Vol. XXVI, Issue 4, UO

Comment

Features

Science

Sport

Why make the rich richer?

Ireland and the Death Penalty

Stop telling god what to do!

Ireland’s Greatest Sportsperson

Michael Tuohy

Sam Keane

P5

P8

Vanshika Dhyani

Christine Coffey

P13

P20

THE UNIVERSITY VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

OBSERVER 26th November 2019

UCD to sell Richview In an emergency meeting held on August 29th 2019, UCD’s Governing Authority (GA) voted to sell Richview and the surrounding lands to partly fund the upcoming Gateway project.

Sources from UCD staff told The University Observer that the board were given approximately one hour to debate and vote on selling the land. Members were given 10 days notice of the emergency meeting. There is currently no representative from the School of Architecture, which is situated in Richview, sitting on Governing Authority, and it is unclear as to whether or not they were consulted about the sale before it was voted on.

UCD’s Governing Authority, comprised of 40 members, is made up of professorial and non professorial UCD staff, county councillors and others elected by the Association of Irish Local Government, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, other UCD figures such as President Andrew Deeks and Registrar Mark Rodgers, and student representatives from the Students’ Union. GA meets to guide the strategic direction of the University and oversee policy.

“the board were given approximately one hour to debate and vote on selling the land. Members were given 10 days notice of the emergency meeting.”

The day following the emergency GA meeting, August 30th, Project Ireland 2040 announced a €25 million funding allocation for the ‘Future Campus’ project. The ‘Future Campus’ project, which encompasses the Gateway facility will include approximately 22,500m² of new teaching, learning and research facilities, a Centre for Creativity and a Centre for Future Learning. Along with the announcement

universityobserver.ie

Gavin Tracey and Aoife Mawn

of funding, UCD confirmed that the use of the funds, alongside the Centre for Creativity and a Centre for Future Learning, would be to “house expanded engineering provision and the UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy.” It is understood that the current classroom space and teaching facilities in Richview will be moved to the new Gateway facility alongside the School of Engineering.

“Sources have told the Observer that the estimated selling cost for Richview is between €10 to €15 million.”

In August 2019, UCD announced that they had “received confirmation of a major donation from a private philanthropist for the Centre for Creativity.” The Gateway project is expected to cost €48 million. The total estimated cost of the ‘Future Campus’ project is €190 million. Sources have told the Observer that the estimated selling cost for Richview is between €10 million to €15 million. It is understood that the rest of the funding will be made available in the form of a loan from the European Investment Bank. It is estimated that the site and buildings would cost a further €10 million to €15 million to refurbish once it has been purchased.

The Gateway Project was announced in early 2018. An 8,000m² landmark building will be situated at the N11 entrance, surrounded by a plaza and reflecting pool. The current entrance is described in the brief for the design competition as being “framed by 1960s traffic engineering, is low key, nondescript and unfriendly to pedestrians and cyclists”. The winning design,

by Steven Holl Architects (SHA), is “in part inspired by the Giant’s Causeway”. UCD have said that “the design of the new building will en-

courage creative collaboration and interaction” and will allow “students, faculty and visitors to peer into maker and classroom spaces through glass walls”.

According to sources within UCD contacted by The University Observer, the plan is to sell the building and land to the Department of Education for the purpose of establishing a model school.

Richview Estate, situated on 17.4 acres of land, was purchased by UCD from the Freemasons of Ireland for £2.1 million in 1980 (around €7.5 million in 2019). A former boarding school for orphan boys owned by the Masonic Order, it has been the centre for the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy ever since. The money was provided by the Government in exchange for UCD vacating part of the Merrion Street buildings they occupied.

Arguments put forward during the meeting for selling the lands were that the site is awkwardly positioned in relation to the main UCD campus, and the expenses incurred due to the buildings on the site being older structures that are more difficult to maintain and renovate.

The arguments that were made against the sale of Richview were that it would be a one-off sale with no future potential for revenue, as well as

some concerns pertaining to the new Gateway Project.

“According to the sources within UCD contacted by The University Observer, the plan is to sell the building and land to the Department of Education for the purpose of establishing a model school.”

While not explicitly stated by anyone at Governing Authority, those from UCD staff who spoke to reporters from The University Observer had the impression that the funding for the new Gateway Project was contingent upon the sale of Richview.

UCD responded for request for comment, stating: “We confirm that a special meeting of the Governing Authority was held on August 29, 2019, at which matters of a commercially sensitive nature were discussed.

“In keeping with the code of practice and procedures of the Governing Authority, the confidentiality of proceedings should be upheld by all members, by those in attendance and by those responsible for preparing documents.”

UCD spend over €150,000 since 2017 on events held in University Lodge Gavin Tracey UCD has spent over €150,000 since 2017 on events held in University Lodge, the official residence of UCD President Andrew Deeks. The figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information Request, break down the spending for each year, as detailed in the table below.

In accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3 of Statute 6 of the University, the president is required to reside in University Lodge, the mansion sized residence located at the back of the sports centre. It is a condition of the presidents occupation of the property that they use it for official university purposes.

Amongst these include meeting and entertaining diplomatic and ambassadorial representa-

tives, potential donors to the University and its foundations, visitors to the university who are of senior standing in their academic institutions, and hosting friends of the university who may be receiving honorary degrees or who have offered their services to the university.

Other requirements include using University Lodge to hold meetings regarding senior resource issues, strategy meetings, meetings with partner institutions or potential partner institutions, or interview boards where particularly high levels of confidentiality may need to apply.

The president pays for all normal tenant costs for the private element of the resi-

dence. UCD pays for costs relating to University Lodge’s official usages, outlined above.

University Lodge has been the target of anger in the past. UCD’s decision to spend over €1m in 2004 on renovations, more than had been initially allocated. Fergal Scully, the UCD-

SU President in 2004, questioned the move, in light of the 10% cut to UCD’s budget at the time.

It was argued that due to the nature of the work, as well as it being a listed and protected building, the work was slow going, but necessary for the upkeep of the mansion.

26th November 2019

1

NEWS

Number of international students enrolling in third level institutions outpacing Irish students Aoife Mawn Figures from the 2019 Irish Survey of Student Engagement have shown that the rate at which international students are enrolling in Irish universities is far outweighing that of Irish students.

The survey gathered information from 40,000 undergraduate students and nearly 3000 postgraduate research students from 27 different third level institutions.

In the past three years, the number of international students attending third level in Ireland has increased by 26 percent to 14,412.

Around 2500 of those students are from the U.K, with nearly 900 of those being from Northern Ireland. The study attributed this increase to “uncertainty over Brexit”.

Over the same period, the number of Irish students attending college or university here has increased by 5 percent.

The survey findings reflect the push by third level institutions to encourage more international students to study in Ireland. These students pay higher fees, so therefore are more financially beneficial to Irish universities than their Irish counterparts. The stagnant level of

funding from the government for third level education has caused Irish universities and colleges to put more emphasis on recruiting international students, who can pay up to €45,000 in tuition fees for non-EU students, on top of the Student Contribution Charge, which can be up to €3000, that most students in Ireland also pay. For Irish students, the tuition fees for ones first university degree are paid for by the government, while the Student Contribution Charge is given directly to Irish universities as a type of registration fee to cover the cost of examinations and student services. The push to encourage more international students to attend university here has led to a steady increase in points for Irish students for various courses, meaning that the rate at which Irish students are being accepted into third level courses is lower than that for international students.

The survey also looked at the levels of engagement with academic staff and student to student interaction. The results found that international students report a higher level of engagement with academic staff and professorial staff in their third level institutions than

Irish students, and reported a more supportive atmosphere in their institutions than Irish domiciled students.

In terms of student to student engagement, international students were less likely to report ‘excellent’ relationships and interactions with other students in their institutions than Irish students. This is consistent with previous findings, that attributed the struggle international students have in forming friendships with Irish students to the fact that a number of Irish students commute to and from college, as well as going home at the weekends, while international students tend to remain on campus accommodation. The report suggests that there is work to be done by third level institutions to create and improvement in international students relationships with Irish domiciled students, and not just with the academic staff in their institutions.

UCD has said that it is responding to this finding, which has been prevalent over the past number of Irish Survey of Student Engagement results. In 2019, UCD appointed a Global Experience Manager to assist in initiatives, including the recently renovated Global Lounge

in the restaurant building. Mary Simpson, Director of International Affairs in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) responded to the finding by encouraging Irish students to “reach out and get to know our new international students as they can learn so much from each other”.

The results for international postgraduate research students were more varied.

Around three quarters of respondents reported that their ability to manage their studies and develop key skills had improved and developed while studying in an Irish third level institution.

Likewise, around three quarters also reported being satisfied with their lives in Ireland at the moment, but only around 50% reported satisfaction with their work-life balance and having supports such as someone to talk to.

The results were published just over a week before UCD was named The Sunday Times University of the Year 2020 for excelling in areas such as student satisfaction, degree outcomes and staffing levels. UCD markets itself as “Ireland’s Global University”, with 25% of students enrolled being from outside of Ireland.

Morale of Irish teaching staff being ‘ripped to shreds’ Jade Wilson According to a recent UK expert report, teachers have been suffering from more severe psychological problems than at any point this century. UK charity Education Support predicts that school standards in the UK will fall and mental health problems in the classroom will multiply if the government does not work to create better supports for school teachers.

Those surveyed stated that among the main issues teachers face are being overworked, feeling stressed and not feeling valued. In Ireland, teachers face similar issues. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), which represents approximately 19,000 teachers, has recently announced plans to stage a one-day strike in February as part of their campaign to end the

two-tier pay system in schools.

TUI members voted by a margin of 92% to 8% to engage in industrial action regarding the issue of pay equality in the education sector. TUI President Seamus Lahart said: “Pay discrimination has severely damaged the profession, ripping the morale of staff to shreds and making teaching less attractive to the best graduates.”

As a result, this has led to recruitment and retention issues at schools and colleges throughout the country. In 2018, The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) said a rising workload was contributing to increased stress. Most Irish teachers work over 40 hours per week, comprised of around 21 hours and

20 minutes teaching time and over 20 hours a week on non-teaching activities including planning lessons, marking homework or attending meetings.

The study found that more than one-quarter of teachers do unpaid work for roughly 10 hours per week. This can include pastoral care, supervision of yard times, coordination of school tours, or attending parent-teacher meetings and school open nights.

Research carried out by DCU’s National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre (ABC) in 2018 also found that almost 10% of Irish teachers were victims of cyberbullying, most of which is carried out by their own pupils.

Low pay, the cost of housing and the

stresses faced on the job is leading to many Irish teachers moving abroad for work. It is estimated that 6,000 Irish teachers work abroad, 2,000 of whom are estimated to be working in the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring states, where salaries are higher and perks such as free accommodation and health insurance are included in contracts.

There is now a concern that schools struggling to recruit or retain teachers will lead to a drop in the overall quality of education in Irish institutions.

It’s Official: UCD crowned The Sunday Times University of the Year 2020 Mark Jackson UCD has been named The Sunday Times University of the Year 2020 as part of The Sunday Times Good University Guide. This is the third time UCD has been awarded the title, and it is UCD’s most recent win since 2012. The Good University Guide was published on the 3rd of November this year. For the guide, The Sunday Times analysed the 2018 Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE) and ranked UCD the highest of all the universities in Ireland in terms of student satisfaction.

The Times ranking is different to other rankings such as The World University Ranking in that it analyses the ISSE, a direct insight into how students feel about their own institutions. The ISSE is a survey which institutions all over the country encourage students to take part in and analyses student engagement, classified by the Higher Education Authority as “the extent to which students actively avail of opportunities to involve themselves in educationally beneficial activities” and how institutions enable this.

The data for the guide, published earlier this month, was organised by ranking universities according to marks scored in eight crucial performance areas including student satisfaction and

2 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

progression rate. Student satisfaction was measured with scaled scores out of 60 points across 9 areas of student experience such as learning strategies and student-faculty interaction, to name but two. These were then averaged to get a scaled score for each institution and converted to a maximum possible score, with UCD receiving a score of 126, along with NUIG and IADT. UCD, however, received a total ranking higher than either of these two institutions.

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and Athlone Institute of Technology were the only institutions to surpass this score with scores of 127 and 129 respectively. These are institutes of technology, not universities, which means UCD, NUIG and IADT are the highest-ranking universities on the island in terms of student satisfaction. Trinity College Dublin’s student satisfaction score was seven points lower than UCD’s with a score of 119.

In reaction to UCD being named The University of the Year, Professor Andrew Deeks and President of UCD had this to say: “It is a confirmation of what we’ve seen through our strategic planning process, in terms of the progress that the university has made over the last five years”.

Credit: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo Commenting on UCD’s appeal to prospective applicants, editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, Alastair Mc Call said: “University College Dublin makes a compelling case

to third level applicants with its relentless focus on the student experience.”

NEWS

Survey shows lack of confidence among senior academics in governance of their own institutions Jade Wilson A survey conducted by the polling firm Prospectus has found that senior academics in Ireland lack confidence in the governance and management of their own higher education institutions.

Earlier this year, 343 people in senior positions in Irish higher education and stakeholder groups were invited to complete the survey by education consultants BH Associates. Only 27.5% of respondents said they were happy with the quality of financial management and only 22% of respondents agree that the management capability is of an appropriate standard.

Almost half of the participants reported doubt in the Government’s goal to achieve providing the best education system in Europe over the next decade, citing issues including poor policy support and an unhelpful policy on immigration as barriers. Only one third agreed that Irish institutions are succeeding in attracting world-class academics.

There is strong support among those surveyed for a bigger role for private providers of higher education, despite “national policy not being supportive.” Only 15% of third level students in Ireland are enrolled in private insti-

tutions. Students enrolled in private colleges, such as Griffith College and Dublin Business School, are not eligible for funding through State grants.

Some senior academics surveyed expressed concern that, despite Irish law stating the right for colleges to maintain institutional autonomy, the Department of Education and Higher Education Authority (HEA) over-regulate the sector in a manner that is “not appropriate” and “unnecessarily intrusive”.

The Minister for Education and Skills published draft legislation in July proposing reforms to the powers and functions of the HEA in the higher education system. There is a concern among the higher education staff surveyed that autonomy to manage their internal affairs is “increasingly being encroached on by a political system wedded to command and control”.

Many expressed worry that the sector is also underfunded. In 2018, the Irish Universities Association, of which University College Dublin is a member, called on the government to take steps to increase third-level funding in the 2019 budget.

Jim Miley, Director General of the Irish Universities Association, said “The sector cannot continue to deliver without the politicians of Ireland grasping the funding challenge for the university sector. Without significant additional investment, universities cannot enhance their efforts to improve access and better respond to skills needs across the economy.”

In August, it was announced that The UCD Future Campus Project would be one of five major building projects at five higher education institutions to receive backing through the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) as part of ongoing investment in the sector through Project Ireland 2040. The

total investment in higher education infrastructure is to amount to €100 million.

The President of UCD, Andrew Deeks welcomed the announcement, stating that the fund will allow UCD to grow in ‘size and quality’ over the next decade and “contribute to a flourishing Irish society.” There is anticipated growth in student numbers at UCD of 25% by 2030.

According to 87% of those surveyed, however, further issues such as pay caps and limits on staff numbers are having a negative effect on the overall performance of higher education institutions.

UCC reverses capitation fee increase following legal threat Aoife Mawn University College Cork has reversed its decision to increase its student capitation fee by €200, following threats of litigation from its Students’ Union.

The increase in fees was intended to cover the construction costs for a new Sports Park as part of a new ‘Sports Strategy’ on campus, which students had twice voted against in previous referendums. UCCSU threatened to take a case to the High Court following legal advice. They claimed that it was unlawful to implement the changes without the prior consent

of students.

Over the summer, students occupied the presidents wing of the university to protest the increase. Officers from The Union of Students Ireland (USI) were also in attendance at the protest. They attempted to access the president’s office but were prevented by university staff. Patrick O’Shea, President of UCC, agreed to meet Students’ Union representatives as a result of the protest, but this did not prevent the university from implementing the fee in September. The increase in the fee was done uni-

laterally by the college itself, without influence from any government body, and was not covered by student grants such as SUSI.

UCC has also agreed to refund students for the €80 installment that was paid in September as a result of the decision.

While the decision was widely welcomed, the circumstances in which it was reached have raised questions about the divide between students and the university. USI President, Lorna Fitzpatrick commented, “It’s a positive decision, but it’s a decision that should

have never come in this way.”

This sentiment was echoed by UCCSU President Ben Dunlea, who released a press statement, saying “It is a condemnation of the system that the only barrier to the introduction of a potentially unlawful fee was several Student Union Officers and the students who campaigned alongside us.”

UCC Student Union Sets Up Food Bank For Students Darryl Horan University College Cork’s Student Union has recently set up a food bank for students on their campus. This was the first establishment of a food bank on a campus in Ireland. It follows the increasing number of food banks being set up across the country in response to the increasing levels of poverty students and workers are facing from poor wages, skyrocketing rents and high cost of transport.

The food bank is run by UCC Student Union with students able to collect parcels of food from the UCCSU offices which are open on a weekly basis. The food parcels are donated by local charities. Charities like Feed Cork show that food insecurity exists both on the UCC campus and in wider Cork city. Currently up to 20 students at University College Cork are availing of food parcels on a weekly basis. UCC Student Union expects demand to increase as more students become aware of the food bank.

Speaking to RTE and EchoLive, Naoise Crowley, UCC Students’ Union Welfare Officer, went on to say that ‘financial hardship affects many students, and this is a concrete solution to provide help,’ and that ‘The need for food banks on college campuses is indicative of the rising cost of living for students.‘ The crisis of student poverty comes as living costs around the country have skyrocketed, and support for students in the form of grants and subsidies have remained flat since 2011.

Increases in the cost of housing, transport and university tuition have prices out many students and leaving many more to work sometimes fulltime jobs while undergoing their undergraduate

degree. Tuition fees sit at an all time high of ranging between €3000 and €7574 with many universities now adopting a levy on all students to pay for extracurricular activities, which is a flat flee all most pay includes those on the lowest SUSI income brackets.

The setting up of the UCCSU food bank comes right after UCC’s decision to raise its student accommodation rates by 11.5% in anticipation of student accommodation about to fall under the rent controls in most Irish cities. UCC Students’ Union points out that the rising cost of housing is the largest financial burden for students. In Cork, the cost of renting rose to 7.9% last year. The cheapest on-campus accommodation sits at €5860 per term. For private renters, this price can be as much as €520 a month in Cork City centre for a room. Similarly, high rental costs can be seen in Dublin where a room can easily hit €700 a month in the city centre. A particularly egregious example of high rents is the rise of purpose-built private student accommodation. These housing complexes are marketed to international students at prices ranging from €800-€1200 euro per month.

UCC Student Union sees the core issue as one of inadequate government funding. The pause in increases in SUSI since the recession has reduced the ability of low income students to afford college and forcing many to choose between basic necessities like forgoing one meal a day to afford the monthly rent. “Student poverty and financial hardship is a massively underestimated issue in Irish universities, with approximately 36% of students in Ireland experiencing

‘severe financial problems’,” Naoise says. The decision not to raise the minimum wage will disproportionately hurt students, as many work entry level roles in retail and food service. By not keeping their wages in line with the rising cost of living, students will be forced to work more hours to get by financially or reconsider their place in university.

Around the country, student unions, charities and students more generally are voicing their concern at increasing financial hardships that face students in their desire to complete a university level education. UCCSU, TCDSU as well as the USI have all railed against the increase in student poverty in recent years. A 2016 report from USI surveyed students from across the country only to find that 58% of stu-

dents miss at least one meal per day. ‘More than a third (38.7%) of students said they go hungry to fund or stay in college while 25.4% said they go to their Students’ Union, Saint Vincent de Paul or a food bank for food.’

Similar schemes to UCC’s food bank include UCDSU offering food vouchers at its shops to students and clothes swaps to give access to students who cannot otherwise afford retail brands.

In Trinity College Dublin’s Student Union there were attempts to introduce subsidised food to cope with the rising cost of living. Activist groups such as ‘Cut the Rent’ in Trinity College Dublin demand that the university should offer affordable accommodation to its students as opposed to its current for-profit model.

26th November 2019

3

NEWS

UCD Researchers Win SFI Researcher of the Year and Entrepreneurship Award Andrea Andres Two UCD researchers were winners at the 2019 Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Professor Kevin O’Connor won SFI Researcher of the Year for his innovative work in the bioeconomy. He is from the UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science and Director of Beacon, a bioeconomy research centre, while director of the Conway Institute, Professor William Gallagher attained the SFI Entrepreneurship award.

