JDIFF

CULTURE P15

Who has lost the most this week?

LEAN MACHINE CHALLENGE P10 - 11

Supported by DIT News Soc

20 February 2013 Vol 2 No 9

www.edition.ie
Harlem Shake madness struck DIT Aungier St on Monday 18 February See page 4 for more

Debt collectors chase student fees

Ciarn Clark
News Editor
UCD have begun using debt collection agencies to pursue outstanding fee debts owed by students, the Irish Independent reported last week. The largest university in the country joins the University of Limerick (UL), who have already been using debt agencies to pursue students for money owed. Due to cuts in state funding of education, higher education institutions are under increased pressure to balance their finances. DIT have stated they are not using debt collectors to chase money owed by students. A spokesperson said, We have some outstanding fees but very few and we are not using external agencies to recall debts. The spokesperson added that DITs outstanding debts are low at 200,000 spread over five years. A UL spokesperson said they were still using debt collectors after the news broke in the media and would continue to do so but their policy was not directed, at any current students. We are not pursuing any current student, students on a leave of absence or student who has deferred. She said UL were pursuing former students with outstanding balances; graduates who had not paid the remainder of their fees and students who had dropped out. The majority of former UL students who have been contacted by the debt collection agency did not complete their courses and left without a degree. The spokesperson stated that the debt collection route was a last resort after other internal avenues of debt reclamation had been expended. Trinity College Dublin and NUI Galway said they do not use debt collection agencies and have not resorted to legal action to reclaim debts. NUI Galway said they are sympathetic to cases of financial hardship. They have also established a financial aid fund for students. Dublin City University (DCU) said they dealt with outstanding fees with students internally. The relative success of current debt recoupment measures has obviated the need to progress to formal legal action but DCU reserves the right to do so, a spokesperson said. However, this week the Irish Independent revealed that Dublin City University (DCU) has hired debt collectors to track down students who have not paid their full student contribution fees. DCU did not clarify if debt collectors are targeting currently enrolled students or former students or both. And the university has not ruled out bringing students to court to get them to

Photo Jarlath Moloney

clear their bills if the debt collectors have no success. Annual contribution fees for third level students will rise from a 2011/2012 level of 2,000 to 3,000 by 2015. The increase of 250 in the registration fee for the four years is expected to bring in an additional 20m annually for the state. In 2010, the fee was 1,500. It was 190 when introduced in the mid-1990s. John Logue president of the USI (Union of Students Ireland) has said, We condemn these tactics in the strongest terms. These debt collectors serve only one purpose: to intimidate students into coughing

continued page 4

NEWS
SU President runs unopposed for second year running

LEAN MACHINE COMMENT

How the girls are fariing so far

CULTURE
Start packing survival essentials now

SU President elections Week 2

P3 P10

Horses for main courses Oxegen returns

P9

Win dinner for two, courtesy of Bbs on Dame St p9

Karma Stone reopens

The DIT Southside students favourite local reopens for business

Healthy Eating
P10

Learn what the challengers are eating to get Lean

GAEILGE
Bs le Gaelscal? An bhfuil an locht ar an cras oideachas?
P8

P16

RAG Charity Week

P18

A look at the fundraising events at RAG Charity Week 2013

P3

Gerry Adams on Twitter

Ramblings of the Sinn Fein leader

Training
P11

Find out what training is like in the LMC

Trailer Park Boys

P19

P2

Julian, Ricky and Bobby give us some bad advise on surviving college

www.edition.ie

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

NEWS
Numbers
100 14
Number of new staff to be hired by Facebook in Dublin, bringing their total staff here to 500.

Love your career launches new site

Jarlath Moloney
Editor
The Careers Office launched its new website, www.dit.ie/careers, on 14 February. Dave Kilmartin, head of careers service launched the new site on Valentines Day, at DIT Aungier Street and Bolton Street, with the slogan Love Your Career. He said it had a focus on a needs-based website and it would make info as bespoke as possible for students disciplines. The website is also designed to be accessible to students wherever they are, with all resources being downloadable. The website also hosts links for many professional bodies related to each school in the college and information sites for potential emigration destinations. The sites events diary also compiles a useful list of upcoming career seminars and events. The next listed event is the GRADchances IT Event in the OCallaghan Alexander Hotel on Wednesday 27 February from 1-7pm. The event was developed to bring employers together with the best computer science, technology and students of related disciplines together. For more information on this and other upcoming events along with career advice, visit the DIT careers website at www.dit. ie/careers.

Local authorities in the country that have passed a motion to support same-sex marriage, following Kerry CC this week

8%
Proportion of population who still have a Bebo account

60,000 Euro 10,000

Cost of the new dole office logo, prompting criticism

Number of Twitter followers that Gerry Adams has quickly amassed - see page 4.

Dave Kilmartin, head of the Careers Service, who launched the new site around DIT campuses last week

Photo: Jarlath Moloney

Editorial Team
Editor Jarlath Moloney Deputy Editor Al McConnell News Team Luke Holohan Ciarn Clark Irish Editor Josephine Gallagher [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Survey working group set up

Working group set up to assess DITs student satisfaction survey 2012 National Student Survey to launch in next few months
Al McConnell
Deputy Editor
A new working group has been set up to examine the findings of last years DIT Student Satisfaction Survey. The group will examine the issues that were rated best and worst by students last year, and determine how best to maintain the good, and eliminate the bad, aspects of DIT. The working group will be chaired by Brian Gormley, Campus Life Manager at DIT, who told the Edition: The nominees for membership of the group were approved on Friday, and our intention is to begin meeting in the next two weeks. One major output from the group, which will be our main concern, is a newsletter outlining the actions that we will take to fix things around the college that arent up to scratch. Among the top ten key issues that were identified in last years DIT Student Satisfaction Survey, were the availability of

[email protected]

Lifestyle Editor [email protected] Stephanie Quilligan Culture Team Dirne Black Rachael OBrien Sports Team Danielle Stephens Darragh Mowlds Sub Editors Saoirse Ivory Foreign Team Barry Lennon Andrew Donovan [email protected]

Brian Gormley, head of Campus Life at DIT, will be chairman of the new working group.

[email protected]

Diarmaid Murray

WiFi; access to training on software; the cost of printing facilities; the availability of good value food, and access to facilities to use a laptop (such as electricity plugs and also WiFi). Another major issue, which has been raised in recent weeks by some students, was the timely provision of feedback after exams and assignments.

National Student Survey A new National Student Survey is also being set up, which will rolled out in the coming months to create a picture of student experiences in third level colleges. The survey will be organised through cooperation with USI, the Higher Education Authority, the Irish Universities Associa-

tion and Institutes of Technology. The surveys website states that the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 report recommends that higher education institutions should put in place systems to capture feedback from students to inform institutional and programme management, as well as national policy. This national survey is one example of institutions and national bodies seeking to gather students views. Included in the surveys objectives is an aim to document the experiences of the student population, thus enabling year on year comparisons of key performance indicators. Based on Australian and American student surveys, each feedback form will take roughly 15 minutes to complete, in a tickbox format. It will be open for responses from 4 March 2013. All first year, final year undergraduate and postgraduate students are invited to respond. A full report on the findings will be published in the summer.

EDITION.IE

EDITION_IE

Keep the debate mobile

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

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Candidates run unopposed

No competition for SU President, Rathmines College Officer No candidate at all for the Post-Graduate Officer position
Ciarn Clark
News Editor
The nominations for positions in the Students Union closed on February 8. The role of the President is uncontested for a second year, with Glenn Fitzpatrick as the sole candidate. Rathmines College Officer was also uncontested with Tara OBrien running unopposed. The nominations were published on DIT Students Union Facebook page and posted on Twitter. The other positions have more than one candidate running, with Phillip Harrison running against Will Meara for Vice President of Events and David Rice running against Rebecca Demspey for Vice President of Education. In the newly established separate role of Vice President for Welfare, Ian Monks and Fiachr Duffy are running for the role. No candidates are running for the Post-graduate Officer position. In response to the question of why the presidents role is uncontested for the second year, Mr Fitzpatrick said: Im not going to change my approach to my campaign. I feel that I have to go out and convince every student that theres not a need for another candidate. He added that he launched his campaign early because he didnt want to hide his intention to run, and because he felt he had the best experience and was ready for the job. He said it was better for democracy to have a choice and it was an issue hed have to deal with. Some people will look at the Ballot paper and think well thats not really a contest, and they might vote no as a result. Its going to be a challenge to minimise that no vote. He said hed do everything possible to encourage a yes vote including speaking in classes and increased face-toface engagement with students. So far the response from students to the elections has been great, he added. In the absence of a candidates debate, a Q and A session for sabbaticals event will be held in City Hall on February 27, during which Mr Fitzpatrick is to speak. He said this would be an opportunity for students to query, give feedback, and question the candidates on the issues. He also said he welcomed students challenging and engaging with him over various social media. No nominations will now be accepted if a latecomer deGlenn cides to contest the Fitzpatrick, presidents role. The who will guidelines are laid be running down by an electoral commission and unopposed the students union for the role is not in a position of DITSU to make an excepPresident. tion. Im happy to take competition but the electoral commission sets the rules and theyre very strict. The position was advertised online, through class reps and posters. I cant see a situation where the commission would allow an exception. Theorising on why the role was unopposed Mr Fitzpatrick said: In my role this year it took me a while and a little bit of research before I was comfortable with what the president actually does. With education and events its very clear what that job is, whereas with the president maybe its a little bit vague to people. Any DIT student is qualified to run for any role in the SU but Mr Fitzpatrick said: Its a big jump for somebody who hasnt been involved in the Union. [Former president] Ciarn Nevin did it and did it very successfully, and its not to say someone couldnt do it, but there might be a bit of a barrier there. Its such a high-end role. Ciarn would have been the exception rather than the rule. He added that having worked closely with the president this year stepping up for the presidency this year is a natural progression. The SU officers are expecting a higher turnout than last year. Only 2000 students voted last year but the SU are hoping to double this figure to 4000, 25 per cent of the voting population of DIT. Polling will open March 11 to March 13 across all sites from 8.30am to 8.30pm (Rathmines from 9am to 5pm). A valid form of ID must be brought along.

NEWS
News Bulletin
Student injured in poster scramble
All temporary posters for the SU elections were given to the candidates, regardless of where they were running. The posters were given out in Bolton Street, which resulted in a massive rush when they let everyone out of class which resulted in students jumping over stairs and sprinting to get the best spots. Jeff Blake, who is running for Bolton Street officer split his head open climbing down from a poster spot. When asked about the incident Mr Blake declined to comment but indicated the SU may decide to change the way the elections are run to make it safer. He felt that the SU might stop candidates putting up posters in high places.

Iceland Chief lands himself in hot water

A remark made on BBCs Panorama programme by the CEO of the supermarket chain Iceland has provoked outrage throughout Ireland. The show which was investigating supermarket chains in the wake of the horse meat scandal, questioned Malcolm Walker about the FSAI test which showed that some Iceland burgers contained 0.1% of horse DNA. When asked what he thought of the result from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Walker simply responded with, well, thats the Irish for you, isnt it? Iceland released a statement seemingly backtracking on the comments, Iceland has great respect for the food standards authorities in both the UK and Ireland, and is grateful to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

DOE to purchase five million euro complex

The government is in advanced talks to buy the Citywest school complex, located on Fortunestown lane, for a fee of 5m. The complex is owned by Dublin businessman Jim Mansfield and was originally meant to be part of a plan for a golf village in the west of the city. The complex which is currently being leased to the Department of Education by receivers has benefitted from investment by the businessman in technology such as interactive white boards. The government considers the 5m price to be a bargain for taxpayers. At the moment two schools, Scoil Niamh and City West Educate Together National School, are operating temporarily at the complex. The Department of Education is hoping to make the situation permanent and secure the futures of these schools through the proposed deal. The 5m deal would see the Department of Education buy the site outright from receivers who are currently managing the property. NAMA appointed a receiver to take control of a lot of Mansfields property in 2011 after the tycoon fell into debt during the economic downturn. This meant seizing his Weston Airport, six apartment blocks in City West and his Palmerstown Estate which included a championship golf course.

Final work on The Karma Stone being completed last week, as the bar prepares to re-open following an electrical fire that resulted in an evacuation last term.

Photo: Jarlath Moloney

Karma Stone re-opens following fire damage

Jarlath Moloney
Editor
Karma Stone has re-opened after nearly two months of closure following a fire. The pub, popular with students of DITs Kevin St and and Aungier St campuses, returned to business after nearly 500,000 worth of repairs were made. While the cost of repairs was covered by insurance, the bar missed out on a busy Christmas trading period after a fire originally caused by an electrical fault. Bar owner, Dave Clark, was unable to estimate the loss in revenue simply stating, How big is a hole? Its hard to estimate. The electrical fire that closed the bar resulted in evacuation and five units of the Dublin Fire Brigade being called to the scene. Luckily, no one was hurt on the night. However, students need not worry about the venue closing due to financial difficulties. Clark said: Were well on top of things and looking forward to the next year. The pubs closure wasnt all bad news, though, with many improvements being made to the establishment as a result. Karma Stone has installed new 3D TVs, a six-foot-by-four-foot HD matrix screen, and are now stocking craft beers, including Hoegaarden and Leff. It also has a new foreign sports decoder - the only one of its kind in Ireland, according to Clark - which will allow for screening of matches that are not being shown on the typical channels available in Ireland. The bar is also offering all meals for 5 this week, in a re-opening promotion. The Karma Stone management is looking to install a third bar in a room upstairs that can be used for society nights and events, and are looking to start popcorn movie nights on Mondays. The bar will make popcorn on the premises and give it out to patrons on the free nights. Aspiring musicians can also look to Karma Stone as a showcase for their talent, as Clark says the venue is starting to introduce live music on Wednesday and Friday nights. A graduate of DIT, Ciaran ORourke, will play on Wednesday nights; Clark has said that he is particularly interested in college acts playing on weeknights and Sundays. Interested students can e-mail Clark at [email protected]. Karma Stone is open for business now.

www.edition.ie

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

NEWS
Gerrys Tweeting. Everything.
Sinn Fin leader, Gerry Adams TD, has made an instant impression on the Twitter world, with a barrage of obscure and confusing posts. Since setting up his account earlier this month, the party leader has publicly mused about getting locked out of his house, bringing his toothbrush to the Dil, and has regularly updated the public on the daily life of his teddy bear, Ted. Now a special advisor to the politician, Ted has since set up his own account.

DIT shakes its stuff

Vox-Pop
Its a bit of craic and we got in ahead of the curve - UCD are doing one tomorrow so we got there first. Sam Wilson - Business and Management

Me and Naoise Kelly & a one eyed cow in Maghera.Bron orm. Horse! Shudda gone 2 Specsavers.Vote F Molloy.

Im going to get in so much trouble for this

- Will Meara
Ciarn Clark
News Editor
eo by a YouTube comedy vlogger named Filthy Frank, featuring a part where several costumed persons danced to the song Harlem Shake by Baauer. Will Meara, DITSUs VP for events lead the festivities dressed as DITs mascot Duck Norris. He organised a flashmob of students from across DITs campuses to meet at 1pm in Aungier St Campus, where hundreds of students congregated to take part. Students were invited to bring their maddest shite which included a multitude of inventive costumes, drums, whistles, banjos, bodhrns, bricks, dildos, sombreros and cling-film. With health and safety a minor concern, students banged their drums, blew their whistles and moshed to the Harlem Shake. Speaking after the event Will said, Im going to get in so much trouble for this. He explained the reason for organising the event, Its about unifying a lot of people from different areas to make something fun. You dont need any skills or talent; you can just do whatever the hell you want. The idea of it was to show that you can have a lot of fun in college, theres more to it than just going in to your lectures and falling asleep. The video is on the DITSU website and will be uploaded to YouTube soon.

