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College compromises pub plan Foster Place planning permission approved College to create restaraunt not a pub Planning permission costs over €16,000 Manus Lenihan & Kate Palmer College News Editor & Editor
COLLEGE HAS dropped plans to create a superpub in Foster Place after reaching a compromise with Dublin City Council. Trinity originally planned to change the Victorian banking hall into a large pub – submitting planning applications costing over €16,000 – which the council rejected after local publicans complained. Now the university has the goahead to turn Foster Place into a highend restaraunt, as well as use the listed
Trinity and planning advertisements were deemed inadequate by DCC. The Council said Trinity’s planning application in June 2011 was invalid as it did not provide enough information in an advertisement placed in a national
TBCT was concerned the plans would “create an intimidating and aggressive atmosphere’’ building for office space. ‘‘The upper floors, comprising twothirds of the accommodation, will be used for academic activities,” said a College spokesperson. “The ground floor and basement level will be used as a restaurant. It is hoped that work will start during 2012.” The cost of development contributions by Trinity for the application, approved on 10 October, stands at €35,433. The plans were stalled over the summer due to a missed payment by
p A new restaraunt in place of a superpub is proposed by Trinity for Foster Place
newspaper. According to DCC, a notice in The Star did not make it clear the application could be inspected by someone interested in the development if they paid a fee to DCC. Furthermore, College underpaid DCC by €1,179.60 – which has now been paid. “The upper floors will be used for academic activities. The ground floor and basement will be a restaraunt” The development includes a former AIB banking hall and two vaults which date back to the 19th century. All seven buildings are either listed or part of a protected structure. Alterations include the removal of a 19th Century banking vault and all additions to the structure in order to make way for new academic accommodation. It is understood the creation of administration offices, teaching rooms and study rooms is in response to the shortage of space among the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences faculty. The restaurant idea is a compromise which comes after publicans and the Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT) objected to Trinity’s plans to develop what would be the largest pub in Dublin. The Trust said Trinity’s “superpub” plans would constitute “a drinking gateway into Temple Bar”. Citing an urban development plan in Dublin’s Cultural Quarter, TBTC said the development would “create an intimidating, aggressive and sometimes violent atmosphere”. The creation of a shop and 1,341sq.m
of licensed space was expected to provide significant revenue for the College, which has owned the buildings since the late 1990s. One opponent said Dublin would turn into a holiday resort comparable to Benidorm if the superpub plans went ahead. Architect Gary Solan said: “It got a name for cheap alcohol-fuelled holidays and stag and hen nights.” However, College believes that these concerns have been comprehensively addressed. ‘‘The previous application has been replaced by a proposal to create a high-quality restaurant in the space instead, reflecting the concerns raised by the planners and others at the possible over-concentration of pubs in the area,” a spokesperson said.
FOSTER PLACE PLANNING TIMELINE February 2003 Permission granted to change basement and ground floor into a restaraunt June 2009 Permission refused to turn basement and ground floor into Dublin’s largest pub March 2011 Application for restaraunt declared invalid due to inadequate newspaper notice September 2011 Permission granted for change of use from banking to restaraunt
IN BRIEF SOCIETY
Playboy party offends DUGES PRO-GENDER equality advocates are outraged at a “Playboy Party” held by the Law Society and Trinity Ents, which featured a €1,000 appearance by model Georgia Salpa, of which the Law Society paid €500. It is understood the event received several complaints. Women were encouraged to dress up as “Playboy Bunnies” and men as Hugh Hefner. The Gender Equality Society said the event reinforced “crude sexual stereotypes”. Auditor Matthew Corbally said: “While it is likely the organisers intended the event to be tongue-in-cheek, the fact remains that the modern conception of Playboy and the Playboy Bunnies is one that is inherently disrespectful to women. I personally don’t have any problem with Law Soc and Ents hiring models, as that is not necessarily sexist, unlike the dress code of bunnies for females.” Both the Law Society and Trinity Ents were unavailable for comment. Kate Palmer
CREATIVITY
Student film buffs catch The Last Train
COMMENT
Musical chairs for Town hall meeting: postgraduate desks All but unanimous
Eoghan Hughes Contributing Reporter
USI march attended without fees mandate Low numbers attend town hall meeting Accessability to university emphasised Aimée Johnston Contributing Reporter
AN OPEN “Town Hall” meeting on college fees took place last Wednesday. Organised by Trinity College Students’ Union to formulate a new mandate for campaigning on the issue, the event saw around seventy students engage in heated and entertaining debate. An impressive 15-20,000 people took part in the 16 November “Stop Fees, Save the Grant” march organised by the Union of Students in Ireland. Trinity College Students’ Union engaged in the march without a mandate – the 2008 mandate, opposing fees “under any guise” and stating that education was “a right, not a privilege,” having expired. The relatively low numbers attending the “Town Hall” meeting would seem to be proof that the euphoria of protest has dwindled remarkably since the march. If this is the case, however, it was only in number, as the passionate arguments of those who did attend proved that not only is the student body made up of a wide range of opinions regarding the fees and grants debate, but that circumstances have changed radically since the preceding mandate was created. Many attending argued that it is no longer relevant to state that third-level education is “a right not a privilege” as the 2008 mandate declared. In the eyes of many attending, it no longer seems “realistic” to reject the introduction of fees, “under any guise”. As one speaker pointed out, “fees have already been introduced; it’s just a matter of dealing with them.” Despite the low numbers attending, almost all shades of opinion were represented: those who were fully against fees, those who were open to