Professor O’Connor has developed a way of transforming dairy byproduct into organic acid. His technology is being applied in the industry as the world’s first “second generation dairy biorefinery.” He has received EU and industry funding of €30 million.

Professor O’Connor said: “I am delighted and honoured to receive this prestigious SFI award,” he said. “It is a recognition of the dedication of the many researchers and industry partners with whom I work and collaborate with, across multiple scientific fields and sectors, at UCD, across Ireland and internationally Through these collaborations we are creating knowledge and translating this knowledge into innovative technological solutions to address global and societal bioeconomy challenges.”

“I would especially like to acknowledge and thank SFI for their funding, and UCD, BEACON Centre members and my wife and

family for all their support,” he said.

While Director of the UCD Conway Institute, Professor William Gallagher, has developed the OncoMasTR test kit, a prognostic test for early stages of breast cancer. This test can aid in reducing the number of cancer patients undergoing unnecessary chemotherapy.

His research established OncoMark, a UCD spin-out company and is currently situated in NovaUCD. The company was able to raise €2.7m through the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument Programme Phase 2. In 2017, it raised another €2.1m. This funding has been used to clinically approve the OncoMasTR and get the CE-marking before its commercial launch.

Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact , was “delighted that two leading members of UCD’s research and innovation community, Professor Kevin O’Connor and Professor William Gallagher, have been recognised by SFI through the Researcher of the Year Award and the Entrepreneurship Award, respectively.”

She said: “The presentation of these prestigious awards reflects the strength and impact of research and commercialisation activities taking place across UCD.”

John Halligan, Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation and Research and Development, congratulated the two winners and said

that the award “recognise the breadth and depth that research encompasses from industry collaborations to public engagement and the innovative breakthroughs that are leading research globally in the areas of Immunology, Biomaterials, cancer research and much more.”

“I would like to congratulate each awardee on their achievements, which illustrate the invaluable knowledge and resource that Ireland’s research community offers.”

New anti-cheating laws lead to crackdowns on essay mills Soham Shingnapure New cheating laws have come into effect in Ireland last week. There has been a legal crackdown on essay writing services provided by a growing number of these “essay mills”. It has been made an offence to advertise or provide such services. New Zealand and Australia have already implemented this ban and have had legislation in place for it since 2011.

The state agency Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) has warned that essay mills pose a serious threat to the integrity of higher education. Essay mills facilitate academic cheating by supplying bespoke written essays and dissertations to students that are written by other

students and academics. The students who pay for these essays then submit them as their own work. The providers claim that these essays are plagiarism-free on that basis that they are ‘original pieces of work’. It can be impossible to establish that they are not the work of the student.

It is currently estimated that there are 5 to 6 major providers of this service in the Irish market and many more smaller providers as well.

One recent UK report revealed that one in seven graduates (14%) has admitted to paying someone else to undertake their assignment. For Australia that number is 6-10% of their student population. International research shows there

has been a sharp rise in the use of these services.

According to the figures compiled by The Irish Times, there have been over 1000 cases of student plagiarism in Ireland since 2010.

Ireland alongside New Zealand and Australia has been one of the few countries to introduce legislation to tackle this problem. The QQI will launch a communications campaign that will inform the providers, learners, advertisers and publishers of the new legislation.

The QQI has also established the National Academic Integrity Network, which comprises representatives of all public and private-third level colleges as well as student representatives.

Its purpose is to create a collaborative approach to tackling the issue. The agency wants to agree upon common definitions of academic cheating and identify a good method to take action against it. They want to develop good practice for the reporting and prosecution of the instances of cheating.

The network had its first meeting on November 14th , which was addressed by Professor Micheal Draper, of Swansea University and Professor Cath Ellis, of the University of New South Wales. Both professors have extensive experience in the area of contract cheating and essay mills.

Study reveals LGBT students face physical and verbal abuse in secondary school Soham Shingnapure A recent survey found that a large number of LGBT pupils in post-primary schools are facing physical and sexual assault, harassment and verbal abuse. Research shows that three out of four LGBT students feel unsafe in school.

A male student recounted how he “was sexually abused by the guys in the PE changing room aged 14 to 17 on a weekly basis. [He] was terrified of PE and this affected [his] attendance on PE days”.

Another student reported that “when kids know you are trans they don’t see you as male or female or human.”

“I am pretty much a one-man zoo. I can’t change this fact and I’m pretty suicidal because of it,” the student said.

One girl said she “was physically and verbally harassed while [she] was in school based on my sexual orientation and because [she] was more masculine than other girls. [She] got yelled at by one student who used ‘dyke’ and ‘lesbian’ in a negative way towards me, then

4 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

repeatedly punched and kicked me while other students watched. This happened on two occasions.’’ These accounts show that this verbal and physical abuse of LGBT pupils affects their grades as well as their mental well being. It also takes a toll on their confidence and leaves them feeling isolated.

The Minister for Education Joe McHugh has been informed of these findings.

He has been called “to take immediate action and prioritise the safety and well-being” of LGBT students.

Columbia University and BeLonG To Youth Services conducted The School Climate Survey. More than 780 students between the ages of 13 and 20 across the country took part in the online survey.

A staggering 77% of respondents experienced verbal harassment, 73% reported feeling unsafe in school while 38% experienced physical harassment and 11% were physically assaulted based on their sexual orientation,

gender or gender expression.

Secondary schools in Ireland are being encouraged to create “safe spaces” and put supports in place for LGBT students to help combat issues such as depression and self-harm. The country’s first handbook on how to set up “gay/ straight alliances” in schools has been produced

by Cork Institute of Technology’s LGBT Society.

It depicts these after-school clubs for students that will provide safe places for stu-

dents to talk and learn about LGBT issues and topics. The students will also find support from or give support to fellow students. The initiative has already attracted strong support from the principals of numerous Cork schools, including those with a strong Catholic ethos.

Tadhg Ó Laighin, principal of Coláiste Daibhéid, a co-educational secondary school in Cork’s Ballintemple, said it was important work for a vulnerable section of every school community.

COMMENT

Why make the rich richer?

With news coming out that the Book of Kells is going to be taken away from public view for restoration for six months, Michael Tuohy asks why Trinity College are allowed to own and profit off it.

Trinity College announced at the end of October that The Book of Kells is to be taken away from public view for four months, due to conservation works required on the famous manuscript’s display area, meaning that the 9th century manuscript is going to be away from public display from November 4th of this year until the start of March 2020. But why is this incredible work in the hands of a private institution instead of being on display with the rest of Ireland’s most important historical artefacts, in either the National Archaeology Museum, in the National Museum of Decorative Arts & History in Collins’ Barracks, or in Kells itself?

“With over 1,000,000 people coming to visit this majestic piece of Art just in 2018 alone, with the number expected to rise this year, this means that Trinity College makes about €12.5 million per year off of the exhibition of this important piece.”

The Book of Kells seldom comes to view in the historical record. The Annals of Ulster, describing it as “the chief treasure of the western world”, recorded that it was stolen from wherever it was created in 1006 for an ornamental shrine. It found its way eventually to Kells, and it remained at Kells throughout the Middle Ages, venerated as the great gospel book of St Columcille, a relic of the saint, as indicated by a poem added in the 15th century. Following the Cromwellian Rebellion of 1641, the church at Kells lay in ruins, and around 1653 the book was sent to Dublin by the governor of Kells, Charles Lambert, Earl of Cavan, in the interests

of its safety. A few years later it reached Trinity College, through the agency of Henry Jones, a former scoutmaster general to Cromwell’s army in Ireland and Vice-Chancellor of the University, when he became Bishop of Meath in 1661. It has since been on display in the Old Library at Trinity College from the mid-19th century.

So that explains how it came to be in Trinity College, but why is it still there? Surely such an important Irish historical artefact should be, at this stage, owned by the Irish Government. Further to this, even if Trinity College own the Book, why is it that they’re allowed to profit off of it? The National Museums of Ireland don’t charge a penny for entry to see incredible pieces from throughout this small island’s giant history, like the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch, and the flag that flew over the GPO during the 1916 Rising, yet Trinity College charges €14 per adult, and €11 per Student to view The Book of Kells. With over 1,000,000 people coming to visit this majestic piece of Art in 2018 alone, with the number expected to rise this year, this means that Trinity College makes about €12.5 million per year off of the exhibition of this important piece.

This kind of money is badly needed by towns with historical significance throughout the country that have been left out to dry by the Irish Government and the Office of Public Works over the last decade. Towns like Drogheda in County Louth, the largest town in Ireland, which is a vital pathway into Ireland’s Ancient East outside of Dublin, and is home to incredible moments of major historical importance in Ireland, like the siege of Cromwell, the Battle of the Boyne, and has major sights like the largest, most scenic Martello Tower in the country, and the oldest Barbican in all of Europe, yet despite

all this, gets barely any funding from the government for the maintenance of these sites.

“Trinity College continues to massively profit off of an artefact they received as a gift from a Cromwellian soldier with no claim of ownership to the artefact”

Yet, Trinity College continues to massively profit off of an artefact they received as a gift from a Cromwellian soldier with no claim of ownership to the artefact. And they have the gall to still raise the cost of their student accommodation to exorbitant heights, try to charge students ridiculously high fees for repeats, and continue with their horrendously high fees for students entering education in the college, despite Trinity being a shell of its former self in terms of academic quality, as evidenced by its continual dropping in lists of the best Universities in the world. There is no good reason for Trinity College to own and profit so highly off of this artefact.

To loosely quote Indiana Jones, it belongs in a museum. In an official, National Museum, alongside the rest of Ireland’s great arte-

facts. You could even say that access to it should be free, but I would point to a previous point I made, that arguably the money currently being made by Trinity College could be put to much better use on smaller, but equally notable sites throughout the country. Trinity College have no truly rightful claim to the ownership of the Book of Kells, it rightfully belongs to every person on this island, and therefore should be brought under the ownership of the Irish Government. You could even argue that that isn’t good enough.

Perhaps it should be brought back to its home in Kells. We’ve already had enough businesses and industries taken from the countryside and brought into the big centralised city. Perhaps it would be a better idea to coax the tourists out of the city for once and out into the neglected parts of our country. The only downside would be having to build a new museum near the site of the Old Kells Abbey, but the benefits to Kells would far outweigh this one downside.

I am not on any boards for planning and development, so maybe these ideas aren’t possible, but there is one thing that’s for certain, there’s no way that Trinity College should continue to profit off of a piece of this island’s history.

Is this the end for Big Tech?

With Investigations into the dealings of large companies like Google and Facebook heating up, Michael Tuohy delves into these dealings and why they could possibly lead to a breakup of these companies In the last few months, American state attorneys, led by Texas and New York, have been delving deep into investigations into Google and Facebook for possible antitrust violations.

This is a big deal. No society has ever centralized control of information as much as we have in big tech, and this is the first real strike at the problem in America. This signifies that the big tech breakup has finally begun.

What have Google and Facebook done to merit such attention from authorities? To put it simply, they use their control of the flow of information to monopolize advertising revenue, killing newspapers around the world and eliminating potential competitors in a host of areas.

Since 2007, a little less than half of all newspaper journalism jobs in the world have been eliminated. Out of America’s 3,000+ counties, twothirds now have no daily newspaper.

Market failures in advertising markets are a strange problem, because no one actually wants advertising. Nonetheless, advertising is critical to give the press a viable financial lifeline, and one shielded by the state. Advertising has financed our news gathering since the early 1800s, and it is unlikely we can have a democracy without the journalism advertising enables.

Facebook’s global revenue will be over €54 billion this year, and Google’s will be nearly €100 billion. The majority of this money used to be directed to publishers. So how do Google and Facebook control ad revenue?

Facebook and Google are basically advertising backends tied to large consumer-facing products. Google has eight products with more than a billion users, and Facebook has four products with more than a billion users. Their business models are quite complex,

but the basics of it is that they try to place ads in front of you while you are trying to communicate or when you are looking for something you want. So far, this doesn’t sound so bad. But Google and Facebook aren’t just getting a lot of online ad revenue growth, they are capturing practically all of it. And this is where data comes in. The most important input for an advertiser is knowing who is watching the ad. If you know who is seeing an ad slot, you can charge a lot of money to tailor it for that person’s specific interest. If you don’t know who is seeing an ad slot, you can’t charge very much at all. Google and Facebook know who is looking at ad slots everywhere and what they are interested in, so they can sell anything any marketer needs.

These corporations enhance their power by getting data from nearly every publisher that exists. Google and Facebook need publishers to serve their large audiences, and publishers need Google and Facebook as distributors.

But the power imbalance is stark. Google and Facebook need publishers, but they don’t need any one specific publisher. By contrast every publisher desperately needs both Google and Facebook to get their content in front of readers. For example, a few years ago Google decided to punish the Wall Street Journal for enacting a certain type of paywall by downgrading the newspaper’s search ranking, lowering the Wall Street Journal’s internet traffic by 44%. Google’s business was unaffected by this.

With this imbalance, both Google and Facebook can and do entice or force, through a host of arrangements, millions of publishers to hand over data about their audiences and subject themselves to specific formatting choices. In other words, Google and Facebook both

compete with publishers for ad revenue and force those publishers to hand over data about their readers and subscribers, data which is the main input that advertisers want. The net effect of this market structure is that news gatherers can produce news, but most of the advertising revenue earned from people consuming that news goes to Google and Facebook. Google and Facebook earn money from other people’s work, which is unfair and anti-competitive. And it’s why newspapers are dying.

A strong set of antitrust suits, regulatory choices, and/or legislation splitting apart these companies and regulating the data used in ad markets can restore the flow of advertising to the people who do the work to earn it. Such actions will restore the strength of our democratic institutions. Normally in America, antitrust enforcement like this would be dealt with by the Federal government, but enforcers employed by

Donald Trump have proved to be irrelevant at best. Instead these investigations are being led by the states. The Republican attorney general of Texas and the Democratic attorney general of New York are informal leaders, meaning that the investigations are bipartisan. We are yet to see a major investigation into the effects that these powerful companies have here in Ireland, and this may have to wait until the investigations by the EU have been fully completed.

These corporations have become too powerful to be contained by democratic societies. We must work through our government to break them up and regulate our information commons, or they will end up becoming our government and choosing what we see and know about the world around us. It’s easy to be despondent about the state of the world. But at least in this case, there are public servants fighting for the people.

26th November 2019

5

COMMENT

Do business degrees have a place in universities?

Garrett Kennedy Universities serve many different purposes depending on who one asks. Some of these are obvious; they analyse societal problems and offer solutions to them, they train people to be better, more critical citizens. Some are more disputable such as whether they should explicitly prepare people for careers.

Nonetheless, many people would probably agree that improving people’s career prospects is undoubtedly one of the primary functions universities serve. This is not inherently problematic. There are many activities which are worthwhile which also serve to improve peoples career prospects such as volunteering in your community or joining a university society. The problems arise when improving career prospects moves from being a significant added advantage of such activities into being their primary function. If you only joined your five a side team so that you could mention it on your CV, that would presumably devalue the experience for your teammates.

In a similar vein, it is an undeniable fact that many universities, and UCD in particular, have become too career focussed. UCD frequently flaunts its ratings as one of the top 100 universities in terms of employability. While this rating is a good thing, the extent to which UCD use this in their marketing over everything else shows where Deeks’ and the university’s priorities lie. UCD advertises itself much more as a means to acquiring a good job than as a means of improving yourself as a human or of fulfilling you intellectually.

This reckless disregard for the importance of creating academically valuable spaces can be seen in the things which Deeks is cut-

ting. Getting rid of the Common Room Club in Newman last year showed that the university does not care about creating spaces for intellectual dialogue to prosper, at least not when profit is on the line.

Spending €7.5 million to refurbish an office instead of buying new library books or funding new scholarships for low-income students. I do not know how one can spend €7.5 million refurbishing an office unless it involves gold plating all the chairs and building an attic in which he can hide a portrait of himself, which for some reason grows older by the day.

Deeks’ and UCD’s focus on maximising profit and employability at the expense of everything else is clear. This is obviously a large problem which cannot be easily solved.

Related to all of this, however, is the existence of business schools. Most university degrees exist in order to fulfil a function which society has deemed important and which requires specific levels of education. Business degrees fit neither of these criteria. They are degrees specifically designed to teach people how to make money.

Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make money. Despite this, such an aim does not belong in universities. The study of business which has a place in universities is economics. This is because it is about how businesses work and how they relate to and impact the rest of society. Many economists go on to work in similar roles as business graduates but the degree is not specifically aimed at teaching you how to make money, it is about how money and the economy works.

One of my lecturers once said that fi-

nancial economists have the same relationship with finance as agricultural economists have with agriculture. That is, they study patterns in financial markets, analyse how best to do it. The study of financial economics is not, however, supposed to be a practical guide to working in finance.

Similarly, many students pursue degrees such as law or computer science with specific careers in mind. The difference between these courses and a business degree is that they are significantly less practical. They teach you about the theory of their subjects, how the law and computer science work, not how to be a lawyer or a computer scientist. An example of how this is true is that several modules available in the school of business can exempt you from taking certain FAE’s (Chartered Accountancy exams).

However, as far as I am aware, no law modules can exempt you from the FE1’s (Law Society

exams). This is because business degrees exist to teach you how to be a businessperson. Law degrees exist to teach you about the law.

All of this matters because business degrees are the primary degree that shift the idea that knowledge is valuable in and of itself and that universities exist primarily to serve society, to the idea that university degrees exist as a means to improve one’s career prospects. No other degree does this to the same extent.

I have no problem with them existing in trade schools or through apprenticeships but their presence in universities distracts from the original purpose of these institutions. It is not inherently bad to do things with a focus on career. It does seem bad to prioritise that over everything else. Especially if it is at the expense of everything else universities should be doing.

Social Media and the Digital Gaze The traditional concept of the ‘gaze’ can be applied to our social media use, as Adesewa Awobadejo explains.

Have you ever considered how far the gaze of others seeps into our daily lives? Simply put, the theory of gaze is how an individual or a group perceives other individuals, other groups or oneself. It stems from an intentional act of looking. Theorist Jacques Lacan explored the gaze, detailing how its effects can be triggered, not only by people, but also inanimate objects. Other theorists such as bell hooks, Laura Mulvey and Michel Foucault offer range into the subject by focusing on different aspects associated with the gaze. Aspects such as power dynamics, the male gaze and race.

The concept of the gaze is generally applied to the world of film and philosophy. However, we can also use it to analyse the effect of social media on humans. The ways we use social media vary, as well as our reasons. Whether for work, leisure, staying connected to friends and family or for news, we cannot deny the influence social media has on our day to day lives. Digital gaze is another type of gaze we see that presents itself in everyday life. The show and tell aspect of social media invites this concept of a digital gaze where one can look curiously and judge, all while remaining silent and hidden.

“Those who hold direct and indirect power over people…often exercise their power with this virtual gaze.”

What is interesting is the silent transactional nature of this. With the way social media is programmed, as social media users, we experience both aspects. We gaze and we are gazed upon. We consume content and in return put out content to be consumed. We know what it means to judge others and ourselves by the content we provide. Whether it be via tweets posted by a mutual or a compilation of Instagram pictures. We look, consume and judge. This applies to simple things, like one’s taste in music.

It also applies to more nuanced things such as

6 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

political views. Social media is a clear platform for the gaze. But to what extent does this gaze matter?

Theorist Laura Mulvey critiqued the gender disparity and how the gaze of cinema systematically determines who in particular is seen, resulting in male dominance. The gaze is undoubtedly a medium for spreading domi-

nance and it is interesting to contemplate how that translates itself to social media. We can see how power dynamics are manifested through social media. Those who hold direct and indirect power over people, for example celebrity to fanbase relationship, often exercise their power with this virtual gaze.

Recently, we’ve seen cases of people,

particularly influencers, losing fan bases and job opportunities because of controversial or bigoted views shared on social media. For example, the impact of Jeffree Star’s 12-year-old tweets containing offensive remarks and racist slurs still stands. Despite an apology video, many former fans and others within the beauty community encouraged the boycott of his newly released palette with Shane Dawson, another controversial figure.

In other cases, there is a profound ownership and agency that comes from this gaze.

Though a gaze persists, social media users get to assert our power and reclaim our agency. We are able to authorize and direct what people can gaze on by minimizing engagement with this gaze. We see examples of this in the rise of ‘finstas’ and private Twitter accounts, where people manage who can see what and can tailor what they post accordingly to suit their audience.

People often use this as a means of self-expression free from any unwanted gaze.

