i-INK March 2023

Time Marches On

i-INK Editor

Here we are, March already, and a long way away from September when we all arrived into LCFE, bright eyed and full of excitement and enthusiasm. It’s time now to stay focused, hold the nerve and get all those final assignments and projects completed. Meanwhile, take a little time out and have a read of the stories here in the March Issue. On page 2 we begin with a moving tribute to Ashling Murphy, a year on from the tragic death of this young woman. Elsewhere we have reviews of music and film awards, celebrating especially the numerous nominations this year for our wee country in the world of film.

Sport as ever is featured in this issue, as our fervent sports-heads journalists would never allow any football related event pass without in-depth analysis, discussion, review and then more analysis.

We are reminded that it is one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with a thought provoking article on the threats of these actions on global democracy, reminding that complacency cannot not be an option.

Finally, have a look at the BIG i-INK CALL OUT below, a chance for all of you, our beautiful LCFE family, to be included in the end of year April issue. We want to see your talent across all disciplines, included here in next month’s issue, so get sending in your work, as well as class photos and achievements. Read on ...

i-INK OPEN CALL Calling LCFE Creatives!

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Remembering Ashling One year on Isabell

Brenda

On the 12th of January 2022, primary school teacher Ashling Murphy was attacked and killed while jogging. This tragic incident rose the subject of violence against women all around the country, with many women speaking up about their own experiences.

It has been a year since Ashling had her life taken from her, and many more women have suffered from the same circumstances since. On the 10th of February 2023, Irish social media influencer Charleen Murphy was attacked after going out for dinner in Dublin. It must be asked, why are women one of the highest victims of violence in Ireland? Since 1996, statistics from Women’s Aid Ireland say that 249 women have died violently in Ireland, most being victims of domestic abuse. Women are not safe at home, nor are they safe outside of home. There almost seems to be a normalisation of violence against women.

As a young woman myself, I find it mind-blowing that when I go onto my social media I see (quite literally) “life hacks” on how to protect yourself when alone. Keep your keys in between your fingers so that the punch causes more damage. Kick towards the groin. Carry pepper spray.

Instead of teaching women and young girls how to defend themselves from abusers, shouldn’t we be teaching people not to abuse? Of course, a life without crime is nearly impossible, so to go about your daily routine, such as going out for a jog or to dinner with your friends, you must be informed how to protect yourself when necessary.

It’s a horrible feeling knowing that this could have been you, one of your friends, your mother, your sister. Women have been taking measures for years to keep themselves as safe as possible. It is unfair that as women we live in fear that we may be attacked at any moment. We live in fear of saying no, and what will happen to us if we say no. Supporting women through violence should be something someone does actively. Posting #shewasgoingforarun is not enough if you are also overlooking your friends catcalling a girl on the streets. Enough is enough.

No woman should ever be a victim of abuse. If you see something, say something.

Women’s Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline: 1800 341 900

Irish cinema

The portrayal of the Irish on screen

Oisín McCarthy

If you have had your eye out recently, you would know it’s Oscars season. And among the glitz and glam of Hollywood and La La land, there shines a light upon the Irish film industry like never before. Overall, Irish projects and stars have garnered an astoundingly unprecedented fourteen nominations across several award categories.

This exciting new wave of Irish cinema is being spearheaded by Paul Mescal for his role in Afersun, as well as Martin McDonagh’s polarising project ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, with its front and centre quartet of Colin Farell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon, who have all received nominations in their respective categories.

It can be argued that The Banshees of Inisherin has turned a corner regarding the methodology of how Irish values, community, people and culture are portrayed to the world and a global audience. The film presents a universal concept which could be applied to any community anywhere in the world. It also serves as a poignant, exemplary portrayal of drama; an interesting combination of uplifting, yet heart breaking dark humour and black comedy, something which has become a trademark of Martin McDonagh’s work.

However, when the Banshees of Inisherin is challenged by more detailed critical analysis, it can be argued that it makes the same trivial, perhaps unavoidable mistakes that earlier works of quintessential Irish cinema have have made. Throughout the film, there are clear signs of typical Irish pigeon-holing. Plot devices and characterisations of traditional archetypes convey subtle

dimwit gombeenism, along with tropes of old school drinking, fecking, and fighting. I encourage discussion of these stereotypes which reoccurr throughout the various consunmate pieces of Irish cinema, a prime example of which being John B. Keane’s The Field.

