UCC Express Issue 10

Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | uccexpress.ie | Volume 18 | Issue 10

Features Investigates Graduate Unemployment Pages 8/9

HARD SUMS: Dara Ó Briain visited UCC last week to view George Boole’s own copy of his seminal work, The Laws of Thought. Image by: Tomas Tyner.

AFIS results delay adds to semesterisation woes Barry Aldworth News Editor Following a disagreement between the Department of Accounting, Finance and Information Systems (AFIS) and the Exams Office in UCC, term one results for students taking modules offered by the AFIS Department were released on February 13th, one week after the results for all other UCC students were released.

The delay in providing students with their grades is the latest in a line of teething problems related to the introduction of semesterisation.

The AFIS difficulties stemmed from a dispute over the release of provisional results which would then not be reviewed by an exam board for five

months. Professor Ciaran Murphy, Head of the AFIS Department, argued that such a system was unfair to students and delayed the release of results to allow AFIS exams to be assessed by an external board.

In an email to students impacted by the decision, Murphy stated: “This decision has been taken to avoid the possibility that students are placed in a stressful situation by receiving adverse marks in semester one, where these marks would end up being revised upward at the summer board.

“Thus, the view was taken that full semesterisation, where performance is measured accurately and definitely in each semester, is the best route to take for the students of the Department.

This means that the marks returned by the AFIS department for your semester one exams will be final marks – not subject to any further change.”

today are still provisional. It’s another example of semesterisation not being communicated properly throughout the university.”

However, despite AFIS’s own external body approving the results, the marks will still be reviewed by a UCC Exams Board after the conclusion of the summer exams, meaning students’ grades could still change.

A request for comment from the Office of the Registrar and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs was not returned at the time of print.

UCCSU President Mark Stanton criticised those involved for failing to resolve the argument on time, stating that: “The university and the department both knew the problem was looming and the communication didn’t seem to happen until it was too late.

“The results the students were given

The delay in AFIS results is the latest in a series of moves which have been criticised by students, with the English Department notably holding their exams in-class, prior to the December study week, which raised its own issues.

Contd. on Page 5

Mairia Cahill talks about covered-up abuse Page 16

Kodaline on learning the hard lessons of music Verge

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

O’Riordan calls for society to break down barriers

SoundBites “The first twelve months had me riding high, making friends, living in bedsits and enjoying my lectures; the next twelve found me brought low by depression and an overwhelming desire to leave.”

BBC broadcaster Graham Norton summarises his time spent in UCC before dropping out in his memoirs, The Life and Loves of a He-Devil.

“A small, nerd bonus to being in Cork: they’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of one of our greatest ever Scientists, George Boole...”

Dara Ó Briain tweeting about his visit to UCC during which the School of Hard Sums presenter viewed Boole’s original papers.

Inside Today: Climate action Page 5 SU Electioneering Page 6 Romance isn’t Dead Page 12 Blasphemy Law Page 15 Fitzgibbon Falter Page 21 Donal Ryan interview Verge

The Number Cruncher

BREAKING SILENCE: Oisín Jordan, Joanne O’Riordan and Bressie spoke at the event. Image by: Emmet Curtin

Zoe Cashman News Writer

brothers and sisters at video games.”

The only limits which truly exist in this world are the ones we put on ourselves was the message of UCC criminology student and disability right activist Joanne O’Riordan, who told the recent Breaking Down Barriers event that, “I am living proof of someone who defies the odds… life is going to be tough, you’re probably going to be written off at some stage but I have defied the odds and so can you.”

The student-led conference, hosted by the UCCSU as part of Disability Awareness Week, was opened by Oisín Jordan of the FAI, for whom giving everyone the chance to play sport is a passionate goal: “We don’t know how good someone can be until we give them the opportunity.”

O’Riordan, who arrived in college this year as a Quercus scholar, shared her story of living with Tetra-Amelia. “I have the ability to achieve anything in my life,” she stated, “I do not see a disability, only ability.” O’Riordan is able to accomplish everything she wants to in life and can carry out everyday tasks despite having no limbs, adding that; “I can even beat my

The evening concluded with a talk from musician Bressie [Niall Breslin], who has made it his mission to get the country talking about mental health.

Bressie claimed that “often barriers cannot be seen” and the stigma attached to mental health issues prevents some from seeking help. Bressie shared his personal battle with General Anxiety Disorder and later depression with commendable honesty, telling the crowd that “Outside I was achieving and inside I was experiencing hell.”

Bressie is fighting for this cause to be heard and for the country to establish a conversation surrounding mental health: “I am on a mission with mental health. I was praying for someone to make me feel normal but no one ever did.”

He wants to see the subject brought into education and urges everyone to stop judging others for no reason; “Have you ever judged someone who didn’t deserve it and felt good about it?”

Editorial team

Editor-in-Chief: Stephen Barry

The three speakers proved to truly inspire the room and challenged the guests to leave with changed outlooks.

Bressie concluded by saying his barrier had been well and truly broken down and that society and the media need to get behind this cause.

Deputy Features Editor: Laura Flaherty

Deputy & News Editor: Barry Aldworth Sport Editor: Stephen Walsh Deputy News Editor: Brian Conmy

Photo Editor: Emmet Curtin

Fiction Editor: Ruth Lawlor

Photo Editor: Marc Moylan

Humour Editor: Roger O’Sullivan

Designer: Kevin Hosford

Features Editor: Conor Shearman

1 €2.20

For the first time in Fitzgibbon Cup history, UCC have failed to make the last-eight of the competition. A draw against UL saw the pre-tournament favourites suffer a shock group-stage elimination.

The proposed minimum price for a can of beer (wine would rise to a minimum of €8.80) as the government prepares to pass a Public Health Bill reforming elements of alcohol selling. Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said, “The days of 15 cans or bottles of beer being sold for €15 is of the past.”

60%

The percentage of students who watch porn to get information on sex, although 75% agree it creates unrealistic expectations, according to a survey by the UK’s National Union of Students. The Union has called for better second-level sex education.

€387,391.92 The total expenditure by Trinity College on lab animals used for research between January 2013 and November 2014. 8,563 mice, 1,346 rats, 29 pigs and six rabbits were purchased by the Dublin institute for scientific purposes.

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Arts Ball reception changed due to lack of student spending

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Universities set to combat Gender Equality challenge Brian Conmy Deputy News Editor To address a gender imbalance in the higher education sector, Irish universities, including UCC, are set to extend the Athena SWAN Charter to Ireland.

This extension was launched officially by Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, and Ned Costello, Chief Executive of the Irish Universities Association (IUA), who stated that; “Tackling gender equality needs to be actively pursued and the Athena Swan Charter and Awards are a real force for positive change.”

Previously signing up for the Charter and Awards was exclusive to education institutions in Britain. However, earlier this year, the UK based Equality Challenge UNIT announced the expansion of the initiative to institutions outside the UK.

CRYSTAL BALL:The Student Centre believed the Arts Ball reception would make a loss like previously.

Rachael Barry News Writer The Arts Ball, one of UCC’s largest and most popular balls, saw a lastminute change of plans this year after a dispute over the revenue the New Bar gained from hosting the event.

“Most of the students were coming from house parties and getting in the queue directly for the bus without going to the New Bar and spending any money.”

Held on the 5 of February in Rochestown Park Hotel, this year approximately 1,600 tickets were sold for the Arts Ball. In previous years the th

pre-ball reception has been held in the New Bar, with the buses collecting students on O’ Donovan’s Road.

However this year students were told two days before the Ball that the reception would now take place in Deep South, on Grand Parade, and the buses would depart from the city centre.

The change in venue came about as Terry Brennan, General Manager of the Student Centre, claimed that the costs of holding the reception far exceeded the benefits.

“There was no booking for the New Bar for the pre ball reception for the Arts Ball made by the Students’ Union this year,” claimed Brennan, who added that in previous years “most of the students were coming from house parties and getting in the queue directly for the bus without going to the New Bar and spending any money.” As a result the cost of providing security to assist in the loading of the buses would be too high, since it would not be covered by student money spent in the New Bar.

The Student Centre had made a loss on previous pre-ball events so proposed that the students would be allowed access to the buses, but only with a sales receipt from the New Bar. However UCCSU President Mark Stanton felt that such a move would be unfair, stating that “I understand where the Student Centre is coming from as I sit on the board myself but, when it came down to it, we didn’t want an extra charge for students and moved the location.”

Stanton also highlighted that while a provisional booking was in place for the reception to be held in the New Bar, this was never confirmed, adding that “there was a breakdown in communications between us and the Student Centre.”

The Union’s Entertainments Officer Paidi Brady added that in the run-up to the event UCC Campus Security had also expressed a number of concerns about the planned reception, due to “the disruption caused from previous balls with the buses on O’Donovan’s Road.”

Media central to societal mental health attitudes Barry Aldworth and Holly Cooney

When it comes to mental health “communication is the only way” to overcome the darkness which has taken the lives of so many, Katie Byrne of The Irish Independent highlighted at the recent UCC Journalism Society’s conference.

Following a panel discussion on political and gender bias within media, the event’s second discussion focused on the role of the media in increasing Ireland’s awareness of mental health.

Panel chair Daniel Waugh highlighted that while 55% of Irish people will suffer, either directly or indirectly, from problems involving mental health, “we

don’t have the language to speak about our problems.”

of how your mental health can affect others.

Waugh’s point was further echoed by Alan O’Mara of SpunOut, who spoke of his personal battle with depression and his decision to go public with his story. O’Mara told the audience to not be afraid to seek help, before highlighting that if Ireland’s support system for those mental health problems is to improve, the stigma that Irish people associate with mental health and counselling needs to be eradicated.

As a mother she recounted the grief her family went through after Donal’s passing but also her pride at the young teenager’s attitude to life and campaign against suicide. She noted how important awareness of mental health issues is and how the Live Life campaign has helped so many people, old and young, in their struggles. Walsh told the audience that we all need to think of the consequences of our actions because “everyone’s life is both important and unique,” and even if we feel alone we never truly are.

The event also saw Elma Walsh, mother of Donal Walsh of the Live Life foundation give a harrowing account

Signing the Charter is the first step towards applying for Athena SWAN Awards which celebrate good practices in recruitment, retention and promotion of women in STEMM (science,

technology, engineering, mathematics and medicines) fields of higher education. Universities will currently be preparing their applications to the Awards which are due in April.

The attainment of an award is based on development of a plan to improve gender equality and diversity and must be specific to addressing issues specific to the institution.

An external evaluation of the impact of Athena SWAN in previous years has noted that the adoption of the charter has yielded significant organisational, structural and cultural changes in the UK higher education system. These effects are hoped to be seen in a similar way in Irish institutions following the adoption of the charter.

Following the evaluation, the charter was expanded to include arts, humanities, social science, business and law departments.

UCC is already a member of the EUwide Genovate Consortium which promotes gender equality in research and innovation.

Student Engagement Survey gives students means of influence Stephen Barry Editor-in-Chief

Head of the Student Experience Dr. Ian Pickup and Professor John O’Halloran have called for students to have their say on the future of the university by taking the time to fill out the Irish Survey of Student Engagement.

Last year’s inaugural survey received responses from less than 10% of UCC

“As long as we get a decent enough responserate, that gives us confidence in being able to act.” students, the second lowest nationally, with Vice-President for Teaching and Learning O’Halloran noting that, “we wouldn’t attach too much significance to a sample of that size.”

However Pickup noted that UCC’s own biennial Student Experience survey, due to poll all students in November, has contributed to the demand for the ongoing Student Hub project “from

students saying they wanted a clearer point of contact for a range of services and student-led activities.”

He added that, “as long as we get a decent enough response-rate, that gives us confidence in being able to act, to modify how we do things and put particular projects in place, and that’s what we’d like to do.”

The survey is one part of a toolkit but reaches the biggest range of students, with first and final year undergraduates, along with taught postgraduates, to be emailed with the list of 100 questions in this instance.

It’s a daunting amount of questions but Pickup hopes to combat any survey fatigue that may exist: “We had a look at some student inboxes, who volunteered to show us, and it’s rammed full of surveys and it’s hard to discern which ones are the important ones.”

O’Halloran hopes to see a coherent, collective voice emerge which can contribute to future improvements on a local and national level: “If we can capture the [student] voice in the survey and articulate it upwards nationally, I think it could be really significant.”

HISTORICAL BIAS: Broadcast historian Dr. Finola Doyle-O'Neill speaking during the Bias of the Media panel. Image by: Emmet Curtin

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

Call to keep charities at the heart of R&G Week Barry Aldworth News Editor

As Raise & Give Week 2015 got under way, the message from UCCSU was for students to enjoy the week’s events but not to forget the charitable nature of the week.

With a variety of events planned, everyone from music lovers to competitive eaters should be able to �ind something to their taste, with Pat Fitz, a comedy hypnotist and a sausage eating competition set to grace campus.

Commenting on behalf of the UCCSU, Commercial & Communications Officer Barry Nevin said, “We picked three really beneficial causes. The two primary charities are Pieta House and Cork ARC Cancer Support House.

We are also supporting some of the charitable groups that have societies

here in UCC; seven UCC Societies got together and put in a joint bid for all of their charities.”

These societies, who will run events during the week, include Barnardos, Friends of MSF, Hope Foundation, Simon Community, St. Vincent de Paul, Surgeon Noonan and SUAS. “UCCSU have put a huge amount of time and effort into organising next week, we have loads of events happening every day and hope to make a considerable amount of money for amazing charities.

“From established events like the Nearly Naked Mile (Tuesday at 3pm), to new events we have introduced like the Colour Run (Wednesday at 12.30pm), Bubble Soccer (Thursday at 10am) and a Silent Disco (Wednesday at 2.30pm), it’s shaping up to be one of the best RAG Weeks yet!”

RAG WORTH: SU members launch Raise and Give Week, which will benefit nine charities. Image by: Emmet Curtin

IFUT threatens industrial action over UCC contracts Barry Aldworth News Editor The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has issued a demand for an immediate meeting with UCC to discuss proposed new staff contracts, which the group claims “seek to undermine or circumvent key aspects of labour practice.”

