Issue 5 Volume 58

STUDENTS’ UNION ELECTIONS

BRIMFUL OF SASHA Michael Barry interviews Sasha Grey

JON HUNTSMAN & THE OLD GOP

THE ONES

TO WATCH Two Two

CANDIDATE PROFILES REVEALED

COLLEGE NEWS 2

IN SPORT

OPINION 12

A ROUND UP OF THIS YEAR’S PROMISING ATHLETES SPORTS FEATURES 19

TRINITY NEWS Est 1953

The RAG challenges commence

Light projection transforms front façade of Trinity as part of Dublin City’s New Year celebrations

Manus Lenihan

Charity events on €16,000 target TN gets involved

College News Editor

PROVOST Patrick Prendergast has volunteered for a €1,500 pay cut, reducing his salary from €201,492 to €200,000.

He is the only high-earner to agree to Education Minister Ruairí Quinns’s suggested pay cut out of eight university employees receiving over €200,000 a year.

While two out of the eight have rejected Quinn’s recommendation outright, five have yet to decide. Among these is UCC President Michael Murphy, who at €232,000 is the highest paid academic in Ireland.

A Trinity spokesperson commented: “In the case of the Provost, I can confirm that he has taken a voluntary reduction – his salary of €201,492 has been reduced to €200,000.”

Manus Lenihan College News Editor

RAG week 2012 is well underway, featuring the usual programme of challenging and bizarre events.

Trinity will host its first ever game of Quidditch, a charity match between Trinity News and The University Times, and a series of body piercings by Ents Officer Chris O’Connor. It is hoped the charity event will top last year’s fundraising figure of €16,000.

The cash aims to support a range of Trinity-based charities, including St. Vincent de Paul, Amnesty International, Suas, Cancer Soc and the Student Hardship Fund. The Voluntary Tuition Programme, in which Trinity students and staff teach on a one-to-one basis in local schools, and the Student2Student society, who organize Peer Mentors and Supporters, also stand to benefit.

EVENTS Monday: Mute Monday Tuesday: 2pm Polar Bear Dip Wednesday: 1pm Quidditch match Thursday: 7pm Harry Potter Quiz Friday: 1pm TN v UT Football match Events to look out for are the Quidditch match on the Cricket Pitch at 1pm on Wednesday. Organisers hope to form Dublin University Quidditch Society on the back of the event – many societies like this have already cropped up in US universities.

The Trinity News vs. University Times “Grudge Match” will kick off on Friday in Botany Bay at 1pm. If it reaches its funding target of €500, the losing team will be obliged to make a humiliating apology in writing and on video.

For those who are having trouble thinking of fundraising initiatives, the St. Vincent De Paul society offers five days of challenges ranging from “Hearing and Sight Awareness Wednesday” to “5 Litre Water Bottle Friday”.

Individual fundraising bids – which accounted for almost half of last year’s funds – are as varied as ever. Students raising money for DU Amnesty will dress up as prisoners for the week to bring attention to the detention of suspects without trial in Guantanamo Bay. Ents Officer Chris O’Connor, with the help of Snakebite Piercing and Tattoo, will get a range of piercings based on donations he gets – with a belly button ring at €600, and bull ring through his nose at €700. CSC President Rob Farhat is planning a notechnology week, and History student Hannah Cogan will attempt a “Polar Bear Dip” off the forty foot today, to name a few individual charity bids.

Provost accepts pay cut

Students away for the winter holiday missed out on an impressive light projection which lit up the front façade of Dublin University. The display projected an intricate array of moving clock parts forming a musical countdown to 2012

Union attempts to break ties with USI USI occupy protest cited among reasons TCDSU proposed keeping €8 USI levy GSU outraged at not being consulted by SU John Porter Staff Reporter

STUDENTS’ Union President Ryan Bartlett has called a referendum on Trinity’s disaffiliation from the USI, saying he is no longer convinced that the body represents the views of Trinity students.

A precedent exists for disafilliation as both Dublin City University and the University of Limerick are not USI members. Bartlett has already ap-

proached both of the Students’ Unions in an effort to ensure that, if Trinity were to disaffiliate, its students would not be left without a voice on a national level. Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT) last year held a referendum on disaffiliation which was rejected by students.

Each year the Students’ Union pays the €78,000 for USI membership which comes from the €8 levy undergraduates are required to pay on top of the student charge. €5 of this levy goes

directly to the USI with the other €3 being spent on USI-related activities by TCDSU. Bartlett suggests the proposed referendum ask students if the €8 levy should be replaced by a similar charge that could be used by TCDSU for its own campaigns.

The GSU has criticised the actions of the Union in proposing the referendum before discussing it with them.

GSU President Mary O’Connor said: “It was wrong of Bartlett to call for a referendum without discussing it with the GSU president.”

The call for disaffiliation follows recent occupations by USI members of government buildings by high-profile members including its president, Gary Redmond. Bartlett criticised the planning and execution of the campaign.

“It seemed to come about without it being discussed thoroughly and properly decided on. The execution of the occupation undermined the aims of it and thus it failed to achieve any of the proposed aims.” He also criticised the organisational capacity of the USI. “The way in which the 16 November Dublin protest became a part of the national campaign seemed almost accidental. It was not part of any plans that were being talked about early on and seemed to come about without other options being fully explored.”

It is estimated only half the number of Trinity students gathered in Front Square compared to last academic year’s national protest in November 2010, which Bartlett said was due to lack of political engagement with USI.

Mock wedding challenges same-sex law Manus Lenihan College News Editor

A MOCK wedding to highlight to highlight the inequality in marriage legislation regarding same-sex couples was held in Front Square by Trinity Q Soc and DU Amnesty.

The December “ceremony” was attended by dozens of activists who witnessed four couples being married.

Gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples went through the proceedings two by two in what the officiating “priest” termed “a veritable Noah’s Ark of sexual diversity.”

The event featured a choir and a standing congregation, attracting passers-by as it continued. The message to legalise same-sex marriage was summed up in the traditional wedding formula: “Is there anyone here pre-

sent who can think of any good reason whatsoever why these people should not be allowed to get married?”

“If two people love each other they should be allowed to marry, regardless of gender,” said one spectator. At the ceremony, Junior Sophister English student Matthew Corbally said: “The event was a lot of fun, as well as highlighting current marriage laws which are absolutely despicable.”

Max Kryzanowski, an activist from LGBT Noise, spoke at the end of the ceremony, saying that the event was “a wonderful way to illustrate the inequality that exists, by using irony and humour to lance the boil of stigma and discrimination.”

Speaking to Trinity News, Kryzanowski addressed the objections that are often put to him regarding marriage law – that the purpose of marriage is

for the raising of children, and that gay marriage is proscribed by certain religions. He dismissed these arguments as “neurotic beliefs followed by posthoc rationalisations for bigotry.”

“You can slice and dice society and come up with sectors of it that have worse health outcomes,” Kryzanowski said, “but we should afford LGBT relationships equal dignity and respect.”

Last year saw a similar mock wedding organised by Q-Soc, then known as the LGBT Society. “The more we do things like that, the more the message spreads to places where people aren’t surrounded by LGBT people all the time,” said one participant at the postceremony wedding reception. “We’re very lucky in Trinity, it’s a bit of a gay bubble.”

Same gender ceremonies were held

Vol 58 Issue 5

24 January, 2012

2 NEWS WHAT THEY SAID

“It was a misunderstanding in the production process”

“We’re very lucky in Trinity, it’s a bit of a gay bubble”

“We have to believe it is absolute or else scrap it all”

“Unlike USI, the GSU negotiates in a pleasant but firm manner”

“His salary has been reduced from €201,492 to €200,000”

The Irish Daily Mail in its apology for an egregious error which led the Students’ Union to boycott its sale

A witness at the Q-Soc and Du Amnestry mock wedding, which challenged same-sex marriage laws

Rev. Philip Gardiner to suggestion that “perhaps we all need to be less sure” in relation to religious theology

GSU President Mary O’Connor criticises the protest tactic of the USI, which she says is ineffective

A university spokesperson confirms the voluntary pay cut taken by Provost Patrick Prendergast

NUMEROLOGY

€16,000 The target amount for this year’s RAG Week, which raised this value last year

€1,500 The voluntary pay cut taken by Provost Patrick Prendergast at the request of Education Minister Quinn

11

The number of Students’ Union 2012-2013 candidates declared at the time of going to print

837 The number of UK applicants to Trinity in 2011, which could soar in 2012 due to English fee rises

GET INVOLVED We’re always recruiting new writers, photographers, designers, copy editors and advertising executives.

To get involved, contact the editor of the section you’re interested in at firstname.lastname@trinitynews.ie

Students’ Union hopefuls revealed TCDSU 2012-2013: CANDIDATE PROFILES A FULL list of candiates for the Students’ Union Sabbatical Elections was released last night on the front steps of House 6 at 6:30 in the evening. Nominations have now closed for the roles of President, Education Officer, Welfare Officer, Communications Officer and Welfare Officer.

Trinity News has profiled all of the known candidates at the time of going to print – and discovered a collection of candidates hungry for all the power and glory that an office in House 6 can muster for the victors.

For the losers, however, disappointment and anonymity await.

Campaigning for the Sabbatical elections begins on Monday February 6th and ends on Thursday 16th. Let the race begin!

Compiled by David Barrett and Fiona Ridgeway

President James Kelly

A CLASS rep for SS History and Politics, Kelly is auditor of the History Society.

Kelly will be campaigning on transparency and has said that if elected he will create a TCD app and connect smartphones to the college network. He also said that he would create a TCDSU constitutional review group.

Communications Owen Bennett

Communications James Hagan

BENNETT IS Business Editor of TN and co-founded The Bull, in which he serves as Deputy Editor.

He has said his motivation for running lies in a deep interest in both politics and journalism and that his campaign will focus on issues relating to transparency in the SU and the editorial independence of UT.

HAGAN has served twice as a class rep, is Deputy AHSS convenor and has written for UT for the last three years.

Hagan has said his campaign will be based on strengthening communication between the student body and the SU, as he believes greater knowledge will lead to more empowered students.

Education Dan Ferrick

Welfare Emma Walker

A GENETICS student, Ferrick has much experience within the SU, serving on the Education committee.

His priorities if elected are to focus cost-saving measures on to streamlining initiatives, rather tha cutting student services such as library hours. He also promises to implement flexible timetables.

WALKER has served as secretary to Cancer Society, in addition to being a prominent figure on Ents Executive and serving as a class rep.

She believes that she has the personality and experience to support students and believes that the position requires compassion and listening skills.

President John Tighe

A JS Archeology and History student, Tighe has promised a campaigning SU if elected.

A strong critic of current SU President Ryan Bartlett, Tighe has said the SU does not do enough to tackle problems that students face today. Among his plans are to give more power to SU council and make it more democratic.

Communications Hannah Cogan

President Rory Dunne

THE FINAL presidential candidate, Rory Dunne, is a JS BESS student.

He was an unsuccessful candidate in the fiercely fought race for SU Finance and Services Officer, an internal SU position responsible for monitoring spending in the SU, last year.

He is also PRO of the TCD VDP society.

Entertainments Dave Whelan

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor

Kate Palmer

Deputy Editor Trinitynews.ie Chief Copy Editor Copy Editors College News

David Barrett Josh Roberts John Colthurst Ellie Foulkes Manus Lenihan Fiona Ridgway National News Claire Acton Mairead Cremins International News Jack Farrell Nilgiri Pearson News Features Molly RowanHamilton Maya Zakrzewska Business Owen Bennett Paul McAufield Features Evan Musgrave David Babby World Review Aine Pennello Elly Friel Travel Maud Sampson Sophie Fitzgerald Science Anthea Lacchia Stephen Keane Opinion Eoin O’Driscoll Sports Features Kate Rowan Sarah Burns College Sport James Hussey Shane Curtis Printed at The Guardian Print Centre, Longbridge Road, Manchester, M17 1SL. Trinity News is partially funded by a grant from DUPublications Committee. This publication claims no special rights or privileges. Serious complaints should be addressed to: The Editor, Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2.

Appeals may be directed to the Press Council of Ireland.

Trinity News is a member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme, in addition to defending the freedom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie

COGAN has held senior roles on Phil Council and on the Literary Society committee. She also founded the TCD Literary Review and is UT Opinion Editor.

She will be campaigning on keeping standards in the paper high and maintaing UT’s online presence, which she believes has been a great success.

Welfare Aisling Ni Chonaire

NI CHONAIRE is a SS psychology who has held numerous positions in Trinity. Among these posts include being Vice-President last year of Psychology Society and being the head of the Vincent De Paul society soup run. She also serves on the SU Welfare committee.

IN AN unusual turn of events the position of Ents Officer is uncontested this year, having normally been among the most fiercely fought.

Whelan is a member of Ents Executive and is heavily associated with ents in DUBES as well.

His expected opponent, Jack Cantillon, is now his campaign manager.

Welfare Andy Haughey

ROUNDING up the welfare candiates is Andy Haughey, a JS student from Bray.

Haughey serves on the SU Welfare committee and is heavily involved in sailing and watersports.

He is also involved in rock climbing.

TRINITY NEWS

3 news@trinitynews.ie

Grant cut protests Sectarianism ‘not an ‘too little, too late’ ecumenical matter’ GSU negotiated with Minister over cuts USI protest policy under fire from GSU USI accused of ignoring graduate plight Fiona Ridgeway Deputy College News Editor

REACTING to cuts to the postgraduate grant scheme, TCD Graduate Students Union (GSU) President Mary O’Connor has again criticised USI policy.

GSU representatives met with the Minister for Education’s financial advisors before Budget 2012 to negotiate proposed cuts to be made to the postgraduate grant. O’Connor says that rather than protesting like the USI, the GSU negotiated and discussed the matter using the “many voices of postgraduates”.

In Budget 2012 it was announced that the maintenance grant, a maximum of roughly €6,000 per year for each student that qualified, would be removed. The Department of Finance will still pay a contribution of €2,000 to the cost of tuition fees but only for students who qualify as “special rate”, meaning that both parents must be on “A butcher’s cleaver appears to have been taken to student supports such as the maintenance grant” Jobseeker’s Allowance or other forms of social welfare. 4,000 postgraduate students nationally qualify for this assistance.

These measures apply only to new students and will not affect current postgraduates. The GSU said they

knew that cuts would be made and said they were proud to convince the government to keep elements of the fee portion of the grant.

Mary O’Connor said to Trinity News that she is “outraged” that USI is now protesting on the matter when it is “far too late”. She also argued that “USI barely recognizes postgraduates in general and protesting is out of character. Unlike USI, the GSU negotiates in a pleasant but in a firm matter.” USI President, Gary Redmond, spoke of his anger at projected budget cuts to the grant in November, saying: “The Programme for Government promises a surgeon’s scalpel would be taken to waste and inefficiency in higher education.

Instead a butcher’s cleaver appears to have been taken to student supports such as the maintenance grant.”

O’Connor has recently criticized both USI and Trinity College SU President Ryan Bartlett. She joins a growing number of voices (including that of Bartlett himself) which have over recent months voiced concerns at the USI being overly confrontational and bypassing negotiations which she claims are more effective.

Work is still in place to reinstate some form of maintenance grant for postgraduates. O’Connor and VicePresident Martin McAndrew are writing a funding proposal which has been discussed with the Provost, Patrick Prendergast.

Fionnuala Horrocks-Burns Staff Reporter

TRINITY College’s School of Ecumenics has run into trouble with the Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim parish over a lecture series on anti-sectarian theology.

On 11 January the School, based in Dublin and Belfast, hosted a lecture series in Carrickfergus town hall on “Anti-Sectarian Theology”. The lectures, a follow up to their 2010 course, have brought questions of ecumenical teaching and sectarianism into the spotlight. Local Reverend Philip Gardiner dismissed the series as an “attack upon the word of God”.

The School of Ecumenics state their commitment to “the study and promotion of dialogue, peace and reconciliation in Ireland and around the world”, and regard the development of “greater understanding between people from different traditions in local communities” as one of their objectives.

However, these lectures appear to have had the opposite effect and divided the Carrickfergus community.

The Reverend Gardiner, a minister at the Carrickfergus Free Presbyterian Church, stated his objection to the course, “chiefly because it is an ecumenical event”. The Free Presbyterian Church has no association with ecumenical movements and refuses to have any links with churches that, they say, “have departed with the fundamental doctrines of the Word of God”.

According to the School of Ecumenics the lecture series is an attempt to “unearth the theological roots of sectarianism”, something Rev. Gardiner says does not exist. He commented: “There is no such thing

as sectarian theology or anti-sectarian theology, someone in Dublin or Belfast has made that up.” Mr. Gardiner holds man to be the root of the problem and argues the lectures would be highly ineffective. “Anyone who understands sectarianism knows that those involved are not religious. Gathering a group of clerics and talking about it is not addressing the real problem.”

The Reverend took great offence at the pamphlet the School produced to promote the lectures that stated “perhaps we all need to be less sure” in relation to religious “I believe in education, but the seminars are coming from an ecumenical viewpoint – that is not the answer” theology. “Asking people t o question their viewpoint is a direct attack on Protestantism, on God’s word,” Mr Gardiner said. “We have to believe it is absolute or else scrap it all.”

The provocative titles given to each of the six lectures such as Requiem for a Violent God will encourage people to stay away rather than attend he said.

“I believe in education, I believe I am an educator, but the seminars are coming from an ecumenical viewpoint and that is not the answer,” said the Reverend. “God’s word holds the answer.” Rev. Gardiner has refused to attend any of the lectures held throughout January and February and at the time of press was unaware of any congregation members who had attended. He added: “I will always be offended by ecumenism.” The Irish School of Ecumenics was unavailable for comment on the Reverend’s objections.

Points race predicted due to UK fees hike UK fee rise to deter UK and Irish students Race for Irish places predicted in 2012 Applications to the UK are already down Eoghan Hughes Staff Reporter

THE RISE in UK higher education fees are expected to have a drastic effect on the number of British and Irish students applying to study in Trinity College Dublin in the coming year.

There was a 20% drop in Irish applications to English universities, which, it is expected, will lead to a proportionate rise in applications to Irish universities. The student charge was set at €2250 in the 2012 Budget, compared to the average yearly fee for an Irish student in England of €10,200 (£8,500). This could rise as high as €10,825 (£9,000) which, in combination with a weak euro, has provided a deterrent to students who wish to study in the UK. As a result the Leaving Certificate points race of 2012 will see high competition for Trinity College courses.

Although the Central Applications Office (CAO) will not release its data for 2012 until March, an expected rise in Irish applications for Trinity College is widely rumoured, while a rise in British applicants hoping to avoid the fees is a strong possibility. Currently, first-time undergraduate applicants to Irish universities with UK citizenship are entitled to fee remission, by which they avoid paying EU or non-EU fees.