Photos: Jarlath Moloney

You kind of just need to improvise which is a little bit tough but everyone was doing it as well so it was fine. Daniel Sterling - Secretary, Banter Society

Me & Snowie left them 2 it. Up into the hills b4 dindins.

The Harlem Shake has hit DIT with hundreds of students participating in their own version of the viral phenomenon The Internet meme, which has gone viral on YouTube this month, is a video that has been replicated according to the same whacky concept by users around the globe. The art form of the meme was created in a video uploaded on February 2 by The Sunny Coast Skate, five teenagers from Queensland, Australia. The teenagers video, in its turn, was a follow-up to a vid-

I love the Harlem Shake videos and I wanted to get involved in it. Got trodden on a lot cause I couldnt see through my hat! Daniel Wilson - Pharmaceutical and Healthcare

Yes ted&tom r same sex couple.But thats their business.And not the issue. RG still sez they r 2 young.Hopefully it will b ok.Codladh samh x Barr an l leat. Another soft day. Me @ Ted have work 2 do. Have a nice Lent

Debt collectors hired to chase fees

Continued from page 1
up money they simply do not have. The dramatic increases in college fees in recent years, set to be 2500 this September, has seen far too many students drop out of college. Their work prospects have already taken a hit as a result of not graduating, yet these universities are demonstrating gross insensitivity by employing debt collectors when they should be working with the students to come to a more amicable arrangement. USI calls on Minister Quinn to condemn this practice and to urgently work towards a solution that will provide relief for students in arrears. While the cost of a degree in Ireland continues to rise on an annual basis, these students and their families have invested in education and deserve a chance to restructure their debt and get back on target. This issue has arisen as a direct result of his decision to increase fees and cut the maintenance grant. The Minister owes them some clemency. A DIT spokesperson commented on the January 31 deadline for payment fees and registration. The deadline to pay outstanding fees has been extended to February for those students awaiting grants. The deadline for students to register has also passed and those who have not will be hit with the registration fee, full tuition fees and a 450 late payments charge. She added, This deadline applies to students who have not come forward to register or provide the college with notice that they are awaiting grants. It also applies to students who were not eligible or who had gone to lectures but come forward to make arrangements. The Independent also reported that as a result of public funding cutbacks over the last four years, the seven main universities and colleges can no longer afford to forgive bad debts. It is estimated that 9%, or 1,800, of firstyear students enrolled in higher education do not continue to their second year.

Ciarn Clark
News Editor

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

www.edition.ie

Folens plans adaptive learning for third level

Digital education resources, recently unveiled for second level, will be expanded into third level in future
Al McConnell
Deputy Editor
A spin-off company of Folens, the largest schoolbook publisher in the country, has rolled out its online learning site for second level students, clevernotes.ie, and future expansion into third level is being planned. Apierian, which was created last year as a separate company from Folens to provide online and mobile learning, launched the site in early February. Clevernotes.ie is a digital learning site, providing interactive revision guides, exam advice, sample answers, practice tests, videos, and the opportunity to practice oral and aural examinations. According to Apierian Chief Executive, Brian Halpin, the company is aiming to take its online and mobile approach into third level education, with a focus on enabling more personalised learning. The aim of the business has been to set up an online learning platform, and our test market is the Leaving Certificate, he said. From there we have a couple of other plans to extend out into other areas, including third level education. One of the backdrops to what were doing at the minute is significant investment in a platform known as adaptive learning. Its been reasonably well tested in third level markets in the US and the UK, and its starting to come out in commercial deployment. At present, there are no concrete plans as to when this service may be launched, but Mr Halpin says that the principles of an online, personalised approach would be well-suited to third level education. Adaptive learning is a hot topic in the US at the moment. Its essentially an algorithm model that tracks individual capabilities and adapts the content depending on your individual capabilities. It allows students to progress at different speeds depending on their background knowledge and what theyve done before. Its all about personalisation. The flexibility for students to advance through course material at their own pace could be well-suited to the closer, more personal teaching at third level. This content operates better in a third level scenario than second level. At second level theres a teacher there with 30 kids in a class, bringing them all along at the same speed, whereas at third level, theres opportunity to develop at your own pace. What you might see on our service today is a lot of revision guide material, provided in an interactive way. For example, assessment and feedback, and oral and aural elements to practice exercises. Its what a textbook should be; multimedia, interactivity and assessment. Folens recently announced a number of redundancies at the company, prompting many to question whether the print text-

NEWS Ireland: the EU home of cyberbullying?

Darmid Muir
Up to 14 per cent of Irish children aged nine to 16 years old are still upset up to two months after an incident of online bullying, compared with two per cent of the same age group across Europe. The statistics come from the EU Kids Online survey, examining the effects of online bullying in 25 EU countries. The survey examined 1,000 children and one parent for each child found that the majority of children and adolescents (71 per cent) will turn to one of their friends or one of their parents. Over 25 per cent of 15 to 16 year olds admitted to bullying other children. The most common forms of cyber-bullying were phone calls and text messages. Other forms included pictures, video clips and emails. More than 68 per cent of parents (over two thirds) had no idea that their children were being bullied, compared to a mere 29 per cent of those who did know. Watch Your Space is the first step in the Governments 500,000 initiative to combat cyber bullying. The initiative was launched to coincide with Safer Internet Day (5th of February), which hopes to encourage people not to be bystanders to internet bullying. An Garda Siochana are also beginning to tackle internet bullying, through a newly introduced module to their school education programme. Called Connect with Respect, the module aims to help students understand the implications on mental health that cyber bullying can have.

Flexibility for students to advance at their own pace is well suited to third level Brian Halpin
book industry will lag, as the market shifts to digital learning. If schools, tomorrow morning, moved to an environment where every child had broadband access and computer facilities in school, Im pretty sure the shift to broadband would happen rapidly. What you can do digitally, from our point of view, is far superior to what you can do with a textbook. The limiting factor on that move to digital will be the infrastructure and the environment itself, and worldwide that is the same issue.

25%

of 15 to 16 year-olds admitted to bullying other children online

over 68%

of parents had no idea that their children were being bullied

At the launch of the new Garda initiative, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said that it was important to stand up to bullying, both cyber and in physical reality. Irish parents have also been warned not supply children as young as six years old with smartphones, as it puts them at higher risk to cyber bullying. Three teenagers, including two sisters, took their own lives last year during a series of suicides in some way linked to online bullying. Last December, junior minister Shane McEntee took his own life after being subjected to prolonged cyberbullying.

/BOBOSBURGERS
@BOBOSBURGERS [email protected] 01-6722025 50-51 Dame St.

DITs opens new office in China

Ten-year partnership with Harbin Institute of Technology continues
Darmid Muir
The opening of the office is part of DITs international strategy, intended as a point of contact for Chinese students interested in studying at DIT. The new office is the result of ten years of working with Chinese partners since the institutes partnership with Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. In welcoming guests to the opening of the new office, Professor Michael Devereux, Dean of DIT College of Sciences and Health said that DIT is delighted to be supporting these two objectives and delivering on them represents a major element of our internationalisation strategy. The project is an integral part of the development of Hainan International Tourism College in cooperation with development company China Aroma Investment Corporation. The new college will offer students programmes in hospitality management, culinary arts, environmental health, food safety and tourism. Part of the Chinese governments development plan for the island of Hainan, the college is one of two strategies for the pro-

5000

Number of students that the new college hopes to attract

motion of higher education on the island. The new college now officially opened, the next stage of the plan is to attract international students to attend the college along with resident Chinese students. The official opening was attended by Chinese dignitaries, prospective DIT Chinese students and their families, graduates from the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Dean of the College of Sciences and Health Professor Michael Devereux and also the Head of School of Hospitality Management and Tourism Dr. Dominic Dillane. The new college hopes to bring in over 5,000 prospective students to study a range of hospitality and culinary arts programmes. Hainan had over 30 million tourist visitors in 2011. Revenue grew 25 per cent from 2010 to 32.2 billion yuan (4 billion) last year.

Sunday - Wednesday Next two weeks

6 DIT Student Deal Any Burger Any Chips

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THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

NEWS

Half of principals medicated for stress

Survey shows half of those in job require medicine due to stress
Amy-Nora Fitzgibbon
Half of Irish primary school principals are on medication for a variety of stress related conditions including anxiety, depression and blood pressure. As reported in the Irish Independent on 26 January 2013, the finding was made after a survey conducted by the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) asked almost 900 of its members about stress and work-related conditions. Director of the IPPN, Sean Cottrell, said the work-related stress mainly arose out of the cumulative effect of all the Departments new initiatives in recent years. Mr Cottrell said, No matter how competent or confident a principal may be, constant overload can erode their sense of self-worth to such an extent that some feel they can no longer cope. He also said the IPPN had recently raised concerns about the effect the principals workload was having on their health and on the quality of education being provided in schools as a result. These concerns were raised with both school management bodies and the Department of Education. When workload affects the health of an employee, the employer, in our case the board of management, has a legal responsibility to act. IPPN, the director continued, as a professional body, has a moral imperative to bring this issue to the forefront on behalf of school leaders. Failure to address this issue will adversely affect the quality of childrens education. Dara Glynn, principal of St Josephs National School in Skibbereen, Co Cork, said he was not surprised at the results of the survey and added that new work practices and guidelines for operations within the

Constant stress can erode sense of self-worth to such an extent that some feel they can no longer cope. - Sean Cottrell, Director of IPPN.

school are being advised by the government far more frequently over the period of the last ten years. It is left up to the principal to instigate all these new teaching practices and while teachers individually put in a huge amount of work, there is a limit to how much they can do. Expectations nowadays are so high.

Stress in Dublin Primaries The principal of a private primary school in South Dublin, said to The Edition she believes not only are the new initiatives being brought in by the Department causing more stress but as are the expectations of parents in relation to what they expect the school to do for them. If there is no discipline at home she said parents can-

not expect there to be any consistency for the child when they come to school. She added, Failure to discipline a child at home can also lead to problems in the school such as anti-social behaviour and bullying, which makes the life of a principal much harder. The results of this survey come to light in the wake of a similar report published in January of this year in the State of California. Summarized by Education Week, this report highlighted the increasing strains that many principals can come under nowadays, stating that principals are facing shrinking budgets and mounting responsibilities creating competing pressures that may make the job untenable. The report, carried out by the San Francisco non-profit group, Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, found that principals throughout California were working up to 70 hours per week. It also stated that even if a principal can do each of several things well, it is tremendously difficult to do them all well at the same time.

DIT Foundations Annual Fund: applications closing today

Fund aims to provide finance for causes that cant find it elsewhere
Matthew Colfer
The Abbey Theatre, with a musical history unknown until DITs Dr Maria McHale discovered a huge number of performances from the early 1900s.

DIT researcher finds more to Abbey Theatre

Website set up to display musical history of the theatre
lon. In the early years of the theatres existence the music that accompanied the plays was provided by a solo violinist, Arthur Darley. Then in 1906 a small orchestra was formed under the direction of G.R Hillis. Five more musical directors followed, including the composer John F. Larchett, who took over in 1908 and held the position for 26 years. The roles of the musical directors were mainly to write incidental music for plays and ballets and to direct music for the intervals. Archivist for the Abbey Theatre, Mairead Delaney, said We are delighted that the collaboration between the Abbey Theatre Archive and the team of researchers in DIT has resulted in a very accessible means of investigating the theatres wonderful musical history. On many occasions I have spoken with audience members who attended Abbey productions of the late 1940s and 1950s who give accounts of the orchestras contribution to a wonderful night of the-

Amy-Nora Fitzgibbon
A team of researchers from DITs Research Foundation for Music in Ireland (RFMI), led by Dr Maria McHale, have uncovered a rich musical heritage in Dublins Abbey Theatre. The project, funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC), formerly the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences, has found the Abbey regularly composed and performed music to accompany its performances. Dr Maria McHale said, The project developed from a short entry I wrote on the Abbey Theatre for the Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland. In researching the entry I was amazed to discover the extent of music performed at the Abbey from its early years, right up to the 1960s. From start to finish the project took the team about six months with the database developed by Dr Catherine Ferris and the materials transcribed with the help of Dr Triona OHan-

atre. She continued, This new website will herald a new area of research and provide valuable insight into the musical history of the Abbey Theatre. The researchers have created a website and database to provide more information about this history at www.abbeytheatremusic.ie. Their website provides information about the music performed at the theatre from the early years of its existence until 1965, the year in which the Abbeys orchestra was disbanded. Researchers used the original theatre programmes stored in the Abbey Theatre Archive and the National Library of Ireland to compile the data available on the website. The website is designed so that the public can browse the programme on any given night by searching for it via the composer, musical director, opening night or performer.

The DIT Foundation Annual Fund is now open for grant applications from staff and students. This years fund total is 10,000 thanks to the generosity of donors. The average fund awarded in 2010/11 was 1,300 per project. The Fund was established as a way of improving the student experience and reducing a variety of needs in the college which cannot be fulfilled with core funding. The DIT Annual Fund considers supporting any student or staff project, club or society which makes a noticeable difference to student educational support, campus life, developing excellence in teaching and research and community projects. All DIT staff and students can apply for funding for their project, club or society depending on certain criteria. These applications will then be considered by the Annual Fund Giving Team. This team includes representatives of donors, staff, DIT Students Union and DIT Graduate Network. The DIT Annual Fund application form and criteria can be found at http://www. dit.ie/ditfoundation/fundingpriorities/ educationalsupport/annualfund/ditannu alfund2013/#d.en.64558. The closing date for entries is Wednesday 20 February 2013. Open to all types of application Although no projects have been reviewed yet, Annual Fund Manager Julie Stafford said, I am delighted with the range of projects that we have. I think theres a really diverse group across all the DIT locations and there are students from all different disciplines and staff as well, coming to us with different projects.

Julie also stated as long as projects meet the criteria there is definitely no such thing as a project being too small or too big. We have 10,000 available this year and that will go to multiple projects, not just one project. In 2011, there were eight projects granted funding including Formula DIT to Silverstone. This project gave final year engineering students the opportunity to design and build a motor car for Europes biggest student motorsport event. Over 100 universities competed in the event with DIT receiving a good score

Total funding available through this years DIT Foundation

across all categories and scoring third highest in the special task. Also in 2011 the DIT Fashion Showcase chose DIT Foundation as one of their charities. The event raised 4,000 for the DIT Foundation Annual Fund. DIT Foundation decided to use this money to award scholarships to five Access students who have a proven record in volunteering and community activities. The scholarships were awarded to; John OConnor (BSc. Environmental Health), Zineb Nouhi (BSc Mathematical Sciences), Lorna Maher (Planning & Environmental Management), Darren Scully (BA Leisure Management) and Katie Duggan (BA Languages and International Tourism). You can keep up to date with the DIT Foundation on Facebook, https://www. facebook.com/ditfoundation, and Twitter, https://twitter.com/ditfoundation.

