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SU President has informal job talks with college Vol. 7 No. 5

DCU’s Independent Student Newspaper

By Vincent Moran STUDENTS’ UNION President Sarah Farrell and DCU President Ferdinand von Prondzynski “spoke informally” about the possibility of the SU President working for DCU after her term in office next semester.

Ms Farrell says she doesn’t see a conflict of interests in having spoken to the DCU President about the potential job because it will be next year and because of the area the job would be in.

Prof von Prondzynski said he had asked Ms Farrell what she was planning to do when her time in DCU was finished and asked her would she consider doing something in the university in the future.

www.thecollegeview.com

March 2006

DCU students hit the catwalk

Anita Friedman wears a dress from Julien at the first DCU Fashion Show.

The show, in aid of Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, took place on Wednesday, March 8.

The show was held in the Mahony Hall in The Helix The event was hosted by RTE’s “Off the Rails” presenter, Pamela Flood, and stylist Graham Cruz. The show had a “Seven Deadly Sins” themed catwalk, and included performances by Ireland’s premiere percussion group, Extreme Rhythm and a VIP cocktail reception.

The fashion on the night came from stores such as BT2, House of Fraser, Awear, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Principles, Esprit, Coco Women, Genius, Julien and also fashion designers Mia Elmes and Jane Geraghty.

Everything from casual daywear, elegant eveningwear and even some sexy lingerie were modelled by DCU students. One of the models, Leona Byrne won a contract with one of Ireland’s top modelling agency, Assets.

Sarah Verdon from Grafton Academy won the DCU Young Designer of the Year, and she was awarded a Waterford Crystal vase by fashion designer Ciarán Sweeney.

Photo by Alan Gallagher

“I said to her one of the jobs that may come up is to do with strategic planning but that would be a short term job and that’s as far as it went.

I haven’t even decided if there will be a job yet,” says Prof von Prondzynski.

“I haven’t discussed anything, it was mentioned in passing the way I would ask any student what they plan to do after university, and if I thought that the student’s talents were such that something might come up here I might mention it in passing.

“We have a very strict policy here about jobs. I never guarantee a job in advance of procedure,” he says.

Continued on P5

Five candidates in running for SU presidency

By Meabh Ní Ghealbháin THE STUDENTS’ Union election nominees have been announced

with five candidates for the role of SU President.

The €300 a week job hasn’t had as many candidates since 2002 when a group of students, includi n g former president Paul Presidential candidates Richard Greene, Fin Higgins, Charlene Connolly, Alan Flanagan and Brian Smyth

NEWS

Why can’t students hear DCU FM? P2 Allan Dixon talks to MPS and BCI about the licence situation.

The Bebo craze takes over DCU P6 Anne Marie Conlon jumps on the bandwagon.

May ran joke campaign titled ‘Vote Prolix’.

Charlene Connolly fourth year Journalism, Alan Flanagan third year Journalism, Richard Greene second year Economics, Politics and Law, Fin Higgins third year Communications and Brian Smyth fourth year Business Studies are all contending for the sabbatical position.

Charlene Connolly is Secretary of the SPC (Societies and Publications Committee) and is a former Image Editor of the College View. She is the student representative for the Board of Irish College Societies Awards (Bics) and was also a member of

the Washington-Ireland programme.

Alan Flanagan is this year’s Humanities Convenor and Arts Editor of the College View. He is also on the committee of DCU Debate and a member of the St Vincent de Paul society.

Richard Greene is a fluent Irish speaker from Clonskea, Dublin.

He is a former committee member of Music Soc and is a founding member of the Led Zeppelin society.

Fin Higgins is a published songwriter from Rialto Co. Dublin. He wrote, produced and directed Masks, a documentary which was screened at the Dublin Docklands

Festival in 2001.

Brian Smyth is from Portmarnock Co. Dublin. He is the currently the chair of the SPC and Student Life (Formerly Student Finance Committee). Last year he chaired Music Soc and was Treasurer of the society the previous year. He was also a founding member of the Murder She Wrote Society.

The role of SU President pays €17,800.30 gross pay per year. It involves sitting on numerous committees including the SU executive, the SFC, the Events committee, the Union council, and the An Tarbh editorial team.

ARTS

SPORT

RANDOM

Josh Ritter

Hurdling Success P24 and P22 DCU staff member Derval O’Rourke takes gold in the World Indoor Championship in Moscow

What’s going on here

interview P9

P24 and P21 Sigerson Hotshots DCU footballers take seven college allstars

then?

P15

Application misfortune leaves station without licence 2

DCU NEWS

By Allan Dixon CONFUSION ABOUT applications has left DCU FM without a licence this year and students can only hear the station in the hub by the speakers outside their booth and by web cast.

MPS say they originally applied for the broadcasting license from Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) in October 2005. They had two names on the application form, Manager Sarah Dunne and Technical officer Lizanne Barnwall. These contacts were to be available during the year.

However, when Ms Barnwall went to Australia in mid-January, MPS needed to change the name on the application form. MPS say the change was too late to be guaranteed a licence.

“It allowed us less than three months to apply for a licence and it states in BCI guidelines you must have an application in three months before you intend to broadcast. We could not proceed with any other preparations for the week of broadcast until we were sure we would be definitely approved for a licence,” says MPS Chairperson, Sarah Neville.

“An antenna and a transmitter have to be paid for two months in advance and libel and slander insurance must be bought, which cost 1200 euro last year for the week,” adds Ms Neville.

These costs, coupled with the lack

DCU FM broadcasting in The Hub Photo by Allan Dixon

of a guarantee, forced them to drop the idea of applying for a new licence.

“We decided it best not to spend SPC money on the transmitter and antenna, and our own money on the insurance, which we hadn’t got funding for, when we weren’t certain that we would get a licence and if we didn’t get the licence we would have wasted over 2000 euro.”

However, Patricia Kelly who processes applications for BCI, told the College View that “temporary applications can be applied for all year round”.

“If a name had to be changed it’s fine just to send us an e-mail or a fax.

All you have to do is cancel the first application form and re-apply with different names on the form,” she says.

According to BCI, the most recent document in the DCU FM folder was dated back to their last application form for broadcasting in March of 2005. They also say that the folder did not contain a canceled application form for broadcasting in March 2006 and that there was no such evidence that MPS had applied for a broadcasting license for 2006.

Station Manager Sarah Dunne said that MPS sent in a provisional application in October of last year, but decided not to follow through when Ms. Barnwall left for Australia.

Presidents to promote DCU in America

By Vincent Moran A GROUP of DCU representatives, including Students’ Union President Sarah Farrell and DCU President Ferdinand von Prondzynski, will fly to America on a trip to promote funding for the university and consider strategic links with US university partners in the middle of March. One of the main beneficiaries of the funding will be DCU’s Access Service.

Prof von Prondzynski will travel to San Francisco, San Diego, Arizona, Washington and Chicago for different purposes in the space of six days on a trip that will be paid for by The President's Office and the DCU Educational Trust.

Each of the representatives will fly to different destinations for different functions, but they will all meet in Arizona.

DCU are looking at the possibility of a strategic partnership with the Arizona State University which will allow research collaboration and the development of intellectual property teaching programs

The College View March 2006

between the two universities.

They will also meet with alumni in events in a n S Francisco and Los Angeles.

Ms Farrell’s function on the trip is to talk “about student life here and how the campus has changed.

We are trying to get funding for things like the access program.

We want to keep people in Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski in his touch with office. Photo by CV DCU so they and only happens when it is can see our point of view,” she needed, the last such trip was adds. made in 2002.

The trip is not an annual event

1¤ 800 raised during RAG week but Union fails to reach target

By Stephen O’ Shea STUDENTS’ UNION President Sarah Farrell has expressed disappointment at the numbers that attended RAG (Raise a Grand) week events. Ms. Farrell also confirmed that the money raised during the week stands at €1800.

The Students’ Union initially set a target of raising €1000 per day during the week but this target was never achieved. In an email sent to all students on January 25, Ms Farrell wrote: “The hope is that we will have a minimum of €1000 raised every day before the Mini-Mate tasks begin.”

“I think part of the problem was that students didn’t understand where the money was going,” she explained.

In a letter to the College View, February 2006, Russell O’Connor, Chair of

DCU Snowboarding Club and Clubs and Societies Officer candidate for next year, criticised the “shocking and embarrassing lack of money raised for charity during RAG week”.

O’ Connor went on to accuse the SU of being “unprepared” and claimed that he was never once approached to give money to the DCU Annual fund.

The money raised during RAG week and at the Drag Ball, which was held the Tuesday after RAG week, goes to the DCU Annual Fund. According to the DCU website: “The DCU Annual Fund provides critical support for scholarships and programmes which help disadvantaged students gain access to university education.” Over 88% of the fund goes to the DCU Access Programme, which

helps students from disadvantaged areas attend university.

Ms Farrell says that the University asked the Students’ Union to donate money raised to this cause and also stresses that DCU is the most successful Irish university at attracting students from disadvantaged areas.

The SU President also says that it was difficult gaining the support of students for RAG week events: “Despite lots of advertisement in emails, flyers, life.dcu.ie, class addresses, going up to people with buckets, most people were not interested – which is a real shame.”

Despite the fact that admission to campus bars is generally only charged when there is a bar extension, students complained that they were asked to pay a €3 cover fee at the door.

However Ms Farrell responded by saying that students were not charged at the door but asked to make a donation to the Access programme.

When questioned about the disappointing numbers at the three RAG balls, she rejected claims that prices for the events were too high. She went on to say: “We initially thought the three events would draw three different crowds but it didn’t work out like that.”

However Ms Farrell insists that overall RAG week was a success: “To date this year we have raised €1800 for the (DCU Annual) fund, an increase on last year, and we hope that this will continue to increase. When students take the time to find out about the fund they are very generous.”

The College View March 2006

Referendum is passed but voter turnout still low

By Kevin Sheeky THE REFERENDUM to enact a new Students’ Union Constitution was comfortably passed but voter turnout was low. The referendum was passed with 853 people voting in favour of the new constitution and only 70 voting against.

There were eight spoilt votes.

The quorum for the election was 10 per cent of the student body eligible to vote, which was 846 votes.

This was reached at 4pm, three hours before the last polling station closed.

However, Students’ Union President Sarah Farrell was not surprised by the low turnout. “The topic of the referendum, a new constitution, is not the most exciting thing in the world to the majority of students and we knew that getting people out to vote would be difficult,” she said.

The low turnout for the referendum is in line with the voter turnout at previous Student’s Union elections.

The percentage turnout for the referendum was 11 per cent, down 2 per cent from the turnout for the SU executive election last year which polled at 13 per cent.

The ratification of the new SU Constitution means that two of the three sabbatical positions on the executive have been changed. The position of Education Officer has now become Education and Welfare Officer/Deputy President and the position of Welfare Officer, which became a non-sabbatical post for last year due to a lack of a nominee for the sabbatical posi-

has become tion, Campaigns and Information Officer/Vice President.

A significant change to the Constitution is that there is now a provision for Oscail students to vote in any forthcoming SU elections. It was discovered last year that Oscail students were not constitutionally able to vote. As remote learning students they do not pay capitation, the part of the registration fee that pays for student activities including the SU. On-campus students pay this at the start of the academic year .

This was a major issue last year when quorums were calculated which included Oscail students, meaning that the quorums were artificially high. As a result the position of Science and Health Convenor was deemed not to have hit quorum. After Oscail students were removed from the quorum calculations it was realised that quorum had been hit and David Grimes was elected to the position.

Other changes include the Women’s Officer becoming the Equality Officer and the Chair of the Postgraduate Executive becoming the Chair of the Postgraduate Committee.

Accommodation Officer is a new position created to deal specifically with issues arising from those living on campus. There is also now a provision where all previous SU executives who complete a full term get honorary membership of the Union although they will not be able to vote at Union meetings.

SU President Sarah Farrell reads the constitution to ordinary Union Members Photo by Allan Dixon

Plagiarism technology catches copycats DCU NEWS

By Vincent Moran MORE THAN half of the 283 first year computer science students have been found to be involved in plagiaristic activity by a new anti-copying technique developed in DCU. While some were involved in providing work for others, about 100 of the students were involved in direct plagiarism.

The new technique of plagiarism detection was develin oped D C U and has shown that 36 per cent of computer science

students plagiarised. On an international level computer science courses have had a higher rate of plagiarism than most.

The new technique works by placing an invisible watermark on a sample code given to each individual student.

If another student submits the same programme, or a section of that p r o gramme containing the code, then the p r o gramme will detect w h o copied f r o m whom.

The tech-

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nique has revealed that, on average, students who plagiarise get a significantly lower grade than those who use original work.

Other methods of detection include vocabulary above or below the expected standard, a change in writing style, use of American spelling and using quotes without citing the source.

There has been growing concern over the last few years about the increase in plagiarism at both second and third level education. The availability of information on the Internet has made it easy to cut and paste other people’s work.

Oxford University professor Alan Graffen blames practice at second level where students are encouraged to submit work cobbled together from the Internet and other sources. He says the bad habit is then carried onto third level.

4 SU ELECTION 2006 Charlene Connolly

The College View March 2006

Alan Flanagan

Richard Greene

Brian Smyth

Fin Higgins

What experience do you have that would qualify you for SU Presidency?

I have been involved in societies this year especially in Music Soc. I think the main thing I could bring is leadership, and I would hope to make the Union more a team, as opposed to single people doing a singular job. As in the President would work very closely with the other officers, we’d all work together to be a better union because I think it’s too separate.

I’ve been on the Student’s Union all year, I know what the job entails better than anyone else because I’ve been there, the Humanities Convenor’s job, being on class rep and programme boards and policy within the faculty I’ve helped out other convenors and other officers.

I’m very good with people. Even though I’m not directly involved in the Students Union I do know a lot about it and I see certain elements that I think I can improve on.

What will be your major policy initiatives for the coming year?

I think a better relationship needs to be started between management and the Union in the sense that there’s more respect there as opposed to it being too friendly or too cold. I just think students need to have a better say,that would be a big policy.

I will definitely be making sure that the implementation of the new constitution goes as smoothly as possible, especially stuff like the new officers. I’d also like to see the Class Rep system changed. It has to be stressed that they are not just representing their class but they are also a member of Union Council.

The first thing would be accommodation, to give more rights back to the students that live on campus. There should be a tenancy agreement with free entry letting people back into their houses.

Also a stationary shop or more stationary sold in Spar except cheaper. I’d also like to see cheaper and more variety canteen food.

Well I’ve worked in local government for a couple of years and I’m involved in local politics in my own community.

In my second year I was treasurer of Music Soc. Then in third year I chaired music soc and … we won best event for music week. Then this year I went for chair of the SPC and was elected as well as chair of what was SFC, now Student Life Committee.

I really want to raise the profile of the college.It would be great if a there was a kind of interaction between the different societies and the whole student body.

When you get some grades there'd be some lecturer who'd give you a run through of what grades you got and why. I'd encourage lecturers to use Moodle

I’d set up a clinic downstairs in the Hub. I know people can come up to the offices but people are intimidated to come up through Clubs and Socs or the Union. I also think the Union should go around and give class addresses through the year … once people know you they’ll feel at lot more at ease and we’ll be a lot more approachable.

Typically turnout for SU elections is quite low. How are you going to get students out to vote?

I’d get to know people on a personal basis. And it’s an awful lot of work and a big thing to say but I would like to meet everybody.

Even just to get to know somebody and just let them talk to you and let them tell you what really annoys them because I don’t think people are asking them.

The more buzz and heat there is in an election, the more interest you will get from people and I think there’ll be a serious rise in turnout this year.

I’m different from the other candidates running. I want to get the wider spectrum of students involved in the SU, I’m just like them.

The impression I get from going here is that the majority of people in DCU don’t really take part. I’d definitely try reach out to everybody

I’m going to be speaking to everyone by giving class addresses. As president, I want to be the most visible president ever. I think there’ll be a really good turnout this year.

The Student’s Union invested a very large sum of money on the Life website but it very rarely used by students. How would you make it successful?

I think it could fulfil its potential but I think work needs to be done on it. I think the staff at the union this year has been a bit lax on the company that are actually running it. I think they need to pressure them more.

The Life website is still in its infancy and there are kinks in it that probably should have been worked out by now but haven’t and I’ll look forward to getting any basic problems out of the way.

It should be made into something to feel you need to go to.

It’s a pretty bland site. I’d put more jokey kind of videos and stuff like on collegehumour.com, that’ll get people’s attention.

There’s not really much on it that you couldn’t get from other sources. Sarah’s good she sends out emails and you wouldn't get any new information on the site.

There’s a couple of societies represented but that’s about it. When you’re aware of all the information on the website why would you go to the website.

It just needs someone to work full time, hours and hours on end, to smooth all the glitches out. I think it is a good thing and it has potential so once you have people at the start, like Bebo, it’ll mushroom.

Some people were very dissatisfied with this year’s Rag Week. How would you improve it?

I think a lot of money was wasted on RAG week. We expect too much from the students, and we expect them to have enough money to go out four nights a week. I mean if you’re living on a budget. You can not afford to pay €30 on top of the amount it would cost you to drink and everything else.

I’d be looking at events that are fun but cheap and cheerful because Rag Week isn’t about the events, it’s about raising money for charity. I’d make sure that I’d get clubs and societies involved. It should be a cross university week rather than just a Union week.