We can also take advantage of this digital gaze. Social media users can both literally and figuratively save lives by utilizing this gaze for important issues. With the rise of people engaging with social media and political issues, the collaboration of both often breeds maximum engagement as we see how posts about human rights issues tend to go viral disproportionately.

People become more aware of issues through social media. This privilege is not only reserved for those who have larger followings but with collective engagement, in terms of people sharing posts forward and the domino effect that has.

In relation to power dynamics it shows the power of looking and the power of humanity and how this digital gaze is based on that power. The power of looking and being looked at might be undermined but with social media, it is heightened.

COMMENT

Head To Head

Should we discourage tourism?

YES Garrett Kennedy

NO Clodagh Healy

The priority of any government should be towards it citizens. The same goes for a city. Ireland is encouraging tourism which is worsening the housing crisis and eroding the culture of Dublin and other cities. We should not let this happen.

Tourism obviously has lots of economic benefits. Having people come into your country just to spend money and leave again seems like a pretty good deal right? However, it is not without its economic costs. The most obvious of these is tourism’s impact on the housing crisis.

Airbnb is the most obvious culprit for this. In March 2018, there were roughly 7,300 Airbnb listings in Dublin. That number is surely even higher now. Of course, if Airbnb was banned in Dublin, not all of those rooms would become available for renters but many would. This would make a significant dent into the problem.

This would obviously damage tourism numbers but that economic cost seems justified given the scale of the housing crisis. There are about 10,000 people homeless in Ireland right now. There are many more that are struggling to afford accommodation or trapped in apartments which are woefully inadequate.

This is a problem which needs addressing urgently, no policy should be considered too radical. If banning Airbnb gets a few families off the streets at the expense of some British stag parties not being able to vomit all over Temple Bar, that seems a price worth paying.

All of this is before we get onto the cultural cost of tourism. Even if you think the economics is all rosy, there is no escaping the fact that excessive tourism makes cities far less enjoyable to live in. Venice is literally sinking from tourism. So many locals are leaving that the city now resembles more of a living museum than an actual city. There are many restaurants in Berlin where the waiters do not even speak German because of how anglicised tourism has made the city. Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world but nowadays it is mostly filled with stag parties. There are undoubtedly huge economic benefits from all of this but at what cost? If you are making the cities worse for most of the people who actually live in them then are these benefits worth it? I don’t think so.

Will Dublin get like this? It seems to be going that way. Locals are being pushed out by high rents and high prices. Cultural institutions like the Bernard Shaw are shutting down in place of hotels. All we are getting in return is another Wetherspoons, a few more tech offices, and more hotels.

It is also worth noting that Dublin is not the only part of Ireland which is suffering from excessive tourism. Kilkenny, among many other Irish cities and towns, is also becoming a popular destination for stag parties. These groups obviously spend lots of money and the local bars and hotels benefit financially from their being there. However, it ruins the nightlife for the locals who want to enjoy their city without having to interact with scores of drunk Englishmen dressed as various Disney characters, fighting or catcalling anyone in sight. There is surely a point where we accept this needs to be limited. It is either that or we believe it is acceptable for our cities to become theme parks for foreign idiots.

Obviously, not all tourism consists of stag parties. There are many tourists who are respectful, polite, and simply want to enjoy what Ireland has to offer. These tourists have good intentions but there are still large negative externalities which result from their visits.

As I’ve already said, one of the main ones is that tourism makes cities more expensive. A pint in most central Dublin pubs costs about €5.50. In Temple Bar, that goes up to about €7. The average rent in Dublin is now €1,713. The government should start incentivising developers who are building hotels to spend that money on building apartment blocks instead.

Some of the more important externalities are not economic. Excessive tourism kills the soul of a city. It replaces the beautiful dirtiness of Dublin with shiny hotels, brightly lit bars, and souvenir shops. These all stimulate the economy but change the city from a living organism full of history and people whose families have lived there for generations into an ugly playground for rich tourists.

Of course, there are many other factors contributing to all of this. Fine Gael’s apathy to everyone outside the South Dublin suburbs has as much to do with it as anything else. Nonetheless, what is certain is that the Irish government is prioritising economics over everything else and most of these economic benefits are not going to the people who need them most. Unless that changes soon, which is unlikely, limiting tourism seems a decent stopgap.

It is easy to listen to housing Minister Eoghan Murphy talk about putting families in emergency accommodation ahead of the tourism economy, before remembering why they are there. It is government officials like Mr Murphy that have failed this city and these families, not the tourism industry.

The housing crisis is due to many things, but tourism isn’t one of them. Since the 1980’s governments of all political persuasions have consistently underprovided social housing in Dublin. According to the Irish Examiner, 2,600 people have been waiting for accommodation on Dublin City Council’s social housing list for the last decade, with similar levels across the wider Dublin area. Had governments kept social housing as a consistent priority throughout the boom and the bust, this crisis would not have been so severe, and the government would not be looking to scapegoat tourism.

At the crux of the slow recovery of the private housing market is the cost of land and construction. Currently, apartments are not financially profitable for investors. Investors are struggling to make a profit from building apartments to rent as much as people are trying to afford the rent.

Talking to Fora, the CEO of Hibernia has admitted that renting out two-bedroom apartments for €2,400 will make them little to no money because the cost of land and construction are so high, and that ‘people need profits in projects’. If investors aren’t making money building apartments, and tenants are struggling to afford the rent who is winning here?

The state has relied too long on the private sector to provide social housing and affordable housing. The purpose of social housing is to provide housing for people who cannot afford to provide it for themselves, and given the cost of housing, that includes a lot more people than it used to.

In 2018, there were 71,858 households in need of social housing. Local Housing Authorities built only 3,233 social housing units between 2016 and the middle of 2018. The government must ramp up its own building programme.

The Government’s Action Plan for housing includes many measures designed to increase the supply of housing which thankfully includes building more houses and bringing back vacant homes into use. Progress is slow. Currently, there are calls for measures to make building land available for lower prices to developers and to make the planning process easier to navigate. The government also have to start being more proactive about land vacancy tax established under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 to ensure that vacant land in urban areas is brought to use. Dublin City Council Development Plan 2016 -2022 zoned 47 hectares of land for development, much of it for a mix of uses. This land has the potential to provide 3,650 housing units over the lifetime of the plan. The solution is to build on this land.

Overseas tourist spending has brought 1.9 billion euro into Dublin in 2018 alone. It supports close to 325,000 jobs on this Island. Tourism supports the everyday person trying to pay their rent and pay their bills. In addition, many third-level students in Dublin depend on their part-time and seasonal work in the tourism industry to fund their third-level education.

In a report by Failte Ireland, they state that Dublin is facing a deficiency of 1,000 hotel rooms. They also say that over 85% of tourist access Ireland through Dublin and if they cannot access the capital ‘it’s highly likely they may not visit the country at all.’ Discouraging tourism to provide housing might not seem like a bad idea - at least it gives the government an excuse for its failings - except we know it won’t solve the housing crisis. However, for a rural Ireland still grasping to stay afloat long after the recession is deemed over, every tourist counts. What Dublin does causes a ripple effect across the country.

The real issue here is the failure of government’s housing policy. Restricting Airbnbs isn’t going to cut it and doing so causes unnecessary hindrance to a sector that is highly valuable to this country. Instead let’s use the vast amount of empty property and vacant land that sits within our city just waiting to be developed - and yes, and let’s put a few hotels in there too.

Rebuttal: The housing crisis and excessive tourism are related, but different problems. Attempting to fix excessive tourism will obviously not fix the housing crisis but as I already stated it will surely make some kind of dent into the problem. This is true given part of the problem with the housing crisis is a lack of supply. If you put more apartments on offer to locals as opposed to tourists that should decrease rent somewhat. Obviously this does not fix the problem entirely but it does make things better. More importantly, it is not mutually exclusive with building more social housing.

The better argument my opponent offers is that this will damage communities outside Dublin. I think this is true to an extent. However, I think even if this is damaging economically, the cultural harms of excessive tourism cannot be understated. Many cities throughout Europe have economies which are hugely reliant on stag parties. I think it’s really important that we stop Dublin and other parts of Ireland from going that way.

Rebuttal: The government doesn’t prioritize economics; they prioritize the easy option. The one that makes them look good now, over the long-term solution that works. The problem is affordable housing. A lot of Airbnb listings are spare rooms in the houses of people trying to make and extra few euro to support themselves.

If the Airbnb apartments did come on the rental market; what stops them from charging the outrageous prices that forced these families onto the street? Nothing. Affordable housing can be created for these families and protect our cultural sites at the same time. With so much vacant property which includes a fifth of O’Connell Street, there is plenty of room for everyone. The Irish government needs to protect sites such as the Bernard Shaw. Destroying sites like this hurts tourism as well as locals. Destroy the culture? Why would tourists come? The issue is terrible planning, not planning itself.

As much as we would all love to, we can’t entirely blame the English here. The majority of antisocial behaviour comes from Irish citizens; the majority of tourists are well behaved. There is no room for violence on Dublin streets. More crime deterrents such as fines for disorderly misconduct are needed not fewer tourists. As for Venice, Dublin can’t be compared. The Venice canals might be sinking, but there is no fear of the Ha’penny Bridge. Tourist money helps maintain our streets.

The people who make up the tourist industry are Irish citizens, and they need to be protected.

26th November 2019

7

FEATURES

ISIS: Where Are They Now? Following the death of Abu Bakr Al-Bagdhadi, Andrea Andres, in conversation with Vincent Durac, Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations, takes a look at where the militant group are now and whether the death of their leader has had a significant impact on the Islamic State.

On the 27th of October, the world woke up to the news that Abu Bakr Al-Bagdhadi had been killed in a raid by US Special Forces. According to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, the notorious leader of ISIS was cornered into a “dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way”. He wore a suicide vest. Rather than be captured alive, he detonated it, killing himself and his three children. “He died like a dog, he died like a coward.

The world is now a much safer place.” Trump said. But does Al-Bagdhadi’s death sound the death knell for ISIS? Is the world truly a much safer place? Where are ISIS now?

People like these families are “operating under the basis of these repertoire of ideas.” They will be “very difficult to anticipate and very difficult to eradicate until the entire body of ideas is discredited.”

Following Al-Bagdhadi’s death, a successor was quickly appointed: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. This suggests, according to Vincent Durac, Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations here in UCD, “that there was already a line of succession as it happened quite quickly. That is indicative of an organization that, at its core,... was alert to the threat [to] Al-Baghadi . . . the elimination of the leader seems to have been something at least planned for.” Not only has it appointed a new leader, but ISIS affiliates all around the world are thriving. Durac said: “You have groups that have ...pledged allegiance to IS, pre existing groups have emerged under the banner of IS ...that’s the case in places like

North Africa, in Libya, in Yemen, in Egypt, in the Sinai peninsula and in West Africa, in the Philippines, in South Asia generally.” For example, in the Philippines, IS had already wormed itself in the deep jungles of Mindanao.

In January of this year, IS claimed responsibility for two bombs exploding in a Catholic Cathedral in the southern Philippine island of Jolo. It left 20 dead and 81 injured. Two years before, ISIS linked groups Maute rebel group and Abu Sayyaf, laid siege in the Islamic city of Marawi.

The siege, orchestrated by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, was an attempt to make the territory of “East Asia Wilaya” recognized as part of the Islamic State.

The Battle of Marawi lasted five months with at least 1000 dead. 360,000 more had to flee. As of March of this year, 70,000 people are still displaced in evacuation centres, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, transitional centres and relatives houses. Two years later, they still can’t return home.

But why is ISIS thriving in these places? “Classic conditions such as poverty and alienation, illegitimate governments as would be seen by some of the population,” says Durac, are some reasons as to why ISIS has been flourishing in other parts of the world. In the Philippines, some recruits of the Maute rebel group were enticed by money. They were promised a salary of 20,000 to 50,000 pesos (€357-€892) and a monthly allowance, which is a significant amount for its impoverished members. Recruitment by extremist organizations is still occurring in these IDP camps and recruiters are building on the anti-government sentiment among those displaced. Young recruits are convinced to join as recruiters to weave a narrative that the Philippine government is not improving their conditions in Marawi. Rather, it has been wreaking

havoc into their homes and livelihoods. Speaking to Al Jareeza, law professor and Director of the Islamic Law Studies at the University of the Philippines, Salma Pir Rasul said: “The longer that this is not resolved and they are not allowed to go back, the higher the probability that they will believe in this narrative, false as it may be”.

“Some guy gets up in the morning and goes: ‘This is what I’m doing now, I am now a soldier for the Islamic state.’ It’s very difficult to deal with because this individual may have never come to anyone’s attention before.”

Durac says that Al-Bagdhadi sucessfully tapped into a “body of ideas which pre-exist IS”, such as: “who is or who is not a real Muslim, a particularly narrow, almost primitive understanding of Islam, the view on the legitmacy on the use of violence not only against obvious enemies of religion, but co-religionists deemed to have deviated from the true path.” Al-Bagdhadi was able to shape these ideas into a “peculiar, attractive modern form.” These ideas are then distributed through “online communication, the publication of materials, the publication of manuals. Then you get local groups that either radicalize over the course of time, or are already radicalized or are already organized that go ‘actually this is it, this is the way forward we will become part of the caliphate,’” he says.

Despite ISIS losing its territory, its ideology lives on in people. Durac says that: “You go individuals, small groups of two, three, five people and in some instances they come to Syria or Iraq and come back and feel like this is the

job that they have to do. In others, they simply absorb the message from IS, ‘Strike the crusaders wherever you can’, ‘Create chaos wherever you can’. Some guy gets up in the morning and goes: ‘This is what I’m doing now, I am now a soldier for the Islamic state.’ It’s very difficult to deal with because this individual may have never come to anyone’s attention before.”

This is evident with a spate suicide bombings that shook Indonesia last year. These suicide bombings were conducted by parents and their children. Puji Kuswanti, her husband, Dita Oepriarto and their six children coordinated three bombings in three seperate churches.

But their neighbours didn’t suspect a thing. A neighbour speaking to the Guardian said: “They were so far from the profiles of what you would think a terrorist would be.” A day later, a family of five detonated bombs into the police headquarters of Surabaya. The Indonesian police believed that they were part of a pro-ISIS Indonesian militant group, the Jamaah Anshurat Daulah (JAD) and attended an Islamic study group on a Sunday. They watched violent footage from Syria and Iraq, glorifying martyrdom and jihad. They had also radicalised their children too. People like these families are “operating under the basis of these repertoire of ideas.”

They will be “very difficult to anticipate and very difficult to eradicate until the entire body of ideas is discredited.”

The death of Al-Bagdhadi doesn’t spell the end of ISIS. If anything, ISIS is still growing and prospering in many places. As long as its ideology lives on and people continue to be indoctrinated into it, it is hard to imagine that we will see the end of ISIS anytime soon.

Ireland’s relationship with the death penalty Sam Keane traces the history of capital punishment in Ireland.

The notion of convicted criminals facing the death penalty for their crimes seems like a foreign and alien concept, reserved for third world authoritarian regimes or conservative US states.

It is therefore surprising to find out , when we look at our own nation’s ties to the death penalty, that this country has a long and storied relationship with capital punishment stretching back centuries.

In ancient Ireland, capital punishment was discouraged under the native Brehon law.

Serious crimes such as murder were punished through the payment of fine, known as an “éraic”, by the murderer to the family of the victim.

Execution was only considered in the case of the accused being unable to pay the fine. The arrival of the Normans in 1169 resulted in a colossal overhaul of the native legal system. Irish Brehon Law was replaced with a form of English Common Law. The death penalty was normalised in Irish society, soon becoming the punishment of choice for any crime dubbed a “felony” under Common Law. Under this harsh system, christened the “Bloody Code”, over 220 offences were punishable by hanging, including the theft of goods worth more than twelve pence. Reforms slowly began to emerge in the 19th century with “transportation” to Australian penal colonies becoming the standard punishment for what had previously been capital offences.

The Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 reduced the number of crimes punishable by death to just three: murder, treason and piracy with violence. Death remained a mandatory sentence for murder, though it was often commuted.

The last public execution in Ireland occurred in Kilmainham Jail in July 1865 when Patrick Kilkenny was hanged for murder. These spectacles could attract up to 5000 people at a time. An-

8 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

other interesting link between Ireland and death penalty comes in the form of Samuel Haughton, an Irish doctor, who developed the “Standard Drop” technique of hanging in 1866. This method was seen as far more humane than the older “Short Drop” method as death occurred almost instantly as a result of upper cervical vertebral fractures severing the spinal cord.

The death penalty became intertwined with the cause of Irish republicanism from the 19th century onwards. The execution of nationalist leader Robert Emmett in 1803 and the hanging of three members of the Fenian Brotherhood in Manchester in 1867 created political martyrs for the republican cause and resulted in a slight shift in the public’s perception of such revolutionaries. This was taken to even further extremes in the aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising when British authorities executed fourteen perceived instigators of the insurrection in Kilmainham Jail. The executed leaders, once seen as dangerous and reckless revolutionaries, became immortalised in Irish society as near mythological figures, personifying Ireland’s struggle for independence and also bringing attention to the perceived brutality of the British administration. Executions remained a prominent feature of the revolutionary period as the War of Independence began to unfold in 1919.

Kevin Barry, an 18-year-old UCD medical student, was hanged by the British for his role in an IRA operation in Dublin city the following year.

His execution, coming shortly after the death by hunger strike of Terence MacSwiney, the republican Lord Mayor of Cork, brought public resentment of British forces to a fever pitch and resulted in a dramatic escalation of violence.

Thirteen more men were executed in Limerick and Cork following the imposition of martial

law in Munster. Republican courts, established around the country by the IRA at this time, also handed out death sentences with many more assassinations and extra judicial killings occurring simultaneously.

“Six men were executed during the “Emergency” period following an upsurge in IRA activity, one for shooting but not killing a Garda; the only man executed by for a crime other than murder in the Irish state”

In 1922, following the War of Independence, the Irish Free State was established.

The drafters of the new Free State Constitution chose to retain the death penalty. At the outbreak of Civil War in 1922, a new “Special Powers Act” was introduced by the government. This allowed military tribunals to impose the death penalty on suspected members of the Anti-Treaty IRA. A total of 81 men were executed by the Free State during this period, further adding flames to what was already a brutal and deeply divisive war. Between the end of the civil war and April 1954, there were a total of 35 executions in the Ireland with capital punishment relatively common for murder. The absence of an Irish executioner made it necessary for the government to employ a British hangman, something that caused significant animosity among certain sections of the population. Only one woman was executed after independence, Annie Walsh, who was hanged in 1925 along with her nephew for the murder of her elderly husband. Six men were executed during the Emergency period during World War 2, following an upsurge in IRA activity, one for shooting but not killing a Garda; the only man executed by for a crime other than murder in the Irish state.

Asked about the executions occurring during this period, UCD’s Professor Ian O’Donnell stated that; “the determination shown by de Valera’s government during the Emergency did much to crush the capacity of the IRA to resist and to deter others from taking up arms”. The last execution in Ireland occurred in 1954 with the hanging of the rapist and murderer, Michael Manning. By 1986, only crimes such as treason or the murder of members of An Garda Siochana or government officials were punishable by death. All death sentences in the intervening years were commuted by the President and replaced with life imprisonment. Shane Ross, serving in the Seanad at this time, introduced a private member’s bill seeking the abolition of capital punishment in 1984 but this motion stalled under Garret FitzGerald’s Fine Gael government. Although lobbying from human rights organisations sought to bring Ireland into line with many other European countries that had already done away with the death penalty, the government was preoccupied with more pressing issues at this time for any meaningful progress to be made.

Finally, in 2001, a referendum was put to the people of Ireland seeking to abolish Articles 13.6, 28.3.3 and 40.4.5 of the Constitution, in effect removing capital punishment from Irish law. The amendment was passed on a turnout of 34.79%, with 610,455 in favour and 372,950 against, indicating that despite the majority backing its removal, a substantial proportion of people in Ireland still supported the death penalty. Although viewed as a remnant of the distant past by many, the history outlined in this article serves to illustrate the long relationship Ireland has had with the death penalty and perhaps suggests that the debate regarding its place in Irish society is far from over.

FEATURES

When do genetics become eugenics?

Anjan Venkatesh takes a look at where gene editing is now, both in terms of scientific understanding and moral issues.

A month ago, somewhere in China, the first ever gene-edited humans celebrated their first birthday. Twin girls Lulu and Nana, when they were single-celled embryos, had their DNA edited using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Their copies of the CCR5 gene were modified by biochemist He Jiankui, purportedly to make them resistant to HIV. If these girls become parents, they can pass this modified gene on to their offspring.

