DIT News May 2009 issue

Check how much money was raised for Console - page5 & who won at the Society Awards - page 14

DIT News brings you all thepictures from the fashion show -voted ‘Best Event’ at this yearsSociety Awards.Pages 15 - 18 Pages 31 & 32

DIT SPORTS AWARDSDIT Sports Awards were heldrecently. Sports section hasnews and photos from the night

May 2009

DIT TOYOTA FASHION SHOW 2009

DIT students at the Garda Siochana stand at the College Awareness of Road Safety Showcase Event held lastweek in DIT Aungier Street.

As staff and students gatheredin DIT Aungier Street lastweek for a college awareness

of road safety showcase event,special mention was given to DITstudent SimonMaher who was killedwhile driving in March.A deathly silence descended on the

crowd as everyone realised a friendand classmate to many, had becomeone of the 74 to be killed on Irishroads so far this year.Speaking at the road safety

awareness event Head of DIT

Community Links Dr. Tommy Cookesaid, “One of our first year students,Simon Maher, from the BSc Foodand Pharmaceutical Technology waskilled while driving in March thisyear. Our condolences to his family.”This was the second year in which

Students Learning WithCommunities in conjunction with theRoad Safety Unit of the GardaSiochana worked on a mulit-disciplinary project to focus attentionon the issue of raod safety.Students across disciplines in DIT

used their subject skills to exploredifferent aspects of road safety andpresented their work at the showcase.Students from Chemistry,

Marketing, Transport Management,Environmental Health, AutomotiveManagement and Technologyconducted research into road safetysurvey analysis, breath and urinealcohol analysis, research onattitudes and behaviour of learnerdrivers, and the evaluation of theearly driver programme in MondellPark to name but a few.

DIT student among74 killed on Irish roads

T2 mightnot open

This time next year Terminaltwo at Dublin Airport, or T2as it is being called, is

expected to open to the public.However an engineer involved in theproject, who is a graduate of DITBolton Street, has disclosed to DITNews that it is a possibility that T2will not open at all.Under the Dublin Airport

Authorities (DAA) TransformingDublin Airport programme the newfacilities being built will “radicallyimprove passenger comfort levelsand increase the efficiency of theairport by providing additionalaircraft parking stands andtaxiways.”The public may not get to see the

inside of T2 though due to fallingpassenger numbers, and with 600staff needed to operate T2 whencomplete it might not be costeffective to open the new terminal.David (not his real name) who is a

resident engineer with the DAA andworks on the telecoms andcommunications networksthroughout the airport said, “theairport are in a position they’re notsure what they will do with thebuilding and whether they canactually afford to open it.“It’s going to take 600 staff to run

the airport and the DAA don’t havethe money as they were basing it onan eight per cent growth on a yearlybasis and so far this year they are tenper cent down in numbers and it isexpected that will follow on.”

By: Seamus O’Neill

continued on page 3 continuedon page 4

frontpageissue9:Layout 1 28/04/2009 00:16 Page 1

DITNEWSMAY 20092 News

Editor:Seamus O’[email protected]

Entertainment Editor:Cliona [email protected]

Picture Editor:Gary [email protected]

Production & design:Seamus O’Neill

Contributors:Jayne O’Malley, Louise McHenry,Aisling Kenny,Jennifer Bannon, Cecily Quetin-Weeks, Louise Finn,Siobhan Connor, Ross Leahy, ClionaWard,Dave Sheehan, Caoimhseach Connolly,Lorna Geraghty, Gary Fox, Louise Tierney,Clare Cullen, Sandra Gaffney, Susan Ryan,Catherine Coleman, Ciara O’Halloran,Aoife O’Donnell, Rebecca Kinsella,Stephen Comiskey,AileenMiller, ThomasMaguire.

What’s hot:-Summer’s hot!! Yeah it’s finally here. While it’s not roasting hot yet, welive in hope.- Ruth Lorenzo. This Spanish diva sent DIT News weak at the knees whenwe met her recently. See page 11.- Summer equals festivals. The country comes alive to the sound of music.Whether it’s Oxygen, Slane, Eletric Picnic, Live at the Marque or theLisdoonvarna match making festival, get out and enjoy yourself!- Runaway bull in Ballinrobe SuperValu. Hilarious. Check it on Youtube.Only in Ireland and on Mart day would it happen!

- It’s bad enough we are in a recession, we’re all going to die from swine flu.Apparently.- Susan Boyle. Anybody thinking all the hype is just slightly overrated?- Eurovision. Cheesy and tacky. If you’re not a fan of the contest but are ofMoscow (where it’s taking place this year) see page 23.- RTE. What a mad place to be. If your not being kicked out the door likethe poor Seoige cailins then your up on alleged bullying charges.Sort yourselves out!

It is the policy of theDIT News to correct any inaccuracies as soonas they occur. Any corrections or clarifications will be printed in thenext edition of the newspaper.It is also the policy of the DIT News to offer the right of reply to

any person who feels aggrieved by comment or opinion containedwithin. Please forward any such comments in writing to the Editor.

Let us know what you thinkIf you have any ideas, stories or pictures, let us know!

Email: [email protected]: http://www.bebo.com/NewsS

Phone: 01 4027192

�

Meet the team...

What’s not:

As you can see from theadvertisement to the rightDIT News is indeed looking

for a new editor.As I come to the endof my year as editor it’s time to handover the reins. Anyone interested inthe job or if you want to find outmore contact Teri at:[email protected] this is my last issue I have

some people I must thank but notbefore I tell you about this issue.Inside this issue you will find all thelatest news from DIT.Making the front page is the

College Awareness of Road Safetyshowcase which was held last weekin Aungier Street. Unfortunately astudent of DIT Cathal Brugha Streetdied last month in a road accidentand is one of the 74 people killed sofar this year on Irish roads.DIT Newswas very sad to hear of this death andalso the death of another student whodied while on his Erasmus year inFrance. May they both rest in peace.It was award season for students

recently with the Smedias, the DITSociety Awards and the DIT SportAwardS all taking place recently andall covered in this issue.If you missed the DIT Toyota

Fashion Show fear not as we have allthe pics from it in our fashion spread.

DIT News was lucky enough to getan exclusive interview with X Factorcontestant Ruth Lorenzo.For morereviews and entertainment, opinionpieces, travel and health news take apeek inside. Enjoy!

So the thanks yous......Firstly to last years editor Kate

Teehan for being so helpful when Itook over last August. Also to BrianGormley at Campus Life, thesocieties crew Anita, James and Terithank you for everything.Thank you also the DIT students

union especially Mairead, Martin,Tracey and Dermot. All the best fornext year Tracey!To the sports department at DIT

thank you very much and I wish youcontinued success.Thank you to thevarious departments in DIT includingthe counselling, careers andchaplaincy service.Thank you also to the Public

Affairs office and to Melda andDonal and of course the PresidentBrian Norton.Thank you to Jimmy for some

pictures of his that have appeared inthe paper but a hugh thank you toGary Fox for his photographic helpand support. Thank you Orna,Rachael and Luc and crew for pullingtogether great fashion shoots.Most importantly thank you to

everyone who got involved andwrote for the paper. You lot are whatmake the paper and I hope morestudents get involved in the paperand help it grow and grow.Thank you. Good luck with exams

everyone and have a great summer!

HHaavvee aa ggrreeaatt ssuummmmeerr eevveerryyoonnee

Seamus O’NeillEditor

3DITNEWS MAY 2009 NEWS

Present at the event were ChiefSuperintendent Gabriel McIntyre of theGarda Traffic Corp, Gay Byrne Chairman of

the Irish Road Safety Authority, and President ofDIT Professor Brian Norton.Dr. Tommy Cooke said: “We are celebrating

your achievements in terms of your own thoughtsin how we reduce deaths on the road and perhapsin different ways inform policy within theauthority and Government thinking. It iswonderful to see some of the research that hasbeen done by DIT students.”Gay Bryne also expressed is gratitude to the

students for the time and effort they had put intotheir projects.Commenting on the number of people who have

died so far on our roads this year. Mr. Byrne said,“it is a frightening figure.”While he hates talking about it in terms of a

“football league of death” he said we are makingprogress. The figure at the time of last weeks eventwas 69 and while Mr. Byrne pointed out that “69is a shocking figure it is 20 less than at this timelast year.”While Chief Superintendent Gabriel McIntyre

believes “the projects and initiatives that are goingon here help contribute to the reduction of roaddeaths.”Aware of the audience he was preaching to Mr.

Byrne highlighted that of the 69 killed so far, athird of those were between the ages of 17 and 24.

He advised the students to “think on.”He also addressed the problem of young male

drivers who he said are 86% more likely to have afatal accident if they are carrying two of hiscontemporaries in his car.In order to continue to reduce the numbers killed

on our roads Mr. Byrne believes we need a newdriving test. In his own personal opinion he saidthe current driving test is “not worth the paper it’swritten on.”“The problem up to now was that driver

instructors have not been teaching people how todrive they have been teaching people how to passthe test,” he said.The RSA are now working on a new driving test

which will be a more extended and more difficulttest. Hinting at what people can expect with thenew test Mr. Bryne said, “there might beconsiderable restrictions imposed on people suchas a curfews for maybe the first six months afterpassing your test. A limited on the size of theengine in your car and a limit on who you maycarry in the car with you.”“Where we are trying to get to is that if you have

this driving permit you would be ten times over afool to do anything which would lose it for you,”he said.

From page 1

The Union of Students in Ireland had theirannual national congress on the 5th April2009, in Bettystown, County Meath. In

preparation for this each C.O. (constituentorganization) submitted up to ten motions each.For Dublin Institute of Technology, we

submitted ten motions. Of which were foureducation motions, four union organisationalmotions and two equality motions. These motionswere submitted by the DIT governing council. Allour ten motions passed and are therefore in the USIconstitution\policy book for the next five years.There were elections for the new USI

officerboard for the upcoming year, on Monday6th April. Martin Dunne (DITSU president) was

nominated for the position of USI president,however he withdrew his nomination the previousnight.He still collected 28 votes on Monday as he was

still on the ballot sheet. Peter Mannion was electedpresident of USI by default.DIT gained several nominations for awards at

the gala dinner on the final night. Darren Bates andJayne O’Malley were nominated for “Best virginspeaker”. Darren Bates (DIT Bolton St.) won.Jen Jordan, our upcoming DITSU vice-

president, was nominated for “Best angry female”,quite a comical award actually. Lorna Geraghty(DITSU Rathmines) was nominated for “Bestfemale speaker”. And Martin Dunne received a

nomination for “Best quote” award for hispassionate saying “I wrote it, I like it, so vote forit!”.We also got through all the submitted motions

and emergency motions in a record of two and ahalf days. However this reflects on the fact thatthere was a few too many “9As” throughoutcongress this year, so we didn’t get to debateeverything.However the majority of our delegates got to

speak and voiced their opinions very well. Thiscontributed to us winning “Best UniversityDelegation”. That was the true highlight for allinvolved.

DIT win Best University Delegation at CongressJayne O’Malley reports from the USI Congress in Bettystown for DIT News.

Above: Chairman of the Road SafetyAuthority Gay Byrne speaks at the road safetyevent last week.

Above: There’s one for everybody in the audience. Gay Bryne presents a DITstudent with a new bike sponsored by Dublin City Council and which wasraffled off at the road safety event last week.Left: A DIT student examines the projects which were on display at the roadsafety showcase event.

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4 DITNEWSMAY 2009NEWS

When allfacilitiesunder the

Transforming plan iscomplete the airport willhave the capacity tohandle up to 35 millionpassengers but with anailing economy andfewer people travellingplans might have tochange.

According to David theDAA have a few options.“They can open T2 underthe original plan and putinternational flightsthrough T2 and use T1 forcommuter flights to the UK and then they weregoing to do up terminal one,” he said.

“They were pretty much going to close T1 as it’spretty old and is due a facelift. The building wasbuilt in the 70s and it’s completely outdated.

“Their choices, now the economy is going down,is to either do that and leave T1 and don’t go nearit. Or else they can mothball T2, finish the buildingbut don’t open it and keep on running with T1.”

David believes it really comes down to theamount of staff they need to put in to open theplace. “600 additional staff and with the numbersgoing through at the moment it’s just not costeffective to do it,” he said.

Whatever decision is made regarding the newterminal it won’t be made until 2010. He said.“While the DAA are saying everything is hunkydory they are really going to have to make a call onthis.”

This comes on the heels of the latestannouncement from the DAA that they may beforced to cuts jobs across Dublin, Cork andShannon airports in order to save €25 million.

With profits for 2008 down by 28% andpassenger numbers down for the first time since1991 the future of T2 is very uncertain.

The decision will also be a political one and thefuture of terminal two could mean politicalsuicide. As David explained, “The whole projectis two billion euro, which includes development ofthe runway. So it would be political suicide tospend that much money on a building and then notuse it.”

David also highlighted that the new terminal will“probably not” be completed by the deadline ofApril 2010. While his own section is on scheduleand on budget the overall project is behindschedule.

The DAA divided the project up into 18contracts, a delay in one sector often leads todelays in other areas.

Some contractors as it turns out would be happyif the terminal was delay as David explained.“They (the DAA) want to achieve their deadlinebut you will find that with a lot of the contractorsand with the slowdown in the economy they don’thave other jobs to go on to.

“So they are not enthusiastic to do nightwork andweekend work. They want the job to last and to iton a nine to five basis cause they have no other

projects to go on to. That is causing a delay ascontractors just aren’t as keen to get it complete,”he said.

The hassle of working airside is a lot of securitychecks and paperwork and permits. To get anywork done David explained planning is hugelyimportant.

Graduating from DIT Bolton Street with adegree in Civil and Structural Engineering heemerged into a boom period and worked with MCIWorldcom and Vodafone in Australia and nowworks with a specialist telecoms consultancy inIreland.

David believes, “Bolton Street engineers, withinthe industry, would be considered more suitablefor actual on-site engineering.

“When I am interviewing for staff on-site I liketo see Bolton Street people cause they have agreater understanding of the practical surveyingrather than Trinity engineers who would be verymuch theory and office design based,” he said.

However David does acknowledge the futurelooks bleak for engineering graduates and he doesnot see the good times coming back very soon.

“Certainly in Ireland it will never go back to theway it was,” he believes. “It was a boom periodand I can’t see that kind of development comingback in my lifetime. People were throwing moneyat projects and that’s not going to come back.”

His advice to graduates is to maybe travel andwork and gain experience that way.

Of his class in Bolton Street he said, “90% ofpeople in my course went on to work within theindustry but 50% of the people I know have eitherlost their jobs or are on a three day week.”

David thinks he is lucky as he specialised intelecoms and there is still some work there.

“The Governement are investing in telecomsbecause broadband is a must and we are milesbehind the times with broadband. There is stillmoney being put into that area,” he said.

With regard to the new terminal at DublinAirport and whether it opens or not David is proudto be working on one of the biggest projects inIreland at the moment.

