College Tribune Issue 5 by College Tribune

COLLEGE TRIBUNE Volume XXVI

Issue 5

6th November 2012

Independent Student Media Since 1989

ORLA PRICE TAKES ACCOUNT OF THE ISSUES UNDERLYING THE CHILDREN’S RIGHTS REFERENDUM

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INSIDE

Page 7

Blunders and lies James Grannell News Editor

number of Fianna Fáil TDs 1,800 individuals. “It is clear that have spoken out against the the new centralised grant applicaMinister for Education and tion system (SUSI) is riddled with Skills Mr Ruairi Quinn’s handling problems,” stated Smith. of the crisis surrounding the new “As we head into the Christmas grants system, SUSI. period there are 1,879 Cavan and Among those who have voiced Monaghan students, as well as tens their anger with the Minister are of thousands across the country, the Fianna Fáil spokesperson for who are still waiting for their grants Education, Charlie McConalogue, to be processed by this ‘quick and along with Deputy Brendan Smith, easy’ system. For many of them, TD for Cavan and Monaghan. the delays are preventing them “Minister Quinn launched the from registering fully at college and new SUSI system amid great fan- accessing library and computer serfare in June saying the process will vices. Some have been asked to pay be ‘quick and easy’ and it will stop the €2,250 third level registration students waiting for ‘lengthy peri- fee up front until their grants come ods of time and facing undue hard- through. Others who are in receipt ship as a result of delays’. However of the Back to Education allowance the reality for students is far from have been issued letters saying they what was promised,” said Deputy will be cut off by November 6th McConalogue. unless they can show proof of colHe went on to state: “Minister lege registration, which they are Quinn was quick to accept praise prevented from doing until they rewhen SUSI was launched. But now ceive their grant. that the grant application system is “These are students who bein crisis, he is nowhere to be seen. cause of their personal situation These students need an explana- need state support to go to college. tion from the Minister and some It is disgraceful that it is now Noassurance about what is being done vember and so many of them still to rectify the situation.” have no idea when and if they will Deputy Smith pointed out that receive their grant,” said Smith. in his own constituency, 8 out of Deputy Smith, who has been a A Mac is powerful, reliable and easy to use. every 10 students who applied for TD since 1992, has previously railed So it’s perfect for university. Come into Compu b the grant are still awaiting confirand get a great start to the academic year. mation. This amounts to more than Continued on page 3

Above: UCD students sign petition to renew Sunday library service

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE

25thOctober October2011 2011 6th November 2012 11th

INSIDE THE TRIBUNE

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TRIBUNE

Quo Vadis? James Grannell Editor

s Students, we have an extraordinarily difficult period ahead of us. The government are looking for money and, no doubt, the reintroduction of Third Level fees, under whatever guise, must seem a very appealing option for them. As the Minister for Education and Skills seeks new ways to squeeze the higher education system and those in it, students need to be conscious of political reality. A number of public meetings and demonstrations have been organised around the country in the lead up to budget day. No doubt opposition and TD’s will turn out in force to look aghast at what the government is doing to us poor students. They will make grand promises and perhaps some of them will venture deep enough into the world

of irony to sign a pledge or two. As a movement, we must not be so quick to pin our colours to a particular party this time around. A number of Fianna Fail TD’s have come out and spoken against the Minister for Education. They have even laid down the steps necessary for the better management of the third level sector, and the new grants system. With all their pious posturing you’d almost be forgiven for forgetting that these politicians belong to a party that happily raised the student contribution charge while they were in government just a few years ago. In short, politicians will say a lot of things when they are in opposition. When they have the opportunity of being in government, promises quickly go out the window. As a movement we should be careful of putting too much trust into any of these individuals. In-

Editor

here is a perception of homeless people in our society that has been created and upheld by a vast collection of myths and assumptions. These myths and stereotypes of homeless people and homelessness are inherently dangerous in the way in which they interfere and harm efforts to engage an help those homeless individuals. The wide perception is that homeless people sleep down lanes and alleyways on pieces of cardboard, with spirits and Dutch Gold cans littered all around them. The reality is if we see something on the television, then it must be true, and this is how television portrays the homeless. By and large, most homeless people do not sleep in a laneway on a piece of cardboard. The perception is that homeless

individuals simply panhandle and beg for money or cigarettes, annoying everyone passing by. The reality is that when jobs are available, the homeless are usually the first in line to get the work available. Homelessness is caused by a multitude of various factors, including -but not limited to- depression, substance abuse, disability, failure on the government to provide adequate welfare, domestic assault resulting in an unsafe home environment and much more. People continue to strongly believe it is the sole problem of the individual, their family and the government. There is a lack of personal engagement and community involvement with the issue. When it boils down to it, homelessness is a human rights issue and since human rights affects everyone, shouldn’t it be our responsibility as a community to ensure that the

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

Debate finds in favour of abortion Page 3

NEWS IN FOCUS

stead we should work on changing the common perception of students. We are constantly portrayed as a bunch of spoiled, drunken louts who spend our late teens and early twenties wasting their parent’s hard earned money. If we wish to bring about change in the system and to fight against further increases in the student contribution charge and cuts in services and grants, we must gear up for the PR war that lies ahead. In order to do this, we need strong leadership. Weak-willed, yes-men have let the student movement down in the past. This coupled with our own complacency has allowed the government to get away with far too much. Grants have been cut, while costs have gone up. As a body, we need to appreciate the power we have in numbers and rid ourselves of lethargy, mobilising instead of sitting and standing

up for ourselves in a real way. For too long we have sat back with an astonishing level of complacency as politicians either ignored us or lied to us. It behoves each and every student of this university to get behind the campaigns that are now underway. It is no longer good enough to leave it up to the few to fight for the many. Numbers count; people must turn out for demonstrations and meetings. It’s time to pack the halls and the streets. It is necessary that we unite in strength and show that we care about the issues that affect us all. Then when they ask, “where are you going?” you can answer, “I’m going to stand up.”

rights of all people are respected and protected? How can this be achieved? Through fostering a greater sense of responsibility and community involvement with the issue of homelessness in education, incorrect stereotypes can be obliterated by those who have a voice. To move away from a human rights focused approach is to revert back to the benevolent paternalism of the 1970s or, even worse, to the punitive response to disadvantaged individuals in the 1950s. In addition to identifying effective solutions, a rights based framework significantly impacts on how homelessness, and people experiencing homelessness, are perceived by the Irish community. To identify homeless Irish people as "troubled" people needing "guidance not rights" is to ignore the fact that homelessness is the cause rather than the consequence of many of their troubles. It

Is Ireland Liberal or Conservative? Page 6

FEATURES Stopes clinic controversy Page 8

Sorting through the fireworks Page 10

REGULARS Hello, is there anyone out there on the UCD Campus? Page 15

Homeless but human Cathal O'Gara

NEWS

GNÉ - AILT

is to forget that homeless Irish people are entitled to adequate housing as a matter of right, not by virtue of charity. Since 2008, UCD SVP has been organising the now annual Homeless Week and this year it will take place from Monday 12th – Friday 16th November. Homeless Week is a week-long campaign aimed at raising awareness of homelessness in Irish society and raising much needed funds for our homeless services. These services include a soup run which they run four nights a week as well as volunteering in Depaul’s Back Lane Hostel five nights a week. If you're interested in getting involved or want to find out more, UCD SVP will have a stand in the Student Centre from 12-2pm on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Léargas Lom: Máirtín Ó Cadhain Page 14

SPORT Leahy looks back at UCD AFC’s mixed season Page 17

EDITORS' CHOICE A&F: The Numbers Behind The Model

Page 12

James says: This article provides scope for the key drivers behind the A&F model, questioning the reasons behind the company's decision to open a store in College Green; the graph is also aesthetically pleasing.

Contributors List Features Editor: Michael Phoenix

Chief Writer: Stephen West

Turbine Editor: Candi Wilde

Music Editor: Ciaran Breslin

Eagarthóirí Gaeilge: Cormac Breathnach Daire Brennan

Fashion Editor: Róisín Sweeney

Sports Editors: Conall Devlin Amy Eustace

Arts Editor: Conor Fox Designer: Cheryl Flood

Matthew H. Farrelly STEPHEN WEST Peter Hamilton Rachel Carey Darragh Ó Tuathail Orla Price Laura Cullen Kathryn Toolan Silvana Lakeman Niall Conroy Eoin Callaghan Oisín Morrison

Elizabeth Coote Peadar Ó Lamhna Ceithrean Murray Thomas Hobbs Jonny Baxter Kathryn Toolan Lisa Gorry Theresa Martus Darragh O’Connor Joseph Gallagher Aoife Byrne Lauren Tracey

Miceala O Donovan Erin Dunleavy

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Blunders and lies

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

Term

Student contribution charge

NEWS

Minister for Education

2006/07

€800.00

Mary Hanafin FF

2007/08

€825.00

Mary Hanafin FF

2008/09

€900.00

Batt O’Keeffe FF

2009/10

€1500.00

Batt O’Keeffe FF

2010/11

€1500.00

Mary Coughlan FF

2011/12

€1999.80

Ruairi Quinn Lab

2012/13

€2250.00

Ruairi Quinn Lab

Continued from front page on both Eamon Gilmore and Ruairi Quinn for failing to honour the pledge they signed with the USI before the last general election, where Labour pledged that they would not increase the student contribution charge if they got into government. The charge is now set to rise by €250 in the coming year, which Quinn says will generate a further €18 million for the exchequer. Fine Gael’s election manifesto also promised no further increase in third level fees, stating: “We will not increase the student registration fee further. Instead, we will pursue greater pay and non-pay efficiencies in the third level system through greater flexibility in working arrangements, in line with the Croke Park Agreement.’’

Only 1,000 SUSI grants approved for UCD Matthew H. Farrelly News Writer

Above: Sir Andrew Motion receiving the L&H James Joyce Award

Former Poet Laureate receives James Joyce Award James Grannell News Editor

ast week saw the Literary and Historical society bestow the prestigious James Joyce Award on the former Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Sir Andrew Motion. Motion served as Poet Laureate between 1999 and 2009, during which time he founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their work. Breaking with the tradition of the Laureate retaining the post for life, Motion served a ten-year term. As poet laureate, Motion sought to make poetry accessible to a wider audience. During this time he especially targeted young-

er people, encouraging schools to teach poetry regularly. At the age of 18 he was admitted to University College Oxford where he read English and studied under W.H. Auden. Motion is known for his clear style of poetry. During the talk he gave in UCD Motion explained that he sees his poems as being like a glass of what you think is water, but on tasting, realise it is in fact gin. Motion delighted those present in the Fitzgerald chamber by reading selections of his poetry, including a number of unpublished works.

ess than 10% of UCD students who applied for a grant through the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) had confirmation that their grants were being officially processed in the first two lists of names released by the new grant scheme. Both lists arrived in a two week period following the end of UCD’s grace period on September 30th, restricting access to those students affected to facilities such as the library. Only 1,000 students, according to Shane Comer, UCDSU Education Officer, were confirmed to have gained approval from SUSI by the 16 October. The fifth list of grant-awarded students from SUSI, according to UCD’s Fee Homepage, was received Friday, November 1st 2012. Neither UCD nor SUSI could be contacted at the time of publication to acquire the number of successful applications. However, according to the UCD site, “The five lists from SUSI to date detail a relatively small number of successfully awarded grant students”. Those who have been successful will receive according to UCD, an email “today [November 2nd] to

notify them that their student fees account has been updated”. The Homepage also stated that “SUSI has confirmed that students on this list, where eligible, will receive grant maintenance on Friday, 9 November”. Efforts have been made by all sides to help students waiting on grant approval to access necessary facilities. A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Skills stated that “In response to a request from the Department…the Higher Education Authority has written to all institutions requesting them to show flexibility and consideration, as most have done in the past, to students who may be awaiting a decision on their grant application and/or payment of grants for the academic year 2012/13”. However, Mr Comer stated that following a meeting with SUSI representatives on October 16th, he “left the meeting very underwhelmed with the performance so far. Both myself and UCD have been very disappointed with SUSI's performance thus far.” Mr Comer went on to say that students on SUSI grants should not worry. “For

students who are on the SUSI system it has been brokered that any students who are confident they will receive the grant from SUSI need only pay the student centre levy as it is not covered by the grant. No student who is on SUSI has nor will have their library access restricted because it is SUSI's failings,” said Comer. All of which had been agreed following negotiations between UCD and the Education Officer two and a half weeks ago. Regarding the equality of the 7 weeks grace (which begins once registration commences, until the September 30th) that UCD provides to students due to it affecting large quantities during the tougher economic circumstances, Mr Comer commented: “The cut off system is harsh…it is time UCD moved with the times and realised that late fee payments are going to happen and are unavoidable in some instances. This is for students who receive no grant. Students who have renewed their grant or have applied through SUSI and are confident they will receive it have not had library access restricted nor will they”.

