even extending to thanking someone for an act of kindness. People can log up to ten acts a day to support their chosen charity and are encouraged to upload a picture or video. Past participants in Powering Kindness include Stephen Fry and Ronan O’Gara, with over 45,000 acts of kindness being logged in during

the previous campaign. Support has also come from broadcaster George Hook and the Samoan rugby team.

One student who will be participating this year during the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems’ week long drive will be midwifery student Roísín Ni Mhara, who confirmed she will be in a “pig costume walking around campus giving free hugs, Glenisk yogurts and Cheese snack packs” throughout the week.

Ni Mhara encourages as many students from all across campus to get involved with the campaign and help such a worthy cause.

People who want to participate and log their act of kindness can do so either through the

website www.PoweringKindness. ie, or on social media, using the hashtag PoweringKindness, and the name of their chosen charity, for example, @mariekeating.

In previous years, the event has been extremely successful, supporting charities such as Special Olympics Ireland and Focus Ireland. The charities involved in this year’s campaign are the Marie Keating Foundation (which provides support for people after a cancer diagnosis), the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC). The ISPCC is connected to Childline, an organisation that was recently at risk of being forced to cut their hours of service due to a lack of funding.

UCD ENTS Announces Dates for Fashion Show Melissa O’Sullivan

US University Establishes a Campus in Dingle Sacred Heart University (SHU), of Connecticut, USA, is set to establish a campus in Dingle, Co. Kerry. The Provost of SHU, Laura Niesen de Abruna, signed a memorandum of agreement with University College Cork (UCC), the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), and the Institute of Technology of Tralee (ITT).

The new campus will be based in a former Christian Brothers School.

SHU is currently in the process of buying the building, which it plans to refurbish at a cost of €1m.

It also plans to develop a coastal research and learning centre with Dingle’s Ocean World Aquarium.

In 2004, Irish scholar and parish priest of Dingle, Monsignor Padraig O’Fiannachta, established links with the Catholic SHU, through the Diseart Centre. Since then, students have been coming to Dingle to participate in short term courses at the Irish Centre for Cultural Studies.

Over 6,000 students attend SHU, and from next autumn students will have the opportunity to study part of their degrees in nursing, marine science and the performing arts in Dingle. 120 students are expected to attend the campus when it opens next September.

Conservative estimates put the value of the project to the local economy at €500,000 annually, which has been widely welcomed by local groups.

2 January 20th 2015

The Sutherland School of Law is set to play host to Law B&L Day on 5th February. The annual event is a faculty’s day in aid of charity. This year, the chosen charity is Temple Street Children’s Hospital. There will be a wide range of activities organised to raise awareness and funds for the charity in a fun way.

Speaking to the University Observer, Kara Kelly & Aoibhinn Kenny, co-chairs of the event, explained that the day will begin with volunteers heading into the city centre for a bucket collection.

Upon their return to the Sutherland building, they will be greeted with a sponsored breakfast.

Following this, there will be a tag rugby tournament, then the annual Law vs. B&L comedy debate. A break for dinner is scheduled, as “sustenance is crucial before the highly competitive table quiz” which will take place that evening in the bar. Afterwards, the day will wind down with a slave auction, before participants get a bus into town to celebrate the success of the event.

The highlight of the day is the

comedy debate, which has previously played host to law lecturer James McDermott. When asked whether he will be making an appearance this year, the organisers refused to spoil the surprise. They said it was “a secret, we all know how important he his... that said, if he could find the time to socialise with us mere mortals here on earth, we’d be very excited.”

Kelly and Kenny are looking for as many people as possible to get involved in the event, including those who do not study law. They said they would welcome the “participation of all students! The event is to raise much needed funds for charity after all, so the more the merrier!”

The organisers are looking for teams to enter the tag rugby tournament, as well as committee members to help organise all of the day’s events. They are encouraging students interested in getting involved to check out their Facebook page for up to date details. Updates will be posted on the twitter account @ucdlawday.

Students can also get in contact by emailing ucdlawday@gmail.com.

UCD ENTS have announced that the Nissan Next Generation UCD Fashion Show will be held on the 18th and 19th of February in Astra Hall . UCD ENTS manager, Paul Kilgallon said that he was “delighted” to be running the show again, following it’s successful outing in 2014.

Last year, the show raised a record €10,000 for the Jack Kavanagh Fund.

For the 2015 show, all proceeds raised will go to the Irish charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

It was set up by Michael and Marie Greene in 2002, following the death of their teenage son Peter, who died of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS). CRY provides free support and screening to those who have lost family members due to SADS. The theme of this year’s show is “Seven Deadly Sins” and the models will be embracing each of the sins

(Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust). On the first night of the show, students from design schools from all around the country will showcase their unique designs to the audience and the Young Designer of the Year will be chosen.

On the second night, the winner of the 2012 Young Designer of the Year Award, Maria Lola Roche, will debut her new collection.

Roche was the first ever Irish designer to be nominated for the Designer for Tomorrow Award, which is judged by Tommy Hilfiger.

Her work has been showcased extensively across the Irish media.

The show is set to be officially launched on the 4th February in UCD. In attendance will be Maria Lola Roche, the current Miss Ireland, Jessica Hayes; and Darragh Fanning of Leinster Rugby, who is also a patron of CRY.

Cian Carton News Editor

Thanks to the Digital Humanities and Journalism group of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), Irish journalists had a say on their profession in the first ever survey on their use of social media. Yet surprisingly the data released, which is examined on page 2 in National News in Brief, garnered little media attention.

Taking in the views of 421 Irish journalists, the results seem to follow “modern” trends for journalism. In summary, 99% of Irish journalists utilise social media as part of their work but over half expressed fears over its reliability for stories. How does this compare with international results? Up for consideration is the fact that nearly half of Irish journalists use social media on a daily basis, compared to UK surveys, which puts the UK rate at over 90%.

Dr. Natalie Harrower, the Digital Repository of Ireland’s Manager of Education and Outreach, and co-author

News Analysis: Journalists’ Use of Social Media A look at a new study examing how social media is used by the modern press, as well as the declining job satisfaction of many journalists.

of the report, said that “social media has become a significant factor in the writing of contemporary history – it is shaping the way that contemporary society is documented, and therefore it demands our attention as a candidate for long-term preservation.”

Harrower calls the social media data “ephemeral if not preserved properly. We are at risk of losing it, and in turn, losing an important and diverse part of our social record.”

This is something that deserves to be studied in-depth, given the blurring of lines between professional and social journalism, driven by social media.

The report concludes that “better ways are needed to validate and verify unknown media sources, and to provide guidance to journalists on how social media can be cited and reused legally.”

(Some people would possibly settle for the end of the “Views are my own” comment on Twitter bios). This was arguably a logical end to the survey.

But what about the broader trends?

One of the most insightful surveys on journalism comes from the US. In 1972, sociologist John Johnstone published the results of a survey on journalists that he began the previous year. It was repeated in 1982, 1992, and 2002 by David Weaver and colleagues at Indiana University. The latest inclination came in Autumn 2013, with 1,080 US journalists taking part. The results were published as The American Journalist in the Digital Age, OLE-object by Weaver and a fellow professor, Lars Willnat.

The most important statistic, perhaps, in the US report centres on job satisfaction. It shows a large decline in job satisfaction over the decades. In 1971, 49% of journalists survey described themselves as being “very satisfied” with their jobs. This has more than halved, down to 23.3% in 2013. Apart from an increase in 2002, it has been a downward trend.

This is understandable, in light of the other findings in the survey. 59.7%

say they see journalism going in the “wrong direction,” with declining profits, competition for funding and job cuts seen as the big challenges to the profession, while most media outlets downsized their workforces.

Is there any correlation between a journalist’s job satisfaction and social media? Using a generalisation, there probably is not, given how there was a decline right from the 1970s.

One could be pedantic and say that social media has not helped to reverse the trend. Yet, the perceived value of social media is intriguing. 80% of them agreed or strongly agreed that it was valuable to help promote themselves and share their work.

Journalists want to gain recognition for their work, evidenced by how much importance they place on promoting themselves. The internet, especially social media, provides them a vehicle in which to do so, in a manner beyond all possibility of their predecessors decades ago. For

example, a reporter at a small, local newspaper has far more going for him today than ever before, especially in terms of getting recognition for his work. Similarly, the International News in Brief stories in this paper, located right beside this article, often originate from news reports by local media outlets on student activities worldwide. It would not have been possible to bring such reports to the students of UCD when the University Observer launched 20 years ago.

But, less and less of journalists are happy with their jobs? They have a great tool to satisfy their egos, yet are more likely to be unhappy? Is it a misweighting bias? A changing world? A changing profession? An investigation into job satisfaction must serve as the cornerstone of any future surveys of the industry.

lucy ryan - Staff Reporter famine and drought. However, the government was only ousted in 1979, with many survivors still alive today. The Cambodian government, with UN assistance, set up a special court to try the surviving leaders of the regime.

De Brún will be assisting the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges, including taking part in victim interviews, processing victim statements, and reviewing evidence. Where the evidence meets the threshold for prosecution, it will be handed over to the Office of the Prosecutor, who will bring cases against individuals. De Brún says that it will be “emotionally tough work, but I’m really looking forward to it nonetheless.”

De Brún’s interest in Human Rights is rooted in his exposure to this field of law while completing

his Erasmus through German at Humboldt University, Berlin.

However it wasn’t until his final year in UCD when he specialised in human rights law that he realised his true passion for this particular area. Upon graduation in 2014, De Brún decided to pursue a gap year before committing to a Masters, having known individuals who had completed an internship with the UN. De Brún attributes securing the internship due to the extracurricular activities he involved himself with while attending UCD stressing “it is the single most important thing you can offer when you are looking for career opportunities upon graduation.”

During his undergraduate degree, he took two years Sabbatical leave to fulfil roles in UCDSU.

Claiming that too many graduates feel an intense pressure to go straight into a graduate programme, or further their education through a Masters when they finish their degrees, De Brún offered this advice to students. He said they should not underestimate “taking a year out and exploring what you really want to spend the rest of your life doing. Travel, if you can. Once you start along your career path, you might never have the same opportunity again.” Additionally, he emphasised that the court affiliated with the Khmer Rouge trial takes on significant numbers of law graduates as interns every year, recommending anyone with an interest to apply. More information is available via the court’s website www.unakrt-online.org.

cian carton - News Editor opportunity to operate on real world equity or company analysis, similar to that of an Investment Bank Research Analyst. Students work in teams, analysing companies within different sectors such as Food & Beverages, Financials, Gaming, Airlines, Construction and Resources. The groups then compete to pitch their company analysis, outlining why they think their research will yield a profit in the medium to long term due to an undervalued share price at the moment. Cash prizes are offered for some of the best pitches.

Eleven societies surpass over a thousand members this year

Describing the SMF, Tom O’Sullivan said that the Fund is “much larger than the initial start up of the Trinity SMF and one of the largest in the university world today.” He commented that getting involved offers “the opportunity to really stand out with this experience in your CV and opens many doors, particularly in the International Investment Banking, Sales & Trading and Investment Management world.”

The UCD SMF will return for Semester 2 with a launch evening on Monday 26th January, at 6pm

in the Quinn School of Business.

The organisers are looking for more students to join as analysts, with recruitment open to those from all backgrounds, while students studying business, law, computer science or engineering are especially encouraged to sign up. There will also be Bloomberg Terminal training offered to analysts beginning on Wednesday 28th January.

Interested students are encouraged to contact ucdiesociety@gmail. com, and to check out the I&E society’s Facebook page.

Cian Carton - News Editor

Megan Fanning - News Editor

The figures for society membership numbers have recently been released with an increase in overall membership across societies. In total there are 45,679 memberships of 76 student societies with 14,059 individual students joining societies.

This year’s Freshers’ Week saw two thousand more students join societies than last year. There were eleven societies who acquired over one thousand members including the Literary and Historical Society, the Film Society, Law Society, the Commerce and Economics Society, the Arts Society, the Agriculture Society, Cumann an

Gaelach, the International Student Society, Drama Society, Dance Society and the Science Society.

Eoghan Murphy, Chair of the Societies Council, has said that societies activities have increased as has engagement with the societies. Murphy has said that he hopes this is reflected in Refreshers Day, where students, including international students studying in UCD for the semester, will have another chance to join societies.

Refreshers Day takes place on Tuesday, 27th January, in Astra Hall.

The L&H is UCD’s biggest student society, with membership of approximately 6,400 students for the current academic year.

An election day to choose the next auditor has not yet been confirmed, as of going to print.

Several candidates spoke to the University Observer about their reasons for running. Rock, a second year Arts student has said he aims to “open the society up to people who wouldn’t have traditionally got involved and to improve the standard of competitive debating.”

O’Malley, a second year Science student, is also aiming to make the society more inclusive. “I see the society as having a huge amount of potential to get involved with everybody on campus. We’re not a

Degree Concerns for Ukrainian Students University students in rebel held cities in eastern Ukraine are worried their degrees may prove worthless, as the fallout from the Ukrainian conflict continues. The Ukrainian military has been fighting separatists in the east since last April, with the city of Donetsk currently under rebel control.

As final exams approach, the war has now expanded to the education system, with institutions being made to switch over to the rebel’s self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. The state-run National University in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk officially closed down, but students continue to attend. It moved its campus 800 miles west, while students remain in the city.

Alexander Maznev, deputy rector of the university, who has remained in Donetsk, said that the other one was a “clone” and that it would never be a “real university.”

As the university is no longer recognised by the Ukraine’s education ministry, students are fearful their degrees will be worthless. In an attempt to calm the rising unrest, separatist authorities have said it is the name of the university, not the piece of paper that counts. They are trying to get Russia to recognise degrees from universities they control.

Forensic science students at the University of Derby are are now able to practise their skills in a custom built crime scene house, following the completion of the facility. Costing £410,000, the building contains seven replica crime scenes, including a bedroom, bathroom, office, shop, garage, and living room. Each one is fitted with CCTV cameras, which allows tutors to watch as students investigate the crime scenes.

Jon Wright, who runs the university’s BSc course in forensic science with criminology, said that having a realistic commercial establishment, such as a shop, in the house was useful “as a lot of crimes happen on commercial premises.”

Wright believes the project is perfect for the nature of the course he teaches, saying that students “won’t just sit in the classroom there is lots of practical work.”

Dr Ian Turner, the university’s head of forensic science, said that the new facility will allow students to develop skills for a career in forensic science “because they are learning in a real life context, with the same equipment and facilities used by professionals.”

The university is expected to rent out the facility to be used by emergency services, for training purposes.

Unaware Parents are Financing Students’ Smoking Habits

L&H Auditorial election Candidates Announced Four students have so far announced their intention to run for the position of Auditor of the 161st session of the Literary and Historical Society (L&H). The four confirmed candidates are Grattan Aikins, Lucy Murphy, Joanna O’Malley and Conor Rock.

There is the possibility that further students may announce their intention to contest the election.

All four confirmed candidates are committee members of the society’s 160th session. Aikins is the current Honorary Librarian. Murphy is Senior Committee Member, and O’Malley is the Public Relations Officer (PRO). Conor Rock is the Honorary Correspondence Secretary, and also serves as Arts Convenor for UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU).

News in Brief

Forensic Science House Opens for Students

UCD Student Managed Fund Secures €30,000 Sponsorship Deal The UCD Student Managed Fund (SMF) has announced a two year sponsorship deal with Goodbody Stockbrokers, valued at €30,000.

Establish last year by Economics & Finance students Tom O’Sullivan, James Tighe, Kevin Sweeney, Niall Dunleavy, Sam Butler and Phil Doran, it originally operated as a virtual fund, and saw 150 students get involved in the project as research analysts. It is supported by the Quinn School of Business, and is linked with UCD’s Investors and Entrepreneurs Society (I&E).

The SMF gives students the

international

Callie Crawley

UCD law graduate to take up position at cambodian war crimes tribunal Former UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) President, Pat de Brún, is set to participate in a six month internship with the United Nations (UN) on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia. The Law with Politics graduate will be interning with the UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials in Phnom Penh. His experience will centre around the prosecution of top Khmer Rouge officials for war crimes and genocide.

During the four years that the Khmer Rouge reigned over Cambodia, it was responsible for several of the biggest instances of mass killings of the 20th Century. The actions of the Khmer Rouge claimed the lives of 25% of the Cambodian population, either directly through murder, or indirectly through

News

faculty society, we’re for everyone and there is so much potential to do more.” Aikins, third year History and Economics, hopes to “hold more events that will appeal to our members who do not debate competitively, especially by expanding training programmes and improving social events.”

The auditorial elections for the L&H and their rival debating society UCD LawSoc are usually a high profile affair, as candidates campaign across campus and place election posters all across UCD. No candidates have announced their intention to run for UCD LawSoc’s elections.

Students at top US universities are buying tobacco and e-cigarettes with “campus cash” debit cards that are commonly prepaid by parents, according to a recent study by the University of Colorado. Using the top 100 universities as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, they found that 11 allow tobacco sales and 13 permit e-cigarette sales.

Most colleges have a system whereby prepaid cards can be used in oncampus vending areas. Researchers examined online lists of on-and offcampus vendors to discover universities whose policies allow the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes within the campus debit card network. They followed it up with phone and email enquiries.

Robert P. Dellavalle, senior author of the study, expressed concern that “parents don’t realise that tobacco may be purchased with some of these college debit cards and universities shouldn’t be taking debit card fees from in-network vendors selling tobacco products to their students.”

Earlier research had revealed that 42% of student smokers had used campus debit cards to buy cigarettes.

Lindsay Boyers, the study’s first author, claimed that banning tobacco purchases with cards would help reduce smoking on campus.

January 20th 2015

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Black Lives Matter

After the murder of several unarmed black citizens by police officers in the US, Martin Healy looks at how little justice is being served.

The campaign and subsequent election of Barack Obama was painted as “Change” for the people of the United States. The election of the first ever black President was a watershed moment in a nation with a tense racial history.

Obama’s inauguration was portrayed as a sign that the US was moving beyond its old racial divides. It showed how far the nation had progressed. While the electoral success of Obama was indeed a powerful moment in American race history, the United States is far from reaching complete racial equality.

The events of 2014 have borne out this theory, as racial tensions have reached a high not seen in years.

This flaring of tensions erupted around the return of coverage depicting police brutality against people of colour to the mainstream media. A huge public backlash has emerged since the shooting of Michael Brown in last August in Ferguson, Missouri at the hands of Officer Darren Wilson. This anger continued during Wilson’s subsequent Grand Jury acquittal as well as during the acquittal of Officer Daniel Pataleo, who choked a man, Eric Garner, to death in New York last July. Both of these victims were African-American and unarmed. Further backlash came with the shooting of unarmed Tamir Rice, a 12 year-old boy who was shot last November in Cleveland, Ohio. He was armed – but with an Airsoft gun.

Debate over why the first two men were killed has been intense. Some witnesses claim that Brown went for Wilson’s gun, and it was an act of self-defence on Wilson’s part. Others claim the opposite. Regardless, these incidents have helped to dissolve the relationship between people of colour and the police force in many parts of the United States. Police brutality has affected many people for years. In light of these events some questions have to be raised.

Why are people only now taking a stand against these actions? Why are things not changing? Why are women being left out of this? How can the families of these victims receive no justice? What does this say about modern American society?

For years, there have been uneasy relationships between sections of the African-American community and the police force. Much of this comes from the years of “racial profiling” and other racist stereotyping utilised by some officers of the law. A year prior to the events in Ferguson, a census report noted how black citizens were almost twice as likely to be searched (12.13%) than white citizens (6.85%), despite the fact that whites have a higher “contraband hit rate” than blacks (34.04% versus 21.71% respectively). This is not aided by police officers having to adhere to search-and-arrest quotas in order to keep their numbers consistent with the rest of the state or nation.

Beyond the policing of its citizens, such statistics speak to the structure of American society. A report by the Washington Post in 2010 discovered that of the 755 cities in the US that have census data on police, three–quarters of them have a higher proportion of white officers than white citizens. This is partially due to the number of African-Americans suffering from social disadvantages (according to the census 27.4% of the black population in the US qualify as living in poverty). As such, more-financially secure white citizens have a higher chance of gaining the education and financing necessary to become a police officer.

This creates a disconnect between civilians and police officers. For Ferguson, we see an area with a very high black population living under the authority of a police force run by white people, most of whom are men.

From this angle, we can see how the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have not received the justice they deserve. The New York Times noted how the grand jury trial in Ferguson differed from regular trials. The Ferguson case took 25 days over three months, called sixty witnesses, saw the defendant testify and all evidence and testimony were released after the decision was made. Typical grand juries in Missouri take place over a day, call few witnesses, the defendant is not heard from and the evidence is kept secret. The release of evidence in this case is key, making the jury appear defensive and uncertain in their decision-making.