IFUT claim that the new contracts, which would apply to all new staff and to existing staff who receive a promotion, heavily restrict academic freedom and contain an unfair dismissal policy. At a meeting of the union last week, which was attended by over 100 members of staff in UCC, a ballot calling for industrial action to be taken if the new contracts are implemented was passed unanimously.

Mike Jennings, General Secretary of

Extended Library Opening Hours Confirmed Barry Aldworth News Editor

Following on from the SU-led sit-in during the first week of the December examination period, library hours for term two have been redesigned, with later access to the main library building among the changes.

The main library building will now open at 7am on weekdays, closing at 11pm ordinarily and 8.30pm on Fridays. Weekend access has also been improved for the second term, as the library will now open from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and 11am to 9pm on Sundays.

The new Sunday opening hours, effective from last weekend, will be particularly welcome as the sit-in protests were triggered by a 5.45pm closing time the Sunday before exams.

In addition to access to the main building, the Quadrangle Reading Room, better known as the ‘Fishbowl’, will now open until 1.45am Sunday to Thursday, and from 6pm until 9.45pm on Saturdays. In order to accommodate the new opening hours the reading room will no longer open late on Fridays, closing at 8.30m, along with the rest of the building.

Commenting on the revamped opening hours, Joe Kennedy, UCCSU Education Officer, said; “Since coming back in January we’ve done a lot with the Library to significantly extend hours. It wasn’t easy, it’s not perfect but it is a massive improvement. Now we have to start looking to next year and the year after to make sure we can build on this.”

IFUT, said that the new contract “makes unprecedented changes to terms and conditions and makes permanent many aspects of the recent temporary Public Sector Agreements (PSA). It also introduces many limits and restrictions that were never negotiated through any PSA.”

“The college cannot keep coming back to the well for further cuts” A statement from the group noted that much of the anger among members stemmed from UCC’s proposal that measures introduced under the Croke Park and Haddington Road

Agreements, which had been set to expire in 2016, would be continued beyond that year.

Jennings added that, “Effectively the college is seeking to make permanent measures that are temporary in nature and are due to expire as the country comes out of recession. The stark fact is that reduced numbers of academic staff are already teaching everincreasing numbers of students. The college cannot keep coming back to the well for further cuts.

“IFUT is therefore seeking an urgent meeting to discuss all issues around this proposal. In the absence of such talks and agreement, IFUT is mandated to ballot for industrial action.”

A UCC spokesperson declined to comment on the issue.

Garda Superintendent calls for off-licence ban for under-21s Holly Cooney News Writer As the drinking habits of students continue to get media attention, calls were made for students who prefer a trip to the off-licence as opposed to a nightclub to change their plans. Chief Superintendent Michael Finn of the Cork City Garda Division has called for under-21s to be banned from using off-licences.

Finn recently proposed the idea to the Cork County Joint Policing Committee, after East Cork TD Sandra McLellan of Sinn Féin suggested the measure as a way of combating excessive drinking levels and anti-social behaviour.

Finn made the call for 18- to 21-yearolds to be prohibited from buying alcohol in an off-licence at a time when the state is publically involved in policies concerning the promotion and consumption of alcohol through minimum unit pricing.

According to Finn it is the availability of cheap alcohol that is the major cause of trouble for him, particularly so among an age-group that is associated with the student population. The Chief Superintendent is calling for the scheme to be introduced to Cork first on a trial basis.

“The vast majority of the crime in my division stems from it [the cheap availability of alcohol] and I would welcome a change in the law on the availability of alcohol to people of that age,” said Finn at the meeting.

However UCCSU Welfare Officer Cian Power argued that while “there are definite problems in the relationship between young people and alcohol,” the proposed scheme “doesn’t tackle the root of the problem.”

Power also criticised the lack of engagement between the Gardaí and student representatives when considering proposals such as this, adding that it “is essential in combating alcohol related issues, especially initiatives aimed at young people, that the students have a voice at the table.”

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Jailbreak teams prepare for Destination Unknown

Climate Conference questions Ireland’s efforts Méabh Flanagan News Writer

owe them to do?”

The overwhelming message of the UCC Climate Conference was that Ireland’s latest Climate Bill is not strong enough when it comes to tackling the destructive impact of global warming.

Garvey highlighted how shifting weather patterns are causing decreased crop yields and flooding. This human impact often resonates more than dry statistics: when people were afraid of nuclear weapons, their fear pushed action and, in turn, policy.

While the existence of the bill shows that Irish politicians are beginning to recognise the need for environmental sustainability, delegates and speakers from both Ireland and abroad stressed that the bill has key weaknesses. One flaw is that it contains no definition of ‘low-carbon’, meaning that it will be impossible to judge what meets that criterion. The bill also fails to set any actual targets for Ireland, which is further limits future accountability.

The Climate Conference dealt with many environmental concerns but a key theme was that of climate justice.

Niamh Garvey of Trocáire explained it as “not about what’s ideal but about what rights do vulnerable people have.

What is it that we, as decent people,

The keynote speaker of the conference, Dr. Stevo Mijanokivic of the United Technologies Research Center also explained how factors like uncertainty and scalability stand in the way of progress in energy efficiency.

Innovation must continue, however, as we cannot simply rely on making the current systems more efficient instead.

Ireland’s engagement with the issue of climate change was addressed by Oisín Coghlan of Friends of the Earth, who said that Ireland “fights for climate change on an EU level - that is to say, for the lowest possible targets.” In fact, the panel warned that the upcoming Climate Conference in Paris is unlikely to yield the results needed but that

Jury still out on semesterisation implementation

Contd. from Front Page •

47 students missed a Commerce exam after a miscommunication

In addition to the dispute over the AFIS Department results, the English and Commerce Departments have been the targets of criticism over the new system.

After an end of year in-class test for a module entitled ‘20th Century American Literature’ was shortened by 10 minutes, a decision was made to award students an additional 5% bonus on their grade. Head of the English Department, Professor Claire Connolly, stated that the shortening of the exam occurred “due to a previous lecturer and class failing to leave the room in good time.”

Connolly reiterated that, “The School has had no serious problems with semesterisation, which was introduced in a timely and efficient manner.”

A number of English Department assignments were then set for December deadlines, which has also come in for criticism among students who were sitting exams in other subjects.

Meanwhile, following complaints over the delivery of a Business Systems Analysis and Design module, 2nd year commerce students were informed that they would not be required to sit the Christmas assessment and could instead take a replacement module in term two.

However, on January 12th an email from Dr. Noel Woods, Director of the

Commerce degree, told students that the Exams Office had informed Woods that IS2200 was a core module and arrangements would have to be made for the module to be re-examined after semester two. 47 students did not sit the exam as a result of the miscommunication.

On the introduction of the new system, Woods said “As regards semesterisation, the transition is tough for both academic staff, the Exams Office and for students. Semester one is particularly tough for final year students but Semester two should be easier. So the jury is out.”

Speaking generally about student engagement during the implementation of semesterisation, Professor John O’Halloran, Vice-President for Teaching and Learning, noted that: “All of the first years I have met thought it was fantastic. For those that are in second, third and fourth year, there’s a mixed experience.”

Dr. Ian Pickup, Head of the Student Experience, sees students adapting to the changes, taking more of a leadership role with the sit-in protests in the Boole Library in December and with societies holding more events than previously, but frontloading their term one activities in September and October.

He also acknowledged; “There’s been some increased levels of anxiety around the additional examination period and that’s something that our support services are there to try to cater for.

“Overall, in terms of academic engagement, there’s been some really positive things.”

Sam McLaughlin News Writer

CLIMATE ACTION: Keynote speaker, Stevo Mijanovic, opens the Climate Conference. Image by: Emmet Curtin instead of being disappointed, the students, shows that young people care momentum caused by it should be used about this issue and are driving change as a rallying point. at a University-level.

Sensitive to environmental impact caused by the event, UCC Green Campus calculated the emissions created by the conference and guaranteed that enough native trees will be planted to offset those emissions within one year. This, along with the organisation of the conference itself by

While it may depend on individual perspective as to whether climate prevention is viewed as an investment or as a cost, what the Climate Conference proved was that prevention is better, and cheaper, as there will be no cure, just cost.

The third running of the popular Jailbreak competition has a new twist. Rather than attempt to travel the furthest, 100 teams from eight colleges will race to a location that is yet unknown. Along the way they must complete ‘Charity Challenges’ inspired by the two organisations benefitting from the event, Amnesty International and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Ali Kelly, project manager for Jailbreak HQ, said that some of the new rules, like a ban on flights over two hours, were intended to keep the competition exciting. But the changes were also aimed at maximising the event’s charitable impact.

“Because it has gotten so much media attention in the last two years, we thought, “This is such a good platform to promote those charities’ values,” Kelly said. She hopes the new format will lead to “funnier stories, better pictures… more exposure on social media and way more coverage, and hopefully, then, way more donations.”

Last year’s Jailbreak raised over €40,000 for the two charities. This year, the goal is €100,000, according to Daniel O’Driscoll, Auditor for the UCC St. Vincent de Paul Society. O’Driscoll stated that the addition of the Charity Challenges “brings more focus to the fact that Jailbreak is first and most importantly a charity campaign.”

He added that the changes to the event will help to raise “a lot more awareness for what the two organisations are about, whether it’s a stop-torture campaign for Amnesty or promoting self-sufficiency for SVP.” Sally Ní Mhordha, Auditor of the UCC Amnesty Society, reiterated that the challenges “will add an element of awareness-raising to this previously primarily fundraising event.”

The exact requirements of the Charity Challenges haven’t been revealed yet and teams won’t know their destination until the contest starts in Dublin on March 7th. That makes planning a challenge, said UCC competitors Aisling Ní Dhonnabháin and Aisling Heffernan of Team Aisling Squared.

Still, they’re working on possible strategies already, in addition to raising the €300 minimum donation required of each team.

“We have to try and sort out our knowledge of transport around Europe,” Ní Dhonnabháin said. “We just really want to represent UCC and beat Trinity!”

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

Women In Leadership Summit Dion Davis recounts the value of the Women in Leadership Summit.

After applying last week for the Women In Leadership Summit I was delighted to find an email a few days later saying I had been picked to attend a workshop which proved extremely beneficial.

Orchestrated superbly by both CIT and UCC Students’ Unions, the night was a huge success and showcased the upcoming female leaders in Cork, along with invigorating new hope in those that ventured in.

The demand for the event was evident in the fact that there were over 70 applications for just 40 places in a workshop whose aim was to inform the Students’ Union on handling elections and supporting women that are considering running for election.

On the night we were introduced to the co-founder of Women For Election, Niamh Gallagher. Gallagher was the embodiment of a female leader; confident and comfortable on the stage.

The first segment was based on selfmanagement. This is the organisation’s recipe for success and includes a few simple steps. In order to achieve your end goal, you must have these three components to get you to your destination. Firstly the aspirant, which is you; secondly a plan, which focuses mainly on time management and allocation; and lastly, self-management.

The latter action involves taking care of yourself and being aware of your abilities and skills. Focus on your impact on other people, rather than their impact on you, while finding people that you trust is important, along with a mentor to look to for guidance.

“Our Dáil has never been less than 85% male.”

At this stage of the talk we were given a worksheet where we completed a goalsetting exercise and an energy exercise.

This was in order to put our goals into a realistic perspective and to consider the energy going into tasks we do once a week and if they have a positive or negative effect on ourselves. The exercises proved to be very effective in making goals seem less far away than before. The aim was to break it down into small steps, with Gallagher quoting Lao Tzu saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Strategy seemed to be the core element here.

The statistics we were shown with regards to women in politics were staggering.

In General Election 2011 just 86 of 566 candidates (15%) were women. 25 of 166 of those elected were women, in line with the rate of 15%. This is also one of the best representations women have ever had in Dáil Éireann, which I was frankly shocked to learn. An increase of just 5% in 35 years, since the foundation of the Sate in 1918, just 91 women have been elected in the Republic of Ireland. Thus our Dáil has never been less than 85% male.

After lunch the focus was shifted to SU politics. As a first year I was unaware of the amount of work involved behind the scenes in SU elections and campaigns, so the next hour and a half proved extremely valuable to me.

There is a huge correlation between SU politics and government politics.

We were shown some interesting data showing that there was a substantial amount of male sabbatical officers than women. UCC ranked the highest in this case in the last few years: between the years 2007 and 2012 we’ve had 21 sabbatical officers, 18 of which were male. At this stage of the talk it was pointed out that females usually run for Welfare Officer instead of President or Deputy.

Michelle Obama, J.K. Rowling and Oprah were just a few of the female leaders mentioned on the night but, on leaving the room, it was instilled into the majority that we are all leaders in our own way.

After all, 500 signatures and 1,800 votes are all that is required to get elected as President for any budding candidates out there!

Online Nomination System launched ahead of SU Elections

Ar mhaith leat seachtain nó coicíos a chaitheamh sa Ghaeltacht?

Tar go dtí Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha Áras Uí Rathaille ORB G02 23 Feabhra - 26 Feabhra 2015 9.30am - 4.30pm

Barry Aldworth News Editor In an effort to encourage greater participation in this year’s Students’ Union elections, a new online nomination system has been introduced.

Scoláireachtaí Gaeltachta 2015

Fáilte Roimh Gach Éinne

Through the votes.uccsu.ie website, current students can anonymously nominate someone for any of the five sabbatical positions, Entertainments Officer or a part time position such as Arts Rep. If nominated, an individual will receive an email from the Students’ Union encouraging them to consider formally entering the election race.

On Monday, February 23rd, nominated candidates for full-time positions will have four days to collect 500 signatures from current students in order for their name to appear on the ballot. After nominations close on February 26th, interviews, hustings and candidate meetings will take place prior to the on-campus campaigning and vote on March 9th and 10th

Ná caill do Sheans Teil: 021 4902314 Suíomh: www.ucc.ie/igl/scolaireacht

Kodaline on learning the hard lessons of music

In Verge

Students running for part-time positions will only be required to get 250 signatures, although only students enrolled in a course for the 2015/6 academic year can run for these roles.

