College Tribune V XXNI Issue 7 by College Tribune

COLLEGE TRIBUNE Volume XXVI

Issue 7

29th January 2013

Independent Student Media Since 1989

James Grannell sits down with Ruairi Quinn to talk revolution and reform

www.collegetribune.ie

PATRICK WOLF

INSIDE

Page 7

Uncertain future for student nurses Cathal O' Gara Editor

ndergraduate and graduate nurses are set to step up their campaign of opposition to the HSE scheme aimed at recruiting graduates on a reduced salary. Last month, the HSE said that the scheme had been approved by the government to recruit the nurses to the public health service this year. As part of the initiative, the nurses were to be offered a twoyear contract on a rate of 80% of the first point of the pay scale for a staff nurse - €22,000 in comparison with the current rate of just over €26,000. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA), collectively representing over 45,000 nurses and midwives, are opposing the scheme, labelling it as a “cheap labour under the superficial guise of an educational graduate programme”. Earlier this month more than 500 new nursing graduates, many from UCD, attended a rally in Dublin's Croke Park and agreed to oppose the introduction of the scheme. The HSE began advertising the lower-wage positions on January 11th. Days later, the deadline for applications, which was to be January 18th, was extended to February 1st. It is reported that just over thirty of the thousand positions have been applied for. Additionally, though the scheme was initially aimed at 2012 graduates, it was extended to include 2010 and 2011 graduates. Both the INMO and the PNA believe that this change in terms and dates “confirms that the call for a boycott of this flawed programme is being followed by new graduates”. In a press statement, the INMO has said that their campaign was ‘further galvanised' by the remarks made by the Minister for Health, James Reilly, last week. "He effectively said to these new young professionals,

either take this low paid job (with 100% responsibility) or you can emigrate or work behind a fast food counter," it said. Áine, a final year UCD nursing student, said “There’s a lot of anger. I won’t take these contracts when I graduate this year. To be paid less than the nurse standing beside you is ridiculous. It’s slave labour.” “I’d love to stay in Ireland to work, but obviously that’s not an option anymore. I feel like I’ve been ran out of my own country...I voted labour in the last election. I was promised the internship wouldn’t be cut and it was, I was promised the qualified nurses’ wage wouldn’t be cut and it was, I was promised the sun, moon and stars and I got dirt. I feel betrayed, ” she added. Carol, a recent UCD Nursing Graduate, said “My contract with the hospital is up at the end of February. If it comes to it that they accept these new pay cuts, I’m definitely going to apply elsewhere. Even though I love my job and where I work, It’s just not a realistic option for me... I think it’s disappointing that after studying nursing for four years, after years of free placement and qualifying as an RGN, I may have to look abroad… It’s sad.” “At the rally, they talked about the pay scales in the hospital and it turned out that the cleaners were actually being paid more than us after a four year nursing degree in UCD. Something's definitely wrong there, ” she continued. Mr Reilly has shown his intent to further extend the contentious scheme for nurses towards other faculties of the health service, including occupational therapists and other professions. This contrasts the recent decision by Mr Reilly's department to decline an extension of the State internship programme to physiotherapy graduates, as was suggested by the Minister last year.

Above: Student and Graduate nurses gather at the INMO Rally Croke Park after pay scale threat

Student RES planned for Montrose Hotel site Ronan Coveney & Thomas Cullen News Writers

he College Tribune can reveal that plans are in place for a 190 bed student residence on the site of the former Montrose Hotel. In documents submitted to Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council a private company has proposed to operate the former hotel as residential accommodation for UCD students. The building, which has remained vacant for a number of years, is hoped to provide students with what the operators call “bespoked service accommodation”, with student accommodation units arranged in 26 clusters of up to eight ensuite bedrooms which will include shared kitchen, living and dining areas. The companies, Ziggurat (Montrose) Ltd, with a registered address in Jersey, and Lonnegan Trading Company Ltd plan to target returning students along with

postgraduate students according to documentation submitted along with the planning application. The rooms would be let directly by Ziggurat to students and would not be linked commercially with UCD RES. A small number of parking spaces have been provided as part of the plans, with just 15 spots for cars along with 35 spaces for bicycles. Much of the car park at the front of the building is for the use of commercial tenants on the ground floor of the building and will not be available for people residing in the residence. The management company Ziggurat, who plan to run the residence on a day to day, basis describe themselves as a ‘specialist provider of purpose built student accommodation’. According to their website the company also provides student accommodation close to the Uni-

versity of Edinburgh campus. The company also has requested permission to rent the rooms on a short term basis during the Summer period. The Montrose Hotel was opened in 1964 by hotelier PV Doyle and operated at that site up until January 2010. Select Retail Holdings, which previously operated the supermarket chain Superquinn, bought the site from the Jury’s Doyle group in February 2007 for a reported sum of €40 million. A large number of residents in the vicinity have voiced their objections and observations about the proposed development. Concerns have been raised over the inadequate number of parking spaces that will be available for students living in the residences as there will be only 15 spaces available for 190 Continued on page 5

editor@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

25thOctober 11th October2011 2011

INSIDE THE TRIBUNE

COLLEGE

TRIBUNE

“The most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening.” – Rosa Luxemburg. James Grannell Editor

ever were words so apt as these are in our present time. Across the country many are suffering as a result of the “economic downturn”. As real people endure hardship we are relentlessly lectured from on high about markets, capital, bonds, and how we need to take the harsh medicine that will cure us of our fiscal woes. We here in the university are not immune to this. Many students are being hit hard by the decisions of this government. To some readers it may seem far-fetched, but there are those among us who are having trouble feeding themselves. There are those among us who cannot afford bus fares, who worry about where they will find next months rent and who are uncertain if they can finish their degree for want of money. While the Dáil pantomime continues, real people suffer. Cathal O'Gara Editor

The idea of democracy was that the people ruled themselves, yet we as a society have become accepting of something less than this ideal. We have settled ourselves to elect rulers to whom we surrender our liberty and independence. How odd it is that a government elected by the people can carry out an agenda that the people do not want. They tell us that they know best and we, like devoted and trusting children, believe them. An establishment has emerged in this country that has lead to the alienation of the masses of people from the governing elite and yet we remain silent and docile. Now is most certainly the time to proclaim loudly what is happening. Now is the time to proclaim the hardships being forced on ordinary people. Now is the time to proclaim that our politicians are a pack of shameless barefaced liars. More importantly, now is the time to fight for change, to stand side

by side in solidarity and shout “no more”. The student movement should be at the forefront in this fight. For too long we have slumbered while our weak willed leaders have sat idly by, more worried about their future political career than the needs of those they are supposed to represent. Indeed in 2010 we learned that not only does this sickly leadership ignore the plight of their Union members, but they will actively condemn them for making a stand against the masticating jaws of the state. I am all too aware that our dear leaders will protest at my words, but again I ask, what have they done? Given us a day out in the city once a year for a carefully choreographed march? Where is their radicalism? Where are their ideals? Where is their backbone? Even Ruairi Quinn organized an occupation during his student days and he’s hardly an example of the radical left.

We need to take back our Unions. We must take them and mobilise. In doing so creating a force that can take on the government, the HEA and the university. Within UCD it should be the policy of our Union to stand side by side with the academics and the staff of the shops and restaurants as well as cleaning and caretaking staff etc. thus creating a block that can act as an effective lobby group in university decision making. On a national level we must support campaigns against austerity policies that are affecting the country as a whole. Perhaps when we next march with the national Unions all of us will turn out on the streets to proclaim loudly what is happening. In the meantime, let us proclaim loudly what is happening to us students and our universities and let us proclaim loudly the lies we were spun. Let us proclaim what is happening to our society and let us fight to take it back.

You have been invited to...

Google calendar pop-up is behind this document, flashing, nagging me to respond. There’s a meeting going on right now and the pop-up is saying that I should really be there, right now -behind it is the *blip” *blip* of Facebook chat. I am one of the hundreds of individuals within UCD who want to be involved and plan to be involved, but somehow always miss, intentionally or not, that one new society I wanted to try or that event with any given speaker. It is commonly Tierney that UCD is home to over one hundred student societies. However, it's few and far between societies that can get more than twenty members at each meeting/event. When attendance is habitually low, it seriously diminishes the society’s effectiveness. The people who attend feel awkward, the audi-

tors and officers dejected. Nothing much can get done with only a few people there, so the meeting/event is, more often than not, short and stilted. It ends with plans to meet again for more stultifying stilting. This general lack of attendance and enthusiasm disincentivizes students from becoming active in societies. The ambience of disregard lends itself to a sense of pointlessness. No one wants to walk out in the cold and rain only to find themselves sitting around in a quiet room for 15 minutes or hearing unprepared speeches in an illprepared talk.. It is a vicious cycle — if no one shows up, nothing can get done, the effort will seem pointless and the society unproductive. Thus, at the next meeting, no one shows up. Once somebody makes the decision to skip a meeting, they join the campus-wide negative cycle that

COLLEGE TRIBUNE STAFF Editors: Cathal O'Gara James Grannell editor@collegetribune.ie News Editor: James Grannell Deputy News Editor: Thomas Cullen News In Focus Editor: Dawn Lonergan

a wholly adequate job. An online campus-wide schedule of societies would better inform the student body of the overall organization of their position on campus, thus encouraging involvement. Many societies’ lack of accessibility is also apparent through the divide between those leading the society and those merely attending the meeting. Long-established societies on campus can sometimes feel insular to new members, intentionally or not. Individual societies ought to work to avoid such insularity and find unique ways to further promote attendance. Each society should find what works best for their target audience and use it. A revitalised single campus-wide schedule (owing to the fact that the UCD Connect one is atrocious) , open to all societies, would greatly aid in collective accessibility and student organization.

Contributors List

Features Editor: Michael Phoenix

Chief Writer: Stephen West

Illustrator: Robert MulPeter

Music Editor: Ciaran Breslin

Eagarthóirí Gaeilge: Cormac Breathnach Daire Brennan

Fashion Editor: Róisín Sweeney

Sports Editors: Conall Devlin Amy Eustace

grips like a vice. Why does it happen? Students are constantly overwhelmed with classes, jobs, familial duties and may just not be interested in what these societies have to offer. However, there are many other reasons for this lack of involvement that regrettably cannot all fit into a single editorial column. An overall lack of enthusiasm is a problem that needs to be addressed within each individual. The decision to get out of the Daedalus and go to a meeting is theirs and theirs alone. The distribution and organization of societies, however, can be collectively addressed. Facebook communicatio is easily ignored, forgotten and deleted. Emails regarding societies are definitely no exception. While Facebook is currently the best system we have to communicate and disseminate information, it clearly is not doing

Arts Editor: Conor Fox Designer: Cathal O' Gara

Chris Becton Kathryn Toolan, Lisa Gorry Peter Hamilton Lauren Tracey Stephen West Eoin Callaghan Thomas Hobbs Niall Conroy Michael Donohoe Elizabeth Coote Kate O' Donnell

Shauna Hayes Ronan Coveney Silvana Lakeman Ciarán Carey Peadar O' Lamhna Rachel Carey Peter Hamilton Matthew H. Farrelly Darragh Moriarty Ceithreann Murray Eoin ó Cróinín Elaine McDonald Darragh O' Connor Shane Meagher Anninka E. Barry

NEWS BOI sought guarantee-free loan scheme Page 4

FEATURES Change Behind/Change Ahead: Economic health Page 9

TRAVEL New York Frame of Mind Page 10

BUSINESS Abenomics Page 12

GNÉ - AILT Siombailí mar shiombailí de rudaí eile L 14

SPORT Interview with Leinster's Adam Byrne Page 19

REGULARS Community & College Page 15

EDITORS' CHOICE Ruairi Quinn Interview Page 7

Cathal says: James Grannell meets with Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, discussing the hot topics of revolution, reform and why he signed the pledge in the first place.

COLLEGE TRIBUNE Scan the QR code to visit collegetribune.ie

news@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

NEWS

UCDSU Constitution to undergo changes Thomas Cullen Deputy News Editor

Several changes are being proposed to elements of the new UCD Students’ Union constitution which was voted in by students in March of last year. The suggested alterations include a restructuring of the current class representative system and the introduction of a timeframe for the release of executive meeting minutes and attendances. A constitutional review group was set up by UCDSU to discuss and propose these changes before they are approved by SU council and later voted on in an upcoming referendum. The group have held meetings before and after Christmas, with the final meeting being held this week. The group meetings were chaired by SU President Rachel Breslin. The most notable change being considered is the complete

overhaul of the current Union Council Representative (UCR) position. Under the proposed changes UCRs will be replaced by a Class Representative position, which is similar to what students have had elected in their classes in previous years. The Class Reps will attend and vote at SU council as well as organise various social events for their classes. A new position of “Base Representative” is also being considered. Base Reps will be elected to represent classes not adequately represented by a Class Reps, and will be determined by the College Conveners based on guidelines agreed at the beginning of the year by members of the executive. Changes to Article 15 of the constitution have also been suggested. This relates to the Stu-

dents’ Union funded newspaper The University Observer. The alterations will mean that the newspaper editor will have to present a detailed & fully costed budget to the Union executive before August 1st each year. The editor may also have to meet with the SU President at the end of semester 1 to review the newspapers budget. Any negative variances in excess of 5% in the papers budget must be referred to the Independent Appeals & Disciplinary Board (IADB). Discussions also took place regarding the pay of the University Observers editors and designers. It has also been noted that under the new constitution one of the roles of the Union Secretary was to record the minutes and attendance list of each meeting of the union executive. These min-

utes were meant to be published once they had been approved, but have only recently been put up on the UCDSU website. The proposed changes mean the minutes and attendance lists from each meeting of the executive will have to be released not later than one month after the relevant meeting. Financial aspects were not discussed during the constitutional review meetings as they were an important part of the loan deal which the Union received from the university. The new sabbatical positions were also not up for discussion as they had not yet come into effect, however, several members of the review group wanted to discuss a return of the Ents Officer in the constitution. As a result a future referendum may be called in relation to the

Ents Officer position. If such a referendum passes, it may mean another election will take place further on in the semester for the Ents position. Other notable changes that are being considered include executive members producing reports at every second meeting of council, the president and returning officer to annually review the Class Rep constituencies, and for the Welfare and Equality Officers to ensure strict confidentiality when dealing with cases unless it risks the health of the student involved. It is believed that the referendum on the changes to the constitution will be held in tandem with the upcoming USI referendum.

