Sin newspaper

Free Student Newspaper | VOL 15, ISSUE 5 | 11 nov 2013
Links with Stanford
University strengthened
NUIG Observatory
to hold Open Days
2
4
Diary of the Smokey’s Pigeon 31
Should Cannabis be legalised?
Interview with James Mahon
MAJs:Where are they now?
Home for the Weekend
8
11
11
14
Reviews
Academic Writing
Centre Competition
24
25
Arts
Alex Ferguson’s Autobiography
Money Talks
29
29
sport
A Suitable Occasion
Eyebrows 101
5 Minute Makeup
20
21
21
LifestyleFeaturesNews
INSIDE
We’re not
leaving
GalwayBy Chelsea Tabert
Students and young people across
the country have been taking part in the
recent ‘We’re Not Leaving’ campaign
which deals with the extreme crisis of
emigration that the country is facing.
A public Youth Forum was held at
the Victoria Hotel, Galway on Thurs-
day 7 November last. The meeting was
intended as a forum where young peo-
ple from Galway could discuss how the
government’s austerity policies affect
them and how it can be challenged.
The meeting first saw brief presen-
tations on the issues of housing, fee
hikes and grant cuts, mental health,
forced emigration, youth unem-
ployment, unpaid internships and
precarious work.
Speakers at the event included Gal-
way representatives from Threshold
and youth mental health group Jig-
saw, Union of Students in Ireand (USI)
President Joe O’Connor, and Dr Piaras
Maceinr of UCC, principal investigator
of the influential ‘Irish Emigration in an
Age of Austerity’ report.
Barry Gorman of the Irish Congress
of Trade Unions Youth Committee and
a representative of the Irish National
Organisation of the Unemployed also
addressed the meeting from the floor.
When an economic downfall occurs
you can suspect everyday tasks to
become harder on your family and
pocketbooks, but what happens when
your family is forced to emigrate out of
the country just to make ends meet?
The ‘We’re Not Leaving’ (WNL)
campaign was created to highlight the
similarities between the lock out of
workers in 1913 and the youth in the
present 2013.
A public meeting was held in Dublin
which discussed the push factors caus-
ing emigration – youth unemployment,
unpaid internships, precarious work,
fee hikes and grant cuts, youth mental
health, and housing.
Great response was given and it was
decided that similar meetings would
then be held in other cities across Ire-
land. Since the initial meeting held
in Dublin there has been a We’re Not
Leaving meeting in Cork and Galway.
Although the Galway campaign
is still in its beginning stages, many
activists from the area have attended
protests and gatherings across the
country.
Demos outside the Dáil have been
held in regards to the recent cuts to
the dole for those under 26-years-old
and similar protests have sprung up in
regards to the unemployment situation.
“We are building up our contacts
and resources and are working closely
with the Students Unions, the USI,
SIPTU, and other Trade Unions,” Joseph
Loughnane, main activist for ‘We’re Not
Leaving’ stated.
Another topical situation that has
arisen is the push to stop the Social
Welfare Bill. The campaigns website
expresses how “we need to let poli-
ticians know that the reason young
people in this country are out of work
is that there is no work.
“Taking €172 per month from the
pockets of 21 to 26 year-olds and forc-
ing the young unemployed to live on
€100 per week won’t change that. All it
will do is force us to emigrate.”
The campaign is asking all young
people who have received job rejec-
tion letters from employers to please
forward them to three senators; Denis
Landy, John Kelly and John Whelan.
The idea of this is to deluge the sena-
tors, and show how few jobs there really
are available across the country.
“The young people of Ireland need
to realise that they’re not along with the
issues they are facing. Problems such as
mental health, emigration and unem-
ployment seem so big that many people
lose hope,” said Mr Loughnane.
“If we all realise that we have these
problems in common and join forces
to make a change, we genuinely have a
chance of succeeding. That’s the mes-
sage we want to get out there – there
is hope if we emphasise solidarity and
work together,” he concluded.