The results of the elections are currently scheduled to be announced on March 10th.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

A global concern We need to wake up to the damage that economic pursuit is causing to our planet writes Diarmaid Twomey.

The marina in Cork is one of few places left in the city where you could imagine that you are in the countryside.

Approaching Blackrock, a fleeting glance across the river offers a stark contrast to this serenity, consumerism and the pursuit of economic growth shows its duller and more ugly side.

Containers are lifted on and off of ships; the sound of steel on steel fills the port while the smell of diesel fills

“Our planet has no hospitable neighbours where humanity can take refuge if needs be, there is no plan B, no Noah’s ark.”

home. Our planet has no hospitable neighbours where humanity can take refuge if needs be, there is no plan B, no Noah’s ark. Yet as each decade passes we destroy our home in more and more elaborate ways. We have now reached levels where this damage is deemed irreparable by scientists. Increasing carbon emissions, melting polar caps, polluted water sources, smog filled cities and country ditches speckled with the colour of discarded litter; these are all products of human disregard for nature and nation state governments’ pursuit of short-sighted economic growth. Pre-packaged convenience is seen as a marvel, a development for contemporary humanity, while millions of tonnes of its offspring create black spots of plastic pollution in our oceans.

the nostrils. To those who regularly row up the river Lee, a glance from port to starboard side show two different worlds: one of mans’ creations and desires; the other, the world of our creators.

Many things upset and frustrate me, but the disrespect humanity displays to our beautiful planet is number one on my list. Every day we are greeted with news stories of triumph and despair: people debate the morality of same sex marriage, the fairness of water charges, and the result of the weekend’s sports showdown. Much of the time I get involved in these debates, only too willing to throw my weight behind my formulated opinion or local team.

But some days I despair and wonder about the overall relevance of these debates. If we continue to be oblivious to the damage we are doing, same sex marriage debates and arguments about the weekend’s sport results will be nothing but utter irrelevance. The scary reality in 2015 is that such a time is much closer than many people believe.

Since the dawn of industrialisation, the chase of economic growth has preceded everything else, most notably the protection and future of our only

But surely there is hope? There is always hope. But hope requires more than a vision. Hope requires action.

There is no doubt that awareness of

environmental issues and population growth is on the rise, yet action seems sparse. The EU has many flaws, but one of its redeeming qualities is its insistence that European nation states adhere to strict environmental practices and laws. But this is where our contrasting interests collide once more.

We pay lip service to the environment, its destruction still isn’t taken seriously-most notably by our very own government. Just last October, as EU leaders met to discuss climate change, Enda Kenny--illustrating a seemingly new found bravado--was adamant to point out that he was seeking extra

carbon allowances for Ireland. When the leader of your own country can’t even take climate change seriously, hope becomes a rare commodity.

tired. No matter how productive I want to be, I still find it difficult to leave the house. The worst is when my boyfriend tells me, ‘Just snap out of it, just get up and leave the house.’ I know he is trying to help and be supportive, but what he is saying is not what I need to hear. I have come to despise the word just: It makes things sound trivial, as if your problems do not matter or are not important. It’s not about just getting out of bed. It is about the mental strength it takes to be in control of your life and for some people it isn’t that easy.

of the people who are going through something in their lives that they don’t exactly want to talk about. I am writing this to tell you that you are not alone.

Last week I finally sought help. I called the counselling department and made an appointment. I haven’t had any counselling yet, but I know at least I am taking steps in the right direction.

It’s not about just making a call, it’s about taking control. No matter how small the step, it is a step in the right direction.

We have to make up our minds. Are we going to continue being purposely oblivious to the effects the growth in industry, human population and economies is having on our home; or are we going to embrace the challenge that protecting our environment holds?

The human race is resilient. One of our core instincts is self preservation and that’s why I have hope for the future of our planet, but this hope requires an

increased awareness on a micro as well as a macro level. If we, as individuals, continue to play ignorant and see our environments preservation as someone else’s responsibility, we will go nowhere fast. Every bit of waste we produce has to go somewhere, every increase in population stretches finite resources more and more, every ounce of carbon from our exhausts heats the planet that extra bit. Action is required now. If ignorance is embraced for any longer, in years to come, we will still have rivers like the Lee to row in, but it won’t be against a current of water we fight.

Just the January Blues?

Imogen Hayes* offers a frank portrayal of acknowledging depression and taking the steps to address it.

That’s what we all call it right, the January blues? That time after Christmas where the lights have been turned off, taken down; presents have been opened, subsequently forgotten about, and flights boarded by family back to their home abroad. But what if it is more than that, more than just the blues of going back to work, you know what I’m talking about, not just the blues: depression. Some of us know the feeling and I hope that most of you do not know what I’m talking about.

We mask it as the ‘come down’ period after Christmas, but for a lot of us it is more than that.

The only way I can describe it is to imagine every single minute task that one must do throughout the day as a mountain that has to be climbed: getting out of bed, changing your clothes, brushing your teeth, all of these are a giant mountain to climb in front

of you. Don’t even get me started about trying to go to college, socializing with friends, trying to be present in life.

I am writing this anonymously because I still do not want to face up to the fact that, yes, I am depressed. It has taken me longer than I would like to admit to write that down, and I’ve only ever said it out loud once. My boyfriend kept asking me, ‘What’s wrong? Did I do something? Why don’t you want to get out of bed or go outside?’; and the most embarrassing one that I still cannot admit to myself, ‘why won’t you shower?’ It was just a few days ago that I walked into my room and started crying for no reason, for the fourth time that day. At that stage I finally told my boyfriend I thought I was depressed.

I am still recovering from that moment.

I have a daily struggle with myself. No matter how much I sleep, I still feel

I guess I am writing this piece to all

So as one person suffering, to hopefully another person reading this: Everything

might not feel okay right now, but you are not alone. It only takes one step in the right direction to feel a little bit better. *The author has been provided with a pseudonym by request.

The Samaritans helpline is available 24/7 at 116 123. UCC Niteline is also available Monday-Wednesday evenings on 1800 32 32 42.

e

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

Features Investigates: Graduate Unemployment Arts top leaderboard of graduate unemployment Social Work (45%), Early Childhood Studies (55%) and the Bachelor of education (Sports Studies and Physical Education) (76%) all offer moderate to high levels of employment in fields often directly related to areas of study.

Conor Shearman Features Editor

defined as “underemployed.”

The economy may be showing signs of recovery but graduate unemployment continues to remain a significant issue for students looking to enter the jobs market.

The College of Arts, Celtic studies and Social Science has the highest level of graduate unemployment with 8.5% of graduates still seeking employment six months after graduating, followed by the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science with 4.4%, the College of Business and Law with 2.6% and the College of Medicine and Health with 0.7%.

The most recent employment figures for UCC graduates, from 2013, show that just over half of the 2,960 students who graduated were employed within six months of leaving the college; another 41.6% entered further study, while the number unemployed declined to 4.8% - the lowest level since before the recession.

Questions remain as to whether the number of those in employment tells the full picture: a number of reports have noted the number of graduates taking on non-graduate level roles has risen sharply since the financial crisis.

These qualified professionals taking on work for which no higher educational qualifications are required are often

Unsurprisingly, a large proportion of Arts graduates (54%) opt for postgraduate study in favour of immediately entering the jobs market, reflecting a traditional notion that an arts degree is more often than not a base degree, with further study a necessity rather than a choice in pursuing desirable career paths.

The outlook on employment opportunities within the College of Arts isn’t entirely dim, courses which specialise in particular areas such as

“The common thread which seems to link together many courses with high rates of employment tends to be those which offer a work placement”

Postgraduate study also proves to be particularly popular among science graduates who largely continue on

to specialist Masters programmes: 85% of biochemistry students, 73% of Neuroscience graduates and 69% of Microbiology graduates continued further study in 2014. Engineering graduates, in contrast, largely sought employment upon graduating; 63% found employment while 5.4% struggled to do so.

A number of courses in the College of Business and Law benefit from zero graduate unemployment: Finance, Law (Clinical), Law (International), Business Information systems and Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship can boast of all of their graduates entering employment or further study.

The College of Medicine and Health also shares similar success in employment; the high practical nature of many of the courses developing immediately applicable skills for the workplace.

The common thread which seems to link together many courses with high rates of employment tends to be those which offer a work placement. Seamus McEvoy, Head of the Careers Service in UCC, suggests that the importance of work experience to employers is not a recent development, “Employers

will give a lot of credence to your work experience. They’ve always put an emphasis on experience.”

He points to the fact that gaining experience doesn’t necessarily have to be mandatory in a course for one to benefit from it, “You can compensate for the lack of work experience on your programme by getting experience yourself during the summer.”

The introduction of more placement modules—an optional placement for Arts students was introduced for the first time last year—suggests that employers are increasingly putting an emphasis on a practical experience of the workplace as much as academic grades.

The growing emphasis on employability is indicative of the changing role that universities are playing in education.

Once exclusively centres of learning and research, there is increasing pressure on universities to prepare graduates for employment; the plethora of additional training in employability skills offered by the careers service demonstrating such a change.

Difficulty of gaining experience

Laura Flaherty Deputy Features Editor Jo O’Brien is one of over a thousand UCC students who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts last October. Jo, aged 22, graduated with a 2.1 in a Joint honours degree of English and Philosophy and has since struggled to find employment relevant to her field of study. She claims that although there is valuable work experience to be found, companies almost expect one to work for free, “I don’t know what it was like for graduates ten years ago but I know nowadays that a lot of companies expect you to work for free to gain experience, which isn’t always viable.”

O’Brien describes gaining experience in her desired career of publishing, as fantastic but due to the low paid nature of the position extremely difficult to maintain, “I worked for six months as an intern in a publishing company. It

was a great experience but it did not pay enough so I had to work two jobs, the other in Yankee candles at the weekend … it was mentally and physically draining, and I was still poor!”

Although currently unemployed Jo has plans to take on temporary employment in the form of teaching English as a foreign language abroad, a prospect which a large number of Arts graduates take on as a means of travelling and working, “I will be going to France for a couple of months in April to teach French babies English in a company called Babylangues.”

Emigrating abroad or undertaking further study are the only realistic prospects she sees in forming a career relevant to her degree, “ It is difficult to find a job in my degree, […]so I plan on doing a masters in September, maybe in the University of Stirling in Scotland.”

|9

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Statistics College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences 8.5% graduate unemployment

Conor Shearman Features Editor

College of Business and Law, 2.6%

College of Medicine and Health, 0.7%

54%

66%

Of Arts graduates choose postgraduate study

Of law graduates across all degree programmes choose postgraduate study

IGNITE sparks graduate entrepreneurship

A UCC Business Innovation Programme aiming to turn ideas into technology based businesses offers an alternative to conventional job seeking methods for graduates. The IGNITE programme which selects ten proposals from graduates every year offers funding, mentoring and office space in order to develop a successful enterprise. With entrepreneurship often increasing during periods of high unemployment, it represents a useful support for those attempting to chart their way through the challenging world of self-employment.

Richard Barrett and Ross O’Dwyer are two UCC graduates who together used the programme to found Pundit Arena, a sports media website which encourages sports enthusiasts to share their views. The website which has grown significantly since its inception now receives over 70,000 users every month. Richard Barrett claims that IGNITE was key to giving them

emigration

positively

College of Science, Engineering and Food Science 4.4% graduate unemployment

Conor Shearman Features Editor

Experiencing

the tools to get the business off the ground, “IGNITE gave us access to office space and invaluable mentoring, while also providing us with funding.

It was a great start for our business and I think we’ve been in the office more than we’ve been home over the last ten months!”

The educational background of the pair played a key role in forming the idea for their business. Barrett, who graduated from UCC with a BEd in Sports Studies and Physical Education, had the inspiration for the business while O’Dwyer’s degree in Commerce paved the entrepreneurial savvy for the operation.

While certainly not for everyone entrepreneurship allows for a freedom in employment which few other professions can offer, something which Barrett readily acknowledges, “In previous jobs, I had to adhere to certain guidelines and that restrictive aspect was very off-putting.”

For Micheal Coleman, a 23-year-old from Cork, the process of transitioning from education to employment was a relatively smooth one. Micheal, who graduated from Financial Maths & Actuarial Science in 2014, now works as an Actuarial Analyst in general insurance. He never considered the need for postgraduate study due to the way in which the course set him up for employment, “It was a great course, challenging but practical, and allowed me to gain exemptions from eight exams for the actuarial profession.”

In 2013 not a single graduate from the course remained unemployed, with the majority immediately entering employment and remaining graduates choosing to pursue postgraduate study.

He describes the practicality of the latter end of the course as a significant benefit for graduates entering the employment market, “Final year put more emphasis on some practical applications of

statistics through projects which has been far more beneficial than the pure maths modules.” The lack of work placement was something which he felt the course suffered from, describing an internship which he organised himself as key to his eventual employment, “After a series of interviews, a 3 month summer internship between third and final year I was offered a graduate position.”

Although he now lives in London the initial trepidation he felt at moving abroad to work has been far outweighed by the benefits of a job directly related to his degree path, “apart from the initial joys of finding somewhere to live, it’s been amazing so far.”Emigration often touted as a negative for graduates leaving Ireland, can equally be understood as a positive for those who have entered their desired career path.

10 |

Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

Marriage equality:

The battle at the kitchen table

Máiréad Leen asks whether Ireland is ready for a referendum on marriage equality and speaks to those for whom its potential outcome could be life changing.

Sunday the 18th of January may have been a lazy day for some, but for one man in particular that Sunday would be the first day in his existence that he would be able to live his life out and proud. For a politician who has been renowned for his eloquence, Leo Varadkar was palpably nervous as was interviewed by Miriam O’Callaghan on the now groundbreaking programme on Radio One. He reaches the final hurdle beautifully, pronouncing the five words that makes international headlines: “I am a gay man. It’s not…not a secret but not something, but not something necessarily that everyone will know.”

He is the first minister in Irish politics to ever come out, a milestone, to say the least.

