CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS
Tis the season for the holiday markets. Skate along the Smithfield ice rink with a cup of Belgian hot chocolate, or perhaps sit in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral for a round of Christmas carols. These markets might just distract you from the overwhelming amount of exam preparation – with a side of caramel corn and fudge. Make sure to bundle up before heading outside, fit those gloves on, wrap that scarf tight, and go enjoy the once-a-year experience of these festive winter wonderlands!
Christmas at the Castle: Dublin Castle Christmas Market
November 28th- December 18th
12:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Visit this open-air Christmas market for a wide variety of artisanal food vendors, carousel rides, and festive decorations. Christmas at the Castle is Fáilte Ireland’s ‘Winter in Dublin’ campaign set between November 1st and January 30th of this year.
Wonderlights at Malahide Castle
November 7th-January 4th
5:00 pm- 8:00 pm
For a more interactive and child-friendly Christmas extravaganza, try Wonderlights. Malahide’s Alpine Food Village is just around the corner from Wonderlights, if you are in need of a hot chocolate or a quick snack.
Smithfield Christmas Market
25th November – 2nd January
11:00 am- 9:00 pm
If you’re craving an ice rink, followed by Belgian hot chocolate and a ride to the top of a ferris wheel, Smithfield Christmas Market is the perfect place. With its Bavarian style food huts and cobblestone streets, you are sure to feel the holiday spirit.
The Gingerman
12:00 pm- 12:30 am
Want something stronger than a hot chocolate? The Gingerman has you covered. Decorated from head to toe in elaborate holiday decor, wrapped in tinsel and topped with a gift bow, the Gingerman is the coziest place for a pint.
LITERATURE
BOOK LAUNCH: TO SEA WITHOUT SAIL
COPPER + STRAW SPECIALITY COFFEE (ASTON QUAY)
12TH OF DECEMBER, 7PM-9PM Drop in to Copper + Straw for the launch of Tim Wehr’s debut novella, To Sea Without Sail. The evening will include a reading from the novella as well as a book signing and a chance to mingle with other book lovers.
THEATRE
IT’S ALWAYS YOUR BLEEDIN’ OWN @ PROJECT ARTS CEN-
TRE
2ND OF DECEMBER - 14TH OF DECEMBER
celebration of Dublin’s inner city to the Project Arts Theatre. The hilarious and poignant production follows the intertwining lives of Kian, Amber, and Dazzy as it brings Dublin to life. Following the production on 11th December there will be a panel discussion with some of Ireland’s leading working class artists and activists to discuss the importance of authentic working class representation in the Arts.
THEATRE
THE DEAD
22ND OF NOVEMBER - 12TH OF JANUARY
MUSEUM OF LITERATURE IRELAND
James Joyce’s short story The Dead has been adapted into an immersive theatre experience at MoLI. Directed by Louise Lowe, the production is described as a ‘uniquely intimate’ easy way to experience Joyce’s work.
ART AND DESIGN
POP UP TALK - STANLEY ROYLE'S THE GOOSE GIRL THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND
10 DECEMBER 13.15 - 13.45
A free lunchtime talk at the National Gallery discussing Stanley Royle's The Goose Girl. The painting belongs to a series of pictures painted in Royle’s native city Sheffield.
MUSIC
MERCHY CHRISTMAS
THE GRAND SOCIAL, 14 AND 15TH OF DECEMBER, 11AM-7PM
‘A weekend of music, merch and giving back.’ Mer-
chy Christmas, the artists music market, is back for its fifth year. With over 50 artists in attendance there is a chance to buy some cool merch and listen to live performances while raising money for the Dublin Simon Community and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Entry is free, with a suggested donation of €6.
FOOD AND DRINK
TEMPLE BAR FOOD MARKET
SATURDAYS, 10.30AM-4PM
MEETING HOUSE SQUARE, TEMPLE BAR
Find yourself on Trinity campus on a Saturday?
Poor thing, you deserve a break from the intensity of Kinsella Hall and this market may be just what you need. The stalls offer fresh fruit and veg, meats, artisan cheeses, and yum pastries. Do your study pals a favour and don’t bring back the artisan cheese.
THEATRE
KATE HAMILL'S EMMA
THE ABBEY THEATRE
22ND OF NOVEMBER- 25TH OF JANUARY–
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma makes its European premier at the Abbey this Winter. Directed by Claire O’Reilly the production brings to life Austen’s classic period piece in a playful retelling accompanied by a contemporary soundtrack. Tickets are available via the Abbey website from €15.
FOOD AND DRINK
DÚN LAOGHAIRE SUNDAY MARKET
SUNDAYS, 10AM-4PM
THE LEXICON LIBRARY & THE PEOPLE'S PARK, DÚN LAOGHAIRE
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 Dún Laoghaire pier, visit the Lexicon library, or even go for a dip in the sea (before eating of course)!
THEATRE
PETER PAN: THE PANTOMIME 24TH OF NOVEMBER-5TH OF JANUARY
THE GAIETY THEATRE
The Gaiety’s annual Christmas pantomime returns for another year of festive fun. (Oh yes it is!) Running since 1873, the Gaiety panto is a Christmas time staple in Dublin and is the perfect night out for the whole family.
COLLEGE COMMUNITY
FUNDRAISER BY ANDREW BURGESS : FUNDRAISER FOR TAP SCHOLARSHIP EXAM STUDY BURSARIES.
A student-run fundraiser is running to collecting donations to provide a number of students that are a part of the Trinity Access Programme a bursary for studying for Foundation Scholarship Exams. By making a donation of €5, you put your hat in the ring to win a range of valuable raffle prizes such as a €150 voucher for the restaurant Pichet on Trinity Street, a €60 gift box from Baressential, vouchers from the coffee shops Tang, Coffee Angel and KC Peaches, a board games hamper, and a choice between a free yoga, pilates, or climbing course from Trinity Sport gym. A pair of raffle tickets costs €5.
Amélie McGowan
The libraries are filling up, head colds are sweeping the front square, and winter break seems just out of reach.
While many of us may be holed up in our rooms, craning over our laptops, Dublin is still alive and well. To avoid total burnout, Radius recommends at least one excursion out of your cave this week.
Chloé Feldman tells us which book clubs to cozy up to; Hodges Figgis' or
Little Birds' with a cup of hot chocolate. Glance through Your Week Ahead for advice on Dublin Castle's Christmas Market.
This issue, Radius will guide you through Dublin's brew-tiful coffee scene, hot spots for casual sex, and holiday fashion consumerism. Deep dive into new releases with Claudia Spice's CHROMAKOPIA review, and new theater productions with Aoife Bennett's discussion with Emma director, Claire O'Reilly.
For those in need of a good read outside of study hours, Radius also
had exclusive access to the 2024 Rooney Prize winner, Suad Aldarra, author of widely acclaimed 'I Don't Want to Talk About Home'. Harper Alderson turns our eyes to another recently published book by Lili Anolik 'Didion & Babitz', and its "portrait of misguided thinking".
Outside of music, Eve Smith discusses Sean Baker's recent film, Anora. Turn to Eloise Sherrard's Dublin's independent fashion week article for a runway scoop, followed by Connie Angela McGowan's piece on winter fashion.
Bundle up, and enjoy this winter issue of Radius.
Chloé Feldman
Suad Aldarra, the Syrian-Irish writer whose memoir I Don't Want to Talk About Home has been widely acclaimed, has recently won the 2024 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. I sat down with Aldarra to discuss taking control of the Syrian narrative, gender dynamics in the Middle East, and balancing a job in tech and literature.
At the time of writing her memoir, Aldarra was unemployed but used her frustrations to craft her memoir into work that could resonate with readers worldwide. Aldarra, tired of how Western media would portray Syria in books or news articles, decided to take control of the narrative in her memoir. “I wrote this book out of anger”, Aldarra tells me, claiming she was both angry and frustrated with migration, the Syrian crisis, the way the media described it, being a female in a male dominant field, and her previous experience in a conservative world. The writing process was one part therapeutic, and one part a form of activism. While writing about the Syria she fell in love with, describing her grandmother’s home-cooked meals and the music she would listen to, Aldarra brought Syria back to life for many people who have been forced to leave the country.
While the memoir explains Aldarra’s migration struggles and the journey from Syria to Ireland, it is not a refugee story. Aldarra explains her frus-
tration whenever her memoir is labelled under the umbrella of a refugee story in Ireland, as she is not even a refugee herself. While the words Syrian and refugee seem to be inseparable, Aldarra is a migrant, and her memoir covers many themes that are universal, and not specific to her migration experience.
Born in Saudi Arabia to Syrian parents, Aldarra declared that writing came as a hobby to her when she was younger, as it was one of the safest activities that girls could do from home, especially in the conservative environment she was living in, where women could rarely do things independently. In the odd times that a woman did something independently, it was seen as a failure of male guardianship. “Men in the Middle East took the blame for women’s ‘irrational’ behaviours. My father used to say, ‘There is no strong woman, but a weak man’”. The lack of autonomy that women had in such environments demonstrates how Aldarra’s taking to writing was not only a personal choice but a practical one as well. In the memoir, Aldarra further emphasises the gender divide stating, “The separation was, most of the time for men versus families, not men versus women, because women were not supposed to be wandering on their own without a male guardian, except for specified places such as mosques, schools or public toilets.”
While she began writing solely for herself, she was first published at around 18 years old, when her friend submitted one of her essays which was published in a local newspaper in Arabic. While Aldarra continued writing as a pastime, starting a blog once she moved to Galway, her career remained primarily in technology. Yet, it was through this blog that she started writing in English rather than in Arabic, stating, “After 10 years in Ireland, Arabic became my second language and English became my first”. This would later lead her to write her memoir in English. Currently, Aldarra is working as a quality engineer, looking after Arabic trans-
Our Pick of Events Around Dublin This Week
DECEMEBER 12TH
CAROL CONCERT, JUBILO: SEASONAL AND SACRED FAVOURITES WITH THE DUBLIN BACH SINGERS
ST ANN'S CHURCH, 8PM
Join the Dublin Bach Singers in St. Ann’s Church for a heartwarming holiday choral spectacular on the evening of December 12. The Bach Singers will be accompanied by Theo Cosgrove and Niall Kinsella. The concert will be conducted by Blanaid Murphy. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
“LUNCHTIME CONVERSATION: AWAITING THE PRESIDENCY OF DONALD TRUMP: THEOLOGICAL, ETHICAL, AND LEGAL REFLECTION,” WITH PROF. JAMES KEENAN SJ, PROF. NEVILLE COX, PROF. LINDA HOGAN ISE/LOYOLA BUILDING, ROOM G16, DECEMBER 13, 12PM-2PM
Join Prof. James Keenan SJ, Prof. Neville Cox, Prof. Linda Hogan for an engaging discussion focusing on the ethical, theological, and legal preparation for Trump’s incoming presidency. RSVP required to loyola@tcd.ie.
UNTIL DECEMBER 18TH
CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTLE
lations for the tech industry. This role allows her to combine her interests in languages and technology, a balance she plans on furthering in her future literature work, by writing a book that incorporates the world of technology. She states, “I learned that I will never belong to one place or one domain or one career. I’ll
always have a mixed background, mixed citizenships, the mixed careers between tech and literature. I’ll never be able to choose one, so I’m trying to reflect that in my writing as well”. While Aldarra hopes that one day her memoir will be adapted into a movie, any future writing projects she undertakes are worth keeping on the radar.
DUBLIN CASTLE
Join in on the festive fun at Dublin Castle for their annual Christmas markets, food stalls, and more. Entry is free and there’s plenty of holiday fun upon walking inside the castle gates. Get some mulled wine, enjoy the beautiful lights, or finish your Christmas shopping all at Christmas at the Castle.