Likewise, I feel that the portrayal of the Irish by mass media is a broader, more general, and more multifaceted issue. For example, in prominent American television such as The Simpsons and Family Guy, it’s never usually hard to spot the Irishman. They’re usually either a leprechaun, the village idiot, or the drunkest man in the bar. In British media, the Irish are usually portrayed as not very bright individuals, almost sperate sentients in comparison with civilisation. Also invariably, in British projects, any Irish character with a prominent role in the story usually dies.

Along with these, the land of Ireland is usually portrayed profoundly negatively in films. Invariably, you see Ireland as a dull, dreary, depressing, almost kind of hellish landscape where despair rules with an iron fist. Values like these can be seen applied in works such as Angela’s Ashes and Black ’47.

However, I will say I am optimistic for the future of the Irish film industry, with the Oscars this year being an encouraging sign that both Irish performers, and Irish projects have started to receive the overdue respect that they deserve. I see a welcome move away from generations of ridicule and tokenism portrayal of Irish community, values, people, and Ireland as a whole to a global audience and a global stage.

65th Annual Grammy Awards Winners and legends

Taylor Shortt

The Grammys, some would describe them as the Oscars of music. The 65th Annual Grammys were held on the 5th of February 2023 with some controversies surrounding some of the winners.

The Grammys were created as a way to honour the music industry’s most talented composers, songwriters and musicians. All eyes were on Beyoncé as she had nine nominations and everyone was dying to see if she would break the record for most awarded artist in Grammy history. She won four awards thus making her the most awarded artist with 32 wins. She has been nominated for Album of the Year four times and she lost this year against Harry Styles, which has undoubtedly caused some uproar.

On the topic of breaking records and making history, Sam Smith and Kim Petras were presented with a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group for their collaboration, “Unholy”. Sam Smith gave Petras the stage to accept the award on their behalf. She was the first ever transgender woman to receive this award and gave a heartfelt speech thanking Madonna among the trailblazers who cleared the path to that moment. It was truly a very important moment in Grammy history.

There was a new addition to the show this year. They gathered fans of the artists who were nominated for Album of the Year and had them argue why their favourite should win. Fans of Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and Harry Styles were introduced in the first segment and they each made a personal case as to why they believe they should win. We can see where the producers were going with this but it felt kind of forced and premeditated.

Dozens of music legends took the stage for a remarkable medley celebrating 2023 as the 50th anniversary of hip hop. Beginning with Grandmaster Flash’s, “Flash to the Beat”, legend after legend performed some of their most popular songs. It felt like one of those moments on television that you just didn’t want to miss.

They included a very moving ‘In Memoriam’ segment. Kacey Musgraves covered Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. Quavo had a beautiful tribute to his Migos band-mate Takeoff that brought most viewers to tears. The segment ended with Mick Fleetwood performing “Songbird” for his bandmate Christine McVie.

Overall, it was a very eventful Grammys this year with ups and downs and I can only expect the same next year.

The Grammy Museum, By Ucla90024 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18365358

All eyes were on Beyoncé with nine nominations and everyone dying to see if she would break the record for most awarded artist in Grammy history

A Record-Breaking Year Ireland at the Oscars

Aran Donnelly

With the 95th Annual Academy Award nominations being announced on Monday 23rd January 2023, it has proven to be a historical record-breaking year for the Irish film industry. With 14 nominations in total, Ireland has received the most nominations it ever has in a single year at the Oscars.

Among the 14 Irish nominees are nine for Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, arguably the most acclaimed and critically lauded film of 2022. The film itself has been nominated for the top prizes of both Best Picture and Best Director for McDonagh, as well as Best Adapted Screenplay. Ireland has also enjoyed its greatest ever acting nominations success this year, with a total of five acting nominations. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan all received nominations for their performances in The Banshees of Inisherin, and Paul Mescal of Normal People fame, was also nominated for his performance as a young, idealistic, and loving father in Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun. Additionally, the Irish-language film, An Cailín Ciúin received a nod for the Best International Feature Film (previously known as Best Foreign Language Film) Award.

Ireland’s record-breaking success at this year’s Academy Awards has not only proved a historic moment for the Irish film and TV industry, but it also has cemented Ireland as a firm, growing and serious artistic contender among the international film and TV industry.