For updates on this and other
neighbouring topics involved with the
campaign please visit: www.werenot-
leaving.com and join the Facebook
page for you region.
You can also follow the movement
on twitter: @WNLGalway.

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 52 News
Honorary degrees awarded to RTÉ newsreader and
Irish Times journalist by NUI Galway
Links with Stanford
strengthened as Mayor signs
Friendship Agreement
Unofficial RAG week Facebook page gains 7000 Likes
The Sakharov Prize Comes to NUI Galway
By Áine O Donnell
A Facebook page promot-
ingplansforanunofficialRAG
Week in 2014 has more than
7000 likes.
The page was started on 1
October and has been hugely
popular over the past few
weeks. “Galway RAG Week
2014” aims to organise the
third successive RAG Week
sinceNUIGalwaybannedthe
event in 2012.
The first post on the page
on 1 October stated; “2013
was epic... 2014 is going to be
even better and once again...
nobody is going to stop us!”
The defiant post was
accompaniedbyacompilation
videowithscenesoflastyear’s
unofficialRAGWeek,aparody
of film Project X. The status
wasliked96timesbyfans,the
majority of whom are current
students of NUI Galway.
Subsequentpostsincluded
aclipofthenotorious“who’sa
sexyGarda”videoandalinkto
another RAG Week page.
Onegirlpostedonthewall
of the group outlining why
she won’t support RAG Week
this year; “we all like to have
fun but this event is a bit too
crazy for me. I just want to let
yeknowthatIwillnotbesup-
porting it this year and I hope
that all my friends will do the
same”.
Her post received 10 likes
as opposed to the thousands
of likes garnered by the event
page.
Sin contacted the admins
oftheFacebookpageforcom-
mentandtheyhadnotreplied
to our questions at the time of
the newspaper’s publication.
The university promised
students a bigger investment
inthestudentassistancefund
if they voted to ban the RAG
Week event.
Theuniversitywaseagerto
improvetheinstitution’simage
after RAG Weeks of previous
years gained media attention
for riotous and anti-social
behaviour of its own students
and other students who trav-
elled to Galway from around
the country.
Students voted in favour of
NUI Galway’s disassociation
with the event but in 2012 the
firstunofficialRAGWeektook
place in Galway organised by
students.
The university’s plans to
endRAGWeekweremetwith
themostnotoriousRAGWeek
yet with Eyre Square being
taken over by students and
videosofanti-socialbehaviour
going viral on the internet.
RAG Week 2013 was the
first event in which Galway
businesses were forced to
withdraw their support after
theuniversitytooklegalaction
againsttheownerofTheHole
intheWallpubforadvertising
RAG Week’s annual Donegal
Tuesday in 2012.
Whiletheclubsandpubsof
Galway did not promote RAG
Week events, the celebration
continuedwithGardaíreport-
ing a number of public order
arrests and scenes of chaos
outsideSupermac’sonceagain
being uploaded to YouTube.
Mayor of Galway City,
Padraig Conneely, in his role
as chairperson of the Joint
PolicingCommitteesentouta
strongmessageinresponseto
the threat of RAG Week 2014;
“We can’t stop anyone from
organising anything on social
media;that’soutofourhands.
Butwhatwecandoissendout
averystrongmessagethatany-
onewhobreaksthelaw,during
an unofficial Rag Week or any
other week will be dealt with.”
By Aoife Barry
OnWednesday25Septem-
berNUIGalway’sIrishCentre
for Human Rights hosted an
event organized by the Euro-
pean Parliament called The
Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought 2013.
The Sakharov Prize is an
annualeventwhichrecognizes
inspiringdefendersofhuman
rightsworldwide.Thefactthat
most of the nominees are in
prison in their home coun-
try and unable to receive the
awardinpersonhighlightsthe
dismal state of human rights
in our time.