I would try and get more high profile bands. I saw Camembert Quartet playing in UCD in the day and we had them as a highlight band. I would get more bands that people are interested in, more local bands. I would get more buses for the rag trip and things like that.

Shea Mc Nelis and Sarah have been doing a really good job. I think the events are grand. Clubs and societies are brilliant but it’s like, the impression I get is there is a hell of a lot of students here who aren’t involved in those type of things, and don’t want to , which is fine. But I’d try to find a way of bringing everybody in.

First thing I’d do is I wouldn’t charge ten euro entry because people feel that is wrong. So I’d have one big night and another one or two late bars but free in. You want one or two good bands and a good DJ. And I’d like to see the bungee jump back and a few more creative little ideas.

Finally, most students don’t know the day to day goings on of the SU or what effect its decisions have on their lives as students in DCU. How will you tackle this perception?

I would get to know them on personal level. Simple things like having lunch in the Nursing building. Make yourself accessible, have clinics in different areas. I would like to run a clinic possibly in the hub itself, and in other buildings

I think if I was President I would make sure that I head downstairs a few times a day, just to be seen. I think it also needs to be stretched to students, be it through some kind of information campaign or the Life website

I’m a very approachable guy and I’m not like the other candidates in that they are in this little group that is the SU. I’m a guy that’s interested in the SU but I feel like a lot of other students are left out.

I want to open it up and get more students involved.

I’d have a similar impression of the student’s union to be honest with you. I’d actually approach them, go to them and see what they want.

I’d improve AnTarbh, make it a bit more readable and a bit more interesting. Maybe a bit more independent as well, less Union propaganda.

I’d like to break down the barriers basically and don’t hide away in an office somewhere.

The Month in Politics The CollegeView ViewMarch March2006 2006 TheCollege

By Jennifer Tweed SATURDAY, ON February 25, the streets of Dublin looked more like those of Baghdad, as riots broke out throughout the city centre.

The trouble occurred on a day when the Unionist ‘Love Ulster’ group had organised a parade to commemorate the victims of republican violence and republican groups had organised a counter-protest.

Up to 350 protesters were involved in the violence, which spread into O’Connell Street, the quays, Nassau Street and Temple Bar. They set cars on fire, Riot police were called to the Dublin riot threw bricks and petrol bombs, and looted local shot dead in a house in while the Minister for Justice, shops. 14 people were hospi- Coolock on March 5. Donna Michael McDowell referred talised, including six gardaí. Cleary was attending a to the murder as a watershed The riot caused €50,000 friend’s 40th birthday party upon which society should worth of damage, and it is when a man fired indiscrimi- reflect. Mr McDowell reiterexpected that shops forced to nately into the house. She ated plans to introduce close lost up to €10m as a was pronounced dead in mandatory criminal sentences Beaumont Hospital two hours for firearms offences by the result.

DUP deputy leader, Peter later. Shortly after, police summer.

The Government announced Robinson, has called for the arrested four men and a woman at a house in Kildare. that they are establishing a rally not to be restaged in Four of the suspects were compensation scheme for forDublin. The riots were conreleased.

The main suspect, mer patients of the disgraced demned by all political parties Dwayne Foster, died in police obstetrician and gynaecoloincluding Sinn Féin. The The 24custody on March 7.

About gist, Dr Michael Neary. opposition parties have called year-old had severe health 250 women are expected to for an independent investigaproblems, suffering from be compensated under the tion into Garda provisions for the march but the Taoiseach throat cancer and injuries sus- scheme.

The decision followed the has denied claims that they tained in a motorcycle accident. publication on 28 February of were ill-prepared.

The Taoiseach has called the a report into practices in the A 22-year-old mother was killing of Cleary a “new low”, maternity unit at Our Lady of

Lourdes Hospital in Co. Louth.

The inquiry was reporting on the abnormally high number of caesarean hysterectomies carried out in the hospital.

The report revealed that Neary carried out nearly 130 hysterectomies in 25 years – more than 50 between 1990 and 1998 alone. It was severely critical of the ‘unwieldy bureaucracy’ of the Health Board. Neary was suspended in 1998 after two midwives raised concern about his practices. He was found guilty of professional misconduct and struck off the medical register.

Seachtain na Gaeilge Abú Le Seosamh Ó’ Caomhánach FIACH STÓIR, oíche seannós, seó puipéad, ‘speed-dating’ as Gaeilge agus fiú ranganna ‘belly-dancing’. Ní hé seo ach sampla de na himeachtaí atá ar siúl ar fud na tíre faoi láthair le haghaidh ‘Seachtain na Gaeilge 2006’. Ó thús an fichiú aois, tá an fhéile seo tar éis ainm a chruthú dó fhéin mar an fhéile is mó dá leithead sa tír. Gach bliain, tugann sé deis do muintir na hÉireann teacht le chéile chun an teanga dúchasach a cheiliúradh trí cheol agus drama.

Cé gur “Seachtain na Gaeilge” an t-ainm atá ar an bhféile, mhairfidh an fhéile le haghaidh coicíse i mbliana chun déileáil le na himeachtaí go leir atá i gcríoch ag eagraíochtaí difriúla ar fud na tíre. Thosaigh an fhéile ar an

4ú lá de Mhárta agus leanfaidh sí go dtí an 17ú den mhí – Lá Fhéile Pádraig, dar ndóigh. Áfach, ní amháin do Gaeilgeoirí líofa atá an fhéile seo agus tá Conradh na Gaeilge (an lucht a neagraíonn an fhéile bliantúil seo) ag iarraidh cinnte a dhéanamh go dtéann sí i ngleic le gach aon duine.

Le blianta beaga anuas, tá a lán daoine tagtha ar imirce Tuigeann chuig an tír.

Conradh na Gaeilge nach bhfuil Gaeilge ag fórmhór daoibh seo (mar aon len lucht a rugadh agus tógadh anseo).

Mar sin, tá siad ag déanamh iarracht speisialta na daoine seo a mhealladh isteach sa cheiliúradh trí ranganna Gaeilge, cheoil agus damhsa.

Chomh maith leis na himeachtaí atá ar siúl i beagnach gach aon cúinne den tír, ón Daingean go Doire, tá

roinnt imeachtaí idirnáisiúnta ar siúl freisin. Is féidir ‘Crashcourse Gaeilge’ a thógáil i bhFrankfurt, freastal ar feis scannáin Éireannach i San Francisco nó páirt a ghlacadh i tráth na gceist i gCeanada. Deirtear uaireanta go bhfuil an Ghaeilge marbh sa tír seo. Bhuel, is léir go bhfuil sí fós beo is flúirseach in áiteanna eile ar domhan.

Anseo san Ollscoil, tá an C u m a n n Gaelach ag glacadh páirt sa cheiliúradh chomh maith. I measc na himeachtaí atá eagraithe acu ná Tráth na gCeist san ‘Old Bar’ bunaithe ar an chlár ‘Family

Guy’, díospóireacht, taispeántas scannáin agus turas cheolchoirme.

Mar sin, lean ar aghaidh.

Faigh amach an foclóir a bhí á úsáid agat don Ardteist agus déan iarracht cúpla focail a labhairt le do chlann nó do chairde an seachtain seo. Níl a fhios agat riamh, seans go mbuailfidh tú le Gaeilgeoir dathúil ar nós Sharon Ní Bheoláin nó… er, Hector!

DCU Presidents have informal discussions about job opportunity POLITICAL NEWS

Continued from P1 When asked if she would be interested in working for DCU next year or if she believed that the SU President “speaking informally” to the DCU President about a potential job presents a conflict of interests, Sarah Farrell said: “Well I love DCU, so why wouldn’t I consider it? It doesn’t really matter what I’ll be doing next year because right now I am SU President and my job is to represent the students. If I was working for someone like campus residences I think that would be a conflict of interests.

But with the nature of the potential job it wouldn’t be because I would still be saying what is right or wrong and trying to fix that. I think that’s why I was offered the possibility.

“I have not received anything concrete but I have discussed the possibility of working in DCU next year with the President of the University but it was just kind of an off the cuff thing,” she says.

Brian Smyth is the Chairperson of Societies and Publications Committee and Student Life, and is running for SU President in this year’s elections. When asked the hypothetical question of whether or not “speaking informally” between SU President and DCU would present a conflict of interests for him, he said he could see how it could appear that there would be a conflict of interest.

“If it was me as President, I would have to say ‘talk to me after my term as SU President, and I’d consider it then’.

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I would have to say it’s my job as SU President to avoid a conflict of interests.

“It’s good having the University and the SU working President together but you have to be completely aware of what their agenda is and you have to be clear what you want in your mind.

“At the end of the day, the SU President isn’t working for the University, they are working for the students.

It is the students who give you, as President, your mandate, it is the students who pay your wages and it is the students who voted for you,” he says.

When asked the same hypothetical question, rival contender for the SU Presidency, Humanities Convener Alan Flanagan, said he could see how there might be the perception of a conflict of interests, which in itself would cause a problem.

“Personally I feel it is inappropriate. I don’t think it would influence how I, as SU President, would operate because when in office I would be representing the students.

“Whether there would be a problem there or not, speaking about (a potential job) might cause a problem in itself and I think a SU President should hold off until the end of their term,” he said.

Ms Farrell and Prof von Prondzynski meet once every two weeks to discuss issues that have surfaced in the university, and Ms Farrell says the conversation was “just one of literally a hundred things we discussed”.

To Bebo or not to Bebo 6

The College View March 2006

FEATURES

Information subject to change

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Anne Marie Conlon takes a closer look at a popular new website that’s turning

ALMOST A quarter of DCU’s total student population are now members of Bebo.com, the latest craze in social networking. Around under 2,700 students have profiles on the site, which allows users to maintain contact with friends and acquaintances from school and college.

Bebo follows the format popularised by MySpace.com but focuses specifically on school and college networks, allowing users to ‘join’ their college group and instantly access the online profiles of fellow students.

The site was launched in July of last year, originally featuring schools and colleges from the US and UK. It later grew to include those from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Jim Scheinman, Vice President of Business Development and Sales at Bebo, says that the launch of schools in Ireland followed thousands of demands from Irish students. “We had always intended on launching schools in Ireland, but

we got a bit delayed in launching the schools first in the US and UK. Once we launched the schools, the Irish Beboers went crazy signing up to their schools and Universities by the thousands each day.”

Bebo is now the number one social networking site in Ireland and also features among the most popular sites in the country. Recent Nielsen figures show Bebo surpassing even MySpace with 1.5 million unique visitors in December of last year.

The site makes its money from youth-targeted advertising, given that 80 per cent of their users are aged between 13 and 24.

So what’s it all about?

Bebo users make up a profile of themselves with their likes, dislikes, photos, blogs and polls. Being part of a college network gives students the chance to join online clubs and societies as well as giving them access to photos, audio clips and forums. Being a member of a network also allows everyone else in that network to

view your personal profile.

Bebo fosters a sense of community among people from the same school or college but it also provides ample distraction for those with projects or essays looming. According to Bebo, 85% of students in their active schools and colleges visit the site every day, with Irish students clicking on more than 10 million pages a day.

Third year journalism student Martina Leahy says she uses the site to pass the time and keep in contact with friends. “It’s just distracting. And it’s put me back in contact with loads of people that I lost touch with when I went to college.”

Hundreds of other students are just as active, using the site to chat and share photos, to keep up with friends and to make new ones through online clubs and societies.

Altogether, 116 clubs populate the DCU social network with membership ranging from one to 87. These clubs mostly consist of online versions of existing societies

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Members: 83

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Members: 67

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Members: 64

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Set up by Allan Dixon and Aislinn Kelly Anchorman Appreciation Society One word: CANNONBALL! Set up by Jenni Prosser and Steph Francis Home and Away appreciation Society Find out where the real Hayley has gone and other interesting Home and Away trivia.

Set up by Gillian O' Hea and Katie Galvin Dutch Gold Appreciation Society Developed to allow fellow DCU students the chance to speak of their fondness for the drink.

Set up by Noel Breslin and Ronan McGivern CA1 A Club for all the CA1 people who have nothing better to do than sit in front of their computers day and night (and keep the Old Bar in business obviously) Set up by Unknown

Nuclear Fusion as an Energy Solution

By Sean McCabe “SUDDENLY I felt heat on the side of my head toward the tower, I opened my eyes and saw a brilliant yellow-white light all around.

The heat and light were as though the sun had just come out with unusual brilliance.

“A tremendous cloud of smoke was pouring upwards, some parts

Invent-DCU is the enterprise and innovation centre of DCU. The mission of Invent is to ‘transform knowledge into commercial success.’ For more information contact Ron Immink @ 01-7005721

but some break the mould, such as the Home and Away appreciation Society, or the Anti-Girls with Red Hair Soc. Internet safety experts are critical of the openness with which students on sites like Bebo give out details of their personal lives. Although there is a feature that enables you to allow only direct friends to see your profile, this right is waived when you join a school or college group.

This means that users need to be aware of how much personal information they’re giving out and who they’re giving it out to.

Anyone who wishes to join the DCU community on Bebo simply needs to confirm they have a student email account and then they’re in. With instant access to the profiles of almost 2,500 students, you may trust your friends not to use your personal information maliciously, but do you trust the whole college?

Members: 93

THE TOP FIVE BEBO CLUBS IN DCU

students in DCU and around the country into fully fledged stalkers

Larkfield Society Anyone from Larkfield can join Events/parties for people in Larkfield.

having brilliant red and yellow colours, like clouds at sunset.”

On July 16, 1945, Kenneth Greisen witnessed the apocalyptic beauty of the first nuclear explosion. He was an engineer on the Manhattan Project, a collection of top scientists and engineers employed by America in an effort to produce atomic weapons before the Germans.

They succeeded, ushering in the nuclear age.

A month later, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by the hydrogen bomb, many of the project scientists disassociated themselves from the weapon, insisting it was a perversion of their research and claiming the power should be used for domestic benefits, not war.

A series of partial meltdowns at nuclear power sta-

Members: 62

tions across the US, Canada and the UK in the 50’s and 60’s coupled with spectre of nuclear war, which kept the world paralysed with fear during the Cold War, did little to improve the dirty reputation of the power source.

Ironically it was the Cold War, or rather the need for reunification between East and West in the aftermath of the standoff, which has led to possibly the most encouraging nuclear project in history.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER – which means “the way” in Latin) has united China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the USA, representing more than half the world’s population, in an endeavour to build a prototype nuclear fusion power plant. It has been decided that the €5billion facility will be built at Cadarache in France, with construction scheduled to start later this year.

Dr Bert Ellingboe of the School of Physical Sciences in DCU is actively involved in the ITER project. He is working on “neutral beams”, a means of replenishing and heating the reactants within the tokamak. These are beams of

accelerated particles, which must be neutralised in order to pass through the magnetic field and into the tokamak. To achieve this, the beam is passed through a “cold gas cell”, a cold plasma (operating at around 50,000 degrees), which carries out a charge transfer, neutralising the beam.

Dr. Ellingboe thinks that nuclear fusion could be a viable solution to our ever-increasing energy demands. “With regards to cost per kilowatt hour, studies conclude the process is competitive with current energy sources” he says, “and the hazardous waste produced has a half-life of under 100 years, much shorter than that produced during fission reactions.

This is compliant with the user pays principal, meaning future generations will not be burdened with our waste.”

Should the ITER project be a success, nuclear fusion could provide a potentially safe, environmentally friendly and almost limitless energy source by 2035. Dr Ellingboe concludes, “The scientific theory is solid, ITER is now an engineering challenge”

The magic ofMorocco The College View March 2006

TRAVEL

Vivienne Nunis explores the exotic and the chaotic Moroccan Coast AS THE hotel owner showed us the basic bedrooms in the cheap pension, the walls tiled with typical mosaic design and a communal sitting room laden with richly embroidered rugs, I spied the door marked W.C. and prepared myself as much as possible before opening it. I reminded myself that I was a backpacker in a developing country and pulled the handle.

It comes as a shock to realise that Africa is only a 45 minute ferry ride from continental Europe. You can actually see the green coastline of Morocco from the hills of southern Spain, and from Tangier, the Moroccan port city, you can still make out the pablos blancos of the Andalucian coast. Yet while they are closer than Britain and France, Europe and North Africa are truly worlds apart.

Morocco is an Islamic state on the north-western tip of Africa. While tourism is rated the third largest industry behind phosphate and cannabis, the country still boasts an incredibly rich cultural experience.

Tourists can experience a taste of the everyday life of the Muslim population that remains a hybrid between its French colonial past and its

increasingly moderate Islamic future.

If you travel to Morocco via the ferry from the Spanish ports of Algericas or Tarifa, the first town to meet you is the transient port city of Tangier.

Guidebooks will warn you of tourist-preying hustlers and it’s true that women will receive unwanted attention from the locals (as is true for much of Morocco). But the city seems to have been

stray cats laze in front of walls scrawled with Arabic graffiti.

The people are happy to see tourists, welcoming them proudly into their shops. And while language barriers can be difficult, it will not be long until a friendly restaurateur or shopkeeper offers you a pot of mint tea or a fresh orange without charge.