This is true of all EU nationals.

David Byrne, Admissions Liaison Officer of the Trinity College Admissions Office, played down rumours of points race. “It is a bit too early to speculate on a big increase,” he said. Byrne maintains that until the CAO reveals its fresh data the rumours would amount to “educated speculation”.

Trinity College has seen a definite growth in the number of applicants

24 January, 2012

over the last three years. In 2009 applications reached 17,288 and in 2010 they rose to 18,275 before arriving in 2011 with 18,437 students applying from Ireland and the rest of the European Union.

This means that since 2009, 1,149 more students per year are applying to Trinity College. These numbers, however, do not correlate to students registered; in 2009 and 2011, the numbers of students admitted were 2763 and 2789 respectively. Byrne allowed 2800 new students a year as an approximate ceiling figure. Therefore, increases would mean little in terms of the number of students admitted – instead an increase in applications would force competition to new levels and push up course entry points.

“While it is possible there may be an increase in A-Level applicants, we won’t know the facts until March”

If speculation proves correct, 2012 could be a year of struggle for applicants to Trinity College, and competition could extend beyond Leaving Certificate students.

Increased fees could mean that students from the UK, too, may begin to look across the sea for a cheaper degree. Increased English, Welsh and Scottish applications to Trinity College are a feature of the current period, with 737 applicants in 2009 rising to 837 in 2011. When we include applicants from Northern Ireland, this figure becomes 1,447 and the total number registered in Trinity College in 2011 reaches 245, a small increase from 2009.

If a surge does occur the College intends to ensure the fair selection of applicants. The prospectus explains

IN BRIEF UNION

Daily Mail boycott under review today THE STUDENTS’ Union boycott of the Irish Daily Mail and Irish Mail on Sunday is expected to be lifted today at Council. The Union voted on 6 December to suspend stocking the newspaper on campus after it falsely reported the body of a missing student had been found.

The Mail immediately apologised for the error, stating: “The error arose after a report stating that the body had been found was filed to the paper by a local correspondent. Although this was later corrected, due to a misunderstanding during the production process, the original incorrect story was published rather than the subsequent corrected version.” A marketing manager for the Mail visited Mulrooney’s family to apologise personally.

Despite the apology the Mail has not been available on the campus until the boycott could be formally overturned

by Union members.

Manus Lenihan

POLITICS

USI changes tabled at Special Congress CONSTITUTIONAL changes to the USI have been proposed at an Emergency Special Congress on Wednesday 18 January.

Proposed changes include allowing a USI officer to stay in office for a third annual term – which would theoretically allow USI President Gary Redmond to run for a third term.

Hiring new professional staff and officer pay rises were also on the agenda. The office of Deputy President, it was proposed, shoud be renamed as Vice-President for Campaigns. This role will be one of several other VicePresidents with defined roles, such as the Vice-President for Equality and Citizenship (a merging of the roles of LGBT Officer and Environmental Awareness Officer).

Officers are expected to become official employees of the USI as defined by the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 to 2007 and will be subject to, and have the protection of, Irish employment legislation.

Other changes proposed included the issue of vacancies, impeachment and the use of professional advisers by the USI. Manus Lenihan

SOCIETY The competition for places at Trinity is predicted to rise as UK students avoid fees

it attempts to allocate places as fairly as possible by splitting them between “proportions of eligible applications coming from the Leaving Certificate and A-Level examination systems.”

This also applies to other EU examination systems. This means, for example, that if 80% of the eligible applicants did the Leaving Certificate while 20% took A-Levels, then 80% of the places offered would go to Leaving Cert applicants, with the other 20% filled by the A-Level system. For Leaving Cert students to lose places to A-Level students the proportion of applicants from the UK would have to rise above the proportion of Leaving Cert applicants, which would be unlikely even with a substantial increase in UK applications.

“While it is possible that there may be an increase in A-Level applicants, we simply won’t know the facts until March,” Byrne points out. He says choosing to study in Trinity College would not come down to fees, but also to living expenses, along with the influence of family, friends and career advisors.

The Admissions Office is reluctant to give any definite projection on applications for the coming year. Even then, the approximate number of students to be admitted is expected to

remain within the limits of 2,800, so an applications climb would put less pressure on Trinity College than on the students currently studying for their Leaving Certificate examinations.

While speculation may run rampant as to whether Trinity College may face huge increases in applicants from the UK in the wake of new college fees, a clearer picture may be sketched in March when the CAO will reveal the statistics regarding the coming year’s applications.

FACTS & FIGURES THE RACE FOR PLACES €2,250 Average Irish tuition fee €10,850 Average English tuition fee 2,800 The ceiling figure for incoming undergraduates at Trinity 2,789 Trinity’s undergraduate intake in 2011 837 The number of British applicants to Trinity in 2011 (excluding NI) 245 The current number of non-NI UK students studying at Trinity

Gloves off at Pro-Am THE PHIL’S inaugural Pro-Am competition took place in the GMB on 10 December and saw secondary school students pit themselves against Trinity debaters.

The competition consisted of three “Mace-style” preliminary rounds and a grand final, with motions being announced 15 minutes before the debate and speakers being expected to speak for 5 minutes.

Motions included “This House Would Reintroduce the Death Penalty for Drug Dealers” and “This House Would Ensure Adoption Agencies Give Preference to Gay and Infertile Couples”. The final motion “This House Would Pay Women Reparations” proved an entertaining one, with speakers from Loreto on the Green, CUS and Coláiste Iognáid battling it out over issues of the sisterhood.

Their partners included Ros Ni Shuilleabháin, winner of the Galway Open, and two World University Debating Championship octo-finalists, David Byrne and John Engle. Following long deliberation, the win went to Coláiste Iognáid’s Andrew Forde and partner Ciarán Garrett, one of UCD’s most prolific debaters and an alumnus of the same school.

Catherine Healy

4 NATIONAL NEWS nationalnews@trinitynews.ie

UCC President dissected for diagnosis

IN BRIEF LEGAL

UCC sues ESB â‚Ź18m

UCC President blames government micromanagement Under fire from disadvanatged students remarks Further attention placed on univeristy academics Mairead Cremins Deputy National News Editor

Scene of the flood damage at UCC

UNIVERSITY College Cork is to sue ESB for ₏18m following flood damage from November 2009. The university claims it suffered significant damage to its property after ESB released a significant volume of water from two dams it on the River Lee following heavy rainfall. As a result of the downpour 30 acres of the UCC’s campus was flooded.

UCC claims ESB rapidly increased the amount of water released from both dams at an unprecedented rate of discharge, citing negligence. ESB denies the claims, which are brought on behalf of UCC’s insurer, Aviva – the company whose losses from the flooding alone were in excess of ₏34m.

Mr. Justice Peter Kelly made an order transferring UCC’s claim to the commercial court and the matter has been adjourned until July.

SURVEY

Limerick voted most popular student city A NATIONWIDE student survey, commissioned by CourseHub.ie, has voted UL the most popular university in Ireland with a popularity rating of 85%. The survey involved 10,000 students across the country who were asked to share their opinions on college and course life.

81% of students surveyed said they were happy with their course. NUI Maynooth was voted the friendliest place to go to college. and Trinity College Dublin voted the most pretentious.

The survey also revealed deviations in the cost of living. Galway-Mayo IT students pay the lowest average monthly rent while Dublin’s Royal College of Surgeons and Trinity College Dublin students pay the highest. By Claire Acton

UCC PRESIDENT, Dr. Michael Murphy, was the subject of much criticism among the national student population, following an attack on what he called “governmental micromanagement of universities�.

The comments were made at the Cork Chamber of Commerce Christmas dinner in December. The country’s highest-paid university president noted in a further attack, “Irish universities are subjected to micromanagement on a daily Murphy said Irish universities should not be micromanaged to the outrage of fellow academics basis by a centralised national bureaucracy, most of whose members never attended university, and who have never worked or managed within higher education.�

The comments have been perceived

as another push for the introduction of student university fees. Murphy went on to say that the “golden era� of thirdlevel education in this country would come to an unfortunate end, unless the reality is dealt with. The university president, who was previously Dean of the School of Medicine, came under fire when he seemed to suggest that some of the money allocated towards helping disadvantaged students be allocated to supporting the academically stronger ones.

Dr. Murphy did not anticipate the subsequent controversy that would surround his remarks. It prompted a number of scalding letters from fellow academics and even administrative staff at the university. In an angry letter to the president, 34 staff at UCC’s School of Applied Social Studies claimed, “We wish to affirm our own positive experiences of working with students who come to UCC via non-traditional pathways.â€? Sinn FĂŠin TD Jonathan O’Brien described the remarks as “arrogantâ€? while many academics have labeled the comments as “outrageousâ€?.

Dr. Murphy, however, had the last

UCC President Michael Murphy attacked national interference at university level

word, rejecting the conclusion drawn from his speech, drawing reference from his own social background and previous work in the public healthcare system.

However, the controversy surrounding Murphy’s remarks again brings attention to the upper echelons of publically-funded universities.

The Higher Education Authority has claimed that sentiments similar to Dr. Murphy’s, regarding the third-level funding crisis, are wholesale among

Irish academic circles. Current Trinity College Provost, Patrick Prendergast, is also an advocate of the introduction of fees.

Dr. Murphy’s comments come at a time when the latest scandal concerning Ireland’s publicly-funded university sector is revealed. Academics across the country managed to spend ₏750,000 on taxis in the last two years alone. The worst culprit was UCC, which saw fit to dish out ₏263,000 on the transporting of lecturers and visiting academics.

Queen’s academics trickle out to Africa Claire Acton National News Editor

Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) has launched a project to promote business in Africa through providing teaching and learning resources.

The Trickle Out of Africa project aims to increase innovation and enterprise within the 19 countries of Southern and Eastern Africa.

It is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, and examines social and environmental enterprises in the regions of the Southern Africa Development Community and East African Community.

The project is aimed at owners of social or environmental enterprises, NGOs, membership associations and representatives of donor and aid agencies.

Through secondary research and in-depth case analysis the project identifies enterprises with the potential to contribute to sustainable

The launch of the project (from left: David Littlewood, Peter Ongera, Diane Holt)

development and poverty alleviation.

Data collected by Queen’s University will be used to create a directory of social enterprises in order to facilitate linkages, collaborations and growth between regional businesses in Africa.

Through evaluation of the enterprises, researchers identify the role of these homegrown businesses in socio-economic and environmental initiatives. A number of teaching and learning resources will be

developed from the information in order to support economic and social enterprises in Africa.

The project, which is to last for the next 26 months, aims to identify viable enterprises that will have a positive impact on their communities and will showcase homegrown transformative business models, spreading their ideas and business initiatives throughout the continent empowering social entrepreneurs.

Peter Ongera, a businessman from Kenya, is one of the social entrepreneurs being helped by the project. In 1994 he founded African Homestay and Safaris, a cultural tourism agency that links people who want to live, study and work through volunteer work or internships in Kenya with local hosts in rural villages.

At the heart of his business model is the objective that revenues reach local communities, a vision central to the Trickle Out of Africa project, which hopes to grow in the coming years.

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TRINITY

NEWS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 5 internationalnews@trinitynews.ie

Fatal stampede for uni places in SA Ailbhe Durkin Staff Reporter

A STAMPEDE at the University of Johannesburg left one woman dead and an estimated 17 people injured in a rush to enroll for the final spots at the university. The victim was the mother of one of the potential students who gathered outside the campus to enroll in the early hours of 10 January.

At 7.45am the gates of the university opened, resulting in a surge of thousands of students and accompanying parents in an effort to secure one of the coveted few hundred remaining spaces in the public university. Some 7,000 people were estimated to vie for as few as 800 spots. Many applicants had just discovered they were eligible after receiving national high school results the previous week.

The stampede is indicative of the acute crisis facing South Africa’s overstretched higher education system.

The struggle to extend educational opportunities to all South Africans is one of the visible enduring ramifications of apartheid as too many students compete for too few places, resulting in more than 50% of eligible applicants being turned away. Access to higher education for all was one of the most esteemed goals of the struggle against white minority rule.

This, in turn, feeds into the larger problem of youth unemployment

where the jobless rate is reaching 70%.

However, a university education does not guarantee employment, as the recent figure of 600,000 unemployed graduates confirms.

Tuesday’s tragic event serves to emphasize the deep dissatisfaction of South Africans with regards to the rate of progress in the post-apartheid era.

While access to higher education for all citizens was one of the pioneering aims of the anti-apartheid movement, its importance has lessened when compared to the issues of adequate housing, basic education and healthcare for all citizens. It is an issue which the government has neglected.

The university saw overall applications increase by 20,000 this year to over 85,000, with 49,000 undergraduate and postgraduates expected to be enrolled.

Roelof Hugo, the university’s security chief, stated that he and his staff would work more closely with police on crowd control to prevent something similar happening in the future. Rosenburg said that the university had been preparing for crowds since the university experienced a similar increase in the number of applicants last year.

The University of Johannesburg has four campuses spread across the city, including one in Soweto, the famed township set aside under apartheid for black people and which remains predominantly populated by the poor

The stampede at the University of Johannesburg left one dead and 17 injured

black population. The university prides itself on creating opportunity, with low fees, some programmes more commonly found at technical colleges and a policy of accepting students who might be rejected elsewhere because of low grades. It is one of the few universities in South Africa to accept late applications.

Jack Farrell International News Editor

Rodney Erickson has been tasked with restoring the scandal-rocked university

Erickson was announced as the interim Penn State president on 9 November and will continue in that capacity until June 2014. Erickson now has the unenviable task of trying to restore the reputation of one of America’s most prominent sports colleges. Probably the most vocal in their criticism

Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, told reporters that late applications could be banned after Tuesday’s stampede. He also said authorities were considering centralizing the application process across the country and would work to provide better information to help students make education and career choices.

of the scandal are the Penn State Alumni Association, who felt that the university’s kneejerk reaction did more harm than good (both Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier were fired before an official investigation was completed by the university).

Erickson spoke to alumni last

Wednesday in Pittsburgh at the first of three alumni meetings to be held in the coming weeks; the other meetings will be held in New York and Philadelphia.

President of the Alumni Association, Roger Williams, has claimed that they have been inundated with phone calls and emails in the wake of the scandal from alumni who feel the university have acted under cloak and dagger in their dealing with the scandal.

The meetings were organised in order to update alumni on the actions the university is taking and give the alumni a chance to voice their opinions on the scandal itself and the measures being taken by the university to restore Penn State’s reputation.

As Penn State tries to restore its tarnished reputation, the search for the successor to the legendary Joe Paterno has ended with Bill O’Brien taking up the reigns as head coach; O’Brien will, however, continue to be offensive coordinator for the NFL’s New England Patriots until the end of the season. O’Brien is now faced with the formidable task of replacing “JoePa” as Penn State begins life after the Sandusky scandal.

Fee rise takes its toll on Ucas applications

Decline in 7,000 British applications compared to 2011 Believed to be due to trebling of fees to £9,000 a year UK students being encouraged to study abroad Monika Urbanski Staff Reporter

UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) revealed last week that there was a decline of over 7,000 home-grown applications, from 59,431 to 52,321 in the last year.

Both universities and politicians have been worried that the decision to almost treble tuition fees to up to £9,000 next year would deter many, particularly the most disadvantaged, from applying. But not only the fact the number of UK-born university applicants has plummeted by almost 12% is of concern but also, as Ucas acknowledges, that the current system gives unfair advantages to pupils at private schools.

Pupils from private schools are encouraged by their teachers to apply to institutions well ahead of the official deadline. Ucas argues that the current system favours students whose

24 January, 2012

families are familiar with the university application process and puts the rest at a disadvantage. One of the solutions proposed is that school-leavers should no longer apply to universities until they receive their A-level results.

Students are therefore taking the decision to attend university more seriously with a rise in the number of students attending university open days to see what they will be getting for their money. Leicester University saw a 13% rise in numbers over the previous year, with over 4,500 visitors during one weekend in June.

“Students are becoming much savvier about what they want and expect for their money, and are far more robust than ever before in their decisionmaking,” Jonathan Tinnacher, head of recruitment in Leicester University, told The Guardian. As a result, many students have now started to look to the East for studies.

The Study in China Exhibition &

UNITED KINGDOM

Charged Boutrous talk at LSE angers students

After the storm, the reckoning in Penn St. AS THE dust begins to settle on one of the biggest scandals in both US college and sport history, Penn State has started the process of trying to restore pride to an institution besmirched by an abuse scandal that has sent shockwaves across the globe.

As was reported in our last issue, Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach to Joe Paterno at Penn State, was charged on 5 November with 40 counts of sexual abuse to minor boys over a 15 year period, with many occurring on the college campus.

Since then Sandusky has been charged with 12 more counts of child sex abuse and was arrested on 7 December after failing to immediately pay bail charges of $250,000. Sandusky is currently pleading not guilty to the charges and is under house arrest. It is thought that the trial will not take place until late 2012.

In the aftermath of the scandal, some university officials resigned or were fired, one of which was college president Graham Spanier. Rodney

IN BRIEF

Student Forum, the first ever Chinese higher education show in the UK, was held in central London last October.

Fifteen Chinese universities were represented, including the prestigious Peking University. “It (rising tuition fees) is pushing me away,” said 26-year-old Kari Hakala, a Finnish student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business management in Worcester University. Matt Wills, a history student at Oxford University, added: “I do think the fees (in China) are quite an attraction for students from abroad ... but not the main reason.”

“Students are becoming much savvier about what they want and expect for their money, and are far more robust than ever before in their decision making”

In 2009-10 international students in the UK made up 13% of full-time first degree students and 12% of all first degree students. With the higher tuition fees being introduced in 2012 those numbers might change rapidly.

The German newspaper Neue Züricher

Zeitung (NZZ) only recently published an article titled “Zum letzten Mal <<günstig>> studieren” – where they informed students about the rise of tuition fees in 2012 and pointing out that 2011 is the last year to attend UK universities “cheaply”.

Given that higher level education is free of charge in most of Germany, the increase of fees in the UK will make studying there less attractive to many students and also students from many other countries where universities are more accessible.

In the UK, two teenagers have begun a case in the high court against the Government’s decision to let universities treble tuition fees next year and thousands of students have been protesting to reverse the decision following the principle that third level education should be available to everyone and not be discriminative in any way. As Peter Scott, professor of higher education studies at the Institute of Education, sums up: “We must defend higher education in its current form. A lot is at stake – not just our future wealth, in the shape of a successful economy, but our common wealth, in the form of our democracy.”

THE MOST recent controversy at the LSE occurred when ex-Egyptian finance minister Youssef BoutrosGhali gave a guest lecture at the university. Boutros-Ghali was recently sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison on fraud charges from when he worked under Hosni Mubarak.

