The University Times - Volume XIV Issue VI (March 2023)

SECRET SESSIONS

Postgraduate Researchers Deserve Better

Lessons from Beyond: the Irish Diaspora

Has Irish Sport Overlooked its Racism?

TCDSU Publishes Open Letter Calling For Action on Accommodation

Trinity College Dublin

Students’ Union (TCD -

SU) President Gabi Fullam has published an open letter to the Provost calling for immediate and direct action to alleviate some of the burden of the accommodation crisis.

The letter calls for an immediate freeze on accommodation and utility fees for the 2023/24 academic year, a review of the pricing of Trinity-owned accommodation, a commitment to working with TCDSU and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), clear and direct messaging to incoming students and an emergency accommodation protocol.

“TCD Students’ Union (TCDSU) cannot look at the current landscape and say that Trinity College Dublin is acting with the best interests of students and staff at heart”, the letter opened.

Fullam further elaborated that “despite the union’s best efforts in helping students find safe accommodation, we were alarmed at the sheer number of students at risk of dropping out, deferring, arriving in Dublin homeless, or commuting

long distances” and that “our Welfare & Equality Officer stressed that hybrid learning must be urgently expanded to support the hundreds –if not thousands – of students facing the choice of abandoning their education or becoming homeless during their studies”.

“We are disappointed in College for not prioritising student welfare, and for continuing to emphasise (as per the Senior Lecturer’s email dated 26th of September) that ‘the University Calendar (Part II B, II. Academic Progress, paragraphs 17-25) makes clear what is expected of you in terms of attendance and the potentially very serious consequences of persistent or significant absence, which include refusal of permission to sit examinations and the requirement to repeat the year’”, she added.

On the six demands presented in the letter, Fullam stated that “this is not the first time these asks have been brought to College, specifically having been presented

PWOtest for PhD Rights

to Student Life Committee and various other College Committees by your union representatives” and that “the asks are reasonable and we will pursue escalated action should they not be fulfilled”.

With regards to the pricing structure of Trinity-owned accommodation, especially accommodation on campus, Fullam suggested several options for reducing the cost for students.

“The first option, and most ideal scenario, would be that Trinity accommodation prices are reduced across the board”, she said.

“A second option would be to have a sliding scale of rent prices within each area of accommodation (i.e., within Front Square, within Goldsmith Hall etc.). Despite the different accommodation types being segmented by price, there is discretion within each accommodation of the different types of rooms available.”

She added: Within a particular accommodation type a student can

receive a variation of accommodation set up (single bed, shared bathroom versus two single beds, ensuite etc.). A sliding scale could be enacted thereby allowing rooms with certain set-ups (single bed, shared bathroom) to be charged at a lesser rate than other rooms (two single beds, ensuite)”.

The sliding scale model “would mean that students are not segmented based on their financial ability to afford particular accommodations, allowing for an inclusive accommodation experience for students”.

She also stated that “College should be proactive in its own lobbying efforts to increase public funding for higher education, and to alleviate the cost of living crisis”. “Students will not support a college that does not prioritise housing justice”, the letter finished. “Escalated action will be taken if we do not receive further correspondence and a commitment to these demands being met by April 1st”.

Hundreds Protest for PhD Rights

Hundreds of postgraduate researchers marched on the Dáil on Thursday to protest for an increase in the PhD stipend as well as employment rights under the law.

The protest, organised by the Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO), the product of a recent merger of the Postgraduate Workers Alliance (PGWA) and the PhDs’ Collective Action Union (PCAU), saw hundreds gather in front square before marching down Nassau street to the Dáil with chants including “workers not students”, “Simon in your ivory tower, this is called people power” and “PWO power”.

Speaking to The University Times at the protest, member of the Trinity branch of the PWO Shauna O’Donohoe said: “We’re here because we want to make it loud and clear to the government that we are workers. We’re not students”.

“We do vital research, we demonstrate, we teach. We do supervisory work of undergraduate students and postgraduates. Yet the best case scenario is that we earn 22 per cent below minimum wage, which is €7.88 an hour and it’s not good enough”, she added.

“We would like to see a stipend increase to a living wage”, she said, “but an employment-based model is the end goal because that unlocks all the issues faced by postgraduate researchers in terms of sick pay and PRSI contributions”.

Also speaking to The University Times, PhD researcher in Maynooth University Bana Abu Zuluf added that “PWO was the reason why the national review for PhD supports actually started” but that they “have no guarantees that any of the recommendations will be implemented”.

“We are aware that there is a review in action at the moment, but we are not

aware of any guarantees that the implementation will happen immediately for the start of the coming year. It is very important for us that the government and the Department of Higher Education knows that we are eager that this be implemented as soon as possible.”

“PhDs are suffering”, she said.

“They know the solution, it is recommended in the Fair Research Agreement that we submitted to them, so they should be aware of what our demands are. We are hoping that they agree to our demands and that we get workers rights and that they raise our stipends”.

Eoghan Ross, a member of the National Committee of the PWO, expressed to this newspaper that “the state of things in Irish research are appallingly cruel and barbaric”.

“There is absolutely no reason that people who are conducting essential research should be treated so poorly that they’re not even afforded what is deemed to be the minimum amount of money to survive.”

He added: “Over the course of the pandemic, it was PhDs and postdoctoral researchers who were doing the vast majority of work in labs around Ireland. They were some of the first people who were brought back into the workforce because of the necessity that they had to understand what was going on, and they were not even being paid minimum wage”.

“Back when the stipends were set in the early 2000s, the stipend was about on par with the living wage, which today we are vastly behind. If Ireland wants the research sector to continue to grow and thrive, they need to take us seriously, listen to what’s being said, and acknowledge that PhDs are driving our own paths, choosing our own research and learning things for ourselves”.

“We are not being taught, we are not students, and we need to be acknowledged as such”, he finished.

Addressing the crowd at the protest, member of the National Committee and the Trinity branch of the PWO Shaakya Anand-Vembar said that she is “tired of having two jobs on top of [her] PhD in order to pay

rent”.

“I will not have any savings when I am done with my PhD, and what am I supposed to do then? As a non-EEA researcher here, I don’t have anywhere to go, I will not have anything to show for having spent five years doing research for this country.”

“Simon Harris is going to hear us, he is going to hear our demands, and we will not stop until we have worker status for all PhDs”, she finished.

A number of politicians also voiced their support for the protest including Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh, Labour Senator Alice-Mary Higgins and Trinity Senator Tom Clonan.

Clonan emphasised his own difficult experiences with higher education institutions while doing his PhD after he faced allegations of falsifying his research due to its sensitive nature.

“I was a PhD student, and I did my research into the experiences of women in the defence forces, and when I found the levels of sexual violence against women in the defence forces were shockingly high, I was accused by the military authorities of fabricating my resaerch findings”, he said.

“I know what it’s like to be a PhD student who is working full time to make a contribution to science, to the humanities, to our society. The work that you do is absolutely invaluable.”

“I did not enjoy the support of the university when I experienced that reprisal, so I feel very very strongly that all researchers absolutely require and deserve full workers rights”, he added.

He also pointed out that the risk factors for sexual violence in higher education was the same as those for the military: “the risk factors for sexual violence in the military are exactly the same as those that exist in our university campuses. The disproportionate power relationship between you and the university is actually a risky environment for you to be in”.

“There shouldn’t be any resistance whatsoever to your call for worker status”, he finished, pledging his support to the movement and the PWO’s call for workers rights.

Álanna Hammel attends one of the new Secret Sessions organised in aid of the Turkiye-Syria earthquake page 16

The PWO explains the conditions facing postgraduate researchers and why they need a living wage and workers’ rights page 8 »

Gina Bagnulo explores the lessons that the Irish diaspora can provide to those looking at solutions for the migration crisis page 6 »

Charlie Moody-Stuart speaks to athletes and coaches about the struggles they have faced with racism in Irish sports, and the reasons why the issue has gone uninterrogated for so long page 12»

PHOTO BY GIULIA GRILLO FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

PWOtest for PhD Rights: Hundreds of PhD researchers gathered in Trinity’s front square and marched down Nassau street to the Dáil to protest for better working conditions and a stipend in line with the national living wage.

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

PWO to March on Dáil for PhD Rights

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

The Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO) has announced that they will be marching to the Dáil to demand better working conditions and the rights described in the Fair Postgraduate Research Agreement (FRA).

The protest follows a number of actions taken by the PhDs’ Collective Action Union (PCAU), now merged with the Postgraduate Workers Alliance of Ireland (PGWA) to become the PWO, between September and December of last year. The group previously staged a protest in September calling for a minimum liveable stipend of €28k.

The group will be demanding “a full and immediate implementation” of the FRA, whose core demands stipulate the right to a living wage of €28k, recognition of employee status under the law and equity for researchers, especially with regard to non-EU researchers.

In a press statement, the PWO stated that “after 6 months of no meaningful reform and a three-month delay in Harris’s promised PhD review, it is the opin -

Olivia Orr Elected Ents Officer

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Olivia Orr has been elected Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Ents Officer on the second count for the 2023/24 academic year, beating out fellow candidates Nadia and Sam Kelly. Orr received some 1,004 votes on the second count

Clara Roche Elected Editor of The University Times

Gina

Bagnulo

Senior Editor

ion of the PWO that Minister Harris and the HEA have no sincere intent to meaningfully change the hardships forced upon postgraduate researchers (PGRs)”.

“It is in the opinion of the PWO that the government is abjectly taking advantage of all PGRs in Ireland, where even the highest-paid almost always earn 22 per cent under minimum wage for full-

out of a possible 1,737, amounting to a total of 58 per cent. Nadia received 489 votes on the first count and a total of 608 votes overall, with a total of 35 per cent of the vote. Kelly received 385 votes and was eliminated after the first count with 22 per cent of the votes. Some 56 students voted to re-open nominations.