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE

6th November 2012

NEWS IN BRIEF STEPHEN WEST Beethoven in the Concert Hall The UCD Symphony Orchestra will present Beethoven’s Choral Symphony at the National Concert Hall, on Monday the 19th of November, as part of its tenth anniversary celebrations. The Orchestra will be joined at the event by the UCD Choral Scholars, the UCD Philharmonic Choir and a quartet of international soloists. The concert will also feature a specially commissioned piece by the UCD alumnus, Seán Clancy. Coffin maker used nude models to boost sales A Polish firm that makes coffins has angered the Catholic Church by trying to drum up business with a calendar depicting topless models posing next to its caskets. One image from the calendar depicts a blonde model, wearing only a skimpy thong and with a snake draped around her neck, reclining on a coffin. In another, a woman wearing a crimson corset is depicted pulling out the heart of a man lying on a casket. The Catholic Church has condemned the calendar as inappropriate. A church spokesman has said that human death should be treated with solemnity and not mixed up with sex. Talks underway to rescue Erasmus program Last-minute efforts are under way to rescue the European Union’s Erasmus student exchange programme, which is threatened by cuts. On the 9th of November, representatives of the Council of Ministers will conclude 21 days of negotiations with delegates from the European parliament in a ‘conciliation council’ to see if funding can be restored. Erasmus enables students in higher education to spend between three and 12 months in another European country – either for studies or for a placement in a company or other organisation. UCD graduate named Entrepreneur of The Year Edmond Harty, a world renowned developer and manufacturer of dairy farm equipment and UCD graduate, has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year for 2012. He will now go forward to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur of the Year, which will be held in Monte Carlo next June.

Students fight to prevent increase in contribution Peter Hamilton News Writer

he UCD Students’ Union have announced the launch of the “Gilmore 250” campaign. The campaign has the aim of asking the question, where will students be able to get two hundred and fifty euro extra each year until 2015. A public meeting will take place on November 7th in the Stillorgan park hotel at which students can question public representatives, who will be in attendance, on how they intend to support students in the future. It is not yet clear as to which public representatives will be attending the meeting. Rachel Breslin, President of UCD Students’ Union, says that the sabbatical officers have taken a lot into consideration with regard to how a national campaign should be run. The aim of UCDSU is to “maintain the current level of contribution, with the ultimate aim of eroding it,” said Breslin. In a UCD preferendum last year, UCD students decided that a student contribution charge was the best way of funding college services. The final vote on behalf of students bore the result of students preferring the current method of student contribution. However, Breslin made it clear that the result of that process didn’t give concrete answers, “I don’t think that anybody at the start of that process expected that contribution would win, so the definition was very vague…I would

interpret it that it was people voting for the status quo, what’s happening at the minute.” The sabbatical officers brought the question to Council as to whether the current level of contribution should be maintained resulting in a mandate for this year, according to Breslin. The student contribution charge has increased from roughly €900 in 2009 to €2,250 this year, and Breslin says that “there is an argument that everyone should be paying their dutiful contribution to society…but it’s quite clear that students have paid above the odds for that.” UCDSU are seeking to meet Tanaíste Eamon Gilmore and Breslin claims that Minister for education Ruarí Quinn is, in this instance, deflecting blame for the €250. She feels that it is likely that the €250 increase will come in and if it does “that will make our campaign stronger. It’s a lot harder to fight something that hasn’t been introduced yet.” UCDSU will be escalating their campaign after the budget because “people will say enough is enough,” says Breslin. If the contribution is upped it will be difficult to get students out to campaign, admits Breslin, but she also feels that she would be doing a disservice to her successors if she stopped the campaign. She says that the campaign must continue beyond December 6th, the day on which the budget will be officially launched.

USI referendum postponed Peter Hamilton News Writer

referendum on whether UCD students should stay under the wing of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), which was expected to take place in November, has been postponed. UCD Students’ Union President, Rachel Breslin, brought a motion to Council to hold the referendum on the same date as the sabbatical elections citing cost as the reason for this consideration. The minimum cost for holding a stand-alone referendum campaign is €5,000, but Breslin estimates that this referendum will cost roughly €8,000. Council declined this motion and it is now expected that the referendum will be held at the beginning of semester 2. At the beginning of the college term Breslin hoped that the referendum would be held in November, however circumstances have changed, “we’ve committed to the national campaign [Gilmore 250 campaign] to

such an extent that I think that it would take away from that so much that it would have huge harm on the national campaign and that is a bigger objective right now,” Breslin explained. The motion was brought to Council so that the class representatives could discuss the option of holding it in conjunction with the SU sabbatical elections, according to Breslin. The outcome of the vote was that it could be held “in the second week of the second semester because of all the national campaigning that is going on and to give it its own stand alone referendum.” Affiliation with the USI costs UCDSU in excess of €100,000 per annum and this affiliation will be brought under scrutiny by UCD students when the referendum is held. As of yet it is unclear who will be running the respective yes and no campaigns.

Above: UCD SVP volunteers. Photo: Phillip Byrne.

UCD SVP prepare to launch Annual Homeless Week Stephen West News Writer

ext week, on Monday November 12th, will see the UCD St. Vincent de Paul society's annual homeless week launched by Alice Healy, director of TRUST. The week-long campaign is aimed at raising awareness of homelessness in Irish society amongst students, as well as raising funds for UCD SVP's homeless services. The week will see students participate in a nightly ‘sleep-out’ outside the James Joyce Library in UCD from Monday night through to Friday morning. In addition to the sleep-out, UCD SVP have organised numerous fundraising and awareness events to be held throughout the week, including debates, awareness talks, a Father Ted marathon and a 'Battle of the Buskers'. UCD SVP Auditior Brian Bolger believes that student involvement is key for the success of the week, saying, “I think it's vitally important that students get involved in Homeless Week. In the short future, it will be our generation that will be in power, we will be the ones making the decisions on how to tackle homelessness...By sleeping out for one of the nights, you'll be helping to raise awareness of homelessness by showing that students are not all [apathetic], that we are actively engaged and interested in the serious issues that face society. Even by donating a euro or two, students will be helping to fund our soup runs which cost over €4,000 a year to run.” With proposed cuts being made for the upcoming government budget, Bolger believes that the most vulnerable will be hit hardest, stating, “The Fine Gael/Labour coalition can go on about how the cuts will affect everybody and how everyone will bear the brunt of

the cuts, but that's just nonsense and they know it. Those struggling now, many who are relying heavily on social welfare, will be hit again; they've been targeted in the past number of budgets and come December, they are going to be hit hard once more... the cuts will definitely lead to an increase in the number of people that will be vulnerable to becoming homeless.” “Figures in the past year have shown that the number of homeless people is increasing. Focus Ireland has experienced an 18% increase in the number of people that they are helping while the Simon Community has found a 25% increase in the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin. The upcoming budget cuts will again hit those who are struggling and lead to an increase in those that will be vulnerable to becoming homeless,” he continued. Bolger believes that change is needed with regards to the perception and understanding of homelessness, stating, “Those that are homeless in Ireland are often branded as 'junkies' or 'wasters', and while addiction is certainly a huge problem for many people that are homeless, it is not the sole reason as to why they find themselves living on the streets. Dublin Simon Community found that 67% of people that are homeless suffer from some sort of mental illness while there are also family, relationship, sexual orientation and financial factors that can play a part in someone becoming homeless. I believe that society, and not only students, need to better understand why homelessness is such a problem in Ireland today and through Homeless Week, we hope to promote a better understanding of homelessness.”

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

USI organise protests around Ireland

Outrage over library decision Thomas Cullen Deputy News Editor

he decision taken by the James Joyce Library not to open on Sundays until November 11th has been met with anger and disappointment from UCD students. UCD Students’ Union have stated that they are outraged by the news and will not take the library’s decision lightly. The library was originally meant to be closed on Sundays for only the first seven weeks of term, but the decision has now been made not to open until week nine of the current semester. The library has told the Students’ Union that the five weeks that the library would be open on Sundays included revision week and the two weeks of exams. Education Officer Shane Comer told the College Tribune that the reason used by the library is false and was never mentioned in any of the meetings that he and SU President Rachel Breslin had attended. Comer added, “This is not true, this is absolutely false and I will back that to the hills, as will Rachel. I’m extremely disappointed, angry and I felt lied to.” The SU have also stated in a press release that they only found out about the library’s decision through informal sources and that many students would have only discov-

NEWS

Rachel Carey News Writer

ered that the library was still closed by showing up to locked doors on Sunday. The SU branded the decision as not only “counter-productive” but said that it also showed dishonesty towards students in the way the news was only discovered through informal means. The lack of study facilities in UCD on Sundays has forced students to take action against the library. In addition to a protest that was held by students on the 18th October, the SU organised a campus wide demonstration against the library last Thursday. The demonstration involved 600 chairs being placed in lines leading down the concourse towards the James Joyce Library and the Tierney Building. Flyers were handed out and petitions were signed by students in support of the protest. Shane Comer told the Tribune that he was extremely pleased with how the demonstration went. “A lot

of students were talking about it. I also got feedback from academics and they thought it was a brilliant idea… it really got the issue out there.” Comer also said he believed it caught the attention of the library authorities, and added that “from the dates they put up on their facebook page, they have brought that back a week, which shows progress. They also said talks about Sunday opening in Semester 2 are on-going which is true, and which I am involved in.” When asked if there are any futures plans for the library campaign, Comer confirmed that this was only the first step and that there are more demonstrations that will highlight what a major issue this is to people. He also added, “I am not taking this lying down and I will not allow this to happen. I am aiming for a twelve week Sunday library in Semester 2, and that’s my ultimate goal.”

he Union of Students in Ireland have organised numerous regional protests and marches around the country against the anticipated €250 hike in college fees and further cuts to the Student Maintenance grant. These marches will take place in the days leading up to the budget announcement on the 5th December. Students, parents and business owners are being encouraged by the USI to contact local representatives in an effort to get them to stand up for fair access to third level education. The USI are clear that the protest marches to the constituency offices of regional representatives are not to be seen as an attack specific individuals but a call for them to support those who will suffer. It was indicated by Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, that an increase of €250 will be made yearly to the cost of college fees until 2015, when they will stand at €3000. This directly

TRIBUNE VOX POPULI

goes against the pledge signed by Minister Quinn prior to the 2011 election, in which he pledged not to increase fees or make cuts to the grant. President of the USI John Logue has called this “a staggering betrayal”. A public meeting regarding the Dublin march will take place on Wednesday, November 7th. The march itself will take place on Tuesday, November 20th. As well as marching, students and parents alike are being encouraged, by the USI, to tweet, facebook and email their local representatives to voice their opposition. Logue predicts that the 15 regional protests around Ireland will be “the largest mobilisation of students in the USI’s history.” He also commented that the message to TD’s and local representatives is clear: “We’re fed up of fee hikes, grant cuts and graduate unemployment. Stand up for us and for promises made to a generation of Ireland’s youth.”

Rumor in ambiguo est; alii alia dicunt; pars invenit utraque causas

What is the USI? Tadgh: "Universal Social Institution or... it’s Universal" Eoin: "Yeh It’s definitely Universal...Service or social? I think it’s social." Tadgh: "It’s for fees and shit like that." Tadgh O’Sullivan and Eoin Walsh, Both 2nd Year Arts

"Emm University Students Ireland I guess...emm it’s a governing body that controls sort of the Students’ Union [and] makes sure nothing bad is happening."

"Union of Students of Ireland. It’s the Students’ Union of Ireland, the main Students’ Union for Irish colleges. As far as I know it’s the overall union for students in the country, more or less, and it makes certain decisions in terms of education."