After the lecture, Boutros was ushered out of the theatre by guards and his presence sparked an angry reaction from the LSE student body.

Boutros cannot be arrested abroad until Egypt files for an international arrest warrant.

The reputation of the internationally renowned London School of Economics has taken a battering in the past year after it emerged that the institution had farreaching links with the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. This included the acceptance of donations from the former Libyan leader’s son Saif al-Islam, who had studied at LSE, of around £1.5m.

Jack Farrell

UNITED STATES

Ivy league student is found dead in Spain

Dartmouth Hall at Dartmouth College

A STUDENT from the prestigious Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League, was found dead last week in an apartment in Barcelona.

Crispin Scott had just started an international exchange program offered by Portland State University, with the program due to finish at the end of March. Crispin had attended a gathering of approximately 40 students from the program in a Barcelona hotel on 6 January.

After the gathering, it is thought that Crispin left the city with a few friends later that night and did not return to his apartment or turn up to the morning session of the program the next day. Crispin was later found dead in an unknown apartment. An investigation is currently underway and at this moment the police do not suspect foul play.

Jack Farrell

ASIA

Sri Lankan protests end with eviction IN RECENT weeks, Sri Lanka’s higher education institutions have been subject to widespread protests as a result of an ongoing dispute between students and the government. The core of the argument revolves around the government’s plans to end free higher education and make higher education institutions private.

Student leaders have accused the government of infringing upon their rights and being heavy-handed in their approach, as evidenced by the recent eviction of student protestors from the Sri Jayawardenepura campus by the army. Several universities are now closed. Sri Lanka is no stranger to student unrest, with protests and conflicts being a regular occurrence over the past 20 years.

Jack Farrell

6 NEWS FEATURES newsfeatures@trinitynews.ie

Apologise to Irish war heroes Jess Stafford argues it is time to give Irish World War II heroes the honour they deserve

I “Many irishmen believed that Nazism and Faschism were wrong and wanted to stand up and be counted”

t seems that every story worth telling about WWII has been told already.

The achievements of 1939-1945 have been etched into our subconscious through endless books, plays, films and family stories we’re told from a young age. Yet many are unaware of heroes unacknowledged and, more shamefully, rejected by Ireland for far too long.

Irish veterans who “defected” to fight with the British army were marked down in what was known as “The List”. This meant they were ostracized from their communities and cold-shouldered by the public. Their allegiance to the British during the War left them with decades of exclusion and ill treatment. Now, countless Irish diplomats are demanding that these brave, elderly men who still live in fear, receive a formal apology, before it’s too late.

Why has it taken this long to be addressed? The “30-year rule” on papers being published from the Archives of Ireland has meant the issue was left unnoticed by the public, perhaps why it has only properly been addressed fairly recently.

Ireland declared itself neutral during World War II. However, due to its strategic location to Great Britain, the Irish were always at risk of German attack. Many supposedly “neutral” Irishmen felt adverse to the governmental policy of impartiality.

Irish TD Gerald Nash explains: “Many believed that Nazism and Fascism were wrong and wanted to stand up and be counted.” Fighting for what they believed was right saw a moral uprising of soldiers “deserting” their respective armies to fight for the common cause.

This idea of serving for principled purposes should undoubtedly be considered brave and inspiring.

92-year-old Phil Farrington took part in the D-Day landings and helped liberate the German death camp at BergenBelsen, but still worries that he is at

Clinton coming on strong for Irish trade William Scott Staff Reporter

Queen Elizabeth II lays a wreath at the war memorial gardens in Islandbridge

risk of arrest by authorities and being sent to prison for his wartime services.

His grandson, Patrick, comments, “I see fear in him even today, even after 65 years.”

“The List” (or “starvation order” as it was referred to by nationalist hero Éamon de Valera) could be considered one of the most damming aspects of the post-WWII Irish government.

Essentially, it implied that ex-soldiers were excluded from jobs and left unemployed and unable to provide for their families. The children of the blacklisted veterans received a similar treatment from their contemporaries, often finding themselves outcast and suffering from abuse and regular beatings because they were “children of the deserters”.

The strain of “The List” and the fear that the veterans have faced since returning from war has fallen through party lines over and over again. During WWII, the Irish perception of the British, especially from the nationalist perspective, created the hostile reaction towards the desertion of

soldiers. To them, the thought of Irish citizens realigning with her neighbors was deeply disloyal.

Today, attitudes have changed, and with nearly seventy years separating 2012 and WWII, it is absurd that the Government hasn’t given the veterans their deserved comfort and peace.

Last year saw Queen Elizabeth II visiting Ireland, a monumental and historical moment that fortified British and Irish relations. If this can happen, surely the brave and courageous Irish soldiers can finally be celebrated instead of condemned as pariahs.

Senator Mary Ann O’Brien firmly calls for quick and efficient action: “I would like to see their situation brought to justice and I would like to see a full pardon granted both to them and to their families.”

Ireland is privileged to have WWII veterans still alive and therefore it should be considered a national priority to publically apologize and recognize these soldiers so that they might finally be proud of their rightful title: war heroes.

FOLLOWING his participation in the Global Irish Economic Forum in Dublin last October, Bill Clinton is planning to host a “special summit” in New York designed to encourage US investment in Ireland. The summit, taking place on 9 February, will aim to encourage US companies and “super rich” individuals with large cash reserves to pursue investment opportunities here.

Clinton cited the success of a similar project he organized for US investment opportunities as his motivation. The numbers are impressive. “We had a meeting of our global initiative, and just by getting people together we got $12 billion [€9.5 billion] of investment commitments that will create 150,000 jobs,” he said at the time.

His reasons for choosing Ireland as his next beneficiary are the existing cultural ties. “I think there are huge numbers of people who are proud of the fact that they have Irish heritage but they are not part of these [investment] groups right now. They’ve never even thought of investing here yet, nobody ever asked them to,” said Clinton. “You know you’re good at getting investment from America. You know you’re good at making Americans love you.

You know people in America would phoney their genealogical charts to have Irish roots, whether they had or not. This is a big deal.”

The aim of the summit is to ignite interest in Ireland as an

WORLD FOCUS: EGYPT

Is Egyptian democracy an oxymoron?

Katie Ware investigates whether democracy will ever work in the Middle East

T

he recent revolution in Tunisia has been hailed by the media as the match that lit the Arab Spring; startling the world and igniting the spread of democratic principles across the Arab sphere.

It was long thought by many in the West that the Arab world was particularly unsuited to a democratic form of government. Societies that are essentially unindustrialized, fundamentally tribal based, and ruled by religious doctrine seem particularly inappropriate for the freedoms democracy needs to flourish.

In a fundamentalist Arab state the imposition of Sharia law could prove to be as repressive as the most strident dictator. Despite these valid concerns, the greater Middle East area has begun to experiment with democracy. “The Freedom Agenda”, envisioned by President George W. Bush and launched after the removal of the despotic Saddam Hussein from Iraq, sought to bring democracy to that troubled part of the world. Bush’s belief that a spark of democracy would ignite and engulf the authoritarian regimes in the panArabic world has largely been vindicated by the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya, Suleh in Yemen, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, Mubarak in Egypt, and the increasing, even in the Arabic world, isolation of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

However, post-revolution countries hang in a precarious situation, and the world waits with bated breath to see if former concerns of the West are legitimate. It seems Egypt will be the best of

the Middle Eastern countries to give us answers.

Recent parliamentary elections in the country saw the Freedom and Justice Party, founded and supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, win a majority of the seats. The Muslim Brotherhood was established by Hassan alBanna in 1928 with the goal of making the Qur’an the “sole reference point for the state”; in short, for the introduction of a theocracy based on Islam. Many terrorists, including the current leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, received their political indoctrinations from the Muslim Brotherhood.

If enacted, this extremist approach would verify the belief that democracy simply cannot work in the Middle East.

In the Sadat/Mubarak era, the Muslim Brotherhood was illegal due to its antiWest approach and its guerrilla tactics of violence.

Although linked with terrorist groups, as identified by the US Secretary of State, it has remained off the official list. It largely observed the Egyptian revolution and president Mubarak’s forced resignation, but emerged as the political party most likely to dominate Egypt. The West has jumped to the worst conclusions on the potential changes – and thus dangers – that the Muslim Brotherhood could introduce to foreign policy in Egypt.

These include Sharia law, increased subjugation of women, reneging of the Camp David Peace accords, arming the Gaza Strip, and unprotected borders.

These actions would destabilize an already volatile region. Democracy, even a theocracy, must be given the chance

Egyptians who protested against the Mubarak regime face an uncertain future

to succeed.

Surprisingly, the Irish experience can be an instructive tutorial on forecasting the direction of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1969 the IRA internally split and the terrorist attacks have been fundamentally limited to the behavior of extreme, increasingly irrelevant sects.

Meanwhile, as Martin McGuinness’s presidential candidacy demonstrates, the rejection of terrorist principles and responsible participation in the democratic process has brought new responsibility and substance to the OIRA, which became officially known as the Irish Working Party.

Likewise, early indications are that the Muslim Brotherhood might follow the same path. Since its legalization

and participation in the democratic system of government, the Muslim Brotherhood has treaded cautiously.

Although the country is still largely run by military actors, it has not acted out any of the West’s concerns.

The Muslim Brotherhood seeks to gain support from minorities, for example women and Christians, even having high-ranking officials attend a Christian new year’s eve mass, a feat many would have thought inconceivable a year ago.

Polls show the people responding positively to the freedom, as the Muslim Brotherhood won 42% of the house, sweeping away the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party. Democracy must be given its chance to succeed, even though it might very well self-destruct.

Clinton wants more links with Ireland

investment opportunity, using existing connections but also forming new relationships with those not part of the diaspora. IDA Ireland has been in talks with Clinton’s office and the Irish embassy in Washington to decide on the invitations, which have already started being circulated by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Clinton has urged Ireland to focus on emerging economic powers such as Brazil and India, as well as countries that already have strong economic ties with America like China and Japan.

“Some of the names on the invite list won’t be known to people. They’re heavy-hitters from South America and Asia that aren’t household names, but have a lot of money to invest,” said one source close to the event.

Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore are expected to attend, as well as more glamorous invitees businessman Denis O’Brien, actor Gabriel Byrne, and Riverdance founder John McColgan.

This is clearly a good sign. As long as Ireland remains an investment opportunity in the eyes of men like Clinton hope for recovery can be maintained. However, it should be emphasized that this summit will only result in promises. It is up to our leaders to see them through.

In the meantime Clinton urged optimism and suggested that the situation in Ireland was not as bad as it seems from the inside. “The rest of the world thinks you’re pretty great,” he said. “Despairing is not an option; it’s just a decision to be disappointed. I think right now the world thinks more of Ireland than a lot of Irish think of their own country.”

Whatever the outcome of the summit in February it is clear that the recovery process will take some time.

TRINITY NEWS

BUSINESS 7

business@trinitynews.ie

INVESTIGATION PIRACY LAW

Uncharted waters a sop to Serverus Owen Bennett comments on the controversy surrounding the proposed US anti-piracy law which has online websites reeling and has reignited the debate regarding online sharing

S “The anti-piracy act raises deep issues regarding the nature of freedom and property rights in the age of the Internet – the Web’s greatest strengths and weaknesses lie in the sense of freedom it promotes”

ince the commercialization of the World Wide Web in the mid 1990s, online piracy has emerged as the most contentious and divisive predicament facing the internet. The burning issue first manifested itself openly in the summer of 2001, when in a high profile case, the peer-to-peer sharing site Napster was forced to close following legal action taking by several US record labels.

The issue has once again made headlines across the world in recent weeks, with the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) currently under consideration in the US Congress. The Act, should it be passed, would constitute a huge victory for those seeking to curb online piracy as it would allow lawmakers to force internet service providers to boycott websites which support piracy.

A number of influential online entities have publicly criticized the bill, as many see it as thinly veiled online censorship. Indeed, last week Wikipedia, the world’s largest online encyclopedia, temporarily shut down its English-speaking version in protest at the proposed law. Moreover Google, a highly profitable international company, launched an online petition against the bill, as it would be forced to exclude search returns relating to websites accused of supporting piracy.

SOPA raises deep issues, regarding the nature of freedom and property rights in the age of the internet. Indeed, no one can argue against the reality that the internet’s greatest strength and

weakness lies in the sense of freedom it promotes. The lack of censorship and accountability on the web encourages and harnesses thought and the exchange of ideas. While some may of course abuse the freedom the internet offers, there can be no doubt that such regrettable actions must be endured as a necessary cost of the online freedom we deem so essential. In that context, SOPA can be seen as a dangerous attempt at censoring the web.

Allowing government lawmakers unprecedented regulatory powers concerning the internet has rightly been met with huge opposition, with industry giants recognizing the threat such measures pose to their existence and development. Web entities such as Facebook and Youtube, staples of the online world, would face huge difficulties from the passage of SOPA, as much of their success can be attributed to user-supplied content such as uploaded music and video links.

However, the online piracy issue is far more problematic than one might firstly imagine. Simply put, society depends on the existence of property rights ensuring individuals and firms can safeguard what is rightly theirs and need not fear misappropriation from others. Should individuals and firms lose faith in power of the state to enforce property rights, crisis would inevitably ensue and incentives to produce and innovate would virtually disappear.

It is with regret therefore that

Many websites have publicly criticised the bill, which they see as censorship

the founders of the internet were somewhat lax when it came to respecting property rights in the online sphere. The internet has particularly disrespected the notion of intellectual private property, with many in the creative arts seeing the fruits of their labour distributed openly without limits or compensation.

Indeed, peer-to-peer sharing, while appearing harmless, is hugely corrosive. It is stealing, albeit in a more sophisticated and less personal manner. Rampant piracy destroys the incentives to create and threatens the livelihoods of those who work in areas susceptible to piracy, such as the music

Politcally correct: Ireland is gone PD Matthew Taylor has fond memories of the now defunct Progressive Democratic, which rocked the Irish political scene in the 1980s

W

B Yeats wrote, of 1916, the famous lines “All changed, changed utterly/A terrible beauty is born”. These are lines that, if one were feeling flippant, could be used to describe the emergence of the Progressive Democrats in December of 1985.

In the nearly 70 years of independence, Ireland’s economic policies (if they could be called that) were largely based on the protection of domestic industry and agriculture through tariffs. This was followed by a poorly managed (though often unduly lauded) period of free-trade and industrialisation led by Sean Lemass. A series of political crises, foreign and domestic, stifled all hope of development throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The populist Fianna Fáil and newly liberal Fine Gael swelled the state’s deficits with vast increases in spending, which both parties sought to decrease by bringing income

“Every position the Progressive Democrats took, the country and government soon followed” tax up to 60%. One of the few men to see the madness in this was Fianna Fáil’s Desmond O’Malley who, after expulsion from his party on grounds of being pro-contraception and pro-

24 January, 2012

New Ireland Forum, decided to found a party which would be based on true liberalism.

It was a revolution in Irish politics, a new and dangerous idea that a political party should try to solve the country’s problems. Their message was simple: 104% GDP/National Debt ratio is unsustainable, the government has no place in your bedroom, and taxes are bad for business. Not only was this simple, it was popular, and the PDs won 14 seats in the 1987 election. Their ideology is, in my opinion, the defining characteristic of Irish political affairs in the late ’80s up until their dissolution in 2007. Every position the Progressive Democrats took, the country and the government soon followed. After their founding in 1985, a law was passed allowing condoms to be sold without prescription. Following the 1987 election, Fianna Fáil implemented the PD strategy of deficit reduction. After entering government in 1989 they lowered the corporation tax rate, one of the fundamental factors to which the phenomenal growth of the Celtic Tiger era can be attributed. Their breaking of the state monopoly on travel allowed cheap airlines to flourish, and they were, together with the Labour party, the first party to support civil unions.

All of these positions were introduced by the PDs and all of them have led to a great increase in the quality of life of all Irish people.

What you will notice, surveying Ireland’s current political situation, is that three out of four of Ireland’s major political parties drifted towards the Progressive Democrats. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour have all become business friendly, low tax and pro-

industry.

As such, something must be done to curb the spread of piracy and restore credibility in intellectual property rights. However, it appears difficult to see how measures aimed at tackling piracy can be reconciled with the sacrosanct notion of freedom upon which the internet flourishes. What is certain however is that SOPA, in its current form at least, offers no real solution to the issue.

Given that the bill is likely to be scrapped in the face of huge public and industrial pressure, the issue of online piracy is unlikely to be resolved in the short term.

Troubled General Motors on Owen Bennett Business Editor

The PDs might not be a political force but their policies have permeated Irish politics

secularisation. When they are not busy exploding the deficit with bailouts for their bank managers, they recognise the need to shrink public debts. While we don’t have a Progressive Democrat party anymore, we have three much larger variations on a theme. This party was able, through sound reasoning (marred by poor leadership

“After entering government in 1989, they lowered the corporation tax rate” and bad politics) to shape the political mindset of this country, and influence the governments, whether in cabinet or from the opposition benches, to take its manifesto on board. While they undoubtedly deserve blame for selling out some of their original platform as they were dwarfed and consumed by their evil half-brother, they fundamentally changed the dialogue.

There has been speculation, in

“Three of Ireland’s parties drifted towards the PDs – low tax, business friendly” previous months and years, that PD fellow travellers such as Shane Ross, David McWilliams and possibly Michael McDowell himself are planning a new “Radical” party. Any and all chatter which has emerged about this venture points to it being very much “PD Mark II”, based on the same economic and social policies. You can be sure that, given the constipation of the current Dáil, any such party could hope for another 14 seat sweep.

And, correctly managed, there could well be a new political force to be reckoned with in this country in the years to come. Whatever comes of this, we all live in a Progressive Democrat world now.

GENERAL Motors has reaffirmed its credentials in motoring circles, once again becoming the world’s largest car manufacturer. This represents a major turnaround for the US firm, which tethered on the brink of bankruptcy less than two years ago.

The firm increased its sales by a notable 7.9% last year, and analysts expect more growth in the coming year.

Strong sales, allied with disruption to Toyota’s production following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami early last year propelled GM to the top.

However, the mantle as the world’s largest carmaker has been contested

by German based Volkswagen, which has argued that GM manipulated its sales figures by including sales from subsidiary firms based in China.

Volkswagen, which saw sales rise by 8 million last year, did not include sales from its subsidiary truck firms, namely MAN and Scania. However, analysts believe that GM’s unusually heavy involvement in the workings of its subsidiaries justify its inclusion of their sale figures.

Indeed, the positive news from Detroit will represent a victory of sorts for the Obama administration following the controversial $52 billion taxpayer bailout to the struggling firm in 2009. The US government still owns approximately 30% of the industry behemoth, with the opportunity to offload the shares at a profit.