Students from the centre
made presentations, arguing
why their nominee deserved
the award. The floor was open
todebateafterwards.Thisyear’s
nominees were as follows;
Malala Yousafzai, an 11
year old girl from Pakistan
who is a fighter for the right
of women to an education.
In her country, girls are not
allowed to attend school
under the Taliban regime.
The Taliban tried to assas-
sinate her in October 2012.
Edward Snowdan, who
worked for the National
Security Agency in the US
and exposed that the gov-
ernment there was not
respecting the population’s
right to privacy. He was
charged with espionage.
ReeyotAlemuandEskinder
Nega,journalistsfromEthiopia
who criticised the govern-
ment and suggested an Arab
Spring style revolution in their
country. Both are currently in
prisonchargedwithterrorism.
Ales Bialatski, Eduard
Lobau and Mykola Statkevic,
protestors and critical of the
controversial presidentional
elections in Belerus where
Alexander Lukashenk was
elected President. The three
have been in prison since
October 2010.
Mikhail Khodorkovsk, a
criticizer of President Putin
and the corruption in Russia.
He is a political prisoner in
the country since 2003.
"Standing Man" protest-
ers, the first of the peaceful
protesters in Taksim Square,
Istanbul being Erdem Gündü.
Theseanti-governmentprotests
gained international recogni-
tion for respect for human
rightsandfreedomsworldwide.
The CNN Freedom Project:
Ending Modern-Day Slaver, a
global media campaign that
hasdrawnattentiontoslavery,
human trafficking and child
labour from countries such as
Mauritania to the Philippines.
Each group made a pas-
sionate presentation of their
nominee.The“StandingMan”
protesters received the most
votes. This result was brought
to the European Parliament
Subcommittee of Human
Rights, who took NUI Gal-
way’s nominee into account.
However, it was decided that
MalalaYousafzaideservedthe
award for her struggle against
the repression of woman’s
rights worldwide.
The prize is named after
the Russian physicist Andrei
Dmitrievich Sakharov (1921-
1989) who discovered the
Soviet hydrogen bomb.
Whenherealizedthedam-
age the bomb would create he
sought to raise awareness for
the possible negative effects
of nuclear weapons of human
kind.Hiseffortsresultedinthe
signing of the 1963 nuclear
test ban treaty. He won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.
Past winners of the Sakha-
rov Prize include Nelson
Mandela, Kofi Annan and the
Arab Spring protesters.
Theawardisnotonlyimpor-
tant in acknowledging these
devoted and inspiring human
rights defenders but is influ-
ential in highlighting human
rightsabusesaroundtheworld.
By Áine O Donnell
NUI Galway has awarded
honoraryMasterofArtsdegrees
to western correspondent for
the Irish Times Lorna Siggins
and RTÉ newsreader Michael
Murphy on October 21.
MsSigginsstartedhercareer
injournalismin1988.Shespent
10 years in the newsroom of
the Irish Times covering news
and more specifically marine
affairs. Then she became the
Westerncorrespondent,aposi-
tion which she still currently
holds. She is based in Galway.
Her ground-breaking jour-
nalism included a seven week
stint in the Himalayas with
the first Irishman to reach
the summit of Mount Ever-
est, Dawson Stelfox.
Lorna Siggins has also
published books on Ever-
est, the volunteer sea rescue
services, the Corrib Gas con-
troversy and former President
Mary Robinson.
Mr Murphy joined RTÉ as
a continuity announcer on
radio in 1971 and was shortly
after moved to the newsroom
where he read the news in
both English and Irish.
He left his full time posi-
tion as senior newsreader
in 1993 to pursue a career
as a psychoanalyst while
remaining at RTÉ part-time.
Mr Murphy currently lectures
on the subject in UCD and St.
Vincent’s Hospital Dublin.