UNTIL DECEMBER 24TH
HENRY STREET/MARY STREET MARKET
MARY STREET
Step into the festive hub of the Mary Street Market, which has been an iconic Dublin Christmas staple for the past seventy-five years. Over fifty vendors host toys, sweets, and goodies for all. This year, a community hub sharing information about integral Dublin charities like the Irish Red Cross will be hosting information sessions as well. Be sure to stop by before the end of the holiday season.
The weather may be miserable but your outfit definitely shouldn't be
Ayesha Hassan
As the temperature decreases, the never-ending challenge of making yourself appear runway ready increases. So how does one balance the art of layering with the science of staying warm, without looking like a bundled-up marshmallow? The secret, though, is that if you know how to play it right, the cold weather isn’t a limitation—it’s a playground for creativity, where coats, scarves, and boots become the building blocks of a truly inspired look.
With that in mind, here are five go-to tips for staying warm without sacrificing your style.
Tip #1: Materials matter When it comes to dressing for the cold, it’s all about the fabric game. Prioritise the pieces you’ll wear on repeat—like cashmere jumpers, tailored coats, and cosy scarves— and make sure they’re made from materials that will go the distance. Upgrading to high quality materials isn’t just about staying warm; it’s about curating a wardrobe that feels good, and looks put together with minimal effort.
But here’s the real magic: layering different textures. Think soft knits under buttery leather, or the contrast of a suede jacket against structured wool. By creating depth and dynamism, you can turn prac-
tical layering into a style statement. If you’re unsure on where to start, let me suggest Seeking Judy with incredible mohair pieces and much more, all conveniently located in the city centre’s at George’s Street Arcade.
Tip #2: Don’t let the grey skies dictate your wardrobe
Sure, the fact that it now gets dark before 5 pm and sunny days are becoming a rarity is rather depressing. While opting for dark colours is an easy way to look put together, and it can be tempting to wear all black to express one's grief over the loss of summer, you shouldn’t let the grey skies bully your closet into submission. Inject some life into your winter wardrobe with pops of colour or unexpected prints. I’m currently a big fan of mixing different patterns, such as wool pinstripe trousers with a big herringbone jacket. Dressing for dreary weather doesn’t mean you have to blend in with it—consider it an excuse to rebel a little. After all, nothing says “I’ve got this” like a bold outfit on a moody day.
Tip #3: Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise !
That being said, for winter days where you do find yourself sport-
ing all-black (guilty as charged), accessories are your best friend for adding a little more life to your outfit. It’s all about those details that make your look feel a bit more you, even the cold and grey outside has your seasonal depression telling you otherwise. This is the season where style and practicality can and should be combined; an umbrella such as one from ‘Five One Seven Eight’– an up and coming sustainable Irish brand focused on bringing more life and personality to everyday items– is a great option. It’s the perfect rebel against the storm and a stylish way to stand out amongst the sea of grey.
Tip #4: Statement Outerwear
Everyone already knows that a coat is probably the most important clothing item in the winter. It needs to be warm, weatherproof, and on days where you’d actually be risking hypothermia by taking another layer off, it needs to look good. Rather than potentially covering up a ‘good outfit’ though, outerwear can make one in and of itself. Lean in to the current trends of the season by opting for a bold animal print, perhaps, or my personal favourite: the beautiful ‘Bow Coat’ by Dublin native Ríon Hannora.
Tip #5: Embrace the Cold! Whether we like this weather or not, it’s undeniable that these next few months will be dreary, frosty, and wet. We are, after all, in Ireland. So instead of wishing the cold away, lean into it. In fact, the colder it gets, the more you can play around with mixing and layering pieces you might overlook in warmer months. Think of
yourself as a character from The Secret History (clichéd, yes) or even Chalet Girl, and embrace the wintertime in its entirety. Cold ears? Perfect excuse to indulge in a fauxfur hat from the legend Rashiid, whose pieces will make you wish for sub-zero temperatures all year round.
Ah, coffee: the water of champions. Despite being the capital of a tea nation, Dublin has established a fascinating coffee culture that has seemed to weave itself into the very fabric of the city’s inhabitants and streets. Here at Trinity we are spoiled for choice with some of the finest brews right at our doorstep. And so, I present to you a guide to getting your caffeine fix in the city.
As many of you coffee connoisseurs will know, a good coffee shop must do a lot more than just have great tasting coffee. There are many more factors to consider, such as price, location, sustainability and of course, aesthetics.
In recent years, cafes can be seen prioritising sustainability more and more in terms of both sourcing and serving their coffee. However much of this responsibility lies with the consumer, which is why it is so important to carry a reusable cup with you. It's really not as much of a hassle as you might think, often gets you a discount and can actually relieve some of the guilt attached to buying that daily €4 coffee.
A general rule of thumb to truly becoming immersed in Dublin’s
coffee culture is to avoid large chain coffee shops. This is of course due to boycott and sustainability concerns but also because supporting local, independent cafes is such a great way to show love to our city. Finally, the last factor to caffeinating correctly in Dublin is to take advantage of any and all loyalty schemes on offer. If you haven’t already downloaded the SQUID app on your phone, this is your sign to do so. It's a digital loyalty program that is used by most coffee shops in the city - and fortunately for us it works for OffBeat donuts too!
SU Cafe, Pearse St.
Before even looking beyond the front gates, allow me to direct your attention to our Student Union cafe; the epitome of good coffee at affordable prices. Run by students, for students, the SU cafe has such a friendly, warm atmosphere - making it my number one pick for a good cup of joe in the city for students.
Price of latte - €3
Alternative milk charge - none
Walk from campus - 1 minute
Reusable cup discount - 20c
Soren & Son, Dean St.
With stunning Scandinavian-in-
spired interiors this corner coffee shop scores full marks on aesthetics. Their sweet treat selection is impressive to say the least and their beetroot ‘pink’ latte looks so beautiful that it feels wrong to take a sip. Definitely worth the 20 minute walk from campus!
Price of latte - €3.90
Alternative milk charge - none Walk from campus - 20 minutes
Reusable cup discount - give a free chocolate bar to every reusable cup user during certain periods
Kaph, Drury St.
Kaph is a classic and cosy coffee spot located a 6 minute walk from campus. Their ambient interiors and decadent sweet treat selection is part of the reason why Kaph is considered a staple of coffee culture in Dublin.
Price of latte - €4.40
Alternative milk charge - 50c Walk from campus - 6 minutes
The Heartbreak Social Club, Drury St.
Heartbreak Social is one of Dublin’s most iconic hidden gems. Nestled within a tattoo and piercing shop on Drury Street is a vibrant cafe selling coffee for only 2 euro a pop. This cafe takes the number
one spot for value - with prices unmatched by anywhere else. For those of you coffee connoisseurs who love a novelty latte - their coffee specials are a must-try, with latte flavours including pumpkin spice, biscoff and churro on the menu.
Price of latte - €2
Alternative milk charge - 40c Walk from campus - 6 minutes
KC Peaches, Nassau St.
Considering my usual aversion to chain coffee, KC Peaches is a welcomed exception to the rule. Located mere steps from campus, this establishment is the perfect place for a quick-fix before a lecture on a cold winter’s morning. Brownie points (literally) for their comprehensive sweet treat selection and their 10% discount for students and reusable cup users.
Price of latte - €3.95
Alternative milk charge - 50c Walk from campus - 1 minute
Reusable cup discount - 10%
Fable, Dawson St.
Another next door neighbour to Trinity, Fable is home to delicious grab and go coffee. Not to mention their wide array of pastries and baked goods, all of which are
baked fresh in house every morning.
Price of latte - €3.95
Alternative milk charge - none Walk from campus - 1 minute
Butlers, Dawson St. Butler’s; the founding father of Dublin’s coffee culture. Butler’s ran so speciality coffee establishments in Dublin could walk. There’s something about walking into Butler’s on a crisp winter’s morning that instantly sets you up to have a great day. Yes Butler’s is at a higher price point than other cafes on this list, but the complimentary artisan chocolate that comes alongside every drink makes this detail incredibly easy to overlook.
Price of latte - €4.10
Alternative milk charge - 60c Walk from campus - 2 minutes
Reusable cup discount - 20c
So there we have it folks, a review of some of the establishments at the heart of Dublin’s coffee culture. Of course, the seven cafes mentioned here do not even scratch the surface of the vast selection of coffee that this city has to offer, however if you’re new to Dublin, it's a good place to start! I wish you all the very best in your future caffeinating endeavours…
Molly Wetsch
It’s an uncharacteristically sunny and warm October day in Dublin when I sit down at Il Caffe de Napoli to meet with Bridget Farrell, founder of Bullaun Press. We’ve met to discuss her and Bullaun Press’ recent emergence into the – admittedly crowded – Irish publishing scene. What Bullaun Press does, though, is something different than the traditional plug-and-chug nature of large publishing houses readers may be familiar with. Bullaun Press works only with works in translation, whether into or out of English, and makes a concerted effort to maintain the voice of both author and translator throughout the process.
The company came out of the pandemic, like many others, and was fostered by Farrell’s own fascination with translated works – and her desire to see more of them.
“I was so interested in translation and it was really bugging me why there were no books in translation being published here so it was just on my mind for a long time,” said Farrell. “And I realised I was actually waiting for someone else to do it, and no one else was. So I thought, ‘I’m gonna give this a go.’”
Farrell and I agreed that both contemporary and historical Irish literature has had its day in the sun with translation: just a few weeks ago I attended a talk by Booker winner Anne Enright and the Polish and Romanian trans-
lators responsible for putting her latest novel The Wren, the Wren into their respective languages. Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been translated into more than 30 different languages. Since Irish literature has disseminated its way across the world, I asked Farrell, isn’t it only fair that Irish readers get a taste of other cultures as well?
“I think the big word is reciprocity,” said Farrell. “Take, for example, the Dublin Literary Award, that’s been won by books in translation many times. It’s not that we aren’t readers of books in translation, we definitely are, and supporters of it, so this [Bullaun Press] just seems like another step in that direction.”
The first book published under Bullaun Press, I Am Lewy, is an English translation of Eoghan Ó Tuairisc’s 1977 novella An Lomnochtán– the first ever English appearance of the work. It’s no simple feat to preserve the Irish language’s haunting, melodic tone, and Ó Tuairisc’s own depiction of a six-year-old boy’s inner mind along with it, but translator Mícheál Ó hAodha does so with seamless grace.
Translating works from Irish is a delicate topic to traverse with any publisher – should such a language as English, which spent years fundamentally colonising Irish out of existence, be given the privilege of hosting a book like An Lomnochtán? To her credit, Farrell
has clearly considered this topic at length, and Irish is no small matter in Bullaun Press’ ethos; the company was birthed on the Gaeltacht island of Inis Mór, though her and the press have since relocated to Sligo.
“I think, for a start, you can say the fact that the novels are being written in Irish means that the authors very much wanted them to appear in Irish,” said Farrell. “So
perhaps to immediately translate them into English would not even be the appropriate thing to do. I've only worked with one particular translator [who works] from Irish and he is amazing. He’s a writer in his own right, as well, and that really shows through. That book was 40 years old, the author was dead –the author’s widow happened to be alive, and she’s an Irish language poet, so she was able to get quite involved with the translation.”
Bullaun Press doesn’t only work with Irish authors and translators, though; its most recent release, There’s a Monster Behind the Door, was written by French author Gaëlle Bélem and translated into English by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert. The novel, originally published in French in 2020, has received mass critical acclaim and was launched in Books Upstairs in October to a full house –a testament to the growing popularity of novels in translation in the country. Notably, the cover features all three women’s names in prominent pink-and-white lettering.
Indeed, in any work published by Bullaun Press, the reader will notice the translator’s name always appears on the front cover, right next to the original author. Unlike many other trans- lated works, which fea- ture the translator’s name on the back cover or front page, Bullaun Press’s translators are –rightfully– treat- ed as a second author of the
novel, a key cornerstone of the work’s completion.