Aside from the moral issues with modifying the genes of an unborn human, there are known problems with CRISPR causing off-target mutations- the technology is simply not ready to be used clinically. Jiankui’s announcement was met with incredulity and outrage from the international scientific community, culminating in him being fired and put under house arrest (pending investigation). Amidst this chaos, human gene editing stopped being a fantastical thought experiment and became part of our new reality. To understand how regulatory systems are coping with this reality, I spoke with Asim Sheikh B.L, Assistant Professor in Legal Medicine at the UCD School of Medicine and a practising barrister specializing in medical law.

“You can have all the consensus and regulation you want in countries that are happy to regulate- but will someone somewhere still be tempted to use this? The answer is yes.”

So how does this gene editing work?

CRISPR-based gene editing involves the use of an enzyme (essentially a molecular machine) called Cas9 to cut a specific sequence of DNA. This technique can be used as a “find and replace” tool to edit the genomes of a huge variety of organisms. A guide RNA, a targeting probe of sorts, guides the enzyme to its target.

Any sequence in the genome (the entirety of an organism’s DNA) can be targeted by supplying Cas9 with the appropriate guide RNA. This system essentially functions as the “find” tool in a word processor, with the document being your genome. Once a cut is made, the cell tries to repair the damage to its DNA. One way it can do this is by replacing the damaged sequence with a new copy. If the cell is supplied with a modified version of the sequence, it can be “tricked” into integrating this new version into the genome.

Although designer babies have dominated the conversation around CRISPR, its main appeal lies in its potential for therapeutic use. CRISPR can be used to edit the genome of any cell in the body. If the changes aren’t passed on to the sperm or egg cells (and so aren’t passed on to the next generation), this is called somatic gene editing. If the change extends to the sperm or egg cells and is passed on to the next generation, it’s called germline gene editing. While germline editing could correct congenital diseases like cystic fibrosis, somatic editing could potentially be used to treat cancer by reversing mutations in cancer cells. Over the past 20 years, somatic gene editing has been attempted in clinical trials with some success. While it is heavily regulated (like all clinical trials), it is not outrightly banned like its germline counterpart.

However, gene therapy through somatic editing

is technically harder to achieve than germline editing. A human body has trillions of cells, and targeting a drug to a specific set of those cells is not easy. Editing the genome of a cell in a dish, even if it is a human embryo, is relatively easier.

Gene editing has its roots in recombinant DNA technology, first demonstrated by Paul Berg and his collaborators in 1972. This involves cutting and joining DNA fragments from two different species and inserting the new “recombinant” DNA into an organism. Once inside the cell, the recombinant DNA is expressed (used to make a protein). This technique, with some improvements and modifications, is now a staple in molecular biology labs all over the world. But in 1972, the deliberate expression of recombinant DNA inside a cell was unprecedented. DNA is the code that makes all life on earth tick- and for the first time ever, we found ourselves with the ability to rewrite this code.

The technology was still rudimentary, but the ethical implications weren’t lost on its inventors.

Soon after the first recombinant DNA experiments, Paul Berg (along with ten other scientists) wrote a letter to the journal Science calling for the National Institutes of Health to regulate the technology. The main safety concern discussed was the possibility of creating a drug-resistant bacterial strain or cancer-causing virus that could accidentally be released from the lab. The letter also appealed to scientists worldwide to follow a temporary moratorium on recombinant DNA experiments until their safety could be demonstrated. In the following years, several conferences were held discussing these safety issues.

“I’m not sure if an immediate jump to regulation is ever a good idea- it’s complex and difficult, and once a law is passed, it’s rarely revised.”

In 1975, many of the foremost scientists in the field gathered in California for the second Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA, organized by Paul Berg. They discussed the benefits of continuing the moratorium and drafted a set of guidelines for future recombinant DNA experiments. These included procedures for physical and biological containment of any potentially dangerous recombinant organisms.

Experiments for which risk could not be minimized using existing technology were banned.

Asilomar was a landmark moment for the field- it demonstrated to the public that scientists could self-regulate to minimize harm from dangerous inventions.

So what’s changed since 1975? How did we get from Asilomar to Lulu and Nana? In the words of Mr Sheikh, “The real concern with gene editing is about the germline, and that obviously came to pass with Professor He in China.

There is consensus in the scientific communitythere was consensus in 2016 with the General Academy of Sciences and there was consensus in 1975 with the conference in California. You can have all the consensus and regulation you want in countries that are happy to regulatebut will someone somewhere still be tempted

to use this? The answer is yes. The difference is that in the past, you had to be a very well-resourced laboratory to carry out germline gene editing experiments. With CRISPR, you could do germline editing in your garage if you wanted to. So that can happen anywhere in the world regardless of how much consensus you have.

The same concerns were expressed in 1975, in the 1990s, in 2001 with the first gene therapy death...This is going to continue to be an issue.

There is no new ethical issue. The technology is just more accessible to people and easier to use in a way that is potentially dangerous.”

Although CRISPR is a recent innovation in the field, it is not fundamentally different from any of the technologies that preceded it. On paper, any CRISPR experiments should be covered by existing gene editing regulations.

However, CRISPR is easier to use than the previous methods, less expensive, and has a huge variety of gene-editing applications. Does this mean it needs a new set of rules? Since Jiankui’s announcement a year ago, there have been calls for stricter regulations, with some proposing a total moratorium on CRISPR experiments. Interestingly, a year before Jiankui’s experiment, the National Academy of Sciences issued two sets of guidelines stating that there would be a moratorium on germline gene editing. However, at the time, the experiment was not illegal in China.

Is more regulation the answer? As Mr Sheikh puts it- “Everybody knew of the guidelines. And despite that, the experiment went ahead. The problem is not with the scientific community- the call for the moratorium came from the scientific community. This happened in 1975, and it happened again in 2016 when people were concerned about how CRISPR might be used. So what can we do in Ireland?

We could regulate it, prohibit it- make sure we bring it within our health research regulationsand lots of other countries should do the same.

That’s unlikely to cause a problem in any country with a reasonably heavy regulatory regime.

The worry we have are those countries that do not have a heavy regulatory perspective on this.

So what can you do internationally? Nothing, apart from bringing political pressure to push for better regulation.

When Dolly the sheep was cloned, there were very well-regarded obstetricians in Italy threatening to make the first human clone and even suggesting that one had already been born. That was in a European country where medical councils had already prohibited human cloning. The answer is not necessarily to panic towards heavy regulation, but we do need to have a very detailed ethical debate about this.

Then you consider if CRISPR is so dangerous that we need to regulate it on a heavier basis. I’m not sure if an immediate jump to regulation is ever a good idea- it’s complex and difficult, and once a law is passed, it’s rarely revised. The time and effort it takes to come to a complex piece of legislation mean it’s not going to be reversed any time soon. But we do need to have a very careful, multidisciplinary discussion about gene editing first, and that’s where we, as a country, are lagging behind.”

Ireland is the only EU state today with-

out an independent bioethics body. A bioethics body or research ethics committee protects the rights of participants in research and takes into account the benefits and risks associated with experiments and clinical trials. The previous national bioethics body, the Irish Council of Bioethics, was defunded in 2010 due to the financial crash. Nearly a decade later, funding towards bioethics has not returned. As Mr Sheikh put it, “It’s really sad because it means we only think about cutting edge things when our finances allow. These things are always important- that’s not dependent on economic circumstances”.

Despite numerous appeals, progress towards a new council has been sluggish. However, in February of this year, the government approved proposals to prepare the general scheme of a bill to provide for a new bioethics body.

“At what point do we devolve from genetics to eugenics?”

A dedicated bioethics committee is a necessity in the age of gene editing. But would it regulate the technology or ban it? The question of whether germline editing has a place in the future of medicine is a divisive one. Proponents point to the possibility of curing a huge number of congenital diseases and the sheer magnitude of human suffering this could alleviate. Critics of germline editing have raised concerns about the pursuit of a “genetically ideal human”. Less than a century ago, this very pursuit was responsible for the wholesale slaughter of millions. At what point do we devolve from genetics to eugenics? How can we decide what parents have legitimate reasons for wanting a gene-edited baby? These are ethical questions, but they are questions that any regulatory body will have to contend with if it permits germline editing.

In Mr Sheikh’s words- “We have already had these problems and these discussions, but not in enough depth. What’s really going to turn the screw is when this is presented as a matter of public health. And that’s why we need to have a very serious debate about what we want to do with this technology...because you can sell anything on a public health perspective. It may be that we have this discussion about gene editing and the answer is “You know what, bring it on.”

That’s fine. But if you don’t have a discussion, you’re letting market forces get involved in a situation where you don’t even know what the potential ethical issues are.”

Despite the controversy surrounding Jiankui’s experiment, the field of gene editing is moving fast and showing no signs of slowing down. Earlier this year, a Russian scientist announced his plans to edit another set of human embryos. Less than a month ago, a paper was published describing an improved form of CRISPR called “prime editing”. In 2018, a “biohacker” tried to modify his own genome by injecting himself with the Cas9 enzyme. Gene editing is no longer science fiction, and the years to come will be rife with questions about its morality. It’s time to start thinking about what our answers will be.

26th November 2019

9

FEATURES

The disposal of one of the most vital Irish collections of With illustrations by Fergus Woods, Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell profiles the the modern age five art pieces being sold by RTÉ, and discusses the impact of their loss.

On November 19th, Raidió Teilifís Éireann will be putting five of its most prized works of art up for auction. Many of the pieces were jointly commissioned by RTÉ and the Arts Council, dating from 1966 until 2000 and depict a rich variety of Irish culture, and particularly Irish modern art.

The five works, created by four different artists, are being sold in an effort to raise money for the broadcaster.

The Táin – Louis le Brocquy The Táin is collaborative piece between le Brocquy and poet Thomas Kinsella. It is part of a collection of tapestries which depict the epic battle between Queen Medb of Connacht and Cúchulainn, who defended Ulster. This particular piece was commissioned in 1966 by Dublin architecture firm, Scott Tallon Walker. It is described as a ‘looped wool pile’ The poem

by Thomas Kinsella is a translation of the ancient Irish epic “Táin Bó Cúlaigne”, ‘The Cattle Raid of Cooley’ and tells heroic war tale of the fight for the Brown bull of Cooley – a story told to school children throughout the country. The Táin is notable for its beautifully dynamic and shimmering surface, due to the intricate weaving technique used. It depicts a figurative iteration of the face of Cúchulainn, the young war hero, against a deep red background. A further collection of twenty tapestries exist illustrating the poem and can be seen in the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).

Abstract Painting – William Scott Created by Scott in 1967, Abstract Painting is a rich mural measuring 1.68m by 3.81. Heavily influenced by Paul Klee and Georges Bracque, Scott paints rich colours in abstract shapes.

Born in Greenock, UK in 1913, Scott moved to Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh aged eleven.

Abstract Painting, an oil on canvas painting, is expected to go under the hammer for between £150,000 and £250,000. It is beautifully warm, with burgundy, orange and fuchsia tones dressing the canvas. In conversation with Dr Roisin Kennedy of the School of Art History and Cultural Policy in UCD, she commented; “I think this is a very important work… I can understand that maybe they couldn’t look after it properly or something like that. It was on display in a corridor. It was in adequate condition but it wasn’t in super condition. I think if they had problems with looking after it, they could have lent it or given it on… long term loan to the National Gallery or IMMA.”

Inscape Mozaga – Tony’ O Malley Estimated to be auctioned for between £15,000 and £25,000, O’Malley created Inscape Mozaga in 1995. Measuring 01.92m x 1.22m, the canvas is painted with deep navy and contrasted with bright yellow. O’Malley, who turned to painting as a result of debilitating tuberculosis, insisted he was not an abstract painter but rather; “non-objective”. A star of modern art world in Ireland, O’Malley’s self-taught painting style described the landscapes of the country. When compared with the paintings he made while in the Bahamas and the Canary Islands, it is clear that this story palette of colours describes how O’Malley saw his native land.

Symphony Orchestra – George Campbell Through the national airwaves, it appears that it is the loss of Campbell’s Symphony Orchestra that is being mourned the loudest. A breath-taking depiction of the National Symphony Orchestra, the quasi-cubist style and muted palette create a feast for the eyes. Purchased by RTÉ in 1969, Campbell’s oil painting measures 0.76m x 1.38m. “I start out by picking everything out with one finger on a piano, build it up gradually” Campbell is quoted to have said; “and hope that finally I’ll have an orchestra going.” The painting is estimated to be sold for between £20,000 and £30,000.

The Massing of the Armies – Louis le Brocquy Another work illustrating Kinsella’s Táin is The Massing of the Armies. This enormous tapestry measures 4.45m by 6.83m and is the largest piece put up for sale. The Massing of the Armies is depicted using a monochromatic, stark palette. The enormous canvas is covered with dark horse and men motifs, darting and warring upon on a white background.

The tapestry was jointly commissioned by RTÉ and the Arts Council in 2000. When a collection of Táin tapestries were put up for sale in 2012, the year le Brocquy died, they yielded only a quarter of a million. However it has been reported that Sotheby’s are ‘confident’ the value of the works have since risen.

In light of the recent media leak, and the response by Dee Forbes, RTÉ Director General, it is evident that selling these pieces of art will do little to save a nearly-bankrupt RTÉ. Therefore it is fitting to ask, apart from the initial financial injection, whether selling these works will do any good? “I think that it shows that RTÉ professes itself to be interested in cultural affairs and yet it has shown an ignorance of its own collection and its own history. I know they are going through very difficult times and they have got to reinvent themselves but they should at least value that history and their relationship to the rest of the country,” said Dr. Kennedy.

The question also arises as to whether it is appropriate for RTÉ to sell these works, since they are partially paid for by the state, and thus the taxpayer? Is it right for these public pieces to be bought by private collectors? When asked about the value of these works of art to the state, Professor Kathleen James-Chakraborty of the UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy,

10 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

responded; “I myself have no idea of the monetary worth of these objects but many have huge cultural value to the State. Moreover, some were commissioned for specific places in very important RTÉ buildings, whose artistic integrity is damaged when they are removed. If they are not going to stay in Montrose, they should certainly be offered, as appropriate, to IMMA, the National Gallery and the National Museum, at no cost, and after that to the infrastructure of county museums in other communities across the country.”

Many of the works were jointly commissioned by RTÉ and the Arts Council. “The works do not belong to RTÉ” Dr Kennedy stated; “They belong to the state really and they were half paid for by the Arts Council. The Arts Council is going to get half the money from the sale but the Arts Council was not informed in advance of the sale”. In a letter to Dr Kennedy the Arts Council confirmed that “RTÉ did not consult with the Arts Council in advance of plac-

ing the art works for sale with Sotheby’s.” Furthermore they state that “their preference is that the works should remain in public ownership.’’

What has further aggrieved onlookers is the announcement that the art will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s – an English auction house. The auction will take place in London, with many Irish interests citing that is now likely the works will leave the country. “It is probably illegal that they are being sold by Sotheby’s off the island, rather than having the sale tendered in a way that Irish auction houses could compete for it” Professor James-Chakraborty continues; “This could happen in part because, as we already saw in the case of the Beit collection, Ireland has some of the weakest laws in Europe governing the export of cultural heritage. These need to be changed. Losing the works entails, losing an important part of our modernist heritage and doing so when the Irish state or Irish society, as opposed to RTÉ, is not facing economic difficulties. Ireland as a state invests far

too little in the visual arts and at an institutional level appreciates them far too little. I would suggest that this is because they are more feminized than Irish literature, Irish theatre, or Irish popular or folk music.”

In her column in the Irish Independent, Eleanor Flegg described it as “the disposal of one of the most vital Irish collections of the modern age”. Dr Kennedy stated “They’re very much part of the history of the state, the works, and they belong to a very distinctive moment…

[RTÉ] are the custodians of that history and it is not something for them to put onto the market”.

Professor James-Chakraborty concurs; “There are very few countries that in the twenty-first century would consciously sell off cultural heritage commissioned for a quasi state body in this way. It is utterly deplorable, and also ineffectual, as it will not make a major change in the financial situation of RTÉ. Irish real estate is worth a lot more than Irish art.”

STUDENT VOICES

The 1980s: A Wilderness of Mirrors

In his introduction to Joan Didion’s account of her time in Miami, Wendell Steavenson writes about an “underwater narrative” which the latter explored with unwavering scrutiny. Not fooled by the city, Didion delved into the murkiness of racism, espionage and violence that lay just beneath the surface of the coastal metropolis. Published in 1987, the account remains, as Steavenson notes, “a kind of panorama of a decade- the 1980s –but this time seen through the prism of a single city.”

Indeed, I used to view the ‘80s as an empty decade devoid of the same sense of intrigue as, say, the ‘60s or ‘70s. That’s not to confuse opulence with emptiness, but to highlight my now-defunct perception of the decade as “innocent”, per se. The cloud of darkness looming over the ‘60s following the Kennedys’ deaths, for instance, seemed to be replaced with an eternal commonality and an infantile greed. There was no war, no presidential assassination, only rampant capitalism with Reagan and Thatcher “consolidating their initially shaky holds on power into an increasingly vice-like grip”, as Terry Gilliam put it.

It’s in this context of Reaganite smiles and handshakes that an “underwater narrative” becomes more historically appealing to me. Or

perhaps I should say thematically, as the general idea of murky dealings and double-crossing feels more exciting when viewed through the cheerful facade of the ‘80s. There isn’t much to say about this sentiment historically, as that would lessen the weight of the sentiment. It only works when describing the sense of parallelism that was actually so rampant in that decade, and recognising the literary (or merely romanticised) merit of such parallelism.

People alive during that decade probably experienced that sense of parallelism when Oliver North claimed he had taken part in the Iran-Contra Affair. Lieutenant Colonel North, of Reagan’s National Security Council, admitted involvement in this infamous guns-and-guerillas escapade in 1986 and was indicted two years later (all charges against North were dropped in ‘93). Regardless of what your opinion of the whole thing is, the public certainly must have been shocked at the suggestion of shattered ethics in a decade otherwise brimming with piety.

Another event that springs to mind is George H.W. Bush’s infamous drug trick. In an apparent effort to demonstrate the existence of crack cocaine, Bush held up a bag of the stuff in a 1989 televised address and said that it was seized in nearby Lafayette Park. The purpose of this

Dublin’s Hamartia I am incensed. I have just finished Frank McDonald’s The Destruction of Dublin. His writing captures a city gone by. A city I have missed because developers decided it was irrelevant.

But in many ways, The Destruction of Dublin is as relevant today as ever before. Once again, greed is ripping apart our capital. Much like the office blocks which infiltrated the Dublin of McDonald’s writing, hotels seem to be the plague which is debasing the capital today. You can’t turn left or right without finding a Dublin institution being replaced by a corporation; the Bernard Shaw, Hangar, Cleary’s - where next?!

In an ideal world everyone would read The Destruction of Dublin and feel the same rousing anger that I do. As an architecture student, I strongly believe the book should be required reading for students of architecture and urban design here in the capital. In this cautionary tale, McDonald deftly describes the streets and squares which historically set out the parameters of the city we know today. This text is needed to understand how the city of Dublin works.

Not only does McDonald track the demolition of a beautiful, complex city, the book also charts the disregard for public space. In the dash for development during the Haughey years, clinical, monotonous office blocks replaced the intrigue of shop fronts. The total occupancy of office buildings was more important than their incredible impact on the public realm. McDonald cites the Telephone House on Marlborough Street as an example where, when granted planning permission by the Dublin Corporation, the ground floor was to be occupied by twelve shops and the first floor animated by a bar, ballroom and restaurant. None of this came to pass. Instead a concrete monotony was assembled, and stands

towering above you even today as you wait for the Luas. This sounds hauntingly familiar. We are once again tearing out the richness of the city and replacing it with a bland nothing. Worse than nothing - if the existing city can be compared to a box of coloured crayons, then many of the new developments would be the damp greybrown colour no one asked for.

McDonald’s discourse is so incredibly provocative and emotive I like to imagine it would rouse new generations of Dubliners to stand up for and preserve voiceless buildings, art and heritage against the greed and apathy of developers, whatever period they may be from.

It is apparent that modern Irish architecture are the buildings we love to hate today, and need to be protected just as much as the Georgian red brick terraces. “People get the cities they deserve. And if our capital city has been reduced to a shambles, it is because we never cared enough to save it. ‘’ What a desperate shame that history seems to be repeating itself.

“Is there a national sense of insecurity? Since Ireland has never been a great empire do we not deserve a rich, varied and individual history?”

