Gavin Jennings discusses watching nine plays for €90 as part of Dublin Theatre Festival's '10 for 10' initiative.
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Helena Thiel examines the continued popularity and annual autumnal resurgence of the classic show.
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Fashion Society's Amelia Ní Thuathail and Ola Obadina speak with Amélie McGowan about their fashion influences and how studying at Trinity impacts their sense of style. page 19»
PHOTO BY ISABELLA WOOD
Brian Maguire: La Grande Illusion
Hugh Lane, October 3rd - March 23rd
In a moving exhibition, Brian Maguire displays his work spanning 2007 to 2024 – all of it centred around his quest to capture human rights violations and advocate for those experiencing social injustice. The paintings shed light on what is often overlooked in reports, with the artist having said that through painting “the invisible becomes visible”. His work humanises those suffering, and forces the audience to confront the systems we are complicit in that allow for certain atrocities to continue. The exhibition includes paintings from projects in Juárez, Mexico (2012–15), the Mediterranean (2016), Aleppo (2017), South Sudan (2018), the Amazon (2022), Arizona (2022) and Brazil (202223). It is running from October 3rd to March 23rd at the Hugh Lane Gallery with free admission.
Camille Norment: Sounds for New Seeds
IMMA, Great Hall, October 24th at 7:30 - 8:30pm
This performance is going to be a fascinating vocal and instrumental ensemble that involves a harmonica, the Norwegian hardingfele, electric guitar and feedback amongst the brass and string instrumentation. The ensemble will then form a ring around the audience and this piece will be performed by Ireland’s Crash Ensem-
ble, members from Norment’s own core ensemble from Norway – the Camille Norment Trio – and vocalists from Oslo 14. Norment is interested in cultural psychoacoustics, or how context, form, space and the audience member’s body process somatic and cognitive experience, so this performance is likely to participate in this process. For one night, and one night only, Sounds for New Seeds will be happening October 24th in the IMMA at 7:30pm.
Drawing Portraits: A Beginner’s Exploration of the Art of Portraiture
Hugh Lane Gallery, November 10th at 2:45 - 4:15pm
This beginner-friendly course will be led by artist Anca Danila is a perfect opportunity for anyone looking to begin drawing and learn about portraiture. The forty euro class will draw inspiration from the work of renowned Irish portrait artist, Sarah Purser. Essential techniques for creating realistic portraits will be covered, teaching those in attendance by focusing on facial proportions, facial features, anatomy, and shading methods. In the vein of Purser, there will be a focus on personal expression as well and capturing the subject’s character. Tickets are running low, so make sure to look into it soon –the class will be happening on November 10th from 2:45 - 4:15pm in the Hugh Lane gallery.
Food and Drink
Dun Laoghaire Sunday Market: The LexIcon Library & The People's Park, Dún Laoghaire, Sundays at10am-4pm
This market will satisfy all foodies; woodfire pizza, barbecued burgers, authentic lebanese falafels, satay noodles, smoothies, cinnamon buns, churros … this market has it all. You could also take a walk along Dun Laoghaire pier, visit the Lexicon library, or even go for a dip in the sea (advised to do that before eating though)!
Blackrock Market:
19a Main Street, Blackrock, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays, 11am-5:30pm
At this market one will find not only delicious food but cool antiques, second-hand books, artwork, and handmade jewellery. It’s small, but mighty.
St Anne's Park Market: Saturdays, 10am-4pm St Anne's Park, Clontarf
Take a stroll through this beautiful park (extra-beautiful at this time of year) and encounter a wide range of stalls selling local produce, baked goods, and handmade chocolates.
Herbert Park Farmer's Market: Sundays, 11am-4pm Herbert Park, Ballsbridge
Another beautiful park hosting stalls selling fresh produce, oneof-a-kind art, sweet treats and tasty
food - so tasty you won’t even be tempted to chuck a crumb to the ducks!
Howth Market: Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, 10am-5pm Harbour Road, Howth
Another perfect market for anyone who believes that all ills can be healed by the ocean air (at least that is my excuse anyway for making the journey there). The foods at this market provide the perfect picnic for anyone setting out on the Howth Cliff Path Loop, or if you’re feeling lazier, spend your time browsing the antiques and unique jewellery also to be found at this market.
Temple Bar Food Market: Saturday, 10.30am-4pm) Meeting House Square, Temple Bar
Find yourself on Trinity campus on a Saturday? Poor, crazy soul, you deserve a break from Kinsella and this market may be just what you need. The stalls offer fresh fruit and veg, meats, artisan cheeses and of course some yum pastries. Do your study pals a favour and don’t bring back the artisan cheese.
The Project Arts Centre Open Day Project Arts Centre, 2nd November from 11am-6pm
The Project Arts Centre third annual Open Day is here! The Open day will take over the whole building with performance workshops,
DJ’s, talks and nibbles. The day begins with a quiet opening from 11am-1pm for people who would benefit from a sensory-adapted environment. This year there will also be a pop up Tola Vintage shop selling new Project Arts Merchandise. 100% of profits from this limited-edition merch collection will go towards a Black and Irish Artists’ initiative in Project Arts Centre.
The full Open Day programme is available on their website. This event is free to attend, with no ticket required.
Pavillion Theatre, 2 November at 8pm
Originally commissioned by the Dublin Dance Festival in 2021, Floating on a Dead Sea is a multimedia piece that interweaves dance, film, live music and text to depict the lives of ordinary Palestinians in the West Bank. Accompanied by filmmaker Luca Truffarelli’s stunning visuals, a cast of international dancers, including members of the El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe, create an immersive reflection on the enduring sense of injustice, urgency and need for action.
Smock Alley Theatre, 1st - 2nd November
If you didn’t get your fill of witches this Halloween, The Reincarnation of Cornelius Agrippa has you cov-
Anna Domownik DEPUTY RADIUS EDITOR
Lately, it's been easy to notice the days becoming shorter and the hours spent in the library—longer. Friends decline invitations to go out saying they’re ‘in the trenches,’ and despite the hopeful past few months, Dublin weather seems to have given up on us after all. The first half of Michaelmas term went by so fast, and as I nostalgically look back at it, I feel like I didn’t do half the things I had planned.
But I firmly believe that the best times are busy times, and the new issue of Radius will provide tons of additional fun, to
ered. The play, written and performed by Martin Sullivan, tells the tale of Cornelius Agrippa, who defends a woman on trial for witchcraft in 1519. The only witch trial where the inquisition lost. Now he must defend the condemned again.
Women Directors Call the Shots film series
The Cervantes Institute, Mondaysat 6pm from the 14th November - 5th December
Trying to up your obscure film ante? For the month of November, The Cervantes Institute will be screening lesser known international films directed by women at the start of every week. The first film shown will be Forgotten Roads (2020), a Chilean romance about a queer woman finding love in older age. Admission is free on a first come first served basis.
Screening of Pinar Öğrenci’s Âşît (The Avalanche)
12pm November 8th at The Douglas Hyde
As part of Land an upcoming group show at The Douglas Hyde in November, Öğrenci’s will be showing her 2022 film about returning to her father’s hometown, Müküs, on Turkey’s border with Iran. Blending oral history, archives and images, the film explores the imprints of trauma on place and physical isolation. Admission is free, but booking at The Douglas Hyde website is advised.
Introduction to archival filmmaking workshop with Archives for Education 10-1pm November 5th at The Irish Film Institute
Fancy yourself a documentarian? Interested in incorporating the past into the present? Head to Archives for Education’s workshop at the IFI this November. There will be talks from archive producers and filmmakers, and a screening of archive-inspired short films. Admission is free and can be booked on Eventbrite. ie.
The Big Halloween Movie Quiz Doors 7pm 31 October at Hens Teeth
Start your hallow’s eve right by nerding out at Hen’s Teeth’s halloween movie quiz. Prizes for best-dressed. Admission for a team of three runs from 24 euro, and prior booking is essential.
overfill your calendars even further. In this edition, in true fall spirit, Helena Thiel discusses Gilmore Girls and how it ties to the romanticisation of the college lifestyle. Issy Walsh talks about finding the best, cheapest pints in Dublin, which will undoubtedly prove essential for those of us who have just realised they went a bit overboard with their spending during the first few months of college. If anyone needs to fall back in love with Dublin, Sophie Quinn reviews the Photo Museum of Ireland, and Gavin Jennings - the Dublin Theatre Festival.
Dublin Independent Fashion Weekend
Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar
November 15th-16th 2024
Tickets released soon (@dublin_ifw)
No better place to get inspired than Dublin Independent Fashion Weekend which is back this November 15th-16th at Smock Alley Theatre - right on Trinity’s doorstep! The DIFW showcases the future of Irish fashion and features brand new bold and fantastic work from new Irish designers. DIFW has a proud independent focus on sustainable design and they hold an array of workshops and events across the two days leading up to their main event! You will not want to miss when their tickets are released so make sure to keep an eye on their page (@dublin_ifw). We know we definitely will be!
Le Zeitgeist Flea Market
Dive head first into rails upon rails of vintage and small local designer garments, endless buckets of preloved and handmade accessories, sprawling tables of trinkets and boxes-as-big-as-you of vinyls. Le Zeitgeist Flea Market offers all of this and more, with food, music and an energetic crowd, all to make for one of Dublin’s most superb days out. This Aladdin’s cave takes place on one Sunday every month in one of Dublin’s most vibrant and trendy neighbourhoods, Phibsborough, Dublin 7. Stay tuned on their Instagram @lezeitgeistfleamarket where the date of the next Sunday market will be announced!
Music
Samhain Showcase Night
The Workmans Cellar, 2nd November, 11.30pm-2.30am Tickets from €11.70 on Eventbrite.
Samhain is a Celtic-themed night, aiming to celebrate the ancient origins of ‘Halloween’. The event is organised by Green Alert team, in collaboration with Public Order Unit. They have created a lineup of DJs from the collectives Undefined and Injector who hope to bring rave culture to your local venue.
The QHI Music Quiz Whelan’s, 30th October, 7.30-10pm Tickets are €10 per person.
Radius also provides plenty of food for thought, with Marina Nicolaidis musing on the treatment of the Irish Artists on the British music scene.
We hope that when you pick up this issue of Radius, for a few minutes you will forget about your midterms, your freshers flu hitting its 6th week and the insane prices of Dublin coffee. We hope you will spend an enjoyable moment, reminding yourself to slow down and enjoy life in the city!
Quiz Host Ireland is coming to Whelan’s to bring prizes and fun to music lovers in Dublin. All rounds are presented on the big screen with audio, video and pictures.
Gerry Quigley & The Mystic Blues Band Arthur’s Blues and Jazz Club, 2nd November, 9-11.30pm Tickets from €17.07 on Eventbrite.
Dublin guitarist, Gerry Quigley, and the Mystic Blues Band are performing their innovative take on blues rock and classic blues, blended with their signature style celtic blues in Arthur’s Blues and Jazz Club. Quigley is renowned for his eclectic collection of guitars and string instruments, owning everything from his Gibson Les Paul to his Stratocaster or Mandolin.
All Day Gig (and Flea Market) for Palestine
CIE Hall/Inchicore Sports and Social Club, 2nd November, 12-6pm Free Admission, donations encouraged.
A flea market and all day gig is being hosted for the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. There will be a host of wonderful acts who will perform from 1-5pm, including Palestinian rapper Talha Wise Wolf, and Gaelgeoir artists such as Blue Niall and Mory.
TUESDAY
“PISTOLS IN ST. PAULS: SCIENCE, MUSIC, AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY" BY FIONA SMYTH
HODGES FIGGIS ON DAWSON ST., 6PM
Join Fiona Smyth in a discussion of her latest novel that charts the groundbreaking scientists and architects who kickstarted the science of acoustics. Provost Linda Doyle will host the event and moderate a lively conversation. “Pistols in St. Pauls” dives into the scientific quest to understand how a building itself can be an instrument and further illuminate musical capabilities in twentieth-century Britain. Tickets are available for free.
WEDNESDAY
THIS HOUSE WOULD GHOST THEM, THE UNIVERSITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & DU PLAYERS, GMB, 7:30pm
Do you have that one Hinge match that you simply can’t seem to stop texting, even though you know they’re not the one? Or maybe an ex who’s not only an ex anymore? Either way, join the weekly Hist debate this Tuesday to discuss whether or not you should ghost them (or whoever’s on your mind as you read this). Listen in to the dramatic discussion bolstered by College’s theatrical masters, DU Players as well.
WEDNESDAY
HEROES VS. VILLAINS HALLOWEEN NIGHT OUT WITH TRINITY ENTS, TRINITY MUSICAL THEATRE, TRINITY VDP, FASHIONSOC, AND DU SNOW SPORTS GRAND SOCIAL, 11PM
An exciting mix of societies are all coming together to bring the energy this Halloween week! Be sure to dress up as either your favourite hero or villain and strut your style when the doors of Grand Social open at 11pm sharp. A prize for the finest costume has even been promised. Tickets are available in the Trinity Ents’ Instagram bio.
THURSDAY
THIS HOUSE REGRETS THE RISE OF ONLINE ACTIVISM, THE UNIVERSITY PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY GMB, 7:30PM
Join the Philosophical Society for their weekly lively debate, this time focusing on the popularity of social media activism. Do our reposts on Instagram really do anything to change the injustices we see? Or is social media one of the best tools for making change? Hear these takes and many more at the GMB on Thursday evening with the Phil.
FRIDAY
TRINITY DIWALI BALL
HYATT CENTRIC, 7:00PM
Get ready to celebrate the Festival of Lights at the Trinity Diwali Ball, hosted by Trinity Indian Society on Friday, November 1st! Get ready for a night of dancing and delicious food at the Hyatt Centric. Tickets are €30 for members and €35 for nonmembers!
Chloe Feldman DEPUTY LITERATURE EDITOR
The Booker Prize has made history once again with its 2024 shortlist announced on September 16. This year marks a groundbreaking moment in the prize’s 55-year history, with five of the six authors being women–setting a new precedent for gender representation in one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards. After reading all six, I have compiled a list of Dublin’s best spots to read each novel to enhance the story, before the winner is announced on November 12.
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Best read along Dublin’s coastline
Creation Lake follows an undercover agent known as Sadie Smith who is sent on a mission to France to infiltrate a group of radical anti-capitalist eco-activists. While the novel follows somewhat of a spy story, paying homage to the French noir genre, it also raises many philosophical questions from a unique perspective.
There is no better place to read this novel than by Dublin’s coastline. Depending on which sea spot is closest to you, spots with benches such as Seapoint and Dalkey or Clontarf Promenade and Sutton all serve as the perfect backdrop for the novel’s ecophilosophical questions. While being on the water is the most fitting location when reading about environmental issues, it is also perfect for the philosophical questions being explored in Creation Lake.
Held by Anne Michaels
Best read with friends in a cozy pub or Books Upstairs Café
In Held, Canadian novelist Michaels paints a multigenerational narrative exploring themes of war, grief, and love. While the novel jumps back and forth between different generations, what remains consistent are the emotions that the characters feel, symbolising how many human emotions such as love and loyalty are shared across generations.
This novel is meant to be read in a setting that fosters community. Ideally, gather a few friends to a cosy pub like Mulligans during the quiet afternoon hours. If you prefer solo reading, and going to a pub alone to read daunts you, then the Books Upstairs Café is the
next best option, with its inviting and cosy atmosphere which attracts many other readers.
James by Percival Everett Best read in a museum
James is a retelling of Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave who accompanies Huck on his journey. What makes James so exceptional is that Everett gives his character multiple dimensions and a voice that was never portrayed in Huckleberry Finn while exploring themes of slavery and American history with a satirical touch.
A novel that provokes deep historical reflection deserves a similarly contemplative environment, which makes a museum the perfect environment. Dublin has many free museums that usually have empty benches or designated spaces that are perfect to take out a book and start reading. Some examples include the Hugh Lane Gallery, the
National Gallery of Ireland, and the Chester Beatty.
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood Best read in St. Patrick’s Park
Considered a contemplative novel, Stone Yard Devotional follows a middle-aged woman who decides to leave Sydney, retreating to a rural Australian monastery despite not being religious. The novel touches on grief, morality, and most powerfully, forgiveness, described as a “mature work” of reflection.
St. Patrick’s Park, while often viewed as merely a shortcut in Dublin, offers a great environment and many benches to read this novel. Reading about religious communities while sitting in front of the beautiful cathedral, especially during this season, really brings the book to life.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Best read in the Gardens at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham
Set in the Dutch countryside after World War II, The Safekeep follows two women who are forced to stay in the same house together, exploring themes of suspicion and obsession. The atmosphere and plot are reminiscent of the film Portrait of a Lady on Fire–however, this does not mean that the plot is predictable.
The Gardens at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham is the perfect spot to read The Safekeep. The book is centred around the countryside estate, and reading in these gardens would make you feel like you’re transported into the novel. Reading while surrounded by statues and a maze of grandiose greenery will make you forget that you’re still in Dublin, heightening the reading experience.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Best read at the Lexicon Library
This unique novel is the shortest out of the shortlist and takes place over a single day in the International Space Station, following the astronauts and their
inner thoughts and fears. While there is little plot, the reader learns about the astronauts’ daily tasks, such as collecting data, or conducting scientific experiments, all while reflecting on moments of existentialism.
While it is a bit outside of the city centre, the Lexicon Library in Dún Laoghaire pairs perfectly with the novel’s modern and almost futuristic setting. This library is extremely sleek and has amazing natural lighting, pairing well with the modern themes of space while still maintaining a cozy atmosphere where one would enjoy a good book.
Whether you are drawn to the Dublin coastline or a cosy pub, these are the Dublin spots that I recommend to enrich your experience when reading the 2024 Booker Prize shortlist. With each location offering a certain connection to each novel, it will be sure to enhance the reading experience.
Saskia McDonogh Mooney ART AND DESIGN EDITOR
When thinking about havens of art, college campuses likely are not the first place that comes to mind. College campuses are bustling, crackling with anxiety and excitement, and at the same time cold and foreboding — places for rigorous learning as well as places to find community and joy.
As a result, and on historic campuses like Trinity, art has a particular power to disturb the order – though this power is not harnessed nearly as often as it could or should be by students.