However, it must be said that Ireland’s newfound success in the international film and TV industry did not suddenly happen overnight. The enormous critical and commercial success of the Irish TV miniseries Normal People in 2020, adapted from Irish author Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel of the same name, and starring Daisy-Edgar Jones and Aftersun’s Paul Mescal, was lauded by television critics and viewers alike as among one of the absolute best TV shows of its respective year. Jones and Mescal both received enormous acclaim for their roles as lovers Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, and the series itself received multiple nominations at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Normal People’s unambiguous success in the TV industry, even when up against juggernaut dramas such as HBO’s Succession and AMC’s Better Call Saul at the time, proved that Ireland was more than capable of telling its own stories that could make a serious artistic imprint on the world of film and TV.

Ireland’s record-breaking success at this year’s Academy Awards has cemented Ireland as a serious artistic contender among the international film and TV industry

If previous Irish filmmakers such as Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, The Field and In the Name of the Father) and Neil Jordan (Michael Collins and The Crying Game) planted the seeds for Ireland’s future success in the film and TV industry, then it is films and TV shows such as Normal People, and The Banshees of Inisherin among others that have fully cemented the Irish film and TV industry as both a serious artistic enterprise and an international force of distinction.

Amdrewcs81, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Manchester Utd vs Newcastle Utd Carabao Cup Final Preview

Paul Hough

February 26th will be a massive day for both Manchester United and Newcastle United Football clubs. Newcastle will be in their first final since 1999 and aiming to win their first trophy since 1955. While Man United’s trophy drought isn’t as long that, it has still been just under 6 years since they won their last bit of silverware. Man Utd haven’t gone this long without winning a trophy for half a century.

Both teams are really flying high and are performing way above their expectations that they had at the

he is in the starting 11. If you mentioned to anyone about United being in a title race this season in midFebruary during last season people including the most optimistic United fans wouldn’t have believed you as it was only last May where Man Utd finished with their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League Era. The improvements Marcus Rashfiord has made in the span of a few months have been nothing short of incredible. Last season fans were calling for him to be sold due to him not being good enough to play for the club and now he just can’t stop scoring goals. Since the World

Both teams are really flying high and are performing way above their expectations at the start of the season.

start of the season. Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has done a magnificent job at bringing in exciting new players and has helped change the mentality of those players that were there before him. Signing players like Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro in particular have really brought that fight that has been lacking at the club for a long time. Casemiro who saw red against Crystal Palace will have served his 3 match ban in time for the final which is a massive boost going into the game as Man Utd are like night and day when

Cup break he has scored 14 goals and has 4 assists in 16 games so if Man Utd are to beat Newcastle I would expect to see his name on the scoresheet.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe excited about the future at the Premier League club | PlanetSportFormer Newcastle United striker blames Carabao Cup and Bruno Guimaraes for Premier League dip in form - Chronicle Live

Since the Saudi takeover of Newcastle was completed in October 2021, Newcastle fans feel like

Pixabay

they have a football club to be proud about again. Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley bled the club dry and left them bottom of the table before selling it to the Saudis. Current Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has been one of the best managers in the Premier League over the last 12 months. They’re currently sitting 4th in the league while only losing 1 game. New signings including Sven Botman and Nick Pope deserve a ton of credit as Newcastle have statistically the best defence in the country this season. My only concerns about Newcastle currently would be them lacking that firepower up front which could cost them in this final and in the race for Top 4. In their last 5 games they’ve drew 3 times. Bruno Guimaraes who has been Newcastle’s best player since they bought him last January will be back for the final after serving his suspension so that

should give the Geordies an added boost ahead of the game. His versatility of being able to play as a defensive midfielder while also being comfortable to be a creative box to box midfielder is what makes him an outstanding player. Bruno’s ability to carry and receive the ball if needed is crucial to the way Newcastle want to play.

This Carabao Cup final is one of the most exciting finals in recent memory. Two teams that are evenly matched and both sets of supporters that will really be up for it so it should make for a fantastic spectacle. Varane and Martinez will have their work cut out for them trying to stop both Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak but with the form Rashford is in currently, I could see him providing the difference in this game. My prediction for the game is 2-1 Manchester United.

Editor’s note

This article was written well in advance of the Carabao Cup final, but published late due to editor’s complete misunderstanding of the time sensitive nature of the content. Apologies, mea culpa and all the rest.