Recognising translators’ expertise is only one of many key points that pepper all of Bullaun Press’ imprints. Another? Recognising translation as a method of cultural exchange. Though the books come from across the globe and, ostensibly, very different cultures, there are still themes that ring true for every reader, in every language, a testament to the power of translation, Farrell says.
“There are a few themes that always seem to appear [in Bullaun Press’ books],” said Farrell. “One of them would be to do with language itself, to an extent, but mostly identity, that cultural identity not necessarily being fixed. [Am Lomnochtán] is told from the point of view of a little boy and the narrator grew up in Ballinasloe – within his family there was a division and conflict about identity. A lot of the theme of the book centres around identity and trying to understand identity through language. The Austrian book that we did [Without Waking Up by Carolina Schutti, translated by Deirde McMahon], the author is from a Polish background, and there’s a big theme in the book is she’s looking for her mother tongue that she lost.”
There’s a Monster Behind the Door is available in shops and online now, as well as Bullaun Press’ other imprints, including I Am Lewy. Bullaun Press encourages readers to buy from independent bookstores whenever possible.
Erin Keenan
Whenever I leave Ireland for extended periods and spend time around different accents, I notice how aware I become of Irish voices. Particularly when on my semester abroad, if an Irish accent emerged amongst the sea of Californians, I would immediately try and locate it. At this point, a conversation would start which always had a tone of familiarity, regardless of what we had in common. The comfort I would derive from exchanges such as this resembles the feeling I have when I see an Irish artist breaking into mainstream music. I tend to feel a sense of pride and recognition when an Irish voice emerges in this way as there is someone more identifiable in a music industry that is otherwise dominated by British and American voices.
In the past year particularly, Irish musicians have garnered a wider listenership in the mainstream, with BBC6 Music naming Fontaines DC, Kneecap, and CMAT as part of their Artists of the Year 2024 list. In years previous, it was a common occurrence to spot one Irish artist, such as Hozier, at awards shows or billed on international festival lineups. This year, however, it has become the case that when you spot one Irish name, it will likely be closely followed by another. For instance, already CMAT and Fontaines DC are set to perform at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, whilst
Kneecap and CMAT are headliners for Wide Awake in London. These artists co-exist in the sphere of mainstream music as in the past year it appears a space has been carved for these Irish artists.
This recognition extends beyond performance bills, as many Irish musicians have been receiving critical acclaim and nominations for esteemed awards. For next year’s Grammy awards, Fontaines DC secured two nominations for Rock Album and Alternative Music Performance. Belfast rapper Jordan Adetunji was another artist nominated for his song ‘Kehlani’ which is up for Best Melodic Rap Performance alongside names such as Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and Erykah Badu. When speaking to the BBC, Adetunji commented, “Having a song that I made in my bedroom in Belfast be up for a Grammy is crazy.” ‘Crazy’ is the appropriate word to describe the situation, as it is unusual to see any Irish musician on this type of stage. With the Grammys being regarded as the most prestigious of awards in the music industry, to receive a nomination signals the outstanding achievements of an artist. Historically, it is not an awards ceremony that favours Irish artists, with there being a total of four Irish nominations in the past twenty years. This means that next year’s ceremony is only one nomination short of the total number of nominations for Irish
artists that have been culminated in the last two decades.
This critical acknowledgement is not limited to the Grammys either, with CMAT receiving a nomination for The Artist Award for the Rolling Stone UK Awards 2024, as well as having her album, Crazymad, For Me, shortlisted for the 2024 Mercury Prize. Beyond musical endeavours, Kneecap have had immense success, with their biopic becoming the first ever Irish-language film to screen at Sundance, winning the Audience Award, and being submitted as Ireland’s entry to the Oscars for International Feature Film. The list of achievements made by Irish artists over the past year appears endless, but none of this success occurred overnight. Rather, each of these musicians have been releasing music for at least five years. All this begs the question, why now?
There has been a growing appetite for Irish talent in mainstream cinema in recent years also, with younger Irish movie stars such as Barry Keoghan, Saoirse Ronan, and Paul Mescal gaining critical attention on the worldstage. It appears that Irish musicians are therefore next in line as people around the world are receiving their art with enthusiasm and excitement. There
is an innovative quality to each artist’s discography which justifies this reception, as they all contribute to the music scene in engaging ways which demand the attention of wider audiences. NME describes CMAT as “one of the most bracing pop acts of the 2020s”. Pitchfork notes the “frisky unpredictability” of Fontaines D.C., whilst the Irish Times called Kneecap’s debut album “intimidatingly brilliant.”
The momentum that these artists have gained in 2024 forms part of the Celtic Revival that we are
witnessing in the 2020s. Artists in Ireland are interested in pushing the boundaries of what it means to be Irish and they are allowed to experiment without the expectation from their home country to uphold Catholic values in their work. This liberation signals a new era for Irish culture, and the world seems to recognise this reinvigoration. It seems unlikely that this mainstream attention will fade, as Irish musicians have established their place on the world stage, determined to have their voices heard.
Aoife Bennett
Another Christmas, another panto. A tale as old as time here in Dublin, or as old as 1774 when the curtain first went up on Harlequin’s Funeral at the Theatre Royal in Smock Alley. Since then Pantomime, affectionately known as panto, has been a staple of the Christmas holidays. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let's take it back to basics, back to Italy.
The earliest version of pantomime was a take on the Italian street theatre of the 16th century known as Commedia dell’arte. The genre used stock characters such as the mischievous Harlequin and the greedy Pantalone to enact very physical, improvised performances in varied settings. Drawing from Commedia dell’arte, original pantomimes were Harlequinades. The original influence of Commedia dell’arte can still be seen in modern pantomimes, for example with the Good Fairy entering from stage right, which was used in Commedia to signify Heaven, and the villain entering from stage left, which symbolised Hell.
During the Victorian era of pan-
tomime, features such as gender switching were introduced. At this time,there was a move away from Harlequinades and theatres started adapting fairy tales and stories such as Cinderella, Robinson Crusoe, and Aladdin. During this, the Gaiety Theatre began their annual pantomime, which is still running today. In December 1837 the Gaiety came onto the panto scene with King Turko the Terrible, a show so fantastic it made its way into James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. (Wow, writing about the Christmas Panto and Ulysses in the same article was not on my 2024 Bingo Card). But it is true: Leopold Bloom references the character Turko the Terrible multiple times throughout the novel, and in the chapter ‘Ithaca’, another Gaiety Christmas panto, ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ gets a shoutout. The panto was now as popular and beloved in Ireland as it was in England. It continued annually throughout both World Wars and an episode of Spanish Flu in 1918. In the 1940’s the Abbey Theatre developed an Irish language pantomime that ran for 21 years. By this time, pantomimes had become popular
throughout amateur theatre groups, and soon every church hall was filled with the shouts of “He’s behind
you!” The 1970s saw the Queen of Dublin pantomime, Maureen Potter, take to the stage at the Gaiety.
Maureen performed in the Gaiety pantomime until 1987 and was the first actor to have her handprints placed outside the theatre in the early 2000s. Today, the pantomime is as popular as ever and remains an important part of many families’ Christmas traditions. Whether it is taking part in your local am-dram production, or going down to Dublin on Christmas Eve to watch the Gaiety, James Joyce-approved antics, it is hard not to enjoy the bad puns, local in-jokes, and extravagant pop medley finale, Oh yes it is! (Sorry I couldn't help myself). And if this article has left you nostalgic and longing to Boo and Hiss at a panto villain instead of your flatmate who still hasn’t taken out the bin, then I will leave you with details of some of the pantomimes coming to Dublin this festive season. The Gaiety is back with Peter Pan, DLR Mill is staging Jack and the Beanstalk and the Olympia is producing a twist on Disney’s Frozen with Olly and Polly are Freezin’.
Eve Smith
Watching the trailer for Sean Baker’s new film Anora (2024), you might think at first that it’s a film about sex work. Then it's a whirlwind romance. Or a buddy-cop-comedy. But as the film closes out on Anora weeping into the arms of a bald Slavic man who she refuses to kiss and whose dick is still inside her, you might not know what to think.
Baker is an expert at making refreshingly colourful cuts into the underbelly of life for many North Americans. His films are driven by their people, often women, who have smart mouths, strong wills and whose lives could clearly have turned out very differently if they’d been handed a different card in life. From following two black trans women through the streets of Los Angeles as they investigate whether one of their boyfriends was unfaithful while she was in prison in Tangerine (2015), to the life of a single mother living in a motel near Disneyland struggling to make ends meet viewed through the eyes of her pre-teen daughter in Florida Project (2017), his films are social realism fed on neon drive-thru fries.
Anora is the confident product of all that Baker does best. The film opens with a long tracking shot that cuts into the line of private cubicles to show us half-naked women dancing on men. The scene establishes that this will be a film about the exchange of currency –of money, of sex, of youth – and sets the tone that Anora’s world at the start is one where intimacy is phys-
ically performed without ever being truly vulnerably felt.
We follow her (Mikey Madison) as she uses her good looks and charm to hustle in a New York strip club. The men we see her proposition are exactly who you would expect them to be -- red-faced, old, and entirely forgettable compared to her. Forgettable, that is, until boyish Russian import Zakharov (Mark Eidelstein) arrives. He is pretty and rich, and so earnestly care-free that he can make her forget she is being bought. She starts escorting for him, coming out to his glass mansion in upstate New York. ‘You know you paid for a full hour’ she doe-eyed reminds him when he finishes early, and that’s when we realise what is happening. Our stone-cold protagonist has caught feelings.
Within a few weeks, they are getting married in Las Vegas, and suddenly, what starts as Showgirls (1995) becomes Romeo and Juliet in alternate universe of Uncut Gems (2019). She quits her job and moves in with him, and they run giggling, hand in hand through the city. They go on shopping sprees in malls and throw parties in private hotel suites. He takes her to hang out with his friends who work at a sweet shop in Coney Island. Their manager is partially deaf and blind (‘he’s basically Helen Keller’), so they tell her she can take whatever she wants. Zakharov lives in a world of youth without restriction from authority, and through him
Anora gets an electric taste of a world she would never otherwise
have access to.
But Take That’s Greatest Day has played too soon, and soon the Molotov cocktail of their romance explodes in their faces when Anora realises Zakharov hasn’t told
(Vache Yovmasyan) and Igor (Yuriy Borisov), to get them to annul the marriage. Zakharov makes a run for it, leaving Anora in their bungling hands. She kicks and screams until she comes to the realisation
his parents about the marriage because he is ashamed of the fact she was a stripper. Where her confident sexuality was once a source of power and his carefree access to money was his power over her, both of their initial strength ultimately comes to be their downfall. Zakharov will never be free to make his own choices without his parents’ influence - because of the money they give him - and Anora will always be a citizen of the world where sex is for sale.
As a result, Zakharov’s parents send in three henchmen, Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick
that the man she thought she was in love with is not coming back.
The wide-eyed Igor holds her down and eventually Anora agrees to a divorce. The four of them get in Toros’ 4x4 truck and drive through the city trying to track Zakharov down on his drunken rampage, and the tension doesn’t let up.
It is funny and it is sad. Anora has been betrayed. As her greatest day becomes her worst nightmare and she realises she has been betrayed, what could be a heart-breaking story soon becomes something else, because Igor is quietly there to witness it all. He is there to hold
her when Zakharov first leaves. To hand her a drink when she has to overhear what Zakharov’s nasty mother has to say about her. To be a shoulder to sleep on when she has to fly back to pack her stuff from Zakharov’s house. And although she says he has ‘rapey eyes’, it is obvious to us that this is finally someone who cares about her without expecting anything in return. In the end, Igor represents filmmaking itself. When Anora first falls for Zakharov, she gets so wrapped up in his world that we almost forget she is the film’s titular character for a reason. Igor exists as a validating witness to the terrible way these people who have too much money for their own good treat Anora, and to be completely in awe of the strength of her spirit. We see all of her: her anger, her shame and her heart and it only makes us like her more. She might not like Igor back, but the film offers us the chance to see that when real love comes, it will be peaceful, and it will be safe to be wholly yourself.