Sculpture is a contentious art form due to its physicality and presence in a public space. It demands to be seen and addressed because the inadvertent audience must interact with it by moving through that space. On campuses, sculptures are a vehicle for enforcing the values of the institution. The Sfera con Sfera or ‘Pomodoro Sphere’, which sits before the Eavan Boland Library, serves as a beacon for tourists and an awkward obstacle for students, encapsulating this agenda. The shining silver orb blends seamlessly with the brutalist
architecture of the library, evoking the power of learning through allusions to the brain and the expansion studying provides it. However, this means that the work is merely an extension of the university so any interaction passes through the mind unnoticed. It provides no spark of interest and begs no questions. As with many of the sculptures dotted around Trinity, the piece is absorbed in the general impact of the campus’s architecture and energy.
Of course, this is intentional, but it stunts the impact that sculpture and public art installations can have. Public art has the ability to cut through the mundane, and one stunning example of this occurred on the campus of Yale in 1969 amidst anti-war protests. Uninvited, a sculpture of a tube of lipstick jutting out from a tank appeared in the plaza overlooking the president of Yale’s office and a World War One memorial. This inciting work of art is called Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks and was done by Yale alumnus Claes Oldenburg in association with Yale architecture students. The jarring contrasts of the sculpture crack through the accepted complacency surrounding the war. Its domination over the space
Art has a particular power to disturb the order – though this power is not harnessed nearly as often as it could or should be by students.
incites the inadvertent audience to question the status quo by disturbing the mundane. The sculpture then became a rallying point for further protests, its presence successfully inciting passion and confronting the institution.
This truly speaks to the power students have to unsettle the accepted order on campus, as what they introduce is not necessarily bound by the university’s mission. Art installations demand attention from everyone, especially when they contradict the artistic vision of the college. This makes their resonance powerful, whether it's just the shock of something beautiful in a dreary square or a poignant political message.
“It’s important to have student art on campus because of the vacuum left by the lack of actual fine art courses here at Trinity -
it’s us as students' job to fill this gap,” said Evie Dolan, the visual coordinating officer for Trinity’s visual arts society.
Creativity, individuality, passion – these are things college cultivates and there has yet to be a significant representation of that
on campus through sculpture and public art installations. Students must be the source instead of the college, as they are unburdened by agendas and historic traditions. It's easy to fall into rhythmic mundanity walking around campus, only having your mind expanded according to the curriculum. This is important in its own way, but as universities are places to have your assumptions unsettled, to deconstruct and reconstruct the way you see the world, having art that disturbs and provokes is crucial. If college is a place where you wake up, the art on campus must provide that shot of espresso.
Neva Elliott is a writer and artist from Dublin, whose art centres on her personal experience to create pieces that are about — in her own words — “loss, grief and healing”. Elliott’s work chronicles the process of grieving the loss of her husband and her father. Her exhibition Notes on Being Human ran from the 13th to the 29th of September, and was held at the Pallas Projects/Studios in the Liberties, a short walk from College Green. Next-door to the exhibition is a primary school. There is a deafening sound of children playing as we walk along the path that leads to the gallery and studio space. We ring the intercom and are let in by a gallery assistant, who seems to be just as much a part of the exhibition as the exhibition itself. He greets us warmly, but seems to be affected by the melancholic air of the exhibition, talking to us about to the sparse descriptions of Elliott’s work as we move from piece to piece. The
exhibition is held in just two small rooms, and there is a thin wall separating the two, that rattles loudly as I brush past it. The whole exhibition is visible from one corner. A cloaked, headless figure looms beside an arrangement of glassware. A stash of blankets hides in the corner. The walls are bare, and painfully white. It feels almost like a violation to be there; and once we have left, we describe it as feeling as if we had stepped into a morgue. I feel myself laden by the air around me — the grief distilled and projected into these artworks is palpable. It says on the Pallas Projects website: “The primary audience for the work is the artist — she is providing herself the time and space to heal through making.”. Featured in the exhibition are imprints left of real lives, including a shirt of Elliott’s husband with the sleeves rolled up and glass-topped pins stuck in them because she “couldn’t bring herself to unroll them,” and a string
of jade beads made from ceramic earthenware, which immediately caught my eye. The artist says that while living in China, her husband was given a string of jade beads from a friend, a traditional gift for protection, luck, and health, and he always wore them. She says that in China he also developed cancer. The exhibition is completely devastating. It is not made for the person who is not experiencing grief — this exhibition carves a space I would only feel comfortable in while grieving. Afterwards, I think to myself that when I do experience grief, I will think back to this exhibition and be comforted by its intensity. Grief is lonely and it can feel like nobody else understands the pain and permanence of it. Art about grief is important, not to show nongrieving people what grieving is like, but to show the grieving person that they have company in what can feel like a silent, and forcibly private journey.
On the walk out of the exhibition I
hear the noise of children playing again. I feel a haunting contrast between this noise, and the resonance of the space I have just left, enveloped by the presence of the dead. Life and death are thinly veiled from each other.
Since I encountered this exhibition, I have thought many times about a James Baldwin interview where he says "You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discovered it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks that he is alone. This is why art is important." Notes on Being Human lets the grieving person see the enormity of their feelings reflected. It gives importance to their grief. In a world that keeps moving all the time, time stands still with these artworks. Grief is given a space while it is still
ongoing. The artwork displayed is a continuous work in progress, mirroring the lifelong process of grieving and trying to find a way to heal.
Lily Scanlan CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Happy Spooky Season! The holiday is coming up soon, andfor many Trinity students, having something to daydream about like what they’ll cosplay for Halloween acts as a therapeutic form of escapism from their stale marriage to the third floor of the Ussher. However, for those taking modules that have bled them dry of any ounce of creativity or simply don’t have time to plan what they’re wearing to Midnight Disco, then this is the article for you.
The Bride from Kill Bill Do you have a Bill that you want to kill? For the crazy ex-girlfriends, there is no costume more fitting than The Bride from ‘Kill Bill’. If everyone didn’t already know that you want to kill your ex, you can now let it be known while also showing off your great taste in pop culture. The costume itself could be tricky to source however, since black and yellow biker suits haven’t trended in a while (or ever for that matter). As it so happens however I spotted someone walking across front square
sporting an almost identical pair of tracksuit bottoms to the ones in the film. All you need to do is ask her where she got them. After that, Bill won’t stand a chance.
JFK, Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe Happy Halloween, Mr Situationship. With the way today’s dating culture is going, phrases like “don’t worry she’s just a friend” or “let’s keep it casual” have become all too common. I know what you’re thinking: none of these words are in the Bible, but if they sound familiar or resonate with you on a personal level, then this iconic dynamic duo - wait trio - could be the perfect costume for you and your two *coughs* buddies this Halloween.
Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding itotallyforgiveyou. Grab your skates, because if you and your frenemy were incapable of working it out on the remix this summer, then this Halloween provides a perfectly healthy
opportunity to sort out any bad blood between the two of you through this creative costume pairing. Although we’ll leave the who-dresses-up-as-who-dilemma to your discretion.
Samara from The Ring “She never sleeps”- concerned arts degree friend. Do you only have seven days to cram for exams, have withdrawn from society and find yourself in a blurred haze between Ussher one and Kinsella Hall? Has your posture eroded and does your unruly, overgrown hair cover your face entirely? Has your overall appearance begun to resemble that of an evil entity that resides in the bottom of a well? Do you even know what month it is? It’s okay, you’re not alone, you’re just a med student in the first semester of second year. The good news is, your Halloween costume this year has already been taken care of.
Coppers Floor Staff and Security
Are you looking to make the ultimate couple’s debut this
Halloween and/or want to save money on your entry into Coppers? Well look no further, because who needs a gold card or membership to DU Law Soc (free Coppers on Tuesdays, #ad), when you have a high-vis jacket and a black sharpie at your disposal? To complete the look, grab yourself a mop at your nearest Dealz (we know you don’t already own one) and security won’t have a choice but to let you in free of charge. The only downside is you might accidentally be hired for the night to clean up spilled drink.
Charli XCX and Troye
Sivan
Want to be everyone’s favourite reference for the night? All you need to do is find a friend with whom you share undeniable chemistry, a passion for music and a strange affinity for anything neon green. It shouldn’t be too hard, given that after this summer it’s basically the status quo. For Charli, make a wig with the colour palette. Backcomb it. Backcomb it again. Part it for braids and cut bangs. Then backcomb it again.
For Troye, an Australian accent and a white vest is all you need.
Noel Gallagher
Of all the costumes mentioned in this list, getting the NoelGallagher-look would likely require the least amount of effort. Team a crisp white T-shirt with black skinny jeans and to finish it off, throw another shirt on top, and that’s it, no really. Will you be slagged for wearing the same clothes you wear every day (but with sunglasses indoors) on the one night of the year where it’s socially acceptable to go all out in costume? Probably, but who cares, no one will remember the next morning anyway.
Liam Gallagher
Look at you. You went for the more difficult option. A bucket hat and a parka! You must have gone to so much effort to pick out a costume like that. Way better than those Noel Gallagher people. Throw in a tambourine for extra points, but we know you won't be doing that.
Yasmin Rasheed CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”. You may relate to this idea; oftentimes music and life intersect intricately, so that the sounds of music may silence the inner noise that we find ourselves engulfed by in times of distress. In short, a simple melody can remedy life’s pressures and become the emotional escape we all desire.
In war-zones around the world, music has adopted this role of comfort and enrichment and has even become a lifeline for the people living there. For the youth of war-torn Gaza, musical expression has become a way in which they can feel peace and hope in a place and at a time where there is none.
Al Jazeera recently reported on teenagers Sama Njim and Saleh Jaber, former students of The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music based in Ramallah, Palestine. Having been forced to put their musical education on hold, the pair have kept up their talents by teaching and playing for the displaced children in Gaza. With Saleh on the Oud (Arabian acoustic instrument) and Sama on the violin, their mission is “to change the sounds [the children]
hear during the war, the sound of strikes, the sound of crying, the sound of martyrs”.
A young boy, Hassan Al Halis, who attends Saleh and Sama’s musical classes and performances shares that “music releases sadness from ourselves, it makes me feel happier”. For the past twelve months, Hassan along with hundreds of thousands of other innocent children have lost their friends, family, education, and ultimately: their childhoods. With no clear end to the conflict in sight, these children turn to the temporary relief of Saleh and Sama’s music as a form of therapy and respite - a beacon of relief and joy and a distraction from the impossible situation they unwillingly face.
Speaking to The University Times, Sama Njim shared some insights surrounding the impact music has on her life in Gaza. Sama explained that “music means everything to me because it is my only escape in this war". She added that “the effect of the music I play is to restore hope again and make children happy by training them on the violin.”
When asked about her hopes and dreams, Sama shared: “my hopes and dreams for the future are for this war to end, for me to return to my home to the neighbourhood in which I used to live, to return to
playing at the Edward Said
National Conservatory of Music, and to complete my studies”. Sama’s strength and dedication should be an inspiration to us all; a teaching of how to find the light in impossible situations. Yet, it's important to note that music has always played an integral role in Palestine’s history. Palestinian folk songs have been sung throughout the land since the Nakba of 1948 as a way to foster hope, solidarity, and inspiration amongst marginalised Palestinians at the time. This tradition of expressing and enriching Palestinian identity has translated into the music of today. With songs such as ‘Dammi Falastini’ by Mohammad Assaf and ‘Ghosn Zeytoun’ by Elyanna, it is clear that Palestinians value the power of music to express the
suffering and grief that words cannot describe. This practice of expressing nationalistic pride and love for one’s land through music is not alien to us here in Ireland.
Ireland’s long-standing tradition of Sean-nós music as a vessel for political discourse and national aspirations is a facet of Irish culture that is still practised and celebrated to this day. Sean-nós (meaning ‘old-style’) singing is an ancient, traditional style of Irish music dating back to the Celtic era of 500 BC. Although encompassing a wide range of themes, Sean-nós music often deals with political and historical events, grief, suffering, and hope for a better future. Based on the tragedy of the Famine is the Sean-nós song ‘Ochón an Gorta Mór’, composed by Brendan Graham. This song guides the listener into an enthralling state of reflection, emotion and loss through its powerful lyricism and free rhythm.
Interestingly, when listening to Sean-nós music alongside the traditional music of Palestine, many unexpected similarities can be heard. Upon noticing the almost identical nasal-tone delivery, melismatic melody and
free rhythm, these two seemingly opposing styles appear undeniably similar. This striking resemblance has led historians to discover the roots of Sean-nós in the Bedouin music of the Middle East and North Africa, as published in The Journal of Music. Hence, Ireland uncovers another link to the land of Palestine; not only do we have a shared history, but a shared sound too.
As Saleh and Sama continue to share their musical talents with the youth of Gaza, they are also discovering the next generation of musical talent in the region, sharing with Al Jazeera that they “found a lot of buried talent in Gaza”. Speaking to The University Times, Sama explains that “despite the lack of capabilities and the lack of good musical instruments, we continue to spread music and make children happy”. It is evident that the melodies of Gaza are nurturing the youth - demonstrating how song can lend itself as a fortifier of the spirit in dire situations.
Eloise Sherrard FASHION EDITOR
It’s me again, back with yet another article which aims to scrutinise and mock the style of all you Trinity students. Just in case anyone upon reading that sentence thought I was in any way serious, I would like to assure you wholeheartedly that I am not, whatsoever. From the word on the street as a student myself, I’ve heard the odd murmur here and there that people sometimes feel stressed and self-conscious about what they wear into college, fearing judgement from others… I am here to assure you that everyone is either admiring your artistic self-expression or are selfconscious of how they themselves appear… no one is judging, and even if anyone is, their opinion is irrelevant. So be yourself and dress as you wish, just as the fabulous alumni whose style I am analysing in this article prove to
do.
There is a somewhat common line of argument that the world of fashion is primarily dominated by women, with not quite the same amount of room in it for men. Yet I firmly believe there is room, should be room, and plenty of it. Hence, this article chooses to focus on the styles of three male Trinity alumni. Furthermore, I believe that anyone, despite your identified gender, can appreciate something about the way in which these men choose to express themselves to the world through their clothing; even if just an appreciation that they wear what they want unapologetically. Let us begin with the on-screenheart-throb legend that is Paul Mescal. As the alumna featured in this article who most recently attended Trinity, Mescal is a good place to begin as he exemplifies
contemporary style. If one is to look up images of Mescal in public to see how he himself chooses to show up in the world in a visually artistic manner they are met with the sight of a lot of shorts and hats, with a fair amount of denim sprinkled in there for good measure. Although despite the appearance of denim and shorts, I am yet to witness him appearing at all in the beloved trendy jorts. Yet bonus points for the hats as a solid and useful but simultaneously cool accessory. Moving onto our next man of the moment, the legendary Dominic West. Upon analysing West’s wardrobe, one can observe less denim and hats and more linen and tweed (perhaps though I’m looking too much specifically at how he was styled in his recent role as Charles in the popular Netflix series ‘The Crown’). Yet
nonetheless, button down shirts and blazers, if not specifically tweed blazers, are a common occurrence in observing West’s style. Long jackets, trench coats and gilets also make noteworthy appearances, all of which indicates that he seemingly was a dark academia sympathiser when in Trinity (aren’t we all though) and was likely found hanging out on Ussher two, working hard… or hardly working? He admitted once in an interview that in his time in Trinity, upon being instructed to read Ulysses and write an essay on it, West thereafter produced an essay on said text, but hadn’t actually read it. The man clearly had his priorities straight. Finally, it would just be plain rude not to mention the man, the myth, the legend of Trinity… Mr Oscar Wilde. Clearly Wilde is not contemporary, so unfortunately
didn’t have the chance to be photographed by Trinity Fashion Society’s beloved Campus Couture. Yet such a man manages to touch us still today, not only through his words, but through his iconic wardrobe. Wilde rocked everything from fur scarves to blazers to intricate broaches in the blazers to elaborate hats and satin bows tied at his neck. The man really left his mark upon the world and more specifically, upon our College in more ways than one.
And so running out of words, I will conclude by once again all together commending not only these figures, but also the many other Trinity alumni who keep on inspiring our student body today… and furthermore doing it through their unapologetic, beautifully individual and artistic personal styles.
Tomasz Balcerkiewicz
Largely on her own wishes, Lady Gregory’s Grania was never staged by the Abbey Theatre during the writer’s life; the extensive speculation on that fact forms most of the historical perception of the play — was it too personal? Too radical? Not radical enough? But what I found to be historically far more interesting is the difference of the scale and tone of the play when compared to other scripts written at the time, including other adaptations of the story of Grania and Diarmuid like the 1901 co–production of W. B. Yeats and George Moore, based on Lady Gregory’s own version of the folklore tale.
In it we’d find all the expected elements of a mythical story reinvented for the needs of Yeats’ brand of revivalism — heroic tone, large cast of characters and a straightforwardly tragic ending. It is then also understandable why Lady Gregory’s own attempt at interpreting the story was seen with some apprehension — cutting it down, almost without mercy to just the three central characters and reducing the plot to the degree that it becomes more of a suggestion, with characters in a state of constant uncertainty over what their own personalities even are, allowing those to settle only for a moment so the story can be pushed forward and then casting the characters back into immediate doubt.
Yeats himself remarked that for a
play with just three characters and three full acts, those personages really must have something to talk about — and they do, via what Lady Gregory herself saw as the dramatic core of the story, past its mythological implications and great scale, the constant push and pull between three figures who can’t decide whether they are guided by love or its jealous shadow.
So with this new staging, the Abbey is faced with a challenge — a never before touched piece of its own golden age, which disagrees aesthetically with most of its period’s commonly understood qualities.
What results from the attempt to surmount it is a play defined by a sense of dislocation, internal and external disorientation. The story of Grania and Diarmuid is after all one of exile, one that here seems to be extended in time, space and meaning.
The original interpersonal drama of Lady Gregory’s is largely kept intact in this adaptation and added onto with a framing device of another pair of exiled lovers, this time in the modern day, who with song parallel the events of the play or rather bring them forward towards the audience — the ending’s uncertainty leaving it stranded somewhere between mythical past, 1912 when it was originally written and 2024, when in this sense of dislocation it manages to find a sense of contemporary value past historical interest and and whatever personal themes you’d like to
ascribe to it as means of better understanding the figure of Lady Gregory.
