The Print Volume 1, issue 4

The Print

The Print 2010 February

Volume 1 Issue 4

•Pullout Poster •Murder of Crows •Recipes •Clubs and Socs •Interviews

What are you doing March 3rd?

Find out on page 20 The state of Irish comedy and much, much more...

The Print

New Healthier Option Foods available from The Speakeasy Café & Bar Breakfasts available in the Bar Porrige, banana & honey Scrambled eggs & brown bread Grilled tomato & poached egg Toasted museli & yoghurt

€5.50 Lunches

Cereal, tea & toast

available in the Bar

Soups available in the Bar and Speakeasy

Chicken stir-fry with soy sauce & noodles Minestrome Baked ham, cabbage & boiled baby potatoes Vegtable Pasta, sundried tomato & pesto sauce Carrot & corriander Traditional beef stew Leek & potatoe Rice bake, veg & cheese sauce Tomato Lightly baked cod fillet

Health eating sandwich available in the Speakeasy café with tea or coffee €4.50

Fresh friut available in the Speakeasy café

Don’t forget, a 12oz smoothie is 2 of your 5 a day portions of fruit and veg

The Print

T h e Pr i n t Contents

February 2010

Union Your Union

What we’re doing

Features

Editorial Letters to Editor President’s Report Welfare Report ReOrientation Week

p4 p5 p6 p7 p8

Useful stuff

Canteen Correspondent The Jeff Word & 2009 The Life of Brian & An Eye On Comedy & Glee Recipes Story General Whimsy

p9 p11 p12 p13 p14 p15 p19

Ents

The Gathering Reviews

p20 p22

Features

Ents

Making the most of your time off

News News

What’s happening

C&S Clubs/Socs

Free Speech On Trial Student Strife Safe As Houses The Return from Copenhagen Snooker & Pool Club Win Title NUIM Lecturer receives CBE

News from Clubs and Societies

Things to do around campus Editor in Chief: Eoin Byrne Design: Eoin Byrne, Robert Munnelly Editor: Eoin Byrne

Contributors: Elaine Brennan, Eoin Byrne, Maria Carty-Mole, Tara Clarke, Brian Dillon, James Joseph Emerald, Donal Fallon, Lydia Farrell, Luke Glass, Jeff Greene, Roisin Kelly, Brian Murphy, Liz Murray, Jack Napier, Bernard O’Rourke, Nirina Plunkett, Stephen Staines, Greg White, Laura Wilson

The Print

Welcome back to our fine campus. Here’s hoping that your Christmas gifts were top notch and that you’ve successfully managed to fob off all unwanted ones to unsuspecting friends or hidden them at the back of your wardrobe. Naturally, we’re hoping that your exams flew by and that you celebrated in a calm and mature fashion. If you didn’t, all the better, but we live and hope for civility.

Most importantly, though, is that you’re back on campus and are ready to kick off a new semester, a new year and a new decade here in Maynooth 2010 is going to be a good year, I’ve decided.

I’ve big plans for this year. 2009 wasn’t great for the most part: rife with relationship problems, poor decisions and missed deadlines. But this year is going to be different. My plan? Eoin: 2010. This is a year where I’m going to leap before I look. 2010 will be the year I regret the things I’ve done instead of the things I haven’t done. It’s a year that deserves a little more dedication, a little more enthusiasm and a little more spontaneity. It’s also calling for a cheerier disposition, a more active social life and taking a few more risks than I’m used to. That’s my new year’s resolution. If anyone out there can think of anything new or exciting that I could try this year (within reason) drop me a line at theprint@nuimsu.com and I’ll let you know how I get on.

We’ve big plans for the coming month including the re-branding of the Union with our flash new logo, the launch of The Gathering, the return of SHAG Week, Green Week and of course our inevitable replacement as SU Elections take place at the end of the month so if you’re interested in taking up one of the Exec’s positions, drop them a line on the emails you’ll find on pages 6 and 7.

At this stage, I’m sure you’ve all heard about our plans for The Gathering. For those of you who haven’t, check out page 20. This is going to be the biggest event to ever hit our college with performances from the best Irish talent and a host of international acts. Keep your eye on the notice boards, nuimsu.com/thegathering and facebook.com/nuimsu for details as more acts are announced.

Be safe Eoin

L e t t e r s to the E d i t o r Fear and Misery for the Drama Society Dear Editor I am distraught at the recent, careless, ignorant and malicious act pulled by the Drama Society. A cheap shot in order to stir publicity and controversy on campus for their recent “Fear and Misery in the Third Reich” play. It was selfish and inconsiderate on the part of the Drama Society, especially considering that the Brechtian masterpiece is extremely anti-fascist and is damning of Nationalist Socialism.

I noticed too that the Drama Society claimed the production was carried out with the support of the German Department. From what I gather none such sponsorship was acquired, certainly none for the advertising campaign chosen.

Now I am not one for denying free speech, but there must be a limit. When does one cross the threshold to offence, considering we have Jewish, German and several other students and staff members who’s family histories were deeply affected by the atrocities of Nazi Germany. The hurt and the pain of these people, exploited for the benefit of publicising this play.

This negligent behaviour on the part of the Drama Society is disturbing.

The only thing we have to be hopeful for is that this disgraceful collection of signs were not displayed when the German Ambassador visited only a week before.

Regards Luke Glass

Mr. Glass, I’m not aware if you actually watched Fear and Misery of the Third Reich but it’s a serious, first-hand account of life in the Third Reich. Nothing about it is supportive of Nazism- everybody involved was aware of this and the role of the swastika in Germany’s history. However, the swastika is also the most commonly recognisable image of the Third Reich as the very symbol of the fear and misery experienced daily and therefore what better warns of the atmosphere of the play itself? Staging a play of this nature and not using this symbol would be ignorant, careless and negligent. In fact, in his footnotes Brecht explicitly recommended the use of the swastika, suggesting it even as the focal point of the backdrop.

The production was done with full support, and sponsorship from, both German and English departments, our posters stamped by the SU without objection. If the mere sight of swastikas bothered you so much, for your own sake I hope you didn’t subject yourself to the more disturbing sights you would’ve seen in the play itself.

On behalf of the drama society, I apologise if you interpreted the meaning of our campaign incorrectly, however, we stand completely by our decision to use the swastika.

NUIM Drama Society

Taoiseach Teaching cont.

To the editor, While I don’t think the letters page of the Union paper should turn into a Bertie

The Print debate zone, I feel two points have to be made.

Firstly, after the Irish Daily Mails fantastic piece on the Fianna Fail connection at the very top of the School of Business and Law (Google “Professor Bertie got latest award from FF Academic”) perhaps it is now time to look again at the awarding of an Honorary Position.

Did Academic Council know that the man who, to quote the Mail, “proposed” the appointment is also a member of the Fianna Fail party? If not, this is dishonest. Perhaps this explains why Berties presence here is not only a matter of guest lectures, but rather the awarding of an Honorary Position. While many people dislike Ahern, it would be difficult to argue in favour of opposing no-strings attached guest lectures from him on Northern Ireland. It is only when one takes the Honorary Position into account that this issue becomes one of such fierce debate. It was interesting to note several opposition TDs refer mockingly to ‘Professor Ahern’ in the Dail for example during the recent budget debates.

To Disgruntled Thomas, I see some of your main points. There is no contract involved however.

Bertie Ahern is not being paid to take up the role of Honorary Adjunct Professor. The issue here was never if Bertie should lecture on Northern Ireland, but that the integrity of the University is at risk by awarding him an Honorary Position.

Awarding him an Honorary Position NOW, after the Fianna Fail link in the School in question has been exposed, is even worse in truth for the integrity of the University. The Honorary Position therefore should be removed.

It would be only right and honest. After all over 1,200 students and staff made a fine, dignified stand against this appointment.

Had the student body known an individual who spoke for the appointment before Academic Council sat in the same hall as Bertie

at a Fianna Fail Ard Fhéis BEFORE proposing Bertie for the role, who knows the potential reaction? That old fine Irish tradition of ‘Jobs For The Boys’ is alive and well it seems.

Best wishes, Donal Fallon

Follies of Faith

To whom it may concern The TV show Father Ted, with its uncanny ability to grasp and satirise elements of the Irish mentality, has always been popular in Ireland, allowing us to both acknowledge and laugh at how damn silly we can be when it comes to religious matters. For example, the portrayal of the ‘Holy Stone of Clonrichert’, to be upgraded to a Class 2 Relic by the Vatican, lets us laugh knowingly, safe in the belief that those days are a thing of the past.

Well, think back to last July, where the image of the Virgin Mary was thought to be seen in a tree stump, discovered in the grounds of a church in Rathkeale, Co. Limerick. Sure enough, you could say the shape of the stump somewhat resembles the traditional outline of Mary. But does this really justify thousands of people turning up to worship it?

The mere sight of crowds gathered around a tree stump that is draped in Rosary breads is right out of a Father Ted episode. More recently, there was the crowd of yet more thousands gathering at Knock shrine after clairvoyant Joe Coleman predicted the Virgin Mary would appear there on October 11 at 3pm. Afterwards, there were many claims of the sun ‘dancing’ in the sky. Between ten and fifteen thousand people turned up to see the the next predicted apparition on October 31.

I suspect even the creators of Father Ted thought these days were far behind them.

It is generally thought that the grim economy is the reason behind this new wave of silliness. We are in the bleakest recession since the 1980s, during which there was a spate of ‘apparitions’. In 1985 thousands visited Ballinspittle, Co. Cork, after a statue of the Virgin Mary was said to have moved.

In fact, there was a whole cluster of claimed sightings in the 1980s. Twenty years on, the country has been once more plunged into recession, and the same trend of apparitions has resurfaced. But recession or no recession, haven’t people gained a little more common sense than the dark days of the 1980s? It would appear not.

In the search for some gleam of hope, a new wave of religious silliness has seized the country. In the face of such stubborn superstition – it’s impossible to call it faith – I guess all we can do is shake our heads in despair, and, yes, maybe in helpless amusement at this aspect of the Irish mindset that doesn’t seem to want to go away.

Regards Roisin Kelly

if you have something you’d like to scream, rant or warn about: anything good, bad or political don’t hesitate to submit a letter to us here at The Print.

theprint@nuimsu.com

The European Computer Driving License (ECDL) The European Computer Driving License is an invaluable tool for students and members of staff alike to become familiar with the way computers work and how to handle them. On completion of the ECDL Program, you will receive a recognised certificate which demonstrates your level of competence within IT.

online shop, to make the process even easier! All of this and more can be accessed from home or on-campus and from one central location; the NUIM ECDL Portal.