Speaking on her election, Orr said: “Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me, it was so close. A big thank you to Alex and Ruth [Orr’s campaign managers], you guys have been amazing”.

Orr centred her campaign around a desire to make ents safer and more accessible to

time research, with no parental leave, sick leave, or other employees rights”, they continued“PGRs, who form the backbone of the Irish higher education system by serving as TAs, demonstrators, markers, invigilators, and tutors, are being forced out of Ireland because of these abusive conditions.”

“Without immediate change, all of higher education in

everyone. She was also the only candidate in the race to place an emphasis on having Trinity Ball on campus next year. A veteran of various ents committees having served as this year’s treasurer of the ents committee, Orr made it clear from the start that her campaign would draw on both her experience and her knowledge of running events. One of the core tenets of her campaign was opening a submission form through which students can contribute event ideas. “I want to hear directly from you with a submission form that all students can submit to”, she said.

Ireland will face a crisis-level shortage of workers at research, teaching, marking, and invigilation levels”, they finished. In the same press release, Rory Burke, a member of the University College Dublin (UCD) branch of the PWO, said: “We are demonstrating here today because years of neglect and exploitation of postgraduate workers has left us as individuals, and the entire higher edu -

cation sector on the brink of collapse”.

He added: “PhD stipends have seen virtually no increase in over a decade, while the cost of living in Ireland has increased relentlessly. In addition, because we are not classed as workers, we have been left behind by most of the tax based cost of living reliefs offered in the last year”.

“On top of this, our non-EU colleagues are subjected to numerous additional costs to maintain their visa status, as well as extortionate university fees. We believe the only acceptable outcome from this government review is for PhD researchers to be granted a living wage and full workers status, and we are here today on behalf of all of our PGR colleagues to demand that the necessary changes are implemented as soon as possible.”

Matt Murtagh, former Data Officer of the PCAU and current member of PWO, added:

“PhD researchers are the most fundamental and yet most neglected workers in the Irish University – we write papers, teach students, supervise labs, invigilate exams and mark assignments, all for salaries below the national minimum wage, a measure designed to keep people out of poverty.

“With this demonstration we say to the department of further and higher education that we cannot tolerate this position any longer, and demand fair wages, maternity leave, sick leave and PRSI as a minimum standard for PhD researchers.”

Sole candidate Clara Roche has been elected Editor of the University Times on the first count for the 2023/24 academic year.

Roche received some 1,229 votes out of a possible 1,499, amounting to 82 per cent overall. Some 169 students voting to re-open nominations (RON).

Speaking after the election Roche said: “Thank you so much to all of my campaign team, especially Michael, Saoirse, Matthew and Hosanna”.

“I’m so excited to get back into UT next year”, she finished.

Right: Clara Roche speaking at the Dining Hall Hustings at the opening of campaigning. The Dining Hall Hustings marks the start of the two-week long campaign period and is the first opportunity candidates get to introduce themselves and their campaign. This year’s Dining Hall Hustings took a different approach to usual in that canddiates were not asked questions, instead waiting for the Council and Equality Hustings the next day.

Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

Aiesha Wong Elected TCDSU Comms and Marketing Officer

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Aiesha Wong has been elected Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Communications and Marketing Officer.

Wong, running unopposed, received 1,303 votes out of a possible 1,501, amounting to 87 per cent of the vote.

Speaking after her election, Wong said: “I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who voted for me, thank you so much to my campaign manager, and I look forward to working with everyone next year”.

Grounding her campaign firmly in the practical, Wong made it very clear across the campaign period that her main focus was on increased engagement and improved social media presence. She also made plans to run upskilling workshops for students and society Public Relations Officers (PROs) in areas such as Adobe Photoshop.

László Molnárfi to be TCDSU President for 2023/24

Having missed both the Council and Equality Hustings and the JCR Hustings as a result of work commitments, Wong had limited time for her to expand on her promises to a wider audience. However, speaking to this newspaper, she emphasised her wealth of experience with clubs and societies across campus. She also emphasised her desire to make the SU accessible and approachable to everyone: “The SU is seen as very politically active and you have to be a specific type of person to get involved, so a lot of people don’t see the incentive, but I think that’s also why I’m running because I think it’s important to have a different perspective”.

“If more people see that it can be other people than the very politically minded, then that makes it more accessible.”

Aoife Bennett Elected TCDSU Welfare and Equality Officer

Adam Potterton Junior Editor

Aoife Bennett has been elected Welfare and Equality Officer of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) on the first count.

Bennett received 1,342 votes from a total valid poll of 1,511, amounting to 89 per cent of the vote. There were 169 votes to re-open nominations.

Bennett’s successful campaign was founded on a wealth of knowledge and experience, having served previously as Welfare Officer with JCR and on the welfare committee with the TCDSU.

In her campaign, Bennett managed to strike a balance between both parts of the role, saying that she would be there to assist in individual student welfare, while also striving to improve the college experience for all students.

This desire to work for all students was encapsulated in her emphasis on off-campus locations. Bennett wants to see more events run in locations such as James’s and Trinity Hall, and to increase the SU’s presence there to make sure that students know that the Union

works for everyone. Sexual health was another of Bennett’s key manifesto points. It is her goal to expand the free product period initiative, and to lobby for it as a national policy. She also aims to re-establish consent workshop, as well as improve sex ed during Fresher’s Week.

Over the course of her campaign, Bennett always greatly emphasised collaboration as the best way to make positive change. It is clear that in this role, she intends to be a voice for all students.

Catherine Arnold Elected TCDSU Education Officer

Adam Potterton

Junior Editor

Catherine Arnold has been elected Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Education Officer for the 2023/24 academic year.

They were elected on the first count and received some 1,254 votes out of a possible 1,526, making up 82 per cent of the vote. Some 272 students voted to reopen nominations (RON).

Running uncontested for the race, Arnold saw a very quiet campaign and succesfully held her own in Hustings across the campaign period.

Speaking on the announcement of their vic -

tory, Arnold said: “Thank you to the EC for all their hard work and to my wonderful campaign team, it’s been really fantastic”. They joked about not being prepared, saying “I really didn’t expect this, I wish I’d planned this better” and then gave a “shout out to [their] parents who are sitting in the corner”.

Introducing themselves at the Dining Hall Hustings as someone who enjoys “baking, crochet and long-term policy”, they described the Education Officer as “the memory and foresight of the union”.

Long-term policy quickly became a theme of their campaign, with a strong

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

László Molnárfi has been elected as President of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) for the 2023/24 academic year.

Molnárfi was elected on the first count and received a staggering 1,059 votes out of a possible 1,867 – a total of 57 per cent of the vote. Tilly Schaaf and Zöe Cummins, the other two candidates, received 431 and 279 votes respectively.

Speaking after the announcement, Molnárfi said: “Thank you so much to everybody and my campaign team, I would like to give a special shout out to my campaign managers and everyone who voted for me”.

“This is only the beginning of the process”, Molnárfi continued. “Now we will begin the process to bring the union back to grass roots.”

A third-year PPES student and the current Social Sciences and Philosophy (SSP) Convenor for TCDSU, Molnárfi focused his campaign on a return to grassroots initiatives and radical action on behalf of students. Introducing himself from the beginning as wanting “a movement that recognises that change doesn’t come from individuals on committees but

from collective action on the ground”, he continued to press home this message across campaigning and Hustings.

Speaking to this newspaper on why he decided to run, Molnárfi stated that he had “seen countless times when students were let down by the Union but our Union simply refused to engage, instead focusing on performativity and posturing”.

“What we can do is turn the Union back and bring it back to the grassroots. That’s my style of working that I adopted in my dealings as SSP convenor and equally as chairperson of students4change where we ran many campaigns”, he explained.

Molnárfi added at the time that his main goal, if elected, would be to set up a food bank. “I can talk to you about campaigns, and that’s what I will do, but what I want is a practical idea.”

“We have a duty to support students and their wellbeing and when we are constantly under attack, we only have ourselves. Setting up a food bank is an act of mutual aid and through it we can alleviate the cost of living crisis”, he explained

focus on decolonising the curriculum and efforts to pursue and implement fair postgraduate representation across college and better working rights for postgraduate researchers.

When asked about the possible relationship between the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation (PWO) and TCDSU, they said: “I don’t want to integrate the PWO into the Union, the plan is to integrate two part-time officers on a sabbatical level”.

Constitutional reform also shaped a major part of their campaign, with Arnold describing it as their favourite point on their manifesto at Welfare and Equality Hustings

Right: Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

Molnárfi, who ran on a platform of grassroots activism and radical change, was elected on the first count with a total of 1,059 votes.

Students4Change Leads Boycott of Buttery Over Unfair Policies

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Anumber of students gathered in the Buttery

last week to boycott a policy implemented earlier this year that bans students from bringing outside food into the space.

The boycott, led by Students4Change and supported by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), aimed to highlight the unfairness of the policy and draw attention to the social issues it creates. In a statement published to their Instagram, TCDSU stated that “it seems obvious that students should be allowed to eat their own food in all college spaces”.

“This year students have been repeatedly asked to leave the Buttery unless they had bought their lunch there. The Trinity student population has grown by more than 5,000 over the last five years, but the free community spaces available to us have remained the same.

“At lunchtime, it’s nearly impossible to find a place to sit and many of us resort to eating on the floor”, they added.

“The Buttery is the main canteen on campus – of course students should be able to sit down and eat their prepared lunch if they have one without being forced to pay for a Buttery meal.”