This is even more so visible in the physical expansiveness of the staging, which appears minimalistic to the point of abstraction. The original text calls for richly decorated tents, but here the characters are stranded in a land of reeds and suggestions of trees, often even trapped by it, in static blocking and long meandering monologue only to be then suddenly thrust between the sets levels, deeper and deeper, marching, wandering and making you realise that you can’t quite spot the background and have the entire time been staring into an infinity of wind and rain (this depth goes even further with characters descending underneath the stage level, aided by quite impressively done water effects).
It’s a constant push and pull of realisations, between personal
and global histories, between stasis and action, flatness and depth — contrasting interestingly with the smallness of the actual story, which isn’t changed much from the original text, but set against this great background its dominant sense of uncertainty gains a new dimension.
Critics have been historically reluctant to call Grania a tragedy and understandably so, since it doesn’t go with the easiest folkloric version of the story and turns instead to a more uneven, uncertain vision of the relationship between Finn, Grania and Diarmuid — where it quickly becomes clear that none of them quite know what they’re looking for, and that Grania isn’t really interested in either of her suitors as much as in the idea of being pursued.
Against the new background of this staging, those qualities are given the literal space to develop,
to get lost in and retain their central uncertainty. It might have been just a byproduct of having seen it in previews, but it appears naturalistically underrehearsed, with characters speaking as if they were unsure of their surroundings, emotions and even lines.
The only thing that happens ‘now’ (instead of some dislocated mythologised past) is the observable process of them arriving at their word only through deliberate composition, with the direction lingering of those moments of self-description. This produces a locus for a new reality, at times because the flimsy plot demands coming up with a motivation in the moment, but mostly because of the far more interesting quality of there not being much of a better option, since all that seems to exist in this setting are wandering, lost lovers, never quite sure of their position. In this sense, the response to this new staging won’t be much different than to the original text — it is a play of push and pull, where no one quite comes out on top because there doesn’t seem to be a clear high point to climb up to. It’s all out of location, this time displaced slightly more, by the distance of a hundred years.
Grania will be running at the Abbey until the 26th of October.
HUMAN FAILINGS
Megan Nolan
JONATHAN CAPE LTD.
Megan Nolan’s second novel Ordinary Human Failings has all the elements of a crime classic: an Irish family planted in the middle of early-90s London, a ten-year-old child accused of a violent crime and a family coming to grips with the mistrust of their neighbours. Ordinary Human Failings covers the topics of alcoholism, immigration and family flawlessly, weaving through the story of a reporter on the hunt for a story and the woman who may just have it.
Maia Drohan CONTRIBUTING WRITER
He Used to Be Me
Anne Walsh Donnelly
NEW ISLAND
He Used to Be Me is about daftness– or maybe the absence of it. Anne Walsh Donnelly’s debut novel follows a man from Castlebar as he navigates the effects of a nearly 30-year stint in a care system, a horse-riding accident that occurred when he was young and the grief that follows him after losing his twin brother. And though he’s called Daft Matt, this main character is far from it: Walsh Donnelly weaves poetry with prose and the reader is firmly embedded in Matt’s mind, discovering new things about both him and themselves on the way.
In 2023, An Cailín Ciúin (Colm Bairéad) made history as the first Irish film to be nominated for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards. Based on Claire Keegan's novella Foster (2010), the film is an intimate story of care and connection. This film set the tones for Irish film: even the smallest of stories can be extremely powerful. Next month marks the release of Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants, 2024), adapted from another of Keegan’s novellas. Another short but impactful story, the novella depicts Irish father Bill Furlong’s (Cillian Murphy) moral dilemma as he discovers the abusive treatment of young women in the local convent. Set in 1980’s Wexford, Keegan uses one man’s experience to unpack larger issues for society as a whole.
world to the treasure trove that Irish stories could be. Now that we have an audience larger than ever, we have the freedom to decide what kind of stories we want to share on screen.
Looking back in history, Hollywood shaped a certain
these stories. With beautiful rolling hills and undeveloped background characters, Hollywood uses the scenery of the country while neglecting to explore the realities of life here or the stories of the Irish rather than the displaced Americans. At the time there
women in the Magdalene Laundries.
You spin me round
Various Authors
PVA
You spin me round is an essay collection from editors Adrian Duncan, Niamh Dunphy, and Nathan O’Donnell covering music in all forms. Writers Ciaran Carson, Brian Dillon, Wendy Erskine and more write about what music has meant to them throughout their lives, covering the vinyl records to the gigs to the albums that shaped them. Perfect for the music lover looking to expand their cultural understanding, You spin me round takes the physical –ticket stubs, tour t-shirts– and weaves it with the experience that so many associate with music, which takes us to a far-away place.
Over the last few years Irish film has reached new levels of critical acclaim. Ireland received fourteen nominations at the 2023 Academy Awards, nine of which were for The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022). Banshees is an undoubtedly unique story with McDonagh’s particular brand of dark comedy meeting the absurdity of a Samuel Beckett play. The black tragicomedy follows the abrupt end of a friendship. The film is intended as an allegory for the divisions between friends and family during the Irish Civil War. Whether you found the film’s satire effective or not, the attention the film gave the Irish film industry has had a monumental impact. The film’s success alerted the
idea of what an Irish story looked like. John Ford’s The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952) is a prime example of Hollywood’s fascination with presenting Ireland on screen as a romantic but primitive Eden for the tourist. When the American lead embraces the simple life and falls in love with a beautiful Irish girl he will find his happy ending. The 2000s rom-com era returned to these tropes of a flattened representation of Ireland changing the lives of disillusioned Americans. Films like P. S I Love You (Richard LaGravanese, 2007) and Leap Year (Anand Tucker, 2010) tell stories of American women venturing to Ireland and falling head over heels for Irish men.
Both films feature egregious attempts at the accent and a lack of Irish actors. Ireland is merely a backdrop in
wasn't enough attention on Irish cinema to counter Hollywood’s ideas of an Irish story. With the success of An Cailin Ciúin and more recently, Kneecap (Rich Peppiatt, 2024), Irish-language films have taken on new life. An Cailin Ciúin is a sensitive portrayal of attention and care. Kneecap is an irreverent tale of sex, drugs, and violence. The only similarity between these two films is their use of the Irish language. However, both are astute depictions of what it means to live in this country. The contrast between these films indicates how Irish cinema has evolved. The Irish language and the notion of being Irish mean very different things to different people and now more of these stories are getting on-screen attention.
Small Things like These explores the treatment of
Until the mid-90’s, when the discovery of a mass grave led to investigations into these institutions, women were sent to these laundries to repent for breaking the moral codes of the Catholic Church. Many were subject to intense abuse. The main character in Small Things Like These feels particularly affected by the discovery of the abuse due to his past. Many people were aware of these institutions which profited from forced labour. However, people believed that as long as the situation was not discussed then these religious orders were doing the right thing for the preservation of a pure and Christian Ireland. The silence around the Magdalene laundries was the silence of a country that failed many women and children. Now that we have the opportunity to share more Irish stories, we have an obligation to share the truth, even if it taints the romanticised images of rolling hills and ever-pouring pints. Small Things like These will hopefully revive the conversation around what happened to these women at the hands of religious institutions. With Enda Walsh adapting the screenplay and a talented cast behind the project, I trust this film to pay justice to the situation and remind the world that we must tell national stories that explore the country's darkness as well as its hopes. Ireland may be small but its voice has been given a stage and I hope that with a story as heartwrenching and important as Small Things like These, the world will listen.
Molly Morris
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As an international student beginning my second year living in Dublin, I was on the lookout for a fun weeknight activity to get my body moving and get involved in the city. After some digging, I was happy to come across Dublin City Ballet School (DCBS), a dance academy that prides itself on being an “inclusive ballet school.”
DCBS offers a multitude of classes, ranging from Beginner Ballet to Barre Fitness. The Adult Ballet program allows dancers of all ages to get involved with the graceful and disciplinary art form of ballet, no matter the amount of
dance experience they possess. This adult-focused program is meant to introduce the love of dance to everyone regardless of age or background. In my twelve years of dancing, I have not attended a dance class as fun and open as my classes at Dublin City Ballet School. Classes are held in a semester format, so they’re also perfect for college students to try out. Though starting ballet may seem intimidating, getting involved with DCBS is a stressfree and no-judgment zone. Ballet’s reputation as an unwelcoming and elitist art form can deter many from getting involved. It can also feel quite exclusive, with rigid entry points such as body type or flexibility. These norms can
portray ballet as inaccessible to those who don’t fit the mold, but Dublin City Ballet School completely rewrites the narrative by curating an inclusive and loving experience for all. Each class is “for the love of ballet and set in a noncompetitive & cultural environment.” Even after just one week of ballet, I saw both my physical and mental health improve, although I definitely felt sore the next day. While taking classes in the beautiful studios of Dance Ireland on Foley St, I focused on mindfulness and strength. I even felt my college stress dissipate for a while.
One of the many benefits of ballet is the full-body workout it provides. The Barre Fitness class consists of a warm-up, barre exercises, work on the center floor, and a cool down. It’s effective in stretching and strengthening every part of the body. Dublin City Ballet School’s Principal, Rebecca O’Brien Taylor, believes “ballet is for everybody and can be taken up at any stage of your life.” It’s never too late to try something new or rediscover an old passion, and the adult ballet classes at Dublin City Ballet School reminds us of just that.
Bookings for next term’s classes will open up in the coming months and it’s easy to sign up online at the Dublin City Ballet School website –so be sure to keep an eye out!
ASSISTANT EDITOR
funding from the Shared Island
confusion of identity that you get
The Irish border is at the forefront of the Irish collective, particularly for those closest to it. While the border is undeniably a setting for intense trauma, grief, and violence, it is also a place of immense creativity, particularly relating to the arts. This stimulation of creativity at a point of division was the central focus of Ireland’s Border Culture project, a collaboration between the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Centre of Trinity College Dublin and the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast. Their digital archive, accessible as an interactive map, was made through the curation of art that “show how cultural production, across all genres, is stimulated and provoked, often in unpredictable ways, by the difficult narratives of partition”, as stated in a press release for the project.
I sat down with the Trinity lead for the project Professor Eve Patten to understand more about the project and the idea of creativity in areas of partition. A professor of English and the current director of Trinity’s Long Room Hub, Prof Patten was deeply aware of “the gap between fossilized, top-down perceptions of a fatally divided society, and the grass-roots activities that characterized the vibrant communities of the area”.
The archival project received
Initiative, a government project aiming to increase cultural knowledge about Ireland. A team was built with vast knowledge on a variety of art forms, including photography, music, and visual arts. This team includes Prof Patten and Dr Orla Fitzpatrick of Trinity College Dublin as well as Dr Garrett Carr and Dr Aisling Reid of Queen’s University Belfast.
Having spent much of her life on the Fermanagh-Donegal border, Prof Patten has a specific interest
when you have a partition actually stimulates creativity. People want to respond to it or refer to it.”
Prof Patten expressed to me that the team was particularly careful when thinking about representation.
“What I wouldn’t want ever to do is to fail to acknowledge that trauma and the grief and the violence and the suffering which has been caused around the border area,” she stated. Further, in reference to the fact that the border is marked by sites of memorials for people who have been killed, she said “we
that”, Prof Patten told me, “was that the project didn’t just launch with no one having seen it”. She explained the team held a pilot consultancy session with people from arts, academia and policy. “It was very important to reduce the risk of that challenge by making sure a lot of people had input into the project, not just the project team”.
Prof Patten also expressed the headache of being “very careful about getting copyright permission for images and text”, learning website technology, and working between two universities. Despite these challenges, Prof Patten said that the collaboration between Trinity and Queen’s ended up being one of the pleasures of the project in the end, with the opportunity to connect with colleagues and gain a wider perspective. One of the representations that Prof Patten was particularly proud of was that of the gender and range of age of the artists. “When we started, we were just looking at a wall of photographs of male authors”, she stated. “I’m very proud that what we’ve ended up with is a much more balanced representation that not only has a balance of male and female writing but also looks at other identities that you wouldn’t think of.”
Range in the project is additionally shown in the actual mediums of the art. Though the project began by looking primarily at literature, Prof Patten told me it took her by surprise that she was so affected by some of the visual material,
While the border is undeniably a setting for intense trauma, grief, and violence, it is also a place of immense creativity, particularly relating to the arts.
in Ireland’s border as a setting for confused identities and the way that the past impacts the present. Prof Patten began the project by thinking primarily of the literature that referenced and captured border life in an everyday manner. The project, which exists on a website created with Dublin graphic design team NoHo, is divided into genres, decades, and connection. She explained to me that “one of the things I was really keen to understand was how unsettlement or disorientation or
didn’t want to not acknowledge that. But this was a different way to think about the creativity that had been prompted by the existence of the border, even if it’s an imaginary line on a map, it still does something to people's sense of where they are and their identities and how they express themselves”. This awareness of representation was one of the challenges that came with the project along with a fear of skewing a sense of border culture in the event of misrepresentation. “One of the ways we got around
particularly the 20th century paintings. Of particular note is Gretta Bowen’s The Customs Examination. "It affects me because it looks like a child’s picture”, Prof Patten told me. “It renders the border as something that comes out of a child’s imagination which is so ironic because when I was looking at this, debates about the border and about customs were all flaring up in the news because of Brexit.” She explained that the childlike view of the border portrayed in the painting didn’t
match what she was seeing in reality.
Along with the paintings, are the photographs. One of these is Megan Doherty’s ‘On Top of the Hill’, which shows a teenage girl in Derry, which according to Prof Patten, “prompts all kinds of questions about how much a contemporary generation that has been born since the Good Friday Agreement”.
The project, two years now in the making, is unfinished, this is attributed to a few reasons, one of which being the fact that the team wants the public to contribute by making suggestions of art to add to the archive. Additionally, Prof Patten mentioned an imbalance in the time period of the art saying, “a lot of the material is understandably from contemporary or recent culture and I really would be very passionate that we collect more material from the early decades and that needs a little bit more work.” relates to her interest surrounding how much cultural policy and funding has contributed to the sense of border culture. She explained that “it’s very difficult to do the economic archeology we need to answer the question.”
Originally pushed forward as a response to Brexit and the refocusing of the public’s “attention on the convoluted history of the border’s existence,” the fact the border itself is always changing also lends itself to the unfinished nature of the project. This is also true as it relates to the fact that the population in Ireland and near the border is continuously changing as well. Prof Patten shared that these populations are very often communities or people who have come to Ireland from countries that have their own experience with borders and partition. “We’d love to, in time, represent writing from underrepresented or quieter voices that we haven’t heard from yet,” she said.
The Irish Border Culture Project, which can be found at https:// borderculture.net/, is a fascinating approach to understanding how much Ireland and its people have been impacted by border culture. Without ever forgetting or ignoring the trauma the border and violence surrounding it has caused, the project and the art that is a part of it are a deep testament to human nature and the beauty of creativity in moments of division. After all, what better to connect us than art?
Ila Raso SOCIETIES EDITOR
On the rainy afternoon of September 30th, the primary leader of the campaign to free the Birmingham Six entered the GMB to receive Trinity College Law Society’s prestigious Praeses Elit award. That man was Chris Mullin, someone who has fought for a fairer and more just world through his investigative journalism and contributions as a member of British parliament. Mullin has had an illustrious career as a journalist, novelist, and politician. The Praeses Elit award, founded by former LawSoc auditor and first female president of Ireland Mary Robinson, is given to those who have made significant cultural and social contributions through their various fields. In their introduction, the LawSoc emphasised that Mullin is one of the most appropriate men to receive the inaugural award for this academic year – as he has been a “man of integrity” throughout his career as both a public servant and a superb writer. Before his work in the Birmingham Six investigation, Mullin wrote two successful fiction novels, A Very British Coup and its sequel The Friends of Harry Perkins. But Mullin took the British legal establishment by a storm with his 1986 book, Error of Judgement:The Truth About the Birmingham Pub Bombings. This book ignited
the campaign to release the Birmingham Six, one of the most contested topics in modern British legal history. Following this publication and immense criticism from the British legal establishment, Mullin was elected
the audience that the mishandling of the Birmingham Bombings in 1974 was one of the “greatest miscarriages of justice”. While working as a journalist, Mullin took matters into his own hands to prove the innocence of all six
as MP for South Sutherland in 1987, where he represented the Labour party up until his retirement in 2010. Mullin has continued to write and has published two more novels since 1991. Many of his works have been turned into popular television adaptations. Following his introduction and reception of the award, Mullin sat down with the LawSoc representative to dive right into his most famous political contributions. Mullin reminded
men sent behind bars. He had kept an eye on the Birmingham cases closely and knew that “in order to prove that they hadn’t done it, I needed to find the people who had done it,” he recounted to the audience. In Error of Judgement, Mullin does exactly that. Through his entirely independent investigation, he found the men actually responsible for the bombings and expressed his distaste for the lack
of accountability within the UK courts. His efforts to call out the legal system before the book’s publishing had little impact, but Error of Judgement’s publication caused an upheaval – just as Mullin wanted. “The key is to upset them,” he explained. When asked about the initial reaction of the legal community and the press, Mullin immediately opened Error of Judgement to the very first page. He then continued to read quotes from popular UK newspapers following the publication. Nearly all papers, from the Sun to the Daily Mail, disowned Mullin as a professional journalist and expressed absolute disgust for his audacity to go against the establishment. While reading these excerpts aloud, Mullin was anything but fazed, even giggling and rolling his eyes as he concluded the Sun’s rather garish quote.
The conversation shifted to discuss Mullin’s political career next. While in Parliament as a Labour party member, he voted against the UK’s involvement in the Iraq War, a decision shunned by many of his constituents. Mullin followed suit just as he did following the Birmingham Bombings – he remained committed to his stance even amidst harsh reactions. The
moderator then inquired if there is more influence when sitting within or outside of the legal establishment, to which Mullin replied that in reality, “appeal court judges are brilliant yet stupid simultaneously.” His influence shifts depending on how well the job is done.
The final, and most evocative question, asked whether or not Mullin has seen a change in British judicial culture. Is the British legal system still an arrogant system? Mullin expressed his satisfaction with the increase in diversity across court judges, but also claimed that “judicial culture has changed, but not as much as it should”. Following the conclusion of Mullin’s engaging conversation, audience members were invited to purchase a copy of Error of Judgement and had the opportunity for Mullin to sign the book himself. “Listening to someone who is so passionate about what he does and seems to never get tired telling stories from his inspiring life was such a delight,” said Nick Wilcke, an aspiring student-journalist. The inspiration radiating within the GMB went both ways that afternoon. While students sheepishly asked for a signature from one of the most influential political journalists, Mullin expressed a degree of “empowering optimism” in the presence of such passionate young people, as he explained in a statement to The University Times.
