An Focal (Vol. XXV Edition 2)

Vol. XXV • Edition 2

Best Beauty Buys

September 2016

Letter to the 8th

Designing our Future

UL Falls in University Rankings

By Aisling O’Connor

The University of Limerick lost its place in the top 500 of QS World University Rankings earlier this month after falling 30 places on the list.

UL is now in the 501550 ranking on the list.

Norita Kelleher, the Project coordinator of UL Alumni said that “While it’s disappointing that UL’s place in the QS World University Rankings has dropped this year, similar to all but one other Irish University, I would question how, in fact, are rankings compiled, what is measured and how is it measured – is it a level playing field?”

The UL Alumni believe a more important measure of UL’s status is the fact that UL graduates are 14% more likely than any other Irish University graduate to be employed following graduation, according to Kelleher “For most of us, our University Education is about securing employment in our chosen career and the fact that UL leads the way in this regard is truly encouraging,” she added.

Paul McCutcheon of

the President’s Office believes that the decline of Irish universities in the international league tables reflects poorly on how the Irish university sector is viewed from abroad.

The National University Ireland, Galway (NUIG) rose by 22 places this year and was the only Irish university to rise in the list.

The University College Cork (UCC) fell from 233rd place to 283rd , Trinity College was down 20 places, and the University College

Dublin (UCD) fell 27 places.

Former Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan said that while the drop in ranking is concerning, UL has a high quality learning experience for students and that good teaching and engaged learning is not captured in the rankings.

UL was not the only Irish university that did not make the top 500 on the list as the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Maynooth University both placed

in the 651-700 ranking for 2016.

The fall in ranking is “a question of national, as well as individual institutional reputation, with foreign academics and rankings agencies currently aware of declining exchequer funding, deteriorating student-staff ratios, a lack of investment in facilities and equipment and no obvious national commitment to ensuring that Irish students benefit from a world class university system,” McCutcheon

said.

The Minister echoed the concern of reputation and suggests that it cannot be ignored.

A lack of funding is said to play a role in UL’s decline on the list.

Kelleher believes it is the government’s responsibility to realise the importance of Irish universities and that investment is needed to ensure our reputation as a nation of highly educated and employable graduates is maintained.

O’Sullivan said that

following the collapse of the economy, higher education suffered deep cuts. A case chaired by Peter Cassells suggests a number of funding options to be considered by the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills and by the government in the near future.

“A decision needs to be made without undue delay so that University of Limerick and other Universities can maintain both excellence and affordability for students into the future”, she continued.

With regards to individual subjects, UL is in the 201-250 category for English Language and Literature, and has the same score for Modern Languages, both Education and Training, and Engineering and Mechanical were in the 201-300 group, with Computer Science and Information Services being placed in the 351-400 category.

McCutcheon also said that it is the duty of each university to be proactive and progressive in its development.

UL intends to implement a series of strategic developments, [continued on page 2]

September 2016

2

UL Out of 500 [continued from page 1] set out in the strategic plan “Broadening Horizons” to “position UL to evolve as a truly internationalised university but again, this in part depends on a sustainable exchequer funding model”.

The highest ranking university in Ireland is Trinity College which was ranked the 98th best university this year, Trinity was followed

by NUIG which was at 249th place, UCC at 283rd, and UCD at 380th.

UL was 471st place in 2015.

The list is published by British education and study abroad company

Quacquarelli Symonds.

QS collaborated on the World University Rankings with the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine from 2003 to 2009. THE now publish their own rankings with Thomson Reuters.

The top five universities this year were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) came first on the list, Stanford University, Harvard University, University Cambridge, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

The University Cambridge was the only European university to make the top 5 on the list.

CONTRIBUTORS: Rokko Bhargava, David Byrne, Steve Casey, Patricia Dino, Sarah Dunphy, Patrick Earley, Nicole Glennon, Caitlín Griffin, Rebecca Laffan, Carrie Burns Martin Lennon, Dave Mahedy, Declan Mills, Aisling Moloney, Federica Montella, Aaron Mullane, Nicole Munyaradzi, Aisling O’Connor, Caolan O’Donnell, Chloe O’Keefe, Kathleen O’Sullivan, Maeve Wrixon

By Aaron Mullane

The stag and hen market is second year student Sophie the manner in which LimerSison said.

At the Failte Ireland board- Limerick’s true potential was ick should improve upon it’s meeting Failte Ireland Chair- not being brought to light, ac- tourism industry, according main Michael Cawley said cording to UL students Luke to Mr Cawley. that Limerick should “go af- Blake and Karen Power, who While unfamiliar with “the ter” the stag and hen party worry that Limerick was detail of what Limerick has “wrote off ” by the chairmain to offer”, Mr Cawley is aware market.

The meeting was held in the and this could affect Limer- that Limericks pubs and day University of Limerick earlier ick’s tourism industry great- time attractions will interest visitors. ly. this month.

The Mayor of Limerick, Kieran O’Hanlon said he could see the benefit of Mr Cawley’s proposal.

However, some UL students expressed concern to the idea believing that some positive apects of the city were not taken into consideration.

“Limerick was named the National City of Culture in 2014, there was a reason for that.” Photo: Sean Curtin True Media

Here to Make Sure All Students Have Their Say

CREDITS EDITOR: Paul Saunders NEWS: Evie Kearney SPORTS: Caoimhin Reilly PHOTOS: Stacey Walsh DESIGN: Hannah Carr-Murphy

Stag City Limerick

Paul Saunders I hope you enjoy the second edition of An Focal as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

This edition of An Focal was not written by seven people like the first edition. The first had to be prepared before our students return and some miss out on contributing to the first edition.

This copy of An Focal was written by 27 different individuals, who put a significant amount of effort into their articles and I hope that anyone who reads this newspaper

will find something of interest.

You never know, you could possibly be reading the future stars of Irish journalism.

What I learned from the first edition is that the people of UL, both staff and students, read the paper and engage with what has been written.

Some people write off An Focal and wouldn’t consider reading it or writing for it, which can be disheartening to hear.

However, after the first edition was delivered to every student village and building around the campus, the response was overwhelming.

People had a lot to say about what was written

in that first edition and I hope a lot to say about what has been written in this one.

I want to remind readers that when they read the letter to the Eighth Amendment on page five, An Focal is not taking a particular side in that debate.

If anyone wishes to write a rebuttal against this letter, please feel free to do so and to send it to me at anfocal@ul.ie or come into my office in the Students Union.

An Focal is here to give a voice to any of the 17,000 students that go to UL and allow them to speak on what they are passionate about.

This paper is for you and by you so get

contributing if you don’t like what you’re reading.

This paper is not solely written by journalism students - students of politics, music and history to name but a few have contributed to this edition and there is room for more in our next and on our website.

The An Focal website will be relaunching this week so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see all of our latest updates.

The majority of UL students will spend hours flicking through Buzzfeed, which is an American company and Irish students will be reading the British version of the website

when they log on.

Come and spend a few hours scrolling through our large selection of articles online that cover topics such as procrastination, fashion tips, movie reviews, politics and so much more.

Read articles that have been written by UL students for UL students and once again anyone can write for our website.

Have an opinion on the top ten places to get chips in Limerick or which nightclub is the best or what pub has the best pint? Write about and send it to anfocal@ul.ie and you could see your article published across all our platforms.

September 2016

3

Clare Hotel Under Review for Unfair Wage Practices

By Patricia Dino The Rathbaun Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare is a cautionary tale to students to be wary of applying for dodgy hotel summer jobs.

The owners John and Lynn Connolly, who mostly hire third level students many of whom are from the University of Limerick, kept one euro per hour of an employee’s wages until October to ensure staff wouldn’t ‘up and leave’.

This withholding of payment the couples call “holdover” would be received by the employee under the condition they will work the full summer season.

Most of the staff, who have since then left, were paid below the minimum wage. With the holdover to consider, the staff were in actuality only paid a meagre of €7.65 per hour.

The family run hotel boast a high level of staff turnover as staff describes the ‘toxic’ working environment.

The popular Rathbaun Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare A young student from UL shares an incident where he witnessed a hostile family argument in the kitchen where the couple can be heard “swearing at each other”.

Another young student from LIT expresses his “truly shocking experience” during his time as a staff.

“From the second I walked in the door I didn’t feel welcome.

They treat everyone as children. There’s also very poor housing for staff, no heating, everything shady - all cash in hand.”

He claims the couple were “very abusive to-

wards staff.” After miscalculating less than a euro of change, he was temporarily suspended and sent home to “practice his counting”.

Plenty of guests who have witnessed the

abuse left horrified reviews online.

“We witnessed a shocking display of unprofessionalism. The staff of the hotel were in (the owner’s) palm and were publicly humiliated in front of all the other guests … food was nice but it’s hardly worth it unless you can stomach the bullying of the young staff,” one customer commented on Tripadvisor.