On the outskirts of Tangier, the conspicuously

“The heady mix of animal noises, spicy aromas and Arabic chatter is intoxicating” ‘cleaned-up’ recently and as long as you remain on your guard, Tangier is a friendly city that is well worth a short stopover before you journey deeper into Morocco.

On the Main Street, women line the footpath behind a spread of vegetables laid out on the ground or sit at stalls of homemade bread.

Some men perch proudly in their fruit shops or colourful spice stalls while others stand awkwardly by a handful of cigarette packets stacked on an upturned crate. The old Kasbah – an abandoned Sultan’s palace – looks out on to the westMediterranean sea while

The Green Minaret Fes Photo by Vivienne Nunis

modern train station looks odd among the surrounding fields and shanties. From here, trains run daily to Meknes, Casablanca and Fes, our destination.

The train ride will take about five hours but the journey through the fertile Moroccan countryside is a whirlwind tour that provides a glimpse of rural life that seems to have gone on in the same way for centuries.

Fields are dotted with shepherds guarding their small flocks, women accompany laden donkeys to nearby villages and kids play football between makeshift goals.

On arriving in Fes, you will need to take a taxi to the Old City – the ancient maze of twisting streets and alleyways that really is the highlight of any Moroccan adventure. The best place to stay is on the edge of the old city, just by the Bab Bou Jeloud, the huge Blue Gate.

Just inside this, the buzzing bazaar that makes up the Medina is a complicated web of laneways and shops. The constant flow of foot traffic is interrupted not by cars, but by the delivery van donkeys, carrying crates of cocacola or piled high with handmade carpets.

Tiny shops sell jewellery, enamelware, terracotta

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pots, rugs, Moroccan slippers and jilaba (Muslim dresses), all crammed in between a busy produce market.

Roosters strut proudly between stalls that sell all sorts of fruit, vegetables, nuts, spices and grains, while a camel’s head is hung like a proud signpost outside a butcher’s shop and goat heads line the counter of another. Hopeful cats mill around, dodging the stream of locals bartering for their groceries and tourists trying not to get too bloated a price for souvenirs. The heady mix of animal noises, spicy aromas and Arabic chatter is intoxicating and watching it from a nearby tea house is perhaps the best way to absorb the mesmerising sights and sounds of the Medina.

Once you’ve seen enough The Blue Gate Fes Photo by Vivienne Nunis stalls, it’s a good idea to find a local guide to take you to into the Sahara truly is Moroccan people really will A native blow you away. You could see the rest of the Old City. priceless.

Moroccan Berber will load be invited into someone’s The unofficial ones are your camel, lead you home for mint tea and cakes cheaper (but keep running through the golden dunes or taken for a traditional off to hide from the watchand, if you choose, across hammam bath – the most ful authorities) and will confronting but satisfying the rugged terrain of the show you the centuries-old massage and exfoliation The Black Desert nearby.

Medersas - ornately tiled you’ll ever receive. Care dunes shine red in the sunset schools for Islamic scholars. must be taken while travelbefore the sky turns mauve They will take you to the ling in Morocco and it is “The overwhelming hospitality of particularly advisable for the Moroccan people really will blow women to travel in groups or with a male but t he trip you away” is definitely one worth doing as Morocco provides in the most beautiful twiroof tops of houses the most accessible glimpse light you’ll ever see.

The squashed between the narinto Islamic society in the nights are freezing but row streets to see the green region. It is a treasure trove amazing as a thick blanket turret of the largest mosque of customs and culture that of stars envelops you, in the city, from which has been well preserved stretching as far as you can prayer call can be heard alongside a busy tourism see in every direction. floating over the crowds industry.

From Merzouga, an five times a day. Finally, overnight bus trip through they will direct you to the traditional tanneries where the icy Atlas mountains will the stench of cowhide arises take you to Marrakech, the from skins soaked in pools tourist hub of snake charmof bright red, yellow and ers and dancing monkeys that feeds on the influx of blue dye.

1 Euro = 10 dirham From Fes you can hire a French tourists and will take whatever price it can from private taxi to take you Ferry trip from Algeciras through the barren plains foreign wallets. Marrakech to Morocco - 250 dirham is just like the MasterCard and snowy, cedar forests of one way, second-class. the Middle Atlas mountains advert it features in, and for Average accommodation cheap shopping and a to Merzouga, the one-street in basic hotel - 50 dirham village on the edge of the smooth visit to Morocco per person, (often 10 no better city. there’s Sahara Desert – Morocco’s dirham extra per hot wondrous natural answer to However, if you really want shower). to experience the customs the riches of the man-made and culture of Moroccan Train ride from Tangier to Medinas.

Fes - 95 dirham, second At the clay hotels on the society, Fes is a much better class. option. outskirts of the desert, Aside from the shopping Accommodation package camel tours into the Sahara delights of the Medinas and with nights in Sahara - 3 are easily organised. These the stunning panoramas of days, 500 dirham. will probably cost a few the Sahara desert, the overhundred dirham but the whelming hospitality of the experience of taking a camel

Information

The College View March2006

8 CAREERS

Careers road map - Business Studies

The cool CEO

By Martina Leahy COOL AND CEO are words you wouldn’t normally hear used in the same sentence but DCU Business Studies graduate Shane Brodbin uses them together pretty often.

Growing up on “a wee farm in the middle of nowhere” outside of Donegal town Shane had aspirations of becoming a mechanic and later he dreamed of becoming a soldier. “When I was young I always thought business was boring. There were never any cartoons or toys showing how cool being a CEO is, now was there?”

So what happened to make him into the “business nerd” he labels himself as today?

A realist, Shane decided that driving tanks around foreign

terrains would be lots of fun but it wouldn’t make him rich so when the dreaded CAO deadline approached he decided that DCU was where he wanted to go.

“None of my friends could believe that I was going to study business. I think they all thought I would do something cool like Communications or Arts. I

who was mainly focused on enjoying himself … I think going to DCU helped to bring out something that was always inherently there.

Back in school I would never have been the one to put myself forward, but when I went to DCU I became a class rep, got involved in societies, got elected to the Student’s

“There were never any cartoons or toys showing how cool being a CEO is.” remember posting my acceptance to DCU and a friend was literally pleading with me not to study business.”

But Shane’s time in DCU proved to be the most formative of his life. “Before college, I was a standard lad

Union as the Rights Officer.

“It was DCU, and the wonderful people I met there, that gave me the opportunity … the will or self-belief to put myself forward for those things and this has helped me tremendously with my career and

life in general.”

He did his Intra placement in a small company, called Nightline.

He found this environment very useful because he got to be involved in all aspects of the business rather than just being stuck in a cubicle.

Shane had a job in Eircom before he graduated so he had no worries about finding work. He worked there for two and a half years before going back to college to study for his masters in Strategic Management & Planning from the Smurfit graduate school of business.

“I think people should get a bit of work experience before doing a Masters.

Your work experience allows you to get more out

of your study. Only thing is that you have to be very determined as it is very hard to give up a wage to go back to being a poor student again.”

When he finished his masters he joined Vodafone as the Product Manager of BlackBerry. He likes working in the telecommunica-

She’s in the Mood for media

By Claire Ryan FOR NOLLAIG Ward, who graduated from DCU in 2003, the business degree has put her on the path to her ideal career. She was clear from the outset about where her interests lay, and this degree gave her the option to focus on the subjects that she wanted to do.

“I wanted to graduate with some-

thing in management, that was the area that I was looking at and at the time there were five different modules for the business degree that you could specialise in and one of those was management, that’s why I chose the degree.”

Nollaig felt that the level of choice offered in the degree also made it an ideal option for someone who wasn’t sure what area of business they wanted work in when they left After college. taking part in the specialised modules offered in the course, she found that marketing was actually her preferred area.

“When you’re 18 you don’t know exactly what you want to specialise in so by having that option available to you and having the year work experience you’re able to actually find your own little niche. I decided then that marketing was the way that I wanted to move forward.

“You don’t have to chose your abroad for an Irish company. But specialisation until the final year so while waiting to be accepted for the therefore it was good for me that course, she received a full time job when I came to final year I could offer from Mood Media.

“I had got on to that placement say because of the work experience and because of the course work I when I had finished my degree, I could see that marketing was the was down to the last 200 and basically waiting for my interview to thing that I wanted to get into.”

Nollaig’s Intra placement with see if I could source a job with them Mood Media, one of the largest sup- but at the same time then Mood pliers of background music to hotels Media actually came back to me and and shops in Ireland, was one of the they had a position available for a k e y “I thought it was a fantastic course, marketfacing t o r s I would definitely recommend it.” that helped her to decide what area she would like to work in, as well as giving her some essential experience in her chosen field.

“It was fantastic because when I was brought into the company I was given a lot of responsibility, they set aside projects for me that would develop your skills in leadership and communication and overall business awareness.

“The company was small in number but you were able to be a part of the key decisions that were made and your opinion was taken into account.”

After graduating from DCU, Nollaig applied for a place on the European Orientation Programme that is run by IBEC. This programme gives graduates the opportunity to work both in Ireland and

manager for their hospitality range so I decided that I would go with them.”

After a break of a few months travelling to Asia, Nollaig is now back working with Mood Media again, this time taking the job of heading up two new companies. While working with the firm, Nollaig has maintained her links with DCU, taking part in the student Mentorship programme for 2004/2005, where she gave advice and guidance to a student over the course of a year, and also taking part in work shadowing days with them.

She has no hesitations in praising the Business degree, and sums it up simply for anyone thinking about choosing it as their course. “I thought it was a fantastic course, I would definitely recommend it.”

tions industry because it is constantly changing.

“It keeps you on your toes, it keeps life interesting, and you get a chance to constantly develop. I would hate to be doing the same thing day-in day-out, and by being in an industry like this I get to be involved in different things.”

But what does he actually do? “I’m the CEO of my product so I have to manage everything about it from its development, its sales, marketing, to meeting targets.

It’s challenging, but its damn good fun.”

His advice to business students is to get involved in college life and not to get bogged down in text books.

“You can learn all the theory you want, but by being involved in things you learn how the real world works…

Read the papers… [they] help you see what the real world is.”

Shane, who graduated in 2000, is a member of the DCU Alumni Governing Body which has been campaigning to get DCU a vote in the Seanad elections.

University graduates are recognised as a legitimate constituency within the Seanad and have a total of six seats. But DCU graduates don’t have a vote at the moment.

Shane, who is a staunch opponent of the policy says: “To me that reeks of discrimination and hypocrisy by an institution that should be the staunchest opponent of such behaviours. DCU graduates are recognised as among the best, but if everybody treated us like the Seanad then we would be forced to sit at the back of the bus.”

The College View March 2006

Following a string of Irish gigs, Josh Ritter talks to Patrick Gleeson about writing protest songs and experimenting on his new album.

IT HAD been a typical day for Josh Ritter. The young Idaho native had moved to Boston some months previously and was working a day job that he hated in order to attend as many open-mike nights as possible. He was doing up to three or four of these gigs a week and was convinced it would help him make it as a singer-songwriter.

But on this particular, night fate was to play a hand.

Irish band The Frames were in town to play a gig at T.T. the Bear’s and

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decided to go for a drink where Ritter was performing. After hearing only one song, the band invited Ritter to Ireland to open all the shows for the release of their album For the Birds.

That was over five years ago - since then Ritter’s star has been firmly in the ascendant.

In 2001 he released his first proper debut, Golden Age of Radio, and in 2003 he followed this with the even more successful Hello Starling. Both albums found Ritter drawing upon the influences of Dylan, Springsteen and Cash in an attempt to find his own voice and, although the ghosts of those legends were present in his early recordings, he nonetheless succeeded in creating instant folk classics such as Me & Jiggs and Kathleen.

However it is on The Animal Years, Ritter’s latest

record, that he has finally succeeded in composing an album of songs that truly reflect his own voice, and he knows it.

When I caught up with him on the day of the album’s release I was greeted by someone who was very excited to have a new record out and, although he is very confident of the quality of the songs, he did admit to feeling a little nervous.

“It’s like sending a kid off to school I imagine, you know, you hope they make friends and you wave them goodbye, and you hope that they don’t drink too much, but you hope they drink a little bit and learn about all the lessons in life.”

It soon becomes apparent upon listening to The Animal Years that Ritter is trying to develop his song-

writing as much as possible.

Whereas both Golden Age ... and Hello Starling were rather confined in terms of experimentation, the new release sees Ritter applying subtle new layers to the songs.

“It’s like a trade you know.

It’s like you do the things you do and you do them to the best of your ability because you’re a craftsman.

With this record I feel like I’ve learnt to do a lot of things that aren’t necessarily natural to me being a writer or being a musician and I’ve learned that slowly and, at the same time, I’ve learned what I expect from myself artistically and the standards that I hold myself to.”

When Radiohead’s OK Computer was released in 1997 guitarist Jonny Greenwood said that one of the main aims of lead singer

Thom Yorke was to try and create an individual voice for each song. Ritter seems to have had something similar in mind for The Animal Years.

Although album opener Girl In the War is instantly recognisable, songs like Wolves and Monster Ballads see Ritter exploring the depths of his singing voice like never before. To achieve this he enlisted the help of Brian Deck, a producer he had long admired for his work with Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine.

He believed that Deck could help him push his song-writing to the next level.

“My two main goals were not to make a record that was easier and I also wanted to make a record that got away from the type of Americana that is played by a lot of people which is a lot of hubcaps and cigars, lots of junkyard dogs. I just wanted to make a record that brought a new kind of vocabulary to that kind of music.”

American folk music is something that Ritter holds very close to his heart.

When he first moved from Idaho to Athens, Ohio to attend college he had intended to follow in his parents footsteps and pursue a career in neuroscience. After a short time, however, he switched to an American studies curriculum that he more or less devised for himself.

“A lot of protest songs just yell about something but they don’t really deal with the strangeness of the thing that happened”

The main emphasis of this new course was on the history of folk music and allowed him the opportunity to find out about the lives of singers he had always respected such as John Prine, Tracy Chapman, and Bruce Springsteen.

Although he has a great admiration for the roots of

folk music he doesn’t believe that people should use it as an excuse for some kind of rose tinted nostalgia trip.

“Americana is similar to gangsta rap now. It’s nostalgic for something and I just feel that nostalgia takes you away from things that are happening now.

That’s what I wanted to deal with, a lot of topics that are in our lives right now and I just wanted a producer that would bring a lot of new sounds and weirdness to a style I really love and Brian was the guy that made the songs feel as weird as I thought they were to begin with.”

Like every young singersongwriter who has picked up a guitar since the sixties Ritter has had to endure countless comparisons to Bob Dylan.

But although Dylan made his name writing protest folk songs, Ritter has tended to steer clear of politically inspired lyrics. One of the main reasons for this was his fear of putting a straitjacket on his songs.

“I just think that a lot of times protest songs are stripped of their poetics. In the same way that a concept record forces a song into a box, a protest song forces a song into an issue. A lot of protest songs just yell about something but they don’t really deal with the strangeness of the thing that happened.”

While Girl In the War and In the Dark see Ritter venture into an overt political theme for the first time, it is on Thin Blue Flame that he really rages against, and tries to understand, the strangeness that envelops his home country at the moment.

“I wanted that to really sound like a person that had just become unhinged. A lot of times the only way to do that is get in there when you’re angry and record. I wanted something raw and disturbing.”

The song, which is already a live favourite with fans, reflects both Ritter’s new direction and his determination to push the limits of traditional folk music as far as possible.

The long hard fight for DCU Bands The College View March 2006

10 INTERVIEW

Soft Sound

By Claire Byrne SOFT CUDDLY Toys, despite the name, are fighting contenders on the Dublin music scene. With a loyal fan base, a number one E.P. in Tower Records and

experience supporting bands such as the Revs, Soft Cuddly Toys are set for the big time.

The six-member band includes DCU student Jamie Fox. They formed in 2003

By Shane Cahill FRANK ZAPPA once said “Modern music is people who can't think signing artists who can't write songs to make records for people who can't hear.” Let’s face facts, almost anyone living in Dublin with a genuine interest in music knows a band or artist whose music has changed their life, but who couldn’t buy a record deal with a truckload of cash. So what does it take for a band to “make it”? A chat with Alec Hughes, The Look's frontman and DCU Journalism student, soon reveals what the requirements are for rock and roll superstardom.

Who is your band similar to musically?

"People say that they can hear our influences in our music but that we have our own distinct sound.

We’ve been told it’s a bit like a mixture between The Libertines, The Strokes, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and The Kinks. We like

By David O’Quigley SEX, DRUGS and rock ‘n roll… an enticing notion and one I’m sure many of

to play a tribute gig. After playing the Whelan’s show and having an amazing onstage experience, they decided to continue playing together.

The group gig regularly

to keep our music raw sounding so we steer clear of too many effects which I think is what draws the Libertines comparison."

What was your biggest gig?

"We’ve played in some great places like The Village, and Whelan’s is a great place to play but our best one was probably in January in Doran’s. It just went well and we played about four new songs and they all went down really well. The reaction of the punters who were in that night was incredible. We love being able to show our fans a good time and we’re trying to put on a free gig for them because lord knows they’ve been very good to us."

What are your aims for the band?

"To be recording and to be on tour would make us very happy… At the moment we’re concentrating on getting our demo done well.

We’re in studio the 11th and 12th of March so we’re planning on

you have humoured at some stage or other. One such person is DCU’s Phelim O’Halloran.

and have made a name for themselves in Dublin. They say that this is done by building up contacts in venues and with other bands.