The lack of convictions handed out by grand juries is even more 4 January 20th 2015

illustration: Rhea Cassidy

apparent with the Eric Garner case.

His murder was caught on video.

His dying words “I can’t breathe”, which have become a slogan for protesters holding “die-ins”, place blame of his death onto Officer Pataleo. This denial of justice is a continuation of the stereotyping of the black community; a burgeoning “us versus them” mentality. Young black youths have a very poor reputation in American media. Grand juries appear to be invoking protectionism around these police officers, trying to keep strength in the old adage that the police are a moral force of good. While there are undoubtedly many officers adhering to the ideals of their job, there are many who do not. These supposed “miscarriages of justice” represent how the policing system is protecting itself to keep itself from reform and to assure citizens that their taxed dollars are going toward a productive police force. So long as a black person can be stereotyped as a criminal, the police force may continue relatively unchecked by external forces with no comprise of their power.

Sadly, there are internal forces working against peaceful protestors’ quest for justice. While many are rallying peacefully against the police for their actions, it is the violent actions of a minority which is getting its voice heard.

Instead of protesting peacefully, a violent minority is lashing out against society, using the protests as an excuse to cause anarchy.

Any potential change demanded by the family of Michael Brown was immediately diluted by the mass riots that took place on the streets of Ferguson after Officer Wilson’s acquittal. Dozens of buildings were set ablaze in the town as a number of people were injured or arrested. It’s a preverbal melting pot: the extreme minority looking to cause violence for violence’s sake, clashing against a police force that is mostly united behind Officer Wilson. This resulted in mass violence. Pictures of a battle-torn Ferguson were broadcasted across the globe.

Anarchy takes all the attention away from peaceful intentions of Michael Brown’s family and supporters. It restrains any potential that they may have had for justice or reform amongst the police force.

For the American media, especially the more conservative outlets, these riots were further evidence to support the “us versus them” mentality against people of colour. News outlets could point at the violence

engulfing Ferguson and ask “why do these people deserve justice?” despite the ample evidence for their cause. The dominant image of Ferguson was rioting. It’s the most eye-catching image for the news cycle. Such criticisms were levelled at the 2011 London Riots, where media purposefully concentrated on violence instead of the original peaceful protests. The original protests around the death of Mark Duggan received a fraction of the media attention that would surround the violent clashes that emerged in the following days.

Injustice will continue because the message is being lost. The same applies to the death of Eric Garner.

The entire message of the peaceful protesters is being unravelled due to an extreme minority. The main crimes of the extreme minority being the “revenge” murders committed

by Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsely who killed two police officers in late December before committing suicide. Such an act takes all the attention away from the thousands peacefully protesting around the boroughs of New York City. What captures the media’s attention, what captures our attention is action and violence. The New York protests have been successful in their own right, due to the eye-catching nature of the “die-ins”. Ultimately however, the message of peace and reform is lost in the murder of two police officers. Riots and violence by a small few destroys public opinion of the wider topic at hand.

We find ourselves questioning why it is now that police brutality has become such a hot issue. As was the case with a number of uprisings and events over the last couple of years (such as the London Riots or the Arab Spring in 2011), social media has become a catalyst for this fight for justice. The hashtags #ICantBreathe and #BlackLivesMatter have spread through social media.

With cameras everywhere now, and with our phones allowing us to upload videos at any time we choose, it becomes so easy for civilians on the street to highlight the issues behind #BlackLivesMatter. Any moment of conflict between individuals and police can be captured and shared around the world just as the murder of Eric Garner was captured on video and posted online. Every inch of a protest can be recorded meaning the most popular images of protest are no longer controlled by the news.

This technological movement has allowed people to come together over a common cause. An American issue has become incendiary across

For the American media, especially the more conservative outlets, these riots were further evidence to support the “us versus them” mentality against people of colour

the Western world. A quick search of #BlackLivesMatter instantly gives you opinions (like-minded or otherwise) of people from around the globe. Images and slogans of recent events are constantly revolving around the internet and in the minds of online users.

Even with all this attention being placed on these boys and men, there is still an aspect to this narrative which is missing: women.

Last summer, American writer Kirsten West Savali pointed at how “black people becomes black men by default”. Racist violence is so commonly associated with men, that the idea of a woman being subjected to such violence appears rare.

Even with there being an emotional outpour for men like Garner and Brown, no female victims have experienced such support.

Such is the case with Yvette Brown. The mother from Texas was fatally shot by a police officer in February 2014. Initial reports stated that she was armed, but these were later retracted. Yvette Smith was black and unarmed, but where were the protests? The rallying cries? Tarika Wilson, another example, was shot, unarmed, by a police officer in 2008. One of her children, one year-old Sincere Wilson was also shot. Men like Brown, Garner, and John Crawford have become symbols for change. Women like Smith and Wilson have no such cache. They don’t even have a Wikipedia page - a modern example of their obscurity. If advocates and protesters of the #BlackLivesMatter group wish to see change in American law enforcement, moving beyond the gender divide

POSTGRADUATE

is a key barrier to be overcome.

It is becoming clear that this issue is not going away. Even though this racial issue has entered the American mainstream by force, there is little evidence of change.

The African-American community is fifty years removed from the civil rights movement. It is a time for reflection. The social inequality gap is only getting larger in the US and using expenditure to contain a social divide is becoming less viable. Police officers have treated black men and women as threats due to such social divisions. The few disadvantaged ones who turn to criminality have scared the community-at-large, allowing the system to create this “us versus them” reality. It could be said that people of colour have become, to the US police force, something to contain.

With Obama’s rise to power change was promised, but ultimately this promise was not fulfilled. There is a deep schism in American society, one that seems very likely to continue in the years ahead. It is clear that the police view people of colour as a threat.

People are standing up and saying “enough”, but are these voices loud enough to break the cycle?

OPEN DAY Wednesday 4th February 2015 12 pm–4 pm

Bailey Allen Hall, NUI Galway

BOOK YOUR PLACE www.nuigalway.ie/postgraduate-open-day

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‘the interview’ interrogated

As the controversy surrounding Seth Rogen and James Franco’s ‘The Interview’ begins to quieten, Patrick Kelleher asks whether the reaction would have been different if another leader was the focus The Interview, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, has caused a great deal of controversy in recent weeks, and its premise may help to explain why. Franco’s character is a television host on a chat-show who has interviewed notable celebrities.

Rogen is his producer who is intent upon becoming a more ‘serious’ journalist. When they find out that Kim Jong-un, North-Korean leader is a fan of their show, they arrange an interview with him. The CIA quickly recruits them to ‘take out’ the North-Korean leader; and thus, the journalists turn assassin.

Needless to say, the plot caused controversy almost immediately, and led to a cyber attack on Sony, the company behind the film. The company were the victim of hackers that leaked various documents, and ultimately insisted that The Interview not be released. When Sony agreed to pull the film in the wake of continuing controversy, Barack Obama, US President, became involved, criticising the decision to pull the film as a threat to free speech. Sony eventually decided to release the film to select theatres, and give it an online release.

Despite receiving mixed reviews, the entire project has been completely overshadowed by the endless stream of controversy that has surrounded it. It has raised questions about the nature of free speech, and its importance.

For the US, this was an attack on free-speech. Their right to satire another country’s leader was taken away from them, and this was seen as a problem for a country that, on the surface, is said to promote free-speech.

However for North-Korea, it is easy to see how the debacle could be seen differently. While few would defend the regime that exists in North-Korea, the reaction to the film raises the question, when does satire go too far? For those in North-Korea, they saw the impending release of a film where their leader is degraded and humiliated repeatedly, and

ultimately violently killed.

If a similar film were made by another country, surrounding the attempted assassination of President Obama, for example, the US would certainly take a different approach to the importance of free-speech. This would be mostly due to the position the United States holds as one of the world’s most powerful territories. As a result, their President must always be protected. Since the foundation of the United States, four sitting Presidents have been assassinated.

John F. Kennedy’s death in 1963 solidified a state in which the life of the President must be put first.

The United States making a film like The Interview shows an obvious double standard. It effectively shows an attitude that free-speech should be held aloft. However, it is only allowed to be critical and threatening when aimed at a country firmly outside of western parameters, such as North-Korea.

Seth Rogen gave an interview to LA Weekly recently in which he expressed his own fears surrounding both Kim Jong-un, and also the film. He conceded that ‘it literally has a goal to debase and humiliate him’, and also noted that he would have had ‘some reservations about playing a living dictator.’ While he and James Franco are at the fore in arguing for the benefits of free speech, this attitude shows that The Interview is much more than a simple comedy.

It is a politically motivated film, designed to degrade the NorthKorean leader, and ultimately to portray him as dangerous. Whether or not he is a dangerous dictator is not the issue: the problem lies in the US feeling it necessary to provide that commentary.

There are numerous arguments that oppose this view. It has been argued that the film is more than just a satire of the North-Korean state, but that it also critiques the United States. Yet, whatever critique of the United States enacted in the film is nullified

A north korean on duty near wuljong temple, close to mt. kuwol photo: roman harak, via flickr

by what is a deconstructed and dehumanised depiction of a leader that very few people really know.

Rogen was undoubtedly working with a tradition of political satire, one of the most notable examples being Charlie Chaplin’s famous wartime film The Great Dictator, released in 1940. Deliberately mocking Adolf Hitler, it was made in many of the same circumstances as The Interview. However both had a completely different set of justifications. The Great Dictator was a propaganda film released in the face of war. The Interview, on the other hand, was made to confront a perceived threat; one that is not a reality. It relies on half-known thoughts that are meant to be espoused by the secretive state that is North-Korea. And in so doing, it ultimately serves as a

It is a politically motivated film, designed to degrade the North-Korean leader, and ultimately to portray him as dangerous

danger to political freedom rather than as a bastion of free speech.

The place of free-speech in film and art must always be respected.

However, The Interview ends up providing more problems for the freedom of art than it solves. In its intention to move so readily into the murky territory of politics, it dismisses all sense of responsibility, and thrives on the respect that the United States commands.

The reaction of North-Korea to The Interview has been decidedly militaristic. It has been described as ‘an act of war’, and they promised ‘merciless’ retaliation if the film was released. There is no denying the problems that abound in NorthKorea’s foreign policy. Nevertheless, it is also easy to imagine that, if presented with a similar film geared towards their President, the reaction

from the US would not be all that different. The Interview goes further than simply acting as a critical reaction to a dictatorship, and dwells too frequently in degrading and mocking the character of Kim Jong-un, rather than providing any truly biting satire of his regime.

As a political commentary, Rogen and Franco’s film fails because of its distinct lack of balance, and its insistence upon mocking and jeering rather than genuine criticism. Good comedy should not need to cut so close to the political bones that are shared between the United States and North-Korea, nor should it so blatantly ignore the set of standards that surrounds leaders, whether they be democratically elected or dictatorial in nature.

“God doesn’t make mistakes” After the suicide of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn, we are tragically reminded how the world still needs to move forward in learning acceptance

Tara Hanneffy Staff Writer

On the 28th of December 2014, Leelah Alcorn died when she was hit by a truck shortly before 2:30am. Leelah was transgender, and she committed suicide because she felt that she would never be happy. She was struggling with depression and the fact that her parents did not support her in being transgender. Leelah left a suicide note on Tumblr. She wanted it to be found. In this note she told her story, alerting the world to the discrimination she faced from her parents and some members of her religious community. When announcing her child’s death, Carla Alcorn (Leelah’s mother), referred to Leelah using her birth name and pronouns, despite her child’s wishes to be recognised as female. Leelah’s parents are still refusing to acknowledge their child’s female identity. They have also had her account, including the suicide note, deleted from Tumblr.

First and foremost, it is important to recognise the significance of Leelah’s public suicide note.

Leelah did not just want to die; she wanted to ensure that her death would “mean something” as she writes. Leelah wanted to tell the world that despite it being the 21st century, there is still a minority of people who cannot accept certain members of our society. Leelah scheduled the note to appear on her Tumblr account hours after her death. Almost immediately, it sparked an outrage across social media. People lashed out at Leelah’s parents, criticising them for bad parenting and for denying their child the right to live as she pleased. However, the point of

Leelah’s note and subsequent death was not only for parents to realise the implications of not being supportive of their children. Leelah took her own life in the hope that one day the transgender community would be openly accepted in society. In her note she said that “The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights.”

Leelah’s death says a lot about our ‘modern’ society. It’s important to remember that Leelah’s parents were not the only people to disapprove of who she was. In her note she describes how she was taken to see biased Christian therapists, who told her that she was wrong, a sinner and that what she was experiencing was just a phase. Her mother told her “God doesn’t make mistakes.”

There is so much wrong with that mentality. Before we are our religion, our race, our sexuality or our gender, we are human. We have all been given the gift of life, and the right to live it as we choose. Every person is born different. Ultimately, how a person lives their life is up to them, and nobody has the right to dictate that choice. Nevertheless sadly, it still happens. Carla Alcorn said that she loved her child unconditionally, but to love unconditionally is not good enough if you cannot accept who your child identifies as. She said that she did not accept Leelah’s (although she said Josh, Leelah’s given name) decision to come out as transgender ‘religiously.’ Leelah’s mother, in saying that her religion does not support transgender people, is making a very broad and controversial statement. There are members of the Christian community that support transgender people.

The fact is Leelah’s parents cannot and should not use their religious beliefs as a method of masking their discriminatory attitudes. In 2015, there isn’t a lot of room for people who

Leelah’s parents cannot and should not use their religious beliefs as a method of masking their discriminatory attitudes illustration: roisin McNally

suffocate others with their religion.

Some might argue that parents may find it difficult to accept and come to terms with the fact that their child is not who they thought they were. Of course, one must take this into consideration, as it is a fair point. However, a parent is the principal influence in most people’s lives from a young age, and they owe their child the duty to allow them to develop and explore themselves. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie allow their child who was named a girl at birth to identify as a boy, and to be addressed as John. They have no problem with it. It is unlikely that John will grow up with conflicted views on who he is, and it is also unlikely that he will feel isolated in his society. A parent’s difficulty to deal with who their child is should not affect their ability to carry out their parental

duties to be loving and supportive.

If Leelah Alcorn had received support from her parents, there’s a great chance she wouldn’t have died. In fact, if Leelah had received support from her parents, she wouldn’t have had to die. The sad fact is that it has taken the death of a bright, young teenager to highlight the discriminative attitudes that still exist within our society. Leelah died mainly because she lived a tormented life, but she also died so that other members of the transgender community don’t have to feel as she did. At the Golden Globes, Jill Soloway (creator of the television show Transparent) dedicated her award to Leelah Alcorn. It’s one of many victories to come for Leelah and the transgender community.

We, as a society, have a lot to learn from the death of Leelah and the controversy that followed. Leelah died because she felt that she couldn’t live as she wanted to. She felt that she couldn’t be the person she was meant to be. This shouldn’t be a problem in a society that claims to be educated and accepting. The entire world needs to work on acceptance. Nobody has any choice in how they are born. To be a member of the LGBT+ community is not a choice. Nobody chooses to be black or white, gay or straight. We are the way we are. You cannot tell anybody that they are ‘wrong’ because of how they feel. You cannot enforce religious beliefs on anyone. You cannot make anybody live a certain way.

Leelah Alcorn died so that we could realise these things. Leelah Alcorn’s deaths highlights the biggest problem within our society: the fact that we cannot see past labels, and realise that ultimately, despite gender, race and other factors, all we are is human.

January 20th 2015

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Head to head: Should newspapers republish the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo? con After the very real deaths of ‘Charlie Hebdo’s staff, pro Matthew Hanrahan discusses how republishing their In response to the murder of many Charlie Herbdo staff, Cathal Gunning argues that to refrain from republishing Charlie Herbdo cartoons would be cowardly

News outlets refusing to reproduce cartoons of the prophet Muhammad are not doing so out of concern for the sensibilities of their readership. They are doing so out of fear. These same newspapers publish images of the dead and dying in war zones and disaster sites across the world on a daily basis, with no concern for the thoughts, or feelings, of the families of these people. A cursory Google News search of “Boko Haram” yields images far more disturbing than any illustration that has ever been on offer in Charlie Hebdo. This is the nature of the news business, and the meaning of the craft of journalism.

The reporter’s responsibility is to give the world the stories that they cannot afford to miss, regardless of how brutal, awful, or uncompromisingly inhuman the details of these stories may be. It is a ruthless business aimed at depicting world events as they are not cowering from them.

The sole motivation behind refusing to republish these cartoons is fear, and unfortunately the cowardly actions of three murderers have proven sufficient to fuel the cowardly reactions of millions. This extends as far as the media’s coverage of the story. Without fail, the murderers in question are referred to as “jihadists” and “religious extremists”, a linguistic trick that aims to point the blame towards some vague Orientalist notion of a “barbaric”, “other” religion.

Plenty of Facebook feeds will have been filled in the last week with the pseudo-liberal rant of once-relevant author Will Self for the magazinewho-would-be-controversial Vice.

In his article, Self explains for the uninformed masses the fact that Charlie Hebdo’s satire, in targeting terrorists and murderers, was guilty of attacking muslims at large, as it is seemingly fair to suggest that a cartoon parodying a murderer represents every Muslim.

Will Self, fortunately, lives in a country where he can write a desperately edgy click-bait article and not fear reprisal beyond the embarrassed reactions of those who once championed him as a fine writer. Will Self can sleep soundly after smugly criticising those who stand by Cabu and Charb, content in the knowledge that he, his family and his friends will not be murdered over his art.

Self is a coward, and his would-be profound content is exemplary of the

The reporter’s responsibility is to give the world the stories that they cannot afford to miss, regardless of how brutal, awful, or uncompromisingly inhuman the details of these stories may be

insidious “Other-ing” that has slipped into even the most liberal rhetoric surrounding this controversy. This is the belief that these cartoons must be offensive to Muslims, or these Muslims wouldn’t have killed these cartoonists. Can we really rationalise these murders?

The fact is that these atrocities were committed by three murderers, not a representative of any prophet, religion or sect under the sun.

The only remaining way to prove that the actions of the few do not define the minds of many, is to republish these cartoons without cowering in fear of reprisal.

American comic and talk show host Conan O’Brien’s reaction to the tragedy consisted of him offering his condolences to the families of the victims and the people of France, followed by his condolences for “Anyone in the world who now has to think twice before making a joke”.

This was immediately followed by the assertion that his show would go on, and would be a great one, a sentiment echoed in the remaining editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo’s decision to go ahead with the coming week’s issue.

By hiding the offending articles from the public’s view, the media’s coverage turns a series of witty sketches into some mythical weapon, some sort of cartoon so unimaginably offensive that it must have been worth killing in the name of.

This coverage fails to address the simplest fact of the case in question. That fact is that murdering any human being over any drawing will never be justifiable no matter how offensive the image.

In failing to republish the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, the news outlets of the world have sent a resounding message, not to Muslims, but to the murderers of the world. That message is that fear works, that terror will win the day, and that the world will accept as reality a child being orphaned over her father’s drawings.

That message is not, at its most basic level, true. Nobody believes in the sanctity of images, in any creed, justifying violence.

Most religions teach to love thy neighbour, Islam is no different. Islam does not teach violence.

Nobody believes that reaching for a gun before a holy text or charity box is supporting the Prophet Muhammad or any other deity. It is unfair to say these murderers represent anything other than blind hate. The police officer that they murdered in cold blood during last week’s attacks was a devout Muslim.

Any statements, whether their origins are Muslim, Christian or otherwise, that suggest certain images and jokes are worth killing over are not representative of the teachings of any holy text, nor are they representative of humanity’s best interests.

The last word on the subject is one best left to the figure around whom it centres, taken from a hadith that hoped to create an image of the man in the minds of his followers: “The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr”- The Prophet Muhammad.

illustration: louise flanagan

cartoons may be a dangerous idea In the wake of the atrocity carried out in France, news media have been faced with the decision of whether or not to republish Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons, particularly those that depict the Prophet Muhammad. To date most newspapers have refrained from publishing these materials citing the risk it will pose to their staff. At the same time, some have expressed regret at their inability to publish the cartoons. Many believe that publishing the cartoons, if they could, and having the images distributed widely would thwart the aims of the attackers and that employing self-censorship would be somehow playing into their hands. On the surface, it seems like a matter of free speech and whether we should allow fear to suppress speech when in fact more compelling arguments exist not to reprint the images.

Charlie Hebdo and their Prophet Muhammad images are bigoted.

Charlie Hebdo have featured many offensive cartoons and those that perpetuate Islamophobia have been some of their most offensive. Images of the Prophet Muhammad are banned by the teachings of Islam. The Charlie Hebdo cartoons not only show the Prophet but they also present fundamentalist caricatures of him.