For those of you who may be interested in beginning the ECDL Program, this couldn’t be a better time to avail of the many benefits of completing this course with the Computer Centre in NUIM. This year we have introduced a complete online system including online registration, NEW Computer Based Training and Automated Testing System software and also a NEW

For those of you who are already registered and may only have a few modules remaining to complete in order to receive your certificate, contact ecdl@nuim.ie at any time for more information on completing the program. Also, you may not be aware of this, but your ECDL skills card is valid for three years from the date of your first exam so even though you may not have taken

The NUIM ECDL Portal can be accessed from the start menu on all PCs in all PAC rooms on campus and also using this link: http://computercentre.nuim.ie/ecdl/portal. shtml from the comfort of your own home.

any exams lately or even at all, your skills card may still be valid, so keep this in mind!

For those of you who may be required to complete the program as part of your academic course please ensure that you self-register as soon as possible to ensure completion of the program by the specified departmental deadline. You can register at any time or place that suits yourself once you have internet access. We have also tried to offer a more flexible exam timetable this year to meet the demands of students’ timetable commitments.

For additional information, please contact ecdl@nuim.ie.

We also welcome any feedback regarding the ECDL Program, so do get in touch!

The Print

PRESIDENT’S REPORT [ ]

Your Students’ Union

from

Brian Murphy

SU President Brian Murphy lets you know what he’s been up to and keeps you up to date with all you should know about student life.

President Brian Murphy Office Hours: 9.30-5.00 Monday-Friday 01-7086436 president@nuimsu.com VP/Education and Welfare Liz Murray Office Hours: 9:30-5.00 Monday-Friday 01-7086808 vicepresident@nuimsu.com VP/Communications and Development Eoin Byrne Office Hours: 9.30-5.00 Monday-Friday 01-7086249

communications@nuimsu.com

Entertainment Officer Jeff Greene Office Hours: 12.00-2.00 Monday 01-7083946 ents@nuimsu.com

Charity Week Charity Week (formally known as Raise and Give week) will take place from 1st5th of March and during this we will be raising money for our chosen charity the Little Way in Clane. Some of the events we have in the pipeline so far include Duck racing, a marathong and a tug of war between the exec and the senior staff of the University!

Finance Officer Brian Dillon Office Hours: 3.00-5.00 Monday 01-7083946 finance@nuimsu.com Cultural Affairs & Irish Language Officer Joe Byrne Office Hours: 10:00-12:00 Monday 01-7083946 culture@nuimsu.com Keep up to date with all that’s happening in your union nuimsu.com

bebo.com/nuimsu

facebook.com/nuimsu

twitter.com/nuimsu

S.H.A.G. Week Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance week is coming up the week of the 15th of February. Throughout the week we will be promoting safe sex, a healthy attitude towards sex and taking responsibility for your own sexual health.

Although we are still doing the final bits of organising the line up is looking great.

This years S.H.A.G. week will have a treasure hunt, an information fair in the Arts Block, pole dance lessons, free S.H.A.G. packs, a movie screening, the sperm and egg race and a themed night in the S.U. bar - among other things. If you or your club or society is interested in running anything it is not too late to get involved so please contact Liz, our Welfare Officer if you have any questions about it.

The Gathering For those of you who don’t know, we The Gathering will take place on the 3rd of March. It’s the first all day festival held in Maynooth and will include numerous stages with various top acts from Ireland and the UK. See page twenty for more details. We will be launching The Gathering on Monday 1st February. t.

Re-Orientation Week Re-Orientation Week is taking place from the 1st-5th February (first week of semester 2). The idea behind the week is to remind students of all the services that are available to them, without having to go off campus. The week shall also be used to inform students about anything new happening in the services area and what events will be on during

semester two. Throughout the week we will also be distributing a booklet where all the services will have a space to advertise announcements, events etc.

On the back of this booklet there will be a checklist of important dates for the second semester.

Dissolution of the NUI As this is a fairly big topic at the moment, I met with University Registrar Dr. David Redmond to discuss how this would affect our students. He wrote the following letter to let you all know that it’s not as big a deal as you’re being lead to believe

The proposed closing of the NUI Administrative Office in Merrion Square has no implications whatsoever for NUI Maynooth or its students. The Universities Act (1997) established NUI Maynooth as a sovereign independent university with absolute authority to award its own degrees. These degrees become automatically NUI Maynooth degrees and simultaneously NUI degrees without reference to the NUI Administration or any other agency. None of this will change under the proposed legislation. The only change for NUI Maynooth is that certain administrative functions, at present performed by the NUI Administrative Office will devolve to the four constituent universities. These include printing of degree parchments, processing of matriculation exemptions and the maintenance of the matriculation regulations.

Dr David Redmond, Registrar

Keep up to date with Brian at www.twitter.com/ nuimsupresident

WELFARE REPORTS

A word in your ear from Liz Murray giving you helpful tips to keep your body and mind in the best shape possible

K e e p t h e Fi zz out of yo ur Biz Save yourself a Blue Christ mas with Liz’s

Spring Fever is about to hit Maynooth and remember - its better safe than riddled with STIs. You’re just back from the break, and are starving for some second semester loving before you start to have deadlines. You’ve realised that S.H.A.G. week is coming and you know that at least half the student population assume this means you must fornicate with anything that moves and is of the age of consent. It doesn’t! Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week is there to help you get informed and knowledgeable about your sexual health. No matter how buff you are, or how good you think you look in a thong NO-ONE can make genital warts look good.

Here’s a crash course in S.H.A.G. . . .

• Being a tease is the ultimate way to avoid getting pregnant, getting sick or having your bits fall off . Guys love a flirt, girls are stubborn and will consider any guy who doesn’t immediately respond to her a challenge but either way very few will argue that they love a tease.

• Abstinance- pros: your reproductive organs won’t get bunged up with Chlamydia; you won’t have the expense of contraception or pregnancy tests. Cons: If he like it then he gotta put a ring on it.

• Being the #1 Ladies Man, or Woman of the World is definetly one way to make yourself popular well known. No need to . May not actually happen, but there’s always a narrow margin of possibility

The Print Clubs Officer Donal Spring Office Hours: 2.00-4.00 Tuesday 01-7086436 clubs@nuimsu.com Societies Officer Lydia Farrell Office Hours: 2:00-4:00 Tuesday 01-7083946 societies@nuimsu.com

words of wisdo

m

worry about issues such as self restraint but in its place you need to think about the right contraceptive choices for you. There are plenty of different options out there, keep an eye out for the Welfare Sexual Health Stand during S.H.A.G. week.

• Getting you bit – pros: well. . .you get your bit. Cons: You leave yourself open to every single STI out there. If you don’t get tested and are carrying something you could be passing it on to every person you sleep with and every person they sleep with and so on. Even if you think you have left your wild days behind you and settled down with your life long lover, both of you may still have baggage of the STI kind. There is always the possibility you will get pregnant.

Sex. Everybody loves it, but if you feel you’re responsible enough to have sex you need to start looking at your contraceptive choices. 6000 people EVERY DAY contract HIV. There are free condoms available from the Welfare Office all year round. Think using a condom is going to ruin the moment / make you feel less / cost too much? No one is going to go near you if your trunk is leaking gunk (or whatever, you know what I’m getting at).

Anyway, welcome back to second semester!

I hope you’re looking forward to Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week, keep an eye out for your free Welfare packs.

Love

St. Pat’s Representative Sean Dench Office Hours: 1:00-3:00 Thursday 01-7083946 stpatsrep@nuimsu.com

First Year Representative Louise Feahany Office Hours: TBC 01-7083946 firstyear@nuimsu.com

Post Grad Representative

Donnacha Gayer Office Hours: 1.00-3.00 Wednesday 01-7083946 postgrad@nuimsu.com

To make an appointment with any member of the Executive, get the cheapest photocopying on campus or to pick up your student travel card, call into Mary MacCourt in the Students’ Union front office

Liz xx

Getting you happier as the days get longer Here are a few tips to keep your mental health in tip top shape as we hit Valentines’s Day, notorious for being one of the lonlinest days of the year

1. Accept who you are

6. Do something creative

2. If you’ve a problem, alk about

7. Get involved

3. Keep active

8. Ask for help

4. Learn a new skill

9. Relax

5. Keep in touch with your friends

10. Treat yourself every now and again

The Print

Executive Elections February 24th

The Print

Canteen Correspondent He’s opinionated, he knows better than you and you’re going to listen to him whether you like it or not: it can only be the Canteen Correspondent Typical really that as soon as my words of wisdom return to the pages of Maynooth’s student magazine, we go on a month long hiatus. Lucky me. But thankfully (for you) I’m here to see off a new decade and guide you through the shallow waters of NUI Maynooth’s campus life.

What with the exams taking up the last month and the Christmas holidays helping peter out the semester, I haven’t had to endure the comedy of errors that is the general populous of this town, but once again you’re slowly but surely returning and taking up every single seat at my favourite table. Every other table is free, but for some reason, mine is always the first to be taken. Still, it gives me the chance to get a bit of exercise as I wander around campus trying to find some sanctuary away from the mindless ramblings of the student body.

It’s been a while since your faithful Canteen Correspondent first strolled on campus and made this place his home.

Sure the landscape has changed with the plethora of new buildings and facilities and of course population turnover has been incredible but still I find myself becoming more and more disheartened with the state of you all. Each year you find a new way to disappoint me and this year, it appears to be in the form of leggings. Why? Thankfully it seems though that I’ll have even more quiet time as you all pair up to stave off the overpowering loneliness of the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Year in and year out, I’m forced to witness a large portion of the Maynooth population jump head first into relationships that won’t last until the

end of the month. But why, I hear you ask?

To get a little red card or a teddy or some other equally banal and typical gift, only to find it again when they’re moving home for the summer and at that stage can’t even remember who they got it from. That’s why.

I’m disappointed that no one else seems to realise this despite the fact that this happens every year. I try to preach some sense to you, but clearly to no avail because I’m still stuck behind these couples on the footbridge. I’m caught behind them in queues for coffee.

I’m denied my table by swarms of them.

Does your dear Canteen Correspondent believe in this foolishness? Not a chance.