Guitarist Paul says, “Once venues know that you’ll bring a few people along then you’re going to find it easier to get gigs”. They are also trying to extend their fan base around the country.

While attracting media and label attention, the band is still level-headed in their actions. They are aware of the difficultly in achieving success. Drummer Adrian says, “Any band will tell you, the odds are so so stacked against us”. While investing time and money in the band, they are realistic to know that they need

getting some good work done. Then we’re going to London in the summer to play some gigs and write and do a spot of recording."

Do you have a realistic chance of success? Why is it so hard for bands to make it?

"We hope so.

People really react well to our music and keep coming back for more… I think there are so many bands out there that it just becomes harder to find good bands. In our case I’m hoping the saturation of death metal music and punk from younger bands will work in our favour. Our strength is that we write catchy songs and put

Phelim, who is a final year business student, is eager to make it in the music industry with a sound that he

back-up plans. Cautious not to make the same mistakes as many other bands, they are waiting for the perfect deal to come along before signing any contracts.

They are encouraged though by the current climate of the Irish music scene. Jamie who plays keyboard for the band says, “ It’s one of the only industries in the world that you can actually make a living for yourself in if you are an independent band, everywhere else you need the push from a label”.

It is difficult, they say, to manage a semi-professional music career with jobs and study. At the moment, they are building up their backing so they may eventually

concentrate solely on the band. Vocalist Mary-Kate is repeating her Leaving Cert this year, “I do have two number one priorities, which is hard to keep on top of, but it’s still worth it when you’re gigging. It’s more exciting than anything you can do”.

These musicians are talented with their mix of strong, powerful drum and bass, melodic keys, edgy guitar and striking vocals.

Their combined sound produces songs that can be either haunting or rocky.

This contrast will certainly aid their success and there is potential to appeal to the masses.

The look of love

on exciting live shows. It really can be as simple as being in the right place at the right time. The best band in the world could go unnoticed, purely because they were unlucky."

For more information on The

describes as “refreshing” and constantly changing.

“If you’re listening to us, you don’t want to hear the same song eleven or twelve times in a set, we do that consciously.”

Dummy Run have been gigging with their current line up for six months. But Phelim and guitarist Neil Flood had been playing together in bands for six years prior to that. with the addition of bassist Mark O’Connor at the beginning of the summer and drummer Sean O'Donnell soon after the band was complete.

The band’s influences vary over a wide range of music form Rory Gallagher and Bell X1 to the likes of The Pixies, Bob Dylan and Thin Lizzy.

Next week the band is

Looks join the mailing list at thelooksmusic@hotmail.com or catch them as they perform on The Sex and the Offenders tour with Hoop Music which takes place around Easter time in a number of venues around Dublin.

going to be recording its second demo/single in the hopes of getting all the right people talking about them (to be available at www.myspace.com/dummyrun). “Record labels don’t come to you, you have to make yourself known.”

Phelim admits that the mistake they made with previous recordings was just selling them to their friends: “No one really paid any attention to it bar our mates, so that’s what we’re doing this time, getting our name out there.

Of course nothing in this life is free and even nowadays recording isn’t cheap, which means funding a project like this usually comes out of the bands’ own pocket, with whatever little money they make from gigs

going back into the kitty.

Being in an up and coming band isn’t a full time job, it just requires one, financing rehearsal rooms, transport to and from gigs and of course recording any demos or EPs will always be costly.

Apart from money though, making it as a band seems to all come down to one thing: not what you know or who you know but rather, who knows you, and how many of them.“When you do a good gig, it comes back to you, people start offering you gigs.”

One of those gigs will be a charity show for Concern in the Temple Bar Music Centre along with 8 Ball and others on the March 23.

It’s just another manic Thursday The The College College ViewMarch View March2006 2006

By Alan Flanagan IT’S THURSDAY afternoon. You’re in a lecture.

It’s boring. Of course it’s boring. It doesn’t have dragons or rollercoasters or imploding prostitutes, it’s just a lecture. You suspect the person standing in front of you waxing tedious about graphs and formulas has been dead for several years; they’re lecturing only through the power of a hidden speaker and an impressive ropes and pulley system.

You look at the clock. It’s moving backwards possibly.

Eventually, it all ends. And you have to think about something more difficult than inverted co-axial drives or cyclical market trends – finding a place to go on a Thursday night that all your friends will agree on.

It’s difficult. In fact, depending on the size and breadth of your group of friends, it’s nigh on impossible. You just want to get drunk and have a good time, but apparently certain people can only do that in situa-

tions with conditions as controlled as the lab experiment you spent most of a mildly hungover Thursday morning getting hilariously wrong.

You’ll have to think very early on about the Whelan’s gang. And I don’t mean people who go to Whelan’s drunk, dance for a while and generally look like they could be at any popular bar/club. I mean the hardcore Whelan’s crowd.

Those who bitch and moan about wanting to go there and then walk in, sit down, look suitably depressed and spend the rest of the night as immovable as the alabaster alcoholic that props up the bar.

While it’s admirable that these people are pushing the independent music industry and that they “knew this band before they were born”, quickly following with, “they’re far too commercial now man” it can put a bit of dampener on the night.

Whelan’s is fine and pretty enjoyable but sometimes the ‘air of pretentious git’ in

the air can be a little overpowering.

Then there’s the Barcode crowd. They love to dance, and do shots, and dance some more, and eat the face off some randomer, and dance some more, and continue ad nauseum. Literally.

This can be a lot of fun.

Oodles of fun, in fact.

They’re a never ending stream of fun.

Unfortunately, they’re also a never-ending stream of vomit. These are students who think that an average night involves drinking copious amounts of alcohol, getting sick, ingesting a packet of Wrigley’s and then heading back to the bar.

So this is the double-edged sword of Barcode: you’re absolutely guaranteed to get your groove back, but you’ll probably end up holding someone’s hair back too.

A nifty third option that’s not tried as often as it should be is the house party. Some people think it’s a bit risky to take on but with the right crowd you shouldn’t have any fires, flashers or fist-

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fights.

If you get a good crowd together, it can be a brilliant night, and though there may be vomit in your kitchen and sex in your bed, everyone walks away with some good memories and, more importantly, a full wallet.

Cheap and cheerful is the word for house parties, however, so unless it has something going for it – music, questionable substances, etc. – you might find yourself all partied up with no- DCU girls get ready for another Thursday night out one to go. So get Photo by Aisling O’ Rourke the word out early or you could be left in an remember that it’s a democ- train the next morning empty house with some racy and don’t dig your because a four-hour bus blaring music, a plate of heels in. But variety is the journey to Ballynabogger Tesco Value crisps and a spice of life so try to mix it with a hangover spells vomit for anyone sitting party hat. And there’s only up if at all possible.

Just remember the golden next to you. one word for that: depressrule of every Thursday ing.

Whatever you choose for night: get drunk, get out, get your Thursday night, laid, get home and get on the

The morning after the night before On scoring when you have consumed excessive quantities of alcohol.

THE NIGHT always starts well, doesn’t it? You can walk in your skyscraper heels, everything fits in the impossibly small handbag you picked out and you can tell one end of your lippie from the other. Then you start on the shots.

A few Tequilas later, the nerdy guy in your course starts to look cute. You flash your breasts in order to get served before the people who got there first and feel no shame.

Nor do you feel any pain as you take off your shoes and run through the old bar despite the under floor heating only being in the poolroom.

Your feet are dirty, your mascara is halfway to your knees and now seems good a time as any to start chatting up random guys.

You flash your décolleté again, this time to the point of being vulgar and start licking your lips provocatively…or so you think. In reality, you look in need of some Vaseline and a slap.

There’s always someone who’s a little worse for wear than you. Only now you’re sure you know him because you’ve seen him so often at the bar. Actually, he looks like the brother of the guy you work with, only better looking.

You go in for the kill, flicking your hair in everyone’s eyes. Batting your now mascara-free eyes, you

On waking up in a bed which is not your own.

I’LL HAVE you know that I don’t do this often. Not often enough. It’s strange waking up in someone else’s bed. Detaching yourself from the sweaty arms of your conquest, you try to ask him his name and look at his face. promptly forget it, along It reveals nothing except with your inhibitions. the fact that you had too You get to his place “for many shots last night and a coffee” and then decide didn’t just lower your stanyou actually want one. dards, you put them on the After much ado about dance floor with your handinstant powder, you end up bag and boogied all over on the flea-ridden couch in them.

Sliding your leg out full view of his stoned from in between his sticky housemates, snogging the thighs, you try to ascertain face off him. You’re not sure how, but you end up in how exactly you’re going to his room and two and a half get out of here. You have no idea where your clothes minutes later you wonder are and despite what your why you bothered at all.

You’re not entirely sure he One-Night-Stand has probadid bother. As you slip into bly already seen, you frantia drunken stupor, you start cally scan the room for a fig to think you dreamt it all… leaf.

While spotting a scrap of

cloth just out of reach, O-N-S stirs and grabs at you like a man possessed. He’s under the impression that either your first name is baby or you’re in a porn movie with an exceptionally bad script.

Not only that but he doesn’t need the fluffer.

On hearing his voice you realise it’s the ugly brother of the guy you work with.

Well, you know who the guy is and you gave in once so you may as well let him have another go. Now you’re more alert you can see if he deserves a season ticket. Not bad, quite like his brother, in fact. Hmmm.

Pity neither of them have any distinguishing marks because you’re beginning to think it actually might be the guy you work with...hmmmmm. If only he’d stop burying his face

in your chest, you’d know.

As he finishes what he thought passed for good sex, you slide out from under him and sit up to investigate. Your workmate’s shoes. His favourite shirt. Oh. My. God. How did hell did that Neanderthal pull you?

You shimmy along the bed covering up your modesty as best you can, gathering clothes along the way.

Fully clothed you can finally stand over him and look him in the eye. “Pathetic” you snarl. He looks heartbroken so you do the only thing you can do. Poke him with your shoe and tell him he’s giving you a lift.

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Album: Half these songs are about you Artist: Nizlopi Kinda Like: Luke and his dad on the longest JCB ride ever YOU CAN tell a lot about an album by the first track. The best albums start as they mean to go on. Maybe that’s why the first song on Nizlopi’s debut album is so annoying.

The intro to ‘Fine Story’ is ten seconds of music that make you want to hit the skip button straight away. Not to worry, only four more songs to the JCB song.

Because let’s face it, that’s what this album is going to come down to. If you liked JCB, you might find some divine wisdom in Luke Concannon’s aching vocals. If you couldn’t care less about Luke and his dad, steer well clear. This album features song that take everything you might have found irritating about the band’s hit, and turns it up to eleven.

five things this week...

Tuesday If ¤3 drinks in the New Bar have gotten boring, then why not go back to your childhood and pay a visit to the Zoo? Or ….you could go to the New Bar!

Wednesday Open Mic Night in Slattery’s …always funny!! (I remember this one time I, …no wait, too embarrassing! )

Thursday Time to prepare for Paddy’s Day. Have a get-together tonight. Pizza to line the stomach, and Scrubs; Season 3 to get the spirits up! If anyone has a guitar, even better (unless they’re crap of course …hint, hint to some members of Larkfield!!)

Friday Eh …hello? Paddy’s day!!!

The College View March 2006

Luke Concannon has almost perfected the earnest, hushed tones that have keep too many singer-songwriters off the Dole. But his vocals are an acquired taste, and have a tendency to grate.

To give them their due, Nizlopi have an ear for a well crafted, quirky tune.

But it’s quirky in thesame way as Phoebe in Friends. At first it seems unique, making you think it stands out from the rest. But underneath, like Phoebe, there’s a serious lack of substance.

It’s hard to decide when you would listen to this album. Whether you’re down, or up, or somewhere in the middle, it’s just too much work to find something here to make you feel anything. Unless maybe you’re Luke, you’re five and your dad’s Bruce Lee. Neil Brennan

Album:Corinne Bailey Rae

Album: Live At Stubb’s

Artist: Corinne Bailey Rae

Artist: Matisyahu

Kinda like: A less grating

Kinda Like: A reggae ferret

Macy Gray crossed with a less EVER SINCE topping the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2006’ poll, Leeds-based jazz singer, Corinne Bailey Rae, has found herself lumped with the rather burdensome title of ‘next big thing’.

While there’s little doubt that Bailey Rae possesses enormous talent, it’s difficult not to be disappointed with her début

sleep-inducing Norah Jones

offering. There’s just nothing original or fresh enough about this record to justify the frenzied hype that has surrounded it.

Bailey Rae had been dubbed a ‘modern-day Billie Holiday’.

What a pity her music is about as groundbreaking as Billie Piper’s.

Joey Kavanagh

WHILE I enjoy the occasional flourish, I have come to regard reggae music, on the whole, as not so dissimilar from ferrets.

While I am aware that each differs from the rest, I am capable only of distinguishing those characteristics most obvious.

Furthermore, as much as one may be charming or winning,

Film: Tsotsi

between Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans, just three of South Africa’s eleven national languages, and a setting filmed on location in the vast Johannesburg slums, Tsotsi is as accurate a portrayal as you will find of the poverty that still exists in the new South Africa.

Kevin Sheeky Album: From the Cliffs

J. Zachary Kessler

Single: Blackened Blue Eyes

Kinda Like: a South African City of God

EVERY SO often a film comes around that makes the world notice a nation’s contemporary film-makers.

Britain had Trainspotting, Brazil had City of God, and some would say that Ireland had Intermission. With the release of Tsotsi, South Africa can now be added to that list.

With dialogue mixing

they remain innately distasteful.

Heavily packaged as a ‘Jewish reggae MC’, Matisyahu strives hard to showcase his influences, from Sublime to the sublime, but sets himself apart through the braggadocio of his indulgent repetition.

Artist: The Charlatans Kinda Like: The Charlatans, unfortunately The SEEN HAVING Charlatans at Slane Castle four years ago, I was not optimistic about this single. But I was willing to give them a second chance. After four years I would like to think I no longer have the musical taste of a 15 year old and perhaps the Charlatans could have improved?

Alas no, this single

Saturday For anyone strong enough to get out of the bed, Vicar St is holding the Comedy circus. Acts include David McSavage and Tara Flynn (they’re funny ..I promise!)

THIS IS a very strange album but strange in the “Podge and Rodge getting their own chat show” kind of way rather than the “continuing nature of Pat Kenny’s career” kind of way.

The album has nothing to do with chat shows, I just found that a useful analogy.

Guillemots are a bit more out there than the average band

without getting too far into Pink Floyd territory, although there are certainly comparisons that could be drawn.

Ones to watch, I feel.

Kevin Sheeky

Film: Shooting Dogs Kinda like: Hotel Rwanda without the Hollywood gloss

Artist: Guillemots Kinda Like: A dream you would have if you fell asleep watching Twin Peaks.

reminded me of the song “Road to Nowhere,” and not for musical reasons.

‘Blackened Blue Eyes’ is one musical idea dragged out for four minutes.

Kevin McEvoy

WHILE THE murder of 800,000 people in 100 days because of their ethnicity makes for a sickening statistic, it also makes for a disturbing but equally necessary film.

While watching Shooting Dogs you’ll beg for the camera to cut away but it doesn’t.

You’ll beg for the people to escape but they don’t. You’ll beg for the film to end but it

just keeps going.

This was one of the most emotionally devastating films I’ve ever watched and, as such, I wholly recommend it.

Kevin Sheeky

Balls Of The Belle

The College View March 2006

Alan Flanagan loses himself in a sea of men, women and ‘undecided’ at Alternative Miss Ireland.

“THAT"S

THE irony of being one of those heterosexuals: Their lives are grey and dreary because they’re hetero, and because they’re hetero they don’t even know it…”

With these hallowed words, the Alternative Miss Ireland (AMI) 2006 kicked off in The Olympia on Sunday night.

Dedicated to the joys of blending the lines between male and female, musical and stand-up show, and offensive and just plain funny, the AMIs has been entertaining audiences and raising money for charity for the past twelve years.

Hostess Panti summed up the night most effectively, describing it as “like having sex with a first cousin”; you know it’s wrong, but it feels so right.

The curtains opened to a re-creation of a scene from Brokeback Mountain (of course), and before you could say “gender reassignment surgery” Panti and co. had seamlessly turned a touching story of love in a time of prejudice into a slapstick comedy piece.

With that - and the requisite Linda Martin insult – out of the way, the show began and the contestants were put through the three rigorous sections of daywear, swimwear and eveningwear.

No stereotype remained unturned as the participants sashayed and stomped their way across the stage, and no musical escaped mimicry with a rousing rendition of Sweet Transvestite by Ms Lucy Fur and a show-stopping performance of America by Ms Funtime Gestavo.

There was significant foreign representation at the show, with Italian Ms Donna Sofia wedged between (metaphorically, not literally) the two Phillipinos, Ms Emerald Rice and Ms Ocean De La Mer.

Past winners Shirley Temple Bar and Veda Beaux Reves took to the stage after the interval with a slew of dancers to perform the perpetual gay favourite Emma Bunton’s Maybe, before the contestants slipped into something a little less comfortable for the eveningwear segment.