Anora closes out on an unshaking close-up of Anora’s face as she cries in the hum of Igor’s car. We the audience hold her and her hurt, and what might seem depressing is a cathartic release for her to let down her walls. In the end, the film stresses that in love and in film, radical acts of trust pay off.
“If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” – these are the words of Robert Capa which partially inspired the December exhibition of Trinity’s photography society (DUPA). The event, “Closer,” was held at Fade Street Studios on the evening of Tuesday, December 5th, and was reminiscent of past winter shows in its focus on connection.
Ella O’Brien, DUPA’s exhibition officer said about the theme, “we usually try to go for a home based, love based theme. So, we wanted to do that but not quite on the nose. We thought ‘closer’ was a nice way of bringing a lot of different ideas together, we wanted to be as open and broad as possible.”
This idea of closeness found itself reflected in the atmosphere of the evening.
Mince pies abounded, Zingibeer (DUPA’s partner for the evening) was flowing, laughter and chatter buzzed about the place amid gentle piano music. People bunched together, standing close as they discussed the photos, and the entire space was warm with the holiday spirit.
“The atmosphere is very therapeutic with the lighting, but also there is a chattiness which is encouraging. You want to talk about the photography on the wall, you want to spark conversation and meet new people,” said Anouska Mekerira. This was Mekerira’s first time at a DUPA exhibition, and says she will definitely be back. Ayesha Hassan, a second year student who has been to several DUPA exhibitions expressed, “I think it’s so cute. I love the theme, because
closer can mean so many different things to so many different people. I love how some people took it literally as close up photos, and other people chose being close with their family or friends.
I think it’s just really wholesome.”
The selection of photos drew people closer, the connections reflected in the photos reminded people of the important relationships
in their own lives.
“My favorite photo here is a photo about friendship. Looking at it, you see two girls embracing each other and looking into each other's eyes really deeply, and sweetly, and it just reminds me of me and my best friend. She lives in a different country, and I be thinking about her and missing her. I just can’t wait until we get to embrace each other like that again,” said Mekrira.
Others, like Hassan, delighted in the more literal interpretations of the theme.
“My favorite is the one by Henry James, and it’s just a photo of a cow. I just think
it’s really cute. I love how the cow is just literally the whole photo and it’s just that,” she said.
There were so many potential favorites among the selection, and with the crowds it was clear that DUPA had managed to put on yet another lovely winter exhibition. O’Brien was very proud of the way things unfolded. “The turn out is huge, we’re really, really proud of it despite a lot of people expecting to have another week before exams. So I’m really proud of the turn out, everyone showing up.”
There are more shows to come in the new year, and you do not need to have taken photos before to submit for an exhibition. DUPA welcomes all submissions, and looks forward to pushing the boundaries with themes in the future.
Oisín McKenna
HARPER COLLINS
Oisín McKenna’s debut novel is set during a 2019 heatwave in London and offers a love letter to the city where the warm weather allows the city to gather in beer gardens, parks, and street corners. The novel juxtaposes the city’s collective joy by following a group of diverse characters experiencing their own dilemmas during this time, including navigating queer identity, financial and emotional strains, and moments of love and loss.
Katherine O’Donnell
NEW ISLAND BOOKS
O’Donnell’s debut novel is a unique coming-of-age story focusing on Irish LGBTQ+ life throughout the years. It follows Ro, a gay Irishwoman, through the 1980s AIDS crisis, her emigration to Boston, and campaigning for marriage equality in 2015. This novel is raw in its portrayal of identity and offers a perspective on queer history in Ireland that resonates across generations.
Maggie Armstrong
TRAMP PRESS
Armstrong’s debut is a collection of linked short stories, following a Dublin woman through many stages of life, including motherhood and pandemic times. The short story collection reads authentically and entertainingly, as Armstrong describes perspectives on love that are sometimes obsessive and delusional. Many of the stories balance moments of joy with those of despair, finding meaning in both the light and shadow.
Chloé Feldman
Reading has seen an increase in popularity, with celebrities hosting their own online book clubs and bookstores being rebranded as trendy. Once an activity associated with quiet introverts, reading has become the new ‘it-girl’ pastime. This cultural shift has resulted in book clubs growing in popularity as creative spaces where readers can connect, discuss ideas, and form a sense of community. Book clubs encourage critical thinking and the discussion of new ideas in a safe space, which is important, especially post-graduation. Some book clubs meet over glasses of natural wine, while others discuss feminist topics online. Below are some of Dublin’s book clubs, suited for many different tastes. Whether you want to read your own choice of book in a silent safe-pace, or discuss science fiction books in your favourite book store, hopefully there is a Dublin book club for you.
Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation’s World Book Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month online to discuss a recently translated piece of literature. The most recent meeting discussed Kinderland by Moldovan writer Liliana Corobca, translated from Romanian. The book club has esteemed taste, as the September edition discussed Kairos by German author Jenny Erpenbeck, which won the International Booker Prize this year.
The Silent Book Club is a unique book club concept that has transformed into a global community of readers with around 300 clubs across the world. The concept of the SBC is that readers can gather together to read whatev-
er book they want, without any deadlines or assigned reading. The goal is to form a sense of community within the introverted reader community. This book club meets monthly at Mish Mash on Capel Street. For more information check out their Instagram page @silentbookclubdublin.
Little Bird, the cosy cafe and yoga studio in Portobello, host their book club every month. This book club is perfect for those who love wholesome activities such as yoga, reading, and going to cafes, as it attracts like-minded individuals who frequent Little Bird. Past book club choices are usually contemporary fiction such as August Blue by Deborah Levy, or The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. While this book club does have an entry fee for each session, often €12, it includes a glass of wine and shared snacks. They sell their tickets on Eventbrite, so be sure to follow them there for information on their next meeting.
A favourite book store to many, Hodges Figgis hosts three different book
clubs, each meeting monthly. They have a crime book club, a sci-fi and fantasy book club, and their general fiction book club, catering to a variety of readers. These book clubs are perfect for those who are hesitant to join book clubs as they only read specific genres of books (crime or science fiction), or for those who simply love spending time at Hodges Figgis. The book clubs are free to join, meet at the bookstore, and updates are regularly posted on their Instagram page and website.
The Feminist Book Club meets monthly online to discuss either fiction or non-fiction books relating to feminism. The group prides itself on picking intersectional books, so the topics of feminism discussed are as inclusive as possible. The Feminist Book Club is a spin-off to the Feminists in Dublin group, which meets twice a month to discuss different feminist topics during each meeting. While the group meets online, it is great to talk to other feminists in the city and learn more about feminism in a light-hearted safe space setting. Information about their meetings can be found on their page on MeetUp.
James Grace
When has a film genre been squeezed dry of its value? One might argue it’s when no new stories can be grafted from its generic cloth, when all the stories have been told. Look at the Western: once a wellspring of cinematic possibility in the 1950s, today you rarely see them produced. How can you possibly tell another cowboy story that hasn’t been told before? How many times can you rework the same tropes into a new, exciting narrative?
Something similar is going on with the WW2 movie. Much like the Western, it too has become a tired genre, as exemplified by several recent efforts. Operation Mincemeat (2021) and Darkest Hour (2017) are run-of-the-mill true-story dramas seen a thousand times before. The Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks miniseries Masters of The Air (2024) somehow glorifies warfare without injecting any narrative energy into its storyline, resulting in an experience that’s like watching propaganda. These films and TV shows can feel like museum installations, like they exist to be inoffensive accounts of the past with no fresh artistic critique of the subject matter. They have no
interest in subverting our expectations of the genre, and generally reinforce the virtues of heroism and masculinity without calling them into question or exploring their nuances.
Of course there are exceptions.
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017) and Oppenheimer (2023) are cinematic experiences that challenge the audience and make them rethink their perception of this historical event and what a WW2 movie can be. Dunkirk shows the frailty of human life in a war where skill and machismo will not keep you alive. Oppenheimer, while portraying the atom bomb from the Western perspective, makes the audience question the moral implications of such a weapon. We’re left wondering if the West were really the heroes of that conflict. But for every Dunkirk, there are a dozen films that are content to repeat the same tired tropes, hoping that it can bank off the fact that it is a true story to make up for the lack of any artistic drive.
And then there’s Blitz, director Steve McQueen’s new wartime drama led by Saoirse Ronan. Ronan plays Rita, a single mother in 1940s London that is under bombard-
ment from Nazi aeroplanes. Because of this danger, Rita is forced to send her son George (Elliot Heffernan) to the countryside with thousands of other child evacuees. However, George escapes from the train carrying him away from the city and spends the remainder of the film trying to get back to his mother through the tumult of a city under siege.
While that sounds like old hat for WW2 dramas, Blitz has an interesting racial component to its narrative. George’s father is a Black man who is deported from England before the events of the movie. We see this event in a flashback, where George’s father is unjustly taken away by the police after being harassed by a group of white men, while Rita looks on helplessly. Historical narratives are at their best when they not only comment on the time in which they take place but also say something valuable about the time in which they are made. The film seems to be gesturing at something bigger than the usual rinse-and-repeat creative process of many dull WW2 dramas.
However, while the premise is promising, the social commentary of the film ultimately buckles un-
der the weight of its need to make a widely appealing money-maker. The racial commentary of the film does not go much further than the scene described above, excluding a few other instances. In one scene taking place in an underground bomb shelter, an argument breaks out when a white couple hangs up a sheet to separate themselves from a foreign couple. A Black soldier rips down the sheet and makes a speech about how they all need to stick together and get along. It’s a nice moment, sure, but ultimately it is facile; race is not an easy topic, and I kept waiting for the film to move into more difficult territory, to explore its themes with more nuance. But the film is so concerned with providing the audience with a fun adventure on top of its social commentary that it fails to find the time or means to effectively communicate any sort of message to its viewer. The movie cannot reconcile these two parts of itself. What, then, remains in the rubble left of this film? The performances all around are excellent, especially the young Elliot Heffernan in his first film role. The sets of the film are elaborately designed, displaying a vision of crumbling
‘Tis the season to be jolly, and for many, that means dashing through the shops to deck our halls and wardrobes galore. Christmas, albeit a joyful and wondrous holiday, is a time when fashion consumerism hits the roof faster than you can sing “fa-la-la-la-la.” Nowadays, the glamour of generous gifts and sparkly seasonal outfits can overshadow the Christmas spirit, and it is then that we must remind ourselves what the holidays are truly about. But why is it that we are so obsessed with overconsumption at this time of year and what are some solutions to this festive fast fashion?
Every year, once the Christmas season hits the shelves, we are bombarded with ads urging us to buy the latest festive trends. From sloganed Christmas jumpers, to the renowned “Christmas day outfit,” to the winter wardrobe palette that you must have this season, we are constantly being pushed to buy. The rush of the spending season and the temptation of the savvy sale prices often leads to excessive shopping, turning many of us into fashion hoarders and with
a suffering bank account. With the fashion side of Tik Tok growing with talk of “what's new in Zara,” or the colours that you “absolutely need in your winter wardrobe,” it can feel impossible to pry your fingers away from that two-factor authentication payment - making that hit to your bank account, not only painful once, but twice. By the time January rolls around, many of us find ourselves knee deep in garments that were never worn and with a wardrobe that won’t see the light of day til the following December.