“It’s going to be won by discussions that happen around the kitchen table. I came out to my father at the kitchen table and that is where attitudes need to be changed”

It all started with a kitchen table. That is exactly what UCC LGBT auditor James Upton told me last week: “Marriage equality won’t be won by knocking on doors. It’s going to be won by discussions that happen around the kitchen table. I came out to my father at the kitchen table and that is where attitudes need to be changed.” The need for discussion with family and friends is clearly an essential ingredient.

When asked about his views on samesex marriage, Upton points to the differences between marriage and civil partnership, “My relationship, which is just as valid and based on just as much love as a heterosexual marriage is being undermined by having 160 differences between civil partnership and same sex marriage. We apparently live in a state that calls itself a republic, and a republic is built on the foundations that everyone is equal and that there are no differences. But we don’t really live in a republic when we don’t have that equality in existence. We would be worried that students won’t turn up because the opinion polls are so strong.

If we don’t mobilise students in this referendum, it will be lost.”

This resounds with the main line I

will always remember from Minister Varadkar’s most recent interview: “What I really want to say is that I’d like the referendum to pass because I’d like to be an equal citizen in my own country, the country in which I happen to be a member of Government, and at the moment I’m not.”

Dawn Donovan, an active member of UCC LGBT society, shared her experience of coming out to me, “I had a very…. is pleasant the right word to use? I mean, I had no trouble at all. My friends were all fine, my parents were fine.” Coming out as bisexual however, causes more issues than if she had told people she was a lesbian, “I’ve been out for five years and I’ve constantly been coming out as bisexual because people assume if you try to explain that you’re bisexual, that ‘oh you’re greedy, confused, just sitting on the fence’ is what you get. People assume it’s a phase.

“The only problem was the fact that my father was a retired guard and when he was in the job, it was illegal; that just shows how much things have changed.

Like that’s a very scary prospect for anyone, that I’m coming out to my dad and he would have arrested me, you know, 20 years ago, so it’s a bit scary.”

It leads me to ponder the Norris case of 1988 and the fact that Ireland only decriminalised homosexuality in 1993; the referendum on divorce passing by a measly 1% in 1995. So the ultimate question: is Ireland ready for this change? And what about the role of the Church in this debate? Pope Francis has been considered one of the most liberal heads of the Church, when discussing gay people in 2013 he stated: “If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [same-sex attraction] is not the problem ... they’re our brothers.” It caused consternation in the Catholic Church, yet also earned praise worldwide.

Walking into my local church last week however, I spotted a large poster on the noticeboard quoting the Pope’s most recent views on same-sex marriage aired in the Philippines, “The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage. As you know, these realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture,” Alongside this the Irish Catholic was on display with the headline: ‘Attack on the Institution

UP FOR CHANGE: James Upton speaking at the recent Societies 'Change' Conference. of Family’. The main source in the Bible that is firmly against homosexual relations can be found in the Book of Leviticus. But in the same book it states that all devout Christian men must have their hair cut in a bowl shape, otherwise they are not loyal to God. As far as I’m aware, I have not seen the bishops wearing their hair in this way, but no assumption is made on their lack of faith and following the bible. The word “attack” seems to be consistently thrown around by the Iona institution—as noted recently on the Claire Byrne Live show-- but are these simply scaremongering tactics?

It has been clearly stated that the upcoming referendum deals with marriage and not the adoption of children. Fine Gael, considered a conservative party, have quietly voiced their approval for the upcoming referendum with Enda Kenny welcoming the Dáil debate on the matter, “I think there are very strong comments from members of the party about this and obviously the party has

not made a decision yet. But I will be campaigning on the issue and for the issue.” In terms of college politics, the pro-equality campaign is also very much to the fore; the Auditor of UCC Labour Youth, Andrew O’ Driscoll, has said that “Labour Youth and Labour LGBT have been lobbying for equal marriage both internally and externally for a number of years. It’s long standing party policy to support equal marriage.”

“If we don’t mobilise students in this referendum, it will be lost” I finally ask Dawn, as the interview draws to a close, what would she say to the people of Ireland and to UCC about the upcoming referendum?

“Love is love. We all have friends

Image by: Emmet Curtin

at this current moment who can’t get married and that’s not fair: they should have the choice.” In the words of George Clooney, “At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won’t be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black.”

The upcoming referendum on samesex marriage is fast approaching.

Assuming that this fight for equality is won is careless. Assuming that civil partnership is just as valid as civil marriage is both naïve and foolish. To assume, in the words of a past teacher, makes an ass out of you and me. So I’m asking you: don’t assume. Don’t assume that your vote is not needed, because it is. Don’t assume one vote is irrelevant, because in 1995, the referendum was won by less than 0.6%.

Some of the most important decisions in life are made around the kitchen table.

| 11

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Where the Mind Goes

Ruth Lawlor Fiction Editor

And love the lonely sky

Where does the mind go when it wanders time to time? When you are drifting towards sleep the brain is whirring, and the voice you think of as your subconscious is speaking to you.

ourselves every day. When conscious thought ceases and the humming stops –

In the woods is perpetual youth, they said, and all the trees are dead But then it drifts away and you return to the thought a few moments later, pick – In the woods is perpetual youth, they said, and all the trees are dead up from where you were before. Where was it when it wasn’t yours? Laugh –

This is the place where the lovers go, this is the place where the lovers go where is it? The conscious voice talks to you, talks to you, talks to you, but you –

The Disillusioned Citizen Kathy O’Hare UCC Graduate

that struggle alike,

As I sit in my cold, cold house, Sticking bubble wrap to my single glaze, The slap of the letter box like a slap to the face,

Abuse and plunder, sleep and steal

Each day the horrors of my future lie in suspension, No letters of job offers, hope and acceptance; it’s beyond comprehension.

Dangerous ground the postman dictates, My mood, my emotions, my worries, my fate.

And all the trees are dead and all the trees are dead

control, one which speaks not in words or images. It swirls in hieroglyphs, –

shakily – oh I must have blanked – but who owned it then? And what was it –

This is the place where the heart can heal

And the screams we heard in the long grass were the screams that men forgot

stretches sinuous muscle, powerful though unseen. It is only a hiss in the ears, –

Plenty of bills though, they keep rolling in,

And the sky will press upon the bones, drink the sorrow, muffle moans

Unwanted, unopened and thrown in the bin.

Let us go then you and I when the evening is spread out against the sky where

soft, spiked tongue caressing the flesh.

Sometimes you catch it unawares but only –

For their demands just cannot be met, It’s a number of weeks till my house is for let.

you lose your mind. We, each of us, lose it every day. We do not search for it. Sometimes we wait for it to come back. Most of the time we have not realised it is –

Enter hard, expel, forget,

doing without your control? Perhaps there is a small death in the moment when –

All the children run, I said, and beauty comes to die, so let us go then you and gone until it returns. Who are we when it has left us? And what if it never comes –

when you did not intend to; you can see its bared teeth or the coarse fur of the – Thinking of the violet flank as it flees through the recesses of the brain, shying from the light, evading – Hour

Like a patient etherised upon a table, let us go through certain half-deserted

The violet hour this may be the violet hour

back? Those are the people we lock away, hide from society, shower with our –

the conscious thought which will try to give it shape, give it tangible form. It has

murky streets in one night-cheap hotels

Wait for the rain

pity. Their memories have faded and they have lost who they are. They must

no substance, but is always there.

thinking only of flower-bells in the room where women come and go In the room the women come and go rebuild themselves every hour, every minute, re-create a person from the ashes So then we went there you and I to sing of virtue’s lullaby and dance the dance of madmen gone of what humanity they have left. They are lost in time and space. We, too, lose

That pricks and torments the psyche of a nation And for this we must all stand in condemnation.

Cold as the air, in an unemployed haze.

To steal and whimper steal and cry know there is another presence bubbling beneath surface, one which you cannot –

It spreads and contaminates, a thorn, a spike,

Never have rejection,

I

experienced

such

Something is wrong with this country, a malaise; no, an infection.

A glitch in the system, an error of ways, The dismissal of citizens through their ivory tower gaze.

A hidden tax that wasn’t part of this IMF deal, The sanity and wellbeing of our citizens they covertly did steal.

For this is the tax with the human cost, A generation of proud and confident citizens, long gone, now lost.

We are led to believe that terrorism is real, An external force, internationally concealed.

I tell you fear not the elusive, the intangible and the mythical.

But look closer to home at something much more political.

The real terror of this nation lies interior, A circus of sorts, nothing less than inferior.

A political system that represents façade And political incompetence demonstrates the ridiculous charade.

The murkiest of places, a filthy regime!

And citizens just cogs in this rancid machine.

So! What can we do? Accept defeat?

Or take to the street?

And demand our rights from the greedy elite.

No give and take they dare share, With their pillage and plunder, it’s unjust and unfair.

My friends and family I’m sure would agree, That there is nothing particularly ‘sinister’ about me.

Like salt to a wound this government digresses, From the hardship, the reality and sheer bloody stresses.

The rain is spent Somewhere else in god’s happiness – So let us go then you and I let us go then you and I The fear of mind being read is their unearthing of something even the self cannot pretend to know.

Let us go let us go Let us go let us go

Not to mention our youth who have fled like sheep, A drain on society, we cannot afford to keep.

To far flung places they must seek, For a future in Ireland is pitiful and bleak.

This assault on individuals has a ripple effect, The stigma, the shame and stifling disconnect.

Amongst families and communities

One can prod a beast only so much, Before it starts to roar and you’ve prodded too much, You goons, you fools, The people say no more.

And so I ask in the name of democracy, For each and all to not accept this hypocrisy, Of State that bludgeons and thwarts at our rights and humanity, And put a stop to this nastiness, this chaos, this maddening insanity.

12 |

NEWS HEADLINES

EDUCATION: Huge increase in numbers of ‘absolute legends’ claiming they’re not going to attend any of their lectures during R&G Week.

BUSINESS: Durex to release Hi-Vis condoms targeted directly at doggers.

COLLEGE: Coffee Dock employees all quit after hearing ‘Thanks a latte’ for the 1,000th time.

SCIENCE: Scientists find that thousands of years of human evolution have culminated in the inability to come up with something funny on the spot when handed a helium balloon.

POLITICS: All five ‘No 2 USI’ campaigners bemoan the lack of USI presence on campus in weeks since referendum.

COURTS: The estate of St. Valentine finally sue for unauthorised use of intellectual property.

TV LISTINGS RTÉ ONE Friday @ 6pm: Angelus Omnibus.

For those that missed out on the Angelus during the week.

RTE 2 Thursday @ 4pm: The Fresh Prince of Kildare. A D4 ledgebad got in some trouble with some Ballymun folk and gets sent to live in Kildare with his erratic uncle.

BBC 2

Saturday @ 6.30pm: Doctor Who? All new hidden camera show in which a group of comedians masquerade as qualified medical professionals, only revealing themselves midway through surgery.

Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

Romance is not Dead!

Trevor Drinkwater Valentine’s Day has come and gone and, once again, we have swooped past the feast day of everybody’s favourite historically-dubious, 3rd century saint in a whirlwind of aggressive envy or resentful obligatory affection, much as we always do. I normally find myself paying as little attention to it as is humanly possible in a society dedicated to the cynical fusing of romance and consumerism for capital gain. However this year was different as I was forced to console my romantically deficient friend.

This friend has a rather annoying habit of telling me things about her life, but then again I have an annoying habit of telling complete strangers about her life by way of pseudo-humorous articles in a college newspaper; so I guess we’re even. She was, as usual, complaining about the horrific luck which she seems to have with the opposite sex. I suggested she perhaps try online dating but she assured me it was a lost cause.

To support this assertion she produced an online profile which was filled to the digital brim with nothing but propositions of sex and photographic evidence of their genitals. I explained to her that she was unlikely to get anybody that way; she later clarified that they were other’s genitals.

This did make a lot of sense as they were not the genitals which my heteronormative mind would have assigned her.

Regardless, I was shocked by these gestures. They seem to me to be a remarkably confident opening gambit.

I personally favour the classic hanging around a woman long enough until you inevitably catch them at their absolute lowest ebb and trick them into going out with you; but each to their own I guess.

I had always assumed that stories of such happenings were purely the thing of cliché and legend but I assure you

they were real. Now, this act alone is a source of amusement to many, but I feel that the thing most people are missing is that they’re not even good genitals.

Now while I myself am not a partaker of such products, I am still aware of the difference between a good and bad pair. Suffice it to say, these were in the latter grouping. I felt sorry for my poor lovelorn friend who, despite her never ending complaints and neediness, still had somehow not managed to acquire a mate. It beggars belief!

“I explained to her that she was unlikely to get anybody that way; she later clarified that they were other’s genitals” That was until she uttered a long established platitude through her increased sobbing. “Why can’t I find a nice romantic guy, one who will write me poetry… Love is dead...” I stopped listening and walked away at this point as I had heard it all before. However this exchange was not completely without merit as it gave me the impetus to research a little about the origins of romantic poetry and see if romance truly was dead. It was while doing this that I happened upon one Francesco Petrarch.

For those of you not in the know, Petrarch was the pre-renaissance poet who essentially created the love sonnet. He wrote reams of love poetry, all for his muse Laura. Beautiful, right?

But scholars have worked out that this ‘Laura’ was not a woman he actually knew but somebody he seedily leered at while bored one day in mass. A lecherous young man, peering around pews in order to fuel his ever hungry sonnet bank; feverishly working at home later that night, writing highly

structured romantic prose about the unsuspecting maiden.

This nagged me as writing romantic prose to women unaware of my existence is how I spent my teenage years and was chastised for it, not hailed as the most romantic man in all of pre-renaissance Italy. Although, looking back now, I can see other hurdles perhaps keeping me from achieving that title.

There is yet one further wrinkle to this supposed dream man that you ladies may want to know before you go racing for the nearest time-machine in an effort to convene with your puffy panted sweetheart and all his stalkerish glory.

While his poetry undoubtedly has an amazing lyricism to it, he is somewhat problematically obsessed with hunting metaphors. In theory perhaps not so scary but, in practice, this gives his poems a scarily aggressive slant; a trait normally climaxing with his chasing down of his metaphorical prey with a more than slightly phallic spear.