Since flirting with bankruptcy, the firm has focused on supplying vehicles to emerging markets in the Far East, as the US economy continues to suffer from high debt and anaemic growth.

8 WORLD REVIEW

Kazakhstan’s hushed killings

Manus Lenihan reports on the murder of striking workers in Kazakhstan where authorites tell a different story to the victims of the violence

W

hen police opened fire on workers striking in the Kazakh oil town of Zhanaozen last month, curtains fell so quickly that only glimpses of the event reached us.

Mobile phone networks, social and commercial media were shut down, opposition websites blocked, flights cancelled, and plane-loads of riot police and Marines sent in.

Independent trade union leaders claim that between fifty and seventy people were killed. Troops poured into Zhanaozen and the town Shetpe, where locals tore up railway tracks on hearing about the massacre. Battles were still raging the following day when a protest of 1,500 reoccupied the square.

A solidarity strike of oil workers had spread throughout the region.

Journalists report mass arrests and torture; this is nothing surprising by Kazakh standards, but the Zhanaozen repression is on a new scale.

A disturbing flavour of this crackdown was given in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, in which a reporter described a line of beaten-up workers herded into a police station: “This was yet one more group of those detained for participating in Friday’s disorder in the central square. This is what [one of the policemen on duty] called ‘meat’. There was also a smell of meat in the corridors of the police station, where the walls and floor were splashed with blood. When I asked why the walls were covered in blood, a policeman, with a kindly Slavic face, replied without blinking: ‘We killed a sheep, we had a celebration, after all’.”

Independent claims were smoothed over by the Kazakh government’s official story, which was generally accepted: “The rioting left 16 people dead at the hands of the security forces and over 100 injured,” in the words of The Economist. After lending unqualified credence to these state statistics, the article concludes that it is “a pity” that “Kazakhstan’s reputation as a beacon of stability in Central Asia” has been “shattered”. Aside from the gross inadequacy of their conclusion that Kazakhstan’s “reputation” is the only thing that has been damaged, the anonymous writer paints the massacre as an accident that was, at worst, handled incompetently and for which the strikers bear some responsibility.

In fact, what happened last month in Zhanaozen shows us how the state and private sector in Kazakhstan operate, only this time on a scale so large we can’t ignore it. 2,500 workers at three oil companies in the

Mangystau region have been on strike since May of last year demanding extra pay for the dangerous work they carry out. The state and employers, closely intertwined, responded with a heavy hand. The oil company, Kazmunaigaz, claims that the strike affected output by 8.5% this year. Strikers were fired; their lawyer, Natalya Sokolova, was sentenced to six years in prison on trumped-up charges.

Akhzanat Avimov, another union lawyer, was given a two-year suspended sentence.

Police arbitrarily arrest, fine and imprison activists. A member of the strike committee was mysteriously murdered; the daughter of another was raped and murdered. Strikers and their families are regularly attacked by unidentified thugs, after which hospitals refuse them treatment.

The strikers received some support internationally; the Gruvtolan trade union in Sweden, which represents miners in Kiruna, made several donations to the campaign and unequivocally condemned “the violence against the workers”. English singer-songwriter, Sting, cancelled a concert in Kazakhstan scheduled for July. “Hunger strikes, imprisoned workers, and tens of thousands on strike represent a virtual picket line which I have no intention of crossing,” he said. Dublin’s Socialist Party MEP, Paul Murphy, has visited the strikers and organized campaigns in solidarity across Europe and in the European Parliament.

Kazakh newspapers denounced the MEP as an “arsonist” and a “warlord” of “street politics”.

Despite this threatening situation

“The demonstration was ultimately peaceful until a police car rammed into the crowd” the strikers maintained non-violent but effective activity, demanding “danger wages”, reinstatement in their jobs, the release of Sokolova, and the re-nationalisation of the local oil companies. This tough summer and autumn of struggle set the background for the demonstration of some 3,000 in Zhanaozen on 16 December.

It was one of a regular series of demonstrations, this time coinciding with Kazakhstan’s twentieth anniversary as an independent state.

In advance of the celebrations, a mass meeting in the square declared their

Will the Turkish army overcome social mores to end discrimination?

Workers in oil-rich Zhanaozen were manhandled by police as they protested – strikers say between 50 and 70 people were killed

scorn: “the authorities have robbed ordinary people of freedom, grabbed all our wealth for themselves ... For twenty years the authorities have been lying, promising us the good life but continuing to rob us again and again.”

In the days leading up to 16 December, troops and police converged on the city, armed with live rounds. YouTube videos show the demonstration was ultimately peaceful until a police car rammed into the crowd. The sequence of events is hard to make out. Further videos similarly offer only isolated, decontextualized clips. We can hear thunderous volleys from automatic weapons, phalanxes of riot police advancing and shooting, huge crowds fleeing, bodies falling still, and close-up shots of bloodied corpses.

Following the events of 16 December, journalists filed reports of blood on the walls and the sounds of screaming echoing down the corridors of police stations, of prisoners forced to squat outside naked in sub-zero temperatures to be doused with cold water, and of mysterious jeeps driving around Zhanaozen with gunfire coming out the windows. In dramatic contrast to these images are the pacific statements of the Kazakh government.

“Events in the Mangistau region have become a serious trial for Kazakhstan,” President Nazarbayev said, “A challenge has been thrown down at us in the anniversary year.”

The President visited Zhanaozen on 22 December and extended the State of Emergency until 31 January. He has

sacked several functionaries and highup officials, including his son-in-law.

A governmental commission is to investigate the causes of the massacre. In trying to find out why police opened fire with live rounds, it is doubtful whether a state-sponsored investigation will yield anything more than a few regime scapegoats.

Meanwhile, the promise of new jobs to fired oil workers is the same offer they rejected a few months ago.

That Nazarbayev’s dictatorship has been moved to make such statements and admissions of guilt, along with promises of concessions, is perhaps a sign that events in Zhanaozen, whether calculated or not, are a source of alarm for the government. The state of emergency lasts until 31 January with

“The authorities have robbed ordinary people of their freedom” all demonstrations, public assemblies and strikes banned, along with the use of copiers, TV, radio, video, audio, and PA speakers. For a while, there was talk of prohibiting people in Zhanaozen from voting in the 15 January elections.

Kazakhstan is a vital source of oil and gas, for which the EU, USA, Russia and China are competing. Central Asia held the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

(OSCE) in 2010. Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney and George Bush, meanwhile, have been among those strongly praising Nazarbayev, who has led the country as president since 1986, five years before its independence from the Soviet Union.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair is among his advisors. US stakes in the oil industry amount to 24%, while Chinese companies own 22%.

Nazarbayev justifies the lack of democracy that characterises his regime by focusing on the need for “stability, unity and harmony”. He and his family control an inordinate share of wealth and industry, and “elections” return the president with over 90% of the vote every time, most notably in 2005 when his opponent allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself once in the head and twice in the chest. These features hardly make Kazakhstan distinct; Nazarbayev is close in many respects to where Ben Ali, Muammar Qaddafi and Hosni Mubarak were a year ago.

Many international commentators praise Nazarbayev for overseeing huge levels of foreign investment in reserves of oil, gas, gold, manganese and uranium. What is often not mentioned is that this economic model necessitates low wages and therefore repression of Kazakhstan’s working class. The huge, eight-month strike in Mangystau must have been a source of grave worry to Kazakh authorities, raising the threat of a revived, independant militant trade unionism that rejects exploitation and repression.

Uncovering the reality of Palestinian Writing from the West Bank, Neil Warner offers a glimpse of Palestinian life in Hebron

S

everal thousand years ago, a prophet by the name of Abraham chose as his burial place a cave situated in the city of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank in Palestine.

This, it would seem, was a bit of a mistake. By his choice, Abraham cursed modern-day Hebron to a bizarre, grotesquely oppressive and unsustainable situation.

Having spent the last few weeks in Hebron – or Khalil as it is known in Arabic – as an anti-occupation activist, I would argue that it is a highly competitive candidate for the title of the most insane city in the world. Perhaps Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, where there have been over 400 sexual homicides of women in the last ten years, is a worthy

rival. But, by virtue of both the level of history involved and the sheer scale of institutional madness, Hebron is the winner.

Hebron is also arguably the most powerful and shocking example of the oppression and persecution currently endured by Palestinians in the West Bank. The city centre has been turned into a ghost town by the Israeli military and an occupation by several hundred fanatical Jewish settlers.

This area, known as H2, has seen its resident population decline from about 30,000 in 1997 to only 10,000.

Approximately half of the Palestinian shops in H2 have been closed since 1994. Palestinians are prohibited from driving cars within H2: only settler, police and army vehicles are permitted.

Shuhada street, one of the main

streets in the H2 area, was a buzzing central marketplace only fifteen years ago. Now Palestinians are barred from it, and nothing is left in the largely empty street but a long line of shuttered shop-fronts with stars of

“Metal cages around the windows protect against attacks by the settlers” David triumphantly spray-painted over them.

Many of the buildings on Shuhada Street are, however, still occupied

by Palestinian residents, who have metal cages around their windows to protect against settler attacks. Since they are barred from exiting their front doors, they must enter and leave their

homes through roofs and windows.

The famous “caged house” in the neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida sits on a street that no Palestinians other than the family are permitted to walk on. The family is not only banned from hosting friends or relatives but is also subject to regular settler abuse. The children are beaten up by settlers on a regular basis.

The old city of Hebron runs parallel to H2. From there, settlers pass the time by hurling stones, spikes, rubbish, excrement and acid onto the busy market streets from the buildings above. A gauze provided by the UN to cover the streets offers only partial protection.

The Israeli army controls Hebron solely for the protection of the tiny group of Jewish settlers, who can be frequently seen patrolling the streets of H2 with their own personal machineguns. Some have admitted to me and my colleagues that they are personally

afraid of the settlers and can do nothing to control them. In fact, they are legally forbidden from intervening to stop settler violence, since only the Palestinians are subject to military law, whereas the settlers are under Israeli civil law. On 14 January, settlers burned the car of an old woman while soldiers stood around them as protection against any locals who might attempt to intervene. Two of my colleagues were attacked by a settler less than a week ago while a soldier stood and

“The children are beaten up by settlers on a regular basis” watched from only 20 metres away.

But this is not to say that the army does not engage regularly in the harassment and abuse of the

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Will Kim Jong-un be so lonely?

Following the death of Kim Jong-il, Kristjan Wilson discusses the challenges facing North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un

D

“A collapse of power in North Korea would herald an age of suffering and hardship unparalleled in over half a century”

ecember 17, 2011 marked the death of one of the most infamous leaders of the modern age. Kim Jong-il had ruled North Korea for 17 years since the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994.

The funeral ceremony of Jong-il was very much the same as his father’s, and those who occupied positions of importance within the ceremony were what many observers expected, with three figures dominating proceedings alongside the “Great Sucecessor” Kim Jong-un.

The first, Kim Yong-nam, is president of the People’s Assembly and a former foreign minister. The second, Choe Yong-rim, was Kim Il-sung’s former personal secretary and head of the Pyongyang Party mechanics. Last was General Yi Yong-ho, chief of the General Staff Department and one of the guardian figures of the new “Glorious Leader”. Conspicuous in their absence, however, were close members of the Kim family, including two of Jong-il’s sons; Kim Jong-nam and Kim Jong-chul.

So far, Kim Jong-un has attempted to keep alive some of the traditions of his father’s administration. As a part of North Korea’s New Year celebrations, Jong-un conducted a grand tour of military barracks and facilities. This is likely an attempt to create an aura of stability around what could be a fragile new regime in Pyongyang.

While there are strong mechanisms in place which should work to make Jong-un able to consolidate his position, there are dangerous instabilities that face the new leader.

The appointment of Jong-un last year as a four-star general caused a degree of consternation amongst the upper echelons of North Korea’s bloated military, given his lack of military experience.

In order to foster a reputation as a strongman, Jong-un may have to resort to military provocation with South Korea. Seoul, indeed, suspects that this was the motive behind the 2010 torpedo attack on the South Korean navy corvette Cheonan. This, and the artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, drove South Korea to threaten a direct military counter-strike, forcing Pyongyang to back down.

While Jong-il was capable of maintaining such a policy of brinkmanship, it remains to be seen whether Jong-un is as capable.

How much power he will possess is another question. Reports from before the death of Jong-il indicated that a regency period would follow the demise of the “Great Leader”, with

Kim Jong Un (left) salutes during the funeral of his father and predecessor to the North Korean dictatorship, Kim Jong Il

Jong-un constrained by his uncle Jang Song-taek or a triumvirate including the army. This slightly confused succession may have been more clear had Jong-il not died so soon.

But as things stand, it is hard to conjure up a realistic scenario where the transition could have come about in a more unstable manner.

Before his death, Jong-il founded a complex system of coercion to cement his authority, including intense surveillance of private citizens, camps for political prisoners, and the threat of death or exile to dissenters and their families. Even minor infractions, such as failure to dust portraits of the Kim family, are punishable by tedious re-education programmes.

More serious punishments can include exile to remote country farms or hard labour, both of which can mean death by starvation during one of North Korea’s frequent famines.

Would-be guerrillas live in the knowledge that any armed campaign they mount would result not just in brutal punishment for them but, according to the state’s “three generations” policy, the abduction and possible execution of their parents and children.

This means that despite a litany of potential grieveances, as Andrei Lankov put it, “North Korean farmers did not rebel. They just died.”

At the moment, North Koreans receive about half their food from the state and any kind of power struggle in the capital could endanger the already fragile network of food distribution that provides a barrier against starvation to millions of malnourished citizens. The possibility of a war

of succession could see a massive influx of refugees into China. This is something that. if Wikileaks reports are true, China would go to great lengths to avoid.

If this dynastic uncertainty causes questions to arise over the ownership of North Korea’s stockpile of nuclear material, there is little chance that China, South Korea, Japan and the United States will stand idly by and watch the material disappear into the black market. The prospect of providing humanitarian relief to 20 million starving people during a civil war, while trying to hunt down nuclear material would take an estimated 300,000 troops, assuming the North Korean army does not oppose such intervention.

Even if such a mission could be assembled, it is hard to envisage effective co-ordination in such a campaign between China, the US, and her allies. The political fallout from any diplomatic incidents occurring during such an operation is also hard to comprehend. This is why the apparently benevolent West has focused so much of its recent attention on propping up the teetering totalitarian regime.

However, there are factors working in Jong-un’s favour. Within North Korea’s society there is a total lack of any kind of clergy or middle-class, two groups which are often fundamental to the formation of a revolt.

There is also a tight control of information, meaning that students and intellectuals – two other groups often at the heart of revolutionary movements – have been robbed of the intellectual impetus to revolt, heavily

monitored and deterred by the threat of swift and brutal chastisement.

There is also something of a paradox existing in North Korean politics. While a great many people within the political elite and the proletariat do not like the state in its current guise, no one wants it to collapse.

For the average North Korean citizen, a collapse would herald an age of suffering and hardship unparalleled in over half a century. Those currently in power would face repercussions for their place within the old regime, anticipating a newly unified Korean state to embark on a witchhunt, similar to that which followed the Korean War, but their families too would have a great deal to lose as this new state could maintain their own “three generations” policy.

There is also little incentive to desire a unification of Kora and put an end to the communist regime. In other post-communist states in the aftermath of the Cold War, those who had been within the political elite were best placed to take advantage of new capitalist systems due to their superior base of wealth and education; however, it is difficult to envisage an end to communism in the North without a unification.

This would surely lead to an influx of better educated and wealthier Southern entrepreneurs, assigning the North Korean elite to mediocrity.

Ultimately Kim Jong-un’s fledgling regime faces many challenges, but the North Korean state is likely to remain stable – and oppressive – for many years to come.

life in Hebron: a modern day curse population of Hebron. The current unit entertains itself constantly by detaining Palestinians for the fun of it. The attitude of the army to the local population is perhaps summed up by one of the soldiers, who told us that “they [the Palestinians] must wait when anyone walks past. Even if a dog walks past they must wait.”

The settlers assert the legitimacy of their presence not only through Hebron’s status as the site of Abraham’s tomb (also extremely holy to Muslims) and as the second holiest city in Judaism, but also through the existence of a small Jewish religious community – or Yeshiva – in Hebron for several hundred years prior to a massacre in 1929. In the aftermath of the massacre, the entire community was evacuated.

Despite the murderous culpability of those who took part, a significant number of Palestinian households

24 January, 2012

An elderly lady is ambushed in Hebron

provided refuge to members of Yeshiva at great personal risk, including members of the family that now live in the “caged house”.

Following the capture of the West Bank by Israel in 1967, a prominent movement developed for Israelis to forcefully “resettle” the city in spite of its overwhelming Arab majority during the existence of the Yeshiva.

This project became a reality after 1979 when settlers began to occupy areas near the Cave of the Patriarchs, the site of Abraham’s tomb. Condemnations of the “resettlement” programme by relatives of the victims from the 1929 massacre have done nothing to deter its expansion.

The main catalyst for the creation of the strange, dead city centre was the so-called “Cave of the Patriarchs massacre” of thirty Palestinian worshippers in 1994 by a settler named Baruch Goldstein. Today he is

revered by the settlers of Hebron. Until recently there was a shrine built to him on his gravesite, where pilgrimages are still held. Sickening and morally

“Nothing is left on an empty street but a line of shuttered shop windows with stars of David spray painted on them” perverse as this may be, it has some logic to it. It was as a response to the massacre, under the guise of providing greater security, that Israel closed off large areas of the city centre to Palestinians, punishing them for the crime committed against them.

10 FEATURES

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Snakes on the glades: Enough...

Caitriona Murphy takes a look at recent moves by the US government to instigate a ban on dangerous snakes

S “Captured snakes have been found with extraordinary contents in their stomachs – one female was digesting a 34kg deer, while another was found dead trying to swallow an alligator”

nakes are typically a love or hate family pet, more divisive in opinion than cats or dogs. Snake lovers try in vain to persuade the general population of their slithery charms, whilst pop stars attempt to sex them up – Britney Spears music video style.

However this month the US Government made a decisive move against the species, issuing a ban on the import of four breeds of giant snake.

The bill is a conservationist move against the Burmese python and its cousins, who have become an environmental threat to the Everglades National Park in Florida. The legislation was introduced four years ago but was blocked by the exotic pet lobby. Whilst conservationists believe another five species should have been included in the ban, the bill has been fiercely opposed by exotic pet groups. The US Association of Reptile Keepers claims that in its home state of South Carolina, the reptile trade is worth $25m a year. They claim the ban will be a “job-killer” and is based on “irrational snake prejudice”.