With Trinity’s many societies planning exciting events at the beginning of the new academic year, collaborations between the University’s multicultural societies are not to be missed. Trinity is home to more than 20 cultural societies that have been working together to host fun and engaging events for their members. Hispanic Society’s Ents officer Irena Vukcevic says that members of these multicultural societies “either want to learn and emerge in that culture, or seek that feeling of belonging away from home.”
Recently, DU Germanic Society, TCD French Society and TCD Hispanic Society organized a freshers’ week karaoke night at the Grand Social with a playlist of international hits that had everybody up and dancing, such
as Stromae’s “Papaoutai” and Bad Bunny’s “Moscow Mule.” French Soc’s ENTS officer Aleks Rettman notes that “each society made a list of songs that represent their countries … to encourage speaking our language, and promote francophone culture musically speaking! Many French-speaking students expressed enjoyment of this event, as they hadn’t heard those songs played in Dublin since moving to university.”
Second-year student and member of the Germanic Society Amelia Sarmiento was also in attendance. She describes the event as “wholesome and electric.” With many international students missing their home countries, events such as this karaoke night can bring a taste of home to Dublin while also introducing them to other cultures. Not only
can these events strengthen the cultural roots of international students, but they can also build connections between students from all backgrounds.
The exciting uptick in crosscultural events has brought new life to Trinity’s campus. Winta Solomon, also a member of the Germanic Society, sees the opportunity to connect with varying cultural societies as one of the many perks of her involvement. “[Germanic Society] has also given me a chance to improve my spoken German, make valuable professional connections, and interact more with other cultural societies on campus,” Solomon explained in a statement to the University Times. Trinity’s Eastern European Society and the French Society hosted a pub crawl during the week of 30
September alongside the French Society. In addition, the French Society hosted a coffee morning in collaboration with the Italian Society on 23 September. The pinnacle of cultural collaboration this year took place during Freshers Week. Through the hard work of 15 various societies, a massive Doyle’s pub quiz brought new and seasoned students together. According to Rettman, this event “had a turnout of over 60 people, all speaking in a wide variety of languages. Many of the students that joined us for the pub crawl were neither French-speaking nor from Eastern Europe.”
These collaborations between the
university’s cultural societies build community across Trinity, unite its student body and introduce new cultural contexts to students. It’s a heartwarming and inviting sight to see. “When you get together members of different cultural societies, it makes for a welcoming environment for learning and acceptance,” said Vukevic.
You don't have to be the most avid listener of classical music to be aware of Trinity Orchestra. Most Trinity students can recall when they collaborated with Hozier himself as he sang a rendition of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ or have seen a set at one of the many music festivals they have performed at, like the recent Forbidden Fruit or All Together Now. They may seem to be on the smaller side – at least compared to other societies – but this has made very little difference on their cultural impact. Trinity Orchestra’s ability to cultivate its small but mighty sphere of international influence and conquer a wide field of genres is worth highlighting.
In the student consciousness at Trinity, the passionate force of its orchestra continues to make its way across a field of majors and interests. PPE second year student Serena Cavanaugh has always been acutely aware of their influence.
“I’ve always found them cool since their performance with Hozier, as well as opening for Rod Stewart this year. I’ve followed them on Instagram for a while,” she says. Second year Political Science and Social Policy student Amelia Sarmiento adds, “They are really talented and I find it hard to imagine myself being able to do what they do.” The very established reputation of Trinity Orchestra speaks for itself.
To delve further into the inner workings of this musical force, I spoke with Jennifer Sheil – the auditor of Trinity Orchestra – and asked her about their cultural influence and scale. Their society may have only 92 members, but their impact is far from miniscule.
“In the vast world of Trinity and its societies, the orchestral society may come across as quite a niche.
When you think of a society of 92 people, it seems like a small number in relation to the 22,000 students of Trinity,” she explained.
“However, when you take into account the musical training, skill, dedication, and commitment be-
hind every single musician in our orchestra, the number 92 starts to feel like a phenomenon…for a group of over 80 extremely talented musicians to gather every single Tuesday to play some of the most stunning music ever written is quite a miracle in itself.”
Founded in 1989, Trinity Orchestra remains the only entirely student-run orchestra in Ireland. In regards to the importance of this society, Sheil urges that “it is so important that Trinity has an orches-
tra. There are few places in Dublin that accommodate young classical amateur musicians, especially on a larger symphonic scale…we just want people to have fun and have a reason to keep playing their instruments. We play music for the sake of playing music and all academic or competitive energy is removed. In my opinion, this is rare for the classical music world and I believe it's down to the fact that everything is completely student-led.”
Ireland’s deep-rooted and complicated relationship with the United Kingdom has given Irish-born citizens a richly deserved incentive to represent themselves and their culture as an individual entity.
Irish artists, such as The Cranberries and Sinead O’Connor, have historically used their music to express the horror and violence enacted during The Troubles, as well as the trauma that lingers among Ireland’s history.
Almost twenty-seven years later, Irish musicians have succeeded in forming their own international audience and sense of identity— but the question remains, how can Irish artists unlock their full potential when England’s capital city harbours the world’s most influential music scene?
Since 1992, London has hosted their annual Mercury Prize, a renowned music award that recognizes artists from the UK and Ireland. Each year, twelve albums from twelve different artists are shortlisted for the prize based on popularity and musicality. The 2024 prize winner was revealed in early September and the competition, once again, failed to break the streak of exclusively awarding British musicians. With only one Irish artist (CMAT) shortlisted, the odds
of Ireland receiving any recognition within the competition were unavoidably slim.
Released in October of 2023, CMAT’s second studio album, Crazymad, For Me, received overwhelming acclaim in both the UK and Ireland, giving the artist a great chance to represent Ireland’s presumed role in the competition.
Even with the album’s universal success, CMAT’s music was ultimately left uncelebrated and unrecognised by the prize.
The previous year, beloved Irish
folk band Lankum also failed to make it past the shortlist despite their unique, ground-breaking sound. It’s been made clear through the Mercury Prize’s partiality towards British contestants that the inclusion of Irish artists is solely preached, not practised. It’s only natural to wonder why so many Irish artists have chosen to pursue their music careers in England, a country that has historically failed to recognize their talents. In recent years, Dublin-based
When it comes to pushing genres, Trinity Orchestra doesn’t stick solely to Bach or Beethoven. Rather, Sheil details their love for “popular music including artists such as Kate Bush, The Cranberries, Queen, Pink Floyd, and the Gorillaz,” saying that “there is nothing more fun than playing songs from your favourite artists with all your friends on some of the biggest festival stages in the country!” Much of this takes place at their festival showcases – plenty more to come in the future. Festival coordinator Kate Mason finds that their “involvement in festivals is one of the core reasons [they] have such a big impact.”
Trinity Orchestra is a musical tourde-force heading into this new year. With their iconic reputation and lots more to offer, Sheil wants to “engage as many people with Trinity Orchestra as possible!” She implored those interested to keep an eye out for “open recitals, lots of society collaborations, day trips, talks, nights out, and of course lots and lots of concerts!”
band Fontaines DC followed the popular career transition and signed their act under two British record labels.
For those who follow the modern-rock group (most young Dubliners with good music taste), it's clear the connection the band feels towards their home country bleeds through their music. In an interview with Fred Perry, Fontaines DC commented on the influence historical Irish figures have on their art, suggesting that “Yeats’s, Kavanagh’s and MacGowan’s poetry even inspired us to make a couple of small publications of [their] own…”.
To work in the British music industry which has, time and again, overlooked Irish musicians must be nothing short of complicated for these artists. In a 2019 interview with Tristan Gatward, Fontaines DC’s bass player Conor Deegan reflected on this familiar struggle, stating “To be seen as successful in the Irish music industry you have to be successful somewhere else.” Deeply aware of this unfortunate reality, Fontaines DC is just one of many Irish bands who have had to pursue their career in a city that overlooks their Irish identity. Working in London, Fontaines DC will likely never re-
ceive the same opportunities as a band with British roots—neither will any Irish artist, for that matter, if this plain dismissal of talent persists.
This isn’t to say Ireland doesn’t have their own success in the music industry. Though not as internationally recognized as the UK’s Mercury Prize, Ireland’s RTÉ Choice Music Prize is devoted to spotlighting Irish artists and the music that is so often overlooked. Lankum’s remarkable studio album False Lankum, a project unrecognised by the Mercury Prize, was awarded this year’s Irish Album of the Year. Despite their global success, musicians from Ireland are often only highlighted in events where other countries, such as the UK, are not involved.
It’s impossible to say if or when the UK will begin offering Irish musicians, especially those under British labels, the same opportunities given to British musicians. What can be determined is the everlasting impression Irish artists have made and continue to make on the music world, regardless of who or where they are signed.
Lucy Holmes, a Trinity graduate of Drama with a master's degree in Playwriting at The Lir Academy, founded FILTH Theatre Company at the beginning of 2023. The company’s production This Too Shall Pass ran from September 18th to 22nd at the Dublin Fringe Festival. The immersive play, written by and starring Holmes, highlights the current dangerous inadequacies of Ireland’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) as you follow Erin through her years in the system. I sat down with Holmes to discuss founding her own theatre company and their most recent production.
Why did you decide to form FILTH and how did it come about?
“FILTH came about as I wanted a place where I could create, and I always think having a company or a space that is beyond you is really nice because it means that things can happen that are beyond you. Filth has the ability to go bigger and further beyond what I possibly could. It is a company that is very interested in exploring spaces, telling stories through spaces and looking for unconventional ways to tell stories.”
Can I ask where the name FILTH came from?
“It is kind of a three-pronged answer. I love the word filth, it's such a great word. It can be used in so many ways… it's something that's disgusting, it's something that shouldn't be talked about, it's something that should be buried, it's something that's not for eyes to see. To me, filth is a very glamorous word, which so many people would disagree with, but I'm a firm believer that, in the sense of ashes to ashes, everything comes from dirt, everything comes from filth, and everything will go back to filth. All the best things we've had in life have come from filth and will return to that. And number three is I love the song ‘Filthy Gorgeous’ by the Scissor Sisters, so it was kind of a combination of all of those things.”
This Too Shall Pass looks at Ireland's strained mental health service. What inspired you to tell this story?
“For me, I have a very personal relationship with the CAMHS system in Ireland and the Adult Mental Health system in Ireland. That being said, this piece is so much more than my experience, it goes
much beyond that. I think the real driving force was in 2022, the Sean Maskey Review came out.”
The Maskey Review examined the care received at South Kerry CAMHS between July 2016 and April 2021. The review found that the care received by 240 young people did not meet appropriate standards.
“When that review came out, I remember my mum calling me and telling me to read the entire review. She said, ‘that's exactly what
think that's what really pushed me to create this piece.
I've seen a lot of theatre created about mental illness and mental health in Ireland, but very, very rarely do any of these things recognise the systemic issue. The exact system that should be supporting us, building us up, and minding the young people of Ireland, is not doing that because it doesn't have the facilities that it needs. It is not the people in the system that are the problem, it's the system itself.
in place to help said child, cannot help. What are you supposed to do when you don't have the money to go, ‘oh well, just pay for the private.’ I think that's part of it as well, is that the powers-that-be per se, aren't engaging with that system because they have the money to go down the private route, so they don't realise just how bad and just how difficult it is to access and engage with the system. I think there's a lack of empathy from a higher level.”
you went through.’ It was the first time that I'd seen on paper that I wasn't crazy, that these things were happening, that there was not the continuity of support that young people need. Then in 2023, Dr Susan Finnerty released a nationwide report, and a lot of what was seen in the Maskey Review was seen all over the country. In her statement when she released the final report she said, ‘I cannot currently provide an assurance to all parents in Ireland that their children have access to a safe, effective and evidence-based mental health service.’”
Holmes continued, “Then I did a lot of research and I talked to a lot of people, both those working as mental health practitioners and people who've experienced the system. You can read the report as a bunch of statistics and go, ‘it's awful’, but I went through it, people around me went through it, and I
It is really hard to help the people in front of you when you don't have the tools.
Talking from my personal experience, you do feel like you're going insane a little bit, because you are going to someone, asking for help … and what do you do when the help that you've asked for isn't helping? Where do you go then? Myself, as a kid, I internalised a lot of stuff. I would much quicker go, ‘oh well, I'm a problem’, rather than think, ‘Actually this system is not working’. It was the same with a lot of parents. They are bringing their child to a system they had never interacted with before, that was supposed to help their child. Then years down the line they find out, the system is not working. That is an awful realisation to have as a parent, when you are trying to do everything right by your child, to find out the systems that are put
You worked with Fringe Lab on the play. Can you tell me what that was like?
“I initially did this show in an educational setting in February 2023. It was a very, very different play, but the core of it and the heart of it were still the same. But for me, as both a performer and a writer, when I did that the first time I went, ‘I'm satisfied now. If I was to do this again, I would completely transform it.’ And that's what this process has been about, particularly what the Fringe Lab space was about.
We were up in the Fringe Lab from 10 am to 6 pm every single day for a week, working through the script, getting it on its feet, seeing what worked and what didn't work. It is great to be in a room with other people where they can poke and ask those questions. It is really important that I'm not just going, ‘this is my story about what I expe-
rienced in the system’ because that would be a gross misunderstanding of the issue. It is an issue across Ireland. Yes, I experienced it, but that, for me, has always been very much in the background. The show itself focuses on Erin and her experience of the mental health system. But you also get to see the people around her, and how those people are or aren't affected by this system, as there is no one experience of this system.
The play is about digging into the emotional core of that, and how it feels to grow up and try figuring yourself out, but also go into a room where everything you do is questioned. How that affects your relationship with the world. How waiting for long periods of time and not receiving help really affects your relationship with the world. It is that thing of, what happens when you can't get the support that you need? How does, particularly a young person, respond to that, and how do you move on from that?
That week was pulling all of those threads out and creating. Moving out from the piece that it was to the piece that it is now.”
The play is a site-specific, immersive piece. Why did you choose this form for the production?
“With a story like this, if you have the opportunity to sit back and intellectualise and go, ‘God isn't this awful’, it doesn't have the same effect as actually bringing you into the world… because in our day-to-day life, this is not a story any of us are separate from. With this piece as well, you do get the opportunity to, if you so please, pick up that diary that's sitting there and read it. Look at that letter, read the Post-it notes, look at people's pictures. I love having space and [the] opportunity where you can get the textures of someone's life so up close and personal. I just think this as a story is not one for sitting back and taking in the story. It's for being active and processing it with the person in front of you.”
This Too Shall Pass enjoyed a four-day run at the festival and was a chilling commentary on the shortcomings of youth mental health services in Ireland.
Gavin Jennings DEPUTY THEATRE EDITOR
For the past month, I have hopped from theatre to theatre around the city, seeing as many shows as possible in the Dublin Theatre Festival. I have been able to do this thanks to the DTF’s ‘10 For 10’ initiative. The scheme allows under 30’s, unwaged people, freelance artists, and arts workers to purchase ten tickets to DTF shows for ten euro each. Eligible participants signed up in July, and there’s a scramble for the discounted tickets when they go on sale in August. I was lucky to avail of the opportunity, saving anywhere from €200-€400 on theatre tickets. For September 24th to October 13th, I bought tickets to nine shows for only €90. I therefore experienced a large portion of what DTF 2024 had to offer. For each show, I wrote a few brief sentences to serve as casual reviews. Together, they form my DTF Diary.
(p.s. - Emma and Helen, who are mentioned throughout, are coworkers of mine.)
Shades Through a Shade
Tuesday, September 24th, 11:30pm I left the Beckett Theatre repeating these Heaney lines in my head; ‘You are neither here nor there, / A hurry through which known and strange things pass’. I’m not sure why. Shades was a melange of writing from Beckett, Dante and Melville. It was a dizzy show. I was really looking forward to trying an Odyssey analogy for this series of diary entries, but it seems that, instead, considering Dante, this is my first ring of hell on my own Divine Comedy/Inferno journey through DTF 2024. This doesn’t really fit, however, because I really enjoyed this show.
0800 Cupid
Friday, September 27th, 11:07pm Emma and Helen pointed out how much it seemed like a preview. I didn’t really get that, to be honest. I have little in the way of criticism –maybe I’m not the right person to be doing all this reviewing. I had a blast with Cupid. There is a lot of live music in DTF this year. “The void isn’t glam” – (important line from the show).
Grania
Monday, September 30th, 10:47pm
On the bus home now, and I still don’t care for Augusta Gregory’s writing. It hasn’t seeped in or hit me over the head or anything. I’m really trying. What is The Abbey but its past, I guess. The stakes that are typically so high in the Gráinne/ Diarmuid myth have somehow been drastically lowered in this production, and I couldn’t bring myself to care much about what was happening. Visually stunning production, however confusing the script may have been. More live music.
Molly Sweeney
Tuesday, October 1st, 11:40pm
I read countless (three) books about Brian Friel last year for my Irish Writing module, and I never came across anyone talking about this play. I’m going to write a Bram paper about how Friel uses the analogy of ‘gifting’ the blind sight to reflect British attitudes to the colonisation of the Irish. The Pavilion Theatre Dun Laoghaire continues to punch above its weight. Two phones did go off during the play. No punishment is enough for people whose phones go off at a show.
enough focus? I don’t know. All I know is that the runtime should have been cut in half. A sungthrough musical muddle with compelling staging. A lot of ‘for the sake of it’ it seems.
Guest Host, Stranger Ghost Friday, October 4th, 5:21pm Ok, I have completely forgotten that I had this today. I have left poor Emma and Helen stranded in the Smock Alley. They texted me to say that the show was great and that I missed out. Typical.
The House Saturday, October 5th, 11:52pm
A great night at the theatre indeed. Marty Rae was outstanding, definitely the best performance I’ve seen in DTF so far. He brought such intense physicality to the role, slimy and exact. Druid Theatre does not miss. Abridging a few of the bar scenes would’ve helped and people wouldn’t stop rustling their bags of Maltesers, but I have very little to complain about in truth. Bravo.