“What we have done so far in the airport is aquality product. I sign off in terms of quality of theproduct. Anything that is being put in there I amhappy that it is of a good standard and quality andI would stand by it,” he said.

From page 1

Above: Terminal Two at Dublin Airport is finally taking shape howeverthe future of the €2 billion building is uncertain. For many students the Easter break is two

weeks to simply chill out in the midst ofcollege madness (or to catch up with that

madness should term-time laziness be youraffliction).

However for some DIT students the holidaysprovide the time to partake in some interestingextracurricular activities.

Kudos to Charlotte, a French Erasmus studentstudying at Aungier Street, who somehowmanaged to do a road trip around every single oneof the 32 counties. She may have beenexaggerating but we believed her!

An honourable mention to Conail who wouldn’ttell us which campus he was at but who spent timein England practising for the Three PeaksChallenge. This charity hike in June involvesclimbing the three highest mountains/hills inmainland Britain – we’re impressed!

For this reporter, Easter was spent the way it hasbeen since I was born – and I’m sure there areplenty of other DIT students who know thesituation.

Springtime is lamb time on McHenry farm andas the years go by I find it a little difficult toreconcile the two aspects of my character. There’sthe one that would like to think she’s a streetwisecity chick. Then there’s the other one who hasspent many a moment covered in gooey afterbirthand iodine spray wondering how a farmer’sdaughter could be allergic to both wool and hay.

Still watery eyes and a permanent smell of sheeparen’t the worst things in the world especiallywhen you have cute baby lambs skipping about.

A leg of lamb for Sunday dinner may seem a bitcallous when you’re feeding the live version withmilk shortly after but it’s important to support

Easter: an eggcitingtime for some DITstudents

Louise McHenry caught up withstudents around campus and foundsome interesting stories about theirEaster vacations.

Mint sauce anyone? Louise McHenry on thefarm with Imelda.

5DITNEWS MAY 2009 News

When the editor of DIT News suggested Iinterview Paul Duffy, a postgraduateresearcher in the School of

Manufacturing and Design Engineering in BoltonStreet who is off to California to a SpaceUniversityI thought now what on earth do I know aboutspace?

Like everyone else I knew a bit about the planetsand like every girl, I read my horoscope everyweek, but that was about it. But I thought, hey, Icould learn something from this guy.

So off I went to Java City in Bolton Street tomeet Paul. I wondered would he be a genius, aspace nerd or is he just an ordinary clever guy?

Turns out he is a really ordinary nice guy whojust happens to be really clever and very intelligentand passionate about space.

Aisling: So, Paul have you always beeninterested in space?Paul: I've always had a mild interest in space, butit's only in the last few years that I've really takenan active interest in it.

A: How did you become interested was itthrough TV programmes such as Star Trek orDr who?P: I suppose from watching programs on the T.V.

about space initially and maybe reading the oddbook or two. Didn't get into it from watching StarTrek or things like that!

A: What does the course involve?P: It's got a very broad syllabus. There's lecturesmost days on aspects of aerospace from thetechnical to the political. And there is a series ofevening lectures by industry professionals rangingfrom administrators to astronauts. Also there arepractical classes which can involve anything fromscuba diving to dissecting a heart. Finally there's agroup project and exams as well.

A: How many people will be taking part?P: There will be about eighty of us from all overthe world. The Space studies programme is run bythe International Space University which is theeducation arm of the Canadian Space agency, it'llbe held in the Nasa Ames in California.

A: Will the course be difficult - will you have tostudy hard or will it be fun?P:It'll be a bit of both I suspect. They do run a fewfun events and stuff like that so it won't be allstudy.

A: How useful will the programme be in yourfuture career? Could you become anAstronautmaybe?P: (laughs) No it's not as easy as that to become anastronaut. There will be some exercises to give usthe feel for what it would be like to be in space.

For example they weight you down in water soyou don't sink or rise - that's the way astronautstrain. They also give you hearts to dissect to showthe effects of weightlessness on the body. But interms of my future? well it depends on what I wantto do really. The course itself is well recognizedwithin the aerospace industry and it can also leadonto a Master's Degree.

A: How long are you going for?P: The course lasts from the end of June to the endof August.

A:Where do you see yourself in ten years time?P: Hopefully happy and finished college. IdeallyI'd like to be working in aerospace so probably inEurope or America wherethe main industry is.

A: Are you the first DIT student to do thiscourse?P: No, the second, last year Mark Wiley, a formerDIT student, headed off to Barcelona to completethe same course. He absolutely loved it; I hope myexperience will be as enjoyable.

DIT News wishes you the best of luck.Paul: Thanks I'm looking forward to it.

Paul's trip will be sponsored by the EuropeanSpace Agency, Enterprise Ireland, along with theManufacturing and Design Engineeringdepartment at DIT Bolton Street.

DIT student over the moon about US space course

Aisling Kenny met Paul Duffy who isoff to attend a Space University in Juneand found out what exactly he will begetting up to.

DIT RAG Week has come and gone foranother year. This year saw DIT studentsraise €12,000 for Console, the charity

chosen by the students to benefit.Given the current economic climate, this was no

mean feat. People are simply not as quick to partwith any amount of money at the moment. Thisdidn't stop over 100 DIT students volunteering totake part in the Street Collection in Templebar onthe Tuesday of RAG Week.

This, on top of the Sponsored Swim at the 40ft,the bungee jump and all the usual student ideas andnotions that they got sponsored for all amountedto €12,000.

There are also DIT students who are still fundraising on behalf of Console, and are partaking inevents over the summer, so there will be somemore money raised that way also.

Aside from all the fund-raising, there was theusual mix of daytime entertainment across thevarious DIT sites as well as 3 big night-timeevents.

The Coronas saw Dandelion packed on aMonday night – a first, we're sure – and they didn'tdisappoint, despite having a 5am flight to Japanthe following morning to look forward to!

The RAG Ball on Tuesday night featured DirtyEpics, Fight Like Apes, Hystereo, Le Galaxie,Bluemoose (of course) as well as DIT DJ Soc.

It was a savage gig and, with the exception ofBluemoose, the line-up was a little bit more left ofcentre than the types of acts that would haveplayed DIT RAG Balls in recent years. With this inmind, the huge attendance was a fantastic resultand bodes well for similar gigs in the future.

The 'Surprising Success of the Week' award hasto go to the Farmers Night in the Big Tree on the

Wednesday. The place was jam-packed and we hadto turn hundreds and hundreds of people awayduring the course of the night. With hay, tractors,messing and Revenge keeping the place rocking,it's fair to see the Farmers Night returned with abang and will undoubtedly feature again in thefuture!

With all the negative publicity surrounding RAGWeeks around the country this year, it was veryencouraging to see DIT students put in a massiveeffort on behalf of their chosen charity, enjoy theevents organised, and not make headlines bygetting themselves arrested. Nicely done.

DIT RAG Week raises€12,000 for Console

Above: Ah go on, give us some money it’s forcharity. DIT students collecting the cash.

Above: DIT students hit the streets of Dublincollecting money for Console during RAGWeek.

6 News DITNEWSMAY 2009

Athird year student of InternationalBusiness and Languages at DIT diedduring his Erasmus year in France.

Joseph Kett, or known to his friends and familyas Joey, died in France on the 15th March this year.The 22 year-old student from Navan was in his

Erasmus year and was studying in the Universitede Bourgogne in Dijon, eastern France.Sr. Mary Flanagan of the Chaplaincy Service in

DIT said, “it is a very traumatic experience foreveryone. We are dealing with the family. Anydeath is a sad event.”Head of the School of Languages Helene

Conway said there was no foul play involved andwent on to describe Joey as a “great character, fullof life and motivated.”She said Joey loved his Erasmus year in France

and had “enrolled in all sorts of clubs there.”Helene paid tribute to the Irish Embassy in

France who was very helpful. She said everyoneis still in shock, “you don’t believe you’re goingto die in your twenties.”Josianne Deloire who taught Joey French

language and culture in his first and second yearand was his academic supervisor this year said,“He came from a lovely family and had one sisterand two brothers.”She described Joey as a “lovely person, always

happy, with always a smile on his face. He wasvery much loved by his peers. Everybody ischocked, very upset and distraught.”

DIT News understands all the third year Erasmusstudents in France were flown back to attend thefuneral, coming from colleges and universities allover France.

DIT News also understands counselling wasoffered to students and staff right from the start.DIT, the School of Languages, the Student Union,the Counselling service, and the Chaplaincy alloffered psychological support. Financial help wasprovided by the Student Union.Representatives from DIT, the Faculty of

AppliedArts, the School of Languages, the Facultyof Business, the Chaplaincy, the Counsellingservice and the International Office attended thefuneral. The University of Dijon was alsorepresented.

College inshockover deathof studentin France

April started with a resounding pop as thechampagne bottles were corked, sprayingthe tangy spritz of sweet victory over a

lapping crowd of zealous students. The gala tookplace in Dublin’s popular hang, the MansionHouse, but even the ritzy decadence of the summitdidn’t manage to dissuade DIT students frommaking a splash in the pond.Collecting four awards on the night was just the

beginning, as DITstudents roared theirundying solidarity withRay Foley, past studentand host of the event.To say the night

descended intodebauchery would beputting it lightly but theresounding feeling amongthose present from DITwas that it could havebeen even better.Despite having a

fantastic media arts schoolhere at DIT, the number ofentries made to theSmedia awards wasdisappointing to say theleast. The Smedia’s offeran opportunity for alljournalism students, frombroadcast to print, fromphoto to film, to shine likethe stars they are.According to the editor of the Oxygen website,

Jack Horgan-Jones, whoco-ordinated the awards,the number of DIT studentsapplying for awards was’surprisingly low’ for acollege with such a highcalibre base for highquality journalism. Is it alack of interest or a lack ofknowledge in the awardswhich resulted in such apoor number of entriesfrom the college?Photojournalists here at

DIT were certainly veryaware of the awards.Collecting a total of four onthe night, there were alsomany others from thecollege that were eithershort listed or nominated.The photographydepartment here is certainly highly competent, but

so too is the journalism school, which offersstudents of all interests an opportunity to spreadtheir creative wings.The awards are an amazing way for students to

gain recognition for all their hard work throughoutthe year and the opportunity that the awards givesto students to network is one that should not bepassed up. We have the talent on tap, so why notavail of the opportunities when they are staring usin the face?Following a bout of stichomythic exchange with

the reverend Ray Foley, I decided to get histhoughts on why DIT students were not lining upfor these coveted media awards.“As a former student of DIT, I really think it’s a

shame that students don’t make the most of theopportunity that is offered by these awards. There

is a lot of talent on campus,it seems like a waste!”Nodding my head inagreement, I gentlybeckoned to a fellowstudent to come to myassistance in grabbing acouple of bottles of selectMerlot from the celebritytable.These awards are wide

open and waiting forstudents to enter. Not onlyis it a great way to get yourname out there, but it isalso a really good chance tomeet fellow minded peers,something which brings outa solidarity that I had notexperienced at DIT before.All it takes is willingness

and enthusiasm. And, asthat night proved, DIT students are flush with both.

Winner takes it allAs the DIT photography students cleanup at the Smedia awards,Jennifer Bannon is left wonderingwhere are all the journalists?

Above: Celebrating their success as the Smedia Awards are from left,Ronan Johns, Peter Murray and Rob O’Connor who won NewsPhotographer of the Year, Photographer of the Year and SportsPhotographer of the Year respectively.

“I really thinkit’s a shame thatstudents don’t

make the most ofthe opportunitythat is offered bythese awards.There is a lot of

talent on campus,it seems like

a waste”



As the economic doom and gloom continuesto affect everyone in the country, studentslike everyone else are feeling the pinch

and are struggling to fund their student lives.Since the downturn began, it appears that banks

are more reluctant to part with cash for loans tohard-pressed students. According to the ChaplainService at DIT Rathmines more and more studentsare coming to them seeking emergency fundingafter being turned down for a loan.

With thousands of people losing their jobs eachweek, part-time jobs are no longer two a penny –some students can’t even afford basics likegroceries. Some International students have had toreturn home because they can’t afford basicamenities.

At the start of the college year, Aoife Murray(not her real name) a student at DIT in AungierStreet was turned down for a loan by her bank. “Iapplied for the loan for the first time in August,and initially everything seemed fine I was onlylooking for two grand says Aoife, but when theunderwriter got back to me, they said, “no” theywould not be giving me a loan”.

I was very disappointed; I’m in my final year. Ireally did not want to have to get a job, I’ve loadsof college work on, and I just don’t have the timeto work”. “To be honest,” says the student “Withthe recession, I probably won’t even be able to geta job”.

According to the Chaplain Service in DIT,Rathmines, students are constantly bemoaning thefact that banks are much slower to hand outmoney. Reverend Neal Phair says “Far morestudents than ever before have been coming to mein recent times to seek emergency funding.

“There is a lot of financial distress around andstudents are worried about the fact that they can’tget part time work to fund their college life. Tomake things worse, in some cases one or bothparents have lost their jobs, ‘it seems everything isagainst them’” says Reverend Phair.

“This situation is putting huge amounts of stresson students, as well as the pressure of exams; theyare finding it hard to get credit from banks becausethe banks are seeking more guarantees. “With theirparents out of work also this is not easy” says theReverend.

DIT News contacted Bank of Ireland who deniedthat they are reluctant to give out loans to studentsat the moment. The bank insisted that their lendingpolicy to students has not changed and students arestill seen by them as being a “key market”.

According to Dermot O’Sullivan from the GroupCorporate Communications at Bank of Ireland,Students are seen as future customers. When DITNews put the question that even people in wellpaid jobs are being turned down for loans, Mr O’Sullivan insisted that their policy towards studentshad not changed and they were very much “open

for business” despite the economic doom andgloom.

However, the doom and gloom is likely to makethings difficult for students when it comes tofinding part-time jobs to fund their student life.According to Aimee O Callaghan DIT StudentAffairs Manager there is well over twice theamount of students looking for funding comparedto last year. “There’s a huge problem with part-time jobs and students are stuck for cash” she says.

With five hundred people applying for thirty fivejobs in Burger King last month this doesn’t bodewell for students, many of those people had beenmade redundant from their jobs and were desperateto find work; it’s surely not surprising that studentswill be way down the pecking order when it comesto picking up jobs like these. “Students do notknow what they are going to do in September,especially now with fees moving up from €900 to€1500” says Aimee.

If you’re having problems financially this yearyou can log onto http://www.mabs.ie/ a moneyadvice and budgeting service or call the mabshelpline on 1890 283438. The Chaplain Servicecan be contacted at 01 4024112.

The advice from the experts is, don’t let yourselfget stressed about money, try not to get into debtand help is always at hand.

So another academic year isdrawing to a close – only thedreaded exams left beforehaving fun, earning somecash or entering the realworld. But how has this yearbeen? Louise McHenrycaught up with a few DITstudents to get their views onthe year gone by.