Another element to consider of this sensational spending can also be nostalgia. Christmas is the most special time for many of us as kids. When we grow up and we no longer have a Santa Claus to bring us all of our desired presents, what better way to fulfil that emptiness than with a shopping spree where we can be our own Santa?
Although I don’t particularly fancy walking around with a white beard and a beer belly, it can be comforting to buy the gifts that our inner child so dearly desires. Our holiday spending mimics that of what our
parents spent for us. And with that, we can blame our parents for our wealthy spending habits!
But how can we shop more sustainably around the holidays? Well, take no shame in embracing the vintage vibe this Christmas. Charity shops across Dublin are filled with hidden gems just waiting for a second chance at the spotlight. Not only is shopping at charity shops budget-friendly, but it’s also a way to please the planet. Switch to sustainable spending habits and you may just guarantee yourself a spot on the nice list!
1940s London. The opening scene of the film is incredible, as a group of firefighters attempt to hose down buildings in the midst of an air raid. Like other WW2 movies, it immerses you in history. I only wish that it could have devoted the same energy to effectively developing its themes of race that it merely postures towards.
Has the well run dry on WW2 films? Has oversaturation killed the genre? I think the WW2 genre could look at the Western as a source of inspiration. While Westerns are not nearly as popular as they once were, when they are made they usually try to subvert the tropes of the genre to create something new. Look at films like Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Power of the Dog (2021), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) – just because a genre takes place in the past does not mean that it cannot offer nuanced views on gender, race and class. Moving forward, filmmakers making WW2 movies should learn to be bolder and more radical if they want to create enduring art, and not just lifeless monuments to the past.
What we must remember is the true gift of the season: time and affection. Instead of splurging on the trendiest clothes for yourself and your loved ones, consider gifting experiences—like a spa day or a
cooking class—that’ll create memories much more valuable than a leopard print skirt
So, as you embark on your holiday shopping spree, be mindful of your purchases. After all, fashion is fabulous, but being mindful and sustainable during Christmas?
That’s the real trend we should all be following! Now, go forth and jingle those savings while rocking your unique style – because, at the end of the day, it’s not just about what you are wearing at the tree, but who’s gathered around it!
Claudia Spice
Tyler, The Creator’s seventh album Chromakopia has snuck up on us with an element of surprise, as the artist claimed to longing fans earlier this spring that 2024 would see none of his work. Like Tyler’s previous albums, its saturated creativity renders it the kind of album that takes listeners a long time to fully unpick. This began even before the release, as the initial promotional campaign that consisted of mysterious sepia videos of him clad in a mask and army uniform caused speculation of a new persona. Yet, as with his claims against new music, such theories were misdirected. Instead, Tyler has presented us with a more intimate album where he steers clear of hiding behind a character, revealing a more conceptually and lyrically intimate work. In this conversation between the former ego riddled version of himself and his current maturing form, he lets his mask slip.
Chromakopia is constructed upon a made-up word, making the album and the world it pulls us into, Tyler’s ‘creation’ from the outset. Considering ‘chroma’ means colour, and ‘kopia’ means abundance, colour is a central theme to the album. A conflicting part of Tyler’s identity that this album seeks to grapple with is the implications of his own colour. He explores this through songs such as Judge Judy, which discusses the
political opinions of black hairstyles in America, as well as the use of a sample from 70’s Zamrock band Ngozi Family in NOID – one of the first songs to be released prior to the rest of the album. Tyler builds on the theme of colour in a different way too through a reference to Chroma the Great, a character from Norton Juster’s children’s book The Phantom Tollbooth. In Juster’s books, Chroma is an orchestra conductor whose music brings colour to the world. Thus, the video for the opening track of the album, St Chroma, is set in a monochrome world that is granted colour by the intense beat of this song. Displaying music in a way that is both central to his own identity, and the very reason our world hasn’t descended into darkness (yet), it is apparent how important his craft is to him, making for a personal tone absent from his other albums.
St Chroma sets the mood as an opening track, introducing the conceptual meaning behind the album through the repetition of vocals chorusing ‘Chromakopia’. Mirroring ‘Igor’’s theme in nature, it features this loop, which is delivered with an intense beat that keeps the pulse in the background. Both tracks build up towards a lull in the middle, but St Chroma differs by descending into a chaotically discordant electronic beat that resolves with an isolated vocal line. This energy is momentary as
chaos ensues once again through the high energy of Rah Tah Tah. Daniel Caesar’s delicate vocals are disrupted by a pure rap track that repeats ‘I’m paranoid’ throughout – an introduction to a more emotive side that the rest of this album builds on. I think the conversation that he creates with Igor is important to mention, as it has been scrutinised as a lack of originality by critics that see Chromakopia as ‘more of the same’. By mimicking Igor, but doing so in a more vul-
nerable way, I think he creates a conversation between a previous ego riddled version of himself in 2018, and a maturing self-aware version of himself. Specifically, by sampling his mum’s voice notes, a quintessential part of ‘Igor’’s sound, he shows he is still the same guy who cosplayed the villain's assistant, Igor, but is no longer protected by the anonymity his blonde wig granted him.
Just as the two albums remain in conversation, the tracks on ‘Chromakopia’ do too. They seamlessly blend into each other, and when I first listened to the album the whole way through, I was sometimes unaware when a new song had started. This is most obvious in the beginning of NOID, as Tyler’s synthesised use of the word ‘paranoid’ blends into the ending of Rah Tah Tah before. NOID also follows on narratively from the prior song, elaborating on the paranoia that Tyler faces in a theatrical way. He further explains this in Darling, I, which is seemingly a comedown from the theatrics of Noid, that explores his unfortunate relationship with women. He states that nothing fulfils him like music, a point that ultimately plays into the wider meaning of Chromakopia, and the idea that, for Tyler, music equates to light and is essential. The seamless transitions successfully create this uniform story, with each track playing into this wider image.
His vulnerability continues throughout Hey Jane, a conversation about an unexpected pregnancy that his girlfriend goes through. The empathetic side of Tyler continues to be displayed by his ability to rap from his perspective and her perspective, contrasting with the ego that he explains he was and still somewhat is still grappling with. I killed you and Judge Judy seem like filler songs
One rainy day last year I was walking down Leinster St. when a sign made up of colourful tiles drew my attention. The place was tiny, but, for its size, very aesthetic. I looked up at the sign: Mama’s Revenge. I looked at the menu and I couldn’t believe my eyes. A 25cm burrito for € 6.50. That price has now risen to € 6.95, but I am still convinced that this little locale offers one of the best value for money near Trinity’s campus. While not necessarily unknown to students, I feel it is mostly frequented by Hamilton dwellers, due to its location. Yet, it's only a five minute walk from the Arts Block entrance and so worth it. The student offer (a 30cm burrito for €8.95) is a win of only a euro compared to the regular price (€9.95) but it's always something, and really, the baby one is already huge. I first visited the place a few weeks after making my discovery. With my friend we spent ten minutes outside, deciding which nine items we would choose to fill our burrito. Turns out that once you choose your rice, beans and meat filling (fear not, they also offer
vegetarian options) and you can fit basically anything else you might want in the remaining six slots. The staff is rather understanding of students with money and decision making problems. My go-to is rather basic - white rice, black beans, chilli beef, pico, sweetcorn, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and a medium sauce (on that note - the spicy sauce is really rather spicy, you can try it in smaller amounts if you head to the seating area downstairs). However, I have seen many other interesting combinationsthe chorizo filling is spicy but very funky, and some people choose sweet potatoes, pickled peppers or aubergines to fill their wraps. You can also add guac, unfortunately at an extra charge. One thing about me is that once I find food I like, I will continue eating it over and over, so I have not strayed far from my order. However, I would recommend trying a few different combinations, if the first one doesn’t quite hit the spot.
Unlike other burrito places I’ve found in Dublin, Mama’s Revenge serves them filled to the brim with a variety of flavours (if you choose that option - some people just go for a plain bean and rice burrito).
You can taste the vegetables, the cream, and the sauce, which all make for a deliciously filling, yet not heavy, meal.
Apart from the divine burritos, they also serve a variety of different Tex-Mex-inspired foods. Quesadillas (Baby €5.95, Regular €7.95) work similarly to the burritos, allowing for a choice of filling and salsa. For an additional 50 cents, you can also get one of the aforementioned add-ons (guac, sour cream, sweetcorn etc.). The portion of tacos one can get for €8.75 consists of three 10 cm corn or flour tacos with your chosen filling, topped with red onion, coriander and salsa on the side. You can choose to add a sprinkling of cheese or sour cream or pay extra to get guac, lettuce or sweetcorn. While they also serve nachos with a huge variety of toppings and bowls of chilli con carne, for famished students looking for an affordable lunch I would definitely recommend the burrito.
You can either opt for the foodto-go and enjoy it on campus or in the neighbouring parks (take a plastic fork from the counter, burritos inevitably get messy!), or head downstairs into the seating
to me, heightening the musical comeback that Sticky acts as. Each verse mirrors that of a cannon firing, a palpable chemistry that is arguably the climax point of this album.The feature heavy nature of this album shows Tyler venturing into a more collaborative and less self-centred stage of his career , adding a diversity to his album. It is also of note that despite this, he fails to produce a feature list. I suspect that this would detract from the introspection that he aims to convey.
Finally, from the high energy song of Sticky we witness a decline into raw emotion with Tomorrow and Like Him. The final track I Hope You Find Your Way Home seeks to provide some resolution for this, but ironically encapsulates the journey we have been brought on throughout. Tyler remains painfully self-critical; and seems to be ‘slipping’ and ‘slipping’ still in his thoughts despite this. The erratic melodies and intense beats coupled with lyrical vocals and differing features from established artists makes for a state of musical confusion that the final track embodies. An album that started with the author denying its existence has evidently manifested into a state of confusion, where nothing is as it seems. Posed as a wider insight into his inner monologue and perhaps his experience of fame, this album achieves that enchanting and exhausting effect.
area. Painted in bright, primary colours, with a goat’s head dressed in a MEXICO t-shirt, and no windows, it emanates a diner vibe– in a good way. The music is a mix of old rock and Latin beats, and the tables are spacious enough to fit a lot of people (and at times scattered with the remains of food). However, it is not a place I would recommend to dwell in for too long. Eat your lunch, enjoy a few songs and leave making space for other famished patrons. Merrion Square Park or the National Gallery are right down the road if you want to enjoy
your few hours off school in a calm and pretty place.
It’s clear to see that Mama’s Revenge is one of my Dublin obsessions. And I think it deserves that opinion - from the pretty sign outside which first drew my attention on a rainy day, to the kind and quick staff, the huge selection of food and the amazing taste. I want to let more people know about it so that everyone can enjoy the delicious, filling, affordable goodness that awaits inside!
The Abbey’s Christmas show, which runs from the 22nd November- 25 January, will see Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved Emma brought to life. With previews drawing to a close I met director Claire O’Reilly to discuss her work on the upcoming production of Emma at the Abbey.
When O’Reilly got the call from Caitríona McLaughlin, artistic director at the Abbey, asking if she wanted to direct Emma, she had admittedly never read it. Like many of us, O’Reilly’s first encounter with Emma was the 1995 cult classic Clueless. However, O’Reilly read the script immediately and was drawn to its fun. “There's loads of momentum in it. I think Kate Hamill's done an amazing job of really capturing the essence of the characters, but kind of motoring through what is quite a verbose, drawn-out piece of literature. It was just this very lively energy and lots of theatrical potential in the text. So that was the main thing that made me excited. And I was just really excited to work here. I've been dying to do that for ages.”
Since reading and re-reading the novel in preparation for the production, she has also come to love Clueless even more, “It is such an amazing adaptation. Watching it again in the context of working on it…it's kind of genius, how
they access certain themes in it. Even the power dynamics and the hierarchies. It's just like high school, high school politics.”