Under the Payment of Wages Act 1991, Section 5 it is illegal for an employer to make deduction from the employee’s wages unless it is, “required by law, provided for in the contract of employment, made with your written consent, to recover an overpayment of wages or expenses, or required by a court order”.

The hotel will be investigated by the Workplace Relations Commission in early October from a previous employee’s complaints.

UL’s only student newspaper is looking for contributors to write news, features, sport and more. Sound interesting?

Email anfocal@ul.ie or come along to our weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 6pm in the SU.

September 2016

4

A Very Good Chance for Success

By Rebecca Laffan UL Professor and Associate Vice President Academic Sarah Moore is celebrating the release of her new children’s book.

A Very Good Chance follows the friendship forged between Ned and Minty, two schoolchildren from very different backgrounds.

Sarah’s third published book, explores social struggles in Ireland that are uncommonly found in a book aimed at such a young audience.

“The book doesn’t say this, but Ned is from the travelling community,” she reveals.

Drawing inspiration from her own children and their outlook on social issues is something Sarah says she really enjoys.

“I love the way kids teach us about our

prejudice because they just take people on their own terms,” she says. “They remind me about the wonder of life: asking questions, challenging stereotypes, about being rebellious and not accepting the status quo.”

Writing from the viewpoint of a child provided the writer with a means of exploring the topic with an entirely different outlook.

“I thought it would be interesting to write about someone who is too young to have acquired any of the stereotypes that the world has,” she says.

Sarah, whose work within the university focuses on access, equality and diversity, is very passionate about spreading awareness about this kind of discrimination.

“It’s our responsibility through the power of narrative to do everything we can to try to understand it.

Writing helps me do that, it’s one of the

home life-writing was only ever a hobby. But I am a strong believer that everybody should be more than their day job,” she says.

“I remember my husband saying to me “find time to do it if you love it” and I’ve never looked back.”

Sarah’s debut novel Back to Blackbrick, was published in 2013

by Orion Children’s Books and her second book The Apple Tart of Hope, came out in June 2014.

The professor, who chairs Ireland’s National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, has also written many academic books.

“I learned the craft main reasons I do it.” of writing through my Turning a hobby of academic career but I creative writing into learned the art of writa career is something ing through my fiction Sarah describes as “a work, happy accident”.

Fiction writing ex“Busy work life, busy ercises a completely

different part of my brain, it helps me to bring things down to their most simple form. I think a lot of times we get caught up in our own need to sound clever,” Sarah says.

“I love writing children’s books, it gets me in touch with my inner child. It’s my happy place. It’s a lot more sensory and the freedom to make things up as you go along is great.”

There’s no writers block in sight for the professor, who has “tons and tons of ideas” for more stories already thought up. “…the problem is just choosing one to focus on!” she laughs.

A Very Good Chance by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald can be purchased on Amazon. com and in O’Mahony’s bookshops right now.

Getting Ready for the Year Ahead

By Sarah Dunphy As Week 2 comes to a close, I reflected back on what was a great Freshers’ Week.

Starting slowly, I began to have a little doubt whether our decision to choose a DJ for the courtyard was too bold a decision.

However, Thursday morning told a different story as we reminisced and laughed about the great night that was; with a fur coat and dodgy dance moves providing two

topics for discussion.

Bhí gach duine ar mhuin na muice agus is léir go raibh na daoine óige ag bhaint taitneamh as as ocáid agus mar sin bhí mise lán le athás!

Now, as Week 2, comes to a close a quick update is in order on what I have been up to over the past 2 weeks.

Firstly, I was on the Search Board to short list the candidates for the new President of the entire University of Limerick.

For those who didn’t

know, our lovely President Prof. Don Barry will be finishing up next year, but we won’t dwell on that now - It ages away anyway!

Secondly, I sat on the interview panel for our new events coordinator. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Keith Quinlan is on leave and we wish him a very speedy recovery.

I hugely enjoyed the discussions with the panel which included Martin Ryan, our SU General Manager, Elaine Ryan, our HR

Consultant and Tess Maher, our current Events Co-Ordinator.

Both the Search Board Meetings and the interviews were hugely informative and educational and new experience that I was delighted to be part of.

Donal and I attended the Library Development meeting too.

You’ll all be thrilled to hear that significant changes are just around the corner.

Other activities included a meeting discussing the devel-

opment of our new Student Centre, our Class Rep training and attending the launch of the STEM2D Programme in the Analog Devices Building, which had a great turnout. Everyone enjoyed the speeches and the networking opportunities and the event, in conjunction with Johnson and Johnson was a success.

C&S Recruitment Drive was a great occasion and it’s becoming even bigger and better every year.

We are delighted to nearly have our all our Student Council positions filled, our newly refurbished Common Room is full of activity and we are truly delighted to have each and every UL student back on campus.

Finally, FYI, the closing date for the Bank of Ireland Enablement Fund is fast approaching! October 6th is the deadline and more information can be found here http://ulsites.ul.ie/enablementfund/

September 2016

5

A Letter to the Eighth Amendment

By Kathleen O’Sullivan

Dear Constitution (Con), I hope you don’t mind me calling you that, I presume we’re on nickname basis, considering you’re very involved in my personal life, with having certain control over my body and what not.

I was wondering if we could have a chat sometime. It seems many don’t want to speak about what really matters, but I’m willing to. I have a few topics to discuss - the weather, the housing crisis, double standards.

The Eighth Amendment.

See, what troubles me is that so many people talk, but say nothing about what matters.

What troubles me more is the ones who remain silent.

I don’t mean to get technical with you, I know you don’t appreciate it, but according to The Journal, 51.9% of politicians who were asked a really simple question refused to respond. ‘Are you personally in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment?’. I was within the understanding they are there to speak on behalf of the welfare of the people.

I’m really just writing to you to let you know that I’ve gained five pounds and cut my hair. I thought you’d be

interested in knowing that. I hope you approve; I know how you feel about me making my own decisions.

I’m in college now, I’m already working really hard. The transition has been difficult, as you said it would be, but you understand I’m perfectly able to mind myself. Or maybe you don’t.

I think about my life now and all the opportunities I have and the choices I get to make every day, compared to many women who have gone before me.

You say I’m privileged.

I should be ever so grateful, but I thought making my own choices was a basic right, not a privilege. You confuse me sometimes.

We live in a very dangerous world these days. So many bad people and bad places.

So many risks we can avoid taking and many others we can’t avoid taking.

If I’m at risk of losing my life because of a choice I am not given to make, I doubt people’s silence can save me. My life could depend on them, on what people like politicians could use their positions of power for. If the Eight Amendment is not repealed, my life could so easily depend on them.

On their silence.

I bet you wish you could throw the sexism card at me - that

always seems appropriate during these discussions. Interestingly enough, one can’t deny that the Eight Amendment and repealing it for that matter would affect very many men’s lives.

I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I took more figures from the poll mentioned abovein the public poll, 53% of men are in favour of the Amendment being repealed compared to 45% of women being in favour.

This matter may not affect men physically as it does women, but the emotional affect it can have on both genders, of all ages and ethnicity is substantial.

I wish I was someone of importance or urgency. Maybe then, I would be taken seriously and allowed to have full control of my body.

Maybe I could save my life.

I take care of myself sexually, mentally and physically, I don’t understand why you don’t trust me enough to give me this choice.

However, something tells me you won’t listen to us, to anyone. I am beyond proud to say such incredible people like Anne Enright, Christy Moore, Cillian Murphy and of course the controversial Louise O’Neill are all advocates for the same cause as I and many other ordinary people are.

Unlike many political figures, they are speaking. Their efforts are respected despite the end outcome- but it will not end until justice is achieved.

In my eyes, the media can’t make up its mind.

Staying neutral is fine - if they did that. I un-

derstand different components have different opinions but as a whole I feel any media organisation should stand for something, not stand on the fence.

The media sometimes has too much information from sources that they forget about the people who are not so loud, the people who are us.

Every morning I wake up. I look in the mirror and I put on makeup.

I put on my favourite dress.

If I say so myself, I have been competent up to now.

Maybe If I was prettier, you would trust me with myself?

Do you not trust me?

Maybe if I was smarter? Do I really have to prove myself to you? What is there to prove?

Why do you think it’s

okay to have any opinion on my body at all? If I can dress myself, wash myself, respect myself, is this not enough to be given full control of my body?

Is this any better than the man who wolf whistles at me when I’m crossing the street or the woman who tells me I look bad in my favourite red dress?

My body is a temple.

The constitution is a bible I can’t believe in until the Eighth Amendment is repealed.

Please give us the choice to make the right choice. Let the ones who matter, take care of the matter. I hope we may have that chat soon. The silence is killing so many people.

Regards, the quiet ones.

P.S. I don’t want your opinion on me gaining five pounds.

Are you interested in writing a Letter to the Eight? Whether you are for or against, we want to hear from you.

Email anfocal@ul.ie for more information.

September 2016

6

Building a Sustainable Future

By Evie Kearney A UL student has reached the international finals of the James Dyson Awards.