They finished: “The main priority of College, and Trinity Catering, should be creating a vibrant, inclusive student community – not turning away its own students in favour of earning extra commercial revenue”.

Speaking to The University Times , Chairperson of Students4Change and incoming TCDSU President László Molnárfi said: “We are protesting Trinity College Dublin discriminatory elitist and classes policy of not letting students bring in their own to college catering places”.

“We have been hearing concrete reports that students are being kicked out for being their own food”, he continued.

“A lot of students cannot afford the expensive prices associated with catering places, and it is a cost of living crisis

and the financial aftershock of a pandemic. Of course students will want to come in and sit with their friends in the Buttery because there’s not a lot of spaces around college.”

“Students will want to use this public college community space for their own good, but they’re not allowed to do that”, he added.

“Imagine being a student who can’t afford food from the Buttery, and then you are kicked out. It’s very embarrassing and some people might feel very ashamed of that.”

“The message this is sending is that Trinity College Dublin is not an inclusive place for those

UCDSU to Run Referendum on Rejoining USI

who are struggling financially, and that Trinity College Dublin is not a college that supports students,” he said. “And certainly the cost of living crisis doesn’t help, it actually makes this worse. Students are becoming separated from their friends and then they are being left to eat their own food on the ground, or on the floor of different teaching spaces. This is totally unacceptable.”

When asked about the aim of the boycott and what he hoped it would achieve, Molnárfi stated that the intention was to “reverse [the] policy through pressuring college and through highlighting how damaging it is to us as a college

University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU)

Council has voted to run a referendum on rejoining the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) following almost a decade of disaffiliation after voting to leave in 2013 and voting to stay disaffiliated in 2016.

If passed, the referendum would see UCDSU petition to rejoin the USI at an extra cost of €5 per student per year. With 32,000 students, the USI would see a major financial boost through additional member fees if UCDSU voted to rejoin. USI currently represents over 374,000 students across the island of Ireland. Last February, UCDSU

Council opened the door to rejoining the USI via referendum. Then-president Ruairí Power spoke to this newspaper in favour of returning to the USI, saying that “the one thing that we’re really missing out on is the lobbying capacity of USI. They have the regular interactions with relevant ministers. We really struggle to get in the room a lot of the time”.

“We don’t have the frequent meetings with Minister Harris”, he continued. “We don’t have the connections to other ministers in government to the same extent. So our lobbying capacity is quite diminished. We’re not contributing to the national voice on a lot of issues.”

community”

“This is a new policy, one that hasn’t been in place for long and that actually goes against an earlier policy, which was to allow students to eat their own food in the Buttery.”

“College’s profit maximizing on the commercial revenue unit imposed this directive on Trinity catering and multimedia catering powers, and just to use us even more as cash cows and extract even more money from us”, he stated.

“The fact that this policy wasn’t in place until now, indeed an opposing policy was in place, shows that it is possible to be financially viable, and actually allow students to bring in their own foods.”

At the time there was a spectrum of opinions among UCDSU sabbatical officers, he added.

“We’ve got very differing views on whether or not we should rejoin … students want time to sort of get the knowledge or get the facts of the situation – why we left, why we should or shouldn’t rejoin. So we essentially decided we’d take it to a discussion item first [and] see where people are at.”

USI membership has been a thorny issue for UCDSU for a long time – in 2013, two thirds of students voted to disaffiliate with the national union, with three quarters of students voting to remain disaffiliated in 2016.

“And furthermore, there are empty seats available. Yes, even during lunchtime, so there’s absolutely no reason to keep students out.”

He finished: “The Buttery should be an inclusive place for students and staff. That is what we want to achieve”.

When asked whether he had plans to address the issue during his term as President of TCDSU, Molnárfi stated his intent to “highlight how damaging this is to our community within different committees” and to “work with the director of student services and other key stakeholders to push the issue”.

Photo by Ailbhe Noonan for The University Times

TCDSU to Supply Free Period Products Across Campus

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Trinity College Dublin Students’

Union (TCDSU) has announced that period products will be stocked in bathrooms across campus in 10 different locations.

The scheme comes with the assistance of the Trinity Trust, which was created to provide philanthropic funds to ongoing university initiatives as well as maintaining connections and support for Trinity alumni.

The locations include the groundfloor women’s and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in the Arts Block, the women’s and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in the D’Olier Street building, the women’s bathrooms in the Ussher library, the St. James’ campus, the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) and the business school as well as the ground-floor bathroom in House 6.

The products are being sourced from Riley, an Irish-owned brand specialising in biodegradable products that are free from harmful products. They will be restocked daily by Estates and Facilities.

In a statement posted to Instagram, TCDSU said: “Women, trans and non-binary people across the island continue to struggle against barriers to equality. Period dignity is one of the most basic things our community can ask for. If you menstruate, you should be able to access pads and tam -

Three to Contest USI Presidency, Two from Trinity Running for Other Roles

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

pons when you need them so that you can go about your day”.

They also stated that despite their “delight” at launching the scheme, “ten locations is not enough” and that period products should “be available in every toilet for all students and staff”.

They added: “On 8 March 2022, the Irish Government announced the rollout of free period products in further education and the training sector. 9 colleges across 6 ETBs (Education and Training Boards) are involved in this pilot initiative, which will see free, sustainable period products and dispensers for students”.

“Trinity College Dublin is not included in this pilot project, and it is unlikely that public funding for period products will reach us anytime soon. Until that happens, it is vital that the College steps in to ensure that every bathroom across our campuses has a dispenser for free tampons and pads.”

They finished by highlighting the “overwhelming lack of gender-neutral bathrooms across college”, stating that they “are fighting on this” and that they “haven’t son until every member [of TCDSU] has equal access”.

Trinity Students Protest For Better Trans Healthcare in Ireland Following EU Report

Ailbhe Noonan Editor

Anumber of students gathered outside front gate to protest the lack of trans healthcare in Ireland and to witness a trans flag being dropped from two of the windows near front gate.

The group, including Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Gender Equality Officer Jenny Maguire, Chair of DU Gender Equality Society (DUGES) Leah Downey and incoming TCDSU President László Molnárfi, held a number of signs highlighting the issues facing the trans community with regard to access to healthcare.

The group also shouted chants including “trans healthcare now”, “trans rights, human rights”, and “what do we want, trans healthcare, when do we want it, now”.

Speaking at the protest, Maguire stated that “the attempts to silence the trans community in the media will not succeed”, adding that the community and its allies must “stand loud and proud”. Another student highlighted the discrimination faced by trans people in accessing gender-affirming healthcare, stating that “my own mother got a testosterone prescription before I did”.

Adding to this, Maguire stated that “this just highlights the dis-

crimination in healthcare as decisions are often made for [trans people], as if they can’t make informed decisions for themselves”, followed by a chant of “informed consent now”.

“Keep fighting, keep tweeting, keep emailing your local TDs, in Ireland the politics is smaller than you think. Do anything you can because we’re not being taken seriously in a healthcare crisis that is disproportionately affecting some of the most vulnerable people in Irish society”, Maguire finished.

In an email statement to The University Times, TCDSU stated that they are “disgusted at the current state of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender people in Ireland”.

“Recently, Minister Stephen Donnelly accepted Trans and Intersex Pride’s view that waiting times to access gender-affirming care in this country are unacceptable”, they continued.

“Although we welcome the Minister’s acceptance of this fact, this issue goes beyond an estimated 8-10 year waiting list”.

They also highlighted a number of issues including the fact that a study conducted by Transgender Europe

Three candidates from across Ireland will contest the presidency for the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) –Patrick Curtin from the South Eastern Technological University Waterford Students Union (SETUWSU), Sai Gujulla from the University of Galway Students’ Union (CMLOÉG), and Asha Woodhouse from University College Cork Students’ Union (UCCSU).

Four of the races including the presidential race are to be contested, with the remaining six – Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Equality and Citizenship, Leas Uachtarán na Gaeilge, Vice President for the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) Region, Vice President for the Southern Region and Vice President for the Dublin Region – uncontested.

Other than the race for President, the contested elections include Vice President for Welfare, Vice President for Campaigns and Vice President for Postgraduate Affairs.

Two candidates from Trinity are also running in the elections. Zaid Al-Barghouthi, a fourth-year law student and the current International Students Officer for Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) is running for Vice-President for Campaigns.

Al-Barghouthi is also the current Chair of the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) Implementation Group and previously served as the Trinity Hall Junior Common Room (JCR) International Officer.

Al-Barghouthi faces three other candidates for the position – Aoife Hynes from Maynooth Students’ Union (MSU), Kieron Portbury from Queens University Belfast Students’ Union (QUBSU) and Christine O’Mahony from Dublin City University Students’ Union (DCUSU).

PhD candidate and member of the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation (PWO) Committee Seathrún (Jeffrey) Sardina is running for Vice President for Postgradu -

ate Affairs.

Sardina was one of the founders of the PhDs’ Collective Action Union (PCAU), serving as the group’s President and then Vice President after stepping down from the presidency due to increased work obligations. He now serves on the PWO Committee following a merger with the Postgraduate Workers’ Alliance of Ireland (PGWA) to form the PWO.

Sardina also served as this newspaper’s Chair of the Editorial Board, having previously served as the paper’s Irish Editor and as a staff writer.