10,000

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

www.edition.ie

Following the Northern star: Erasmus notes from Finland

Erasmus diary
Photos courtesy of Tessa Fleming

FOREIGN NEWS

Helsinki meets the best of expectations, writes Tessa Fleming

Playing in the snow: Tessa Fleming acquaints herself with her new classmates (Left). Above: Helsinki at -20C

Finnish weve Learned

Tss me ollan nyt
Here we are now - Said after every one has removed their clothes in the sauna

he Culture clash is something one should expect whilst on Erasmus, but, as a citizen of the world, I felt as though I was above such trivial matters. However, in truth, I am no more than a naive culchie from the arseend of nowhere. As a regular flyer of Ryanair, even the Scandinavian airline was something I had hadnt anticipated. For one I had more leg-room. One of the great things about Finland is the saunas, and, almost every house and apartment block has one. Its regarded as a social thing, like going out for a drink with friends after work. The saunas are an age-old thing here in Finland, and the Finns are an innovative people, making saunas out of whatever they can find. Caravans, Cars, and, even telephone boxes. Years ago, they were also the place that women gave birth. Personally, I can think of no place worse! The sauna is perhaps the thing thats really stood out for me in Helsinki, mostly because theyre naked saunas. But theyre

Varovast nyt Juntti

Careful now - Often said in disapproval of dubious Finnish films Yokel - A country dweller. The equvalent to a culchie in Hiberno-English

a part of everyday life, where people sit in silent thought. Theres something almost meditating about it, where you are stripped of your clothes, and put into a dark, hot, room with nothing but hot wooden slats and stones and only the occasional sizzle of a bare bum as another newcomer finds a seat. Of course, I think I can see why the Finns are big on saunas, given that the temperature can easily hit -20C. My exercise regime, as a result, has really taken a hard blow. Instead of jogging the snowy pavements, I join in the

Finnish culture at lunch and dinner with a sizeable accompaniment of rye bread and a truckload of butter topped-off with a coffee and plenty of cream. Dairy and bread are staple foods here in Finland, and one really does wonder how they can be so astonishingly beautiful on such a calorific diet. But, as the weather gets colder, Im glad of the insulation provided by my ever-expanding waistline. The snow here falls like thick fog as large machinery scurries to gather it into large canyons at the side of every street. Of course, unlike

in Ireland, the weather is never a problem here, even for the over-90s population who totter for a loaf of bread with an icepick and a walking stick in hand. Before arriving in Finland, I was told of the high depression rate resulting from the severe lack of sunlight. While its true that the sun only briefly glimpses over Finland, the Finns have either become immune to the lack of sunlight, or, theyre eating up those happy pills like M&Ms. A more welcoming nation of people can be found no-where else. Almost every person I have encountered in Finland

speaks English, as well as having two national languages to juggle; Swedish and Finnish. It seems to me that they will not pass at any opportunity of conversation; accompanied, of course, with the usual smile. As I settle down each night, under my two duvets, and think of friends who desired warmer climates than that of the Baltic coastline; I envision them tottering down to the beach in their bikinis eating ice-cream and turning a golden brown under the rays of the sun, I cant help but think of just how cool Erasmus is.

There is no one more Irish than the Irish-Americans?

While studying in Gainesville, Florida Sara Dalton meets the Americans who claim dubious Irish heritage
Greetings from the University of Florida! After a month here I can confirm that the college stereotypes youve heard are true. Guys walk around in fraternity t-shirts and backwards baseball caps, people do drink out of big red cups and the head cheerleader here is rumoured to be dating the quarterback. After enquiring of the green meadows and ancient castles of my homeland, a staggering number of the Americans claim to be Irish themselves. On the floor of my dorm alone, five housemates gushed stories of their Irish heritage, some more convoluted than others. Hannah Warshowsky (of the Tullamore OWarshowskys) is a second year student next door who considers herself Irish. My whole family is Scotch-Irish

Michelle is half Greek, quarter Irish, part German, RussianAmerican

American she says, though she does not know what exactly that term means. I do know it comes from my Grandmothers side, she said. Her family came over in the late 1600s. I also have cousins here in Florida called the Crowleys. We all went to Cork to visit Crowley castle last year. Brenna Grant, a Jamaican-American pre-medical student tells me her mothers maiden name is OConnor. When I was younger I was always told about my Irish roots. We think my great-great grandfather travelled from Ireland to Jamaica in the late 1800s she said. I know it is an Irish name. My mother really wants to visit Ireland, it looks beautiful on television. Michelle Averkiou (of the Clonmel OAverkious) describes herself as a half

Greek, quarter Irish, part German part Russian, American. She tells me her mothers maiden name is also OConnor. We really want to visit Ireland. My mom loves the soft singing voices of Irish girls and thinks Irish dancers are much lighter on their feet than the Greeks. She goes all out on Saint Patricks day too. Shell make corn beef and cabbage and she loves her Baileys. My roommate Jamie Fisher, originally from Massachusetts perhaps hit the nail on the head when it comes to the famed Irish heritage of Americans: I had a family member live in Ireland once, but Im not Irish. I do like to pretend I am on Saint Patricks Day, but all Americans do. I think having an Irish roommate this semester makes me officially Irish.

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THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

GAEILGE

Seosaimhn N Ghallachir

Buille fealltach tuImeachta an baisteach, is cinneadh le Chumainn croch maoini Gaelscal Ghaeiligh le
ssil do Thorann na dTonn n dFhoras na Gaeilge. Caithfidh muid admhil gur is 1,300 ar aghaidh na seachtaine, t sin ag cosn suas le 6 gach coip don cinocir,arsa Feirde Mac an Fhailigh, Promhfheidhmeannach Foras na Gaeilge, ar an clr Seacht l ar TG4. Dirt Foras na Gaeilge go raibh siad chun suirbh a dheanamh ar an phobal Gaeilge fosta, i gceist cn sort seirbhs nuachta at ar dhth orthu. Ar a thaobh eile, fach, deireann Gaelscal gur thug Foras na Gaeilge neamhaird iomln ar roinnt de na figir maidir le na cipeanna dhigiteach a ligheann daoine ar lne gach seachtain agus na mid sntisoir a n-sideann an seirbhs nuachta. Seafide, na figir sin a lua Feirde Mac an Fhailigh, an 6 sin, an figir sin t s m-chruinn, t s m-ionraice agus t s choir a bheith masla, arsa Ciarn Dunbar, an t-eagarthr Gaelscal agus urra Torann na dTonnta. Deir Gaelscal gur nar chuir an Foras san ireamh na cipeanna dhigiteach a ligheann daoine ar an idirln, an 1200 duine a baineann sid as an suomh, na ceadta sintisoir n breis agus 1000 cip a dholtir de scoileanna. De rir an nuachtn t ciorclacht seachtainil de 3,978 cip san iomln, figir iontach difriil a lua Foras na Gaeilge. Anois t achain le fil ar lne, mar cinel feachtas ag impigh ar an rialtas cinneadh an t-agras a athr. Is Concubhar Liathin, iriseoir de Gaelscal, an t-dar na hachain seo agus t s ag tathant ar an phobal a shni. Deireann an alt san achain gur buille fealltach tubaisteach, is cinneadh seo don bhur teanga nisinta, go hirithe miontheanga a bhfuil i mbaol agus ridh a fhil do nuachtn nisinta Gaeilge. Ms mian leat tac le Gaelscal ar bhealach praiticiil, cuir os do chomhair an nuachtn a cheannach gach seachtain go dt an t-eagrn deiridh, arsa Liathin. T an achain seo le fil go furasta ar leathanach Facebook Gaelscal n ar an suomh http://www.change.org/en-GB/ petitions.

T feachtas ar sil chun tathant ar an Rialtas cinneadh Foras na Gaeilge a mhalart agus an nuachtn nisinta Gaelscel, at i baol dothaithe, a chosaint. Ar 25 Eanir 2013 dfhogair Foras na Gaeilge go bhfuil siad chun deireadh a chuir le maoini an nuachtn Gaelscal, mar gheall ar an easpa t-ileamh den leagan clite. Thg an t-eagraocaht an cinneadh seo de bharr nach raibh a dhthain cipeanna cheannaithe sna siopa nach mar a bh ar dhol in aghaidh na seachtaine, tuairim is 1,314 cip. Dfhogair Foras na Gaeilge go gearrfaidh siad sreang conradh an pipar le Torann na dTonnta, na foilsitheoir agus dirt siad narbh an fhormid chlite an bealach is oirina le seirbhs nuachta a sholthar do phobal litheoireachta na Gaeilge. Mhaigh an t-eagras go raibh gach cip den nuachtn ag cosn 6 agus duradh siad i raiteas sacu gur nar irigh le leibhal dolachin a bhaint amach a bheadh

dana

Opinion

Stiofn Connachtaigh
Ba bhliain gnthach, gnomhach don Cumann Gaelach DIT go dt seo agus de rir dealraimh, amach anseo fosta. Beidh a fhios ag litheoir dlis an leathanach seo a leitheidse a bonn idir limhe ag an gCumann, ag cuir an Ghaeilge chun chinn mar promhsprioc faoi leith. Chun an sprioc sin a bhaint amach, cuirtear bim ar an dteanga labhartha, chun taispeint go dtig leo sid a bhaint aist sa gnth saol seachas sa seomra ranga amhin. Dar leis an gCumann is lsid a bhaint as imeachta sisialta ar ns BlindDate as Gaeilge, a chuirtear an teachtaireacht sin s comhar. Cuireadh an imeacht dta dall ar siil arir (D Mirt an 19 Feabhra) agus ba mhr an slua a thinig go Club Chonradh na Gaeilge. Leagadh amach dreach mar an sraith teilifse le Cilla ODe mar MC an oche, agus buachaill is cailn ag freagraigh ceisteanna chun a ndta dall agus deoch saor le h-aimsigh. Bh bia le fil saor in aisce ar an oche agus bh saorchead isteach do mhuintir na hInstitide. Thinig rannphirtithe na gCumainn chathracha mhra eile, Coliste Naomh Phdraig agus TCD san ireamh, agus ghlac thart faoi fiche iomathir pirt san oche.

An bhfuil an cras oideachas ciontach?

Aodn Neasa
An bhfuil an cras oideachas as dta meast? Nl cuid is m de na scolir a crochnaonn an scoil in ann dh focal Gaeilge a chur le chile. Ach an bhfuil an locht ar an cras oideachas? T daoine measctha ina dtuairim faoi seo. Deireann leath acu go bhfuil an iomarca bim ar an gramadach ag deireann an leath eile nach raibh an oiread sin gramadach danta ar chor ar bith. T s for go bhfuil an teanga i mbaol ach nl chuile dhuine cinnte gurb an cras oideachas an fhadhb. An t-aon fhadhb at ann n go bhfuil daoine leisciil agus nl siad ag iarradh aon iarracht a chuir isteach. Bonn siad ag tabhairt amach faoin gramadach sa nGaeilge ach nl fadhb ar bith acu leis an gramadach sa Fhraincis n sa nGearminis. A dhirt Sen Conghaile at ag danamh stidar ar innealtireacht i NUIG faoi lthair. T an meon seo le feiceil i ndaoine ar fud na tre. Deireann siad go bhfuil an teanga leadrnach agus go bhfuil s as dta, ach m t an meon seo ann bfhidir nach bhfuil an cras in ann tada a dhanamh faoi, muna bhfuil daoine ssta iarracht a chuir isteach chun an teanga a fhoghlaim nl siad in ann rud ar bith a dhanamh faoi. Nor thaitn Gaeilge liom ar scoil a chor ar bith. Bh s deacair agus leadrnach. Freisin n raibh minteoir r-mhaith agam ach an oiread. A dhirt Colin Layde at ag danamh stidar ar iriseoireacht i DIT faoi lthair. Is an meon at ag daoine an fhadhb is m at ag an nGaeilge. Is for nach bhfuil an cras oideachas ag danamh an ndthain chun an teanga a chuir chun cinn ach fs fhin muna bhfuil daoine ssta an obair a chur isteach agus na pint gramadach a fhoghlaim agus a dhcheall a dhanamh leis n bheidh nduine ag fil an mid is at dar in ann n bhar scoile.

Ciliradh Sheachtain SHAG a bh i gceist oche arir, agus ba mar chuid de Sheachtain RAG a chiliradh achann na nGiobal ar an gCadaoin seo chaite. Bhailodh nos m n 300 idir Maidn Caife as Gaeilge agus le Feachtas NO Barla, ar mhaithe le Pieta House, carthannach slinte intinne na nGiobal Aontas na Mac Linn DIT i mbliana. Dar le cisteoir an Chumainn, Pdraig Dubhshline, n amhin go bhfuil rth na h-imeachta seo ag airdi cl an Chumainn ach ag spreagadh an teanga labhartha fosta. Nl thuiscint ar bith nach mbonn daoine, at Gaeilge ac, ag caint i mBarla lena chile. T cumas labhartha ard ag formhr dena bhaill, ach n labhraonn siad ach i mBarla le mic linn eile. Cuireann imeachta mar seo an deis chun a bheith comprdach an teanga a sid, arsa Pdraig. Is an promh-chomhairle a thugann an chisteoir do lucht litheoireachta is do dhuine ar bith le suim sa Ghaeilge n iad fin a choimead ar an eolais maidir limeachta uilig an chumainn. Is fidir le daoine cairdeas a dhanamh linn ar Facebook n Twitter agus a bheith ag fhachaint amach dona ruda at ar ag tarl amach anseo, turas Gaeltachta agus Cil Gaelach le haghaidh Seachtain na Gaeilge.

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

www.edition.ie

Horses for main courses

A
The horsemeat scandal only goes to prove, once again, that big business will always put profit first - even before customer safety, says the Editions Al McConnell
horse is a horse, of course, of course. Or so Mr Ed told us. But, apparently, its not that simple. In the wake of the recent horsemeat scandal (cover your ears, Ed) many have discussed the issue from the perspective of whether there is really anything wrong with eating horsemeat, how the bad guys of organised crime have masterminded it all, or how EU and state monitors failed the consumer. But the real fallout from this controversy is further proof that customer safety is easily and willingly forgotten when profit is at stake. It is normal in France, or Spain, some have argued. Others find the idea of eating horse inherently unacceptable, at times suggesting that a horse is a noble creature. A bit harsh on the cows, perhaps. However, as interesting as that argument is, the comment page of the Edition doesnt seem the place to settle an issue that is so complex, so culturally loaded, and, one could argue, so unimportant. Whether a person chooses to consume horse is essentially a decision for them to make. wThat choice was taken away in the recent scandal. But even this issue must take a backseat to the fact that corporate greed is now proven to extend into the food industry, perhaps one area of business that the public believed was off limits to the crookedest of dodgy dealings. Whichever individuals, businesses and supposed watch-dogs facilitated this grand scheme (and there can be no doubt that a number of individuals have worked together to engineer the horse-beef switcheroo) they have flagrantly disregarded the health of the public in return for a fat profit margin. Big business has, once again, confirmed that it cares less than not at all for its customers. Surprise, surprise, you might say, but this reality has been neglected in coverage of the horsemeat scandal. I should state at this point that I am in no way arguing that horsemeat would, for any reason, be inherently less safe than beef. I have, at one point, tested this for myself, in a Spanish caf that proudly (or with complete indifference) included a bocadillo de carne de caballo. Im still not quite comfortable with the thought,
Some companies, such as Mini, have been taking advantage of the horse meat scandal, producing ads such as at left. Which of these businesses has a clear enough conscience to do so ethically, however, is another question.