In 2009, Mr Murphy pub-
lishedhisbest-sellingmemoir
At Five in the Afternoon which
dealt with his personal battle
with prostate cancer and also
addressed child abuse and
sexuality. It was nominated
for the Bord Gáis Energy Irish
Book Awards in 2010.
He has a collection of
poetry and a successive
memoir due for publication.
Michael Murphy registered
a civil partnership with his
long term partner of 26 years
in 2011, Terry O’Sullivan, in a
ceremony in Dublin.
Honorary degrees were
also awarded to the direc-
tor of the Galway Education
Centre Bernard Kirk; journal-
ist and author Liam Mac Con
Iomaire; writer and historian
Micheál Ó Conghaile and
activist Thomas Roche.
By Jessica Thompson
Galway City Mayor Cllr
Pádraig Conneely travelled
to the states last month to
sign a Friendship Agreement
betweenMenloParkinGalway
and Menlo Park in California.
Mayor Conneely visited the
City of Menlo Park by the in-
vitation of the Mayor of the
City, Mayor Peter Ohtaki to
strengthen the cultural, histor-
ical and educational links be-
tweenGalwayandMenloPark.
NUI Galway has long had
links with Stanford University
intheCityofMenloPark,butby
signing the Friendship Agree-
ment, those links have been
significantlystrengthened.
According to Mayor Con-
neely, NUI Galway President
Dr Jim Browne was one of the
firstpeopletoshowhissupport
for the agreement.
“Thisfriendshipagreement
willbuildonthemanyexisting
links between our two cities,
inbusiness,academia,culture
andciviclife.NUIGalwayand
Stanford University have a
range of links including inter-
national student recruitment;
staff and student exchange;
and research partnerships,”
Dr Browne explained.
The partnership between
NUI Galway and Stanford
UniversityisbasedonaBioIn-
novateFellowshipProgramme.
NUIGalwayishometoBio-
Innovate Ireland, a specialist
medical device innovation
trainingprogrammemodelled
on the prestigious Stanford
BioDesign programme.
Theaimoftheprogramme
is to train graduates with
knowledge of innovating
medical technologies in a
team-basedapproach,involv-
ing engineers, clinicians and
business graduates.
Theprogrammeisaunique
pathway for the knowledge
transfer and building enter-
prise product development
research and spin-outs.
NUIGalwayhasaverystrong
network of supporters and
alumni in the Menlo Park re-
gion,ledbyGalwayFoundation
BoardMemberMoyraMalone.
The foundation held a
reception in the City of Menlo
Park on Saturday 19 October
to celebrate the 150th anni-
versary of the opening of the
railroad,whichincludedmusic
and dancing.
Theanniversarycelebration
itself involved a re-enactment
ofthefirsttimethetrainarrived
in Menlo Park, with people
dressedintheattireoftheday.
The Friendship Agree-
ment was largely to celebrate
the history between the two
cities. During famine times,
twomen,DennisJ.Oliverand
his brother-in-law, Daniel C.
McGlynn, left Menlo in Gal-
way to seek their fortune in
California.
The two men bought a
ranchinCaliforniaandnamed
it Menlo Park. The City of
Menlo Park grew around that
ranchandnowhousesthelikes
of Facebook HeadQuarters
and other major businesses.
More information on the
Two Menlos can be found at
sites.google.com/site/twom-
enlosisters.

November 11 2013 News 3
Editorial: Want
to see the SU naked?
By Jessica Thompson
Yes, you read that correctly. Now that
I’ve got your attention, I might as well
explain the title of my editorial.
The Students’ Union launched their
charity calendar last week and, that’s
right, they were all naked. Myself and
seven other sinners even got involved
(you’ll see us in the month of May).
The charity calendars are €5 each and
feature several of the clubs and societies
in NUI Galway, including the Orchestral
Society, Sin Newspaper, the Students’
Union, the Kayak Club and many more.
All of the proceeds go to charity and
you get to have us completely starkers
on your wall. What’s not to love?