The problem here is the fact that a “Halmark Holiday” is dictating the mating rituals of the modern youth. You’ll pair off now, you’ll get to know each other and you’ll break up. It’s that simple. You’ll be back on the market again by March.

Let me give you an example: last year a friend of mine had a girlfriend simply because the majority of his friends had paired off. He picked an easy target and went out with her until one of his friends became single, then broke up with her. The social pressure to be part of a couple in the hope that this person will save you is foolish. Is CC in a happy, committed relationship? No. Why? Because he has standards. Sure, they’ll dip a little after a few pints but at the end of the day Maynooth girls don’t float his boat as often as they used to. There’s a good chance that it’s because it looks like there are only three girls on campus: fashionably windswept blonde girl in leggings, fashionably windswept brunette in leggings and, of course, gingers.

Slim pickings considering that CC has

not, nor will he ever suffer from the horrific and sickening disease of ginger-fever.

But let’s get away from that pale and unnatural topic. The problem for your intrepid reporter here is the veritable flash-mob of mating. With SHAG Week quickly following Valentine’s Day this year I can only begin to imagine the surplus of poorly phrased propositions for quick, inexperienced fornication. Sure, it’ll seem like a good idea at the time but mid-coitus you’ll realise that you’re not designed to have sex with someone twice your weight with thick black back hair. Take a bit of advice from someone who’s lived the life you long to; raise the bar a little. Let the uglies breed with the uglies and the gingers with the gingers. Fingers crossed that they’ll breed themselves out of existance in a few generations.

But where was I? Ah, yes. You guys stay the hell away from my table.

Want to let him know how you feel? Facebook.com/ canteencorrespondent

The Print

The Jeff 2009: A Musical Oddessy?

Word Jeff Greene takes it upon himself to tell it like it is

I have never wished to be the bearer of bad news; that has never and will never be my wish, to be remembered as the man who started the Great War. It’s tough though, you know, telling hundreds of people, this grouping; this pool of human innocence that they are in critical danger. All I can hope for is that this forewarning be my legacy and my penitence for potentially causing these dark and violent times to come. I speak to you of a game that has become so much more, an obsession maybe, or a survivalists nightmare. This nightmare is the upcoming game of Humans vs. Zombies.

This will blanket the entire campus in fear and for some a sense of helplessness, but it is the others I address. I speak now to the brave souls who will not be daunted by the waves of ghouls that were once their friends, colleagues or for an unlucky few, their lovers. It is for them I pray loudest of all. Those, to whom I refer to will look deep into the dead eyes of their enemies, lower their foam dart guns and end their undead torment. If only for a while. The very definition of courage speaks not to those who are unafraid, but to those who feel this fear and carry on regardless of every instinct they were blessed with at birth. It is these warriors whom the dead WILL fear, though if turned to the side of those walking monsters, threaten the very existence of the human race. This plague hits the Maynooth campus on the twenty second of February and will ravage our haven for a full week.

The Game will begin with one randomly selected Zombie from the humans who sign up. To be infected you must only be tagged by one of these foul creatures, after which this wretched being will have only one sweet hour of humanity left before succumbing to the virus. Fear not however, for these demons are not unstoppable. A foam bullet of any kind or a pair of balled up socks will knock out a zombie for fifteen minutes.

There will be administrators to make sure there is no cheating and the humans will receive daily missions to make sure they do not simply hide away for the week and claim victory over the rotting horde. To register yourself or a team just contact Jeff at ents@ nuimsu.com and you will receive everything you need to know. God help us all.

10

2009 was a pretty big year for music, and defiantly not what anyone expected.

It started with U2 releasing an eagerly anticipated new album which overwhelmingly failed to impress the critics and disappeared fairly quickly, and ended with Rage Against the Machine beating The X Factor finalist Joe McElderry to Christmas number one in the UK. It was a year of triumphant return for old bands, both Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam released long awaited albums, and Robbie Williams followed his former band mates Take That and unveiled a comeback of his own. Maybe even more surprising than the Rage Against the Machine number one, Robbie’s album was actually pretty good. Anyway here is a list, in no particular order, of my own personal top five favourite albums from the year just gone.

BIFFY CLYRO ONLY REVOLUTIONS

The fifth album from the Scottish band is probably one of their best, an album that sounds like brilliant radio rock music, but with an underlying layer of hidden meaning that will keep you coming back for more.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WORKING ON A DREAM

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band are at their very best here, combining sweet, uplifting melodies with soulful, moving blues.

This is experienced and gifted musicians doing what they do at the highest standard.

KASABIAN WEST RYDER PAUPER LUNATIC ASYLUM

A bold and brilliantly daring piece of music, Kasabian went beyond a simple pop rock band and became something truly special with this album. Taking the wildly experimental route, Kasabian have crated something really different, but absolutely amazing.

THE PRODIGY INVADERS MUST DIE

LUNGS

The debut album from Florence and the Machine combines soaring, epic vocals, with quirky, dreamy melodies, and is entirely unlike anything else out there at the moment. A brilliant first impression that left plenty of people hungry for more.

Rolling Stone called it nothing but “pummelling, vacuous rave noise — useful mainly for thrash dancing and scaring neighbours,” but for me this is by far one of the best albums of the year. It’s intense and furious, music that hits you right in the face and demands to be turned up as loud as it will go Bernard O’Rourke

The Little Way Cancer Support Centre, Clane

NUIMSU’s Charity 2009-10

The Print

An Eye On...

Each issue we’ll be casting an eye on a specific club or society on campus. This issue we’ll be covering the winners of last year’s Best Society Award: the Dance Soc Dance Soc have had a very successful and busy first semester between competitions, classes and performances with X-factor finalists! But that’s not all!

Next semester promises even more frivolity and unforgettable Dance Soc events with a trip to Carlow for the All Ireland Intervarsities gearing up to be the highlight of the social calendar.

Firstly, the Dance Society would like to congratulate our HipHop teacher Aidean who has reached the semi finals of Sky 1’s Got to Dance with the Raw Edge Crew. Raw Edge is the only act from Ireland to make it through to the live semi finals and we hope everyone will get behind them and show their support by voting on Sunday January 31st. Best of luck to Aidean and the Raw Edge Crew!

Dance Soc kicked off the year with a trip to the All Ireland HipHop Championships in Trabolgan where members of the society competed in solo competitions.

The competition streak continued on into October where two crews from NUIM competed in Hip Hop Idol in the basketball arena in Tallaght. Due the incredibly high standard and interest at the auditions, resident NUIM crew Lost Souls were joined by a new crew Chronix. Both crews performed flawlessly on the day and we were proud to take home 3rd and 6th place in the crew competition and a 1st place in the solos.

In between capoeira, jazz and poledancing workshops the dance soc took to the stage at the annual talent show, Fusion. The society performed a ballet routine to Enya’s Oiche Ciuin, a hard shoe Irish dancing pice a cappella and both Lost Souls and Chronix performed their hip hop routines.

Arts week was hectic time for the

dance society. A ceili workshop was held in preparation for the evening’s ceili in the SU bar which was a huge success. Next, the society showcased their deadly sin with a performance at Spotlight Societys’ annual fashion show. To end Arts week and top of Semester 1 the society performed Jingle Bell Rock onstage with Xfactor Finalists Lucie Jones and Kandi Rain at the Christmas Bar-Ex. If mingling with ‘celebs’ and performing is your passion there is still time to get involved because Dance Soc have a jam packed agenda for semester 2.

The All Ireland Dance Experiment will take place in the Helix, DCU on February 18th.

NUIM will be entering a piece in this show which will try to mix different styles of dance and music.

The biggest and most exciting event of the dance society’s year is still to come however. The Dance Intervarsities will take place on March 11th in Carlow. Last year NUIM came away with 4 trophies, winning first place in the mixed section and second overall. The dance intervarsities are always a great event with a great night out afterwards! We will be working hard for the next few weeks on jaw dropping performances for the intervarsities. If anyone would like to get involved for the intervarsitites there is still time! Just email dancesoc@nuim.ie.

Classes in ballet, hip hop and Irish dancing will continue in semester 2 as well as workshops in dance fitness and jazz.

Dance Soc will also be performing in the end of year show Fusion. Dance Soc promise great things for semester 2 so if you want to shake your whammy fanny and get involved now is your chance! There’s always time for dance!

words by Aoife O’Neill

If you want your Club or Society to feature in “An Eye On” next issue, drop us an email at features@nuimsu.com

The Life of Brian

Waking up this morning I get an inescapable sense of destiny. There it goes again. Oh wait, you can’t hear it, can you? That voice in my head that exclaims “You are a bear of a man”. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that I have an exaggerated sense of self-worth in my physical body. Well, you couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that I am a bear of a man, in such a deep, intrinsic sense of the word that it is beyond the imagination of two-thirds of the population of Gdansk. As I make my steep descent onto the roof of the John Hume Building the voice starts talking again. This is my Destiny!

Twelve hours later and I am still in the solitary cell of the Maynooth Garda Station. I have consulted my solicitor and he believes that the argument I made to the loyal protectors of the law in the back of the ‘Party Wagon’ can only have hindered my cause.

However I am still sure that I can get out of this conviction on the grounds that there was nothing indecent about that exposure.

In fact, as far as I’m concerned I was doing it for the greater good. This morning destiny proclaimed that the people of Maynooth were to get what they deserved. And they deserved me.

Eight months later and I am sitting in a court room. My hysterical laughter upon the bailiff’s announcement of “The people versus Brian Dillon” doesn’t seem to have impressed the judge. However, he must be able to understand my vantage point. The people love me. Ever since that faithful day I have become something of a cult hero, even making it into the national rags. People shout “Taaaaarzaaaan” and “Rambooooo” at me in the street and I can’t even urinate in the local public houses without people wishing to shake my hand. I can’t lose this case. Why not, you may wonder. Because it is my destiny.

I lose the court case and am handed a heavy fine as well as a huge amount of counselling sessions (which I get for free!).

I’m still not sure where I went wrong though.

My solicitor told me to keep quiet and to let him do the talking so I did. After the charges were read out (“You stand accused of scaling a large public building, dressed in nothing bar for having a fur rug draped around your neck and proceeding to chant unintelligible lyrics and perform what sources described as some kind of a rain dance.”) the judge asked me “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

To which I replied “No…. no I, um, I think I’m grand. Thanks for asking though.” Was I not doing exactly what my solicitor said?