It is also necessary to consider the cultural context of these caricatures.

They are published against the backdrop of a marginalised muslim population in France. Charlie Hebdo has a history of similarly insidiously prejudiced content. After Boko Haram kidnapped 200 school girls to keep them from education the magazine published a cartoon which compared the school girls to benefit claimants in France.

Primarily, this debate has surrounded the idea that publishing the images in some way protects free speech. However, this is a mischaracterisation of what free speech entails. Free speech is the idea that it is possible to say anything without being punished by law or fearing threat of violence. An advocate for free speech does not defend or publicise hateful, racist or bigoted language, even though they would defend its right to be expressed. This is especially true in this instance. One can defend the right of cartoonists to publish such images and stand in solidarity for those that lost their lives for utilising their free speech. However, that does not require a republishing of the images in question. Newspapers who publish the images, by the status that they hold, support the actual content of Charlie Hebdo.

Charlie Hebdo is a magazine which has a history of publishing content that is not just offensive satire, but racist and no newspaper should validate Charlie Hebdo’s content by reprinting its images.

Furthermore, wide printing of these cartoons could help fuel Islamophobia. Dissemination of information is rarely a bad thing.

Nevertheless, if newspapers print these cartoons there is likely to be a strengthening of the divide between Muslims and non-Muslims in France and possibly around the world. In the wake of the crisis Islamophobia has already become more prevalent with a rise in attacks against muslims.

People and locations targeted have

‘Charlie Hebdo’ is a magazine which has a history of publishing content that is not just offensive satire, but racist and no newspaper should validate Charlie Hebdo’s content by reprinting its images

included a Muslim family, a mosque and a kebab shop. The tragedy has also given a platform, from which to widely spread their sentiments, to those with islamophobic views. People like media tycoon Rupert Murdoch who blamed all Muslims for the “jihadist culture” as well as outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins, who accused the Islamic religion of being one of violence may now have their offensive opinions listened to. The printing of the cartoons will spur legal challenges and protest from Muslims who find such images deeply offensive.

In the aftermath of the attack, Muslim people are being actively targeted. If Muslims are forced into a position, by the republishing of Charlie Hebdo cartoons, where they must defend their religion they may be perceived as sympathising with extremists. This could put Muslims living in France in a very dangerous position. Their lives are already at risk due to Islamophobic prejudices further grounded by these attacks.

Moreover, such a public stance against the images will add fuel to the Islamophobic fire, which will add to claims that see Islam as incompatible with western values.

There will seem to be a clash between Islam and free speech. Now is not the time to have the conversation about whether it is permissible to depict the Prophet Muhammad. Much of the rhetoric surrounding publishing the images has been in reaction to the idea that the goals of the ideological militants were to suppress these images. While not only is this speculation, the objective of defying the attackers is not sufficient reason to publish the cartoons. The goals of terrorist attacks are far wider than suppressing this one aspect of culture.

Any attempt to seemingly defy the terrorists will inevitably cause the aforementioned negative effects.

The march attended by over one and a half million people in France and the promise of a one million print run of the next issue of Charlie Hebdo proves that free speech is alive and well in France today. However, it is imperative that newspapers don’t print these offensive images.

This is not just because the images are likely to perpetuate and glorify Charlie Hebdo but more importantly this is about the nature of the images.

These could cause a lot of damage in the sensitive environment into which they would be released. Ultimately, due to the terribly harmful effects these images would have in acting as a divisor between Muslims and non-Muslims, newspapers must refrain from publishing.

rebuttal

rebuttal

Matthew Hanrahan examines Cathal Gunning’s main points

Cathal Gunning looks at Matthew Hanrahan’s arguments

Firstly, fear is a factor in not reprinting the cartoon. The basis of this fear is that there are some who have, and will, react violently towards of the cartoons. A newspaper in Hamburg was firebombed for reprinting Charlie Hebdo cartoons.

When the fear of reprisal is real, it is legitimate for newspapers to prioritise the safety of their staff.

Secondly, no right to be offended exists or should exist. Newspapers 6 January 20th 2015

must consider the effect that their content may have. A prejudice against Islam exists. The National Observatory Against Islamophobia reported a 12.5% an increase in attacks on Muslims in France.

Newspapers should not be part of a society that treats an oppressed minority unjustly.

Now is not the time to have the conversation about whether it is permissible to depict the Prophet Muhammad. How many more murders over drawings will it take? Referring to the divide between Muslims and non-Muslims, Hanrahan implies the actions of these murderers can be considered representative of Islam. Consider the BBC’s decision to broadcast this week’s

Charlie Hebdo cover. Depicting a tearful Muhammad holding a “Je Suis Charlie” placard, the cover is designed to present an image of the Prophet as a loving, forgiving figure. It is a representation that is hard to fault. When one hand draws pictures and another draws a gun, it is hard to deny Charlie Hebdo is rude, and silly, and on the right side of history.

Gaeilge

Valerie Ní Thiarnaigh Eagarthóir Gaeilge

Má tá tú ag léamh an phíosa seo, is léir go bhfuil caighdeán áirithe Gaeilge agat, agus tá súil agam go bhfuil seans agat an Ghaeilge sin a úsáid i do shaol laethúil. Má tá an seans agat, is dócha go mbraitheann daoine ort i slí saghas difriúil, sa lá atá inniu ann. Fadó, bhí cáil ar an nGaeilge mar theanga a bhí nasctha le feirmeoirí agus an lucht oibre. Ach, le linn an bhorradh eacnamaíochta, athraigh cliantacht na Gaeilge, nuair a thosaigh an mheánaicme ag cur a phaistí ar rollaí na Gaelscoileanna, agus scoil táille a mbíonn i gceist go minic. Ina theannta sin, le linn an bhorradh eacnamaíochta, bhí an stát ábalta airgead a chur ar fáil d’eagraíochtaí cultúrtha, go háirithe drámaí agus léiriúcháin trí mheán na Gaeilge. Le sin, bhí níos mó drámaí chun na daoine, le hairgead le spáráil freastail air. Bronnfar stádas speisialta ar na hócáid, na daoine, agus le sin, ar an nGaeilge.

Ach, creidim go bhfuil daoine eile le Gaeilge, agus níl seans acu an scil sin a chuir in úsáid le daoine eile.

Cén fáth go dtarlaíonn sé seo? Ó bheith ag caint le roinnt daoine is iomaí cúiseanna atá ann. Ar dtús, dúirt siad liom nach mothaíonn siad go bhfuil siad den aicme chéanna, mar a léirítear thuas, go bhfuil an Ghaeilge leis an mheánaicme bheag. Freisin, dúradh liom nach gcuirtear fáilte roimh an gnáthduine.

Is dócha go dtarlaíonn seo as ucht roinnt cúiseanna. Bíonn cuid mhór de dhaoine Bord na Gaeilge agus an Cumann Gaelach ina gcónaí le chéile i dTeach na Gaeilge i Merville.

Nílim ag iarraidh drochphictúir den scéim a chruthú, cé go ndéanann an scéim obair iontach chun an teanga a choimeád beo ar campas UCD. Ach nuair is dlúthchairde iad na daoine sin, mar a mbíonn daoine a bhíonn

7

Scothroghnachas agus coimhthíos místaidéarach an Gaeilge Feachann Valerie Ní Thiarnaigh ar fadhbanna intreach na Gaeilge, agus na réitigh indéanta

le chéile an t-am ar fad, tá sé níos deacra dúl chuig na hócáidí a mbíonn ar siúl, cé go bhféachann sé go bhfuil dlúthfoireann daoine ann cheana.

Chomh maith le sin, dúradh liom uaireanta nach bhfuil daoine compordach Gaeilge a labhairt, ionas go mothaíonn siad nach bhfuil a chaighdeán maith go leor. B’fhéidir nach bhfuil acu ach Gaeilge ón Teastas Sóisearach, nó pé leibhéal atá acu, tá eagla orthu go ndéanfaidh na Gaeilgeoirí breithiúnas orthu, sa chás go ndéanfaidh siad botún agus cé nach bhfuil an líofacht chéanna acu.

I mo thuaraim, is rud uafásach é sin, go háirithe cé go bhfuil

le linn an bhorradh eacnamaíochta, athraigh cliantacht na Gaeilge

fadhbanna le stádas an Ghaeilge, agus deacrachtaí leis an Ghaeilge cur chun cinn agus tá orainn dul i ngleic le dhá réimse láithreach.

An chéad réimse, caithfimid obair a dhéanamh chun fáiltiú a chur ar gach duine, beag beann ar a suíomh pearsanta, eacnamaíochta, nó a stádas láithreach sa phobail Gaelach. Is féidir linn é seo a dhéanamh trí imeachtaí a cur ar siúl i réimse leathan áiteanna, agus fógraí a scaipeadh go forleathan, ar Facebook, chomh maith leis na meán cumarsáide traidisiúnta, cosúil le páipéar nuachtáin, mar go minic cloisim faoi eachtra- tar éis

é a tharlú. Ach, i mo thuairim, is é an rud is tábhachtaí ná iarracht a dhéanamh labhair le daoine agus iad a chuir i dteagmháil le daoine eile.

An dara réimse ná caithfimid obair leis na daoine mímhuiníneach, chun iad a chur ar a shuaimhneas.

B’ fhéidir is féidir linn é seo a dhéanamh trí imeachtaí dátheangach, le téama socraithe roimh ré. Is féidir stór focail a sheoladh amach roimh an ócáid, agus má tá fíor súim ag daoine feabhas a chuir ar a gcuid Gaeilge, beidh siad in ann píosa beag staidéar a dhéanamh roimh an eachtra, agus beidh saghas “blaincéad slándála” acu, chun iad a cur ar a shuaimhneas.

Mar aon le sin, ceapaim go bhfuil úsáid le foilseachán dátheangach, nó ar a bheag, foilseachán le gluais. Trí na hiarrachtaí seo, tá súil agam gur féidir linn daoine a chuir ar a sócúlacht, agus is féidir leo Gaeilge a thuiscint, a labhairt, agus a foghlaim, le cabhair ón mBéarla chun pointí gramadaí, aon bhotún, agus stór focail a mhíniú, gan lagmhisneach a chur orthu.

Gaeilge ag an t-Eolaí Óg Tá críoch tagtha leis an Eolaí Óg i mbliana agus mar sin, déanann Conor de Paor cur síos ar na dtionscadal Gaeilge a bhí ann ag an taispeántas agus an conspóid a tháinig chun cinn le linn na moltóireachta Thosaigh an tEolaí Óg sa bhliain na breitheanna, céatadán atá i bhfad 1965 agus le 550 tionscadal á níos airde ná moltaí WHO (idir 10% thaispeáint i mbliana, bhí os cionn agus 15%). Anuas ar seo, tá an ráta 1,100 dalta ag glacadh páirte sa beathú cíche is ísle ar fáil sa chontae. taispeántas i 2015. Tá cead ag Dá bhrí sin, shocraigh na cailíní ar an daltaí ar fud na tíre an tionscadal nasc idir an dá staitistic seo a fhiosrú. acu a dhéanamh as Gaeilge agus i Chuaigh an grúpa i dteagmháil leis mbliana, bhí os cionn 30 tionscadal an eagraíocht “Cuidiú” agus chuir á thaispeáint as Gaeilge. Bhí siad suirbhé le chéile. D’éirigh leo ceisteanna ábhartha agus suimiúla an suirbhé a scaipeadh, le cabhair á chur agus á fhreagairt ag na daltaí Chuidiú, i 25 tír dhifriúil ar fud an seo. Bhí raon leathan ábhair a phlé ag domhain. Fuaireadh 1,148 freagra na daltaí chomh maith idir thionchar ar an suirbhé. Chomh maith leis na féinphiceanna ar dhaoine óga an nasc idir gearradh Caesarach agus conas creimeadh cósta a agus beathú cíche, scrúdaigh an laghdú le tonnchosc a ghineann suirbhé dearcadh an phobail i leith leictreachas ag an am céanna. an bheathú cíche. I ndiaidh anailís a Bronnadh an duais don tionscadal dhéanamh ar na suirbhéanna ar fad is fearr a bhí as Gaeilge ar bhí ionadh ar na cailíní nach raibh “Lámhscríbhneoireacht dochtúirí nasc le haimsiú. D’éirigh leo áfach, vs Daoine eile”. Rinne Aoibhín Ní nasc láidir a aimsiú idir dearcadh Fhionnagáin staidéar ar hipitéis faoi an phobail i leith an bheathú scríbhneoireacht dochtúirí doléite. cíche agus ráta an beathú cíche.

Rinne grúpa amháin ó Choláiste Dírigh grúpa eile ó Ghaelcholáiste Pobal Osraí i gCill Cheannaigh Chiarraí ar bhaoithe fhuinnimh iniúchadh ar an ráiteas, “An tionchar uisce a úsáid chun creimeadh cósta atá ag gearradh Caesarach ar beathú a laghdú agus chun leictreachas a cíche”. Bheartaigh na cailíní, Maeve ghiniúint ag an am céanna. Le tús a Shaw, Carolyn Howes agus Andi chur leis an tionscadal, chuaigh na Snyder, an topaic seo a fhiosrú de cailíní, Janine Ní Chonchúir, Lorraine dheasca ráta aird an ghnáthaimh De Nais agus Ursula Ní Mhochóir, i seo i gCill Cheannaigh. Déantar dteagmháil le Coláiste na hOllscoile Language ad 310x126mm.qxp_Layout 1 13/01/2015 11:09 Page 1 gearradh Caesarach i gcás 38% de Corcaigh. Tugadh comhairle do na

cailíní ansin agus thosaigh siad ar thonncosc a dhearadh. Chun an dearadh acu a thriail, chuaigh an grúpa chuig an trá agus thóg siad balla ag úsáid ghainimh. D’éirigh leo difríocht shuntasach a thabhairt faoi deara i gcás an chreimthe ar an mballa agus an tonnchosc in úsáid.

Mar aon leis na tionscadail a bhí déanta as Gaeilge bhí roinnt tionscadal ann a bhí as Béarla agus iad ag plé todhchaí na Gaeilge in Éirinn agus dearcadh na ndaltaí i leith na teanga. Chuir Stephen Gartlan agus David Finnegan, ó Meánscoil Bush i gcontae Lú, suirbhé le chéile chun an cheist, “Should Irish be optional in second level schools”, a iniúchadh. Sna freagraí a fuair siad, dúirt an tromlach gur chóir go mbeadh an rogha ag daltaí i leith na Gaeilge.

Bhí conspóid le brath ag an taispeántais i leith an chórais moltóireachta. Cé go raibh Gaeilge ag roinnt de na moltóirí ní raibh Gaeilge ag gach moltóir. Dá bhrí sin, bhí ar daltaí ina raibh an tionscadal as Gaeilge acu é a mhíniú as Béarla le roinnt de na moltóirí.

Dar le hurlabhraí ón taispeántas, tá Béarla ina “teanga idirnáisiúnta na heolaíochta”. Mar sin, dar leis

an urlabhraí, ba chóir go mbeadh an dalta nó an grúpa in ann an tionscadal a mhíniú as Gaeilge agus as Béarla leis an moltóir.

Roinnt tionscadal eile a bhí ann ag an taispeántas ná “Anailís staitistiúil ar an tionchar atá ag tacóirí litriú ar chumas litriú daoine óga”, “Staidéar ar thimpistí dréimirí agus an dóigh le hiad a dhéanamh níos sábháilte” agus “An bhfuil an citira sprús an crann is fearr chun carbon a thógaint isteach?”.

Bhuaigh Ian O’Sullivan agus Eimear Murphy an comórtas grianghraf: James Brady

Cúrsaí Gaeilge le Bord na Gaeilge UCD Irish Language Courses for UCD Students and Staff Bord na Gaeilge UCD

2015

Courses Commence January 2015 Courses offered at 5 levels Courses for International Students and Staff Online Placement Test Online Courses Cultural Events on and off campus

REGISTER NOW AT : www.ucd.ie/bnag

FURTHER DETAILS AVAILABLE: ranganna.gaeilge@ucd.ie January 20th 2015

features Gráinne Loughran Features Editor

Debunking the myths: why stigma against mental health still exists in Ireland Mental health care in Ireland has improved vastly over the years in terms of quality of care.

So why does so much stigma continue to surround the topic?

Entering St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin 8, there is no resemblance to anything one would associate with One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Girl, Interrupted or even The Bell Jar. I see no sterile white corridors or barred windows that are so common in media and artistic portrayals of mental health services. There are no “men in white coats” hiding around corners - in fact, it’s practically impossible to tell the patients from the staff. On the day we visit, an exhibition has just begun of paintings, drawings and pottery by both the staff and the “service users”, as they are known, in the public areas of the hospital.

In short, it’s about as far away from the stereotypical and stigmatised image of mental health care as it is possible to be. We are shown music rooms, art rooms, even games rooms. There’s a gym onsite, a library and a computer room. Every opportunity and privilege of this kind is extended to patients. But this is a private hospital, and most treatment is paid for by patients either through private health insurance or their wallets. It can’t be doubted that St Patrick’s provides extremely well for their patients, but it comes at a price. And despite the therapeutic benefits they may have, the facilities mentioned above that we were given access to do not make a mental health treatment centre

Though it’s certainly true that the stigma towards mental health isn’t as harsh as it was in the past, the remnants of a pervading fear of mental health care still lie at the heart of Irish society

recreational space in St. Patrick’s mental health facility photo: NOELLE COLEMAN

to a set of criteria that are largely about geography, and what we’re having to do is divide our service accordingly to the ability to pay something.” As of October 2014, more than 30% of the children and adolescents on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services waiting lists were waiting more than three months for an appointment under the HSE. The year-to-date figures in October showed that over a quarter of adults were also waiting for longer than three months for an appointment. There are no costs for treatment available on the website for St Patrick’s University Hospital; however, an appointment in St on their own - they make a hotel.

Patrick’s Dean Clinic in Sandyford, Though it’s certainly true that the closest branch of the Dean the stigma towards mental health Clinic to UCD, will cost €150 for isn’t as harsh as it was in the past, one hour. Clearly, if one is suffering the remnants of a pervading fear of with a mental health difficulty, the mental health care still lie at the problems with getting treatment heart of Irish society. It’s hardly leave patients stuck between a rock surprising given the ways in which and a hard place. There is a major we used to treat people with mental problem in a healthcare system health problems. CEO of Mental where access to mental health care Health Ireland, Orla Barry, describes is not made reasonably and readily mental health services in Ireland available regardless of income levels. in the past, “[Asylums] were places The high cost of private mental that sat in communities all around health care is not easy to defend, Ireland, as these huge, usually grey even by those who play a part in or red buildings that were feared... if it. “By not acknowledging the real you look back to the 1980s we talked cost of [mental health care] we’re about psychiatry - it wasn’t mental not actually assisting people in health, it was psychiatry.” However, recognising the real value of it, the stigma is even less surprising we’re denying the value of it,” says given how we talk about mental Professor Lucey in defence of the health care now. The enormous high cost of treatment at St Patrick’s. discrepancy between the ways in This is a difficult point to argue for which mental health care services are given the large numbers of callers to spoken of and what they actually do organisations and free helplines such has lead to a distrust of the service as the Samaritans, Childline and that has little to do with historical Aware, even when we disregard the stigma, and everything to do with undeniable classism that is shown by current misrepresentations of the Prof Lucey here. However Professor challenges that people suffering Lucey went on to say, “We would with mental health problems face love to be providing services for free, in finding acceptable treatment. and what we do increasingly is we In many ways, institutional and provide more and more services for structural stigma has a bigger role free through our charitable work. In to play than social stigma in the the last year we provided maybe €3 treatment of those suffering with million in free services to various mental illness and looking for help. people who were unable to afford our Professor Jim Lucey, Medical services.” It is this very discrepancy Director of St Patrick’s University between what is said and the actions Hospital, is well aware of the that follow that result in the stigma issues that lie in the enormous that we attach not to the mentally discrepancies between public and ill, but to the treatment for those private mental health care. “In who struggle with mental illness.