Mark Boda, a Product Design and Technology student, has created the OmniDryer – a tumble dryer alternative that uses 60 times less electricity and costs just one cent per cycle.

Mark used the idea for the OmniDryer for a class project last year, but quickly realised its potential.

“I knew that if I carried on with it I could prototype it quickly and it could very quickly be something that either works or doesn’t, it’s not something we would find out later.

And it does work, it’s really interesting,” he said.

Mark qualified for the

international leg of the prestigious engineering competition after missing out on the top prize at national level, an honour that went to a group of CIT students for their anti-drowning device.

“The people who won it were amazing,” Mark said.

“When I found out who won I was like, great, it’s not just a designer who did a bunch of different sketches – it’s actually someone who’s doing a great thing and they’re going to save a lot of lives with that invention,” he continued.

The national leg of the competition was judged on the idea of the product and the development of the design process while the international leg focuses on commercial via-

bility and sustainability.

The James Dyson Foundation will announce the three winners of the international leg on October 27, with the overall winner taking home €35,000.

They will also release their Top 20 entries.

The OmniDryer is incredibly energy efficient as it uses only 48 watts per drying cycle.

It mimics the process of drying clothes out-

doors and is ‘significantly quieter’ than the average tumble dryer.

Mark hopes his dryer will offer a cheaper and more sustainable solution to drying our clothes, and believes the invention was created out of necessity.

“I want to develop it in to something that could really help not just me but people who are struggling to pay bills because everything is always getting more expensive, but the function isn’t necessarily worth the price anymore,” Mark explained.

Pre-orders for the OmniDryer will be available as soon as next month, with the product shipping by the end of the year.

Mark, who is from Galway, was born in Hungary and had lived in ‘probably seven or

eight’ countries before settling in to university life in UL. “I think this is the best course in the country for Product Design. We have such a great department, it’s so vast.

There’s a lot of great facilities, a lot of great tutors.”

“I came down to the open day here – I went up to DIT, I went to Maynooth – and this was really the first choice,” he continued.

Mark is currently devoting most of his time to the OmniDryer, but has another project in the pipeline called the OmniHeater – a heater that uses 400 watts per hour compared to the 2000 used by normal electric heaters.

More details of Mark’s innovations can be found on his website solofy.com.

UL Research finds that dialysis patients who smoke are less likely to get a kidney

By Caitlín Griffin The University of Limerick conducted that found that dialysis patients who are smokers are less likely to receive a kidney transplant and more likely to have a shorter lifespan.

“Smoking remains a major modifiable risk factor for adverse outcomes for men and women on dialysis. It shortens their lifespans and reduces their overall chances of kidney transplantation,” said Professor Austin Stack,

Director of UL’s Health Research Institute (HRI) and Consultant Nephrologist at University Hospital Limerick.

According to Professor Stack MD, patients being treated with dialysis have a reduced life expectancy of up to one-fifth that of the general population.

Dialysis smokers are between 26% and 50% less likely to receive a life saving kidney transplant.

Kidney transplants have been proven to

improve the quality of life for someone who has suffered from kidney failure.

There are many studies that display the negative impact smoking has on the general population, but few that show the impact smoking has on dialysis patients.

UL’s findings show the impact of smoking on new dialysis patients.

Smoking is a contributing factor for a decreased life expectancy and UL’s findings show that smoking has a

larger impact on dialysis smokers than those who are not being treated by dialysis.

UL researchers followed 1,220,000 patients, who started their treatment for kidney failure with dialysis in the United States from 1995 to 2010, for an average of 2 years.

“Dialysis patients have extremely high premature death rates that are between 10- and 100-fold higher than in the general population, and smoking contributes substantially to

lower patient survival,” said Professor Stack.

Among the major discoveries, UL researchers found that; smoking had a far greater impact on the life expectancies on young males and females than older patients, smokers who had pre-existing cardiovascular diseases had the lowest chance of receiving a kidney, and smokers were significantly less likely to receive a kidney transplant than dialysis patients who didn’t smoke.

There are approximately 2 million patients being treated for kidney failure each year According to Organ Procurement and Transport Network (OPTN), 13 people die every day waiting for a kidney.

Dr. Stack believes that all health care providers engage with their patients and encourage them to cease smoking and make them aware of the many negative impacts smoking has on these dialysis patients.

September 2016

7

Successful Launch of UL STEM2D Programme for Women’s Education

By Chloe O’Keefe

Last Wednesday, September 15th saw the launch of the Johnson & Johnson “Women in STEM2D Award Programme,” in the Bernal Centre of the Analog Devices Building.

This scholarship has been set up to increase the numbers of female students enrolling in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design and, in turn offer financial support, mentorship and early career support to those undergraduates.

Only ten universities worldwide have been chosen to partner up with Johnson & Johnson on this prestigious programme - UL being the only Irish university, alongside the University of Tokyo, Caltech and Spelman College.

aiming to reach out to approximately 1 million girls by the year 2020.

It was also revealed by Eta Richardson of the Department of Science and Engineering that it was as late as 2009 when the airbag was finally safe and suitable for a pregnant woman, outlining how gender equality wasn’t being taken into account in previous years.

Sarah Dunphy spoke out about how she thinks mentorship is “really important” and how she believes women in these fields need to speak out and inPictured at the launch, from left, was Dr Leisha Daly, Janssen, Liz Dooley, Project form others more - be it in secondary schools Lead WiStem2D, Minister of State for Justice with special responsibility for Equality, or a quick chat with a Immigration and Integration, David Stanton and Dr Mary Shire, VP Research UL. Photo: Oisin McHugh True Media neighbour to give the opportunity to abolish Among the guests at lighted to be invited” It was said on the UL this year is of male stereotypes.

The interview was left the launch last Wednes- to the event, as she felt night by one of the four dominance. day was Student Un- females have not been lecturers speaking that This is a massive fact, with the presidents adion president, Sarah represented well overall 95% of the Comput- however Johnson & vice to female students er Systems courses in Johnson’s strategy is to “push the boundary.”

Dunphy who was “de- in these departments.

Students Spend Hours Commuting After Failing to Find Suitable Housing

By Evie Kearney UL students are facing ‘tiring and expensive’ commutes every day as the accommodation crisis worsens.

Many students are travelling for hours after failing to find suitable accommodation in the university area.

Emma Clarke, a first year student, was forced to commute

back and forth from Cork daily after multiple places fell through.

“My aunts friend, Eddie, drives me to Limerick. He leaves at 6:15am so I get up at 5am and I just hang around the campus till classes start,” she said.

“Depending on my timetable and his schedule, sometimes I get a lift back. Usually I get a bus from campus

to the main bus station and then I get another bus back to Cork.”

Emma has been looking for suitable accommodation since May. “The main problem is I wanted a place for a couple - me and my boyfriend. A lot of places don’t want couples and of course it puts rent up,” the 23year old said.

The lack of affordable accommodation available for students with partners and families is often an issue for students who are returning to education.

Emma says that while she has been offered places, all of them had some sort of problem attached.

“One was too far away and we don’t drive. One just gave it

to someone else. Then one looked all set but the Credit Union turned down a loan application.”

Although the commute is far from ideal, she said: “I love being at UL and it is worth any sacrifice.”

Emma’s situation is not unique as the prices for accommodation in Castletroy continues to rise as availabil-

ity decreases.

Landlords are able to pick who they would like to rent to from a queue of people, meaning that non-traditional students are losing out.

Students who are still seeking accommodation are advised to look at UL’s list of off-campus accommodation at studentliving.ul.ie.

September 2016

8

Working from the Tallamh Up

By Aisling Moloney

Chris Kelly, 20, welcomed me into his energetic and casual office with a warm and friendly greeting while prizing the back of his laptop off. Just as any start-up business has their bumps in the road so does Pinpoint innovations, as the CEO Chris Kelly was blowing the dust off the fan of his exposed laptop to stop it from making noise.

Chris Kelly, from Clarina Co. Limerick, was the 2015 winner of Limerick’s Best Young Entrepreneur Award and used the €10,000 cash prize to set up his first company: ‘Talamh Innovations’ for his ‘Blue-Box’ invention. A camera system mounted on a drone that analyses fields for farmers and can show where more or less fertiliser is needed in order to save money or give a higher yield of crop.

Chris’ success didn’t stop there as he went on to win the best business idea category at Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition. Chris was

also lucky enough to go to the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards in Bangkok last year sponsored by the university and snap-chatted and tweeted his entire adventure, just as any youth of the technology era would.

Since Chris’ worldwind of success he has set up a new company, along with his energetic team of students, while his ‘Blue-Box’ is in product testing.

Pinpoint Innovations, a technological innovations company, will keep them occupied in the meantime. “You might have 1,000 steps to take but you can’t take any until you take the first one. The odds of succeeding as a startup are about 10-20%, it’s pretty bad odds but you never know, give it a lash.”

Based in the Tierney building of the university of Limerick campus, Pinpoint innovations specialises in building an app, which should improve the efficiency of hospital operating theatres. Chris

Chris Kelly at Pinpoint Innovations has recently given up his studies in engineering at UL to give his full attention to his work.