One would expect this to be an area where the performers wound down and showed the gentler side of their personality. That would be until Ms Priscilla Nightingale rolled onstage and performed I Just Wanna F**king Dance from a wheelchair. If anything defined the mood of the night it was this, with Nightingale precariously balancing on the fence between humour and horror.

With all three “-wears” well worn out, it fell on 2005’s winner Heidi Konnt to relinquish her crown. Anybody who saw the show last year was accustomed to Ms Konnt’s penchant for the vulgar, and they knew that she wouldn’t give up without a fight.

Indeed, the crowd was treated to two particularly graphic tunes; one about the joys of making George Bush one’s bitch, the other about the joys of being the bitch of the Pope. Both were performed with Heidi’s back-up dancers – the imaginatively named Fister Sisters – and both appealed to a crowd with a distinct lack of sympathy for both world leaders.

Heidi’s final act as Alternative Miss Ireland was a surprising and beautifully performed version of Queen’s The Show Must Go On with a gay and lesbian choir.

Dressed as a giant Aids ribbon, she reminded the crowd what the Alternative Miss Ireland was all about: raising money for Cairde and Open Heart House, two

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charities dedto icated helping those with AIDS and HIV. With that, Heidi had to give up her hard-earned title to the pint-sized Mexican Funtime Gestavo.

Despite being several feet shorter than her competitors, she overshadowed all and sundry and took the coveted prize.

As the group raised her on their shoulders in celebration, Panti turned to the crowd, bellowed “The Queen is dead, long live the Queen!” and down came the curtains.

Drama isn’t Panti keeps the proceedings classy as ever. Photo by Karen Howley the word.

Lip Synching

wear and what it would

By Claire Byrne BASED AROUND a series of say – one conclusion short one-person plays, The for the former was Vagina Monologues is both an furry muff, and “no, entertaining and liberating over there” for the latter. experience.

Devised by Eve Ensler, the However, while brilliance of it is that it evokes hilarious, The Vagina many senses: one minute you Monologues deals with are slightly aroused, the next Who knew so eur i syou are close to tears, then Glenda topics you are laughing while being forced to scream the ‘c- Gilson could in a word’ at the top of your do more than sensi- Gilson’s answer to everyone calling her a twat. Photo by Roger Day i v e voice.

She stars alongside veteran ashamed of “down there”. It is just stand tway.

It gives Carry On actress Fenella no longer a clammy, ugly, hairy It covers a huge range of into Fielding and The Clinic actress place but a beautiful delicate vagina-related issues from beside Brian insight rape to orgasms, periods to O’ Driscoll? horrors such Norma Sheehan. Fielding is flower, as Gilson says:“Pussies a s g e n i t a l very funny as a 72-year-old unite!” childbirth, masturbation to pubic hair. The issues are tack- mutilation, female oppression woman describing a “flood” in This is a play everyone should led in an upfront way, there is and rape. her panties, but Sheehan steals see once as it promises an alterno taboo surrounding the word It offers this information in a the show with her piece on native and mind-opening night and as you sit there, you begin first hand way, as if you are lis- moans and groans. Covering out. to wonder what all the fuss is tening to the victims them- “ooh” to “ahh” and all the selves. about. screams in between, there were The Vagina Monologues runs in But most shocking of all were more than a few blushes in the Spirit until April 1. A percentThe word in question is analysed and more versions the talented actresses. Who audience. age of every ticket sold will go than I care to repeat are blurted knew Glenda Gilson could do The play is liberating and pro- to the Dublin Rape Crisis out, with “flangita” being one of more than just stand beside motes the fact that we don’t Centre.

Brian O’ Driscoll and arch her need men to have an orgasm, the least crude of the lot.

As well as the name of the area eyebrows? The model has a and that the subject does not in question, other issues are bright future ahead of her as an have to be a vulgar one. addressed such as what it would actress.

Women should not be

Dedicated Followers Of Fashion 14 DCU

The College View March 2006

VIEW

Susan Doyle indulges in

some style and sin at the DCU Fashion Show THE HELIX was utter chaos on Wednesday, March 8 when over 2,000 people crowded into the Mahony hall, having bought tickets in aid of Our Lady’s Hospital For Sick Children, Crumlin.

Despite the overselling of tickets by the Helix and the last minute addition of extra chairs, the student organisers of the show were cool, calm and collected as they were determined to find a

place for everyone.

At one point shouts of “we have three VIPs from Ted Baker who need seats” could be heard as designers, reporters, modelling agency scouts and other importantlooking, beautiful people were seated.

As hosts Pamela Flood (co-presenter of Off the Rails) and Graeme Cruz (well-known stylist and designer) took to the stage, you couldn’t help but notice how professional the catwalk looked. The theme of the Seven Deadly Sins worked extremely well, and coupled with cleverly chosen music, kept the pace of the show lively and energetic.

The DCU student models exemplified the word “chic”

L-R: Erika Casanova, Elisabeth Fingleton, Laura Whitmore, Alison O’Riordan, Caroline Quigley Photo by Allan Dixon

as they strutted their stuff wearing designers such as Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Oasis, Pepe Jeans and many more.

The girls held their heads high with slicked back tresses and larger than life quiffs in addition to mile long eye

lashes.

The guys looked more natural and were surprisingly at home on the catwalk, all exuding confidence and suavity. When selecting the models for this show, the organisers promised average sized males and females,

Striking the right chord

By Lyndsay McGregor MUSIC SOC, like every other society in DCU, thinks that it’s the best. And rightly so you would say, going on the fact that their Music Week won Best Eventî at the Clubs and Societies Awards last year. But did Music Week 2006 live up to expectations?

It all kicked off on Monday with live acts providing entertainment in the Old Bar throughout the day. And it was for a good cause too as Monday was all about charity. SALZ (Students and Lifestart Zambia) were wandering around with buckets and raffle tickets to raise money for their trip to Zambia next year. MC for the day, Roibeard Ó Murcú, urged everyone to empty their pockets for this worthy cause.

The opening act of Music Week was local band Jaded Sun, described as Led Zeppelin without the old guys and a dead drummer. I have no idea what that means but they were good.

Nizlopi playing in the Old Bar Photo by David O’Quigley

There was much hype surrounding Nizlopi of JCB Song fame. They were due to play Whelans that night but stopped off on the way to treat us lucky DCU students and to help raise money for SALZ. I wasn’t expecting much from them because that damn song drives me mad, and they started off well too by greeting us as UCD but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed their music. A guitar, a double-bass and a human beat-box: can’t go wrong there. Plus the fact that the lead singer is hot didn’t do any harm either.

Then Nina Hynes and Gary I’m gonna play some songs Dunne ruined my good mood by filling me with a desire to throw heavy, blunt instruments in the direction of the stage.

Due to the fact that I suddenly fell ill Tuesday evening, I couldn’t go to the jazz night in the Hub, much to my own disappointment. But my sources tell me it went well.

One student did describe it as, “more like Irish folk music” but I was told not to listen to him.

The Music Ball, the official after-party of the DCU Fashion Show, took p l a c e We d n e s d a y night. It didn’t

take long for the Old Bar to fill up.

Models mingled with the rest, their amazing hair and makeup still intact.

The band played some good covers and the DJ kept the night going until the bar extension had ended. However, I didn’t think the atmosphere was the best and as an after-party, I don’t think it did justice to the spectacular that was the Fashion Show.

Music Week drew to a close on Thursday with an open mic night in the New Bar. With the lights dimmed and the tinkling of piano maestro Gary Boylan in the background, it was the perfect way to recover from the night before. There were a lot of Damien Rice covers played with some originals and even a bit of Saw Doctors thrown in.

While the performers were limited to the three song rule, one guy just wouldn’t leave the stage. After eventually getting rid of him, an attempt was made to get the audience to join in by doing Bohemian Rhapsody but that didn’t go too well. A disappointing fact was that only two girls performed.

One thing is for sure though, DCU has talent.

And so another Music Week is over.

With DCUfm broadcasting live from the Hub everyday, numerous workshops taking place and the night-time events, there was no excuse for anyone not to have indulged in some musical culture.

and although most of the participants were thin, all were a healthy size.

The girls in particular can be credited with wearing figure-friendly clothing that appealed to all.

In addition, the models should be congratulated for having the confidence to don lingerie and boxers in front of such a large audience.

The highlight of the show was most definitely a scene during the sin of Sloth. The tune I Just Wanna Make Love to You blasted as a group of tanned, toned, lads walked the catwalk in nothing but jeans and barely visible boxers.

Soon enough the jeans were taken off to excited cheers from the crowd.

Suddenly Stand By Your Man came on as everyone’s

Photo by Aisling o’ Rourke

favourite canteen cook Phylis came onstage to pick up after the lads.

She was carried offstage by the guys as the audience went wild.

The hype that built up surrounding the fashion show was justified, and the event was truly massive.

An estimated €3,000 was raised for a well-deserved cause and both a student designer and student model were recognised for their work.

Sarah Verdon of the Grafton Academy won the Young Designer of the Year Award and our own Leona Byrne was selected by Assets modelling agency for a twelve-month contract.

Fashion show co-ordinator Mikey Robinson put it best when he said: “It may be a sin, but as individuals and as a university, we can all be proud tonight.”

The College View March 2006

A thousand words...

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If you only learn five new words this week...

DVDeviant - adj. describes a person who

One Tuesday night in The Hub.. returns your DVDs without their cases and with scratches so that they are unwatchable.

Claire, JR1 Loster - verb. to purposefully tape over I can’t remember the last footage of your first steps in order to time I was sober, let alone record Lost. the last time I scored when I was sober! Eh…bout a week Rip-rap - verb. to try and sing along to a ago? song without knowing the words.

Alco-swap - noun. the precise moment when a night clubber switches from beer to Jgermiester. Alco-mop - verb. the action that comes immediately after the alco-swap.

Example: “I will alco-swap if you will alcomop the mess I make.”

Umpteen €3 drinks later...

He makes his move...

David, CS1 Katie, Shadow D: Sober? That puts a spanner in the works!

K: Dave, you’re a spanner in the works!

D: I put a spanner in your ma’s works last night!

K: Oh, so that’s what’s wrong with her!

Yvette, CS2 Eh …emmm …oh, at Oxegen last summer!!

There was no drinking at Oxegen….no wait! No actually, there wasn’t!!!

When’s the last time you scored while sober?

Shuffle Amnesia - noun. the loss of the ability to predict the next song on any given album due to use of shuffle facility on iPods.

Student Declaration of Co-Dependence

(Repeat After Me) I do solemnly declare: To rely on others completely and absolutely For my friends to wake me up for lectures My parents to finance my extravagant lifestyle And my lecturers to extend my deadlines I shall rejoice in the name of Bebo And cower in the face of “insufficient funds” Three euro drinks shall be my temple, Wednesday mornings my undoing I will stand fast against the injustice of Res inspections Yet insist on attempting to sneak traffic signs by security All that I am shall be dedicated to the pleasures of the flesh All that I drink shall be dedicated to the destruction of the mind All that I eat shall be dedicated to living on €50 a week I hold these truths to be self-evident until the point when I change my mind, become intoxicated, or see something shiny.

Heroes in a half-shell, turtle power!

Joey, FM2 Me drunk? Surely not! No, actually, this is probably gonna sound quite bad but I think it was my Junior Cert results’ night….!

Hard

Mary-Ellen, JR1 Last Sunday …but does it count that I was drinking but not drunk? You could add Friday also, when I was totally sober!

Mark, AP1 Eh …probably the last time I played Gay Chicken with Steve …so about four weeks ago!!

Medium

The College View : Crossword Number 6

The morning after...

Across 1. French for futuristic. (5-5) 6. The taste of grapes of wrath (4) 9. Like a boat only flatter. (5) 10. Dependently (9) 11. Dublin cinema (5) 12. Party drink. (5) 14. Eastwood did this from Alcatraz. (7) 16. Percussionist (7) 18.Titanic sinker. (7) 20.Walk __ ____, Johnny Cash film. (7) 21. Computer infection. (5) 23.Windproof lighter. (5) 26. Pompous (9) 27. Warning siren. (5) 28. Men have very big ___. (4) 29. Positioning of troops. (10) Down

1. Ski slope mountains. (4) 2. Skier’s natural disaster.

(9) 3. Forest occupants. (5) 4. Came (7) 5. Bad news in an airport.

(7) 7. Many-a-time (5) 8. Blind pianist (3, 7) 12. Writing feather. (5) 13. Convincing (10) 15. General term for newspapers. (5) 17. Central computer. (9) 19. Type of publication. (7) 20. Archetypal (7) 22. Set of crap Stallone films.

(5) 24. Woman’s egg manufacturer.

(5) 25. Leave out. (4)

Winner of Crossword Number 5: Willie Coyne Crossword by Eoin O’Neill

1616

STUDENT

LIFE

Model Behaviour

The College View View March March 2006 2006 The College

Ever wanted to be a catwalk queen? Sarahlee Madigan gives us the inside track as she struts her stuff a la Kate and Naomi in the first ever DCU fashion show

OK, MODELING. Most twelve-year-old girls secretly fantasised about it while watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch and growing your hair in an attempt to look more Britney-esque (I’m talking the 90s here now, pretty sure current Britney hair wouldn’t be too hard to achieve).

Unfortunately, the dream of strutting one’s sexy stuff down a catwalk is one many of us leave behind along with embarrassing video collections and clumps of severed hair as we grow towards adulthood (ie realising we’re more interested in chips than celery sticks, and alcohol than cocaine).

Unfulfilled childhood dreams may well have been the reason behind the high turnout for the first DCU fashion show modeling auditions. Or, just as likely, the lure of free passes into nightclubs and the knowledge that the show would be sponsored by a vodka company, tickled the fancy of the party animals around campus.

Anyhow, whatever the motives, a mob of beauties arrived at the auditions ready to walk, pose and generally feel like a prat. All in the name of fashion they say.

I pitied the organisers who had to pick the models, and myself for not having good bone structure and giraffelike legs.

“Just walk up and down with a little pose in between if you can” we were told.

Easy; walk, pose, dazzle.

Wrong. Try; hyperventilate, turn completely red, walk like a farmer. I was one of the few that were asked to walk three times, an obvious sign I wasn’t a natural and

shocked as myself, many were left disappointed and the rest…well they were just born to model.

As rehearsals began, excitement grew as we all realised what a mammoth production this was going to be. Style society, the organisers of the show, filled us in on the seven deadly sins theme and the impressive range of shops providing clothes; Bt2, Hugo Boss and Topshop designer lounge, to name a few.

Girls squealed and guys growled with macho masculinity (not all male models are camp you know) at the mention of a feature in Hotpress and a modeling contract with Assets that was to be awarded to a lucky student on the night.

So Tuesday rolls around, bringing with it a dangerous combination of nerves, excitement and recurring premonitions involving a catwalk, high heels, a bruised backside and public humiliation. One marathon rehearsal later, however, and we are all feeling a little more prepared.

Excellent promotion by all involved as well as huge media coverage including announcements on FM104 and photos in the Mirror and the Herald, created a great buzz around campus.

Tickets began to sell out at a rate no-one had expected.

The first and only dress rehearsal began at 10am on Wednesday with some models in at 9am to be fitted by designers competing in the DCU Designer of the Year

“I laughed, I cried and I possibly developed lung disease from CFC inhalation” would therefore be looking at the catwalk from an audience seat rather than from backstage on the night.

I don’t know what the selection process entailed but I must have ticked that walk-like-a-farmer box, as I got through. Others were as

We were all Award. impressed by the music chosen for each of the deadly sins. For greed, girls flaunted designer gowns and strings of pearls to the sound of Madonna’s Material Girl. While handsome, ‘naturally’ tanned

guys smoldered to the Prodigy’s Firestarter for wrath.

The dress rehearsal was followed by a generously long lunch break (bit of sarcasm there) after which we were whisked off to begin hair and make up.

A few hours later, a ripple of shock ran through the Helix as an army of featherlashed, bird nest-headed clones emerged from the dressing rooms. Despite probably being a source of amusement for many, we all thought we looked fabulous and got down to the serious business of posing for each other’s photos while the boys nervously entered the makeup room.

Make up forever did a fantastic job of making us all feel like superstars and I don’t think anyone thought hair could be as big as the stylists from salon zeba made ours.

We soon

learned, however, not to walk too close to the stylists with your mouth open as it seemed the urge to spritz our backcombed afros overpowered any knowledge they held of the potential health risks associated with sharp bursts of hairspray into the eye, nose or ear area.

Around 8.30pm, the Helix hushed and the show began.

I felt as if I had downed about 15 cocktails when I first walked out into the lights. My knees were knocking, the audience was packed and my dress was tied too tight. The catwalk that once seemed unintimidating now rivaled the Ballymun Avenue in length and all previous reasons I had for shelving my modeling dreams came floating back.

However, by the time we had all made our terrifying first debuts, the adrenaline

and electric atmosphere allowed us to relax and enjoy our moment in the spotlight. The scenes backstage were exactly what you would expect; girls being

bed the following day.

Whether it was exhaustion or just the joyful thought of combing my brillo pad hair back to life, I didn’t get up until 3pm.

“The catwalk that once seemed unintimidating now rivaled the Ballymun Avenue in length” helped in and out of dresses, wardrobe malfunctions (causing minor heart attacks to the stylists) and guys squeezing into highly attractive, multicoloured boxers.