Burmese pythons are an invasive species to the Everglades and have been spotted in the park since the 1980s. They are believed to have arrived there from pet owners dumping the snakes, not realising the weight and length they can grow to, and others may have escaped from captivity after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

The python can reach an extraordinary size, growing up to 26ft and reaching weights up to 90kg. They have bred rapidly within the park and are now estimated to have reached 30,000. The snakes have no known predators apart from the occasional alligator who is regarded as an equal match.

What has caused the Everglades such major problems is both the number of snakes and their propensity

Can you guess what it is yet? A Florida snake bit off more than he could chew by swallowing a whole alligator

to eat any warm-blooded animal that moves. Snakes that have been captured have been found with some extraordinary contents in their stomach.

One 16ft female was found by hunters, basking in the sun while digesting an entire 34kg deer. In 2005, another was found dead with its stomach burst open after attempting to swallow an alligator. A different 17ft python was successful in fitting an alligator into its belly, before being caught by hunters.

The pythons seem to have adapted to the conditions in the Everglades, evolving to withstand the cooler temperatures. Known to be good swimmers, they have also adapted to the saltwater conditions. Several pythons were found swimming six miles from the Everglades to the Florida Keys to eat the endangered river rat species

there. Researchers tracking one of the river rats by electronic collar were startled to find it had moved a huge distance from its natural habitat.

After tracking the collar, they found it located inside one of the monstrous pythons in the Everglades. Pythons are killed when caught by hunters or rangers, in an effort to curb the population. The “Python Patrol” trains citizens to call in snake sightings to officials who then capture them.

The breed is typically docile towards humans but they have been known to attack their owners. In 2011, a Florida couple went on trial for allowing their pet python to kill a two-year-old toddler. “Gypsy” was found wrapped around the toddler’s head and body, which also had bite marks on it. The snake weighed 23kg,

compared to the child’s 10kg. Owner Charles Darnell stated that the python had been due for its monthly feeding but he “didn’t think the python wanted to eat the little girl”. He said that upon discovering the snake, he stabbed it to try and get it off the child but she was already dead. The snake was taken away by pet controllers who treated it for stab wounds.

Despite this, Florida reptile dealer Tom Crutchfield claims that the pythons are misunderstood, with feral cats causing larger problems to the human population. He said that regulators prefer to target the snakes because “they’re not fuzzy and cute”.

However Floridians could be forgiven for preferring Fluffy to a snake that can comfortably swallow them whole as a midnight snack.

Neglect of prisons storing up problems Evan Musgrave examines the state of Irish prisons after a series of reports criticising the management of the system

A

s the public sector continues to feel the pinch from austerity measures, the funding of vital institutions continues towards calamitous levels.

Among the gloom of scrapped projects and embarrassing public management, Ireland’s prison facilities are now touching on crisis levels and growing in international notoriety.

A string of both EU and State sponsored reports published in the past year have consistently slammed the organising and funding of the system as completely inadequate. The most recent appraisal from the Strasbourgbased Committee for the Prevention of Torture underlined a range of problems prevalent in the Irish prison system, varying from violence and drug use, to a lack of training for prison personnel.

The report also described Victorianbuilt prisons such as the Cork and Limerick institutions as degrading and hazardous. The committee also condemned the widespread continued practice of “slopping out” – the use of chamber pots where there is insufficient sanitation – in many state prisons.

Published this month, Minister for Justice and Equality Mr. Alan Shatter’s latest report on Limerick Prison revealed startling levels of intimidation by prison officers, involving personal threats, disregarding confidentiality issues and racial abuse.

The report also disclosed accounts of serious physical deterioration in the A and B divisions of the complex, which date back to 1821, with overcrowding, a lack of sanitation systems, poor access to recreational facilities and broken windows common in cell blocks. In the B Division, it has been reported that prisoners are regularly locked in for 23 hours a day in shared cells.

Judge Michael Reilly concluded in his assessment that the older blocks of the complex “are not, in their present state, fit for purpose”, adding, “the continued incarceration of prisoners in these divisions is inhuman and degrading”.

This neglect has continued despite Judge Reilly’s previous report in July last year, which similarly condemned the facilities and practices of Irish prisons, specifically highlighting the need for a revamp of complaints and discipline procedures.

Perhaps one of the most glaring human rights issues within the prison service however is the treatment of minors in St. Patrick’s Institution, a section of Mountjoy prison in Dublin.

16 and 17-year-olds were admitted to the medium-security closed-prison facility 262 times last year. Senator and former chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance Jillian Van Turnhout has pointed out that St. Patrick’s Institution has “an adult regime, and while there is a dedicated unit to accommodate some of the children, [minors] still have regular access to

common areas for all inmates.” In late 2010 a report by prison chaplains focusing on St. Patrick’s criticised the detention periods that minors were constricted to, claiming many 16 and 17-year-olds were routinely locked in their cells for at least 16 hours each day, while about a quarter of inmates were listed as “on protection”, which resulted in their confinement for 23 hours each day.

A site for a new facility for minors has been sought in Oberstown, near Lusk, County Dublin. However, cutbacks in the system have halted progress, and despite the government’s commitment to its construction, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, Liam Herrick, has maintained that there remains no budget allocation for the f acility, while emphasising that the current structure for

the detention of minors is inadequate.

Earlier this month, spokeswoman for the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, denied claims that the project was being shelved but admitted that the cost of the facility has been reassessed, with the original €90 million budget being lowered to €65 million. Minister Shatter has conversely revealed that the Oberstown project would not be covered in the current government’s 2012-2016 investment plans.

Plans to offset the growth in prisoner numbers by constructing a new prison facility near Swords, north Dublin have attracted further controversy.

The ill-fated Thornton Hall project – envisaged as a replacement for the inner city Mountjoy facility – was first acquired as a 150 acre site, with the price per acre paid out by the government being higher than any other site in the area. The original plans of a 2,220 berth prison were quickly downsized to 700; and the project, which has cost €45 million to date, still lingers

without a primary contractor to develop the site. The government’s most recent statement on the facility maintains a commitment to the project “in principle”.

Along with these haunting reports, the current employment structure of the prison system has come under heavy scrutiny, as widespread job cuts seem to spell out a further exacerbation of the problem. Before the Fine GaelLabour Coalition took office, the 14 institutions that comprised the Republic’s prison system included 119 members of committees inspecting jail conditions and responding to prisoner and officer complaints. Numbers have, however, plummeted since then, along with new employment measures in which members whose terms have expired will not be replaced. As a result, the total combined membership of the committees has fallen to 49 members.

Ireland’s incarceration rate (95 out of every 100,000 citizens) remains relatively low – still higher than the likes of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany; notably lower, however, than the UK (101), France (109), Italy (110) and the United States (743). Yet, with an annual rise of around 10% in recent years, the situation calls for significant concern. Indeed, while the prison service considers a normal rate of temporary release to be 5% of the overall prison population, the current rate suggested by watchdog groups is approximately 17%. Despite this, researchers at the University of Limerick have indicated that the total number of prisoners in the Republic could rise to almost 8,000 by 2015.

Times have changed since the days of Kilmainham Gaol, but there is a long way to go

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24 January, 2012

12 OPINION PROFILE JON HUNTSMAN

Illustration by Sinéad Mercier merrymercyme.tumblr.com

Tracking Huntsman Eoin O’Driscoll follows the political career of erstwhile presidential nominee Jon Huntsman, from family business to high politics

L “Analysis shows Huntsman was the Republican candidate most likely to beat Obama. At the same time, poll after poll showed Huntsman’s support amongst the GOP was within the margin of error”

ast Monday, Jon Huntsman pulled out of the race to become the Republican nominee for the Presidency of the US. According to Gallup polls, he was rarely able to receive national support of more than 2%. He never had a hope of receiving the nomination. That seems a great pity.

Jon Huntsman’s campaign worked hard to promote the idea that he was a different kind of candidate. Certainly, his background set him somewhat apart from his competition.

The Huntsmans are one of Utah’s wealthiest families. What started out as a family business selling eggs to grocery stores developed into a billion dollar, multinational corporation, famous for designing the containers for McDonald’s flagship product, the Big Mac. Jon Huntsman Sr. would later become involved in the Nixon administration in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

The Huntsmans had a fairly tumultuous time. Jon’s 16-year-old brother James was kidnapped for a ransom of $1 million and ended up being rescued by an FBI operation.

Their sister Kathleen developed a drug problem and died at the age of 44.

This unusual background likely influenced the young Jon. He started a local lawn-mowing business at ten, left school early to pursue a career in music as a keyboard player with a rock band called Wizard and then worked as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan for two years; an unusual background for a future presidential contender.

Since then Jon married his wife Mary Kaye and has a family with her of five kids, including daughters adopted from China and India. He served as US Ambassador to both Singapore and China, being the

youngest American to serve in such a role in over 100 years, and as Governor of Utah.

As Governor of Utah, one of America’s most conservative states, his administration was widely lauded by conservatives. Nonetheless, he was seen as one of the decided moderates in a Republican race marked by serious partisanship and strident affirmations of conservative principles.

Electoral analysis after electoral analysis showed that Huntsman was the Republican candidate most likely to beat Obama in a general election. At the same time, poll after poll showed that Huntsman’s support amongst Republicans to get their nomination was within the margin of error.

Sadly, for American politics, the very aspects of Jon Huntsman’s campaign that appealed to the American public at large were those that counted so strongly against him amongst Republican voters.

When it came to New Hampshire, where independents could vote as well as Republicans, Huntsman’s support rocketed to 16%. When he dropped out of the race, Huntsman’s support in South Carolina was around 5% and he polled at just 1% in Iowa, where only registered Republicans could vote.

The Republican race seems to be centred around which candidate is the most partisan, the most wholeheartedly committed to “conservative principles”. Santorum, Perry and Gingrich all saw massive poll surges when they were identified

as

the conservative banner-bearer.

Note that this is in comparison to Romney, who endorses the use of waterboarding against terrorist suspects, opposes gay marriage and attacked Ted Kennedy during his 2004 Senate run for voting against the death penalty.

Huntsman was a candidate that offered a non-partisan appeal. He had served under Obama as ambassador to China, he put country first and he stood up for his principles. Unlike Romney, who has flip-flopped on every major issue he has faced, Huntsman’s campaign retained a commendable consistency and was willing to rail against the archaic stances of many in the Republican party, such as on global warming, and he refused to buy into the partisan rhetoric employed by many of his competitors.

Many of the Republican debates, thus far, have been, basically, Obamabashing competitions. Huntsman was the one candidate who was more

concerned with what he wanted and was able to do. It was a positive campaign by a candidate whose views are largely in line with those of the average American.

He was a candidate with the intellectual capacity and integrity to be able to go toe to toe with Obama, a man he much respected, in a debate and hold his own. I cannot see any other possible Republican nominee doing the same.

The Republicans scuppered their election chances in 2008 by pandering to their far right fringes by selecting Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. They risk doing the same again. The far right tendencies of the current slate of candidates and, more worryingly, the importance to Republican voters that their candidate is of a far right ilk, mean that the Republican party is increasingly out of touch with the general American electorate.

It is no surprise that even with Obama’s high unpopularity at the moment, many polls still put him ahead of Republican contenders, despite the fact that Obama’s reelection campaign has not even begun.

It is also no surprise that despite the unpopularity of this Democratic administration, Republican Party support remains so low.

By failing to embrace Huntsman, the Republican party have shot themselves in the foot. They lost a high calibre candidate capable of contesting this election and are left with a number of avowedly partisan conservatives who have a slim chance of ever reaching the White House.

“The sole purpose of our SU is administrative” John Porter examines the increasingly depoliticised nature of the Students’ Union and USI, whose protests evoke little response

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yan Bartlett, TCD Students’ Union President, recently evinced a feeling that “there was less need for the SU to act politically within college.” Bartlett said times have changed: “The primary purpose of the SU is to provide services for and represent the interests of students.”

The President may receive a lot of criticism for these comments but, to be fair, he has simply highlighted the reality. The primary – perhaps only – useful purpose of the SU today is administrative. The political aspect of the Union has essentially disappeared.

When potential SU council members campaign, what political points do they make? They say nothing beyond bland and obvious statements, such as: students shouldn’t have to pay excessive fees and the library should stay open for longer.

Student politicians believe they shouldn’t make “political” points anymore. Political is a dirty word now. To be political means you are partial; influenced by ideology. The representatives we elect to the SU are

those that provide the cheapest vodka.

These aren’t people we want to discuss politics with; they’re lads we want to have a pint with.

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Democracy is a system which ensures that people are governed no better than they deserve.” Yet it is difficult to blame students. Each of the last three

“How are students supposed to attach any hope to this Orwellian cycle of protest, and supposed compromise? years the USI has held a protest against fees and fees have increased each year, to the point now that students are threatened with anything below the £9,000 imposed on British students.

Each year the threatened increase by the government is reduced after the protest; they say we’ve heard

what the students have had to say and listened, and we compromised.

How are students supposed to attach any hope to this Orwellian cycle of protest, supposed compromise, and fee increase?

How are students supposed to attach any optimism to political activism when the media describes its protests using adjectives like “vibrant”, “colourful”, and “youthful”? Last year, following the violent clashes in the Department of Finance, the Irish Times wrote that a “vibrant” student protest was “hijacked” by “fanatics”.

I do not want to encourage violence but I would much prefer clashes with the police than a “vibrant” protest.

To paraphrase the Times comment, students had a good time with lots of amusing placards, a few cheeky cans and then went home after making their point in a creative way.

The process has degenerated to such an extent that the strange scenes of 24 November seem the only way to generate some publicity and interest.

Students, led by the USI executive, marched from the Department of Education to the Daíl carrying the “corpse of education”.

The procession, led by USI President Gary Redmond, walked alongside a hearse until reaching Leinster House, where education’s coffin was removed

“SU members say nothing in their campaigns beyond bland and obvious statements” and carried under a banner reading “RIP The Death of Education 1922 – 2011”. The symbolism may not quite be as sophisticated as Yeats but it is at least to the point.

Should we be dismayed that political protest has come to this level?

It is not shocking really. We live in a society that is not surprised when TDs break their election promises as every member of the Labour party has done.

We live in a society that expects complicity; a society that expects doublespeak. After all it is a society with a substantial homeless population and yet thousands of empty houses in ghost estates.

In such a society new forms of resistance must be developed. Modern democracy is reliant on fragmentation.

Students are set against pensioners.

Teachers set against parents. Each fragment of society must make their case as to why they are special and deserve to be exempt from budget cuts.

Modern democracy insists

on complexity; nothing has one explanation, there are always multiple narratives competing for attention.

The best form of resistance in such a society is to assert simplicity; say there is one explanation. If 100% of people when polled said they completely supported all government policy the final veneer of democracy would be removed.

Protests, such as the now habitual fee protest, legitimise democracy.

“How are students supposed to attach any optimism to political activism when the media describes it as ‘vibrant’ and ‘youthful’?”

Protests legitimise the government.

If everyone supports the government then no-one does.

Thinking along these lines and developing these kinds of protests may be the only way to stage effective protest in the modern world. The only way to bring down a government today may be to fully support it.

TRINITY NEWS

13

opinion@trinitynews.ie

Turkey voting for East/West isthmus Eoin O’Driscoll examines the pursuit of Turkey to join the EU, but will such a culturally and economically divergent country achieve this?

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or decades Turkey has been pursuing membership to the coalition of nations known as the European Union.

As a young European with a vested interest in Europe’s future, the futility, thus far, of this pursuit troubles me. Turkish accession, with its 73 million people and acting as a bridge between Europe, Asia and the Middle East, would dramatically alter the nature of the European Union and herald its becoming a major player on the world stage.

Europe’s attempts to project traditional geopolitical power have, so far, yielded little result. The Baroness Ashton-led Common Foreign and Security Policy has wallowed in the high commissioner’s anonymity.

Europe has been unable to commit to any single collective stance regarding relations with Russia, engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the ongoing civil war in Libya. It has been left to individual member states to take their own, oftentimes opposing, stances.

There are too many diverging interests within the Union to make the formulation of a concrete, traditional foreign policy a likely prospect.

Instead, Europe must realise its past success and future potential in the role as a “normative” power. It is through its continuing internal success and the desire of other nations to enjoy these same successes that Europe wields

geopolitical influence.

It was this desire for emulation that helped bring about the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet Union and the drawing of almost all of Eastern Europe into the Western sphere.

Not only did the success of the European Communities and desire to emulate them result in increased EU membership, but also in the establishment of strong democracies where “European” values of human rights and the rule of law continue to be respected 30 years on.

Similarly, opening the door to Turkish accession would help establish there a fully functioning democracy and improve the lot of the everyday Turk. It would help bring an end to the police brutality, abuse of prisoners and severe limits on freedom of expression that are current hallmarks of Turkey’s flawed democracy. All these issues can be surmounted if Turkey is allowed follow the path of accession through bringing itself into accordance with our acquis communautaire.

It would also affirm the viability of the secular, westward-looking Turkish state established by Ataturk.

A decisive blow would be dealt to Islamist and anti-Western groups actively undermining the democratic development of the country. It would also give Europe a voice as a committed and trusted partner in the Middle East and Asia. It would affirm that the values of the EU are not the reserve of

The President of Turkey, Abdulla Gul speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is keen to promote good relations

the developed, “Christian” West but are, in fact, applicable to people of all faiths, of all cultures.

The US is in decline. Authoritarian China is on the rise. Who but Europe can now lead the charge towards a world where human rights, democracy and the rule of law are commonly accepted and practiced? Involvement in European Youth Parliament has shown me the vast potential that Europe possesses; Europe must fulfil this potential. Facilitating Turkey’s

path to accession is the first and necessary step towards doing so.

Otherwise we will push Turkey further and further away from the West and towards the ever-threatening world of Islamist extremism. Rick Perry was rightly slammed by the media when he categorised Turkey, a secular state, as a bunch of “Islamic terrorists”.

However, we must understand that by failing to reward Turkey for its efforts to seek closer relations with the EU, that we are pushing them further

and further away from ourselves and towards the inviting arms of Islamist, extremist groups. It is no surprise that continued failure of the EU to reward Turkish moves towards our norms has led to increasing support for Islamist politics in the country.

In July of this year, Ireland shall assume the presidency of the European Council. We should take this opportunity to help lead Europe in a positive, embracing direction and work on bringing Turkey into the fold.

“Our government does not care about the economy” Manus Lenihan argues austerity measures are harming our economy – and says introducing fees are not the answer to Ireland’s woes

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don’t know how many times people have pointed out the hypocrisy of how the government talks about a knowledge economy while at the same time bringing in fees and grant cuts. It’s time we moved beyond this well-worn piece of rhetoric and realized that our government does not care about the economy.