“I was suddenly in this scenario where I either go back to college or give the business a full go.” Chris spoke about the new pressures and routine, he said: “The hours are insane, 80 hours a week, but it doesn’t work otherwise. There’s a lot of risk between borrowing money, dropping out of college or sacrificing your grades”, however Chris feels the reward is worth it as “It’s not work, it’s just a bit of craic. There’s a

good group here, we get on well.”

A window was opened to the CEO’s mind when asked if he creates businesses to work with the products or creates products to make businesses, he said: “I want the problem to be solved, if you see that you can do something better.”

In relation to his latest invention that will hopefully eradicate the problem’s hospitals have with cancelling surgeries, Chris said that statistics in the U.S.A last year revealed that 11% of surgeries were cancelled; when

you apply that percentage to the population it’s 5.5 million people.

“We want to have an impact on those problems.”

In Chris’ situation one may think that the third level education system failed him or he wasn’t patient enough for it. We must also ask whether you value a third level degree or a successful business history, when it comes to which one is right for Chris he said: “There is a lot of theoretical knowledge, but it’s hard to put all the information from entrepreneurship and

learning on the job into an engineering degree.”

Chris said he hopes to build a brotherhood of investors like the PayPal Mafia: former employees of PayPal who have since founded companies such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Yelp and Tesla Motors for example.

Chris Kelly looks around the office at his ‘brotherhood’ of employees/college friends and thinks of who will play billionaires such as Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and Reid Hoffman in their future ‘Pinpoint Mafia’.

A Bright Future For Drama Society

By Federica Montella

The Jonathan Swift theatre – also known as B1023 – finally got its own lighting system after six year’s of waiting.

The petition for the lights began six years ago when Hugh O’Brien was president of the Drama Society.

“The electrical work was just finished by

Kirby last week, and we cannot wait to use them for our SoUL Arts Fest production,” says Shawna O’Halloran, president of the UL Drama Society.

It was originally supposed to be a 12 month project, but the theatre was found structurally unsuitable for lights – and the whole process became a five year plan

costing three times as much as expected.

Although Patricia Moriarty of the Arts Office kindly sponsored the remainder of the lights themselves, the money still wasn’t enough for the rest of the support structure.

The structure to hold the lights was to cost an extra €2000, but Shawna’s father, who owns a

local engineering business, offered to make the unit and donate it to Drama Society free of charge.

This new system will allow a limitless number of productions. In the past, each production would cost the society around €400 light rental, making any form of profit from the shows impossible.

It will now be possible to teach the Drama Society members how to operate the lights and do workshops in lighting design and techniques.

The society has an upcoming production scheduled for week 10 called “Stigma” which is a selection of performances joined by the common theme of

mental health.

“Mental health is something that is so important to many of us in drama as we lost one of our members to suicide two years ago,” Shawna adds.

Thanks to the financial situation, the society will be able to donate 100% of the proceeds to charity for the first time.

September 2016

9

PSU Welcome Event

Common & Pool Room Rules The newly refurbished Students Union common and pool room opened last week to huge success.

Services and Facilities Manager Adele O’Carroll who remodelled the two rooms, is delighted to see so many students using the facilities.

By Rockko Bhargava not all PG students were aware of the event, & Evie Kearney held in the Bernal Insti60 people attended tute of the Analog Dea welcome event led vices Building. by the PSU president, ““It was still great to Aimee McKenzie, last see cross section of people coming to the Thursday.

However, an issue event. It was a very with emails meant that good opportunity for

networking,” Ms McKenzie said.

“I am hoping the people who came will invite their friends for the next event and by the end of the year we might have big number of people attending these evenings. “

Ms O’Carroll said: “My goal was to make it a place students wanted to be in and as you can see students definitely want to be there.”

However, the rooms come with a set of rules that all students need to take note off: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

No feet on the furniture.

Bags must be placed on the floor.

Notices are only allowed to be placed in notice boards.

The furniture is not to be moved.

Respect your surroundings and others.

Your Welfare Team Assembles

By Caolan O’Donnell Oi Oi people. It’s been a busy one here the last few weeks. And it’s just getting busier. But ye’re a sound bunch so it’s all gravy baby. This week I’ve started getting back into the old “proactive rather than reactive” approach I’ve had to my mental health. I’m feeling great

now but who knows when we are going to be a bit down in the dumps next so I’ve began going to the UL counselling services new workshops learning a few tricks for how I can deal with issues like low mood and anxiety. Sometimes counselling can seem like a

big step that some people are not ready for. If you want to go these sessions but are a bit nervous about what to expect don’t be afraid to drop into me in the Student Union and if I can fit it into my schedule I’ll try to go to the session with you. I will be attending at least

one of the workshops each week so you may as well join me if you’re free.

We also had our first welfare meeting this week. The turnout was class and we had the craic trying to think of fresh ideas for events.

From hosting a PORN (Protect Ourselves

Right Now) party and condom durability testing for SHAG week, to getting a ball pit or an old car to beat the sh*t out of for de-stress week, there wasn’t many stones left unturned. If you want to join the team it’s not too late to join. We meet every Wednesday

at 6PM so either drop me an email at suwelfare@ul.ie or just show up.

If there is any pressing issue you feel I need to address in the college don’t be afraid to get onto me. I’m not afraid to stir things up a so help me be a bit vocal this year.

September 2016

10

Levelling the Playing Field

By Steve Casey From as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a writer. You won’t hear Ray Liotta saying that in Goodfellas, but it is still a good opening line.

My name is Steven Casey. I am a first year in New Media and English. I am registered with the Disability Services here in UL because I have Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.

In 1995, I wrote my first book; A Day in the Life of Steven Casey.

I won a prize of a book token and there may have been a prize for the school as well.

It would be the start of my literary journey.

This article, much like that book, aims to level the playing field between the disabled student body and our ambulant peers.

My hope is that these stories reach a plethora of students, faculty and the wider community and that we can share our stories.

Those of us who are being supported by the Disability Services and/ the Mature Student Office / Mature Student

Society, may find this article particularly appealing.

I want to hear from you!

One of my earliest childhood memories is competing in the Write A Book competition, in primary school.

I was about nine years old and I remember being inspired to write about what I know and what I am passionate about.

What I know is, what it’s like to be a student with a physical disability.

What I am passionate about, is levelling the playing field for people with physical disabilities to interact with our ambulant peers – yes that’s you there, walking around chasing Pokémon.

When I first came to college, in 2004, I was shy and naïve. The smallest distraction or confrontation led me to bury my head in the sand.

The intervening years since I had to pull out of college, has stood to me.

I have grown immeasurably since then.

At the tender age of 18, I had not given much thought to what I would, or maybe, could do after secondary school.

It was a surreal time.

People were suggesting I take up architecture.

My heart was not in that.

I am passionate about writing so when a family friend suggested I take up journalism, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want to tell you how a boy, born

with Spina Biifida and Hydrocephalus, grew up to be a mature student in the University of Limerick.

It began with a teacher, a mentor who, went above and beyond the call of duty for me.

This mentor had a passion for storytelling and GAA. Mr. Tom Bulfin handed me a hurley and a helmet during one of our schools P.E. classes, twenty years ago. That gesture, (there’s more to it but I am tied to 1,200 words), and experiences that followed ,make up the reasons I am here today writing about adapted physical activity and issues in general facing our disabled and mature students.

It is the reason I supported the development of Limerick’s first wheelchair hurling club; along with Dave, “the original and best”, Fitzgerald and Neilus,” don’t just talk about it, do it”, Sheehy.

I sat my Leaving Certificate in 2004. It was not hard; I am always sitting, everywhere I go.

What was hard, was the stark realisation that I may not get the points that would get me in to the course I thought I wanted to do.

Here comes the brutally harsh reality that many of today’s secondary school graduates will know all too well.

I did not get the points I needed for New Media and English, in 2004.

What I did get, was the opportunity to fix that. It was suggested to me to link-in with the N.M.E. programme in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences De-

partment.

This was twelve years ago so the details are a little blurry.

Before I go any further, I must (I am contractually obliged to) thank each and every member of the Disability Support Services team who, not only catered for my every whim, during my first stint in college, but encouraged, supported and welcomed my return to the campus.

Their support and guidance along with friends and family, has made this an easier transition. On that

left and go through the double doors at the end of the hallway.

I left college and LM033 several years ago, after a bad cellulitis infection and a series of bad decisions, left me unable to cope with the demands of college life.

It is a decision I’ve often regretted but it was the right one for me at that time.

So how did I get back on track? Well, after being involved in the development of several sports and social activities with the Mid West Spina Bifida Association, I’ve gained some

by) Championship.

To be actively involved in a wheelchair hurling team has been a dream of mine for over twenty years. Being included in activities with my ambulant peers during my formative years, opened my eyes to a world of endless possibilities.