An overwhelming amount ofstudents seemed to bedisappointed with the lack

of organisation in the DIT:“This year has been stressful.

Nice college but there’s noorganisation and no structure insetting out goals” – Agnes, 25, MAstudent, Aungier Street.

“Topsy-turvy man. All over theplace. Some of it has been my ownmaking. Some of it not. My coursecould have been better organised.But perhaps I spent too much time inWhelans” – Ryan, 30, MA student,Aungier Street.

For some, the excitement of beinga fresher overcame all other things:

“Dublin is mad craic. I’m fromDonegal and when I first came hereI couldn’t cook; I hadn’t a cluewhere anything was – I was alwayslost. But I met some mad eejits onmy course and it was just brilliant. Istill can’t cook but I know how toget to Hogan’s and the PurdyKitchen!” – Aoife, 18, 1st yearstudent, Kevin Street.

“Love college! Love DIT! Had agreat year. I joined ten societies atthe start of the year – never went toany of them. Wish I could have thatsubscription money back now – I’mbroke!” – Sean, 19, 1st year student,Bolton Street.

And some answers were just alittle bit weird:

“What do I remember most boutthis year? One of my mates told methat all the fit girls go to AungierStreet. So every day for two monthswe used to go there for lunch. Eventhough it took us a good half hour towalk over there. Totally worth itthough. Aungier Street girls arehot!” – Matt, 20, 3rd year student,Bolton Street.

08/09 How was it for you

Students feeling brunt of recessionAisling Kenny examines the stresses and strains that are put on students now that we are in a recession.


8 DITNEWSMAY 2009News

DIT SU President Martin Dunne

Q: How has the year been for you as Presidentof DIT SU?A:It’s been an exciting and stressful year. There’sbeen plenty going on from the Linenhall issues,library opening hours, college opening hours forPortland Row and the national fees debate on topof the normal issues. It’s been enjoyable mind you!Q: Did you find the job as tough andchallenging as you thought it might be?A:I think it’s been more of a challenge than Iexpected. Coming from the Vice-Presidency lastyear I thought I fully understood the role,responsibilities and challenges of the Presidency.Within the first few weeks I realised I didn’t knowhalf as much as I thought! The role is completelydifferent and a lot tougher than anything I hadexperienced in the 12 months previous.Q: What were the main challenges faced by youthroughout the year?A: Some of the main challenges involved resource

issues, trying to get the most bang for any givenbuck which became all the more difficult as theeconomic situation has worsened. Working torevitalise student involvement and democracy andengage with people in new ways has also been achallenge. Then there have been the issues oftrying to get the voice of DIT students heard on aNational level and ensuring that our interests arerepresented – not to forget mobilising the troopsfor the fight against fees!Q: Are you happy with how you did in the roleas President?A: In a word, yes. In a few more words I might saythat I haven’t achieved everything I would haveliked and in some areas we haven’t madeanywhere near as much progress as I hoped ordreamed which can be a bit disheartening. Lookingback though I can say I did my best and at the endof the day that’s the true measure of success so it’shard not be happy.Q: Would you change anything throughout theyear or do anything differently?A: Definitely but then hindsight makes it easy torealise where you could, and maybe should, havedone some things differently.Q: What do you think were the main issues thatwere affecting DIT students this year?A: The old problems of quality and resources andthe like are still about but this year I think it’s been

finance plain and simple. With the way the worldhas gone part-time jobs are disappearing, costs aregoing up and we’re allstarting to really feelthe pinch.Looking to thefuture it’s onlygoing to getworse so theunion willreally haveto focus onhelpingstudents infinancial difficultyin the next 12 months.Q: What was the highlight for you during theyear?A:Standing in front ofAungier St at the start of theDublin protest in October with well over athousand students ready to march against fees.Then hearing the sound of drums as the throngingmasses from Kevin St and Rathmines came roundthe corner to join us. It was at that point I realisedstudent apathy was dead.Q: And what was the lowlight during the year?A: Not getting a proper resolution to theArchitecture space issues.

DIT News talked to DIT SU PresidentMartin Dunne and Vice-PresidentsDermot Julian and Tracey Flinter to seehow the year went for them and whatexactly they were doing on your behalf.

What a difference a year makes

Vice-President Services & Trading Dermot Julian

Q: How has the year been for you as vp for services and trading?A: It’s been an exceptionally challenging year one which I couldn’t haveforeseen at this time last year. It’s been a year I have thoroughly enjoyedand I am extremely honoured to have held such a position.Q: What were the main problems and issues that kept cropping upthroughout the year for you?A: ....the agenda was crammed with facilities issues. Trying to ensure annexsites like Portland row received longer opening hours, and then there was theLinenhall debacle for example.Q: Were you involved with discussions on the future of Linenhall? Whatdo you think will happen to Linenhall next year?A: I was indeed involved in these discussions which remain a verycontentious issue. This has been consistently on the agenda throughout theyear since it reared its head late last July, and to be honest, the question stillremains “will it or won’t remain as it is”. From my own personal viewpointI would like to think that it will remain a sports facility for the foreseeablefuture. It’s a fantastic facility one of the best in the country.Q: What was your highlight during the past year?A: ....buzzin around each of the campuses, Freshers Week, Rag Week,having the banter at gigs, Farmers Ball, having the craic in the societiesoffice having the banter down in the Sports office, being pushed into a bathfull of smoothies. However the one that stands out the most has to bebringing Danielle Lloyd to Bolton St what a day, many a student went homehappy that day…. serious craicQ: What was your lowlight during the year?A: The Recession.Q: Was the role as VP services and Trading as challenging as youthought it might be?It certainly was, unbelievably challenging is probably the best phrase to use,but I think that’s what makes it so interesting that anything can land at thedesk and throw the day completely off its course. It’s such a broad role totry and fulfil across every campus, and no matter how hard you try to getaround every campus it seems like it’s never enough.



It doesn’t come as a complete surprise to findthat Glenn is a regular down-to-earth guy; thisis because after studying his buildings and

listening to him talk you will realise that he doesnot have any high flying, convoluted ideas. Furtherdemonstrated when he quoted “since we spendmost of our lives doing ordinary tasks, the mostimportant thing is to carry them out extraordinarilywell”.I mean when you have been awarded practically

every prize, medal and award going can there beany stones left unturned? Still Glenn remains eagerand enthusiastic “There is always a future and thefuture is still left untold, so you have to have aquickness of mind to adapt. However you can’tturn every stone, so I just try and turn the stones asthey emerge, taking the opportunities as theyarrive. I’m nearly 73 so I don’t know how manystones I have left.”With a career as successful as Glenn’s you have

to wonder at what point did he realise that he hadmade it, but Glenn remains casual and passes offhis success as if it was not something to brag about“I still haven’t really realised what my career hasbecome. I’m still nervous and anxious beforegiving lectures. I never asked for this exposure,while I always made my work available forpublication and facilitated interviews andpublications, I never actively sought publicity orpublication so it still comes as a surprise to mewhen I win things.”

Then instead of describing his extensive list ofprizes he proceeded to recount some quite funnystories about how incredulous even he was atreceiving these awards, for example, when Glennreceived the Alvar Aalto Medal; he received aletter sent to him by the SAFA board; and was soconvinced that it was a hoax, it took his family twoweeks to persuade him to ring the office inFinland.After more confusion and another phone call, he

spoke to the Chief Executive of the board and ittook him twenty-minutes to convince Glenn thathe was the man he claimed to be, and that hewould indeed actually receive the Alvar AaltoMedalHis modesty was further reinforced when he said

“that I would rather people go past my buildings

but then go backbecause they find itinteresting.” Mostarchitects these daysseem to misinterprethis buildings asobjects in thelandscape, but this isnot so; Glenn likesto think of hisbuildings not asobjects but “as instruments” and while some of usoften feel that a difficult site can be a hindranceand choose to completely remodel them, Glennfeels that “the conditions of the site are gifts, giftsto be used by instruments.”For an architect with such innovative methods

of designing and thinking, why does he still keephis practice so small? He is the first to admit thathe has no staff, and thus cannot train anybodydirectly. This in part is why he has taken thesekinds of professorships inAustralia and abroad; hequoted the aboriginal phrase “you must give itaway to keep it”. Indeed he has given a lot away,teaching at such prestigious schools as Yale,Pennsylvania IT and Helsinki.We here at the Dublin School ofArchitecture are

the last of his commitments to teach abroad – afterthis he will take up a professorship at theUniversity of New South Wales. Glenn’s desire tofocus on his home life and work in his practice areprimary factors in this decision, not his age.Infact the 8 days he spent tutoring us saw more

9am starts in one week than I have had all year, thepace was faster than a David Ghrol drum solo.So for a one man office who only designs in his

native Australia, how does he feel about all these“iconic” buildings that are being designed by thenew generation of starchitects?“I’m glad of many buildings that have been

done. But these iconic buildings were reserved forvery special experiences , such as religiousexperiences such as cathedral churchesmonasteries mosques. These were traditionally theiconic buildings.”Many cities have tried to brand themselves with

some kind of international status symbol, Bilbaobeing the most obvious example. It’s quiterefreshing to see that despite his successarchitecture remains a sacred practice for Glenn;“When materialism and wealth becomes the iconthing in our lives, then the manifestation of that isthe icon building. It is the manifestation of success.I am not interested in that at all.”As lunch wrapped up I realised that Glenn

Murcutt was much like his architecture, you maywalk by him apathetically on the street but onceyou explore the detail you will find anextraordinary mind at work, something thosebustling by us on a frenzied Saturday afternoon inDublin might not be so likely to notice.

Shaping our worldCecily Quetin-Weeks metworld-renowned architectGlenn Murcutt for DIT News.

Above: Pritzker Winningarchitect Glenn Murcuttwho taught students at theSchool of Architecturerecently.

Above: Glenn on a field trip with students.

This year has been amazing, there has been alot of change behind the scenes in DITwhich I think is fantastic. I must have sat on

well over 350 committee meetings voicing thestudent concerns. The tag line for the StudentsUnion is "Supporting Student Life" and that isexactly what we have done over the course of theyear.Sadly most of my time was taken up by

meetings, be they General AssessmentRegulations,Academic QualityAssurance, LibraryCommittee and so on. There are a crazy amount ofmeetings within DIT, there are even meetingsabout meetings!! One of the major problems is thatthere are so many meetings that you are trying toattend every single one and voice the studentconcerns or feelings.This year some of the major issues have been

financial issues, dealing with the StudentAssistance Funding and trying to get students thatfinancial support for what ever reason. We hadover 10 successful appeals for students againsttheir exam results where there had been breechesof the GeneralAssessment Regulations.Also therewere a number of class and individual issuescoming forward, sadly these are still happening.At the start of the year there were spacing issues,with theArchitects in Bolton St and the Engineersin Kevin St not to mention the EnvironmentalHealth Officers in Cathal Brugha St.I am thoroughly looking forward to my role as

President next year. Over the past year I have seenmany ways in which both DIT and the StudentsUnion can be improved. Rome wasn't built in a daybut I do believe that I can improve the StudentExperience with the right support behind me.The summer months will be spent organising the

campaigns and events with the twoVice PresidentsJen and Sean.What will I bring to the role of President, that's

a tough question. The great thing about me, whichmany people may find annoying is that I ampersistent and I never give up. I am proud to be thenew President of one of the largest StudentsUnions in Ireland and I wish to make every studentwithin DIT proud to be members.My main objective this year is to put the students

back in charge of the Students Union! I am herebecause every student within DIT should leaveDIT with a quality student experience!Well within DIT I wish that things would move

more quickly, the review process can take wellover a year and next of all your out the door andthings are forgotten about. I wish to work closelywith the President of DIT Professor Norton toachieve the best possible outcome for all students.It should not be about time and time wasting itshould be about improving services and giving thestudent what they need when they need it. Aswithin DITSU we as a Union need to look at howwe provide our service to the student body andthink of innovative and creative ways of improvingthis service.Thank you to all who campaigned and thank

you for all who voted!

Tracey Flinter Vice-PresidentAcademic & Student Affairs andDIT SU President for 2009/2010


10 DITNEWSMAY 2009

[email protected] & Entertainment

Asauthor of Blink and The Tipping Point,Malcolm Gladwell is not a new name onthe bestsellers list. Gladwell’s latest book

Outliers seeks to put reason and clarity together toexplain some of the greatest ever success stories.Gladwell attempts to account for the success of

the Beatles, Bill Gates and even successful hockeyteams from Canada by analysing their behaviourand attitudes before they became successful.Surprising perhaps, is the fact that the underlying

answer to their success is not only hard work butalso being in the right place at the right time.Criticisms of the book include a claim that

Gladwell simply sells ‘common sense’. However,so thorough is Gladwell’s argument that he evencalculates how many hours a musician mustpractice in order to make the grade as anoutstanding performer - the answer is 10,000hours!Furthermore, Gladwell describes how the

Beatles performed over 1,200 times before theyhad their first burst of success in 1964.Optimists might find the book’s argument

unsettling, as its underlying fundamental statementis, that a person won’t find success if they onlyhave self-help book traits such as confidence,determination, and putting in hard work.The ultimate determination of success, according

to Gladwell, is being in the right place at the righttime. Outliers is an interesting and thoughtprovoking read.

Book Review:Outliers byMalcolm Gladwell

Reviewed by: Siobhan Connor

Movie Review:The Boat ThatRockedCert 15ADirector: Richard CurtisStarring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman,Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost & Bill Nighy.

Reviewed by: Louise Finn

The sight of Nick Frost naked isunexpectedly funny, unnecessarily full onand surprisingly attractive. My

expectations of the most recent offering fromRichard Curtis were, I confess, on the lowest sideof low. Two dirty words coloured my expectation;Love Actually.But with a dearth of anything else even

remotely humorous on offer it seemed the onlyviable option for some popcorn escapism.I can only throw my hands up, hoist my little

white flag and admit I was wrong. I’m sorryRichard.It’s funny. In some parts bloody funny.The plot is loosely based on the pirate radio

stations which broadcast illegally from the NorthSea in the early 60s and centres around the

completely fictional (and originally named)Radio Rock. The government aren’t happy withthe broadcast of all this crazy pop music and setout to shut them down….Featuring Rhys Ifans, Philip Seymour

Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, ChrisO’Dowd, Rhys Darby, and Bill Nighy, it’s awonder there were any comedians left on dryland. But they are lovely, especially Darby –better known as Murray from Flight of theConchords – who, in some truly awful trousers,shines as a Seekers obsessed, sex starved, pipesmoking Kiwi.Following the fortunes of the ragtag DJs on

board it combines boozing, schoolboy high jinxand puerile one-liners with a toe-tappinglyaddictive soundtrack.Sure it features some of the trademark Curtis

schmaltz, a gratuitous wedding and lots of nakedladies and it’s a little on the long side but heckeveryone left the cinema smiling.What more canyou ask for? Nick Frost naked? It’s already inthere.