Ireland, what happens is that you’re It is entirely possible that access told that it [mental health care] to mental health care and the type of will be free at a point of service mental health care that one receives wherever you go, every clinic that as a result is a class issue. Orla Barry you go to in the country under the of Mental Health Ireland says “This HSE is free. But in reality, the is down to who has access to what... patchy nature of the service means The likelihood is that if somebody that the availability of resources goes into their GP and they’re feeling in those clinics is very different depressed, the GP may refer them to depending on your geography. Your a support group or they may suggest postcode geography determines what that they go to see a therapist. But you’re likely to get. They’re having it is also quite likely that a GP as a to ration their resources according medical doctor will take the approach 8 January 20th 2015

of prescribing medication.” A GP may be most inclined to prescribe antidepressants or some form of medication for a mental health issue where a psychologist may be more likely to prescribe a form of therapy, whether this is psychotherapy or a form of creative therapy. Barry goes on to say, “I would certainly be of the view that there would be huge benefit in having a wider range of therapeutic approaches available to people rather than simply medication. Some people find medication very helpful, other people don’t but it’s actually about choice...The difference between those services [private hospitals] is that they’re hospital based in the main - the primary focus of their service is the hospital and what goes on there. In the public service the primary focus is the community

it is impossible to adequately examine the affects of these different priorities on patient care.

But stigma surrounding mental health treatment may also arise directly from the treatment itself. A current trend in recovery from mental health difficulties is the notion of “self-directed care”, which empowers a patient to take charge of their own recovery. Barry says, “The essential thing in recovery is that the power is with the person, not with the professional. A very big push within our whole mental health system now is to actually see the person as their own expert, and to see the role of the professional as bringing an expertise to the aid of the person to help them in terms of their recovery.” Again, we see inconsistencies between what we are told and what actually happens.

Time and time again we have heard that mental illnesses are often biological or physical in nature, but patients suffering with pneumonia or any other physical illness are not told to take charge of their own recovery.

When mental Why should the onus be put on patients of mental health issues, some health treatment of whom can be some of the most centres vulnerable in society, to be well? Is it themselves come therefore our own fault if we cannot so perilously recover from mental illness alone? close to blaming The answer is of course a resounding no, but when mental health treatment those struggling centres themselves come so perilously with mental close to blaming those struggling illnesses for with mental illnesses for being being ill, how can ill, how can there be any hope of there be any hope reducing the stigma of mental illness of reducing the in the eyes of the general public?

“Self-directed care” comes to a stigma of mental grinding halt when it meets the illness in the eyes Mental Health Act. Unlike most other of the general areas of healthcare, mental health public? can in extreme cases impinge on the liberty of the patient. Under the Mental Health Act, a patient can receive electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) when they are unable or unwilling to receive it, if it is deemed to be in the patient’s best interests.

Although modern ECT is not the archaic and barbaric treatment it was when it was first administered without service, so they’re very different in anaesthesia in the earlier half of the terms of their orientation. Within the twentieth century, the potential side community services it’s much more effects of memory loss can be very likely that if there was somebody who severe and it remains a controversial was attending a community mental treatment. St Patrick’s University health team and it’s judged that Hospital doesn’t administer ECT to mindfulness might be very helpful those who are unwilling to receive it, for them, their community mental but the same may not be said for other health nurse or their occupational mental health centres around the therapist is quite likely to advise country. Professor Lucey says, “ECT them to go to something in their is a regulated treatment provided community... so there’s different under rules set by the Mental priorities and it’s a different Health Commission, which is the orientation.” However the same national regulator for mental health. thing cannot be said for patients; It’s provided in St Patrick’s and a presumably, they only have one main number of designated centres for priority in seeking mental health care, mental health throughout the country and that is recovery. Unfortunately and we provide it for a very small

artwork completed by a resident at the St. Patrick’s health facility photo: NOELLE COLEMAN

and recovery seem like an easy task number of people, but a number that can be accomplished through of people who do need it as part of fancy facilities and “self-empowered their treatment plan. It’s a treatment recovery” undermines the difficulties like any other in mental health in that one can go through when they the sense that it’s prescribed and have a mental health problem, and is regulated by law... We don’t give the affects of class on the type ECT to people who are unwilling to of treatment that one will receive take it under the [Mental Health] destabilises our perception of it.

Act. Even though the Act hasn’t Cancer is widely spoken of and little been reformed in that way yet, we’re stigma surrounds it nowadays- but operating as though it has.” There is it is a well known fact that cancer no room for self-directed care when it comes to unwilling ECT performed treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are very difficult on a patient - and yet, many mental on the patient. There is no reason health practitioners seem to forget why mental health problems should that while self-empowered recovery not be treated in the same way, by may work for some, for others mental health practitioners and the it merely increases the stigma general public alike. We must fully that surrounds getting help. encourage those who are suffering See Change is the national stigma to seek help - recovery is always reduction programme for mental possible - but we also must be health. Sorcha Lowry, campaign truthful about the disenchanting manager for the Green Ribbon campaign, says “Yes, our history has nature of the public and private mental health services. In order to a role to play, but more importantly let’s look at the sources of stigma that overcome the stigma of mental health, allow this silence and shame to exist. all we have to do is be honest about it.

Stigma is cultural, social and also structural. Culturally for instance, we Ireland is fortunate in the numbers of voluntary and charitable have a million different euphemisms organisations that provide services for mental health to avoid actually talking about it. Socially, there is still for free. The Samaritans can be reached free in the ROI by calling a huge reluctance to be open about 116 123. The Aware support line what’s really going on for you with friends and even family. Structurally, can be called on 1890 303 302 it’s a regrettable fact that people who and charges local rates. The Green Ribbon campaign by See Change are open about their mental health works to overcome the stigma of still often experience prejudice and mental health- more information discrimination in the workplace, applying for insurance and mortgages can be found at www.greenribbon.ie etc.” Making mental health care

features

Eimear Reilly Staff Writer Independent TD Lucinda Creighton has formally announced the creation of a new political party, which as of yet has no official name but aims to ‘reboot Ireland’. At a press conference on Jan 2nd, Creighton was joined by TV personality Eddie Hobbs and Independent Offaly Councillor John Leahy in announcing the new party based on four key principles that will guide their new political movement.

The four principles, which include “creating a political system that supports freedom of thought, difference and independence” (which attracted much criticism from political commentators) and “building a new economy that supports workers, entrepreneurs, employees and consumers of small business” have been labelled as “lacking in passion and purpose”. Creighton argued that she would provide a party name, policies and candidates during the next eight weeks after a series of public meetings nationwide.

The public meetings are part of a campaign to bolster the “100 strong” core team already in place of volunteer actuaries, IT consultants and researchers. The party hopes to run at least one candidate in every constituency at the next general election. Following the press conference there have been no major candidate announcements.

Eddie Hobbs refused to rule out the possibility of running for election, but said that he had joined the party because he felt let down by traditional parties. Creighton stressed that the party was neither right nor left wing, stating “As far as I’m concerned, the right-wing model of an overriding free market has completely failed and, equally, I don’t think I need to explain how socialism has failed in the latter part of the last century.”

Creighton, a 34 year old barrister from Claremorris, Co. Mayo, was expelled from the Fine Gael party in 2013 and lost her position as Minister of State for EU Affairs after defying the party whip and voting against the controversial Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill. The absence of the whip in her new political party will allow members the freedom to

A Creigh-zy Idea: can Lucinda reboot the political system?

Everyone wants to know if Lucinda Creighton’s new political party can reboot a system designed for the boys, by the boys adopt their own personal standpoint on social issues, but the whip is expected to apply on other issues if the party becomes elected.

UCD Politics Professor David O’Farrell disagrees with the practicalities of the absence of a party whip. “When you’re in the heat of the hunt as a minority government made up of this alliance trying to put a tough budget through what’s to stop that government trying to pick off individual members of the alliance? Ultimately it’s very hard to find any parliament where parties are not in control of the parliamentits only in tiny little micro states like the Isle of Man or little island states in the Pacific like Toovaloo which are so small that it’s possible to find any parliament where it’s individual MPs. Once you go past that critical size you need to have organised parties with some degree of discipline, so you need to have some kind of whipping system.”

Perhaps the biggest threat to Creighton’s party is the newly formed alliance established by Shane Ross and Michael Fitzmaurice.

Their political grouping also seeks to abolish the party whip and hopes to have at least one candidate contesting a seat in every constituency. Independent TDs including Stephen Donnelly, Mattie McGrath, Noel Grealish and John Halligan have all confirmed that they will be part of the alliance.

The current political system in Ireland does not lend itself to supporting newly formed parties but instead is favourable to the incumbents. Creighton’s new party will receive no state funding, in contrast to Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour who receive a combined total of €62 million of taxpayers’ money. The allocation of state funding is based on the number of elected representatives and this money cannot be spent on election campaigns. In Fine Gael’s case, the party continues to reap the financial benefits of Creighton’s election to the Dáil on the party ticket at the last general election, even though she is no longer a Fine Gael member. The same is true

Lucinda Creighton speaking at the osce assembly in vienna in 2012 photo: osce assembly via flickr

With all due respect to Lucinda Creighton I don’t see this as the vehicle for the big change that the constituency of voters out there are looking for

for the other party members who have since become Independent TDs. As a result Creighton’s new party will receive no state funding until members are elected in 2016.

One of the major logistical challenges that Creighton faces is raising €1million in small donations over the coming months in order to finance the election campaign.

She will not be able to rely on large donations as currently an individual can donate a maximum of €2,500 without declaring it, and declared donations can rise to a maximum of €6,348. “Whether it’s Lucinda Creighton or anybody else who creates a new party, they start at a huge disadvantage because of our finance rules which create an even tougher hurdle now than they did in the 1980s when Des O’Malley set up the Progressive Democrats,” says Professor Farrell.

Officially the staff who work on election campaigns are funded by independent donations and their own personal money. However it is commonplace for existing party staff whose wages are paid by the state to work on policy development and in an organisational and structural capacity before elections.

One of the advantages of setting up a new political party in 2015 is that Creighton and her colleagues will not be completely reliant on traditional type media such as national newspapers, RTÉ and expensive advertisements. Using the power of social media, the party will be able to reach voters using inexpensive tools such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Data collection and analysis could also prove to be useful in monitoring voter engagement and gauging the effectiveness of their campaign. The way in which

people consume media has changed dramatically even since the last general election in 2011 and now it is easier than ever before to reach voters in a cheap and effective way “With all due respect to Lucinda Creighton I don’t see this as the vehicle for the big change that the constituency of voters out there are looking for. I don’t see this as the Progressive Democrats of the 2000s, it’s quite a different kind of entity- so I would’ve thought that her party isn’t in the right space to make a breakthrough”, says Professor Farrell. There is no doubt that Creighton faces many obstacles over the coming months and though Reboot Ireland may not succeed in the way it intends to, it cannot be denied that a challenge to the current political status quo and a fresh set of ideas could potentially be a welcome addition to Irish politics.

University College Dublin

President’s Awards for Excellence in Student Activities You are invited to make a nomination for the President’s Awards for Excellence in Student Activities. The award scheme aims to provide recognition for those students who excel in extracurricular activities of a kind which make UCD a more exciting, interesting and humane place to live and to work.

Nomination Forms: available from Forum Office (Ext. 3100), Students' Union and Services Desks.

Any member of the College - either student or staff - can make a nomination. They should write, giving the nominee’s name and a short explanation of why they believe the nominee is worthy of an award. It is not necessary that theperson nominated is aware of the nomination.

Nominations, preferably typed, should be sent to: The Director The Student Consultative Forum Student Centre They should be in an envelope marked ‘STUDENTS AWARDS’ and should reach The Forum office before: 11.00am, Monday , 16th of February, 2015.

January 20th 2015

features After Áras attracta With a recent RTE Primetime investigation highlighting discrepancies in the care of those with intellectual disabilities, Megan Fanning examines whether enough is being done to protect some of the most vulnerable in society Recently an issue highlighted by RTE Primetime evoked concerns on current legislation and its ability to protect individuals of the state. RTE Primetime investigated Aras Attracta, a care centre in County Mayo, due to reports from whistleblowers denying the significant improvements certified by a second-round HIQA report on the centre’s compliance with regulation standards.

This particular centre had seven female residents with the programme focusing on three in particular.

RTE Primetime witnessed the maltreatment of the most vulnerable in what should be considered their home. The residents are seen to be largely confined to the one area for significant parts of the day with punishment and abusive threats given to them should they try to move.

This Primetime report draws attention to the need to reform Irish legislation in relation to those with intellectual disability and confirms the inadequacy of the regulation currently in place, posing the question, ‘Where is the governance?’

Government after government have failed to reform the current system. In Fine Gael and Labour’s 2011 programme for government it, like many of its preceding governments, stated that it would “close unsuitable psychiatric institutions” and would “develop specific strategies for… those with intellectual disabilities.” The Government committed to repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act (1871) which is an “all or nothing” option. The Act disempowers those with intellectual disabilities and is a declaration of incapacity.

Regardless of the severity of the individual’s disability, the individual’s rights to property, to marriage, to testify in a court case are removed and all legal and health related decision-making capacity is removed from the individual. The person deemed incapable becomes a ‘ward

The Act does not take into account the spectrum of disabilities and paints scenarios as black and white.

Over 70% of individuals with intellectual disabilities have a mild to moderate disability and are capable of making decisions

ivy mcGinty, a resident of áras attracta is sat on by a member of staff image: still from RTé primetime

of court’ – their affairs are managed by a committee with supervision from the High Court. The Act removes an individual’s right to autonomy over their own lives and despite its age and faults it still holds in Ireland.

The Act does not take into account the spectrum of disabilities and paints scenarios as black and white. Over 70% of individuals with intellectual disabilities have a mild to moderate disability and are capable of making decisions but the Act does not distinguish individual case by individual case. It breeds a system of archaic paternalism that disallows for the progression of infrastructure for those with intellectual disabilities; despite its intentions to protect it only furthers discrimination. The sister of one of the residents in care at Aras Attracta, Sheila Garvin,

stated in the programme that there is a line you do not cross, where you infringe on someone’s dignity and human rights. Dr. Brendan Kelly, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in UCD and a Consultant Psychiatrist in the Mater Hospital, has said that the Lunacy Act is “no longer fit for purpose.” When asked whether the Act has any strengths to bring forward, Dr. Kelly says that there are none and that there needs to be a “root-andbranch reform of the system.”

The Lunacy Act disregards two of the greatest UN Conventions – the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention Against Torture. The system that our state currently has in place dismisses those who have suffered abuse through cases such

as Aras Attracta. These victims, as a result of the Lunacy Act, will not be validated as witnesses to the events that occurred, regardless of the severity of their disability.

There has been a move to introduce reform in this area and this has come in the shape of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill (2013) that contains proposals that provide a statutory framework that supports decision-making by those with intellectual disabilities. In an article published in the Irish Times in October 2013, Dr. Kelly said that it was an “exciting and progressive initiative which offers real hope for the empowerment of thousands of individuals.” This Bill, if passed, would replace the ‘ward of court’ and provide for a range of legal options and intervention levels to

support the individual’s decision making. The Capacity Bill would see the system changing from the previous “all or nothing” approach to a system that evaluates the various options based on a case-by-case scenario where there would be three statuses based on assessment of the severity of a person’s disability – Assisted Decision Maker; Supported Decision Maker and Facilitated Decision Maker.

The Capacity Bill would also progress in ratifying the UN Conventions previously neglected by the Lunacy Act. Dr. Kelly agrees that the Capacity Bill is “an important step forward, if revised somewhat and then efficiently implemented.” Dr. Kelly applauds the Bill in saying that it places a “strong emphasis” on the “will and preferences” of those with

an intellectual disability and creates a system that provides for “provision for automatic periodic review” which the Lunacy Act did not.

The Aras Attracta report confirms the inadequacy of regulation of services that the system has in place and highlights the lack of accountability in its governance. The Capacity Bill will better protect those vulnerable as opposed to the Lunacy Regulation Act but yet it stills has its faults, the bill fails to introduce a system that will protect the lack of freedom in residential services and this is a violation of Ireland’s obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Putting the mock in democracy: the value of satire

In light of the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks, we decided to ask Ireland’s journalists about the nature of satire: If satire’s main impact is to insult rather than to make the audience laugh, is it still a satire worth undertaking in the name of free speech?

clodagh finn

Journalist - Irish Examiner “You can’t have free speech and then impose conditions on it. At its best, free speech - and, by extension, satire - informs, educates and entertains but, equally, it has the power to insult and provoke. Cast your mind back to the pseudo-scientific racism of the 19th century when the British magazine Punch referred to the Irish as ‘the Missing Link’ and depicted us as human chimpanzees.

Shocking and insulting, yes, but should they have been banned?

You can ask the same question of the inflammatory cartoons

that continue to be published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. There is little doubt that many French Muslims, some of whom already feel stigmatised in a vehemently secular country, feel deeply insulted by their publication. This is satire that provokes; there is little doubt about that.

And yet, on balance, free speech should always win out. If you don’t like the satire, at least you are free to speak out against it.”

martina devlin illustration: paul crozier Irish Independent columnist

illustration: sarah bealin

aongus collins Illustrator

illustration: david Rooney

10 January 20th 2015

“Whether something is funny or insulting is subjective. Authoritarian regimes have a tendency to describe, often in law, material that criticises them as insulting. Three examples, from classical art to the present: -During the 19th century, Honore Daumier, the great French artist and cartoonist whose works now hang in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the Louvre, was jailed for “insulting” the notoriously corrupt King Louis Philippe. The supposedly insulting cartoon seems to these eyes to be a perfectly valid comment on a king amassing taxpayers‘ money.

- During the 1930s and 1940s the British cartoonist David Low drew a stream of cartoons mocking Hitler and Stalin. Before war started, Berlin put pressure on his newspaper to censor them. Later Low was on a death list in the event of Germany invading Britain. For obvious reasons those cartoons weren’t exercises in light-hearted humour.

There are times when going for a

laugh is simply inappropriate. A cartoon has to express anger or shock. As indeed did many of the cartoons about the Paris massacre.

-You don’t have to delve into history for examples though of satirists being jailed for spurious “insult”. In 2014, the Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart was prosecuted but found not guilty of “insulting through publication and slander” President Erdogan. His crime? A cartoon satirising Erdogan’s failure to investigate a money laundering operation that allegedly involved some of the president’s inner circle.

The president is currently appealing the acquittal, and prosecutors have called for a 9-year sentence.

Again the term “insult” was used to justify a dubious prosecution.

Other cartoonists are currently facing prosecution or worse. The Cartoonists Rights Network website has details. So has dailycartoonist. com. I hope your readers will agree that these brave people deserve our support.”

“Satire’s impact may be to insult, but its function is what interests me - and that’s far from superfluous.

Indeed, I would argue that it’s an essential component of democracy.

Satire is a tool of the mind by which relatively humble individuals can challenge powerful and wealthy

organisations, from governments to religions. By criticising them, satire holds them to account, or at least starts the process.

Above all, satire celebrates independence of thought and for that reason it must be valued.”

mary kenny

Irish Independent columnist “I think the real point of satire is to unsettle the powerful. I think it was the Editor of Private Eye who said that journalism should “comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable” and that to me is an admirable thought.

Satire should be brave and take risks, and should go against the political grain, too. That’s what makes it awkward. It’s easy to scoff at the powerless - elderly Catholic nuns, for example, are a soft target, but hardly, any more, a brave one for satire. But ask who is powerful (and rich) and then poke fun at them. However, it ain’t that easy when your job is on the line! Will we satirise Saudi Arabia if we depend on their oil supplies? Or those Mid-Eastern countries which buy Irish agricultural produce?

Satire should certainly make people laugh; and it ought to

“offend”, rather than “insult”.

It should also be clever. I think censorship is a very complex question today when we have laws against hate speech, sexism, racism, homophobia, paedophile material, obscenity, speech “likely to cause a breach of the peace”, laws against speech likely to cause terrorism, against defamation, stiff copyright laws (often enforced by very aggressive lawyers in intellectual property) and all the rest. Anyone using the “N” word in public is likely to lose their job. So while liberty of speech is something all writers should support, there is an element of cant and hypocrisy around the subject, as we all tend to pick and choose about what we want freely available and what we think should be suppressed.”

science

The bionic vet

Fresh from a late night session in his operating theatre, Noel Fitzpatrick takes a moment to chat to Rebekah Rennick at the inaugural UCD Alumni Award Ceremony to discuss the irrepressible link between Art and Medicine, his revolutionary work thus far and life as ‘The Bionic Vet’ Unconditional love is a powerful tool. It is something that binds us to those whom we consider precious, be it a life long partner or the four legged feline that curls up at your feet each night. It’s an intoxicating medicine that blinds us whenever that being may become injured or in danger, allowing us to disregard any other option than the best possible care. For leading neuro-orthopaedic veterinary surgeon, Noel Fitzpatrick, unconditional love for our animal counterparts has become the driving force to his vocation as a last chance saloon proprietor for animals “that nobody wants to fix and that nobody else feels they can fix.”