I guess you never can tell what destiny has in store for you.

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The Print

No Laughing Matter A scathing look at the state of Irish comedy As a student who loves to laugh and generally has a (sometimes insane, sometimes inane) sense of humour, I was disgusted to switch on Rte 2 last Tuesday night. As much as I hate Podge and Rodge, I would have gladly preferred them to the unladylike antics of the ‘comedienne’ Katherine Lynch. I would certainly have welcomed both sadistic puppets back with open arms. What Katherine Lynch got up to in the neighbouring district of Carton House during the summer is both beyond belief and downright mean. This ‘Mock-U-Soap’ in the words of RTE ‘follows the aromatic adventures of a quartet of highly unusual, but nigglingly identifiable, Modern Irish Women.’

Welcome to the modern world, in other words.

Katherine came to Carton House with one aim only – to see the player Cristiano Ronaldo. But no, she wasn’t going to stop there, not until she had exposed herself (figuratively and literally) to all and sundry.

Her sidekick (a foot shorter than she was to give Ms Lynch a cartoonish effect) ended up lugging her stuff around. She wasn’t used cleverly as was the character seen in ‘In Bruges’, and she did not have the last laugh at any stage. This, in effect, was comedy at its worst. There’s being comfortable with your body, and there’s exploiting innocent bystanders while flashing your knickers to an unsuspecting audience.

This seems to be a recurring trend with RTE, who shunned intelligent comedy programs such as Father Ted and yet promote this trailer trash image of Ireland, which doesn’t even portray Ireland in remotely realistic terms. Cristiano Ronaldo did take it all rather well in the end, considering his golf caddy was leapt onto by a well-built woman yelling obscenities at him. But if Ireland continues in this manner, it is sure to lose all the respect that it has worked so hard to build up. I’ll put it bluntly –Dermot Morgan would be turning in his grave to see Irish comedy today. No thought went into this show – Katherine seemed to have written the script herself (along with her ‘creative partner’ as RTE informs me helpfully) and the only laugh she raised among my fellow viewers and I was that of her accent. This to me does not symbolise good comedy.

We should never have let it get this far! I don’t pretend to be an expert on comedy but I do know that any art needs a script that is comprehensible. And no hiding behind the mask of the second wave of feminism either – comediennes can occasionally perform well, as Dawn French’s ‘Vicar of Dibley’ has

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Once More With Feeling proven. It all has to do with the thought that goes into the show. The reason why Ireland has not a credible comedienne to her name is literally because they are stuck in the middle of a bunch of men all the time, as in The Panel. The Panel, once a staple favourite of households, has now diminished due to the introduction of a certain economist into their midst, who sticks labels on people and predicted the end of the recession. How does this make him a comedian? Comedians need to be alongside other comedians in order to progress. It doesn’t matter if people tune in for the first viewing, what they come to see is entertainment, not preachiness.

Which is why I know that I am walking on eggshells when I say that we must rise above this poor quality of ‘light entertainment.’

Yet I feel that without a change in comedy, we will forever lament the loss of our boxsets of Brendan Grace, Hall’s Pictorial Weekly or Father Ted as family viewing.

On the positive side, we’ll always have our paddywhackery to fall back on. Some people may be satisfied with repeats of Killnaskully for the rest of their televisionviewing lives. Yet other peoples’ dreams of the past may be but a faint memory unless some person steps in and says ‘Enough is enough!’ I personally nominate Tommy Tiernan. He can be blasphemous at times but at least he doesn’t physically jump on unsuspecting professional footballers as they train in a secluded part of Maynooth.

Graham Norton, Dylan Moran the list goes on. We do have talent, we just don’t know how to use it. I’ll personally be watching Glee for the comedy this season anyway.

And no, before you leap on the back of my bandwagon, Ms Lynch, I am criticising the system, not you. The future for you, my friend, lies in stage performance, so go for it!

Elaine Brennan

A quick word about the show that’s stealing our girlfriends, sisters and may just be a guilty pleasure of one or two guys out there as well Glee, for those of you who haven’t dedicated the last few weeks of your life to waiting for episodes of it to stream, is effectively the funniest and most addictive show out since. . .well I’m not really sure what you could compare it to but I can guarantee that you’ll laugh your ass off watching it. A Glee club is a show choir and over the series a bunch of misfits, cheerleaders and jocks sing and dance through their personal problems in the hopes of winning nationals. Despite this sounding more irritating than a family holiday in Trabolgan, it genuinely is addictive.

Journey, Queen, and Kanye West have nothing on the Glee cast. Take a combination of every high school stereotype imaginable, give them all great voices and personalities, and set them loose on a selection of the best selling songs from the past few decades (and the Thong Song) and you’ve got the basis for a hit TV. show. Every cringe worthy situation they get in will have you in stitches.

All the characters are quirky in their own way and you won’t get ‘dead’ episodes full of filler scenes.

I had seen the adds and wasn’t sold on it but after watching the first few episodes I was hooked. If for no other reason you have to watch it just to experience the wrath of Sue Sylvester. The sound of a musical type TV show would automatically put people off but the only irritating thing about it is the fact you’ll be singing don’t stop believing – the show tunes version, for a week after watching it. Give Glee a go, it’ll be well worth it.

And that’s how Liz C’s it!

Liz Murray

Hungry?

The Print

For decorative nonsense, go buy a Delia Smith book. For recpies that are useful to the students who pay for this magazine, look no further for meals that are cheap, fast, healthy and sexy.

Veggie: Students make up the highest percentage of vegetarians. Only fair.

Fast: These meals are simple and made in no time.

Healthy: Grow a little with the following recipies. These meals are junk-free.

Since a good portion of the college Recipe #1: population are vegetarians, we thought that this issue we’d catre for Vegetarian Lasagne them. Here’s a tasty vegeatarian lasagna

for

our

herbivore

Sexy: Hide your incompetence from your girlfriend that little bit longer with one of these.

You will need:

brethren

1 pack of sheet lasagne 1 tin of chopped

1. Mix the tomatoes and pureé in a pot and bring to a boil, stir in the courgette and cook for about 5 minutes.

tomatoes 1 tin of tomatoe pureé

2. Ladle a bit of sauce into the baking dish and spread it around so that the bottom of the dish is lightly coated.

1 large courgette

3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

200g fresh spinach

4. Place lasagne sheets in the pan to form a single layer. If necessary, break to fill gaps.

Cheddar Cheese

450g ricotta cheese

5. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese on the sheets, then lay out 1/3 of the spinach on top of that. Sprinkle or place 1/3 of the cheese, then cover with tomato sauce.

6. Repeat twice, using 1/3 of ingredients for each layer, saving a sprinkle of cheese to garnish the top.

7. Bake for about 1 hour, until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Let cool slightly and serve.

You will need: 1 Demi-baguette per person Butter 1-2 cloves of Garlic

Recipe #2: Garlic Bread

Words by Laura Wilson

An incredibly simple accompaniment to any Italian dish or as a snack on its own

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius

and toast on one side until golden brown

2. Peel and crush the garlic

5. Turn the baguette over and add a generous amount of butter

3. Add to the butter and mix thoroughly 4. Slice the baguette down the middle

6. Toast until the butter melts

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The Print Stay tuned for how this story continues next issue in The Print

T he M u r d er o f C r o ws

by James Joseph Emerald

“The Murder of Crows” is a serialised story about a murder in the John Hume Building, with a new installment in every issue of The Print. The Print accepts no liability for anyone that mistakes it for a true story and calls the Gardai.

To get to the tiny graveyard on the southern campus, you have to pass a statue of Jesus on the cross, and walk down a dark path. The trees on either side have been grown in such a way as to form a kind of tunnel, blocking out almost all light. Max had always thought of it as a metaphor for death: there was a light at the end.

But today, the fog made it look like a void. Surreal, and empty.

It had taken Max several seconds to register that Sam’s gun was drawn and aimed at the boy’s chest.

“Sam, w-what are you doing? You can’t wave guns around without a good reason. You know that.”

As Max moved towards the graveyard, pangs of uneasiness spread out from the pit of his stomach. He could hear the call of crows nearby, in the trees, hidden in the shadows and mist. Something felt wrong. He tried to shake it off. Just exhaustion, making him paranoid. He hadn’t been sleeping well since he came to this town.

The student accommodations he’d rented out were barely liveable. Just like old times.

“What’s going on, Sam?”

Max walked through the stone arch, over the threshold.

He’d made it beyond the Tunnel of Death. He inhaled sharply, realising he’d been holding his breath. But the tension in his gut remained, twisting up tighter as he moved into the centre of the cemetery. So small and isolated. Just headstones and smoke. But still no sign of— Samantha and a boy – presumably Rufus – were in the corner, behind a small stone shed-like building no more than 6 feet high. Some sort of crypt. He was slender and tall, wearing a long-sleeve white T-shirt and blue jeans, with unkempt, jet-black hair. He must have been cold, but he hid it well. His body language showed resignation, with no signs of resistance, and his gaze was fixed on his shoes. Yet he looked completely calm. Sam didn’t.

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“She has a good reason,” Rufus said, without lifting his gaze, his tone completely neutral. Max couldn’t read anything about the guy.

Sam didn’t reply. Max looked at her more closely. She was trembling slightly. There was an intense look in her eyes that Max had never seen before. It seemed like… terror.

“S-Sam? What’s wrong?” Max grabbed her arm, gently, and lowered it. The pistol fell from her hand. She felt limp.

Weak. “What is this?”

“This,” Rufus said, and the calling of the crows grew louder as he spoke, “is her requiem. The dirges of her hope. Listen.”

Sam collapsed into Max’s arms. He wasn’t expecting it, and stumbled back, letting her fall to the ground.

“Sam?” The boy, Rufus, walked away, slowly, out of the graveyard. Max didn’t know what to do. His thoughts were drowned out by the screaming crows, building to a crescendo.

“I need… please,” Sam tried to say. Her breathing was laboured.

“What? What do I do? What’s happening? For God’s

sake!”

“I need… a light.”

“W-What?”

She took a cigarette from behind her ear. Max hesitated a moment, then fumbled inside her jacket for a lighter.

He lit the cigarette, and she took a deep drag.

“Nice,” she said. “Was dying for a smoke.”

“Are you okay? You look faint. I’m going to call some paramedics or something.”