Yet despite all the commotion, everything ran smoothly on stage. The reception from the crowd was amazing and their praises afterwards were enough to show that it had been a great success. Plenty of alcohol consumption followed at the music ball and I think most of us swapped lectures in favour of a lazy morning in

So the DCU fashion show came, strutted and left. I laugged, I cried and I possibly developed lung disease from CFC inhalation but it was such an experience and educated me in ways I never thought possible. I mean, where else would I have learned the importance of always turning to your right after a pose…

Photos by Aisling O’Rourke Montage by Karen Howley

The College View March 2006

EDITORIAL

The end is near

IT”S ALMOST half way through the semester and the term for this year’s College View team is almost up. Over the past ten or so months we have poured everything into this paper. Sometimes it’s worked out and other times not so much.

But now the time has come to hand over the reigns and allow somebody else have a chance to put their own slant on DCU’s independent paper.

It does take a significant amount of work and it will require a dedicated team who believe in the principle of a free and independent media source in a University driven

by PR. To clear things up, we are not paid and work on the College View does not count towards our degree - with the excepton of the Uaneen Module.

But it isn’t all that bad and you will learn to love working on the publication The experience gained will prove invaluable when you apply for a job in any area of the media and even in other sectors.

There are two sides

THE FACT that five candidates have run for the Students’ Union presidency job is an intersesting turnaround from the standard two or possibly one candidate system. The question on everyone’s lips is why did so many decide to run this year?

Was it just a coincidence that five politically motivated students became interested in the job at once? Did the Union simply run a strong advertising campaign and as a result people became interested in the position?

Maybe students are just so angry with the current Union that they have decided to get up off their backsides and run for a position.

The Union will obviously not be choosing the latter option but the incoming president needs to understand that the college can benefit from a fair and independent minded review of all events.

College View

The

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Vol 7 No 5

Cathal McMahon Meabh Ni Ghealbhain Alan Flanagan Emma Canavan Aisling O’ Rourke Claire Ryan Vincent Moran & Sarahlee Madigan Nigel Wheatley Katie Daughen & Niamh O’Doherty Eric Gallagher Piers Scott

Contributers: Gar Boylan, Neil Brennan, Claire Byrne, John Cannon, Shane Cahill, Catherine Carr, Anne Marie Colbert, Anne Marie Conlon, Aoife Connors, Declan Conroy, Allan Dixon, Susan Doyle, Philomena Fitzpatrick, Alan Gallagher, Patrick Gleeson, Karen Howley, Joey Kavanagh, Ciara Kerrigan, Martina Leahy, Sean McCabe, Kevin McEvoy Lyndsay McGregor, Mike O’Keefe, Steven Miller, Deirdre Moran, Vincent Moran, Vivienne Nunis, Eoin O’Neill, David O Quigley, Stephen O Shea, Kevin Sheeky, John Sheridan, Jennifer Tweed, Alan Waldron, J. Zachary Kessler Special Thanks To: Sarah and all in the Students’ Union, Una Redmond and the SPC, The Presidential candidates, Nollaig Ward, Shane Brodbin, Josh Ritter, Mr Sparkle, Steven Foster and Gary Lee Cox, Charlie in Redbrick, Ray Byrne, Patrick Kinsella, Ferdinand von Prondzynski, Karen Howley, Danny Darcy, Hugh Lenihan.

Published By DCU’s The College View Printed at Spectator Printers ©2006 The College View

LETTERS AND COMMENTS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor, IN RESPONSE to the letter from Russell O’Connor regarding RAG week fundraising in your last edition, I would like to set a few things straight.

It is regretfully true that the fundraising during RAG week did not go as well as we had hoped but the target of €1,000 a day during RAG week was just not achievable this year and there are two reasons for this.

The first problem is that despite lots of advertising through email, flyers, on life.dcu.ie, posters, class addresses and by word of mouth, most students did not understand what we were collecting for.

The brand we were asked to use by the University is the DCU Annual Fund and over 88% of this goes to fund the Access Programme, helping students attend university. The Students’ Union made every effort to communicate this with students.

In addition to this, volunteers were needed to help collect money and we received very little response. Two students out of 8,457 replied to an all-students mail sent out the week before RAG Week. Only two further students that I am aware of offered to help. It is a tough job running around campus with buckets asking people for money, especially when so many students did not in fact want to donate their hard earned cash.

No one would suggest that DCU students are cheap, uncaring and self-centred as Mr. O’Connor has said. When students took the time to find out about the cause they were very generous. This year to date the Students’ Union has raised €1800 for the Access Programme (an increase on last years fundraising for the fund) and we already plan on increasing this number over the next few weeks.

It is easy to point out problems after an event has been staged and a real shame that more ideas and volunteers were not brought forward before RAG Week. Perhaps Mr O’Connor could have volunteered himself to help raise funds for the cause?

I take great offence at the suggestion that fundraising efforts were only put together “at the last minute by an unprepared Students’ Union”. If Mr O’Connor had paid attention, he would have seen that RAG week efforts began weeks before the term even started.

Our Mini-Brother idea was so successful that other Students’ Unions, including NUI Maynooth, have decided to use it for fundraising during their RAG week.

Regards, Sarah Farrell President DCU Students' Union Dear Editor, I AM writing to complain about the 35c charge on hot water in DCU’s restaurant. I think it is a disgrace to charge students, who are probably tight enough for cash, for hot water in a city where there are no government water charges.

I drink decaffeinated tea which is not available in the restaurant or the Spar shop (it is available in Zero One Restaurant). I have my lunch in the restaurant because I am based close by in the Henry Gratten building and object to having to pay for hot water to make decaffeinated tea. Although I do think the charge is completely unnecessary I do not object as strongly when I am drinking it in the restaurant, as I am paying for a service as well as hot water.

But what really irritates me is the fact that I cannot get hot water to take away to allow

me enjoy the luxury of drinking tea “on the go”. Starbucks refuse to sell me hot water in a paper cup and the paper cups the restaurant have to offer do not come with a lid which makes them unsafe and impractical to carry.

As over the top as it may sound I feel like I am being discriminated against because I do not drink any of the wide selection of teas and coffees there are on offer in the restaurant.

Surely there has to be a solution to this other than me having to go to the Zero One restaurant if I wish to get a cup of decaffeinated tea to take away. More surprising is the fact that Starbucks, who sell every selection of tea and coffee available, do not sell decaffeinated tea.

And do not get me started about the students who drink hot water and have to pay 35c, even though they are not using the milk or sugar the restaurant or Starbucks provide.

Yours Sincerely, Ciara Kerrigan Dear Editor, I AM angry with DCU security. I am an Engineering student and have a lot of work to do in the Engineering Labs at night and at the weekends. They are the only Computer Labs that have the programmes that I require for my course. At 10.30pm on weekdays security come around and kick me out. One weekend recently I found the Labs locked and I was unable to gain access to do my work for Monday.

This was the first time I found the labs locked. They are usually open for the weekend but security had locked them on this occassion.

The labs are particularly busy during the day, with many fourth years doing their final projects and a number of classes being held in the labs which forces other students to leave.

Many students who have part time jobs are not on campus until late at night, and with the library also closing by 10pm every night, there is very little chance for them to do course work after hours. Is there anywhere in DCU late at night where a student can use these much needed facilities?

This issue needs to be highlighted, and conditions improved for the Engineering students of DCU. Yours, Allan Dixon

The College View and flashback

Would you like to write, take photos, edit, layout a publication, interview celebrities and generally be a journalist.

If so email:

thecollegeview@gmail.com Congratulations to Claire Ryan on becom-

ing the new flashback editor for next year.

Claire is the current layout editor of the College View and she will be a great asset to the publication.

For all budding journalists:

The deadlines for the Smedia and Hybrid

awards are fast approaching. So start thinking about putting together a portfolio

17

In the eye of the beholder

By Alan Flanagan LAST TUESDAY Bodywhys – the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland launched an informational CD-Rom on eating disorders.

According to a recent report by the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, up to 200,000 people in Ireland have an eating disorder, and 18% of respondents in a recent Irish magazine survey forced themselves to vomit in order to lose weight.

With this launch coming on the eve of the DCU Fashion Show, I can’t help but be shocked by the stark difference and striking similarities between these two issues.

The bottom line of both appears to be “beauty at any cost”.

On its inception, the Style Society promised that they would represent and invite members of all shapes and sizes, but anyone looking at the catwalk last Wednesday night wouldn’t have seen an accurate representation of the average person.

The average woman is not a size 8 or 10.

The average man doesn’t have the body of an Adonis. The average person doesn’t turn heads. But that doesn’t mean they’re not beautiful.

In this writer’s opinion, they’re a society that preaches inner beauty yet practices uniformity.

Beauty is not a combination of measurements, facial structure, clothing and makeup. It is an indefinable attribute and, more importantly, in the eye of the beholder.

Telling someone that a skinny waist is more desirable or more beautiful than a substantial one is like telling someone what their favourite song is.

And yet we’ve had this warped version of beauty so beaten into us that we think that a stick-thin model pouting in a desperate attempt to look sexy is more beautiful than a smile spreading from ear to ear across a larger person’s face.

And where does this get us? It gets us to a point where men torture themselves to resemble an impossible ideal and women believe that nobody could ever be happy with what they actually look like.

It’s all very well to say that this is the world we live in and there’s nothing we can do about it, and maybe that is true, but when you actively set up a society dedicated to face value, you step on everything that people across the world have fought and died for; you say that it matters more how you look than who you are.

Those in StyleSoc are my friends and I believe they are wonderful people, but in my opinion they are misguided and, to some level, dangerous.

At The Helix last Wednesday night, I was finishing congratulating them for raising so much money for charity – which was an admirable end to many not so admirable means.

As I turned to leave the building, I saw a young woman limping across campus, in obvious pain and distress. I was going to say something, to ask if she needed help, when I saw what she was wearing. High heels.

When self-worth translates to self-harm, somebody has to say stop.

‘Have a Go’failsto reachpotential

The College View March 2006

18 SPORT

By Ciara Kerrigan ONE PERSON attended the first year of DCU’S “Have a Go” Programme. The ten-week programme, run by DCU Sport in conjunction with the Disability Service, aims to promote physical activity for disabled third level students while providing a social outlet for them.

Duncan Byrne, a wheelchair user aged 24 from Blanchardstown IT, was the only participant to attend the programme in weeks one and two.

He says the turn out is disappointing as the programme provides disabled people with a unique opportunity to practice different types of sport. It ranges from gym exercises to team sports like basketball and rugby, to archery and clay pidgin shooting.

Mr. Byrne thought that the turnout was particulary disappointing in relation to the bigger colleges such as DCU, Trinity and UCD who have a much larg-

er population of disabled students in comparison to IT’s, such as Blanchardstown, and smaller colleges.

Brenda Hopkins, the Sports Development Officer, attributes the disappointing turn out to the fact students have “an awful lot on with their studies and extra curricular activities” and it is simply a matter of “just getting them at the right time”.

Although Ms Hopkins says the programme was well advertised, the low turnout was “just one of those things”. She thinks travel was “a big thing” in preventing students partaking in the programme.

Next year Ms Hopkins says that the programme plans to work from individual colleges rather than being based solely in DCU. Duncan Byrne attends the programme to get information on disabled sports, in particular for wheelchair users, and find out how to set up his own club as the manager of the Sports Centre in

Blanchardstown IT has agreed to provide funding for him to get a club started.

Mr Byrne says the facilities for disabled sports are available, but it is getting information on setting up clubs and training which is the problem.

He believes getting disabled students involved in sports will help them to integrate better with their peers. Duncan initially wants to Duncan Byrne participating in DCU’s ‘Have a go’ programme teach students the Photo by David O’Quigley basics and the rules friendly games with other col- exercises and how to use gym of the different sports. leges. equipment he had not used before.

He eventually hopes that ableOn a personal level, Mr Byrne bodied students will play alongsays he has gained a “greater level side disabled students and that he of fitness” as he has learned new will be able to organise once-off

World success for DCU Handball Hurling hopes dashed Club at US Collegiates in Texas

By Alan Waldron DCU’s 2006 trophy cabinet is bulging and Sinéad Gallogly can take some credit for that. She has just returned from Texas where she was crowned US Collegiate Handball B Champion.

This completed an impressive double after she won the Irish Intervarsity title in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan earlier this year.

Gallogly travelled to the Lone Star State with 52 other Irish university handballers, including fellow DCU clubmate Steve Marken, who all competed in the collegiate championships hosted by Texas A&M University.

Marken didn’t have the same success as Gallogly but he was engaged in two thrilling hard fought encounters before being beaten by the eventual winner, Luke Jenkins of Missouri State.

There were seven other Irish winners in the single and team events. The Americans were very competitive but Gallogly says “in general the Irish standard would have been better.”

Many of the American players take handball as an extra class which they can get credits for, while the Irish players train separately to their studies. Handball players need to be in prime condition and Gallogly was training five times a week between DCU and her club in Leixlip in preparation for the Collegiates.

And it paid off. She started off

with an impressive victory in her first game of the tournament, defeating Jennifer Trent from the University of Texas on a score of 21-2, 21-7, but she lost her next match and so was dropped into Division B. She went on to win her next three games, securing a place in the final against roommate and friend, Sarah Corley, from Sligo IT. The final was a closely fought affair but Gallogly emerged victorious, 21-17, 21-14.

She has already had significant success in her relatively short handball career, winning the Under 17 Doubles World Championship in 2003 with club partner Emer Ni Fhallúin (UCD), who was runner up in the Women’s Open Championship in Texas.

Later this month, Gallogly will compete for the Irish Senior Ladies Doubles title. She also hopes to go one better next year at the collegiates and win the A

Still friends. Sinead Gallogly (r) and her final opponent Sarah Corley. Photo courtesy of Handball Club

Along with her success in the competition, she enjoyed the entire American experience with the rest of the university students and sees it has a career highlight so far. She says it was a great opportunity and would definitely recommend it.

Gallogly started playing handball in primary school in Leixlip, County Kildare and soon found that handball was the game for her as she enjoyed the competitive and social sides of it.

championship in California.

To the unfamiliar eye, four-wall handball looks something like squash minus the rackets. It is an ancient Irish game under the wing of the G.A.A with a rich history.

Handball is popular in many parts of the world including England, Australia and America, and continues to maintain popularity particularly in rural G.A.A clubs where ancient handball alleys are still used.

in Rebel County

By Declan Conroy DCU SENIOR hurling club had a disappointing end to their season when they lost to NUI Maynooth in the semi-finals of the Ryan Cup, which was hosted by UCC on Friday, March 3.

DCU were well beaten, 1-7 to114 by Maynooth, who went on to lose in the final against Mary Immaculate College, Limerick by eight points.

The final game of the season, though unfortunate, saw impressive performances from Charlie Walsh, who scored 1-1, and captain Austin Lynch.

Having had a successful year to date and an impressive quarterfinal win over Tipperary IT, an unfortunate loss was expected by the DCU manager, Martin Nolan.

Nolan highlighted the reasons for their loss as being the absence of three main players and also bad timing within the college, with the major focus being on the Sigerson due to DCU acting as hosts.

Defender Damien Maher had broken a bone in his hand in a previous game; centre-forward Paddy McAvenue was unable to play due to a suspension he received in a club game; and also missing in the defence line was the talented Cahir Healy, who made a commitment to the U-21 Laois football team which marked him out of the semifinals.

Regardless of the final result Nolan was very impressed with his team and says he couldn’t fault

any of them.

“I’m extremely happy with the entire team. They all worked very hard since the start of the year and total dedication was seen from them,” said Nolan.

Getting to the semi-final was impressive, in itself, for this year’s team, having lost in the quarterfinals last year. “A possible win may have been reached had the full team been available”, said Nolan.

Another problem for the DCU Hurling Club this year was the lack of freshers to join the team and the unavailability of dual players, such as Cahir Healy.

“I think there is a stronger focus put on football in the university and the Sigerson probably had further significance this year. While there are many good hurlers in the university, they are also good footballers and this year they were not able to give full commitment to both, which is understandable, and due to DCU hosting the Sigerson this year there was probably a greater attraction for both seniors and freshers to play football.”

However, Nolan praised the efforts of DCU’s GAA Development Officer, Tom O’ Donnell. “Tom gave the club fantastic support all year and never saw us needing much.”

Preparations have not yet begun for next year and, after three years with DCU, Nolan is waiting to see if he and the university will make it a fourth.

Clubs Roundup

The College View March 2006

SPORT

19

Two draws and a win - Ladies Soccer

By Eoin O’Neill and Anne Marie Colbert DCU KICKED off their Intervarsity campaign facing WIT, the only team they were unable to beat in their league matches, and the Waterford side really put it up to the DCU ladies for the full match despite having played a match earlier that day.

WIT pressed and pressed at the DCU defence and were finally rewarded when they found the back of the net just after half-time.

As the match came to a close, it looked like DCU were going to lose their first match until they capitalised on a corner kick during the final minutes of injury time.

Wendy McGlone received the resulting ball and made no mistake, hitting the back of the WIT net.

In the second game of the group stages DCU met UCD, who got off to an early start testing the DCU keeper, Orla Tuite, after only six minutes of play.

DCU’s Carla Moran, the league’s top goal scorer, almost placed the ball in the back of the net on a break but the shot floated over the bar.