Meeting Fitzpatrick at the 2014 UCD Alumni Award Ceremony where he was to be commemorated in recognition of his revolutionary work and outstanding contribution to small animals; compassion, enthusiasm and wonder at his chosen career path radiate from his demeanour. Amongst the other recipients, Fitzpatrick is a bouncing ball of energy, intrigued to talk and even more intrigued to listen, something that has strengthened his ability to compassionately and revolutionarily develop the Veterinary Medicine faculty through pioneering surgery techniques.

Originating from Ballyfin, Co. Laois and growing up on a farm in Mountmellick, his early years, like many aspiring veterinary students, were spent tending and delivering lambs. While an early lambing incident ultimately ended in the loss of a new born thus triggering his incentive to follow a career in Veterinary Medicine, Fitzpatrick admits he struggled just as much as any student to figure out where he wanted to take his chosen vocation; “I was very confused in vet school.

Like, I genuinely didn’t know because my Dad, and he’s not here tonight and it’s a great sadness to me, he had no idea what was inside me. He wanted me to be a cow and sheep Vet and he was very disappointed, well I think he was somewhat disappointed when I transgressed for animals in dire need meant that Fitzpatrick was never going to fade into the background of Veterinary Medicine. Consequentially, 2009 saw Fitzpatrick and a black cat named Oscar become unlikely partners that have since advanced together his concept of and bookmarked the beginning of a ‘One Medicine’, new chapter in animal prosthesis. the outstanding Following an accident with a fusion of combine harvester that left him without his two hind-feet, Oscar, a cat ideas and from Jersey, was flown to Fitzpatrick technologies who had engineered a pair of new in order to bionic feet for his feline friend. With advance not Oscar, Fitzpatrick worked closely only Veterinary alongside an engineer to develop an intraosseous transcutaneous Medicine but amputation prosthesis and a pair Human Medicine of unique plastic feet that would too enable Oscar to walk once more.

This prosthesis allows skin to adhere to metal but what Fitzpatrick had to ensure was that the metal used from the ways of farming.” would withstand everyday stresses To say Fitzpatrick has transgressed without breaking – and it did, from the usual large animal vet coining Fitzpatrick with the name direction would be an understatement. ‘The Bionic Vet’ from there on in.

Instead of a farm environment and However, his individuality does not disease eradication responsibilities yield in his work ethic but expands that lie at the heart of large animal to his overall outlook as to what Veterinary Medicine, Fitzpatrick Veterinary Medicine truly means. left UCD Belfield in 1990 to begin Following qualification, Fitzpatrick his journey in transforming and delved into the world of drama and evolving orthopaedic surgery for small admits his other passion for life animals and pioneering his concept lies in literature. While his dip in of ‘One Medicine’, the outstanding the dramatic world of the London fusion of ideas and technologies in Academy of Music and Dramatic order to advance not only Veterinary Art saw him nab a role on Casualty, Medicine but Human Medicine too.

Heartbeat and The Bill alike, his “When I finished, I didn’t really definition of the word ‘theatre’ elicits know that specialisation was really a labyrinth of meaning; acting as possible to be honest with you.” a key to understanding the way in he says “I was obsessed with the which his mind truly works, “I felt ability to change lives in moments in that there was room in Veterinary Veterinary Medicine that you couldn’t Medicine for Art. I think the ‘theatre’ do in Human Medicine because of isn’t called that just by coincidence. restrictions. I could change a life in a You go in to create, it’s theatre! moment and I was obsessed with that, You go in to create a marriage with and then I was obsessed with our biology and science, and for me, moral responsibility for that moment. science is way too rigid so, tonight And that very much for me is still they talk about pioneering this, and the driving force and, in fact, even pioneering that but for me it’s really coming here tonight, the cab driver just frustration and it’s artistically turned around and said “Thank you trying to look for a solution to that.” very much for making the TV show”, “And I don’t think, whatever the that’s the guy I’m doing it for, not the creator of this universe was, if you millions of people who either take believe in God or not,” he continues it for granted or alternatively some “I don’t think it was science, I vets who are very cynical about it.” think it was an artistic evolution of From performing his first amateur esoteric salt and I think us scientists orthopaedic surgery on a kitchen table try to rationalise it and I try now in West Cork as a young graduate, to spend the next twenty years, I he then went on in 1993 to study hope, inspiring your generation that for extra qualifications in radiology it doesn’t need to be; you need to and orthopaedics. His tenacity for follow the rules, but it doesn’t need life and hunger for providing care to be this intransigent notebook. You

People think because I make a TV show and because I run a big surgical practice, that all I do is surgery; that’s not true. Mostly I hold people’s hands.

I think the ‘theatre’ isn’t called that just by coincidence.

You go in to create, it’s theatre

need to have that fire in your belly.”

Fitzpatrick boils over with warmth and honest integrity, traits that have seen him become the poster surgeon and inspiration for many veterinary students and pet owners alike. His world revolves around his work.

Obsessional and a perfectionist at heart, he astounds his patients, their owners and those watching at home on his Channel 4 TV show ‘Supervet’ with the lengths and breadths he will go to help those who walk through the doors of Fitzpatrick Referrals; his state-of-the-art small animal referral clinic located in Eashing, Surrey. However, even after so much success Fitzpatrick keeps his feet firmly on his surgery floor, explaining the clarity with which he views his work “I see Vets as the gatekeepers

of lots of things in society; they’re the gatekeepers of the food chain, they’re the gatekeepers of disease epidemiology, all disease, they’re the gatekeepers of the implants in drugs, they’re the gatekeepers of unconditional love most importantly and they’re the gatekeepers of life and death. What other profession does those five things? Seriously.”

Yet, while he continues to breath fresh life into cases that have prematurely been deemed stale and irretrievable, he cannot emphasise enough that the heart of what he does lies in one simple action “People think because I make a TV show and because I run a big surgical practice, that all I do is surgery; that’s not true. Mostly I hold people’s hands.”

“The whole team, there’s 137 people there now, their job is mostly just to hold people’s hands because we look after companion animals, so we are actually holding the hands of love, hope and redemption everyday and I know that sounds really evangelical but the only reason I’m here tonight is to carry that and to say to people this is important in a world that is sometimes divorced from what is important” With a business brimming with a plethora of incredible resources; from MRI, CT, X-ray and diagnostic rooms, world class operating theatres, and a rehabilitation centre that boasts optimum environments for recovery, including a hydrotherapy pool and facilities for both acupuncture and shockwave therapy, it’s no wonder Fitzpatrick has jokily referred

to his clinic as the “Fitz Ritz”.

However, The University Observer had to wonder what on earth goes through his mind when faced with the huge number of difficult cases he sees on a daily basis?

“The first question I ask myself is “Does this person want it for themselves or for the dog or the cat?”.

He tells “I used not to think that; I used to think that everybody was perfectly sane and that everybody was perfectly reasonable and that everything was going to be okay as long as we did scientifically the right thing. That is absolutely untrue, it’s not going to be okay. I have a lady at the moment who really upset me yesterday because I put her dog to sleep and she’s going crazy because she’s accusing me of not saving it and that I should have done more but it wasn’t morally right.”

“So here’s the thing, when I was coming through Vet Medicine it was all about what is possible and what is not possible. Now that’s no longer the case because everything is possible.

Literally, almost everything is possible now. So the line in the sand now is what is morally right. “Is it morally right to intervene in this way with that dog or cat, for that family, with those financial circumstances in that moment in time?” And that’s the first thought that goes through my head and usually within the first five minutes, I’ve sussed out is this right for the animals, and if it is I’ll have a meaningful conversation about all the solutions and if it isn’t I’ll have a meaningful

conversation about all the solutions and I’ll advise them to go down the route of something that is kinder for the animal other then surgery.”

It’s difficult not to be enthralled by Fitzpatrick’s enthusiasm, let alone the ability he has to allow animals, from new born to senior citizen, to live their life with the same respect and dignity we would give a human being. Although some may question his sanity and health “I stayed up until half four last night to get all the operations for today done and my nurses are very upset with me”.

He credits his will to keep going and progressing by continuing to remind himself of the importance of perspective. This is in addition to surrounding himself with the helping hands of those who understand his tenacious willpower “they [his team of nurses] get it, they understand that we’re here for a bigger purpose.”

From confused student to confident surgeon, Noel Fitzpatrick continues to defy and push the boundaries of Veterinary Medicine, attempting to unionize the worlds of human and animal neuro-orthopaedic surgery.

While he admits that he “could never have been a medic because [he’s] not intelligent enough!” it’s undeniable that the work and advice he’s giving our four legged chums could transpire and transform the prosthetic world of those on two feet..

January 20th 2015

science Aoife Hardesty Staff Writer

Every January people are bombarded with “ways to help you lose weight!”. Gym memberships are on offer, Operation Transformation returns to the telly screens and the latest diets appear. Struggling to lose weight is something which plagues so many people. After the Christmas binge, many people want to lose weight. “Fad diets” can often seem like the best way of doing this.

Fad diets are diets which promise success in the short term. They often mean eliminating one or more food groups, or they can involve living on one substance only. Here we explore some fad diets and the science behind them.

The famous Atkins Diet relies on eliminating carbs from the diet, thus causing your body to rely on its fat storage for fuel. When the body is no longer getting carbohydrates or other sugars that it needs for energy it breaks down fat in a process called ketosis. The dieter is encouraged to eat products high in fat such as meat and fish and not breads, pastas, or dairy products other than butter, cheese and cream.

The science behind this diet checks out, but long term effects may be mixed. Research has shown that there is a higher incidence of heart disease, blood pressure problems and high cholesterol levels for people on the diet who relied on animal fat and protein than for people on the diet who got their fat and protein from and plant sources.

The Hollywood Diet is all about grapefruit. It is a low carb diet where portions of grapefruit are eaten before meals which consist mainly of fats and proteins with little carbohydrates. What supposedly makes the grapefruit such a magical fruit is that it apparently contains a fat-burning enzyme. Studies have debunked the myth of grapefruit’s magical enzyme but the diet may still cause some weight loss. Loss of weight for individuals on this diet is probably due to the high water content within grapefruit which makes the eater feel fuller quicker and thus eat less. Upon a return to normal eating, the results usually disappear.

The Paleo diet takes us back to the prehistoric times of the cavepeople.

Back in the olden days, people didn’t farm, they didn’t have cereals to make breads and pastas, they didn’t keep

FAD DIETS

Science Editor

With Christmas over and the New Year firmly upon us Aoife Hardesty looks at the science behind the many so called ‘miracle diets’ and questions how safe they are

The dieter swallows a tapeworm after eating, allowing the tapeworm to gobble up all the food passing through the dieter’s digestive system

Pink grapefruit photo: mark nye, via flickr

animals for dairy, and of course, they had not yet developed processed foods, meaning no pickles. The rules are to eat non-starchy vegetables, fish, lean meat, fruits and nuts.

Eating the food on this diet means you are returning to eating what the first humans ate, so the theory is that you are eating the healthy food that humans were originally supposed to eat. The main concern for this diet is the elimination of dairy, the dietary source of calcium, which results in weaker bones. The argument for the paleo diet is that humans were never supposed to start absorbing the excess calcium from dairy products, but studies on genes for metabolising dairy products show such genes emerged around the time when humans first started farming. These genes spread through the population until it became the new normal for people to be able to metabolise dairy products.

The VB6 diet stands for Vegan Before 6pm. So dieters eat a vegan diet up until 6pm, after which they can eat whatever they want. During the day the dieter may indeed be eating more low-fat foods, but after 6 pm, those unsatisfied with their meals up to then will take the opportunity to eat piles of snacks and junk food, negating the effect of all that healthy food. The theoretical science behind this diet is that after 6pm any foods that are high in fats or sugars that would normally be considered “unhealthy” do not have the same effect as they would have if they were consumed during the day, however this is untrue. The food you eat will have the same effect no matter what time of day you eat it at.

The Tapeworm diet involves swallowing tapeworms. Yes you read that correctly. The dieter swallows a tapeworm after eating,

allowing the tapeworm to gobble up all the food passing through the dieter’s digestive system. However, having a tapeworm in one’s digestive system causes an immune response resulting in the tapeworm leaving the digestive system and entering the bloodstream. From the bloodstream, the tapeworm can travel to the brain from which it cannot be removed and where it causes irreparable damage, eventually resulting in death. Not worth it.

Dieting well should mean the dieter is burning off more calories than they are putting into their bodies. Essentially what the dieter should be doing is exercising more, decreasing portion sizes at meal times, putting an end to snacking between meals and decreasing intakes of foods that are high in sugars and high in fats (those foods we tend to refer to as “junk foods”).

One of the main problems with fad

diets is that they’re often shortlived; the individual diets for a couple of weeks or, for longer-lived diets, a couple of months, and the dieter loses an awful lot of weight within that period of time. But once the individual is no longer dieting, they put on a significant amount more weight. Why is this? Because you’ve been convincing your body that it’s being starved and your body’s way of dealing with that is to build up a greater fat store for the next time you might end up starving. The best way of losing weight to ensure you stay at your desired weight for years (ensuring you keep up your proper eating and exercise regime) is to lose weight slowly and steadily.

The results do not appear as quick but they are longer lasting, and there is no need for tapeworm.

spintronics Seán O’Neill explains the science behind the new breakthrough technology Spintronics and what it means for you What phenomenon has caught the attention of the finest minds from Cambridge, The French National Centre for Scientific Research and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne? No, it’s not how they get the figs into the fig rolls. It’s spintronics! Of course, how could it be anything else? It’s the talk of Tinseltown. I hear Jennifer Lawrence is signed up to star in the David Fincher-directed thriller Spun Out, which sees her play special agent Jane Spinner who is tasked with saving the president from a vaguely plausible sounding threat. It contains as much actual science as this opening paragraph.

Spintronics is the science of manipulating the magnetic moment, or ‘spin’ of an electron to convey information for computing purposes, instead of just using the charge that an electron carries. This is a form of technology that has been long used in storage mediums such as hard drives, but is now beginning to rear its head in systems performing logic operations, a medium formerly dominated by charge-based systems.

The advantage of using spintronics over traditional charge-based systems is that they can carry out complex calculations much quicker. This is as a result of what is being called ‘quantum computing’. In traditional computing all operations are based on ‘bits’ which each contain a 1 or 0 value, and each of these values answers a specific question, which the computer will then use to build up the data that is being transferred.

Think about the computer as being a game of “Guess Who?”. You ask your opponent a series of yes or no questions with the aim of making an 12 January 20th 2015

image in your head of what character your opponent/partner has in front of them. This form of information transfer is like this, only instead of you trying to figure out whether your brother has Alfred or Bill, it’s the computer piecing together how to play the newest Bruno Mars song that you’ve just downloaded.

Now, with quantum computing, instead of asking ‘Do they have blond hair?’, ‘Do they have red hair?’, ‘Do they have black hair?’ etc., you could ask ‘What colour hair do they have?’

Now this is a pretty big simplification of how computers work but it’s similar in principle, so from this you can see how much quicker this would be in a single operation, let alone in a system of connected logical operations.

Now, quantum computing is something that has been long toted as the future of computing and when you look at its posibble applications it’s not hard to see why. If put in the right hands with the right understanding, quantum computing can positively impact everything from internet security, by providing more complicated hashes and encryption for passwords, to scientific research, by increasing the speed at which computations can take place and so we can find out things like more digits of pi.

There are currently a few hurdles that spintronics must overcome if it is to be the breakthrough that quantum computing requires. First of all, there’s a lack of knowledge as to how magnetic fields interact with electric current. This understanding is needed for information transfer at such a small scale. 1 bit takes up approximately 20nm2 which is roughly the size of 200 hydrogen

the bismuth used in these materials is mined predominantly in rural chile and bolivia Image: Wikimedia commons

The advantage of using spintronics over traditional charge-based systems is that they can carry out much more complex calculations much quicker

atoms. Spintronics has been the standard for storage devices since around the 1980s, but there’s a distance left to run before it reaches the same level of prestige in information transfer. Similarly, there are very few algorithms that take full advantage of the improvements that spintronics can offer, so even if the hardware is fully developed and integrated, there would still be the need for research into the software and other elements to reach peak effectiveness.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the future of computing however.

Innovations such as topological insulators have begun to close the gap between reality and theory.

Topological insulators are materials

which are primarily used as insulators, but allow conduction to occur across the surface of the materials. Research has been done all over the world in this area, but the University Of Utah, Department Of Material Science and Engineering, has recently had positive results using a bismuthsilicon combination. Calling these materials ‘insulators’ belies their true purpose. There always have and always will be insulators that insulate. The implications of this technology can result in much smaller computers, as space is saved when a designer doesn’t have to include a conductor and a separate insulator.

Progress can also be seen in companies like D-wave Computing.

D-wave are a company based out of Canada who claim to have developed the first quantum computer in the world. While they are indeed very fast computers, there may be disagreements from specialists in the field as to whether they are in fact quantum. But even if these computers currently being bandied about turn out not to be quantum in nature, it does show two positives. Firstly, it shows that there is an interest in the technology, which means there is a market.

Secondly, maybe the technology isn’t as far away as we think.

Maybe it will even be here in time for agent Spinner to save the president after all.

science

it’s a wrap!

With so much unnecessary packaging causing damage to the environment, Conor Gleeson on behalf of the upcoming Eco Soc, discusses the potential of safer materials that biodegrade in a matter of weeks Christmas is generally accepted to be a wonderful time of year. We get to take time off work and college and spend it with our loved ones, we get to eat turkey and stuffing to our hearts content, we get to give gifts to our friends and families. And then we get to fill our bins with the heaps and heaps of wrapping paper and plastic packaging that those gifts came in.

Environmentalists have a reputation for trying to take away things that people enjoy – driving cars, flying abroad on holidays, and eating meat to name but a few. Eco Soc do not want to propagate this reputation by suggesting we outlaw presents, however this example does serve to highlight a major issue when it comes to the environment.

Wasteful packaging can be seen every time you go to the shop and we could all come up with an example of it without too much trouble. Take the supermarket for instance. Whether it’s the biscuits that are hidden inside three layers of foil, or the two carrots on a large polystyrene tray wrapped in film, we have all experienced that moment where the shear amount of packaging is baffling to say the least.

In this case, the packaging has a straightforward function; it enables the safe transport of goods to the store, and increases their shelf life once they get there.

There are a number of simple methods that companies could adopt to reduce waste including; using a more innovative packaging design, more suitable quantities of the product in the package.

However once these extra layers of foil have been removed and the carrots have been stored more efficiently, it quickly becomes clear that there is no easy answer to the packaging problem. Knowing if this is going to have a real impact on the overall volume of waste produced without compromising

river pollution photo: plastic pollution coalition

on quality is difficult to say.

This is by no means limited to perishable goods. Small electronic devices such as USBs and memory cards often come in plastic containers several times larger than the product itself. Again, small reductions in waste can be made through smarter design, but there is no simple solution to the problem.

The challenge then becomes using materials that are less damaging to the environment rather than reducing the quantity used. The materials most commonly used in packaging are paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, wood, and aluminium.

The extent to which each of these can be recycled varies greatly. Paper and cardboard are the most widely used for packaging in Ireland and on average 81% can be reclaimed.

Compare this to plastic, the next most widely used material, of which only 36% is recycled. Aluminium, which can ordinarily be very efficiently recycled, only has an average rate of 40% due to the nature of its use.

Simply changing the type of

material used then should reduce the effect on the environment, however again you run into problems.

Some materials are not suitable for packaging certain goods. For obvious reasons paper and cardboard cannot be used for storing raw meat and they are not strong enough to be used for most electronics either. Ideally you would have a substance with the strength and versatility of plastic and with the environmental impact of paper. To this end, scientists at many major research institutions around the world are looking into developing biodegradable plastics or bioplastics, without the damaging effects of current materials.

At present we make almost all of our plastics from by-products of oil and gas. Such petroleumbased substances are effectively non-biodegradable which is a significant issue for as landfills quickly run out of space.

Huge strides are now being made though in producing a more degradable alternative while retaining

the useful properties of traditional plastic. Harvard’s Wyss Institute has succeeded in making bioplastic from shrimp shells, and this new material has been found to biodegrade in just a few weeks after being discarded. The University of Queensland in Australia is also producing a bioplastic, named Plantic, based on corn starch. Plantic has already been adopted by several global companies, such as Marks and Spencer and Nestle, to be used for packaging their products.

This is not to say that bioplastic is the answer to all our problems.

There are many such products already on the market which do not biodegrade fully, or which have been found to release toxins as they do so. This still leaves much work still to be done in this area.

There are also alternatives to plastic altogether. Research is being done into materials which can be composted at home rather than going into the bin at all. These materials would likely have a more limited use but are still a viable

Small electronic devices such as USBs or memory cards often come in plastic containers several times larger than the product itself

alternative to the traditional options.

Reducing waste due to packaging affects us all but it is of particular concern for colleges and universities.