And yet we do little to stop it. As part of my investigation into the art put up for auction

by RTÉ it became apparent that capitalism is not only stomping all over the native buildings of Ireland, but our culture too. The national broadcaster claims itself to be a beacon of knowledge, a protector of the heritage of the glorious “Emerald Isle”. Yet this rings hollow when they are more than happy to sell the family jewels. And

Matthew Tannam-Elgie

address was, of course, to show the supposed need for a perpetuation of the war on drugs.

Shortly after the address, it was revealed that the crack displayed by Bush was bought (not seized) as part of a puppeteered drug bust; a teenager was lured to Lafayette Park to sell the crack to undercover federal agents, so the drug could be provided for the televised address.

While a relatively minor dupe compared to the likes of Iran-Contra, this sneaky trick nevertheless provides us with a glimpse at how, in actuality, things weren’t always as they seemed in the ‘80s.

It may appear misleading to focus on America while describing the smoke-and-mirrors atmosphere permeating the decade with hindsight.

However, in my view, America is an excellent example of a country that tried, and still tries, to drape itself in normality- only for a minor storm to blow the drapes away and reveal a fraction of its anatomy.

This is usually facilitated by the media, if enough bravery (not to mention intelligence) is mustered to carry an investigative report or similar project into fruition. With the rise of media outlets that are less inhibited by old, monolithic corporations- Netflix remains a rather good example –a slow sense of unraveling can be felt as

family and normality threaten to be blown away by a storm of ominous proportions.

Anyway, if we’re to look at the 1980s from a broader perspective, we can identify moments when the fabric gave way in countries other than America. Some of them still have the scent of American involvement, such as the P2 scandal in Italy. Others were more destructive manifestations of the trickery employed by Bush for his drug address, such as Thatcher’s vote-baiting decision to start a war with Argentina over the Falklands. That conflict was, indeed, the epitome of the flag-waving, Western showbusiness thriving throughout much of the decade. If only more people had looked behind the drapery.

Time moves on. But rather than a cause for dismay, the passage of time allows room for further scrutiny of a decade that practically begs for further examination. This is, in no doubt, aided by advanced technology and a resultant increase in opportunities for corroboration.

As such, Joan Didion’s stoic observations of the Floridian coast, and the decade as a whole, remains a haunting reminder that there’s often darkness behind the sun.

To save this column from becoming a mere exaltation of Didion’s excellent book, however, I’ll draw attention to the fact that the 1980s were not dissimilar from a supposedly perfect family with terrifying skeletons in their closet.

The decade was also very much in line with what former CIA man J.J. Angleton referred to as a “wilderness of mirrors”. That phrase itself was said to be inspired by a T.S. Eliot poem, which I’ll give myself the liberty to excerpt; “History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors And issues, deceives with whispering ambitions, Guides us by vanities.

Think now She gives when our attention is distracted And what she gives, gives with such supple confusions That the giving famishes the craving.”

Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell they are the treasures; the buildings are the crown and the paintings and tapestries are the jewels bedecking it. The five art works being sold were specifically commissioned for the modernist development and display a rich array of cultural histories and tastes. To add insult to injury, it is claimed that they are being sold to raise funds for the broadcaster, however accepting Sotheby’s’ (the assigned auction house) estimations, the funds raised will hardly cover the wage of one prime-time radio presenter. Why don’t we, as a nation, care?

As students, faculty and carers of UCD it is important we protect our community closer to home too. Much like RTÉ, many of the most beautiful and well programmed buildings were designed during this modernist period, and there is a complete disregard for this side of our culture in our national history. Many of the interiors of original buildings in UCD are vulnerable to being ripped apart and replaced with shiny new lime-green and purple curvy furnishings in an attempt to seem cool and modern (and, more importantly, attractive to investors and students with deep pockets). Instead of awarding the contract for the new development of the Centre for Creative Design to an Irish architect, or even better a UCD alumnus, who understands and values the culture and history of UCD and Belfield as a community and place of education, the contract was awarded to an American firm who decided to look for ‘local’ inspiration (apparently Wikipedia) and found the Giant’s Causeway. Last time I checked, the coast of County Antrim wouldn’t be particularly ‘local’ to D4.

Is there a national sense of insecurity?

Since Ireland has never been a great empire do

we not deserve a rich, varied and individual history? Unlike many of the cities around Europe, we are incredibly lucky not to have had our capital blown to smithereens in the mid-20th century. Yet we are quite happy to do it ourselves. It is high time for another celtic revival, a renewal of pride in our country - our singular culture; our buildings, our art, our music, our dance, our language.

It would be easy to assume after reading my animated argument that I am opposed to development. I certainly am not. (It would be highly impractical to study architecture while being opposed to change and growth). There are many buildings within Dublin that are not wholly important or of benefit to the city and would be the ideal candidates for development. What I am opposed to is the total disregard for the individual culture of the city of Dublin. I support considered development. There is a definite need for hotels, office blocks, and the employment and resources that large corporations bring. However this should not come at the cost of sense of place. A city needs to be a layered place, created by collaboration out of a necessity - whether that be for commercial units, residential space, green areas - not repetitive blocks built by investors without a client in mind, just a bottom line.

In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs wrote “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

A celtic revival (version two) can’t come quick enough.

26th November 2019

11

SCIENCE

Crows and Other Species of Birds Remember and Share Information About Dangerous Humans

Cody Sanders dives into the world of the birds and finds that resentment is not just beak deep.

Throughout history, and even in ancient mythology, crows have been considered highly intelligent creatures. This has led many scientists to wonder exactly how much crows remember and recognise about humans and if they share this information with other members of their species. As shown through different research studies, crows, along with other species of birds, remember the faces of humans. Not only do the birds remember the face of the person, they can recognise it when the person is in different clothes and inform other birds that the person is dangerous and to be avoided.

In one study conducted by Cornell, Heather N., et al in 2011, the researchers found that crows remember the faces of humans who captured the crows. The study was conducted using human face like masks that the researchers would wear when capturing the crows for the study. Through the course of capturing, banding and releasing the bird the captors would wear the same mask so as to insure consistency when working with the crows. The method included using a net launcher to capture the crow, the researcher would then hold the crow for between 10-15 minutes to band and document the bird and then the researcher would release the bird. While the crow was being banded the study noted that other crows would circle in the air around the researcher and offer alarm vocalizations. After the banding and release of the crows the researchers later would walk a 2-3.8km route while randomly wearing one of the masks, including the one that the captor wore, each time they walked the route. Not only would the captured bird remember the face of their abductor, they would inform other birds

who would then join in to taunt and dive-bomb that person.

The findings of the study highlight the crow’s abilities to both memorise and identify the mask their captor wore even over a long period of time. Not only that, but the crows also demonstrated an ability to communicate this information to other crows who would then join in on the taunting and dive-bombing of the researchers as they walked along their path. This suggests that the captured crow shared the information that whoever was wearing that specific mask when they were captured was a dangerous human. As such, the other birds responded in turn to attempt to stop the human wearing the mask from coming near.

In a continuation of this same project, the researchers would then show captured crows pictures of random people including the bird’s captor to see how their brain reacted to the images. ‘To see what was going on in the birds’ brains when they saw both faces, the researchers injected a glucose fluid into the bodies of fully alert crows. The crows were then put in the presence of someone wearing either the threatening or caring mask for about 15 minutes before the birds were sedated and given a brain scan.’

A lead researcher John Marzluff, of the University of Washington, said in a statement from the school, “The regions of the crow brain that work together are not unlike those that work together in mammals, including humans...

These regions were suspected to [react similarly] in birds but [this has not been] documented until now.” This lends strong evidence that crows remember faces and respond according-

ly, but what about other types of birds?

Other similar studies have also been conducted with different species of birds including magpies, pigeons and mockingbirds who have all demonstrated similar levels of human face memorization and recognition. Notably, feral pigeons proved to have the best facial recognition skills among wild birds and they did not require any kind of additional training in response to the testing. In a public park in Paris city centre two researchers wore different colour lab coats, one researcher would casually feed the pigeons while the other would actively chase the pigeons away whenever they got near.

Sometime later, the researchers exchanged their lab coats for one of a different colour and continued feeding or chasing the pigeons. “The experiment, which was repeated several times, showed that pigeons were able to recognise the individuals and continued to avoid the researcher who had chased them away even when they no longer did so.”

“It is very likely that the pigeons recognised the researchers by their faces, since the individuals were both female and of a similar age, build and skin colour,” says Dr. Dalila Bovet a co-author of this work from the University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense. “Interestingly, the pigeons, without training, spontaneously used the most relevant characteristics of the individuals (probably facial traits), instead of the lab coats that covered 90% of the body.”

In a continuation of this project the scientists say that “future work will focus on identifying whether pigeons learn that humans often change clothes and so use more stable characteristics for recognition, or if there is a genetic

basis for this ability, linked to domestication or to having evolved in an urban environment.”

Similarly in yet another study, magpies demonstrated aggressive responses towards researchers who messed with their nests again despite changing their clothing. Researchers would wear different clothes and be lifted up to magpie nests with half the researchers who would touch the birds’ nests and the other half would simply look at it. In response, the magpies would take notice and remember the faces of the select researchers who disturbed their nests. “These results suggest that wild magpies can distinguish individual humans that pose a threat to their nests from humans that have not behaved in a threatening way. The magpie is only the third avian species, along with crows and mockingbirds, in which recognition of individual humans has been documented in the wild.”

Just like the studies involving crows and pigeons, magpies also share the ability to share information about dangerous humans with other birds of their species. This highlights the horizontal learning of birds, within their own species, as they exchange important information especially in relation to specific humans and their recognition of faces.

These three studies highlight the brain power and abilities of birds, including how they learn from each other. Scientists have shown that being aggressive to these kinds of birds lends to aggressive behaviour in return, it appears that birds also follow the golden rule.

Is Your Phone Causing You to Age Faster?

Elly Dzhungurova dives into the science of bluelight behind the screen and discovers the impact to our health may not be so bright.

Phones. They have become something that one can’t function without. Scrolling through social media for hours on end has become somewhat of a shared cultural addiction. With the advent of technological advancement nearing what some call a technical inflection point, it’s no wonder that so much of our time is spent zoning out behind the screen. Studies that have been done in the past argue that around sixty percent of people spend on average more than six hours a day in front of a digital device.

Most people may know that excessive amounts of screen time can have a negative impact on our health. The fact is we live in a world where everyone is increasingly busy, connected and hard wired into their hand held computers.

The thought of blue light exposure from cell phones doesn’t seem to be part of the cultural milieu. But it might be time to think about how all that blue light exposure impacts your health.

Blue light is one of the colours that can be seen by the human eye in the visible light spectrum. Sources of blue light can be divided into two groups, natural and artificial. The natural blue light comes from the sun as it travels through the atmosphere. Whereas artificial light comes from any electronic device that we have. This includes laptops, smartphones, televisions and even led lights and energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs. Spending too much time on these devices is increasing our exposure to the blue light, which in turn studies have shown that it can impact our survival and cause us to age faster. So the effects of screen time do not start with your eyes and end in an expanding waistline, they end with a decrease in life expectancy.

Recently there are many studies being done relating to the topic if the smartphones and the aging process. Oregon State University (OSU) comments that the damage caused by this type of light is related to the brain cells and the retina of the eye. A study published in Oc-

12 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

tober 2019, issue of Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, a researcher Jaga Giebultowicz studied the effect of exposure of 12 hours of led light on flies, which is equivalent to blue light wave on smartphones. Fruit flies in particular are great experimental model because of their developmental and cellular mechanisms which humans and flies have in common.

“The thought of blue light exposure from cell phones doesn’t seem to be part of the cultural milieu. But it might be time to think about how all that blue light exposure impacts your health.”

The experiment involved dividing flies into two groups, those exposed to the light versus those who were kept in darkness. The surprising discovery was that the flies who were

unprotected from the blue light waves could not even climb the wall of the area of their enclosure to continue the experiment after a period of time. The problem here is the artificial light.

Natural light is crucial for the body’s circadian rhythm. Overall the study found that the blue light caused accelerated aging.

If blue light is effecting a fly then what effect does it have on us humans? A professor of integrative biology Giebultowicz has said “But there is evidence suggesting that increased exposure to artificial light is a risk factor for sleep and circadian disorders,”. She also added that “with the prevalent use of LED lighting and device displays, humans are subjected to increasing amounts of light in the blue spectrum since commonly used LEDs emit a high fraction of blue light. But this technology, LED lighting, even in most developed countries, has not been used long enough to know its effects across the human lifespan.” Thus, we are all guinea pigs.

This research and subject matter is still

new and its needs further investigation on how to improve blue light so that the exposure to blue light does not harm humans. Scientists argue that this research should continue and the greater public be kept informed about future advancements. One of the research assistants of the Giebultowicz’s lab argued that “As science looks for ways to help people be healthier as they live longer, designing a healthier spectrum of light might be a possibility, not just in terms of sleeping better but in terms of overall health.”

While scientists and researchers are working on this serious matter as around forty three percent of adults work in a job that requires prolonged use of a computer or tablet, there are things that we can do to help ourselves in limiting the exposure of blue light to our eyes.

Some of the safety measures that we can take are to wear safety glasses, if you start to feel fatigue, eye strain or headaches take a break and go for a walk outside. Some devices have the option to turn off the blue light and limit our use to one hour at a time of using led screen devices. If you have to work during the night using electronic devices, install an app that can filter the green/ blue wavelength and during the day we have to make sure to expose ourselves to as much natural light as possible.

It should be kept in mind that this is only the beginning of the research and the actual impact on human health is yet to be investigated.

Electrical engineers and computer scientists are working hard to figure out a way how to make a function in a smartphone to limit the exposure of blue light. Trevor Nash, a 2019 OSU Honors College graduate who has assisted in blue light exposure studies said “In the future, there may be phones that auto-adjust their display based on the length of usage the phone perceives”.

As long as awareness builds in society and scientists continue investigating a way to help the issue, the future for human health is bright.

SCIENCE

Your Brain on Tea From ancient China to your kitchen, tea has shaped our culture and our brains. Lillian Loescher describes what this could indicate.

That cuppa you have in the morning may be more beneficial to your health than you think.

A study recently published in the scientific journal, Aging, describes the positive effects of regular tea consumption on brain structure and touted its protective impacts on age-related decline in brain organization. This comes as no surprise as there have been decades of scientific research about the positive effects of tea consumption on the brain.

Scientist Junhua Li and colleagues showed the first evidence of the “positive contribution of tea drinking to brain structure and [their research] suggests a protective effect on age-related decline in brain organization”. Junhua Li and colleagues found that those who habitually drank tea had better functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) in their brains as compared to those who did not drink tea habitually. The DMN is an interconnected set of structures in the brain between the dorsal medial system and the medial temporal system. These structures are responsible for attention, memory, awareness and spatial navigation as well as higher level thought processes including predicting the future actions of people around you and an ability to reflect on others thought processes and beliefs.

The ability to reflect on others thought processes and beliefs is what psychologists call having a theory of mind. It has been well documented that people on the autism spectrum as well as those with Alzheimer’s disease have an impaired theory of mind. One large medical re-

view looking at the effect of tea on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease found that 8 out of 9 studies concluded that herbal tea had a neuroprotective role and contributed to the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, showing further evidence supporting the positive role of habitual tea consumption on the DMN.

The article produced by Junhua and colleagues has also shown that between the group of older adults who drink tea regularly and the group of older adults who do not drink tea regularly there was “higher structural network efficiency found in older adults who had habitual tea drinking. Relative to the non-tea drinking group, the tea drinking group had less topological distance between brain regions and more efficient interregional connectivity.

One of the hallmarks of an aging brain is leftward asymmetry in structural connectivity within the hemispheres of the brain, this can be observed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Scientists have shown that “the suppression of hemispheric asymmetry in structural connectivity was associated with tea drinking, tending to be more symmetric in structural connectivity. Specifically, the non-tea drinking group exhibited significantly leftward asymmetry…This hemispheric asymmetry in structural connectivity has been associated with brain ageing”.

A separate study looking at the effects of tea on the brain in both humans and animals found that an antioxidant in tea (called catechin) to be extremely beneficial for cognition. As

compared to placebo groups, enhancements in memory recognition and working memory were observed following tea consumption over extended periods of time.

Since tea consumption has been shown to be beneficial to brain function, connectivity and symmetry throughout lifetime one must wonder how tea came to be.

The first known monograph of tea was written by LuYu between 760CE and 762CE and is titled: The Classic of Tea. The book describes how to create the perfect cup of tea as well as the therapeutic benefits that tea has. It is said that tea originated in the Yuunan region of China around 4,000 years ago as a medical drink that was believed to represent the harmony and mysterious unity of the universe. Legend has it that tea was discovered by accident by an emperor of China around 2737BC when he was drinking a bowl of boiled water. A breeze hit and some leaves landed in his bowl. Noting the colour change and good taste the emperor was surprised and thus tea became part of the culture.

Thousands of years would pass before tea would make its way over to Ireland and the UK.

The first advertisement for tea in the UK appeared in 1658 and officially the tea trade began in 1664. The exact date when tea consumption became popular in Ireland is not known, but “the existence of silver teapots from the 1720s suggests that it was well-established by then”.

For thousands of years across the world tea has been consumed for medicinal and social purposes. The scientific interest in the health benefits of tea will continue to percolate our cultural milieu and perhaps the nature of preventative medicine will be partly shaped by tea consumption.

Einstein, stop telling God what to do!

Vanshika Dhyani asks why is Einstein still the poster child for a scientific temperament?

Einstein is universally welcomed as the magazine cover for ‘genius’- the face of Modern Physics, one of the most formidable scientists of the last centennial. Globally known for his mass-energy equivalence formula:E=mc2, Einstein’s celebrity has been celebrated throughout the years. In fact, on December 31, 1999, Times Magazine recognized the German-born Jewish Theoretical Physicist, Albert Einstein as the person of the century. The editors of the magazine reckoned that the 20th century “will be remembered foremost for its science and technology”, and Einstein “serves as a symbol of all the scientists—such as Fermi, Heisenberg, Bohr, Richard Feynman, ...who built upon his work”.

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, published the first account of his therapeutic technique, in the year 1905, while James Joyce completed his first book, Dubliners.

In the same year, Pablo Picasso bid goodbye to the blues and greens as he began his reign overwhat is now, better known as-the Rose period.

The revolutionary year also saw the discovery of novocaine- a local anesthetic and Elara- Jupiter’s natural satellite. And yet, 1905, will always be remembered as ‘Einstein’s miracle year’- an ode to the radical transformation of our understanding of the Universe.

The 2005 General Assembly of the United Nations declared the year (2005) to be the ‘International Year of Physics’. This declaration was scheduled to coincide with the centenary anniversary of physicist Albert Einstein’s “miraculous year.” In 1905, Einstein presented the empirical world with three of his most remarkable scientific papers. Each of which would go on to form the basis of three fundamental fields in physics.

From Antoine de Lavoisier to Donna Strickland, the modern world has seen many great scientists. And yet, it is Einstein’s name -from a century ago- that echoes in every household today. A testimony to Einstein’s great panjandrum comes from Brian Schwartz, a physicist

at the City University of New York Graduate Center, “His name is synonymous with science,” Schwartz believes. “If you ask kids to show you what a scientist looks like, the first thing they’ll draw is wild white hair.” he said in a 2005 interview. But why is Einstein’s still so popular?

A slice of Einstein’s stardom can be attributed to the Special Theory of Relativity and how it emerged-seemingly-out of nowhere. In 1905, before he became somewhat of a luminary, no one had heard of Albert Einstein and he did not have any prior achievements. He did not work for a scientific establishment and had not collaborated with a physicist for his academic paper. Previously, he had failed to clear the university examination, and after graduation faced a long period of unemployment, before he started working as a clerk at the patent office. This sudden outburst of genius took the world by storm.

In his paper, Einstein not only challenged Newtonian physics but also circled its plot holes. In a way, he single handedly re-wrote physics.

By the same token, Einstein’s involvement outside the realm of theoretical physics substantially contributed to his ever-growing popularity. His open opposition to anti-Semitism and Nazi Germany was followed by public recognition. His letters to Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, eventually resulted in the Manhattan Project where the country developed the first atomic bombs. He later went on to criticize the hydrogen bomb, publically. Arthur C. Clarke, Science writer, credited “Einstein’s unique combination of genius, humanist, pacifist, and eccentric” persona for his fame. He was convinced that it “made him accessible – and even lovable – to tens of millions of people.” Fellow Nobel laureate, Bertrand Russell remarked: “Einstein was not only a great scientist, he was a great man.”