15 November, 2011
them, those already paying high fees and those benefiting from student loans, grants and scholarships. Ideas were discussed such as accepting higher fees if that meant an improved grant system, imposing fees on only those who can afford to pay and covering fees by taxing more heavily the wealthy of our country. Clearly, the unity of purpose displayed in the march may not have been present, but the genuine desire to produce something worthwhile to the current and future students of Ireland was evident. As focus moved from a general discussion toward the creation of a substantial principle for the Students’ Union to move forward on, the idea of accessibility was emphasised. Communications Officer Ronan Costello presented an alternative opening line to the mandate which emphasized ensuring access based on “ability not means” rather than explicitly opposing fees. There was no agreement on this amended mandate or on the previous one, but the need to begin a wider debate on fees was emphasized by most – working with the Students’ Union so a well-discussed if not unanimous representation of the student voice can be presented. THIRD-LEVEL FEES THE BUDGET 2011 v The rumoured fee increase to €5,000 has not been publicly confirmed by the Government v The budget will be published on 7 December 2011 v The Labour Party made a pre-election promise not to introduce fees
THE TRINITY College Buildings Office has confirmed that the Careers Advisory Service (CAS) will be replacing 40% of graduate study desks in Phoenix House, Nassau Street, as a result of current CAS offices being earmarked as office space for the vice-provost for global relations, Jane Ohlmeyer. The plans have been in place since August this year, before Ohlmeyer’s position had even been confirmed in the College. The Graduate Students’ Union remains opposed to the decision, which president Mary O’Connor and vicepresident Martin McAndrew described as “completely incomprehensible”. The original plans for the development of Phoenix House accommodated for 125 study desks, which fell to 90 on the completion of refurbishment. It is thought that a further 16 desks will be removed to accommodate the CAS. The plans have been described as an “embarrassment for Trinity College” in a recent meeting of graduate students who face losing their desk space. Held on 28 November, the GSU meeting unanimously opposed the decision, which members commented was simply targeting the most vulnerable and least-funded area of College, the faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS). AHSS representative, Conor O’Kelly, said it is vital the College provides more support to the faculty: “This is exactly the sort of space we should have more of in Trinity, and it is what we are about to lose.” The GSU claims the inclusion of the Careers department in the facility is a detrimental move by College executives towards graduate studies. It is thought the influx of people moving back and forth between the offices will cause disruption for the work of both graduate and postdoctoral research students. President O’Connor emphasised that these desks serve as the office space for such students. The meeting also raised the issue that the loss of desks could have
a knock-on effect in discouraging international students – exactly the type of student that Ohlmeyer’s global relations position aims to attract. Personal grievances against the proposition are also abundant. Dara Downey, a postdoctoral student in the English Department was just the previous year removed from her desk in the Long Hub building adjacent to the Arts Block. Downey refers to this further move from Phoenix House as her “second eviction of the year.” Similar situations among the rest of the students allocated desks in Phoenix House have prompted the GSU to start a campaign of emails to relevant College executives containing these personal accounts. A space allocation sub-committee has been set up to reallocate desks. The body, which has no GSU repesentatives, will consist of chief operations officer Darina Kneafsey and deans of the faculties. The GSU claims that, despite previously opposing the plans, the Dean of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Michael Marsh signed off on the controversial move. Andrew McEwan of the GSU, who attended a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, says that Marsh said there shall be “no more negotiation” on the matter, while affirming that space will be found to replace that lost in Phoenix House. The Buildings Office says every effort will be made to reallocate desk space. It said: “The Director of Buildings is working with the Arts Humanities and Social Sciences faculty on a reconfiguration of the other spaces and on the allocation of spaces in order to minimise the loss of places.” O’Connor plans to ensure that this reallocation shall remain firmly on the agenda for the coming year. The GSU president said: “I think that College has forgotten one thing, that they are here for the students. “They should protect and guarantee a sense of quality for Trinity students here now,” she added.
p The film took 3 months to assemble
THE Animation Hub, a collaboration between Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE) and Trinity College, has released a one-minute animated short film, The Last Train. The action-packed short, which features a battle between a suited man and a terrifying creature on board a train, is a showcase for cuttingedge motion-capture and animation techniques pioneered by graduates. The Animation Hub consists of staff and students of the Irish School of Animation at Ballyfermot, Trinity’s Vision and Visualisation Group and Giant Creative, an animation studio formed by Ballyfermot graduates. It ran for three months over the summer as part of Trinity’s Creative Arts, Technologies and Culture Initiative. The film is a result of a fusion of motion capture techniques with naturalistic 3D character animation- a technique used by BCFE graduate Richie Baneham, who won an Oscar for his work on James Cameron’s film Avatar. Manus Lenihan
SCHOLARSHIP
Election uncovered by Politics department PROFESSORS Michael Gallagher and Michael Marsh from the Politics department have edited a new book, How Ireland Voted 2011: the Full story of Ireland’s Earthquake Election, which analyses one of Ireland’s most important general elections. It is the seventh in a series going back to the 1987 election. Every installment has been edited by past and current members of Trinity’s Department of Political Science. How Ireland Voted details manifestos, candidates, campaign strategies and results of the election. It also analyses the role of women, the Seanad election and the formation of the new government. Manus Lenihan