NEWS

news@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE

29th January 2013

NEWS IN BRIEF THOMAS CULLEN Noam Chomsky to give lecture in UCD Noted intellectual, philosopher and political analyst Noam Chomsky has been confirmed to give a lecture in an event organised by the UCD Philosophy Society. The lecture will take place on the 2nd of April. Chomsky last visited UCD in 2009 and before that had given a series of lectures over a number of days in 2006. He is a professor in Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is known worldwide for his writings on linguistics, politics, war and philosophy.

UCD professor wins award for contribution to folklore scholarship UCD Professor Patrica Lysaght has been honoured for her outstanding contribution to folkloristic and ethnological scholarship. Professor Lysaght has written ten books and more than one hundred research articles during her career. Her best known work is the 1986 book The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger. Lysaght has also worked in Germany and Russia before she came to UCD.

UCD graduates nominated for Irish Times Theatre Awards Two former UCD students Caitriona Ennis and Gavin Drea have been named on the shortlist for the Irish Times Theatre awards. Ennis has been shortlisted as best actress for her performance in the play “The Boys of Foley Street”. Drea's performance in the play “A Whistle in the Dark” has earned him a nomination for best supporting actor. The award was first given in 1997 and has since honoured excellence in Irish theatre, from actors, directors, to production, writing and design. The winners of each award will be announced in a ceremony in February.

UCDSU Executive Minutes Released

‘Don’t Be That Guy’ campaign launched in UCD

Peter Hamilton

Rachel Carey

News Writer

he Students' Union executive has published minutes of their meetings for the first time since the beginning of term. The executive has the responsibility of looking after the day-to-day operation of the Union and is composed of the sabbatical officers, the college convenors and the Irish language officer. Prior to the Christmas break some of the executive minutes had been sent to a College Tribune writer without being approved. These minutes have now been published in their entirety with approval. UCDSU president, Rachel Breslin, intended on having executive meetings on a weekly basis however minutes of those meetings have only been published online up to the meeting on the 30th of October 2012. Commenting on the partpublishing of the minutes, Breslin said, “the executive wanted a clarification of some things that were said at the minutes of the November meetings.” The Union has decided to publish these minutes now because “I had time over Christmas to gather them and give everyone a chance

to review them…and it’s something that we’ve discussed in the constitutional review group, to put a date on when they should be published,” remarked Breslin. As the constitution stands there are no time limitations on when the minutes have to published and thus it’s up to the discretion of the Union. Discrepancies have been noticed between the minutes of the executive that were sent without approval and the final minutes. “There were a number of inaccuracies on the notes that were taken,” commented Breslin in regard to the unapproved minutes. She says that with the taking of minutes one ends up with a very “haphazard account of what actually happened.” Breslin doesn’t foresee that the Secretary will be punished for her error because “there was no malice and when this happens on a once off basis, you’re able to move on with it and it was an honest human error.” The matter has been dealt with internally and Breslin was not willing to disclose any dealings to the public.

Running track location bailed for Ball

News Writer

he ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ campaign aspires to raise awareness of the links between sexual assaults and alcohol. It targets potential offenders and asks them to take responsibility for their actions in the hope of putting an end to rape and sexual assaults. One of their main aims is to fight against the culture of victim blaming. This campaign has recently been set up in UCD with the official launch coming on 14th February which occurs during Sexual Health and Guidance week. Spokesperson for the UCD branch of the campaign, Ciara Johnson, told the College Tribune that they hope to attract not only college media but national media at the launch evening. “It will hopefully mean that people will not only begin to talk about these issues in UCD, but also all over Ireland,” Johnson added. As well as having guest speakers on the evening of the launch, the campaign will also involve posters which will use blunt language and striking images. These posters will be the basis of a permanent poster campaign which will take place on

BOI sought guaranteefree loan scheme

Peter Hamilton

Matthew H. Farrelly

News Writer

t has been confirmed by UCDSU President, Rachel Breslin, that the running track is an unlikely option for this years UCD Ball as it is “being used as a storage compound for the Science Facility so we don’t have access to it.” If it is to be considered, an agreement will have to be made with the contractor who is currently using the facility but at present it seems as though it is not the likely option. Both Breslin and Ents officer, Eoin Heffernan, are working towards an on campus location for the ball, however Breslin could not confirm that it would take place on UCD premises. The locations that are currently being considered include the car park to the rear of the student centre and a site near Richview but “no site is without problems” according to Breslin. It is anticipated that UCD ball will not require an event license but will need an alcohol license which takes approximately six weeks to process. Breslin says that she is worried about that ball and that every option that the Union looks in to has its complications, but she is

confident that there are enough contingency plans in place. Ents officer, Eoin Heffernan, agrees that health and safety risks are the biggest issues and the Gardaí need to be satisfied for a location to be confirmed. He is confident however that a location will be decided on within UCD. The position of the Ents officer is uncertain at the moment as, according to the UCDSU constitution, the position will be abolished for the next academic term and the officer will be replaced by a full time professional in the role. There has been speculation that the officer position will be decided upon again by popular referendum, however, no referendum process has yet begun. The Union are questioning whether there is a desire among students to have an Ents referendum, but as of yet no signatures have been handed in to begin the referendum process.

campus. Lecture addressing, campaigning on social media sites and stands based around UCD will also be a major part of the campaign. The members of the ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ campaign also hope that other societies in UCD will help support this drive to promote awareness of this growing campaign. Second year Arts student LauraBlaise McDowell explained to the College Tribune why she wants to be part of the movement:“Victim blaming is rampant in our society and it's time that instead of girls being told not to get raped, guys were told not to rape. It's important to highlight what is classified as sexual assault and what's not okay, and it's also vital to draw the blame away from the victim”. Johnson also told the College Tribune of the growing level of interest amongst students who wish to set up a gender equality society in UCD. A preliminary meeting has already taken place about how best to proceed with establishing this society. Currently this idea is in its very early stages.

n an interview with the College Tribune, Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn revealed that Bank of Ireland requested that the government does not underwrite or guarantee their graduate loan scheme in what he described as a “commercial decision” on the part of the bank which received a €4.7bn government bailout in 2011. “They wanted to be able to tell the international markets and the wider market, if you like, at home that they weren’t dependent on government underwriting to make it a success,” stated Quinn. He also revealed the banks belief that if there was no guarantee provided by the state, that those who borrowed would be less inclined to default. The Minister admitted that this perception on the part of the bank was worrying, describing it as a “moral hazard”. “This might say a lot about us all as a country,” said Quinn who sees the scheme as a means to shore up the economic crises within the Irish education system. Bank of Ireland launched their Post-Grad loan scheme, which was developed in conjunction with

the Department of Education and Skills and the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), in August of last year. This move on the part of the banking sector had been to some extent necessitated when the government decided to discontinue maintenance grants for postgraduate students in 2011. The bank also provide a loan scheme aimed at parents and guardians of third level students to cover the cost of the annual registration fee. The loan is available at a discounted rate with a 9.9% APR while another scheme where students can fund their own registration fees is available at a rate of 11.9% APR. On the 9th of January the government sold €1bn of bonds used to bailout Bank of Ireland in 2011. The bonds were sold for a sum of €1.01bn, a return of 10% per annum, described by he Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, as “a generous return” for the Irish taxpayer. The Irish government currently holds 15% of the Bank of Ireland while American investors bought a 35% stake in the bank 18 months ago.

news@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

What will the neighbours think? “Most of these students do no harm but we do from time to time however experience drunkenness, public urination and unacceptable noise…our children must be allowed freedom to travel to the shops/neighbours houses etc. in peace, safety and comfort” - Because UCD students are always either publicly urinating or restricting children from shopping.

“This will become a death trap. Drunken students and balconies don’t mix!”

NEWS

Student RES planned for Montrose Hotel Site Ronan Coveney &Thomas Cullen News Writers

Continued from front page

“It restricts the freedom of movement for our children” - Will someone please think of the children!

“When occupied and displaying the various county colours the building will look like a tenement and will not enhance the appearance of the area”

“Given the general stress of student life and indeed on young persons in general and the increasing incidence of suicide, the access to the roof area should be eliminated. With the same concern in mind, it is essential that all windows should have a system to prevent them “God help us when the tenfrom being opened completely” ants arrive!” - Studies have shown that no roof access and -Resident on the locals' closed windows dramatically reduces suicide impending doom 11714 rates inBng Irelandphoto ad_Layout 1 24/01/2013 12:05 Page 1

students. The surrounding area is already known for having few parking spaces available for locals due to students parking in the area before walking to the UCD campus. Another observation is the leaking of sewage into the nearby houses and Glenomena Park from the building. This was a nuisance for locals when the Montrose Hotel was in operation, yet the new plans do not contain any form of solution to this problem. Residents in the area claim that there was very little consultation with them before the plans were announced. The local community have also stated worries about the anti-social

behaviour that students may engage in that will have a negative effect in the area. This includes the consumption of alcohol and late night parties that could lead to high levels of noise pollution. Rubbish being left in the surrounding areas by the students is another concern voiced by the locals. The planning application does not include the ground floor, which has led to objections from the locals on the basis that they should not approve of any development until they know the entire plan for the building. The addition of an extra storey is not consistent with the height of buildings in the surrounding area.

Best ACTUAL objections to planned development

Bord na Gaeilge UCD

Comórtas Grianghrafadóireachta/ Físeáin Photography/Video Clip Competition

UCD Repeat fees highest in Ireland Thomas Cullen News Writer

T Can you capture

‘Spiorad na Gaeilge ar Champas’? Rannóg/Category 1 Grianghraf/Photo Rannóg/Category 2 Físeán/Video Clip

Duais/Prize Duais/Prize

€100 €150

Spriocdháta/Closing Date: 27 Márta 2013 Tuilleadh Eolais/Conditions & Specifications : ranganna.gaeilge@ucd.ie Bronnfar an duais ag ócáid: Gradaim Bhord na Gaeilge 2013

www.ucd.ie/bnag www.facebook.com/BordnaGaeilgeUCD

he cost of repeating modules or resitting an exam in UCD is currently higher than any other university in Ireland. The amount that a student must pay in order to repeat a module or resit an assessment is set at €230. The second most expensive institution to resit an exam is NUI Galway where the cost is €200 in total. This is regardless of the amount of exams that are being retaken. DCU is also expensive with the cost of €190 for an August resit, with an additional €60 late registration fee if the student fails to register before August 1st. In Trinity College Dublin students who have failed must undertake supplemental examinations which are free of charge. The difference in UCD between a repeat and resit is that students repeat the taking of an entire module while resits involve retaking only an assessment in a module. When modules are repeated the grade and grade point is awarded which is capped at 2.0. When resitting an assessment a pass/fail grade is given and the grade point is also

capped at 2.0. When asked why repeating a module which includes lectures and tutorials, is currently the same as a resit which only involves an assessment, Michael Sinnott, the Director of Administrative Services, told the College Tribune in September that “repeat and resit charges (flat rate irrespective of credit load) are set at the same level primarily to ensure that when a student chooses between a repeat or resit they do not make such a decision on financial grounds. For example, if we were to charge less for resits than repeats, bearing in mind the pass/fail for resits versus the letter grade for repeats, we could be accused of creating a financial pressure for students to get basic pass/fail grades, with more of these appearing on transcripts, reducing the value of degrees etc.” Mr Sinnott also confirmed to the Tribune that there is no particular allocation for the money that is received by the University from repeat/resit fees. Module registration for repeats and resits closes at 5 o clock on Friday 1st February.

NEWS IN FOCUS

COLLEGE TRIBUNE

news@collegetribune.ie

29th January 2013

Dublin during World Blood Day, 2011.

You’re Somebody’s Type Dawn Lonergan examines the details of the Blood Drive on Campus

ccording to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, 3000 donations are needed every week to keep supplies available. This is ongoing while one in four people will need a blood transfusion at one point in their lives, and over 70,000 people in hospitals will receive these donations this year. However the problem is this; only three percent of the people of Ireland give blood and a single unit of blood just lasts for 35 days.In the period just before the the 11th of January this year, supply was very tight with just 4 days available in all of the major blood group. Donations have increased since this but this should never have happened, especially as it is something that can be easily maintained. How did this happen in the first place, if becoming

a blood donor is as easy as good health, between 18 and 65 years of age and weigh at least 50kgs? There are numerous rules that stop many people from giving blood, which are as simple as that you must wait four weeks after you get a piercings,and four months after a tattoo. You must wait also wait two weeks to donate if you are currently on antibiotics. Additionally, if you have a cold sore you cannot give blood until that has healed. You should not donate blood for 2 weeks if you have recently recovered from the flu or have just completed a course of antibiotics.You can never give a blood transfusion have received a blood transfusion in the Ireland on or after the 1st January 1980 or if you have spent 1 year or more, in total, in the UK from 1980 to 1996.