And with Christmas coming up,
maybe you could buy a few as Christmas
presents? More money to charity and
it’ll cost you a lot less than your average
Christmas present.
All of the proceeds go to the Galway
Rape Crisis Centre and the ISPCC/
Childline – two very deserving chari-
ties that need every penny.
If you want a little sneak peek, just
flick to the very back page of this issue
of Sin and there you have it – 12 months
of nakedness just waiting to be bought.
The back page isn’t the only great
thing about this issue. There are sev-
eral great stories that were an absolute
pleasure to read and edit.
One that I could relate to was about
going home for the weekend. When you
come from the country like I do, settling
into city life can be tough.
The noise can be unbearable; endless
parties and traffic and the general buzz.
The street lights pour in your bedroom
window all night, depriving you of the
melatonin that you need to sleep well.
When I first moved to Dublin, I was
regularly awoken by sirens, student
parties, doors slamming, random fire
drills or people who felt it would be a
great idea to set off the fire alarms, peo-
ple shouting and laughing at all hours,
cars, buses, the luas or dart, depending
on where I lived at the time.
In my first year in UCD, the lights
outside were so bright that birds were
singing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
because even they couldn’t tell the dif-
ference between night and day.
There were some pretty exhausted
birds around UCD, that’s for sure.
Galway of course is quieter than
Dublin by a long shot.
I’ve been living in cities for five years
now, but I’ll always be a culchie at heart
and going home to my native bogland
is always a joy.
I’ve grown up enough to be able
to wash my own clothes and cook my
own hot meals and look after myself,
but it’s still always nice to go home to
the comforts of Mammy and Daddy’s
care. I’m sure all other country folk will
agree with that.
It’s dark there. It’s quiet.
You can take the girl out of the coun-
try, but you can’t take the country out
of the girl and I am living proof of that.
I am a culchie through and through and
I have all the characteristics described
in Kieran Kilkelly’s article on culchie
habits.
But townies need to consider that
they have habits too. I distinctly remem-
ber bringing one back to Longford some
time ago. While we were out walking,
the townie in question said excitedly;
“Oh! Look at the cow!”
You see, they don’t have cows in
cities – unless you count the ones in
Dublin zoo that are kept there to show
children where milk comes from.
No. Milk does not come from a bottle.
It’s also not uncommon for the
culchie to be able to tell you the names
of every bird (aside from pigeons and
seagulls) and the difference between
the types of trees. We grew up knowing
these things.
Both the above mentioned articles
talk about the need to return to the nest
and Mammy’s care every now and then.
There’s nothing quite like sleeping in
the dark for once, with no sounds at all.
That’s a good night’s sleep.
Moving on from culchies and going
home, another very important article
in this paper is a message from the SU
Welfare Officer, Declan Higgins.
Declan’s article was published in the
Connacht and City Tribune a couple of
weeks ago and has been getting a huge
response ever since.
In his article, Dec talks about depres-
sion and how it can destroy your life. He
also talks about how he pulled through
with the help of his family and friends.
The message we can take from this
articleisthattalkinghelps.Nomatterhow
alone you think you are, you will always
have someone who is prepared to listen.
You just need to open up and let them in.
Ifyou’restrugglingorinneedofsome-
one to talk to, you now know that your
Welfare Officer really is looking out for
you. He’s been through a similar experi-
ence and he’s come out the other side,
happy and enthusiastic about the future.
Declan can be contacted via
su.welfare@nuigalway.ieor0863853659.
We’re preparing for exam season this
issue and have some great health tips
and even some style and makeup tips.
Need to be comfortable for a day in
the library but also look stylish? We’ve
got you covered in our fashion section.
Have you slept in after a long night of
study and left yourself with no time to
cover up that tired skin? Our five minute
makeup article will help you out.
Lookingforsomeenergythatwillkeep
you focused and healthy without that
awfulsugarcrashafterwards?Blueberries.
Check out page 19 to see what I mean.