COMMENT
has also drawn links between the scandal and organised crime, as well as to less developed EU countries, in an effort to ward off any drop in customer confidence that might lead to a drop in profits. There has been a drop in both, which is an entirely natural response to being told our food is not quite, or not at all, what it says on the label. Especially when we hear comments such as those made by Malcolm Walker, Chief Executive of Iceland supermarkets. Well, thats the Irish, he quipped, when questioned about Icelands frozen burgers failing a quality assurance test conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. In terms of impact, a poll carried out by the UKs Independent on Sunday last week showed that 900,000 households have stopped buying frozen burgers in light of the horsemeat revelations. Most of the products found to contain horsemeat have been declared safe. Which is reassuring - we are not in any immediately mortal danger because of a cheap frozen burger. A question remains, though, which will linger for some time in the public mind: what else is being added to our food, and what else are they selling to us unchecked? If the food industry is willing to cut corners, or cut the whole track, for the sake of profit, then maybe it is time to realise that any industry will do the same, regardless of customer safety. And that is a comforting thought.

but this is certainly not down to any idea that horse would somehow be unsafe. Callous disregard for customer health has been demonstrated in the lack of safety checks that have been carried out in this scandal. This is where the profit comes from; horse meat would be as expensive as beef if it were subjected to the same (supposed) rigours of health and safety. It

is not, of course, and therefore it becomes a filler meat. It also, therefore, become a serious health risk. Links have been made between the horsemeat scandal and the drug phenylbutazone, known as bute, an anti-inflammatory painkiller for horses that can pose serious health risks to humans. On the other hand, the beef industry

Poor coordination and lack of togetherness at the #Feb9 protest

Mark Meehan looks back on a protest that promised a lot, but failed to deliver

n the 9th of February, a protest the likes of which this country rarely sees took place on the streets of Ireland. From the capital to cities and towns across the country, the #Feb9 anti-austerity protests made the feelings of an angry populace felt. The protest on the streets of Dublin was by far the largest. At the rallying point at Christchurch, at the west end of Dame Street, tens of thousands of people gathered. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which was largely behind the organisation and promotion of the event, brought forward massive contingents from major unions, including Impact and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. Union groups were not the only ones present,

though, with major numbers of campaigners against the property tax also making their presence felt. The march itself was breathtaking, with union marchers spanning the full length of Dame Street as the gathered protesters reached their full strength. Banners and flags of all shapes and sizes fluttered in the wind as the marchers made their way towards their final rallying point - Merrion Square - in front of Leinster House. At Merrion Square, however, the march appeared to lose much of the massive public energy it had gathered along the route. At the square, two screens were set up on two different sides of the park, leading many to wonder where the final rallying point should be. As confused protesters

moved back and forth between the two locations, speeches began to ring out as people spoke about how they had been personally affected. As these speeches went on, though, the apparent lack of coordination began to take a toll, and marchers began scatter. Within a mere twenty minutes of the march reaching the gathering point at Merrion Square, the area had begun to well and truly empty. Banners and flags were seen either side of the main road and pamphlets had been strewn about the street, discarded. Small groups were still handing out reading material as the rally fell apart, but the damage had already been done. Much discussion took place afterwards about why the rally may have lost its edge as it approached its destination. The feel-

ing on the ground was that it had lacked coordination, and it certainly appeared that way from a vantage point near Leinster House itself. There were many ICTU stewards on hand, but the protest still lacked any togetherness. It appears that the use of screens at two different locations on the square strung the protest out too much. The number of protesters present ranged from a Garda estimate of 25,000 to an ICTU estimate of 60,000. The numbers, while being powerful and in themselves a great message of discontent, did little to ultimately help the rally to find its final meaning. At the end of the protest, Merrion Square became deserted as the unions were felt to have simply not done enough, or worse.

TO CELEBRATE THEIR NEW E6 STUDENT DEAL, BBS ON DAME ST HAVE GIVEN US DINNERS FOR TWO TO GIVE AWAY. TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE TO WIN, LIKE & SHARE BBS FACEBOOK AND SAY I LOVE BBS

/BOBOSBURGERS

@BOBOSBURGERS

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THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

LEAN MACHINE CHALLENGE

Challengers step it up a notch

Ciarn Clark attends the weekly weigh-in to see how the Challengers are coping

LEAN MACHINE
CHALLENGE
The Challengers
Name: Dirne Black Age: 23 Course: MA Journalism From: Blackrock Weight: 171.lbs Lost: 3lbs

Challengers (Niamh, Dirne & Erin) and Trainers (Andy & Kane) discussing training

nother Monday and the Edition team joined the contestants of the Lean Machine Challenge up at Raw Condition Gym on Richmond Street. Dirne Black, Sarah Tandy and Niamh Foley arrived for another instalment of gruelling training. Collectively yet competitively they plan to spend another ten weeks whipping their bodies into shape and changing diets that they plan to stick to long after the challenge is over. The Edition team came down to the site of fitness and wellbeing to catch up with the trainers and the girls; to see what exercises were in store for this week, have a look and what they are eating, (and what all fitness enthusiasts should be eating), and see what impact the training is having on the women in general. Sarah had a few days off while she was in sunny Venice but shes back in force, saying I dont feel like Ive had two full weeks, not training anyway but I have been eating well. She said shes always had a tendency to eat well, So its not too big an adjustment but I have had to give up chocolate. Sarah also said that shes always been interested in sport, playing cricket and baseball, but she admits that baseball wasnt that physically demanding. She says the exercises shes doing at RAW circuits, weights and compound exercises are very hard, I warned the trainers beforehand, I might swear at you. She says mentally shes in a much better state of mind and that the training at RAW is a kind of stress relief but she still battles getting up in the morning which has

plagued her since she had glandular fever a few years ago. On her goals she said, Its not so much a difference on the scales I want to see but in how I see myself. Checking in with The Editions Culture Editor, Dirne Black, she says with each day she feels herself improving; on the treadmill shes moved up to level 12, something she was never able to do before. She explains that the physical training gets easier each time but she still struggles with food, occasionally stopping to smell the cookies. I feel silly because Ive been eating bananas all week and Ive found out theyre f***ing full of carbs, so there goes half my diet. But she added If bananas are the worst thing Im eating then thats brilliant. She says that weekends are hard at work, as she works in a caf but she is able and determined to stay on salads. Its about the choices youre making; Ive definitely got more energy and focus. Now when Im tired its because Im knackered from the gym and college not because Ive been eating s***. She wants to start looking up easy to cook, healthy student meals. She also stresses that each of the girls journeys is different admitting that she has cried once or twice but that were all human. I went from eating junk to good food. Its the polar opposite, and Ive thrown myself in the deep-end. Sundays are hard, thinking about the Monday weigh-in but Im happy. On her weight loss this week she added I want to lose more next week or maintain the weight loss. Im going to push myself even harder this week. Ive got the chance to really change things. This challenge is one of my top-priorities

and it actually helps me focus more in college, so thats great. Niamh spent the majority of her second week looking after her diet. Not being able to train as much during the second week she was a little disappointed with her weigh-in but is staying positive. She said shes finding the physical training challenging after not training for several months but she knows it will get better, I used to do Taekwondo but I injured myself so I cant train. I did a boot-camp before so Im hoping to regain that fitness. This time Im going to focus on my diet. She admitted that cutting the carbs is difficult especially since her boyfriend sometimes tempts her with pizza. Indicating his slim physique she said, He can eat anything and yeah I did have a few slices. But she is conscious of what she eats now; she eats breakfast and since that has noticed that the selection of healthy food is lacking in DIT, Theres a small selection of overly priced veg and a few cereals. Doing this has actually highlighted the fact that their menu is really bad. She said avoiding foods such as chicken goujons is fine but joked, What else can I have, Oh soup, well thatll fill you up. On foods that shes discovered a taste for she added, Im learning to like lettuce. The trainers met with the Edition too to give details on healthy eating, exercises and how the girls are doing. Kane Kearns commenting on the girls commitment said, The girls are doing amazing, the results on the weight loss speak for itself. The scales tell you that straight away. Speaking about the girls individually, Andy said, Weve had to rein them in, like Dirne comes in and she wants to go a hundred miles an hour. When shes at the stage where shes fit enough though well let her go for it. Shes very enthusiastic and she wants to win. On Sarah, Andy added, Shes very driven. Back in Australia she did a lot of sport so shes used to the competitive side. Kane went on to say that the girls are coming in off their own bat and this was really encouraging, Its great to see them coming in on their own, you can see how committed they really are about this challenge and the weight loss, [again] speaks for itself.

Name: Niamh Foley Age: 25 Course: MSc Software Engineering From: Dublin Weight: c168lbs Lost: 0.2lbs

Name: Sarah Tandy Age: 22 Course: 2nd year AccountingFrom: Australia Weight: 187.6lbs Lost: 5.8lbs

Name: Erin Bingham Age: 25 Course: Final year, Marketing From: Toronto, Canada Weight: 130.6lbs Erin was unable to make weigh-in this week

Exercises of the week

1. Andy demonstrates the Plank - one of the best exercises for building the core muscles in your abs, obliques and lower back 2. Kane shows us the Shoulder Press - which, as you can imagine, is great for building all the deltoid muscles 1. 2.

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

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11

Technique and routine to build a better body

Darragh Mowlds looks at the exercises and regimes that can turn you into a Lean Machine
As the four candidates entered week three of the Lean Machine Challenge, we caught up with them and their two trainers to see what their gym routines are. The contestants explained that they certainly werent eased into the challenge. All of the girls found the first session very tough with Dirne describing waking up the next day and everything was sore.

LEAN MACHINE CHALLENGE

its not going to be easy for them if they want results

Training: Week Two

Photos: Jarlath Moloney

Editor
- (TL) Kane and Andy coaching the girls on planks - (TR) Dirne doing box jumps while Erin planks - (R) Challengers warming down - (L) Niamh does weighted squats while Dirne does pull-ups on the ropes

She went on to say that when you start its really hard but it gets easier as your muscles and body adapt to it, the pain only lasts for so long. Despite being used to playing sports and doing weekly sessions in her native Australia, Sarah definitely finds that their gym trainers Andy and Kane work them really hard. She agreed with Dirne about being thrown into the deep end, but thought that was the best thing. While trainers Andy and Kane didnt quite agree with the girls that they threw them in the deep end, they both agreed that its not going to be easy for them if they want results. They all meet on a Monday evening for the weekly weigh-in and for a group session in which everyone does the same workout. Outside of the group work, each girl has their own personal routine based on the goals that they have set for themselves. Niamh found juggling college and the gym very difficult in the first week but found the work outs to be very balanced. Having a mix of cardio and resistance training helped to keep the interest up. The routines certainly arent easy and the trainers explained that, during the sessions you get a few grunts and moans but thats natural. The trainers were seriously impressed by the competitiveness of the contestants and at times have to rein them in and get them to slow down a bit. The image of the evil American gym coach doesnt turn out to be the reality. They always try to motivate you, when youre doing well they say it. All three girls described their trainers as being tough, but really nice guys Both the contestants and the trainers all said that it is important that the routines are balanced, never focusing on one thing for too long because it will end up being frustrating. The importance of mixing up your work out was made very clear, if you stay doing the same routine over and over again youll just be running in place if you excuse the pun. We will be catching up with the girls in weeks three and four so by then the routines will have upped pace, I certainly dont envy them.

DIY Fitness
Andy Hickey gives us a simple bodyweight training regine you can use at home
The type of training we are doing is a mixture between circuit and interval training, with both styles the heart rate is increasing and decreasing many times in a short space of time so the body has turned into a fat burning machine! A lot of research Ive done has come from Charles Poliquin and Mike Boyle. They are the top men in their field of strength and conditioning and resistance training. A simple training circuit that people could do from home that only take 30 minutes: High Knees Bum Kicks Air Squats Lunges Push Ups M o u n t a i n Climbs Squat Jumps Burpees Crunches Swimmers All exercises are 1 minute, all body weight, complete all exercises before you take a break. Repeat each circuit 3 times.

Training can only do so much; a healthy diet is key

Danielle Stephens looks at the dietary guidelines the Challengers have been sticking to
The Challengers have just finished week two of the Lean Machine Challenge and the pounds are falling off. The two most important components which will see the women achieve their goals at the end of the challenge are training hard and sticking to a healthy diet. According to Kane Kearns, one of the trainers, Any physical or mental change you see in trying to lose weight, 80% of that comes from what you eat. So how are the girls finding the transition between their old eating habits and their new and improved diets? For Sarah, what shes eating isnt that different to what she ate before starting the challenge. Due to genetically high cholesterol running in her family, her parents always pushed healthy eating when she was growing up. The Aussies problem was that she has had to become more conscious of portion sizes and how much shes eating, rather than what shes eating. Dirne, on the other hand, had to make a big change to what she was eating. She knew that what she was eating wasnt good for her. It really came down to laziness and making bad food choices. I would rather just eat what was there. I would drink a diet coke thinking that it would wake me up, but then have a sugar crash a little bit later. Niamhs biggest shock came with the sudden lack of carbs in her diet. Since the start of the challenge, the engineering student has started waking up earlier to eat breakfast and has also started to eat more vegetables. Bad days and weaknesses have come in the form of the usual suspects. Sarah has had to give up cheap alcohol, such as beers and ciders, instead substituting it with the more expensive gin or vodka. Niamh has had to contend with a very cruel boyfriend who brings her pizza out of the blue. Dirne is proud of herself for not giving into any of her weaknesses yet. Nevertheless, the journalism student admitted that she has cracked on a couple of occasions and has gotten emotional thinking about weigh-ins coming around every Monday. Between them, the girls have thought of tips for dealing with those pesky cravings that keep bogging them down. Sarah suggests eating something small that takes a long time to eat, when you get a craving. Eating lollipops or sucking on vitamin tablets do the trick for her. Going cold turkey is the way to go according to Niamh. Do something else completely, or youll just give in. The trainers, Andy and Kane think that a lot of the misconceptions of a healthy diet come from bad advertising. In reality, the trick to a good, healthy diet is about timing rather than what you eat. Your pastas, your rices are carbs that you need. You just dont need to eat them at 10 oclock at night, explained Kane. Andy suggests small gradual changes in your diet rather than a radical transformation. The key to getting the results that anyone wants from a new diet/training regime is balancing a healthy food regime. No amount of training will help if youre eating the wrong amount of the wrong things. As Andy put it, Its very hard to out-train a bad diet.

LMC Trainer, Andy Hickey gives the basics to help you become a Lean Machine
Lean Meats - Red meat, Fish, PoultryGreen Leafy Veg - Broccoli, Sprouts, Green Beans, Asparagus ( anything green) Eggs - Preferably without the yolk Nuts - Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews Fruits - Stick to dark fruits like berries, plums etc, the dark skin means they are high in anti-oxidants and low in sugar Healthy Carbs - Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, Wholewheat Pasta, Oats Porridge - all good but make sure your portion size of these doesnt exceed the size of a closed fist. And drink plenty of water! :) Mix and match foods but make sure your meals arent oversized. Just enough to to keep you going until your next meal. Have fun preparing meals and dont be afraid to experiment in different foods! Foods to stay away from: White Potato White Rice White Pasta Cereals Bread Chocolate Crisps Fizzy Drinks This might look like a lot to avoid but as soon as you get into the swing of things then you wont even crave them! All the recommendations we gave are just from research, some from science writer Gary Taubes, the author of Good Calories, Bad Calories. His insight on food and the research he has done is unparalleled and other research from many other nutritionists and science writers in the field.

Nutritional Guidelines

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THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

LIFESTYLE

Hitchcock - the evil genius

Izzy OHara looks at the life of the movie genius inspiration for recent films, The Girl and Hitchcock

e is instantly recognisable by his rotund silhouette and protruding lower lip but who was the enigmatic Alfred Hitchcock? In 1939 shortly after Life magazine deemed him Englands best director he moved to America where he went on to earn the title of The master of suspense. Without having watched his films, one might wonder why he is deserving of these titles or if indeed he is at all. To begin with, the techniques Hitchcock used to build suspense ultimately changed the experience watching films. His use of lighting and camera angles turned otherwise mundane storylines into riveting psychological thrillers. He had a knack for manipulating audiences, which made his films so compelling. In Rear Window we see James Stewart and Grace Kelly spying on their neighbours; the building anxiety and tension created in witnessing their acts of voyeurism turns the audience into the voyeurs. This kind of engagement makes watching one of Hitchcocks films today is equally, if not more, engaging as watching a recently released blockbuster; one of the many reasons his work is, timeless. After choosing a Daphne du Mau-

Hitchcock pictured with Tippi Hedren at the Cannes film festival in 1963

rier novel Rebecca for his American debut into film, Hitchcocks abilities as a director were cemented. The critically acclaimed film went on to win two academy awards and the director it seemed was in high demand. Everybody wanted to work with him. As often happens with massive success- along comes arrogance. Hitchcock often boasted of his ability to make or break actors and actresses careers and in certain cases he kept his promise for the latter.