Charlie Abbott, 2 Year Arts

Claire Finnegan, Liberal Arts 3rd Year

Think you have what it takes to be the next Vincent Browne? Join the College Tribune News Team. e-mail: news@collegetribune.ie

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE

6th November 2012

Is Ireland Liberal or Conservative? Dawn Lonergan investigates whether Ireland has finally broken free of its Conservatism

reland has been traditionally known to have deep conservative traditions, dating back to very long ago. These included the Marriage Bar, illegality of abortion on demand, unconstitutionality of homosexuality and a ban on condoms. Some of these things have been overturned and become more culturally, socially and politically more accepted but is there still more work to do?And why are we still not fully embracing the Liberalism that some of our EU neighbors are so famous for? One of the biggest Liberal milestones ever to take place in Ireland was when David Norris removed the constitutional ban on homosexuality. While this did signal a new dawn of gay rights, David Healy of UCD LGBT believes that

we still can't call ourselves a liberal nation.”Huge steps forward have being taken specifically in the last few years on the likes of equal marriage rights and adoptive rights for gay couples however there is still a lot of work to do and I think it would be pushing it to say we are a liberal nation”. Healy believes it to be a decrease in the power of the Church that has lead to this increase in liberalism, along with greater access to the media, claiming, “There has been a swing in the other direction down to the collapse in respect and confidence in the Catholic Church and the greater media attention on many social issues”. Greater access to the media can create the CNN effect, which in turn can create a lot of empathy. Obviously The Catholic Church

in Ireland has an extremely important role in answering this very important question. Niamh Hardiman, Politics lecturer at UCD, believes it to be an extremely important but intricate issue “It used to be assumed that Irish public opinion could be read off from their religious affiliation, but this has become more complicated. While about 85% expressed themselves 'Roman Catholic' in the 2011 census, what this means to these people has changed over time. About half of these said in the Irish Times poll that they were weakly or not at all religious. And the great majority of them said they looked to their religious leaders for support on personal spiritual life and not on matters that are subject to political deliberation.”

There was also an extremely liberal break away from the Catholic Church in Taoiseach Enda Kenny's infamous speech about the Cloyne Report. “Nor is it industrial-school or Magdalene Ireland, where the swish of a soutane smothered conscience and humanity and the swing of a thurible ruled the IrishCatholic world. This is the 'Republic' of Ireland 2011.” This indeed an extremely important event, because it finally pulled away from the Role of the Church in State Politics. They did have a very important role up until then,and Cardinal Mc Quiad did have incredible influence on the Irish Constitution. Liberal and Conservative can apply to choices about so many things, but I would like to boil it down to solely politics. For many

years Irish voters have either supported Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, both of which are centre right parties with little left support. In the latest RED C Poll published on the 23rd of September, we see support for Fine Gael at 32%, Labour at 14%, Fianna Fáil at 18%, Sinn Féin at 18% and Independents and others at 18%. Niamh Hardiman believes that “about one-third of public opinion is now 'undecided' according to the latest opinion poll, and Sinn Fein and small left parties are trying to mobilize more of these in their favour. “ These figures really do show how our Ireland has become a lot more liberal, but there's definitely still some strong conservatism support.

ments supporting capital punishment and, to a certain degree, one could support this belief. Many would look at murderers and child abusers, demanding that they receive the treatment and pain they carried out on others, with death being the only suitable punishment for people capable for bringing misery to others. However, would life imprisonment in sparse conditions without a chance of parole be a far more effective punishment? The knowledge that you will never leave the prison, stuck with contemplation and hard labour for the rest of your life, certainly would be a far greater mental punishment. For families, knowing the monster

that hurt your family is locked up forever would be of great comfort, but for many, a swift end to his/her life would be of greater comfort. With United Nations resolutions and binding European Union laws, the world appears to be turning to a more safe and humanitarian global community. It is clear that many powerful countries, such as China, may never change their overall attitude towards the death penalty and that the world may be powerful to change their mind. Yet, if the majority of nations around the World lead by example and respect human rights, we may leave this World a better and more respectable place to live in for generations to come.

For whom the bell tolls Darragh Ó Tuathail examines the debate on capital punishment

rime can be a horrible experience, an experience never fully understood by many until they themselves have been some form of victim. It has lasting emotional and physical consequences not just for the victim, but the victim's family and friends. Some crimes, such as child murder, abuse and serial killings can be so horrific that society screams out for the harshest punishments to be inflicted on the perpetrators. It is because of crimes and monsters like this that in the year 2012, the global community are still having a bitter debate on Capital punishment. Capital punishment, commonly known as the death penalty, is the most serious and severe punishment set down by a large number of national judicial systems around the World. As of 2012, 58 countries practice the death penalty, however as many countries are rather secretive regarding their domestic policies; it is difficult to accurately determine how many actually carry out the punishment. A number of these 58 countries have strict laws and guidelines regarding the use of the penalty, with Israel only using the sentence twice to kill convicted Nazis. Around 97 countries have abolished capital punishment, with the European Union being the most widespread and influential example. Under Article Two of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

European Union, the death penalty is forbidden in the European Union. Member States must adhere to these laws and countries attempting to join the Union must pass laws abolishing the death penalty. Belarus has remained the only European country to actively practice the punishment and their refusal to debate the issue is one of the main factors in their inability to receive consideration for EU membership. The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolutions 8 and 10 which called for a general suspension of global capital punishment. Similar to other UN Resolutions, these are not binding on any nation state. On top of this, with over 60% of the global population living in countries which practice the punishment (including China, India, USA and India) the likelihood of the UN influencing their judicial system is diminished. The most famous countries to carry out the death penalty are the United States and China, yet the sheer difference in number of executions is simply staggering. The US, which decides capital punishment state-by-state, executes on average 50 people every year. Although the country is incredibly secretive regarding domestic politics, it is believed China executed up to 5,000 people every year over a whole range of serious and petty crimes. A number of notable cases including foreign nations being

executed over drug trafficking in the last few years have highlighted human rights issues in China on a more widespread scale. It would be interesting to question whether or not the Communist system and large population has played a central role in the devaluing of human life and continuation of the death penalty. Many opponents to the death penalty put forward the argument that putting a prisoner to death is much cheaper than life imprisonment, and although this may be the case in many cases and factors, the figures around the death penalty are quite shocking. With its reinstatement in 1978, California has spent roughly 4 billion dollars on capital punishment (appeals over roughly 10 years and imprisonment); they have executed only 13 prisoners. Recently cost cutting reports in California have stated that the State Government and tax payers could save roughly 170 million dollars every year if capital punishment were to be abolished in 2012, with total savings of 5 billion dollars by 2032. Many claim that the death penalty deters the population from committing serious crimes and criminals from reoffending, however, there is no evidence to support this claim, with crime rates in the United States clear proof. The old adage of ‘an eye for an eye’ is one of the most commonly used argu-

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE

6th November 2012

FEATURES

Will someone please think of the children With the referendum around the corner, Orla Price takes account of the issues underlying the Children’s Rights Referendum

n the tenth of November we will be asked to vote on the Children’s rights referendum. All of the major political parties are in support of the referendum; on one hand it is great to see how the issue of rights has transcended political boundaries, on the other it is important to look at the wider context of being a child in this country and what exactly is being done to further support the rights of children. The referendum should be welcomed but should also be used to highlight situations where the rights of children are being undermined. The wording of the constitutional amendment does not limit the rights of children to those who are citizens of the state. In this regard, it is important to look at the rights of children who are seeking asylum in this

eight years. If you compare this to other European countries Ireland falls well under par. In Switzerland for example, on average the process takes six months. This can amount to an entire childhood in direct provisional accommodation. The conditions of direct provisional accommodation are not conducive to the health of a child either. Often located in rural areas with no public transport, children are socially excluded having no participation in extracurricular activities or outings. Spaces are confined which inhibits privacy and facilitates the spreading of illness. Cases of malnutrition have been recorded in these centres where parents do not have the finance to subsidise the meals provided already by the government. There is a lack of resources, play

“In order for the cycle to be broken, equality of access needs to be afforded to all children no matter what the status of their parents may be.” country. Over one third of asylum seekers in Ireland are under-18 which amounts to approximately 2000 children. Recently the Refugee Council of Ireland published a report outlining the situation for children living in direct provisional accommodation in this country. Direct provision is the term given to the accommodation provided by the government when someone is going through the asylum process. Whilst in direct provision, asylum seekers receive nineteen euros and sixty cents per week; this is supplemented by nine euro sixty if you have a child. Asylum seekers have no right to work in Ireland. This has created a poverty trap. On average, the asylum process in Ireland takes up to four years. However, there have been cases where people have been seeking asylum for over

areas, toys and books which parents are unable to afford to buy themselves. Review of the system has been talked about, but no conclusive action has been taken to alleviate the situation. Conditions need to be improved and the process itself needs to be looked at. Allowing parents to work and speeding up the application procedure could lead to a better quality of life for the children and families involved. Another issue that needs attention is children in the mental health system. There is an official ban on children and adolescents in adult psychiatric wards yet despite this, there have been re-occurring cases of children and adolescents being contained in adult psychiatric facilities. There were 131 cases of those under 18 being admitted to adult psychiatric

wards last year. It is unbelievable that this is still happening, childhood and adolescence are already vulnerable years, and this combined with the experience of mental illness can make this a very turbulent time. To be contained, not amongst your peers, but isolated because of your age, amongst adults makes this experience even more difficult and indeed damaging to mental health. The Irish government committed to spending 35 million a year on the improvement of mental health services yet little of this money was seen. It is important that we put pressure on the government to uphold this promise, highlighting especially the situation for children in this country. Special needs resources have already been cut, with the loss of many special needs assistants in schools. Now the matter of ending disability payment allowances for those under eighteen is on the agenda and replacing it with a care package for the parents. The implications of this really need to be thought about, households of a young person with a disability could lose thousands a year should this go ahead. There is still no guarantee of entitlement to support in the home for parents of children with severe brain damage. The standard of education and support a child receives and the financial situation of the household they live in all contribute to their inclusion and integration in society. Children with special needs and disabilities who are already disadvantaged should be given the highest level of support in order to ensure they are not disadvantaged further by exclusion. The rights of children is of course directly related to other issues such as unemployment, which creates child poverty and which has increased since the recession. However, even in the affluent times of this country, we still had a relatively high level of child poverty for Europe. This leads us to the question of

whether there is a more fundamental problem behind these issues. Is this perhaps a result of a system that continually facilitates gaps in access to education and health care? Socio-economic position is a determinant of the health care and education you receive and certainly the standard of education you receive can help create your socio-economic position leading to a cyclical trap. There are parents in Ireland who can afford private health insurance so their children benefit from not entering a system of waiting and delays. There are parents who can afford to send their children to private schools that benefit from better services and facilities because of state funding and fees. These issues can then play into the issue of criminality among the young, those who grow up in poverty are more likely to engage in crime when they grow older and then have the potential to end up in institutions like St. Patricks where forcible stripping, bullying, intimidation and poor conditions are all present. In this case we are again presented with a cycle where children’s rights are further violated, when it was neglect to provide equal rights in the first place that could have contributed to their position. In order for the cycle to be broken, equality of access needs to be afforded to all children no matter what the status of their parents may be. All of these issues need to receive particular attention as alongside the Children’s rights referendum, Ireland is standing for election to the human rights commission on the 12 November. In this regard we really need to increase pressure in order to make sure standards are continually improved for the rights of children in this country.