She shook her head, slightly, and then died. Right there, at that moment. Somehow, he knew. He saw the life fade from her eyes. It made no sense. It was just a dream.Anightmare. He felt cold and tired and confused and numb. The maelstrom of shrieks and screeches was overwhelming. He needed to get away.

Max stepped back through the dark tunnel. He caught sight of Rufus heading towards the cathedral. The boy did this. He could fix it. There was no time for logic. Only instinct. He couldn’t stand it any longer, being tormented by the murder of crows.

http://www.facebook.com/people/ James-Joseph-Emerald/

The Print

15

16

winter

Always

for

up isn t just

,

w r a p p i n g

B e c a u s e

The Print

condom

use a

February

&

Guidance

16 t h - 1 8 t h

Sexual Health Awareness

S.H.A.G Week

The Print

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The Print

18

The Print

General Whimsy CROSSWORD

courtesy of Maria Carty-Mole

ACROSS

DOWN

1 Obtain mislaid - and perhaps be told 1 Obtain work and a bog jet from this (3,1,3) 2, 5, 10 and 18 down: The beginnings of My this when you try to 1 down! (3,4) Magical Xylophone, and of a new decade 5 Exams and little Testaments (5) (3,8,3,3,) 8 The tank engine towards church? (6) 3 On the other hand Albert uses the mouth 9 Me, loud? I’ll study it as part of my (4) course (6) 4 Endless tax - thanks slang! (2) 11 Joke of south in an aeroplane (4) 5 See 2 Down 13 Biased with two edges less than a 6 Trustworthy gnaw makes a brief quote in triangle (3-5) news story (5,4) 15 Sounds like plait and vowels is the 7 High-spirited horse from St. Edward of the place for a Wednesday night! (6) East (5) 16 Small garden animals with part of 12 10 See 2 down down (6) 19 Let’s hate to be confused and sporty (8) 12 View egg coverings on the sea shore (9) 20 Humongous and disordered game (4) 14 Golf trophy from which a 7 down cruiser 22 Mate? Brilliant! Royal home created (6) can drink (5,3) 17 Quiet, an French no…for a river and 23 Fake 7 down for mythological Greek airport (7) War (6) 18 See 2 down (3) 26 This fables creator is so ape! (5) 19 The start of the Greek letters, and the 27Frosty figure (7) English without wager (5) 21 Therefore…err, leave! (4) 24 Fruity and saucy in pyjamas (3) 25 Exists as ninth letters of the English alphabet (2)

Crossword solution issue 3. Across: snow, baa, mass, bar ex, madonna, ham, paper, nick, silent, night, turkey, needle, tree, donkey, present, hotpunch. Down: halo, wraping, sheep, stable, mincepies, decoration, tinsel, noel, christmas, holy, wreath, sleigh, pipe

SUDOKU The first correctly completed crossword to be returned to the VP Comms office will win two free tickets to _________________

Congratulations to Fiach O’Neill & James Boyle who returned the first correct crossword from our last edition. For those of you who spent your Christmas pondering over the answers, you can find them below this issue’s crossword

19

The Print

The Gat

gath·er·ing (găTH’ər-ĭng), Noun: that which is gathered or amassed; a collection or accumulation, an assembly of persons; a meeting; the act or fact of coming together

3 stages

The Gathering brings together some top international acts and you for NUI Maynooth’s first ever music festival. With more acts being added in the coming weeks, here’s a taste of who you’ll get to see so far.

Blissfully at home in his own alluring genre of beautifully bruised romanticism, Duke Special is a world unlike any other - a world filled with vaudeville-esque sensibility, sing-a-longs and addictive melodies. “My sound is a bit vagabondy, but pure and soulful too,” he explains. “Before this I was desperately trying to find my voice and the kind of music that really sat well with who I was. I’d been in a couple of rock bands, but I always imagined people of all ages at our concerts, so started working on demos with a friend, producer Paul Wilkinson, and Duke Special was born.”

A fervent performer who harks back to the pre-rock ’n roll era with dashes of Gershwin and orchestral swing, he stands on stage with a white-knuckle grasp on originality. Gloriously vintage and unlike any other artist, Duke Special is exactly that.

Want to hear more? www.dukespecial.com

Sidney Samson After seeing a couple of DMC mix championships, his interest began in dj-ing and started in 1995 at the age of 14. During that time he mainly played RnB and HipHop tunes at local clubs. He switched his style completely into house music in 1999 and became the resident DJ of the ‘Exxellent’ nights at one of Holland’s biggest clubs The Matrixx in 2003. His producing skills really took off in that period. His first real club banger was called ‘Sidney Samson-It’s all funked up!’ (Spinnin’ Records 2003), which had a high rotation by DJ’s like ErickE and Jean. After this release, Sidney knew that he couldn’t stop here and locked himself up in his studio. ‘Nobody Move’, ’Rock This’, ‘Girls’, ‘Aeroplane’ and ‘Viruz’ were some resulting floor fillers, to name but a few. His biggest hit to date is ‘Riverside’ which made it to #3 in the Irish Charts Want to hear more? www.sidneysamson.com/

Neo Super Vital Neosupervital is a one-man electro-pop outfit based in Dublin. Neosupervital is the nom-de-pop of Tim O’Donovan, a multiinstrumentalist on the verge of releasing his second album; Proceeds, ten prime slices of electronic funk pop, in spring 2010. Last time out Neosupervital live was a band affair - with three other people on stage- but this time it’s just Tim going it alone. He’s playing guitar and synthesizer and singing onstage, and wants you to dance and sing along.

Indeed the first single; big on funk guitars, percussion, big synths and big drums, is called “Dance with You” was released July 10 2009.

Want to hear more? www.neosupervital.com

Keep an eye on www.nuimsu.com/thegathering for details of more acts as they’re added 20

Mick Flannery

In the last couple of years Mick Flannery has gone from part time stonemason to one of Irelands most sought after musicians.

Currently writing his third album, a follow up to the hugely praised ‘White Lies’ he has played a string of sold out shows all over Ireland, one of the most notable being a double headline show at the Marquee Cork with John Spillane. Last year he was nominated for the Choice album awards, was cited as ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ by Hotpress readers (also making it into their 250 best irish albums) and won ‘Best Male’ at the Meteor Awards. The year 2009 was more than a successful year for Flannery with two sold out Vicar Street shows, a re-release of his platinum selling critically acclaimed album White Lies and collaborations with Kate Walsh, John Spillane and more. Who knows what 2010 has in store.

Want to hear more? www.mickflannery.com

Saccade are a four piece indie-pop rock band hailing from the north side of Dublin.

Having already enjoyed high profile support slots with bands such as The Coronas, Delorentos, The Flaws, and Ham Sandwich over the last 6 months, they have been steadily making a name for themselves on the live circuit.

After forming in 2006, the band spent their first year writing, rehearsing, recording, and gigging the live circuit in Dublin. Spring 2007 saw the release of their debut E.P ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’, with one of the tracks, ‘Wasting My Time’ reaching number 5 in the downloadmusic.ie chart. ‘Wasting My Time’ was also selected by an independent panel of industry experts to be included on the downloadmusic.ie USB album, launched in August 2008.

Want to hear more? www.myspace.com/saccade

athering } 12 hours

Mundy

When Danny O’Reilly (vocals/guitar) met Graham Knox (bass) for the first time, O’Reilly was only two weeks old while Knox had barely escaped his mothers’ womb. All their lives they were surrounded by music but it wasn’t until O’Reilly began writing songs at the tender age of 13 that they decided it would be cool to start a band.

They recruited Terenure College school friends Conor Egan (drums) and another close friend to form Kiros and performed their first gig on a Saturday afternoon in a run-down pub in Dublin’s city centre to about 10 friends. The lads were all of 15, already hooked. Their adventures as Kiros, however, were short-lived as the band broke up before they turned 18. O’Reilly, Knox and Egan, however, continued to create music but soon they began to miss the thrill of live gigging and, calling themselves Corona, they decided to start playing to anyone who would listen. Their hit singles “Grace, Don’t Wait!” and “San Diego Song” which spent a staggering 16 weeks in the Irish top 40 and the release of their debut album “Heroes or Ghosts” in October was met with rave reviews and has been lodged in the Irish charts ever since.

1 day

The Print

MARCH 3rd 2010 sees Maynooth venture to a new and unknown place in the shape of the coming together of People in an act of Music, Dance, Performance, Noise, laughter, movement and self gratification.

Born Edmund Enright in Birr, County Offaly, Mundy is an Irish singer-songwriter. He released his debut album Jellylegs in 1996 on the Epic Records label. The album included the song “To You I Bestow”, which was featured on the bestselling soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation Romeo + Juliet. 24 Star Hotel was released on Camcor Records - a label Mundy himself set up, primarily funded by his royalties from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. Camcor Records is named for the Camcor River, a popular fishing spot, which runs through the town of Birr. The album contained the song “July”, an ode to the joys of the Irish summer, which gained heavy airplay throughout the

The Chapters have been building to the release of their debut album for some time – since they formed in college. It is the culmination of years of passion and hard work.

In 2008 the band gigged to large crowds nationwide supporting Neil Young, Cathy Davey, Chuck Berry & The Coronas to name but a few. On the back of interest in Looking for Love (the single released in 2007) the band entered into negotiations with a promising new company. The promise was short lived.

Demos were recorded, producers contacted and meetings were had. By summer a deal was on the cards. While waiting for things to be ironed out, the band decamped to a disused factory, where they renovated a large bright rehearsal space. The core of the album was written, the songs were getting better and better. Confidence was high and everything was looking up. The band were offered a deal with 3u Records. They were passionate about the music and wanted to see it released.

Within two months, a renewed determination and sense of hope, they were in the studio, putting down the album with up-and-coming Irish producer Ciaran Bradshaw.

The result is the debut album: Perfect Stranger Want to hear more? www.myspace.com/ thechaptersofficial

TICKETS

summer months, and is, for Irish audiences at least, Mundy’s signature tune. Along with ‘July’ the album contained ‘Mexico’ and with both receiving extensive radio play and some huge Irish festival appearances, 24 Star Hotel has gone on to triple platinum status in Ireland. In 2008 Mundy continually guested with Sharon Shannon’s Big Band alongside Damien Dempsey and Shane McGowan,where he performed his most popular track to date: Galway Girl.

Want

to

hear

more?

www.mundy.ie

The Japanese Popstars Native to Northern Ireland (any fetishists expecting cute Japanese girls can leave now), and consisting of Declan McLaughlin aka Decky Hedrock, Gary Curran, and Gareth Donoghue.