The more complicated ones include the following: you or your partner is HIV positive, a 12 month ban if you have given birth, or a lifetime ban if you are a homosexual man. In a previous article written by The College Tribune Over 600 signatures were collected as part of the “Give Blood Because We Can’t” campaign, which is looking to lift the ban on men who have ever had sex with another man from donating blood. Many people fear what exactly will happen when they give blood, even though it is, according to Third year Law with Politics student Margaret Hayes, “such a simple thing to do that could potentially save a persons life” What happens exactly when you go in is that, firstly a drop of your blood will be ana-

lysed for haemoglobin (iron level) content.After the medical screening process which is to check if you are anaemic, you will be shown to a donation bed. A doctor or nurse will then insert a needle that is attached to a blood bag. The bag is kept out of sight below the level of the bed. You will be asked to open and close your hand to ensure smooth blood flow from the arm.The donation itself takes between 8 -15 minutes, and takes just under a pint of blood. People also have worries about giving blood to something that has a bad history of spreading disease due to incorrect procedures. For example, in Ireland between 1977 and 1994 a number of people were infected with Hepatitis C unknowingly, and clear evidence on this did not become available until the mid 1990s. Most of the peo-

ple who received this blood were women. The Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal was established by the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997, and amended by the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal (Amendment) Act, 2002, to compensate people who contracted Hepatitis C or HIV as a result of receiving blood or blood products. People are recognised for their commitment by being awarded as follows: a silver award for ten donations and a gold award for twenty donations; a gold drop is given for fifty donations and presentation at an awards dinner ceremony; a porcelain pelican for a hundred donations with the presentation at an awards dinner ceremony.

allows for countries to put forward their own agendas such as negotiations in CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and marine quotas, which no doubt Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney TD will try to use to his advantage during his six months at the helm of the Council of Agricultural Ministers. Council meetings and negotiations during the Irish Presidency will no doubt be regarded as hostile amongst certain member states. Last week, British Prime Minister David Cameron gave an historic speech on the future of the UK in the Union. The certainty of a UK in/out referendum by 2017 will no doubt leave the Unions future uncertain and will have significant implications for Council meetings in the near future. The thought of a country leaving the union would make Schuman and Monet, the founding fathers of the Union, uneasy if they were alive today. 2013 also marks the European Year of the Citizen which was launched in Dublin City Hall on January 10th at a special event

attended by Commission President, Jose Manuel Barrosso and his Vice President, Viviane Reding, and Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton TD who engaged with over 200 citizens in the Citizens’ Dialogue which was moderated by Pat Kenny. Questions such as the bank bailout, the future of the Euro, Citizens’ Rights and the future of Europe all dominated discussions with Commissioner Reding stating that Citizens’ Dialogues will be taking place across Europe throughout the year. Minister of State Lucinda Creighton told the audience present that the Irish Government planned a series of European roadshows throughout the country with the next one taking place in Cork on Friday, 15 February 2013. Finally, European Movement Ireland launched a Young Journalists Programme to cover the Presidency from the prospective of 18-25 year olds which shows a growing interest in the concerns of young people.

European Affair

Peadar Ó Lamhna examines the Irish presidencey of the European Union

rom January 1st 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the Council of European Union for the 7th time since Ireland joined the European Economic Community 40 years ago. But what does the Presidency mean for the ordinary Joe or Joesephine Bloggs on the street? What impact will it have on the daily lives of Irish Citizens who are generally see the European Union as getting further and further away from being accountable to the

Irish public? Launching the Presidency, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, An Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore and Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton highlighted the priorities of the Irish Presidency – Stability, Jobs and Growth. In the Irish Presidency document the Government states that their priorities will be to ensure lasting stability throughout the Union, starting with the necessary renewal of economic governance in Europe. Key areas for progress will be a Banking Union and financial services reform. With regards jobs, the Irish P r e s i dency will place a spotlight on youth

unemployment throughout their six month term of office. The Government intends to ensure momentum behind the Youth Employment and Social Investment Packages and secure agreement on decisions in the areas of health, mobility and education. The Government states that their essential approach will reflect the best of the previous Irish Presidencies – which have always been regarded as being honest, open and transparent, striving for efficiency and with a firm focus on results. On the other side of the argument, Euro Skeptic MEP Nigel Farage of UKIP stated that Ireland’s role of holding the Presidency as being nothing more than hosting a few meetings with some nice tea and sandwiches thrown in for good measure. Whilst the importance of the rotating Presidency has decreased some what since Belgian Herman Van Rompuy was appointed permanent President of the Council to stop the heads of government bickering like 27 ten year olds in a playground, the rotation

features@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

FEATURES

Quinn:

The man who signed the pledge James Grannell sits down with Ruairi Quinn to talk revolution and reform

CD 1968 - a group of students occupy Earlsfort Terrace demanding their voice be listened to on how the university should be run. Among the leaders were Kevin Myers, Úna Claffey, and Ruairi Quinn. All three went on to hold prominent positions in their own right; Myers as a contrary columnist, Claffey as an advisor to Bertie Aherne, and last but not least Quinn was elected to Dáil Eireann as a Labour TD for Dublin South-East in 1977. He currently serves as Minister for Education and Skills. Reminiscing on those heady days when gentle revolution was in the air Quinn comments, “It wasn't a university as far as I was concerned, it was a Catholic academy.” “Philosophy was taught from the benchmark of Thomism, economics likewise, and sociology, all in accordance with Catholic social teaching. There was an informal kind of understanding, basically Fianna Fáil saw UCD and to a lesser extent the other two universities as basically the retreat for Fine Gael people and they didn't intervene very much with it…it was just poor. I mean the occupation in UCD in the school of architecture was about academic excellence.” “We realized we were in serious danger of losing it so there was, basically an occupation designed to concentrate everybody's energies around reforming it and improving it, which is what subsequently happened.” As part of this reform Quinn and his comrades backed a student by the name of Eddie O’Connor in his bid for the presidency of the Student Representative Council, the precursor to the Students’ Union. O’Connor went on to win the election and after his UCD days had a glittering career, he is co-founder and chief executive of Mainstream Renewable Power as well as being the founder of Eirtricity. When asked about the future for current students Quinn, who served as

Minister for Finance from 1994-1997, responds by pointing out all that is positive for Ireland’s youth. He points to the markets and to the ease at which communication can take place in the modern world with its global market. “The education they get is portable,” states Quinn. “The world is shrunk in terms of communications…I think the broad second and third level education system is good and the access that people have internationally is extremely good. There's an awful lot of academic collaborative work now taking place over the internet where people in fact don't physically even get to meet on occasions. They might have a Skype telephone conversation, but a lot of it is collaborative work done on a shared platform and shared email.” Quinn admits that there is a problem with third level funding that needs to be shored up. “I would maintain that view and sustain it by saying 42%-43% of people going into undergraduate courses in third level get some form of grant assistance, from 100% down to a limited amount. That's pretty high statistic by any standard,” he adds. “We do have to look at the funding model for third level education and what I've said on a number of occasions is let's proceed with the implementation of the Hunt Report - that's going out to the next stage this coming calendar year - and see where we can get synergies and can get economies, where we can avoid duplication and drive down costs and maintain standards and then look at what the viability in terms of funding

actually is.” Quinn points the finger of blame for the hikes at his successor as Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy. “When he came into Finance after I was Minister for Finance he did not index the value of the Student contribution, the replacement for the fees and so towards the end of the Fianna Fáil period the fees went up by over 900% in terms of student charge,” he states. “What I’ve done now and I did it with a heavy heart, but never-theless had to do it, was to say yes, we have to fill this gap and we’re going to do it. To give people notice we’re going to do it over four years and this is the way it’s working out.”

What I’ve done ... I did it with a heavy heart, but never-the-less had to do it

With recent talk of collaborations and mergers at third level in the national media, the Minister questions the need for duplication of courses and, given improved transportation, the need for so many smaller third level institutes. “There's a question mark as to whether we need, given the modern technology and communications that I've already referred to, plus the transportation infrastructure which has transformed time/travel distance we’ll say from Dundalk to Dublin or from Dublin to Galway, whether we would, if you were starting today, have 14 Institutes of Technology and seven universities plus DIT. And do we need all those courses? Does Dublin city, for example, need to have three different business schools or could those business schools actually combine and

share facilities, because they’re all being funded publicly.” The Minister is also a believer that the access route for third level has to be reformed, that the junior and leaving certificate exams have to be changed and that the points system needs to be reformed. He is committed to accomplishing these changes during the term of this government. “Other access models have to be looked at, because while Ireland is a very unequal society in terms of power and wealth and the distribution of income, there’s no evidence to suggest that intelligence and creativity is confined to those people who also have money and status. We have to find more ways of opening the doors for people to get into third level, it’s not just the conventional route of primary school, secondary school, leaving certificate and then into college,” remarks Quinn. The sixty-six year old Minister for Education believes that it is understandable that the USI campaign is focused at his party.“I happen to be the political minister and I happen to be from the Labour Party. If it was a Fine Gael minister it might very well be Fine Gael. But I think that’s understandable and inevitable,” says Quinn. In relation to the USI pledge signed by the labour Party before the last general election in which that party gave a commitment not to increase fees, Quinn states: “you can’t change history, you can’t change the past and it was a decision, I didn’t take it on my own…We wanted to send as clear a signal as possible that the need for a change of government was absolutely imperative.” Ruairi Quinn is a prime example that participation in radicalism during your student days won’t hurt your future career. However, after speaking to the man who broke the pledge and raised fees while cutting maintenance grants for third level education, I think he is perhaps a better model of how youthful optimism can so easily be crushed by a determined political career.

FEATURES

features@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

The Economics Underneath Silvana Lakeman talks to UCD lecturer Vincent Hogan in an attempt to pierce the economic veil

ith budget cuts, increasing taxes, rising unemployment rates and decreasing access to education, for many in Ireland it is easy to get caught up in the hype generated by our government and other smaller governing bodies, even those such as our Student Union. Often, the more we pay attention, the more we are subjected to political speech and endless numbers. In light of this, an important question for students is how can we look behind this front and make sense of the economic downturn as on a personal level, and how can we make the most of what we are given. The students coming through university today are not the same as those in previous years. We’re no longer the children of the

The big question economically for the government is would it be better to give students the money, or to someone else? Because someone has to lose out... Celtic Tiger, we’re those who were too young to cash in on the boom at the time, and we are now working our way through college in very uncertain economic circumstances. It is sadly very common these days to know of someone who has been refused a grant, is working ridiculous hours to get by, or has had to drop out of college altogether. It’s all too real these days for many of us, which is why I decided to get the opinion of one of UCD’s very own economists on the matter, Vincent Hogan. In early October last year, the Irish Examiner printed an article which stated that the ‘recovery’ we hear of from our politicians as regards the downturn is non-existent, and just a story spouted by TD’s to keep the mo-

rale of the Irish public high and compliant to demands made by the government such as the continuously increasing taxes we face. According to Hogan, the main idea of the Government when entering into the bailout when it started was that although the domestic economy wouldn’t do well, the rest of Europe would hopefully have rapid growth, which would then lead to growth in Ireland. In terms of any truth to the ‘recovery’ rumors, ‘there are some definite slight improvements in the Irish economy. Firstly it has stopped getting worse and come to a standstill of sorts. Mr Hogan points to exports at home as one of the few bright sparks that hint at recovery, however ‘even though they are doing very well, investments in other areas aren’t doing well enough for exports to offset everything else.’ When we talk about ‘exports’, the sectors that we are talking about include anything to do with international finance and business, pharmaceuticals, engineering and information technology. The activity in these areas means that studying within them at university could lead to a career in an area that is still seeing great growth in Ireland, as opposed to the standstill seen in the civil service sector. However, Hogan also pointed out what we’ve all been told before – that it is still important to pursue a degree in something you enjoy and excel in. ‘Good graduates will always have better luck at getting jobs, I still write plenty of job references for students all the time, so I think the big thing is to study what you like, because if you have a first class honors in a bachelor degree, even in something like Greek and Roman civilization or Hebrew, that is going to look better to employers than mediocre grades in something like economics.’ The important thing as a student is to be positive, and not let your career decisions be influenced by the current state of the economy. Students have never been completely financially independent, as while we can have more control over our money and the direction we choose to go in, we are still dependent on others for a leg up at this point. ‘From straightforward economic prospects, employers are not going to be hiring many people anytime soon,’ said Hogan. ‘There will be jobs, but it’s more a question of will there

be enough for those who want them, which is no.’ Hogan highlighted that in regards to the 87 000 people leaving Ireland every year, students need to make their own decisions in relation to study options and what comes after they leave the education system. This, he says, has always been the case, regardless of how the economy is doing. In relation to our job prospects here in Ireland however, ‘there is and will be for a while very high unemployment, you can’t escape that the Irish economy is generating less jobs than there are people seeking jobs. The ECB and its choices will ultimately dictate our opportunities, as well as recovery in the rest of Europe. There are a lot of ifs right now.’ For the average student paying their way through college, at least partially by their own means such as through a part time job (if they are lucky enough to have one) an increase every year of two-hundred and fifty euro in fees is a huge amount of money to have to come up with. Since I started here at UCD, fees have gone up drastically; however in the coming years, new students will pay much more than I to graduate. The big question I had for Professor Hogan was whether he thought increasing fees without either introducing a loan scheme or simultaneously increasing the number of grants issued each year (as opposed to the reduction we’ve seen since the last budget) was the best decision economically for our government, and if our current system is a sustainable one? ‘Yes and no. The budget constraint is very tight, and there’s no vested interest group in Ireland that would choose to put money into third level education as it stands. The big question economically for the government is would it be better to give students the money, or to someone else? Because someone has to lose out, and the truth of it is that no one really cares about students to be honest! Not at a time like this.’ Taking a look at how Ireland currently manages its tertiary system, we seem to hover between a few different methods in place around the world. Many believe the student loan system in place in countries such as Australia is what we should model ours on, whereas other countries such as the United States have very high fees, yet provide enormous grants to al-

low those who deserve to be in college to keep their place there. Hogan pointed out that ‘comparing a college such as Harvard (where the fees currently stand at $57, 950 for a US citizen) to those we have in Ireland, fees are relatively low here with a high implicit subsidy, whereas many of those students at Harvard would not be able to afford to go there unless the government paid for them. In Ireland, because everyone is subsidized, you then get problems because the poorest still won’t be able to afford the subsidized fees, but those who benefit from the current system aren’t going to object.’ In an ideal world, most would agree that we would have a system in place where those who deserve to be in university are able to attend irregardless of income or socio-economic background. The idea of a loan scheme is that someone who earns a place in university but cannot afford it outright can borrow money, to be paid back post-degree and in installments, at a time when their income is above a certain level. However at a time when there is really no money to be spared, it does not appear likely that such a system will be implemented anytime soon. The topic has been on the table for a while, however, so only time will tell whether we see the introduction of such a system in the future. ‘Ireland might think of starting a loan scheme,’ said Hogan, as ‘there’s always been small-talk of it. It may occur before the end of the downturn but it’s all very up in the air.’