Film: CheriRelease date:May 8th

Set in the luxurious demi-monde of pre-First WorldWar Paris, CHÉRI is the

story of the love affair between thebeautiful retired courtesan Léa(Michelle Pfeiffer) and Chéri(Rupert Friend), the son of her oldcolleague and rival, Mme Peloux (Kathy Bates).Léa has educated the spoilt and callow boy in

the ways of love, but after six years Mme Pelouxhas secretly arranged a marriage between Chériand Edmée (Felicity Jones), daughter of anotherrich courtesan, Marie Laure (Iben Hjejle).

As the inevitable moment of partingapproaches, Léa and Chéri try to come to termswith their imminent separation, but the roots oftheir life of ease and pleasure reach deeper thaneven they imagine and they begin to understand,too late, how much they mean to one another.


11Reviews & EntertainmentDITNEWS MAY 2009

It seems quite ironic but X Factor contestantand Spanish singing sensation Ruth Lorenzobelieves she looks fat and hates seeing photos

of herself.Ruth cringes when she sees photos of her and X

Factor winner Alexandra Burke in bikinis whileholidaying in Mauritius.“I see those pictures and I think Oh God, I am

fat! But everyone else sees curves! I just don’t seeit.”However the singer, who came fifth in the X

Factor, is not a fan of dieting and believes shelooks ugly if she is skinny.Raised in Murcia in South East Spain food, she

says, has always played an important part in familylife. “I’ve been raised in a culture full of happinessand food and olive oil and oranges so I’m just theway I am and I’ve always been this way.“If I try to lose weight and get thin it doesn’t

even look good on me, so I’ve given up. That’s myexcuse, I look ugly when I’m skinny,” she said.Mentored by Dannii Minogue on the X Factor,

Ruth says performing to small crowds makeher more self conscious and think “my bum isbigger and I don’t have enough make up on.”Her tanned skin. beautiful long hair and

good looks captured the judges attention whenshe first auditioned for X Factor with onejudge in particular taking a shine to her.At her audition for the X Factor Simon

Cowell called her “firey” and from then on thetwo shared a strong on screen chemistry oftenflirting with each other.“I didn’t consider it as flirting. It was more

like a little game cause he is too old to flirtwith, she said.

The singer revealed Simon is a really “cool guyand a sweetheart” but that she would have nointerest in kissing him.However she is attracted to his sense of power.

“He has power in his eyes. Not because he hasmoney or anything but just because he has thisattitude and when he walks into a room he catcheseveryones eye. I really like that about people.”Ruth who is busily playing gigs all over the UK

and Ireland confimed that she has not signed toSimon Cowell’s record label, despite rumours tothe contrary.While she could not disclose what label she has

signed to she said there ‘maybe’ an album on theway. She wants her debut album to comprise oforiginal songs and not cover versions.This could see a chart showdown between her

and best friend and X Factor winner AlexandraBurke, who Ruth confirmed is working on heralbum in Los Angeles and New York at themoment.Ruth was quick to slam tabloid rumours that

herself and Alex are no longerfriends after falling out over amale dancer.“Oh God those rumours are not

true at all. Alex and I are strongcharacters. We are not arguingand not least over a dancer. Theyare all gay anyway. It was allmade up,” she said.Also untrue were the rumours

the two were to move into apenthouse apartment in London.“We never moved in together,

that was made up by the press. Itwas our intention to move intogether but after the tour Alexwent to America recording so Icouldn’t wait for her and I found

my own place in London,” she said.Being Spanish on the X Factor was both a

positive and negative for Ruth. She believes “itworked because it caught Simon’s eye.” Althoughat the same time she knew no-one and had nocertain region voting for her to keep her in.However Ruth is very grateful to her fans and

those who voted for her. Not knowing anyone inthe UK meant “the votes that I got were frompeople who liked me.”With auditions for the X Factor 2009 already

underway Ruth hopes the fans will remain withher.

Louis Walsh was not a fan of hers at the start,calling Ruth “Mariah Scarey” and believing shewas in the wrong country and wrong competitionwhen she auditioned for the X Factor.Like many others Ruth converted him into a fan

over her weeks on the live show, calling her a “truediva”.With dreams of an album in Spanish and a rock

album in English Ruth said, “I don’t want to beremembered as the Spainish girl from X Factor, Iwant to be remembered as Ruth Lorenzo.”

Ruth’s got the XL FactorDIT News editor Seamus O’NeillmetX Factor’s senorita Ruth Lorenzo whopaid a flying visit to Dublin recently.

The Spanish diva talked about her timeon the X Factor, her self-consciousnessand tabloid rumours.

Above: Ruth and Alexandra relax while on holidays inMauritius. Ruth believes she looks fat in the photos and hatesseeing them. Ruth also said she is still friends with Alexandracontrary to tabloid rumours otherwise.

Above left: Ruth while on the X Factor.Above: Ruth is currently gigging around theUK & Ireland.


12 DITNEWSMAY 2009Reviews & Entertainment

Yes, it's true, double Oscar-nominee Amy Adams isgracing our fair shores filming

her latest Hollywood flick 'Leap Year'.The film follows Adams as she flies toIreland to propose to her boyfriend onFebruary 29th; she soon ends up lostwith only a cheeky (and ruggedlyhandsome) Irish innkeeper to guide herto Dublin. Clichéd hilarity ensues andthis odd love triangle soon rights itselfand she lives happily ever after, or sowe hope.

DIT News is lucky enough to bringyou an exclusive from the set of nextyear's must-see Romantic Comedy.The atypical romcom is being shot inmultiple locations around Ireland,including Galway, Dublin andWexford. When we visited the filmproduction at Dublin Castle we wereastonished at the lengths they had goneto to create the set. The entire façade inthe courtyard was clad with polystyrenebricks to give the stately building amore homely appearance; there was awinter garden complete with leaflessplastic trees and six inches of snow andeven an ancient, Father Ted-esquetelefón box had been fashioned from

some plywood for the occasion.Given the size of the production wecan only hope that director AnandTucker (Shop Girl) will do our lovelycountry justice, but I'd expect plenty ofthe hackneyed Irish stereotypes thatHollywood loves to throw at us instead.Prepare yourself also to recoil in horrorfrom cringeworthy Irish accents, morespecifically from the male lead MathewGoode. Fresh off the set of Watchmen,Goode must have limited his researchfor the role to renting Intermission andThe Commitments, whilst in betweentakes he reverted to the AbFab sweetiedarlingness of his toffish heritage!In the fleshAmyAdams seemed to bejust as sweet and nice as all of herprevious characters have been,however, one extra overheard the starletbad mouth Irish Dental standards, of allthings! Nonetheless, she managed tocombine one part Disney princess withtwo parts nun to charm nearly all of theDIT students we met appearing asextras who swooned at her smile andluscious strawberry locks.So keep an eye out for your fellowstudents when 'Leap Year' is releasednext year.

Action:

We would have said Wolverine: XmenOrigins but thanks to some sticky-fingered folks over in Hollywood it's on

the internet now for all to download, huzzah!Instead, this summer's must-see action flick hasto be Terminator Salvation! The story is set in apost apocalyptic world where John O'Connor(Christain Bale) is leader of a resistance. When hecomes accross a stranger named Marcus he has tofigure out whether he's been sent from the future orrescued from the past.This sounds like a kickass premise and has thepotential to redeem the Terminator franchise afterthe awful, awful Rise of the Machines. Rumoursare running riot that the Governator himself,Arnold Shwartznegger, will be making a cameoappearance which is reason alone to go see thefilm.We can expect Bale to work some of that Batmanmagic and add some character curves to O'Connor,I mean if he was willing to go freak at the DP forwalking around on set he's bound to have hisbadass mojo back!

Comedy:

Bruno! Bruno! Bruno! Prepare to be violatedonce again by Sasha Baron Cohen's latestpolitically incorrect, socially deviant

mockumentary. Cohen takes the lead once againas Bruno, a camp, overdramatic, Austrian fashionreporter keen to break the United States.Amoung his many misadventures Bruno takes ahunting trip with some redneck types, destroys afashion show, and most hilariously adopts anafrican child.From learning dildo self defense to beingwhipped at a swinger's party, this film is going tobe a laugh riot! Bruno isn't going to be all aboutcamp jokes though, it's documentary format allowsit to be observant and perceptive and willundoubtedly have you gasping at insights andopinions from some of the less 'open minded'members of American society and, of course,theusual toilet humour hilarity.Be prepared to be quoting extensively from thisfilm for the next two years. Wawaweewa!

Drama:

Public Enemies is set to be one of the bestfilms of the year. With Johnny Depp,Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard starring

and Michael Mann (Ali, Collateral) directing it’sa winning formula.Based on the life of the notorious depression eragangster John Dillinger (Depp) the film followsthe mobster as he outwits and outcharms the law,falls for a beautiful girl and wins the hearts of thepoverty stricken masses.Expect to see baseball, movies, good clothes,and fast cars all wrapped up in a beautifullypresented 1930s time capsule.

We predict this film willbe Oscar gold.

Oasis are set to perform toaround 80,000 music fansat Slane Castle this

summer. The Manchester 4-pieceare set to headline Slane Castle onthe 20th June with support fromelectronic powerhouse TheProdigy, indie rockers Kasabianand The Enemy.

Oasis, who released their 7thstudio album “Dig out your soul”in October last year, previouslyplayed the prestigious venue whenthey supported REM in 1995.

Oasis’ lead songwriter NoelGallagher, speaking at a recentpress conference, said; "It'll be nicefor us to finally headline Slane. I'mlooking forward to playing for ourown fans.”Acknowledging his Irish rootsNoel said; “Ireland is a massivepart of my youth, I spent six weeksof my life every summer over hereuntil I was 16."

Lord Henry Mount Charlesadded; “Slane's roots are in rock 'n'roll - so I see having thismarvellous band headline this yearas carrying on a great tradition.”Slane began in 1981 withIreland’s own Thin Lizzyheadlining. It has ran largelyuninterrupted since and has boastedsuch internationally acclaimedstars as Bob Dylan, U2 and Queen.This years Slane Concert will bea welcome return to many musicfans, as the event was not held lastyear. The concert has proved to beless of an annual certainty in recentyears.It was cancelled in 2005 due torapper Eminem pulling out of hisheadlining slot. The concert did notcontinue until 2007 when theRolling Stones headlined thefestival, returning 25 years aftertheir first headlining slot in 1982.With Oasis playing Slane andtheir 1990s rival, Blur, headlininganother major Irish music festival,Oxygen, it is safe to say it will be aBritpop summer for Irish musiclovers.

Summer movie guideDIT News entertainment editorCliona Ward checks out this summer’sblockbusters and highlights what filmsyou should look out for in the cinemas.

Left: Johnny Depp whostars in Public Enemieswhich is due for releasein July. He will beappearing alongsideChristian Bale (above)who will also be starringin the action filmWolverine: Xmen Originswhich will be out in May.

Oasis to rock SlaneAs Ross Leahy looksforward to Slane it seemsBritpop is definitely back.

Amy Adams leaps to Ireland

By: Cliona Ward

13DITNEWS MAY 2009

CLUBS & SOCS

Four groups gear up forBattle of the Bands FinalDave Sheehan looks at the contenders taking part in the Battle of the Bands Final,which is organised by DIT Gig Society.

Organised by DIT Gig Society, the Battle ofthe Bands (BOTB) Final takes place onWednesday 29th April in the Button

Factory. 4 bands are on the lineup – Falter Ego(metal), J-Walkers (indie rock), A Futurist Theatre(alternative/progressive rock), Aggro-Culture(rock), followed by a club night ‘til late.

The finalists have qualified from 4 heats atThinkTank in March. Falter Ego are a 3-piecemetal act from Clondalkin, formed in 2005, whoare influenced by bands such as Tool, Biffy Clyroand Smashing Pumpkins. Drummer Peter is a 1styear Computing student in Kevin St. TheJ-Walkers only came together in 2009, despite

the two main songwriters writing tunes togethersince secondary school. Frontman Steven Cassellsis a 4th year Building Services Student in BoltonSt.A Futurist Theatre recently released their debut

album Caviar to Pigs to some critical acclaim.Frontman Ruairi is studying MathematicalSciences (2nd year) in Kevin Street.

Hard-rock act Aggro-Culture have been togetherfor 2 months, but the songs have been around forlonger, having already been written and recordedby the bands frontman. Lead guitarist Daffyd is inBolton St studying Mechanical Engineering.

The competition is sponsored by Elektra Studios,

and tickets are available from DIT Students Unionshops in the Aungier Street, Kevin St, CathalBrugha St, Mountjoy Square and Bolton Streetcampuses for €7 in advance, or €10 at the door.

As part of our promotional effort, we also put ona free show by Chequerboard in the DIT AungierStreet Students Union stage on Tuesday 28th Aprilfrom 1-2pm.

For more information on the final of Battle of theBands contact:

Dave SheehanEmail: [email protected]

14 DITNEWSMAY 2009CLUBS & SOCS

The Radio Soc is a new society to DIT thisyear; it was founded by the third yearstudents of the BAMedia Arts course. The

society’s highlight of the year was a guestappearance by Today FM’s Ray D’Arcy.On the 1st ofApril 2009, the function area of the

School of Media DIT Aungier Street wasbrimming with excited students and staff membersalike, who were ready to relive some nostalgicmoments. This popular radio personality isinevitably known for his nine year spell as thepresenter of RTÉ’s The Den. And the nostalgicmoments were plentiful.Ray spoke of the many skits that he performed

with his pair of zany side-kick puppets Zig andZag, saying how whenever he was dressed up forperforming a skit he was often more embarrassedto be seen walking the halls of RTÉ dressed in thecomical attire, as opposed to being live ontelevision to an audience of thousands.

He explained how he startedout in his broadcasting careerat the age of fifteen and thecreative process he undertookwhen he applied for thepresenter position on TheDen.The interview also covered

more serious topical mattersas well. He answeredquestions on the Ray D’ArcyShow’s involvement in ConorCasby’s satirical portraits ofAn Taoiseach Brian Cowen and he also shared hisviews on current the speculation of the next face ofRTÉ’s Late Late Show.To hear the interview with Ray D’Arcy in full,

tune into The Big Show on DIT FM 97.3, onWednesday 29th and Thursday 30th of April from1-2pm.

DIT FM 97.3 is live On Air from 8am – 8pmuntil Friday the 1st of May.Listen online: www.ditfm.comTo get in touch with DIT FM 97.3 text: 085 270

3000Search DIT FM on Twitter and Facebook to keep

up with all that’s going on in the studio.