Other candidates for the role include Muhammad Mubashar Saeed and Muhammad Sayyam Afzal, both from DCUSU. Vice President for Welfare will see Colette Murphy from DCUSU running against Sarah Behan from USI’s Coiste Gnó. Bryan O’Mahony from SETUWSU is to run uncontested for the role of Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Kimberley Austin from St. Angela’s College Sligo Students’ Union (STACSSU), Kelda McManus from Munster Technological University Students’ Union (MTUSU) and Nathan Murphy from DCUSU will run uncontested for the roles of Vice President for the BMW Region, Vice President for the Southern Region and Vice President for the Dublin Region respectively.

Alicia Lewandowska from SETUWSU will run uncontested for Leas Uachtáran don Ghaeilge while James Curry from the Technological University of Dublin Students’ Union (TUDSU) is running uncontested for Vice President for Equality and Citizenship.

Sardina has stepped down from his role as Chair of the Editorial Board for the duration of the campaign period.

(TGEU), a network of trans organisations across the EU, ranked Ireland last in an assessment of the quality of trans healthcare and the “invasive and unnecessary” procedures and questions asked to trans individuals in order for them to access healthcare as well as the lack of healthcare for people under 18.

“We urge Minister Stephen Donnelly to consider the urgent need to recess transgender healthcare in Ireland and to listen to the trans communities’ call for an informed consent model that is led by GPs in local communities”, they added.

They finished: “TCD Students’ Union exists to defend all of its members. This year’s Gender Equality Week is unapologetically trans inclusive because none of us are free until all of us are”.

“Today’s demonstration aims to highlight that the fight for trans rights in Ireland is far from won. If you want to help us build on this campaign, please reach out to the Gender Equality Officer at genderequality@tcdsu. org or the LGBT Rights Officer at lgbt@tcdsu.org.”

Right: Photo by Ailbhe Noonan for The University Times

What the Irish Diaspora Can Teach Us about Current Immigration to Ireland

Gina Bagnulo

Features Editor

In recent years there has been a vast increase in the number of people seeking asylum in or immigrating to Ireland for a better life. Indeed, the Economic and Social Research Institute, a Dublin-based Think Tank, has found a number of different components that are behind an increase in international protection applications. These included the Russian invasion of Ukraine and PostCOVID catch up migration.

Between January and June 2022, Ireland saw 6,494 applications for international protection lodged. This increased from 2,235 in the first half of 2019, the last year not impacted by the pandemic.

There was an increase in various EU countries, though Ireland was a part of a small number of EU countries that saw application numbers continuously rise during the first half of 2022. This can be attributed to the war in Ukraine that caused millions to flee. According to the Central Statistics Office, there were 33,151 arrivals in Ireland from Ukraine by the week ending on May 22, 2022. Out of this, 29 per cent were age 14 or under.

The mid 19th century saw a large amount of Irish emigration, a major reason for this was the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs reports that an estimated one million deaths were caused by the famine between 1845 and 1851, while

another million emigrated with Ireland losing a quarter of its population.

Hidden on the docks near Connolly station lies EPIC, a museum dedicated to the Irish diaspora and their exploits across the world in industries ranging from general employment and history to arts and culture. It tells an important story of those who went before and hides lessons that contemporary Irish society could use in speaking about both their own diaspora and those who seek a new life in the country.

Since 2016, the EPIC Museum has been tucked away on the banks of Liffey with one goal: to convey the trials and tribulations of the Irish Diaspora. The Museum provides audio tours across different periods of Irish history starting in the 17th century, all the way to the present day.

In more recent news, to honour the 14 nominations awarded

to various Irish actors, directors and films despite them being snubbed on the night, a giant golden Oscar statue has been put on display. Additionally the museum has added a series of hollywood themed tours for the month of March, displaying that the story of the Irish diaspora is ever evolving.

At the head of the operation is Aileesh Carew, the CEO of EPIC museum. According to Carew, the museum has gone from success to success since it opened.

“We opened in 2016 so we were at a growth phase, this year we are expecting 330,000 and we expect that to grow to half a million by 2026”, she explained.

Speaking to The University Times about how EPIC’s missions ties into current immigration to Ireland from outside countries she added, “EPIC is a cultural institution and we’re dedicated to preserving and interpreting and sharing the story of Irish mobility”.

“With those 1500 years of stories, I think we can really help our visitors to connect with their own histories and perhaps develop a sense of solidarity with those arriving in Ireland today.”

“When you look at the rhetoric in the media it’s about what we’re losing by having immigrants, but actually when you look at the influence that Ireland has had around the world and the culture the Irish took with them when they emigrated, you can see that there is a huge positive influence, and we hope that our visitors get that sort of experience.”

When enquired on how EPIC will move forward with its mission, Carew stated: “At the moment, over 70 of the entries in the museum are living people, we continue to update

and improve and alter the galleries to reflect recent historic events.”

“We add between 5 and 10 new stories every year so that we make it a contemporary oral history and we do a lot of public collecting and day programs to record new stories of migration”, she added.

“One that we are considering adding with the success of Irish actors, we are looking at the story of Cedric Gibbons, the Irish man who designed the Oscars Statue.”

The museum also plans to run an exhibition on the causes of human displacement. “We have an upcoming exhibition called borders which explores the causes of human displacement across the continents. We feel EPIC has a lot to contribute to public discussions and migration and origin or the systems built.”

Carew also revealed an excerpt from a letter sent to the EPIC team by Irish president Michael D. Higgins in which he said that “the museum deserves public recognition for its role in highlighting Ireland’s emigrant experience, causes and consequences, and its relevance to the stories of those who are today escaping marginalisation, poverty and conflict”.

Looking at the broader issue of current immigrants and asylum seekers coming from across the world, Barrister of Law David Leonard described a more contemporary context to the issues presented by EPIC. Leonard is in charge of the Advanced Diploma program in Immigration and Asylum law offered by the Honourable Society of King’s Inns, one of Ireland’s Barrister qualification institutions.

“The purpose of Immigration and Asylum Law at the King’s Inns”, Leonard stated, “is to enable course participants to deepen their under-

standing of Immigration and Asylum law so they can better use it in their professional lives.”

He added: “We get a lot of people who are officials who are involved in making decisions in the area of immigration and international protection law on behalf of state bodies and for those people the advanced diploma will better equip them to make more robust decisions that properly apply the law”.

“We get others from an NGO background, so the advanced diploma will better enable them to be able to advise immigrants on their rights and assist them with any immigration applications they have to make.”

The course also covers the Irish state’s approach to immigration policies as outlined by the Department of Justice, among other elements. “If you do the course, you will be able to understand the conflicting things that have to be taken into account by anybody deciding what immigration policy should be.”

The story of emigration and leaving home clearly remains an important part of Ireland’s history. The past often holds lessons for the future, especially in relation to modern-day immigration into Ireland.

The increased level of immigration into Ireland has been met with harsh responses and poor conditions, with many immigrants stuck in Direct Provision and alt-right anti-immigration protests having taken place over the course of 2022 and 2023. Despite these hardships, the incredible turnout at the recent #IrelandForAll rally in support of minorities shows that the nation holds its past experiences close, and that the touching story of the Irish diaspora and the Irish spirit prevails.

“

When you look at the influence that Ireland has had around the world, you can see that there is a huge positive influence

The museum deserves public recognition for its role in highlighting Ireland’s emigrant experience and its relevance to the stories of those who are today escaping marginalisation, poverty and conflict

Mir-Aulad Ali: The Forgotten Trinity Scholar

Gina Bagnulo

Features Editor

The Ancient Universities are the oldest English speaking universities in the world, all founded prior to the year 1600. They are, in order of date, Oxford (1096), Cambridge (1209), St Andrews (1413) , Glasgow (1451), Aberdeen (1495) and Edinburgh (1582).

Trinity is the last of these universities, having been founded in 1592. Established almost 450 years ago, Trinity is rich in history and has a legacy of academic excellence and scholarship across disciplines.

The college also has a rich history with non-European studies that is not often brought to light. As Dr. Zuleika Rodgers, the current head of Trinity’s department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, has stated in past interviews, “from [the college’s] foundation, there were experts in Farsi [Persian], Sanskrit, and even in hieroglyphics and cuneiform”.

And yet, despite being well-known for its academic excellence with alumni including Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese, Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde, there are plenty of alumni who are overlooked. One such figure is Professor Mir Aulad Ali.

Born in 1832, Mir Aulad Ali was a 19th century professor of Arabic, Persian and Hindustani at Trinity. While his origins are widely speculated, it is believed that he was originally from the Northern Indian region of Uttar Pradesh and is though to have been Muslim. Uttar Pradesh was one of the provinces of the Mughal Empire – an Indian Muslim empire that originated in Central Asia, but by 1801 had become a vassal of the British East India Company.

Many believe that Ali was ethnically Persian from the name “Mir”. Because of this, it has been speculated that he adhered to Shia Islam, one of the two major sects of Islam practiced by around 10 per cent of the Muslim population and most prevalent in

Iran.

Some believe his extensive education may have also illustrated the privilege of the ruling Turko-Afghan-Persian class before the Mughal Empire dissolved in 1858. In the wake of the resignation of William Wright as professor of Arabic, Ali was initially appointed to Trinity in 1855. Known around the university as “The Mir”, he provided a unique insight into Ireland’s early Muslim community.

While a professor, Ali was widely active in charity events and in 1878 received money for the Turkish relief fund, a gesture to express solidarity with the Ottoman sultans of the day who three decades before had sent £1000 to Ireland during the Irish Potato famine. Many speculate that he may have converted to Christianity for tax purposes, however this was never confirmed. His wife, originally from England, never converted to Islam.

He resigned as Arabic professor in October 1861 when he then took the position of Syrian manuscript keeper at the British Library before being appointed a Professor of Arabic and Hindustani that same month, a position he held for over a decade.