Talking about how she feels working on an Emma adaptation of her own, O'Reilly confirms she has “thoroughly enjoyed it. O’Reilly’s career has been spent predominantly working on new writing and devising, admitting that is really where her “soul is”. However, working on a story that is already so solid and secure “has been amazing” and a switch-up from her usual more hands-on dramaturgical process as a director.
O’Reilly got hooked on theatre as a child through school plays and “your classic Catholic school Nativities,” and found it “very addictive.” She came to Trinity College Dublin to study Drama and Film, getting involved with DU Players. In O’Reilly’s last year of college she created a show for a devising module which went on to win the Spirit of Fringe award at the Dublin Fringe Festival. Winning this award at Dublin Fringe, which O’Reilly speaks very highly of, meant a small commissioning cost to help create their next show and a guarantee of The Fringe bringing the new show back for a small run. “Suddenly we had to legitimize,” O’Reilly explains, “and
that’s where my theatre company, Malaprop, came from.”
Working alongside O’Reilly on this production is another co-founder of Malaprop, Molly O’Cathain, the set designer for Emma. O’Reilly describes the fun of working with O’Cathain as one of her favourite parts of the production, with this piece “very well suited to how we both play." Other highlights of the rehearsal process for O’Reilly have been working with movement director Philip Conanton and the amazing cast.
The Abbey’s original promotion for Emma described it as “Emma for the Brat-Bridgerton Era.” It has
continued such advertising on their instagram, describing Jane Fairfax as “that girl.” When talking about how that transfers to the stage O’Reilly clarifies, “anybody coming, hoping to see like Brat on stage will be disappointed. Like, Troye Sivan is not in a pair of hot pants.” However, the production is scored by a hyperpop soundtrack, on which Charli XCX makes a brief appearance. But like hyperpop, this production dials the saturation up. O’Reilly describes the show's aesthetic as a collaboration
'Tis the season for...not a relationship. Coupling up in this economy is infeasible – flowers are far too expensive (€2.75 at Tesco, and also out of season), and letting another borrow your sweater only leaves you freezing in the street.
It's much more affordable, self-serving, and quick to rid ourselves of long-term, loving intimacy with a moment in the corner of a club you may regret for weeks onward. Oh, what our grandmothers would think of us now (“Back in my day we had a faucet and a photo”) .
To find a club in Dublin specifically for oh-so-casual reasons is a challenge. Casual sex is more than entering the basement of any club – it’s an art, a manoeuver only few can pull off.
Enter Dicey’s. The molding wood from the open-air ceiling rain supersedes its neighbour, D Two’s squalid corner sofas. The wooden pillars provide a great splintered support to be aggres-
sively pushed up against by a keeling drunk. Want to kiss on a floor littered with toilet paper and spilled Orchard Thieves? This is your place. It’s the least romantic – imagine a proposal under those Georgian awnings and neon glass walls. You can’t. Adjust your eyesight to a
cesspool of White Fox mini skirts and grey track tops –you’re sure to find a match in this lucky selection. To ease into such a rite of passage, grab a €2 shot. This makes the wood against your back feel slightly softer - and their breath taste just slightly better.
Follow the yellow brick road (the trail of broken Guinness glasses) to Coppers down Harcourt Street. Now this is a step up from Diceys – the demographics tend to be slightly older (for those who enjoy a beard with flecks of Guinness froth mixed in their frenching). The LED lighting in the smoke area, which washes one's face with red, and the BRAT remixes work a seductive magic on the college brain. If you find being sober and in daylight a more enjoyable endeavor, perhaps move to the Hamilton (the “glory hole” toi-
between then and now but when it comes to the characters, she reassures Austen fans that “the essence of the characters are really maintained, and we've worked to make them as clear and as authentic as possible.”
Reflecting on the production now previews have started, O’Reilly is feeling good.
This is O’Reilly’s first “big Christmas show” which strays from the “queer, fringe work” she normally makes. “It has been really fun to watch the audiences enjoying it and it’s just nice to do a comedy at Christmas where people are having fun.”
To finish off the interview I left O’Reilly with the hard hitting journalism question that is, Snog, Marry, Kill: George Knightley, Jane Fairfax and Robert Martin?
“I mean, you’d have to marry Knightley, he’s solid as a rock. Mr Martin, in our adaptation, we don't get to learn a lot about his interior world. To no fault of the actor, it's just, he's a non-speaking role. So that means I would probably f*ck him. And then what was the other one? Kill Jane Fairfax? Oh, no, no, no, sorry, no. I would f*ck Jane Fairfax and kill Robert Morton. Okay, yeah.”
Emma will run until the 25th January. Tickets can be purchased on the Abbey’s website starting at €15.
let). Worried about the acoustics in the gentlemen’s bathroom? Most bathrooms on campus will suffice. Try the third cubicle to the right in the Arts Block ground-level bathroom in your ten-minute breaks between tutorials. If it's too crowded (and you don’t enjoy that), try the Atrium’s second-floor bathrooms. If you can survive any of these in a sober capacity, under fluorescent lights and on top of open toilets, kudos. There’s always the risk of being caught at school, by those you know. There’s also the far more inordinate threat of finding the experience enjoyable and wanting to do the same thing again, with the same person. It’s advised to avoid eye contact while pushed against the toilet paper dispenser – best for evading connection. If that doesn’t fulfill your voyeuristic needs, there are always public parks. Look both ways before laying down the picnic towel in Howth. The trees are quite sturdy near St. Mary’s church,
although your arms may be left with more splinters than Dicey’s. This might transgress into intimate territory – best if you don’t speak before, during, or after. You wouldn’t want feelings to get involved.
But if you’re in the corner of Dicey’s, Coppers, or even on a toilet in the Hamilton, and there’s a passive voice in your mind that whispers that you might want more than a drunken kiss, or an unenthusiastic grope, maybe give it a little listen. Maybe if that voice is still there when stepping on the Luas from Harcourt, or when you fall asleep that night, when you walk by a flower shop, or see a pair of hands holding, perhaps it might warrant an ear. Because God knows having your hair matted on the velvet couches of D Two feels fantastic for 26 seconds, but maybe the extent of connection reaches beyond the Georgian arches of the Dicey’s ceiling.
Eloise Sherrard
I was in awe upon entering Dublin’s Smock Alley as it opened its doors in late November to Ireland’s vibrant and ever-growing fashion community, for the grand finale weekend of Ireland’s second year of showcasing its very own fashion week. The space was transformed into a vibrant tapestry of talent which wove together and showcased some of Ireland’s best fashion and design talent.
Having had the pleasure of attending the event both this year and last, I was stunned to observe its growth in the space of just a year. What started as a vision which actually blossomed at our very own Trinity Fashion Society’s annual fashion show in 2023 amongst a handful of Irish fashion designers, has flourished into the spectacle which was this year’s jam-packed week for Irish fashion and design.
The grand finale weekend which I attended in Smock Alley showcased a runway show, live dance and musical performances such as that from the brilliant Irish girl band ‘Biird”, poetry installations and of course the twenty plus designers who were the thread which really sewed it all together. Being able to peruse all these incredible designers in the same space at the same time conjured in me the feeling of how I imagine Aladdin must have felt roaming his cave.
The full extensive list of the
creators who partook in the event can be found on Dublin Independent Fashion Week’s Instagram and online. I feel it goes without saying that all of the event’s creators’ abundance of talent took my breath away, and so as much as I’d love to discuss all of them in detail in this article, I unfortunately don’t have time to write a novel– not today anyway. However, I shall touch on a couple of the event’s creators who stood out to me in particular from speaking with them.
Aoife Lifestyle is an utterly inspirational brand with an even more inspirational woman, Aoife Rooney, as its founder. Rooney created the award-winning sustainable and circular fashion brand on a foundational focus on burgeoning kindness towards our planet and community. Her space at the event emanated elegance, with every single one of her luxurious garments appearing as art pieces in themselves, catching the eye with every turn of the head. Now imagine that times twenty expanding through the whole of Smock Alley.
Aside from the event’s main feature of the fashion designers themselves, were several gorgeous creative
installations, such as one which ironically really caught my attention due to its seeming subtleness, yet on closer inspection was such a beautiful thoughtful touch which worked to elevate the whole event.
Molly May O’Leary identifies as a storyteller, singer and poet; this she most certainly is, and then so much more again. To have to reduce O’Leary’s work with words to mere words themselves, would be to say she takes words and turns them into art, both visually and linguistically. So when she was tasked with writing a poem on the work of every featured designer at the event, the results were simply delightful as she enabled the designers to understand and appreciate the perception of their work afresh through the beautiful medium of her poetry. On a wider scale to anyone who was involved in the event in any capacity, O’Learly provided a visual aid which so ardently captured the unique essence of every single designer.
All in all, these individual unique creators coming together to showcase their work in one place was pure magic, the pinnacle of Irish creation, which was Dublin Independent Fashion Week. At the event’s stylish bar I raised a glass to this year being the biggest and best Fashion Week Ireland has shown the world yet; I hope I find myself clinking to the same toasting this time next year.
Ila Raso
The annual Trinity Christmas tree lighting ceremony was scheduled for the evening of December 2nd, welcoming a looming crowd as early as five pm in Front Square.
The tradition is a staple of the Dublin holiday season, now entering its fourteenth year of celebration. This past year, the festive evening was delayed multiple days due the Riots. So on the chilly evening of December 02, students and staff alike waited with baited breath for a hopeful redemption of last year’s setback–they were sorely mistaken.
The 35-foot Norway Spruce towered over the crowd as more spectators filtered in to grab free mulled wine and mince pies from the Buttery. The excitement radiated as the Trinity Choir gathered in position for a welcoming series of holiday songs. As they kicked off their entertainment, the crowd gathered closer to the tree, awaiting the fateful tap on the microphone from Provost Linda Doyle. She welcomed the crowd, sharing her gratitude for the Estates and Facilities team and Trinity VDP’s
T-Club, who were present to help switch the lights on for the ceremony.
By the closing statements of her quick speech, the anticipation built up to an entirely new level. Phones were raised in the air, reading to capture the cinematic moment. Spectators began to crane their necks even more to get a glimpse of the festive sight. Provost Doyle initiated a countdown–the moment this entire evening seemed to lead to. Phones were held up even higher, videos commenced. Three…,two,..,one…the tree was still pitch black. On cue, a disappointed groan erupted from the audience. But this was just a fluke, right? Unfortunately sorely mistaken once again.
Another countdown was initiated. Spectators laughed off the first debacle. Three,...,two,...one…not a single flicker of light. Cue the disappointed groan yet again. The crowd quickly grew antsy and chatter spread as
the choir began another series of songs. Provost Doyle grabbed the microphone yet again, announcing that they needed about fifteen minutes to fix this technical difficulty. Whether it was to go get a coffee or head back to the Ussher to study we’ll never know, but a sea of spectators left Front Square following that announcement. The crowd that remained seemed more determined than ever to make this evening the holiday spectacular they had previously hoped for. Following fifteen more minutes of patience, the Trinity Belles serenaded the crowd with a few of their own holi-
day song renditions. The energy seemed to be revamped. It seemed like the moment was just around the corner. Provost Doyle took to the microphone once again. This time, she announced a definite end to the evening. The official tree lighting ceremony will have to take place on December 03 at 5pm, it’s unfortunately unable to be completed at this time. The most disappointed groan of all responded back to her saddening statement. “It’s an absolute disgrace that they wouldn’t even turn on the Christmas lights, [especially] after they raised our fees,” shared an anonymous source. As the crowd dissipated, students were left wondering if they’ll ever have their envisioned study break while witnessing the iconic tree lighting. “Trinity is giving the grinch,” Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce, editor of the University Times, says.
The Christmas tree lighting was rescheduled for the following night, December 3rd. Proceedings went smoothly and the tree did manage to light.