To review the drama societyfestival was one of the biggestchallenges I have faced as a

theatre goer, an actor, a director and adrama student. I didn’t know what toexpect as a judge of the festival andwas awed at what I received: two fullweeks of extremely organised playsthat honest to god could have receivedOscars.I don’t want to reference any one

play, or character for that matter, as Ifeel I’d be here all day congratulatingmany of the talented actors andbackstage crew that the festival putforward.The festival contained original and

well known and not-so-well knownprewritten scripts, but all of theinterpretations were in their own rightoriginal. The students created theirown worlds in ‘The Teachers Club’with innovative set design, lighting,costume, direction, management andso much more.As an acting student I was

pleasantly shocked to see the clabberof some of the acting. Although itmade my job hard as a judge to keepcritically removed from theperformance, it was wonderful to be

absorbed so completely into a worldcreated by future doctors, engineers,media producers; i.e. non currentdrama students. All I can say is bravoand congratulations on yourextravagant work.Where certain creativity and

organisation lacked, it was howeverclear that the process of making theplay was enjoyed by the students. AsAugusto Boal says what defines thedifference between amateur dramaticand professional work is that theamateur is more concentrated on theprocess of the actors, directors, stagecrew, etc. (and rightly so) where as theprofessional is concentrated on theend result for the audience; any thingthat happened before is irrelevant.It was wonderful to see how much

the students had enjoyed their time inthe drama society; this couldparticularly be seen on the festivalaward night, where all the hard workwas embellished by close friends.From having the honour of being a

judge at this years drama societyfestival I could but no more highlyrecommend that every DIT studentwho likes the dramatic arts needs topreferably join the society, and if thatis not possible to certainly support itin seeing its whole heartedproductions.Roll on Drama Society Festival

2010!

Radio soc welcomes Ray D’ArcyCaoimhseach Connolly tells DITNews about the newly formed RadioSociety and their first guest speaker, TVand radio presenter Ray D’Arcy

Above: For a change it’s Ray D’Arcy answering the questions, putto him by Media Arts student Caoimhseach Connolly.

All the world’s a stageLorna Geraghty looks backon the Drama Society Festivaland the talent displayed bythe students of DIT.

The annual DIT SocietiesAwards took place in theBurlington Hotel on the 2nd

ofApril. This much anticipated eventwas well attended by students andstaff alike, and we had the pleasureof Mary Davies as guest speaker onthe night.Mary herself is known for her

excellent work in the voluntary fieldand made a great speech about theimportance of students gettinginvolved and working together forthe better of the general society inthe current economic climate.The Societies Office would like to

thank Frank McMahon for hisattendance at the event, after a verylong day at the office. He made avery relevant and interesting speech.It was much appreciated by staff andstudents alike.The night is a night to celebrate all

who have been involved in societiesthroughout the year and that havemade a huge contribution to theatmosphere and “Campus Lifeethos” throughout all DIT campuses.Like most awards ceremonies it

was hard singling out any oneparticular person and any oneparticular society for an award, thisunenviable task was done by thelocal and overall Social and CulturalCommittees.

The winners on the night were:

Best Society Aungier Street –Cumman GaelachBest Society Kevin Street – GamesSocBest Society Bolton Street –Freestyle SoccerBest Society Cathal Brugha Street –Environmental SocietyBest Society Mount Joy Square –Design SocietyMost Improved Society – The DITBreakdance SocietyBest New Society – BAM SocBest On-site Event – DITBreakdance Skillsmaster3Best Society – DIT Kevin StreetGames SocBest Poster – Environment Soc &ASABest Event – DIT Fashion ShowBest Fresher – Jess ElmsBest Individual – Liam Stewart

Outstanding Contributions:

Billy Norman, Rachel Mahon,Declan Doohan, Richie Buttle, IanMullin, Trevor Seery, GavinMooney,Aisling Ellis, Peter Keegan,Niamh Foley, Elaine Murphy,Graham Dempsey, Brian O Connell,Jill O Lone, Niamh Dillon, KevinByrne, Mark Smith, John Barrett,Physics Society.

The award goes to...

15DITNEWS MAY 2009 DIT TOYOTA FASHION SHOW 2009


16 DITNEWSMAY 2009DIT TOYOTA FASHION SHOW 2009


17DITNEWS MAY 2009 DIT TOYOTA FASHION SHOW 2009


18 DITNEWSMAY 2009DIT TOYOTA FASHION SHOW 2009

The fashion spread is brought to youcourtesy of the DIT Toyota Fashion Show,which won ‘Best Event’ at 2009 Society

Awards.The fashion show was held during March in

Vicar Street.Proceeds from the show, which is organised,

controlled and directed by students of DIT, wentto the charity Teen-line Ireland.

All photography by: Gary Foxwww.garyfox.ie


19DITNEWS MAY 2009 Feature Articles

It’s cliquey. It has its moments of pretension.And yes, it can be pedestrian and dull. But Idig the art scene in this city. And you should

too.Here’s why: the launches.Where there is a launch, there will invariably be

free booze. And where there is free booze, therego I.The best thing is, that when stumbling in the

apartment door; keys-a-clattering on the laminatefloor, rather than admitting to your waiting,propped-up-in-the-bed girlfriend; her knuckleswhite, tightly gripping the hardback she’spreparing to fire at your head like an errant scudmissile, that you’d pissed yet another night away insome seedy bar stuffed full of scrubbers, you’ll beable to proudly exclaim: ‘Babe! I was at anexhibishhion. Yes! I’m drunk, but I got drunk withart!’Not that it’ll make a difference; she’ll throw the

book anyway. But at least the next day when askedby a co-worker, bruise on the forehead aside,you’ll be able to make your night sound lessdegenerate and your life more urbane. Nothing likethe fragrant seasoning of sophistication to disguisethe rotten meat of alcoholism.A carefully planned evening can

mean spending practically zerocash, getting smashed in thecompany of beautiful hipster girlswith names like Angelique andCocoa, and possibly evencontracting some culture in theprocess.Thanks to the formerly

ubiquitous Celtic Tiger the days of ahalf glass of horrific red bleach tradingas Côtes du Rhône are gone. These timeswe’re more likely to find gallery openings beingover branded by some ultra-trendy Euro-beer that’stargeting the ultra-trendy over branded scenestersin attendance.Although, with the recession maybethe dark days of objectionable plonk will make acomeback. Maybe that’ll make it all feel moreauthentic.But how does one insinuate oneself into the

scene? Easy.You can find when events are on by watching out

for likely looking flyers, posters, and listings. If aflyer says that an exhibition is running from the8th of December to the 15th, show up on the 8th atabout 6.30 and you won’t go far wrong.Facebook is great for launch spotting. Keep an

eye out on which events people are attending, andif they’re being run by a collective or a gallery join

theirgroup.

MonstertruckGallery and

Versus both regularlyhold exhibitions, andthere’s usually a good turnout.Foster any contacts you have

in NCAD or Dun Laoghaire. They’re bound tohave a show every once in a while, or if they’retoo crap to exhibit they may know someone whoisn’t.Festivals – they’re the events that you intend to

immerse yourself in and say ‘I’m so definitelygoing to catch loads of the shows this year,’ but bythe time you get around to actually buying ticketsyou’re two months too late and it’s all over, but ‘it was probably s**t anyway’ – are good targetstoo. Better, in fact, as they often have majorsponsorship from well-known drink companies.

The Jameson Film Festival, the recent DEAFlaunch, and the Darklight festival, wereall good prospects for free grog thisyear.

Once you know what’s on, pickyour day. Getting a day when youcan line up three or four events insuccession is a good idea.Thursdays seem to be currentpreference of the art-set, but

Wednesdays are also a perennialfavourite. It’s important to have a few

openings lined up because, while it’s OKto arrive drunk at events, it’s improper to be seengetting sloshed at them. Impoverished artists getantsy when they think people are getting drunk attheir expense. Everyone is there to do that, makeno mistake, but we all must work hard to keep upthe pretense that we’re there as elite ‘opinionmakers.’It’s true that the crowds at these soirées can come

off as a little ‘trendier than thou,’ but you have tokeep in mind, that these were the kids that gotpicked on in school. So don’t worry, they’reprobably more scared of you than you are thanthem.The one draw back in all of this is that you might

get drunk enough to actually buy one of theatrocious over-priced scribblings that is passed offas art in this city. Or maybe not. I doubt there’senough free booze in the world for that.

How to get a free launchBeing in a recession meansstudents have to be thriftier than ever.Brian J. Herron dispenses a littlewisdom of his own to this regard.

“The days ofa half glass of

horrific red bleachtrading as Côtes

du Rhôneare gone”

With the state of the economy goingdown hill and the Government leftlooking for ways to save money it couldmean the proposed Metro system forDublin being scrapped.

Jenny Conlon found that some peoplewere not in favour of the Metro plansanyway.

Meet youat theMetro

The construction of The Metro North, whichis due to commence construction in 2009,is set to cause major disruption to all

businesses operating in Dublin's City Centre if itgoes ahead. The proposed route will run fromStephens Green directly to DublinAirport and thenon to the surrounding hinterland.If it goes ahead it will be good news for some as

it will establish Dublin as a truly metropolitan citybut for others this could mean the loss of businessor livelihood.A concierge at the Fitzwilliam Hotelpredicts 'It will be more convenient from my doorto my place of work but not from a businessperspective'.The proposed route is going to cost taxpayers

over an estimated 80 million euro and surroundingbusinesses such as Hotels and services industrieswill be affected due to road closures andinaccessibility. Horse and Cart Drivers who havelined the Stephens Green Park for generations willbe evicted from the area if the proposed Metro isto go ahead. Jim O'Brien describes the degree ofthis disruption to his future livelihood, 'The taxiand horse carriages are out of here in May. Theyare arguing where to put us. We have nowhere togo. We had a meeting in the Hop stores but theynever came back to us with anything."In addition, Stephens Green will receive an

extreme makeover. The historical Fusilier Arch atthe front of Stephens Green Park will be removedduring the construction only to be replaced byskips and noisy construction equipment. StephensGreen Park is a city centre sanctuary away fromthe congestion of the city streets. If constructionstarts over 40 mature trees are expected to beremoved from the park to aid the Metroconstruction. 'Everyone is devastated especiallythe public, they are very upset. It was said that theywill take 50 trees from the front of the park. Ireckon some of the lake will be taken too. Peoplewon't be able to bring their cars near town at all.You are hardly going to pay tax and insurance toleave your car outside your house', said a localproprietor. While controversy continues over theproposed Metro many believe that the constructionmay not go ahead due to economic strain at thistime.


20 DITNEWSMAY 2009

Comment & Opinion !*?”

Your one stop shop for career advice

Thesaying ‘your career path depends on whatrunway you choose to leave from’ does holdsome strong home truths. In these

tumultuous times, getting your foot in the door ofany career or Masters course is a difficult anddaunting task.

As a final year student myself, I decided to visitthe D.I.T. Careers Office inApril to see if they couldassist me with my Master applications and jobinterviews. I was not disappointed with their adviceand help. The dedication and helpfulness of the staffis next to none and I gathered some valuableinformation and tips on how to tailor my C.V.towards different jobs.Looking back, it is clear that my visit gave me

invaluable advice which helped me create a newand up to date C.V. As an outgoing person, I wassurprised to hear that I was underselling myself onmy C.V. (Usually I have no problem talking aboutmyself!).

The Careers Office also have a detailed portfolioof sample C.V.’s, interview questions and letters ofmotivation for students to use as templates. Mockinterviews can also be arranged if you book inadvance. This is a great way to learn how to presentyourself in a confident and professional manner.Constructive feedback is given and the overall

process gives you the extra practice needed so thatwhen the real interview arrives, you can sell yourskills and experience well.Getting in contact is easy. Simply drop into your

local Careers Office and arrange an appointment.Keep an eye out in your library for free careeradvice flyers and C.V. templates.

Deciding what to do after college can behard. An ailing economy does not helpmatters either, but as Siobhan Connorfound out there is only one place to gofor advice on jobs and collegeapplications - the DIT Careers Office.

There are 4012 miles and 6hours separating Missouri andDublin. You would not expect

this journey to merit 30 hours oftravel. Then again, you are not fullyentitled to complain about the lengthof your journey when you book yourflights to the country you have beingtrying to get into for over a year aweek and a half before you are due toarrive.My first truly “American”

experience was visiting Wal-Mart,king of the supermarket world. It wasnot until the second visit to the giantstore that it sank in. There actuallywere “greeters” at the doors. Theseare people whose sole job role is tosay hello to people. This was only thefirst of many suggestions thatAmericans do not do anything byhalves.The university orientation was an

attack of Americanization or morespecifically Missourization than anintroduction to the country. From theBluegrass band playing in thewelcoming hall that seemed soimpossibly stereotypically. With theUniversity President getting the entireroom to perform the Mizzou cheer, itwas clear from the start that we werenot in Aungier Street anymore.I didn’t have any particular

preconceived notions of theAmerican

lifestyle outside of what televisionprogrammes portray, the first fiveminutes of the first lecture made itclear that this was not going to be a J1summer.With weekly reading requirements

equaling entire semesters worth ofreadings for courses at home, groupprojects and daily online quizzes, theworkload karma for every class I hadever missed, notonly in college,but takingsecondary andnational schoolinto account aswell.My first

American examchanged myopinion of theireducation systemslightly. In theplace of the essay questions of Irishexams were multiple choice, fill in theblank and true or false questions. Theexam just about stopped short ofasking us to join the dots to getanswers.If the typically dressed Mizzou

student were to set foot in D.I.T, theywould be chased out ofAungier Streetby the time they could reach Java.Even the O’Neills tracksuit bottomsand county wearers in Bolton Street

would have something to say aboutthe dress sense here.Firstly it seems like there is an

unwritten rule that you cannot set footon campus without Mizzou writtensomewhere on your clothes. Ideallyyou should be clad head to toe in theweirdly ill fitting Mizzou brandedsports gear. Once you get back theinitial shock of thinking you forgot to

wear a schooluniform you dobegin to noticethe sense ofschool spiritthat peopleseem to havefor Mizzou.American

collegestudents seemto lack anyelement of

cynicism for anything and are withoutdoubt the most enthusiastic group ofpeople I have ever met. The day ofObama’s inauguration was likeChristmas meets Paddy’s day rolledinto Rag Week. People here were soexcited.Huge crowds gathered around

televisions throughout the campus,lecturers ended classes early; peoplewere watching videos of the event onYouTube for days in lectures. There

really is a sense of belief here that thisman is going to change the world.Obama himself actually visited thecollege a week before the election inNovember and clearly left an impacton the students here.Mizzou boasts an overwhelmingly

impressive campus -18,021 acres intotal. The main campus alone is 1,358acres. To examine this in an Irishcontext, the UCD campus is 365acres. Along with its sheer size thefacilities Mizzou has to offer includesone of the top gyms in the country andmore libraries than you can count.The gym has two Olympic sizeswimming pools to offer, and themain library rivals the national libraryof Ireland in size. Last year MizzouAlumni raised over 1 billion dollars tobuild a new basketball stadium.Local entertainment however leaves

much to be desired and brings meback to my karma theory that I’mpaying now for the nights out over theyears that may have resulted in missedlectures. Columbia itself, where theuniversity is situated is a ridiculouslysmall town that is not that different toIrish towns in terms of entertainment.We have two night clubs and you needa car to get to the cinema.To put it in context: Missouri -

essentially a more enthusiastic versionof Offaly.