FEATURES

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

Stopes clinic controversy Laura Cullen ruminates on the heavy and heated debate regarding the opening of the Mary Stopes Clinic in Belfast

he opening of the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast has predictably generated lots of chin wagging, riled tempers and controversy. The bitter debate over abortion is bubbling to the surface again. Instead of indulging in the emotion, I'd like to stand back for a moment to calmly and reasonably explore the implications for society of the opening of this clinic. Firstly though, let's outline the facts. The Marie Stopes clinic is a private abortion clinic. The current law on abortion in Northern Ireland is different to that in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the law on abortion states that it can only lawfully take place within the first 9 weeks gestation and only if the health of the mother is in immediate or long-term

danger. The fact that this clinic is so close to home is a real cause of concern for those who feel that it will have implications on people in the South. For others, this clinic is a welcome manifestation of Northern Ireland’s arrival into the 21st century. Whatever way one looks at it, the abortion debate has been a pernicious scab on the skin of Irish culture now for a long time, and the opening of this clinic proves that this particular scab will remain sore for the foreseeable future. It is reasonable to at least question the widespread idea that the opening of the Marie Stopes clinic is a positive thing. It has been quickly accepted by many that it is a healthy development in the life of Northern Ireland. However, despite the view that abortion is a very personal thing, it has many deep and sometimes hidden effects on society at large. As such, it warrants exploration. If we are to do justice to the complexity of the issue, and if we are to understand the implications for society at large, the issue of life itself cannot be sidestepped. It is and must be at the centre of the debate. If the child in the womb is not accepted as being a person, many believe this is justification enough for going through with an abortion, especially if it emerges that the mother’s life is in danger. Is it really though? Let us consider the issue from the utilitarian viewpoint. This attitude values above all else the autonomy of the individual (and this is the foundational starting point for the pro-choice argument). Essentially, this view extols the freedom of the mother to choose what happens to her own body. This issue poses fundamental questions relating to both utilitarianism and abor-

tion in today’s society. The question is: can the contemporary attitude to abortion be attributed to modern day culture and the very utilitarian values it promulgates? One of the many reasons why abortion is such a tetchy subject is because it directly touches upon some of these utilitarian values, among other sensitive societal issues. Some of these issues include: population, families, morality, religion, sexuality, reproduction and, of course, life itself. It is indisputable that, over the last 50 years, society in general has become far more individualised. The epoch of post-modernity has ushered in a self-centeredness in which the concept of the common good seems to have been relegated to second place while the individual comes first. In a UCD symposium a few years back, Fr John McNerney pointed to the personalisation of product names such as iPods, Myspace and Youtube. This product nomenclature taps into a pervasive sense of individualism that informs our choices. Against this background of an ever-increasing sense of personal freedom, is it all that surprising that we have arrived at a place where debates about the value of human life need to be had? For those who believe the moment of conception brings a human life into the womb, going through with a birth is not only the natural thing to do (according to natural law) but also the natural corollary of upholding the value of a human life, which is an absolute value in itself. It is the woman’s body – yes. But does that mean that she has free reign to do what she wants with it? If we begin to measure things in this way, the sense of responsibility towards one’s own actions would erode. Nearly any action could be justified. ‘It is my body, I can do as I like’. This type of anarchic freedom would lead to an intense ruthlessness, a survival of the fittest ethic that few would wish to see. We have a responsibility to others around us. The very social fabric knitting everyone together would erode if this responsibility to the other were not acknowledged. Abortion can be seen as another way of eluding responsibility. When something unforeseen happens in

a person’s life, there are multitudes of ways in which the dependence and responsibility can be passed on. For example, if a person drinks too much alcohol and they develop cirrhosis of the liver, a liver transplant can be obtained. What is all this dependence on externalities doing to our self-consciousnesses? Action and consequence do not seem to run along side by side anymore. Instead, it is action and avoidance that have started to pair up. The clinic in Belfast is yet another representation of that inconsistency. The current number of abortions in Northern Ireland is 43, this invokes a query as to the need for this clinic in the first place, if the NHS already provide free abortions to patients who are seriously ill or who will suffer long term repercussions due to giving birth. Perhaps the agenda of the Marie Stopes clinic is to push the boundaries of the law as far as they can. One must wonder whether the numbers of abortions might increase significantly as a result of the clinic? And even if they did, would the figures be published? A main concern with the opening of the clinic must be with the monitoring of its activity and decision making. These are crucial questions that need to be answered and it seems ambiguous that this clinic has received the go-ahead when they have yet to be. The Marie Stopes clinic has reminded everyone that issues of human life need to be examined ever more deeply. The law of a country enshrines the values of a country and that is why this particular issue requires an informed debate. The opening of this clinic illuminates some home truths about our society, and what is missing from it. The very nature of the clinic represents a fundamental need to fill a gap that is widening. There is an emptiness that leads people to turn inward on themselves, to search frantically for anything to substitute the tedium of reality. It seems that until this emptiness is filled, routes such as this one, will become the way this incongruity is temporarily masked.

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

FEATURES

The end of the world as we know it Kathryn Toolan debunks the myths and theories relating to the “End of the World”

ou are sitting in your sitting room, enjoying the cinematic masterpiece that is The Santa Claus. It is December 20th 2012. The weather outside is frightful but your Mammy's cooking is so delightful. You love the holidays. Study-free, stress-free, your biggest worry is whether you'll be able to fit into your skinny jeans after the season to be jolly. But then, it dawns on you. The scary realisation slides over you like a harsh case of the meat sweats on Christmas Day. You've forgotten to purchase a gift for your darling mother. You can see her in the corner of your eye, innocently peeling carrots for what will no doubt be another magnificent meal. You start to panic. What are you going to do? But wait, it is okay. Calm down, because in a matter of hours, the world will simply cease to exist. Sorted. As the day of Armageddon draws ever closer, the majority of us are paying little or no heed to the hype, knowing the Earth will still be spinning come December 22nd. But not everyone is of this opinion. NASA's website, “Ask an Astrobiologist” has been inundated with questions regarding the Doomsday predictions. In 2009, two women contacted the site asking if they should go ahead and kill themselves and their children, a sign the predictions have become all too real for some individuals. Five million people view a site called December212012.com every month - the number increased drastically in early 2012. It was set up almost seven years ago by a Kentucky based web developer, John Kehne – and is a one-stop-shop for all “End of the World” enthusiasts. Kehne himself has built a “72 – hour room” under his house, a concrete bunker fully stocked for any Armageddon situation. But how did a lowly web developer pay for this state of the art bunker? With the profits from his website of course. So what are the mythical rumours that have been circulating our little globe? The main theory stems from the belief that once the Mayan calendar finishes its cycle, we finish our cycle. The Mayans were a Mesoamerican civilisation that are remembered for their highly developed mathematical and

"In 2009, two women contacted the site asking if they should go ahead and kill themselves and their children, a sign the predictions have become all too real for some individuals." architectural systems and their language. Their calendar is set to finish up in December 2012. December does in fact mark the end of a b'ak'tun, a time period in the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar that was used in Central America before the arrival of Europeans. However nothing can be found in Mayan prophecies that states that all life will cease to exist past this date, a point made frequently by the Mayans themselves. Grand Elder Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj, the leader of the Mayan National Council of Elders of Guatemala and the “ambassador for the Maya” was quoted as saying, “A new ‘Sun’ represents the beginning of the new Long Count cycle in the calendar system of approximately 5200 years.” The Mayan calendar, once finished, simply begins again. The Mayans have even predicted events that are set to happen after December 2012, making this theory of impending

doom ultimately invalid. Another theory making the rounds is the Planet X theory. Proponents for said theory claim that a planet called Niburu, or Planet X, is approaching Earth and will eventually collide with it around December 21st. This collision was originally supposed to occur in May 2003, but when May came and went without any incidents, Planet X conspirators jumped on the December 2012 bandwagon. NASA has stated that no such planet exists - if it did, astronomers would have been able to track it for at least ten years. Another similar theory claims that come December, our planet will align in such a way that will cause our own galactic termination. NASA? This is also untrue, “Earth will not cross any galactic plane in 2012,” but it will align with the Sun and the centre of the Milky Way in December, just as it does every single year. Any more theories? Of course there are. We should be preparing for a lifetime of slavery as a result of the upcoming alien invasion, starting in December. The Earth is also going to shift and start spinning in the opposite direction despite the fact that this is impossible, (but don't forget to buy your “Shift Happens” t-shirt, Kehne wants a carpet for his basement conversion, - sorry, bunker). Oh and there’s an asteroid on the way. One more time, NASA? No, that is also untrue. NASA has been carrying out the Spaceguard Survey,

which determines if there are any objects on course for our planet and when they will hit. So far the only object we need to worry about hurtling towards us from above, is Felix Baumgartner. But what about all the changeable weather, crazy tornados and lengthy heat waves? The inconvenient truth is that we're a planet ravaged by global warming. It will take a lot longer then our lifespans for the damage done to the planet to be remedied, we must simply adapt to the changes whilst at the same time continue to change our lifestyles to be more eco-friendly. There are many myths out there, floating around cyberspace, waiting to be picked up. Some view our dismissal of the myths and theories as a development of our species as rational thinkers. Others view it as a sign that religion and spirituality are becoming obsolete. As December 21st draws closer, relax. Doomsday is a myth. But if you are not convinced and you need help spreading the word, there is an app on iTunes that updates your Facebook status and lets people know “how close to the end we may be.” And it’s free, which is nice. For more information on any unimpending disaster visit https://astrobiology.nasa. gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/

10 10FEATURES

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

Sorting through the fireworks With UCD Students nearly recovered from the Halloween hangover, Silvana Lakeman investigates the coming and going of Halloween

alloween is one of the most popular holidays in Ireland, and has always been a holiday celebrated in some way around the world as a means to welcome the change of seasons – a mark of transition between autumn and winter, and traditionally life and death as winter brought about many hardships not seen any other time of the year. Although no country would appear to celebrate this holiday today quite as commercially as the United States, Halloween dates back two thousand years, as a festival to bring in the New Year which the Celts of Ireland, France and the United Kingdom celebrated on the first of November. Halfway between autumn and the winter solstice, the Gaelic New Year festival was originally titled ‘Samhain,’ and marked the beginning of winter and the end of the harvest year. This time of year thousands of years ago, Celts were busy bringing in cattle from their grazing pastures, slaughtering livestock to preserve as fuel for the hard winter months, and spiritually, this was a time to acknowledge both the dead and the fact that death was imminent for many during winter. Perhaps the main reason such a staunchly pagan festival has managed to survive and remain so strong in Ireland today is due to the spread of Christianity in 1000 A.D. At

this time the Church attempted to replace the Celtic version with a Christian approved version known as All Souls Day, which was celebrated on the second of November, and much in the same fashion as Samhain. All Souls Day was a religious festival to honour and pay respects to the dead, and over time the name for this day became all-hallows, then Halloween. So why the need for costumes, masks, bonfires, trick-or-treating, and superstition surrounding black cats – which my black tabby Leon is most offended by... Interestingly, almost all the traditional symbols and rituals have been carried through from the earliest days of this festival to the present. For example the superstition surrounding black cats has its roots in the Middle Ages, at a time when it was believed witches disguised themselves from others and avoided detection by transforming into the animal. The use of candles, lanterns and flickering carved out pumpkins on doorsteps and street corners stems from the Celtic belief that lights should be left out to help guide the dead, who would come back once a year to visit the living, back to the spirit world. However, the pagans and then early Christians were afraid of running into the ghosts of the dead, so the much loved tradition of wearing masks and

costumes came about to disguise themselves from the spirits who wandered the earth on this one day of the year. In the early days of this celebration in England, the poorest of society would beg for food, and thus the tradition most synonymous with Halloween, trick-or-treating, came about. ‘Soul-cakes’ were distributed to beggars - small pastries that families would deal out to the hungry. In return, beggars would pray for the souls of the relatives of

something that couldn’t possibly be used for anything more than as a basis for scary movies. Although Halloween is almost frowned upon in Australia as it does not hold with any Australian traditions and appears largely commercial and Americanised, in the Philippines as well as parts of South America and other largely Christian countries, All Saints and All Souls Days are more celebrated than Halloween as we know it today, and people

"Perhaps the main reason such a staunchly pagan festival has managed to survive and remain so strong in Ireland today is due to the spread of Christianity in 1000 A.D." that family. Similarly, bowls of food were left outside homes to appease the ghosts who might otherwise enter. My first Halloween in Ireland was an interesting one as someone who had never seen the holiday celebrated at all, let alone by noticing a giant bonfire had been built in the middle of the green in the estate I had been living in. I can still hear the sirens of Garda cars to this day, and the fire left such a huge crater of scorched earth that the grass did not fully grow back for well over a year. However it turns out this apparent madness was not entirely unfounded – Druids in the early days of the holiday used enormous bonfires to make animal sacrifices to the Celtic deities who were believed to be walking amongst the living. Despite the Celts and early Christians carrying out what we would consider quite superstitious rituals and beliefs, Halloween primarily arose from the desire to celebrate the New Year, turning of seasons and as a day to celebrate the dead. This explains why, as a child growing up in the Southern Hemisphere, I never experienced any of those traditions that people here in Europe and North America take for granted. With no need to commemorate the coming of winter, it is no surprise that traditions that have been kept alive in Ireland were not brought to countries for which this time of year means sunshine. I remember a small boy and girl coming to my door in New Zealand one year trick-ortreating; yet so odd was this in itself that I had nothing to give them. In fact Halloween seemed only to exist in movies and novels,

see it as an opportunity to visit the graves of loved ones. In America and Canada Halloween was a relatively uncelebrated holiday for a long time after colonisation due to the largely Protestant beliefs of settlers. However, on the arrival of other sects and religions, the popularity of the festival took hold, although the mass commercialisation we see today did not appear until the 20th century when Halloween cards were introduced in the 1910’s. Of course, keeping with another Irish tradition – drinking – Halloween is quite a different affair in Ireland than in other countries. October 31st has now become the busiest night in Ireland for emergency services due to the use of illegal fireworks as well as the need to patrol and control what is deemed as being ‘anti-social behaviour.’ This brings raises the question, why celebrate the holiday at all? Like many traditional holidays, the meaning of the day has changed somewhat, with emphasis on what we can extract from it rather that what it symbolises. Yet as with most traditions, we feel the need to do something for it anyway, only because it is a tradition to do so. Or perhaps we still celebrate Halloween because when the nights get colder and the days get darker, we need those flickering lanterns and pumpkins to give us some light, as well as copious amounts of sweets to cheer us up. So in a sense, Halloween was, and will continue to be, a means to celebrate the change in seasons, as well as remaining something to look forward to.