The Japanese Popstars aren’t indie rave, or any other sub-sub-sub genre, theirs is big room, cool as f**k electronic music built for festivals and stadiums. They’re not dance kids aping indie kids, nor are they indie kids dropping synths and calling themselves ‘ravers’.

Over the past year the band have remix the likes Beyonce, The Ting Tings, Shinichi Osawa, Pete Tong, The Music, Depeche Mode, Editors and Groove Armada, as well as taking thier energy fueled live show to many major clubs and festivals around the world and the band stood testament to this in 2009 by releasing thier own live album “We Just Are: Live”, which was recorded infront of 8000 thousand people!

Want to hear more? www.myspace.com/thejapanesepopstars

€35 for students €45 for non-students 21

The Print

DVD: Black Dymanite “The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House.”

Normally, I’d be quite worried by films that star their writer as they has a tendency to be self-serving and, more often than not, terrible. Actors act, writers write and that’s why there is a clear distinction. Strangely, this is not the case with 2009 blaxploitation film “Black Dynamite” which is a amazingly enjoyable comedy and action romp.

Clearly at the mention of blaxploitation many of you are going to think I sound like a pretentious film nerd, but that’s not the case; a friend of mine found this gem on the internet.

Blaxploitation, for those of you who don’t know, is a genre of films that the JD Quench series of Sprite ads are based on. “Black Dynamite” is a parody of this genre where terms like “cracker”, “jive turkey” and “honkey” are thrown around left, right and centre as well as a disregard for political correctness in all its forms.

The characters are an array of bitches, pimps, hos, playas, hustlas and militant brothers and sisters, all of whom go out of their way to help Black Dynamite (an ex-CIA agent with a taste for kung fu, sharp suits and beautiful women) figure out who killed his kid brother and wage war on the drug barons who are selling heroin to orphans. Sure, it sounds ridiculous, but it’s a fantastic comedy.

When I first watched it, it appeared to be a genuine action film, but within minutes, it jumps to levels of daftness I’ve never seen before and holds your attention for the full ninety minutes.

Funnier than The Hangover and more quotable than Anchorman (“I know I was the best CIA agent the CIA ever had, but I thought I told you honkies from the CIA that Black Dynamite was out of the game!”), Black Dynamite is my film of 2009.

Since this film was only released in one cinema here in Ireland, I would strongly encourage each and every one of you to go out and buy a copy of it on DVD when it comes out February 16. It’ll be worth every penny Also, in case you didn’t figure it out, the Honky House is the White House.

Directors:

Scott Sanders

Writers:

Michael Jai White Byron Minns

Staring:

Michael Jai White Arsenio Hall Tommy Davidson

Review by Jack Napier

Album: Rated R by Rihanna The new album from Barbajan Rihanna Fenty is a true return to form for this promising young artist. Taking a new direction with this album, her new sound is raw and dark, a pleasant break from mainstream pop and most noticeably is worlds apart from her 2007 hit record “Good Girl Gone Bad”.

Highly anticipated by both fans and press alike, “Rated R” proves to be a welcome return to form for Rihanna as her new singles race up the charts and take the airwaves by storm. The album itself

22

is compiled of 14 well written tracks showing the growth of the artist both as a performer and as a person. The tracks are finely crafted and show a blend of well composed lyrics, experimental sounds and an array of instruments with welcome guest collaborations from the likes of Ne-Yo. Rihanna’s “fierce” artwork and new image have definitely turned many heads around the world. Another hairstyle and another wardrobe, this Barbajan lady has shown exactly what she wants “Rated R” to represent.

The first single from the album,

The Print

Album: Echoes by Leona Lewis Having began her musical career as the winner of 2006’s X-Factor, Leona Lewis has only recently released her second studio album, “Echo”. This album is a fabulous collection, full of powerful lyrics and vocals showing that there is good reason why Leona Lewis is one of the strongest females in the music business today. The 14track album has a range of genrecrossing songs, from ballads to energetic floor-fillers, and Lewis herself herself has shown her own personal growth since the release of her debut album, “Spirit”.

Her first two singles, “Happy” and “I Got You”, have made great commercial success and are notably two of the best songs on the album. The former was promoted very strongly on live shows to huge audience applause.

The video is rather generic though, with a storyline of a couple falling in and out of love as the lyrics reflect the emotion. The producer of this track, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, has helped Lewis largely with “Echo” in many visible ways. “I Got You” became the second single released from the

“Russian Roulette” brought about many questions in relation to her lyrics, the video and especially the artwork. Her second single “Hard” will clearly receive more airplay due to its upbeat tempo and cheeky sound. Other notable tracks on the album include “Wait Your Turn”, “Te Amo” and “Cold Case Love”. The first of these was part of the teaser campaign for this project back in midOctober. The song was released on her official website with a promotional music video “for the fans”. “Te Amo” is one of more interesting tracks on the album, with lyrics spreading rumours

November album. A pop song with powerful music, this is definitely one of the best tracks by Lewis since her debut. The lyrics are very heartwarming and its upbeat tempo will make it an inevitable floor-filler.

Similarly, “Outta My Head” is very upbeat and shows off Lewis’ vocal range. Many of the album’s songs have been co-written by Lewis, (which is unusual for an X-Factor winner) a good sign of a musician in control of her career and music.

An Oasis cover is also featured on the 14-track album, which is very like her cover of “Run”. “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” is very effective and leaves you wanting to listen to it time and time again. Singing this track live on the X-Factor in December 2009, Lewis showed off how she is still able to make this cover her own hit.

All in all, this album is a great indication of the talent of Lewis and will hopefully show all of the nay-sayers that she is not a one trick pony and that she is a musical force to be reckoned with.

Tracks to listen out for: Happy, I Got You, Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Outta My Head, Love Letter, Lost Then Found

Her concert tickets for June 2010 are still available from Ticketmaster.ie

far and wide of her sexuality. It’s warm island sound and compelling lyrics are bound to have this become one of the year’s most memorable tracks.

“Cold Case Love” is another ballad with wonderful production value and great instrumentation. It’s the longest track on the album at a whopping six minutes nine seconds and has already become a fan-favourite.

With her summer tour selling out around the world, it’s clear that Rihannna’s star is only on the rise.

Review by Nirina Plunkett

Review by Nirina Plunkett

Love films, tv shows or music? Found an album that’s changed your life? Recently watched a film that’s made you want to rip out your eyes? We want to hear about it. Drop us a line at reviewsprint@ nuimsu.com 23

NEWS: OPINIONS The Print

Free Speech on Trial?

For those of you who aren’t aware, a political trial began on the 20th of January against Geert Wilders in Amsterdam. That said, I wouldn’t blame any of you for not being aware, as the silence from the media is deafening. Mr. Wilders’ crime? He is standing trial for offending a group of people –that group being Muslims. Two years ago Wilders made a short documentary called “Fitna”, which translates to English as “strife”.

In it, he shows violent verses from the Koran, Imams preaching said verses and terrorists acting upon the direction of those verses (they themselves use it as justification, Wilders does not make that assumption for us). Wilders used no actors or directed anyone’s movements or actions in any way.

It was a 100% Muslim production. Yet, they brand him a racist and a bigot and now they have him on trial for incitement to hatred.

To me this is incredible. How can someone who simply shows people inciting hatred, be accused of it himself? I draw the comparison of whistle-blowers regarding child abuse in the Catholic Church. This situation would be akin to them standing trial for making the Church look bad as oppose to the common sense approach that it was the Church themselves. Let me make something very clear from the outset because people will ultimately try to dismiss what I am saying as me being a bigot. The incredible majority of Muslims are peace loving people who have no inclination towards Koranic literalism. However the CIA estimates that between 15-20% of Muslims worldwide are radicalised (jihadist). I know many of you will dispute this figure so I will offer one that is palatable to you all. Let us assume that just 1% of Muslims are radicalised (which I think you will all agree is vastly underestimating the figure), that equates to twelve million people hell bent on destroying all nonIslamic civilisation (their words not mine).

If we are to be honest with ourselves –which I think is paramount given the seriousness of the threat- we must accept that this is a problem which needs to be addressed.

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Putting people who try to make the public aware of the problem on trial will solidify the position of silence, akin again to the child abuse situation. I want everyone to keep in mind that this is not jihadists high jacking the religion. This is jihadists practising the true Islam of centuries past. Not one school of Islamic Jurisprudence teaches against jihad, not one. Therefore peaceful Muslims have either explicitly rejected those elements of Islam or are simply unaware of them. This poses peaceful Muslims who live in Islamic nations with a problem. To reject the violent elements of the Koran means essentially that they are rejecting the word of god. It is a central belief in Islam that the Koran is the direct word of god, so for them to reject this puts them outside of anything that has been considered orthodox Islam over the past fourteen hundred years. Therefore to say, as some apologists do, that violent elements do not exist, is simply delusional.

So should Wilders be on trial? What lie did he tell? People will say he shows all Muslims in a bad light but anyone with the slightest amount of common sense will know that you cannot make generalisations on the actions of a few. If you are one of the people who believe he should be on trial, it would only be right that you would want to see the people featured in the documentary stand trial also?

I will leave you with a quote from Wilders’ speech at his trial on the 20th of January 2010 and advise all you to follow this trial. The Netherlands is probably the most liberal nation in the world, for them to set an example of silencing free speech could set a dangerous precedent: “I know that the words I use are sometimes harsh, but they are never rash. It is not my intention to spare the ideology of conquest and destruction, but I am not out to offend people. I have nothing against Muslims. I have a problem with Islam and the Islamization of our country because Islam is at odds with our freedom.”

Stephen Staines

Student Strife What the children learn at school Is all that glitters must be gold Those who don’t accept this rule Find themselves out in the cold -In Zurich, Jim Page The lines above, from the song Christy Moore made his own, deal with a youth uprising in Zurich in the early 1980s. Zurich, a bit like Dublin, had never really seen such sights. The line about horrified locals watching “young ones go to jail” is a bit of Irish humour and lingo thrown in to a far off situation. The last year however has seen Zurich become California, Vienna, and a few other spots were ‘young ones’ rarely go to jail, not least over matters of education.