Safe House Thursday, October 3rd, 11:02pm
I don’t think I could name one thing that happened in the past ninety minutes apart from seeing and hearing Pat Kenny from the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest at some stage. What a strange show. I thought it had gone over my head, but Emma and Helen also found it baffling. Too much talent and not
tle challenge on my Divine Comedy. Thank you DTF, thank you DTF 10for10. Until next year.
Agreement Saturday, October 12th, 9:49pm
A contemporary trap-remix National Theatre-style take on the Good Friday Agreement. It made me love John Hume and Mo Mowlam even more, but offered odd depictions of Ahern and Adams. Great performances, tightly written, but didn’t necessarily justify the medium. Hopefully a screen adaptation will follow its stage success. The week break was certainly needed for me, although I developed a bad headache upon leaving The Gate Theatre. Perhaps an overdose of history.
Exit Pursued by a Bear Sunday, October 13th 8:52pm
A hurry through which known and strange things pass. The tone of this matched that of Shades, bringing me full circle. It brought me back to the surface, if you will. An adaptation of Shakespeare’s Winter Tale that included Darude’s Sandstorm, a full baguette eaten, a remote-controlled spider, opera breaks, audience participation, and a little bit of iambic pentameter here and there. Opinions matter little with a show like this. This was a final lit-
I’m well aware that the conversation around “the best pint” is a topical one. Like most enjoyable things this is subjective; the price, location, variety and quality of a pint have different levels of importance to different people. This guide will hopefully encourage some of you to head out when you can. I know how easy it is to say no to a night in a pub with the difficulties set against us now – being turned away unless you’re in your 20s and a good value pint in town goes hand in hand with flying pigs. Consider this a cheat code for when you manage to get you and all your friends free on the same night. The drinking culture in Ireland has often come under scrutiny and been used as a vicious stereotype. Pubs have, for centuries, been a place where stories and friendships form. Often you find yourself knocking over social barriers you wouldn’t otherwise, in the line for the bathroom striking up conversation with someone two generations ahead of you or waiting for your pint to settle and having a laugh with the bartender. A pint of lager, stout, or a glass of whiskey lowers these inhibitions – there is danger in that of course, and you don’t have to be a psychologist to know that easing any social anxieties with a drink isn’t something to get too used to. However, sitting
in the Lemon & Duke with their famed mocktails would afford you the experience that some would argue is a right of passage when growing up in Ireland.
Heartbreakingly, this culture has faced a shift with the rising costs of a night out. Ireland is currently operating on 23% VAT on alcohol, one of the highest in the EU, and the hospitality industry is under pressure to increase their prices due to rises in rent, energy bills, and now the minimum wage at €13.50. The Government has given them little help in this budget. Come December 1st, your taxi will be at a higher price too. Transport services to most people's homes don’t run past midnight and even if you live a walk away from your pub in town, you’d likely rather pre-drink than spend the abominable €7.00€10.00 on your drink of choice.
After speaking with hospitality workers and pub goers in Dublin who have watched this nightlife scene deteriorate in energy, The University Times has gathered that the majority of people say they miss the “spontaneity and richness” of in-person conversation that the pub environment offers. Young people are having to reimagine how they socialise while they hear their parents, older siblings, and whoever else, talk about their irreplaceable nights during
their youth.
Price-wise, you honestly can’t get much better than the €5.70 at the Pav. However, sometimes you want to venture outside the 500-metre radius of your lecture hall, that only hours before you found your-
card). It’s a pub full of characters and people who miss when having a quiet pint wasn’t such an investment.
Gardiner St and Dorset St serves a pint of Guinness for €4.80 (in cash only, more expensive if you pay by
I know that the quality of the drink, particularly Guinness, is a unifying absolute. Very few people want to drink a glass of muck no matter what else it has going for it. The Palace bar on Fleet Street served me one of the best pints I’ve had in some time. It’s not a very youthful pub but the publican seems to care about what you’re getting served, and what’s the harm in diversifying the age demographic? Peter's Pub on Johnson Place also serves a good pint and is great for people-watching outside. They have heaters and blankets and as with the Auld Triangle it attracts some great people to talk to, but it’s small enough so going with a group bigger than five won’t always work. The Stags Head is a cliché, sure, but there’s a reason for that; you’ll enjoy it. Each of these will bring you up to the €7.00 end for a pint depending on what looking for it’s well worth it.
Beer isn’t your thing? If you’d like a good cocktail, El Silencio near
Peters Pub has exactly what you’re looking for. With your drinks you can also get some delicious-looking Mexican food, it can be pricey though. Capitol Lounge on Aungier Street often has great deals on cocktails – 2 for €15, every day before midnight.They tend to have a live DJ on a Saturday too. Fans of eating good food while you drink – Toners on Baggot Street has teamed up with Cirillos Pizza so that you can order from them and eat it in Toners Yard while having what a member of the Guinness family themselves called “the best Guinness in Dublin”. If you have a big friend group or even just one with all sorts of personalities and you want to cater to everyone without the fuss and bother on the group chat, The Giddy Dolphin in Temple Bar has a range of drinks, a Wowburger inside, darts, foosball, pool, and TVs for live sports. Plenty to do!
The cost of living has far outweighed the FOMO for most people, but hopefully with a bit more persistence, we will all be able to have a few fun nights out without breaking the bank.
Fay Santillo Schulze
Hidden between a solicitor’s office and a fast-food chain on Dame Street, Dalang is an inconspicuous hidden gem offering affordable traditional Korean food, sushi, and bubble tea from a seemingly endless menu. The star of the show for hungry students is their lunch special for 10 euro—if you’re bored of the Sprout repetition, venture further and dare to leave Dawson Street for a bowl of steaming-hot ramen or a bento box.
Rest assured that this place is a crowd-pleaser. I took my 74-year old German grandmother to Dalang because she is a frequent connoisseur of the one (decidedly German-ified) Japanese restaurant in Dresden. I had the Dakgangjeong—piping hot fried chicken, crunchy and coated in a vibrant gochujang sauce. There is something to be said for a meal that leaves you with an empty plate— the side salad is also a delicious
complement to the meal. This is a rarity for a side that is usually an afterthought, tossed haphazardly on the plate and left behind, hidden under cutlery by children and destined to be scraped off later. My grandma ordered a large bowl of chicken ramen — and I say large, not because there are size options, but because the portions here will always leave you full. A broth is something of a divine liquid that not many alchemists can conjure up correctly — but call the chef at Dalang Paulo Coelho, because they have mastered it. The broth is rich and umami, bursting with flavour and richness. The chicken is tender and plentiful and the soft-boiled soy-marinated egg is the star of the show. I can attest that the German-Japanese restaurants will no longer be receiving her patronage. Restaurants like Dalang in Dublin have given her a taste for the finer culinary options, incomparable to those of the local shopping centre. For students looking to save some money, their lunch menu includes sushi, bento, fried rice and ramen options. They also offer Korean BBQ, for those looking to have a unique (and pricier) kind of restaurant experience. This is not an ad, so I must warn you of one thing: at lunchtime, this is not the place for ambience,
but it makes up for it with quality of food and price. The music choices are overstimulating. I noticed this when visiting Dalang again under the guise of taking photos for the article. I was quickly distracted from the music by the bulgogi, which I highly recommend and is a new favourite for me on the menu. An extensive menu is usually a red flag for a restaurant (how can they do everything well?), but I have never been disappointed by anything at Dalang.
A final quote from The University
Ila Raso and Lotta Scheffel SOCIETIES EDITOR & CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Do you ever feel like there are still not enough societies at Trinity? Is your niche interest not covered by any of them? Well, you’re in luck! Follow these simple, entirely unbureaucratic steps to start up your very own society:
1. First things first, you do need an idea for the kind of society you want to start. Preferably one that doesn't already exist. While you could take on the endeavour by yourself, you will very soon need a committee so you might want to find like-minded people. The activities and interests of your society should be unique, so make sure they’re not already covered by another society. While the inclination to start a society for a niche interest is understandable, it should appeal to a larger portion of the student body. Societies also don’t have to be charitable, political, or sports organisations. Do you still feel like your society could be in the running? Onto step two
2. After having contacted the CSC Secretary to warn them of (discuss with them) your endeavour, you will need to collect the signatures of 200 students in support of your society by week 12 of the Michaelmas term. You will also need to draft your society's constitution—but fear not, the CSC provides a sample so no need for ChatGPT on this one. Once you have drafted a constitution and gotten 200 students to put their names, student numbers, and TCD emails into your Google form, send all that over to the CSC for review and enjoy Christmas!
3. Refreshed and well-rested after the Christmas break, you will soon be invited to present and justify your society's aims, activities, and motivations before the CSC Execs. Getting the suits to understand why TCD needs the (whatever your little heart desires) society will probably be the most challenging part of the whole process. You will either be denied (sorry) or you will gain provisional recognition.
4. Once you´ve been given prvisional recognition by the CSC, you’re good to go for 18 months. You will gain access to CSC facilities and be eligible for CSC grants.
5. After the 18 month provisional period, you will have to present the CSC with financial accounts of your activities in the preceding year, as well as a finalised and updated constitution and proof that your society has at least 50 members. Only then will you gain full recognition and will be able to decorate your CV with a new bullet point in the “achievements” column. Get ready to rack up those LinkedIn likes!
This year, a few new societies have gotten a kick-start. One of those new groups is the TCD Filipino Society. They experienced the uniquely unbureaucratic process first hand last academic year while on their journey to make a safe and welcoming space for the Filipino population at Trinity. The trials and tribulations of this process hit them firsthand.
After being initially struck down by the CSC committee, where the committee cited that the society proposal was overlapping with another, the group refused to give up on their vision.
“Some of us banded together and attempted to make an air-tight case that couldn't be refused.
We contacted undergrads, postgrads, academics, and just about anyone who we could get our hands on who would stand behind us. We sent out surveys and searched for relevant statistics. It worked,” the Filipino Society explained in a statement to the University Times.
Their dedication is a true testament to the beautiful end result of forming a society, “the best part was knowing that we were building a community, and something greater than ourselves,” the society said. If you can push through the endless paperwork and bureaucratic bustle of the CSC committee, you can accomplish anything with your new society. Now, the Filipino Society is moving on to even bigger and better things.
“Through our events, we want to show that our society is a welcoming space for Filipino and non-Fil-
ipino students. Our society is a place to celebrate the diversity of Filipino culture and we'd like for people to enjoy it as much as we do,” they explained in their statement.
The trying process can often result in some of the most gratifying organisations on campus. Building a new society from the ground up is no easy task, but it is well worth it—especially when you feel there is a lack of representation or space for certain ideals within existing societies. In an official statement to the University Times, the CSC Secretary reminds students to “Make sure your idea is distinct from any other societies on campus! If what you want to do is already covered by a different society, then it's very very very unlikely that you'll be able to get set up as a different society.” With this, and all of our advice, in mind, you’re all ready to take your dream of a society to the next level. We wish you the best of luck in this infamous bureaucratic process and beyond!
The air is getting crisper and the mornings colder. Somewhere, far in the distance, you can hear the faint music to “Where You Lead I Will Follow” —it’s Gilmore Girls season. As certain as the leaves turn orange, the early 2000s TV show returns to the collective consciousness this time of year. Coming up in its 24th year, it appears to be increasing, rather than decreasing in popularity—lines from the show feature in all the popular circulating soundbites on social media. If I describe something as “straight out of Gilmore Girls”, you’ll likely understand what I mean even without watching the show.
Gilmore Girls follows a single mother, Lorelai Gilmore, and her 16-year-old daughter Rory living in a fictional New England town called Stars Hollow. The show deals with themes of friendship, love, and growing up, and it is told through quick and witty dialogue that is mostly lighthearted. It is peppered with 2000s pop culture references, many of which surely go over the heads of young viewers today. But this is also a reason for its continuous popularity. Gilmore Girls satiates our current obsession with nostalgia for the early2000s. Watching the show is like stepping back to a
simpler time. To a place made up of Juicy Couture tracksuits, CDs, and flip phones. Digital devices are almost non-existent, making relationships seem more social and authentic. Executing the same concept in today’s digital world would be difficult.
The social aspect is also helped by the fact that the show is set in a small, tight-knit community. As viewers, we get to know a colourful and eclectic group of characters and become invested in the intricacies of their relationships. We feel like part of the town. This is why it also starts to feel suffocating now and then when Lorelai’s or Rory’s personal life becomes the town’s business. While Rory maintains a fondness for Stars Hollow throughout the show, it is natural that she should dream of going on to study elsewhere and travel the world. Those of us who grew up in a small town and saw college as a way to not only intellectually, but also physically, broaden our horizons, relate to Rory’s aspirations.
is associated with the back-toschool season. The first episode centres on Rory’s transfer acceptance into the prestigious Chilton Preparatory School. After initially struggling to catch up, Rory is soon top of the class and seemingly balances her work and personal life perfectly. The idea of
receives a poor grade on a paper, her professor suggests that she drop the class. For the first time in college, Rory isn’t able to live up to her own and other’s expectations. When the editor for the Yale Daily News doesn’t like her initial pieces she is again thrown off guard. Like all students, she has to navigate an entirely new set of expectations in college and struggles to do so at first. She maintains her dream of becoming a journalist, but that dream is quickly shattered by the words of a newspaper mogul who tells her that she is not cut out for the job. Soon afterward, Rory takes a leave of absence from Yale.
More than autumn, Gilmore Girls
Rory as ambitious and studious sticks with viewers. When she later struggles to live up to the ideals set by those around her, viewers feel as let down as the other characters in the show. We adopt their expectations. Later in the show, Rory decides to go to Yale, and there, our idolised version of her falls apart and reality takes its place. When she
On the surface, her leave seems like an overreaction, but Rory is the kind of person who has always looked for approval from others – and received it. Inevitably, she bases her worth and her abilities on the opinions of others. Having aspired to become a journalist all her life, she faces uncertainty for the future when she is told
that journalism is not for her. No matter how certain you felt about your CAO choice at the time of applying, there will, most likely, come a point in college where you start to question what you have been working towards all your life. Eventually, Rory finds her way back to Yale, but those moments of uncertainty and shattered expectations truly capture the realities of college. College is where kids deemed “high academic achievers” growing up congregate and compare themselves to each other, and Rory’s character development shows how that environment mentally affects students. Gilmore Girls has remained the same TV show since it aired, but our perception of it has significantly changed. Now, we look at it through the lens of nostalgia, regardless of whether or not we remember the early 2000s. Rewatching it from the viewpoint of college also forces us to reexamine our perception of Rory. Where once she seemed the perfect role model, now she appears more mortal, more like the rest of us. The cosiness of Stars Hollow, with its seasonal town festivals and mundane problems, makes it a comforting show to rewatch over and over again. But it is the raw, emotional moments that make Gilmore Girls a classic.
Isabella Walsh CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Gormley’s is back in Charlemont Square (Dublin 2), hosting an impressive exhibition featuring both renowned and emerging names in the art world today. With over 250 pieces on display, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and accessibility of the exhibition. Entry is free, and no advanced booking is required. Until the 17th of October, you can view iconic works by Banksy, Salvador Dalí’s surrealist sculptures, and stunning style from artists like Gordon Harris and Harry Brioche, among many others.
I understand that “modern art” can make some people roll their eyes, but there truly is something for everyone to appreciate here. In a city with fewer and fewer free days out available, I highly recommend visiting this exhibition.
For instance, while I was walking around, I overheard a young girl approach a landscape by Martin Mooney depicting Lough Swilly in Donegal with loose brushstrokes and a fairly muted colour palette. The girl exclaimed, “Ah now, Mam, I could do that. Just give me some paper!” The comment received quiet giggles from those nearby. However, when her parents pointed her toward Mooney's flower studies further along the wall, she seemed far more impressed, and her mind opened to the rest of the exhibition.
Upon entering, you’ll find yourself in a spacious room with plenty of space to step back and admire the larger pieces. Gordon Harris
has seven large portraits on the furthest wall, all painted in oil on board. His colours are extremely eye-catching, and the closer you get, the more unbelievable the detail becomes—each strand of hair is painted with perfect precision. In the centre of the room, you'll find beautiful bronze sculptures by Giacinto Bosco, including a collection of four pieces depicting a man and woman seemingly chasing the moon. The vibrant finishes on these simple figures give them a nostalgic, dreamlike energy. Other sculptures, like Patrick O'Reilly’s charming Irish Wolfhounds and Eoin Turner's large crystal and bronze pieces (which are particularly striking in the light), are equally worth visiting.
Also in this room, you’ll see Stephen Forbes’ oil paintings, which at first I thought were acrylic due to his blunt, raised brushstrokes and vibrant colours. Each painting is large and depicts simple human figures going about their daily lives. With this kind of work, the figures can sometimes feel stagnant, but Forbes manages to bring movement and life to each one.
Patrick Rubinstein’s reinterpretations of Warhol’s pop art didn’t resonate with me, though others seemed to enjoy them. This brings up a question I often wrestle with when I’m bored by media: Does good art need to be accessible to everyone, or is it on the viewer to meet the artist halfway? I thought perhaps my head was just saturated with work that felt more obvious, so I gave Rubinstein’s pieces
a second chance. I still didn’t like them. They feel more like a superficial layer over already iconic art. It brings nothing new to the table other than clashing entirely with Warhol’s initial message, a critical commentary on consumerism and mass production. All I see are flashy visuals for his buyers to gawk at because it’s different to what the other well-to-do buyers have hanging in their hallways. They feel gimmicky and appeals visually but lacks everything else. It is polished but hollow. There are simply some things that have no humanity behind them; it was impossible to gauge any inspiration or connection with it. It felt like the primary school teacher's example of what her 10 year old students were going to do in their weekly art class that she made the night before wishing she could just relax with a glass of Malbec. Nothing wrong with that but if said primary school teacher knew they could make over ten percent of their yearly salary from a framed piece of fan-folded premade art I can’t imagine they’d be best pleased.
Downstairs is where the big names are: Banksy is featured on one far wall and covers the pillars, while Dalí and Warhol are sprinkled across the room. Large pieces by Keith Haring are a delight to see, especially since they may be ones you haven't seen before. Many visitors flock straight to Banksy’s “Girl with a Balloon” print, but what’s wonderful about the layout of this exhibition is how it guides you to
discover works you might have otherwise looked straight past. Just five steps from the Banksy and the Haring, you’ll find Harry Brioche’s stunning countryside landscapes. The landscapes themselves are brilliant, but the best part is in the skies—his manipulation of light on the board is unlike anything I’ve seen, reminiscent of a real-life dusk in the west of Ireland during autumn.