This Carabao Cup final is one of the most exciting finals in recent memory. Two teams that are evenly matched and both sets of supporters that will really be up for it

Global Threats to Democracy

Illia Shatalov

We are living in unstable times. Our world is changing dramatically day by day. Humanity faces new challenges such as human rights abuses, hunger, health crises, poverty, corruption, wars etc. Distressing events offer opportunities for all the “bad boys” of our planet to challenge the current balance of power.

Since the end of the Cold War when the Soviet Union was defeated, western countries and their leaders never believed a Cold War could once again emerge. Western countries thought that they could have good relations with Russia or China, open businesses, buy natural resources and invest their money in these countries. Also, the majority of the Western countries did not want to spend more money on their military as they had done before. They wanted to reduce the number of military personnel. For example, the size of German military in 1990 was 545,000 people and now it is only 184,000 people. At the same time, countries like Russia and China benefited from investments in their economy, spending that money to improve their military capabilities, cyber technology, creating new challenges and hybrid threats.

A new cold war

Unfortunately, our world is again in the middle of what might be called the new Cold War. But now it’s different, because in 20th century it was mostly the US against

the Soviet Union. Now we have group of democratic states on the one side and on the other side, a group of authoritarian regimes whose main goal is to have more power, and these regimes certainly do not pay attention to things such as democracy or human rights. Meanwhile every member of this global competition has its own interests, that is both good and bad at the same time, as in it’s good that authoritarian states are not as strongly united as they once were, but it is bad that democratic states cannot rapidly solve problems as they arise, due to the very nature of democratic rule. And while democratic states are each advocating for their own interests, shared and common solutions or responses can sometimes take months or years.

Consider a few of the big threats to democracy in the world:

China

In 1978 China was just emerging from its Cultural Revolution. It was a socio-political process in People’s Republic of China launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, lasting until his death in 1976. It resulted in attacks on intellectuals, a large-scale purge in party posts, and the emergence of the personality cult of Mao Zedong. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. But as we know, communism never works, and all this only led to considerable economic dislocation and left the country’s social and cultural institutions devastated. It should also be noted, 88% of the Chinese population at that time were living in poverty.

Death of Mao Zedong

After death of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping became a key player in the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in 1978. Deng Xiaoping embarked on a reform initiative aimed at opening up the country both economically and politically and helped to establish formal diplomatic relations with the US. Also, he radically changed China’s economy. He started the four decade-long economic boom that was built on embracing capitalism and encouraging private businesses, multinational companies opened their businesses in the country and China quickly became a world manufacturing hub.

Based on the success of their predecessors, current Chinese leadership changed its interests from the economic, towards a global confrontation with the US. This confrontation was both economic and military. President’s Xi’s main economic initiative “One belt One road” aimed to create a global trade network with China at its center.

China is also modernising its army and navy, having created an artificial island in South-China Sea. These military forces are used in the suppression of Hong Kong. Internment camps have been built to indoctrinate and suppress the Uyghurs people as well as other Muslim minorities in Chinese society. Recently, confrontation between the US and China has begun in the space sphere but of course, the biggest threat from China is its possible invasion of Taiwan.

Russia

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 Russia received a great inheritance. Russia is a huge territory with vast natural resources, a highly educated population etc., but after the collapse of the huge USSR system, Russia also had a lot of economic, political

problems and ethnic issues. Due to the presidency of the first president of the independent Russia Boris Yeltsin, this country brutally suppressed Chechnya, one of its Muslim regions, which aspired to independence. Russia used all its military capabilities to defeat this rebel region, resulting in an enormous number of civilian casualties. That conflict was ended by the new leader of Russia Vladimir Putin who came to power after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin.

Vladimir Putin

When Putin came to power, the majority of the Western leaders believed that he would be a new democratic leader of Russia. And Putin really took certain steps towards establishing relations with the EU and NATO, he even spoke about joining to these alliances.

But at the same time, he began to establish complete control within the country, destroying all independent media, suppressing oligarchs under his rule, creating a state system of corruption by putting his friends and relatives in the most important positions in the government. A major change has took place in August 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia. Russia quickly annexed two small parts of Georgia but response from Western countries was very weak, which probably showed Putin that he could do anything with post-soviet countries which he thinks are in Russia’s sphere of influence.