Jacob Bronowski, British mathematician said that “Newton is the Old Testament god; it is Einstein who is the New Testament figure…full of humanity, pity, a sense of enormous sympathy.”

Furthermore, the Nobel prize winner had a way with words, known to the reporters as the unconventional scientist with good quotes, Einstein was known for his simple analogy of difficult concepts. He described relativity as “An hour sitting with a pretty girl on a park bench passes like a minute, but a minute sitting on a hot stove seems like an hour.”

One of his most popular quotes is “God does not play dice”. The quote made its first appearance in the Fifth Solvay International Conference. Einstein remarked “God does not play dice” (to indicate his refusal to accept quantum probabilities) , to which Niels Bohr, another brilliant physicist, replied “Einstein, stop telling God what to do” Later, in a 1942 letter to Cornel Lanczos, Einstein wrote “It seems hard to sneak a look at God’s cards. But that He plays dice and uses “telepathic” methods... is something that I cannot believe for a single moment.”

Decades later, in an interview, Stephen Hawk-

ing stated: “Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.”

Einstein’s life was full of academic as well as non-academic achievements. He was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1921 and asked to be the president of Israel, in 1952. He was also the subject matter of the FBI’s secret dossier from December 1932, that turned out to be 1,427 pages long by the time of his death in 1955. Whether we grasp general relativity or not, it is plausible to say that Einstein was a man of honor, excellence, and mystery. Perhaps it was the fact that Einstein, no matter how intelligent, was human- flawed and marred. When one tallies Einstein’s flair for scintillating apothegm in the media and his bizarre ideas to take physics by the horns, his exceptional and perdurable prominence in today’s world does not seem all that mysterious.

26th November 2019

13

GAEILGE

Pádraig Mac Piarais agus Scoil Éanna

Danielle Nic Gill Fhinnéin

Theastaigh ón bPiarsach é féin, iar-bhunscoil a oscailt agus sa bhliain 1908 d’éirigh leis a scoil féin, Scoil Éanna a oscailt.

Bhí ról tábhachtach ag an bPiarsach in athbheochan an chultúir, go háirithe in athbheochan na teanga. Bhí sé tiomanta don Ghaeilge agus don Oideachas. Theastaigh ón bPiarsach go mbeidh scoileanna na tíre seo faoinár gcúram féin. Bhí sé den tuairim nach raibh aird tugtha ag riarachán na Breataine do chultúr na hÉireann ó thaobh na staire de chomh maith leis an teanga sa churaclam. Bhí sé an-pháirteach sa cheisteanna faoin oideachas ag tús an fichiú céad. Rinne sé obair mhór ar son an oideachais de agus mar gheall ar a thionchar, tháinig athrú ar go leor polasaí oideachasúil.

Scríobh Pádraig Mac Piarais The Murder Machine, aiste faoin gcóras oideachais in Éirinn. San aiste rinne sé gearrán faoin gcóras, ag déanamh cur síos ar an gcóras mar Murder Machine, a bhíonn ag scrios na daltaí sa chóras oideachais. Theastaigh uaidh leasú a dhéanamh ar an gcóras oideachas.

Ó 1903 bhí tacaíocht a thabhairt ag an bPiarsach do scoileanna na tíre a bheith faoi riarachán náisiúnta. Theastaigh ón bPiarsach é féin, iar-bhunscoil a oscailt agus sa bhliain 1908 d’éirigh leis a scoil féin, Scoil Éanna a oscailt. Cad a bhí chomh speisialta faoin scoil seo ná go raibh Scoil Éanna ag feidhmiú formhór an ama, trí mhéan na Gaeilge. Bhí an Ghaeilge mar theanga oifigiúil na scoile. Cé go raibh an Ghaeilge mar theanga oifigiúil na scoile, bhí an dátheangachas mar chuid lárnach den scoil.

Múineadh chuile ábhair seachas an Ghaeilge trí dhá theanga, An Béarla agus an Ghaeilge. Bhí an Piarsach an-tógtha leis an dátheangachas mar gheall ar an gcuairt a thug sé go dtí an Bheilg, áit inár chonaic sé an dátheangachas i bhfeidhm sna scoileanna. Bhí an Piarsach mar eagarthóir ar an nuachtán dátheangachais An Claidheamh Soluis ó 1903 go 1908. Tar éis dó cuairt a thógáil ar an mBeilg, scríobh sé go leor ailt ag moladh an dátheangachas agus ag cur béim ar mhúineadh an dátheangachas sna scoileanna. Bhí sé cinnte de go mbeidh an dátheangachas mar pholasaí cuí do scoileanna na hÉireann.

Scoil Chaitliceach a bhí i Scoil Éanna agus fiú ó thaobh an aifrinn de, theastaigh ón bPiarsach go mbeidh an tAifreann déanta trí mheán na Gaeilge. Bhí spiorad Gaelach le fáil tríd is tríd i Scoil Éanna. Moladh do na tuismitheoirí filleadh beag a cheannach dá pháiste, mar chuid den éide scoile. Riail thábhachtach a bhí bainteach leis an éide scoile ná go raibh ar na héide scoile a bheith déanta as ábhar Éireannach amháin.

Bhí cultas na hóige le fáil i Scoil Éanna. Bhí Colmcille agus Cúchulainn mar dhá eiseamláir do na buachaillí. Bhí eiseamláir amháin bainteach le creidimh Chríostaí agus eiseamláir eile bainteach leis an gcreidimh phágánta. Dar leis an bPiarsach bhí ceann amháin mar shampla iontach de Naomh agus an ceann eile mar shampla iontach de laoch. Chreid sé go raibh Cúchu-

lainn mar eiseamláir de fhearúlacht agus idéal Gaelaí. Ba dhuine cróga, aclaí, trodaí agus ceannaire é Cúchulainn agus bhí sé seo an eiseamláir a bhí ag na buachaillí i Scoil Éanna. Bhí painéal gloine dhaite de Chúchulainn le fáil sa scoil chomh maith le cóipleabhair na scoile clúdaithe le híomhanna de Chúchulainn. An aidhm a bhí ag an bPiarsach chun go mbeidh gach buachaill mar Chúchulainn agus iad ag imeacht ón scoil.

Bhain sé dea-cháil amach mar iriseoir ar an gClaidheamh Soluis agus an próifíl ard a bhí aige mar bhall de Chonradh na Gaeilge. Mar gheall ar na rudaí seo, bhí go leor poiblíochta faighte ag Scoil Éanna. Bhí suim ag pobal na tíre sa scoil agus bhíodar ag súil go mbeidh rath ag baint leis an scoil. Chreid an Piarsach go raibh go leor clainne ag lorg scoil gur féidir lena mbuachaillí oideachas Gaelach a fháil. Sheol go leor de lucht leanúna Conradh na Gaeilge a bpáistí go dtí Scoil Éanna, mar shampla Stephen Gwynn agus William Bulfin. Ní amháin go raibh suim ag tuismitheoirí ó Chonradh na Gaeilge i Scoil Éanna ach bhí daoine ar nós náisiúnaithe cultúrtha na tíre, Dubhghlas de hÍde agus W.B Yeats an-tógtha leis an scoil chomh maith. Bhí an bheirt acu ag déanamh léachtóireachta sa scoil go minic.

Bhí Scoil Éanna mar thriail oideachasúil agus bhí rath ollmhór ag baint leis. Bhí an scoil inspioráideach go radacach do na glúnta a bhí le teacht. Tá an scoil mar idéal in oideolaíocht

náisiúnach. Bhí na buachaillí i scoil Éanna in ann todhchaí a shamhlú, todhchaí gan teorainn ar bith.

Bhí tionchar mór ag an bPiarsach ar a scoláirí. Ghlac go leor scoláire ballraíocht de Fianna Éireann agus Bráithreachas Phoblacht na hÉireann. I rith Éirí Amach na Cásca 1916 thairg níos mó ná triocha buachaillí chun dul isteach in Ard Oifig an Phoist leis an bPiarsach. Nuair a chuireadh chun báis ceathrar déag tar éis Éirí Amach na Cásca, bhí cúigear den cheathrar déag seo bainteach le Scoil Éanna. Is léir go raibh tionchar ollmhór ag an bPiarsach ar scoláirí na scoile.

Cuireadh chun báis Pádraig Mac Piarais agus a dheartháir Willie de bharr an pháirt a ghlac an bheirt acu san Éirí Amach. Tháinig níos mó cáile air mar gheall ar na hóráidí a bhí déanta aige ag comóradh Wolfe Tone sa bhliain 1913 agus an óráid a bhí déanta aige cois uaighe le Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa sa bhliain 1915.

Cuireadh chun báis é ar an triú lá de mhí na Bealtaine i gclós Príosún Chill Mhaighneann, an áit céanna ina gcuirtear na sínitheoirí eile chun báis.

Bhí tionchar ag Pádraig Mac Piarais sa tír seo. Chuir sé an Ghaeilge chun cinn agus sa lá atá inniu ann, tá an meon le fáil go raibh sé mar cheann de na scoláirí is fearr a bhí sa tír agus mairtíreach uasal.

Anseo le Úna-Minh Kavanagh Is scéal a thógfadh do chroí, scéal Úna-Minh, scéal nua-aimseartha faoin nGaeilge scríofa aici.

Tá leabhar nua tar éis teacht ar an bhfód le déanaí agus Anseo an teideal atá ar an leabhar fíorspéisiúil seo. An t-údar ná Úna-Minh Kavanagh agus is Gaelgeoir, iriseoir agus údar í. Foilsíodh an leabhar iontach seo an mhí seo caite.

Rugadh Úna-Minh i Hanáí sa Vítneam sa bhliain 1991. Ní raibh sí ach trí lá ar an saol seo nuair a d’uchtaigh Bean shingil ó Chiarraí an leanbh beag agus thug sí ar ais go hÉirinn í.

Tógadh í i gCiarraí faoi chúram a mathair Noreen agus a seanathair Paddy chomh maith.

D’fhás sí suas ag labhairt an Ghaeilge sa bhaile agus tá céim déanta aici sa Ghaeilge agus san iriseoireacht in Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath. Sa leabhar pléann sí an chinneadh atá déanta aici chun a saol a chaitheamh trí mheán na Gaeilge seachas an Béarla a úsáid. Faoi láthair tá sí ina chónaí i mBaile Átha Cliath agus ag déanamh sár-iarracht an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn.

Sa bhliain 2013, caitheadh maslaí ciníocha léi i lár na cathrach, i mBaile Átha Cliath.

Caitheadh seile uirthi agus an t-aon aiféala a bhí uirthi ná nár fhreagair sí na daoine seo ina teanga dhúchais, an Ghaeilge. Tuairiscíodh an eachtra dhéistineach seo ar fud na meán náisiúnta mar aon leis na meáin shóisialta. Ina leabhar Anseo, scríobhann Úna-Minh faoin ionsaí ciníochais seo a tharla ar Sráid Parnell agus conas mar a bhí an t-ionsaí seo mar catalaíoch di a saol a chaitheamh trí mheán na Gaeilge.

Tá Úna-Minh ag baint úsáid as an nGaeilge ar na meáin shóisialta agus tá na mílte ag dul ar líne, ar Twitter chuile lá chun giolcaireacht Úna-Minh a léamh. Tá sí thar a bheith spreagúil agus bíonn an feimineachas á plé aici chomh maith.

Ó thaobh na Gaeilge de, seo cad a bhí le rá ag Úna-Minh faoin nGaeilge ag dul i neart. ‘’Níl aon dabht agamsa ná go bhfuil an cúrsaí ag dul i bhfeabhas, tádar níos fearr anois agus cé go mbíonn cúpla daoine á ghearáin fén dteang, ní fhéidir a shéanadh tóir na Gaelainne gach lá, idir labhartha ‘gus scríofa ar Twitter, Discord, Instagram ‘gus Facebook, agus nílimse i mo chónaí sa Ghaeltacht. Is linne an teanga agus táimid in ann í a úsáid inár gnáthshaoil.’’

Cad atá le fáil sa leabhar ná Úna-Minh í féin ag labhairt faoi hábhair éagsúla mar chluichíocht, an Ghaeilge so-aimsithe atá curtha ar fáil aici (mar shampla frása an lae ar Twitter) agus conas déileáil leis na teachtaireacht trollála

14 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 3

a bhíonn le fáil ar na meáin shóisialta.

Is scéal a thógfadh do chroí, scéal ÚnaMinh, scéal nua-aimseartha faoin nGaeilge agus an tábhachtacht a bhaineanna lenár dteanga álainn. Bíonn daoine atá ag streachailt leis an nGaeilge sástá í a leanúint ar an gcóras giolcaireachta Twitter toisc go mbíonn frása an lae aici atá éasca dóibh a thuiscint. Chomh maith le sin bíonn aistriúchán le fáil díreach in aic leis an nGaeilge atá mar chabhair ollmhór d’aon duine atá ag foghlaim na teanga. Tá an-tóir ar seo agus tá níos mó ná 12,000 mar lucht leanúna aici ar Twitter.

Cuid an-tábhachtach den leabhar ná cad atá scríofa aici faoina seanathair Paddy, a d’oibrigh mar gharda i dTrá Lí. Is léir ón leabhar go raibh tionchar ollmhór ag a seanathair ar a saol agus ar a pearsantacht chomh maith. Tá í féin agus a seanathair Paddy le fáil ar an gclúdach den leabhar. Pictiúr álainn don bheirt acu suite le chéile le Corca Dhuibhne sa chúlra. Chuaigh sé i bhfeidhm go mór orm cad a bhí scríofa faoina seanathair. Tá sé mar chuid iontach coscrach den leabhar.

Tá áthas an domhain ar Úna-Minh faoin leabhar Anseo a bheith foilsithe.

“Táimse ar mhuin na muice! Is deacair dom a chréidiúint go bhfuil mo leabharsa ar fáil anois i tsiopaí mar bhíos fé bhrú. Thosnaíos ag obiar ar an leabhar seo i Mí Feabhra ‘gus bhí orm an lámhscríbhinn a sheoladh isteach roimh Mí Meitheamh. Bhíos thar a bheith gnóthach toisc go rabhas thar lear ar fheadh míosa leis i Mí Márta agus mar sin ní raibh ach trí mhí agam chun chuile rud a scríobh. Obair chrua ba ea é, ach táim sásta go ndearna mé é.”

Chuir mé ceist uirthi cad a bhí i ndán di agus is léir gur bhean an-ghnóthach ar fad í ÚnaMinh.

“Bhuel táimse fós gafa le rudaí eile maidir le mo leabharsa ach b’fhéidir go bhfuil leabhar eile agam i mo cheannsa! Chífimid. Is í iriseoireacht, eagarthóireacht ‘gus scríbhnóireacht na rudaí ab fhearr liom ‘gus ba mhaith liom leanúint ar aghaidh.”

Blag iontach atá ag an mbean inspioráideach seo ná blag faoin taistil darbh ainm ‘Before my Mam dies, a travel blog with a difference.’ Blag iontach é atá lán le ailt éagsúla. An blag is déanaí ná ‘Where to drink the best coffee in Panama City’ agus b’fhéidir go bhfuilim

claonta mar is aoibhinn liom caife ach is alt den scoth é. Alt lán le greann agus tugann sí léargas dúinn ar an gcaife atá le fáil i Panama agus léargas dúinn ar Panama ag an am céanna. Mar sin, más mian leat dul ag taistil agus tá comhairle ag teastáil uait, seo an áit le dul.

Rinneadh léirmheas fabhrach ar an leabhar Anseo agus tá Úna-Minh thar a bheith sásta leis an bhfreagra seo.

“Cinnte táimse ana-shásta leis an bhfreagairt, is dócha is léargas nua chuig an t-ábhar atá agam

Danielle Nic Gill Fhinnéin

mar dhuine de dháth, a uchtadh ó thír eile ‘gus a raibh an Gaelainn aici mar phríomhtheanga ar dtús.”

An teachtaireacht is mó atá Úna-Minh ag iarradh béim a chur ar sa leabhar Anseo ná nach duine geal iad chuile duine ón tír seo, go dtagann daoine ó chúlraí éagsúla agus ba cheart dúinn é sin a cheiliúradh. Tá Anseo le fáil sna siopaí leabhar faoi láthair agus is fiú go mór a léamh.

AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS

Beef sector disgruntled as prices remain stunted Conclusion to factory gate protests through signed agreement presents a false peace within the sector as famer dissatisfaction runs rife, writes Niall Hurson.

The total beef kill for 2019 is nearly 60,000 head of cattle behind 2018 figures. Delays in getting cattle slaughtered is causing frustration and despair among beef farmers and is affecting basic stock purchasing on some farms. Those lucky enough to have their cattle accepted by factories are met with the same unrelenting bad prices which has been losing beef farmers money for months. Since October last year over 190 complaints were made to the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (CCPC) about the beef sector.

After weeks of protesting at factory gates a more lasting agreement was found on September 15 at the Agriculture House in Dublin. The deal, entitled ‘Irish Beef Sector Agreement’ is to be carried out in conjunction with the Backweston conclusions, outlining the next steps for the beef industry. The agreement focuses on what it calls immediate benefits for farmers, involving a number of interventions for beef producers.

These benefits are to include the introduction of a new bonus of 8c/kg for steers and heifers aged between 30-36 months, which meet all non-age-related existing criteria. An immediate increase in bonus for in-spec steers and heifers from 12c/kg to 20c/kg. The introduction of a

new in-spec bonus of 12c/kg for steers and heifers under-30 months in the categories of grade O- and fat score 4+ which currently does not qualify for any bonus. The in-spec 70-day residency requirement has been reduced to 60 days.

As part of strand one and underpinning strand two of the agreement, a Beef Market Taskforce has been established to provide leadership in developing a sustainable pathway for the future of the beef sector in terms of economic, environmental and social sustainability. Taskforce progress has grinded to a halt though as the first meeting was due to take place on Monday October 14 but was abandoned due to a protest.

Approximately 40 people were involved in the standoff outside the Department of Agriculture headquarters where they prevented Meat Industry Ireland (MII) representatives from entering the building. The protest took place as a result of a number of injunctions still held against protesters who picketed C&D Foods, a pet food company in Longford, during the beef protests.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed told the Dáil the following day that protesters had engaged in behaviour outside acceptable norms with intimidatory tactics being used. A date has yet to be set for the Beef Market Taskforce to re-

convene.

Further distrust within beef farming circles was witnessed on November 01 when a group of approximately 20 farmers staged a protest outside the offices of Bord Bia in Dublin, calling for an end of quality approved labels on meat imported into Ireland. The group briefly met officials from the agency and handed in a letter to Bord Bia’s Chief Executive Tara McCarthy calling for age limits for cattle slaughter, the 70-day residency period and four movement rule to be abolished. It also called for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for Irish suckler beef. Bord Bia has rejected the mislabelling allegations with a spokesperson saying the “Origin Ireland logo can only be applied to meat products from animals born and reared on Quality Assured Irish farms in the Republic of Ireland and slaughtered at Quality Assured meat processing facilities in the ROI, with resultant meat processed and packed in ROI. It is misleading and untrue to state that non-Irish beef could carry the Origin Ireland logo.”

As part of the Irish Beef Sector Agreement, an immediate scientific review of the Quality Payment Grid by Teagasc will take place. The first stage of the review included a desk-top anal-

ysis of the pricing structure of the grid on the basis of meat yield/conformation. The pricing grid was originally developed from carcase dissection trials, based on recorded meat yields related to conformation and fatness grading. The meat yield increases with superior conformation and carcase value in turn is calculated as sum of the commercial value of individual meat cuts. The current pricing system is based on meat yield and market outlet and was hoped it would result in a price improvement for animals of good conformation when it first came into practice. Our current grid involves the carcass being graded on a 15-point scale which is subdivided into five classes consisting of E U R O P. These are then further divided into three fat classes.

Cooperation within the beef sector has improved dramatically since the factory protests concluded. With this said many farmers remain dissatisfied with efforts made to improve transparency. Distrust between the farmer and meat processors remains an area of concern with the question of the exact value factories receive for processing still unaccounted for.

UCD Agricultural Sciences recognised on the global stage Resting on the edge of South Dublin far removed from the nearest milking parlour or combine, UCD would seem to have no business operating one of the best Agricultural Science institutions in the world, writes Donnacha Colgan.

In 2016, Agricultural Sciences at University College Dublin (UCD) held position 41 in the U.S. News and World Report. Since then, the school of Agriculture has soared through the ranks reaching position 19 in 2019. Dean of Agricultural Science Professor Alexander Evans said, “this ranking is an achievement we are very proud of, it reflects the hard work and commitment by our faculty, staff and students.”