Tracey Emin is known for her deeply personal, autobiographical work, and while she initially faced backlash from critics who labelled her work “vulgar and lazy,” she has since become one of the most prominent figures in British art. Her early career saw limited interest from mainstream art buyers, but today, her work is widely recognized and sought after. This shift adds an extra layer of significance to the exhibition, as Gormley’s focus on selling limited-edition pieces like the two prints on display reflects Emin’s evolution from outsider to a major force in contemporary art. Although she is now well-established and has been for several years, it's notable that Tracey Emin has experienced a rare shift in how her work is perceived during her lifetime—a privilege not afforded to many artists (like Monet, Van Gogh, or Vermeer, who were all labelled "ahead of their time"). Emin, once similarly misunderstood, has lived to see her impact and growing recognition. While the pieces on display at Gormley’s may seem simple at first glance, their context and history
add a deeper layer of beauty and meaning.
Peter Monaghan’s hypnotic watercolour pieces on arched paper were particularly attractive to younger visitors, who discovered new images with each step they took. If abstract art is your thing, you’ll appreciate Jenny Belton’s still-life pieces, which carry strong cubist influences. Nearby, Dominic Whisker’s unique hand-tufted wool works hang on the wall to the right of Banksy. Julian Opie also has a piece made of “a series of four lenticular acrylic panels mounted onto white acrylic,” creating a 3D moving effect, where the human figure appears to walk toward you as you move. At first, I wasn’t entirely sold on these pieces, but with a bit of warming up, I began to understand their appeal. I found this to be the case with almost half of the works in the exhibition, so I would recommend spending between one and two hours there to take it all in. It can be pretty easy to dislike contemporary art, and while I stand by my initial admiration of the pieces I listed above, there’s always a way to understand something you didn’t appreciate at first. This exhibition does a good job at guiding you through that process. Less really is more.
Ila Raso SOCIETIES EDITOR
Armed with a sword and loads of funny lines, British Comedian Max Fosh entered the GMB to receive the Phil’s Bram Stoker Cultural Achievement award. As the first recipient of the award this year, and a recipient most renowned for their humour, Fosh strutted to the front of GMB to greet a room of ecstatic fans. The Phil granted the award to Fosh for his extraordinary work in media and comedy. Fosh’s career began during his university years at Newcastle. Originally working in radio, he took his audio-visual skills to create the “Street Smart” series, interviewing students on the street during their night-out endeavours. Following the massive success of this series on YouTube, Fosh shifted his approach after coronavirus hit. He’s gone on to execute elaborate and hysterical pranks alongside his comedy, now amassing a follower count of 4.18 million subscribers on YouTube. His comedic stunts range from
running for mayor of London in 2021 to cooking a frozen meal in an active Icelandic volcano. Many of his stunts act as a “blend of comedy in social commentary,” The Phil explained. Fosh kicked off his international “Loophole” tour this month and continued it with a show at the 3Olympia. Phil president Annika Ramani officially presented the Bram Stoker award to Fosh following a brief introduction. She continued with a series of poignant questions, all of which Fosh answered with humility and a touch of silliness. Ramani inquired about how the comic comes up with such outlandish stunts, to which he replied that it is all about “contrast in comedy writing and finding the balance of comedy and creativity.” In lieu of this question, Fosh regaled the tale of his cooking session in the Litli-Hrútur volcano in 2023, claiming that this was by far the most difficult stunt he’s pulled off to date.
Ramani asked in regards to his 2021 mayoral run as well. Fosh explained that although he received pushback for his run for such a position, he has absolutely no regrets. Fosh ran on the platform of encouraging young people to vote, while simultaneously trolling far right-wing candidate Laurence Fox. At the end of it all, he felt the stunt “perfectly represented the electoral system of the UK.” Fosh took questions from audience members next. A slew of
hands immediately shot up in the air. The Q&A session ranged from serious questions about comedic techniques to more playful banter between the comedian and his fans. Fosh’s current “Loophole” tour emphasises exactly what the title infers–the fun loopholes he finds while executing elaborate stunts. One audience member asked what exactly is Fosh’s favourite newfound loophole. He replied that he feels most proud of his “richest man in the world” stunt
PHOTO BY NICK WILCKE
from early 2022. For a grand total of seven minutes, the YouTuber was the wealthiest person in the world. He managed this by finessing a fake company and an absurd number of shares, materialising in a net worth surpassing that of Elon Musk. Although it was legally valid, his company would likely be accused of fraud, so shortly after its creation Fosh ended the company. This comedic stunt brought a bit of silliness to the frequently daunting world of finance.
Audience members concluded the afternoon by grabbing a few photos with Fosh and testing out the weight of his illustrious Dracula-esque sword. Fosh expressed immense gratitude for the award and The Phil for being such a gracious host. “Any place that gives me a medal for doing no work is a friend of mine. It’s a real privilege and honour to be here with the world’s oldest society,” Fosh told the University Times
Molly Wetsch DEPUTY EDITOR
If ‘Normal People,’ ‘Conversations with Friends’ and ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You’ were the novels that made Sally Rooney a household name, then her fourth and latest novel, ‘Intermezzo,’ is her triumph.
One might be forgiven for drawing similarities between Rooney’s three previous works and subsequently expecting to open the pages of ‘Intermezzo’ to the relatively congruous themes readers have come to anticipate: relationships, sex and conversations. We expect to firmly plant ourselves in contemporary Dublin (and broadly, Ireland) and enter the lives of complex and often flawed characters.
On first glance, those themes are as present in ‘Intermezzo’ as anything we’ve seen from Rooney in the past.
The first pages of the novel detail an older man’s unquestionably complicated relationship with a woman more than ten years his junior– a familiar trope from Rooney. She’s no stranger to these uncomfortable conversations, and the first few pages of ‘Intermezzo’ lull the reader back into the familiar space they’ve come to anticipate in a Rooney novel.
What ‘Intermezzo’ carries, though, is something completely alien to the ‘Normal People’ of days past. The two central characters are both male, which is a new venture for Rooney. And as much as their romantic relationships carry weight, the most important one
is that which they have with one another, strained and threadbare as it is. Ivan, a young, unassuming chess prodigy, and Peter, a successful thirty-something lawyer, are quasi-estranged brothers who are brought together by the death of their father. It is in the weeks following his death that we meet the two, each in the middle of their own chess game, balancing grief, love and family.
Rooney is having a lot more fun with perspective in ‘Intermezzo.’ And, like most of her prior works, the characters tend to jump off the page while the plot and its devices take a backseat.
Peter’s chapters are stilted and stream-of-consciousness. He speaks with no pronoun about himself, in short thoughts, in ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’. An iconic quirk of Rooney’s writing, her lack of quotation marks, becomes doubly more confusing when we enter Peter’s world – it’s an intentional choice that the reader can hardly tell what he says out loud and what stays as internal dialogue. It’s impossible not to make comparisons to James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ and the closeness with which he holds characters like Leopold Bloom– Peter, like Bloom, is portrayed through a stream-of-consciousness standpoint, with haphazard trains of thought and runaway desires. At points, the perspective becomes nearly horror-esque, an unnerving funhouse of suicidal ideation and self-gloat.
As he struggles between the young Naomi, with whom he has a blun-
Abí Ní Mhuircheartaigh
EAGARTHÓIRÍ GAEILGE
Seo hiad roinnt ‘pickup lines’ gur féidir leat úsáid chun daoine a mhealladh agus tú ar ragúis óil.
An bhfuil Gaeilge agat ? Mar tá mé ag iarraidh mo theanga a úsáid leat.
Do you speak Irish ? Because I want to use my language/tongue with you.
Suí ar mo ghlúin agus labhróimid faoin gcéad rud a thiocfaidh in airde.
Sit on my knee and we’ll speak about the first thing that comes up.
Chaill mé m’uimhir fóin, an dtabharfá do cheannsa domsa?
I lost my phone number, would you give me yours?
Is maith liom tonnmharcaíocht, ach b'fhéarr liom thú a mharcaíocht.
dering financial and sexual relationship, and his former lover Sylvia who suffers from chronic pain after an unexplained accident, Peter becomes more and more unspooled, abusing drugs and alcohol and tearing through Dublin in a
the reader too close, too deep into his inner thoughts, Ivan is miles away in comparison. His fumbles into love with an older woman, Margaret, are more endearing than uncomfortable, though he’s certainly never graceful about it.
very Bloom-esque manner.
Ivan cuts an awkwardly charming physique. Compared to his much-older brother, passages from his perspective are strategic and, in some ways, more distant: it’s a chess game of next steps and future consequences. If Peter holds
Rooney seems to hold Ivan in a precious way: though he lacks Peter’s charisma, there’s a boyish and sincere appeal to how he sees the world. At many points, he presents as aeons wiser than the brother ten years his senior.
Although we’re covering new ground with familial relationships on a much more intimate level – all of Rooney’s past novels keep a considerable distance between the character and the family, compared to ‘Intermezzo’– Peter and Ivan’s relationship to the world around them unsurprisingly echoes that of other Rooney characters. They question their place in society, criticise capitalism (Ivan due to his unemployment status, Peter regarding his relationship with a sex worker), and toil with the difficulty that love presses onto their lives.
To call the conversations in ‘Intermezzo’ a ‘comfort zone’, though, is probably an underestimation. In fact, in ‘Intermezzo,’ through the exploration of Peter and Ivan’s respective internal struggles, Rooney seems to constantly be stretching, expanding her cultural lexicon onwards and outwards, touching
grief and masculinity in ways she’s shied away from in novels past. Both Ivan and Peter’s respective inner turmoils about how they face the loss of a parent, about what is appropriate for a man to feel, are a new balancing act for Rooney, and one that she handles with grace. Its plot may be different on its face than Rooney’s past toils with young love and relationships, but the bones remain the same. She still writes with a surgeon’s precision, her keen and focused understanding of interpersonal relationships nearly claustrophobic in how close it brings the reader to its characters. That is what will draw fans of her work back in: the comforting level of Rooneyism that ‘Intermezzo’ maintains. She’s growing, but in a way that’s entirely her own. After all, Rooney said herself in a recent interview with The New York Times that literary reinvention is a trite, unfair expectation to place on authors.
“I never think about [Intermezzo] in relation to my other work, and I never think about what people will say about how close or distant it is from my oeuvre,” she explained to the Times. “I don’t think of myself as even having an oeuvre...There is a huge cultural fixation with novelty and growth. Everything has to grow all the time. Get bigger, sell more and be different — novelty, reinvention. I don’t find that very interesting.”
I like surfing, but I’d rather surf/ride you.
Dá mba thusa m’obair bhaile, dhéanfainn tú chuile oíche.
If you were my homework, I’d do you every night.
An gcreidfeá dá ndéarfainn go bhfuil réalta amháin in easnamh sa spéir anocht?
Would you believe me if I said there’s a star missing from the sky tonight?
Tá mé ag smaoineamh cad eile gur féidir le do bhéal a dhéanamh seachas gáire a chur orm I’m wondering what else your mouth can do besides making me smile
from the period, considering how they might reflect the reality of real people's non-normative lives. It could definitely be a challenge.
Medhurst’s text, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion, is a powerful reclaiming of the past. Through clear and captivating prose, she vividly showcases the stories of lesbians and queer individuals whose lives have been hidden, forgotten, or intentionally left out of mainstream narratives.
Meticulously researched and full of humanity, Medhurst offers both an educational and validating experience for readers, emphasising how clothing has long been a form of self-expression and defiance, especially within queer communities.
From Sappho to Christina of Sweden, her text is an essential read for anyone eager to dive into the rich but repeatedly neglected history of queer communities, exploring how fashion has shaped lesbian identity and resistance.
1. What methodologies did you employ to navigate the complexities of uncovering lesbian histories through fashion, especially given the deliberate erasure and lack of records, to write your text, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion? Unsuitable was brought to life by a range of approaches, and it often depended on the topic at hand. For instance, when writing about Anne Lister's lesbian self-fashioning, I trawled through Anne's diary entries to discover her own perspective on her clothes, as well as to make connections with the clothes and style choices of others in her community. Sometimes, though, I had to be a bit more inventive with my approach to lesbian history. Where there was little solid evidence, lesbian fashion history is more like a patchwork of examples; when exploring the role of seventeenth century 'female husbands' within a wider lineage of lesbian fashion history, I had to consider pop-cultural examples
2. Which archival finds or cultural moments most challenged or expanded your understanding of the sartorial choices of queer individuals across different historical and geographical contexts?
Something that really changed the way that I approached lesbian fashion history in Unsuitable was going through online archives of lesbian magazines from Weimar Germany - Frauenliebe and Die Freundin. I'd always planned for the book to be trans-inclusive, of course, but the extent to which trans lives (under the label 'transvestites') were intertwined with lesbian culture and fashion within a metropolitan Weimar context was astounding. Articles about how to dress as a transvestite were published in multiple copies of the magazines, and adverts for lesbian club nights (such as 'monokelfest', where 'every lady gets a monocle for free') were nestled next to adverts for the same club's transvestite social evenings. These finds were the basis of a chapter in the book, and I personally think that it's one of the most important that I've written.
3. How do you trace the evolution of lesbian sartorial identity from figures like Queen Christina and Gentleman Jack to contemporary queer fashion icons, and what continuities or disruptions do you observe?
Something that I thought about while writing the book was how lesbian fashion history is almost a string of influences - that some historical figures may not explicitly be icons of lesbian fashion, but they're still very much precursors to lesbian fashions that have developed over time. This is, I think, particularly true for Queen Christina, whose sexuality (and gender) has been so much debated that she belongs within lesbian histor-
ical study no matter what her actual thoughts on the matter might have been! And there are definitely recurring themes within the clothes that she wore and the way that she styled herself, even if the garments may be very different. The freedom of expression that's evident in descriptions of her appearance are mirrored, for me, in lesbian feminist activist fashion of the late twentieth century, where lesbians turned the idea of 'ugliness' on its head by dressing in ways that were practical and oppositional to the male gaze. No matter how far apart we live, we're all human, after all - we're not really all that different.
4. Your text discusses a spectrum of styles, including Black lesbian aesthetics, trans lesbian fashion, and gender nonconformity. How do these varied expressions of self intersect, and what complexities do they reveal about the multiplicity within lesbian communities? It was really important to me that I navigate some of the (many) intersections that overlap with lesbian identity and consequently lesbian fashion. I was conscious that I write as a cis, white author, and that so much of the most recorded and celebrated lesbian history is cis and white - even though this isn't reflective of the reality. The different identities and experiences that people have are instrumental to their relationship with clothing, and the way that people's bodies are perceived by the people around them affects the way that their self-fashioning is received, too. Not all lesbian fashion choices are the same. It's difficult to answer a question about complexity, because there's so much to say (and I hope that I've said some of it in the book) - but essentially, lesbian fashion history is often an analysis of the way that we shield and/or celebrate oppressed bodies to the world. When a body is oppressed in a number of ways, the ways that it can be shielded or
celebrated with clothing or style choices can be very different, and it's important to make these distinctions.
5. In what ways has the mainstream fashion industry historically marginalised or coopted lesbian and queer aesthetics, and do you see a genuine shift in this dynamic today?
In recent years there have definitely been concerns that lesbian and queer fashions/aesthetics are being co-opted by the mainstream fashion industry, and these aren't unfounded. It's also nothing new: complaints about lesbian style becoming watered down by mainstream reimaginings have been being published in lesbian books, blogs and magazines for decades!
history) can sometimes be quite male-centric - and while of course queer men's fashion cultures and contributions deserve attention, I really just wanted lesbians to have a moment to shine. I hope that the book will inspire others to carry on this research, too.
For example, Doc Martens have been a queer staple for a while, but since the 1990s lesbians have been complaining about their growing mainstream appeal. I do think, though, that things are different today. With social media, we all have more of a personal presence - I think that queer fashions are more likely to be recognised as queer (or at least as having queer origins!) because we're all online insisting on them.
6. What do you hope Unsuitable will contribute to ongoing discussions about fashion as both a medium of queer visibility and a tool for subversion?
It's my hope that Unsuitable will bring more attention to specifically lesbian influences on queer fashion, and the importance of clothing to the discovery and analysis of lesbian history. I think that queer fashion (and queer fashion
Irish author Anne Enright’s events are always a delight to attend, and last week’s talk at the Trinity Science Gallery was no exception. Held as part of the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation’s annual “Great Irish Writers in Translation” series, the event celebrated both European Day of Languages and International Translation Day. By working with the EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), this event highlighted the global reach of Irish literature through conversations between Enright and two of her European
translators. Enright was joined by Polish translator Kaja Gucio and Romanian translator Lulia Gorzo, both of whom have translated Enright’s most recent novel The Wren, The Wren into their respective languages.
As Ireland’s first fiction laureate, Enright’s work has been translated into almost 40 languages. Yet the translators chosen to speak with Enright at the event were especially significant to Irish writing, as Polish and Romanian are the most spoken languages at home in Ireland, after English and Irish. Listening to both translators speak about their experience translating, it is obvious that translating is not only
about language but also about translating culture. Both translators spoke about the challenges of translating Enright’s work and how environment and language can shape an individual’s thoughts and perception. It can be quite difficult to translate Ireland’s unique popular cultural references to the same capacity, not to mention translating the Irish accent, which was described as “the devil’s work”, by Gorzo.
Throughout the conversation, it became clear that translation requires remarkable creativity. One example that especially stood out was Gucio explaining one of the last excerpts she translated in The
Wren, The Wren– Enright’s phrase “Louth, Actually”, a reference to the film Love, Actually. Having to grapple with maintaining the same popular culture reference, Gucio decided to switch the word Louth to Meath in the Polish edition, as the Polish word for love, miłość, sounds much more similar to Meath than Louth. While this anecdote made the audience laugh, it also highlights the meticulous work that translators have to do.
At the end of the conversation, it became evident that translating is not simply a technical skill, but an act that requires cultural interpretation and understanding.
If you are interested in world litera-
7. How do you position fashion within lesbian communities both as a marker of inclusion and as a mode of resistance against prevailing heteronormative expectations? I think that fashion plays a more important role within lesbian communities and lesbian history that it's often given credit for. Fashion isn't just following the latest trends - it's any way that we dress and present ourselves with intention, and for lesbians the intention behind our self-presentation can say a lot. It can be a way to form a community identity, with quasi-uniforms. It can be a way to rebel against dominant culture. My position is that fashion is an incredible lens through which to consider social histories, and that I'm considering lesbian social histories within a heteronormative world.