When Putin returned to power, after he had switched places with his friend and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, he crushed opposition protests, the so-called “Bolotnaya protests”. Russian police used extensive force during those protests. Following the protests, the government passed regulations that made it harder for protesters to escape large fines or imprisonment. Putin blamed U.S. State Department for organising the Bolotnaya protests.

Russian oppression

Another major escalation occurred in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea and started war in Eastern Ukraine by supporting and funding pro-Russian militants in Eastern parts of Ukraine. It was not a small conflict. 13,000 people were killed during that conflict. The separatists were totally backed by Russia with money, people and all types of weapons, leading to the shooting down the Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over the Donbass region

After all of Putin’s deeds during that year, Western Countries finally responded and imposed sanctions,

but those sanctions were not severe. Russia still sold its natural resources and built new projects such as Nord Stream 2. The Russian regime destroyed all independent media and organisations inside the country. The final part of destroying Russian opposition was the poisoning of Alexei Navalny with a Novichok nerve agent. Immediately after his return from treatment in Germany he was taken into custody at the airport and then sentenced to 9 years in prison, but everybody understands that he will stay in prison as long as Putin will be in power.

But everything was changed on the 24th of February 2022, when Putin probably committed the biggest mistake of his life.

FULL-SCALE INVASION OF UKRAINE

This invasion turned to be his biggest mistake and failure. His plan was do the same thing as he did in Georgia and defeat Ukraine within a few days or weeks. He believed that Ukrainian army was weak but the only weak army in the end is his own. The only thing now that the Russian army can do in Ukraine is to engage in war crimes. The number of crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine is extremely high and cannot as yet be counted because Russians still occupy some parts of Ukraine. But still many crimes are counted and documented. We know for sure about Bucha, Mariupol, with sexual violence committed against women and children and the destruction of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, especially during the extremely cold winter temperatures. We know about the looting,

the deportations (Ukrainian officials estimate that over 402,000 Ukrainians have been forcefully taken to Russia, including 84,000 children). All these crimes have already been declared as genocide by several countries, including Ireland.

But the biggest thing that Putin did not expect was that the world would be united with Ukraine. The whole democratic world supported Ukraine with military and financial help and imposed severe sanctions against Russia. Many countries have opened their borders to Ukrainian refugees which is also very important because of the significant numbers of people who have lost their homes or who can’t return because it is now occupied.

It has already been one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The world still stands with Ukraine. Western countries have already sent advanced military equipment to help Ukraine defend itself. They have helped Ukrainian refugees and the Ukrainian economy. Russia now is totally isolated; its economy is in deep crisis. Russia’s military is losing its strength, reportedly now resorting to using prisoners on the front lines.

The support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion demonstrates the power of democratic ideologies and values. Democracy can win, but this will only happen if all countries stay united and strong.

The State of Waste in LCFE

Tadhg Murphy

We all go about our days with most of us completely unaware of the amount of waste we produce. Each time we buy something that we cannot consume in its entirety or re-use, then the left over is waste. Each of us produces a different amount of waste each day, depending on whether we buy lunch with disposable packaging or pack it into a reusable lunchbox at home. Maybe we use the cardboard coffee cups, provided in their hundreds every week and then disposed of, or we bring in our own reusable receptacles.

Different types of waste

Now there are different types of waste, the most common of which is aptly named, general waste, and this is brought to landfills. These consist of large holes in the ground filled with the contents of millions of general waste bins that are left to slowly decay. These create huge volumes of methane gas which must be burned off, polluting the air and furthering the effects of global warming, something for which methane is one of the worst offenders.

We also have recyclable waste, things such as clean cardboard, papers, tin cans, glass, rigid plastics, and some lighter plastics, which, through proper separation and processing could be used again, avoiding landfill.

The choice should be obvious, recycle as much as we can to slow down these methane producing masses. Take just one moment to consciously choose to make

sure that our waste isn’t contributing to these mountains of filth, one second in each day, by each person can save thousands of tonnes of harmful waste every year.

Unfortunately, in LCFE it is often the case that efforts to separate waste, to lessen its impact on our environment is made futile. A check of the general waste bins finds them filled with recyclables. Likewise, the recycle bins are regularly contaminated with general waste. No amount of work can fully separate these two wastes and so all of it must go to landfill. Even the staff room also does not have a separate bin for recycling, further contributing to this problem.