On average 14% of the waste produced by a college is due to packaging.

Any improvement in efficiency will therefore have a huge effect on the overall waste produced and also on the cost required to dispose of it.

Students are known for being constantly cash strapped. We are also known for being motivated, politically active, and eager for change. Currently there is only limited incentive for companies to reduce packaging waste so it’s up to the consumer to make it a priority. By looking for products that are packaged efficiently we can make a difference without much cost to ourselves. Hopefully then we will see more sustainable packaging in the near future. Even if it just means we choose the packet of biscuits with fewer wrappers.

“Is there a researcher in the house?!”

David Corscadden talks to John Gleeson, a PhD student researching oral drug delivery of Nutraceutical compounds.

What is your research about?

I am working with two bioactive peptides, one from milk and one from chicken muscle and the lowering of blood pressure. So they lower blood pressure but not as well as current pharmaceuticals and I am looking at ways to improve the oral uptake of them.

I am looking at ways if you give it to people as a preventative measure so they can take this before they would be prescribed pharmaceuticals.

How did you become interested in your area of research?

I am working with nutraceuticals which is a combination of nutrition and pharmaceuticals and I did my undergraduate degree in nutraceuticals so it was an easy jump to make. I did my degree in DIT and it was focused on food bioactives and nutrition playing a role in preventing escalation into the need for pharmaceuticals.

So my PhD is just applying what I had spent four years studying.

Why are you doing a PhD? Because they offered me one! No, I was working in Paddy Powers for four years after I graduated. I was working as a business analysis. The money was great and that but I got bored and it was not fulfilling. It is sad to say but

you do miss that aspect of learning something new everyday and that is why I started going back on the hunt for research. I was lead to Cork first and then to here and I picked Dublin.

How do you undertake your research?

I start off everything invitro, so I look at cells and enzymes. The compounds I am working with work on enzymes so I am able to do everything in glassware and sit up in the lab very comfortably and basically look at how can improve how it can be taken up into the blood.

I start off in cells, then move up in to tissues and then eventually in to animals work so it gives a nice story to a proper approach because a lot of time food researchers jump the gun because they are able to feed humans.

So we can get a cohort of people together and feed them something whereas in the pharmaceutical world we can’t do that. Because we are in the in-between world here we are applying the pharmaceutical approach here and taking it step wise as opposed to ‘we found something worked in cells lets give it in a big dose to someone in a yoghurt’. So we are literally going step by step so we can give a nice pile of data to someone.

What do you use for your research in terms of materials and equipment?

I use everything! I would use chromatography which is a way of separating out compounds, so I am able to look at just the things I want and how it is working. I really use everything from imaging my cells so I put fluorescent labels on things so I can look at nice pictures under them. Then it goes on to blood analysis and things like that. It is a nice mix of different things, different equipment and different techniques.

What applications do you see for your research?

Well 9 million people die each year from high blood pressure related diseases so there is a lot. At the moment treatment for first world diseases things like diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Food is the enemy in first world diseases, it causes all the problems, so we are looking at the food and how we can harness benefits from it.

Do you enjoy teaching undergraduates?

Yes which is strange because I have the least patience in the world. So it is one of the things that I was surprised. It is one of those things that really teaches you how to handle situations and to have patients.

What are your plans for when you are finished?

I am planning on moving to America and spending a couple of years in North America doing research because they do a lot of research that I am involved with over there. They also have a lot more resources over there.

Would you undertake any more academic research after your PhD? No. The only thing I would debate doing is a masters in science communication as it is a big problem that often scientist can’t communicate.

When can we expect Doctor Who-like nanobots in our bodies?

Orange calpol is disgusting and should never have been created. It was made to cover up the lack of sugar they put in. The sugar one is much nicer so strawberry all the way.

Phd student john gleeson photo: kate cleary

Protein Editing - A Lesson in Scientific Discovery With a recently published scientific report on unusual protein activity gathering publicity in academic circles, Morgan Morris explains why it is significant and how the study impacts our understanding of biology at a cellular level Biology is a diverse and oftentimes confusingly divergent field of science, encompassing everything from taxonomy to toxins, conservation to cancer cells and pollination to the pancreas. For this reason, then, scientists take some comfort in a few long established theories: all organisms are composed of a cell or cells, for example, and all life evolves via natural selection.

Yet according to a report recently published in the journal Science on January 2nd, one of the most fundamental principles of biology regarding proteins may have to be reconsidered and reassessed entirely.

Proteins are essential biomolecules without which life as we know it could not exist. Any good textbook tells us that the only thing in our bodies- indeed, in any organism- which has the information to make proteins is our

genes, contained within our DNA. postdoctoral fellow in the Ribosomes take this information University of Utah and California, and link small molecules called Jonathan S. Weissman, professor amino acids (of which there are of cellular pharmacology and 20) into a chain. This forms the biochemistry at the University of protein encoded by the gene in San Francisco, Onn Brandman, question. However, a team of assistant biochemistry professor researchers based in the University at Stanford University, and of Utah have recently discovered Adam Frost, adjunct professor of a particular protein which can biochemistry at the University of make another protein without any San Francisco, studied how the interference from our genes at all. protein Rcq2 actually works.

The protein in question is called Using cryo-electron microscopy, Rcq2 and part of a “quality control researchers literally froze cells in team” which repairs the damage the process of correcting ribosomal when our ribosomes malfunction. errors. The results showed that The amino acids may have been Rcq2 bound to the ribosomes had joined together in the wrong order the possibility to add on amino or even incorporated into a chain acids to halted proteins because where they are not needed. When the Rcq2 was itself also bound to this happens, the ribosome stops tRNAs, which are a form of nucleic and the quality control team acid that carry amino acids. In intervenes. A research team, led addition, it was observed that the

by Peter S. Shen, a biochemistry halted proteins had vast chains

of 2 amino acids- alanine and threonine- added on in a random sequence. The ground breaking conclusions drawn were that the Rcq2 protein was responsible for adding on these extra 2 amino acid chains to faulty proteins, and was doing so independently of instructions from DNA. The reasons for why Rcq2 adds on these amino acids randomly is not yet well understood. However, theories include that it acts as a test of ribosome functionality and that the random alanine-threonine sequence may signal for destruction of the dysfunctional protein overall.

The future of research into this unconventional protein will most likely seek to answer fundamental questions of where and when the protein chain is lengthened within the cell. As well as this, it is not yet actually known what would occur

if both the ribosome and the Rcq2 protein malfunctioned, leaving the open question of whether or not other similar proteins exist within cells that can independently modify and mould proteins and which act as potential “back up”.

As it stands, the research serves as an invaluable insight into just how little we humans understand of the complexity of biological systems and how our scientific knowledge is an ongoing and ever changing process of inquiry and observation.

Co-senior author Dr. Brandman of Stanford University was quoted as saying, “There are many interesting implications of this work and none of them would have been possible if we didn’t follow our curiosity… the primary driver of discovery has been exploring what you see, and that’s what we did. There will never be a substitute for that.”

There are many interesting implications of this work and none of them would have been possible if we didn’t follow our curiosity

January 20th 2015

student voices

Postcards From Abroad: Antwerp Trappist beer, anarchic cyclists and a Red Light district prayer hall. Susan Barry talks culture shock, Belgian-style

Upon telling various friends and acquaintances that I would be spending a year of my life in Antwerp, the response was invariably ‘where!?’.

This Northern Belgian city certainly flies under the radar back home, but among Europeans it’s zealously noted as one of the mainland’s art and fashion capitals, with a booming diamond trade that attracts from the newly engaged to Russian oligarchs (who didn’t keep their money in the rouble). The early experience of getting lost in the winding backstreets of the fashion district wearing illfitting tracksuit bottoms is still very much a recurring nightmare of mine.

Many of the most entertaining and sometimes seeringly awkward moments of my Erasmus experience so have been related to the baffling culture differences between the Irish and the Belgians.

Supermarkets frequently close at 12pm. Dogs being walked in prams is ubiquitous. They put chocolate sprinkles on toast.

Importantly, ‘smos’ does not mean roll or sandwich. While a logical inference to draw, it in fact means ‘with everything’. I have spent months eating chicken rolls with eggs, pickles and grated carrot thrown in for the good of my health.

Also, the cycling rules are utterly incomprehensible. Bikes fill the streets of Antwerp going in every direction, both sides of the path and up and down the roads. A leisurely Sunday spin can become something else entirely when you become enveloped in a peloton and are forced to match their speed lest you cause a pile up. It’s come to the point where I have decided the cycling society here consists of dystopian anarchists with no rules.

It’s survival of the fittest approach as far as I can see. So why do they keep ringing their bells at me?

One of my favourite things about my random new home, something which presumably comes naturally to a creative student town, is how utterly liberal it is. Rainbow flags hang abundantly from apartment windows, my street alone which is part of the historic district has two gay bars, leads onto the Red

Rainbow flags hang abundantly from apartment windows, my street alone which is part of the historic district has two gay bars, leads onto the Red Light District and features two of what my Dad uncomfortably described as ‘fetish shops’.

Antwerp central train station Photo: Susan barry

Light District and features two of what my Dad uncomfortably described as ‘fetish shops’. One of which borders a prayer hall. A local once nonchalantly explained that living next to a hub of legal prostitution is desirable because it means a constant police presence.

They also have a surprisingly good chipper, the name of which I couldn’t possibly print in this respected publication. Just to put it into perspective, Belgium legalised abortion in 1990, at a time when we had yet to decriminalise homosexuality.

Construction began on Antwerp Central Station in 1895 and it has been voted the most beautiful railway station in the world (or fourth most beautiful depending on who you read). It a hub with

connections to all over Europe and to the Eurostar, which allows many Belgians to commute to London and Paris as we would to Galway.

Frequency and price is usually excellent, and has enabled me to sound amazingly pretentious when listing off all the places I’ve been able to pop to over the past few months. Venice? Oh yes it looks wonderful off season.

One of Antwerp’s finest sensory delights, after the Christmas market’s spekpatatjes which is so good you will consider dismissing the traditional festive turkey as inferior gobbling mess, is of course the beer. And by beer I’m not referring to that imported pond water, but national brews which tend to hover around 9% ABV and have more often than not been brewed by

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Photos Clockwise:Photos Clockwise: A tea picker with fair trade organization Commercio Equo e Solidale: Mother and child at Medecin San Frontier feeding programme in Mozambique: two boys search through litter to find anything they can sell in the Philippines.

14 January 20th 2015

Costs subsidised by Irish Aid and European Union

monks. Our closest Trappist abbey is Westvleterin, a two hour train ride away and then a rocky cycle up to the summit. While you can’t enter the monastery as it’s not open to the public, you can purchase a limited number of bottles on an individual basis from the doors, and then taste what’s described as the world’s rarest beer. Or you can buy it from our local for €13 a pop. Well worth either effort.

Antwerp may not be the biggest city or the most romantic city.

It does not have a chipotle and there are no twenty four hour McDonalds. With a culture that has managed to shun a surprising amount of commercialisation, it was initially challenging to understand how it all worked.

Let alone where to buy a loaf of

I’ve learnt that power walking down the main street simply to reach the other end quicker isn’t always necessary, but will always attract stares

bread. As a lecturer explained to me ‘you love Bruges immediately, but Antwerp has to grow on you’, and I couldn’t agree more. An acceptance that life simply moves slower here has been liberating, I’ve learnt that power walking down the main street simply to reach the other end quicker isn’t always necessary, but will always attract stares. And that spending three hours drinking tea is a great use of a day. Especially when you have stroopwafels for dipping.

Anyone want to put the kettle on?

Student Voices

My Body, My Rights: A feminist call to action?

In this installment of the Amnesty Writers’ Club, Charlotte Amrouche looks at Amnesty’s latest campaign on sexual and reproductive rights In 2014/15 Amnesty International launched a global campaign on sexual and reproductive rights: ‘My Body My Rights’. This campaign called for fundamental human rights to be better protected across the world according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, highlighting a number of countries in particular, from El Salvador to Ireland. The ‘My Body My Rights’ campaign is reiterating the right we all have to live without fear, violence or discrimination; wherever we may live, and whoever we may be. This campaign calls on the importance of owning one’s own body and knowing one’s rights of it, and in many cases fighting for these rights. Its most recent spotlight in Europe has been on the proposal to investigate Ireland’s ‘mother and baby homes’. Amnesty Ireland is also collecting signatures to urge Ireland to urgently join the states that have signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention. Ireland should be independently striving to move away from the patriarchal shadow left

by Catholic Ireland. We should not need the pressure of Amnesty Ireland to take these measures to ensure that past atrocities carried out to women and girls in Ireland are accounted for, and that the future for every women and girl in Ireland is one of equality, free from sexist oppression and exploitation. Most interestingly the call for women and men to take control of their bodies and its rights, does not include an explicit call for Irish women and girls to demand the reproductive choice of abortion. The ‘My Body My Rights’ campaign should be calling for immediate change so as to remove the barriers towards women’s rights to full reproductive health services, including abortion, in Ireland as an essential part of creating an equal society for men and women to live without fear.

The Istanbul Convention calls against the many “cruel and degrading behaviour that women experience”. It emphasises the violence that men perpetuate towards women as a method of sustaining

male power and control, and therefore calls on states to ensure that they are not supporting this pattern of violent control. In short the Istanbul Convention is defending the rights of all girls and women to live free of violence. In light of the extent of incidents such as stalking, sexual harassment, sexual violence it is essential that Ireland sign and ratify this convention immediately to ensure these methods of degradation and exploitation of women are not upheld by the Irish state. There cannot be true equality if violence against women and girls persists. We cannot fight against the wider patterns of discrimination and inequality without firstly fighting against these cruel methods of degradation. Support of the Istanbul Convention is paramount for women’s rights in Ireland today.

‘My Body My Rights’ is calling attention to the disregard of women’s rights around the world. Its call to end the ban on abortion in El Salvador is of immediate importance.

In El Salvador it does not matter what the circumstances are to a woman Ruth Coppinger td, speaks outside the Dáil and called for the repal of the 8th amendment Photo: james brady wishing to attain an abortion, it is banned in all cases. Furthermore if you are found guilty of having an do not call our own state to the abortion you could be imprisoned on another issue these conditions barbaric cases we’ve seen above in stage with FEMINIST emblazed same values. The multiple cases for up to 12 years. And if you have El Salvador? Or to push governments behind her, Emma Watson launching of women across the globe are not over the years, from Ms Y to Savita a miscarriage you could be jailed allowed to be forgotten, but instead to be valuable political leaders the HeForShe campaign. I am sure Halappanavar show how barbaric for up to 50 years for aggravated that we act upon our principles by signing and ratifying essential that many of us liked and shared Irish reproductive laws can be. homicide. El Salvador has one of whenever possible. Make some conventions? Or should human rights these moments and felt proud to call Is the ‘My Body My Rights’ the highest teen pregnancy rates in t-shirts/pamphlets/bumper stickers. organisations support grass root ourselves feminists too. 2015 can campaign a feminist call to action? If operations, such as ARC, to make Latin America and shockingly more Makes some noise. Make 2015 a true be the year where we take action feminism is as bell hooks proclaims than half of all deaths of pregnant year of feminist action. changes in situations such as the of our feminist values. Where you teens are due to suicide. El Salvador’s a “movement to end sexism, sexist abortion laws of Ireland? How far can start taking part in movements that exploitation, and oppression”, then total ban on abortions has clear -End the ban on abortion feminism penetrate into all aspects you believe in, from making sure ‘My Body My Rights’ campaign has ramifications on the wellbeing of El in El Salvador: campaigns. of society and society’s development? that you are at the next Pro-Choice many of the qualities of a strong Salvadorian women and girls. It is amnesty.org/campaigns/endThe question therefore arises march, ensuring you vote in the feminist movement. If we are of vital importance that Amnesty abortion-ban-el-salvador “what can you or I do to collapse the upcoming referendum on same-sex collectively calling for the “social, International calls international -Demand Ireland signs and patriarchy and attain a truly equal marriage, and crucially making economic and political equality of attention to such violations of the ratifies the Istanbul Convention: and respectful world”? To begin sure that you spread your feminist the sexes” then are we by default human rights of women and girls. with we can support the actions values to others. Amnesty’s ‘My Body www.amnesty.ie/content/16-daysfeminists? The ‘My Body My Rights’ But with these values in mind we ireland-ratify-istanbul-convention of organisations such as Amnesty My Rights’ campaign highlights is highlighting the need for us all should also call attention to the ban -Join the Irish abortion International. Drop this newspaper just how cruel the world can be to to individually and collectively on abortion in Ireland and focus rights campaign: www. and sign some petitions, talk to your women and girls if measures are not take control of our bodies, but it on making barriers to women’s abortionrightscampaign.ie/getfriends and family about what is enforced to ensure they are seen is also provoking a discussion as reproductive health and choice a involved happening in Ireland and abroad, as equal citizens, with equal rights. to what role international human thing of Ireland and El Salvador’s take a moment to reflect on what It is therefore paramount that this rights organisations have in the past. As human rights defenders we you value and believe in. 2014 saw campaign is not just highlighted battle against sexist, patriarchal cannot call foreign states to make inspiring feminist actions spreading for 16 days in November, that after rule? Is their role to highlight the barbaric practices obsolete if we into popular culture, Beyoncé on Amnesty International shines focus

According To My State, I Don’t Exist The government has finally proposed a gender recognition bill, but unfortunately, as Sam Blanckensee discusses, it doesn’t go as far as it should I never really cared much about gender recognition. I felt that, yes I’m transgender, but what effect would a new birth certificate have on me? It wouldn’t change how people saw me. It wouldn’t effect whether or not my peers accepted me. I had already changed my passport so what could be so significant about a piece of paper that nobody ever saw?

Currently in Ireland there is no piece of legislation that mentions transgender people. So in the eyes of the law the person I identify as doesn’t exist. If I was to run for election, as a trans* guy I would meet the requirements of female gender quotas. If I was in front of a court I would be addressed as female.

The current proposed legislation will change this. It will give me a valid legal identity and give me privacy that most people take for granted. Having to out yourself each time you fill out official paperwork because not all your documentation matches up is against the European Convention of Human Rights. The most important thing for me is that the legislation will acknowledge that I exist.

Nevertheless, the current proposed legislation will not provide for everyone who needs it. There are three key groups that it doesn’t account for: those who are in existing marriages or civil partnerships, children under the age of 16 (with restrictions between the ages of 16 and 18) and those who do not fit the binary view of gender. It also expects applicants to get a recommendation from a physician who must be a specialist in either endocrinology or psychiatry. Needless to say the trans* community is not happy that this is the means by which the government is finally recognising it.

With the referendum on Equal Marriage set to take place in early May the government are trying to campaign strongly for marriage equality. However, in the case of

sam blackensee file photo

trans* people the government is scared of allowing marriage equality by a trans* back door. Ireland already has same gender marriages in the form of trans*and intersex people and those with trans* histories. The government is saying that the aspect of the law that fights against these marriages will be changed after the introduction of marriage equality.

However, if marriage equality does not pass, married trans* people will have to choose between their marriages and their identities.

A number of people hold the view that children can’t know how they identify. Those people have obviously never met a trans* child! My friends who are under the age of 18 are absolutely amazing. They are surer about their gender than most aspects of their life. Some of these kids are proud of being trans*, they are open

This isn’t the worst bill of its kind in the world but this is nowhere near good enough to protect one of Ireland’s most vulnerable groups

among their peers and at school.

Others are “stealth”: their closest friends and a couple of teachers may know that they’re trans* but most people in their lives would have no idea. Some of these kids are on hormones or hormone blockers and very few if any will be able to access surgery until after they turn 18.

Why should their age affect their rights? If the new legislation goes through as it is, young people between 16 and 18 will need five opinions to prove their identities: both their parents, a judge, their main specialist and an independent specialist. No child would transition if they didn’t identify that way. Believe me being trans* isn’t easy and coming out to peers can be daunting.

In my opinion there is no need for an age limit on recognition, it should all be based on self-declaration and

the best interest of the child. No need for doctors but parental consent alone. Judges should only need to get involved on the basis of parents withdrawing consent. This would allow children to be treated how they identify and give them protection.

After all, the birth certificate may be an important document but it is still just a document and can be changed back in the unlikely case that the child realises that they aren’t trans*.

Non-binary trans* people are an invisible but sizeable group in the Irish trans* community. These people who, like myself, do not identify as a man or a woman will not be recognised at all in the new gender recognition legislation. The bill specifies that there are only two genders and therefore if we by some miracle get a third option on birth certificates or even on passports

there will need to be further changes to legislation. Unfortunately, it will be some time, I think, before there is enough visibility of nonbinary people to actually make significant legislative triumphs.