Outside of his academic ventures Ali was a fencer and a notable Dublin socialite, often attending the annual Dublin castle ball. Ali was present at official Dublin visits by foreign parties and was one of Trinity’s campus guides when the Queen of Romania visited Ireland in 1893.

Ali was part of one of the earliest migrations of Indians to Europe and was appointed to Trinity just before the first Indian professor of Hindustani was appointed in Britain. It is unclear if he arrived in Ireland from India as some think that he could have been a part of an elite North Indian community that resided in the Paddington neighbourhood of London. Upon moving to Dublin, he resided in a house at 139 Leinster Road, Rathmines.

Islamophobia has been on the rise over the course of the 21st century with Muslims being portrayed negatively in the media. Many forget Muslim figures such as Ali who, as a person of colour during a very racist period, was able to serve as a professor at one

of the oldest European universities for four decades.

Dr Murat Siviloglu is a professor within the department of Near and Middle Eastern studies who focuses on the Early Modern period within the region and has done research on Ali’s time at Trinity.

“I think he was a product of his age. He was a product of British presence in India. I found some documents regarding his presence at Trinity in the Istanbul archives. He’s a type of person that emerged in the 19th century from what Europeans referred to as the “Orient” but had a substantial amount of knowledge about the Western world so from this perspective he was very interesting”, Siviloglu explained.

When asked why it’s important for the general Trinity population to be aware of him, he

went on to say, “I think he shows this culture of diversity was engraved in Trinity’s culture even in the 19th century when such a thing would have been unthinkable. It is something that should be celebrated and embraced today in being a part of Trinity’s history and culture.”

Siviloglu’s principle field of interest is the Ottoman Empire studying scholars such as travel writer Evliya Çelebi, a 17th century Ottoman author from Istanbul best known in the English speaking world for his ten

volume book “Seyahatname”, which went on to become one of the world’s largest pieces on travel writing. Discussing the connection between European and Arabic and Ottoman scholars from the Early Modern period, and whether one group overshadows the other, he noted that “what they have in common is a certain curiosity about the world and other cultures. Evliya left his country and travelled for 30 years from Austria to Egypt to understand how people lived.”

“Mir Aulad Ali is a bit more

complicated than that”, he continued. “When he left we don’t know what motivated him to go to Ireland, but clearly if he wasn’t curious about the way people lived or history, he wouldn’t have been able to become a professor.”

Mir Aulad Ali died in 1898 due to a heart attack. Efforts to have an Imam (a person who leads Muslim prayers) at his funeral failed. Ali was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery and had one son with his wife.

Photo via History Ireland

PhD Researchers Should Be Recognised as Staff

Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation

Contributing Writer

For almost a year, people in Ireland have been told they are in a cost-of-living crisis. You could say that PhD researchers have faced a cost-of-living crisis since the 2010s. In some cases their stipends are paid at the same rate as they were eighteen years ago, and in virtually every case PhD researchers earn less than the minimum wage.

Most funding awards do not cover all fees or university administrative charges. About a third of our members have stipends that do not last the full length of their PhD. Every funding award comes with the need to sign a declaration to the Revenue Commission that one’s stipend is not received in exchange for any service (e.g., teaching). For more than two-thirds of our members, this declaration is false. Teaching may be mandatory in exchange for a stipend, or it may be necessary for extra income. Usually the rate of pay is around €30 per hour excluding preparation time, despite the fact that, depending on the class, it may take considerable time to prepare.

As PhD researchers are considered students and not employees, many submit their theses having made no PRSI contributions, meaning they are ineligible for ordinary public healthcare benefits such as free dentist visits or eye tests. For the same reason, nonEU researchers cannot count their years living in Ireland doing a PhD towards naturalisation for citizenship. Each year they must renew their Irish student visa at a cost of €300 per year. Often the terms of the visa prevent them from being able to attend conferences abroad. At a minimum of approximately €500 per year, nonEU researchers have to buy their own health insurance. Between the two, this adds up to an extra charge of almost €1,000 per year.

It is not easy to work or study in Ireland for many reasons: the lack of affordable places to rent; the price of eating, drinking and socialising; and lately the cost of electricity and gas. But PhD researchers have had to deal with these while earning little to no pay and working long hours (considerably more than a 9-5 job) teaching and research and assisting labs. This often features conditions of heightened insecurity or simply abandonment by their institutions if they fall sick or end up bullied by their supervisor or become pregnant or suddenly face eviction as PhDs rarely if ever sign contracts with their institutions. In many cases, if a parent or disabled PhD researcher must suddenly take a leave of absence for six or 12 months, they lose their funding entirely.

For PhD researchers, this has been their way of life for years, with each year getting worse – the situation is much starker than a crisis. A crisis refers to a sort of external shock, an eruption outside the usual course of things that provokes a change. But the meagre living conditions of most PhD researchers are not the result of any external shock. The present system of higher education requires PhDs to fill teaching and lab positions, without paying or treating them fairly, because doing so would be more expensive. Instead, the living conditions of PhD researchers in Ireland have been university and government policy.

The Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation (PWO) seeks to end this situation in which universities and the government depend on the work of PhD researchers yet do not treat them as staff. We officially launched the organisation in March and have thousands of members across every university nationwide. We have held forums, drafted proposals, met with academic management and various politicians, gathered in protests and we will continue these activities as we must.

Recently, a combination of political pressure and the cost of living crisis has brought some important changes – that is to say, people have started to listen to PhD voices. By September, some people’s stipends will have gone up. This March, the government ini -

tiated a once-in-a-generation review of the conditions of PhD research by the Department of Higher Education and Research. The review’s remit includes the question of whether PhD researchers are students or workers. It also includes other issues such as stipends, conditions and visa requirements for non-EU researchers.

Obviously, we welcome these: they are signs of an acknowledgement by universities and the government that things cannot go on as they were, and a willingness to do something about it. If the review makes the right suggestions, and the government accepts and legislates them, it will dramatically improve the situation of PhD researchers in Ireland. But the reforms must be significant and not merely a plaster on an increasingly festering wound – and they must be administered as soon as possible. That is what we are now advocating.

We seek the following:

1. Swift implementation of any reforms proposed, especially stipend reform (by September). PhDs should not have to wait longer for a living wage. They should not need to decide between buying groceries or paying their electricity bill next winter. The present crisis means they will have to make such decisions until reforms are implemented – or else they will have to drop out of their PhDs.

2. A proposal for recognising PhD researchers as staff. There are all

kinds of costs and difficulties resulting from the fact that PhD researchers are treated as students. Until they are recognised by universities and government bodies as staff, these problems are likely to be ignored or worsened, and PhD researchers may have no mechanism to resolve them. But also, PhD researchers are staff: just as trainee solicitors are staff, junior doctors are staff, and graduate-entry workers in every business and government department are staff. In a university, research output and students are the product. But to do this, universities depend on the work of PhD researchers – they make the product.

3. Equal funding of PhD researchers. A problem which has come into stark relief with Trinity’s recent announcement to raise internal stipends is how much people with different funding streams are on completely different amounts of money. It should not be allowed that one researcher is earning double the person at the desk beside them simply because they have funding from different sources. All stipends should be living wages raised annually in line with inflation.

4. Equal treatment of PhD researchers. Disabled PhD researchers have far less support in universities than staff and undergraduate students. In some cases, taking a leave of absence (for example, because of illness) may lead to funding being withdrawn. The considerable added difficulties

faced by non-EU researchers simply because they are not from a country in the European Union are also unfair and discriminatory. Non-EU researchers should be able to live with dignity in Ireland and contribute to Irish society. A PhD should be available to any person who applies for one and is accepted. It should not be something only afforded to certain kinds of people.

That is what we will fight for in the coming months. We welcome every kind of support. PhD researchers should get involved, above all, by filling out the membership form, and we send emails every week with news and events. Soon there will be elections, and further actions.

Anyone else can receive similar information by signing up as a friend of the PWO using the form available via our social media channels. They can follow us and engage with us on social media – we particularly appreciate public expressions of support from academic staff and departments.

Excellent PhD research and teaching must be paid for. It is time universities and the government paid for it instead of passing the cost down to researchers themselves in the form of low pay and insecurity. It is time for us all to raise our voices – if we speak together, they will listen.

Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

Mandela House, 6 Trinity College, College Green, Dublin 2 Phone: (01) 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie

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Why Are We Here?

Professor Chris Morash Columnist

So; here’s the thing… A question has been bothering me. Why are we here?

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I don’t mean that in any big, existential, ontological sense, (as in why is there something and not nothing, or what is my ultimate purpose for the years I’ve been allotted). I will be addressing full answers to those questions in my column for the next issue of this year’s University Times. No, I’m asking the question today in a much more practical sort of way: why are we here on campus?

After all, we’re already at a point in the academic year when we can imagine those shimmering days of summer when the campus seems to get along fairly well without most of us, when the main occupants are Italian tourists, the College Fox, a few stray seagulls and a resident Provost. So, we know that the campus doesn’t really need us. The seagulls and the fox know that there are worms and mice aplenty for food. Indeed, according to the maintenance staff in my building this morning, there were rumours of a rat who had taken up residence in my building over Reading Week.

“Didja see the rat?”

“Er… no…”

“Big as a cat it was.”

“Are we talking a full-size cat, or more a sort of kitten…?”

“Huge it was. Feckin’ huge. But, sure, I wouldn’t worry about it. The students will scare it away.”

I digress. The campus has its own secret life, a life that ticks along quite well without us. So, if the campus doesn’t need us, do we need the campus?

There was a point earlier in the year when this seemed like more than a hypothetical question once again, amidst doomsday scenarios about power blackouts and deep-frozen public buildings (a doomsday which, like previous endings of the world, seems to have passed us by).