features@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

FEATURES

Change Behind: Change Ahead

Darragh Moriarty looks for answers to the past and the future of Ireland’s wellbeing

ow that the Christmas break has ended and semester two has commenced, it’s time to start learning, studying and worrying about your future, once more. Since you’ve gone and spent your couple of quid buying presents for people you don’t really like or buying various unnecessary items on ‘sale’ that you didn’t really need, you’re back to being a broke student counting down the days until the grant is lodged. For us students who have invested our time, money and effort in choosing to attend college in the first place, our future certainly looks to be more uncertain than we had planned. For the vast majority of us our future prospects in Ireland at the moment seem to be bleak. We owe so much mind-boggling amounts of money that my little Arts head gets hurt when I attempt to watch the Frontline or Primetime. We had it so good for so long that any change was always going to negatively affect the lives of all people. Not everyone reaped the benefits that Ireland’s dramatic economic growth had to offer, but the majority did, the ‘good times’ as they’re now referred to could never ever be sustained and now a lot of people have fallen from grace and are stuck with houses worth half of what they paid. Life in Ireland though, day-to-day life in general may not be as bad as it’s made out to be according to some reports. An OECD study, released in 2011 found that the average Irish person when asked to rank their all-round ‘life satisfaction’ from 0 to 10, ranked themselves at 6.9, above the 6.7 average compared to other developed countries. Despite this, if you were to listen to any given phone-in show on any particular radio station some people of Ireland would have you believe that this government has pushed people into poverty with their austerity programme, ‘people can’t afford food’ some might say. How can the average person rank their life at 6.9 out of 10 and then claim that they can’t afford to eat? There may not be enough money to have steak every night but people could surely sacrifice their Sky or UPC every month if they really faced going hungry. Indeed, all people, right across the country have been adversely affected by the policies of our government and yes the people at the bottom are always going to feel it that bit more, but Labour have abandoned their core voter base and allowed Fine Gael to safeguard the money of the people in the upper echelons of our class structure – that’s a story for another article. Dear Enda on the other hand is off earning brownie points in the EU for being such a good little austerity imposer. He’s lapping up the plaudits for overseeing a relatively smooth running austerity programme that has ticked along nicely without much meaningful or sustained opposition. He will continue to do so until Ireland can re-enter the markets and start borrowing again. Ireland’s international creditability has been put back together piece by piece by this government, not to the liking of the people but to the liking of the people that we owe the ridiculous sums of money to.

The report also found that young people aged 15-24 in Ireland face difficulties with an unemployment rate of 28.7% compared with the OECD average of 16.7%. It doesn’t take a genius to surmise that this statistic is correlated to the fact that this age group lived off the fruits of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ for a number of years and now they appear to be reluctant to get up and go get a job. This is because too many jobs are beneath our young people. I’ve personally known people who have not taken jobs because they’re only minimum wage. More statistics show that the average person in Ireland works 1,664 hours a year (32 a week), less than most people in the OECD who work 1,749 (34 a week) hours on average. According to this statistic Irish people work less than our developed counterparts. Despite this however, the average person earns 24,156 US dollars a year, more than the OECD average of 22,387 US dollars a year. According to this particular report we work less and yet we earn more. There’s no doubt most people in Ireland were earning more than they deserved over the past ten to fifteen years. Of course this is not why we find ourselves where we are economically. Today, despite our recession we are still earning more than other developed countries. The report found that in overall comparison with other countries, Ireland has come a very long way in a short space of time. Compared to the actual poverty (such as a family of ten living in a two bedroom flat) that people had to live through in the 1980’s, we are now a different country. 94% of people in Ireland claimed that they were satisfied with their living conditions, much higher than the OECD average of 87%, but perhaps more crucially, higher than Germany’s 93%. When asked about their general health perhaps somewhat typical of the Irish disposition, 83% of people claimed they were in good health, compared with the OECD average of 70%. This is despite the fact that our obesity rate has soared to 23% compared to the OECD average of 17%. What do these statistics mean and why are they being written about? This is to show that Irish people are doing well compared to what they’re saying on the Adrian Kennedy show. In 1988 Ireland was ranked as the 15th best place to be born in the world. Since then the US, France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Japan who made up six of the top eight have all fallen behind Ireland. Ireland is now ranked as the 12th best country to be born in 2013, this is despite our apocalyptic economic situation. We’re not doing as bad as we think. We came a long way in a very short space of time, what’s gone on here over the past five years or so is that we did not know how to manage our new found wealth. All we can do is learn from this. This is a case of two steps forward, one step back. The government, as unpopular as they are, have made a difference. We’re on target to become economically independent in the not too distant future so perhaps the future for us students does not look as desperate as it seems. Perhaps we won’t have to get a one-way ticket to Canada or Australia.

This is a case of two steps forward, one step back. The government, as unpopular as they are, have made a difference. We’re on target to become economically independent in the not too distant future so perhaps the future for us students does not look as desperate as it seems.

TRAVEL

features@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

New York Frame of Mind

Cathal O' Gara travels to New York City and discovers that there's much more to the city that never sleeps than meets the eye

t all started in Grand Central. After tipping the shuttle-bus driver and alighting onto 42nd street I decided upon lunch. Entering the station I was greeted with tall windows, grand marble staircases, extravagant chandeliers and the famous four-faced clock positioned above the central information booth. A symbol of the centennial, that clock would become the prime meeting point for my time in NYC. A ceiling painting of the zodiac towers above the main terminal, a mirror image of the sky made from gold-leaf constellations and twinkling light bulb stars -apparently painted from God's point of view. I wander. There's a hole in the ceiling near the Pisces constellation that marks the spot where cables secured a rocket ship displayed there in 1957. In the ceiling’s northwest corner, near the stationmaster’s office, there’s a black square – the colour of the ceiling before the renovation owing to cigarette smoke (or so every New Yorker had told me since my first visit; I think it's an urban myth). After wandering the halls of the station for nearly an hour, I lunch at the Oyster Bar. This is where things got weird. Just outside the Oyster Bar lies the “whispering gallery”, an archway where if you press your face to the corner and whisper it can be heard clear as day across the w a y . There stood a woman, dressed head to toe in

red, whispering into the corner and attempting to run fast enough to hear herself on the opposite side. This woman was trying to run faster than the speed of sound. If you ever happen upon anyone trying to break the sound barrier in heels I have a tip: don't laugh. I laughed. I laughed so much that the tourists in the Vanderbilt hall admiring the portrait of Jackie Onassis could have heard. At this point I'm approached by a man who squawks, “Do you think something's funny?” I pause, gather myself and realize that he's not the only face looking in my direction. Apparently, dressing like a Special K advert and running from corner to corner in a train station in Manhattan in an attempt to catch the sound of your own whisper is “ART.” Mortifying. The man informed me of a similar 'event' which was take place on the High Line later that evening. I was intrigued, however I had no idea where this 'line' was or even how 'high' it rose. I was adamant on seeing similar 'art' pieces, if not just for the laughter. As I soon found out, what New York lacks in decent nightclubs it makes up for in art. Everything in the city is an installation or “work in progress”. On the western fringe of Manhattan, parallel to the Hudson River, a steel bridge hangs nine metres in the air, like a new horizon. This is the High Line Park, once an expanse of derelict elevated railway that was sentenced to death b y demolition, now reinvented as

If you ever happen upon anyone trying to break the sound barrier in heels I have a tip: don't laugh.

a pathway. From Gansevoort Street in the former industrial hub of the Meatpacking District, it runs north as an uninterrupted mile-and-a-half-long promenade through artsy Chelsea and the Garment District to 30th Street, invigorated by art installations and more than 100,000 indigenous shrubs, trees and flowers. Beneath the promenade, the 10th Avenue traffic muscles its way uptown with its customary urgency. Yet on the High Line, there is no road rage or interference from crosswalks and commerce. Here, it’s the old-fashioned, open-air enchantment of walking, surrounded by nature and interacting with art, all while being suspended above the city. From the staircase’s first landing, the view includes the windows of the niche boutiques that now decorate the formerly drab and industrial Meatpacking District where butchers once dominated – Ted Baker, Trina Turk, Tory Burch and the High Line’s star benefactress, Diane von Furstenberg. There’s a sudden roar from below: revellers are sampling pints of German beer and cabbage-sized pretzels at the Standard Hotel’s Biergarten. The hotel literally straddles the High Line: the Standard’s columns rise above the park like a grey rocket, albeit one made of brick and glass. Beneath it, at street level, are cafés, the raucous Biergarten and the stylish Standard Grill, where designerclad patrons click-clack across the floor – made from a composition of cop-

per pennies – and lounge on curvaceous banquettes made from soft, berry-coloured leather. Near 14th Street, a toedeep water feature spills over the walkway, encouraging pedestrians to remove their shoes and wade through a rippling pond as a rustic border of cattails catches the breeze. Women take off their sandals. Men remove their 'sneakers'. Children splish and splash to escape the heat. Patient customers queue for ice lollies at the People’s Pops stall, where a handchalked sign describes today’s flavoured ices, made with locally grown, sustainable fruit and herbs: a pungent toasted yellow plum and appealingly astringent apricot & lavender. Further along, above 15th Street, the Porch café serves artisanal beers on tap. Chilledout groups chat and drink at umbrella tables, looking out to the river as cruise-liners pass by the Chelsea Piers. Beer and wine are confined to the Porch premises, but the ice lollies, like the purple asters and radiant coneflowers blooming in the gravel track-beds, are enjoyed everywhere. At the Sunken Overlook, the 10th Avenue traffic below doubles as the entertainment: wooden benches form a mini-amphitheatre where viewers experience a voyeuristic slice of hectic street life through a four-sectioned window. Nearby, passers-by experiment with the ‘talking’ drinking fountains – pressing buttons to take a sip and listen to poetry, singing and helpful messages such as “drink freely” and “however, please do not lick the fountain”. Only in New York...

Here, it’s the oldfashioned, openair enchantment of walking, surrounded by nature and interacting with art, all while being suspended above the city.

11 Poetry

features@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

Page Eleven Poetry

The Tragedy of Youth

So it goes

I know how the cynic is born. She is born on a snowy April day, The hopes of light and life perpetually postponed. The means are never adequate to reach the ends. She carried the burden of hope for twenty two years, Only to feel the mirage

An attack of fierce kisses amidst a frenzy of discarded garments. Bare bodies, naked to our souls. A moment in each other's skins to be a negligible chapter in the stories of our lives. A kiss unshared, a heartbeat that never skips; a moment in the future that goes untouched - AH

Melt and Drip through the cracks of her open palms. Her hands were open, waiting, ready to receive. She did not turn cynic over night, but slowly Her hands began to shrivel and curl back into fists. Hands do that when they have nothing to hold on to. Her nation declared Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. So she pursued, But while looking for the fountain, lost her youth. Spectators yelled from the sidelines: If you just Work Harder! If you just Believe! If you just Dream! Ha. Dreams are all teases. You can look but you can't touch. Yet she kept running, even though the machine that once Pumped hot blood through her veins Had long since stopped working, rusted with tears. She ran to please the spectators. Always meant to be a pillar of strength, A woman of faith. How long must she wait? Oh, if they only knew. A cynic was born at twenty two. - MacKenzie Hayes

Page 11

A Woman by the river

Back home before your window and now that the time for sending poems is over the time for writing has begun and there’s all the ink in the world and it flows and flows

All the love in the world is but a drop in the ocean, When one already has a river in mind. She moved with such grace and beauty, Can angels be as kind? She sat by the river, Lying in the sun. I wished to join her, But Courage, I had none. Her hazel hair shone like the water, Glistening like gold. She walked through the wood, Eternally beautiful, strong and bold. Her lips so soft, her eyes so gentle, Few men are lucky to taste her kiss. She sang softly by the river bank, Her sweet sound is what I most miss. For she has my heart, But I not her's, She moves as the river flows. But I will stay here and wait, Where the memory of her never goes. -Scott Calvin

you only wish with your mouth with your fingers and knuckles that it could stop - DM

Gate 32

KINGSTOWN 1922 (fragment)

My boarding pass said Gate 32. After a night of drinking my mouth was dust, so I bought some orange juice, airport price. It was too sour anyway and I threw it all away. Then I went into W H Smith and read the front pages. Something about burning flesh in Palestine. I got a book called The Catcher in the Rye. I think it was Ariane's favourite book, so I should have known better. I put my eye on the first page and looked out the window. The morning sky yawning. I never sleep on planes even when I have to. There was an inflight magazine full of ads in the seat pocket. That, and the women's magazine Elle. No pathetic thanks. I opened the book again, but I couldn't make it to the first full stop. I don't see how she could have read this. I don't see how she could have finished it. A pretty young air hostess, college age, came wheeling a trolley down. I asked for a gin and tonic. -Anything else? she said after leaning over me and fixing the cocktail. She smelled like brie. -Are we over France yet? -No. Still England. She seemed confused. -Well. If you wouldn't mind, miss, please come back and tell me when we're passing over France. If you wouldn't mind. She smiled at me and said not at all. I winked. I tried to read that book. So artificial. So fucking full of issues, calling everything a phoney but its own evil self. This man Salinger was a fool who thought the world owed him something, I'm sure. Probably had affairs. But I didn't care, I drank my drink. Gin and tonic is like a perfume on the nape of a neck. I'd leave the book at the end of the flight. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it because it wasn't for me.