I do not believe I need a doctor to tell me how I identity. The fact that that I need a doctor in order to access hormone treatment or surgery is frustrating but understandable.

However, when it is written into legislation that I can’t change my documentation unless I have a doctor’s approval it goes beyond frustration and becomes a major issue. I live my life as a guy, I’m open about being trans* and I don’t identify as a man however that is how people see me most of the time. I regularly talk to politicians and they don’t see me as anything but how I present myself. Yet my word will not be enough to get a birth certificate that matches my identity. I will need to see either an endocrinologist (of which there are about three in the country who treat trans* people) or a psychiatrist (of which again there are only a couple in the country who treat trans* people) to prove that I am trans*. They say it’s not a diagnosis, but if you need to have something, that is seen as medical, signed off by a doctor then isn’t that what it is?

This isn’t the worst bill of its kind in the world but this is nowhere near good enough to protect one of Ireland’s most vulnerable groups. Some members of the Irish Trans* Student Alliance have been coordinating motions on Gender Recognition that are being brought to student union councils across the country, UCDSU is one of those unions. I will be bringing a motion to union council myself to mandate the union to campaign on Gender Recognition and lobby TDs and Senators in these crucial next few weeks.

January 20th 2015

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editorial

editorial

soccer players on the ucd pitch in heavy fog photo: james Brady

Welcome Back. If you’re anything at all like the average student, today will spent on some combination of the three great student activities.

First, nursing that well-earned Black Monday hangover. Second, preparing to reconcile yourself to whatever tomorrow’s provisional exam results bring. And lastly, trying to make sure that you keep your commitment to yourself that this semester will be different.

January is a time of reflection for us all, as the new year encourages us to promise ourselves a better life or to reform some long-standing bad habit.

For students, there are many desirable goals. For some it’s to improve lecture attendance, to procrastinate less and make sure deadlines are made on time, or even just to try to be happier

with our chosen course of study.

As many students put themselves under constant pressure to meet high expectations that they (or others) have set, it’s important that we keep a sense of perspective around our goals.

For almost two years, The Guardian‘s website has been keeping a blog called ‘Mental health: a university crisis’. Huge credit is due to the staff responsible for this effort.

The content included in it is an invaluable resource for any student who is struggling during their time in University. Some of the topics it deals with are often discussed; the social difficulties many freshers face, how to cope with anxiety around one’s employment prospects, and how to deal with an overwhelming workload.

Others bring less considered topics

to light. One post talks of the toll that encountering new ideas can take on one’s mental stability, talking about how disorienting a philosophy class can be if taken seriously. Another reminds us that the pressures of academia often afflict staff as much as students.

A brave essay by Morwenna Jones, titled “How Cambridge University almost killed me”, speaks frankly of the toll that a drive for perfectionism and success can take on a young person’s mind. Jones discusses her stressful early months in Cambridge University where she battled with an eating disorder while trying to keep her head above water academically. The stress ultimately led to a breakdown. “Eighteen months later I was in the passenger

seat of my parents’ car, the colleges of Cambridge disappearing into the rain behind me. For a year and a half I had felt completely out of my depth, and finally cracked. No longer was I thought ‘talented’ or ‘gifted’ because I could work for eight hours or read an 800-page novel in a day.

At Cambridge everyone I knew could do that. I was no longer special.”

Jones’ story is, of course, not universal. There is a complex matrix of reasons behind the difficulties faced by every one of us. Not to forget that there are also those who manage to adapt and thrive in university, who feel at home in books and assignments without forgetting to keep a sense of balance in their life. Sadly the experiences of many will leave them thinking that such

Ah, what a glorious start to the year! I have barely been back in this oozing sore of lower education long enough to have my coat stained by the bilious vomit of some Black Monday reveller with a 2.0 GPA and a GAA scholarship soon to be lost to liver damage, and yet I have been given a veritable bounty of student buffoonery to lampoon. I have scarcely been so full of jovial sensation since the Bonaparte brothers and myself arranged a rousing game of football with the guillotined heads of some Jacobins.

Oh, but where to begin? When a feast is this sumptuous and loaded with gluttonous pleasure, one can often fall into a state of catatonia, held still in one’s place by the over-abundance of choice. Not I, though. I know which course shall be my first.

A farewell must be paid to former General Manager/Supreme Leader of the SU Philip “Who?” Mudge.

Yes, the man was not known to many, choosing to work in the shadows like a charming if functionally useless Batman, but his legacy at the helm of the Union will survive him. Rumours that the “staff restructuring” (we’re not to use the phrase “merciless, unprovoked dismissal of a middleaged man with a family to care for” or “Mudgectomy”) that led to him moving on to greener pastures were

provoked after President Hynes took issue with Mudge placing him in the naughty corner for fifteen minutes for accidentally leaving strawberry stains on some bank forms. Fed up with being made a mockery of, Hynes took swift action. Mudge’s last words in the role were quoted as “Et tu, Feargal?”, while Hynes described the situation as “Mudge ado about nothing.”

The Supreme Leader’s role was of course to be a solid, reliable feature in an otherwise ever-fluctuating union. Now that he is gone, we can return to the glory days of yore, where you could take a €200,000 loan out to refinance the mould the gym locker and have a cocaine mountain at the Fresher’s Ball.

I have also learned that the notso-good folks at the Students’ Union are seeking to reform their constitution. Constitutional reform is a delicate matter. The central document, which spells out the rights of all of those who are subject to it, must be airtight and written with utmost consideration and delicacy.

What rights will this new document guarantee us free men and women of Belfield? The right to be free from the threat of torture? Clearly not, as can be attested to by anyone who has seen the Union’s latest “vlog”. (I am an old man, and have no time for these self-aggrandising neologisms. I’ve been informed that word means “video blog”, and not

Editor Cormac Duffy

a “virulent log”, as I would happily describe that video.) The video depicts a poor young man, clearly wrestling with a demon, alternatingly struggling to speak and being thrown about the room by some malevolent possession. Pray for his salvation.

What about other fundamental rights?

Free speech? Not with the Confucius Institute on campus. Food and shelter? Not with campus residences that are dingier than a engineering student’s armpit (and give their tenants less rights), not to mention the food served on this campus, all of which appears to be made of swan meat, academic mediocrity, and leftover bits of Hugh Brady.

Alas, this new constitution has much more modest aims. They are delighted to bring back the Campaigns & Communications officer. Joseph Goebbels, former Nazi propaganda minister. whose ghost is now a postgraduate student in the Quinn School of Business and Stealing the Organs of the Poor, has denied rumours that he is planning to run the role, saying that “the Students’ Union is not an organisation I would feel morally comfortable being a member of.”

There is so much else to discuss.

Congratulations to former hackin-chief Pat de Brún, who will be working with the UN prosecuting the Khmer Rouge. It’s a pleasure to see a former SU member at an

letters to the editor Letters, corrections and clarifications pertaining to articles published in this newspaper and online are welcome and encouraged.

Letters should be addressed to The Editor, University Observer, UCD Student Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4.

Correspondence may also be sent to editor@universityobserver.ie.

work in supporting students struggling academically.)

Many changes that could help students are unlikely to make it through the UCD bureaucracy.

Between UCD’s exorbitant resit fees and the inflexibility of many academic programmes towards those in need of alternative arrangements. It’s vital that there be a reconsideration of these policies to make sure that the system serves the students, and not the other way around.

There are, of course, steps we can all take on a personal level.

Keep a sense of perspective around our successes and failures and remember that they don’t define us. And, as always, never hesitate to look for help. It’s the very least that all of us deserve.

the university observer

Talleyrand Tally ho!

lucky people are in the minority.

So, what can we do to create a better environment for all? Much is done already. UCD’s own Counselling Service works to provide support for many students suffering with mental health issues, though it is a widely shared concern the service does not receive the funding that it deserves.

The work done by UCDSU’s Welfare Office should also be celebrated.

Maeve DeSay has shown a serious commitment to the students she serves, both in dealing with students one-on-one every single day, and through initiatives like the Mind, Body and Soul festival, which help raise awareness and stoke discussion.

(Credit is also obviously due to DeSay’s colleagues Amy Fox and Anabel Castaneda for their

international criminal court without being the defendant.

Congratulations also to the Investors’ Society for establishing a €30,000 fund. If you thought that Wolf of Wall Street was bad, wait until you see what it’s like when a Quinn student takes over.

A brief tip-of-the-cap to DramSoc’s excellent production of Othello, which thrived despite only having one likable and admirable character. That Iago should get a spin-off.

I wish good luck to Law B&L Day, an annual charity day established to teach Law students how absolutely insignificant and unimportant they are.

Lastly, we must take time to reflect on the first anniversary of Professor Andrew Deeks first year in office. Like most at the end of their first year in UCD, Deeks has yet to make any real friends and still gets lost on his way to the bathrooms sometimes. Early reports indicate he will pass his year on compensation, and hopes to spend his second year majoring in getting dodgy businessmen and corrupt governments to give us lots of Monday to name buildings after them.

Tally out!

Deputy Editor David Corscadden

Staff Reporters Fergus Carroll Roisin Guyett-Nicholson Niamh O’Regan Lucy Ryan

Art & Design Editor James Brady

CHief Science Writer Aoife Hardesty

News Editors Megan Fanning & Cian Carton

Technology Reporter Eimear Reilly

Comment Editor Ruth Murphy

GAA CORRESPONDENt Michael Dwyer

Features Editor Gráinne Loughran

Chief Games Writer Adam Donnelly

Science, Health & Technology Editor Conor de Paor

STaff Writers Eithne Dodd Tadgh Dolan Aaron Flood Eva Griffin Emily Longworth Lauren Moore Síofra Ní Shluaghadháin Ray McGrath Ian Mulholland Roisin Murray Tara Hanneffy

Eagarthóir Gaeilge Valerie Ní Thiarnaigh Sports Editor Ciarán Sweeney Otwo Editors Rebekah Rennick & Shane Hannon Games Editor Karl Quigley

Words Charlotte Amrouche Sarah Barry Film & TV Editor Sam Blanckensee Aaron Murphy Sarah Burke-Vaughan Ciaran Bruder Music Editor Kate Cleary Sean Hayes Stephen Connolly Callie Crawley Fashion Editor Aengus Cunningham Sarah O’Shea Conor Gleeson Cathal Gunning Deputy Fashion Editor Matthew Hanrahan Lucy Coffey Martin Healy Christopher Higgins Arts & Literature Editor Esther Hor Patrick Kelleher Alan Maher Emma McTague Art & Visual Content TEAM Morgan Morris Rhea Cassidy Chris Murphy James Healy Seán O’Neill Laura Iorgulescu Alanna O’Shea Emily Longworth Melissa O’Sullivan Roisin McNally Conor O’Toole Emer Slattery Photography & Illustration Daniel Zagorski Sarah Bealin Noelle Coleman The Cardinal Louise Flanagan Kevin Roche Cathal Gunning Shane Kelly Katrin Heyer Ryan McCarrell Aisling McGuire Sinead Mulroy January 20th 2015

sport Captain’s blog: ucd Men’s Basketball With UCD having beaten UL to reach face UCC Demons in the final of the Men’s National Basketball Cup on January 24th, Ciarán Sweeney spoke to captain Conor Meany about his hopes for the final, basketball in Ireland and his approach to the game

Getting to the final of any competition is a massive achievement, especially the Men’s National Cup Final. What would you say is the key ingredient behind the recent success?

I think our team unity has been the biggest thing this year. We’ve had a lot of injuries and different issues off the court but our group have played together for a long time and we have complete trust in each other.

How would you analyse UCD’s performance in the semifinal against UL and is there anything, despite the win, that you would change in the performance before the final?

We played quite well in parts of the semi-final but were a bit sloppy in the second half. We know that the final is going to be completely different and we’ll need to put in a full 40 minute performance to have a chance against Demons.

Conor Meany, UCD Marian, in action against Scott Kinevane and Matt Hall, right, UL Eagles.

How do you try and bring your momentum from the success in the Cup through to the form in the league?

Our league form has actually been Will your recent loss to UCC quite good since mid November. We’ve Demons have any psychological only lost twice, one of those was on the impact ahead of the game on last play of the game when we played Saturday week, or will it be easy without our professional. We know our to convince your players that season doesn’t end next week after each and every game is different? the final so we are hoping to continue No, that loss was back in November recent form for the rest of the season. before we started playing well. We’re a much better team than we were back Where does basketball in Ireland then. We know Demons are excellent lie at the moment in terms of but every game is different and we its popularity? Is it in decline have to believe we can compete with or is the sport growing and them. where would Ireland therefore lie on an international level?

What have you learned I think the sport is growing again in from the loss to UCC before popularity. The final has sold out 8 Christmas and are there any days in advance and tickets are in flaws that you picked up on in high demand. We aren’t far away from UCC’s performance that you the cup final maybe needing to go to can exploit on Saturday? a bigger venue than the Arena. TG4 They are really an excellent team has increased their coverage this year and have beaten every team they’ve which has helped the game get to a played this year by double digits. wider audience too. We’re still on our They don’t have many flaws but way back internationally but there’s I’m sure our coach Ioannis will a lot of good work being done at have a gameplan ready for us. grassroots level.

What in your opinion is the key to being a successful captain?

I think once your teammates trust in you and see you’re working as hard as possible you will be seen as a decent captain. Our team has a lot of older players so we have a level of understanding between us that makes my job as captain very easy.

Has there been a difference in the approach to the cup games as there has in the team’s approach to the league games?

Cup games often increase your focus because it’s knockout basketball so there’s no second chance. But in terms of overall preparation Ioannis works with us the same for every game regardless of whether it’s preseason or a cup final.

With Basketball considered somewhat of a minority sport in Ireland, what was your reasoning for getting involved in it as opposed to any other sport?

My family are heavily involved in basketball so it was always the sport for me. I also love the way it’s so fast paced and you’re constantly involved.

Is it hard for some of the lads on the team who are in college doing undergrad or postgrad degrees to try and balance the time given to those courses with the time needed to excel at such a high level on the basketball court?

It is a challenge certainly. I was on a basketball scholarship while in UCD for both my undergraduate and postgraduate courses and so were a number of the guys. Guys on the team have huge commitments with work and study so finding time to get to our 3 practices a week can be difficult. We all make huge sacrifices just like the GAA or any other sport so hopefully we can reap the rewards for that next week.

What are the team’s aspirations now for the remainder of the season in the league?

We just want to keep the momentum that we have at the moment. After a tough start to the league our team is playing well and we just want to keep that going and see where it takes us.

THE PLAYOFFS: CRUNCH TIME IN THE NFL With the NFL Playoffs fast approaching, Paul O’Dwyer looks at the highlights of the build up to this stage of the season, and what it is that makes the NFL so appealing As sporting years go, things the play was an incomplete pass. don’t get much more tumultuous Detroit went on, through a litany of than they did for the NFL in 2014: errors, this time of its own doing, to violent crime, concussions, and concede its lead and have its playoff racial tensions. With the dawn of the dreams dashed. Yes, they could playoffs, maybe we could finally get have defended more stoutly, but it down to focusing on the field of play. would have been nice to give them When someone asks what a a fair opportunity. In a cohesive particular sport is like, we tend to group of judges and referees, that use the rules to explain how it works, flag would never be rescinded. to give them the gist of it. This is not Human error is part of the thrill so in the NFL. Games are refereed of sport. You win some, you lose by seven different officials. Over the some. Dallas won that one. But their course of the season, these crews of adulation at winning a first playoff seven remain together and build up a game in 5 years would be short lived. rapport. Of course mistakes happen, The following week up in Green but as a fan of soccer and (whisper Bay, Wisconsin, late in the fourth it) GAA, there is no doubt that the quarter, comeback king Tony Romo standard of officiating in the NFL is was leading as Dallas charged down top notch. For the playoffs, the most the field in search of a valuable important and scrutinised games score. He targeted star receiver of the year, it would seem prudent Dez Bryant, who, despite the close to hand-pick the best officiating attention of the Green Bay defensive crews from the regular season. One back, came down with the pigskin problem: that would never quench and lunged for the end-zone coming Americans’ boundless thirst for up just short. However the play is individual accountability. Instead, challenged by Green Bay coach individual referees are selected and Mike McCarthy and under review jumbled together into new, unfamiliar the play is reversed. As Bryant fell crews. Cue mass hysteria when these to the icy turf, the ball came loose. officials invariably don’t immediately Incomplete pass. Dallas turned the show good chemistry, resulting in ball over on downs and watched an (even) slower game, but more as Green Bay duly closed out the tragically, some serious howlers. game. This time, the officials got it In the wildcard round, Detroit right, you are supposed to maintain were leading against Dallas and control of the ball through the fall were well on their way to causing an to the ground. This is dubbed the upset. With less than five minutes “Calvin Johnson Rule” following a to play Detroit quarterback Matthew particularly controversial decision Stafford needed to complete a pass in 2009. But surely the time has in order to continue the march down come for it to be reviewed when the field, and more importantly, 99% of people watching would take more time off the clock. As call something as a catch, but on his receiver Brandon Pettigrew frame-by-frame evidence watch turned around to locate the ball, themselves be proven wrong. That’s the defender promptly barrelled a debate that will rumble on long into him, preventing the catch. into the offseason, but it won’t be of Penalty. The famous yellow flag is much comfort to a Dallas team who thrown. But then, as Stafford lined were certain they could have finally up his troops for the next play, the reached another Superbowl this year. officials consulted and Referee If they’re lucky they’ll have a Pete Morelli addressed the crowd better chance next year of reaching to inform them that the flag was in the playoffs. It seems likely that fact thrown in error. The result of the number of teams who clinch

18 January 20th 2015

a playoff berth will be expanded from 12 to 14. If this expansion were to take place it would be especially timely after a great deal of grumbling at this year’s playoff line-up. The Carolina Panthers won just 7 of their 16 games this season but found themselves in the postseason by virtue of having topped their exceptionally weak division. The Philadelphia Eagles won 10 games but missed out this time around. The hope is that by expanding to 7 teams per conference, the likelihood of such grave injustice being doled out again will be greatly reduced. All that has to happen is the team owners give their stamp of

approval in March, and realistically, of the best numbers and stats ever they will. More playoffs spots posted by a quarterback, leading mean more chance to earn money. the all-time tables in touchdowns Nobody will turn that offer down. thrown, the one major blot on his The NFL is a cut-throat business. copybook is his failure to add to You best keep up or you’ll be chewed the Superbowl ring he earned in up and spat out before you know 2007. Following reconstructive it. Devastating playoff losses claim surgery on his neck in 2011 his more than just teams’ hopes of glory, strength has waned somewhat, and but also careers. One particularly has cost him in the big games. He storied career now under the will, no doubt, take time to decide microscope is that of future Hall of his future. Whatever he decides, he Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. will go down in memory as one of His Denver Broncos gave a meek the greatest to ever play the game. performance against the Indianapolis If ever you doubted the Colts (his former team) to bow out extraordinary physical prowess of late in the playoffs for a third season these pro footballers, then talk to running. While Manning boasts some Rob Konrad. The former Miami

Dolphin got into difficulty on the water last week. His response?

To swim 9 miles to safety in just under 16 hours. No matter the format, the referees, or the individual players, the NFL is always going to remain entertaining.

It seems that even the playoffs can’t quite shake the off-field controversies and distractions.

But that’s because the NFL is much more than just a game, it’s a mightily well-funded circus that never fails to entertain.

FIFA Ballon D’Or and Puskas Review

sport

With Cristiano Ronaldo collecting the most prestigious individual prize in world football last week, David Kennedy looks back at the Ballon D’Or nominees and the shortlisted goals of the year for the FIFA Puskas Award Year upon year, predicting the winner of FIFA’s prestigious Ballon D’Or award proves a difficult task for football fans across the globe. The prize, voted for by national team captains and managers as well as journalists, remains a slight mystery – a shortlist of 23 footballers is provided and must be narrowed down to just three names by each voter to result in a final three-man shortlist and the ultimate overall wintner.

More than ever before in its current guise, the 2014 shortlist of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer highlighted the multifactorial nature of what makes a player eligible for the award.

Simply put, the aim is to reward the best player of the calendar year, but it’s far more complicated than that – is the winner the man who scored the most goals, performed best at the World Cup or contributed most to his team’s success? Why, when all major European leagues play August-May seasons, do we obsess over calendar years? And why do we obsess over ‘which player is better?’ debates (see the recent tribally-fuelled Gerrard vs Lampard vs Scholes arguments) when football is ultimately a team sport?

Despite the numerous oddities that surround the Ballon D’Or, it remains a highly coveted honour and is rather symbolic of the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry. These two footballers have driven each other to new heights repeatedly and represent the individualistic portion of the sport. Although Neuer enjoyed a fine year for Bayern Munich and starred in Germany’s World Cup win, it’s difficult to compare his twelve months to that of Ronaldo or Messi because of the sheer ridiculousness that La Liga’s finest continually produce – they are simply on another level.