11 Poetry

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE

Page Eleven Poetry

6th November 2012

Page 11

Luckless Romantic

Autumn/Winter Divide

I don’t know why I can’t love you. But the songs that move me now, aren’t the same ones that drove my feet to your doorstep Up the hill on a hot summer afternoon, desperate for your arms around me.

Rolling, falling into a landscape, Brown with berries; Trees, possessive of leaves, But giving to the wind Gradually, reluctantly; Water rushing clear to a new destination Only known to water, Its soldiers stampeding forward, 'Hurry onwards'; Sky, full of foreboding, tempestuous, A football match before throw-in, Ready, explosive; The rabbits scatter in all directions, Families unite in warmth, protection; Birds leave the pool or arrive as the case may be What's cold for many is warm for some, Nature's hidden intricacies globally interlocking; The sun, a retired General Telling stories no one is interested in, Its beams are only cold streaks of light On the surface of the water; Fields, like wounds awaiting salt, Blades of grass the most resilient of all; Frost, that hungry monster, Attacking lost souls left to drift, wander; Swirls of whirls of gusting air Knocking on a farmhouse window; The occupants pouring hot drinks, A child on his grandfather's knee Listening, swallowing adult stories; An owl in a barn, unmoved, protected, Takes it all in an inevitable; Cows lowing, they need to be milked Day in, day out, regardless; The old dirt track awaiting snow, Awaiting the imprint of tractor tyres A child's foot would step into, A child dressed in hat and scarf, A child beholding birth and death; The changing thrush continues singing The song of ever changing earth In one note, prolonged, quivering; The song of Season's restless heart, Breaking, rejoicing, tearing, rebuilding, Stuck inside but breaking out, And crumbling to dream again and dream again; And one swan replaces another across the surface, Gliding, gliding towards Beauty, Strength, Promise Fragility remains constant!

When I needed you like the air I breathe, Like the music in my headphones on the long lonely bus ride back home When each song was a countdown to when you would kiss me again. But now my heart breaks, Not for you, Not for another, But for everything undiscovered And for the girl who used to stare at the skyline from the rooftop, desperately hopeful. I can’t march to your beat anymore and you could never dance to mine, So I find myself sitting on the rooftop once more, hungry for that horizon. You were my refuge in a world gone mad, But now I think the madness was inside my head all along. I locked it up tight But it chewed and clawed at the walls of my mind until I could contain it no longer. And like a disease it’s spread, gripping my heart in a chokehold, asking questions I just don’t want answers to; Is love a lie? Something fleeting that can never last forever, Or am I just not cut out for all things everlasting? It would be so easy to blame it on love; Life is no fairytale And I was always destined to stop missing your warm heartbeat next to mine. But like the madness that creeps through my body, I strongly suspect It’s just me. I loved you when we were young, When the pull of the world outside this little town was a call I couldn’t answer. When you were everything I could ever need And the thought of losing you was a sadness I couldn’t bear without tears pricking my otherwise stony eyes. I thought I would love you forever, I was certain of it. I loved you when we were young, But I’m older now And I can’t love you like I did. I strongly suspect, It’s all just madness. - A.H

Best Go Home best go home chain drink beer-tea-wine. and flatten my hands, as they hang in the air. - DL

- Michael Donohue

Nirvana Tempera On Silk

A Poem Should Punch You In The Face

O day I have not lost you, for I stand In silence at your marriage vows to night. Tis dusk as Venus shines above a land That yearns for the almost abandoned light. The pale moon flickers while the nightingale Conducts a choir that croon the wedding tunes Mellifluous old marches as you arrive With grace in seraph-knitted silk. The veil You wear has sheltered stars the shepherd soon Wont seek - they are the stars on which I thrive -

A poem should punch you in the face A singular sensation explosion, Instant, Insane, Electric. For one searing second, Sense solidifies.

Joseph Fieldstone

Analyse all you want Reap reams, rolls and rotas. Give a psychoanalytic prognosis Of peoples private paradises. Fit it to your world view. But if you haven’t got a black eye It wasn’t a Great poem. - Freddie Hoskin

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BUSINESS

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

The hidden cost of the housing boom Niall Conroy

veryone is acutely aware of how much the housing bubble and subsequent bust has cost this society. Over 83,000 people are in arrears of 90 days or more on their mortgage, many multiples of that are in negative equity. All of our banks were/are bust and the state has spent billions keeping them afloat and hence has an unsustainable debt burden and is reliant on official lenders. One aspect of the cost of the housing boom which is not often discussed is that had people not invested in property, they may have invested in something productive, e.g. people may have created sustainable jobs here rather than becoming small time developers. In a housing boom people think they can make a killing by buying property renting it out and having the mortgage paid for while the value of the house soars. This distorts the allocation of people’s resources. Had people invested in more normal things, this may have led to a vast increase in productivity in Ireland. We could have had some sustainable jobs in much less cyclical industries e.g. manufacturing, smart technologies and export oriented industries. Had these “normal” firms been established in the mid 2000’s the 170,000 odd people who were working in construction but are no longer would have been in jobs that may still be going today. It is also useful to always distinguish be-

tween the two types of investment: productive investment that leads to sustainable jobs and growth and investment that is purely speculative and is temporary. It is very easy for people to simply say that investment was high and that is a good thing, but clearly unproductive, speculative investment is undesirable and a waste of scarce resources. One must also look at bank lending and what projects they are financing. One can easily bemoan the cost of bad bank lending which has been placed on this societies shoulders, but one must also consider that it is because of this bad lending that banks are now unwilling and/or unable to lend to small and medium sized business and exporters who would assist in our recovery. This is another element of the costs of the housing boom that often goes unnoticed.

A&F: The Numbers Behind The Model Eoin Callaghan

ast week saw Abercrombie & Fitch open its 10th European flagship store on College Green to the delight of many onlookers who caught a glimpse of the 50 barechested models flown in for the occasion. This photo opportunity has become a staple of any A&F store opening, as the company maintains its exclusive athletic American image which allows itself to be marketed as a “Casual Luxury” brand. Yet, behind any marketing image there are hard financial facts which underpin the performance of a company. What are the key drivers behind the A&F model? Why Dublin? Why now? Since going public at the end of 1996, A&F has kept a high public profile through its sexually-orientated marketing and numerous law-suits. Initially the brand was portrayed as a “near-luxury” due to the high quality of materials used to manufacture its goods. With the opening of its flagship Fifth Avenue store in 2005, the firm decided it had reached the level of a luxury brand – a trait which has been the bedrock of its international expansion since. Looking at a chart of the company’s share price, we can see that the stock began to rise significantly on the back of the Fifth Avenue opening, and self-proclamation as “Casual Luxury”. A&F peaked at a price of $82.65 in mid 2007, with a collapse in share price one year later to under $20. Same store sales plummeted by 30%, as the firm continued to charge high prices while competitors began to successfully mimic its styles and marketing practices, leading to a sharp decline in market value. Expansion out of North America began in 2007 when A&F opened its first international flagship store on London’s elite Saville Row. However, further expansion did not come until 2009 when the firm opened up in Milan

and Tokyo. This was reflected in the share price with an upward trend which continued until late 2011 as more and more international stores opened up. While the Abercrombie & Fitch brand has less than 20 stores outside North America, the cheaper Hollister brand has 28 in the UK alone. The Hollister Co. arm made up almost 49% of parent Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s revenue in 2012. Over the three previous years to end of FY 2012, international sales for the group grew by 58.34% while US sales fell by 1.17%. This increasing international revenue pulled up Earnings per Share (EPS) over the period, which fueled the upward movement in the stock price. In the second half of last year, the company announced a massive drop off in comparable store sales in the domestic US market. Management reacted by increasing mark-downs and promotional offers which squeezed the net revenue per item sold. Wall Street did not look favourably on these actions, reducing its expectations of future profitability which led to a sharp fall in the ANF listing. 2012 has continued to be a year full of challenges. The decline in European demand and a generally weak international consumer sentiment led to a Year-on-Year 29% drop in international same-store sales, as reported in the August quarterly earnings report. The initial outperformance of A&F’s global expansion has meant that the recent declines still allow this venture outside of North America to be very profitable. Yet, A&F HQ has acknowledged the limitations to this international growth, which is being reflected in the sales figures. No new flagship store openings have been announced for the A&F brand, while the recent Dublin and Seoul stores faced a great reduction in scope. 40 more Hollister stores are due to open outside

the USA next year, with only 25 more in 2014. In essence, A&F recognize the benefits from an international operation but have learned that less aggressive opening schedules and less cannibalization (eating into its own regional success) is the way forward. Coupled with our domestic economic woes, this would explain the delay in opening the Dublin store and also why the store is much smaller than initially anticipated. The future economic success of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. appears to be in the hands of management, who are overseeing a company with an operating margin of 7.9%, compared to 12.5% for American Eagle and 15.8% for Ralph Lauren. Given the economic climate, A&F is currently performing well in generating sales revenue, while underperforming in cost management. Analysts attribute this to

“business model-breaking” levels of inventory in the firm and highlight a lagging fashion sense – most notably in the coloured jeans arena – as a key weakness. However, many on the Street believe that A&F will be able to increase its operating margin to at least 10% if not in line with American Eagle’s. This means that the stock is currently undervalued at $32.85, with a consensus target of $38.07, in the short term. Some analyst reports project a price of $50-60 within a few years. With third quarter results due on the 14th of this month, 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg recommend holding positions, 11 recommend buying ANF, with 3 selling the stock. It would appear more worthwhile splashing out €200 as an investment in the A&F Model, rather than €200 in-store to look like one.