The EU/IMF deal clearly has nothing to do with creating jobs, building infrastructure and industry, or mobilizing the vast wealth that still exists in Ireland. It has never been explained to us exactly how lapsing into debt slavery will “restore sovereignty”; or how destroying what’s left of consumer spending and public services will help the economy recover.

We could write volumes on the insanity of “austerity”, but the point I want to make is that the student movement appears to have nothing to

say about it. Despite the fact that the case for fees as an emergency measure has not even been made, most student leaders seem to shy away from wider national questions. When that figure of €5,000 was being touted in October, representatives of SUs all over the country saw fit to warn us yet again that some of us would not be in college

“A Trinity SU officer was deeply apologetic when he spoke about the march” in September.

Unmoved by a worldwide crisis of capitalism, the financial colonisation of our state and the spectacular beginnings of resistance in streets and workplaces in every corner of Europe and beyond, the student movement

sees fit to remind us once again of something we already know far too well: that higher fees mean less access to college. I’m not saying SU leaders are stupid; I’m saying many of them treat us as if we were.

But some of them lend their ears to a crazy analysis: that “comprehensive grant reform” will patch up any bad effects of fees. In other words, although the government wants to save €500 million on education, largely through fees, it will for some reason be prepared to give it all back many times over in sufficient grants to everyone who needs them.

When a Trinity SU officer spoke to my class about the 16 November march, he was deeply, deeply apologetic. He clearly thought he was seriously out of order in asking us to defend education.

At a debate on fees in the Hist, another SU rep told us she was unable to express any opinion as it would violate the SU’s mandate! Yet another expressed sympathy for Ruairí Quinn, with those “unpalatable” decisions he “must” make.

This same minister has promised us that our younger brothers and

sisters will be paying an extra €1000 per year if they go to college. The two biggest student protests in a generation have gained us some ground; that the latest fee hike has been spaced out over four years is a clear signal that the government are scared. But it still represents yet another huge attack on students.

“The response of student leaders has been not to harden the opposition but retreat” However, student leaders’ response has been not to harden the opposition but to retreat. The culmination of this has been Bartlett’s call for disaffiliation from USI. This would end Trinity’s ability to campaign seriously, and only an SU President with zero interest in campaigning would even imagine such a move. Indeed, Bartlett quietly admitted during his election campaign that he saw no alternative to fees.

This is the moment, not to disengage

but to step up the opposition. The protests show that an appetite for struggle exists, and that appetite can only grow if a serious lead is given and a strategy explained. We need student strikes and walkouts all over the country. We need to co-ordinate with secondary school students. We need mass, determined, well-organized occupations. We need to stop putting on a suit and saying mildly “You should not be doing this.” We need to start insisting: “We will not allow you to do this.”

Our demand must be for free education and a living grant based on progressive taxation. Yes, this slogan puts us in direct conflict with the markets, the Troika and the rich in our own country. If someone can spell out some other demand that would satisfy the tens of thousands of students who have marched against fees, however, I will be all ears. Moreover, in taking a principled stand against marketprescribed austerity rather than demanding special treatment, we would find huge support from other hard-pressed groups, in Ireland and internationally.

Judge Wellington as we judge ourselves, by his deeds

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correspondent to the Irish Times Conal McMenamin (“Shining a Light on Wellington”, 16 August 2011) has written a most valuable letter about the Wellington monument in Phoenix Park, erected in 1861. There is certainly a need to shine a light on this Irishman, perhaps the greatest of all Irishmen. We may agree, I hope, that he is Irish. He was born in a 5* stables at 24 Upper Merrion Street that is now the site of the Merrion Hotel, the fourth son of Garret Wesley, Professor of Music at Trinity College Dublin (still Ireland’s premier university) on 1 May 1769 in an Ireland that was constitutionally distinct from Great Britain.

His paternal grandfather was Garret Colley from Carbury, Co.

24 January, 2012

Kildare, where the Colleys had resided since the Norman invasion of Ireland

A VIEW FROM NEW SQUARE

GERALD MORGAN

in 1169. Wellington (then Sir Arthur Wellesley KB) is the liberator of Portugal in 1808-1812, winning his first victory at Roliça against Delaborde on 17 August 1808 and a second victory against Junot at Vimeiro on 21 August 1808, thus clearing the way for the liberation of Lisbon/Lisboa from Napoleonic tyranny. He liberated Spain in 1812-1813 and we need only mention here the victories at Salamanca against Marmont on 22 July 1812 and at Vitoria against Joseph B(u)onaparte on 21 June 1813, for the roll-call of his triumphs is as long as that of Chaucer’s worthy knight. Finally, when Napoleon broke his solemn pledge in fleeing Elba, Wellington started again with a new army and liberated the whole of Europe, as some schoolboys still know, at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. Nor did he

forget his fellow Irishmen thereafter.

He sacrificed his premiership in the cause of Catholic Emancipation in Ireland in 1829 and O’Connell could not have succeeded without Wellington’s wholehearted support (intervening as he did with a lachrymose George IV).

Do you the Irish (for I am English, though a great admirer of the Irish) need “to forgive him for his utterances about his fellow countrymen” (McMenamin)? The point at issue here is whether Wellington ever disparaged the place of his birth. And who could possibly believe the absurd idea that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton? We must learn to face historical reality rather than cherish unverified and unverifiable anecdotes. Judge Wellington as we judge ourselves, by deeds and not by the words attributed

to him (perhaps by enemies envious of his fame).

On 18 June 2009 I attended a symposium of three lectures in College under the heading “Napoleon: Empire & Europe”. I waited patiently but in vain for the name of Wellington to be mentioned. No one gave him a passing thought. The audience preferred to dwell upon the Irish connections of a French tyrant rather than on an Irish conqueror and liberator (on a Creon rather than on a Theseus). We need to alter our perspective urgently if the whole of Europe is not to be enslaved once again. Trinity College Dublin, the alma mater of Edmund Burke, is a beacon of liberty in Europe and Wellington is the son of one of our sons. gmorgan1066@gmail.com

14 EDITORIAL HEAD TO HEAD: USI MEMBERSHIP REFERENDUM

TRINITY NEWS Est 1953 towards some revival of the collegiate spirit, which modern conditions tend to discourage

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UNIVERSITIES CANNOT HERALD CENSORSHIP THOSE who try to bend the free will of those in a university will inevitably fail – for it is this community above others that prizes self-determination.

Censorship in universities is an injustice suffered in totalitarian regimes across the world. Students in the Middle East continue to fight constraints on freedom of thought and expression imposed by their authoritarian leaders – across Syria, Egypt, Libya and elsewhere – on everything from the university curriculum to student organisations.

Until recently a Politics student in Libya would be fed propaganda from Gaddafi’s largely incomprehensible governmental guide, The Green Book, which rages against liberal democracy and places freedom of speech in the hands of state-controlled media. Syrian students faced violent clashes with security forces when it demonstrated against a military regime that blocks overseas news and pro-democracy websites.

Students and young people in this situation are not faced with a choice when it comes to their education; they are told what (not) to read, think, and express. Knowledge, as the paradigm of freedom, is ruthlessly oppressed.

It is therefore surprising to find that, in liberal democracies that impose no such constraints, it is the students themselves that feel it necessary to dictate what their fellows should read or be audience to.

In Trinity College, minute details of student life are steered in a certain direction by other members of the university, even its own Union.

It has become a matter of course, for example, that any product that the Students’ Union considers abhorrent will not be made available on the campus as far as its power dictates. Nestlé products will not be stocked in its shops, the Union says, due to human rights concerns – quite the headline grabber. A referendum was necessary to overturn the futile Coca Cola ban. A recent stint of refusing to stock the Irish Daily Mail reinforced this absurd policy – “we will use our elected mandate to covertly prevent you from making your own choice.”

It sends a clear message that students themselves, despite attending one of the world’s top universities, nevertheless lack the capacity to differentiate between right and wrong.

The issue of censorship in this university is a highly contentious one. While some argue freedom of speech should be taken at face value, others believe a platform should not be given should it cause offence or distress to others.

Whether it was right or wrong to side with the latter argument in the case of controversial figures like Nick Griffin and David Irving is moot – but it begs the question: where will the line be drawn?

While freedom of speech in Trinity bears no comparison to its counterparts in the Middle East, the principle remains the same. University students, by definition, should be encouraged to make their own informed choices.

The gift of freedom is a rare one in this world – and it is a shame for its principle to be squandered for no reason.

This point is particularly salient in liberal Ireland, which, it must be remembered, has only recently emerged from the ashes of press censorship.

Trinity graduates from the 1990s will remember a time when the media was not allowed to present homosexuality in a positive light, prior its legalisation in 1993. Although it was a ban flouted by the likes of Hot Press and InDublin, it took years of campaigning by pro-equality campaigners including David Norris and Mary McAleese to overturn the archaic law.

During this era, women’s magazines sold in the Republic were forced to blank out pages containing contact numbers for abortion clinics. As Trinity Students’ Union President, Ivana Bacik was taken to court for flouting this ban by providing information on abortion – a case which pro-life group SPUC eventually won.

In short, using a platform to deny the voice of others – however disagreeable or despicable their ideas may be – is a salute to the dark days of the censorship state.

“The USI helps illustrate students are a tangible element of society” RONAN RICHARDSON

There are times when I feel that actions carried out by our national student movement are counter-productive, trivial and achieve nothing but to copperfasten our stereotype as “rebellious students”. I need go no further than the foolish occupation attempted by Gary Redmond, amongst others. Thankfully Ryan Bartlett avoided stooping to such levels!

Events such as this cause me to feel ambivalent regarding USI membership. They make me feel that Trinity simply must take a stand; that we must illustrate our opposition and our more mature approach to dealing with the authorities by leaving the platform that is the USI. After the loss of so many members already and of Ireland’s premier university, the USI would surely lose any mandate to represent the interests of students in Ireland. Would this be advantageous to us? Can this improve student welfare and educational standards? We could establish some form of new national platform to express our views but, quite simply, why bother?

The USI often gives the appearance of being short-sighted and too quick to support popular trends amongst students without appropriate deliberation. Student politics is over democratic and hence over bureaucratic. This makes it akin to a slow, lumbering, official elephant. But the USI is by no means a white elephant. Every interest group in the nation is represented by a union of some manner. This is intrinsic to the way our society works and only until society is reformed to become more fluid can we ever begin to think of removing ourselves from the USI. Until then we sadly must remain within the Union and utilise it as a medium to lobby the government in our own interest.

Before last December’s budget, the USI and its members launched a campaign to lobby the government in the interest of students against

fee hikes and grant cuts. USI naysayers reasoned that Ireland simply can’t afford to pay for your college education at present, that as adults we must take responsibility for the nation and help contribute to filling the black hole that is Ireland’s budget deficit. This, however, is not the role that we need to play in society, nor is it the mandate of the USI to contribute to any form of financial solidarity. Every union lobbies the authorities for better conditions for its members, and why should we be any different? The USI helped to illustrate that the student population was an active, disaffected element of society. Rumours which cannot be clarified shot through the airwaves about hikes of up to €5,000. This figure was highly unlikely in reality. Maybe the extra €250 was in the pipeline anyway? Maybe the USI were successful in attempting to keep any increases to a minimum? Who are we to say. To look at it simplistically, the only way that the campaign could have hurt the student cause would be if the general public felt that students had no right to express their views. Apart from the odd maverick, this was not the case.

In less grandiose terms, the USI subtly but directly seeks to aid students. The USI provides training for our sabbatical officers, unavailable anywhere else. A case in point is the position of welfare officer. Each year he or she is trained to cope with a vast array of difficulties which confront students daily; for example, how to deal with suicidal students.

The problems within the USI lie in its structure and leadership. As a lobbying movement it provides a necessary link between us and them.

Trinity has the ability and calibre of students to work with the USI and endeavour to alleviate the flaws of the organisation – to change it into an efficient organisation with real national clout. This can only be achieved on the inside.

“Attempts by the USI to influence government policy are embarrassing” GRACE O’MALLEY

I AM quite excited by the prospect of a referendum on TCD’s affiliation to the USI. I’m even more excited about the likely result. Why? Well, there are many reasons – their incompetence and inefficiency impinges on all issues, big and small; from the way that they (attempt to) influence government policy, to the way that they communicate with their own members.

Attempts by the USI to influence government policy have been, at best, embarrassing and, at worst, irreparably damaging to the lobbying power of Irish students. They were entrusted with the power and responsibility of representing us to the government: to ensure that our needs were not just heard but that they were catered for; to ensure that the quality and access of education is not casually diminished through political convenience.

And have they lived up to these committments? You only have to look at the USI’s own campaign literature to see the history of registration fee (now “student contribution”) increases. You only have to look at their own campaign literature to see the cuts that third-level institutions are being forced to make across the country.

You’d imagine that if there was a strong case to be made against the increase of point-ofentry fees (which there is) then USI President Gary Redmond shouldn’t have too much difficulty making that argument to Labour Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn. Well, all he did was to take out full-page newspaper advertisements calling him, his party, and coalition colleagues liars (which is obviously the clever thing to do to someone who you’re trying to win over).

One would imagine that the cornerstones of such a campaign should be facts and figures: the reasons why the USI believes fees are bad; the reasons why they believe that education (particularly third-level) needs to be funded to the fullest possible level; the reasons why the USI believes this money should be spent despite the budgetary requirements that the government

has to deal with.

This should not be a particularly difficult argument to make to a Labour Minister; especially one who signed a pre-election pledge to oppose third-level fees. Yet, when Gary Redmond was given a national platform on RTE’s Prime Time to express his arguments directly, the best he could do was to break out the props. You see, the cornerstone of the USI’s campaign was not facts and figures. The cornerstone of the USI’s campaign was not reasoned argument. The whole campaign was based on waving around a picture of Ruairí Quinn signing the USI pledge.

Then when Gary Redmond was asked where the money for third-level education could come from (not exactly an unexpected question), the best he could do was to reference the cost of payslips (not salaries; physical payslips).

The above highlights of the woeful campaign were followed by USI-led occupations of government buildings. The Labour Party HQ was the original target, until they were defeated by an unexpected locked door. This took place the day before they were supposed to actually meet with the Labour Party.

You, me and every other TCD student is currently paying for the privilege to be a part of this.

We are paying over €100,000 a year to support their ridiculous, ineffective campaigns. This needs to be put to an end. There are some who may argue that Trinity needs a national campaign presence. I agree, we do need a national campaign presence. The USI, however, are not providing us with one. They would be doing the same thing regardless of whether or not we were affiliated with them. They don’t represent us, and they don’t care that they don’t represent us. It should be at our discretion whether or not to get involved in any of their campaigns.

Trinity Students’ Union is more than capable of doing something far more productive with this money if we give them the opportunity to do so. We need to do better. We can do better. And without the USI, we will do better.

TRINITY NEWS

15 letters@trinitynews.ie

LETTERS

Letters should be sent to letters@trinitynews.ie or to Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2. We reserve the right to edit submissions for style and length. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Trinity News.

LETTERS@TRINITYNEWS.IE

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST Dear students – AS TEACHING term begins I would like to wish you a happy new year. In looking ahead at 2012, I am confident that Trinity will continue to excel despite the many challenges we face.

What we have to offer has never been more needed – a sound education driven by a commitment to research and scholarly enquiry.

I am pleased to report that we will be able to appoint and promote staff and continue our postgraduate studentships in spite of the difficult financial climate in which we are operating.

This is due to the ongoing strategic management of College’s budget. The annual accounts presented last week by the Treasurer to the Audit Committee showed that Trinity had a breakeven situation; notwithstanding this, however, the future will be difficult as we are facing considerable financial challenges after yet another substantial cut in the block grant from government. This is made up to some extent by the increased student contribution but nonetheless indicates decreased government funding. We must continue to secure College’s future financial viability and seek new funding opportunities.

Two major College initiatives currently underway are the development of a Global Relations Strategy and the START programme to redesign the College’s administration. Along with our existing structures and dedication of our staff, these initiatives will put

Trinity in a strong position to continue to serve Irish society and the wider world as it has done throughout its long history.

Some College highlights in the forthcoming months include celebrating the tercentenary of the Old Library, its history and collections, and Dublin celebrating the European City of Science. Trinity will also contribute to the celebrations surrounding Ireland’s involvement in the 2012 Olympic Games and I will inform you of further details in due course. I hope you will be able to join in some of the events around these occasions.

Universities like Trinity are about creating opportunity for the students who study here, and for the wider society that supports our work. These opportunities are varied in their nature: educational opportunities are obviously paramount, but the outcomes of research and scholarship create opportunities and benefits for society as a whole. Many of you are also directly engaged with society in sporting, the arts, volunteering and public outreach initiatives and I would like to underline the value College gives to these activities.

I look forward to hearing about these experiences and your ideas about how to create more opportunities through continuing to meet staff and student groups on a regular basis.

I wish you well in your endeavours for 2012.

UNION VOTE IS LONG OVERDUE

THIS TIME IN HISTORY

Madam – I AM amazed that it has taken this long for our Union to consider its position as part of the USI. As a former student at the University of Limerick, I did not pay a USI levy and have not been adversely affected as a result.

Trinity is a large and well-respected university whose students can easily stand on their own to gain a platform.

I hope that this student vote will result in the college’s students no longer being required to be a part of this hyperbolic and uncompromising ‘national’ body.

Yours, etc.

UL Graduate (2006), TCD M.Phil Candidate.

Trinity News: Thursday, 25 April 1968 Volume XV, No. 16 THE article reads: “Developments planned for Trinity include a lecture complex for Arts and Social Sciences, extensions to the library, several additional science buildings and a Students’ Union.

Myles Wright, Professor of Civic Design at Liverpool University and advisor for Dublin City Council was asked last year to draw up a plan for the future development of Trinity based on the estimated growth rate in student numbers.”

This was written exactly a year before the Arts Building was completed in 1978, to house the growing student population. The structure is an epitome of the Brutalist style, which uses concrete and angular geometries to create a structure that is raw and functional. The façade of the building was originally meant to represent the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but the concrete proved too acidic for plants to grow atop it.

Best regards, Dr Patrick Prendergast

The rowing career of ‘Jack’ Langrishe sent to India in 1908 as a medical officer with the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons.

His rowing career did not end then.

While on leave from army duty in 1909,

he stroked a RAMC four to victory at a regatta held in Nainital, a hill station in the Himalaya foothills. pehenry@tcd.ie

OLD TRINITY PETER HENRY

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angrishe, John Du Pessis, was captain of the Dublin University Boat Club in 1966. He is pictured here standing by the Liffey.

“Jack” was seven-man in the crew who won the Thames Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1903, one of only two Henley wins for Trinity in the 20th century.

Langrishe is wearing the uniform of the senior eight: a black and white striped zephyr with a royal blue badge bearing the college’s arms, white shorts, and black and white striped socks.