When you look at the origin of love poetry in that way, the fact that 700 years into the future men have taken to sending photographic evidence of their penises to women by way of courtship kind of makes a bizarre perverse sense. So you see my friends, do not fret. Romance is not dead, it just never really existed in the first place.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Repetitive Strain Disorder

Michael Stack analyses the repetitious state of Irish media.

News in Ireland is becoming more repetitive than most of my articles.

I recognise that we live in a country that could fit inside an airport hangar but I’m still getting cabin fever. Every article on TheJournal.ie seems to be based on one of about five topics with a different picture every time. For example, people abusing politicians, and politicians subsequently not being happy about it. If Obama or Hitler cared about what everyone was shouting at them, then the world wouldn’t be what it is today.

Some inner-city Robin Hood shouted ‘midget parasite’ at our Führer Michael ‘DeShawn’ Higgins a few weeks ago and terror, of course, ensued. I take issue with this statement though. For starters, parasites are relatively microscopic creatures already. To call him a midget parasite implies that he isn’t even a normally-sized microscopic parasite, which I think is unfair.

The word politic comes from, I believe, the Latin words ‘poli’, which means ‘many’, and ‘tic’ which means ‘bloodsucking creature’, so the shouter at

least got the parasite part correct.

News in Ireland is becoming more repetitive than most of my articles.

You have the exact same problem with something like Joe.ie, a site which is

“If Obama or Hitler cared about what everyone was shouting at them, then the world wouldn’t be what it is today.” completely devoid of originality. Still, they have managed to carved out a rather beautiful niche for themselves by targeting the most elusive of demographics: people who have high enough brain function to operate

and use social media, but still stupid enough to think that a guy in a GAA jersey performing an arbitrary task in any random place which isn’t Ireland deserves all the likes and shares one can offer. And that is them at their best. At their worst they serve as some sort of scummy internet middleman, gaining ad revenue by merely pointing you towards somebody else’s humorous YouTube video.

to mention the dual death-plague of click-bait and emotional manipulation which has so aggressively infected online media. If I see one more video of ‘Limerick man offers yokes to Kim Jung Un... you won’t believe what happened next’ or ‘Man returns from Australia/America/the shop after two years to surprise his mother for Christmas’ I may cry. Well I won’t, but you get the idea.

News in Ireland is becoming more repetitive than most of my articles. Not

At this stage Waterford Whispers News is the only honest and all-covering

While the anecdotes of sex gone wrong are certainly humorous, safety professionals are quick to point out the various dangers associated with such activities. O’Hara explains that while the City Fire Brigade are ready and available to be of service to the public, they are wasting valuable time cutting locks and metal. If the cries from conservatives for censorship of the film were loud before, they will certainly be keen to add the danger caused by such ‘deviant behaviour’ to their protest now.

But even the most liberal individual cannot ignore the risks involved with this kind of experimentation.

media outlet in Ireland. The biggest mass protest in Irish history, the one against water charges, got three seconds air time on the news the day it took place. RTÉ wouldn’t dare piss off the state - feckin’ conspirators the lot of ‘em! I’m still slightly hungover from yesterday, hence the anger at life’s trivialities. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best. News in Ireland is becoming more repetitive than most of my articles.

BDSM almost responsible for GBH Bea Grande Early last week UCC security staff were called to a house on College Road following a panicked phone call from one Cecil O’Callaghan. Mr. O’Callaghan was coy to explain the situation in full over the phone and simply stated “bring pliers.” Upon arrival, Sid Faulkner discovered Mr. Barry in a state of undress and handcuffed in a complex position to his girlfriend, Brenda Garner.

Having lost the key to the handcuffs, the pair had been left with no choice other than to call for help. Although grateful for their rescue, the pair were naturally embarrassed by the event.

Speaking to this reporter, Ms. Garner admitted that it was their first time incorporating handcuffs into their sex life. She claimed, “I wanted sexual humiliation, but not like this!” While the unfortunate loss of the key resulted in public humiliation in the eyes of a UCC staff member, Mr. O’Callaghan added that it was far better than the alternative; waiting for a housemate to return home and having to ask them for help. “Sure I would never live that down,” Mr Barry elaborated, “the lads would keep bringing it up until I graduated.”

Although this incident ended without any complications or injury, the Cork City Fire Brigade has informed The UCC Express that there has been a significant rise in similar situations across the city. Chief of the station, Carl O’Hara, revealed that he has been called out to rescue three separate couples who have lost keys to handcuffs or misused

similar equipment. The rise in bondage related predicaments is not a trend exclusive to younger couples either.

According to reports, many couples in the older demographics have also been experimenting with BDSM equipment.

However their inexperience in the area has led to numerous accidents.

“I wanted sexual humiliation, but not like this!”

The increase has been directly linked to the release of Fifty Shades of Grey. Not only has the controversial film been accused of glorifying domestic abuse and incorrectly portraying the BDSM lifestyle, but it is now responsible for humiliation and discomfort outside of local theatres. After viewing the risqué film, many couples have been inspired to spice up their sex lives and attempt to imitate some of the more intense scenes seen in the film. O’Hara is baffled by the sudden desire to bring BDSM and bondage into relationships. “I’ve seen all sorts of metal contraptions and bits of rubber in places I wouldn’t have thought possible. What was wrong with a bit of foreplay, some simple sex and a cuddle afterwards?” His colleague Dale Flynn concurred with his superior’s viewpoint, stating that “no one ever got hurt doing the ole missionary position.”

Suggestions have been made that audiences should be warned in advance of screenings that the activities seen in the Fifty Shades of Grey film are performed by paid professionals who are constantly supervised. In order to combat the danger, RTÉ have started production on a series of public service broadcasts called It’s Bound

to Happen: How to react to a Bondage Emergency. They will be presented by Gay Byrne and Dustin the Turkey in an attempt to appeal to all ages. In the meantime, however, while The UCC Express prides itself on providing open discussion about sex and sees no need for censorship, we urge you to be aware of the potential hazards. So please everybody be careful and remember your safe-words.

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

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9 Causing repulsion (8) 10 An easy task (6) 12 Teach recruit to design a building (12) 15 Cork Senior hurler and UCC graduate (7) 17 Pressure lines or basis for a weather map (7) 19 This college society has a Biscuit Equality Officer (3,9) 22 Institute or UCC chaplaincy (4) 23 Demons do this for sport (10) 25 He fumes about this bad habit (6) 26 Snitching or gossiping (8)

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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Sun Feb 15 12:19:45 2015 GMT. Enjoy!

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Calling time on blasphemy law Morgane Conaty examines what constitutes blasphemy today and what the potential removal of the laws mean for a changing Irish society.

A proposal to hold a referendum on abolishing blasphemy law was announced last September following the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention. The debates surrounding this thorny issue recently came to the fore again with the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris and the potential lawsuits publishers could face if the magazine was distributed here. In spite of widespread calls to remove this outdated provision, Enda Kenny has since admitted there will be no referendum on the matter in 2015.

The 2009 Defamation Act defined blasphemy as the publishing or utterance of matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion. There must also be intent to cause outrage; a legal defence can be offered in proving that a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates.

The Irish law continues the historical definition of blasphemy as irreverence towards a religion, not the individuals of that religion. The aim of the law is to protect individuals from offence, but

in this day and age should there really be a right not to be offended? It is clear, firstly, that even if it were agreed that religions ought to be protected from abusive or insulting statements, the notion is such a subjective one that courts would have a hard time applying it. What constitutes offence?

How much is a substantial number of adherents? Surely what constitutes offence to one person may be thought of as nothing to another.

“The aim of the law is to protect individuals from offence, but in this day and age should there really be a right not to be offended?”

Hate speech against religions and other matters such as race and sexual orientation, should be, and is already prohibited by Irish law. The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 states that a person is prohibited from publishing, distributing or uttering material that is threatening, abusive

or insulting and is intended or is likely to stir up hatred. I accept that abusive or insulting criticisms of religion can cause offence but as long as one holds beliefs, be they religious or political, one must be open to facing those of opposing views. Instigating debate and discussions is the essence of a free and open democratic society. Irish law, which provides for a fine of €25,000 if convicted of blasphemy, does not allow for this.

And yet, only six years later, it looks set to be revoked, albeit by a different government.

It is interesting to note however that while the Constitutional provision stating that the publication or utterance of blasphemous matter is an offence dates back to 1937, the crime was only placed on a statutory footing in 2009.

This was ten years after the Supreme Court determined that it could not apply the offence of blasphemy in the absence of any statutory definition.

The old era seems to have been swept away with the remnants of Fianna Fáil.

In 2011 the Irish embassy to the Vatican was closed with the government citing cost reasons, although coming at a time of great criticism of the Church regarding cover-ups of child-abuse (the embassy has since reopened on a smaller scale). One of former Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn’s main

It is unusual in law that there is such a quick turnaround and it can hardly be said that societal values or moral values have changed considerably since 2009; political attitudes certainly have however, particularly regarding the issue of religion and the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

policy goals was to divest primary schools of Catholic Church patronage: 96% of primary schools are owned and under the patronage of religious denominations and around 90% of these are run by the Catholic Church.

The changed stance on the law of blasphemy reflects this trend away from the yoke of the Church towards a more secular and open society.

No-one has the right not to be offended. Freedom of religion and belief is an integral human right but is not absolute: everyone is entitled to hold and voice their opinions regarding religion (so long as they do not incite hatred). Any authority or anybody that is proscribing rules, morals and precepts should expect challenges. The ability to challenge authority without fear of prosecution is at the core of a democratic society.

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

The Big Interview:

Mairia Cahill

Mairia Cahill speaks to Conor Shearman on sexual assualt, Sinn Féin and why society needs to stop dehumanising paedophiles.

Mairia Cahill (16) and Gerry Adams around time her abuse started. of its effects, meanwhile every day the process continued she firmly believed she would be killed.

M

airia Cahill is a victim. A victim of sexual assault, and the victim of an organisational cover up which has generated shockwaves throughout the Irish political sphere. Her abuse may define who she is today--“it’s part of my experience and its part of who I am”--but she remains far more than a victim: she is a mother, a probation worker, a campaigner for justice for all of those abused on the island of Ireland.

“I believed the more that I did, the less likely I was going to be murdered."

An empowered woman, Cahill exudes strength in both the authority of her voice and her thematics: capable of delivering a nuanced discussion of sexual assault and her own abuse to a packed lecture hall; influenced undoubtedly, by four years of legal proceedings and countless interviews with the PSNI in which her tale was relived ad nauseam.

One might be forgiven for assuming the abuse and cover up she was subjected to, took place in the dark ages of Northern Ireland: a time in which sectarian groups rather than any form of law ruled the land, on the contrary, although sectarianism was still largely prevalent, the kangaroo court Mairia was subjected to took place in six months across the turn of the 21st

century--a mere fifteen years ago.

Mairia’s ordeal began at the age of sixteen when she was subjected to a cycle of rape and sexual assault across a period of 12 months by Martin Morris, a senior figure in the IRA, married to her aunt, renowned for the pride he took in his violent employment. By the time the IRA kangaroo court investigation was established in response to the disclosure of the abuse Mairia was eighteen, “but essentially I had been stuck at the age of sixteen since the abuse had happened to me.”

The police, she describes, were never a realistic prospect for justice at this period, “I grew up in a strong IRA area, the police were not an option because Sinn Fein instructed the communities and certainly led from the front in terms of whipping up distrust with the police.” Instead she was forced to contend with another abuse: “I was put through six months initially of an investigation, a forced investigation. I didn’t ask for it, had I had a choice, I wouldn’t have asked for it.”

The final humiliation was a forced confrontation with her attacker, “he was brought in with a man and there were two other women in the room, and they were there to read my body language to see who was telling the truth—you couldn’t make it up.”

Distanced from the Neanderthal logic of the investigation now, at the time it had a chaotic impact on her life; a dramatic weight loss and dropping out of university were outward symptoms

The IRA never took action against her abuser. Following other victims revelations that they too had been abused, they placed him under house arrest before later facilitating his move outside Belfast. It is a fact which she broaches with difficulty: her voice darkens, laden with sorrow, “That fear of him having access to other children, being in an area where no one might know what his background was and therefore would allow him to have access to the children, was probably one of the worst things to have to deal with.”

Instigating legal proceedings in 2010 she became frustrated by four years of case building which threatened to go nowhere. Witnesses recanting evidence and the trial’s potential use of judges rather than a jury meant that her abuser had the potential to be released and appeal immediately on conviction; she lost faith in the process, “I became aware that I was never going to be able to obtain justice through the criminal justice system.” She withdrew her support for proceedings, although is quick to point out, not her testimony.

“Justice can mean different things to different people. For some it can mean disclosure and for some it is going through the court process. It’s nobody’s business but the person who has suffered from the abuse what justice means to you.” Cheated of one justice, Mairia pursued another: waiving her lifetime right to anonymity she provided a series of interviews to a BBC spotlight programme, preventing further abuse, she claims, was one of her central motivations for doing so, “part of that reason was so that man’s face and name would be in the public domain.”

The broadcast of the programme led to a bizarre situation whereby she felt compelled to give as many media interviews as she possibly could, “I believed the more that I did, the less likely I was going to be murdered.

That was my feeling, because I had

the public protection and people knew exactly what had happened.”

The difficulty of the five months since she has abandoned anonymity has been unequivocal. Politics have led to her demonization among particular public figures, while temporary homelessness forced her to move back to her mother’s home. Regret though, is not something which factors into her consciousness, “I would do it again in an instant because it did bring other people forward and get help.”

“Essentially what we’re doing is looking at the next Taoiseach or Tánaiste potentially, who stands accused of being complicit in the cover up of child sexual abuse.”

Politics is an intrinsic part of her story, as she knowingly confesses, “Abuse is a political issue anyway, no matter who or where the abuse comes from the resources have to be found to tackle it.” The fact that the cover up of her abuse was linked with Sinn Fein and its most senior leadership in Gerry Adams requires confrontation. She points to political discussion of her story as bearing particular significance in that Sinn Fein stand as potential candidates for the next government, “essentially

what we’re doing is looking at the next Taoiseach or Tánaiste potentially, who stands accused of being complicit in the cover up of child sexual abuse.”