A far cry from Aungier StreetDirect from Columbia journalism student Louise Tierney gives thelowdown on her student exchange experience in the University of Missouri.

Above: The 18,021 acre University ofMissouri.


21DITNEWS MAY 2009

In late 2007, the budget put up the price ofcigarettes to over seven euro. I was payingmore for a packet of cigarettes than I was for a

return adult bus fare to Co. Kildare. So I gave upsmoking, thinking I was clever and that the budget“couldn’t get me now!” As I and all the otherstudents in the country now know, I was wrong, sowrong.

I am originally from the West of Ireland. I amstudying in Dublin. As I come from divorcedparents, I get the education grant from theGovernment. (Which I am grateful for, pleasedon’t take that away from me too!) My grant isaround the four thousand mark for the year. Myrent this year alone was six thousand euro. Mycapitation fees were 950, my deposit on my flatwas 850, and although I didn’t have to payelectricity bills extra I still had living expenses.

Since the recession hit, it has been hard to get apart-time job. Since the recession startedworsening, it’ been nigh near impossible. I haveapplied to over thirty jobs, with only one call-backfor interview. There were others interviewing too,however, so whether or not I get the job is veryuncertain, considering I am a student and therewere people applying to that job with degrees, andage experience. Jobs in pubs are supposed to bestudents jobs, jobs we get to keep us going throughcollege. Journalists and Architects andAccountants should not be applying for bar work-it’s just wrong!

So far this year has been a staggering deficit forme and my finances, with decreased income andincreased expenditure.

When I gave up cigarettes, I thought I was outof the governments reach. I never realised the

Government would just find some other way toextract money from my empty purse. Just beforethe budget came out I failed my driving test, andafter the budget the price to book it had soaredfrom €40 to €75, an almost 100% increase! I wantto get my licence to increase my chances of gettinga job, but having spent over €400 on the requiredamount of lessons, €40 on booking the test and €40on renting the driving schools car to take the testthe first time, I am in no fiscal position to try again,especially not now.

Let’s not forget fees. I know everyone is sick ofhearing about fees, but we students are sick ofbeing victimised and taken advantage of justbecause “there is nothing we can do about it”. Thegovernment needs to realise that there is somethingwe can do about it, we can go elsewhere. The pull

to get education in Ireland was that there were nofees, but if, or when, they come back in we can alljust fly out. If we have to pay fees here, we mightaswell take to the skies and go pay fees somewheresunny and less dreary and dismal.

The defence used by the government is that feesare ‘means-tested’. What this means, in reality, isthat those who cannot afford the fees will not haveto pay them, those who can afford them will, andthose who are just above the mark to qualify forthe lower category will be left out in the cold,making too much money to qualify for free feesbut not enough to be able to afford to pay the fees.Let’s not forget, also, that the capitation fee has

risen a shocking €600 to €1,500 for those comingback to college next year, which everyone willhave to pay. This means that even the people whoqualify for “free” fees will have to fork out €1,500before the college year even begins. Not tomention those who have to pay fees. Many are ofthe opinion that this will drive people out ofcollege queues and into the dole queues, althoughthey will find nothing good there either as fromnext may, the dole payments are halved for newapplicants under 20 years old.

Income levy rates have also doubled, so thoselucky students who have managed to hang ontopart-time jobs now earn less than they did for thesame work, but no point turning to the dole queuesmy friends, stick it out.

When cigarettes rose in the budget again, I wasglad that I had given them up. I thought of the now€8 I would save on every packet, until I realisedthat €8 is just going straight into the governmentspocket anyway so I am not actually savinganything. I may save €8 a day but I spend hundredsof euro a year on taxes, charges, and blatantdaylight robbery inflicted on me and thousands ofstudents like me every day by the people we put inpower to help us.

I can’t help but think what will happen when Igraduate, or when I have a family. Higher incometaxes, higher PRSI, no more ‘early childsupplement’, reduction in Child Benefit etc, andthen what happens when I want to send mychildren to college? I can barely afford it now, bymyself, but with fees and capitation fees, sendinga few children to college would be staggeringlyexpensive.

This writer feels much victimised by thegovernment, neglected, and ignored. “Why wouldthey care about us?” is the prevalent attitude whenyoung people talk about politics. And it’s easy tosee why.

I gave up smoking, Brian Lenihan. And you (andBatt O’Keefe) got me anyway.

Saturday March 4th 2009 was the finalinstalment in the Jade Goody story. Goody’sfuneral encapsulated her life by allowing her

one last opportunity to showcase herself to themedia. The funeral was broadcast live on Skynews and made front page headlines in newspapersand magazines the following week. Goody’scarefully orchestrated funeral was planned withprecision and sought to provide the media with onelast chance to cover her death.

Goody, who first made her name by being acontestant on the Big Brother reality TV show in2003, had a tumultuous ride on the celebrity life

rollercoaster. Often disparaged by the media forher lack of intelligence and wit, Goody capturedthe hearts of the general public who couldassociate with the Essex girl who epitomised thefairytale story of rags to riches. The reality TV starwhose father died from a heroin overdose andwhose mother has long-term health problems,found herself accepted by the public as a girl whowas honest and guileless.

Highlights of Goody’s life included opening herown beauty salon and launching her own perfume.Success was short-lived and Goody was swiftlyremoved from her reality TV pedestal in 2007when she racially abused Bollywood star ShilpaShetty on the Celebrity Big Bother show.

The media foray against Goody following herbrief stint on Celebrity Big Brother portrayed themalevolent style of relationship the media had withGoody. PR damage control was in place when

Goody appeared on the Indian version of CelebrityBig Brother in 2008 to atone and to also regain thepublics’ approval. It was during her appearance onthat show Goody learned she had cervical cancer.

Whilst Goody can becredited for raising

awareness of cervicalcancer, it is now time themedia let her story rest.The media circus shouldmove on to another town

and cover more pressingand

relevant issues. LetSaturday March 4th2009 be the finalremoval of Goodyfrom the limelight.

With plans of a musical about her life,one woman dominated the headlines sofar this year.However Siobhan Connor believes it’stime the Jade Goody circus moved town.

Budget doesn’t bode well for students

Goody gone but won’t be forgotten

Jade Goody above won’tbe forgotten if thetabloids have their way.

A rise in fees and fags, among otherthings, makes student Clare Cullenvery unhappy at the moment and sheknows exactly who to blame.

“So far, this yearhas been a staggeringdeficit for me and my

finances with decreasedincome and increased

expenditure”

Comment & Opinion

22 DITNEWSMAY 2009

Travel

On arrival in Budapest the students took acity bus tour, the best way to see a city onyour first day. The bus journeyed past

world heritage sites such as Andrássy Avenue, theDanube Embankment andBudapest Castle and gavethe group a bird’s eyeview of sights they maylike to visit later. On theBuda side Gellért Hilloffers spectacular viewsof the city and the 400roomed Parliamentbuilding which dominatesthe landscape on the Pestside.Although the students

had a set itinerary therewas plenty of time to dotheir own thing both dayand night. Some took aboat trip on the ‘BlueDanube’, which wasmade all the moreenjoyable with cups of steaming hot chocolatetopped with a dollop of cream, this was thehighlight of the trip for Rosita Cherlinova.Others perused the markets munching on tasty

‘tit bits’, visited Budapest’s zoo or hit the shopshunting for bargains. The city comes alive at nightwith entertainment to suit all, and by all accounts‘Budapest rocks’.Budapest is ranked among the most attractive

cities of the world and it doesn’t disappoint. Thecity can be compared to Prague and Vienna, itsmajor tourism competitors, and the developmentsand renovations are evident throughout the city are

testament to the future of this pearl in the Danube.The Architecture in Budapest has strong centralEuropean influences throughout the city andreminded some students of their home towns.The 6 million annual visitors to Budapest can

enjoy an eclectic mix of historical monuments,famous spas, theatres and ecclesiastical buildings,top class hotels such as the Four Seasons, concerthalls, markets, parks and squares.There are a variety of shops restaurants,

legendary coffee houses and bars nestled indowntown streets, offering ‘delectable Hungariandelights’ at the right price and yes, there is a McDonald’s if the local cuisine is not to your taste.On returning home and reflecting on the visit the

students could appreciate how history has left itsmark on this charming city and its inhabitants. Itwould be interesting to visit again at some time inthe future to see what changes there are both in thecity and its people.Is Budapest worth visiting? Yes, and bring an

extra few bob, there are plenty of bargains to behad.

A city of unique culture &heritage, spas and wellness,food and wine.Sandra Gaffney reportsfrom Budapest which offersa unique combination of aMediterranean atmosphereand age old character.

Bustling Budapest gets the thumbs up

Top left: St. Stephens Basilica in Budapest.Above: Some traditional Hungarian food.Budapest is known for its markets and food stalls.Left: Members of the Travel and Tourismsociety at Gellért Hill say Hats off to Budapest.

“6 million annualvisitors to Budapestcan enjoy an eclecticmix of historical

monuments, famousspas, theatres and

ecclesiasticalbuildings”


23TravelDITNEWS MAY 2009

Russia's capital has been drawing tourists forcenturies with its museums, art galleries,historic sites, and palaces are strewn

throughout the city. Here’s a small selection of thebest bits:It may sound like corny tourist bait, but a good

way to ease into your trip is to take a river cruisethrough the city. Lots of locals take the tours,bringing bags of beer cans and spending theafternoons sunning on the open-decked boats.There are a variety of tours to choose from alongthe Moskva River, with some operating a usefulhop-on-off ticket.However you feel about the river cruise, don't

miss the Metro. Metro stations in Moscow arefamed for their breathtaking architecture, withstations differing widely in their style and subject.Some of the best are: Mayakovskaya,Novokuznetskaya, Ploschad Revolyutsii,Komsomolskaya, and Taganskaya. Note thoughthat photography is forbidden in Metro stations.The trains are very frequent so are useful for citycentre navigation, although the web-like layoutmay not suit you.

Queuing for Kremlin museums is an art form:you have to be in the right queue at the right timefor the release of tickets to the tour for the museumyou want to see that day. This system could shortenyour life so it’s best to check what is open and ofinterest to you on the days you are planning to beby the Kremlin. One particularly stunning museumis the State Diamond Fund Museum which housessome truly exquisite jewels, including Catherinethe Great’s stunning crown. It’s in the samebuilding as theArmoury; you could coordinate thetwo.If you don’t feel it’s too grotesque, a free visit to

Lenin’s Tomb is essential when in Moscow.Lenin’s embalmed body lies in an impressivemausoleum in Red Square, in sight of both oldMosow and the new - St Basil’s basilica sits to thesouth and the extravagant shops of the GUM storesit to the north. Queuing early for the tomb isworthwhile. The mausoleum is guarded outsideand in, and visitors should know that it iscompletely unacceptable to take photographs,laugh or loiter. The stream of visitors is kept inconstant flux so you literally walk right throughthe mausoleum, past the coffin. The queue may

have taken you anhour and a half; thevisit takes 15 minutes.It’s a very eerie andsurreal experience, butcan you really comethis far and not clapeyes on the father ofthe Soviet Union?St Basil’s Cathedral

is one of the mosteasily identifiable ofRussian sites. Theornate basilica is opento visitors, althoughan extra fee is chargedfor taking photosinside. The highestfloors offer greatviews of the city andmost of the building is

very well preserved and

restored.The Russian circus is an incredible experience

and puts all Irish attempts to woeful shame. Thecircus is a long-standing Russian tradition, housedin a permanent conical building with aninterchangeable floor which switches from atrampoline to sand to water to ice. Shows changeevery season. The “Circus on prospectVernadskovo” is one half of the famous MoscowState Circus, although tickets must be bought fromthe box office (www.bolshoicircus.ru).A visa is vitally important for any trip to Russia

and must be obtained from the Russian Embassy inDublin before travelling. The embassy is locatedat 184-186 Orwell Road, Rathgar, a ten minutewalk from theWindyArbour Luas stop. Check outtheir website: www.dublin.rusembassy.org fordetails as to opening hours, prices and visarequirements, and expect to queue, so go early.Visitors need to register again upon arrival inMoscow which means giving your passport to thehostel or hotel for registration (this may takeovernight).

Top photo: The Patriarch’s Palace and the Twelve Apostle’s Church.Above: The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.Right: St. Basil’s Cathedral.

Moscow in the summertime

As the 53th Eurovision Song Contesttakes place in Moscow in MaySusan Ryan profiles the Russiancapital and tells DIT News what visitorscan expect.

24 DITNEWSMAY 2009

D I T

PHO

OGRAPHY

SH WCASE

Above photo: ‘Abundance’ by Aoife O' Donnell year 3 B.A. Photography

Description: The image derived from a collaborative project with fellow DITstudent Anna O'Hare from the project entitled Imagined Communities: NationalIdentity. The image which is part of a tryptich was influenced by 17th CenturyDutch still life paintings, in the sense that it highlights the value we place onmaterial goods. It describes Ireland as a nation that up until recently enjoyed athriving economy which our population over-indulged upon.

Above photograph by: Ciara O’Halloran 2nd year B.A. Photography.

The image is from a sequence of photographs titled "Little Red".The images are trying to show how childrens books have helped inthe development of our own imaginations and creativity.

Above photograph by second year photography student Catherine Coleman.The image was taken at a sailing race in Dun Laoghaire.


25DITNEWS MAY 2009

Left:Title of photo:‘Passing Place’ byAileen Miller 2ndyear photography stu-dent.

Description: Taken onthe road to Tongue,near Thurso, in theHighlands ofScotland.Inspired by the playof the same name byStephen Greenhorn.

Above photo by 2nd year photography student Stephen Comiskey.Image entitled: Pride of the Peacock.

Above photo is titled ‘Doll Face’.The image is a studio image shot a few months ago, by RebeccaKinsella, where the central theme was romance.