Since its founding in 2022, the DU Eastern European Society (DUEES) has grown not only in numbers but also in campus-wide recognition and support. Now in its first year as a post-provisional society, the group has taken off in popularity, with fun events attracting loads of members. But the society is much more than just a hotspot of well-organised karaoke nights, it’s a place where students find an unexpected but overwhelmingly heartwarming community.
Eastern Europe represents a myriad of cultural identities with a difficult past in terms of banding together, DUEES President Ksenia Goncharenko explains.
“Perhaps because of our history of the Soviet Union, the whole idea of us all being united is [sometimes] matched with resistance, and that's totally understandable, but this was an experiment,” she says. Goncharenko explains that this “experiment” has shown the beauty in connecting through our similarities rather than only
differences. The society brings a newfound sense of togetherness not frequently seen across these cultural identities. “I find that it is something that should be explored more in our cultures because it is really beautiful. We have the same crafts, arts, design, and traditional clothing that doesn't really get a lot of recognition in the public eye,” she says.
Just this semester alone, the society has boasted a record number of events. On November 4, the society collaborated with DU History to host a guest lecture by Dr. Conor Daly discussing the legacy of Hubert Butler, an Irish essayist who was deeply immersed in Soviet literature. Many of Butler’s handwritten notes rest in the Trinity archives, which were one of the many fascinating topics of conversation that evening. Dr. Daly was recently awarded the Hubert Butler Essay prize and specialises in Central and Eastern European studies and his expertise culminated in an engaging event. Butler’s numerous translations and essays were discussed alongside
conversation about the unique position of Soviet literature in modern-day society.
But DUEES makes room for all sorts of events, like their Moldovan and Polish Wine Tasting night in October. This event even takes the cake as Goncharenko’s favourite of the semester so far. The evening was sponsored by the Polish Wine Fest and the Polish Embassy of Ireland. It amassed quite a crowd and led many members to a newfound appreciation for Eastern European wines.
The cultural cohesiveness of Eastern European identities feels particularly new. Just this past year, UCD established its very first Eastern European Society as well. To celebrate this sense of togetherness, DUEES teamed up with UCD to host an epic Eastern European karaoke night on November 12. This was truly a first–there had never been a collaboration of two such societies before, as even five years ago they were not in full formation. This event brought the energy like never before. Kinga Brennan, a Business Studies and
Russian student at Trinity explains that the karaoke night was one of her favourite events. “The vibes were immaculate,” she says. The night featured everything from traditional music to pop anthems of Eastern Europe. The diverse community brought the most welcoming atmosphere; no matter where you’re from, this collaboration had something for everyone. “It’s amazing to see how everyone was so friendly with each other, as we saw with the UCD collab,” Ia Khachirashvili, a third-year sociology student says.
Although separate cultural societies existed before DUEES, such as the Russian society, the founders of DUEES wanted to bring another level of cultural inclusiveness to Trinity. “There’s equally a lot of Polish, Romanian, [and] Moldovan students, as well as smaller communities like Lithuanians, Slovakians or Czech people. We really wanted to have a society that would provide a space for people to feel like they're back at home [and] connect with each other,” Goncharenko explains. This kick-
Harper Alderson
Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik is 352 pages of photographs and prose relying on an imagined and quixotic relationship between authors Joan Didion and Eve Babitz exploited to denigrate the former and glorify the latter.
Joan Didion is best known for the novels Play It as It Lays and The Year of Magical Thinking, and is heralded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Eve Babitz was a visual artist and writer, best known for the novel Slow days, fast company, and her prominent place in the Los Angeles zeitgeist. “Children of L.A.,” Didion and Babitz both captured the ineffable and fraught milieu of California in the 1960s-80s. Anolik’s book is a dual biography, aiming to marry the two figures and argue that one cannot be understood without the other: at one point calling them “Soul mates.”
The book’s ostentatious and Instagrammable cover rivalling the Tom Ford coffee table book should tell a prospective reader all they need to know: aesthetics and frivolity are all Anolik will deliver on. Indeed, if one ever does actually crack it open, they ought to prepare for a long stretch of traffic on an L.A. highway. Sections about Babitz are tedious and plodding, with “a fan’s unreasoning abandon” (Anolik’s words) while Didi-
on’s accelerate, relying on dubious anecdotes that prevaricate Didion as “part princess, part wet blanket”.
The book begins with an inflammatory (unsent) letter from Babitz to Didion reading “Could you write what you write if you weren’t so tiny, Joan?” inserted and analysed to enlist the reader into Anolik’s fantasy. She continues with Babitz’s characterisation of Didion as a “female male chauvinist pig” and a “double-crosser of women”. Anolik and Babitz express their fury with Didion’s unassuming and feminine nature, which she exploits for access and fame. However, Anolik has no problem detailing Babitz’s obsession with her own “Marilyn Monroe-like frame” that she believes her fellow women are jealous of. Even Babitz’s magnum opus Slow Days (which Anolik calls a “casual masterpiece”) details Babitz seducing her friends’ husbands, calling her female peers boring and unimaginative, and insisting she is only liked by men because women are so jealous of her.
Anolik’s writing is almost honest with itself twice. First, when she writes that she “naturally roots against Didion”. The comment is a throwaway but gets at the real reason she wrote the book. Anolik has a personal relationship with Babitz. Her previous book
Hollywood’s Eve emerged from intimate interviews and eventual “friendship” with the author: she is “crazy for Eve”. Anolik truly writes about Babitz like a teenage superfan, preoccupied with defending her (though no one is attacking) and wasting pages in-
sisting they are friends. The second almost honesty is when Anolik describes an anecdote about Didion from screenwriter Paul Schrader. Schrader had proposed an article about Didion, Susan Sontag, and Pauline Kael to capture the “West Coast female intellectual phenomenon”. He continued: “Each hated it more than the last”. It seems like a casual insert, but Anolik fails to get at why exactly she included it:
start of such a space instantly took off. The petition to initiate DUEES as a society was eagerly signed by Eastern European students and Irish students alike.
Since its founding, DUEES continues to bring students together and serve as a catalyst for cultural connection. “I’ve made so many friends from other Eastern and Central European countries, and it’s been wonderful, and sometimes surprising, to learn how much we all have in common,” Brennan says. Goncharenko reminds incoming students to keep an open mind about joining DUEES. “Although uniting under the umbrella of Eastern Europe does not really come naturally to a lot of us, you can make it a place for you. Everyone can get involved. Just by attending, you contribute to creating this lovely space on campus where everyone can feel like they have their own little piece of home,” Goncharenko says.
Didion would’ve hated this book. I think Babitz would’ve too. The truth is (which Anolik starts the book explicitly stating she intends to uncover) Didion and Babitz didn’t really know each other. The vignettes in the book of their interactions (which are few and far between) are disconnected, random, and in some cases accidental. They are two very different writers emerging around the same time both writing about L.A.. The accounts of Didion and Babitz taken without the gratuitous and obsequious pro-Babitz analysis from Anolik on balance paint a very bleak picture. Didion was a force of unrivalled genius with a complicated personal life, and Babitz was an it-girl and a good-but-not-great writer who was passively jealous of Didion’s success. As Marisa Metzler put it for the New York Times – “You end up wondering if Didion thought about Babitz much at all.”
Anolik goes mask-off by the end of the book. She calls The Year of Magical Thinking (a novel about Didion’s grief at the loss of her husband and daughter) fundamentally narcissistic, dishonest, and false. She calls Didion calculated, detached, exploitative, and ultimately unforgivable. But who is Anolik talking about? After wasting pages on random inserts like a picture of
Babitz wearing Anolik’s sunglasses justified under the false premise of a “soul mate” relationship between the two authors, could it be said that Anolik is exploitative? Calculating? Detached? She was devastated by Babitz’s death in 2021, in this analysis is she calling herself unforgivable? Is Didion & Babitz unforgivable?
The experience of reading this book is a trafficky highway, and the reader’s destination is never found. Anolik leaves us with the desperate promise that “[Babitz] will become a totemic figure. Just you watch.” But the question has already been answered: It was always Joan Didion. It is impossible to overstate the importance of Didion. Her writing is the canon. Reading her for the first time is revelation– no one before her wrote like she did, and almost all writers try to write like her now - or try to write like someone writing like her. Didion is undeniable.
The book is deceitful. Not only because Didion and Babitz weren’t that close, not because the Babitz-mania severely undermines its analysis, and not because it slights Joan Didion. But because insisting Didion’s genius is not genius is gaslighting, and bringing one woman down to bolster another is futile and broken. We should not forgive it.
Emma Rouine
The end of the year is looming and with that means a time of reflection (gotta love those premature life-existential crises in your early twenties ….) What would you
have done differently if given the option? What will you do differently as the dreaded countdown towards 2025 begins? Perhaps you might want to switch something up in your daily routine, try out a new activity and find a way to meet new people - what better way to do that than to join a new society!
The University Times chatted to four society chairs about their own New Year resolutions for their society and why they think you should become a member in 2025.
DUBES (Dublin Business and Economic Society)
Jane Purcell is a final year Business and Economics student and auditor of DUBES this year. Before running for auditor, she was the society’s social secretary in 2nd year and spent her last year on exchange in Korea.
Reflecting on the transition returning from exchange, Jane said “Coming back from exchange was weird… where life actually accounts for something”
I asked how she finds balancing running the society along with the stress that comes with her final year and she said that she has been "Very fortunate… I do have a grad job lined up so that takes the pressure off as I know applying for jobs is a whole other module.”
However, she also added that if someone is finding stress being on a society committee “its just a student society if its not fun for people .. don’t let it take away from your life.”
Talking about upcoming plans for semester two, she mentions activities such as the annual Bess ball which takes place in February, some speaker events, a few pub quizzes and a third and 4th year night out ensuring “a healthy space for them in the basement of wigwam… people always in the final years get coupled up because we’re like ahhh! we’re running out of time.”
For anyone considering joining DUBES Jane says, “Doesn’t matter what you study, come along!” She also jokingly adds, “don’t ask me a networking question on a night out, I don’t want to talk about my summer internship or my spring weeks, I’m not gonna edit your cv right there.”
“I think coming into my final semester you just want to create an environment where people can be like I had a great time being part of this and I want to stay involved next year and the year after because that’s what happened with me in DUBES in first year..”
Check out @dubestcd on Insta-
gram for the latest events.
French Society
Róisín Northcote is a 2nd year European Studies student and the chair of French society this year. She first got involved last year as OCM before taking over as events officer in semester two.
She describes each transition as “very smooth….because the previous officer made the transition really easy, whenever I have a question I can contact them and theyre always there to help.”
“I think as well the CSC do a good job of explaining everything as well. I never really felt like I didn’t know what to do.. there’s always an answer accessible to me.”
She describes initial challenges to the role saying “most of the committee were completely new into their roles … I had to learn their roles for them and explain their roles to them so at the beginning it was tough but now we’re getting into a good pattern but its definitely difficult I don’t know how people do it in fourth year.”
“Even this year it can sometimes be a bit of a struggle, I’m like spending too much time doing French soc stuff or suddenly there's a week that’s gone by and I’m like oh I haven’t done anything for French soc … trying to find that balance.”
She adds how much more accessible the society has become to French speakers of all levels, even to those with just the basics “it ranges from French people in the
society to people like myself for example who grew up in Belgium, grew up speaking French in school and want to continue that or those who have zero French at all or have a couple of words from their leaving cert.”
On plans for semester two, Róisín says, “bigger and better!” She adds, “We have a good relationship with the French embassy in Dublin and so we want to further improve and strengthen that relationship with them and do more events with them this semester”
She acknowledges people's apprehension about joining a society “I know it can be so scary - even - if you’re in second or third year and haven’t joined a society.” Yet she encourages people, “it’s a good way meeting a new group of people that you would have never been in contact with otherwise … like you’re on different sides of campus but you meet once a week at a coffee hour and its really nice just to talk to someone completely removed from your course.”