Still, it did make me wonder. Do we really need to be here, other than for incidental things like the odd lecture or tutorial?

I decided to do some research. The past is not always a great guide to the future, but it can be entertaining. Besides, I like the Library, so I plunged into some of its darker recesses to find a few novels by the most famous Trinity author of the nineteenth century,

Charles Lever.

Charles Who? Well you may ask, and not with shame. Today his literary star may have waned to the point of invisibility, but in his time lots of people thought was as good a novelist as Dickens. More importantly, he could boast of something that poor old Dickens could never manage: he could say that he had been a Trinity undergrad. You can’t say that of Dickens. Or of Proust, for that matter.

Here, I thought, is a font of that special wisdom which literature distils like a fine single malt. From whose pen, other than Lever’s, would I find a novel like his Charles O’Malley (1841), that has a chapter entitled “The Vice-Provost”, (“without the walls of the college, for above forty years, he had not ventured half as many times”). There is another entitled “Trinity College – Lectures”. Again, you won’t find that in Proust.

“Trinity College – Lectures” was particularly enlightening, because it had absolutely nothing to do with lectures. Here we are introduced to the Trinity student character based on Lever, Charles O’Malley: “Except read, there was nothing he did not do.”

Ah, I thought, here’s where we get the real value of being on campus. This is going to be an edifying account of the real value of a university education, one that lies not in the formal curriculum – what is taught in lectures, labs and tutorials – but in the vibrant energy of student life, the learning that takes place in the students’ union, in clubs and societies and, on playing fields and in intense conversations late at night in college rooms.

I read on. Lever’s hero, Charles O’Malley, and his college friend, Francis Webber, form their own college society, called “The Board of Works”, “whose object was principally devoted to the embellishment of the University, in which, to do them justice, their labours were unceasing, and what with the assistance of some black paint, a ladder,

and a few pounds of gunpowder, they certainly contrived to effect many changes.”

Wait a minute. “Black paint?” “A ladder?”

“Gunpowder???”

I read on. “We were acknowledged the most riotous, ill-conducted, disorderly men on the books of the University. Were the lamps of the squares extinguished, and the college left in total darkness, we were summoned before the Dean; was the Vice-Provost serenaded with a chorus of trombones and French horns, to our taste in music was the attention ascribed; did a sudden alarm of fire disturb the congregation at morning chapel, Messrs. Webber and O’Malley were brought before the Board. Reading men avoided the building where we resided as they would have done the plague.”

Now, just to be clear: I’m not advocating a return to the Rare Aul Times here. Extracurricular activities that involve any combination of ladders, black paint, and gunpowder really ought to be avoided, where at all possible. And I’m reasonably sure that Vice-Provosts nowadays venture outside the college walls more than once every two years. But, details aside, as another academic term winds down, after reading Lever I was reminded of why universities are more than just delivery vessels for functional learning, and why a living campus is more than simply a handy form of pest-control.

All the same, I think I’ll stick with Sally Rooney or Louise Nealon for my novels of Trinity campus life.

Professor Chris Morash is Trinity’s Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing and a former Vice-Provost. He returns this year to continue writing his column, known as “Thingmote”, following a very successful run last year. The thingmote was a mound of earth which served as a meeting space in Medieval Dublin. It was located just outside where Front Gate is now.

Ailbhe Noonan, Editor Rebecca Cleere, Deputy Editor

Anastasia Volobueva, News Editor Gina Bagnulo, Features Editor Charlie Moody-Stuart, Sports Editor Kaushik Krishna Anandh, Copy Editor Giulia Grillo, Photography Editor Sarah McCarthy, Fashion Editor Eleanor Moseley, Film and TV Editor Álanna Hammel, Literature Editor

In his final column of the 2022/23 academic year, Professor Chris Morash explores why any of us are still on Trinity’s campus.

Dogged DUFC U20s Overcome by Brilliant Brave Blossoms U19s

Charlie Moody-Stuart SPORTS EDITOR

Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) U20s were beaten 26-53 by Japan U19s in an entertaining contest at College Park last Saturday.

The Japan High School Rugby team – on its first tour in four years – consists of the country’s top 26 high school players.

Head coach Tomoya Takahashi said of his squad: “We have selected 26 high school rugby players from all over the country who have continued to strive without losing sight of their goals while various activities are restricted due to the corona crisis.”

DUFC U20s – who have won the past three national All-Ireland competitions in a row and who this season are on course to make it an unprecedented fourth – was their first fixture of the tour, before playing the Ireland U19 national team twice, once on March 21st and again on March 26th.

Having previously played the USA U20s team back in 2008 and the USA universities team in 2001, this was not the first time that Trinity had faced international opposition. However, such occasions are rare, and with the recent rise of rugby in the Land of the Rising Sun – a nation who beat current world champions South Africa in 2015 and who hosted the World Cup itself in 2019 – Saturday was always likely to be a sterner test for DUFC than either of their American encounters.

As underdogs, Trinity may have been buoyed by the prevailing damp conditions, for drizzle is rarely conducive to the expansive rugby so often seen among contemporary Japanese teams.

Less promising was the yellow card they received in the first min -

ute. It was a numerical advantage ruthlessly exploited by Japan’s youngsters, whose slick hands sliced through the DUFC defensive line with ease to score twice in the opening eight minutes.

Such smooth rugby in tandem with a physicality which belied their years portended a rapid demolition. The joy with which they executed these scores – cheering each of the final three passes –indicated an effortlessness which did little to ease fears that things could get worse for Trinity.

“We were like rabbits in the headlights”, admitted DUFC head coach Tony Smeeth after the game.

However, Smeeth would have taken pride in his players’ response to this early adversity.

12 points down, Trinity weathered some hard hitting by the Japanese side – who were each clad in a scrum cap, as per the rules of Japanese school-age rugby – and ground their way up the field. The introduction of Hugh O’Kennedy at fly-half was a contributing factor in this territorial advance, adding composure to a midfield marked by disarray.

Undoubtedly the beneficiaries of Japan’s ill-discipline at the breakdown – with the away side flying into defensive rucks to the detriment of their penalty count – the home side were able to pin their opponents back deep into their half.

Initially, for all their possession and territory, Trinity’s efforts bore little fruit. Indeed, had they not scored here, their precarious position on the scoreboard meant that both momentum and morale could well have swung irreversibly Japan’s way. As it was, DUFC’s driving maul

– an asset which was to cause the Brave Blossoms problems throughout the contest – rolled over after twenty minutes, giving rise to roars of relief on and around College Park.

Trinity continued to grow into the game but it was Japan who next troubled the scorers with a smart finish involving nifty footwork by the left winger.

Still DUFC’s determination did not waver. Off the kick off they marched back up the field – in part due to more Japanese ill-discipline at the breakdown – before crossing over from close range, again on account of some excellent work by the forwards.

12-17 down, it was Trinity’s third score of the half which was perhaps most impressive. O’Kennedy – who had been consistently feeding his backs through gaps – engineered another break midway inside in his own half, this time playing outside centre Conor Gibney through.

Gibney broke two tackles in what was a typically powerful run and found himself pounding up the field with only the full back to beat.

In a piece of subtle individual skill characteristic of this Japanese side, Gibney was not only successfully tackled but done so in a manner which also prevented an offload to those on his shoulder. It seemed for a moment as if the opportunity was gone – but number eight Davy Walsh took advantage of some disorganised defence with a break of his own.

Walsh managed to offload to blindside flanker Dan Carroll, who charged over from ten metres out –dragging with him disorientated defenders desperately clinging to his derrière.

A simple conversion in front of the

posts meant that Trinity closed the half 19-17 up – an impressive scoreline given the calibre of opposition and the game’s chaotic opening.

Though Trinity’s enterprise did not relent in the second half, a total of ten changes were not conducive to cohesion. The resulting lack of incision in attack stood in stark contrast to the Japanese who, whilst retaining their enthusiasm, developed a more clinical edge as the half progressed.

In the thirty five minutes for which the home side laboured seven points, the away team racked up thirty-six.

In saying that, it was Trinity who began in the ascendancy – unlike they had in the first half – scoring a converted try in the corner to bring them 26-17 up.

However, the deficit only seemed to sharpen Japanese senses, with the away side scoring six unanswered tries in a whirlwind display of physicality, speed and most of all skill.

The second of these scores encapsulated the half’s dynamic. Trinity were plugging away in the midfield, gaining metres but not many in the face of yet more wholehearted Japanese defence.

A smart steal at the breakdown – where rashness had previously inhibited Japan’s ability to both attack and defend in the first half – triggered a lightning quick counter attack. Scything across the pitch with trademark grace, the Brave Blossoms evaded contact entirely in a move which had both materialised and lasted in a period spanning seconds.

The score and its brilliance drew delight from the Japanese bench, and as they hugged and beamed it was difficult for even supporters of a DUFC disposition not to smile them -

selves.

The score also seemingly had a revitalising effect on the opposing team’s rhythm, releasing cogs which had previously run irregularly: Japan’s school boys scored three tries in the next ten minutes, jinking and dancing through DUFC defenders, clicking through the gears, joyful all the while.

For it was a performance laced not only with brilliance, but also enthusiasm and complete decorum. As the final whistle went – blown after Japan had somewhat symbolically halted what had been a promising Trinity maul five metres out – a series of handshakes and bows followed, conducted to players, coaches and referees.

And as the young Blossoms undertook an honorary lap of the field, waving and thanking those who adorned the sidelines, few of these spectators could have failed to have had their hearts warmed by the spirit of the spectacle they had witnessed on this otherwise grey afternoon.

Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

Is Racism in Irish Sport Overlooked?

Charlie Moody-Stuart SPORTS EDITOR

Jason Boateng was 18 years old.

It was his first game for Trinity – first game playing senior football – 15 minutes in.

“I was shy, I was at a new team as well so I didn’t really want to make a fuss,” recalls Boateng, now aged 25.

“At the time – well, most of the times I am anyway – I was the only Black person on my team so I really didn’t want to make a fuss about it.”

“Most people just wouldn’t understand.”

This was how Boateng felt after a member of the opposing team called him a “black cunt”.

“Straight to my face like, referee was right there, one of my players was standing across from me”.

To reiterate: this was teenage Boateng’s first foray into senior football.

“I couldn’t believe it honestly. I was like, ‘what have I got myself into?’”

The incident forced Boateng to take a break from the sport.

“I even took like two or three weeks off football to be honest with you. In my head, I was thinking, ‘Oh, is this even that serious? Am I blowing this out of proportion in my head?’ That’s partly why I didn’t tell the manager. I didn’t tell anybody else on my team, I just kind of told my friends because they’d understand more. Some of them are Black and whatnot so they understand more.”

That was 2017. You would be forgiven for assuming that – in light of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement’s greater prominence since 2020 and professional footballers now taking the knee before kick-off – a marked reduction in abuse has since occurred.

Yet the online racist abuse to which players are still subject to would suggest otherwise, a prime example of which being the comments made in recent months towards Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heng Min. And listening to former Trinity captain and current first team goal -

keeper Dan Grace, it appears any optimism in Ireland’s case would also be unfounded.

“We did have an issue in a college game last year where a player was racially abused,” he says. Where change is occurring, it seems, is in how other players respond to these incidents.

“The player brought it to me after the full time whistle and we reported everything through the referee,” says Grace.

“I know if I heard something directed at one of my teammates I would, without a doubt, not continue the match until that player is reprimanded.”

Boateng’s own attitude has also changed.

“If that was to happen today I’d take matters into my own hands small, I’d stop the game completely” he says unequivocally.

“With the BLM, I think this visibility, all of these things happening to other people in football, if other people are doing it [speaking up about racism], I have to take a stand for myself as well.”

“There has been a lot of commotion about footballers, Marcus Rashford being a prime example, who have spoken up about it and shone light on it. It’s definitely given me a sense of confidence to be able to speak up about these things.”

In such overt instances of explicit racial abuse, the transgression is easily identified. Less con -

spicuous are cases of casual racism.

“There’s this stereotypical stuff you don’t want to hear again … like ‘Jason with his massive dick’, the stuff you hear kind of all the time, I’m pretty sure every single person of colour has experienced it. ‘Changing room banter’ or whatever you want to call it,” explains Boateng.

“[Or] when guys come back from holiday after spending a week in Spain, ‘ah, Jason I’m nearly the same colour as you haha’. I just kind of get really tired of it at times, you know.”

Grace’s experiences –both at Trinity and for League of Ireland side Drogheda United – similarly point to the pervasiveness of this issue and ignorance of the impact of such

comments.

“When I was younger … I remember there were some very insensitive things talked about in the dressing room [at a previous club]. I don’t think there was malice behind it as we would’ve been under 16 at the time.”

“It definitely didn’t raise any eyebrows as that was just the ‘culture’ of the dressing room banter,” he reflects.

It is not an ignorance confined to players and fans. Sometimes not even the referee can be relied on to know the boundaries.

“I’m not sure if it’s exactly racism or some sort of microaggression where the referee referred to me as, ‘that Black lad over there’. Again, I didn’t make a fuss about it but it just kind of kind of stuck to me. Like, I’ve a number on the back of my shirt, surely you should refer to that instead of my skin tone.”

Grace’s experience echoes Boateng’s.

“Particularly when I was younger I remember several times the ref referring to teammates and opposition players as the ‘coloured lad’, etc. I have called a manager out on this previously too. It’s the sort of casualness of it that I think makes them think it’s okay.”

Such unconscious bias extends to how coaches and players perceive a person of colour’s physical attributes at the expense of their technical ability.

A study carried out by Danish

research firm RunRepeat analysed more than 2,000 statements from commentary on 80 games across the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, and French Ligue 1. It found that 63 per cent of criticism from commentators about a player’s intelligence is aimed at those with darker skin. Commentators were also more than six times more likely to reference the power of a player if he has darker skin – and three times more likely to mention his pace.

Ireland is once again no exception.

“I hear it all the time,” says Boateng.

“‘Mark the number six, he’s fast, he could get by you’, or even in the Premier League when commentators are referring to ‘big Black lads in the middle’. They rarely refer to them as being technical in any sense, just kind of powerful, strong, fast but there’s much more to their game.

“And that’s at the highest point as well. So as you can imagine, it’s definitely been sieved down through all the leagues.”

Goalkeeper Grace notes another pattern of bias forming pertaining to his own playing position.

“One thing I noticed growing up was that you’d never see a ‘Black goalkeeper’, and that was true for most of the youth teams I played against because I’m sure managers had that bias when selecting positions and giving op -

“

In my head, I was thinking, ‘Oh, is this even that serious? Am I blowing this out of proportion in my head?’

“

Listening to former Trinity captain and current first team goalkeeper Dan Grace, it appears any optimism in Ireland’s case would also be unfounded

portunities. I’d like to think that managers made these decisions unconsciously and not with malice.”

Football in Ireland therefore appears no cleaner than football on the rest of the continent.

But what about other sports in Ireland?

Tony Smeeth – head coach of Trinity’s own rugby team Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) since 1998 – is unable to recall racial abuse on a rugby pitch in Ireland.

“The only place I have heard it happening was in New Zealand back in the 1980s when I was there … it was more accepted banter of the time.”

Nor does Smeeth encounter it on a casual level anymore.

“I just don’t hear it in today’s rugby changing room”.

“If it was one of my players saying something which I did not agree with, I would intervene for sure … but it’s not something I have really experienced in Trinity.”

Whilst Smeeth’s experience is certainly not proof that racism is absent from rugby, it suggests that it is perhaps rarer than in football.

Wexford hurler Lee Chin has spoken in the past of the racist abuse he faced on the pitch which led to two players receiving suspensions. However, in GAA too, incidents of this nature are not common.

The experience of another Trinity alumnus, a track and field athlete who played football

at school and Trinity before graduating in 2019 and who wished to remain anonymous, suggests that athletics also seems to be less affected than football.

When asked whether he had heard or seen abuse when playing, the alumnus replied: “In the early days of playing football, never really in track and field. Just football. Sometimes it was called out by the referee and other times it was ignored”.

Perhaps this comparative scarcity is because more people of colour play football than GAA or rugby – “there are not many in the [rugby] club at the moment”, Smeeth points out.

Grace thinks the discrepancy may be cultural.

“I’ve long thought that football and football matches are the most backwards things when it comes to social issues.

“Last year I wore a rainbow armband with a full pink goalkeeper jersey and I’d say on a near weekly basis there was a slightly homophobic comment made out either by the ref or the opposition team without fail. It’s just a systematic issue within the sport.”

Whilst it may be more prevalent in some sports than others, prejudice in sport naturally has roots in society away from the field. It is something that Boateng has had to learn to live with.

“I went Christmas shopping with my girlfriend, and she’s white

… I walked in [to the shop] with my hands in my pocket, and we were in

there for like 40 seconds and she couldn’t find anything she liked.

“As we were walking out the security guard stopped me and asked me what was in my pockets. And the thing is, I don’t make a fuss about it. This has happened numerous times, and not just in Ireland. Even when I was abroad in America or Austria it happened. Most of the time my friends, my work colleagues, make more fuss about it than I do because it’s almost normalised to me.”

The continuation of racist abuse to this day highlights how challenging it is to stamp out –eradicating a mindset is a different ball game altogether.

Grace notes an age dimension to racism which he believes will shape the rate of any social change.

“In football it’s a fundamental issue within the individuals of

the older generation that are not aware of their attitude and how it can be perceived.”

This, according to Boateng, is where the challenge lies.

“I think the best option … stems from the population that’s growing up now, so in terms of under-15s, because I don’t think you’re going to really change the mentality of a 25 to 40 year old [who’s been] playing football for I don’t know how many years now. It’s almost instilled into their characters, so you’re not going to really change that.

“Maybe what we can do is just educate their kids to not be like their parents.”

The aforementioned alumnus also doubts whether the more casual variety of racism can be eradicated – but for different reasons. “The meaning of casual rac -

ism will always evolve. Things that weren’t termed “racist” 15 years ago in Ireland and were passed off a “light banter” are now considered racist. That doesn’t mean people do not become more racially aware as time passes on”, they said.

“It just means that with the increased awareness, the more people will dig deeper into what actually constitutes racism.”

Grace also seems more optimistic.

“I really don’t understand how people in our generation particularly can have these views … I suppose it depends on their upbringing and such but I really can’t see how anyone would be too far gone to change their views.

“I do think as well that a lot of comments that I’ve mentioned in the previous answers were not meant with any animosity. It’s just a lack of awareness from certain individuals.”

Perhaps racism in Irish sport is not as overt as it is elsewhere. There are few cases comparable to the banana throwing incident with Brazil back in September, or the Yorkshire County Cricket Club scandal in England.

But before looking self-righteously across at our international neighbours, we in Ireland have our own issues with race in sport that need addressing. Acknowledging the existence of these issues is the first step in that process.