Solutions

Fortunately, the solution begins with making that small decision, weighing up the cost of that decision on your time versus the impact not making that decision has on the planet. It may be more inconvenient but by taking the extra time to find the appropriate bin, cleaning your plastics to make them recyclable, bringing them home to recycle, or changing parts of your routine that cause waste.

You can take responsibility for your impact and become part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. The world is our gift that we pass on to others, why not leave it better than we found it?

If

Never,

you are unable to recycle your waste, bring it home and put into the recycle and compost bin at home

ever contaminate recycle bins with the wrong materials

Soccer Article

Premier league final coming up !

Scott Roche

Premier League is coming towards its climax, and everyone has played 22, 23 or 24 games and that is definitely enough of a sample size to be able to judge the Premier League participants, some have under delivered and some have exceeded all expectations and I’m going to cover the traditional big 6 teams in the best league in the world.

Liverpool – Prior to the season everyone had Liverpool coming in a minimum of 2nd place and a lot believed they would win the league outright but they have had what you could only describe as a miserable season so far especially by their very high standards they have set over the last 5 years. In my opinion some of the reasons for this massive drop in standards are firstly

Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho have been shown too much faith by Klopp and they have not repaid that faith at all Liverpool’s press is a shell of its former self, also stars of former years like Mohammed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Roberto Firmino have naturally regressed with age which is fair they have given a lot to Liverpool and no player lasts forever. Liverpool in fairness have been massively injury ridden this season as well which is just very unlucky as Thiago, Konate, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota who are massive players for Liverpool and not being able to contribute to the team for consistent periods. With all that being said Liverpool are still a quality team and if some players return from injury and raise the level Liverpool could make a late push for top 4.

the loss of Sadio Mané who in my opinion is one of the greatest players they’ve ever had and those kind of players are very difficult to replace and do not come around very often, also they have misused the minimal funds available to them by signing Darwin Nunez for 100 million and Cody Gakpo for over 50 million add ons included. It is not those players fault though, they could very well develop into top players who are very good for Liverpool but Liverpool definitely had more pressing needs especially in midfield, it is borderline criminal how neglected Liverpool’s midfield has been it has been left to rot and aged and passed it players like Jordan

Chelsea – Disaster, that’s how you would describe Chelsea at the moment absolute disaster. Let me try and find some positives, They are under a new regime of ownership and a natural rebuild is inevitable although they shouldn’t be this bad, They have undoubtedly signed some top young players as well with high potential such as Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, World Cup winner and Young Player Of The Tournament Enzo Fernandez, also Wesley Fofana who was expected to make a big impact this year has been injured and also Reece James who is one of the best in his position has been injured for most of the season so

there are some variables and Chelsea have had some bad luck and have done some things right, but… were to we even begin,

Ownership for a start, disgraceful sacked UEFA Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel after 6 league games who was beloved by the fans because he didn’t align with the ownerships vision, which we have found out to mean he doesn’t want to sit there and be a puppet and a yes man to American higherups who clearly have no idea how to run a successful football club and have replaced Tuchel with Graham Potter who is a young manager who could have a great managerial career but it won’t be with Chelsea because that job is impossible.

Chelsea are everything wrong with football, American outsiders coming over, with no understanding of the culture of their club and have thrown money at anyone they want spending 611,490,000 Euros on players and also have a deal to bring in Cristopher Nkunku for 70,000,000 Euros already agreed for July 2023, in case you are unfamiliar with footballing financing that is a sickening amount of money to spend in 5 years let alone 6 months. Chelsea are all money and play without class, flair, creativity and have no fight, what a joke of a club a true antagonist to anyone that values the sanctity of football.

Tottenham Hotspur – To be fair they are not doing to bad, prior to the season it was a popular belief that they would be a lock for top 4, but it hasn’t been that easy. Son Heung-Min who was Spurs’ best player last year has regressed this year and Spurs are currently 4th which was the goal before the season and Harry Kane has been the 2nd best striker in the league behind something nobody can compete with. Spurs have not been sound defensively though and have conceded 35 goals meaning only 6 teams have conceded more which is simply not good enough especially considering they play a 5 at the back defensive system. Spurs probably need a bit of luck to finish 4th but if they up the level it could very well happen, and they can be in a better position to rebuild without Conté and clear out a lot of deadwood next year which they desperately need to do.