26 DITNEWSMAY 2009

Health &Well being

From Pro-Anorexia websites to Holisticacupuncture, the world of an eating disorderis one that is not only eclectic, but also

highly threatening and ominous in the lives ofthose it consumes. Primarily viewed as a productof fad culture, eating disorders effect a hugepercentage of the population, not all of whom careabout what size Kate Moss or Kiera Knightley wasin the latest issue of Image. For many, the originsof this strange and largely inexplicable illnessremain unknown to even themselves, but in asociety that tars it all with the skinny brush, thereis little opportunity for trying. This needs tochange.In Ireland, there are presently an estimated

300,000 people suffering from some form ofeating disorder. These disorders range from themost commonly known, such as anorexia nervosaand bulimia nervosa to those that are currentlycoming to fore, such as binge and purge, obesityand relapse syndrome. These conditions range inseverity, but in broadly speaking terms they are allconsidered to be part of a wider cycle of internalissues and past experiences. While many explaineating disorders as a size zero based illness, thisculture of thinness often plays a minimal role inthe development of eating disorders. Most eatingdisorders are curable and there are variousmethods available in Ireland for the treatment ofall eating related disorders. These treatmentsinclude hospitalisation, counselling and holistictreatment.Treatment depends on the person’s own

individual experience and not all treatments willsuit all people. This is why it is absolutely essentialthat the correct provisions be provided bygovernment to treat these disorders. There arepresently an astonishingly low 30 beds in the entirecountry for the treatment of all eating disorders, allof which are based in three Dublin hospitals. Thishas led many people to explore other routes, suchas holistic treatment, acupuncture and talk therapy.Food Diaries, yoga and relaxation classes are all

elements of developing areas for treating eatingdisorders. As Suzanne Horgan, Director andFounder of the Eating Disorders Resource Centreof Ireland, said, ‘there is a completedismemberment of the mind-body line and it isthrough positive lifestyle change that this line canbe reset.’Contrary to common belief, eating disorders are

not self-inflicted and they can hit anybody, of anyage, in any walk of life. They are now a seriousissue in Irish society and as they are estimated toaffect almost 10% of the population, they are anissue that need addressing. The first step to betterunderstanding an eating disorder is to betterunderstand how common they are and how muchhelp is out there. They are not just a wish to be thinand as long as they are treated as such, they willnot get the medical attention that they are longowed.

Dying to be size zero

With around 300,000 people sufferingfrom some kind of eating disorder inIreland, Jennifer Bannon reports onthis serious issue for DIT News.

Eating disorders are not all about trying tolook like stick thin celebrities such asKeira Knightley, right.

Teenagers who have been affected by thebreak-up of their parents’ relationshipshould not bottle up their feelings, as this

can affect their studies and involvement in out-of-school activities.That’s according to Teen Between, a support

service operated by the Marriage and RelationshipCounselling Service (MRCS).According to Francesca McGuinn, Counsellor

with Teen Between, “The economic downturn iscontributing to increased pressures onrelationships: job losses, income reductions andlack of security are tipping points for manycouples. Now that we have entered exam term, it’simportant that teenagers access all of the helpavailable to them so that they can concentrate onthings other than their parents’ relationshipdifficulties.”Teen Between offers a web-resource whereby

teenagers and young adults can secure generaladvice and information (www.teenbetween.ie).The Teen Between website was launched inNovember 2008 and currently secures an averageof 20,000 hits per month.In addition, Teen Between offers teenagers a

support service whereby they can talk to aprofessional counsellor. As a proportion of theoverall numbers seeking professional counsellingfrom MRCS, teenagers now comprise eight percent of the client-base, an increase of three per centon last year.“It is our experience that adolescents are the age

group most affected when parental relationshipsare under strain. That’s not surprising, given thatthey have significant external pressures to dealwith, including exams, decisions about futurecareers and generally making the transition intoadulthood,” said Ms McGuinn.Recent research – published by Headstrong (The

National Centre for Youth Mental Health) –indicates that the majority of young people feltthey could not cope with a problem they faced.From a survey conducted by Headstrong, only 38per cent of young people reported that they wereable to cope with the problems they faced, while10 per cent have had serious problems and did notseek professional help.“Teen Between gives teenagers an opportunity

to access advice and information on our dedicatedwebsite. In addition, there’s a facility on the sitewhich allows users to ‘dump’ their problems.Simply giving a teenager the opportunity toexpress their problem can offer some immediaterelief. The site also offers a facility where userscan keep a secure personal diary, which allowsteenagers to express their feelings in a confidentialspace,” said Ms. McGuinn.

20,000 a monthlogging on toteenbetween.ie

27DITNEWS MAY 2009

Sport

DIT Men’s Gaelic Football Club held theirAGM recently in Bolton Street, with alarge crowd present on the day.

The officers of 2009 looked back on the yeargone by and it was viewed, by all, as a year ofprogress. The highlight, of course, was the Seniorteam reaching the Sigerson Cup final for the firsttime ever and although CIT ensured their quest forsuccess ended in failure, they will be doingeverything they can to try and go one step furthernext year.

Away from the Sigerson team, there was plentymore action with six teams competing in 24matches over the course of the year. The SeniorB’s were crowned Leinster Champions, while theIntermediate’s topped the Division Three league.The latter’s achievement means they will be upagainst mainly Trench Cup opposition next year in

the league and that will be a big challenge forthem.

Also at the meeting, it was decided that nextyear’s membership fee to join the Men’s GAAClub will be set at €10.

After much discussion, the officers for next yearwere decided and they are as follows:

Chairman: James McEvoy (Crosserlough,Cavan) Property Economics

Secretary: Kevin Diffley (Ballymahon,Longford) Accounting & Finance

Treasurer: Darragh Smyth (Bective, Meath)Accounting & Finance

PRO: Alan O’Mara (Baileborough Shamrocks,Cavan) Journalism

Registrar: Ciarán Hickey (St. Sylvesters, Dublin)Engineering

DIT GAA AGM

DIT had four players selected on the 2009Ulster Bank Colleges All-Star Team. Afterreaching the final for the first time, it came

as no surprise that the college obtained the secondmost amount of recipients in the country.

The players who were acknowledged were:1. Eoin Somerville: Goalkeeper (ConstructionManagement) (St. Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh,Dublin)2. Michael Burke: Corner Back (Retail Manage-ment) (Longwood,Meath)3. Paul Flynn: Full Forward (Plumbing Appren-tice) (Fingallians, Dublin)4. Kevin McManamon: Corner Forward (MscStrategic Management)(St. Judes, Dublin)

The awards night, where both the hurlers andfootballers were honoured, took place on April20th at the Ulster Bank’s headquarters, on GeorgesQuay.

Ulster Bank Rising Stars 2009 - Football

1. Eoin Sommerville (DIT and Dublin )2. Michael Burke (DIT and Meath)3. Ray Carey (Cork IT and Cork)4. Conor O’Driscoll (Cork IT and Cork)5. Tom Waberton (UCD and Westmeath)6. Aidan O’Sullivan (Cork IT and Kerry)7. Gareth Bradshaw (NUIG and Galway )8. Paul O’Flynn (Cork IT and Cork)9. Declan McKiernan (St Pats and Cavan)10.John Connellan (NUIG and Westmeath)11.Paul Kerrigan (Cork IT and Cork)12.Shane McCarthy (Cork IT and Cork)13.Daniel Goulding (Cork IT and Cork)14.Paul Flynn (DIT and Dublin )15.Kevin McManamon (DIT and Dublin )

Ulster BankCollegesAll-Star team

Above: The DIT team which lost to Cork Institute of Technology in the Sigerson Cup Final.

28 DITNEWSMAY 2009Sport

FAI Facilitator for DIT John O’Carroll andFAI Community Development OfficerChristy Lougheed for the North Inner City

have initiated a community coaching programmelinking in with the Dominic Street CommunityGroup in the North Inner City.Coaching started on April 20th and will run for

4 weeks up until May 11th. Over the 4 weeks 4DIT Soccer Scholarship recipients will becoaching this group of 20+ kids both boys and girlsranging in age from 5-12. As this is the first stepthe soccer club have taken in communityinvolvement it is being run on a pilot basis up untilthe end of the current term.It would be the clubs intention to run additional

community coaching programme’s again in thenext academic year term linking in with DominicStreet group and other community groups in boththe north and south side of the city.All the student coaches have a minimum of Kick

Start 1 coaching qualification which is anintroduction to soccer coaching and areundertaking the community coaching as part ofthe conditions of their sports scholarship.If any students are interested in getting involved

in community and both primary and secondaryschool coaching for the academic year 2009/2010please contact John O’Carroll on 086 7954371 oremail: [email protected]

Paul Whelan received one of only two All-Star Awards handed out at the DIT SportsAwards in Croke Park on April 23rd.

Paul is in his final year studying PropertyEconomics.Paul’s soccer achievements while studying in

DIT include:

DIT Sports Scholarship recipient 2006-2009DIT Premier Team Captain 2007-2009CFAI National Squad – 2006- 2009World University Games -2007World University Games (nominated) 2009Monaghan Utd Senior Team – 2005-to present.

On behalf of the DIT Soccer Club we would liketo congratulate Paul on his award andachievements throughout his time at DIT.

Six members of the DIT Soccer Club havebeen nominated for the Irish Soccer Teamfor the World University Games to be held

in Belgrade, Serbia in July.The World University games are held every two

years and in 2007 the games were held in Thailandwith 4 DIT students representing both the men’sand ladies soccer team’s. Paul Whelan captainedthe Irish Team in Thailand and along with StephenRoche and Killian Gallagher made up DIT’srepresentative’s. Rachel Jenkin’s represented theDIT ladies Soccer Team on the Irish Squad wholost out to eventual winner’s China at the quarterfinal stage.

This year the nominations are:

Paul Whelan – Monaghan Utd, CFAI NationalSquad 09, World University Games 07.

Conor Mc Mahon – Monaghan Utd, CFAINational Squad 09.David O’Sullivan – Sporting Fingal, CFAI

National Squad 09.

Stephen Roche – Greystones, CFAI NationalSquad 09, World University Games 07.

Dean Zambra – Bray Wanderer’s, CFAI NationalSquad 09.

Killian Gallagher – Belgrove, World UniversityGames 07.

Trials will be held onApril 29th to select the squadthat will travel to the University of Belgrade inSerbia on June 25 2009.

Paul Whelanreceives DITSports All-StarAward 2009

Six DIT soccer players nominatedfor World University Games 2009

DIT soccerintroducescommunitycoachingprogramme inNorth inner city

DIT’s round of the 2009 Karting Intervarsitytook place at Midland Karting CountyLongford on Tuesday 21th April. The

event was organised by DIT and 30 drivers were inattendance from DCU and Tallaght I.T.The season ended on a high note with an

excellent grand prix taking place on what must bea contender for the warmest day of the year so far.The sunshine was a welcome change from thehailstones and almost torrential showersexperienced at the same fixture last year.DIT teams A and B performed well with very

few points between them at the end of the daysracing.An incident in the last of the four qualifyingheats cost DIT team A dearly with jostling at thefirst corner resulting in many Karters losingvaluable seconds and James Dalton almostbecoming airborne.Two fifty-fifty decisions by the race official went

against DIT, leading to two drivers being dockedseconds without any warning by the marshals.Ultimately costing Higginbotham and Sweetnama place in the final. Despite this DIT were wellrepresented in the final by Chris Armstrong, CarlWhite and Cormac O’Neill all of who fought wellthroughout.Willie Coyne won the final clinching the points

to give first place to DCUwith the DIT teamAandB closely following in second and third overall. Itwas a great effort by the DIT teams and a specialmention must go to first year Cormac O’Neill whocame second in the final and claimed the fastestlap on the day on his first time at the venue.This concludes this year’s intervarsity but with

talented young drivers coming through and a cleansweep of fresh faces taking over the committeethere is much to look forward to next year. We’dlike to thank everyone who came to the trips andhelped out all year and hope to see most of you outin September.

DIT Kartingperform wellin Longford

Above: The DIT Karting Club outside theMidland Karting Track in Longford.

By: Thomas Maguire


29SportDITNEWS MAY 2009

The College Football Association of Ireland(CFAI) National Squad for 2009 secured aclean sweep of victories in their annual

representative fixture’s against the best of FAS,The Defence Forces and the Irish UniversitiesFootball Union (IUFU) national squad.DIT had the best representation of any College in

the CFAI squad with five player’s making up thetwenty man squad. Four of these players, PaulWhelan, Conor Mc Mahon, Stephen Roche andDavid O’Sullivan made the starting 11 in the finalgame against the IUFU.

CFAI 6 FAS Cabra 0

The CFAI National Team played their firstmatch of the season on Wednesday, April8th with FAS Cabra providing the

opposition in a warm-up match for the annualmatches due to take place against the DefenceForces and the Irish Universities team. DIT wereheavily represented with 5 players taking part inthe afternoon’s proceedings, Dean Zambra, DavidO’Sullivan (Captain for the day), Paul Whelan,Stephen Roche and Conor McMahon respectively.The game began at a brisk pace with FAS Cabra

shading the early possession without having manyopportunities at goal. CFAI eased their way intothe match and created some extremely goodopenings without being able to breach a stubbornFAS defence. Just before half-time CFAI got theirreward when a slack throw-out by the FASgoalkeeper was latched upon by Rory Kiely andhe centred for Kevin Cornwall to slot home. Thiswas immediately followed by another lightningbreak from CFAI which resulted in a second forthe students. These two strikes seemed todemoralise FAS who would have been relieved tohear the half-time whistle when it came.CFAI started the second-half in a similar fashion

which saw them totally dominate their opponents,adding four more goals after the break in whatturned into a facile victory for the team with DIT’sDavid O’Sullivan and Stephen Roche finding theirway onto the score-sheet. Dean Zambra, PaulWhelan and Conor McMahon defended admirablyand restricted FAS to only the odd half-chance inwhat was a blistering second half from CFAI.The squad now look forward to the match

against the Defence Forces in Home Farm’sWhitehall Ground at 5pm on Wednesday, April15th in what should be an intriguing encounter.

DIT soccer players secure the treblewith the CFAI National Squad 2009

CFAI 3Irish Defence Forces 0

The College Football Association of Ireland(CFAI) team emerged victorious in thecompetitive curtain-raiser to their season on

a gloomy Wednesday evening in Whitehall. Thestarting line-up contained three representativesfrom DIT with David O’Sullivan, Dean Zambraand Conor McMahon with Stephen Roche unluckyto only secure a place on the substitute’s bench.The CFAI team started reasonably well but were

not allowed to settle into their usually slick passinggame by an eager Defence Forces team. Clear-cutchances were at a premium and it took a pin-pointaccurate pass from DIT’s Dean Zambra to unlocka well-organised Defence Forces defensive lineand release Kevin Cornwall who calmly slottedhome to break the deadlock.The breakthrough did not diminish the

enthusiasm of the Defence Forces who continued

to trouble the CFAI team without creating manygoal-scoring opportunities. With the game evenlypoised, it took a mazy dribble from GardaCollege’s Kevin Williamson to invite a rashchallenge from the Defence Forces right-back andearn CFAI a penalty which was duly converted bythe Captain, Paul Doohan from Letterkenny IT.The CFAI team now had the momentum and

took advantage with a quickfire third goal fromDIT’s David O’Sullivan who placed the ball homeafter a good passing move. This proved a suckerpunch for the Defence Forces from which theynever truly recovered. The second half continuedto be quite even but with the three goal advantagefor CFAI, the game petered out into a comfortablevictory.This victory sets the squad up nicely for a tough

encounter against the Irish Universities team nextWednesday, April 23rd in Belfast. The squad gointo the game with plenty of confidence but knowthey will have to up their performance to gain aresult in what promises to be difficult game.