The portly director was not the cuddly genius people might think. Directors are notoriously difficult to work with, especially pernickety ones like Hitchcock, so one could perhaps let slide his derogatory references to the actors on his sets as cattle and how they should be treated as such. It was his more sinister infatuation with his leading ladies that exposed a manipulative, megalomaniac. Famously, he never referred to his script during filming, having memorized every minute detail

during the writing process. This painstaking attention to detail crossed over into the possessive relationships he had with many of his leading actresses. Its no secret he preferred blonds claiming they make the best victims. He had over 47 leading ladies in his films but the most notable was Grace Kelly who he used in several of his movies such as Dial M for murder (1954) and Rear Window (1954). Then we were introduced to actress Kim Novak, star of Vertigo and finally Tippi Hedren who debuted in The birds (1963) and went on to star in Marnie (1964). If it werent for Hedren the world may never have known the depths of Hitchcocks predatory side. The former actress has since spoken out about her experiences with the director, claiming he put her in a mental prison. He had Hedren followed and her handwriting analyzed along with continuous threats to ruin her blossoming career. The Girl starring Sienna Miller was released back in December 2012 and is based on Tippi Hedrens experiences working with Hitchcock (or Hitch as he was known to his comrades) during The Birds (1963); it depicts a far more accurate account of the director than the

recently released drab and unilluminating film, Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins. In The Girl, we learn how Hitchcock used real birds for Hedrens scene where she is attacked, as opposed to mechanical ones which he had initially promised, resulting in the actress nearly losing an eye and having to take a week off filming. After Hendrens refusal to succumb to Hitchcocks advances, he stayed true to his word and did indeed end the career of the up-and-coming star. If Hitch couldnt have her, nobody could. Critics have often opined that his films speak volumes about Hitchcocks own neuroses and expose him as a deeply flawed man. Without having written a memoir, his films are the closest attempt at an autobiography people could get. Vertigo in particular mirrors Hitchcocks attempt to mould his leading ladies into his ideal woman. He wanted to control everything down to their clothes and hair colour. In vertigo we see a man who cant get over the death of the woman he loved and his only apparent solace is in encouraging his new girlfriend to dress and look like his lost love. His controlling behaviour was an attempt to get over his grief but what was Hitchcocks excuse?

Alan Parker, famed director to retire

T
Victoria Kinsella

he Great Sir Alan Parker is a character with trademark glasses who has come a long way from his traditional commercials, where he tried to squeeze in catchy stories, to a long successful career. His films which are incredibly familiar include Bugsy Malone, Fame, Evita, Midnight Express and many more. This year in the BAFTAS awards ceremony Kevin Spacey presented him the lifetime achievement award something he well deserved as he has given many generation timeless entertainment with his films. He was born on Valentines Day, 14 February in 1944 in North London. His post war surroundings in London , where they were reconstructing buildings was according to him, Disney Land certainly his creative imagination exploring the ruins of buildings. But his career started in the 1960s and 70s just as we all do at the very bottom, in charge of the mail. He would then write up stories at night. His modest family home was very small and his father often turned off the lights, give out to him to

stop writing stories. His commercials, he states, were too frustrating, so he then began to explore short stories his first one being, No Hard Feelings which was 52 minutes long. Through a mutual friend of Parker it was agreed to be broadcasted on the BBC, he was very lucky, as established production companies didnt like the idea of working with independent TV productions. At the BBC he then began to network with the film idols of his time and was given his first opportunity to shoot his first film called The Evacuees, after the war people began to spread their stories so Parker tried to shoot some of the bravest and interesting ones. This film got rewarded his first BAFTA award for best TV drama and best TV international drama. His Talent of being a producer and a director and screenwriter was finally being noticed. So in 1985, the BBC asked him to do a documentary and was Parkers first TV serious and was made to celebrate the British TV year and then went on to win the Press Guide award for the best documentary.

From then on there was no stopping him. If we look back now at what he has achieved, he has done 14 feature films, made leg warmers popular in Fame, got kids to play rougher than the God Father in Bugsy, winning Oscars with his film Midnight Express and much more. What is interesting is his love for film is still growing, maybe not in the big screen but in his head, he has said I write every day in fact, Ive written so many screenplays in recent years that havent been made that I could have an entire film festival in my head. So you can ask why or is this genius retiring? At 68, most of us would but he says he wants to be with his eight year old son, as he expressed in The Guardian, I was never there for my four grownup children; I was always on location somewhere. That isnt the kind of life I want any more. But the idea of retiring is all too terrifying. So as the BAFTAS recognise a living legend maybe one day we will still get to see some more of his hidden stories which he still writes today.

on a single bit of student life.

Lending criteria, terms and conditions apply. Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Dont Miss Out

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

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13

LIFESTYLE

Stephs Style
Stephanie Quilligan looks at some great finds on the high street for February 2013

It was the hottest ticket in town last Saturday at London Fashion Week when the highly anticipated, Rihanna for River Island, collection took to the catwalk. In true fashion week procedure, the show which was streamed live from the Old Sorting Office in central London had viewers waiting over an hour and a half to see the big revelling. Luckily, the collection didnt disappoint and had everything you would expect from a collection designed by the pop princess. Clearly, her inspiration was the 90s with

pieces in bold, primary colours, including jersey maxi dresses with thigh-high splits, crop tops, bomber jackets and sheer shirts, tie-die, an A-line mini-skirt, hooded shirt dresses. Rihanna accessorised he pieces with shirts tied around the waist, backwards baseball caps, and large hooped earrings. The modern, grunge looks were finished with simple hairstyle, worn slicked back or

tied up. Make up too was simplistic, with a neutral eye and face and a dramatic red lip. The show was made to feel like a Rihanna concert with a five-tiered stage and traditional audience set up. The soundtrack also included some of the singers greatest hits including Phresh Out The Runway. Speaking to Yahoo.com the Bajan beauty of her designs, Its a lot of me. Im being very selfish, I designed every piece so I

that can wear it. I think my fans trust my style and I think theyll have fun. The girl that would wear this is full of personality, full of sass, but just loves fashion - most of all, they love fashion. Some of the singers celeb friends were there to support the We Found Love singer including Model-of-the-Year, Cara Delevigne and her catwalk pal Jourdan Dunn who sat front row.

Irish stylist David Greene has also on hand to support Rihanna, having worked with her earlier in the year while casting the models for the show. Rihanna was really nice, very hands on, very productive and when she came in first, she introduced herself to all the models working on the show, said David.

Talk to us about flexible ways to fund your 3rd level expenses.

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THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

LIFESTYLE
Rasheed, The Edition Style Guru tells us whats funky & fresh on campus this week

Out & About

Hello fashion lovelys and degenerate bandwagoners, welcome to the latest edition of Out and About. First off, all of us here at Lifestyle hope you had a pretty flipping cool Valentines Day full of bespoke rags, chalices of red wine and sonnets written by Phil Collins. If your Knight in shining armour or princess in erm shiny moccasins failed to turn up, fear not we have some beautiful people for you to eyeball. And if that doesnt cheer you up we also wrote you a poem Roses are red, my leg warmers are shapely, lets all buy vintage and pretend its the Eighties.

Who?

Timi Ogunyemi

Who?

Sohair Osman

Who?

Michael OSuilleabhin

Who?

Rachel OKoro

Studying? What?

Business and Management Jacket Superdry Jumper Swallows and Daggers Jeans All Saints Shoes Converse Shirt H & M Glasses A market in Hong Kong

Studying? What?

Retail Service Management Wool dress Jay Jays Long-Tee H & M

Studying? What?

Music student Jumper Found it Bracelet Galway Market

Studying? What?

Fashion Buying and Management student Jacket Urban Outfitters Jumper Pennies Jeans Topshop Converse Shoes The Converse store Bag Zara

Why?

Edgy, Preppy, Classic.

Why? Just ridiculous

Why?
Urban alternative (not hipster)

Why? Id describe my style as casual,

classy, one with an edge

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

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15

JDIFF

International Film Festival lights up Dublin with stars

Jarlath Moloney, Editor
The Hardy Bucks Movie features the crew from Castletown on their first big screen adventure. The film has Eddie, Buzz, The Boo, Frenchtoast et al try to make it to Poznan for the 2012 Euros. They travel with arch enemy, The Viper, when he offers them a life in his camper van. Expect more of the same as the TV show: drinkin, fightin, shmokin and the quest for women, except this time in continental Europe. Unfortunately, The Edition missed this one at the JDIFF, but it will hit cinemas in March. Hopefully the Movie takes more from the YouTube show rather than the RT one.

CULTURE

Festival highlights
The Hardy Bucks Movie (Mon 18)

Irish actors and documentaries lead the way at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival writers Dirne Black
s if the glitz and glamour of IFTAs wasnt enough for us, Dublin celebrated the annual Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (JDIFF) coming into town. Now in its 11th year the film festival spans over ten days from February 14th24th, bringing an eclectic array of film making talent into the Capital city. With actors such as Gabriel Byrne, Tim Roth, Frank Langella, and Danny DeVito all confirmed to be in attendance, along with directors such as Olivier Assayas, Costa-Gavras and Joss Whedon, coming to Dublin. Along with this there will be events showcasing the art of screenwriting with Tobias Lindholm (Borgen) and Robert Towne (Chinatown, Shampoo), and casting with Margery Simkin (Top Gun, Erin Brockovich). The festival features over 130 feature films, including shorts, masterclasses and a host of special events to be held in the dedicated Hub and Club spaces, it will also welcome over 100 Irish and international guests to light up an amazing 11 days. Up and coming Irish actors Killian Scott, who stars in Irish Dram Love/Hate and Kelly Campbell launched the festival programme on January 23 will both feature in films to be screened at the festivalBlack Ice and The Good Man. Speaking at the launch, Grinne Humphreys, Festival Director said: The year long search for the most original voices in contemporary cinema will finally be unveiled next month. Its a festival jam packed with screenings, workshops and masterclasses, and I am genuinely humbled by the guests who will join us it is an honour to welcome them and the rest of our cast list to Dublin. The eagerly anticipated Jameson Cult Film Club will this year feature the classic LA Confidential, with Danny DeVito in attendance. Our association with film began in 1998 and I am very proud to say that, today, Jameson is involved with some of the most dynamic and successful film festivals around the world. At the heart of our film association is our sponsorship of JDIFF, which has grown from strength to strength since 2002. said Anna Malmhake CEO & Chairman, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard. Homegrown talent features heavily at the festivalin the lineup of Irish features including The Hardy Bucks Movie; Kieron J Walshs black humourous Jump, Mary Harrons The Moth Diaries starring Sarah Bolger, documentary maker Kieran Evans debut feature Kelly + Victor, and the intriguing Irish co-production Call Girl. Also celebrated are filmmakers working in Ireland and further afield. Seasoned Aidan Gillen stars in The Good Man which was filmed between Belfast and South Africa. Director Macdara Vallely brings us Babygirl a heartwarming tale which takes place in the Bronx. Acclaimed documentary maker Kieran Evans makes his debut with Kelly + Victor a story of a passionate but troufinds acceptance with a couple of small time crooks. Documentaries are very much a prominent feature this year with two in this season focusing on innovators in the art world: Far Out isnt Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story profiles iconic and sometimes controversial childrens author/ illustrator and longtime Irish resident. Cathy Pearson brings her documentary Get The Picture to the big screen, it centres around hugely influential photo journalist and former editor of Magnum photos John G Morris. Music lovers will be kept entertained with In the Deep Shade, Conor Mastersons feature length documentary on popular Irish band The Frames. In The Summit, Nicky Ryan brings us a gripping account of a tragic attempt to scale K2 when eleven climbers, including Ger McDonnell (the first Irishman to reach the summit) lost their lives. The documentary is a fitting tribute to the climbers who lost their lives, and recently won an award at the Sundance Film Festival. Mark Mc Loughlins Blood Rising will bring this years festival to a close. An extraordinary and powerful piece, it follows Irish artist Brian Maguire who spent three years working with the women of Jurez, Mexico a city with one of the highest murder rates in the world. The film was funded by the Reel Art is an Arts Council scheme, which affords film artists the unique opportunity to make imaginative, experimental documentaries on an artistic theme. The documentaries Natan and Broken Song were also funded by the Council. This year the festival, in partnership with the Irish Film Institute plays tribute to Irish film-maker Kieran Hickey(1936-93). Hickey was one of Irelands most talented professionals and not only excelled in literary documentaries, his direction of short fiction films,his literary adaptations and dramas. Hickeys dramas explored sexuality, infidelity,middle-class angst, aswell as challenging the ideas of nationalism, sectarianism and the glorification of the past. An annual event, the festival has now become a staple on the Irish events calendar and is a must for film fans out there.

The Place Beyond the Pines (Sun 17)

While this one has come and gone at JDIFF, director Derek Cianfrances crime drama will be released here on April 12. This is Ryan Goslings first reteam with his Blue Valentine director, as he plays a motorcycle stunt rider forced bank robbing to parovide for his wife (Eva Mendes) and new born child. Fortunately for us, this puts him on a collision course with corrupt cop Bradley Cooper. Pines is a sweeping emotional film that explores the relationship between fathers and sons and how ones actions can affect the other. The film wowed critics at the Toronto film festival and JDIFF, so expect big things.

Stoker (Fri 22)

Old Boy director, Park Chan-Wook isnt one to shy away from difficult situations and Stoker doesnt look like it will be any easier viewing. It stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Albert KNobbs) as India whose Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode - Watchmen, Leap Year) comes to live with her and her unstable mother (Nicole Kidman) when her father dies. Naturally for a Chan-Wook film, she becomes infatuated with him, instead of horrified when Uncle Charlies motives begin to seem sinister. Morally ambiguous, dark, macbre, haunting and unsettling. Doesnt sound like one to bring a first date to, but shouldnt be missed.

Its a festival jam packed with screenings, workshops and masterclasses

bled love affair between two youths in Liverpool featuring a powerful performance from Antonia Campbell Hughes. Johnny Gogans Black Ice tells the tale of a teenage brother and sister in Leitrim whose obsession with rally driving results in tragic consequences, a fine display of contemporary Ireland. Roel and Bernd Boorsma make their debut feature with Milo, which tells the story of a ten year old boy with a rare skin condition who

Robot + Frank (Sat 23)

Frank Langella plays a retired burglar given an assistant robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) to keep him in check by his uncaring children. Frank instead uses the robot to assist in a new scheme. It sounds like lighthearted family fare, but with Langella on powerful form (he seems to get better with age) you can look forward to heartbreak and humour thats not one for the kids. With supporting cast including Susan Sarandon, Liv Tyler and James Marsden you can expect big things from this film that did well at Sundance film festival. Goes on general release here, 8 March.

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THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

Give the people their Oxegen

A
Oxegen returns for summer 2013, so Grace Leonard and Sean Whitty give us their tips on getting the most from the two-day festival
fter a year break, Oxegen returns to the Irish Festival lineup this summer, for a, slightly shorter than previous years, 2 day blow out of music, fun and (hopefully) sunshine. Despite rumours of a move to Phoenix Park, festival goers will be happy to hear it will be held in its usual spot at Punchestown Racecourse over two days. One thing that is almost certain to make an appearance is the rain. Dont forget to bring your waterproofs, when the heavens open youll be glad you did. As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. Dont let the bad weather put you off going to the Oxegen. Be it hail, sleet, sun, or rain you are guaranteed to have a good time. The subject of essentials doesnt end with rain gear, packed food and wellington boots; toilet paper and baby wipes are also must-haves. Wellies should be worn, and the rest you can pack in beside your beer and multiple pairs of socks. Many rumours have been buzzing around the acts playing this year, including, Eminem, Mumford and Sons, Alt-J, Jake Bugg, Two Door Cinema Club. The official line-up is to be announced within the next few weeks. Thrift Shop sensation Macklemore appears to be among favourites to headline the festival. Many Macklemore fans were very disappointed that they missed out on his gig in The Academy back in September. If youre a fan keep your eyes pealed for the Oxegen line up. Oxegen 2011 will be a hard act to follow with many memorable moments; from Beyonc rocking out the classics to Coldplays surprise duet with Irish legend Christy Moore. The lineup is eagerly awaited, particularly as in previous years headliners were announced as early as before Christmas. As the event has been shortened to a 2 day festival it is inevitable that the ticket prices are going to be cheaper than previous years. Were sure youll have a great time this year at Oxegen but here are a few dos and donts to guarantee smooth sailing.