It was only recently, when talking to an American student here at NUI Maynooth over a few €3 pints, I learned that the student movement in the United States is alive and kicking once more. While the recent events in Austria have taken most of the global student media attention, with thousands of students throughout the country staging sit in occupations at their Universities (In almost all cases with the support of staff), things a little further afield have gone by and large unnoticed. Moving into a new year then, its worth taking a quick glance at what is occurring and what has just occurred in student politics internationally, and what, if anything, can be taken from recent events.

In the United States, the events at the University of California are perhaps most worthy of study. Driven primarily by a 32% increase in tuition fees- but also by cutbacks and staff layoffs across the University system, students and staff have been engaged in a prolonged campaign demanding more transparency in the University budget, and the reversal of the fees hike. A conference to “save public education” drew over 800 students and staff, and plans are in place for a one day strike on March 4t h to shut down public education state-wide. Student activists and staff unions throughout the

The Print

Safe as Houses

Earlier in the year, we here at the Students’ Union rang around the different colleges in the country asking them on average how much accommodation prices were.

We did this in order to see how they would compare to Maynooth prices. These are the results we got for average accommodation prices.

Maynooth: €96-€110 for campus, €80-€100 for a house or apartment. country seem to be picking up on the idea too, which could lead to a national stoppage.

On December 11th last year police officers evicted a week long occupation at a UC Berkeley building where students and staff involved wisely chose not to ‘shut’ the building, or lock themselves in, but keep it open on their own terms.

This is not a million miles removed from what we witnessed in Vienna, where a high profile occupation of the University of Vienna was viewed by thousands across the world. The Audimax (Or Austrian JH1!) was viewable across the world by webcam as, amazingly, lectures continued. Evicted days before Christmas, the act succeeded in starting a ricochet movement across the country with similar occupations occurring in many major institutions. As in Berkeley, opposition to any increase in fees was only one reason for such action. The ‘Bologna Process’, which attempts to standardise European third level education, was a key concern for students there too, with the students behind the Audimax occupation stating the process reinforces “neoliberal trends in education” The speed with which the Vienna occupation spread to other parts of Austria, and indeed across the border into Germany, is a sign of the times in truth. Communications from Vienna were spreading virally on Facebook within minutes of being produced, and chat conferences between those involved in the occupation there and people throughout Europe (and indeed in the United States) were frequent with high participation.

Of course, when we look at the European

occupations and the Californian campaign, we’re only looking at two situations. Greece, France, the United Kingdom and even Ireland saw various levels of student activity in 2009.

There are lessons to be learned from what occurred in 2009 globally no doubt.

It is crucial, in my own opinion, that students retain a sense of internationalism – in a world financial collapse all education systems face the same threats. The new links with education workers most of these movements seem to have created are no doubt positive too. We Irish are all very new to this stuff of course (The well intended but very badly worded ‘Pages Not Wages!’ slogan from Trinity College Student Union during their recent sit in over library hours that annoyed more than a handful of their own Universities workers would be a fine example of bad planning!) and lessons will be learned over time.

While I’m quite the cynic at heart, perhaps we can take something away from this excerpt from one of the communications issued in California.

“This current movement can remain ignominiously tied to a collapsing system.... or it can desert this sinking ship, and accomplish greater things than anyone can presently imagine.”

If this new trend in student activism continues, it has its work cut out for it against the backdrop of a global financial collapse.

Donal Fallon

Athlone IT: €70-€75 euro for campus, €65 single, €60-€75 for an apartment Dundalk IT: €80 per week for campus, off campus roughly €65 Carlow IT: house costs from €50-€70 per week NUI Galway: Campus €105 for single room, €85 for a twin room, houses €75-€100 UCC Cork: Campus €108-€115 per week, student houses €85 per week.

UCD: €130-€150 for campus, house prices vary hugely across Dublin.

With this information in mind, be vigilent and shop around when you’re looking for accomodation if you plan to stay in Maynooth this summer and more importantly, for the next college year.

If you have any questions about your rights as a tenant here in Maynooth or elsewhere, dop into the Students’ Union for a chat or pick up a copy of “Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll” the SU Welfsre handbook which is now available

Brian Murphy

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NEWS

The Return from Copenhagen – COP15

In Early December 2009, two students from NUI Maynooth went to Copenhagen for the UNFCCC Climate talks. We travelled over to Copenhagen with the hope to contribute to the fight for Climate Justice, to represent the Youth of Ireland and to ask for a real deal to be the product at the end of the two weeks of talks between world leaders.

What did we want?

For carbon emissions to be dropped to below the 350ppm mark in the atmosphere so that the planet doesn’t not heat up more than 2 degrees by the end of 2010 For the Climate Law to include regulations in Aviation and Shipping which have been left out before, but are a massive contributor to today’s changing climate.

Developed countries to take the lead on reducing emissions and educating the developing countries on reaching for a low carbon future with help and aid.

To get rid of carbon ‘offsetting’ as an excuse for countries to carry on heavily emitting.

That’s the gist of it.

The day that we got there, Ciarán and I marched for 7 hours to the conference centre (Bella Centre) where all the talks were talking place. We were met by many influential speakers such as Mary Robinson (We shouted a lot when she came on think we were the only Irish there). The speakers who represented the indigenous peoples, people living in climate disaster zones etc. They spoke of how important it was to march for Climate Justice and to fight for a real deal.

That night Ciarán and myself had the best sleep of our lives on a wooden pallet in a dusty warehouse in a damp sleeping bag when it was no more than 1 degree outside. It was free :D The next day was our final day in Copenhagen.

We had already shouted to the streets that we wanted our leaders to make lowering our emissions mandatory, we had already stated the importance of the disasters facing the developing

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countries, it was now time to march for a very important issue, to stop the shipping industry from escaping the climate law once again, to stop the use of dirty shipping fuel and the illegal shipping of refugees into Europe.

We wanted: ·Fuel safety regulations - to use a fuel that is safe and doesn’t emit too much sulphur dioxide that is killing people today. ·Distance Regulations - each country should cut down the amount of trips and distance that is taken each day ·Container security - Containers that are being shipped from all over the world and into Europe should have heavy security checks to make sure that goods/people are not being brought illegally into the country.

The aim for the ‘Hit the Production’ march was to march to the harbour and close it down for one day. Sadly, we didn’t even make it down one street without being attacked by an organised troop of riot police that were set up to sabotage our peaceful protest. We were accused of carrying weapons and searched. Ciarán and I were one of the first to be dragged out of the demonstration and searched. We cleared away from the scene only to look back and see the rest of the protesters being arrested. It was a scary moment for us all. These peaceful protesters were getting arrested because they were speaking their minds. We got to see firsthand that even in a country such as Denmark, a democratic republic; people still don’t have a right to speak.

It was clear from all photographic evidence that the Danish Police are not the most ethical people to deal with, however they represented how well the Danish Government were willing to listen to us during these massive demonstrations.

More information about our trip to Copenhagen can be found at www.myfoe.wordpress.com (This is our own Maynooth Blog) If you are interested in getting involved some more then keep in contact, Green Week is in Spring and the Green Party National Convention is loaming Tara Clarke

Snooker & Pool Club Win Title NUI Maynooth Snooker and Pool Club entered the Snooker Intervarsities in Galway on the 4th & 5th Dec 2009. Maynooth had won the Individual and Team Competitions the previous two years when they were held in the Spawell in Dublin, and were hoping to achieve three in a row this year.

Last year NUI Maynooth Snooker team had accomplished the first Grand slam in Intervarsity history when they won the Team Cup, the Plate, and the individual Competitions.

This Year saw a Change to the A Team, First year mature students Robert Donohue, Daniel Bolton & Eamon Rellis were selected along side Johnny Williams (Snooker Scholarship), & Chris Hayden.

The Club also sent a B team comprising of Conor Xiu, Kevin Shuai, Dan Gallagher, Brian Mulanney and Darren Doyle.

Snooker Manager Gregory White attended the Event with Two past Student Players and now external members, Peter Dunne and Mark Loonam.

The First day of the Event saw NUI Maynooth Play in a Group comprised of Three Teams with the first Two Teams qualifying for the Quarter Finals on day two. Maynooth Played very well during both matches, winning both and qualifying for the quarters with some ease.

The Individuals were also played on the first day, Johnny Williams started in the first round with a tough match going 1-0 down in a best of three. He managed to win the next two frames, but only when reaching the colours. However Johnny managed to up his game for the rest of the day and led the A Team to qualify for the quarters in the team event and reached the Final of the Individuals, which were played on day two.

The Second day saw a Quarter Final Match against the DCU A Team. It was the first team to win six frames, each player in a five man team playing two frames. A sudden death frame is used in the case of a draw.

Maynooth started very strong winning both their first two matches of the quarter final 2-0 & 2-0 to lead 4-0. DCU pulled a frame back,

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but Maynooth proved too strong winning the next two frames and the match 6-1 The semi Final was next against the Queens University B Team from Belfast.

The Semi –Final went the same way as the Quarter final with Maynooth proving too strong and running out 6-1 winners again.

The Final of the Individual event saw the current Individual Champion Johnny Williams trying to retain his title against Gary Menary from Queens University and a previous winner himself. Johnny Williams was playing with a lot of confidence in the first frame and managed to win it quite easily. This gave Johnny the psychological edge in a five frame match and Johnny had no trouble winning the next two frames and ran out a 3-0 winner.

The Final of the Team competition finished off the day with old rivals Queens A and Maynooth A going head to head. The final comprised of each player playing a best of three against their opponent. The winners would be the first to win three matches.

Johnny Williams won his match 2-0 and our first point on the board. Chris Hayden was out played in his match and lost 2-1.

This tied the match at 1-1. Next up were Daniel Bolton and Eamon Rellis. Both Eamon & Daniel were at 1-1 against their opposition and the matches looked like they could go either way.

Daniel Bolton was left with three reds and the colours in his final frame, Daniel Bolton managed to up a few gears in his game and made a break of 47 to secure his match.

Eamon Rellis was playing some really good safety and potting some very important balls in his final frame. The frame came down to the brown, blue, pink and black. The tension was really high but Eamon managed to keep his composure to pot two terrific shots on the Blue and Pink to win his match and the team title for NUI Maynooth Snooker Team.

Maynooth Snooker Team Have now managed to win three Individual and Team Intervarsity Titles in a row.