On the growing popularity of agricultural science courses in more rural academic institutions Professor Evans stressed the benefits of keeping the course here in Dublin city. “There’s no experience like the UCD experience. Having agricultural science here on campus gives our students the opportunity to meet people from other faculties that they wouldn’t have otherwise met if they were in bespoke settings.” Being a city university seemingly doesn’t affect UCDs ability to teach agriculture either. “Lyons Farm is a great asset that others in Ireland and around the world don’t have. University farms are dying out and UCD has been great in protecting that asset.”

The balance between a practical and theoretical approach has helped UCD soar through the ranks as they have demonstrated outstanding levels of employment for their student’s post-graduation. Agricultural science graduates have forged careers in a diverse range of professions from the agri-food sector, public policy, to healthcare.

Figures from the class of 2017 saw 73.5% enter employment and 23.4% engage in further study, with an unemployment rate of just 2.1%. Professor Evans owes this to the value companies put on the range of specialist and transferable skills developed in the agricultural science programme.

The Dean of Agriculture stated “some institutions are giving an education where you learn a bunch of recipes and solutions that are good when you graduate but will be no good in a few years’ time as problems shift. UCD aim to give people tools so that they can solve problems that don’t even exist yet.” It is this approach that has resulted in UCD graduates holding some of the leading positions in Irish agriculture today.

A large proportion of these tools seem

Battle of the dairy bull calf Dairy herds across the country have been increasing in size after the removal of EU dairy quotas in 2015. New entrants are flocking to the sector as the industry is seen as a more profitable venture in comparison to the continuation of suckler farming on many holdings around the country. A fact that was little acknowledged by any of the parties involved in the dairy expansion was that of the concerning increase in low value dairy bull calves that would be born each calving season. The task of finding a home for these bull calves will come to the fore on many dairy farms during the Spring of 2020.

The problem of having to contend with bull calves unwanted by either the dairy or beef sectors is not a new one, either in Ireland or around the developed world. Calves that are composed of a single purpose dairy breed or two breed dairy crosses have been around for as long as farmers have been selecting intensively for dairy production traits.

Nowadays, the problem is only compounded with the degree to which breeds have neglected form and confirmation traits, as well as the numbers of calves involved. A change in preference away from traditional British Friesian type cows and towards narrower purebred Holsteins or Jersey cross cows

to have a strong base in science which the school distils in their students during the first two years in college. Professor Evans believes that developing a strong foundation in the basic sciences in the beginning is key. “Students don’t like the basic sciences for the first few years, but I can tell you the more years you are out of college, the more you will come to appreciate it. If you talk to someone who graduated 10 years ago, they will always say the basic sciences are what keeps them up to date.”

Aside from the employability of its graduates, UCD also outperforms many other Agricultural Science institutions in the three most important factors in the US News rankings, namely global research reputation, regional research reputation, and publications. Professor Evans owes the quality of this work to the quality of student coming into UCD agricultural science over the past decade. “The points for agriculture have climbed steadily over the past 10 years meaning we have been taking in increasingly better students.

We say in UCD about hiring the best people and attracting the best students, and with the best hu-

man resources comes the best results. Our work is at a really high quality.” UCD are ranked top three for citations of their papers. This is owed to approaching local problems with a global mindset.

When we study the Wicklow sheep farmer, we don’t just study him in the context of Wicklow, we study him in the world context of climate change, production, and genetics.

Despite the monumental achievement of UCD breaking into the top 20 ranked Agricultural Science institutions in the world, Professor Evans is keen to highlight the school’s ability to help students grow outside of the classroom. “Only half of what you learn in your degree you learn in the classroom. You learn the other half in many other places and having a comprehensive university really helps with that.” §Professor Evans concluded that “there’s no other institution of agricultural science that’s like us in Ireland. There’s a lot of institutions doing different parts of what we do, but there’s nobody doing it in our holistic way.”

With ongoing expansion and growth within the dairy herd, Ireland must consider the negative consequences of an increase in the number of low value bull calves, writes Noel Bardon.

has reduced the levels of beef that can be produced from dairy bull calves.

An extreme case in the damage that can be done to the perception of an entire area of the agri-food industry is that of the coverage of New Zealand’s “bobby calf” situation, whereby approximately 40% of all dairy calves are slaughtered shortly after birth. If such herd management practices became common in Ireland, our hard-earned status as a nation of green, sustainable and welfare friendly food production could be in jeopardy.

Fortunately for producers, there are several solutions to the bull calf crisis on the table presently, although the cost and efficacy associated with the various methods can differ considerably. The two broad strategies for avoiding a crisis in this area centre around the prevention of low value calves entering the herd and an improvement in the management of such animals after birth, so as to extract some value from their rearing for producers.

The number of pure dairy bull calves born on farms can be greatly reduced using sexed semen on cows and heifers from which replacements are being bred. Sexed semen must have a 90% sex purity rate, meaning the chances of conceiving a

heifer calf are 90%, compared to 50% for unsexed semen or natural mating. As fewer cows and heifers must be used for the breeding of replacements, a higher proportion of the herd can be mated to beef bulls, producing calves that have a reasonable market value and beef producing ability.

The use of sexed semen has been hindered by the fact that there are no semen sorting laboratories in Ireland and, as genetics companies would have to send bulls to the UK for sorting, the highest merit bulls tend not to be sent. The establishment of a semen sexing facility would give farmers another option in the prevention of unwanted bull calves but the excessively high royalties collected

by Cogent, the owner of the IP rights to the process, discourages any of the major players in the breeding industry to take the financial risk in setting a lab up.

Research into the inclusion beef production traits into the EBI could help to avert the possibility of large numbers of bull calves with little or no value being born each Spring on Irish dairy farms. Including a sub-index related to the carcase weight, carcase grade and feed efficiency could allow the niche of dairy bull calf-to-beef to become more attractive to farmers. Any significant

re-beefing of the dairy herd does not appear likely to appeal to the group of breeders most specially focused on milk production traits, the group wielding one of the greatest pulls in determining the direction of change in dairy cow type, pedigree Holstein breeders. Nevertheless, consumer attitudes will only grow in their influence on the profitability of milk production systems as transparency and traceability of the supply chain improve.

Another option for producers is the operation of a veal production system. For many, veal production conjures images of the poor animal welfare standards endemic of the Dutch approach to veal production. This, however, is not the only way in which to rear veal animals and EU regulations have clamped down on such practices. Dairy bull calves can be reared in loose housed systems with normal weaning ages and similar diets to calves being raised to enter the dairy herd in what is likely to be an option considered by some in the context of the bull calf situation.

26th November 2019

15

BUSINESS

Unravelling the truth about Stamp 1G

Byra Gan discusses the often frustrating reality of studying in Ireland with a Stamp 1G visa.

UCD is ranked among the top 1% of higher education institutions globally. Offering a wide range of curriculums that are internationally accredited, and great facilities on its campus, UCD invites thousands of students from different countries each year. In fact, international students make up almost 30% of the overall students. Since May 2017, international students have been given the opportunity to continue their stay after their study with Stamp 1G visa status. Thus, many students arrive in Ireland with hopes of getting their dream jobs. The University Observer investigated the issues around Stamp 1G and the potential discriminatory practice many of these students face after graduation.

Stamp 1G was first introduced by the Department of Justice under the revised Third Level Graduate Programme (TLGP) on 31st May 2017. It allows non-EEA persons to be able to continue their residence for a set-time (1 year for award at level 8 and 2 years for award at level 9) when they graduate from an approved awarding body. In other words, Stamp 1G allows employers to employ such graduates on full-time basis as opposed to the limited hours Stamp 2 student

visa allows. The purpose of the programme is to encourage high achieving students to contribute to the Irish economy, and research. However, there appears to be some issues when these graduates start applying for jobs.

Since TLGP’s implementation, two academic years have passed with the last batch of students now on the job market, either still seeking or already employed. While, there aren’t any statistical surveys conducted on exactly how many international students were able to take full advantage of this scheme, we spoke to some of the international students who currently possess Stamp 1G.

Dane* came from India in 2018 to study in UCD. He has recently completed his 1-year master’s course in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. Since receiving his final grades, he immediately applied for Stamp 1G for which he paid €300. Thousands of students do the exact same thing, hoping to get full-time work in Ireland. Along with his fellow classmates, Dane had been applying for jobs in Ireland continuously from August.

When we spoke to Dane, he had recently started his career in Dublin. Before his em-

ployment, he claimed to have applied for at least a hundred jobs within 2 months. He described his experience as “not at all smooth” and “very stressful”. One of the main problems he explained was that not many recruiters seemed to know what exactly Stamp 1G was. More often than not, he found himself explaining what the visa status means, that is, if the hiring manager even considered non-EU passport holders in the first place. The common phrase of usage was that the job required travelling to other European countries, in which case hiring him was not even an option.

The other postgraduate we spoke to has not been as lucky. Alan* graduated from his master’s course with 3.57 GPA. Even with a high GPA, he said he was only able to get three job interviews. “Since there is a high volume of applicants, Stamp 1G might be an easy elimination for recruiters.” he suspected. He also highlighted that everybody in his position would be hoping to get Critical Skills Employment Permit, since they have limited time on Stamp 1G. However, there are a number of conditions involved when applying for the permit, two of which include 2 years employment contract and €1000 fees. As

companies, especially start-ups, pay fees to be bound to an employee for such a long period of time, Stamp 1G is driving many employers away.

Both Alan and Dane were very disheartened with their job prospects. They strongly believe the university could have done a lot more to support students like them. In fact, universities such as NUI Galway already does the application on behalf of the students, helping with the whole process from the get-go. It makes the application process much easier, taking a load off of students’ shoulders. In this regard, UCD still has a lot of room for improvement.

On the other hand, Sorcha Pollak from The Irish Times wrote that the lack of awareness surrounding Stamp 1G may be due to the confusing Stamp system – there are nine different stamps currently available for non-EEA nationals. She featured a student who gave up on job hunting after 18 months. It is not clear how many students are actually aware of the difficulties of getting a job on Stamp 1G when they first come to Ireland. *Names have been changed to ensure anonymity.

Why are there no Arts Career Fairs?

Byra Gan explores why there is a lack of interest in a careers fair for arts students.

Final year marks the beginning of the job hunting season for almost every student. During this time careers fairs, be it on campus or in the RDS, are an excellent way for students to learn about what types of jobs are out there. This is where employers advertise their companies with attractive packages and working conditions.

A few thousand employers participate in such events in hopes of hiring fresh graduates, boasting a wide array of opportunities available for graduates. UCD hosts several of these events which are open to view on the website, ucd.ie.

For this academic year, there are currently four recruitment fairs on Belfield campus and two on Smurfit campus. Although the UCD Careers Network claims ‘all’ students are welcome to attend on their targeted emails, the titles of these fairs read law, science and business. Why do we never hear about careers fairs for arts, humanities and social science (AHSS)?

The first argument is a demand and supply problem. It is no secret that arts degrees have poor job prospects, with studies revealing its graduates earn significantly less than their peers who study STEM subjects. A wellknown job search website, Indeed, reported that the biggest employers in Ireland are giant stem companies such as Amazon, IBM, Dell and Facebook etc. These companies are actively looking for students with science or business background. In response to the growing demand, the Irish government also launched an Action Plan in March this year to encourage enrolment in STEM subjects, science, technology, engineering and maths. Even at a European level, The Irish Times writes, 6% of Horizon 2020 research funding programme is allocated to arts and humanities. As companies and government

16 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

policies focus on STEM subjects, there simply aren’t enough drive and funding for Arts and Humanities to have its own fair. However, there are some issues worth looking at to address this problem.

First of all, when people talk about how there are less jobs for arts degrees, many are immediately assuming that the skills learnt from arts degrees are not in touch with what the job market actually wants. According to Cpl, Ireland’s biggest recruitment agency, digital marketing and language jobs are among the most in demand. These jobs are emerging across all sectors, including the most competitive IT companies. Many employers reportedly value study in liberal arts, and the demand for these disciplines has seen an increase in recent times. For example, language skills are in demand primarily in international companies such as Facebook and Google. Both communication and content marketing skills are fostered in AHSS.

Tony Donohue, the head of education

and social policy at Ibec, explained that arts students in fact possess excellent critical thinking, analytical and communication skills that are highly relevant for businesses. A survey done by the Higher Education Authority in 2014 also found that while arts graduates earn much less right after college, they reach a senior position within their organizations much quicker. For those who want to join the job market as soon as they graduate, the situation does not look bleak.

In other words, it is not just about what arts degrees can offer but about whether employers are able to take full advantage of talented students from arts and humanities faculty.

On the other side of the coin is the question; what if arts students do not want to join tech companies in the first place? While, these students may well possess great many marketable skills for businesses, many of them choose arts for a reason other than getting into business. According to a survey by HEA in 2017, arts and humanities graduates make the highest

percentage of those who do further study, with many of them joining education, research institutions and the publication industry. As it turns out, many of the fields arts students pursue require degrees with awards above level 9. These sectors are also not as big as IT and business sectors and are highly competitive with less jobs available for many applicants. Therefore, not only do arts and humanities do not get fancy recruitment fairs due to tight budgeting, chance of employment in these sectors is even lower for undergraduates.

One of the biggest advantages of AHSS degree is that it is highly versatile. There are many such cases of psychology graduates being hired by Uber to test unhappy drivers and riders and English majors being hired to gather data

by Opentable. In short, as the demand for arts degrees gradually increase, we may get to see careers fairs for AHSS someday.

5

10

6

Crossword Issue 4

PUZZLES 12

1 7

2 8

3 10

Across

D

2. The quality of a mink that leads to it's harvesting.

1.

3. Sharp 9 twist on a straight line

4.

5. Musical genre apocryphally attributed to Louis Armstrong.

7.

6. Gaming with Gygax.

9.

8. Your debts are due, so you shall be enslaved.

11

10. "Let there be light" and flick.

11

12. A very specific Guillermo Del Torro film.

12

4 5

6

Across

Down

2. The quality of a mink that leads to it's harvesting.

1. Raising the chicks of the Cuckoo bird

3. Sharp twist on a straight line

4. There were 4 varieties in the 1900 Olympics.

5. Musical genre apocryphally attributed to Louis Armstrong.

7. The teachings of the greatest French revolutionary

6. Gaming with Gygax.

9. The act of playing guitar for U2.

8. Your debts are due, so you shall be enslaved.

11. psychological intervention to change harmful behavior.

10. "Let there be light" and flick.

12. A very specific Guillermo Del Torro film.

7 8

9

10

11

12

Across

Down

2. The quality of a mink that leads to it's harvesting.

1. Raising the chicks of the Cuckoo bird

3. Sharp twist on a straight line

The Harpy

4. There were 4 varieties in the 1900 Olympics.

5. Musical genre apocryphally attributed to Louis Armstrong.

7. The teachings of the greatest French revolutionary

6. Gaming with Gygax.

9. The act of playing guitar for U2.

8. Your debts are due, so you shall be enslaved.

10. "Let there be light" and flick.

12. A very specific Guillermo Del Torro film.

11. psychological intervention to change harmful behavior.

Manducare ano meo

Andrew Deeks to play Ebeneezer Belfield FM Listenership Doubles Scrooge in UCD Dramsoc Production This Week To Two People of “A Christmas Carol” Johnny Journalist

Young Man Belfield In a press statement released to The Harpy today, UCD Dramsoc have announced that President Andrew Deeks will be playing the part of Ebeneezer Scrooge in their production of “A Christmas Carol”. The miserly old grinch will be appearing on stage alongside other Dramsoc members in an attempt to boost ticket sales through a publicity stunt. While some see the casting as nothing more than a shallow cash grab, Dramsoc insists that “there is no one better for the job” and that “it’s crazy we haven’t done this before”.

An inside source has informed The Harpy that President Deeks has not been incredibly co-operative through the creative process.

Changes and edits have been made to the initial script due to suggestions made by Deeks. The majority of edits have been small wordswaps, such as Scrooge being addressed as “Your Holiness” for the majority of the piece, an incredibly long and graphic sex scene between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the part of Marley being portrayed by a dog. The most controversial edit, however, has been the total alteration of the script. In a final draft script obtained

by The Harpy, we can report that the play ends with Scrooge ignoring the Ghost Of Christmas Future’s warning and going on to lead an incredibly happy life with his money. “We tried to explain to him why Scrooge needed to learn his

lesson at the end of the play, but it seemed like Deeks didn’t really understand that life wasn’t all about money either’’ commented one actor, who wished to remain anonymous, almost definitely due to his lack of acting capability. “The edits have really put a lot of stress on us. If I have to clean up dog shit out of the Red Room carpet again I will throw myself off the top of Newman”.

Not only has Deeks proven to be controversial while on the stage, it is true to say that he can be quite controversial while off it as well.

President Deeks has taken the distinction of being Dramsoc’s first ever paid actor. Although we were unable to receive an exact amount of how much Deeks was paid, we were told by a representative of the President that it was “enough to get a short flight to Paris”, which by UCD’s standards comes to an average of four thousand euro. President Deeks has also been given his own dressing room which we could not enter along with the rest of the crew. We are not entirely sure what items can be found inside this dressing room, but a scout spotted several live geese being brought into the room wearing blindfolds, and the geese were never seen again.

Tickets to “Deeks’ Christmas Carol” are on sale now from the Dramsoc Theatre starting from sixty euro, with a special “seated” deal for two hundred euro per chair.

Following the release of nationwide radio broadcasting data last night, Belfield FM was pleased to discover that their weekly listenership had doubled in the past week, bringing their overall audience to two people each week. Station management have called the news “a show of a roaring success” and “proof that there is a market for digital student radio”.

Up until this point, the only known listener to the Belfield FM stream was the constant stream that plays in the office as you wait to do your guest spot on the show that the weird lad in your tutorial asked you to be on because you “sound like you know what you’re talking about”. While many at the station argued that the number of times the broadcast was being streamed was not reflective of the amount of people listening because “it could be played in a stadium of 50’000 people”, statisticians have been able to prove that on average, only one person is actually listening to the broadcast at any time, regardless of the amount of people in the area. This stream is used to take advantage of something station management call “the shark loophole”, stating that the station will be immediately shut down once the listenership hits zero.

This constant stream ensures that this can never happen, although there are now talks that they may be able to rely entirely on this mystery listener, saving all of those in the office from listen-

ing to “Deli Daydreams” by Kojaque ever again.

“We really hope it’s a case where this other mystery streamer is unable to turn off the stream from their end, like an old person who logged in and then dropped dead or maybe someone being tortured for information”, said one committee member a little bit too eagerly.

Belfield FM have already begun to experience a serious amount of change in the station and the lineup of presenters. The majority of presenters have decided to abandon their shows and not to return for next semester for fear that “someone is actually listening to this crap”.

Some of the younger presenters who were made aware of the stats were incensed at the fact that they were misled into believing that working with Belfield FM could result in a profitable career in broadcasting and producing. A few core presenters have decided to stay on however, and will now have to make up for the lack of time due to missing shows. This now involves a breakfast show that now finishes up at 5 pm, and a nighttime show that starts at 5 pm.

Belfield FM welcome all new presenters and listeners at any time, and if you wish to be a part of Belfield FM’s family, simply make your way up to the yellow box in the New Student Centre and throw away one of your hours once a week.

26th November 2019

17

EDITORIAL

Talleyrand

My loyal subjects, I have returned, Merry Christmas to you all. As you trudge through the mushy leaves on the way to the cursed RDS, remember that Talley is laughing at you, from the comfort of my million euro bedroom in Ardmore House.

As we near the Christmas break, Talley invites you to look back at the absolute lack of substance from semester one. So as the Students’ Union reach the halfway mark of their term, let’s have

a look at some of their achievements. Where to begin? There’s the, eh, that thing they did a while ago, the bus thing? And... yea they’ve just been so busy I guess.

maintaining my place on the right side of history, Talley will be boycotting the Alumni Awards - as should you, you spineless cowards. Talley has, and always will, call for class solidarity.

I may soon be the only hateful, bitter old hag frequenting the hallowed halls of Ardmore House.

UCD rarely lets people out of it’s clutches, that is unless they are horrendously unpopular and a scourge to everyone who has to spend time here. But that’s a story for another day...

Speaking of recent news, I am heartbroken to learn that I will soon be losing my favourite haunt on campus. I have watched as countless students over the last 40 years have come and gone from Richview, all to go on to build one million hotels in our capital city.

Haunting this campus is a fate worse than Hell - do you know what it’s like, every day putting up with all of you miserable pisspigs, whinging and crying and doing nothing about it. I yearn for death, and you should too.