She bears a remarkable optimism toward politics, although disillusioned with republican parties and the so called “double sided” policy they present: what others see as political opportunism in debating her story in the Dáil she views as solidarity, empathising with her as a human being.

Changing the culture of sexual abuse to one in which empathy is offered for victims is a major feature of what she hopes could change. A stigma which cannot be underestimated, she describes the advent of social media as heralding a significant rise in the attitude of victim blaming in cases of sexual assault.

While educating society on a better understanding of the realities of sexual assault, and teaching children from a young age of appropriate bodily boundaries are relatively orthodox measures of change that Mairia proposes, far more unusual is her remarkably sensitive attitude towards paedophiles and perpetrators of sexual assault. She refuses to demonize them, encouraging a view of them as human beings with the capacity to change, “I don’t think it’s beneficial for society to lock someone up for the rest of their lives […] if someone admits that they have a problem and they want to change, they should be given every opportunity to do so.”

Treatment she advocates is the only way which society can remedy such crime, “They have to first of all admit they have a problem, that’s where treatment can be crucial, but if you don’t treat them then they get worse and we have had enough research in society to show that is the case.” It is an ennobling attitude from somebody who refuses to conform to a set expectation.

The ultimate triumph over the darkness that Mairia Cahill has experienced is that she refuses to allow it to corrupt her.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Pushing it to the extreme Pushing to the max

History Expressed: GaySoc foundations

When does a fitness regime take it too far and what are the realistic goals we can set ourselves asks Cathal O’Reilly.

It seems a fair point to make that a lot of us are sick of fitness articles, blogs and Paleo diets, yet still we continue to read them. Paleo, otherwise known as the caveman diet, has become a bit of a craze at the moment. People go to extreme lengths in order to get fit.

Becoming a hunter gatherer in the 21st century might be the point at which one has to draw the line: I could’ve sworn I saw a lad chasing a chicken down Mardyke Walk last week.

For those of us who are in college most days of the week staying healthy isn’t easy. Packing a lunch every day is not really sustainable. It takes a lot of time and effort and sometimes we just want something tasty.

So where are the healthy options on campus? A simple brown bread sandwich in the student centre is a good option or there is a really good salad bar in the main restaurant with loads of meats and nice carbs. If you want something heartier there’s a lovely carvery style dinner in the main restaurant, normally a very tasty turkey and ham.

Graduate Profile:

Anne Condon Anne Condon is a computer scientist, professor and head of the University of British-Columbia Computer science lab. Her research focuses on computational complexity theory, bioinformatics and DNA computing.

She has held the NSERC Canada chair for Women in Science and Engineering and has headed a number of projects to increase the number of female undergraduates in computer science.

She graduated from UCC with a B.Sc. in computer science in 1982.

What’s the most important thing you learned about yourself while in UCC? That I love Computer Science! I was in the first UCC CS graduating class, an amazing experience for my friends and me, since we did not see a computer until we got to college.

What’s your best memory of college?

I have a mediocre voice but enjoyed singing my heart out with the Choral Society and the UCC Choir.

What’s the funniest story from your time in college that is fit for print!?

It wasn’t that funny at the time, but I do look back with amusement at the early morning rides from Midleton to Cork in an old double decker bus that invariably broke down en route.

Another bus would eventually arrive from the Cork bus station to get us the rest of the way.

How did UCC students manage

Emmet Curtin looks at the college origins of the LGBT* Society.

There are a few things you can do to make sure you are staying healthy.

“Becoming a hunter gatherer in the 21st century might be the point at which one has to draw the line.”

When you go food shopping, make a list and stick to it, this will allow you to stay clear of the junk foods and keep the head down.

people have personal trainers and chefs on hand 24 hours a day. Of course it’s good to set the bar high for yourself but you want to set achievable goals also. Is it realistic to lose a stone this month? Will your studies suffer as a result? Remember: any improvement is a good improvement, so be nice to yourself. Making an effort is the main part after all.

Realistic goal setting is another important part of your health and fitness, realistic being the important word here. We normally look at the “Daniel Craigs” or the “Kim Kardashians” (controversial) for inspiration, but you must realise these

When I was working as a personal trainer I dealt with very high end, extremely busy, professional people.

They were all shapes and sizes, from marathon runners to couch sitters.

I set them hard but realistic goals:

I knew they had it in them to reach their goals but ultimately they had to believe in themselves as well. You can teach someone how to do a squat but instilling confidence and belief in someone is a lot more difficult, it takes practice.

If you are a seasoned athlete this may be all reinforced stuff but it’s always good to hear. We all had to start somewhere and even with progression there is always a new starting point.

Whether it’s stepping on the treadmill for the first time or trying to gain that extra inch that will beat your personal best by a hundredth of a second. It all starts with baby steps.

studying before Wi-Fi and online notes?

What’s the most challenging aspect of your work?

Making polite conversation in professional social settings when I don’t know people well. Fortunately I don’t have to do that too often.

What traits do you least like in others?

That was until 6 years later, in November 1987, when Deirdre Mortell was elected as SU Right’s Officer and she helped revive GaySoc by starting the UCC Lesbian & Gay Support Group. The group held regular meetings despite their lack of recognition and undeterred by their small numbers, helped set the stage for recognition.

As the current Head of my department, I’m learning to look past traits that I might not initially like in people and enjoy finding out what really makes them tick.

What’s your worst vice?

Rum cocktails. I’ve sampled enough rum varieties now to be listed on the wall of fame at The Shameful Tiki Room in Vancouver.

I’m hoping to spend some time at Caltech during a sabbatical next year, figuring out new ways to program biomolecules and maybe even do some computations in a test tube.

Do you feel the traditionally maledominated field of science and technology is becoming more open to women?

Yes, absolutely. There is more awareness of the importance of

An LGBT society was proposed at a UCC Philosophical Society meeting in November 1980, with David Norris (of the Gay Rights Movement) speaking in favour of its establishment along with Cathal Kerrigan (General Secretary of the UCC Student’s Union). The motion of the debate was: “that this house supports the establishment of a GaySoc by the Students Union”. The motion was passed with an overwhelming majority.

Gaysoc was very active at the time on campus, doing their best to remain visible in order to get the attention of both students and staff alike. The SU supported recognition of the society and decided to put it on the agenda of the Joint Board of the university early in 1981. A number of student members spoke in favour of the formation of the society but it was rejected in a vote of 4 to 3.

We managed just fine. We took our own notes, had a lot fewer distractions and studied from original sources in the library.

What is the next step in your research?

Today, UCC has more than 100 different societies, societies have been approved in UCC for more than 150 years. For the majority of societies, this was a relatively easy process in the past.. However, not every society in UCC was approved on their first application. One such society is the UCC LGBT Society, a society which waited almost 8 years to be approved.

avoiding unconscious bias in hiring practices and creating equitable and supportive educational and workplace practices. That said, women in senior leadership positions are still all too rare, and girls need more encouragement from parents and teachers to jump into subjects like physics and computing.

Are there any groundbreaking developments in computing and technology which we can expect to see within the next five years?

There are exciting things on the horizon.

Technologies that reduce wasteful consumption of scarce resources. 4D printing of objects that can change their form over time (the 4th dimension).

Medicines that are customized to our personal genetic profiles.

But personally I will be happy if tomorrow’s technologies are a little bit easier to use and less fragile than those we have today, and my privacy is less threatened. Technology is changing at so fast a pace that attention to quality user experience is compromised.

Subsequently the group, with the support of two prominent liberal academics, decided to re-apply for recognition and submitted an application with the requisite 50 names and £50 to the Clubs and Societies Officer in early February 1989. The Clubs & Societies Guild voted 9-1 in favour of recognition, and in the following year, were approved by the Joint Board, Academic Council and finally the Governing Body, who voted in favour of recognition in April 1989.

The society was recognized 4 years before homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland in 1993.

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Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

Project Mountain GoatSimon Byrne

Simon Byrne opens up about his mountain challenge to Stephen Walsh.

“Are you crazy?”

“Are you mad?”

These were just some of the questions posed to Corkman Simon Byrne while doing his remarkable personal challenge of climbing all 454 mountains over 500-metres in Ireland during one calendar year.

The man from Castletownbere first started mountain climbing at the age of 16 on the nearby Hungry Hill and he quickly progressed from there to climb mountains around Ireland and even as far as the Alps and South American ranges.

The 30-year-old, who currently works in Dublin running his adventure company AdventureBurn.com, had originally worked with his father doing computer sales but gave it all up after five years to start his own company that specialises in climbs in both the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.

It was early January last year that Byrne sought and found a suitable challenge to focus his energies on while also doing something that would benefit his business. While looking to fill a void in his life, he came across the website MountainViews.ie; a community of mountain climbers who like to log there climbs and, as Byrne says, “It’s

a great place to go for information on mountain climbing in Ireland.” Over the year he climbed the entire ‘lists’ of the Arderins and Vandeleur-Lynam mountains.

The first walk took place last January and then he went climbing for 86 days during the year, eventually finishing on December 27th on Mullaghcarn Mountain, Co. Tyrone along with 17 of his close friends and family.

“I eventually climbed for 36 days straight, living out of my car and this allowed me a bit of breathing space” He walked the majority of the 2,400 kilometres in the past year on his own so as he could properly test himself but was joined on some walks by some friends and family, and on the final walk by fellow users of the MountianViews site.

The Triathlon Man

One particular tough section of the challenge was on November 3rd when he realised he had over 140 mountains remaining. Thus, Byrne says, “I hopped into the car and drove to Connemara and climbed all those mountains then progressed to Mayo, Sligo, Donegal and all the way over to the Antrim Hills. I eventually climbed for 36 days straight, living out of my car and this allowed me a bit of breathing space for the remainder of the walks.

“Along the way I had one scary moment in South Kerry when climbing and that was when thunder storms started just above my head. It was a scary feeling even for somebody like me who has plenty of experience climbing but I survived.”

Before he took up triathlon, though, he was a keen swimmer and runner but was becoming disillusioned as Mintern explains: “I started swimming when I was very young in that I come from a swimming background. I took up cross-country in secondary school and I was handy enough at running but I was getting tired of swimming.

I wasn’t getting the results I wanted regardless of my efforts in training.”

two years this April.

When asked about his feelings upon standing at the summit of Mullaghcarn knowing he’d finished the challenge, Byrne responded; “Well definitely I

was excited, yet also relieved as it was approaching very close to the end of the calendar year.”

Byrne is not one for resting on his laurels and is planning to join a prestigious group of 50 people to have kayaked around Ireland, something he is hoping to do by the end of 2015. Still, he is not into setting records despite hoping to call his journey “Around the Isle in 80 days.”

Stephen Walsh chats to Chris Mintern about his future plans to cope with a triply demanding sport.

Third year Mathematical Science student and current Intervarsity triathlon champion, Chris Mintern really experienced the attention of the UCC student population in recent weeks when a documentary about his first Olympic triathlon in Kenmare was screened at the Indie Cork Film Festival.

As a 20-year-old currently applying for a Quercus scholarship, the Loughbased student hasn’t allowed the distractions of the film or the extra challenges posed by the changing academic year to prevent his triathlon progress.

For one, Mintern has found the semesterisation changes beneficial in comparison to the previous system of end of year exams. “Semesterisation has suited me much better than before with regard to balancing time,” he begins. “For example, when I’m racing in early May it is nice to know that I only have six modules to study for, whereas before you would have a lot of modules to prepare for and it would affect training.

“The main thing for me at the moment is time-management. If I have a lecture at 9am and my next one isn’t until 2pm it gives me time to go down to the Mardyke and train away.”

He trains about 20 hours a week using the Mardyke facilities and is full of praise for one of his mentors, Trevor Woods.

“If I have a lecture at 9am and my next one isn’t until 2pm it gives me time to go down to the Mardyke and train away.”

“Trevor in the Mardyke helps me out with specific lab testing. He does triathlons as well which is a great help for me. He has been a consistent winner ever since I’ve been competing in the sport and it’s great to be involved with somebody who has such knowledge.”

Mintern only stumbled into the sport by accident, though, as in his early teens he first took part in a triathlon relay in Youghal: “I enjoyed it so I decided to do it again the next year and a few years later I’m still doing it.”

Last year was his most successful year on record when he managed to win 12 of the 14 races he entered in Ireland as well as the iconic Lee Swim.

But Mintern is always looking ahead and next up is to defend the Intervarsity trophy that he has won the previous

“The Intervarsities are on in Laois where I’ve won the competition for the past two years. One problem with triathlons in university is that the season runs from May to September and we finish exams at that stage, so in order to encourage students to participate the event is held during term in April.”

This summer Mintern is hoping to take part in the first European Olympics and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 remains his big ambition.

“Tokyo 2020 is the long-term goal, while this summer there is the first European Olympics in Azerbaijan.

It should be a huge event and, with

college finishing earlier, it will give me some extra preparation.”

While winning triathlons might be the easy challenge for Mintern, he is also pretty decent within his field of study, last year winning the Boole Award organised by the Maths Society where he gave the best presentation on the Golden Ratio to win the prestigious trophy. However the highlight of his career so far was winning the Lee Swim: “It’s great to keep the trophy in Cork.”

So whether in the water, gym or classroom, Mintern seems to be balancing the triathlon of day-to-day athletic life just fine.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

Forde’s free denies

UCC Fitzgibbon progression UCC 1-14 UL 1-14

Stephen Walsh Sport Editor UCC, the pre-tournament favourites, crashed out of the Fitzgibbon Cup last week after drawing with UL in the Mardyke. A late free from Tipperary Senior Jason Forde rescued the draw for UL and prevented UCC from progressing to the quarter-final stage of the tournament.

UCC knew before the game that anything other than a win was not going to be enough for them to advance at the expense of NUIG, who defeated GMIT in the day’s other clash.

UL were to get the better start of the two teams, racing into a five-point lead after eight minutes as UCC struggled to get into the game. UL’s goal came courtesy of Conor Martin, who ran through the UCC defence before powering a shot from 16 yards into the roof of the net.

It wasn’t until 12 minutes had gone on the clock that Conor Lehane scored the first point for UCC. This was to be a brief respite as the home-side were struggling to cope with Tony Kelly in midfield, who swept up a lot of ball and was setting up numerous attacks for Tommy Heffernan and John McGrath to convert.