I do not want to get in to labelling people by our inabilities, but there are lads in our club with, Spina Bifida & / Hydrocephalus, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Acquired Spinal Injuries.

Your world is full of

Wheelchair hurling note, I highly encourage any of our disabled students, especially those of you with what I would call hidden disabilities, to seek out the support and advice of the Disability Services here in U.L. Their only goal is to help you reach your goal.

Where can you find the Disability Services in UL? Go to their office in the library. The lads in the assistive technology division there will provide you with all the information. Enter the Glucksman library, go past the stairs, turn

insights in to the area of inclusion and adapted physical activity.

The project I am most proud of, is the development of Limerick’s first wheelchair hurling team. Treaty Warriors were founded in 2011.

Treaty Warriors represented Limerick in the first All Ireland wheelchair hurling championship in 2011/’12.

The following year we represented Munster, winning the inaugural M Donnelly Interprovincial wheelchair hurling camogie (yes it is mixed, like tag rug-

endless possibilities.

You could do what I did and wait until you are older to return to education or sport.

But, I beg of you, if you feel now is the right time to do this, do not put it on the long finger.

There will always be a reason not to do something.

That is just the way life is sometimes.

But, do not be afraid to take the first step.

For info on Treaty Warriors wheelchair hurling team; look for our community page on facebook.

September 2016

11

Pay or Nay?

We asked UL students if the student body should have to pay €16 million for the new facilites, while the university pays €12 million.

“I didn’t agree with the vote. I don’t think students should pay for what the public are also using.”

— Joel Hartney

“Students really shouldn’t have to pay” — Patrick Duggan

“I voted no, I just don’t want to pay for it.”

— Paddy Slattery

“If we’re already paying 3 grand at the start of the year we shouldn’t have to pay more” —Grainne O’Dea

“Students should have to pay a fair amount” — Maeve Wrixon

“If it helps make things better, why not?”

— Caoimhe Brown “I voted yes. Its fair that students have to pay, you pay for the course but you don’t have to pay for anything else” — Fergal Bowers

“I voted yes. The university is getting bigger so we need a new student union.”

— Mark Nother

12

The Story So Far. . .

#LimerickHour On the 25th of August for the weekly Limerick Twitter online meet up #FirstSevenWeeksUL was the hashtag on everyone’s fingertips. We were the number one trend in Ireland for hours as we took over twitter and brought this unique UL initiative to the attention of Ireland to connect with incoming students nationally (and caught some international attention too).

We had more interactions on Twitter this day then in all of 2014 put together, which highlights how much we have grown in our mission of helping to ease the transition to University life in UL.

more than ever online too. We have always been very good one twitter and facebook, but our new snapchat and instagram accounts took off and exceeded 500 followers immediately. Which was cool.

September 2016

How the First Seven Weeks crew has been helping UL students health at college. Each week will see more blog posts from students, visit the blog to have a read, or to become a writer for us.

Welcome Par-Tea We held an event in Freshers week in conjunction with International Week 1 – Welcome, settling in & finding your way around where they needed to go on cam- Education Division, The Students Union and the Tea Appreciation In week one 70 students took to pus. the campus to help direct 1,000s We gave away ten UL hoodies Society. Yes a crazy idea to have a of students, staff and visitors to kindly sponsored by the Visitor non-alcoholic event in week 1, it Centre and ten was a shame no one turned up.

First Seven Weeks Week 2 – Study Skills and Time Goodie Bags.

Our Student Blog Management exceeded 10,000 We had a massive increase in foothits in week 1 with fall through the doors on previarticles by students ous years and put on 9 workshops for students touch- which almost all exceeded capacity Week 0 – Orientation Week ing on everything and we had to turn people away.

We took 1,000s of students in the from advice on Which was sad, but we provide HUB for tours to tell them what finding your way good study skills and time manwe were all about and had 1,000s around to looking agement tips online on our blog. more drop in with questions, and after your mental So check it out.

September 2016

7 Recommended Reads 1. Asking for It Author: Louise O’Neill Year: 2015 Genre: Popular Fiction Emma O’Donovan is living an ordinary, happy life until the unthinkable happens to her at a party. Now she must face her whole town, knowing they have all seen the pictures and have their own opinions on what really happened that night.

3. All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Year: 2014 Genre: Historical Drama French girl Marie-Laure is blind and navigates the world by touch, with the help of a miniature of her neighbourhood that her father built for her. Werner is a German orphan who discovers a talent for fixing radios, catching the attention of the Nazi Youth. Their paths collide in Saint-Malo as they both try to face the devastation of the War.

6. The Grapes of Wrath Author: John Steinbeck Year: 1939 Genre: Realist Steinbeck’s enduring tale tells the story of a family of tenant farmers during the Great Depression. Driven from their home in Oklahoma, they travel west to California, seeking a brighter future in the promised lands.

7. The Three-Body Problem Author: Liu Cixin Year: 2014 (English Translation) Genre: Science Fiction

13

2. Bad Science Author: Ben Goldacre Year: 2008 Genre: Non-Fiction Dr Ben Goldacre, a columnist in the Guardian, gathers together his research on the pseudoscience peddled by the media, from nutrition to homeopathy, showing his readers how to recognise “bad science” for themselves.

4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Author: Jean-Dominique Bauby Year: 1997 Genre: Memoir In 1995, Bauby, editor-in-chief for Elle magazine, suffered a stroke that left him paralysed and speechless. He wrote The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, his autobiography, entirely through blinking his left eye. This memoir tells the story of triumph through the hardest of times.

5. The Garden of Evening Mists Author: Tan Twan Eng Year: 2012 Genre: Literary Fiction Set in highlands of Malaya, Eng’s novel tells the story of Yun Ling, whose sister was killed during the Japanese Occupation of her country. Her journey to memorialise her sister leads her to The Garden of Evening Mists, where she becomes the apprentice to a former gardener of the Emperor of Japan.

In 1967, Ye Wenjie saw her father beaten to death during China’s Cultural Revolution, an event that would shape the future. Four years later, nanotech engineer Wang Miao is tasked with infiltrating a secret group of scientists after a series of suicides. The mission leads to a virtual world ruled by the interaction of its three suns and The Three Body Problem, where all the answers lie.

September 2016

14

New Society Aims to Bring the Culture of Africa to Campus

By Nicole Munyaradzi & Aisling O’Connor

and encourage people to embrace and celebrate the the African Culture through music, dance, food, fashion also embracing history and various cultures”.

The Africa Society hopes to educate both Africans and Non-Afri-

cans on the history, culture, and life in present day Africa.

The society will be holding events and acitives all semester such as African Food Day, African Dance lessons, Cooking Tutorials, and an African Fashion

The new UL African Society was announced recently.

The new societies mission is to “bring the African Culture to UL

show.

They will also join other African Societies around the country for activies, with the main event being the All Ireland African Student Association Ball.

The African Societies says “with all the fun positive activities shedding light on the good, we can’t simply ignore the negatives sides of Africa, we will also raise awareness on these issues”.

They will work with one charity organisation that works with countries in Africa to help them with fundraising and projects,

such as Afro Fest Day. The African Society welcomes everyone to “celebrate the enriched Africa Society”.

Join us on this adventur as a new society. As

they say - we all came from Africa!

The African Society can be found on Facebook, or ulafricasociety@studentmailul.onmicrosoft.com.

UL Social Democrats - New Politics

By Declan Mills Ireland is quite unique among Western democracies in that its main political divide is not between left-wing and right-wing or liberal and conservative, but between two centrist parties whose initial divide was over the issues of the Anglo-Irish

Treaty and the Irish Civil War. What happens when the two main parties in a country are not divided on any major ideological issue for most of a century?

Homogeneity. Other parties try to carve out spaces for themselves but the two biggest parties contest each

election on remarkably similar platforms which generally only differ in sections which are reactions to their rival platform. Successive governments have broadly-speaking similar policies. Issues get swept under the rug.

Smaller parties have to bow to the wishes of the larger ones, or be confined to opposition forever. Over time, some of them even begin to take on the centrist characteristics of the parties they continually find themselves beholden to.

On top of this, the vast majority of large political decisions in Ireland are made from the top-down. The larg-

er parties make a show of consulting with the party grassroots on certain issues, especially the selection of candidates, but when the chips are down most party decisions are made by the leadership in ways that ensure the continuation of their party’s power, whether or not they have a mandate to make such decisions from either the party grassroots or the voters. Manifesto promises get thrown aside in favour of a few seats at the Cabinet table, and small numbers of independent TDs can hold a government hostage, giving a slender majority a chance at Dáil survival with

no interest in the new government’s policies or principles as long as they get what they want for their constituency.

The Social Democrats are doing things differently. With a membership ranging from experienced TDs to people who got involved in politics as a result of the referendum campaign last year, the party recognises the importance of its grassroots.

Policy discussions are open to all members, and individual members can and do have a real impact on party policy. Furthermore, the Social Democrats aren’t interested in sacrificing their principles, even refusing after the

last general election to countenance any coalition offer that would force us to drop our core manifesto promises.