So to all of my readers and fans, I leave you with a simple message. I hate you. All of you. There is not a person who has read this column that I do not despise with every fibre of my being.

In light of recent news, Talley would like to voluntarily disclose his expenses for the past 200 years. It’s €0. I’m a ghost, you rubes.

In keeping with my long standing tradition of

Goodnight and a very miserable Christmas to you all, The one and only, Talleyrand

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER TEAM Editor Gavin Tracey Deputy Editor Aoife Mawn Art and Design Editor Alex Fagan Assistant Editor Nathan Young Design Assistant Orla Keaveney News Co-Editors Andrea Andres Jade Wilson Comment Editor Garrett Kennedy Features Editor Doireann deCourcy Mac Donnell Science Editor Lillian Loescher

Editorial - A Students’ Union?

Last week we saw the Students’ Union of University College Cork emerge victorious from a battle with the University administration.

Through peaceful, tactical protest outside of the President’s office, combined with a lawsuit, they achieved what seemed to many to be impossible.

Not only did the University management back down, but they actually refunded students the €80 that they charged them at the start of the year.

For those of us who spend their time surrounded by student politics, this is heartening. UCCSU leveraged their power to lobby the University in perhaps the only way students have enacted change in the past - through proper protest. It is an outcome that those in our own SU should take note of. There is little that can be done by attending meetings and boards, and going through the “proper channels”. Think about it - would UCD allow our Students’ Union

to sit on the boards that they do if they thought it would in any way hamper the plans they wish to implement? Of course not.

It is an unfortunate fact of our current moment that the needs and wants of UCD administration and the students are diametrically opposed. It must always be remembered that any effective SU must pit itself in firm opposition against the administration of whatever university whose students they represent. They must be willing to fight at every turn, and not to give an inch when it comes to the welfare of their students.

I do not mean to lecture those who work in our current SU. They are overworked, and do a mountain of fantastic work with individual students behind closed doors. It is hard work, for which they receive little praise - nor do they want or desire it.

This however, should not be how they

spend their time. They should not have to support students, we should have a university with the proper facilities available to all students from councillors, doctors, student advisors - we should not have a scenario whereby the needs of students are ignored by those in charge.

As our front page stories show, this is unfortunately the case. Money appears to flow up - to service the private parties of the president, rather than down to the students who are on a waiting list for counselling, for those who cannot afford to go to the doctors (to our students in Smurfit who do not even have a doctor on their campus.) Major decisions are made in which students have no say (nor, it must be said, do the majority of staff).

If we can learn anything from our comrades in UCC, it is that this is not the way things have to be, and, while difficult, it is within our grasp to change it.

Deputy Science Editor Vanshika Dhyani Eagarthóir Gaeilge Danielle Nic Gill Fhinnéin Agriculture and Rural Affairs Editor Niall Hurson Law and Politics Editor Arshdeep Kaur Business and Careers Editor Byra Gan The Harpy Editor Hugh Carr Sports Editor Andrew Dempsey Chief of Photography Alex Fagan Deputy Chief of Photography Sofia Dragacevac Chief of Videography Eleonora Dzhungurova Deputy Videographer Fiadh Melina Brosnan Columnists Matthew Tannem-Elgie Doireann deCourcy MacDonnell Contributors: Mark Jackson Darryl Horan Soham Shingnapure Clodagh Healy Michael Tuohy Adesewa Awobadejo Sam Keane Anjan Venkatesh Cody Sanders Donnacha Colgan Noel Bardon Grainne Daly Christine Coffey

********************************* Letters, corrections, and clarifications pertaining to articles published in this newspaper and online are welcomed and encouraged.

Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, University Observer, UCD Student Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4 Correspondence may also be sent to editor@universityobserver.ie

18 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

Production Ingredients

SPORT

What is it about Qatar?

Gráinne Daly asks why exactly are we looking at Qatar as a sporting venue, in the midst of the calamitous World Athletics Championships.

The price of a pint in Qatar would make the most loyal of drinkers consider the pledge. The unavailability of alcohol throughout the Gulf state would give them a thirst. The announcement by Qatari organisers that they will reduce the price of alcohol for the 2022 World Cup may give hope, but the realisation that drunkenness can result in imprisonment will have them their next savouring Super Sunday pints belovedly.

Welcome to the home of the next FIFA World Cup.

Amid the whiff of brown envelopes and an endorsement from the almighty Sepp Blatter who proclaimed an Arab world cup to be a good idea, Qatar was awarded the hosting of the 2022 tournament. The bid was just one of a concerted campaign to attract high-profile world sport

events to the desert. Deep pockets and high hopes make good bedfellows. On the back of a successful hosting of their biggest ever event, the 2006 Asian Games, they managed to attract the F1 Grand Prix, 2012 Squash Championships, 2014 World Swimming Championships and the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

The World Athletics Championships held in October will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. A dizzying mix of humidity and scorching temperatures derailed the endless hours of training and dedication that athletes put into their preparation. The traditional format of morning training sessions and afternoon competitions were sidelined to make way for later afternoon training and nighttime competitions: this to avert the inevitability of athletes melting on the track or field. The marathon event was held after midnight, a decision that was criti-

cized by many including marathon runner Volha Mazuronak who said that organisers were disrespectful to athletes by making them compete in the conditions. Others believed that the road events should have been located in the air-conditioned stadium instead.

The incendiary conditions, among other factors, translated in a 90% decline in ticket sales from the previous 2017 championships.

Finals were held around 11pm local time to cater for an international TV audience. Locals, understandably, left venues early. The organisers gave free tickets and still only partially filled venues. A bad sign indeed and a pitiful state of affairs when athletes are expected to perform at all hours in the desert heat. Just how hot is it? A paint-melting 50c plus in summer months or around 30c for the rest of the year. This may be fine for sunshine fans but picture the challenge for athletes striving to be at their peak such a furnace.

UK company, ARUP, is selling air to the Arabs after being awarded the contract to roll out state-of-the art air conditioning systems to venues ahead of the World Cup 2022. This as part of the Qatari promise to deliver something undeliverable. In response to concerns about hosting sports events in scalding conditions, the 2022 Qatar bid chairman, said that “we will have to take the help of technology to counter the harsh weather. A stadium with controlled temperature is the answer to the problem. We have other plans up our sleeves as well”. Plans up their sleeves? A part of the technology to combat the climate conditions is the willingness of inter-

national football associations to agree to allow the 2022 tournament be held in winter instead.

It will be held from November 21st to December 18th.

Qatar is a country that outlaws homosexuality, prohibits sufferers of HIV or AIDS from living there, bans pornograpy, and as mentioned above, has restrictive laws around alcohol. Insulting somebody in public is also considered a punishable offense. Fans will need to be on their best behaviour with a strict dress code law ruling out the possibility of the topless lad look. Does this sound like the inclusive venue that an international sports competition deserves?

The Qataris also implement strict laws that include no public acts of affection. But fandom is all about public acts of unity, pride and celebration. If you’ve never shared a tight embrace with the person beside you in the stand to mark the ripple of the opposition net, then you haven’t lived. Spontaneous back claps and hugs, communal chants, peculiar dance rituals it’s what fans do. Hugs, flags and headbands: all part of the game. When asked about how Qataris are likely to react to a gay couple holding hands, Al-Khater, the chief executive officer of the 2022 World Cup, said they wouldn’t be treated any differently from any other couple or individual, a public display of affection is frowned upon.

Questions remain as to whether the beautiful game can be played or celebrated to its potential in the desert but one thing is for sure, with a World Cup final on 18th December, Christmas will come early for some.

Club Focus: UCD Snowsports Andrew Dempsey speaks to UCD Snowsports Club captain Sophie Hayes after a meteoric rise for the club in recent years.

Certainly, one of the larger sport clubs on campus, the UCD Snowsports club are unique in a sense. With many clubs operating out of the UCD Sports Centre, Snowsports base themselves in Kilternan, nicely tucked away in the Dublin Mountains at the National Ski Club of Ireland. Skiing in Ireland? You may think that’s strange, and that it may be. However, the Ski Club of Ireland has been around since 1963, firstly in Goatstown before making the move southwards to Kilternan to its present day home.

Home to a wide variety of clubs, the Ski Club of Ireland host one of UCD’s most populous clubs in the UCD Snowsports Club. Possessing 493 members, and offering students an affordable entrance to the slopes, The University Observer caught up with club captain Sophie Hayes – who opened up the doors of the club to the public eye.

“Skiing is obviously something that people think is a very expensive sport to join and it is kind of isolated in that sense,” Hayes told the University Observer. “Through university you can ski for very cheap. Unless you’re part of a family who goes skiing regularly, you’re not going to get that opportunity otherwise. I think college is a really good time to pick it up. Most people who join the club have never skied before and they’re all looking for something new in that sense.

“Every week we have lessons in the ski club of Ireland in Kilternan. It’s on the border of Dublin and Wicklow about 20 minutes away from UCD. We go there twice a week. On Thursdays we do our regular training and races and on Friday there’s freestyle. Freestyle is much more casual and it’s not just UCD, it’s all universities.

We facilitate a bus from UCD to Kilternan twice a week and we subsidise the lessons. That’s the big one.

“We also have a good few social events and competitions. We have our colours competition coming up on the 16th of November and that’s against Trinity. We won it last year and have done so a good few times before. There’s intervarsity’s that take place during semester

two which we have 14 of the 15 years it has been running so we’re killing it in that sense. Normally that’s with just DIT and Trinity but we do invite the other college’s in Ireland but they’re just less likely to show up. We also run a ball with a few clubs, and we do a few smaller events in the form of general nights out and all.”

While many join the club having never seen a slope before, Hayes revealed how she first came into contact with the sport, both outside and inside of UCD; “I learned to ski in Kilternan when I was eight, and when I was nine, I started racing there. From nine to 16 I as racing about twice a week in Dublin. I was skiing on carpets years before I went to snow, so I know how important the basic stuff is. You realise how important it is as it goes on.

“I joined the Snowsports club, and it was the only club I joined in first year. I went up to the tent, knew half the people on the commit-

tee and signed up and asked barely any questions bar when the day was, they skied on! It was something I just wanted to get involved in and it’s a sport I really enjoy. Probably my first trip because I went by myself. I was put in a room with three people I had never met before – I had only met them once or twice before and now that’s my main social group and I’m now the captain of the club so it’s a nice turnaround in that sense.

And it has certainly been a meteoric rise for the club in recent years, who were not even in existence at the turn of the century – “We were founded 15/20 years ago. It was really small, it was set up by a group of guys who used to teach me ski racing when I was younger,” Hayes noted. “They basically just wanted to go skiing and during their first year they took about 20/30 people away and last year we brought 240 people away and we’re looking at about 220 this

year so the club has grown massively.”

While the club has certainly seen a seismic period of growth, priorities lie at home, with intervarsity’s due to take place next semester; “The intervarsity’s are next semester. TID have a very strong ski community. There’s one lad Cormac Comerford who is probably going to be in the next winter Olympics there. There’s a lot of people around Ireland who ski regularly.

From the group I was in in Kilternan, we spread out a bit.”

With plenty of goings on at the club to look forward to in the next few months, there is still plenty of time to get involved with the club before their flagship trip away. Should you wish to get in contact with the club, you can contact them via email (snowsports@ucd.ie) Facebook (UCD Snowsports Club) or also on Instagram (@ucdsnowsports).

26th November 2019

19

SPORT

Triumph and Tribulations – the story of UCD Andrew Dempsey looks back on UCD AFC’s challenging return to the top-flight with goalkeeper and Irish under-21 international Conor Kearns.

Friday the 18th of October. That was the date UCD were condemned to a First Division return after a challenging year in the top-flight. However, their fate was all but sealed before then with the defeat away to Cork City the week’s previous.

It was a year of challenges, with both moments of brilliance and difficulty. A 10-1 defeat, with a manager departure just days after certainly did not aid the cause, as a string of player departures eventually took its toll on a squad bereft of experience. “It was disappointing,” goalkeeper and Republic of Ireland under-21 international Conor Kearns told the University Observer.

“We didn’t pick up as many points at the start of the season as we should have with the squad we had. As it happens with UCD, that crop of players came to the end of their cycle. They left, and we started a new season halfway through with, what was, not because of the quality of players, a makeshift team. There were highpoints definitely, but we just lacked the real clinical punch in games and through the season to keep us alive.

And I don’t think we can have any complaints as to where we finished.

“First game (away to Derry City), I don’t know if it was the quality of player or not. It was just a whole new environment. We went a goal down relatively early in that game and we got back into it, played really well then, the second goal happened. It was a fairly fluke goal, I think I scored an own-goal, but we played well. After the game we weren’t down, we really enjoyed the experience. Last season, we would’ve been

competing on a fairly level playing field in terms of hours on the training pitch with the part-time teams in the First Division. As much as the educational pathway was brilliant, it brought its own challenges.

“We were already a step behind in that sense. We were already a step behind to chase that level of intensity of performance. As the season went on, and as things went on and things got tougher in college that gap was never going to be bridged. But that was accepted at the start of the year but over the course of the year we just didn’t realise the toll it would take.”

While there was heavy defeats, it certainly was not all doom and gloom for the Students. At one stage, there were three players from the club called up to Stephen Kenny’s Irish under-21 squad – with Kearns one of the three along with Liam Scales and Neil Farrugia (now of Shamrock Rovers).

“Personally, it’s nice to get a call-up. At any point, it’s nice to step up to that. At the time we were part-time footballers, actually amateur at the time and were able to hold our own. You saw that with Liamo (Liam Scales) in the Italy game. I certainly didn’t feel out of place in the camp so that was a nice boost and it shows the club is still doing things in the right way in producing players in the right manner.”

After a run of 11 straight league defeats, along with their captain and leader Gary O’Neill moving onto pastures new – the Students looked doomed. But then, of course there was an unbeaten run of three games, which saw a heavily

unfancied UCD defeat both Finn Harps and Bohemians.

“That was a bit of a whirlwind time for me personally. I certainly felt I had a purple patch of form. I had three clean sheets in a row, went over 300 minutes without conceding and I felt really good. I then got slapped with a seven game ban and then you had Liam Scales wrapped up in a mad transfer fiasco. Then Evan Osam who was already out for the season was joined by Josh Collins. So then, you are missing four of the five players who would be playing in the backline.

It’s hard to manage that at any point and the first game you have after that is Shamrock Rovers away.”

However, no further league wins arrived – which all but consigned the Students to their fate – with a return to the First Division in waiting for 2020.

“It was never going to be easy, ever. It looked like there was going to be an upturn, but it wasn’t to be I don’t think but then that’s football. It’s going to be no surprise that the Bohs game was a highpoint. It was the third of three great results and another stage where we felt we

could keep ourselves up. It wasn’t all doom and gloom. there was highpoints just not enough unfortunately.

“Now we have the likes of Josh Collins who won the First Division and myself so we have a wealth of experience, but I think more importantly we can steady the ship during the off-season with the college football. The ship was never steady this season. once the first transfer went it was just hairy.

“There were moments when players we never really saw before were in the team. I blinked and I was one of the oldest players in the squad. I was a pup and then I was the most experienced player there. The maddest one was when Liam (Scales) was back from his transfer ban, he was starting with five players we never played with before. He was only gone for three weeks.

So, now we can steady the ship and get a bond together and a team chemistry. Picking up results in the college season is important and not as easy as some perceive it to be. There’s certainly a gap to fill and hopefully with this new crop of players we can build something.”

Katie Taylor - Ireland’s Greatest Ever Sportsperson Christine Coffey explains why we should consider Katie Taylor as Ireland’s greatest ever sportsperson, after her domination of the women’s boxing game.

After another trip to the judges’ scorecards, Katie Taylor added the WBO Women’s Super-Lightweight world championship belt to her four lightweight titles in clinical fashion. In the immediate aftermath of the fight praise flooded social media channels, with many lauding her as the greatest Irish sportsperson ever. This may seem like a knee-jerk reaction, but there is real weight behind the support of Taylor as a true talisman of Irish sporting endeavour.

Manchester Arena played host to the Bray native’s most recent title fight against Christina Lindardatou of Greece, where the judges reached a unanimous decision in the Irish boxer’s favour (97-93, 97-93, 96-94 were the scores on the night) to bring Taylor up to 15-0-0 in her professional career. Despite Lindardatou’s complaints to the contrary, Taylor seemed to be the clear winner after a more evasive and non-confrontational approach than the public are used to from the now two-weight world champion. After unifying the lightweight division via a split decision against Belgian-native Persoon in June of this year, Taylor became only the seventh boxer in the four-belt era to hold all four major titles simultaneously. Taylor then moved up to 140 pounds to fight the Greek champion and in doing so joins Steve Collins and Carl Frampton as the only boxers to have held world champion titles in two different divisions at the same time. BoxRec now has Katie Taylor atop the pound-for-pound list, ahead of Persoon and Welterweight champion Braekhus.

Few other Irish sportspeople attracted this level of international attention for the length of time Taylor has. In 2004 the young seventeen-year-old arrived on the global stage with a defeat of the then world champion Jennifer Ogg. This victory was the curtain raiser of a glittering amateur career that included five world championships and six European championships. In

20 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 4

the 2012 Olympic games in London, the amateur bore, not only her nation’s flag, but their expectations too. The victory of Ireland’s ‘poster-girl’ over Ochigava of Russia to win gold and the subsequent outpouring of excitement and joy was a uniquely Irish moment, one that the entire country embraced. The well documented familial issues which disrupted her preparations for the Rio Olympics six years later may have left a box unchecked and a gap in the trophy cabinet, but you can’t take away from an amateur career that featured a spell of over a decade on top of the pound-for-pound list.

Little doubt can be cast on Katie Taylor’s dominance in her sport given her combination of success in the ring and media attention.

Indeed, her remarkably humble mannerisms, quiet competitiveness and rare social media posts stand in stark contrast to the inflammatory and sometimes disrespectful comments of her counterparts. Her hardworking and (usually) abrasive style in the ring is typical of an Irish athlete. Her sporting achievements were not just confined to the ring, having represented Ireland at schoolgirl and senior level in a soccer career that included many successful campaigns with Peamount United.

If not Katie Taylor, then who else should be regarded as Ireland’s greatest ever sportsperson? While it would be remiss not to mention athletes from Gaelic games, the unique aspect of international athletes is their ability to produce sporting moments that transcend intercounty rivalries and provincial loyalties. Packie Bonner’s penalty save in 1990 is a moment every Irish person can get behind; even the most ardent Munster fan can celebrate a Brian O’Driscoll try while he’s wearing a green jersey; the entire nation cheered Sonia O’Sullivan around the track in Athens. There is also something special about pitting the best our country has to offer against

the best in the world, something that unfortunately can’t be replicated fully in Gaelic games, something that edges Taylor in front of some of the phenomenal intercounty players in the running for the country’s greatest.

On the international scene, although we’ve had world-class athletes in team sports, Brian O’Driscoll, Roy Keane and the likes, we haven’t had the same success in team sports on the international stage. As the dust settles after the Rugby World Cup in Japan, we are acutely aware of the fact that we still haven’t won a knock-out world cup game in Rugby. The Irish soccer team have never occupied top spot in the FIFA rankings. The most recent international team success came in the form of the women’s hockey team and their remarkable run in the World Cup, but this is a recent, albeit rapid, rise through the world rankings. Athletes from these sports haven’t shared Taylor’s success or dominance on a global stage. This leaves a handful or individual athletes to complete with the Bray boxing star. Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have all shared success at opens and major championships, but again haven’t been the face of their sport in the manner that Taylor has for the length of time that she

has.

AP McCoy and Jason Smyth perhaps come close, but Katie Taylor is women’s boxing. After fights the slightly hoarse and instantly recognisable voice is usually drowned out by the travelling or converted fans in the arena. She is a household name across the country and has been the truly formidable face of her sport for quite some time. If she isn’t the greatest Irish sportsperson of all-time, I don’t know what she has left to do to earn that title. Will her status hinge on a flawless run in the twilight stage of her career? Will she have to wait for the 37-year old Braekhus to drop from the welterweight to a division and closer to super-lightweight so she can beat the only other person in her sport that holds the same undisputed nametag? Will a slip-up tarnish this era of domination and receive Rio levels of inquiry into the personal lives of the Taylor family? Nobody knows what the future holds for the girl from Bray, or how that will affect the way Taylor is remembered, but with shouts of ‘Óle’ still echoing around Manchester Arena, it’s hard to imagine Katie Taylor not going down in Irish sporting folklore as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Irish sportsperson ever.