Days blend into one and you do not count them as they pass some are sunny and some windy and rainy but you do not count them and you don’t even dream because how could you? You live and smoke and drink and sit outside this pub and you listen to the waves in the company of seagulls and think of neither past nor future and you do not count the days as they pass but you drink tea and good stout and good whiskey smoking drinking and sitting outside pubs bearing witness to fights between the sailors and the soldiers and the fishermen who live and drink and smoke too much and do things such as counting the days as they pass but not you you think of neither past nor future just sit and smoke and drink and feel the sun heating the bench on which you sit until it blisters your skin but you do not count the days as they pass for they pass slowly and lazily and you do not measure them in the beating of the waves against the shore you live and sit and smoke and drink doing things such as not counting the days as they pass because counting is a waste and you cannot get those days back and the soldiers and the sailors and the fishermen and the whores know it but they cannot help it but you can as long as you do not count the days as they pass. Until you cannot help it any longer. And you still live, sit, smoke, drink, but now you count each drink, each cigarette and each crashing wave. And then there is just a week left, and tomorrow two more days left and sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight cigarettes left and you do what you do but it is no longer the same because there is only one more day left and you buy tea in the morning, Guinness in the afternoon but you skip the whiskey because they don’t take drunks on board. You say goodbye. You get up and walk slowly to the port. You leave your bag behind. You don’t need a bag where you’re going, Charles.

She came back. -Sir. We're just across the channel now and over northern France. Callais. -Perfect. I got up and went into the bathroom while we were flying over France and urinated. -Colm Sewell

Send submissions to features@collegetribune.ie

- Amadeusz Kepinski

BUSINESS

editor@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

Mortgagae crisis stalls recovery Niall Conroy Given that Ireland has experienced one of the most spectacular housing booms and bust, it is of little surprise that many are now struggling to pay the mortgage. Many received loans which are simply unaffordable now, due to reckless lending and significant drops in net income. The latest Central Bank figures on Mortgage arrears support this notion. Out of 761,000 mortgages 135,000 are in arrears. In addition to this another 43,000 accounts are not in arrears but have been restructured, these are cases where the mortgage holder has been up to date with their mortgage, but now feel they will not be able to meet their repayments. So almost a quarter of all mortgages could be described as being “in distress”. It would seem that many of these cases are those that bought close to the top of the market and now find their mortgage unaffordable. People simply have too much debt (and any increase in interest rates will not help either). The implications of this are well established, excessive household debt slows growth considerably. It seems pretty intuitive that if people are up to their eyeballs in debt they will be reluctant to spend, they become very cautious economic agents. The current policy of the banks to deal with problematic mortgages has been to restructure them. This incorporates tempo-

rarily reducing payments, extending the term of the mortgage and giving mortgage holders a “payment holiday”. All of these measures are short term measures, they do not deal with the fundamental issue: many people have too much debt. They cannot afford to pay it now and will not be in a position to pay in the future. There has been a limited amount of write downs on mortgages. It is important to clarify this, the banks have accounted for losing about €6bn on mortgages, but this does not mean they have written down peoples mortgages. The banks seem to be hoping that if they adopt this “wait and see” approach of reducing payments now, people will be able to pay the mortgage at some stage in the future. An immediate write down of mortgages which are vastly unsustainable would be better for growth prospects. The main Government response has been the personal insolvency bill. The main consequence of this legislation is to reduce the term of bankruptcy from 12 years to 3 years. However, at any stage of the bankruptcy, the bank can apply to the courts for a bankruptcy payment order. If granted, the bank can access a portion of the borrower’s income for a further 5 years. While the headlines may say bankruptcy only lasts 3 years, it can be 8 years. The other important element of the

legislation is the introduction of personal insolvency practitioners. They will mediate between banks and borrower when the borrower is unable to pay. They will propose an agreement along the following lines: the borrower agrees to pay an affordable amount for 5 years, after this the mortgage is written down to an affordable level. The mortgage holder stays in their home and the bank gets as much money back as seems possible. This scheme is desirable because it gives the mort-

gage holder some hope and certainty for the future and allows them to participate in any potential recovery. The only problem with the scheme is that it requires the cooperation of the bank. The bank can always decide to reject the recommendations. In order for the legislation to work the banks must be forced to accept the findings. What will happen? Will the banks engage? Well, like the banks we’ll just have to “wait and see!”

Abe Attempts to Resuscitate a Dormant Japan Eoin Callaghan

e here in Ireland know too well the short term consequences of a spectacular financial boom and bust. In recent weeks we have been led to believe that our economic woes have hit rock bottom and are on the rebound. We have restored competitiveness, especially in labour costs, and have expanded our export market further. The signs suggest a return to normal economic activity in the medium term. Japan experienced its very own financial meltdown, following a stock market and real estate bubble bursting in the early 1990s. After the Second World War Japanese politicians put policies in place that coerced the public to save their income. As banks built up large deposits, credit became more readily available and at cheaper prices. Combining cheap money with deregulation and expansionary central bank policies resulted in large capital investment and financial speculation. The “maddening of crowds” became evident as people became over-confident and more bullish in their investment decisions. The bubble reached full volume in December 1989, and popped soon after in 1990. The aftermath of Japan’s financial collapse has become a textbook topic. The economy has never fully recovered, with many commentators referring to the last 20 years as “Japan’s lost decades”. In the most recent global turmoil, central banks and policy makers have done their upmost to avoid the catastrophic mistakes made by their Japanese counterparts in the 1990s. In order to curtail the asset price bubble, the central Bank of Japan (BOJ) hiked nominal interest rates in 1989 - which was the first domino in a line leading to financial turmoil. Having increased rates, the BOJ was then reluctant to lower them in response

to the collapse of the economy. Keynesian economics suggests that in times of crisis monetary policy should lower interest rates in order to stimulate economic demand. When the BOJ eventually decided to follow this approach, they found that their policy had no effect. According to Paul Krugman, Japan had fallen into a liquidity trap. This occurs when the public saves large amounts of money in fear of deflation or lack of economic demand. It is diagnosed by a combination of near-zero interest rates and ineffective monetary policy – both features were present in the Japanese case. Alongside the BOJ policy failures, the government continued to prop up insolvent banks with vast amounts of money (sounds similar – right?). With effectively unlimited sovereign financing, the Japanese banks continued to lend at very low rates and did little to deal with their insolvent debtors. Commentators coined the term “zombie bank” to describe this unsustainable business model. While the Irish government bailed out our own banks in 2008, they did so with very clear conditions attached which aimed to restructure troubled loans, provide real economic benefits to the SME sector and wide ranging management changes. Japanese policy makers took 8 years to finally deal with their zombie banks, in a large scale industry consolidation in 1998. Over the last 20 years Japan has experienced an unusually long period of stagflation – almost constant decreases in prices. The government has built up an enormous level of national debt, reaching 230% of GDP in 2011, with a budget deficit of 9.7% in 2012. Most of this has been financed domestically, utilizing the large stock of private savings. However, with a large ageing population and

Above: Shinzo Abe, newly elected Japanese Prime Minister a desire to return to economic growth, policy makers are desperately trying to revitalise the economy. In December the country voted in a new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who had signaled a desire for the BOJ to double its inflation target from 1% to 2%. Inflation targeting is a process used by central banks, where they set a target and adjust monetary policy in order to achieve their goal. It is thought to bring economic stability. In Japan’s case it is hoped to end a period of stagnation and lost opportunity. Alongside this “bold” monetary policy, Abe recently announced a $116bn

economic stimulus which “will be the first of a unified policy package” that he promises to “implement strenuously.” The third element of “Abenomics” will come later this year with measures intended to increase Japan’s economic potential, which has diminished by a substantial amount over the last two decades. Abe and his economic policies have received differing comments in the public media. If they fail, Japan will face an increasing debt burden with no economic green shoots in sight. If Abe succeeds, he may become the final paragraph in the textbook chapter on Japan’s infamous economic woes.

14 GNÉ - AILT

gaelige@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

Siombailí mar shiombailí de rudaí eile Dáire Ó Braonáin Eagarthóir

rdaítear ceist na féiniúlachta ag an am seo gach bliain ar na hoileáin seo. Tá Comórtas na Sé Náisiún ag druidim linn arís agus is ar na páirceanna imeartha a throidimid ár gcathanna na laethanta seo. Glaonn lucht rugbaí na hÉireann, na hAlbain, agus na Breataine Bige an ‘sean-namhaid’ ar na Sasanaigh, agus tuige nach nglaofaidís? Is tíortha beaga muid, agus úsáidimid spórt mar uirlis a bhaineann lenár bhféiniúlacht. Tá an tír seo ag athrú agus tá sé deacair féiniúlacht na hÉireann a mhíniú, ach is é an cluiche in aghaidh na Sasanach ceann de na hócáidí is tábhachtaí dúinn fós. Bíonn éileamh mór ar na ticéid i gcónaí, ach bhí éileamh as cuimse orthu i 2007. B’shin an cluiche ba thábhachtaí i stair nua-aimseartha na hÉireann, an chéad chluiche in aghaidh Sasana i bPáirc an Chrócaigh. Thuig muintir na hÉireann go raibh níos mó ná cluiche le buachan ar an lá sin. Den chéad uair riamh, seinneadh ‘God Save the Queen’ san áit inár mharaigh airm an Breataine ceithre shibhialtaigh déag. Cé go raibh agóidí beaga ar siúl, thug lucht leanúna ardmheas don amhrán sin, agus deirtear gur thaispeáin an ócáid sin go rabhamar aibí go leor mar náisiún. Níor canadh ‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ chomh hard riamh, agus tar éis an

ruaille buaille ar fad le hamhráin, thugamar léasadh ceart dóibh, agus bhí dhá bhua againn ar an lá sin. Tá comparáid ann idir an ócáid sin agus le gach rud atá ar siúl i mBéal Feirste faoi láthair leis an mbrat. Cé nach bhfuil féiniúlacht na tíre chomh soiléir is a bhíodh sí, táimid fós tógtha le siombailí, amhráin agus brait. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil rudaí níos doimhne ar siúl ansin agus nach mbaineann na hagóidí leis an mbrat amháin. Cé nach aontaím leo, tuigim a gcruachás agus tá cead acu agóid a eagrú ach chaill siad meas nuair a thosaigh an foréigean. Bhí an lámh in uachtar ag na hAontachtaí i mBéal Feirste ar feadh na mblianta. Bhí siad sásta ina stát Protastúnach féin, ach tá ré na nAontachtaithe ag druidim chun deiridh sa chathair. Is léir gur thaitin neamhionannas leo, agus ceann de na rudaí is measa faoi seo ná go bhfuil easpa ceannaireachta ag teacht ó na polaiteoirí. Ní féidir leat sochaí dhaonlathach a bheith agat mura bhfuil polaiteoirí sásta cloí léi. Bhí an rialtas, na póilíní agus an airm acu agus bhí na náisiúnaithe faoi chois acu chomh maith. Le fiche bliain anuas, bhí orthu íobairtí áirithe a dhéanamh; cumhachtroinnt le Sinn Féin agus an R.U.C.; agus an U.D.R. a scor. Shamhlófá go mbeadh na hathruithe sin níos measa dóibh agus

nach mbeidís buartha faoi bhrat, agus gabhtar do leithscéal más rud é gur cheap tú go raibh síocháin cheart ansin toisc nach gcloistear scéalta faoi bhuamaí a thuilleadh. Tá ardmheas ag na dílseoirí don bhrat, bheifeá in ann é sin a fheiceáil sna heastáit tithíochta atá lán le brait ar na cuaillí solais agus atá péinteáilte ar na colbhaí. An bhfuil an brat mar shiombail níos tábhachtaí dóibh ná cumhacht sa rialtas nó an siombail iad na hagóidí seo ó dhaoine a bhfuil frustrachas

orthu, atá ag cúlú agus ag iarraidh a bhfrustrachas a thaispeáint ionas nach ndéanfar neamhaird orthu? Ceapaim go bhfuil siad mí-shásta toisc nach bhfuil an chumhacht chéanna acu, agus bhain siad úsáid as an mbrat mar shiombail den fhrustrachas sin. Seans ann nach bhfuil féiniúlacht chomh tábhachtach is a bhíodh sí, ach tá na siombailí a bhaineann léi fós ann. Beidh 50,000 ag caitheamh rud atá glas agus tabharfaidh siad meas

d’amhrán Shasana san Aviva ar an 10ú Feabhra nuair a thiocfaidh Sasana, agus leanfaidh na hagóidí i mBéal Feirste ar aghaidh ar feadh tamaill eile. Tá sé ag éirí níos deacra idirdhealú a dhéanamh idir thíortha, agus cé go bhfuilimid níos cosúla lena chéile ná riamh, déanaimid iarracht aon leithscéal a chumadh ar mhaithe le féiniúlacht éagsúil a bhaint amach, agus úsáidimid siombailí cosúil le hamhráin agus brait chun é sin a dhéanamh.