Medhurst’s text, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion is now available in Hodges Figgis.
ture or the global influence of Irish literature, the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation is a great community to become involved with. Events are mostly free and open to the public, and include a Murakami Book Club, film screenings, and poetry readings. While Ireland is celebrated as a literary hub, the Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation offers insights into the reasons behind this reputation, while also showcasing other cultures through these events.
Amélie McGowan RADIUS EDITOR
Chairperson of Fashion Society Amelia Ní Thuathail and DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) Officer Ola Obadina recently sat down with The University Times to discuss their previous and upcoming work, their goals, and their observations at Trinity. While they both had different goals for the upcoming year, they echoed the same sentiment: come one, come all. Fashion is for everyone.
Were both of you involved in Fashion Society last year, and if so, what did you work on, what specific pieces or designs maybe you contributed to, and what projects were you a part of?
AMELIA: We were both on Erasmus for the full year in Paris last year, but we both were on the committee in second year, and our main contribution that year was to the fashion show. Both of us worked a lot with the models in the show, and because both of us have experience modelling before, we did a lot of the trainings for the walks for the actual show itself, and then kind of planned the route that models would be taking while walking.
What was your favourite part about making those projects? What's your favourite part about being involved in this society?
OLA: For me, I really loved getting involved with the show, just because I really value inclusivity, and I think the show is a great way to show that like anyone can model, there's no specific look to a model. It's just more about wearing the clothes, how it makes you feel, and we really push that. We're going to try and push it even more this year, especially with the themes that we choose as well.We do try to keep it quite broad, so that it does include a wide variety of looks and people, as well as the designers, and the clothes that we get. We get a range of different sizes, and we always try to prioritise getting sustainable Irish brands as well—which I think is a really good thing on our part, because sustainability is something that we care a lot about too.
AMELIA: The show is usually my favourite part. I'd be similar with Ola, my favourite part is inclusivity and diversity. Meeting other people who are very different to myself, and I think the best part about the Fashion Society is the fact that it's not necessarily linked to any one course or any one kind of topic. Every single person can get involved in fashion. It's something that affects all of us because we all wear clothes, which is kind of a basic way of saying it, but it's a
great way to just meet all different kinds of people.
For both of you guys, what influenced you to get into fashion in the first place? What was the beginning of this journey?
AMELIA: For me, growing up, my mom actually lived in Paris for six years, and she worked for a fashion house. She worked for Nina Ricci, and so growing up fashion was always a really big part of my life. Our whole life, even on our Christmas tree, she would use old haute couture earrings as decorations for the tree. I've just grown up with those kinds of pieces around me—it's always been a real focus in my house. Fashion has just been something that's been ingrained from a very, very young age. For me, hearing the stories about her work when she was younger, [made me want to] follow in her footsteps in that way. OLA: For me it kind of comes back to my culture a little bit, because I'm Nigerian originally. Our style there and the clothes we wear there is so different to what is worn here. And I think it's amazing. But growing up, I see my mom wearing stuff that is completely different to what I'd be wearing, like at school, or I'd see my friends wearing. So I think I just got a bit of an interest in just the way people express themselves through their clothing. Then I just thought modelling was great too, because I used to watch a lot of fashion shows. I used to watch America's Next Top Model a lot as well. So I was like, I could do that. And then yeah, got into fashion.
to figure out what it is that you actually like as a person, rather than picking what the crowd is going for. Also either buying sec-
be quite serious. I don't want to say exclusionary, but I do think that sometimes it has a reputation that precedes it where people can find
ondhand or buying pieces that are good quality that will last a long time. And I think buying a lot of statement pieces as well will go with a lot of other things like planning. For me, when I go into a shop, I don't just buy anything. I wouldn't just buy one thing because if you do that, often you'll end up buying something that you might never actually wear. I'm very particular about knowing.
OLA: I completely agree. I do the exact same. And I think just going for timelessness over trends is just huge. It even saves you a lot of money as well because you're not having to replace the clothes. You can wash them and they don't go bad. So it's just a lot of cost savings as well.
All right. So what advice would you give to those wanting to start or get into fashion?
OLA: In general, do it for the right reasons. A lot of people think fashion is super glamorous, but honestly, a lot of it isn't. And it is such a big contributor to global warming, and it does have some really bad effects in terms of climate change.
What would you say for people wanting to offset those kinds of fast trends, what are ways they can kind of push against that?
AMELIA: When you shop, buy stuff that you really like. Take the time
What are your goals for this upcoming year, both personally and for the society?
AMELIA: Last year, a lot of the goals were diversity and inclusivity and being more environmentally conscious. We want to continue that this year.Like, for example, we’ve appointed Ola as our diversity and inclusivity officer. We decided as a committee that that was something that we needed in the society and we're currently in the process of rewriting our constitution to include it. So hopefully it'll continue for years going forward. Other than that, I want to bring the society back to being about having a bit more fun because I think it can
for a lot of the incredible creations in the industry right now.
It's so interesting because I think fashion as a whole, the more international it gets, the just more vibrant it can become. It makes it whole. How do you think being at Trinity influences your fashion choices? Do you think the environment inspires you?
OLA: There's a load of different trends on campus. I always see a lot of vintage wear, and I love that style. Then you also see a bit of streetwear and then just some cultural wear as well. I think in [my] first year I tried to intentionally dress like a Trinity student would, but at the moment now I kind of really just wear whatever I want. I've learned to be confident in my own style. I guess Trinity has helped me in a way, but I think it definitely took a bit of time.
it quite intimidating. I remember at Freshers' Fair, a lot of people would say ‘oh, I don't know if I'm fashionable enough to join fashion society.’ I want to really knock that out. I want that gone this year. I really want it to be about just having fun and just trying something new. That's part of the reason with our applications for our new magazine. We're asking people to try something that they have no experience in. We're really looking for people to just take a shot at something that they've never done before.
OLA: As DEI officer, I'm going to hone in on everyone [being welcome to our events]. Not just getting involved in the committee, but just coming along to events because it is for everyone. Even with the fashion show, we're going to ensure that we have a lot of people with different body types from different ethnic backgrounds, and different religions as well. [I'd] love to see some hijabs on the runway. I think that'd be incredible. We're going to be collaborating with the Afro-Caribbean society and we will try and collaborate with some more societies that are from minority backgrounds or underrepresented groups. I think those collaborations will help the general student population see that fashion is for everyone. Also acknowledging that the roots of fashion are a lot of it does come from different cultures and different communities. We do owe them thanks
AMELIA: Trinity is a really interesting case where obviously a lot of people in Trinity have access to the internet, so there are certain trends that you'll see that are coming in from the internet, but I also think Trinity is its own bubble. A lot of the style you see in Trinity is reflective of Dublin style. There's a huge influence of the kind of grunge style that was strong in the 90s in Dublin in particular, which is cool to see. There are definitely certain things you could pinpoint as something that a Trinity student would wear. A lot of big scarves, different kinds of tights and Doc Martens. It's a really cool case that Trinity is this almost bubble where I have my own style, but Trinity gives me a space where I am challenged to go further. It’s a safe space where you could show up to Trinity in anything. You could show up in a track suit or you could show up in a full ball gown and I really don't think anyone would bat an eye.
Talk to me about your upcoming magazine, DAGDA.
AMELIA: We want people to know the aim is to create an editorial magazine; it's by students and representative of students. [Looking at] fashion both within Trinity and in the greater Dublin area. [It is] for people who want to get involved, and that there are applications for stylists, models, photographers in our bio as well.
Ellen Duggan STAFF WRITER
Marty Breen, writer of and performer in BITCH, a drag cabaret show performed for Dublin Fringe at Bewley’s Cafe Theatre, discussed their recent performance with the University Times. Breen graduated from the Lir in 2018, and is a member of Broad Strokes Improv, an all-women and non-binary improv group. BITCH was nominated for and won several awards at the Dublin Fringe Awards, including a Best Performer Award for Breen. BITCH was developed at Fringe Lab - is the concept you began with very different to what you’re now staging?
The play was a baby in my mind for a few years. What I applied with was a full comedy, in the form of a stand-up guy, who's our drag king, doing stand-up at a mic in sections in between our drag queen, who's a cabaret singer. Both two Comedy Club characters. She can only sing and play at the piano, and he does stand-up at the mic. I thought that it could remain a comedy all the way through, even though what I was talking about was quite heavy material.
I had always known where I wanted that story to go. But in writing, I got to a point where something happens in the play, and I had to eventually have a meeting with Fringe. going, “I'm very worried, because I applied with a full com-
edy.” It became something quite different. The form of the play kind of dissolves, and it becomes something else, which leaves the audience with questions of what they were laughing at before. The themes are heavy, but the point of the show is that it is a comedy. There's a line I like that's a refrain in it, which is, ‘you have to laugh or you might die.’
There's also the kind of blurred line of- are they different characters or is it one person processing something that happened? She says in the first song, ‘Welcome to the dog fight bitches.’ And it is that. It's competing for the audience’s complicity and approval, and whose side they're on in what becomes kind of the same story. The whole point is we want the audience to come and really be there for a good time. It's not that we want to pull the wool over their eyes, but I think people are at their most vulnerable when they're laughing. That's when you can gut punch them, because it's the very same things that they were laughing at that are the things that break their heart. I think that's proven so much in comedy, and it's why I love that form. So yeah, it's very different to what I originally applied with in a way. The concept and the form and the story are all the same, but I realised it takes such a different turn and kind of becomes a different experience for the audience
about halfway through. BITCH is a drag cabaret show, and focuses on queer experience. What are your thoughts on the intersections between queer culture and theatre and how do you think BITCH incorporates these intersections?
BITCH, for me, is a real love letter to specifically queer and underbelly theatre. It happens to be a play that is hung on comedy, which is not stand-up; stand-up is still not really considered an art form, even though it absolutely is. It’s such a space of subversiveness and social commentary, which I think is inherently queer. And then cabaret is, I think, the queerest art form. If you go back to its roots, it has always been a revolt against more traditional theatre and more traditional ideas. So putting those both on stage and then hanging them on the structure of a play was really what interested me, and is everything I love about theatre. The fact that I'm doing drag and playing both characters, you couldn't do that in film, you couldn't do that anywhere else, is what makes it a really live experience that couldn't exist anywhere else.
In terms of queer experiences,this [our Bitch Character] is a person who has a lot of internalised misogyny and homophobia, and actually, so does our stand-up guy. But there's nothing explicit that the world taught them. There's no
éis ceithre séasúir, níl ach bonjour agus au revoir aici.
Le heisiúnt an tseasúir is déanaí de Emily in Paris, tá aon cheist amháin ann i mbéal an phobailan é seo an fíorshaol san Eoraip? Rachaidh mé tríd fírinní an tsaoil sa Fhrainc, ina theannta sin, mar dhuine idirnáisiúnta, ag obair nó staidéarm inti. Dhíbligh na Phárasaigh an clár teilifíse seo go trom de bharr an léirithe steiréitipiciúil a thugtar ar an bpríomhchathair. Is léir go raibh ráth ollmhór ag Emily in Paris ar Netflix ar feadh na blianta, go háirithe le déanaí leis an gceathrú séasúr nua, le seasúr a cúig ag teacht. Tugann an clár teilifíse seo léargás dúinn ar bhean Mheiriceánach, Emily Cooper, as Chicago,a bhog go Páras, príomhchathair na Fraince. Tá sí faoi bhláth ón chéad nóiméad. Bhí mé féin i mo chónaí i mBordeaux, tugtar an “Paris Beag” air. Ar ndóigh, níl sé mar an gcéanna ach is féidir liom comparáid a dhéanamh idir an shaol atá ag Emily ina cónaí sa Fhrainc mar ‘Expat’ agus mé féin i mo chónaí ann mar dhuine idirnáisiúnta anuraidh ar Erasmus. Bhí an t-ádh liom go bhfuil Fraincís agam, scil nach bhfuil ag Emily, ar an drochuair. ar
I dtosach báire, tosóidh mé leis an rómánsú ar an shaol sa Fhrainc. Is an fhírinne é an cliché seo. Níl aon dabht faoi ach gur tír álainn lán le stair agus le hailtireacht iontach í an Fhrainc. Anuas ar sin, bhí mé féin gafa le caife agus croissants chuile lá, i mo shuí sa lochtán taobh amuigh. Mhothaigh mé mar dhuine francis áitiúil ag siúl go dtí an bácús do bhaguette agus císte úr i gcónaí. An áit ab fhearr liom a bheith i mo shuí le gloine fíona ná os comhair na hardeaglaise i lár na cathrach, agus bhíodh ceol beo ann go han-mhinic. Bhí sé cosúil le sin i ngach áit. Ní bhfaightear a leithéid ar shráid Grafton i mBaile Átha Cliath. An rud is déarfaí agus is deise domsa ná an teanga dhúchas, an Fhraincis a chloistéail i ngach áit. I mo thuairimse, is í an Fhraincis, i measc na dteangacha is áille, is fileata, agus is binne ar domhan. Mar Ghaeilgeoir,chuir sé seo ionadh ormsa , bhí éad orm nach mbíonn sé mar an gcéanna in Éirinn maidir leis an Ghaeilge, ach fós cuireadh gliondar agus inspioráid i mo chrói. Níl aon dabht faoi ach go bhfuil na daoine Francacha, go hárithe na fir, an-rómánsúl ar fad. Is cinnte
character that made them feel this way. There's no part of their story that they can point to and go, ‘Oh, that's why I am the way I am. That's why I treat people badly,’ or, ‘That's why I punch down,’ or ‘That's why I behave in a certain way.’ So it's kind of asking those unanswerable questions of nature vs nurture, but more so how do you separate yourself from your experiences, and what do you do with them? Do you take it out on other people? Is it easier to punch down than face the thing that you can't really see?
This structure or this brainwashing [laughs] that we've all allowed ourselves to believe, that, how bad things are is how bad things need to be. That we've resigned ourselves to that because it's easier to resign yourself than to look at the huge rot and poison in the very foundations of the society that we live in. Because they're really hard to point at. What BITCH is really looking at is this chicken and egg thing. Do your experiences inform who you become, how you treat other people? How do you divorce them from that? How can you ever know who you really are, separate to the world you've grown up in, or the things that have happened to you? Are you what you're made, or are you fundamentally a bad person, in this case?
One of the big things that I have been poking out with the show is
everyone knows somebody who has experienced the themes in the show.The thing that Bitch goes through, everyone does. But very few people would say they know, would admit they know, or would want to admit to themselves that they know and love somebody who does what our stand up guy does. And I think that's part of the problem, that we can't have that conversation. Because it's awful. No one wants to admit that. No one wants to have those conversations. Why would you? It's seeing a problem that you want to pretend isn't there. But the problem is still there, there's still people walking around like Bitch. She has a whole section at the end talking about the shadow on her back, this thing that she has to carry that was given to her by somebody else and that she'll never know who she is with or without it.
gur bhuaileadh suaitheadh cultúir liom nuair a chuaigh mé go dtí an Fhrainc. Ní haon rún é go mbíonn Éireannaigh sách cúthail gan chumarsáid a dhéanamh lena bpáirtnéirí agus araile. Ar an drochuair, ní bheidh a fhios ag éinne ar a gcuid mothúcháin i gcaidreamh nó situationship. Sin í an fhírinne. Seo iad na cúiseanna a leanas go dtaitníonn siad go mór linne. I dtosach báire, bíonn muinín acu, agus mar sin ní bhíonnego lage acu. Chomh maith le sin, mothaítear go bhfuil tú i sscánnan, mar shampla ‘The Lizzie McGuire Movie’, mar phríomhcharachtair ag dul timpeall ar vespa nó a leithéid. Dar le mo chara, gan a ainm a lua, “Ní maith liom fir ach is maith liom fir thar lear… mothaím an rómánsú agus tá sé dochreidte, bím ar mhuin na muice, is ag guí iadsan leanúint ar aghaidh mé féin a mhealladh.” Ar an taobh eile, Is léir go bhfuil an saol a léirítear i Emily in Paris rómánsúil agus gan dua, ag tabhairt léargais ar shaol lán le caidrimh láithreach, cóisirí eisiacha, agus comhtháthú gan stró i sochaí agus stíl mhaireachtála na Fraince. Ach i ndáiríre, níl sé chomh simplí nó chomh draíochtúil sin, go háirithe muna bhfuil Fraincis líofa agat. Ina theannta sin, tá an teanga
ríthábhachtach i saol na Fraince. I gcodarsnacht le hEmily, a léiríonn neamhaird ar an teanga, tá sé i bhfad níos deacra dul i ngleic le cúrsaí laethúla sa Fhrainc gan Fhraincis a bheith agat. Is fíor é a rá nach n-athróidh daoine go Béarla go héasca i gcomhráite. Déanann sé seo an saol níos dúshlánaí d’eachtrannaigh. Níl fonn fíor ag Emily Fraincis a fhoghlaim. Tá an t-ádh léi an deis a bheith aici cónaigh sa tír féin chun í féin a thumadh in aistear fhoghlaim na teanga, ach baineann sí leas as chun taribhe di. Níl mórán Francaí líofa i mBéarla. In ainneoin a léirítear, níll sé éasca a bheith i do chónaí sa Fhrainc gan an theanga agus sin í an fhírinne. Mar fhocal scoir, tá saol Emily in Paris i bhfad níos simplí, rómánsúil agus neamhfhírinneach ná fíorshaol sa Fhrainc. Cé go bhfuil sé siamsúil, ní léiríonn sé an saol laethúil a bhíonn ag eachtrannaigh, go háirithe dóibh siúd nach bhfuil líofa sa theanga nó atá ag déileáil le fíordhúshláin an tsaoil sa Fhrainc.
Dublin Independent Fashion Week (DIFW) is transforming Ireland’s fashion landscape.
Born out of a grassroots desire to give Irish designers a local platform, DIFW debuted in 2023 and quickly captured the attention of the fashion industry.
With a bigger line-up and a weeklong schedule of events this year, it is set to become a staple in the global fashion calendar.
Aisling Duffy, a rising star in Irish fashion known for her timeless, sustainably crafted designs, shares her creative process, her commitment to sustainability, and what is next for her brand as she takes the spotlight at Dublin Independent Fashion Week
What inspired the creation of Dublin Independent Fashion Week (DIFW), and how has the event evolved since its debut last year at The Chocolate Factory?