CULTURE

TwitFeed
Dirne Black looks at the Twitter goings on around DIT
Glenn Fitzpatrick @ditsu_education

Student Council will need to discuss potential implications of 10% cut to nonpay library budget.

Kevin McGahern @Kevinmcgahern

The main stage in Oxegen 2013 may be headlined by Macklemore

Home Alone is a hard film to watch after your balls have developed. Which they have.

How to survive the festival

Donts
Do not buy large quantities of the same drink, mix it up a bit this goes for drinkers and non drinkers alike, by 2 o clock of the first day when your through your 7th can of warm beer/Capri Sun, youre not going to be a happy camper. Dont just sit at the campsite all day having the craic take a trip to the stage area. Missing out on the music is missing out on the festival. As much as you think its a great idea at the time, its unwise to go swimming in the muck, it wont feel like such a good idea when your left covered in muck for two days with no access to a shower. Do not pitch your tent on a hill, beside a walk way or the portaloos for obvious reasons. If youre a lucky owner of an iPhone do not bring it. Not many phones survive a weekend at Oxegen.

Dos
Use a flag to distinguish your tent from others, at the best of times its difficult to find your way back home, so add darkness, drunkeness, and the fact that everyone in your campsite has bought the same tent on offer that you have. Give your tent a cool name. For example: The Rusty Barnacle.

Make a list of the acts you want to see and the times that they are performing. Do not be tricked into buying the Oxegen programmes for a 10er. Bring board games, fun for all the family, or if its your family youre trying to get away from in a drunken festival haze, they also serve well as drinking games Enjoy yourself and dont moan about the lack of 5 star facilities. Youre at a festival after all.

Brian ODriscoll @BrianODriscoll

Thanks for all the good wishes about our new arrival & a special thanks to the wonderful staff at Holles Street who took care of us so well

TV Guide: What to watch this week

Dirne Black and Rachael O Brien
The New Normal
Glee creator Ryan Murphy along with Allison Adler brings us The New Normal, the latest comedy series to hit our screens on E4. With only a half hour episode each week, it is not nearly enough for me. The show is based around David and Bryan, two men who wish to have a baby. Rather than adopt, they choose surrogacy, and find a young single mother, Goldie, who is struggling to make ends meet. Goldie is not without baggage however, as she has a young daughter Shania and a cranky, homophobic grandmother Jane. Jane is devoutly against this surrogacy as Goldie was herself a spawn of a teen mother and history repeated itself when she had Shania. Bryan and David agree to her as a surrogate and Goldies cash problems are solved. So begins a beautiful(ish) friendship and a family is in the making. The cast are relatively unknown, apart from Justin Bartha who starred in The Hangover. Grandmother Jane is very akin to Sue Sylvestor in Glee, unsurprising as it is another baby

of the creator. The show is humorous and witty, yet has a soft sentimental touch that may tug at your heartstrings. It highlights the issues of LGBT, something which probably hasnt been touched on too much since fellow American sitcom Will and Grace. The New Normal is a must watch. Thursday at 9pm E4.

The Voice of Ireland is back on RTE for a second series after its success last year. It began airing on Sunday 8 January but dont worry if you havent watched it yet. At this stage, the blind auditions (singers perform to judges with their backs turned, if judges like them they

The Voice of Ireland

turn) are finished and we are now into the battle stages. This year Brian Kennedy decided not to return as a judge so the panel now consists of Sharon Corr, Kian Egan, Bressie and Jamelia. So far Kian and Bressie have spent most of the audition shows arguing with each other over how mnay records theyve sold. In week one it was funny but after three weeks of non-stop bickering that was the same each week, it got a bit boring and seemed extremely scripted. Jamelia began with a bang, bagging herself many of the acts in the first show. But now the mentors have to put their own differences aside and focus on the competition. They chose which singers, in their own category, to pit against each other and they then have to choose who is eliminated. This is often a tough choice but something that comes with the territory. Kathryn Thomas is an amazing host as she brings the light heartedness that this type of show needs. Tune in to see how the rest of the season pans out, Sunday on RT 1 at 6.30pm

Rob Kearney @KearneyRob

The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese. #thoughtoftheday

Rubberbandits @Rubberbandits
I dont know what a Harlem shake is. But as a general rule, if lots of people think we should do it then we wont.

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17

Cold bodies warm heart

Victoria Tiernan
Warm Bodies Run Time: 98 mins
Many horror fans may have shuddered when the trailer for Warm Bodies was released. Was this to be a repeat of Twilight? Would Hollywood seize another classic horror figure and perversely corrupt it, all in the name of cinema? After all, it was ghastly enough to see the once terrifying vampire strutting around in Converse and refusing to eat anything except Venison. Why pacify the humble zombie? However, there is a stark difference between Twilight and Warm Bodies; the latter is good. Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50), Warm Bodies is based on Isaac Marions popular novel of the same name. Told from the perspective of a zombie named R (About A Boy and Skins star, Nicholas Hoult), we are led through the post-apocalyptic world of North America. R is bored to death with his life and despite having the emotional range of a teaspoon his witty monologue narrates much of the film. Whilst searching the city for some brain food, R and his zombie friends encounter a group of humans, including Nora (Analeigh Tipton), Julie (Teresa Palmer) and her boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco). R immediately falls in love with Julie, and after munching her boyfriends brains, he rescues her from the ravenous group of corpses. He then incarcerates her

Movies

CULTURE

Whats on at the movies

Dirne Black
Culture Editor
Fancy a trip to the cinema to beat those winter blues? We here at Culture want to help, let us guide you so you make the most out of your cinematic experience. What can I say, we try. The highly anticipated Hardy Bucks film hits Irish screens on Friday February 22, following its premiere at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. Stemming from the popular TV series the movie follows the Castletown lads across Europe as they support the Irish Team at Euro 2012. In a recent interview with the Edition, Hardy Buck, Kevin McGahern would not divulge anything about the film. Directed by Rich Moore Wreck it Ralph is Disneys latest offering. The premise of the film surrounds a video game villain wanting to be a hero. Having set out on his quest to fulfil his dream he ends up wreaking havoc in his arcade. The film is voiced by John C. Reilly who was in Dublin recently for Irish Film and Television awards, along with American comedienne Sarah Silverman and Glee star Jane Lynch. Valentines Day saw the return of everyones favourite action movie Die Hard, with the fifth instalment A Good Day to Die hurtling towards cinemas. Bruce Willis makes his return as John McClane accompanied this time by his son Jack, played by newcomer Jai Courtney. The film sees John heading to Russia in an attempt to save son Jack, who is working as a spy and is attempting to protect political prisoner Uri Komarov. As this is the fifth Die Hard I wonder will it die hard in the cinemas or will a sixth film follow. Also hitting cinemas this Friday is The Guilt Trip a film starring Knocked Ups Seth Rogen as Andrew Brewster, and Barbara Streisand as his mother Joyce. The film sees the pair embark on a road trip adventure as Andrew attempts to pitch a formula on cleaning solution to corporate retailers whilst secretly reuniting his mother with her former boyfriend; unbeknownst to her. It seems like an unlikely combination but one that will work, I think. The films plot is inspired by a real-life trip that screenwriter Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love) took with his own mother Run for Your Wife represents the release of a classically British film this Sunday February 24. The movie stars bigamist John Smith and his double life. He lives with two wives, Stephanie in Finsbury and Michelle in Stockwell; every mans dream right? Luckily for John, hes a taxi driver which involves shift work, so it seems hes in a rather nice little situation. However, John faces trouble when all is not what it seems with the police departments in both areas. The bulk of the movie takes places over a frantic 24hrs as John, along with the help of his gullible neighbour Gary, rush between North and South London as they attempt to combat the police and stop the two wives coming face to face.
Nicholas Hoult as R falls in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer) while rescuing her from a bunch of ravenous zombies.

in a zombie infested airport, which is all part of his ingenious plan to save her. So commences a love plot that is perhaps encouraged by a touch of Stockholm syndrome. However, this film is so much deeper than the simple rom-com (or zom-rom-com). As common in the zombie genre, there is an ironic use of social commentary. There is a witty observation about technology turning us into zombies

as we are more connected than ever, yet less intimate with each other an idea akin to those within the brilliant Shaun of the Dead. Indeed, zombie movies can be philosophical. A strong moral lesson also emerges through the film, which notes the advantages of working together to conquer a common goal. Nicholas Hoult plays the role adequately, providing much entertainment in the

contrast between his zombie appearance and his quaint soliloquy. The cast also features John Malkovich as Julies father, the militant leader of humanitys last safe city and a guy who really dislikes zombies. Meeting the parents has never been scarier. Overall, Warm Bodies is a smart comedy, probably more suitable to a younger audience but still a pretty entertaining way to kill 98 minutes.

Anthony Hopkins as Hitch, gazes at Ms Leigh (Scarlett Johanssen) as shes measured by Peggy (Toni Collette).

Gervasi not master of suspense

Ciaran Clark
News Editor Hitchcock Run Time: 98 mins
Hitchcock is a snapshot of the nuanced love-story between the iconic film-maker Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, during the filming of Psycho. In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma, are already icons in the Hollywood industry. Hitch has made timeless masterpieces for which he is revered and overshadowed but loyal Alma is respected as a filmmaker and screenwriter. However reeling from the suggestion it may be time to retire Hitch determines to recapture the daring hubris of his earlier career. Hitch resolves that his next film will adapt the horror novel, Psycho, despite network and collegial lacklustre. Re-mortgaging his Bel-Air mansion to finance Psycho after Paramounts renegotiation, Alma finally loses patience with the infamous Hitchcock gaze on his leading lady. When Whitfield Cook her long-time screenwriting friend offers Alma the chance to collaborate on a work of their own, Hitchcock must traverse the journey of so many of his leading men when faced with the possibility of betrayal. With the spectre of Ed Gein in his minds eye Hitch must make or break this movie, marriage or murder. Sasha Gervasis 90 minute film is a well-crafted nod to Hitchcock films in much the same way Gods and Monsters was to James Whale. Based on Stephen Rebellos book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho which was based on the filming of the Psycho screenplay by Joseph Stefano, which was based on Robert Blochs book, which was based on the real life crimes of Ed Gein; Hitchcock reveals not much about the history of Hitchcock that is hidden. This is not a mystery film and can never quite be suspenseful, though Gervasi gives it a decent shot. Hitchcocks main flaw is Anthony Hopkins. While his mannerisms and mimicry are faultless, he does not quite capture Hitch. His portrayal is flat-lined and only revived in scenes with Helen Mirren who brings a lot more zeal into Almas frustration, tension and loyalty. In these scenes he reacts well to Mirrens energetic performance but it may be simple contrast between her immediacy and his Hitchcockian lethargy. The only other character to stand out is James DArcys Anthony Perkins. DArcy fully embodies Perkins angst, sensitivity and, lets face it, mother issues. Hitchcock is a good movie but lacks the climax, suspense and evocative punch of the films it reveres. Had this been a Hitchcock, Alma would have sent them back to the editing room.

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CULTURE
Whats on in Dublin?
Rachael OBrien
Deputy Culture Editor

Nurturing air at Monday Echo

Ciarn Clark
News Editor
The Monday Echo is a songwriter and poetry showcase every Monday night in the basement of the International Bar, hosted by performer Aidan Murphy. It is an intimate, friendly and nurturing environment where poets perform, soundboard, interact and sometimes sing. The night breaks down into two sections, featured guests and open mic. On Monday 11 the featured spoken word performer was the excellent Sen Ruane who recently released a video of his last performance in the International made by Musicians With Cameras. Filling in to host The Monday Echo last night was Dimitra Xidous an MC who runs her own night The Ash Sessions in Ranelagh. Stepping into the basement as a fresh face youre immediately relaxed by the welcoming and warm atmosphere. The lighting is mellow and if such a thing exists the vibe is relaxed and reminiscent of New York beatnik. Speaking to visitors I was told that theres usually a mix of fresh and regular faces. This night was packed out. It seems the featured guests were big names on the poetry scene. Jane Willow performed, in a low-key lilting and lyrical style, songs overflowing with emotion and capped off with a Leonard Cohen cover, who she said is a huge inspiration for her. Johnny Rayge the next guest had a feminine yet powerful voice and sang some excellent self-written acoustic songs, and again finished with a cover, Neil Youngs Only Love Can Break Your Heart mimicking Youngs style with eerie similarity; a mean feat that came off as homage rather than knock-off and had the crowd singing along in pure unembarrassed appreciation. Sean Ruane performed next, with technically perfect poems in both form and content, and played the crowd with the skill of witty banter and seasoned performing. His poems were about the complexity of men and women, their relationships and of the depth of human nature. Corner Boy a folk band from Wexford brought the house down with their songs, some of which were written in Montreal where their lead singer upped roots and moved in 2011. They describe themselves as Modern folk Americana with gospel/ blues influences fused with traditional Irish instrumentation. The melodies were instantly catching as were the sing-along lyrics, bursting with the kind of energy only found in raucous Trad sessions or bawdy American country bars. On February 22 they release their debut record the Morning Morning E.P an album inspired by the story of a year on the road traveling North America. Apart from one or two cringe moments from zealous hipsters, who bordered on pretentious, the night was a dream of touching lyrics and musical words. Criostoir Bradley, a beat poet aka New Eire wowed the crowd with his trip-hop style My Beating Heart a poem packed with imagery, syncopated beat and lyrical genius. All round the atmosphere was one of nurturing; artists encouraging, crosspollinating and inspiring each other and the vibe was infectious. Spotting me in the corner the MC even encouraged me to grace the stage; luckily the bar closed before anyone had to cringe at this reporters rhymes but theres always next week.