14 GNÉ - AILT

gaelige@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

Léargas Lom: Máirtín Ó Cadhain Agus Máirtín Ó Cadhain go mór i mbéal phobail na Gaeilge le déanaí, caitheann An Conchoilleach súil ar an bhfear féin agus ar chuid de na tuairimí a chuir sé os comhair an tsaoil.

ailleadh Máirtín Ó Cadhain 42 bliana agus an tráth seo. Bhí an mhí seo thart breac le macallaí an Chadnaigh, agus Léacht Uí Chadhain ar siúl anseo inár roinn Gaeilge féin. San alt seo a leanas, beidh mé ag luí isteach ar an dearcadh is na tuairimí a chuir An Cadhnach os comhair an tsaoil mar is ceart a dhéanamh agus muid ag breathnú siar ar shaothar, ar shaol agus ar shíorthionchair Mháirtín le linn na tréimhse seo. Cancrán ab ea Máirtín, go maitheadh Dia dó é, is cáineadh go minic é ina linn féin. Mar a dúirt Seán Ó Laighin in alt dar teideal “Nochtadh na Fírinne” in eagrán comórtha Comhar sa bhliain 1980 “Ní ghéilleadh sé do thuairimí daoine eile- cheap sé go raibh an ceart i gcónaí aige”. Cá bhfios, b’fhéidir go raibh, bail ó Dhia air. In alt a chum “Tuairisceoir Speisialta” san eagrán comórtha céanna dar teideal “Máirtín Ó Cadhain- Extremist” tá trácht air mar dhuine de na extremists ba mhó chun tosaigh ar chúis na dteangacha mionlaigh in iarthar na hEorpa, gur ag na extremists seo a raibh an tuiscint cheart acu “do phráinn agus do riachtanais na dteangacha seo agus don straitéis ba ghá chun iad a shlánú.” Nach cuí, ar bhealach, gur cailleadh Wilhelm Brasse an tráth seo den bhliain. Cén ealaín atá orm a leithéid a rá, nó cé hé Wilhelm Brasse? Bhásaigh sé ar an tríú lá

is fiche den mhí seo, agus duine, is cosúil, de na fíréin, ab ea é Wilhelm! Cuireadh chun oibre sa champa géibhinn Naitsíoch in Auschwitz é, agus thosaigh sé ag glacadh grianghraf de na cimí réamhbhásaithe. Bhain Wilhelm allas as a chnámha is é ag coinneáil grianghraf dó féin, rud neamhcheadaithe amach is amach, agus, ar deireadh thiar, ba iad na grianghraif seo cuid den fhianaise a leag síor-smál na héagóra ar na Naitsithe. Cad chuige go bhfuil mé ag trácht ar a leithéid is racht cainte ar Mháirtín á thabhairt agam? Léirigh Brasse an dúchas, an dúthracht, an diongbháilteacht sin nár spáráil an Cadhnach féin. Chaomhnaigh siad beirt cúrsaí na linne don chéad ghlúin eile. Is treise an dúchas ná an oiliúint; ar an gcaoi chéanna a dhiúltaigh Brasse oiliúint na Naitsíoch ar son an Reich, ag sá scine i ndroim Hitler, chuaigh Máirtín glan i gcoinne bolscaireachta a linne féin, agus nach raibh an ceart acu beirt. Dúirt Máirtín tráth “Ó thosaigh daol an Eorpachais ag dul ionainn chaill muid ár n-acmhainn ghrinn”. Nach teann anois orainn an gad sin. Ní raibh meas madaidh ag Máirtín ar rialtas a lae. I Márta na bliana 1962, is a fhios aige nárbh fhada ón gcill a chloigeann, labhair sé i Comhar lena fhíréin. Ina measc, chuir sé i láthair a phaidir “A Dhia na gCaighdeán agus an

Bhéarla eagair, deonaigh caighdeán a thabhairt do Ghaeil Éireann athuair, Gaeltacht a dhéanamh d’Éirinn athuair”. Ba í an Ghaeilge an gad is giorra don scoirneach i gcónaí aige. Ba shearbh an sciolladh i gcónaí a tugadh uaidh ar ábhar an rialtais is a raibh ar siúl ar aimhleas na tíre acu. Arsa an Cadhnach in alt in The Gaelic Weekly “Let Garret Fitzgerald have his scorched earth, his culture-neutral no-man’s land, peopled solely with his figure godesses...he will be defied by a

chain of referendums which blow his figures, goddesses and all into stink bubbles, if not something worse, into his face”. Dúirt Seán Ó Ríordáin: “Faraor géar tá Máirtín Ó Cadhain i gcré na cille…Tá súil againn – súil eaglach – nach í Éire atá i gcré na cille, a Éire siúd”. Mura ligeann muid na maidí le sruth, ní bheidh bás an Chadhnaigh mar lámh an bháis ar chúis na teanga. Ní mhaireann sé, ach mar a dúirt Seán Ó Laighin, “maireann an duine sa rud a scríobh sé.” Dúirt

Máirtín féin ar an nGaeilge gur “fás nó bás a chaithfeadh teacht.” Agus, nach iontach an rud, gur tháinig bás agus fás mar aon ar Mháirtín. Tagann luach níos mó i gcónaí air, agus nach againn an spreagadh síoraí scríbhneoireachta. Is ceart dícheall dubh is dath a dhéanamh an teanga agus toil an Chadhnaigh, a chaomhnú. B’fhéidir go mairfidh sé agus beocht nua aige sna rudaí atá le scríobh againn féin.

Splancfhicsean Oisín Morrison Scríbhneoir

huigh mé síos ar an stól le barr súgáin chaite air...bhí sé bog. Leag mé mo mhála leathair síos taobh liom. “A Thiarcais, tá sé trom inniu”, a dúirt mé liom féin de chogar. Ba mhór an faoiseamh dom scaoileadh leis an diabhal ruda, amhail is go raibh buarthaí an tsaoil ag imeacht leis. Bhí Síle im’ aigne ag impí orm gan dul chomh fada leis an gcéad bhraonín sin. “Is liomsa a labhras tú faoi, a chroí”, a deireas sí liom. “Ní chabhróidh bun gloine leat”. Chas mé timpeall chuig an gcuntar, ag casadh mo dhroma uirthi agus bhuail mé leathuilinn fuaim. Bhí an cuntar mín in áiteanna ach garbh in áiteanna eile, na háiteanna is minice ar shuíodh daoine ann is dócha; in aice na mbairillí. Bhí boladh crua dí san aer timpeall orm ach i ndiaidh na mblianta, níor thug mé aird ar bith air. Ní raibh ach cúigear eile sa tábhairne anocht, oíche chiúin Aoine, rud nach bhfeicfeá go minic. “Nach

shin é an rud ab aistí”, a dúirt mé liom féin. Bhí beirt fhear arbh as an gCnoc Beag dóibh, ag comhrá faoi imeachtaí na seachtaine. Fear óg eile, sáite ina ghutháin sa chúinne, ag txt-áil go fiachmhar agus an pionta sa lámh eile aige. Thagadh nóiméad... d’imeodh sé...chaithfeadh sé súil ar an doras. Mura mbeadh sí ann, agus is minic nach mbeadh, slogadh sé siar bolgam dá bheorach ar nós cuma leis. Bhí m’aird féin dírithe ar an mbeirt eile. Duine dóibh, fear bearrtha, pointeáilte, ag argóint le seanfhear. Bhí cuma bhrocach air. “Tar abhaile, a scraiste!”, arsa an fear. “Ní maitheas ar bith tú a bheith anseo. Tá sí cráite a’at! Nach mbraitheann tú uait í ar chor ar bith?”. Ní raibh leath-chluas éisteachta á thabhairt ag an seanfhear ar a mhac agus le sin, sheas sé in airde le go bhfagfadh sé. Ach sular fhág, scaoil sé uaidh de chogar nimhneach “Go dtachta tú air!”.

Bhuaigh Cormac Breathnach agus Eoin Ó Murchu díospóireacht na mac léinn, urraithe ag Gael Linn, ar son COBÁC ag an Oireachtas na Samhna i Leitir Ceanainn ar an Satharn

features@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE

6th November 2012

REGULARS

Hello, is there anyone out there on the UCD Campus? Elizabeth Coote Writer

n 18th October 2012, I attended a protest meeting for the students of University College Dublin. The protest was to draw attention to the fact that many students who had applied for their grants through SUSI had not received confirmation on whether or not they were eligible. There was a delay and that delay was affecting people causing unnecessary pain and stress. It is first years and post graduates who are most affected. There may also be a delay from the council offices all over the country, not for all students, but for some. One of my reasons for attending and speaking at the said protest was to highlight how these students were being affected by these delays. The main one was that students were not allowed use their student card to access the Library service, to take out books for their courses, hence delays in submitting their weekly assignments on time. This has been both upsetting and stressful, in particular to first years who are only beginning their stud-

ies and trying to fit in and find their way around a huge campus. At this stage I must make it very clear that the staff of the libraries are fantastic people. I spent five years dealing with the staff in the James Joyce library, and believe me, they are the finest librarians in the country. I have seen with my own eyes all of them with no exception going the extra mile to support and help students. You may say they are paid to do that job, yes they are, but no payment can get people to be as pleasant and helpful as they are. This article is not about them; it is about the vast majority of students who did not come out to support their fellow students. On that memorable Thursday, the march had perhaps 100-200 people in attendance that met at the Student Centre and walked across the campus to the Library building and then on to the Tierney building. While we marched there were many people who sneered and jeered at us, perhaps not knowing what our march was all about. That did not

excuse them or excuse the low turnout, it made it clear to me that they either did not know or perhaps did not care why the march was taking place. In my articles so far I have tried to get the message across of what young people are capable of achieving for themselves and for their fellow students. I would ask all of you when leaflets and newspapers are given to you or left on the concourse you should pick them up and read them and be informed. Read the College newspapers. Most of you have mobile phones with access to the Internet, your laptops and computers. There is no excuse to say I do not know what is happening in this College. I know that human contact is best of all. However, it is very difficult if we have fewer staff and more machines in UCD to have one to one contact with receptionists, porters, and security. We need people, but they are no longer available due to cutbacks. Main desks in all the buildings were manned by great

staff who were in place year-onyear and had fantastic experience on how to communicate with the UCD community. My disappointment at the low turnout was very acute, and most upsetting. In my speech at the march I said as much. I feel so many of you let down the students who were under extreme pressure and stress; you left them with very little support. Those who have no financial problems could at least support those who need these grants. What use is your education if you cannot see outside the box and judge for yourselves what is worth standing up for and be counted? It will cost you nothing. I ask why the College did not extend the deadline for payment ‘til the first Semester was over? After Christmas might have been a better time to cut off the library facilities. I am sure that when this article is published all these matters will be resolved, however, that is not the point. The point is, had 23,000 of you made it known that there was

something not right, that an injustice was taking place, then the march would not have been needed in the first place. Please do better next time for the good of your University and your fellow students. Do not stand by and do nothing, use your voice for your own good and the good of others. Believe me, your College will listen to the voices of thousands, not just a few hundred. When you complete your studies you will carry fairness and justice with you throughout your life. That I know from my own experience makes for a very happy life. You will look back in the years to come and feel I did my best to make a difference and my college days were memorable. Sincere thanks to those who marched in a peaceful way and showed support to those who needed that support. Until we meet next time and we have, I hope, a larger turnout, marching in peaceful protest, united and in solidarity for all who need our support I say, ‘Well done to each of you’.

Ceistfhocal le Peadar Ó Lamhna

Overheard in the College Tribune ofﬁce

James - "Cheryl, do you have ham in your handbag?" Cheryl - "It's turkey." Cheryl - "AMMMAAYYYY! Oh Amy, your name is so sayable...." James - "I wish I got three cheers. The Queen looks so happy. I wish I was the Queen." James - "All I'm gonna say Cheryl, there ain't no party like a Holy Ghost party." Cheryl - "I think we'd make a good A-Team." Síos

Transa

1) Iníon Lir 3) An contae leis na cnoic bheaga 4) Ainm thar an doras i Centra ar champas COBÁC 5) Tharla _____ __ ______ i 1690 (4,2,6) 7) B205, Áras Newman 8) Bíonn an fheithid seo sa linn snámha go minic 11) Bíonn an scáth fearthainne seo ar RTÉ gach Domhnach le linn an tsamhraidh 13) An méid lána atá i Linn Snámha Oilimpeach 14) An dath ar bhainne dhobhareich (hippopotamus) 15) Áit ina raibh an Craobh Domhanda Liathróid Láimhe le déanaí

2) Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann 6) Beidh an Corn Domhanda Sacair agus Cluichí Oilimpeacha ar siúl sa chathair seo i gceann trí bliana 7) An teach mór buí ar champas COBÁC 9) An Seoige is sine 10) Ainm bhainisteoir fhoireann peile Dhún na nGall 12) Téann an 39A ó COBÁC go dtí ________ 16) Bean chéile an Uachtaráin 17) Áit ina raibh Oireachtas na Gaeilge ar súil i mbliana 18) Cé mhéad bean chéile a raibh ag Rí Anraí VIII 19) Sráid ar a bhfuil an siopa "Cill Chainnigh" i mBaile Átha Cliath

James - "Which one would you be?" Cheryl - "Bitch please! Mr T!" James - "Fuck the paper, let's dance." Check out more Tribune banter on overheardinthectoffice.blogspot.com

It’s Satire, STUPID!

INSIDE "Feminists rubbed the wrong way by phallic architecture" "Skipping classes to go bungee jumping may get you suspended" "Anti-social behaviour noted in James Joyce Library as students hit the books" "It’s better to love a short person than not a tall" "Politicians get onto merry-goround before putting a spin on it" "Swimming instructor gets immersed in his work

Bubblegirl KNOWS when it's time to run...