Manchester United – Wow very impressive, I don’t think many people would think United would be doing this well prior to the season or especially after the first 2 games but they turned it around, massively successful transfer window, Casemiro is just flat out world class and has brought United’s midfield to another level,

Martinez’s arrival has rejuvenated the United back line and Marcus Rashford’s revival has exploded the attack and all this is a credit to Erik Ten Hag and the amazing job he’s done in resetting the culture of that club that has been decaying for years, United are in pole position for UCL football next year and another great window next season and they will be massive contenders for the top trophies in Europe.

Manchester City are a victim of their own success, if they are not making light work of the Premier League then people think they are under-performing, they are of course having a great season by normal standards and field Erling Braut Haaland who is breaking every goal scoring record ever set in the Premier League in his debut season. They are 2nd and are most peoples favourites to win the league but the level has dropped from previous seasons. Aside from the very concerning rule breaking financial allegations off the pitch, on the pitch they lost some massive players like Raheem Sterling, João Cancelo, Fernandinho and have given top of the league Arsenal Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko who have improved Arsenal tremendously a mistake they definitely regret. It is natural after losing this many top players it is hard to keep the level and city do not look like they are going anywhere as long as they are acquitted of the off filed allegations.

Arsenal – Incredible, succeeded all expectations regardless of whether they win the league or not they have the youngest team in the Premier League, youngest manager in the Premier League and would be the youngest team ever to win the Premier League if they go on to do so, simply an incredible season, incredible players and a manager who in my opinion will maintain this high standard of football for years to come as Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have positioned Arsenal in an extremely strong position to do so. Nearly every signing over the last few years has been a massive success and have not cost nearly as much as what the likes of City, United or Chelsea have spent. Saliba, Partey, Ramsdale, White, Zinchenko, Jesus and captain Martin Odegaard all A+ signings and has rebuilt Arsenal from the absolute mud of finishing 8th backto-back as the club transitioned from stadium debt and a 20+ year regime that should have moved on earlier than it did, but it is all looking so positive for Arsenal right now who should compete for the league for many years to come something they haven’t been able to do for almost 20 years.

Working in the regional hospital Experiences

of one small cog in

the machinery of UHL

LCFE Learner

Nowadays in the national news there has been talk about the overcrowding in our hospitals, and in particular the University Hospital Limerick in Dooradoyle. This article details an account of someone who worked there for six months (full disclaimer).

The staff in UHL work day in and day out to ensure that each and every patient is taken care of. They honestly try their best, but it is simply the fact that the Accident and Emergency is overcrowded. There are too many people there making it impossible for everyone to be seen to.

This is because of mis-management of government and senior management level. There also aren’t enough beds to go around because the hospital was originally small. I myself worked as a cleaner in the hospital so I witnessed on a daily level what it was like every morning. I would walk to our storeroom to get my trolley and every time I would see poor downtrodden people sleeping on the chairs they were given the night before. Other people paced around the rooms with either sheer impatience or in my opinion, with boredom. Although

The cleaning process was often boring at best, due to the fact everything must be cleaned with care. Even one speck of dust and you were made clean it over again. It was necessary to clean the inside and outside of a bin, and even its undercarriage. Another fine task you had to do, was to meticulously clean every banister and rail on the stairs and every hand sanitiser to make sure there wasn’t even a small presence of germs. Deep cleans were the worst, where you needed to make sure everything was spick and span and I must say you find a new appreciation for how clean a toilet be.

There was one time I heard that someone had the bright idea to smoke a cigarette at night and carelessly threw it into a bin. It caused a small fire and one of my associates, a friend of mine showed me a picture of the wall in the room and it was as black as the night sky. Although cleaning one the biggest hospitals in the Midwest was tough it was remarkably quiet during my shifts, which were weekends and bank holidays.

There was one thing however that I did enjoy about the job and that was interacting with the patients. They had such remarkable stories to tell. Most people in

not often the case it became a common sight on my daily commute. I never really worked on the busy wards but once or twice you could see a patient on a trolley even in the more quiet wards

there were older people so for most, just having a bit of company was its own reward. You deal with all kinds of people good and bad and it was certainly a unique place to work, but a hard one considering some the working conditions.

Puzzle Time

St Patrick’s Day fun

Puzzler - Isabell Brenda

On or before Friday 24th March, by 6pm