This uniform is entirely unchanged since then. The Boat Club senior eight’s members will be seen kitted out exactly like Langrishe when they face UCD in the Gannon Cup at O’Connell Bridge on Monday, 19 March.

Langrishe came up to Trinity in 1901 and took his degree in 1906.

His year as captain was a disappointment. A strong Bann Rowing Club eight dominated on Irish waters, and despite coaching from Cambridge Blue CJD Goldie that year, Trinity’s senior eight were no match for Bann in the University Grand Challenge Cup event at the home DUBC Regatta.

After graduating, Langrishe joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and was

24 January, 2012

After graduating Langrishe joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and posted to India

Langrishe beside the Liffey in 1904, possibly in Ringsend, the year he captained DUBC

The crew relaxing at Henley (L-R: Langrishe, Emerson Bate, Frank Usher (C) Mick Leahy and Arthur MicNight. All photos courtesy of DUBC

16 SCIENCE science@trinitynews.ie WILDLIFE

The smallest spine in the animal kingdom RESEARCHERS from Louisiana State University recently discovered the smallest vertebrate in the world on the floor of a New Guinean tropical rainforest. The diminutive creature is a fog measuring roughly 7.7 millimetres called Paedophryne amauensis. This discovery beats the previous record holder, Paedocypris progenetica, a small fish measuring 8 millimetres.

Scientists hope that it will help them to better understand the limitations of a backbone at extreme body sizes. It was previously thought that very small or very large vertebrates, such as the blue whale, had to be aquatic, but terrestrial Paedophryne amauensis throws this hypothesis into question.

How do you like your meat done?

Joan Somers Donnelly on the latest biologically engineered upgrade in food processing

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PHYSICS

The bonus boson

A GROUP from the University of Birmingham have discovered the first new particle in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The particle concerned is a boson called Chi-b(3P) and was found using the ATLAS detector. Chi-b(3P) is involved in the formation of the beauty quark and its antiparticle, two of the building blocks of subatomic particles.

This new particle gives insights into the strong nuclear forces that hold quarks and anti-quarks together and it is hoped that it will bring us a step closer to understanding how the universe itself is held together.

“In vitro meat is 100% muscle combined with protein. There are no hormones, salmonella, E.coli, or antibiotics”

ould you eat a lab-grown burger? How about a sci-fi sausage? Well, form an orderly line, because the world’s first lab-grown sausage is due to appear in mid-2012 and the first burger will follow by the end of the year if all goes to plan. “In vitro meat” – also known as petri pork, beaker bacon and Frankenburger – is defined as an animal flesh product that has never been part of a complete, living animal.

This is not the same as imitation meat, which is a vegetarian food produced from vegetarian protein.

Most meat is animal muscle; so in vitro meat is made from muscle cells to which a protein is applied in order to help them grow into meat portions.

These meaty morsels may not sound very appetising, but they could be the answer to conserving animal lives, water, energy and the planet itself, as well as feeding a growing population.

According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN, the total area occupied by livestock grazing is equal to 26% of the land surface of the planet: quite a chunk, in other words.

This does not include land occupied by feed crops, which accounts for 33% of all cropland. In addition to this, livestock contribute 9% of the total emissions of carbon dioxide, 37% of methane and 65% of nitrous oxide.

Did someone say global warming?

Not to mention the fact that millions of cows and pigs and chickens are killed every year. This is why animal welfare groups are generally in favour of in vitro meat. In 2008, PETA offered a $1 million prize to the first company that brought lab-grown chicken meat to consumers by June 2012.

All in all, growing meat in labs

Scientists are using proteins to help grow muscle cells artificially

doesn’t sound like too bad a solution.

At the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, scientist Mark Post and his research team take cells from pigs and feed them on sugars, amino acids, lipids and other tasty minerals. They give the strips of tissue daily workouts using Velcro (bizarrely) to give them the same constitution as real muscle.

At the moment the limited ability of the pig muscle cell to multiply means that they have to extract fresh supplies regularly, but research into other types of pig cell at Utrecht University, also in the Netherlands, could soon solve this.

The main obstacle facing this industry-to-be at present is its image. Lab-grown meat just isn’t natural. But how much less natural is it than the cheap processed meat of supermarkets, which is the daily sustenance of so many?

For one thing, in vitro meat is 100% muscle. This means there are no hormones, salmonella, E.coli, campylobacter, mercury, dioxins or antibiotics. Inevitably though, producers will add flavouring to appeal to their customers’ tastes.

The few people who have tasted in vitro meat to date haven’t given it stellar reviews, so working on the flavouring and nutritional content will be hugely important in the build-up to releasing a commercial product.

If punters don’t like their first taste of in vitro, it’s unlikely that they’ll be coming back for seconds.

And then you have the hardcore carnivores, part of whose pleasure in tucking into a steak surely stems from the knowledge that an animal was killed to produce it. It follows that there will probably always be a market for the real deal.

Ideally the conversation about in vitro meat, which won’t be on our shelves for a while yet, will continue, and there will be some kind of transparency in the development process, allowing the public to see what they will be consuming.

It is more likely though that on some undetermined day in the near future you will unknowingly be biting into a chicken nugget that has never even met a chicken.

HEALTH

Why humans like alcohol so much RESEARCHERS at the University of California San Francisco think they have discovered the secret behind the effects of alcohol in the brain. It has long been known that drinking alcohol releases endorphins – proteins with opiate-like effects – in the brain; however a recent study by the San Francisco group has been able to pinpoint which areas of the brain the endorphins affect using advanced imaging techniques before and after alcohol consumption. It shows which areas are associated with pleasure and which are associated with intoxication.

These findings are the first direct evidence in humans of how alcohol makes us feel good.

TECHNOLOGY

Time cloak which can cover up events RESEARCHERS at Cornell University have created a temporal cloak, a device capable of covering up an event in a beam of light. The process works to manipulate the light by introducing two new pulses to split the beam, creating a gap, then introducing two more to close it again with no overall change to the signal. So far the longest gap has been 15 picoseconds. This new technology could have applications in data transmission, such as inserting a new signal without interrupting data flow, or, one day, navigating a security net such as in the movie Entrapment.

Windows, tablets, tiles and charms Jawad A. Anjum takes a sneak peek at Windows 8, the “cutting-edge” operating system due to be released this year Touch. Windows 8 is all about touch.

We’ve gone from using our hands, to pens, to keyboards, to the mouse, and right back to our hands again. Touch is incorporated right through Windows 8. In fact, Microsoft first revealed it on tablets. I don’t have a tablet to test it on and neither will most new users so the experience of new features is somewhat limited.

Windows 8 is a dichotomy. On one hand, there’s your standard Windows 7 upgraded with a whole host of improvements and novelties. However, the game-changing aspect is the “metro”-style user interface. It can feel a little awkward navigating this new format with a mouse and keyboard.

Here, Microsoft is very much betting on touch as the future of personal computing – if it is, the experience can only get better as touch becomes the

primary interface.

First off, it boots up like the Road Runner compared to previous Windows and you won’t need a new computer to run it. Those familiar with Windows 7 smartphones will instantly feel at home with the new interface. This stylish new start page shows “live tiles”: apps, RSS feeds, weather, calendar and email that are constantly giving you real-time information. Facebook, Twitter and other social media are built in as a core component of the new format – you can “share” almost anything, anywhere.

It’ll be interesting to see how software developers utilise this.

The new lock screen shows a custom picture you can program to swipe in a certain pattern to unlock in lieu of a An idyllic setting for the leaked start screen preview of Windows 8 password: e.g. if you have a picture of a river, to unlock the screen, you might within the desktop as well as better file taskbar. The handy start search menu run your finger along the bank of the management: for example, it’s possible is gone. For searches, you launch a river. See what I mean about using it on to “pause” while copying files. In search “charm” instead. The metro a tablet? For the rest of us, you’ll find addition, the task manager looks less UI and traditional windows are quite yourself heavily reliant on keyboard like hieroglyphics, a useful advantage distinct and it can be very awkward dealing with this bilingual experience. shortcuts where touch would normally Also, like in most smartphones, you be used. can’t really close metro apps; you just Everything is moving into the move them to the background. almighty, omnipresent “Cloud”. With At this point, a disclaimer is needed: the new Windows store, applications This article is based on the “developer you install are available on all Windows preview”. It’s not the final version of 8 devices you use. The same applies to the software and various additions your files, via “Skydrive”.

A few other improvements include: in preventing specific programs and alterations are expected before the final release, which is due sometime native USB 3.0 support, the “ribbon” hogging your system’s resources.

I do think there are a few minor this year. Having said that, what I’ve system used in Microsoft Office, a simplified control panel, not needing annoyances: multi-tasking is very test driven so far has been genuinely a CD to reinstall Windows, the ability difficult in the metro UI and the start innovative, aesthetically pleasing, and to run other operating systems from button launches metro instead of the all-round a fantastic user experience.

“Microsoft is betting on touch as the future of personal computing”

Stephen Keane, Deputy Science Editor The system has a host of new features

TRINITY NEWS

TRAVEL 17

travel@trinitynews.ie

To ski or not to ski?

T

hat is the question.

Whether you have never skied before or learnt soon after you could walk, one thing is certain: be it good, bad, fun or terrifying, you have an opinion on skiing.

Another certainty is that in the first few days of Hilary Term you became aware that this year’s Trinity ski trip recently returned from Les Arcs. With them floated the usual cloud of revelry, gossip and scandal expected when 400+ Irish students are taken abroad, laced with cheap alcohol and given free range of a holiday resort. Thus, whatever your view, and however experienced you are at skiing, it can be assumed that its reputation precedes it.

In the Alps, skiing seems to be associated either with student SKI TRIP TIPS: THE RIGHT RESORT Best beginner-friendly resort Serre Chevalier and La Plagne in France, as well as most Andorran and Italian resorts Best advanced resort Try Portes du Soleil in France, St. Moritz in Switzerland or Austria’s St. Anton Most reliable for snow Espace Killy and Le Trois Valées in France, Les Diablorets and Saas Fée in Switzerland Best for après ski Val d’Isere and Meribel in France, St. Anton in Austria or Verbier in Switzerland Best all-rounders Chamonix and Courcheval in France, Pyrénées in Andorra, Four Vallées in Switzerland

24 January, 2012

debauchery or the snobby types who dominate various ski resorts and ensure your holiday is filled with overbearingly plummy voices and preppy get up. It is understandable if at first skiing does not appeal to you.

However, I hope to persuade you that skiing is, quite simply, the best holiday of the year. Those already converted will agree that nothing quite beats a week skiing. Even if there is no snow.

Ski resorts could more accurately be described as winter playgrounds for all ages. Skiing and snowboarding are the common factor in every resort, but each resort is different in character and charm. Some have a more traditional air, such as St. Anton in Austria and Zermatt in Switzerland. Others, like Avoriaz and Tignes in France, are more modern in feel.

Most are also equipped for an abundance of activities besides snow sports. Eating out is certainly one favoured Alpine activity. Here you can dine like royalty, although as students the best course may be to befriend either a chef or an oligarch. Aside from drinking, eating and skiing, there is plenty more to get up to. Gone are the whiteout days of the 80s, when everyone sat around idly waiting for blue skies to appear again. Non-skiers can shop ’til they drop on streets full of Alpine fashion and designer

brands, ski kit and souvenirs, or relax away their aches, pains and hangovers in a spa, pool or sauna. Urbanites can go to the movies (in English in many resorts), frequent a bowling alley (inconceivably fun, in France there is generally a bar with table service) or take a scenic train or bus ride to the nearest big town. Those into music can go to a local gig by a touring band or even partake in some karaoke.

For extra thrills an attempted luge run on toboggans is always fun. The possibilities are many and varied.

Skiing is a phenomenon because it is not just a sport, but can be a lifestyle, combining competition, adrenaline and even fashion. This carefree sport is able to cater for anyone and everything.

Think people care that you can’t ski – they don’t. If you think you’re wearing the wrong clothes in a scene where retro is king and no one knows what the right clothes are – you’re wrong.

It is almost impossible not to fit in.

The only thing people care about is whether you’re having a good time, making it one of the most inclusive sports around.

Skiing elates you. The adrenaline rush you get from racing down the hill at speed, the satisfaction at improving one step at a time from unsure

DUCSS SKI: A TRIP TO REMEMBER

beginner to “skieur extraordinaire”, the joy of skiing with family friends; it is an experience well worth your time.

Don’t be put off if you can’t yet ski, or don’t think you’re good enough. It only takes one partner in crime of the same standard to ensure a successful week, on and off the pistes.

At the end of the day, your efforts on the hill are rewarded by a hardearned drink: enter the world of aprèsski. This traditional afternoon session is frequented by skiers, non-skiers, OAPs and kids alike. Maybe its the altitude and Alpine air, the relaxation after a hard day’s exercise, the thirst quenching, or simply just the novelty of being able to use your feet for walking and dancing (preferably on table tops) again, this Alpine specialty is a must. There are no limits to what can happen in après-ski bars, from live-music to long-arming pitchers and human pyramid assembling. For those up for a challenge, beginning at aprèsski and enduring a whole night out in ski gear is not unheard of.

So, if you haven’t already, start saving now. Take advantage of a Ryanair sale, beg, borrow or steal for ski kit and gather as many as you can squeeze into an apartment. The answer of “to ski or not to ski” is, of course, ski.

THERE are not many things in life that a student would get out of bed at five am for, but the DUSSC Ski Trip is one of them. Thirtysix hours and two ferries later we arrived in Les Arcs to fresh powder on the ground from the previous night’s snowfall. After the mammoth task of getting boots fitted and the correct skis for all 450 of us on the trip, it was time to get our costumes on for the night ahead, something that became a regular occurrence throughout the week.

Every night brought something new as the themes just kept rolling, from “Where’s Wally” onwards. It wasn’t only our nightly trips to The Red Hot Saloon or club Apocalypse that constituted life off the slopes.

An aperitif started après-ski perfectly, and was the best way to end a day on the slopes; everyone did their utmost to get to the Arpette to enjoy the €2.50 mulled wine.

Despite perfect conditions and breathtaking scenery, for the 200 beginners on the trip, the first day’s skiing started apprehensively. But by the end of the week they were flying.

For those of us who deemed ourselves to be pros, we quickly got our ski or snowboard legs back. Some people skied with cameras attached onto their helmets, capturing some sweet moments, from first-time 360s to people throwing themselves down black runs.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t enjoy the trip. Really the only low point was going home, and I can say without a doubt everyone on the trip will have already started saving for next year.

Aileen O’Riada

18 SPORTS FEATURES sportsfeatures@trinitynews.ie

The ones to watch in 2012 In the first part of a look at the year ahead, Sarah Burns and Conor Bates tip off the most promising sportspeople in Gaelic games, soccer, rugby, golf, tennis and sport stateside

GAELIC GAMES Donegal Gaelic Football Team and Anthony Daly’s Dublin hurlers are set for success LAST year’s hotly anticipated AllIreland football semi-final between Donegal and Dublin descended into jeers and shouts of frustration from the 81,436 spectators as they watched Dublin labour past Donegal on a surreal score line of 0-8 to 0-6.

In a game which saw Donegal play with 14 men in their own half, Dublin managed to knock over only two points from play. Jim McGuinness, the Donegal manager, came under huge criticism afterwards, most notably from Kerry legend and RTÉ pundit Pat Spillane, who quipped at halftime: “Remember that tribe in Iraq, the Shi’ite tribe? Well, we’ve been watching Shi’ite football.”

While Ulster counties such as Tyrone and Armagh are renowned for their defensive style of play, Donegal were unanimously condemned by commentators for the unattractive football they played all

season.

However, had Donegal not played this defensive strategy last summer, would they have gone as far as they did in the Championship?

Definitely not. This summer we will wait to see whether McGuinness’s side continue to play with such determined defence and if any other counties outside Ulster decide to try such a strategy following Donegal’s rather successful example.

Unlike other years the Dublin hurling team under Clareman Anthony Daly are a force to be reckoned with this summer and are serious contenders for the Liam McCarthy Cup. Ever since Daly took over in 2008,

Dublin have shown constant improvement and secured their first league title since 1939 last May. With confidence in their ability growing apace over the last number of years, former Dublin football stars such as Conal Keaney and Shane Ryan have jumped ship to play hurling, while Ross O’Carroll is another recent defection to the small ball.

The Dubs showed real class in their All-Ireland campaign last year with an impressive win over Limerick, while falling just four points short against Tipperary in the semi-finals.

With former captain Stephen Hiney looking unlikely to play any major part in the county’s season, Dubs fans can at least look forward to the return of Keaney and Tomás Brady, who look likely to be togging out again

by June.

GOLF It’s a tough year ahead for McIlroy and Donald: will either capture a major title?

2012 HOLDS many great prospects for golf. With the long season underway, the best in the world will once again face a year of tough courses and tougher competition in their endeavour to be the best.

The man who currently sits atop the world rankings is Englishman Luke Donald. Donald had a blockbuster year in 2011, winning the Race to Dubai, being awarded the PGA Player of the Year, European

Tour Golfer of the Year, and capturing victories in both tour’s money lists: a truly outstanding achievement. This year, the smoothswinging star will hope to capture any of the four majors which have eluded him to date. He will be joined in this quest by fellow countryman and world n u m b e r 2, Lee Westwood: both have yet to add m a j o r their vast collections o f accolades.

a to

TENNIS Murray will edge ever closer to Grand Slam glory WHILE Andy Murray is ranked No.4 in the tennis world rankings, the Scotsman has yet to win a Grand Slam despite reaching three Grand Slam Finals since 2008. While many have criticised Murray for being a “choker”, constantly succumbing to the pressure, Murray hit back last summer via Twitter, stating: “Enjoying listening to the golf commentary, calm, positive, entertaining, insightful and no big egos ... Refreshing.”

However, under the watchful eye of coach Ivan Lendl, Murray looks to be edging that bit closer to Grand Slam glory, having

already won the Brisbane International in Australia this year.

Lendl, who has won eight Grand Slams himself, rejected numerous coaching offers before finally agreeing to start working with Murray last December.

Parallels have been drawn between both players as Lendl lost in four Grand Slam finals before claiming his first, in the 1984 French Open.

Can Murray follow his example? An exciting year awaits Murray, especially with the Olympics kicking off in London this July.

Northern Irish prodigy, Rory McIlroy, will also be hoping to capture another major; having imploded at the Masters last year, it’s safe to assume that McIlroy would dearly desire to lay claim to this, arguably the most prestigious major.

To cap off 2012 in the golfing world, the Ryder Cup takes place in September. This year’s competition will see Europe attempt to retain the trophy in Illinois.

With the top four ranked players in the world coming from Europe, will home advantage be enough for America to stymie the reigning champions?