“

I know if I heard something directed at one of my teammates I would, without a doubt, not continue the match until that player is reprimanded

“

If it was one of my players saying something which I did not agree with, I would intervene for sure

Photo by Giulia Grillo for The University Times

IN THE ARTS

Behind the Scenes: DU Players

In this mini series, Photography Editor for The University Times Giulia Grillo goes behind the scenes with Trinity’s societies to explore what it is they actually do on a dayto-day basis. This time, she explores what goes into creating a show with DU Players.

1. COSTUMING, HAIR, MAKEUP

2. LIGHTING AND SET FIXES THE DAY OF THE SHOW

3. DIRECTOR ADAM CLINTON GOES OVER THE CUES FOR THE SHOW TO ENSURE EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THINGS WILL RUN

4.1. PROPS CHECK, IN WHICH ALL PROPS ARE CHECKED AND ANY LAST-MINUTE FIXES ARE APPLIED

4.2. FIGHT CALL, IN WHICH THE CAST AND CREW ARE CALLED TO ACTION AND WARM UP BEFORE THE SHOW

IN THE ARTS

5. DRESS REHEARSAL: THE LAST RUN-THROUGH BEFORE THE SHOW

6.1. FINAL TOUCHUPS

6.2. WARM UP AND REHEARSAL, IN WHICH THE CAST PREPARES TO GO ONSTAGE

7.1. DIRECTOR ADAM CLINTON IN ONE FINAL REHEARSAL WITH HIS CAST

LARA JORDAN IN SAINT JOAN

LARA JORDAN IN SAINT JOAN

Snubs and Sweeps: Ireland Sees Limited Success at the 95th Academy Awards

Eleanor Moseley FILM AND TV EDITOR

This year’s Oscar nominations were a resounding success for Irish actors and productions, but unfortunately this success did not totally come to fruition in the awards ceremony, which was broadcasted from Los Angeles on March 13th.

Ireland received a total of 14 nods across categories, with The Banshees of Inisherin leading with 9 nominations, An Cailín Ciúin tipped for

Best International Feature, Paul Mescal for Best Actor in Aftersun , An Irish Goodbye up for Best Live-Action Short and Dublin-born Richard Baneham and Johnathan Redmond nominated for Best Visual Effects in Avatar: The Way of Water and Best Editing in Elvis respectively.

Unfortunately, and rather surprisingly, The Banshees of Inisherin came away empty-handed, having not won

any of the 9 awards it was nominated for. An Cailín Ciúin lost out to the German language war epic All Quiet on the Western Front , which was on a winning streak with a total of 4 awards, and Best Editing went to Everything Everywhere All At Once

It was not a totally unsuccessful night for the Irish representatives however, with An Irish Goodbye winning Best Live-Action Short

and Richard Baneham and his associates receiving the well deserved Best Visual Effects award for Avatar: The Way of Water

Nonetheless, the visibility of Irish talent was great to see, and hopefully will pave the way for even more celebration of Irish cinema in the future.

The rest of the night was full of expectations and sudden surprises. Everything Ev -

erywhere All At Once was a profound success, with Ke Huy Quan winning Best Supporting Actor and Michelle Yeoh the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.

Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress, a decision that received backlash as the audience believed Stephanie Hsu was highly deserving of the award. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won Best Director and

Best Original Screenplay, with Paul Rodgers winning Best Editing. It also achieved the most coveted award of the night: Best Picture. Despite the success of Everything Everywhere All At Once and All Quiet on the Western Front , it was a cold night for not only The Banshees of Inisherin , but also Tár and The Fablemans , receiving no trophies despite 6 and 7 nominations apiece.

Secret Sessions Sees New Dublin Talent Team Up for a Good Cause

Álanna Hammel

LITERATURE EDITOR

One day, a group of Trinity alumni conceived and developed an ambitious idea while hiking together in the Wicklow Mountains: to organise a series of intimate concerts featuring surprise musical guests, with the goal of giving up-and-coming artists a platform to perform, reconnecting music fans with the live music experience they had sorely missed and raising money for a worthy cause. As far as they could see, there was a clear interest from the general public to attend these events. Having done some consumer research, they discovered that performers struggled to grow after reaching a certain level. So, they worked together to facilitate, organise and power through with a series of fundraiser concerts giving up-and-coming Dublin-based artists a platform, performing to a crowd, reopening the doors to live events and reconnecting the community with Irish music while also ensuring that the acts get paid for their work.

Not only that, the events help to raise money for Musical Youth Foundation, a charity that supports disadvantaged children who want to play music by providing them with musical instruments and lessons. The most recent Secret Session in The Sound House on Eden Quay introduced us to three more acts: Qbanaa, Chameleon, and Cruel Sister. This is the third of these events, and the first two were extremely successful. Sarah Crean, who played the second Secret Session, has since blown up on TikTok – her single “02:00 AM” has 2.7 million streams on Spotify. When it comes to deciding on the performers, Secret Sessions has a LinkTree in their Instagram bio that

has received much attention in the last few weeks from the first day it was posted, and there is no absence of interest in performing.

Even the crew behind the production of the event are gaining experience. The man on the door checking tickets is studying arts management, along with the sound and lighting crew that are already IMRO-nominated despite their youth. A number of the team themselves are musicians who are clued into the Irish music scene with their fingers on the pulse.

Each member of the group has something different to bring to the table thanks to the experience they’ve gained from their day jobs. In recent weeks, former TCD student Jake O’Donnell joined the group of organisers, utilising his experience working in journalism and media. He believes that the interest is most certainly there – the crowds are dying to attend events similar to this, to discover new music and to give new musicians a platform. This was clear from the footfall at the third Secret Session.

The group believes that three is the magic number of performers. The overall goal is that each audience member enjoys two out of three of the performances, though the general consensus was that everyone present liked each act.

“I never know what to say before the performance in this awkward silence,” is the first thing we hear from our first performer, Qbanaa. Her first song opens softly as her mesmerising voice is joined by the band Oceanna. Suddenly, there is a crescendo into jazz when the drums start and the talented trumpet player is doing his thing.

Their second song which is a cover is much funkier; portraying a wide range and variety in the band’s capability, their style is immersing. As the music goes on, the musicianship becomes more and more soulful, as do Qbanaa’s lyrics. Qbanaa’s debut single Truth and Desire which came out in October is full of lines that linger in the listener’s head afterwards. It is, thankfully, available on Spotify.

Qbanaa’s last track is yet to be released, and until then we will wait eagerly for the chance to hear that beautifully contemplative tune again. The performance ends with the most captivating guitar solo that rings similar to Andy Summers or Mark Gane.

On the 24th of April, Qbanaa has a headline show also in The Sound House. Overall, her performance with Oceanna was very dynamic and wonderfully enjoyable.

After a short break, we are introduced to the second act: Chameleon, a 23-yearold Dublin-based artist who writes, records and produces his own music. The most notable element of Chameleon’s performance was his exceptional stage presence and his ability to hype up the audience and make sure they enjoyed his music. Who wouldn’t enjoy his superb performance with catchy lyrics complimented by a groovy backing track?

Chameleon has a similar sound to infamous musicians such as Slowthai as well as Dublin’s own Kojaque and Lyndsey Lawlor. Each of his songs sounded like a chart-topper. This young multi-instrumentalist has a seriously bright future ahead of him.

Once again, Chameleon spoiled us

with the chance to hear unreleased music that he wrote while in solitude in Donegal. Not only is he a beyond talented rapper, but his singing voice is absolutely enchanting. He moves away from his initial style to show a variety in capability similar to Qbanaa and Oceanna. He finished his performance with another future chart-topper, displaying his unique and contemporary style emphasised by his exciting stage presence. His music is available on all good streaming platforms and cannot be recommended enough.

Our final act of the evening was Cruel Sister. Filled with angst, passion, and contemplation, Faith Nico’s performance was the perfect conclusion to the event. With a powerful energy calling back to her dream pop predecessors such as Lush, Melody’s Echo Chamber and My Bloody Valentine, this Dublin musician is the encapsulation of female rage.

Each element of her performance was perfectly synchronised from her vocals to the accompanying musicians, so much so that they made it look easy. Fans of Cruel Sister will see a definitive adventure into genres and styles quite different from the 2021 debut single My Forever. Cruel Sister is supporting Two Door Cinema Club in The Telegraph Building in Belfast on the 11th of April. Without a doubt, her performance will be as enjoyable as her perfect conclusion to Secret Sessions 3.

This particular event not only raised money for Musical Youth Foundation but also is in joint aid with the Türkiye-Syria earthquake response. The fundraising element almost comes as an afterthought. There are no donation buckets at the door, and no one would know that the

gigs are for charity only for the short announcements between each act.

Regardless, Secret Sessions is successful in supporting the incredible charity that is the Musical Youth Foundation. The organisers reveal that a dream of theirs would be to see these children gain the ability to learn to play music at future events around Dublin and beyond.

The organisers found that the number one way of raising awareness about these gigs is by word of mouth. At the moment, they are on the cusp of spreading the news around Dublin and the word is certainly getting out there. The Sound House is definitely the perfect venue for these types of events – central, easily accessible and, most importantly, has excellent acoustics.

All in all, these gigs are a demonstration of people supporting people. As young people, the crew behind Secret Sessions has been impacted by their friends migrating for opportunities abroad and they are attempting to prove that anyone can have those same opportunities here. While some members of the group are based abroad, this initiative is the perfect example of friends coming together to build something, in this case a series of gigs for good value with good talent and getting the message across for new Irish music.

The next Secret Session event is on April 6th in The Sound House, 28 Eden Quay, D1. Super Secret Early Bird Tickets are currently available to purchase on Eventbrite. Make sure to follow @secretsessionsofficial on Instagram to keep up to date with any upcoming events.