Greg White

The South Campus during the recent heavy snow

NUI Maynooth Lecturer Receives CBE in Queen’s Honours List NUI Maynooth lecturer Seamus Taylor has been awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the British Honours System. The award has been given for his services in promoting equality in the Britain through his roles as senior official with the Commission for Racial Equality and the Crown Prosecution Service. Much of his work was focused on the response to recommendations and legislation arising from the landmark Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and for preparing and implementing a new statutory code on equality that affects 42,000 public bodies in Britain.

Announcing the award, British Ambassador Julian King said “Seamus Taylor has helped place equality at the heart of the UK legal system. He championed the public sector’s role in promoting equality and good community relations. Seamus’s work on involving diverse communities in policy making, violence against women and in developing strategies to tackle hate crime has helped to ensure the most vulnerable in our society feel protected”.

As Director of Strategy at the Commission for Racial Equality from 2001-2004, Seamus Taylor was responsible for the roll-out of a

new statutory public duty to promote equality and reduce discrimination. This put equality at the centre of the British State’s interaction with its citizens in a way the existing laws did not allow for. He prepared the code which was laid before Parliament and oversaw implementation through 42,000 public bodies across the civil service, local Government, the health and education sectors and all other areas of public services.

In 2004 he joined the Crown Prosecution Service as Director of Equality and Diversity where he effectively implemented the code he had previously drawn up. The criminal justice system had received criticism for its handling of the Stephen Lawrence case, where in 1993 a black British teenager was stabbed to death while waiting with his friend for a bus, and the Crown Prosecution Service was now at the frontline of improving the legal system’s performance in areas of fair treatment, community engagement and workforce representation. Through Seamus’s work notable improvements were made from 2004-2009 and the CPS was honoured with a Civil Servicewide award on equality and diversity.

communications.nuim.ie/press/040110. shtml

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The Print

Clubs and Socs News

Keeping you up to date with all our clubs and socs on campus. Don’t forget that your Clubs and Socs Officers can be found to answer your questions on Tuesdays from 2-4pm in the C&S Room upstairs in the Students’ Union

LGBT Society

Why hello there! This semester’s major event comes in the form of our annual Baby Blue Training Conference, which is once again being held in Maynooth on the 19th, 20th and 21st of February. For those of you who don’t know, Baby Blue Training is a series of talks, workshops and just general information on LGBT issues, sexual and mental health issues and queer theory to mention a few. In keeping with our theme of bringing in high profile members of the LGBT community in Ireland, Tonie Walsh the founder of GCN and current curator of the Irish Queer Archives will be joining us again to talk about his extensive work in the LGBT community. Anyone with an interest in any of these areas is encouraged to come, for more information contact us at lgbt@nuimsu.com and we’ll be only too glad to help.

Omega Society This year the Omega Society are holding a sci-fi, anime, manga and fantasy convention on the weekend of 13th and 14th of February in the John Hume building. Epic-Con is a convention where all profits made go to charity. Our charity this year is the Simon Community. Guests this year include Anne McCaffrey the author of the Dragonriders of Pern series, Julia McKenna and Michael Carroll, among plenty others. There will be a Manga workshop as well as an Anime show room and not forgetting our infamous torture room – can you survive a day watching the worst films known to man, like Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter? There will be competitions and prizes galore not to mention fun all around. Tickets for a day cost €8 whilst tickets for a weekend cost €12.

Ógra Sinn Féin Sinn Féin NUIM kicked off their academic year with the exciting ‘An Chead Dáil’ audio-visual exhibition during Arts week. The exhibition travelled all the way from Belfast to celebrate the first meeting of the Dáil in the Mansion house in 1919.

It was a great event, which drew many different people to have a look.

It was a great experience for newer members of the Cummann bringing them together for a truly exciting event. The event even had a visit from the Ógra Shinn Féin National Organiser, Donncadh Ó Laoghaire, who was very impressed with the ongoing work of the Cummann. As the Declaration of Independence and the democratic programme were read out you could really get the feeling of what it might have been like to stand amongst historical giants like Brugha and Griffith. The event really made you feel close to your national history and heritage and everybody learned a thing or two in the process.

Amnesty Society Cruel and Unusual Punishment is prohibited under the 8th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But the Death Penalty is still legal. Which means that you can hang someone, shoot them, electrocute them and poison them - but under no circumstances should you have someone executed by dropping a giant jelly bean on their head. By a dwarf. In a penguin suit. Because that’d be cruel… and unusual.

Cruel and Unusual is a stand-up show telling the story of comedian Keith Farnan’s journey from law school in Ireland to the Innocence Project in New York City. Keith has toured internationally as a comedian. His shows have taken him to the Middle East, the Far East, all over the UK, Europe, and of course, Ireland. Amnesty International Soc has invited Keith to extend this tour to NUI Maynooth, on Wednesday 6th February, 8pm in the Venue. See posters for details!

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Geography Society

Hi everyone, welcome back for another semester, hope the holidays and exams went well for you all. This is what’s up and coming with the Geography Society at the moment.

The Geography Society’s main focus at the moment is receiving submissions for our annual department publication Milieu.

Submissions can range from a unique photo to an interesting essay, including ones done as part of course work, as long as they’re geographical. The deadline for submitting is the end of February and please have submissions properly referenced. They can be sent to geography@nuimsu.com, along with any other Geography Society queries you may have.

Besides organising Milieu, we’ve also been busy updating our new website www.nuimgeography.com, which will launch soon. Our other main priority at the moment is an upcoming charity night we’re organising with several other societies. The 40’s themed night will be a special night as so many societies come together and is planned for the end of March or early April, the exact date is to be confirmed so keep an eye out.

That’s all for the moment so good luck with the new semester and get working on your submissions!

Remember that the deadline for the next issue of The Print will be February 19th

Christian Union Society

Hey all, just to let you know events for the Christian Union will be starting up again on the 9th of February with Pat O’ Sullivan from New Life Community Church in Clondalkin speaking on “Freedom - The Mission of Jesus”. On the 16th of February we will be having a Pizza Night and on the 23rd of February the Revd. Janice Aiton from the Church of Ireland in Maynooth will be speaking on “Prayer - Why?”.

All events are on at 6:30pm in An Tobar, Student Services Centre.

If you are looking for more information about the CU our website is at www. maynoothcu.org and you can find us on Facebook.

As always, we wish God’s blessing on you all as we start a new Semester!

Equestrian Club A great weekend was had by all members of the Equestrian Club who travelled to Kells in Co. Meath for the annual Tetrathlon.

Friday night’s fancy dress was themed “Rubix Cube” and this saw an abundance of colour on the dance floor. Competitors were up early Saturday morning to begin the shooting. Competitors then took to a very mucky cross country track! Later, there was great support for the swimmers. Saturday night saw ball gowns and suits coming out for the ball but this didn’t stop anyone letting their hair down!

Sunday then saw the final phase of the competition taking place, ShowJumping taking many styles!

Michael O Reilly was placed fifth overall, having being placed in swimming and shooting, and our president, Michael Hutchinson won the Show-Jumping phase. Support was excellent and we hope to have even more placings next year.

Drama Society This semester sees The Bard himself make a much-anticipated return to the stages (and reading lists) of Maynooth. Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most famous work, features on the First Year English and Fifth Year Leaving Cert. reading lists, so we’re attempting to accommodate everyone with a series of seminars and performances to suit all of your educational and theatrical needs.

In conjunction with the English and Admissions departments, we’ll be running Hamlet seminars consisting of some key scenes from the play, which will be followed by lectures from the English Department, designed to give those who are studying Hamlet a comprehensive introduction to the text. Dates TBC. Then, of course, we’ll also be performing the play itself from Tuesday 9th to Friday 12th of February, each night in the Aula Maxima Theatre on South Campus from 7:30. The show will last for around 2 hours, and ticket prices are as follows; Adults €5; Drama Society Members €3; Group Bookings - contact nuimhamlet@ gmail.com for details We’re expecting big demand from all parties, and we’re now accepting bookings on a first-come first-served basis. Contact nuimhamlet@gmail.com to book your place now.

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Judo Club

Judo translates as “gentle way”, yet is both a brutally effective martial art and a great way to keep fit, as enthusiasts from Vladimir Putin to Steve McQueen have discovered. Judo is one of the few sports accessible to almost anyone, including children, adults, senior citizens, even people with disabilities. Because it emphasizes physical and mental development, its influence extends to every area of a person’s life. Physically, Judo improves flexibility, coordination, balance and reflexes. It is a means of self-defense that requires skill rather than just size or strength. Mentally, it promotes concentration, self-confidence and leadership. Because Judo requires a clear and focused mind, it encourages participants to be fully present in the moment. Participants are taught to strive for physical, intellectual and moral perfection, so they can not only improve their own life. Judo starts back 1st of February.

Yoga Club

The NUIM Yoga Society is the solution to stressful days. Each Monday and Wednesday at 7, we all meet over Jucie Lucies, have a chat and a laugh with new friends, and do a bit of Yoga with our brilliant instructor John We have also organised a yoga weekend away which will not only be completely relaxing, but a brilliant laugh and a chance to really get to know new people. It is open to anyone, whether you are a Yogini or not. All the information can be attained by simply emailing the society yoga@nuimsu.com . Overall the yoga society not only gives a lil’ slice of peace in a pretty busy student life, but offers a group of pretty amazing people to party with from the Wednesday to Monday. What more could anyone want?

Sex, Drugs & , , Rock ‘n’ Roll Your guide to sexual & mental health, drug abuse and your general well-being

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M.U.C.K M.U.C.K. has been a hub of activity recently, with trips and events making the club one of the most enjoyable on campus! November 6th marked the start of the Fresher’s Trip for 2009 – a fun filled weekend in the town of Kilkenny, complete with an afternoon of surf in Dunmore East, a run down the Barrow, as well as two enjoyable nights in the town (club dignity still intact!). On top this; fortnightly paddles on a Sunday hitting places like the Liffey and canal are taking the club to new heights, giving new paddlers the chance to shine. Plans are under way for the esteemed Intervarsity competition – hosted

by N.U.I.G, which promises to be the highlight of the year! But its not all work, club socials are rampant – movie nights, pub nights, and everything else we can come up with! If you like the sound of it, new members are always welcome!

Training 7-9pm Mondays and Wednesdays in the Swimming Pool, hope to see you there!

Students’ Union Welfare Handbook now available from the S.U. Offices

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, You v e no excuse. Use contraception

S.H.A.G Week Sexual Health Awareness

February

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Guidance

16t h - 18t h 31

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