Does this sound interesting to you? The UL Social Democrats are running a wide range of events over the coming year, starting on Saturday 24th September with a trip to Dublin for the March For Choice. We will also be holding our AGM soon, and we’ll be doing everything from hosting guest speakers to running fun events and bake sales. For more information, find us on Facebook or get in touch with us at ulsocdems@gmail.com

September 2016

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Tower Seminar Series Welcomes Rusangano Family to IWA

By Hannah Carr-Murphy This semester’s Tower Seminar Series kicked off with Rusangano Family on the 7th of September in the ICO studio.

The performance was titled “Performing Irish Identity” and coordinated by Kathleen Turner of the Irish World Academy faculty.

The Rusangano Family is a musical trio based in Limerick city; their music draws together sounds and stories from across countries and genres to create a challenging, energetic and truly revelatory sound.

When asked about how their music relates to current genres and

sub-genres of hiphop, beatman mynameisjOhn responded, “We’re trying to make our own lane.”

When asked about the history of hiphop as protest music, the group said they viewed “celebration as a form of protest” as valid as any other.

The three members of the group are God Knows, originally of Zimbabe, MuRli, of Togolese descent and mynameisjOhn, who grew up in Ennis.

The event was organized as part of a series of events engaging with the legacy of the 1916 rising, and Rusangano Family was asked to speak on Irish identity as both an inner knowledge and an outer performance.

Rusangano Family performs on campus September 7

For frontman God Knows, Irish identity was a choice he had to make during his growing up, to feel belonging and peace.

For mynameisjOhn, Irish identity “is about the warmth and the welcome of the people of Ireland.”

At the performance on UL’s campus, as well as on their latest album, they featured spoken word artist Denise Chaila.

Her track “Isn’t Dinner Nice?” gives voice to challenging stories of sexism, violence against women and

Photo credit Maurice Gunning

sexual assault.

When asked what the motivation behind including Denise on the album, MuRli talked about how the group, as men, wanted to let women speak on Rusangano Family records, instead of speaking for women.

Rusangano Family’s latest album, “Let the Dead Bury the Dead” is available for purchase on their bandcamp page.

Be sure to check the schedule of future Tower Seminar Series on the Irish World Academy site.

SULIS Gets a Reboot for 2016/17

By Aisling O’Connor

Sulis had a major upgrade over summer.

The website now has a new interface with UL’s colours and branding, said Eamonn Fitzgerald.

Other changes include how the “My Workspace” tools menu now allows more whitespace for notifications as it is now collapsible, and a Virtual Classroom (BigBlueButton) which is available campus wide.

Fitzgerald listed the changes such as the new sign-up tool for staff who wish to replace the “sign-up sheets on the door” which allows students to sign up for office hours, meetings, review sessions, and other events on Sulis.

Group submissions can be submit to the Assignments section and a grade can now be allocated to a group.

Staff can also have as many “Lessons” pages that are necessary, each

of these pages are customizable, can include links to other site tools and conditional release of items and content.

Audio can be posted

to Sulis as the “Rich Text Editor” has a recording button that allows 3 minutes of audio to be recorded.

This is “useful, perhaps

for announcements or feedback” Fitzgerald said.

The updated Sulis is neater as the site drawers are clearly listed on

the top of the page.

A series of presentations and seminars are due to run during Weeks 3 and 4, Mr Fitzgerald said.

September 2016

16

Clubs & Socs Recruitment Drive

By Paul Saunders Over 6,000 students have joined the Wolfpack after the Clubs and Societies recruitment drive was held in UL Sports Arena.

The recruitment drive drew a record crowd as it entered its tenth year of showcasing the best activities the UL campus has to offer.

A successful Students’ Union referendum bid in early 2016 means that, even with growing student numbers, clubs and societies will be able to cater for larger membership numbers.

Clubs & Societies Coordinator Michelle Whyte said: “With a new student centre and improved facilities on the horizon the future looks even brighter for the ULSU Wolfpack.”

Clubs and Societies saw an increase of over 1,400 sign ups compared to last year.

However, it is not too late to join a club of your choosing as you can register on: www.ulwolves.ie/clubsandsocs and choose from over 70 clubs and societies.

You don’t have to be a student to join; special membership is available to UL Staff and former UL students, as well as members of the public.

For more information check out the ulwolves website or email info@ulwolves.ie

September 2016

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September 2016

18

Off to a Rocking Start

By Nicole Glennon

In the first of the Music Societies Tuesday night gigs, Cider Wasps took to the stage to a relaxed but enthusiastic crowd.

The four-piece band hailing from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford returned to the Stables stage on Tuesday last.

There was an air of excited anticipation as the alternative rock band consisting of brothers Danny and Tommy Dunford, Stephen Keating and Colin Drummey entered the stage for the first time.

The band begun the night with a new orig-

the time the classic Killers cover came, a mosh pit had formed in the courtyard with attendees screaming ‘I got soul but I am not a soldier’ at the top of their lungs. As the tune ended with ample amount of head banging from the Dunford’s and Keating, a fervent round of applause erupted from the audience.

Among the epic covers we heard tracks from the ‘Here’ EP, the band’s first studio release. Tunes like ‘Big Al’ and ‘Tongue Tied’ proved that the Waterford natives are far more than just a cover band. The Dunford

inal tune, ‘80 Beats per second,’ an energetic and catchy tune that set the tone for the rest of the night.

The two-hour set mostly consisted of covers of popular alternative, rock and indie hits. Highlights included covers like ‘Use Somebody,’ ‘Californication,’ ‘Pumped up Kicks’ and ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ where lead singer Danny Dunford asked the crowd to sing along and the student body earnestly obliged.

The cover from the Strokes was the first to get people up and dancing at the front of the stage, but by

brothers harmonized beautifully on ‘Lúnasa,’ with personal and endearing lyrics like ‘Of the billion dreams that can’t be / you’re the only one that I see.’

As the band began to leave the stage and the crowd began to disperse, phones were whipped out to find the band on social networks.

The group have supported the likes of Walking on Cars and The Original Rudeboys in the past and from Tuesday’s performance, it’s not too hard to imagine them following in their fellow Irish artist’s footsteps.

Arguing Against Millenial Apathy

By Carrie Burns

Growing up as millennials, we’ve heard all the wonderfully observant descriptions of how our generation is viewed by our parents and grandparents- confident, team-oriented and tech-savvy, yet also lazy, entitled, narcissistic and sheltered.

According to a 2016 Millennial Dialogue Report, 54% of Irish millennials would consider themselves to be “not that interested” in politics. When asked to rank seventeen different values in order of which was the largest priority to the smallest priority, “taking an interest in politics” came in dead last- “taking an interest in music” and being connected to

peers via social media were viewed as more important.

About what, exactly?

Nearly everything. Education, work, relationships, aspirations –you name it. We’re supposedly apathetic in literally every aspect of our young lives.

More recently, though, millennials specifically have been dubbed as politically apathetic. Why? Because the survey and exit poll numbers cumulated throughout the years actually support such a discouraging claim.

In a 2015 PRRI millennial report, it was found that nearly half of American millennials overall do not engage politically, or report no civil or political involvement. More re-

cently, a 2016 Harvard Political Review article stated that in a survey, over 70% of millennials would not consider themselves politically engaged or active. The Environics Institute released a report in 2012 showcasing that only 20% of Canadians aged eighteen to twenty-nine feel like they actually understand the most important political issues going on in their country.

Regardless of country or location, our generation is also really bad at showing up to the polls. Considering all the data above and looking strictly at the figures, on paper it makes sense: millennials simply don’t care about anything beyond pop culture and them-

selves, and as such don’t worry about staying in tune with the going-ons of the world to actually go out and vote.

The humor in all this is that while it makes sense where this perception is coming from, in actuality I see something very different. Our generation is weary.

It’s discouraged with the structure of their government, tired of watching the system make the same continual mistakes in favor of the same people.

Regardless of country, frustration is felt when politicians are viewed as unproductive, dishonest figures.

Resentment cumulates when millennials feel as though they’re not being represent-

ed and their opinions aren’t being heard, when intimidating rhetoric is used to describe an issue or bill at play that they don’t understand. Disengagement occurs when government figures glaze over their demographic, and instead focuses on issues mostly pertaining to older generations.

I continually witness my friends and fellow peers engage in a multitude of civic duties, see them donate their time to volunteering and organizing community events, listen closely as they reflect upon their mixed ambivalence towards a major current event or social issue.

And there’s numbers for this, too. In 2015, a survey done by the

annual Millennial Impact Report revealed that 70% of American millennial employees spent at least an hour volunteering in 2014, with 37% volunteering up to 11 hours. Clubs and organizations dedicated specifically to the purpose of reaching out to communities and offering their time and talents are overwhelmingly popular on a multitude of college campuses across the world- just look at the President’s Volunteer Award right here at UL. I hate to break it to you, but getting involved and giving back is all politics in some varying form.