Once has European premiere in Gaiety

The European premiere for John Tiffanys production of Once, winner of eight 2012 Tony awards including Best New Musical, will take place in Dublins Gaiety Theatre from February 22 until 9 March. The musical, based on the motion picture includes Glen Hansard and Markta Irglovs famous song, Falling Slowly. Once is a celebration of love, friendship and music. When an Irish busker and a young Czech mother meet through a shared love of music, their song-writing sparks a deep connection and a tender, longing romance that neither of them could have expected. Tickets are 21.50 and are available on ticketmaster.ie

Munster Rugby play

The critically acclaimed Alone It Stands returns to Dublins Olympia Theatre for a limited run from Monday 25 February to Saturday 2nd March 2013. For all you rugby fans, this now legendary story set on 31 October in 1978 when Munster Rugby played the mighty All Blacks tells the story of a David v Goliath scenario played out in Thomand Park. Munster served up one of the sporting stories of the century when they played like their lives depended on it and beat the All Blacks 12-0. Tickets are 20 and available on ticketmaster.ie

RAG Charity Week

S
Culture Editor
itting in his office, suit clad Will Meara appears relaxed. Though tired from last nights Valentines Formal Ball the ENTs officer is keen to fill me in on the goings on of RAG Charity Week 2013. He begins to tell me about the Roadtrip fundraiser where teams had to get as far away as possible. Two French students reached Cavan and promptly decided to stay there and hit the local pub, mingling with the locals and immersing themselves in Irish culture. Two other girls ended up getting free rides - everything, from taxi to buses and even the Garda. For two poor souls, they spent six hours sitting on the M4 trying to seek a lift. There was a control centre set up in Karma Stone pub for 24hrs and among the surprises brought back to headquarters were sacks of turf and chips. Dare I say random yet highly amusing. One of the big fundraisers for RAG Charity Week was the charity Skydive. Meara said that there had been great demand for this, of course, who doesnt want to throw themselves out of a plane?! He continued to say that class talks had helped promote this, and while it wont take place until March there is still time for students to raise the cash needed to take part in the Skydive. The Northside/Southside Soccer match, due to take place on the Monday of RAG Charity Week was postponed due to heavy rainfall and waterlogging of the pitches. Although it was due to take place last Thursday, it has since been postponed indefinitely, although it will probably take place closer to the end of the year. Shave or Dye proved successful with many DIT students and officer. Many were left bald and beardy but it was all in name of the Pieta House Charity. Meara said that the night-time events had been the most successful out of the week. Monday nights Karnival at the Lost Society saw the place sold out completely with a huge crowd in attendance and free Mardi Gras beads given to everyone upon arrival. Tuesdays paint party at The Big Tree was messy but a complete success with everyone getting thoroughly covered in paint. As Europes largest paint party it was much more than a few paint stripes on your face. Wednesday saw the DIT stars turn out in force for the DIT All Stars in The Pint.
Photo Courtesy of DITSU Events

Dirne Black

National Gallery displays Yeats for free

For all you art lovers (especially those of you who are broke) this is the perfect event. The National Gallery of Ireland displays 205 sketchbooks amounting to about 10,000 individual sketches by Jack B. Yeats. This exhibition will feature a selection of Yeatss sketchbooks spanning 50 years of the artists career. This event is free of charge and the gallery is open 9.30 5.30, Monday Saturday, with extended opening hours to 8.30 on Thursdays. It is also open on Sundays from 12 5.30.

Dine in Dublin
Dine in Dublin, returns again on Monday 25 February to Sunday 3 March to celebrate the fantastic food offering in Dublins city centre. The week-long event promotes city centre dining and showcases offerings of city centre eateries through fantastic value meals, specials offers, and great events. Special offers include Starbucks offering free samples every day and TGI Fridays offering 20 meal deals.

Will Meara, DITSU Vice President for Events at the RAG Charity Week 2013 Paint Party

Wizard of Oz musical to amaze this spring

The famous no place like home musical is bound for the Mill Theatre, performed by the Stillorgan Musical Society. Following the sell-out success of Footloose in 2010, Stillorgan Musical Society return this spring with The Wizard of Oz. The well-known story of Dorothy and the land of Oz is directed by Emma-Jane Reilly and tickets are between 15 and 20

Seasoned professional DJ for both 98fm and Spin1038 Steven Cooper was judge on the night. Meara said that there was talent stemming from all corners of DIT with students from BIMM, The Conservatory of Music, Journalism and Mechanical Engineering amongst those taking part. The winner was recently formed band called Dukes, along with fellow band Corner Boy. Meara said was extremely happy with this event as the venue, sound and recording equipment were all provided free of charge. DIT got loved up on Valentines Day with the Formal Ball taking place in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. I questioned Meara about his decision to have the Ball there given that it appeared to be slightly out of the way for many

students. Acknowledging my question, Meara informed me that the venue was the only hotel that would allow them to have the room for free. This decision paid off in long term paid as they were able to go the extra mile on items champagne and chocolate fountains, along with bands. Free booze and chocolate on Valentines, well done Meara, catering for us all. Meara went on to say that there had been a great crowd in attendance at the Ball with an electric atmosphere. At 15 a ticket it was the cheapest formal Ball, and with buses going to and from the venue it appears students got their moneys worth. Mearas highlight for the week was the fact that students took it upon themselves to do something for RAG Charity Week. He commented how students had been

using their initiative with two girls from Kevin Street being handcuffed together for 48hrs, another student consulting a Magic 8 Ball for everything/decision he made that day, and another girl doing a flip for every euro she received. Overall Meara was really happy with how RAG Charity Week went. He said there was much more engagement this year and has had a lot of positive feedback. There appears to be not only a lot of talent in DIT but also a pool of creative, innovative, willing and eager students. Fair to say that RAG Charity Week was a success, and while the total amount of cash raised for Pieta House is unknown yet, we here at the Edition will bring you the total figure in due course.

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19

Trailer Park Boys come to town

Havoc sure to follow
Ricky, Bubbles and Julian give Luke Holohan some dodgy advise on surviving college

CULTURE

he boys are back in town. Or at least they will be when Bubbles, Julian and Ricky roll into Dublins Olympia Theatre on 8 May. Theyll be here to school people on drugs, alcohol and their dangers, I think. To fulfil a court order the Trailer Park Boys are back on tour, taking their popular comedic tales of misadventure from Sunnyvale Trailer Park, Nova Scotia all the way across the Atlantic Lake. Calling from Rickys beat up 1975 Chrysler New Yorker or shitmobile, the haphazard felons let me in on what to expect this time around. They even had wise words for the students of DIT. The Community Service Variety Show is part of your latest tour but what did you guys do to get a community order in the first place? Bubbles- Ricky did some things as usual, telling the police to F off and stuff like that. Ricky I may or may not have been pooping on the front step of the police station, I cant remember. Bubbles Ricky shit on the police department steps. We had been drinkin and smoking.

What can people expect from the show? I heard it involves puppets... Bubbles Yes theres a puppet element to it for sure. Im running the show and I want to do some puppet stuff and teach people about liquor and drugs. Im hopefully going to blast myself out of a cannon too. Yeah, I bought a cannon from the circus people and Id like to use it. Whats your favourite thing about Ireland? Ricky The people, man. People love their drink over there, theyre just like us. I like those crazy dark beers. Bubbles Its called Guinness, Ricky! The third movie instalment for Trailer Park Boys was announced late last year, how is that progressing? Ricky Well as soon as the guys get a hold of us were going to begin shooting next month. I think well be starting March 18th. Youll have to wait and see. I heard a rumour that the new movie will be based around you guys setting up a TV internet network, is that true? Julian Ye bubbles is going to be running that sort of stuff. Were not quite sure what will happen.

Bubbles Aw, yeah, Im still trying to work that out right now. Julians trying to get his fingers in there and make it into a money making thing but I just want to get on there and play some music, talk to the fans. Id love to do a cat show. Students are always struggling financially. Do you guys have any ideas on how to make quick and easy money? Julian Scams. Oh man, there are all kinds of scams but it depends on what youre good at. If youve got guts you can just rob anything. Id say for students the best thing to do is break into lockers and sell school equipment, thats always easy money. The Pope recently resigned. Who would you like to see as the next one? Julian Id like to see a chick become Pope. Bubbles Aw come on Julian, you cant have a stripper as a Pope. Julian Id like to see Jenny McCarthy become Pope. Shes a little older you know? Shes had a lot of bangs in her life and she has beautiful tits. Bubbles Yeah, thats always a prerequisite for a Pope, Julian.

Ricky you tend to sleep in cars while on the trailer park. Whats your favourite type of car to sleep in? Ricky I love sleeping in big old cars. I like sleeping in early seventies Chrysler New Yorkers with five cigarette lighters and four ash trays. They are just beautiful pieces of machinery with big back seats for banging and sleeping. Do you guys have any wise words for the students of DIT? Ricky If youre not doing that well in school or college dont worry about it, because you can still grow up to be successful like me. Bubbles Thats terrible advice. Id say the opposite to that. Just try to get through school somehow. Julian Fuck it. You can do alright on your own. My parents left me when I was like seven and Im okay. Im kind of like a successful business man. The Trailer Park Boys will be taking their unique views on stage live at the Olympia Theatre on 8 May. Tickets are 30 or 31 including booking fee if you order via Ticketmaster.ie

Aw come on Julian, you cant have a stripper as a Pope.

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SPORT

DIT reach Sigerson finals

DIT defeated NUI Maynooth 2-10 to 1-07 Final chance for Fresher All Ireland champions to win Sigerson
medal. Opportunities like this dont come around twice so you just have to take your chance when it comes. The team this year has been boosted by the arrival of Kerry forward Darran O Sullivan and Kildare forward Toms O Connor. Its a massive opportunity and the team is coming off the back of winning the Div 1 league and a decent OByrne Cup campaign which saw victories over Wexford, Carlow IT before succumbing to Kildare by three points. That form has been carried into the Sigerson Cup where they defeated NUIG in a rain soaked Galway followed by a hard fought quarter final win over Maynooth last week. Despite this, their Semi Final opponents on Friday, DCU, will be installed as favourites. DCU won the competition last year and had 10 points to spare against DIT last year in the quarter final. They have an array of stars that ironically include two former DIT All-Ireland winning freshers from 2008, in Dublins Paul Flynn and Longfords Michael Quinn. Paul Flynn was awarded the college All-Star for DIT when DIT last played in the Sigerson cup final in 2009. He was in second year at the time. So the two teams will be quite familiar with each other. The club is sending a bus down on Friday morning to Athlone for anyone who would like to come and support the lads. The first game is at 12:45 p.m. If interested text Herbie on 087-2245507

GAA

Billy OLoughlin
DIT defeated NUI Maynooth 2-10 to 1-07 in the quarter final of the Sigerson Cup to reach the finals weekend in Athlone IT this week. DIT have only made the Sigerson Weekend three times in their entire history. The last time they made it was four years ago in 2009 down in Cork, where they lost out in the final to CIT. The scarcity of Sigerson final appearances wont have gone unnoticed by the DIT players and they will relish a chance to play at the Third level Blue riband tournament for the first time. Some of the top young footballers from around the country will be playing down in Athlone this weekend. DIT will face DCU, the tournament favourites and current holders, in the opening semi final. The other semifinal will see tournament hosts Athlone IT pitted against UCC. The DIT squad this year is quite strong. It is backboned by the 2010 All-Ireland Fresher winning team, all now in their final year. Team Captain Colin Walshe hopes his team mates from that campaign can bring the winning mentality to this one. Myself, Aidan O Shea, Conor Walsh, Shane O Connor, Bernard Panda Allen and Ciarn Reddin were all first years together when we won the Fresher AllIreland title back in 2010. Three years on we are all in final year so for a lot of us this is our final chance to win a Sigerson

DIT v St Marys Football photos courtsey of DIT Sports office

Conor Cronin and Louise Whyte

Junior Footballers College in Fitzgibbon cup in Leinster Final quarter finals v for second year Mary Immaculate College in a row
DITs second half performance was arguably the best that the team have played in a long time. They began to dominate in the midfield and soon, all over the pitch. The players of the institute owned the ball for long periods of the half and began to score at ease, scoring 8 points on the trot. In the end, DIT ran out winners by four points. Now its up to the junior footballers to see if they can go all the way to winning the All Ireland for the second year in the row. In other DIT GAA news, DIT Camogie Team represented the College in the Purcell Cup Shield Final against Queens University Belfast in Limerick on Saturday afternoon. It was a tough match between the two sides but Queens had the edge over the Dublin College. DIT scorers were Joelenne Hoary 0-3, Aideen Naughton 0-1. Final score Queens 1-12 DIT 0-4.

Frankie Power
DIT Fitzgibbon hurlers faced Mary Immaculate College in the Fitzgibbon cup quarter final stages yesterday. DIT had home advantage after coming top of the initial group beating University of Limerick and St. Pats of Drumcondra. The match took place in Parnells GAA club in Coolock. This is the venue that the DIT team have been training at since November and where they saw off the challenge of UL. Mary Immaculate drew their first fixture and recorded an impressive away win against GMIT in their last game which was enough to book a spot in the quarter finals. Strong performances from Declan Hannon, John Conlon and Luke OFarrell helped Mary Immaculate draw with UCC in the first round and then book their quarter final spot, seeing off the challenge of

DIT Junior Footballers are into the Leinster final after beating UCD in the semi-finals. The final score was DIT 1-16 to UCD 1-12. The match was the second time in less than two weeks that these teams had met each other. The first day saw the match end in a draw. The match looked to be going UCDs way until Ronan Brophy got a late equalising point in injury time, to force a replay. The second day started the exact same as the first, with two monsters of a midfield winning a lot of the ball around the middle of the park. UCD were well on top of us at this stage and it looked as if they could pull away and win quite comfortably. DIT went into half-time only five points down.

GMIT with a score-line of 2-14 to 1-8. DIT faced UL in the first round beating them by a goal thanks to David Treacy. The score-line was 1-15 to 15 points. DIT showed more passion and work-rate throughout the game and played with a never-say-die attitude securing a first win. The following week DIT saw off the challenge of St. Pats Mater Dei with a score-line of 1-16 to 1-12. There were strong performances from the backs and Stephen OConnor in midfield. We will be hoping to keep an unbeaten record and overcome Mary Immaculate to secure a semi-final spot in Galway. Training has been going well with Joe, Dwain and Eimear putting in some great sessions to prepare for the match and hopefully a successful Fitzgibbon weekend in Galway. Training since November, the team has grown a strong bond among players and

managers and the mood at training has been a positive one. This years Fitzgibbon weekend takes place in Galway with GMIT hurling club to host the cup for the first time. Over 500 students from over 14 different third level institutions are expected to take part over the weekend. The final of the cup will be televised on TG4 on Saturday March 2nd. However, Mary Immaculate is the matter in hand at the moment and DIT will be ready for battle on Tuesday. We know a Fitzgibbon weekend doesnt come easy and are prepared for a fight on Tuesday with the Limerick College.

This article was written before the match was concluded. Check out our The Edtion Facebook page, facebook/ edition.ie to see the result of the match.

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21

rsne Wenger- the name says it all. The French tactician has embodied Arsenal football club since his arrival in September 1996, but is his once glorious reign coming to an end? The fashion in which the Gunners were dumped out of the FA Cup left a familiar afterthought. It was unnecessary. Each passing season, critics are at pains to point out that Arsenal have gone yet another year without a trophy, a record which looks certain to be extended. With their most attainable piece of silverware coming in the form of the FA Cup, Arsenal ran out of gas on their road to Wembley and it is unclear as to whether their season can be saved. Fielding eleven internationals and with a Champions League last sixteen tie midweek, it must be accepted that Wenger thought he could trust his squad. Even with their three best players on the bench in Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott, the side possessed more than enough quality to dispatch Championship dwellers Blackburn Rovers. What is more painful is that the quarter final draw handed Blackburn an away trip to Millwall. It should and had to be Arsenals. European powerhouse, Bayern Munich is the next obstacle in Arsne Wengers path to a desperately needed trophy. Similar to England, Bayern hold a healthy lead over their nearest title rivals Borussia Dortmund. A harrowing statistic for Arsenal is that Bayern have only conceded one away goal in 11 league games and possess one of the most dynamic and talented attacks in all of Europe. Considered major outsiders, Arsenal will feel a first leg lead is essential if they have any chance of

Is he only Arsne around?

After five years without a major championship win, are Arsne Wengers days at Arsenal numberd, wonders James Hopper
conquering Europe, however unlikely. Eight years for a major team in England to go trophy less is unheard of, more so that the same manager would oversee that barren period. Selling the clubs best players, year on year without buying replacements of adequate quality has left this Arsenal side on a steep descent. Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and, perhaps most importantly, Robin Van Persie have all left the club. Barring a Manchester City revival, all of those mentioned will have honours to their name in their maiden season after leaving the club. There are rumours of discontent among the Arsenal hierarchy in how Wenger conducts the clubs transfer plans. Wenger has been credited with keeping the side competitive since their move to the Emirates stadium back in 2006, while having to spend wisely. However, the club has since emerged to be rich in capital, but it is at the disposal of a stubborn and unerring figure. The club insist that there is money to spend should the manager want it, but the culture of profit before success has seemed to

SPORT

63 year old Arsne Wenger is Arsenals longest serving manager, bringing the club 11 trophies since 1996

have had a significant impact on Wenger. The once abrasive and intimidating manager has swapped trophies for healthy bank balances and a limited squad. The fact that the Frenchman considers fourth place a trophy is a glaring admission of settling. The union of these two Arsenes could reach an end this summer. It was thrilling while it lasted.