DIFW began as a conversation between a group of friends, who wanted to create an opportunity to showcase their work in Ireland. We all run Fashion and Accessory brands and met through the Trinity Fashion Show in early 2023. Responding to the lack of an official Fashion Week in Ireland we created DIFW to provide a platform for both emerging and established talents in Irish Fashion to showcase their work to both a national and international audience.
Our goal is to build upon and expand each year, creating a space for fashion, jewellery and accessory designers to showcase their work within a supportive community of Irish designers.
Last year’s debut took place in the Chocolate Factory showcasing the work of 8 Designers. For this year’s fashion week, we have expanded the line-up to 20 Designers and have events taking place in various locations around Dublin from the 11th-17th November 2024.
How did you decide on the format of this year’s event, expanding from a weekend to a full week, and what can attendees expect from this extended experience?
Reflecting on the success of 2023, we know that there is a demand out there for an even more ambitious fashion event in Dublin.
In February and August this year some of our committee attended and showcased their collections at Copenhagen Fashion Week. We wanted to incorporate that model of a schedule with fashion events running throughout the week. For DIFW 2024 we have created a week-long event with a running schedule full of fashion events. Attendees will experience a week of
Fashion celebrating the amazing talent of Designers based in Ireland.
The week will kick off with Designer Collection Presentations at Fade Street Studios, running Monday 11th – Thursday 14th (details TBA).
The week will culminate with our Smock Alley event, a two-day event in the banquet hall curated for the Fashion Industry (Friday 15th November) and open to the public (Saturday 16th November, tickets tba late October)
Expect to attend Fashion Presentations at Fade Street Studios (11th – 14th November) and finish the week with the incredible Smock Alley Showroom (16th November). There you will find 20 Designers showcasing their work, with each brand curating their own immersive space, welcoming visitors into their world. As well as this, DIFW will debut its "Ones to Watch" feature of six emerging talents on the cusp of breaking through.
With the growing presence and success of Irish designers globally, such as Michael Stewart and Simone Rochas, how does Dublin Independent Fashion Week help to showcase Irish talent on a more local stage?
The level of talent in Ireland is incredibly impressive, with designers specialising in Fashion, Knitwear, Jewellery, Accessories and Digital Interactive Fashion yet Ireland doesn’t have an official Fashion Week - an event many European cities have twice a year. With DIFW we are creating a platform for Designers to showcase their work here in Dublin. While London has long been the next step for Irish Designers to showcase and develop their brands as an Independent Fashion Designer finding a budget or funding to showcase at an event like London Fashion Week seems like an impossible task.
Having lived in London for years, it was only after moving back to Dublin and building connections with Fashion Designers in Ireland that I realised the need for an event like this in Ireland. Creating a fashion week in Ireland is a way of providing brands with accessible opportunities to build connections, network and feel supported within a community of designers based in Ireland.
DIFW 2023 was also successful in providing a space for stylists, photographers, models, content creators and fashion industry professionals to meet, connect and network.
The event’s move to Smock Alley Theatre seems like a perfect fit. What role does this historic venue play in complementing the vision of
Our vision for DIFW 2024 is to elevate and expand on the experience of DIFW 2023.
When we were deciding on a venue for our 2024 Fashion week, natural light was important to us. The banquet hall at Smock Alley is a beautiful historic venue in Temple Bar with impressive stained-glass windows and a high-rise ornate ceiling.
We also wanted a venue that was large enough to align with our ambitions for DIFW 2024, showcasing double the number of Designers as last year in an iconic and beautiful setting.
Sustainability is a core focus for many of the designers involved. How does Dublin Independent Fashion Week highlight sustainable practices within the fashion industry?
Each designer's work on the committee of DIFW is grounded in a commitment to sustainability. We have always looked to Copenhagen Fashion Week and how they have set out a minimum set of standards that designers must meet to showcase their collections there. That focus has influenced our approach to our event planning and designer selection.
One of our main criteria when we opened the application for new designers to showcase at DIFW 2024 was to ask how sustainability was reflected in their work and processes.
One of the aspects of sustainable fashion is transparency of the lifecycle of how a product is made. DIFW aims to support designers in aspects of fashion production, providing a space where designers
can ask each other questions, offer advice, recommend fashion industry contacts and ultimately hold each other up.
Irish designers like Seán McGirr and Jonathan Anderson are leading major global fashion houses. Do you see Dublin Independent Fashion Week as a platform to help launch more Irish talent onto the international stage?
Our aim is to create a platform for designers to showcase their work to both a national and international audience.
By showcasing at DIFW designers will have the opportunity to network with buyers, press and influencers working within the fashion industry. A starting point towards building connections and recognition.
DIFW will continue to grow and expand each year, so this is just the beginning!
What challenges have you faced in organising and self-funding an event of this scale, especially when running your own independent businesses?
The DIFW committee is made up of 7 Designers.
Laoise Carey, Sarah Carroll Kelly, Aisling Duffy, Ríon Hannora, Mihai Mar, Megan McGuigan, and Sarah O’Neill
Each of us run our own independent businesses, with both online and retail shops, so it has been a huge additional commitment to organise this event.
Running a brand is a full-time job and we have all put in an incredible amount of time and energy
into making this week happen –that’s how passionate we are!
We set to work on DIFW 2024 almost immediately after DIFW 2023 ended, months of planning, meetings and organisation that has gone into this year’s event.
This year we have a Social Media manager, and graphic designers come on board helping run our social media, they are doing an amazing job.
Last year’s event was entirely self-funded, but we are delighted that this year’s Irish Design Showroom in Smock Alley Theatre is part-funded by the Design & Crafts Council Ireland.
The two-day event will go live in conjunction with this year's Irish Design Week.
What is your vision for the future of Dublin Independent Fashion Week, and how do you see it evolving/hope it will evolve over the next few years?
Our vision for DIFW is to grow and expand each year.
We will continue to build out a weeklong schedule structure and encourage even more designers and brands to take part.
We would love to find some permanent funding support and a venue that would be associated with the annual event.
DIFW 2023 was so well received - we were blown away by the response and demand for tickets and desire to be part of it.
For us it confirmed the need for a fashion week in Dublin gives us the determination to grow year on year!
Sophie Quinn
EDITOR
It’s my first time visiting Photo Museum Ireland, and I’m lost. Tucked up in one of the less trafficked nooks of Temple Bar, it shares a square with both the National Photographic Archive and the whimsical old entrance of the Irish Film Institute. In essence, it’s exactly where you would expect to find it - if only you knew where to look. As I venture inside and get my first glimpse of Shane Lynam’s Pebbledash Wonderland, this is a sentiment that sticks with me. Lynam’s photographs are spread sparsely across the museum. Stumbling upstairs, I find myself in a blank white room. Its wooden floor is etched with a single semicircular line, and for a moment I fancy myself to be standing on a basketball court. Some photos are framed in black or white trim, others are printed onto thin veneered sheets. At the back of the first
floor, hidden somewhat confusingly behind a curtain, the intrepid visitor finds a carousel of black and white images, soundtracked by nothing but their own breathing. The cumulative impression is that of walking through the door of a haberdashers – the most apt metaphor for Dublin City I have found to date.
Though the presentation of Lynam’s work is indeed assorted, it can in no way be accused of randomness. Photographs are placed strategically around the room, mimicking the actual spaces they occupy in an urban environment.
An image of a plastic drainpipe claims the uppermost corner of the gallery, while a heap of bricks consumes its diagonal counterpart. I return with fondness to the image of the haberdashers, only here Lynam exchanges buttons for bricks, thread for power lines, and zippers for yellowed road markings that curve out of sight. The exhibition’s introductory statement expounds this idea,
stating ‘formed by the repeated, linked actions of walking and photographing, the work reflects Lynam’s dual position as observer and participant.’ Any visitor of Pebbledash Wonderland will find themselves occupying a similar duality, as it is notably peculiar to attend an exhibition in the very city which it documents. In this sense, I’m reminded of last year’s November riots. Inside the chamber of the Philosophical Society, students debated the motion, ‘This Is As Good As It Gets.’ Outside the chamber, the streets were inundated with looters and riot police, helicopters hovering overhead. Pebbledash Wonderland captures this dichotomy visually. It showcases a city in crisp, static imagery, while outside the windows that city plays out with an energy that couldn’t be further from stasis.
Passing the museum’s gift shop, the charm of consumerism is too great to deter. I fish a two euro coin from the pocket of my jeans and buy a postcard emblazoned with
a photograph of Jim Morrison’s grave. An image of Patti Smith in Paris emerges. Dashing back into the pebbled Dublin streets, I recall a quote from her memoir, Just Kids, ‘There were days, rainy gray days, when the streets of Brooklyn
PHOTO BY SOPHIE QUINN
were worthy of a photograph, every window the lens of a Leica, the view grainy and immobile.’
Pebbledash Wonderland will run in Photo Museum Ireland from August 24th to October 12th.
DEPUTY SOCIETIES EDITOR
Knitting has become remarkably popular at Trinity College, with the Knitting Society, known as Knit Soc, boasting an impressive 500 active members. Their weekly Wednesday "Stitch and Bitch" sessions, held in the Elizabeth Room in Teach a sé, consistently draw more than 50 members who come together to knit and socialise. Larger events like their 24 hour Knitathon see an even greater turnout. Knit Soc was founded as a place to relax, engage in crafting and escape from academic stress. "There’s a wonderful sense of community at Knitting Society," said one committee member. "We have undergraduates, postgraduates, and staff at our events, and we welcome all skill levels." The society attributes a large part of its success to the calming and therapeutic nature of knitting, which helps people slow down in today’s fastpaced digital world. "It encourages people to put down their phones, and it provides opportunities to meet new people." The committee also credits the rise of slow fashion and sustainability for knitting’s resurgence among students.
Knit Soc is committed to reaching a broader audience, both within Ireland and around the world. They have collaborated with other societies, including DU Gamers,
where members made dice bags, and Circus Society, where participants made their own hacky sacks. Their most recent collaboration was with the Eastern European So-
ciety, where participants learned Polish cross-stitch and Hungarian embroidery. The group is also involved in charity work, collaborating with the Red Cross and hosting
a fundraiser for Ukraine. "Craft is a way to connect with the whole world," shared the committee. "Everyone wears clothes, and every culture embellishes them”.
The Irish Traditional Music Society (Trad Soc) is also experiencing a surge in popularity, attracting a growing number of both Irish and international students. The society has gained wider recognition on campus, particularly after the Trad Band's impressive performance at Trinity Ball 2024.
"It's great to see the interest in trad music extending beyond Ireland," shared the committee. Trad Soc attributes this increased interest to the broader cultural moment Ireland is enjoying. Thanks to artists like Kneecap and The Mary Wallopers,
and especially trad music with Ye Vagabonds opening for Phoebe Bridgers andHozier’s The Humours of Whiskey, Irish music is seeing an extended moment in the spotlight. “It is a fantastic way to connect with Irish culture, sharing tunes and songs with history and poetry behind them. We all learn from each other and have formed a sense of community” shared Trad Soc.
The society welcomes students from all year groups and all abilities. “Some first-years get stuck in from day one, while others join in their final year,” they added. Beyond Wednesday’s trad sessions at 8pm in Chaplin’s, the society runs a wide variety of events, including recitals, céilithe and tune classes to learn traditional staples like The Sailor’s Bonnet, The Golden Stud, and The Millhouse. Trad Soc emphasises that Irish traditional music is for everyone, regardless of age or background. "It’s not just musicians in their eighties and nineties and then us," they said. "There are children, teenagers, adults in their twenties, thirties, and people all the way up to their nineties playing traditional Irish music together."
Congratulations to all freshers on making it halfway through the first semester! I would like to offer further congratulations to those freshers whose relationships they were in prior to beginning college are still going strong … That is certainly no easy feat.
It is a classic piece of advice that is offered to those embarking on their college experience: dump your significant other before you go. Although, as is the case with most perfectly valid advice, simply ‘dumping them’ is much easier said than done. Many do not heed this advice, and who can blame them? With breakups, often we know what should be done but find ourselves impenetrable to the wisdom of others in the midst of heartbreak delirium.
While I empathise greatly (trust me, I have been there), I am writing today to present to you several reasons why being in a relationship in your first year is probably not the best thing for you – reasons that have more substance than simply not being able to have a cheeky little kiss at some grimey fresher’s event in Lost Lane that you proba-
bly will not even fully recall in the morning. This is the blunt wisdom that I have accumulated, gathered from my own experience and the experiences of others. I share this at the risk of coming off as bitter and lonely, with the best intentions for all.
1.Heartbreak is inevitable
Very few, if any, relationships make it past winter holidays (so enjoy the next two months while they last). To avoid this impending holiday doom, my advice is to get it over and done with now. Take charge of the situation while you still can!
2. You just might fail all of your exams.
What is it with breakups and exam season? Perhaps it is the charged atmosphere, the heightened stress or the lack of time for decent communication, but breakups tend to skyrocket around these periods. You have important study to do. Studying is already difficult, but the difficulty will increase exponentially if you have to pause every half an hour to go and have a sniffle in the library toilets. Contrary to popular belief, you are in college to succeed academically, do not let a relationship hinder you.
3. You might not make any friends (or the ones that you do make will think you are boring). Bad news, this applies to both
long distance and local relationships. How many weekends will you spend travelling to visit them? How many nights out will you miss out on because you arranged to call them? Do not be naïve, these hours of your absence from your new friendships will not go unnoticed. It is hard to resist the temptation to spend a cosy night in with your partner over yet another subpar night at Doyle’s, but in the early days of first year your friendships are sensitive. Bonds are strengthened through shared overpriced pints and poor dance moves to pop hits on sticky dancefloors. While it might seem unappealing on the day, do not miss out on the memories that you will look back on fondly. Additionally, to loosely summarise Dolly Alderton’s overarching point in Everything I Know About Love, your friends will be there when your partner is long gone.
4. Striking a balance is practically impossible.
It is a universal challenge for students in attempting to strike a balance between juggling academic
Helena Thiel
DEPUTY FILM EDITOR
Any Dubliner knows that it is nearly impossible to take a short walk through the city without passing by a statue of Oscar Wilde or seeing one of his aphorisms on a wall. Wilde left Dublin for Oxford at just twenty and would divide the rest of his life between England, France, and America, but we like to think that those first twenty years of his life were the most formative, impacting everything he later took on in life. It is less surprising that he has a festival than that the festival is only in its second year. Oscariana celebrates “the birth, life and legacy of Oscar Wilde” and offers a mix of film screenings, shows, tours, and exhibitions. Trinity has taken the opportunity to show an exhibition titled Oscar Wilde: From Decadence to Despair in the Long Room to coincide with the festival and Oscar Wilde’s birthday. The exhibition was first shown in 2017, and this time, it will stay until 29 January 2025. The exhibition has been minimally promoted, perhaps for the best, as it prevented anyone but myself from being underwhelmed. Most visitors to the Old Library are understandably there for Gaia, the illuminated art installation of the Earth that ironically overshadows the Oscar Wilde exhibition. Less
photogenic and not very spectacular, the exhibition nonetheless features a handful of interesting collectors’ items from Trinity’s public collection of Oscar Wilde letters, photographs and memorabilia. Wilde’s favourite place to study was the Old Library, and our different experiences are made starkly apparent as I queue for admission before being ushered along the building until I finally end up in the gift shop. I would direct anyone who has already been to the Old Library to the accompanying online exhibition, which features more items. The online exhibition is divided into “the rise”, “the fall” and “the exile”. The narrative of a promising young and well-educated man who eventually lets fame get to his head is how people first get to know Wilde and the angle through which his life is usually told – the festival is no exception. The collection features a range of items that did not belong to Wilde but used his visage to promote them. While celebrity culture may have taken on new forms with the invention of social media, it is no new phenomenon. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that, surely, Wilde never enjoyed as much fame as he does today, but that couldn’t be further from the
truth. Alongside advertisements, the collection also features photos of women close to Wilde. This ties in with another of the festival’s events, a lecture titled “Wilde’s Women”, delivered by Eleanor Fitzsimmons, the author of a book by the same name.
The Oscar Wilde House, which also takes part in organising the festival, similarly places Oscar Wilde in the context of the people who surrounded him. Located in
work, maintaining a decent social life, finding time to tend to your physiological needs and sleeping enough. Every single one of these tasks loses precious allocated time when a relationship is thrown into the mix. It takes a most capable and organised individual to manage all of these aspects.
I cannot see into the future; there is a chance that you will overcome all of these challenges and end up married, continuing on to live out a beautiful and bountiful happily ever after. But college is a time of loneliness, for many it is their first time away from home, and growth will come once you lean into feeling lonely sometimes. Who are you when you are by yourself? Assert who you are as an individual before you sacrifice your time and experiences for someone who might be temporary. Cherish this newfound independence and direct your energy towards your new environment and relish in it.
his childhood home, the guided tour led by creative director Martin Burns retells the lives of Oscar Wilde’s parents, William and Speranza, emphasising that they were famous long before Oscar was born. The tour provides a perspective that is often overlooked, showing how Wilde was set up for success from birth. In a homage to Speranza’s famous salons, Oscariana also streamed an event recorded last year titled
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMMONS
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKICOMMONS
“Speranza’s Salon”, a recreation of a nineteenth-century salon with live music and poetry readings. The guided tour is promoted as a tour of “tales of heartbreak, tragedy, intrigue, court battles and scandal”, dramatising both the lives of Wilde’s parents and his own. This did not necessarily take away from the quality of the tour, as Burns’s extensive knowledge and knack for storytelling made it fun and engaging. But it begs the question of how Oscar Wilde’s legacy is remembered.
I do not doubt that Oscariana will continue to grow in popularity and establish itself alongside other literary festivals like that of Wilde’s contemporary, the Bram Stoker Festival. In some respects, it tries to rewrite the narrative by bringing the people around Wilde into the spotlight, and in this, it succeeds. Still, when it comes to Oscar Wilde himself, the festival regrettably focuses only on his life, not his work. Celebrity culture may have taken on a different face today, but in many ways, it is the same as it was in Wilde’s lifetime. Combine our morbid curiosity about celebrity scandal with our fascination for stringent Victorian social norms and it is easy to see why Oscar Wilde’s life continues to intrigue us.
BY