So this idea that millennials are apathetic?

Not in the slightest.

We’re just frustrated.

September 2016

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Life of a College Veggie

By Aisling O’Connor

the Juice & Sushi stall.

Most days I prefer to bring my own lunch as I know exactly what’s in it.

When I stopped eating meat I felt drained because I cut it out completely instead of introducing a different source of protein.

Chickpeas, nuts, and tofu are all excellent.

Falafel, as it’s made from chickpeas, is great for lunch. It’s perfect

It can be tricky being a vegetarian in college, or pretty much anywhere for that matter, as eating out can be difficult.

Most restaurants offer only one or two vegetarian options on their menus so choice is limited. Stables do a pretty good vegetable curry and the Farmers Market favourite of mine is the vegetarian sushi at

in a wrap with lettuce, sunflower seeds, and mayonnaise or sweet chili.

When I get tofu I cut it up and fry it so I can leave it in the fridge for a few days to put into curries, stir-fries, and even toasted sandwiches (but some people think that’s weird).

I used it to replace the chicken in enchiladas once and it surprisingly tasted better!

Top 5 Student Beauty Budget Buys

By Maeve Wrixon I must admit that I am That Girl who enjoys splashing out on luxury beauty products.

However, after my recent move to university and my subsequent limited student budget, I was left with no other option than to switch to more affordable beauty products.

Here are five trusty reliables that have made their way into my makeup bag after I was pleasantly surprised to discover, that each product surpassed the expectation that was delivered by the relatively cheap price.

1. Brow’s That Brow, Seventeen.

Eye brow products can be the difference between a polished finished look and a messy out-dated one.

Even if you have over plucked your eyebrows, (which we‘re all guilty of

at some stage) the Seventeen ‘Brow’s That Brow’ kit is a blessing.

Containing a wax, a powder and a highlighter along with a mini brow pencil and brush, this product is small, compact and perfect for those on the go.

This brow product is a steal, at an astonishing €7.59.

2. Sparkle Dust, Inglot.

Inglot’s highlighter, known as ‘sparkle dust’ does exactly what is says on the tin.

The ‘sparkles’ can allow you to have the best of both worlds by being thoroughly blended in for a subtle glow or stand out with a distinct sliver cast for nights out.

Inglot’s ‘Sparkle Dust’ prices at €20.00, which may seem pricey for a highlighter but is well worth the investment due to its durability.

3. Colour Tattoo Eye shadow, Maybelline.

Colour Tattoo Eye shadow is an essential product that no student should be without…for brightening up those tired study (or party) eyes.

This beauty product’s versatility allows it to be worn as either a base for other eyeshadow or on its own.

Its creamy texture makes colours look richer and vibrant and it glides on without creasing.

This product is €10.49, making it affordable for those on a tight budget.

4. Radiance Reveal Foundation, Bourjois Paris.

This inexpensive foundation (€12.99) has a lightweight feel without compromising its coverage.

The ‘Healthy Mix’ radiates a long lasting fresh feeling and will stay

put throughout your working day or night out.

It creates an even complexion and is soft and easy to blend.

5. I Love Extreme –Volume Mascara, Essence.

Mascara, the make-up product that brings a look together, is an essential in all our make-up bags.

While it might be time to ditch that pricey mascara never fear, Essence Mascara which is an astonishing €2.50, - creates long voluminous lashes.

The deep-black, thick texture covers each lash individually creating lengthy lashes perfect for both day and night use, it’s a handbag staple for every student.

With the use of these inexpensive but excellent quality products, makeup has never looked so good.

Limericks from Limerick

By Martin Lennon

Good Fruit Tempted by the fruit of another The man turned his back on his Brother He wanted to make hay Outside the month of May Letting down his Son and his Daughter

September 2016

20

Self-defence a campus necessity

By Aisling O’Connor

The member in question had no self-de“I was getting followed fence training at the home for a few weeks, time of the incident. and then one day this “I had no idea what guy followed me into to do. I thought I was campus and grabbed about to get raped or me,” a UL student and murdered,” she said.

Krav Maga member, She decided to join who wishes to remain UL’s Krav Maga Club anonymous, told An the following semester.

“When I joined there Focal.

The incident hap- was more boys than pened just outside the girls in the club, obviflagpoles in late No- ously lads get attacked vember last year. Only too, but I think this is two other people were something more girls around but they didn’t need to take an interest see the episode, she in. Girls don’t even feel safe going to the bathsaid.

room alone on a night out, so we really should learn how to defend ourselves.”

Krav Maga is Hebrew for “contact combat.”

UL’s Krav Maga classes teach members how to defend themselves from standing and ground attacks, defend oneself from a group, and from weapons such as knives.

The member in question said the hold her attacker had her in was covered in Krav Maga.

Although originally developed to teach

the Jewish self-defence during the 1940s, and later used by the Israeli Defence Force, Krav Maga is now a popular system of self-defence for anyone.

UL’s Club was established in 2008 and train twice a week from 20:15 – 22:00 on Mondays and 19:00 – 21:00 on Wednesdays in the PESS building.

“I’m obviously not an expert at Krav Maga, but I feel a lot safer now” she concluded.

UL - A Haven for Athletes

By Dave Mahedy

Thomas Barr and Michelle Finn were the shining lights of the University of Limerick’s student representatives at Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The pair followed in the footsteps of Gary Ryan, Thomas Comyns and Jessie Barr in being Olympians while studying at UL. However, they are not the only UL connection with this year’s Olympics

and a medal connection at that.

In the build up to the Rio Olympics, three swimmers representing Great Britain spent a month on the UL Campus living in the Altitude House in Kilmurry Village, while training in the UL Sport 50m Swimming Pool.

Swimmers James Guy, Dan Wallace and Cameron Kurle along with coach Jol Finck stayed on Campus in July and they departed for the

Brazilian capital from UL, before picking up three silver medals between them.

The thinking behind their visit was to live at altitude and train at sea level to improve their preparation. Incredibly UL provided them with this opportunity, rather than having to set up their base in mountainous regions in Spain, South Africa or the USA. There is a house in Kilmurry Village that can simu-

late altitude and what’s more, each room can be regulated to reflect a different altitude depending on the training schedule. As a result, the swimmers lived and slept in air that was the same as 4,000 ft. or more - strolled over to the UL Sport Arena and trained as normal in the pool. Now is that amazing or what?

In fact, on a number of occasions, particularly at weekends, our Aquatics Manager, Alan Ward opened the swimming pool especially for their training at very late hours that would coincide with their swimming times in Rio itself. To say they were

delighted with their stay is an understatement. However, the major bonus for UL was not just the fact that they trained here, but that they won three silver medals. James Guy availed of two silver medals from the 4 x 200 freestyle and 4 x 100 medley relays, with Dan Wallace also winning silver in the 4 x 200m relay.

Their impact was not only felt on the staff at the arena, but they interacted with the public, which only added to the stock which they were held in.

In July, Swim Ireland hosted their Irish Age Group Division Two Championships in the Arena and all three GB swimmers put on brilliant swimming demonstrations for the youngest swimmers in Ireland’s aquatic system to experience and see

first-hand what Olympic standard medallists are like in the pool. It was a classy touch and offered great memories to the next generation of swimmers to enjoy.

Limerick’s Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan also met with the GB swim group while presenting the medals for the aforementioned Swim Ireland Gala.

While Thomas, with his incredible fourth place finish in the 400m, and Michelle, with her wonderful run in the steeplechase, took our full attention, it was nice to applaud the success of the GB swimmers who chose to spend their last training month on the UL Campus.

Their efforts saw them win three silver medals and we helped in a small way on their journey!

From Left-to-right: Jol Finck (coach), Dave Mahedy (UL Sports Director), Dan Wallace, James Guy, Cameron Kurle, Alan Ward (Aquatics Manager)

September 2016

21

Angel Lane MMA Charity Fight Cancelled Due to Poor Ticket Sales

By David Byrne & Paul Saunders Two University of Limerick students were forced to cancel their upcoming mixed martial arts fight (MMA) for charity due to low ticket sales.

Christopher Irwin and Tadhg O’Connor, both in 2nd year, were due to participate in a MMA fight run by White Collar Cage Fighting Limerick, on Friday 21st October in Angel Lane.

Mr Irwin and Mr O’Connor, both members of UL’s Taekwando and Krav Maga clubs, had named The Mercy Hospital (Irwin) and Nurture Africa (O’Connor) as their respective charities.

Mr O’Connor said: “I just wanted to get in

there, I wanted to fight and maybe bring some attention to Mixed Martial Arts because it’s the future. I was pissed it was cancelled.”

Both fighters were due to receive two months of intensive training with White Collar Cage Fighting Limerick as long as they sold a total of 20 tickets each for the event in Angel Lane.

“I was pretty disappointed, I mean I was doing up to nearly 14 hours of training a week towards the end of the summer and although it’s not exactly all gone to waste, I’ll still keep it up, I just wanted to show what I could do, “ Mr Irwin said.