Messi will always be judged against his own achievements and 2014 didn’t see the scintillating Argentinian of 2010-2012 but his stats were still incredible: 58 goals for club and country (versus

Ronaldo’s 61) with a further 21 assists. These figures are all the more impressive when you consider the downturn in Barcelona’s fortunes under Gerardo Martino and then Luis Enrique when compared with the Pep Guardiola and Tito Villanova’s regimes.

Alas, it was Ronaldo who won out with 37.66% of the votes. The most likely winner, indeed, but one who arguably suffered his worst dip in form during the most pivotal points of the year – a subdued performance in the Champions League final was followed up by a disastrous, injury-blighted World Cup campaign with Portugal that resulted in a group stage exit.

It was cruel for the man who is never injured to suffer at such a pivotal point in his career but in the eyes of the voters, it didn’t overshadow and otherwise brilliant year that included highlights such as his blitzing of Bayern in the Champions League semifinal, three hat-tricks in little over two weeks in the Autumn and Real Madrid’s Club World Cup win in Morocco in December.

Where does he go from here?

Irish interest in Monday’s award ceremony in Zurich was predominantly focused on FIFA’s Puskas Award. Introduced in 2009 to recognise the most “beautiful” goal of the year, the final three nominees featured Ireland’s Stephanie Roche, who despite receiving a third of the votes had to settle for second place behind James Rodriguez of Colombia. Robin van Persie’s flying header against Spain was third.

According to the criteria outlined

by FIFA, the prize should be awarded “without distinction of championship, gender or nationality” – that is, that Roche’s goal should not be held in any less regard than those of Rodriguez and van Persie because of the competition in which the goal was scored.

Rodriguez’s strike against Uruguay was obviously a remarkable piece of technique but also showcased

The Ballon d’or at the stade du barca via flickr user padrien80

Why, when all major European leagues play August-May seasons, do we obsess over calendar years?

And why do we obsess over ‘which player is better?’

vision and awareness frequently unappreciated in the game. Watch the goal back – he initially darts into space between the lines but doesn’t receive the ball. He then has the intelligence to remain in the dangerous position to collect possession at the second time of asking, glancing over his shoulder as the ball travels to him at head height over a distance of less than ten yards. When he controls the pass on his chest, he is in the middle of a neat circle of Uruguay defenders who haven’t realised the nature of the danger until too late. From there, what follows is a brilliant swivel and aesthetically pleasing volley that goes in off Fernando Muslera’s crossbar.

The beauty of van Persie’s effort is that it’s a purely improvised piece of unorthodox genius. Daley Blind’s

diagonal pass is inch-perfect and the Manchester United forward’s run is timed brilliantly but the nature of the finish is as bizarre as it is sublime. It’s difficult to ascertain at what point in the ball’s flight that the Dutchman decides to attempt to take his shot first-time with his head – the percentage option was surely to take the pass on his chest and go at Iker Casillas one-on-one. As it happened, the execution of the header was perfect, with a flying leap to elevate the ball over Casillas’s head.

That said, it’s hard not to express awe at the brilliance of Roche’s goal for Peamount United against Wexford Youths. Her first touch, a soft instep to set herself up instigates her second, a left-footed flick over the head of her marker. Her volleyed finish is superb, but it’s the speed at which she

produces such exquisite technique that makes the goal so impressive.

In terms of technique, it may be argued that the winning goal, that of Rodriguez, is the least impressive, though he does make up for it somewhat with his spatial awareness prior to the shot. Had the circumstances surrounding the Colombian’s strike and that of Roche been reversed, would the outcome have been different? Despite FIFA outlining that all entries should be judged without context of competition, it’s hard to imagine that an entire voting public could be immune to the element of prestige attached to goals scored at the World Cup.

The badger With the Australian Open fast-approaching, the Badger analyses Serena Williams’ chances at the retaining her Mixed Singles crown and ponders over UCD’s chances at potential European glory.

The Badger enjoyed a quiet Christmas, trying to keep up with whatever sports were on TV, and the Badger found itself mostly watching the Darts World Championship over the holidays. However, the Badger questions the validity of Darts as a “sport”, when someone can be crowned world champion with a cholesterol level higher than their age.

“180!!!” screams the crowd…probably the combined IQ of everyone in the Alexandra Palace, the Badger thinks to himself. Either that or the bloodalcohol percentage of Phil Taylor.

With 2015 firmly underway, the Badger is now looking forward to the promising sporting events to come, especially the Australian Open Tennis tournament in Melbourne.

The Badger is eager to see if Serena Williams will start the year with another win to add to her collection.

Serena adds so much more than just male genitalia to the women’s game, she brings with her a power and force that only those on the top of their

game can deal with. However, she Dundalk, having come first have is up against fierce competition this guaranteed themselves a place in the year and for her to win in Melbourne Champions League…if that’s not a she will have to overcome current joke the Badger doesn’t know what is.

French Open Champion Maria Liverpool, Everton and Spurs miss out Sharapova. Sharapova is different narrowly on the Champions League by to Williams in many ways, one of finishing fifth or sixth in the Premier which lies in the fact that she actually League each year, but Dundalk qualify physically looks like she belongs in because they meet the criteria of the women’s game. However, watching keeping their crowds controlled, and Sharapova’s games on mute, as the not picking yellow or red cards. So if Badger has found unfortunately I as the Badger round up my friends, out, is not the same experience. the deer, the woodpecker and the Between the grunting and the hare, and we just sit on the goal line short skirts, the Badger is an avid for the whole game, conceding every Maria Sharapova fan. From reading two minutes, but are respectful to the Russian adult magazines, the Badger referee and don’t foul anyone, then we appreciates Sharapova’s fantastic as a team woodland animals will do slice, and her on-court slice isn’t what only a handful of English Premier too bad either. The Badger thinks League teams do each year and Qualify that she can be the one to topple for the biggest tournament in Europe. the man-mountain that is Serena.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense FIFA. In more local news, the UCD AFC team are in line for a Europa League football place due to them being third in Ireland on the UEFA Respect Fair Play League Table…really?

Sports Digest Jamie headon

gaa

The UCD Gaelic footballers put up a highly credible showing in their recent O’Byrne Cup Group B campaign with them just missing out on reaching the pre-season tournament’s semi-final stage. The Students got the competition off to a winning start on the first weekend of the month with a ten point purple patch in the last ten minutes giving them a 0-18 to 1-12 victory away to Carlow. The Belfield side were on the road again the following Wednesday as they travelled to Haggardstown to face Louth with a much changed team to the one that took to the field at Dr. Cullen Park the previous Sunday. Despite the drastic changes in personnel, John Divilly’s men continued where they left off at the weekend as substitute

Ed O’Byrne rattled the onion sack in injury-time just as the Wee County men thought they had done enough to get their first competitive win of the New Year. With maximum points on the board, UCD faced Kildare in their final group game for a place in the competition’s last four. However, in a manner similar to last year’s meeting with Jason Ryan’s side, the university outfit would prove no match for the Lilywhites as they came out the wrong side of a 0-21 to 1-5 scoreline. soccer

UCD AFC’s new management team of Colin O’Neill and Pat Devlin have been hit with the departure of a number of key players ahead of their side’s forthcoming bid to make a swift return to domestic football’s

top-flight following relegation to the SSE Airtricity League First Division last season. Promising winger Aymen Ben Mohammed and midfielder Kaleem Simon have both joined Tony Cousins’ newly promoted Longford Town whilst goalkeeper and former Ipswich Town trainee Conor O’Donnell has been reunited with Martin Russell at Limerick along with striker Dean Clarke. Also to have exited Belfield over the close season to date are Robbie Creevy (Bohemians), Colm Crowe (Shelbourne), James Kavanagh (Drogheda United) and Hugh Douglas (Bray Wanderers).

Athletics

There was double cause for celebration for the UCD Athletics Club contingent present at the recent

basketball 2014 National Athletics Awards in Santry’s Crown Plaza Hotel with An 81-70 semi-final victory over UL Medicine student Mark English Eagles will see UCD Marian contest winning the Athlete of the Year and just their second National Cup final Track and Field Athlete of the Year when they make the short trip to accolades and Science scholar Karl Tallaght’s National Basketball Arena Griffin scooping the Junior Athlete this Saturday to take on C&S UCC of the Year gong. English took this Demons. Marian started brightly with prestigious award after what was a breakthrough year that saw him take Preston Ross’s 8-0 run helping them bronze in the 800m event at August’s to a 13 point lead after ten minutes.

UL pegged the Dubliners back in the European Championships in Zurich. second quarter before Neil Campbell Finishing in a time of 1:45.03, the stepped up to the plate to narrow the 21-year-old’s third place finish in Limerick side’s deficit to just a single Switzerland brought him his first basket by the end of the third period. senior championship medal in what Kevin Foley then came good for was his first appearance in a final at UCD in the final quarter to maintain that particular level. Fellow Donegal their lead before Ross put the result man Griffin also enjoyed a rather fruitful year on the track in 2014 with beyond all doubt with the game’s a personal best of 1.47.44 seeing him first dunk 90 seconds from time. reach the semi-finals of the World Junior Championships 800m.

January 20th 2015

sport Ciarán Sweeney Sports Editor

UCD v Ballynahinch THE new year rolled in and UCD took on a strong Ballynahinch team. Ciarán Sweeney reports

UCD XV 31 - 24 ballynahinch With a long break of 2 weeks between this game and UCD’s previous AIL League game-an impressive away win to Terenure, one might have thought that this game would start slowly, as the players of both sides ease their way back into action after the Christmas period, however the opposite was true. The game exploded into life after 3 minutes and set the tone for an exhilarating game of rugby.

Ballynahinch were eager to prevent UCD from carrying over any momentum from the pre-Christmas Terenure game into this one and with that, they hit the ground running early and scored from the first chance of the match. Straight from the kick-off, Ballynahinch started to pile on the pressure and good running by full-back Adam Craig opened up early gaps in the UCD defence. In the first few phases, it was the work of Craig and also good running from Steven Macauley at second-centre which gave Ballynahinch their try-chance. After Macauley fended off the UC D backline, the ball made its way to second row James Simpson, and he released David McGibbon in space. McGibbon took the ball and ran in behind the UCD line to go over for the first score of the match. With a simple conversion slotted by Chris Quinn, the northern Irish side were 7-0 ahead in the blink of an eye.

However, UCD have shown so far throughout this AIL season that they are not a team to lie down, and it took only a few minutes before they were right back in it. Ballynahinch had partly themselves to blame for this one, as Jonny Murphy taking a lineout for the away team, fed the ball straight to Peadar Timmins who picked the ball up but was brought down 5 metres from the Ballynahinch try-line. Mounted UCD pressure followed and when Ross Byrne picked out Garry Ringrose, his pass then found Shane Grannell who bowled over for the game’s second try. Ross Byrne however, couldn’t kick a successful conversion, as his attempt fell disappointingly short. Every New Year begins with a fireworks display, and that was exactly what we were seeing so far in the first game of 2015, with the

score at 7-5 after just 9 minutes.

Only 5 minutes later, and UCD’s backline showed their pace to devastating effect. After a Ballynahinch attack was turned over by the home side, Garry Ringrose set-off down the right touchline in blistering fashion. He played a clever inside pass to Nick McCarthy, who was as effective as Ringrose in showing the Ballynahinch defence a clean pair of heels. Albeit he was nearly caught under the posts, he successfully went over, to make it 10-7 to UCD, which Byrne converted for 12-7. Ringrose’s pace continued to cause the away side trouble and on 16 minutes, with seemingly no danger around him, Ross Adair was caught by Ringrose and from the tackle, Adair not releasing gifted UCD a penalty. Byrne, from a similar position from which he missed his first kick, ensured that the same mistake did not occur twice as he comfortably slotted the penalty through the posts.

This sparked Ballynahinch back into life. A penalty in the 20th minute was brilliantly slotted from the UCD 10 metre line by Chris Quinn and five minutes later, Ballynahinch managed their second try of the game to propel themselves into the lead. From a lineout 5 metres from the UCD try-line, Ballynahinch secured possession and formed a maul. Powerful forward play from the northerners was enough to outdo the UCD pack, and eventually, flanker Paul Pritchard touched down for 15-15. Again Quinn, proving ever more reliable as the game progressed split the posts with the conversion and Ballylahinch regained the lead once more. However, such was the rollercoaster effect of this game, the away side’s lead lasted a mere three minutes and on 29 minutes, another Ross Byrne penalty as a result of Ballynahinch not rolling away after a tackle was made which gave UCD their lead back at 18-17.

After some good running into space from Stephen Murphy, UCD again came back at Ballynahinch and they quashed the looming Stephen Murphy attack at the expense of a lineout on their own 22-metre line.

UCD secured possession and again

put the squeeze on in search of any sign of a crack of Ballynahinch’s defence. Again ill-discipline from the County Down side proved costly, as tackles coming in from the side at the breakdown did not go unpunished by referee Lloyd Linton who awarded Ross Byrne the chance to extend UCD’s lead…an opportunity which he gratefully accepted, as he slotted the penalty to make it 21-17.

In the second half, two missed penalties by Ross Byrne went unpunished as they were either side of a UCD try which came from nothing. With Ballynahinch patiently probing an attack just inside the UCD half, a seemingly harmless ball played to Jordan Grattan was pounced on by second-row Gavin Thornbury, who had only just come on as a sub, and he ran half the length of the pitch, fending off the pace of Ballynahinch backs Ross Adair and Adam Craig to go over for a gift of a score for Collidge. A successful Ross Byrne conversion put a bit of daylight between the two sides, as UCD stormed into a 28-17 lead on the hour mark. An uncharacteristic penalty miss by Chris Quinn passed up Ballynahinch’s chance to get right back into the game and they continued to turn the screw as a silly trip by Ross Moloney on Ross Adair gave Ballynahinch a one-man advantage. Phase after phase came against UCD who were putting up a good defence but still Ballynahinch would not accept defeat and eventually, their determination paid off when they scored with 2 minutes left. With a scrum on the UCD 5 metre-line, scrum-half Blane McIlroy picked the ball and provided a quick pass for inside centre Jordan Grattan, who needed no second invitation to skip in behind the UCD line to give the northerners a glimmer of hope in the dying minutes.

With time now running out, UCD opted for the offensive as the best form of defence but an ambitious 40-yard drop goal attempt by substitute out-half Liam Bourke was sliced low and wide. Bourke did however make amends only minutes later with the last play of the game, as his kick split the posts to end the match 31-24 in favour of UCD, and

ross moloney takes possession from the line-out PHOTO: ucd rugby

gave Collidge a winning start to the New Year. Just like the start of the season when UCD were victorious over St. Mary’s, this gave them the momentum to propel the team up the table and to pluck together some important victories against strong teams. If Bobby Byrne can carry this first win of 2015 into the remainder of the season, the second half of the season will wrap up a hopefully memorable one for the boys in blue.

UCD XV 15. Billy Dardis, 14. Sam Coghlan-Murray, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Stephen Murphy, 11. Tom Flecther, 10. Ross Byrne, 9. Nick McCarthy, 1. Gordon Frayne, 2. James Tracy, 3. Liam Hyland, 4.

Ross Molony, 5. Emmet MacMahon (Captain), 6.

Jordan Coghlan, 7. Peadar Timmins, 8. Shane Grannell.

Subs Used: Gavin Thornbury for MacMahon (30 mins), Risteard Byrne for Frayne (59 mins), Liam Bourke

BALLYNAHINCH 15. Adam Craig, 14. Ross Adair, 13. Steven Macauley, 12. Jordan Grattan, 11.

Chris Quinn, 10. Harry McAleese (Captain), 9. Blane McIlroy, 1. Kyle McCall, 2. Jonny Murphy, 3. Jonny Simpson, 4. James Simpson, 5. John Donnan, 6. David McGuigan, 7. Paul Pritchard, 8. Charlie Buttersworth Subs Used: Jonny Madden for McGuigan (33 mins), Craig Trenier for Jonny Simpson (75 mins)

Ireland Six Nations 2015 Preview Jack McCann examines the Irish team’s prospects with a maturing squad against their high-calibre European counterparts Ireland start their Six Nations campaign on February 7th against Jack Brunel’s ever improving Italian side on Rome in the afternoon. With home games against the French and English in weeks two and three, respectively, there is increasing talk of Ireland being able to defend the title that they won last time round.

However, even though Schmidt’s team did have a very good November series, coming out of their three games unbeaten and beating the likes of South Africa and Australia, they were at points in these games under extreme pressure as they struggled to hold onto the ball for more than a handful of passes.

Against the likes of Wales and France, giving the ball away as cheaply as Ireland did against the Springboks and Wallabies would be an absolute disaster as they both have extremely dangerous backs, especially the French, who thrive on broken play at a high tempo.

Squad wise, Ireland, will definitely be without Chris Henry, who is still dealing with his health problems that came to the surface the day of the South African test in November. Other players who will be out definitely for the start of the Championship are Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy. Both Leinster forwards only returned to contact training in the middle of January. As a result, they are most likely going to be left with Leinster to get some game time under their belts before coming back into the squad during the tournament.

Injury wise, Ireland are not in too bad a position considering they have only a small number of injured players. However, the players who are injured or nearly back are ones who would be guaranteed starters like those aforementioned.

Sexton is definitely out for the game in the Stadio Olimpico, and O’Brien and Healy won’t have the match fitness 20 January 20th 2015

required for the game. In what will be a very forward orientated game against the Italians, these two will most likely not be risked and brought back in for the France or England games in round two or three.

Other than those three, Joe Schmidt will have a near to a full complement of players to choose from with Martin Moore (Leinster) and Keith Earls (Munster) having started playing again for their respective provinces at the start of January after being out for three to five months.

With Johnny Sexton definitely out of the first game, Ian Madigan, Paddy Jackson or Ian Keatley will be given a start at 10. Madigan looks the most likely considering how well he played against Ulster and compared to Jackson on the 3rd of January. Madigan also brings that bit more flair compared to the other two and has a kicking success rate of just below 80% whereas Jackson and Keatley are both less than 72%.

The biggest question for the Irish heading into the Championship is who will step up now that O’Driscoll has retired.

Paul O’Connell will be captaining the side and he has really stepped up to the mark since being handed the armband, with his huge hit right at the death in the game against the Wallabies demonstrating once again how much work he does now and since he came into the national set up all those years ago.

However, O’Connell is no spring chicken and the likes of Devin Toner, the most likely man to partner O’Connell in the second row will need to continue the good form he had in November, if not step up more to the plate. With Healy and O’Brien on the comeback trail, their most likely replacements Jack McGrath and Rhys Ruddock, will

be expected to step up to the level of physicality that the two players they’re replacing are known to bring.

Other players who Schmidt will hope become bigger leaders in the squad in the upcoming tournament would be Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney, Peter O’Mahony and Rory Best. Over the past few seasons, these players have, along with others, become the leaders in the Irish squad. However now that O’Driscoll is gone they are all going to have to step up more so than ever before.

For Ireland, starting with Italy is good, due to the fact that if Ireland play to their potential than they should win quite easily and gain momentum heading into the home clashes with

France and then England.

The hardest game for Ireland will probably be Wales in Cardiff. They play very well at home and have picked up big results in the last couple of Championships against England and France. Similar to Paul O’Connell with Ireland, Alan Wyn-Jones appears at times to single-handedly boost Wales during games, so he will a massive asset to the team.

Scotland will hope that firstly they can find some consistency and that the likes of Blair Cowan and Alex Dunbar, who both had good autumns, continue their good form. If Vern Cotter can get them playing consistently well and fluid then they will be dangerous. With France, it is hard to tell what team

will turn up and with what mind set. However, Thierry Dusautoir and Wesley Fofana will be vital for Les Bleus throughout this tournament.

After a very mixed November for England in which some individuals shone in Twickenham but overall they look to be lacking in real depth as a team, they will be desperately hoping for a good Championship with the World Cup just over six months away. They’ll look to Mike Brown to perform to his usual best as he has been their most consistent player for the past 12 months.

If Ireland can play to their potential and control games better than they did against the Springboks and Wallabies last November then there is no reason they can’t go on

and defend the title that they won 12 months ago. They will also need players like those aforementioned and others like Conor Murray and Gordon D’Arcy to play well. D’Arcy is particularly important, if selected, as his experience will be vital in helping whoever is asked to play 13 beside him, which looks like it may be Robbie Henshaw who has 5 caps to his name. With Schmidt’s men looking to carry forward their momentum from a strong Autumn series, there is no reason why, with a bit of luck, Ireland won’t successfully defend the title they worked so hard to win this time last year.