There was recurring indecision in the DCU defence which finally resulted in a goal for UCD when Angie Callaghan broke through just shy of 30 minutes.

However, DCU began to put UCD under pressure, resulting in an equalising own goal from UCD’s Irene Munnelly just before halftime.

When play resumed, Munnelly quickly recovered from her first half error to execute a lovely strike into the top left corner from outside the box, scoring what was possibly the goal of the tournament within the first two minutes.

DCU tried to reply immediately with an equally sweet shot but the UCD keeper managed to keep her side ahead. However, she could do nothing about

DCU’s second goal, a cracker tapped in by substitute Vanessa Menke from a long cross mid-way through the half.

Aideen Dunne had an excellent final 20 minutes for DCU, making life difficult for UCD with perfectly A final timed tackles. chance created from a corner went just wide for DCU, leaving the sides locked at the final whistle.

UCD progressed from the group stages to the semifinals of the Cup as they won their first game, and DCU dropped into the Plate semi-finals, having drew their first game.

The Plate semis saw DCU play their second game of the day against another premier division side, NUIG. The match started off with the DCU girls pressing at the Galway defence but they just couldn’t seem to get the ball into the back of the net. After 20 minutes Wendy McGlone saw her chance and lobbed the

The DCU ladies soccer team before their final game vs Inchicore.

Photo by Eoin O’Neill Galway keeper to give DCU a 1-0 lead.

DCU’s second goal came in much the same way. This time it was Sue O’ Sullivan scoring effortlessly over the keeper ’s head.

At

DCU Snowboarding Club Victorious but ultimately vanquished at intervarsities

By Mike O’Keefe DCU’S SNOWBOARDING Club failed to recapture their title as reigning champions of the Snowboarding & Ski College Championships on Saturday, February 25 at Kilternan’s dry slope.

DCU fought to defend their title in the annual intervarsities in valiant style but ultimately failed to lift the cup.

While they were victorious in the Advanced Snowboarding Slalom when Joe Coughlan, former Chairman of the club, came first.

Neil Donnagain came third in the Developing Snowboarding Slalom but UCD took the cup home after a display of some spectacular skills on both skis and the snowboard.

Their use of methods, indies and rotations simply overwhelmed DCU in the freestyle part of the competition.

half time, DCU were raring to go and came back out with fighting spirit. Starting from the forwards all the way to the backs, they kept NUIG at bay.

The Galway girls never gave up and got a lucky goal with just five minutes to go but DCU battled on and made it through to the final with a 2-1 score line.

DCU capture newly founded Duggan Cup

By Shane Cahill THE SOCCER team recently added the Duggan cup to the DCU trophy cabinet when they defeated NUI Maynooth at the Collingwood Cup tournament, which took place over the week from February 27 to March 2.

The soccer squad travelled to Coleraine, Co. Derry where they were knocked out of the main event, the Collingwood Cup, following some disappointing performances. However, they managed to battle their way to the final of the Duggan Cup, one of three new cups introduced to the Collingwood tournament, and claim the title.

The first match was against Trinity College, a team with an excellent track record in this competition.

DCU were well-beaten on the day, with Trinity scoring a brace either side of the half-time whistle for a 40 scoreline.

Weather conditions on

the day were a hindrance to both sides with strong winds, rain and even hailstones preventing any quick passing.

In the second game of the tournament, DCU faced University College Galway, another team with an enviable history in the Collingwood.

On an expansive pitch, the teams played out 90 goalless minutes with little chances for either side despite excellent performances from Kevin McArdle and Alan Donoghue.

The match went into a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out, which Galway won by three penalties to one. Davy Cullen slotted home DCU’s only converted penalty and goalkeeper Declan Weir could feel unlucky that he didn’t get a few more saving touches.

DCU then found themselves in the final of the Duggan Cup where they played NUI Maynooth.

The two teams were well

matched.

Maynooth scored early in the game and led for much of the 90 minutes but in the 85th minute, Mark McAdam pounced on a through ball to coolly convert DCU’s only goal of the tournament and tie up the game.

The match ended at 11, a score line which slightly flattered DCU as Maynooth had a number of chances repelled by the outstanding Brian Cullen in goal.

Once again DCU faced a penalty shoot-out, but the outcome was altogether different this time due to four calmly placed penalties and two wonder saves from Cullen, who rightly took the accolade of man of the match.

DCU now set their sights on the Collingwood Cup 2007, in which they will be hoping to make the most of home advantage as DCU will be hosting the event.

Beat the Bookies

20

SPORT

vinced the cup will be kept in France this year but it’s far from guaranteed. Money could yet be won on Munster at 13-2 or experienced English side Leicester at a generous 8-1.

As Chelsea’s lead gets stronger, betting in the Premiership now seems confined to relegation and second and fourth places. The bookies are very cautious in this line of betting but Bolton look worth a 10e bet to finish fourth at 7-1.

In the Champions League, the current form t e a m , Barcelona, are at 2-1 but to make some money, don’t rule out a solid Lyon side at 132 or an Arsenal side that seems to have sorted out its defensive woes at 8-1.

Although Ireland won’t be struck down by World Cup fever this summer, Brazil are favourites to lift the trophy there will still be a lot of betting this year

By Alan Waldron THE BOOKIES will be kept busy in the coming weeks as the rugby, GAA and soccer seasons reach a climax.

It looks like the Six Nations Cup will be heading in the direction of France, unless a disaster against Wales cuts their superior point difference.

That unlikely scenario could see the Irish or the English take the title.

The Heineken Cup is also a popular bet at the moment.

The bookies seem con-

interest. It would take bravery to bet against a classy Brazil outfit who are the favourites at 5-2, but Italy seem to have been overlooked as they are priced at 9-1.

Gaelic games will be sparking some betting interest as the League heats up and the Championship draws nearer. Derry made a good start this year and are at 4-1 to win the National League Division 1 title and 13-2 to win their first Ulster Championship since 1998.

Mayo and Kerry will be difficult to beat in their respective provincial championships this summer, but Leinster seems to be wide open with up to five teams capable of challenging reigning champions Dublin.

Meath and Kildare look like good early bets at 5-1 and 15-2 respectively.

The bookies have set Kerry as early favourites to lift Sam in September, with Armagh and Tyrone close behind. Mickey Moran’s rejuvenated Mayo side, however, could make you some money at 12-1.

Bobsleighs and Broomsticks

We b Wa t c h The College View March 2006

By Catherine Carr THE ‘PRIDE of Wales’, Joe Calzaghe, has come into the public eye once again following his recent win over Jeff Lacy.

The boxer, who is currently rated fifth in the world, has a reputation for being arrogant and cocky, but did his website remain true to his personality? www.joecalzaghe.com is the official site where one can access the ‘deep thoughts’ of the man himself; that is, if you can wade through the bombardment of useless information to get to his personal blog.

The site is cluttered and messy, and although it provides a wealth of information about the man, most of it is irrelevant, such as a log of his matches dating back to 1993. The writing is tiny and the multimedia is unimpressive.

As for the personal thoughts a man who describes himself as the “World’s Greatest Boxer”?

Well, I have to say I’m sticking with my original opinion. Much of the content is general moaning and

Taking ironing to new extremes

the criticising of other boxers in a pathetic attempt to boost his already giant ego. www. hill16.ie is a site I’m dedicating to all DCU students from the country (that’s PC, right?). It’s the official site for Dublin GAA and is far from impressive, but the basic multimedia and smooth mechanics work in its favour.

The news in ‘Word on the Hill’ is plentiful and up-todate, and the writing is of a high standard. The site also provides link pages to camogie and ladies football news, as well as updates on the college leagues.

This basic Dublin site

gives the people what they want without any fuss … unlike the team!

Finally, I’ve been tipped off about a brand-new sport that “combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt”.

Confused?

Don’t be.

Extreme Ironing is the newest craze, and all the information you could ever want can be found at www.extremeironing.com .

This starchy, clean-cut site provides the answers to your questions about this highly unorthodox sport, as well as some nifty pictures of “Ironing in the Alps”!

incessant rain. It wasn’t exactly Cool Runnings but our time at the Olympics was fantastic.

Overall, the Winter Olympics were surpassed

by ITV’s Dancing on Ice. David Seaman doing ballet lessons, Bonnie Tyler squeezing the bum of some-

one young enough to be her youngest son/grandson and Dame Kelly Holmes being voted out (Ha, you can’t win everything!). I have to say that after a week of Winter Olympic coverage I couldn’t wait to settle down to one of the best reality TV shows this season.

at the Winter Olympics

By Philomena Fitzpatrick I'M SURE you all caught some of the Winter Olympics that were shown on television recently. If you have BBC, you couldn’t but see some of the 18 hour a day coverage they gave it.

If you’re one of the poor sods left with terrestrial television, you possibly saw an hour or two and one of the lads off 2FM interviewing the Irish team every so often. Unfortunately, for me, our house took a liking to the most boring sports.

Take curling for example.

Grown adults slide along on their knees pushing a great big rock down a sheet of ice and then try to influence it with brushing motions in front of it “to increase the distance” I kid you not.

Wikipedia describes it as follows: “The curling broom is used to sweep the ice surface in front of the rock. Aggressive sweeping momentarily melts the ice, which lessens friction, thereby lessening the deceleration of the rock, while

straightening the trajectory of the rock (Eh?). The broom can also be used to clean debris off the ice.”

Surely, they could wait until the athletes are off the ice before they send in the cleaners?

Watching the British women’s team was intriguing. Whether they hit the other teams shiny rock or not and whether the judges sat stony faced, (geddit, huh?) the British team gave each other high fives like extras on Beverly Hills 90210. It was sad to watch.

And they even call it chess on ice! I know which I would prefer.

Speed skating isn’t much better. Eight men chase each other around an impossibly small ice rink dressed head to toe in Lycra. The rink is so small that they can’t get up to any speed worth talking about. They make a burst for it and then have to slow for the corners, which come up approximately every eight seconds.

I’m sure you all know the

event where more lycra-clad people lie down flat on a toboggan type thing and slide to the bottom. Yes, you think, it's like sliding down the fields on a fertilizer bag you nicked from your neighbours. Oh no, my friends. It is an official sport called luge.

The participants are imaginatively called lugers.

There aren’t many rules but you have to reach the finish line with your board (Also called a luge – fancy that!).

But don’t worry, if you’re having trouble with the sport your country gave you loads of funding to train for, you can get up, straighten your sled on the track give yourself a nice little push and start off again.

However, it is a timed sport so if you do that you may as well slide down on your head.

Dear old Ireland had four entrants into the Winter Olympics, skiers Kirsty McGarry and Thos Foley, cross-country skier Rory Morrish with David

Connolly taking part in the Skeleton event. (Like luge only you’re on your front, not one for the ladies of Jordan-esque proportions) They all did well which was quite a feat for people from a country whose half a centimetre snow is washed away within minutes by the

From crazy games to hazy dames - the complete GAA experience The TheCollege CollegeView ViewMarch March2006 2006

SPORT

21 21

Alan Flanagan attends his first football match in eight years and sees the massive highs and sordid lows of the GAA I HADN’T been to a GAA match of any kind for quite a while before the Sigerson Cup reared its head. In fact, I probably hadn’t stepped foot on a pitch since playing on one in my youth (perpetual half back ‘93-‘98).

The sounds of profanities that would have Shane McGowan turning bright red, the sight of hundreds of fans succumbing to frostbite, the smell of grass mixed with something distinctly more oldmannish: these, coupled with the billboards singing the praises of “Farrell’s Home-Made Fertiliser”, are the foundations of a GAA match.

With this in mind, you can imagine that I wasn’t exactly wetting myself over the thought of attending the Sigerson final.

But in the spirit of all things “Ra ra! Go DCU!” I decided to show my support, even if I wouldn’t really enjoy myself and would probably spend the majority of the match mulling over the various plot strands in Lost.

So as I took to my seat, the players streaming onto the pitch and the crowd screaming their various game-winning strategies, I braced myself for a thoroughly unenjoyable seventy minutes.

“Get rid of the ball ya muppet!”

After a moment of confusion, I realised that those words had come out of my mouth. Very unexpected. I decided that it was a momentary slip of the tongue, probably brought on by some kind of mass hysteria, and tried to settle down.

“God gave ya a pair of legs for a reason so get moving before I run down there and perform a DIY amputation on ya!”

At this point I would like to cease reporting what exact words fell out

e n j o y a b l e Coppers, I had scored, and a bed and subsequent loss of consciousone.

While ness was awaiting me.

In many ways, GAA matches myself and GAA players and all the related paraphernalia have never can be condemned for appealing to had much of the baser instincts of the human a cama- race: violence, mob mentality, the raderie – general impression that everyone’s short shorts going to get laid very, very soon.

Frankly, I couldn’t care less. The never suited me – that exact same people who preach that evening the our baser instincts will be the joys of alco- death of us are the ones who you’ll hol and par- inevitably see on the news above t i c u l a r l y the caption: “Dozens of bodies questionable found buried in recluse’s tulip gard a n c i n g den”.

So go to a match, get ridiculousskills brought us all togeth- ly emotional and insult a close To Unrememberable parties er in family member, but always remember: an unforgettable match harmony. responsible for DCU Like an episode of Seventh must be followed by an unwinning the Sigerson.

If I had not imparted such Heaven, except with regular drink- rememberable post-match party. ancient wisdom as “kick it! KICK ing games and more promiscuous, IT!” and “put the feckin’ thing if not quite as attractive, female Bryan Cullen and Paul Casey lift the cup while John O’Reilly, between the two posts!” then our participants.

In fact, it was with great reluc- Liam Moffat and Declan Lally boys would never have come tance that I pulled myself away celebrate in traditional style through in the end.

Photos by Emma Canavan and With this in mind, I decided that from the machismo and requisite “Yar! Beer! Chicks!” Quirke Photography it was only fair that I be a part of the post-match celebrations taking a t t i t u d e the place in home away from home for of the farming community, Copper t y p i c a l G A A Face Jacks.

The match itself had been a blur night out.

But, of violent arm gestures and impressive swearing, so it’s fitting like most the that the post-match party was a of 1. blur of alcohol and, well, more Sigerson Steven Cluxton t e a m , alcohol.

Dublin Trying to give a blow-by-blow f a m i l y , 3.Peter Donnelly 4. analysis of what transpired in f r i e n d s , 2.

Kevin Ward Paul Casey Coppers that evening would be w e l l UUJ TCD Dublin like trying to do the Leaving Cert wishers, while simultaneously giving birth acquainand taking part in an episode of t a n c e s Fear Factor, but the general gist of and staff 5.

6.

7. f the evening seems to have been an o Kevin Gunn Bryan Cullen Declan Lally QUB Dublin Dublin

From Unforgettable Highs

of my mouth as the match progressed, suffice to say that they encompassed three languages, several species of farm animals and more than a few lapses into behaviour which, I’m told, sounded like I was channelling the spirit of Linda Blair.

This continued unabated for the following seventy minutes, including a riveting half-time conversation where I used one particular profanity thirty-six times, and by the end I was sweating like a necrophiliac in a graveyard.

I haven’t thoroughly and inexplicably enjoyed myself in such a long time, and while I had my moment in the spotlight (or floodlight) I was determined to tell everyone on the pitch, in the dugouts, at the sidelines, in the crowd, or living in the surrounding neighbourhood exactly what I thought of them.

I won’t bore anyone with the details of the match (we won), but I will say that I – and I alone – was

DATAPAC HOTSHOTS FOOTBALL SELECTION

Four Dubs make All-Star team Continued from Back Page McConnell, one of just four final year students of the 19 players used in the final, came on for Dublin recently in the NFL win over Offaly after being called into the panel on the night of the Sigerson final.

Stephen Cluxton, Gary Mullins and Seanie Johnston are the only other players in their final year but Johnston is expected to be back in the college next autumn for a post-graduate course.

Cluxton, who will graduate

with a degree in Science Education in May, will be a massive loss but in Colm Munnelly (Laois U-21 subkeeper) and Michael Savage (Dublin U-21 keeper) Niall Moyna has two very able deputies ready to take his place.

“We’ll be looking to introduce a number of new players again next year,” says Moyna.

“We had an excellent fresher team this year and hopefully some of them will be pushing for Sigerson places

next year. We know it’s going to be tough to defend our title because everyone will be out to stop us but we are looking forward to it.”

Although it has yet to be confirmed, it is hoped that Ross Munnelly will line out with DCU next year. The Laois star is rumoured to be enrolling in a new HDip course in the college that would qualify him as a secondary-school teacher.

Munnelly was one of four players deemed ineligible by the GAA this year because

his E-Learning course didn’t carry enough credit points but he still was very evident with the DCU set-up and spoke to the players immediately before the final.

Next year’s Sigerson weekend is being hosted in Queen’s in Belfast and after losing three finals in a row they will be keen to emulate DCU’s feat of winning the competition as hosts.

8.

Owen Lennon Monaghan

9.

Peter Turley QUB

11.

10.

12.

Ronan Flanagan Brian Mallon Michael McNamee QUB UUJ Cavan

13.

Ronan Hussey UCC

14.

Brian Kavanagh St Pats

15.

Sean Johnston Cavan

RUNNING THE COUNTRY

By Emma Canavan SIX AM. Crawl out of bed, throw on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and make the struggle outdoors to the barely broken dawn. The cool winter air is biting at your nose and your finger-tips. Every breath floats before your eyes like little puffs of smoke. Start running.