Grand Slam is Englands to lose

Darragh Mowlds
Sports Editor
Irelands walking wounded will have to pick themselves up and put in a big performance against a newly confident Scottish side in order for them to get the campaign back on track. Simon Zebo will definitely be missing the crunch match after breaking his foot in the defeat to England. Ireland may also be without fly half Johnny Sexton who is in a race against time to recover from a hamstring injury that forced him off in the last game. Luckily for Declan Kidney, his former captain Brian O Driscoll will be available for the game after the new father shook off the knock he picked up against England. This campaign was always seen as being make or break for Declan Kidneys reign as Irish coach. The decision to make Jamie Heaslip captain of the side looks all the more risky now that the Leinster number 8s form has dipped so dramatically. Heaslip will need to re-find the form that earned him his reputation as one of the worlds best in order to come out of the Six Nations with some credibility. Irelands discipline has been their downfall once again this season. We picked up two sin bins in the opening game, surely that should have sent alarm bells ringing? Cian Healeys citing after the England game really cemented it as one of the worst days in Irish rugby in recent years. His deserved three week ban rules him out of the Scotland and France matches. He is a huge loss for Ireland as their scrum is guaranteed to come under a lot of pressure particularly against the French. The Scots come into the test in Murrayfield on the back of an outstanding 34-10 victory against Italy. In what looked like it would another barren year for the Scottish, their impressive display in their last outing may be a sign of things to come from them. For Ireland, all is not lost. There is a very real possibility that someone will tell the French before the England game that the tournament has started. They can destroy any team on their day but unfortunately for them and their fans that day doesnt happen consistently enough. Right now its Englands tournament to lose but the British media has hyped the team so much that if it all goes wrong they have an awful long way to fall. As of right now they are the best team in the tournament if only by default. The only truly great performances thus far have been Irelands first half destruction of Wales and Italys victory over France. Thats it! As tournaments go, its been fairly disappointing and not one that deserves a grand slam.

DIT get to final 16 of pool intervarsities

Brian McLean
This years Pool Intervarsitys was once again held in Dundalk with DIT being strongly represented as usual by a record breaking five teams. The Pool Intervarsitys are the largest Pool event in the Country with over 210 participants making up 40 teams from 20 different institutions. DIT A team of Brian Mclean (Capt.), Richie Duffy, Kevin Leavey, Wayne Doyle and Shane Russell were hotly tipped to do well and they didnt disappoint. After a tough draw against ITB A they topped their group and proceeded to dispatch their next two opponents DKIT A and DCU A 6-2. The semi-final was against the defending Champions NUIG A, captained by the top player in the country Stephen Dempsey (Winner of the Individual) and went to a final frame decider at 5-5. In a very close contest Duffy beat Dempsey to bring DIT to their first final in ten years. In the final DIT faced ITB A their adversaries from the group who got off to a lighting start and led 5-1 after a series of tired mistakes by DIT and eventually ran out 8-2 winners. Fatigue was clearly a factor in DITs collapse in the final have had 3 tough matches before-hand. The A wasnt the only success of the weekend with four of the five DIT teams making the last 16 of the main event, a first in the competitions history. Well done to all the players especially Kevin Leavey who got to the last thirty two in the singles and Brian Mclean who was the MVP (Most Valuable Player) with 13/15 frames for the team event.

22

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23

Life of a sports journalist: Miguel Delaney

From Champions League finals and World Cups to interviewing Premier League managers, Miguel Delaneys 16 year old self would be proud, Ryan Nugent finds

SPORT
Photo courtesy of Miguel Delaney

Sporting History
Liam Kennedy
20 February
1976 Muhammad Ali KOs Jean-Pierre Coopman in five rounds for the Heavyweight boxing title

21 February

1995 Arsenal sacked manager George Graham after it was revealed that he had accepted illegal payments from an agent in return for signing two of the agents players. 1967 Celtic FC and Greek forward Georgios Samaras celebrates his 28th birthday.

22 February

1991 Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish resigns from his post, following a five and a half spell in which he guided the club to three league titles and two FA cups. 2006 Australian national soccer teams first match as an official member of the Asian Football Confederation. The game was against Bahrain and the Socceroos triumphed 3-1.
Miguel Delaney at one of the many important football finals he attended as a sports writer

23 February 24 February

2013 Man City and England Midfielder Gareth Barry turns 32-years-old. 2010 Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score a double century in One Day International cricket. He achieved this feat against South Africa .

reelance sports journalist Miguel Delaney has lived the dreams of many Irish reporters twice his age. The former DIT scholar has attended Champions League Finals, interviewed Premier League managers and reported at Europes biggest stadiums. For those reasons, there are very few people that are as well positioned to talk about life as a journalist. But why did he become one in the first place? I dont think there was ever a concrete moment where I decided I want to be [a journalist], Delany explains. Basically in school I liked English and history and I was a football nerd. So, although I was 16 filling out my CAO form, it seemed like a decent way to keep my options open. I studied in the Rathmines School of Journalism in DIT but kind of regret not studying something like English and mastering in journalism. I did it the other way around: a degree in journalism and then a Masters in politics in UCD. The Wicklow man, who has a Spanish mother (hence his first name), has as much reporting experience as some of the top writers across Britain and Ireland. But if it wasnt for a class trip while studying at DIT, Miguels writing career may not have been quite as successful. We went on a trip to the Sunday

Tribune in 4th year and only two of us actually went up to the Sports Department and spoke to the Editor, he says. He took our emails, and recognised my name from entering the Peter Ball award. They called me up in June and asked would I like to do some sub-editing twice a week. It just went from there. Delany is better known for his football pieces in a number of publications, including ESPN, the Evening Herald and the Irish Independent, but at the beginning he dabbled a bit in the Culture section of the now extinct Sunday Tribune. The typical nine to five job is rarely associated with journalism. This especially applies to freelancers as Delaney is left to his own devices, and office work is a rarity for him. Generally, there are two types of days, he enthuses. The first is when Im dispatched to something: a match, press conference or interview, and have to do something around it. The second is if Im at home, chasing up stories or writing a feature. If at an event, the timescale will very much depend on when it takes place. If, say, its a 7.45 game then its the most pressurised but, to me, the most enjoyable part of the job since youve got to get something written for bang on the final

whistle. 3pm games are a doddle though! Manchester United striker Robin van Persie conveyed to the media in the summer that he chose Old Trafford as his next destination because the child inside him was screaming Man United. Delaney has to go to the teenager inside him when describing the best memories of his career: Ultimately, I really enjoy writing about and delving into something I care about. Also, there is still a massive buzz from going to some big event. Ive now been to four Champions League Finals, a World Cup Final and two European Championship Finals. My 16-year-old self probably would have fainted at that sentence. Yet in every career or job, there are positives and negatives, but this is something that Miguel takes with a pinch of salt. You do have to be quite flexible, and personal plans can get ruined. Also, when youre forced into writing something you really dont care about or that utterly bores you... but, hey, thats the job! Ever since the English Premier League was launched in 1992, football clubs have distanced themselves from supporters and the media but, conversely, have received even more income from these outlets. So when journalists do get their weekly conference with the managers, they want answers on the weeks hottest topics and

will inevitably end up asking questions that managers wont like. Premier League managers even feel that they have authority to dismiss questions that they dont particularly like. I remember being part of a group getting cursed at by a Premier League manager for asking the wrong question, Delany recalls while refusing to reveal the managers name. Hugh Mcllvanney and Daniel Taylor were role models to Miguel Delaney while at DIT. However, he also has a more unorthadox inspiration for his work in legendary martial artist Bruce Lee. While describing the development of his writing style, he emphasises: Bruce Lee used to talk about how he would accumulate elements he liked from people and discard what he didnt and, even though you do develop your own style, I would say that happens with writing too. If you like a little trick or quirk someone uses, you may adapt it. As a writer who has certainly developed his own style that is allied with vast experience and success, theres no reason why current students shouldnt use Delaney as a role model as they make an attempt at a successful career.

25 February

1989 Mike Tyson TKOs Frank Bruno in 5 rounds for the heavyweight boxing title.

26 February

2013 Tottenham and Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor celebrates his 29th birthday.

27 February

1900 Top German soccer team FC Bayern Munich was formed. 1940 The first televised basketball game in history took place in Madison Square Garden, New York. It was won by the University of Pittsburgh who beat Fordham University 50-37.

28 February

1 March 2 March

2013 Sunderland manager Martin ONeill turns 61. 1962 Wilt Chamberlain sets the NBA record for most points scored in a single game. He scored an incredible 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a win over the New York Knicks.

Comment: Why Drico deserves a statue!

Darragh Mowlds

3 March

Sports Editor

witterers and Facebookers alike have taken a week off from talking about cats falling over on YouTube to promote the idea of Brian O Driscoll getting his own statue on Grafton Street. Generally I ignore most of whats said on Twitter for fear of catching the dumb but this idea struck me. I 100 per cent agree that the BOD deserves a statue, and I think thats not even going far enough. For all he has achieved in an Irish

jersey, if he wanted to sit at Michael D Higgins desk singing I am what I am then he should be allowed (and be given a backing track for good measure). Its probably not even an argument any more but Brian O Driscoll is one of the greatest sports stars we have ever had. O Driscoll showed the world what he could do in his demolition of the French in 2000, and he hasnt looked back. Since then he has gone on to have, as he modestly put it, a few good games. After some of his performances in the blue of Leinster and the green of Ireland, few would be surprised to hear that he also flew the plane home and discovered a

cure for cancer in his spare time. For the people who say, hes only a rugby player, why does he deserve a statue? All sweet Molley Malone did was sell cockles and muscles Alive Alive O and she has a statue. If BOD wants to announce himself as king, we should all bow our heads to our new supreme leader, hes been that good. I know rugby isnt the biggest sport over here, but without Irelands answer to David Beckham where would it be? After he was stripped of the Irish captaincy by Declan Kidney, few would criticise him if his head had dropped and his interest with it. Instead he put in a man of

the match performance against Wales in the opening weekend of the tournament. This is a testament to his character and shows how much he still has to offer. Strongly tipped as a potential Lions captain, this could be a fitting end to an outstanding career. Whether he will play on for one more season is yet to be seen, Leinster fans hope and pray for one more year but nothing lasts forever. A suitable replacement may never be found, but for now we have to appreciate what we have. Give the man a statue, itd be rude not to.

1985 American William Shoemaker becomes the first jockey to win over $100 million in prize money over the course of his career.

4 March

1995 Manchester United beat Ipswich Town 9-0 at Old Trafford. Andy Cole netted 5 times in the game and this result remains the biggest winning margin in Premier League history. 2013 Former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish, known by fans as King Kenny, turns 62-years-old.

5 March

2005 Newcastle United defeated Liverpool 1-0 at St. James Park with Frenchman Laurent Robert grabbing the winner with a magnificent free-kick.

24

THE EDITION Wednesday February 20 2013

Pool

P21

Drico statue?P23 Sigerson Cup

P20

Sporting History p23 Interview with Miguel Delaney p23

Junior Footballers reach Leinster final p20 Are Arsne Wengers glory days over? p21

Kayakers place 5th

Gareth Byrne
The University of Limerick hosted this years Kayaking Intervarsities. The competition consisted of four events: canoe polo, white-water racing, long distance racing and freestyle kayaking. These events took place over three days from the 8 10 February. This year, DIT Canoe Club, on the back of finishing 3rd last year and doing well in the Dublin Canoe Polo league this year were one of the top seeds. The team finished their group with impressive wins over GMIT (4-1), CIT (5-0) and UCC (7-0). This set up a semi-final clash with DCU. Both teams were evenly matched with former Irish U21 internationals on both teams. In what was the game of the tournament, DIT came from behind twice to lead 3 -2 in the second half. DCU scored an equaliser which set up extra time and a golden goal. James Dillon made an excellent challenge at the restart to win the ball. After a quick pass and break he got on the end of a return pass to score the winner. The final was played immediately after this match and a very tired DIT team battled hard but lost to a very strong Maynooth team 4 1. In the whitewater race, Sean Hendrick set a blistering time of 2 minutes 20 seconds to be the fastest individual down the technical course. Club captain Hugh McNally was also very impressive with his run finishing in the top ten. However on a challenging course made more difficult by the high water levels, the other members

Neil Tilley kayaking for DIT at the Intervarsities in UL, in early February

of the team, Neil Tilley and Georgia OShea found the going tough. As it was a team event, the combined overall time counted and the team finished off the pace that they would have aspired to. The club entered 12 paddlers in long distance events. In the various categories there were mixed results. In the High Performance category Tadhg OFarrell finished a respectable 8th in his very first Intervarsities. Sean Hendrick, who had equipment issues, began the race when it was five minutes old and blitzed the field to finish 12th. In the Open Canoe Category, Neil Tilley and Gearoid Jones led the race for 3 km however, the return stretch against the flow cost them but they finished in a very commendable 4th place. The final event was freestyle, which saw the excellent team of Conor Macken, Tim Kiernan, Hugh McNally and Charlie Farrell romp their way to 3rd overall. Conor and Tim were in the Mens Expert class. Hugh performed well above the standard in the Mens Sport class and Charlie improved on her standings from last year in the Womens Category. These performances saw the club attain 5th overall at the competition behind the 4 biggest college clubs. This was the highest ever position the college has achieved and is a testament to the improvements within the club over the last few years. The sponsors of the event, Pyranha Kayaks and Great Outdoors recognised this achievement and the club was awarded the inaugural Ultimate College award and got two brand new kayaks of its choice for its contribution to the competition.

Gold & Silver for Shotokan

Ciarn Boyle
The new semester began with a bang for DIT Shotokan as they travelled down to Limerick to compete in the Karate Intervarsities. For many members the intervarsities are the first taste of series competition, and a great learning opportunity looking forward to gradings later on in the year. DITs first medal of the competition was won by Jennifer Forster who won gold in Womens Senior Kata with a performance

of Goju Shi Ho Sho that left the judges in awe. Further medals were won by intermediate teams led by Pedro Da Silva in both Kata and Kumite. However, Pedro was unlucky to miss out on individual honours in Kumite. The Mens Junior team (of Cormac Chisholm, Sean Hartnett, and David Monahan) were unlucky to miss out on the medals in both Kumite and Kata with Cormac Chisholm putting together a good run in mens individual Kumite. The competition drew to a climax with the final events in Mens Senior individual

and team Kumite. DITs Ciarn Boyle opened strongly, winning his first round match with a Mawashi-geri Jodan (roundhouse kick to the head) but was knocked out in the second round by eventual bronze medallist Brian Meehan (TCD), leaving DITs Joshua Caswell as DIT remaining representative in Senior Kumite. Joshua used an amazing combination of punches sweeps and kicks as he progressed, going on to win a silver medal in the competition. The last event of the day, Senior Mens Team Kumite saw two DIT Karateka win

gold and silver medals and face off in the final as DIT Joshua Caswell beat all opponents placed in his way including DITs other senior male representative.

Medal list

Jennifer Forster, Senior Womens Kata, Gold; Senior Mens Team Kumite, Gold; Joshua Caswell, Senior Mens Kumite, Silver; Ciarn Boyle, Senior Mens Team Kumite, Silver; Intermediate team kumite, Silver; Pedro DaSilva, intermediate team kata, Bronze