Both men believe that with the rise of Irish

MMA, there should be a move away from the Irish tradition of boxing into more diverse fighting disciplines.

Mr O Connor said “there are very few

MMA organisations in this country… I guarantee you if Ireland had as many MMA gyms as boxing gyms you’d see less boxers and more Irish Cage Warriors

Champions and UFC champions.”

At grassroots level it seems that a lot more work has to be done to promote participation in the sport in Ireland.

While Conor McGregor’s and the UFC’s success is skyrocketing, the local MMA fight scene in Ireland is struggling to gain a following, but that won’t deter Mr Irwin from making his debut.

“I will no doubt be in an MMA fight; I might take my time though, because this may have been a blessing in disguise that I didn’t fight. You don’t need to be a MMA fighter to know how little time 4 months is to train for a fight, so if I’m looking to fight it would possibly happen sometime

next year,” Mr Irwin said.

Mr Irwin talked on how following the sport can be a “long term commitment” and that some fans don’t know where to start when it comes to local MMA fights.

The majority of fighters were unable to sell 20 tickets even though extensive promotional work was carried out by White Collar Cage Fighting Limerick, who recently featured on JOE. ie to promote previous fights.

In a time when Conor McGregor has brought UFC to the attention of many Irish households, it may be sometime more before local MMA sees the benefits of his success.

UL Motorsport Race in to the New Year

By UL Racing & Motorsport Society

After a successful Recruitment Drive, UL Racing & Motorsport Society are kicking the year off in high gear.

We’re looking to build on the successes of last year, when we managed to break record attendances at all of our events and went on our biggest international trip yet to the 2016 Geneva Motor Show in March.

Although some of our members have graduated and moved on, there are so many new fresh, enthusiastic faces for the coming year, with

over half of our membership brand new to ULRM. Our first event of the semester was our annual Endurance Event in the National Kart Centre in Corbally.

We had 9 teams of 5 drivers competing in a 2-hour endurance race.

While it was purely for fun, our Karting Captain has already spotted a large number of drivers with great potential, with one of our drivers even managing to set a new track record!

Our Internal League will be kicking off in Week 3.

Last year we introduced a new points

system for the leagues which meant the battle continued up until the very last round.

This year, with our new members impressing us so early, we expect the battle this year to be more exciting than Vettel versus Alonso!

We will be holding our EGM On Thursday 29 September at 6pm in Room 3 in the Students’ Union so come along and give us any ideas you might have for the coming year!

We will also be able to sign up new members for anyone who didn’t get to join us at the Recruitment Drive.

September 2016

22

UL GAA Success Continues

By Caoimhín Reilly The 2015/2016 academic year was one of unprecedented success for the UL GAA club, at senior level in particular.

Each of the Sigerson Cup (Men’s Football), O’Connor Cup (Ladies’ Football), Fitzgibbon Cup (Hurling) and Ashbourne Cup (Camogie) squads reached their respective finals’ weekends – a unique feat for the UL GAA Club.

Even more remarkable is the fact that, with the exception of the men’s footballers, the other three senior representations reached their particular finals.

Although the camogie team were the only ones to bring silverware back to Castletroy with captain Laura McMahon scoring an injury time goal to snatch victory from UCC. UL is heralded as a hurling, camogie and ladies’ football stronghold.

Indeed, last year was the second consecutive year that they reached the deciders in all three

codes.

The Brian Lohan managed hurlers surrendering their title after a double extra time period in the final held at CIT. The O’Connor Cup team, managed by Fiona McHale and DJ Collins, were thwarted in their three-in-a-row quest by UCD, who claimed the title by a single point.

The match will always be remembered for the Ward twins, Louise (UL) and Nicole (UCD), facing off against one another.

Speaking to An Focal regarding last year’s GAA exploits across the codes, UL GAA Development Officer Deirdre Murphy said: “I think that all players and mentors involved in the club are proud of the achievement of having 5 teams make the weekend. However, all involved in the Fitzgibbon and O’Connor Cup panels had winning the competition as their aim and would have been bitterly disappointed to lose by such narrow mar-

gins, regardless of the quality of the games.

“I know this will spur them on even more for the 2016/2017 season.

As a club, our players and coaches set very high standards for themselves and we are always seeking to win championships outright.”

Last year, the men’s senior football team reached the last four of the Sigerson Cup for the first time in 19 years, eventually exiting the competition to eventual winners UCD. The progression that the team made last year under Brian Carson bodes well for 2017 as they look to reach the

latter stages of the competition once more.

Numbers playing all codes of GAA in UL have significantly risen during her time in charge, and Murphy highlights the dedication of the players, mentors and the entire UL GAA community as being the main reasons behind the progression.

“The main reason behind the rise in playing numbers and the profile of the club is down to the fantastic students and the hard work, time and effort our players put into running and promoting the club.

Each year the students have become more and more active, with the

captains and club officers playing really significant roles,” Murphy added.

UL has long been thought of as the most attractive third-level institute in terms of its ability to offer sporting talents the opportunity to develop and reach their peak.

As Olympians Thomas Barr and Michelle Finn have shown, UL is Ireland’s premier breeding ground for budding athletes to improve and bring themselves to the elite level.

In GAA terms, UL are building their reputation on a constant basis.

Scholarship programmes are being de vel op e d and improved on an annual basis, while the GAA club’s facilities appear to be their unique selling point.

“The UL GAA Council also plays a crucial role in

supporting our players and all club related activities. Obviously, having a top class coaching structure in place facilitates creating the right environment for players to develop and enjoy playing for UL. We are indebted to all those who put time into UL GAA club, regardless of how big or small a part they play.’’

The UL GAA club is a vibrant part of the college campus and it is expected that the club will grow as a result of the ‘Yes’ vote in last semester’s referendum, meaning that €28.5 million will be put towards further student and sporting facilities on campus.

Down the line, the Yes vote could prove significant for UL and its GAA community, with more playing pitches planned as part of the development.

This improvement will see the GAA club able to cater for the increased demand for teams in every code, and surely future onfield success is inevitable.

September 2016

23

The New Home of Rugby

By Patrick Earley On the 4th of September, Munster Rugby began moving in to their new High Performance Centre on the grounds of UL, somewhere they can now call home.

The new facility has everything tailor-made for the needs of all involved in Munster Rugby with a new gym, offices, audio visual suites, a lecture theatre, dressing rooms to name but a few.

The cost of the project came to a sizeable €9.5 million and is 18 months in the making but this state-of-the-art facility will now give Munster Rugby the opportunity to move up to another level.

In an interview with Team Manager Niall O’Donovan, he said that the new facility was needed as Munster needed to keep moving with

the times or else face being left behind by heavy-spending English and French clubs such as London Wasps and Toulon.

“As other teams got stronger, in the sense of the amount of money getting pumped in, we felt the need to be together on a more continuous basis,” which for Munster means training together five days a week as opposed to conducting sessions in Limerick and in Cork.

Mr O’Donovan also confirmed the facility will be open to all Munster Rugby teams and that they will continue to use the fantastic facilities on offer at the UL Sports Arena, which the High Performance Centre has been built on to.

“We have everything we need plus the facilities in UL which are second to none. We

are at the tail end of the arena here, there is nothing like that in the country,” he said.

Before this new facility, players usually only trained together twice a week whereas now, all players train in Limerick together from Monday to Wednesday at the very least which allows trainers to track players progress and the teams progress as a whole much more easily.

From Monday to Wednesday, players start their day with injury clinics at 7:45 and remain in UL until after 4 o’clock when they finish up their jam-packed training day with a strength and conditioning session.

O’Donovan himself has the unenviable role of co-ordinating everything that goes on with the team, management and staff on any given day.

“We have 45 players, a staff of 25 and altogether around 80 people here who need to know where they are going, what they are doing on a daily basis, just the general running of the place really,” he said.

When asked from his own experience why Munster were such a special team, O’Donovan replied: “There was always something

special about putting on a Munster jersey, a humility about the way they went about their work.”

“It’s the characters that have come through it that have made Munster,” he added.

O’Donovan loves his role with the province and has no intention of going anywhere as this exciting period of transition with

the new High Performance Centre and new Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus takes shape.

“I coached here for about five years up to 2000 and then went in and coached Ireland for seven years.”

“When I finished with Ireland I came back here so I couldn’t see myself working anywhere else.”

Airsoft Makes an Exciting Return to UL Clubs & Societies

By Ul Airsoft Society UL Airsoft society held its first AGM on the 19th of September Health and Science Building. We discussed the plan for the year and voted in our new committee members.

New Members can

sign up on the UL Wolves website and pay at our weekly meetings.

Active members can book a place on our first trip which will be capped at 50 people, so book as soon as possible.

The first trip is set for the 24th of September at Limerick Airsoft

Camp. which is located approximately 20 minutes from UL. Wolfie might make an appearance there to show his support to this awesome new society so hopefully you will too.

So join up and experience the thrill of Airsoft!

September 2016

24

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