Make sure to subscribe to their weekly email for the most up-todate events and their Instagram @frenchsoc/ TikTok @frenchsocietytcd.
DU Law Society
Law Soc’s auditor James Ryan is a third-year Law Student. His first experience with Law Soc was a speaker event with a Lord Burrows of the UK Supreme Court on his first day in college. He said “That sucked me in and I tried to go to as many events as I could (and was interested in!). Mock Trial also sucked me in, letting me enlist my mates as fake witnesses and suspects in a murder and argue in front of actual barristers.”
James was Law Soc’s Competitions Convenor last year. He describes the transition to the society executive as a “big jump… but thankfully not one I was alone in making. The other members of the executive, Lily our Treasurer and Graham our Secretary, have been amazing as well making our transition far easier.”
“While I’m not in final year, society work can still be challenging
when trying to keep up academically. I can’t imagine how difficult things would have been if I was in final year so I’m grateful I’m in the position this year.”
Reflecting on some events that Law Soc has hosted this year, James mentioned a visit from Kneecap and their 20s-themed Swing Ball. Plans for next semester? “I want to do a few more social events for our members. Everything social we ran this semester went very well so I’d love to do a few more fun nighttime events such as our cowboy-themed night Lawless. I’d also like to make even better use of our social media presence and TikTok to make sure we get our events publicised as much as we can.”
He mentions Law Ball, the Junior Mock Trial which will start in late January/early February which he describes as “a highlight to see the younger students getting involved in the society” and James’ personal favourite, the Natalie Forde Memorial Debating Competition which is held in memory of the former auditor. They also have some guest speakers including Bear Grylls and a few more that are yet to be announced…
Curious about joining but not a law student? James says, “The biggest thing we always say is that you don’t have to be a Law student
to join! In the same way that you don’t need to be a History or Politics student to join the GMB societies, anyone can join the Law Society and come to our events. We have a little something for everyone, from academic to social and everything in between so I’d love to see you there! For only €2, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Check out @tcdlawsoc on Instagram for the latest events.
Lit Soc
Chair of LitSoc, Niamh O’Donnell is studying for an M.Phil in Public History and Cultural Heritage this year. It is her fourth year involved in LitSoc having previously served as an OCM/ assistant PRO and LitSoc’s PRO for the last two years of her undergrad in History and Political Science.
Niamh describes the transition from PRO to Chair saying, “I loved the creativity of the PRO role and that's something I miss in my current role. However, I love the society and my time in Trinity wouldn't be the same without it so I'm glad to have the opportunity to help shape the society this year through this role. I thought the transition from PRO to chair would be more challenging than it has proved but my fellow committee members are very supportive so that makes the job a lot easier. That being said, balancing the responsibilities of chair alongside assignments is definitely a lot! Overall, LitSoc is a hobby for me so I'm grateful to have that outlet and escape from academic life.”
Reflecting on some activities LitSoc have hosted this semester, Niamh mentions their Committee Bookshelf series and collaborations with VisArts and ChessSoc. A highlight for Niamh was their Hunger Games themed, Capitol Ball which was held in Lost Lane in November. She also mentions “LitSoc has been proud to facilitate a reading group run by a couple of our members titled the Dead Author’s Soc this semester. This is something we hope continues in LitSoc’s future, as it at the core of what university societies are all about: bringing people together.”
On goals for the upcoming semester, Niamh says “We want to bring all of the elements we loved from the first semester with us into the new year. However, we know that student life is busy and that members don’t always have the time to read an entire book for our reading groups. Next semester we will be encouraging our members to choose what books we read and having monthly meetings instead of weekly ones. We hope that this will encourage more of our members to get involved with these recurring groups, as they are a great opportunity to get to know people as well as being introduced to great reads.”
Other plans include organising a team for UniSlam (a poetry slam competition in the UK). Niamh says “This is a funded opportunity by LitSoc inclusive of flights and accommodation so we encourage anyone interested to keep an eye on our socials in the new year. We are also still accepting submissions to our literary journal, The Attic, so any writers out there should consider submitting their work.”
“LitSoc turns 40 in the new year so it is going to be a really exciting time to be involved in the society.”
Check out @trinitylitstagram on Instagram for the latest events.
Ila Raso
The Robinson Subcommittee of the College Historical Society hosted one of their most influential panels yet on the evening of November 21. Focusing on the importance of archives and archival work in the 21st century, the Robinson Subcommittee invited Orlaith McBride, Ireland’s first female Director of the National Archives and Dr. Colleen Shogan, the first female Archivist of the United States. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Patrick Geoghegan, a professor of modern history at Trinity and a vice president of the Hist.
Orlaith McBride was appointed to be Director of the National Archives/An Chartlann Náisiúnta in 2020 after immense success in her role of Director of the Arts Council for nearly a decade. During her first few years at the Archives, she curated the Decade of Centenaries Commemorations Programme and is now involved with the publishing of the 1926 Census, the first census of the Irish Free State. Her previous work in the arts and culture sector has propelled public outreach from the Archives which emphasises cultural engagement and understanding.
Dr. Colleen Shogan stepped into her role as Archivist of the United States in 2023. Following a presidential appointment and senate hearing, she took her position as the first female National Archivist. The Archivist holds a critical responsibility for the nation–they serve to protect, preserve, and share the nation’s governmental records. The US National Archives contains over 13.5 billion documents, all of which Shogan
oversees. Shogan has taken the challenges of digitisation and amplifying public interest within the archives in stride. Her work as an author, political science professor, and Senate staffer culminate in an expert foundation to lead the National Archives.
The archives of a nation are often overlooked in the public eye, yet the careful documentation and preservation of history is now more important than ever. As McBride recalled, “it is all about the authenticity of the record.” In both the United States and Ireland, the delicate preservation of national documents sets the foundation for a stable democracy ahead. Without a clear and unaltered comprehension of our past, nations cannot move swiftly towards the future.
Dr. Geoghegan led immediately into a question of utmost relevance to the world of archival preservation–the role of digitisation and technical innovation. The archival process has changed immensely with the introduction of AI and digital technology. McBride explained that the application of digital technology within the National Archives has been a key tool in expanding the sector. It would take the average person nearly 16 years to effectively sift through and digitise the 1926 Irish Census, McBride says. With digital technology, the Archives are on track to publish the 1926 census in about two years. For Shogan, this technology has a similar effect within the US Archives. She explains that US military records, even when in their simplest form, can be nearly 200 pages long. With AI and new technology, the process of shifting these analog documents to a digital format takes far less time.
A few questions from the audience around the concern of AI and technology overtaking the archival industry arose. In response, Shogan emphasised that this technology is not replacing or taking away jobs in the industry, rather it is reimagining the way in which preservation is commenced. The process of digitisation and technological transformation cannot be done in the holistic manner necessary without the collaboration of technology alongside human archivists. And as more government documents occur through digital channels, the process of preserving tweets, emails, or online briefings requires archivists to “be there at the very
start of the record’s life,” Mcbride explains. Both Archives are working on major anniversary projects in the respective nations. With McBride working on the release of the Irish 1926 Census, she’s planning a corresponding exhibit to showcase the story of the Free Irish State. In the US, Shogan is preparing for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In adhering to the importance of the preservation and showcasing of all integral documents, Shogan explains she made the decision to add the Emancipation Proclamation and the original document of the 19th Amendment to the Ro-
Bruna Ciulli
Hexensalbe by Stora Skuggan. Opens with vantablack liquorice. Darkly herbaceous. Piercing. Grateful Dead gig at the edge of the wilderness. The encroaching forest only grazing goats can keep back. Did that deadhead just sell you fake weed? Fuck, it’s oregano. Dropping acid, on all-fours and sinking your palms into the damp, rotting forest floor of fallen pine needles and grey lichens. When did hippies get so frightening? There’s a three percent chance the mushrooms you took are poisonous. Your hands are sticky from the bleeding plants — don’t lick your fingers. You touched hemlock and foxgloves. Deceptively medicinal, especially on the dry down.
A clean skin scent, with uncharacteristically weak sillage for Stora
Skuggan. After four-five hours rosemary becomes the predominant note with the bite of hemlock. Otherwise patchouli, wild nightshades, and gothic florals linger on the skin. Wafts up from the skin every once in a while, like a cold draft. An added animalic note would have further emphasised the carnal, witchy nature of the fragrance. It is psychedelic but quite distant and masculine. An acid bro might like it. Perhaps it is too green. Simply not haggard enough. Perfect for the withholding one-time radical in your life.
Jazmin Yucatan by DS&Durga. It was about this time last year that my friend and I stumbled into DS and Durga’s Madison Avenue shop. Spritzing an indecent amount of Jazmin Yucatan on we stumbled back out onto the street and walked
the length of Manhattan visiting the major art museums’ winter showcase exhibitions. At some point trailing through a series of Ed Ruscha paintings it began feeling as though we were floating on pond scum.
The jasmine notes travel in the air while the aquatic notes remain stagnant. Steaming; tragically vegetal. Sweet and sad. A memory of the days getting longer. First days of summer that don’t exist. Imagining your back garden could be as wild and vast as a jungle. Whether it is due to accelerated global warming or growing older it captures a feeling that doesn’t exist anymore. Waterlogged mosses in the cracks of the patio. Nostalgic resins and a perpetually fading corn note. This isn’t your potted snake plant. Wistful and romantic.
tunda of the National Archives in Washington, DC. As they are also an integral part of the nation’s history, they deserve to be highlighted as such, alongside the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. Geoghegan next prompted another inquiry–can archival documentation be utilised to weaponise the past? McBride reiterated that the job of an archivist is to prevent just that. The role of the archivist is not to interpret these documents, rather it is to ensure their most authentic presentation, and make them easily accessible to the public. Both McBride and Shogan emphasise this within their leadership of their respective national archives. They centre their work around applying newfound digitisation technology to present the most authentic documentation of history and ensure it can be easily accessed by anyone, anywhere. The event concluded with a thunderous applause from a captivated audience. As Dr. Geoghegan put into words, “if you entered this room not interested in archives before, you certainly are leaving with a newfound appreciation for them.” Many of the audience members left with this appreciation for archival work, especially in terms of our democracies. “It’s very interesting how archives are a tool for government transparency, and [subsequently] a tool for democracy, it’s so important,” Andrew Row, a second-year English and History student who attended the panel, explains. The work to further amplify government transparency and democratic processes through archival documentation is far from over, and both McBride and Shogan will continue this integral undertaking.
A fragrance for those of us prone to esoteric self-mythologies. A gift for someone who lives across the river. The sillage is astonishing, the longevity not so much. All of a sudden it disappears into pure vapour.
The words on Ruscha’s paintings ripple: SWIMMING POOL/ HOLLYWOOD/ ADIOS/ FAITH/ PAY NOTHING UNTIL APRIL/ The End.
Oud Save the Queen by Atkinsons.
Rumpled ivory sheet on a mahogany four-poster bed. Ten year wedding anniversary in a stately home. Breakfast in bed: milky earl grey tea, fruit scones with spiced honey, raspberry jam stains on the pillow cases. Hot, sweet breath and morning frost melting on the lawn outside. Bare feet on a Persian rug to open the curtains then crawling
back into bed. Nestling together for warmth.
Another friend of mine, who works at the perfume counter in a department store, produced a sample of Oud Save the Queen, bashfully placing it into my hand. “Ignore the name.” Yet, both in the bottle and on the skin it is hard to imagine this perfume worn by anyone without secret monarchist tendencies. Or, at least, the desire to submit to something greater than themself. Manicured with a determined oud note, both in sillage and longevity. After a few hours on my skin creamy tonka bean outshines any other notes. Will last through the night. To be worn by a sherry drinker.