Ficsean an chultais: an bhfuil a leithéid ann i litríocht na Gaeilge? Eoin Ó Cróinín Scríbhneoir

s iad leabhair chultais an cineál leabhair a aimsítear i bpócaí dúnmharfóirí. Dúnmharfóir John Lennon, bhí The Catcher in the Rye á iompar aige nuair a mharaigh sé é agus is cosúil gur cheap sé gur Holden Caufield, príomhcharachtar an leabhair chéanna, a bhí ann féin. Cuirtear an leabhar seo i gcatagóir an fhicsin chultaigh go minic. Leabhar eile ná Growing Up Absurd le Paul Goodman, a bhí á léamh ag matamataiceoir Meiriceánach, Ted Kaczynski, a fhad is a bhí sé ag scaoileadh buamaí i Meiriceá chun

aird a tharraingt ar an laghdú atá tagtha ar shaoirse an duine faoin gcóras caipitlíoch. Deirtear gurb é Crá Croí Werther Óg le Goethe a chuir tús le ficsean an chultais. Foilsíodh an leabhar sa bhliain 1774 agus is cosúil go raibh an-tóir air i measc fear óga rómánsacha na hEorpa a raibh crá croí fulaingthe acu. Chuaigh an t-úrscéal seo chomh mór sin i bhfeidhm orthu gur tháinig borradh ar an ráta féinmharaithe ina measc agus iad ag leanúint sampla Wether. Tarraingíodh aird, dá bhrí sin, ar an bhfeiniméan ar a nglaoitear “féinmharú aithrise” - nuair a mharaíonn duine é féin i ndiaidh do chara leis nó do dhuine ar aithne aige é a dhéanamh. Ar ndóigh, baineadh stangadh as scríbhneoirí agus údaráis na haoise nuair ba léir gur chúisigh an leabhar seo na féinmharuithe seo. Athscríobhadh deireadh an leabhair ionas nach gcuireann Werther lámh ina bhás féin ach bhí conspóid

ag baint leis seo, ar ndóigh. Ar aon chuma, thaispeáin an eachtra seo an chumhacht a bhí ag an litríocht dul i bhfeidhm ar shaol an ghnáthphobail i ndiaidh don chlóphreas teacht ar an bhfód go gairid roimhe sin. Is deacair cur síos cruinn a dhéanamh ar thréithe sainiúla an genre litríochta seo, agus d’fhéadfá a rá nach bhfuil tréithe sainiúla coitianta ar bith ag na húrscéalta a gcuirtear lipéad an fhicsin chultaigh orthu. Ach tá rudaí áirithe i gcomónta ag úrscéalta cultais: na mothúcháin a mhúsclaíonn siad in aigne na léitheoirí, cuir i gcás: an chaoi a dtéann siad i bhfeidhm ar na léitheoirí agus a mbíonn na léitheoirí faoi anáil acu. Déanann léitheoirí ionannú chomh mór sin leis an úrscéal go ndéanann siad déithe de charachtair áirithe sa leabhar agus go nglacann an t-úrscéal suntas reiligiúnda nó thar a bheith suntasach ina saol. Go bunúsach, deirtear go bhfeidhmíonn siad mar bhíoblaí pagánacha de chineál do léitheoirí áirithe. An bhfuil a leithéid de leabhair chultais ann sa Ghaeilge? Dá gcuirfeá ceist ar dhaoine óga Éireannacha céard iad na leabhair

is mó a chuaigh i bhfeidhm orthu is annamh an duine a luafadh leabhar Gaeilge leat. B’fhéidir go mbeadh corrGhaeilgeoir ollscoile a luafadh leabhar Gaeilge éigin duit ach ní chuireann an chuid is mó de mhuintir na tíre mórán suime i litríocht na Gaeilge. Ar ndóigh, is annamh an duine a bheadh dóthain Gaeilge aige, fiú, chun leabhar Gaeilge a léamh. Dá bhrí sin, is dócha go bhfeadfaí a rá gur litríocht chultach gach uile leabhar a scríobhtar sa Ghaeilge, sa mhéid is go bhfuil údair na Gaeilge ag freastal ar phobal beag léitheoireachta, a fhaigheann inspioráid agus dóchas ó leabhair scríofa sa teanga. Na léitheoirí Gaeilge, is dream iad atá tugtha don teanga agus a bhfuil tionchar mór aici ar a bhféiniúlacht agus, dá bhrí sin, ar a saol. Is bocht an cás é go bhfuilim ag cur léitheoirí na Gaeilge i gcomparáid le léitheoirí an fhicsin chul-

taigh, ach caithfear a rá gurb amhlaidh atá. Is beag duine, i dtéarmaí daonra iomlán na tíre, a fhaigheann sólás nó spreagadh ó leabhair Ghaeilge. Cheapfá go mbeadh níos mó léitheoirí Gaeilge ann, agus formhór de mhuintir na tíre tar éis ceithre bliana déag a chaitheamh leis an teanga sa seomra ranga.

editor@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

REGULARS

Community within University College Dublin

Elizabeth Coote Writer

hy community? Well I say why not community. University College Dublin for me was all about the community within its walls. During the last year I have borne witness to many of my past colleagues losing their jobs in the area of the Student Union Office, Shops, and Student Bar. During the stress and strain that they were enduring at that time, many protests took place and there was sound support from staff and students. However this support, while giving the workers who were losing their positions -some of whom had worked over 25 years- support, came to nothing and some of the finest people did have to accept that their jobs were lost to them. The word community came back to me and it stayed in my mind throughout the months of 2012. U.C.D. has been over many years a very close knit community; I am a living witness to that. It was through community support and help that I and others were able to hold onto the Student Union Shops during 1990’s. A multinational company saw how profitable the S.U. shops were and they put a bid forward to take over. They did not succeed which was due to community spirit and support from the majority of staff and students. During 2012 it appeared to me there was little or no community or spirit to save the many jobs which were lost, in my opinion lost unnecessarily. Good management is common sense, knowing your customers needs, treating your staff well. Add to this the fact that the

University has a captive customer on its campus; this makes all of the above so easy to implement and supply. Give the students and staff fair prices and the products they need to do their work and complete their studies. Common sense tells us that funding is needed to run a University and that battle is between government and the college authorities. All citizens should give support for proper and fair funding for our students, our elected politicians should fight for our citizens to be given the best education, which they know brings with it rewards which cannot be measured in a monitory way. Past history shows us how the people of Ireland had to fight to get any kind of education over many centuries. We must not go backwards we must keep fighting for future generations. When I advocate student prices, it is to help them and their parents who incur huge cost during the third level years. One very senior man, I will not call him a gentleman, made a remark to me when I was supporting students and workers, during a protest on campus. He said, and these were roughly his words, ‘ job loss, that’s down to the S.U. not running their enterprise properly with proper management and proper pricing, well let me tell you that once we get them inside the gates and their fees have been paid by government, we need to make profit on everything they purchase so that we have enough funds to keep this place open.’ I reply, 'it is the people of Ireland who pay with their taxes for their children’s education.' If there were no students

and academic staff, that particular man would not be employed. What I learned working and being a student is that a place of learning can never be compared to a place of business or commerce. The man in question has no idea how the system works. Let me enlighten him. Over my 30 years and many years before my time, U.C.D. authorities had in place a Senior Administrator employed by them to take care of the S.U. and its finances. I worked with two of these gentlemen who preformed their duties for the S.U. and Bars and in all the years they were in charge the businesses were financially sound. These men protected the jobs of the staff working for the S.U. by submitting full accounts, which were audited by the accountants employed by the S.U. and brought yearly to the Bursar's Office in the Administration Office. The system for S.U. employees was very different to those employed by U.C.D. Those employed by S.U. or Student Committee meant terms of employment were not with U.C.D. but with the new President of S.U. elected yearly, the staff had a new employer year after year. Looking back I see how difficult these conditions were and very hard to believe that any worker would work for such an establishment, however we did. We relied on the Administrator to guide the President and Officers of Student Union to treat the staff with respect, which during my term of employment was 99% successful. Returning to the beginning of this article: the word community and what it means.

Community is made up of people of all different walks of life who come together for the good of all. Within any community there are those at the top and those at the bottom, it is when those at the top have respect for those at the bottom and vice versa. People in good communities accept that everyone within the community has something to contribute. U.C.D. had one of the finest communities, originally in Earlsfort Tce and moving to Belfield in late 1950’s -a huge change for all, however the community settled into Belfield and the community thrived. The academic staff and students were respected and seen as the main stay of Newman’s University, his vision of what a University should be was all around us. We had academic staff, administration, telephonists, porters, security, restaurant, lady and gentleman cleaners, grounds staff, lady deans, and chaplains, all of them working tirelessly for the good of students. The student and their welfare was the main priority, the community generated a huge love of the College and the majority of us were working in a secure job, good conditions, respect for ourselves and respect for our colleagues. Cynics may say ‘yes and all of you were sheltered from the outside world of business’ and so implying we did not know how the real world did business. My answer to that is, we were not in business we were working in a place of learning and culture and when anyone of us might leave and go to work outside the walls of the University, we brought with us the knowledge and skills which would

ABOUT THE THE BEAST HATCHING “GOLDEN DAWN” EGGS

The “legalization” of the Golden Dawn party in Greece under the pretext of the need for the implementation of the democratic government procedures, is an attempt of the current political establishment to shift the boundaries of political discourse to the conservative far-right, to the point of suppressing the citizens' active participation in decision-making in matters affecting their lives. The Greek political establishment, as much as the European political establishment, are responsible for the rise of neo-Nazi ideology, its parliamentary representation, and its devastating impact upon people's lives. Cases of stabbings of immigrants by the Golden Dawn fascists are being reported throughout Greece on a daily basis. Also, there are recorded cases of humiliation of homosexuals and of all the “dirty scumbags” forced by the “normalization” discourse to the far margins of society. The Golden Dawn fascist group has been infiltrating the Greek police force for years now, and by now they are receiving its major support. Despite the fact that sufficient evidence is often provided, the majority of cases of racist attacks remain uninvestigated, and the Golden Dawn neo-Nazis remain unpunished for their crimes. On the contrary, members of anti-fascist protesting groups that have expressed their opposition to the violent racist attacks by the Golden Dawn, have been arrested, detained, and illegally tortured in their custody in the police stations. All the ones responsible for their torture, also remain unpunished. The Government, in full knowledge of the above, forces its own far-right agenda and tries to divert the public's attention from the real problems brought about by a corrupt political/economic elite leading the country deeper into depression. An example of its racist ideology is the recent organization of concentration camps, where thousands of immigrants are crammed every day under appalling conditions of living. As politicians admit themselves, they will thus “clean” the Greek society from their illegal presence and protect the autochthonous “Greek family” whose unity and “safety” has been “under serious threat”. This “Hollywood”-style mission is tragically facilitated, as hundreds of immigrants are drowning in the Aegean Sea–cemetery every year or blown up by minefields on the northern borders, in their struggle to reach the promised land where rumours have it that dignity of life is being protected. Fascist violence in Greece is rising every day. Torture and humiliation of dark-skinned immigrants by policemen on their so-called “Hospitable Zeus” or “Xenios Zeus” operation, attacks against actions of selforganization of social and public spaces, are a few more examples. Since the end of 2012, the Government, under the motto “Law and Order”, has initiated raids in squats arresting and charging their occupants. The squats, which have for many years been exposed to violent attacks by neo-Nazi and racist groups, are open public places where non-commercial cultural and social activities take place. In these open social spaces, groups of people engage with the local communities and organize non-profit cultural events, screenings, anti-racist talks, debates and workshops, seminars, Greek language courses for the immigrants, community kitchens and gardens, music events and theatrical performances, workshops for children, etc. The Golden Dawn party has become the right hand of the political establishment. It is not a new phenomenon, neither in Europe, nor in Greece. Already from the 80s they have been lurking in the dark Athenian streets raging against weak individuals - facts which the mainstream media have carefully managed to conceal. The leftist parties, on the other hand, have been condemning racist violence in theory, however, they have rarely tackled the actual problem by taking direct anti-racist action down the streets. In a similar way, their often repeated argument, for years, that the Golden Dawn ideas and their racist action shouldn't

help us to deal with people, and make a fine contribution to our new place of employment. Community is people and we all need people, perhaps not so much when we are 18 years of age, but later in life, as we age and go through life, it will not be sufficient to have the latest piece of technology in our hands, it will be our family and the people in our work place and neighbourhood, which will sustain and support us. To the friends who are no longer employed by S.U: the year 2012 brought huge hardship to all of you, which was not of your making, it was caused by people who took their eye off the ball. They must live with their conscience, if they have a conscience. I wish all of you good fortune and remember it may have been a difficult year for all of you, but you will carry with you the goodwill and gratitude of many within these walls. Good luck and good fortune is just around the corner, you are not the loser in all of this; it is the University who have lost some of the finest workers ever employed by S.U. and Student Bar Committee. So on that thought best wishes dear friends and colleagues, wishing you and your families a very happy and prosperous New Year in 2013. Finally to our current students and staff, make your mark in 2013, put community first, be proud of the past and remember what is to learn from it, work for the future, which all too soon will be your past.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

be “over-emphasized” because thus they become empowered, only leads to closing one's eyes to the cruel realities of racist violence, further endangering the lives of many fellow-human beings. The existing problem of racist violence in Greece, has now alarmingly grown. Having seemingly entered the bounds of “legality”, the Golden Dawn have come out in full daylight. In some cases they have been interrogating immigrant vendors in open markets, smashing their benches if the latter refuse to show them their documents, and playing the role of the macho cop who darts threats and takes the law upon his hand. In other cases, they have been reported to blackmail educators who encourage humanistic, multicultural education, while trying to attract the attention of Greek school students and propagate their ideology of hatred. Golden Dawn mentality didn't come out of the blue sky. It is being hatched by the average European and Greek citizen for some while now, under cosy blankets of myths that rehash the modern Greeks' direct racial and ethnic origin from a pure land called ancient Greece ; under Herculean myths about a fiery macho people. An ethnic pride which makes the bones of those buried under Acropolis ground rattle with laughter. Hopefully, all European tourists brave enough to visit Greece for some idyllic summer holidays this year, will pay them the honour of laughing along at those “myths”, under the scorching Athenian sun. Of course the egg is not only hatched in Greece. In this moist part of the “Western” world, the golden egg is hatched upon trays abound with pints of Guinness and mashed potatoes, which serve the idea of the happy leprechaun – the carrier of gold. On one hand, a modern pure Greek elite in direct seance-like communication with its ancient Greek ancestors, on one other hand, a happy-go-lucky hobbit-land mentality, already cultivated from the “Celtic Tiger” economic boom years. Each nation ideology is being formed by the construction of similar myths. Isn't it a matter of time until another macho man under the name Cuchulain, rises “like a phoenix from its ashes” in the midst of economic crisis -- to use their golden dawn discourse— and starts wiping out all dark-skinned or “dirty” deviating leprechauns? Sounds like a sci-fi scenario one would say, but it crossed my mind as I gaped, flabbergasted, at a bunch of Golden Dawn neo-Nazis disguised as moustached national heroes, parading into the Greek Parliament after they had been found attempting to illegally carry firearms. They were fully advertised by the mainstream Greek media, in proud neo-Nazi salutation inside the Parliament. Mainstream media that have for decades fostered the above harmless myths of Greek ethnic sovereignty (under the motto “Family-Church-Nation”), now advertise the neo-Nazi ideology. In “the land of Democracy”. The myth of a nation that constitutes one of the limbs of “Democratic” Europe. A Europe that takes pride in its Nobel Peace Prize, in the midst of fascist rise. The rising European neo-Nazism goes hand in hand with a far-right State conservatism. Its examples range from the French Roma deportation under Sarkozy, and Merkel's and Cameron's statements about the “failure of multiculturalism”, to a general xenophobic presentiment and the violent racist attacks reported all over Europe, from Norway, Austria, and Britain, to Germany, Begium, and Italy. As an Irish resident and Greek citizen, a wanderer between two worlds, unable to comfort myself with the idea of a national identity, I feel the need to voice this deep concern. The Golden Dawn egg of Europe seems to be hatching a very familiar beast that one day might cast its most horrid shadows upon our lives.