UL’s goalkeeper Paul Maher made a top quality save on 25 minutes to deny

Tom Devine before reacting quickly to tip over Shane O’Keeffe’s rebound.

This was to be the closest UCC would come to scoring a goal in the first-half, despite seeing numerous half shots from Shane O’Donnell and John Power blocked.

UCC started the second half as a much

“What is disappointing is that we have players who are very good but unfortunately we just didn’t see that today.” improved side, desperate to claw back the five-point deficit, with Barry Lawton scoring a goal on 32 minutes following a solo-run into the penalty area.

The game then ebbed both ways as each team went for the win, with UL soaking up a lot of pressure due to UCC winning a lot of ball through Cormac Murphy in the centre of the field.

On 41 minutes an Alan Cadogan point put UCC a point in front but this could have been extended even further on 43 minutes when O’Donnell was fouled for a penalty. Power, however, saw his penalty easily saved by Maher.

FREEZE FRAME: Shane O'Keeffe's shot is denied as UL's Jason Forde, Brian Stapleton and David McInerney look on.

Image by: Marc Moylan Both teams were level again on 50 minutes through a Conor Martin free but coming into the final ten minutes it was still anybody’s game, with both sides guilty of some very poor shooting.

Murphy scored a huge point on 58 minutes and this looked to be the decisive score but Forde scored a free from over 60 metres to break UCC hearts. They had a few late chances to grab a winner but were unable to score allowing UL progress to the quarter finals where they will play UCD this week.

After the game, UCC manager paid his complements to the victors while expressing his own disappointment: “They’re a serious side and it’s obviously a big scalp for them to go down to the Mardyke and knock out

UCC. They beat us today fair and square so we have to sit back and watch it from here.

“We didn’t play for the first twenty minutes but in fairness we left everything out there in the second half. What is disappointing is that we have players who are very good but unfortunately we just didn’t see that today.”

UCC (Cork unless stated): David O’Gorman; Killian Burke, David Glynn (Kilkenny), Michael Breen (Tipperary); Cormac Murphy (0-1), Tadgh Bourke (Waterford), Paudie Prendergast (0-1; Waterford); Shane O’Keeffe (0-1), Rob O’Shea; Jamie Barron (Waterford),Tom Devine (Waterford), Conor Lehane (0-2); John Power (0-1; Kilkenny), Shane O’Donnell (Clare), Alan Cadogan (0-4).

Subs: Anthony Spillane (0-1) for O’Shea and Barry Lawton (1-3, 2fs) for O’Keeffe (ht), Brian Hartnett for Spillane (56).

UL: Paul Maher (Tipperary); Jack Brown (Clare), PJ Scully (Laois), Eoin Moriarty (Kilkenny); Daire Quinn (Tipperary), Brian Troy (Kilkenny), Brian Stapleton (0-1; Tipperary); Jason Forde (0-1f; Tipperary), Tony Kelly (0-5; Clare); John McGrath (0-1; Tipperary), Bill Maher (0-1; Tipperary), Tommy Heffernan (01; Tipperary); Kevin O’Brien (0-1; Limerick), Conor Martin (1-3, 3fs; Kilkenny), Mark Carmody (Limerick).

Subs: Aidan McGuane (Clare) for B Maher (42), Thomas Cleary (Tipperary) for O’Brien (57), David McInerney (Clare) for Scully (59).

NUIG deliver crucial blow to UCC hopes NUIG 0-21

coolly dealt with a potentially tricky loose ball around the square.

UCC 0-19

At half-time UCC were on top 0-11 to 0-10, with people expecting NUIG to fade during the second half.

Maurice Brosnan Sport Writer An NUI Galway team wounded after their 2-24 to 0-9 loss against UL responded in admirable fashion to shock 2013 Fitzgibbon Champions UCC, seeing off the group favourites 0-21 to 0-19.

On their home patch of Dangan, NUIG’s persistence and the trusted hand of Clare-star Bobby Duggan saw them over the line against a talented but unlucky Cork side.

The game started at a slow pace and after 15 minutes the teams were tied at 0-2 apiece, UCC spurning a number of changes that they would later be made to pay for. Their dangerous fullforward line of John Power, Shane O’Donnell and Alan Cadogan received little ball in the opening exchanges and they changed tactics, getting early ball into the full-forward line.

As the half drew on, Barry Lawton and Conor Lehane began to get out in front and on top, Lawton winning and landing a free after 20 minutes. At the other end, UCC’s David O’Gorman

However they battled hard into the second-half as Duggan grew more and more into the game. On 40 minutes it remained nip and tuck with UCC leading by a point, thanks to scores from Power and two Lehane frees.

Full-back John Hanbury, along with half-backs Conor Cleary and Shane Cooney all impressed as NUIG’s stuck rigidly to their task of frustrating the Cork college’s forwards.

NUIG’s persistence soon paid-off with ten minutes left as they led 0-18 to 0-15. UCC looked in trouble, with Shane Roche collecting a yellow card after pulling down the tribesmen’s Ger Fennelly who was clean through on goal.

NUIG stretched their lead to four points with another Duggan free before Anthony Spillane pulled one back for UCC. A frantic last period saw Lehane strike a brace of frees wide before landing two frees as his spirted side fought back to level with five minutes left.

However a calm and collect NUIG side landed two late points courtesy of a Duggan free and Niall O’Brien and, despite a last-gasp strike on goal, UCC could not bridge the gap.

NUIG (Galway unless stated): J Griffey (Clare); C Diviney, J Hanbury, R Lane; S Cooney, C Cleary (Clare), S Hynes; E Brannigan (0-1), P Mannion (0-1); K Ryan (0-1), N O’Brien (0-4; Westmeath), B Duggan (0-12, 0-7fs; Clare); G Hennelly (0-1), C Mannion (0-1), S Ward (Clare).

Substitutions: G Fennelly (Tipperary) for Lane (35), S Dooley (Tipperary) for Ryan (37), B O’Connor (Limerick) for Ward (40).

UCC (Cork Unless Stated): D O’Gorman; K Burke, D Glynn (Kilkenny), M Breen (Tipperary); T Devine (Waterford), T Burke (Waterford), S Roche (Waterford); D Roche, R O’Shea; J Barron (Waterford), B Lawton (0-3fs), C Lehane (0-9, 5fs, 1 s/l, 1 65); J Power (0-4; Kilkenny), S O’Donnell (0-1; Clare), A Cadogan (0-1).

Subs: A Spillane (0-1) for Lawton and C Murphy for Glynn (ht), M Collins for D Roche (54), DJ Foran (Waterford) for O’Shea (57).

CORNER FLAG: Paudie Prendergast holds UL's John McGrath near the sideline during the drawn game in the Mardyke.

Image by: Marc Moylan

Fitzgibbon Cup Group B P W D L F UL 3 2 1 0 4-62 NUIG 3 2 0 1 0-47 UCC 3 1 1 1 4-52 GMIT 3 0 0 3 1-31

A Pts 2-34 5 2-55 4 1-43 3 4-60 0

22 |

O’Connor Mardyke hosts will face campaign tough Sigerson challenge opens with 20-second goal Brian Sheridan Sport Writer

UCC 3-20 Maynooth University 2-5 Stephen Barry Editor-in-Chief UCC ladies footballers’ O’Connor Cup campaign began in explosive fashion as they destroyed Maynooth University by 18 points last Tuesday.

Under the Mardyke floodlights, Allison Taylor raised a green flag at the end of a move straight from the throw-in and, by the time she had her second major 20 minutes later, UCC were 14 points to the good, 3-6 to 0-1.

All but one forward scored during the first-half rout, with Megan O’Connell adding an impressive 1-7, including a penalty, won by Aine O’Sullivan, which bisected Taylor’s brace of goals.

Reigning champions UCC will continue the defense of their Sigerson Cup as they attempt to become the first team since IT Sligo ten years ago to win back to back titles. IT Carlow stand between the Leesiders and a third consecutive final appearance on Friday, while DCU will take on UCD in an allDublin affair in the other semi-final.

The preparations of the reigning champions were upset when IT Sligo, their opposition in the quarter-final, were expelled from the tournament because they fielded an ineligible player. Following an appeal, Sligo were reinstated and the quarter-final with UCC was eventually played last Friday. The performance of UCC was far from impressive and Billy Morgan noted that improvemnts need to be made if they are to retain their Sigerson trophy.

DCU also made hard work of their progress to the semi-final. They had to come from behind against St Mary’s, who led by 0-8 to 0-3 at half time in a suspiciously small St Genevieve’s pitch. DCU were fortunate to have a man advantage in the second half and

Suzanne O’Sullivan Sport Writer

However their outstanding worry will be how they dealt with the long-ball in defence. The tactic should have yielded at least one more goal for Maynooth, with their goals from Aoife Duffy and Margaret Mohan the result of wellworked frees. In fact, Maynooth could take some scant consolation from the fact that those goals helped them to a second-half draw, 2-2 to 0-8.

Next weekend the cream of student equestrian will converge on Cork as UCC co-host the Intervarsity event from February 20th to 22nd. Over 250 competitors will battle it out for the top spots in dressage and show-jumping, with four rounds in each, operating in a knockout style. The first round of the jumps begins at 90cm, working its way up to a final round height at 1.20m and it is the same concept for dressage.

There is also a Prix Caprilli competition for the less-experienced rider which involves a basic dressage test with some cross-poles incorporated.

Maynooth: Ciara Trant; Amy McGrane, Naoise Barry, Laura O’Connell; Ciara McGuigan; Niamh Carr, Aoibhinn Kiernan (0-1f), Jane Doddy; Margaret Mohan (1-0), Eadaoin Connolly; Aimee McNally, Oonagh Whyte, Mikeala McKenna (0-1); Marie Kenny, Roisin Byrne (03, 2fs). Subs: Shannon McGroddy for Kenny (30+5), Orla Byrne for Carr and Shauna Dunphy for McKenna (36), Aoife Duffy (1-0) for Whyte (37), Alanna O’Donoghue for R Byrne (49).

overcame a five point deficit before eventually defeating St Mary’s in extra-time by 1-11 to 0-11.

DCU’s opponents in the semi-final, UCD, have travelled a far easier path having defeated GMIT by 1-19 to 1-9.

GMIT had been severely weakened with the loss of four Corofin men who faced St. Vincent’s in the semi-final of the All-Ireland Club Championship last weekend.

Fourth semi-finalists IT Carlow produced a shock when they went to Limerick and knocked out UL with a stand out performance from the Galway’s Barry McHugh, who scored 0-8.

MAN DOWN: Gary O'Sullivan may have to line-out without his regular midfield partner, Ian Maguire. Image by: Eddie O'Hare

Winning by the odd point in 21, IT Carlow are perhaps the weakest side on paper. Although they have several inter-county players such as Kildare’s Mark Sherry and Galway’s Eoin Walsh and McHugh, they do not have the strength and depth of the other three teams.

the Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup with victories over Carlow and Louth, before being well beaten by a very strong Kildare team. Nevertheless, UCD have won 32 Sigerson titles including the very first one in 1911 and they will only be beaten by a very good performance next weekend.

UCD are made up of a host of well known senior county players from Dublin, Kildare and Meath and they demonstrated their strength during

DCU also bring a very strong squad to the finals. They defeated a very strong UUJ team in the first round and they also put in some strong performances in the O’Byrne Cup. Although they

won the tournament in 2012, they have rowed back from their previous policy of playing a lot of postgraduates and now have a core of players who have come through from the Freshers team.

Yet holders and hosts UCC will go into the finals with the most confidence.

They are made up of a core of county players from Cork and Kerry and, although they have been less than impressive in the opening matches, home advantage should spur them on.

Equestrian Club set to host Intervarsity

UCC’s high-pressing, relentless gameplan caused Maynooth all sorts of problems despite the absence of AllIreland winners Doireann O’Sullivan and Orlagh Farmer. They were simply too quick in transition and could’ve scored much more but for a shocking collection of 17 wides.

UCC: Clodagh Walsh; Aobha Hickey, Marie Ambrose, Meabh Cahalane; Vera Foley, Roisin Phelan, Lydia Williams; Maire O’Callaghan (0-1), Aine O’Leary; Aine O’Sullivan (03), Jenifer Barry (0-4), Allison Taylor (2-0); Katie O’Dea (0-1), Megan O’Connell (1-11, 1-0 pen, 4fs), Orla Devitt.

Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | UCC EXPRESS

At the 2012 London Olympics, it became official – Ireland was good at fighting (Katie Taylor, Paddy Barnes, etc.) and riding, with Cian O’Connor’s individual bronze medal bringing the sport back into the public eye.

The college retains hope of returning overall accolades to Leeside, having last won in 2011 and only narrowly missing out in recent years.

One question regularly asked about Intervarsities is ‘What about the horses!?’ Indeed, in these competitions you do not ride your own horse. Horses are supplied by the organising college and you are judged and marked against the other people who ride the same horse as you, thus keeping the system fair.

The plethora of disciplines in equestrian sports is well represented by students and alumni of UCC, while fortunes at student equestrian events have flourished.

The Equestrian Club has a rich tradition

of victories at student riding events, not only at a national level, but also holds major ties to the success achieved at an international level in recent times.

Former UCC captain Peter O’Donnell won overall Individual Champion at the Student Riding Nations Cup (SRNC) Belgium World Finals in 2013 and the 2014 title was recently retained

by another alumnus Brian Morrison at the Florida Finals.

Most recently, current student Aoife Crotty was part of the Irish squad who finished overall 2nd at a SRNC leg in France in November.

Through the club you can apply for

trials for squad positions for the international competitions such as the SRNCs. The club also has other events throughout the year such as games nights; the competitions are legendary, with many stories and memories made over the weekend that you won’t be forgetting (or allowed to forget) in a hurry.

| 23

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015

UCC end Harding 20-year wait UCC 1 UL 0 Stephen Walsh Sport Editor A seventh minute Pierce O’Riordan goal gave UCC their first win in the Harding Cup since 1995, when they defeated NUIG in Belfast. This time they had to defeat a strong UL side that contained many League of Ireland players, albeit with home-soil advantage in the Mardyke.