Vote NO and eat your baby

ith the impending referendum on children’s rights, coupled with the continued controversy caused by the ongoing abortion debate, the no campaign has turned to historic literary works for inspiration. The leaders of the no campaign have cited Swift’s Modest Proposal as an ideal manifesto for the modern opponent of children’s rights. It is understood that they hope to appeal to the more liberal elements within Irish society through the unique method of post-natal abor-

tion proposed by Swift in his now famous pamphlet. Although the eating of children may not be to everyone’s taste, it never-the-less offers a unique method of disposing of unwanted offspring. A spokesperson for the no campaign spoke to the Turbune, stating, “In these harsh economic times, when poverty is once again stalking the land like a big stalky thing, Swift’s proposal is more relevant than ever. Families are finding it ever more difficult to feed

Disney exposed

t is a little known fact that Mickey Mouse has had ambitions of world dominations since the Walt Disney Company was founded back in 1923. This mad ambition became more structured in the post-war period when a number of prominent Nazi party members, including Mr Donald Duck, the butcher of Berlin, joined the company. Their clever use of propaganda has brainwashed generations, turning them into mindless drones willing to obey every order issued by the Disney Company. This fascist terror has gone so far as to issue such orders through their propaganda organ, also knows as ABC television network and ESPN. It was from their European headquarters in Paris that the order was given to expand to Ireland in what is knows as “operation green”.

This mission gained some success when they captured a strategic position on Grafton Street where they, rather like the scientologists, work to brainwash Irelands youth, converting them to the domineering doctrine of Disney. This is a dangerous belief in handsome princes, happy ever after, and also involves an unhealthy obsession with fairies. As part of their indoctrination of the youth they have went so far as to overcome our heroes, making them nothing more than minions for the great mouse when they took over Marvel. At this point it would seem that nothing can save us from the masticating jaws of Mickey Mouse as he rampages through every society moulding them into one homogeneous form that lives happily every after.

their children and if we ensure that these children do not have rights, these families can easily transform their fortunes by feeding on their children.” They continued by pointing out that “Swift offered a number of delicious and nutritious recipes for young children. By utilising such recipes we could wipe out food poverty and also allow for a form of post-natal abortion that might appease those pesky feminists who’re always harping on about their rights.”

In an innovative step, the no campaign has chosen not to use the traditional method of placing posters around the country to get their point across. Instead, they intend on influencing voters through the use of mad letters sent to newspapers across the country, written with baby blood. Following the referendum, it is understood that the majority of the no campaign intend on moving to Scotland in a mass search for the Loch Ness monster.

sport@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

SPORT

Plain sailing for Ireland at Student Yachting World Cup Amy Eustace Sports Editor

en of UCD’s finest sailors represented Ireland at last week’s Student Yachting World Cup in La Rochelle, France, securing first place with a stellar showing over the six day tournament. Having amassed a 12 point lead by Wednesday evening with two races to go, the UCD team were hoping that the bad weather forecast for the final day would not upset their advantage. Fortunately, the high winds headed for La Rochelle ensured that the last two races were cancelled and UCD were crowned the victors. With two second place finishes on the first day of racing, the Irish contingent set down their intentions quite early, but on the third race on the inshore course that evening they could only manage a disappointing eighth. They settled quickly, however, with Aidan McLaverty putting in a fine display as team skipper with some excellent start line manoeuvres. Another two second place finishes came on the second day of racing, but were again out of luck in the inshore race

as a result of a ‘navigational error’. Day three brought a third place finish and two wins, and was capped off by a night race in darkness around the bay of La Rochelle, carding another third place, while Ireland came second and fourth in the two races on Wednesday – their experience and training helping them to see the competition out. Originally, UCD had been disqualified from the second race on Tuesday as a result of a supposed start line rule infringement. Captain Cathal Leigh-Doyle, who graduated from UCD earlier this year with a BBL, came across video evidence that proved that his squad were not over the start line for Tuesday’s race and the points they had won with their first place finish were reinstated, cementing their monumental lead over their competitors, including second placed Dalhousie University of Canada, third placed CUS Brescia of Italy, and others such as the US Naval Academy and Exeter University. Canada and Italy particularly would have liked the opportunity to

challenge the leaders on Thursday and Friday, but the heavy winds allied themselves to the Irish team and they received their prizes at a ceremony in La Rochelle’s town hall on Friday night, attended by the

town mayor. Cathal Leigh-Doyle, Aidan McLaverty, Ben Fusco, Theo Murphy, Isabella Morehead, Alyson Rumball, Simon Doran, Theo Murphy, Barry McCartin and Ellen Cahill were a credit to their col-

lege and their country, and thanks to their win, the UCD team have earned a chance to defend their title next year in France.

November Internationals preview Ceithrean Murray Sports Writer

he Autumn Internationals are a constant source of both excitement and entertainment for all rugby fans. There’s something about the Southern Hemisphere teams; they possess a certain allure to which the Northern Hemisphere rugby fan is not accustomed and have a certain panache that the Home Nations don’t seem to be able to match. New Zealand are as ever the headline act and continue to dominate in both forward and backline play. Australia, with their ludicrously creative counter-attacking style and generally expansive backline, always possess a huge challenge to the Home Nations. Even South Africa, content to bludgeon and suffocate opposition into submission, offer an entertainment factor which will keep the majority of Irish sports fans glued to their television screens on the when the two sides meet this month. Less pleasing on the eye are the remaining visiting teams. “Bloodcurdling’’ is perhaps the most applicable term that could be used to describe the impact the Pacific Island nations of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa have had on the contact zone. Moreover, it would be put-

ting it mildly to say that Ireland v Argentina is never a pleasant affair, regardless of the result. In recent times, only Wales have caused Irish rugby fans as much heartache as the Pumas. So what of Ireland’s prospects this November? Without being too clichéd, this one is tough to call. While high expectations have been placed on the national team in recent years, there is a degree of uncertainty regarding the capabilities of this particular group of players. We have outstanding individuals, we have collectively five Heineken Cups in 10 years, but we don’t have a game plan. In our provincial teams we see four very distinct styles of play. Leinster is extremely accurate at the set piece, using their players’ exceptional skill set to get them into advantageous positions. They are then relentless and capable of holding onto the ball for upwards of 10 phases sometimes before scoring. Ulster has developed a game plan based on powerful ball carriers getting over the gain line, sucking in defenders, and then spinning it wide. Munster are in transition to a more expansive style of plan based on the utilisation of space,

while Connaught seem to be more focused on using their young and skilful backline to the best of their abilities. The national team however, doesn’t exactly play with any discernible style or aim. We primarily rely on our back row forwards -and Cian Healy- to break tackles and make yards, however, when this fails, we generally resort to aimless kicking or forcing turnovers on stagnant ball carriers. The absence therefore of our two main ball carriers, Sean O’Brien and Stephen Ferris, is duly noted. An issue also presents itself as regards the Captaincy of the team. Brian O’Driscoll and Rory Best have both been indefinitely ruled out, while Paul O’Connell has not to date taken part in a full training session with the Irish squad. There is a very real possibility that Ireland could take to the field against the Boks absent of every member of the established core leadership group which has been developed throughout the Declan Kidney era. Were Rob Kearney available he would be an obvious choice to take over the captaincy. Jamie Heaslip is still unbeaten as Leinster captain this season and so he is very much a

Photo: Seán Cronin, drafted into the Ireland squad as a result of an injury picked up by Rory Best playing for Ulster on Friday possible candidate for the position, and has publicly stated an ambition to take it over. Finally to attacking play. Anthony Foley has been designated the role of defensive coach in order to allow Les Kiss focus all his efforts on attacking play. The modern game internationally has become such that all the top sides has become extremely efficient at the use

of decoy runners to create space. To date, however, Irish decoy runners are all too deep and thus don’t ask any questions of serious defences. Against the ultra physical Boks and Pumas, Irish attack play must be based around exploitation of space because the chances of bulldozing our way over any gain line are somewhat improbable.

18 18 SPORT

sport@collegetribune.ie

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

UCD Ladies' Hockey win Intervarsities for 3rd year in a row Conall Devlin Sports Editor

CD Ladies' Hockey continue to dominate the provincial and national set up after claiming the Chilean Cup for a third year in a row last week in UCC. The team sailed through the group stages and were able to avail of their deep squad with comfortable 7-0, 6-0 and 10-1 victories against Skull and Crossbones, NUI Galway and Cork IT respectively. They were paired against hosts UCC in the semi final and came through a physical early morning encounter in a 2-0 win with goals coming from Irish Senior International Anna O’Flanagan and Caroline Hill. They met Queen’s University Belfast in the final and their clinical finishing was the catalyst to a 4-0 victory with a brace from Jeamie Deacon and goals from Emily Beatty and Caroline Hill. I caught up with club captain Hannah De Burgh Whyte who had this to say about her team: How satisfying is it to have won the Intervarsities for a third successive year? It's brilliant! We are all delight-

ed. It really shows how much the team has come on in the last few years. We are going from strength to strength and hope to add some more Leinster and National titles to our trophy cabinet this season. What has been the key ingredient to your success? We have great depth in our squad and are all hard workers. UCD providing us with access to the High Performance gym and our Strength & Conditioning coach George has been a huge help to us. The availability to offer our top players elite athlete scholarships means we attract the best players in the country. It was also be remiss to not mention the team atmosphere. We are all great friends and I think that our friendship off the pitch really helps us to do our best, for each other, on the pitch. Who do you feel were the star performers for the team? Well our 9 senior Irish internationals; Anna O'Flanagan, Leah Ewart, Sarah Greene, Niamh Atcheler, Chloe Watkins, Brenda Flan-

nery, Nikki Evans, Katie Mullan and Nicola Gray, speak for themselves. Who presented the greatest obstacle to retaining the Chilean Cup? Although our score line against UCC in the semi-final was the smallest of the weekend (2-0), our final against Queen’s (4-0) posed the biggest potential banana skin for us. As opposed to UCC who gave us troubles because of the physicality of the game they play, Queens were playing very good hockey and could easily have capitalised on some good plays. How does this year's team differ from the successful teams in the past 2 years? We lost only a few people from last years extremely successful squad, but those people have been replaced with some more really talented players, including Senior Irish internationals Katie Mullan and Nikki Evans, and Irish U-21 player Emily Beatty.

How much of a benefit is it for the Women's Hockey team having the Irish Hockey facilities here at UCD? It means that we have one of the best pitches in the country as our home ground. It also takes a lot of pressure off our Irish players. It means that when they are living on or close to campus for college, they are also close to their Irish training grounds, which allows them to get the balance right between representing UCD and Ireland. What are your aims for the rest of the year? Our aim is always to win everything we compete in. Last year we won 5 out of the 6 competitions

we competed in, including, among others, the prestigious Irish Senior Cup. Winning the ISC qualifies us to represent Ireland in the European Club Championships in Sicily in May, which naturally we would like to do well in, as we are not only representing the college but also our country. We are going from strength to strength and hope to capitalise on last year’s success. Hopefully you'll be hearing a lot more about our successes this year! The team followed up Intervarsity success with a dominant display in a 7-0 victory against Trinity at the weekend. It would appear that the trophy cabinet met yet be full to the brim before the year is out.