From an Athens-born Irish student

It’s Satire, STUPID!

INSIDE "French troops invade Mali in a desperate attempt to win a war. " There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can’t. Humpty Dumpty was pushed! Stop repeat offenders. Don't re-elect them! On the other hand, you have different fingers. Linguists search for another word for “Thesaurus”.

"Before I die I want mental health to be taken seriously. "

s part of a week aimed at raising awareness around mental health issues our dear Students’ Union have decided to assist the depressed in creating their own bucket list. What do you want to do before you die? Gone be the eternal focus on the positive aspects of life that plague every depressed and downcast heart. No more optimism for the dejected, instead we are all called to focus on our impending demise in an ingenious move on the part of the UCD Welfare crowd, who will do doubt

jump on the event with all the gusto of a Hare Krishna music group. What we really need to improve mental health problems is a sharp focus on our last days. Indeed it is a wellknown fact that individuals with suicidal tendencies don’t think about death half enough. If they could just make it their most prevalent thought, even for one day, then they’d surely feel better. If you were contemplating your last actions before you shuffle off the mortal coil then this is the prime opportunity to state them publicly

Guiney's Puppy farm exposed

for all to see. Think death, think last wishes, think Welfare. The event follows last semesters profound plan to round up the depressive rabble and have them crawl under a mound of duvets. After all, everybody knows that what the mentally ill need is more time in bed to reflect on the misery that is their life. Rumour has it that the coming weeks will see more outstanding events to make UCD a more caring, warm and all round fuzzy place to be. These events may or may not include Zumba dancing for

should have worn my other tie today... I KNEW tribal chic was in.

disability week, cake sales to raise awareness of diabetes, a banquet to end obesity, painting and decorating classes for homeless week and lessons on how to be more “Irish” for international week. The essential message is that negative feelings must always be reinforced; you must never ever accentuate the positive. In any case the Turbine expects this latest venture to be greeted with moans of disbelief from many who have drank from the lake of melancholy and know its bitter taste.

sport@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

SPORT

Cup drama in the... Thomas Hobbs gives a round-up of the weekend’s League Cup action

he FA Cup was not the only knockout competition seducing the eyes of the football world this weekend. Superleague teams, fresh from the Winter Break and despite testing conditions, returned to lock swords in the form of the glamorous League Cup. The competition, won by The Absolute Gents last term, has never been starved of drama and things continued in that vein with the UCD soccer astro staging scenes perhaps even more enthralling than those from Elland Road and Griffin Park this past weekend. Roebuck Rangers might have welcomed Friday evening’s encounter with Fifty Shades of Bray as a chance to turn over a new leaf after a torrid first half to the Saturday Division 1 season but the law students found themselves on

the wrong end of a 10-9 penalty shoot out. Having shocked the crowd and pundits alike through Kevin Casey’s early ‘worldie’, Rangers hearts were broken when Gavin Walsh equalised for Fifty Shades to finish the match 1-1 before penalties. The winter break may have come at a bad time for sleeping giants Bayer Neverloosin who appeared to have fallen into an even deeper slumber by Saturday afternoon ahead of their tie against Athletic Bilbao Baggins. The Neverloosin, who finished 2012 with some strong league performances, welcomed back anchorman Conall Devlin but the Belfast man was left with little worth writing about and could do little to prevent a 0-3 loss. Saturday Premier big boys Filbert Athletic took a day off from their bitter rivalry with Dart-

mouth Darts to overcome Oil Sheiks in a thrilling 5-4 encounter. Things did not go entirely to plan on the day for Filbert who had to recover from a 4-2 deficit to win the game but the season-long plan to make history maintains momentum with manager Philip “Big Ead” Dix asserting that the treble dream is “still alive”. Elsewhere, Inglorious Basterds were forced to play with nine men for the entirety of their match against All Blacks not through sendings-off but as a consequence of injuries and alleged “international call-ups”. It was a testament to Basterds’ players that they held the All Blacks to a 2-1 lead until the

80th minute at which stage their pressing for an equaliser backfired with two late goals which secured the tie for eleven man All Blacks. CFR Clunge made routine their win over FT Ladzio with a confident 2-0 success although Ladzio will bemoan the fact that the game was denied the opportunity to be a free flowing affair given that the goal posts

had to be repositioned every few minutes due to strong wind. In brief, other games saw wins for The Dirk Kuyt Rises, Breast Homage Albion, Borussia Monchenblacksack and Sauce Pan Celtic.

Hearing Catalonia

Michael Phoenix relives his experience of the Catalonian derby between Barcelona and Espanyol

he metro was filled with claret and yellow. I folded my ticket into two and hid it in the palm of my hand, deep in the front jean pocket. At the far end of the train a song was beginning. A woman of 70 stepped onboard with Messi in gold across her hunched shoulders. A kid in hat and scarf got up to offer her his seat. She scowled and he sat back down. Her wrinkled hand covered in rings gripped a pole for balance as the metro moved on towards the stadium. Under half moon glasses she looked up at two grey haired men who stood beside her wrapped in 1980’s jerseys under thick dark jackets. One talked from beneath a full moustache, the other through a white bushy beard. They spoke slow and curious Catalan and the lady in claret joined in. Here and there I caught words: Xavi, Messi, Pedro, and the names were said with joy and fury and pats on backs and hands thrown in the air. The old woman, having taken offence at some comment about Valdes, had turned her head away from the pair. They in turn began to examine the faces of the train they must have been riding together every second weekend for the last thirty years. One leant across to the other and whispered some

joke in his ear and they shared the laugh of great old friends and the song that had started out of sight was coming closer and the old men saw it and together arched their necks back and then with clear voices began the next verse. All of our carriage joined in and I mouthed the sounds. We arrived at the station and the crowd began to move and carried the song with them. I stuck close to the two old men who knew their way through the throng and as we went the concrete stadium appeared above the buildings in the distance. Men with dark faces moved across the streets with cans of beer, catalan, for sale. I bought one and drank it as we walked. At the end of September, unemployment in Catalonia reached 23.9%. I left my unwitting guides behind and passed through an old fashioned turnstile, then began to climb the clinking steps towards the 7pm January sky. At first you could only let yourself be carried by the crowd, but the tide fell away as you went higher until there were only few climbers left. The cheapest ticket to see the Catalan derby in the Camp Nou was €57.50. For that you could peer from the top of the stadium. Up at the top there are archwayed tunnels to walk through

before the grass of the pitch spreads out. As I passed under the curve everything was quiet. I stepped out and looked around. It was five minutes to kick off. In my section there were more seats empty than taken. I sat down and the seat was cold. A group of four young men behind me stood up and as they

did a hush came. I lent forward. The teams appeared from the tunnel in two streams of smoke, one yellow: Espanyol, the other claret and blue: Barca. The speakers of the stadium fuzzed, the fans filled their lungs, Catalan flags were held overhead, and then the trumpets started. A handful of Espanyol

fans cowered down below as the hymn rang out in a voice that clicked together like a key unlocking. Warmth spread through the empty section from the voices below. The players made for their positions and the sound continued louder and louder, until the first Espanyol player touched the ball.

18 18 SPORT

sport@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

Collidge McLoughlin knows nothing less than 100% Breeze will do against Trinity Past Ahead of the Senior Footballers game against Trinity in the first round of the 2013 Sigerson Cup, Sports Editor Conall Devlin speaks to one of the most respected footballers in the county, Mayo and UCD, forward Kevin McLoughlin.

Ballymena Continued from page 20

passing was far too lateral, and UCD were more than up for the physical battle on the gainline. Ballymena’s one period of sustained pressure five yards from the UCD line, eventually ended when second row Shane Grannell won a penalty for not realising. After failing to score following such a long period of pressure Ballymena’s spirits began to rapidly drop, they lost number 8 Matthew Rea to the sin bin for an off the ball tackle following Danny Kenny’s 50 metre break. From the resulting penalty, UCD went down the touchline, Emmet MacMahon claimed the lineout, McGroarty was used as first receiver, his pass was excellent and meant that Sam Coghlan Murray had plenty of space to use his fleet feet, to score his second. The two points were added by the inform Thornton. The bonus point was secured following an excellent break up the wing but Coghlan Murray, who kicked infield for the onrushing Gilsenan to score under the posts. A comprehensive and thoroughly deserved win for the home side who showed excellent defensive discipline throughout. UCD: Andy Boyle, Sam Coghlan Murray, Alex Kelly, David Lynch (Stephen Murphy 60mins), Barry Daly, James Thornton, Jamie Glynn (Rob Shanley 60mins) , James Tracy, Risteard Byrne, Kieran Moloney (Rory Harrison ht) Shane Grannell (Brian Cawley 60mins) Emmet MacMahon (Shane Grannell 72mins) Conor Gilsenan Mark McGroarty (Adam C l a r k i n 60mins) Danny Kenny.

CD will go into tonight’s (Tuesday 29th) first round Sigerson Cup game against Trinity College with a firm favourite’s tag weighing on their shoulders. Trinity, managed by Down footballer Conor Laverty, return to the competition after having won the Trench Cup ‘B’ All Ireland last year but few expect them to advance against a UCD side boasting the likes of Kevin McLoughlin, Dublin’s Rory O’Carroll and Westmeath’s John Heslin. However, McLoughlin knows from past experience that the Sigerson is notorious for throwing up surprises. “In my last Sigerson game for DIT, we played UL in the first round expecting to beat them as we had a very strong team. We ended up losing by four points”. And so McLoughlin will do, as only he knows how- to put in the hard yards and grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Thankfully for UCD, he happens to be one of the best footballers in the country at doing so. He showed a remarkable level of consistency in Mayo’s run to the All Ireland last year at wing half forward. His ferocious pace and work rate made him the intrinsic link between the defence and attack. In an era of

physical play dominating Gaelic Football, McLoughlin’s elusiveness, unpredictability and flamboyancy makes him an indispensable breath of fresh air for any team he lines out for. If Gaelic Football had an Andres Iniesta, it would come in the form of Kevin McLoughlin, honing the tiki-takanaccio or in this case the 30 yard kick pass almost to absurd perfection. When he was off the field in last year’s semi-final against Dublin, they scored seven unanswered points. More tellingly he played a part in fifteen of Mayo’s eighteen scores on the day they defeated the then All Ireland champions. He is the ultimate team player. So reputed were McLoughlin’s performances last year, many felt it a travesty that he was omitted from the GAA/ GPA All Star Team of the Year for his efforts. Did he feel he should have been dusting down his formal wear? “I was flattered to hear I was nominated in the first place. I would have liked to have got one but I don’t choose it so I didn’t dwell over it too much.” He may have been snubbed, but as it so happened McLoughlin got the next best thing as he was called up as a replacement for Dublin’s Paul Flynn and took

his rightful place in the GAA/GPA All Star Game to New York. The Knockmore clubman relished the experience, comparing it to playing college football: “It’s great to get to know guys from other counties. I met guys I never would have talked to before. With most good footballers, you can be yourself on the pitch and be genuine off it. You can go hell for leather and be a good guy afterwards.” One such acquaintance was DCU and Donegal captain Michael Murphy. Trainee teacher McLoughlin feels the 2012 Sigerson champions are favourites to win the competition again this year, but was impressed by St. Mary’s, Belfast in the Ryan Cup and also his former college DIT, who beat St. Mary’s in the Ryan Cup final after extra time. However, he remains optimistic of UCD springing an upset- “we will hopefully have something to say about that because hopefully we will be playing DCU in the quarter final”. Looking ahead, McLoughlin will return to Mayo duty for the Allianz National League and then the Championship aware that they have a multitude of obstacles to overcome before they can get over the line they fell just short of last September. “We have

the hardest possible route through Connaught presuming we could win each game so we can’t think too far ahead. It’s in the back of our minds but we can’t think ahead of the first game.” For tonight, however, and hopefully well into the advanced stages of the Sigerson, McLoughlin’s displays his unique talent in a UCD jersey. His first objective? Ensuring the underdog tale of UL doesn’t repeat itself.

Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cup Previews Sigerson Cup First RoundUCD v Trinity, Tuesday 29th January, 7.30pm, Clan na Gael: n attractive game for the neutral observer, and the only first round Irish Daily Mail Sigerson Cup tie set to be played under lights, sees the “Colours” Rivalry of the two biggest Dublin Universities renewed. TCD, one of only two of the University Teams still waiting for their maiden victory in this competition (UL the other) could not have asked for a much tougher assignment on their return to the competition, their first appearance since 2005, than a game against their city neighbours. In the Ryan Cup in first semester, UCD made it as far as the Semi-Final stage before losing out to St. Mary’s College, Belfast. They defeated DCU, NUIM and IT Sligo. For Trinity, things didn’t go so well, and despite losing all three group games to Ulster opposition, they regrouped well to defeat NUI Maynooth in the Relegation Play-Offs. In the O’Byrne Cup, UCD were very competitive, and unlucky to lose all three games, as they went down to Louth, Meath and Longford by a combined total of nine points. TCD did not take

part in the O’Byrne Cup this season. For TCD, it will be interesting to see how their players react to plying their trade at the top level this year, but for the likes of Darragh Daly of Westmeath, Fermanagh’s Tomás Corrigan and Dublin’s Sean Murray their experience on the Inter-County scene should help lead the side. Down footballer Conor Laverty coaches Trinity and will ensure that they are as shrewd and spurred on to cause an upset. UCD again have many household names in their squad, and must be wondering how long more they have to wait for their next Sigerson Cup title as the country’s largest third level institution has now gone sixteen years and seen eight other colleges capture the silverware since their last win back in 1996. The performances of players like Captain Josh Hayes, John Heslin, Rory O’Carroll, Kevin McLoughlin, Craig Dyas, Donie Kingston and Paul Cahilane, few if any of whom need any introduction, will be key to their bid to capture the Sigerson Cup and take it back to Belfield later next month. UCD come into this game in indifferent form but if they get on top early in the contest they should advance against the Sigerson newcomers.

Verdict- UCD by 8 points Possible UCD line up: Eoghan Keogh; Josh Hayes, Rory O’Carroll, Michael Furlong; Ciaran Lenehan, Luke Keaney, David Drake; John Heslin, Craig Dias; Kevin McLoughlin, Kevin Dyas, David Larkin; Niall Kilroy, Donie Kingston, Paul Cahillane Fitzgibbon Cup Round One- UCD v Limerick IT, Thursday 31st January, 2p.m., Belfield: UCD have been paired with Limerick IT and DCU in Group C of the Fitzgibbon Cup. They play off a Round Robin with the top two teams qualifying for the quarter finals. Those who reach the semifinals will be heading West to be hosted by GMIT on March 2nd or 3rd. Collidge have emerged as dark horses for the competition after a strong performance in the league. They have relied on Tipperary star Noel McGrath in the past few two years however they have a stronger supporting cast on paper this year. Man of the Match in the All Ireland Final Wally Walsh will look to dominate at full forward, while the talents of Cillian Buckley, William

Phelan, Liam Rushe and Rory O’Carroll make the spine of the team very formidable. They will be quietly confident that they can make a push to win the competition for the first time since 2001. As ever the Munster colleges are fancied to reach the advanced stages of the competition and the same applies for Limerick IT. The 2007 champions were beaten finalists to UL in 2011. UCD have a tough opening assignment but with home advantage may just sneak over the line to set up a quarter final spot. Verdi ct- UCD b y 2 poi n ts

Donie Kingston is a key player for the Sigerson Hopefuls

sport@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

SPORT

SPORT IN BRIEF Conall Devlin Sports Editor

Former UCD striker called up to Ireland squad Former UCD AFC and current Derby County striker Conor Sammon is one of four newcomers to be called into Giovanni Trappatoni’s 27 man squad ahead of the friendly with Poland at the Aviva Stadium on February 6th. Nicknamed the “Sammon of College”, has been a meteoric rise for the Dubliner who enjoyed 3 seasons at Belfield between 2005 and 2007, scoring 13 goals in 69 appearances. His career has also taken him to Derry City, Kilmarnock, Wigan Athletic and now with the mid-table nPower Championship side. Looking back on his time spent in a UCD jersey, current UCD AFC assistant manager Diarmuid McNally said, “It’s a different footballer, he wasn’t the goal-scorer he is now. All he had here was potential but at UCD we had lots of players with potential and he didn’t stand out.” Mentally however McNally couldn’t fault Sammon, saying he had the drive to bring his game forward. “If you look at what he did subsequently, he moved to Derry because he knew they were a good club to go to if you wanted to get a move beyond the league,” says McNally. “Then he went to Kilmarnock, a move a lot of lads might not have been willing to make, and he made it work from there.” Pete Mahon, Sammons’

manager while at UCD , said he was surprised but delighted at the former UCD striker getting the call-up from Giovanni Trapattoni. “Last week against Notts Forest, it was the best game I’ve seen from him in a while. He wasn’t in a good situation at Wigan, getting most of his chances as a substitute,” says Mahon. “The level he’s at now, with Derby, he’s going to get the chance to play every week and continue his development.” UCD’s McSharry makes Ireland ‘A’ debut UCD and Connacht centre Dave McSharry made his Ireland ‘A’ international debut for the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds on Friday night, playing 69 minutes in a 14-10 defeat against the England Saxons at the Sportsground in Galway. Roared on by the home faithful, McSharry and fellow Connacht teammate Robbie Henshaw enjoyed a few early carries and looked assured throughout. UCD Hurlers Walsh Cup match against Dublin called off UCD Senior Hurlers were unable to build on their opening 0-15 1-11 Walsh Cup victory over Laois on Friday night as their game against Dublin at Parnell Park was postponed due to a waterlogged

pitch. No date for the rescheduled game has been made yet. The Hurlers begin their Fitzgibbon Cup campaign at home to Limerick IT this Thursday January 31st at 2pm in Belfield. Comerford wins 800m at Swedish Grand Prix UCD Elite Athlete Academy student, Lisa Comerford just won the 800m freestyle at the Swedish in Uppsala. Lisa finished in a great time of 9:22:15 to come away with the gold. Scholarship student Shauna O Brien also claimed a bronze medal in the 50m Butterfly with a time of 28.32 seconds Leinster Victories for Men and Women Hockey Teams Both the Men and Women’s Senior Hockey teams recorded home victories at the National Hockey Stadium in Belfield at the weekend. The Men came back from 1-0 down to beat Fingal 3-1 with the goals coming from Nick Burns and a brace from Jeremy Duncan. Meanwhile the Women’s team beat Pembroke Wanderers 4-0. Anna O’Flanagan was on target as was Nikki Evans who helped herself to a hat trick. 25 Elite Athlete Scholarships awarded The Ad Astra Scholarship Ceremony

was held last Thursday in the O’Reilly Hall, with 25 Elite Athlete Academy Scholarships awarded. The scholars form an esteemed list of outstanding talent across many sports: (UCD EAA students: AthleticsDavid Campbell, Mark English, Ciara Everard, Ciara Mageean; GAA- Cillian Buckley, Kevin Dyas, John Heslin, Joe Lyng, Jack McCaffrey, Noel McGrath, Rory O’Carroll, Matthew O’Hanlon, William Phelan, Grace Walsh; GolfAlexander Gleeson, Chloe Ryan; Hockey (Ladies)- Niamh Atcheler, Leah Ewart, Brenda Flannery, Nicola Gray, Katie Mullen, Anna O’Flanagan, Chloe Watkins;

Hockey (Mens)- Nicholas Burns, Ross Canning, Luke Chadwick, Ben Dobson, Jeremy Duncan, Shane O’Donoghue; Modern PentatholonArthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe, Claire Lambe, Paul O’Donovan; RugbyAndrew Boyle, Bryan Byrne, Edward Byrne, Sam CoghlanMurray, Patrick Dix, David Doyle, Conor Gilsenan, Eoin Joyce, Daniel Leavy, Luke Leavy, Luke McGrath, Sean O’Brien; Sailing- Annalise Murphy; Soccer (Ladies)- Dora Gorman, Ciara Grant, Siobhan Killeen; Soccer (Mens) Tomas Boyle, Niall Corbet, Robert Creevy, Michael Leahy; Swimming- Lisa Comerford, Aisling Cooney, Donal Drought.

Byrne born from a different cloth at Leinster Ceithrean Murray speaks to the youngest ever debutant for the Leinster Senior Rugby team, UCD student Adam Byrne. Ceithreann Muray Sports Writer

t 18 years, 8 months and 20 days, Adam Byrne is the youngest player to ever represent the Leinster senior team. His rise to the top has been rapid, however unheralded to the same degree as that of previous teenage debutants, Luke Fitzgerald, Andrew Conway, and to a lesser extent, a one Brian O’Driscoll. Uniquely, however, Byrne, the latest addition to the seemingly endless conveyorbelt of Leinster back three rugby players, only took up the game at 16. A former Manchester United academy member and keen Gaelic Footballer, Byrne only took up the game after being suggested to by a friend following a move to Naas from Dublin. He also cites the added incentive of missing school hours as an additional motivational factor. He joined Naas Rugby Club where he was quickly spotted by selectors for the Leinster Regional team, eventually leading to his selection for the Leinster Youths team. All this while playing a year above his actual age group. He

credits playing the extra year of Leinster Youths rugby as an serious advantage in terms of developing his skill set on the pitch and physique in the gym. One assumes it is modesty which prevents him from acknowledging that in order to play a year above your actual age group, you have to be quite talented to begin with. Incredibly it is just five months ago that Byrne was training and playing with the Leinster under-19s side. Byrne thinks that his omission from the under-20s squad led him to play in the under-19s Interprovincial Series with what he described as ‘’a kind of chip on his shoulder’’. A strong performance for the 19s was rewarded with a place in the Sub Academy, which was in many ways the spring board of his current success. His first involvement with the senior side came when the team travelled to Ravenhill to face high flying Ulster. He got the call from Joe Schmidt on Wednesday. He explained how the conversation began cordially enough, with

Schmidt asking how his exams were going, whether he had an exam the following day, and would it be possible for him to come to some of the Captain’s run the following day because ‘’oh yeah, you’re on the bench on Friday night.’’ At first he thought it was a joke and went as far phoning one of the Strength and Conditioning coaches to confirm that the phone call he received was from the man himself. A precaution which received some stick from the senior players. He did not in fact make his debut that night and while he is not saying that he didn’t want to play, he was happier that he didn’t because he felt that he may have been exposed due to his lack of preparation and familiarity with the team’s patterns. Ten days later, when the side met Connacht in the RDS, he was again named on the bench. This time, he was chomping at the bit to get on. He recalls just looking at the clock, thinking ‘’Put me on, put me on, please put me on.’’ He was surprised by how quickly he settled into the game.

‘’It’s actually much more relaxed than you’d think,’’ he claims, ‘’Ian Madigan was just there calling moves and throwing the ball around.’’ The night finished with him singing ‘’I Got A Feeling’’ by the Black Eyed Pees, in celebration of his first appearance. With respect to the future, the second year engineering student isn’t getting ahead of himself. He unfortunately broke his ankle recently and his main aim is to recover for selection for the Under-20 World Cup which takes place this summer in France. He is aware of the element of luck that was involved in his selection for the senior team and suggests that he is aware he may not play for them again for a while due to the return of various players to fitness. However there’s no doubt that this talented young player will be faced with plenty more chances in the future.

sport@collegetribune.ie

TRIBUNE

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 29th January 2013

LEINSTER'S

ADAM BYRNE SPEAKS WITH

SPORT

CEITHREANN MURRAY PAGE 19

Sam Coghlan Murray helped himself to two tries in Saturday’s 32-3 victory.

Collidge Breeze Past Ballymena UCD - 2-18 UCC - 0-18 Conal Devlin Sports Editor

UCD 32-3 Ballymena strong UCD side overcame a limited Ballymena outfit in the UCD Bowl on Saturday, scoring some fantastic team tries in wet and windy conditions. The home side had the better of the early exchanges, with loose head James Tracy and openside Mark McGroarty affecting a choke tackle resulting in a scrum for the

home side. From the resulting play, fullback Andrew Boyle made an excellent line break, the ball was recycled and the forwards were used for a midfield hit up, Ballymena infringed in a very cynical fashion, killing the ball, and James Thornton slotted the resulting penalty to make it 3-0 inside the first 10 minutes. Ballymena immediately had a chance to equalise after Shane Grannell infringed at the restart, however they failed to capitalise. Poor kicking, both at goal and for field position, was a characteristic of Ballymena’s play throughout the first half. The first half was largely characterised by UCD’s high tempo

running game. They kicked the ball only 10 times in the opening 40 minutes. This high tempo approach, coupled with excellent passing from Thornton, Lynch, and Kelly, meant that line breaks were aplenty in the first half. When captain Risteard Byrne ran 60 metres, further pressure led to UCD’s second penalty, which Thornton converted for a 6-0 lead. Ballymena eventually got off the mark, after 18 minutes, when Mark McGroarty was penalised for an overly exuberant tackle, which lead to play being stopped and a concussion assessment. The score was well poised at 6-3 when UCD finally got the break through their ambitious

play during the opening quarter deserved. Conor Gilsenan secured Thorton’s restart, the ball broke for McGroarty, who carried strongly into the centre of the Ballymena defence, breaking two tackles before being stopped. The ball was moved right and Thornton threw a beautiful pass to Danny Kenny, which put him on an outside arc, his fast hands allowed the ball to be moved on the Sam Coghlan Murray, who scored in the corner. Thornton’s touchline conversion made it 13-3. Things would only worsen for Ballymena, who lost outhalf Rory Drysdale to the sin bin, for a deliberate knock on. UCD could sense there were more scores out

there with their opponents reduced in number. However four times they entered Ballymena’s 22, and failed to score; they were guilty of trying to force the passes, much to the frustration of coach Bobby Byrne. Winger Barry Daly did manage to score just before half time, again it was down to UCD building the phases and not trying things that weren’t on. The conversion was missed, and Collidge lead 18-3 at half time. A more spirited Ballymena appeared for the second half. However while they enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, their

Continued on page 18