CFAI 1 IUFU 0

TheCFAI National Squad defeated the IUFUNational Squad in a closely fought match atBanbridge Town FC, Co. Down on

Wednesday 22nd April to re-claim the HooperCup. Kevin Cornwall (Colaiste Ide) got the winnerafter 67 mins from a corner.Gareth Harkin (Letterkenny IT) impressed at left

back and Colin Bargary (Colaiste Stiofáin Naofa)was commanding in midfield for CFAI. MarkSurgenor (UU Jordanstown) and John Mulroy(DCU) impressed for IUFU. Jimmy Cumiskey'sIUFU dominated the first half although DavyO'Sullivan (DIT) came close for CFAI just beforethe break.Danny Crowley's CFAI side were the better side

in the second half with O'Sullivan chipping CianByrne (UCD) but narrowly missed the target on60mins. After Cornwall scored following a corneron 67mins the IUFU threw everything at CFAI butcouldn't find a way past the excellent DIT centrehalf pairing of PaulWhelan and Conor McMahon.World University Games manager Kieran Hardingpresented the Hooper Cup to CFAI Captain PaulDoohan (Letterkenny IT) after the game.

Above: The CFAI National Squad 2009DIT player’s included: front row, 3rd from left Dean Zambra,Back row, 4th from left Conor Mc Mahon, 3rd from right Paul Whelan, 4th from right StephenRoche, 5th from right DavidO ’Sullivan.


30 Sport DITNEWSMAY 2009

Sporting Highlights for2008/09

Archery Club2nd Place Overall in theIntervarsity Championshipsfinishing with the Highest Maleand Female Scorers of theLeague

Basketball ClubDIT Ladies won Division 2 ofthe Basketball IntervarsityChampionships

Boxing Club1st Place (67kg) in the NoviceBoxing IntervarsityChampionships1st Place (67kg) and malesparring in the Senior BoxingIntervarsity Championships

DIT Canoe ClubGold Medalists in Rodeo, WildWater and Slalom in KayakingIntervarsity Championships

DIT Cue Sports ClubRunner Up -All Ireland SnookerChampionshipsRepresentation in the HomeInternational EventWinners of the 8 Ball LeinsterIV League

Down Hill Mountain Biking2nd Place in the Irish NationalChampionsRepresented Ireland in the worldchampions and the world cup

DIT Men’s Gaelic FootballClubFinalists in the prestigiousSigerson Cup

DIT Ladies Gaelic FootballClubRunners up in the equallyprestigious Lynch Cup

DIT Handball ClubNumerous accolades in the All-Ireland IntervarsityChampionships

DIT Hockey ClubWinners of the Mixed HockeyColleges/UniversitiesChampionships

DIT Judo ClubWon numerous medals at theJudo IntervarsityChampionships

DIT Karting Club

Runners up in the DublinIntervarsity Event

DIT Mountaineering Club3rd place overall in the teamevent and 1st in the malecategory of the ClimbingIntervarsity Championships

DIT Orienteering ClubGold Medalist – OrienteeringIntervarsity Championship &Fell Mountain Running

DIT Sailing Club10th - World ChampionshipsTeam Sailing in Perth andnumerous placings in thevarious Sailing IntervarsityEventsDIT Shotokan KarateNumerous accolades at KyoshiO’Connor Tournament

DIT Ski Club1st Place in Ski Slalom, men’sSnowboarding Slalom at the SkiIntervarsities

DIT Soccer Club5 students selected to representDIT on the CFAI NationalSquad and 4 players nominatedfor selection on Irish Team forWorld University Games 2009

DIT Swimming & WaterpoloClubGold and Silver Medalist –Swimming IntervarsityChampionshipsWaterpolo IntervarsityChampionsRepresentation on the CelticNations TeamSilver and bronze medalists –Celtic Nations

DIT Tae Kwon Do ClubSilver & Bronze Medalists -Sparing Event in theInternationals

DIT Rugby ClubQualified for Semi Finals of theDivision 1 Irish Rugby CollegesLeague and a number of playersrepresented DIT on the IrishColleges and the LeinsterColleges Teams

DIT Ultimate Frisbee ClubCompeted successfully in theIndoor and Outdoor IntervarsityChampionships

DITWindsurfing ClubGold Medalist - Irish WaveIntervarsity in March 2009.

Above: Mark Neylon receiving his award for Club Executive

of the Year last week at the DIT Sports Awards.

Above left to right: Dr. Mike Murphy, Bernard Dunne andProfessor Brian Norton.

Above: Collecting their award for Most Improved Club of theYear were members of the DIT Archery Club. Also in thephoto is Brian Gormley, Bernard Dunne and Professor BrianNorton.

Left:The award forClub of the Yearwent to the DITRugby Club, seenhere beingpresented theiraward by BernardDunne andProfessor BrianNorton.


31SportDITNEWS MAY 2009

Other notable achievements include:

•18 weekly training sessions with over 60 activemembers in attendance•Organised a number of bleep tests to monitorplayer fitness levels•Offered new Tag Rugby training sessions•Revived the Gleeson Cup after a lull period offour years.•Five players represented DIT and played on theLeinster Colleges side that won the Inter-Provincial Championship and one player wenton to play for the Irish Colleges side that finishedsecond in the Colleges 6 Nations Tournament•And finally their 7’s side team has qualifiedthrough the Leinster regional qualifiers for theAll Ireland 7’s Finals, to be played next week.

Long Outstanding Contribution to Sport atDIT

Padraig Mahon – Rugby Club

Outstanding Contribution to Sport at DIT

Student MembersPat Carolyn – Mountaineering ClubSarah Deegan – Archery ClubPaddy Lindstrom – Judo ClubKeith Rogers – Gaelic Football ClubMichael O’Keefe – Hurling Club

Staff MembersColm Gerety – Wada Ryu ClubAdrian Cummins – Hurling Club

continued from back pageACHIEVEMENTS2008– 2009

DITArchery ClubResults from UCD IntervarsitiesTeam came 1st beating UCD by1 point

Individuals1st Place Compound SectionHarry Lyster2nd Place Recurve SectionNiall Doyle3rd Place Compound SectionJohn Smith

1st Place Female RecurveMairead Cuthbert3rd Place Female RecurveCharlotte Maguire

Results from DCU Intervarsity:1st in the DCU IV

Individual1st Harry Lyster Grace Yeat (KSt)2nd Sarah Deegan Bolton St3rd John Smith Bolton St

Results from Dundalkintervarsity:2nd in team event

CompoundHarry Lyster 1st placeSarah Deegan 3rd placeMale RecurveNiall doyle 2ndFemale RecurveMairead Cuthbert 3rdFemale BeginnerClaire Michelle Daly 1st place

DIT BasketballDIT Ladies won Division 2

DIT Boxing ClubNovice Boxing Intervarsities -UCC1st Place in 67kg weightCategoryPaddy Kelly (Bolton St)

Senior Boxing Intervarsities –UCD1st Place in 67kg weightCategoryBrian Daly (Bolton St)1st place male sparring

DIT Canoe ClubKayaking Intervarsities1st in RodeoMark Leonard4th in RodeoDave Crerar1st in Wild waterEamon Rheinisch

1st in SlalomEamon Rheinisch

DIT Cue Sports ClubSnooker IntervarsitiesPaul Ennis, (DIT SnookerScholar) reached the finals of theAll Ireland SnookerChampionships in a field ofeight players with great winsover former Irish InternationalSteven O’Reilly 2 nil and formerall Ireland under 18s/21sChampion Tom McKeown in anexciting semi final 2 1 with greatwins over former Irishinternational Steven O’Reilly2nil and former all Ireland under18s/21s champion TomMc’Keown in an exciting semifinal 2-1.

HESPC Pool IntervarsitiesJames McDonald from DITBolton St reached the quarterfinals in the HESPC Intervarsityevent.

8 Ball Leinster IV LeagueTeam in quarter finals, finals day1st April in UCD

DIT Cycling ClubResults, Free flow Race –Downhill, Sugarloaf Mountainssport3rd No 122 James Maguire21st No 133 Earl McClenaghan

Experts14th No141 Luke Beattie

Elite3rd No 252 Ger Wolfe5th No 245 Karl O Sullivan

DIT Equestrian IntervarsitiesDIT had 2 Teams competing inthis years event in Dressage andShowjumping in BroadmeadowsEquestrian Centre inAshbourne,Co. Meath.Sarah Glynn (Aungier St) came2nd overall in the DressageSection and Anna Dunne came4th overall in the Show Jumpingevent.DITMen’s GAAFinalists in the Sigerson Cup,lost to CIT by 5 points

DIT Hockey ClubWinners of the Mixed HockeyTournament in UUJ, Blefast

DIT Judo ClubJudo IntervarsitiesThrow of the Day David Kane1st place Mens -100kg

Daire McCabe2nd place Mens + 100kgRichard Kiernan3rd place Mens – 81kgMichael McKenna3rd place Mens Middle KyuRichard Kiernan2nd place Women’s – 71kgSophie Lehaun

DIT Ladies FootballDIT Ladies Football Club are inthe Lynch Cup Semi Finalagainst UCD(2)in UUJ, Belfast

DITMountaineering ClubClimbing Intervarsities1st in Male CategoryRichard Sandes

DIT Orienteering1st in Intervarsity1st in Fell Mountain Running

DIT Sailing ClubResults of DIT Sailing Club1st in Easterns,1st two trips to England,2nd UCD invitational,2nd in Southerns2nd Recession Invitational.10th World Championships inPerth.4th Western3rd Varsities

DIT Shotokan KarateKyoshi O’Connor Tournamentin Galway1st place female kata2nd place male kata1st place male kata2nd place male sparring

DIT Ski ClubSki Intervarsities

1st Place in ski SlalomWomens-Laura Sands (Postgrad AungierSt)1st Place in intermediate Men’sSnowboarding Slalom-JohnWade (B.St)5th Place inAdvanced Men’s SnowboardingSlalom-Fergul McGuinness(B.St)DIT Ski Club came 4th overallout of 8.

DIT Swimming & WaterpoloClubStephen Duffy (scholarshipstudent) won his events in theswimming intervarsities.Stephen will also be representingIreland in the Celtic Nations inApril alongside Niamh Berginfrom DIT.

DIT Waterpolo beat Queens University 16 – 1 inthe waterpolo intervarsity.

DIT RugbySnr Team lost in the Semi Finals of the Irish RugbyColleges League to Carlow2nd Team lost in the quarter finals of Div 2 Cup toIT Tralee

Gleeson Cup Competition – Nothside Colleges v’sSouthside CollegesSouthside beat Northside 33 - 4

DIT Ultimate Frisbee ClubSiege of Limerick Tournament8th place out of 22 Teams

DCUWhacking Day Beginners TournamentWoman’s division team 3rd place out of 5 teamsOpen division – 8th place out of 16 teams

Irish Indoor VarsitiesDay 1:Team 1, finished 5th out of 12 teamsTeam 2, finished 12th but won the spirit prizeDay 2:Woman’s division finished 3rd out of 7 teams

Uni League –round 13rd place out of 7 colleges

32 Sport DITNEWSMAY 2009

InsideSport

DIT SPORT ROUND UPMore photos fromthe sports awards

Page 30 - 31

Get the latest soccer &GAA news & results

Page 27 - 29

This year's annual sports awards toacknowledge the achievements of SportsClubs, Teams and Individuals were hosted

in Croke Park last night.Guests in attendance on the night included

President Professor Brian Norton, our prestigiousguest speaker Bernard Dunne, the new WBASuper-Bantamweight World, Champion and all ofthe sports coaching personnel/volunteers, and ofcourse members of the DIT Sports Clubs - theStudents!

Participation in Sports and Recreation Clubs isan integral part of college life and the SportsAwards is an annual event that celebrates thesporting achievements of the year both on and offthe playing fields. On the night the outstandingsporting achievements of clubs, teams andindividuals were recognised and 14 awards werepresented from individual All-Star Awards to theClub of the Year Award and many outstandingcontributions to Sport at DIT.

DIT Sports Awards Winners 2008/09All-Star Awards

Paul Whelan – Soccer Club

•This student has been a Scholarship Recipientfor 4 consecutive years 2005 - 2009•Captain of the DIT Men’s Premier Soccer Teamfor 3 consecutive years 2006 – 2009•Selected for the College Football Ass of Irelandnational Squad for 4 consecutive years 2005 –2009•Selected and captained the Irish team at a WorldUniversity Games in Thailand 2007•Nominated for the Irish Team for the WorldUniversity Games in Serbia 2009•Regular starter for Monaghan Utd in the EircomLeague 1st Div Team 2005 - present

Harry Lyster – Archery Club

•DIT Sports Scholarship Recipient•This year set new Senior Irish CompoundRecord at UCD Intervarsity 581/600 beating the

previous record of 574/600•Current Holder of the Irish Student ArcheryLeague Compound Record•Won 4 gold medals and one silver in this year’sIntervarsity League•Won the Irish National Indoor Championships•Won the National Student Champion Ships inIT Carlow•Represented Ireland on an International stage

Club Executive of the Year – Mark Neylon

This student has worked tirelessly and at timessingle-handedly to increase the profile of theClub•He was heavily involved in the successfulrecruitment of record numbers for the clubbringing a strength and depth to a growing club•Organised ski lessons during the year for morethan 50 students on the artificial ski slope inKilternan•Organised and prepared club members for theintervarsity championships in which the clubwon 2 gold medals•He organised ski trip to Tignes in the FrenchAlps for 104 students•He had sole responsibility for the financing ofthe trip which involved the handling of almost€100,000 and managed the budget meticulouslymaintaining all of the Clubs financial records

Most Improved Club of the Year – ArcheryClub

•This Club is now in its seventh year as a fully

fledged DIT club•The participation numbers have increased by30% this year•The Club finished 2nd place overall in theIntervarsity League improving on the 4th placeachieved in 2008•The Club achieved 6 individual medalsdoubling on their medal tally from last year•This year the highest scoring male and femaleof the overall intervarsity league were membersof this Club•The Club currently has 4 scholarship studentswho are all of elite standard representing boththeir club and country of which two are membersof the Olympic Development Squad for 2012.

Club of the Year – Rugby Club

This Club has been a huge success story for DITSport this year; the Club fielded three teams thisseason-The 1st team in their first season in Division 1qualified through the Northern Group and wenton to the All Ireland semi final where they werenarrowly beaten by an extremely strong Carlowside.-The 2nd fielding many young andinexperienced players had an excellent leaguecampaign in Division 2, winning their group andprogressing on to the All Ireland quarter finalwhere they were narrowly beaten by an oldermore experienced Tralee team.-The Freshers side missed out on the play-offsby the narrowest of margins.

DIT sportsstars shineat awardsnight

Above: Bernard Dunne and President of DIT Brian Norton congratulate Paul Whelan andpresent him with his All-Star Award.

continued on page 30 & 31


Documents

DIT News May 2009 issue