Leahy looks back at UCD AFC’s mixed season Jonny Baxter speaks to the Students’ captain Mick Leahy at the end of a long year

s UCD students approach the half way point of the semester, their representatives on the football pitch have come to the end of their season. It’s been a strange campaign for the Students: after a poor opening to the season, they won 22 points from a possible 33 in their last 11 games, form equal with that of league leaders Sligo Rovers. For defender, captain, and recently anointed Player of the Year Mick Leahy, the below-par start to the season was partly due to a poor conversion rate in front of goal. Speaking to the Tribune in the wake of the team’s close 2-1 defeat away to Shamrock Rovers, he said that the team had been “creating a good few chances, we just weren’t finishing them”. He also felt the trajectory of their position in the league was in some way correlated with the time it took for the younger players to settle into the team. Leahy claimed that “there was probably a small bit of a belief thing” with younger players being introduced to the team taking some time to adapt to the higher expectations of playing in the Airtrici-

ty League. According to the captain, this was not a question of talent but rather experience. “[There are] a lot of young players in the team ... and once they get a bit of experience and play a few games they kind of realise they can play at that level, and they’re good enough to play at that level, so then they get more confidence and they express themselves better and better.” The summer saw the return of David McMillan, who left to play for St. Patrick’s Athletic during the 2011 season and whose finishing turned draws and losses into wins. “Dave coming back definitely helped,” said Leahy. McMillan contributed “a good few goals” for the Students, which the captain cites as one of their early-season issues, and helped to shift them from the bottom of the table. With just one game to go the team now sits in ninth position, well clear of the relegation zone and, while it can be considered a successful season, for their captain it’s the least they expect. “We perhaps slightly underachieved this year with the squad we

had; I think we could have definitely been top six anyway.” Along with the primary goal of staying up, a league finish more in line with Leahy’s expectations will be the secondary target in the coming season for UCD. However, with the campaign approaching its end, the club now faces its annual battle to keep the squad intact. According to Leahy, although there are “some good young players coming through”, the team’s position in the league next season will also depend on “how many of the experienced guys [the club] can keep.” One player UCD failed to hold onto was midfielder Paul Corry, who left for Sheffield Wednesday at the end of August. Asked why students should turn out in person to support his team, Leahy cited Corry’s recent move as an example of the talent among the UCD squad, saying that a trip to the Bowl was an opportunity to see “some of the best young players in the country.” Youth is something particularly prevalent in the UCD set-up. Only four players are older than Leahy, who is just 23. A significant reason

for this is the scholarship system which many players, including the captain himself, have availed of. Indeed, perhaps none more so than the centre-back who is now onto a second masters in business after already completing one in law. Maybe that’s why he can afford to be somewhat light-hearted about his future. Asked which team he would like to go to if he had the opportunity to follow Corry to England, he responds: “Anyone who takes me.” Leahy is fortunate that his future is not dependent on making it as a professional footballer, should that not turn out to be the case. For

many of his peers the combination of education and football is simply not possible and this is something that he appears to appreciate. “The good thing about UCD, and the way I’ve done it, is [that] while I’ve been playing football I’ve been improving my education [so that I] have options when I finish”. These are options that may have to be looked at eventually, but the UCD captain is hopeful it won’t be any time soon. While much of Leahy’s life is spent on the football pitch, it’s a situation he welcomes and one he is looking to maintain for “as long as possible.”

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COLLEGE TRIBUNE

6th November 2012

Superleague review I

of three times without points and have conceded an average of six goals per game. Other interesting results in Saturday Premier included a tidy 2-0 victory for third placed Benidorm Club de Futbol over Jurassic Park Ji Sung and, in the words of manager Jonathan Nolan, a “devastating” 0-6 loss for FC Twente Benson against unbeaten Clitoris Commanders. In the Premier Sunday league, it was a case of a “lacka” players for Deportivo Lacka Talent as they gifted Inglorious Bastards a walkover victory. The Bastards, graced with international flair all over the pitch with the likes of José Dominguez at centre half, Dutchman Jelte “the maverick” Hoekstra in the centre of the park and Chilean attacker Francisco Joannon, now have three wins from four games, their one defeat coming surprisingly at the hands of The Dirk Kuyt Rises (3-4) who have otherwise failed to pick up any points this season. A top five clash between CFR

Underdogs Moycullen overcome Marian in Double OT Thriller

This week in UCD’s Superleague, Thomas Hobbs take a look at the Premier Saturday and Sunday competitions n terms of the former, nowhere is more appropriate to start than the eyebrow-raising Filbert Athletic FC. Despite the unclear origins of their team name, Filbert’s ambitions for this Superleague season bear no ambiguity: “Our aim isn’t to make up the numbers. It is to knock Dartmouth Darts off their perch”. Filbert manager Philip “Big ‘Ead” Dix, employing his “tika taka” philosophy of football, has lead his side to a 100% record in their first five games as they set out to gain revenge on their bane of last season in the form of Darts who have already lost to FC Copenbadly in 2012-2013. The weekend saw relentless Filbert destroy pointless Dyslexia Utd in a 10-1 drubbing which included a hattrick from leading goalscorer Ricky Lahart, taking his tally for the season to 11 goals. The Filbert squad take a deserved trip to Newcastle on Tuesday, where they will play a friendly fixture, with the satisfaction of a +19 goal difference registered after only six games. Dyslexia Utd, meanwhile, are one

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Continued from back page

Clunge and BBT FC lived up to be a close-fought affair with two key assists from Conor Boden proving decisive in a 2-1 victory for CFR. Late pressure by BBT to equalise was mitigated when their player received a straight red card for the use of his elbow. In the day’s two mid-table clashes, Fritzl Palace and Multiple Scoregasms both picked up their second wins of the season with 1-0 and 2-0 triumphs over Olympic Real and FT Ladzio respectively. Palace can thank Hugh O’Higgins for a 90th minute 45 yard piledriver to seal victory while Scoregasms will be grateful to Ladzio player Ronald Carroll who found himself taking an early bath after picking up two yellow cards, both for dissent towards the referee.

Pacesetters Gerrupourratha don’t play until Wednesday and with 30 goals scored in four games, it could be a case of damage limitation for Fifty Shades of Bray. Finally in Saturday Division One, after a tough midweek defeat at the hands of Pimp Juice, going down on a 6-4 scoreline, Bayer Neverloosin failed to live up to their name once again against Los Playeros. This may have been the name of the opposition, however as it transpired this was also the theme in the Neverloosin camp due to a dishevelled team set up. The team’s spiritual leader Paddy Walsh has insisted there will be a shake up in the dressing room after a comprehensive 8-1 drubbing.

score 68-65. However, a huge step back three from Kevin Foley with 0:!5 left brought the crowd to its feet and forced a second period of overtime, 68-68. However, UCD ran out of steam in the second period. Sullivan and Camps would have the final scores from the free throw line and see Moycullen win for only the second time at Superleague level, recording their first away victory. Galvin top scored for UCD with 22 points while James added 17 and Foley 12. Sullivan led all scorers with 30 for Moycullen while Tummon chipped in with 12 and O’Brien 10. Marian take their record on the season to 2-4 and will look to bounce back away to Bord Gais Neptune away in Waterford this weekend.

Centenary wall Ceithrean Murray Sports Writer

riday the 9th of November will see the unveiling of the UCD Rugby Club’s Centenary Wall. The Wall was commissioned as part of the Club’s centenary celebrations which took place in the 2010, and will be located in the Belfield Bowl at the entrance to the rugby pitch. The wall was initiated under the auspices of the Centenary Finance Committee, chaired by Mr. Ray McLaughlin, while the sub-committee responsible for the project was chaired by Mr. Adrian Burke. The project has been made possible by the generosity of Club members, supporters, and friends. The Wall will essentially become the first recorded history of UCD RFC, a means of giving special recognition and indeed documentation, of those who contributed to the development of the club over the previous one hundred years. The Wall consists of bricks inscribed with the names of previous Club Presidents and Captains, former and current internationals and tourists British and Irish Lions. The Wall will also be intertwined with a Virtual Wall which will be available on the Club’s website.

The Virtual Wall will contain more extensive information regarding the Club’s history, including team sheets dating back as far as 1947, press cuttings from the 1930s, photos from the 1920s and almost every Colours team sheet since the first game in 1930. There will also be fixture cards, match day programmes, and records of Tour data from the various rugby tours on which the Club has embarked. It is estimated that everyone who has ever been involved in Collidge rugby, prior to 2010, will be able to find some reference to their time as a student or as an Alicadoo. Director of Rugby, Bobby Byrne commented that ‘’ there’s no doubt the Wall will bring back many happy memories to all those who have been associated with UCD RFC in the past.’’ One must pause for a moment to ponder what this Wall actually represents. UCD RFC has a proud and long lasting rugby tradition, with students from all over the Country, and from many different walks of life, combining together and striving towards the same goal; representing their university to the best of their collective ability. The

Club is also extremely inclusive with teams available for players of all skill level. These two intertwined traditions of inclusivity, combined with the pursuit of excellence, have been well fostered over the past one hundred years. The Wall is a rather poignant representation of the effort and dedication which the Club’s members, both past and present have employed to make the Club what it is today. Over the past one hundred years the Club has gone from strength to strength, seen ups and downs, but one thing has remained constant, there have always been people eager to be part of the proud tradition of UCD rugby. The Senior Team played Malone RFC on Saturday and continued their strong start to this season with an 18-15 win thanks to a late penalty from replacement Niall Earls. Collidge have enjoyed three wins in their opening four games, including two bonus point victories. The team fields a young side and play an expansive game based on high intensity forward play and dynamic midfield ball carriers such as young centre Stephen Murphy and blind-

side flanker Danny Kenny. They will look to keep up this good form against ‘Rock on the 9th. UCD Team v Malone: 1 Kieran Moloney 2 Risteard Byrne 3 Rory Hannon 4 Emmet McMahon 5 Brian Cawley 6 Dan Kenny 7 Mark McGroarty 8 Eoin Joyce 9 Rob Shanley 10 James Thornton 11 Paddy Dix 12 Stephen Murphy 13 Alex Kelly 14 Barry Daly 15 Andrew Boyle

Subs: 16 Adam Clarkin 17 Rory Harrison 18 Shane Granell/Josh Van Der Flyer 19 Shane O'Meara 20 Niall Earls. Scorers: Malone: Tries: Chris Taylor, Glenn Moore; Con: John Creighton; Pen: John Creighton UCD: Tries: Rob Shanley, Paddy Dix, Barry Daly; Pen: Niall Earls HT: Malone 5 UCD 10

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TRIBUNE

COLLEGE TRIBUNE 6th November 2012

JONNY BAXTER SPEAKS TO THE STUDENTS’ CAPTAIN MICK LEAHY AT THE END OF A LONG YEAR

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Above: Moycullen and UCD Marian going head-to-head at the Sports Centre

Underdogs Moycullen overcome Marian in Double OT Thriller Moycullen - 77 UCD Marian - 72 Conall Devlin Sports Editor

oycullen American recruit Patrick Sullivan’s 30 points, including a go-ahead basket with 43.1 seconds left in Double Overtime, eventually separated what was a hugely exciting encounter against UCD Marian on Saturday night at the Sports Centre. Marian went down on a score line of 72-77 in a game where poor free throw shooting in

the fourth quarter proved costly for Sasa Punosevac’s team. Both teams came into the game struggling for form, with Marian fresh from two defeats on the bounce and underdogs Moycullen winless so far this season, and it showed in a cagey first half. The Westerners targeted an upset and began much the brighter. 9 first quarter points from forward Sullivan and 6 from James O’Brien demonstrated the Moycullen dominance in the paint as UCD struggled defensively. If it wasn’t for four missed three throws from Sullivan, Moycullen could have extended their lead by more as they went in 15-10 at the end of the first. Moycullen led by as much as 9

in the second quarter as Cian Nihill showed his versatility with outside shooting and transition offense. However an 8-0 run by UCD paved a way back into the game before half time. American John Galvin came into the contest offensively with 8 quick points and Daniel James split the Moycullen half court defense to leave the score at half time 28-24 in Moycullen’s favour. Much like UCD’s victory at home to Neptune two weeks ago, the game came alive in the third quarter. Marian normally pride themselves in their half court defense when playing at home but uncharacteristically and unforgivably in the eyes of an increasingly animated Coach Punosevac allowed 12 trips to the

free throw line for Moycullen in 7 minutes. Luckily for UCD they only converted 6 of these, by Nihill, Sullivan and Stephen Tummon all going 1 for 2. Moycullen had their biggest lead of the night at 46-34 with massive three pointers from captain Salva Camps. 8 quick points from Dan James including back to back three pointers to close the third quarter kept a Marian fight back alive at 50-42. Buoyed on by a raucous home crowd, the back court pairing of James and Conor Meany inspired a comeback at the start of a frenetic fourth quarter. A 15-3 run, with Meany weighing in with 8 points and James with 7, left UCD up 57-53 with 4 minutes remaining

in regulation and the momentum firmly with the home team. However, Marian converted just 5 from 12 attempts at the free throw line including 2 with just 4 seconds left to win the game outright at Moycullen were handed a saving grace in the form of deep threes from O’Sullivan and O’Brien. As ever, the rarity of an overtime period brought great tension and volume to the Sports Centre. Moycullen Point Guard Salva Camps showed incredible vision to assist Sullivan inside on two occasions with seconds remaining on the shot clock and Cian Nihill bucketed after an offensive rebound to leave the Continued on page 19