Sounds alien to most of us, for Danny Darcy, that’s what it’s all about.

Darcy is a 19 year-old crosscountry athlete and a business studies student at DCU. He has competed in the World Cross Country Championships twice and the European Championships twice. At both Europeans he won silver, one on track and one as a team with fellow DCU runner Mark Christie. His ultimate aim is to make the next three Olympics.

So what is it all about? What is so good about running, just running and running in the freezing cold of a winter’s morning?

“It gives you a sense of toughness”, says Darcy.

“A lot of people look at runners and think, ‘ah they’re only skinny little wimps’, but the pain you can go through,” says Darcy, shaking his head.

He is about five foot 9 inches, 10 stone, yet he looks tough. He has a strongly set jaw-line and dark eyes He seems relaxed and unbothered by the cold and uncomfortable room that we are in and while he’s no Hulk Hogan, he’s no wimp.

He trains every day. On four of the days he runs ten to fourteen miles, “that’s the slow, easy training”.

On the other three, he does “the fast stuff”, which involves running a short distance as fast as you can, stopping for a second and running back. “I prefer the fast training” he says.

Darcy was only eight when he became interested in running “ I

Moscow Flyer The College View March 2006

22 SPORT

was in the car one day and I annoyed her (his mother), and she told me in ‘nice words’ to get out of the car, and I started there.

“I was doing sprinting until I was about 10 but I was going nowhere, and then I won the county championships at Under 10 in the Cross-Country, so then I suppose I decided maybe I could be good. I went to the Leinster finals and I finished second.”

Today DCU offers the perfect opportunity for him to train and study, with twelve other crosscountry runners, all of whom have been successful at national level.

On the long 14 mile runs, they run together but they have separate coaches, each doing the shorter, faster training alone.

Getting an education is important to Darcy. His big aim is to

you can prove that you really need them, so they (the Irish Sports Council) made my doctor take me off my inhaler for two weeks and run. They tested me before and after. My doctor really didn’t want to do it and told them that it was far too dangerous but they said it had to be done. It’s OK though ‘cause I’m allowed use my inhaler now.”

He might need to fall back on his Business degree someday, and he is lucky to have gained entry to DCU to do it. If something happens and he cannot be successful in running, he’ll need his education. But if he had not been successful in his running to date, he says, “I would be working on a building site with the rest of my friends.”

“When I was doing my Leaving

“There are so many athletes that we think but can’t prove are taking drugs” reach the next three Olympics but he has talked about taking a break from running for the next Olympics because he will be in his final year at college. “You cannot run forever. You need something to fall back on.”

The risk of injury threatening his career is always there too.

Recently he missed the National Championships and a road relay competition due to an ankle injury.

“In the road relay UCD beat DCU by about a second. I had hurt my ankle and it kept me out for ten days. It annoyed me because I felt that maybe if I had been fit to run we might have won.”

Pulling muscles, breaking bones and straining ligaments are always a danger in sport but Darcy is asthmatic too, which has caused problems in recent times.

“They have brought in a rule now that inhalers are illegal unless

Cert’ I had no offers from universities. I really wanted to go to DCU because of the support they offer in training and the level of athletes in it but I got no offer and I was a bit pissed off about that.”

“Then about two months before I sat my exams I competed in a small race close to home. I got a fast time and qualified for the World Championships. That evening I had Enda (Enda Fitzpatrick, DCU Athletics Head Coach) on the phone offering me a place in DCU if I got such and such points in my‘Leaving’.”

Darcy did not believe that he would be able to get the points that were asked of him because he had not studied. But Fitzpatrick said “if I went back to school and repeated that I would be guaranteed a place in DCU. So I did.”

That same evening, he got phone calls from America, from a number of colleges in New York and

Iowa. Harvard phoned him recently as well offering him a place.

Athletics may not be glamorous, but it certainly has benefits.

Darcy, his Irish and DCU teammate Mark Christie, and Sonia O’Sullivan are the only three Irish cross-country runners to receive sponsorship from Nike. They get free gear every three months and anytime they want in between.

“It’s great for Christmas”, he says, “you can hand out Nike trainers to your friends and say ‘Now I spent 50 quid on those’”.

But all that travelling to exotic locations must also be quite alluring.

“We travel out to big cities like Milan but then you are put on to an army-like little bus that takes you to the middle of nowhere and it could be about 40 degrees and you could be on the bus for maybe four hours. It always seems to be that way no matter where you go.”

Glamour, no; but scandal, certainly. There is a scandalous side to athletics, a side that we hear more of from other sports but in athletics, as much as anything, it sparks interest in the darker side of our curiosity Darcy tells me: “there are so many athletes that we think but can’t prove are taking drugs... these people are making about 30miles an hour in no distance. It might not look fast on TV but that’s fast”.

Drugs scandals are one thing, but sex scandals spark interest on a whole new scale. “At the last Olympics they ran out of condoms” he says with a grin, “maybe I’ll tell you some scandal on that someday!”

Sex, drugs and the media. “But it’s all about the cold mornings.

That’s when you really feel tough.

When everyone else is in bed, you’re out there doing something.

That’s what it’s all about”.

Continued from back page McSweeney competed in the 60m sprint and reached the semi-finals with a qualifying time of 7.44 seconds, but she failed to qualify for the final.

Last year she brought success to both Ireland and DCU when she picked up silver in the 100m at the World University Games in Turkey in August, as well as winning the 60m and 200m at the Track and Field Intervarsities in December at Nenagh Olympic Stadium.

O’Rourke, who is 24 years old and originally from Cork, began her athletics career with Leevale Athletics Club. She went on to compete in European and World Championships as well as the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but to date has not had success on the level of her Moscow feat.

Her coach, Jim Kilty, recently encouraged her to change her hurdling technique. Thanks to full-time training and two weeks warm weather training in January, O’Rourke managed to improve her hurdling and increase her speed. “(She) has been going from strength to strength since her warm weather training in January,” said Susan McEntegart, a colleague of O’Rourke’s in DCU. “It’s an incredible achievement especially to be the first Irish woman to win a gold medal at such a competition”, said McEntegart of the Moscow success.

O’Rourke was of similar sentiment following the final. “It's hard to believe I'm a world champion,” she said, “I've been working towards it all season and I can't believe it's happened”..

Excitement will be gripping Irish athletics fans, and none more so than Kilty, as the Beijing Olympics approach, with hopes high that O’Rourke will bring home more silverware.

Ken Robinson, Chief Executive of DCU Sports Centre said: “Here at DCU Sport we are delighted to provide the platform to support elite athletes like Derval”.

“Not only is she a great athlete but she’s also a great member of staff displaying a similar level of commitment and dedication to her work.”

More Silverware for The College View March 2006

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23

Athletics Club

By Joey Kavanagh TOP-NOTCH performances from Fionnuala Briton and Mark Christie saw DCU successfully defend both the individual men and ladies titles as well as the best overall college title at the Intervarsity Cross Country Championships held in Santry on Saturday, March 4.

Much was expected of the twenty-five strong DCU delegation after they quite literally ran away with the championships last year, and they certainly didn’t disappoint this year with first-class efforts all round.

First in action was the ladies’ team, competing over four kilometres on a course that perhaps wasn’t as challenging as the athletes are accustomed to. DCU undeniably dominated the race with a staggering eight DCU athletes finishing inside the top 13.

DCU ladies’ captain, Fionnuala Briton, established an early lead, driving out the pace in the opening lap and never really looking under pressure from then on.

Having claimed victory at these championships over the past two years, Briton made it a hat-trick as she eased home in a time of 12:55, well ahead of her nearest challengers, fellow DCU students,

Linda Byrne (13:25) and Esmera Gebrezgi (13:29).

With four ladies to score for the team competition, the DCU girls came very close to a perfect score as Niamh Devlin tussled with UCC’s Orla Drumm for fourth place.

But it wasn’t to be. Devlin was narrowly edged out by the Cork athlete, giving DCU a grand total of eleven points and setting them well ahead of closest rivals UCD (60 points) and UCC (71 points).

The men’s race was to be more hotly contested with the DCU lads taking on a strong UCD squad.

Several DCU athletes featured prominently in the opening stages of the ten kilometre race including Eoin Higgins, Aidan Bailey and men’s captain, Ian Chaney.

As the race progressed, however, it was a case of déjà vu with last year’s winner, Mark Christie of DCU, battling it out with last year’s runner-up, Joe Sweeney of UCD. After succeeding in breaking away from the rest of the field, Sweeney and Christie ran side by side for much of the latter stages of the race. It wasn’t until the final lap of the course that Christie made his move, managing to open up a sizeable gap on Sweeney and

Mark Christie of DCU, crossing the line to claim victory in the Intervarsity Cross Country Championships. Photo by Joey Kavanagh

eventually crossing the line ten seconds ahead of his opponent in a time of 29:42.

Other DCU athletes to turn in fine performances were Ian Chaney who came in fifth, closely followed by Eoin Higgins in tenth place. Edward Coughlin, Eoin McCormick and Des Earles were the other scoring athletes for DCU, coming home eighteenth, nineteenth and 21st respectively.

Unfortunately, DCU were denied the overall men’s title due to an alleged administrative error.

Despite finishing sixth in the race, DCU’s Aidan Bailey was deemed ineligible to score for the team event after an error in his registration.

As a result, DCU narrowly lost out, with their total of 73 points

falling just short of UCD’s 67 points.

However, when combined with the ladies’ total, it was clear that the men’s performances had still been more than enough to see DCU retain the best overall college title for a remarkable fourth consecutive year, well ahead of closest rivals UCD and UCC. In spite of the controversy in the men’s team competition, head athletics coach Enda Fitzpatrick remained upbeat about the weekend’s events, especially when news filtered through of first year student Claire Brady’s victory in the 60 metre sprint at the AAA Championships in Birmingham.

“It was a good weekend on all fronts”, said Fitzpatrick. “I was particularly happy with the girls’

team. To have eight girls inside the top 13 is great, especially when you consider how we’ve so many first years on the squad.”

It also emerged soon after the intervarsities, that six of the DCU contingent have been chosen to represent Ireland at the World Student Games Cross Country, set to take place on the March 24 in Algeria.

Fionnula Briton, Lynda Byrne and Esmera Gebrezgi will be representing the ladies (with Niamh Devlin as first reserve), while Ian Chaney, Aidan Bailey and Eoin Higgins will be representing the men. Mark Christie was also chosen but will not be attending.

Luck runs out for Ladies’ soccer team

By Alan Flanagan DCU LADIES’ Soccer team fought hard at last Saturday’s intervarsity BFinal, hosted in DCU, but suffered their first and only defeat of the competition to a strong Inchicore side.

The score of one-nil to the visiting side was a poor representation of the match itself, as the DCU team appeared to be the better side.

DCU striker Carla Moran will be disappointed that her seemingly endless string of attacks on goal didn’t deliver a result for the Glasnevin side. Moran stood out as the best player on the pitch, and was either the catalyst or the executer of every DCU chance.

However, this meant nothing as none of her – or any other of the DCU players’ – shots managed to hit home.

The first half belonged to the DCU team, but it only took a momentary lapse in the DCU defence to allow Inchicore’s Ann Meenagh inside to net the decider

after 21 minutes.

The blues descending on the DCU team at half-time were allayed somewhat by a Scottish rugby player’s streak across the pitch.

Inchicore’s performance in the second half was stronger than in the first, but they still didn’t match DCU for stamina and resilience.

This was partly down to a stellar performance from B r o n a g h Sheridan, who commanded midfield throughout.

However, neither dedication nor stamina could solve the problem of DCU’s inability to score.

Getting to the goal didn’t pose a problem for many of the players, but all the shots either flew well wide or went straight at the Inchicore Áine keeper,

Genockey.

As the final minutes counted down, DCU had a great chance in front of

goal but the initial shot was blocked and the rebound was driven wide of the goal.

The Plate went to the Inchicore side, with Captain C o l l e e n Bushe saying: “It was a hard match.

DCU were really tough.”

The home team will be disappointed not to have taken any silverware on their own turf, with coach Maxi McCain saying his team “battled right to the death.

I think we outplayed them… but it was one of those days. It comes down to luck.”

See p19 for match report of group stages and semi finals

DCU footballer Chris Doyle is bundled off the ball in the Ladies final. Photo by Eoin O’Neill

Magnificent Seven get Hotshots 24 SPORT

By Steven Miller SEVEN OF DCU’s Sigerson winning squad were recently named on the Datapac Hotshots team – a third-level equivalent of the All Stars.

Stephen Cluxton (Dublin), Paul Casey (Dublin), Declan Lally (Dublin), Bryan Cullen (Dublin), Owen Lennon (Monaghan), Ronan Flanagan (Cavan), and Seanie Johnston (Cavan) were all included, but there was big surprise at the omission of Conor Mortimer, who scored four points in the final.

“It’s nice to be recognised in terms that you played well over the weekend and you gave a valuable contribution to the team,” said DCU captain, Bryan Cullen.

“Winning (the Sigerson tournament) was the most important thing, but it’s always nice to be recognised.”

Paul Casey, who has a big year ahead with the Dublin seniors as they try to build on last year’s Leinster championship win, says that success with DCU is very much cherished.

“After an All Ireland with either your county or your club, it’s right up there,” he says.

“I have been playing for DCU for six years without winning anything and it’s a very similar standard to the pace and intensity of senior inter-county. There are so many good players playing in it and that’s why it means so much.

“It’s all about grinding out results and getting over tough opposition and I think that we did that.”

The Sigerson weekend might have been a hectic, gruelling couple of days for DCU’s triumphant squad but it doesn’t look as if things are going to get any easier with many of the players facing into a busy year with their clubs and counties.

All of the DCU players who featured in the treasured final win over Queen’s are with their county panel at the moment with Ross McConnell surely the biggest winner of all as his Sigerson form resulted in a Dublin senior call-up.

Continued on p21

Derval takes gold

The College View March 2006

By Aoife Connors DCU STAFF member, Derval O’Rourke, became the first Irish woman to win a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships on Saturday March 11, when she won the 60 metre hurdles at the Olympijsky Stadium in Moscow.

O’Rourke, who studied Business at UCD, now works part-time in the DCU Sports Centre as a marketing assistant. She is also one of many athletes to capitalise on DCU’s

elite training facilities in the newly refurbished Sports Centre.

The World Indoor Championships saw O’Rourke smash her Irish record of 7.90 seconds in the semi-finals and proceed as fastest qualifier for the final, where she led from the start and dominated the race.

She crossed the final line in a time of 7.84, defeating Olympic silver medallist Gloria Alozie by .03 of a second, and once again smashing her Irish record, set just two hours

earlier.

The record-breaking time leaves her ranked at number two in the world, behind Jamaica’s Lacena Golding-Clarke.

O’Rourke was joined at the Championships

by Leevale clubmate Ailis McSweeney, who is currently an MA student studying Globalisation at DCU. Continued on p22

Historic Victory for Tennis Club

By Catherine Carr DCU MEN’S tennis team made history by winning the Tennis Intervarsities competition, which was hosted by Trinity College Dublin on the last weekend of February. The team managed to win the tournament without conceding a single match or even a single set.

The journey to victory initially saw DCU triumph over the Trinity third team, and progress to the semi-finals where they defeated Queen’s University Belfast, 5-0. In the final on Saturday, DCU overcame a strong UCC team, once again without dropping a single set.

DCU have made it to the final once before and were narrowly beaten last year in the semi finals by the eventual winners UCD, but they had yet to win the tournament outright. The trophy has been shared between UCD and Trinity since 1966.

Handball World Champion Handballer Sinead Gallogly talks to Alan Waldron P18

Clubs

Photo Courtesy of Sportsfile

A DCU men’s second team and a ladies team also represented DCU at the intervarsity competition, reflecting the growth in demand for tennis at DCU. Less than two years ago the tennis programme was in disarray, with no coach and no proper training times, combined with a lack of a participation in local leagues. Since then, the University developed an agenda whereby resources were pumped L-R: Jamie Pilkington (Coach), Carl Williams, Brian McDermot, Timo into a select number of Barry (Captain), Colm Murphy (Mens Club Captain), David O'Connell sports clubs that were and Conor Taylor. Photo by felt to have serious vided strong links and support. and a program has been develpotential.

Since this decision, the tennis oped to target new, young playThe tennis club was one of the club has taken a U-turn in its ers with Tennis Ireland. privileged few chosen for this. structure and training methods.

Coach Pilkington claims that This was partially thanks to the Restructuring of time for train- they still have a long way to go: establishment of Tennis Ireland ing, and the establishment of lad- “This year’s squad is one of the on DCU’s doorstep, which pro- ders within the club, has had a strongest teams in intervarsity positive effect on the history, but we’ll have to work standard of the play- hard if we want to do well at the Roundup Ladies Soccer ers.

European Championships in Another plus for the July”, he says.

DCU reach Plate club, was the hiring of The intervarsity win means that final as hosts of national level coach the DCU team has the chance to Jamie Pilkington, represent Ireland in the Intervarsity event who has set the train- European University Tennis ing the at a high level. Championships in Eindhoven, P23 and 19 The team is already Netherlands from July 3 to 8 this strong but DCU are year. looking to the future

P 19