UCC had the majority of possession for the opening period of the game and were duly rewarded with O’Riordan’s goal. It came from a corner, with Darragh Kiely heading the ball across goal to Dave Walsh, who passed across the six-yard box to the waiting O’Riordan.

From the kick-off UL nearly responded with an equaliser when a free from Fionn Hurley found Colm Murphy but his shot from close range was well

saved by Charlie Borneman.

O’Riordan should really have made it two on 18 minutes when he found himself one-on-one with the keeper following a long free into the box but his lob went just over the bar. UL had two further shots in the first half but Bornemann blocked both to keep UCC ahead going into the break.

That pattern continued into the second half as Colm Murphy saw his free kick from 25 yards tipped over the bar by Bornemann.

At the other end, Daniel Pender embarked on a long dribble down the sideline for UCC before cutting into the box and seeing his shot saved by Peter Healy.

The last chance UL had of grabbing a draw and sending the game into extra-time was on 84 minutes, with Borneman doing some more heroics in the UCC goal. Cillian O’Regan saw his shot from distance palmed clear only for Brian Donovan to shoot

GOALMOUTH SCRAMBLE: The ball is lashed clear of the crowded penalty area, with 'keeper Charlie Borneman on the ground.

Image by: Marc Moylan and be blocked by Borneman with the ball falling to Jonathan Wilson but the keeper pounced on it before Wilson could shoot. Wilson connected with the keeper, starting a minor scuffle and at the end of it, Wilson was sent off for striking a UCC player.

It was to be UCC’s day for the first time since 1995, with former Cobh Ramblers player Seán O’Mahony lifting the trophy.

Bronze for top athletes Digest Ben Thistlewood Sport Writer

UCC men’s and women’s teams came third in the Irish University Athletics Association Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Athlone IT. The women came third overall, behind UL in second and victors DCU. Phil Healy won the 60-metre race in a time of 7.46, while Sinead O’Connor came second in the 3,000-metres. On the field, Laura McSweeney placed third in the 8kg weight for distance, while Clare Fitzgerald and McSweeney went 1-2 in the shot putt, with Clare setting a UCC record in the process.

the clear winner. David Kavanagh placed fourth in the 800-metres and Luke Hickey won the 2,000- metre walk, setting a UCC record (7:35.62) and just missing the IUAA indoor record by less than half a second. The men’s second track win of the day came from Ben Thistlewood in the 3,000-metres.

In the field events, Michael Kenny set an IUAA record in the 16kg weight for distance (8.13 metres), going 1-2 with teammate Patrick McSweeney.

McSweeney also came third in the shot putt.

On the men’s side, UCC came second to UL by a mere point, with DCU again

Row on from Cork success Andy Harrington Sport Writer

the club’s athletes.

On Saturday, February 7th, UCC Rowing Club raced at Cork Head of the River. With four crews winning their events and many other notable results, the club proved their strength at a national level.

At the moment the club is midway through the pre-competition period of the season where preparation is focused on athlete strength and building aerobic capacity towards the University Championships. The training is mainly cardiovascular, with the racing season almost upon us. The men’s and women’s squads are consistently training together which is setting up a good atmosphere in the club.

Since then, the men’s rowing squad travelled up to Galway for a training camp to practice on the River Corrib and will be returning with the women’s squad for some racing on March 14th.

The club’s next big events include Erne Head on February 28th and a High Performance Assessment at the National Rowing Centre for the Rowing Ireland High Performance Team, which will be attended by six of

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Basketball – Men’s Premier League: Travelodge Swords Thunder 74 C&S UCC Demons 88 (Lehmon Colbert 29, Kyle Hosford 17, Shane Coughlan 13); C&S UCC Demons 117 DCU Saints 78 (Colin O’Reilly 28, Kyle Hosford 18, Shane Duggan 17); Sun 22nd Feb: C&S UCC Demons vs UCD Marian @ 3.15pm in the Mardyke.

Camogie – Ashbourne Cup Group stage: DCU 1-9 UCC 1-15; Semifinal: UL 0-14 UCC 0-8.

Gaelic Football – Sigerson Cup Quarter-final: UCC 0-13 IT Sligo 0-8; Semi-final: Fri 20th Feb: UCC vs IT Carlow @ 4pm in the Mardyke.

Fresher Division 1 Championship Quarter-final: DCU 1-8 UCC 2-8 (Jordan Kiely 2-2; Sean O’Donoghue 0-3; Cian Dorgan, Conor Gleeson, Stephen Cronin 0-1 each); Semi-final: Thu 12th: UCC 1-20 NUI Maynooth 0-9 (Sean O’Donoghue 0-6, 4fs, 1 45; Cian Dorgan 1-1; Jordan Kiely, Conor Gleeson 0-3 each; Jack O’Mahony 0-2; Stephen Cronin, Ross Mulcahy, Joe O’Kelly, Padraig de Brún, Eimhin Courtney 0-1 each); Final: Tue 17th Feb: UCC vs UCD @ 3pm in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.

Hockey (Mens) – Irish Hockey League Pool A: UCC 0 Monkstown 4. Munster Senior Cup 1st round: Bandon 2 UCC 0. Munster League Division 1: Sat 21st Feb: Bandon vs UCC in Bandon Grammar School; Sun 1st Mar: Church of Ireland vs UCC in Garryduff Sports Centre.

Hockey (Ladies) – Irish Hockey League Pool A: UCC 1 Railway Union 6 (Ciara Sexton). Munster Senior Plate 1st round: UCC 9 Fermoy 1 (Amy-Kate Trevor 3, Steffi Bowe 2, Katharine Geoghegan 2, Sarah Browner 2); Semi-final: Cashel/ New Inn 0 UCC 2 (Amy-Kate Trevor 2).

Munster League Division 1: Sat 21st

UCC: Charlie Borneman, Jeremy Bridgeman, Cian Murphy, David O’Connor, Seán O’Mahony, Rob Lynch, Daniel Pender, Daragh Kiely, David Walsh, Pierce O’Riordan, Rueben O’Callaghan.

UL: Peter Healy, Niall McNamara, Gavin Dillon, Colm Murphy, Eoin Murphy, Jonathan Wilson, Yacouba Yabre, Josh Crowley Holland, James McConigle, Brian Donovan, Fionn Hurley.

Subs: Ross Broeuheuizen for O’Callaghan (67), John Cotter for O’Riordan (73), Brian Cooney for Walsh (91).

Subs: Daniel Delblanco for McNamara (45), Javier Gomez Ventura for Yabre (52), Cillian O’Regan for Hurley (67), David Sherin for Colm Murphy (92).

Feb: UCC vs Ashton in the Mardyke; Tue 24th Feb: Catholic Institute vs UCC in Rosbrien, Limerick; Sat 28th Feb: UCC vs Church of Ireland in the Mardyke.

College 5 UCC 43; Wed 18th Feb: UCC vs UL @ 7pm in the Mardyke; Thu 26th Feb: UCC vs NUIG @ 7pm in the Mardyke.

Hurling – Fitzgibbon Cup Group B: NUIG 0-21 UCC 0-19; UCC 1-14 UL 1-14. Fresher Division 1 Championship Quarter-final: Fri 20th Feb: UCC vs UCD @ 1pm in TBC. Ladies Football – O’Connor Cup Group A: UCC 3-20 NUI Maynooth 2-5.

Rugby (Mens) – Ulster Bank League Division 2A: Old Wesley 34 UCC 12 (Charlie O’Regan, Dean Nolan try each; Kevin Kidney con); Sat 21st Feb: Thomond vs UCC @ 2.30pm in Liam Fitzgerald Park, Limerick.

Rugby (Womens) – Student Sport Rugby League Division 1: Trinity

Soccer (Mens) – Harding Cup Quarter-finals: UCC 3 DCU 2 (Pierce O’Riordan, David Walsh, Sean O’Mahony); UCC Academicals 1 Maynooth University 2 AET (Ciaran McGettigan); Semi-final: UCC 2 NUIG 1 (Pierce O’Riordan, David Walsh); Final: UCC 1 UL 0 (Pierce O’Riordan). FAI Intermediate Cup 4th round replay: Glenville 0 UCC 1 (Calvin O’Callaghan). Munster Senior League Premier Division: Tue 17th Feb: UCC vs Avondale United @ 7.30pm in the Mardyke.

Soccer (Womens) – WSCAI Premier Division Semi-final: Maynooth University 3 UCC 2 (Vanessa Ogbonna, Laura Lynch).

RUBGY: Ulster Bank League Division 2A P W D L F A Old Wesley 11 11 0 0 342 152 Blackrock College 10 7 1 2 233 146 Skerries 10 7 0 3 225 149 Queens University 10 7 0 3 248 188 NUIM Barnhall 10 6 0 4 223 198 Cashel 10 7 0 3 209 188 Banbridge 10 5 1 4 243 179 Thomond 10 5 0 5 166 157 Naas 10 5 0 5 183 180 Nenagh Ormond 10 4 1 5 151 128 City of Derry 10 3 0 7 223 232 UCC 10 3 1 7 198 250 Rainey Old Boys 10 3 0 7 174 236 Seapoint 10 2 0 8 108 256 Bective Rangers 10 2 0 8 121 254 Dungannon 10 2 0 8 154 308

TB LB 5 0 5 0 5 1 4 0 4 2 2 0 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 4 3 5 2 4 1 3 1 1 0 1 1 0

Pts 49 35 34 32 30 30 29 26 24 23 20 20 16 10 9 9

SPORT

UCC

Tuesday, Febuary 17th 2015 | uccexpress.ie | Volume 18 | Issue 10

UCC set-up home Sigerson with nervy win

TWINKLE TOES: Tomas Clancy escapes a pair of would-be Sligo tacklers as UCC progressed to the final-4. Image by: Eddie O'Hare

UCC 0-13 Stephen Barry Editor-in-Chief It was uninspiring stuff but it set up a festival of football for next weekend as the Sigerson Cup will feature its hosts, UCC, playing on home turf.

One has to hope that a better performance and a better clash will ensue as the Sigerson visits the Mardyke on Friday and Saturday, with UCC boss Billy Morgan realistic about the step-up needed in the coming week: “If we produce that performance next week, we certainly wouldn’t be winning any Sigerson Cup. We weren’t at our best and I thought we made a lot of mistakes. We took the wrong option a lot of the time and if we took simple scores, we could’ve been another three or four points to the good.”

Yet last Friday’s game was as much about who didn’t show up for a game which was only fixed two days prior, when IT Sligo’s appeal against their expulsion was successful.

The formerly ineligible Stephen Doak lined out at corner back but Ryan and Mark McHugh, sons of the manager Martin, were far away from the squally

IT Sligo 0-8 showers as they attended warmweather training with Donegal.

Morgan had similar woes to deal with, dismissing the effect of the fixture’s uncertainty on Sligo and outlining the injuries that occurred in the interim.

“I was reading how they [Sligo] were up in the air. I don’t believe for a second that they stopped training; I mean why would they be appealing otherwise. We were up in the air because we didn’t know whether we’d have a match this week.

“Ian Maguire has a back problem and Paul Geaney has a hip problem and we were only hit with them on Wednesday night. They were big shocks to us because if you look at the three players [including Fergal McNamara, who was on club duty with Austin Stacks] they were probably three of our leading players. It was a big blow to us but we reckon we have strength and depth and I think we proved it today.”

Morgan is hopeful that his captain, Geaney, will return in time, with midfielder Maguire the greatest doubt.

However neither were called for against a Sligo side who were tigerish

but lacked a cutting edge.

Jack McGuire was exceptional in defence, Conor Dorman broke tackle after tackle with ball in hand, while David Harrington was being given the space by Doak to flourish. UCC kicked the final four points of a cagey firsthalf, including two from Harrington, to take a seven points to four interval lead.

UCC showed a greater drive to find a goal to seal the tie thereafter but Alvin McCallig saved with his feet from Eanna Ó Conchuir, Luke Connolly and Dorman. Such profligacy allowed Sligo to hoist themselves within a major with eight minutes remaining but crucial bad wides cost them dear.

The game wasn’t made safe until Connolly finished off an excellent move from a kick-out in the penultimate minute, with Cox adding an insurance free seconds later.

Although less than enthused by the performance, Morgan can turn with expectation towards the coming weekend: “I have never been involved in a Sigerson here at home either as a player or a manager and I’m really looking forward to it.”

UCC (Cork unless stated): Michael

Martin; Jack McGuire (Kerry), David Culhane (0-1; Kerry), Padraig O’Connor (Kerry); Conor Dorman, Brian O’Driscoll, Tomas Clancy; Sean Kiely, Gary O’Sullivan (Kerry); Eanna Ó Conchuir (0-1; Kerry), Luke Connolly (0-2, 1f), Shaun Keane (Kerry); Thomas Hickey (Kerry), Conor Cox (0-5, 4fs; Kerry), David Harrington (0-3).

Inside Sport Page 23

Subs: Alan O’Donovan (0-1) for Kiely and Ronan Murphy (Kerry) for Ó Conchuir (51).

IT Sligo: Alvin McCallig (Mayo); Stephen Doak (Donegal), Eoin Flanagan (Sligo), Daragh McConnon (Sligo); Michael McWeeney (Leitrim), Robert Gorman (Westmeath), Cathal Mulryan (Galway); Brian Gallagher (0-1; Mayo), Shane McManus (Sligo); Eunan Doherty (Donegal), Niall Welsh (Cavan), Michael Foody (Mayo); James Shaughnessy (04, 2fs; Mayo), Daniel McKenna (0-3, 2fs; Monaghan), Stephen Coen (Sligo).

Subs: Stephen Henry (Mayo) for Coen (ht), Ciaran Thompson (Donegal) for Gallagher (47), Ray Connolly (Sligo) for Welsh (48), Cian Clinton (Leitrim) for Shaughnessy (57).

Sigerson Weekend Preview on Page 22

HARDY BUCKS: The Freshers soccer team, captained by Seán O’Mahony, captured UCC’s first Harding Cup title for two decades on home turf.