SOCCER Manchester City FOR THE first time in many years, half a Premier League season has ended and we are no closer to knowing who will win the title.

In arguably the most captivating season to date, the popular opinion is that one of three teams will lift the coveted trophy.

With a selection of stars capable of devastating any defence and some truly glorious performances under their belt, Manchester City top the Premier League. Local rivals, Manchester United, however, are at their heels. United are less likely to win the title this season as they have been ravaged by injuries in midfield. The return of Paul Scholes is an indication of United’s desperation, and unless these issues resolve themselves quickly, their campaign could fall by the wayside.

The joker in the pack is Tottenham. Harry Redknapp has brought his Midas touch to the north London club and there is definitely a case to be made for Spurs winning their first league title in over 40 years. Great players and

strong performances thus far could see them emerge victorious in what will probably be a straight shoot-out against City for the biggest prize in domestic football.

The feature of this summer’s football is the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.

After romping home to victory in the playoffs, the Republic of Ireland can now embrace their first major competition in 10 years. Giovanni Trapattoni has guided the boys in green away from the heartbreak of “that goal” in Paris, and Ireland now find themselves in a group with Italy, Croatia and reigning European and World Champions, Spain.

The Irish, being eternal optimists, do have a hope of qualifying. Ireland have proven their mettle against Italy in recent years, and Croatia are definitely beatable. The obvious pitfall is Spain, but with a good crop of young and experienced talent there is no reason why Ireland cannot qualify for the quarter-finals, and beyond.

RUGBY France tipped to improve after a disappointing 2011 AFTER A disappointing Six Nations and rather ambivalent World Cup, Les Bleus will be hoping to return to winning ways under their new coach Philippe SaintAndre. And what better way to start their year than with the fresh faces

of Clermont’s Wesley Fofana and Toulouse’s Yoann Maestri, who are both in France’s Six Nations squad for 2012.

With new blood in the pack France can also look forward to the return of Lionel Beauxis at fly-half and prop Vincent Debaty, while Biarritz captain Imanol Harinordoquy looks to have recovered from his knee injury.

Saint-Andre, a previous captain for France who has the nickname “Le Goret”, or “the Pig”, will be hoping to add to the nine Grand Slams France have clocked up.

Having won their last in 2010, France will be eager to prove they are again the team to beat in the Six Nations. They kick off their campaign against Italy next month in Paris, and will be looking to atone for their shocking 22-21 defeat in Rome last year.

US SPORTS Look out for Los Angeles – with CJ Wilson and Albert Pujols AS 2012 starts in America we are always welcomed by the “Greatest Show on Turf”.

This year’s Super Bowl promises to live up to its name as two exciting teams will combat for the muchcoveted title of NFL champion.

The biggest disappointment of

the playoffs was the elimination of Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers – currently NFL champions – who posted the best record in the regular season before succumbing to the New York Giants.

The Miami Heat will look to go one better than last year and try to secure the NBA Championship after last year’s heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Miami Heat’s dream team of Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James will seek to exercise their talent and bring home only a second championship to the faithful fans of Miami basketball.

The biggest thing to watch in American sport this year is the city of Los Angeles. The LA Angels have been very active in the offseason. The “Halos” have added pitcher CJ Wilson, previously pitcher for the Texas Rangers, to

a rotation that already includes Dan Haren and Jered Weaver and, more significantly, “future Hall of Famer” Albert Pujols, who is on a contract of $25m a year. Pujols was voted the “most feared hitter in baseball” according to a poll of MLB managers.

This year will also see ground broken on a new stadium, signalling the return of American football to LA.

TRINITY NEWS

COLLEGE SPORT 19 collegesport@trinitynews.ie

Jumping for Ireland College Sport Editor James Hussey speaks with Nicola Fitzgibbon, Irish equestrian international and competitor in the 2011 Aga Khan – the Trinity graduate reflects on her time in Dublin and love of horse riding

T “I feel that the student competitions really helped me along.

DU Equestrian Club is very successful”

he sport of equestrianism is one that, it can perhaps be said, draws more curiosity than fervent support across the world.

In Ireland however, horse riding is not merely a pastime, it is intertwined with the history and culture of our nation. The stories of our mythology and Keating’s tales are as far as one needs to go to see the depth of this land’s relationship with all things equine.

Nicola FitzGibbon, a graduate of Electronic Engineering in Dublin University, is at the forefront of Ireland’s next generation of horse riders. 2011 has been an incredible year for the young Kildare competitor, with her career going from strength to strength on the back of her horse, Puissance.

“Puissance has been my horse for the last seven years, since he was seven years old. He has undoubtedly had the biggest impact on my career, especially with the unexpected achievements of the past 12 months.

We are so comfortable with each other at this stage. He can be cheeky at times but we know each other so well that we enhance the other’s performance.”

The highlight of 2011 for Nicola was her appearance in the Dublin Horse Show, namely being picked for the squad of four riders for the Aga Khan trophy.

“The Aga Khan was the most unbelievable experience I’ve had in

Nicola Fitzgibbon competes in Dublin on her horse, Puissance, which she says has had the biggest impact on her career

my sporting life. It was amazing to be there and to compete in front of the crowds assembled in the RDS was just such a special occasion. To get on the squad of five was fantastic, but to be named to the squad of four and compete for the Aga Khan trophy was indescribable, just a fantastic feeling.”

The upward trajectory of Nicola’s career has been constant since her days in Trinity. This was foreshadowed by her commitment and performances as part of DU’s Equestrian Club. As an elite college representative, Nicola qualified for a bursary payment from DUCAC and competed in many student riding competitions during her tenure in Dublin University.

“I feel that the student competitions I took part in really helped me along.

As a society, DU Equestrian Club was very successful, winning Colours for consecutive years. I made so many friends through the club and cannot speak enough about how much I enjoyed that aspect of horse riding.

“In terms of my time as an Irish international during my years in Trinity, I came 3rd at the World

Nations Cup held in Dundalk. This qualified me to compete at the World Student Games in South Korea where, as part of Team Ireland, we were overall winners. A fantastic experience, topped off with an excellent result for everyone involved.”

The strengths and weaknesses of horse riding in Ireland are to the fore throughout our conversation.

Our country, as in many other events, punches above its weight, and the usual question of funding is never far from the minds of those closest involved with the sport.

“Horse riding is such an important part of our heritage and this strong tradition is reflected in the numbers of riders that are members of Show Jumping Ireland. The talent and natural ability of many of our young riders is unquestionable, it is the financial issues that hold us back.

“The need for top quality horses is an acute one, I have only one horse at my disposal in Puissance, but the top internationals can have four or five horses of the highest standard at their beck and call. Despite our strengths in the sport, there are just too many

I saw three ships come sailing in George Tetley takes us to Dun Laoghaire as Trinity’s Sailors braved the cold for the Irish sailing championships

24 January, 2012

THE COMMENTARY BOX

match report: rugby

DUAFC – 6 DLSP – 3

T

he cold mornings and rough seas heralded by winter are unwelcome to most, but a few brave souls, namely Trinity’s sailors, have continuously braved the elements in Dun Laoghaire. The club looks to build on the successes of the past year.

Just three years ago Dublin University Sailing Club (DUSC) won the grand slam; the Irish University Sailing Association championships, and came third in the Worlds. Having already competed in two events this year, one in Dingle and the second in Blessington, the seafaring group will look to consolidate their heritage at the highest level of collegiate sailing.

The year’s first competition was treated as a warm-up exercise for this talented batch of sailors.

Minimal training beforehand, and the compulsory initiation process took their toll on some of our newer members. The 1st team managed to reach the semi-final in the gold fleet and the 3rds the same stage in the bronze league (all competing teams are divided into three or four separate fleets based on their respective rankings).

After some more practice on the

people worldwide looking for an everdecreasing pool of elite horses.”

Unfaltering dedication and a strong relationship with her horse have marked Nicola Fitzgibbon out as one to watch in horse riding going forward. An excellent performance at the Aga Khan, coupled with ever-improving results in events throughout the year, has shown the potential she holds as part of Ireland’s equestrian team. When asked about the future, Nicola feels it is important to recognise the impact of 2011.

“I really was surprised by my performances this year and just took things as they came along on a weekly basis. Although it is hard to look beyond the winter break, hopefully I can continue my form into 2012 and see where I go from there.”

Exciting times lie ahead for the Trinity graduate, promising a bright future for Irish horse riding. In the knowledge that many challenges lie ahead at this elite level, Nicola Fitzgibbon is undaunted, and with the help of Puissance plans a successful career at the peak of her sport.

DUSC members won silver and bronze titles at the competition attended by other Irish universities including UCD and UL

water, five teams from Trinity headed to Blessington for the second IUSA event of the year. Conditions were perfect; the racing was organised in a slick and professional manner by our alumnus John Downey, and with clement weather this proved one of the best events in recent years. DUSC were more successful here: the 1st team this time placed third overall, behind strong opposition from the University of Limerick and University College Dublin. In the lower fleets, our 3rds and 5ths took the silver and bronze league titles respectively, proving there is great strength in depth throughout the club.

DUSC opened its arms to all over Freshers Week, and a large intake of

beginners shows promise for strong years ahead in the club. Many of these have taken part in lessons organised with the Irish National Sailing School, a centre in Dun Laoghaire that offers a very preferential rate to Trinity sailors.

The new year has started promisingly for the club. Teams will travel to two IUSA events, the second being the intervarsities, this year organised by Dublin University.

Winter coaching has sharpened the skills of Trinity’s sailors, with major competitions only four weeks away.

Trials are ongoing, with a view to selecting Dublin University’s strongest side for the ultra-competitive events.

The weekend-long competition will be held in Westport, Co. Mayo.

DUSC will also travel to Exeter to compete in their invitational event, the Excalibar. Club members are eager to cut their teeth in the British university racing scene, where a higher standard provides a better indication of the club’s ability on an international stage.

To further strengthen links across the pond we look to start up a Trinity College invitational event, in which the club would like to include British universities, alumni and some of our usual adversaries.

This is a big year for DUSC, with more on the agenda than there has been in recent years. Hopefully the hard work will pay off, culminating in a Colours victory at the end of the season.

TRINITY played DLSP in a top of the table clash on Saturday 10 December.

On a very sticky and muddy College Park surface the game was dominated by defence with Trinity eventually claiming a 6-3 victory thanks to the boot of captain David Joyce. They dominated possession and territory throughout and once again prevented any tries being conceded despite at one point being reduced to 13 men by two simultaneous yellow cards. The win brought them to the top of the table for the first time since the fabled days of Jamie Heaslip eight years ago. Trinity’s defensive record has played an important role in this success as it has been outstanding to date, conceding only 75 points in 8 games. This is the lowest amount of points conceded by any club in all 3 AIL leagues.

Promotion beckons if the team can keep their heads through the coming months. An away fixture to Thomond in the rugby heartland of Munster on Saturday 28 January will test their mettle.

Dominic Gallagher, DUFC

collegesport@trinitynews.ie

SPORT

Water Polo team win continues perfect season Daire O’Driscoll Contributing Reporter

WHENEVER the world’s toughest sports are discussed, one can be guaranteed that the likes of rugby, hurling and boxing will be mentioned.

According to ESPN and Sports Illustrated, however, these games pale in comparison to one sport. That sport is water polo.

The nine-time Olympic gold medallist Mark Spitz described water polo players as “having the overarm accuracy of a baseball pitcher, the vertical accuracy of a volleyball player, the toughness of a rugby and hockey player, the endurance of a crosscountry skier and the strategy of a chess player”. Baring this in mind, the Dublin University Water Polo club could be considered to house the toughest athletes on campus and the men of the Trinity water polo team are out to prove that this hypothesis is not simply rhetoric.

Trinity Water Polo took a huge stride towards claiming the National League title last weekend as they maintained their 100% win record this season. The team, captained by Californian Iain Fisher, had an air of invincibility around them as they put an imposing 16 goals past Setanta W.P.C. in the National Aquatic Centre in Abbotstown.

The Trinity team has a hugely international flavour with players from the US, France, Germany, England, Spain, Italy and Hungary. It was the third-year Hungarian student Daniel Dalicsek that shined brightest against Setanta, the Budapest native putting four goals past the Setanta team.

Dalicsek offered up the game’s most

The Trinity team captained by Iain Fisher put 16 goals past Setanta WPC in the Aquatic Centre in Abbotstown

memorable goal with a delightful shot in which he collected the ball off a rebound and back to the goal put the ball flying past the helpless Setanta goalkeeper. There was a bittersweet element to the game however, as the team said goodbye to two stalwarts in Rafa Ramos and Anis Jendoubi, who are both returning home this month.

Jendoubi gave his usual wholehearted performance, controlling the ebbs and flows of the game throughout. Ramos left his mark on the game also, scoring two and

drawing a number of major fouls giving the Trinity team powerplay situations.

Major fouls, which include dunking, excessive force in a tackle, and pulling, earn the guilty party twenty seconds in the exclusion corner and the opposition a “man–up” situation.

To their credit Trinity were clinical in these situations whereas their northern opponents failed to finish with such precision.

Ramos has been in sparkling form for Trinity this season with a number of crucial performances and goals.

The team have been accused of failing to put away the chances presented to them, and with the departure of Ramos this had been a major worry for Fisher and the rest of his team.

The game against Setanta, however, revealed that there is more strength and depth within the squad as Kevin Conway showed everyone that the Irish players were not to be outdone, netting two goals alongside Frenchman Paolo Chevalier. Furthermore the team’s youngest player Christopher Kelly-Rogers has finally shown the

form that has been expected of him.

Kelly-Rogers was in emphatic form last December as he tore apart both Blackrock and Galway Bay with his speed and precision. Niall Maloney, in only his second season with the club, has proved to many would-be goalgetters that he is not easily beaten.

This was strongly reinforced by his performance against Setanta, where he conceded just one.

This confidence-boosting seventh successive victory couldn’t have come at a better time for the Trinity team, as the annual intervarsity tournament takes place in Galway on the 27th and 28th of January.

Head-coach Bert O’Brien is brimming with confidence heading into the tournament and has set his sights on returning to Dublin, trophy in hand. “DIT are our biggest opponents,” stated Christian Wirtz, the Trinity fullback, “if we avoid them for as long as possible we have a real chance.”

Trinity have already welcomed visiting college teams from Maynooth and DCU to the Sports Centre for warm-up games and have come away with handsome victories, so the optimism is not without basis. When asked about the team, Fisher said “the hard work and dedication shown by each and every one of the squad is incredible. We have gelled so well as a team that it makes my job a lot much easier.”

There are just five fixtures remaining in the 2011/2012 National League for Trinity, including two daunting games in Belfast. Rest assured, however, that if the Trinity Water Polo team continue where they left off with Setanta, the National League title will rest on campus next year.

Disappointment for Trinity Men’s tennis finalists Class 4 tournament. The match took place in Sandycove Tennis Club and began at a blistering pace.

The team got off to a brilliant start when Kevin O’Reilly and Daire Gargan won their doubles match 6-2, 7-5. The tie was soon levelled at 1-1, however, as Conor Sexton went down 6-2, 6-1 in his

RESULTS: Trinity – 1 Castleknock – 2 Stephen Ludgate Contributing Reporter

THE finals of the Dublin Lawn Tennis Council floodlight leagues turned into an unfortunate night of disappointment for the Trinity men’s 1st and 3rd teams as they both came out on the wrong side of 2-1 results.

The floodlight league campaign has already been a huge success for the tennis club, with all teams, for which it was possible, gaining promotion on both the men’s and women’s sides for the following year. This was capped by a huge achievement for the men’s 1st team who reached the final of Class 1 for the first time in the club’s history.

The final was played in Glasnevin Tennis Club and they faced very tough opposition in the form of Castleknock.

Mark Carpenter, Gavin Gilhawly, Chris Ma and Cal Craven were chosen to represent the club on the night, where Mark and Cal played singles while Chris and Gavin teamed up in the doubles.

“The floodlight league campaign has been a huge success for the tennis club” All three of the matches started off in a very cagey manner, with none of the players wanting to give up an early break. It was Carpenter who started the strongest, taking the initiative against his opponent Fiachra Lennon, who found it difficult to handle

“The men’s 1st team reached the final of Class 1 for the first time in the club’s history”

Trinity men’s tennis team suffered a narrow defeat at the Lawn Tennis finals after a promising season. Photo: Justin Hintze

Carpenter’s serve and volley tactics. He took control of the first set and went on to win it 6-2.

This spurred on the Trinity team who looked to take the advantage in their matches and for a time it looked as if all of the opening sets might go the way of Trinity. Castleknock fought back strongly, however, to take opening sets in both of the other matches, both 6-4. It was particularly close in Cal’s match against Fergus O’Connell, who had several break points when he was 5-4 down but was unable to find the breakthrough and was unlucky to lose the first set.

The confidence of the opening set victories began to show in the play of the Castleknock team and this was especially evident in the doubles as the Castleknock pair of LePorte and Ryan began to play with real purpose.

Despite some great play from Gilhawly and Ma there was little they could do to prevent Castleknock taking a commanding lead in the second set.

Craven went down an early break in the second set but after this blip, the match continued in the same vain as the first set and was extremely close.

Carpenter also found himself in a tougher battle in the second set, which went on serve all the way to a tiebreak. The tie-break threw up some extremely entertaining points, with both players showing deft touches around the net but it was Carpenter who held his nerve and went on to win it 7-5, winning the match 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) and gaining the first point for Trinity.

However Castleknock kept control of the doubles, going on to win 6-4, 6-2 which left the tie resting on the final singles match. In almost a mirror image

of the first set, Cal found himself 5-4 down with a number of opportunities to break back, but again was unable to find a way through and lost 6-4, 6-4.

Despite the final not going their way

“All teams, for which it was possible, gaining promotion for the following year” the lads can be extremely proud of what they achieved in this campaign.

The men’s 3rds final took place on the same night, as they took on Deerpark Tennis Club in the culmination of the

singles match.

That also brought this tie down to the final match which featured the team captain, Ross Pender. He battled his way to a first set lead but was hugely unlucky to lose the following two sets, going down 7-5 in the third set, in an extremely tense and dramatic match.

This team will play in Class 3 next year, though, which is a great achievement and a challenge that all of the players will relish.

A special mention also has to be given to the ladies 1st team who lost 2-1 in the semi-final of Ladies Class 1. The team captain, Julie O’Beirne, suffered an unfortunate injury in the warmup which led to her having to retire, making it almost impossible for the team to qualify.

To reach this stage of the competition is a huge achievement for the girls who will hope to erase this memory by taking the crown at Intervarsities taking place in Cork in February. The men will also travel to Cork with aspirations of victory and are in great shape to end a long run of victories by DCU. Both men’s teams would like to thank all the supporters who came out to cheer them on on the night.

TRINITY NEWS