That’s all for this issue, but keep an eye
out for issue six on 26 November. That’s
our last issue before the holidays and
we’re getting in the Christmas spirit. Yes,
it’s too early, but it will be worth it when
Christmas finally does come around.
Until next time,
Jess
@Jess__Thompson
Adam Nihill performing in the third heat of NUIG's Got Talent
recently held in the College Bar. Picture: Daniel O'Loughlin
Upcoming Sin Meetings
Thursday 14 November:
Preparation for Christmas Issue.
Thursday 21 November:
How to Conduct an Interview.
All Sin meetings will take place at
6pm in AC213 on the Concourse.
Meetings are open to everyone and
new members are always welcome!
Editor in Chief: Jessica Thompson
editor@sin.ie
Layout: Shannon Reeves | contact via Ed.
News
Jenna Hodgins | localnews.sined@gmail.com
Conor Lane | nationalnews.sined@gmail.com
Features
Leigh Ashmore | opinion.sined@gmail.com
Michael Finn | features.sined@gmail.com
Lifestyle
Ciara Treacy | fashion.sined@gmail.com
Arts and
Entertainment
Tracey Halloran | artsentertainment.sined@gmail.com
Karen McDonnell | arts.sined@gmail.com
Shannon McNamee | entsonline.sined@gmail.com
Sports
Daragh Small | sport.sined@gmail.com
Céimin Burke | sport.sined@gmail.com
Creative Writing
Helen Hughes | creativity.sined@gmail.com
Webmaster
Valeri Tarassov | web.sined@gmail.com
Photography
Daniel O'Loughlin | photography.sined@gmail.com
sinners
Aoife Barry | Andrew Brennan | Ruth-Ann Browne | Ceimin
Burke | Yvonne Clinton | Niamh Corry | Brenna
Dolan | Hazel Elliffe | Michael Ferris | Michael Finn | Darren
Glynn | Arindam Halder | Tracey Halloran | Rebecca
Hastings | Declan Higgins | John Ivory | Jane Kearns | Maria
Keenan | Samantha Kelly | Kieran Kilkenny | Conor
Lane | Adrian Larkin | Joseph Loughnane | Marcus Mac
Dhonnagáin | Zoe Macfarlane | Dylan Mac Réamoinn | Karen
McDonnell | Shannon McHugh | Merry Man | John
Mulry | Áine O'Donnell | Benjamin O'Gorman | John
O'Sullivan | Lisa Penski | Jessica Pezzato | Sarah de
Poire | Rebecca Sweeney | Megan Reilly | Kristina
Reynolds | Sarah Ryan | Daragh Small | Chelsea
Tabert | Valeri Tarassov | Jessica Thompson | Niamh
Towey | Ciara Treacy | Siobhán Whyte | Mona Wise

Great leaps forward for Galway
Community Garden Project
Galway Entrepreneurs launch
online store with a difference
Observatory open nights hosted by NUI Galway
SERVE hold annual
information evening
By Lisa Penski
SERVE held their annual
information evening for
the summer of 2014 in NUI
Galway on Tuesday 5th of
November. The develop-
ment and volunteering
organisation is dedicated to
fighting poverty in develop-
ing countries.
SERVE has programmes
in place in Ireland, as well
as abroad in countries
such as Zambia, South
Africa, Mozambique, Bra-
zil, Thailiand, India and the
Philippines.
SERVE volunteers dedi-
cate themselves to bringing
justice and equality to the
poorest of the poor and to
introducing sustainable
development to areas of the
world that lack essentials
like health care and educa-
tion systems.
Up to 90 volunteers are
signed up per year and with a
budgetofoveronemillioneuro
eachyearprogrammesareput
in place that improve the lives
ofthoseinneed.Development
andvolunteeringprogrammes
are based on partnership or
funding models.
With 15 local partners
throughout the world SERVE
has a broad geographic
focus. The main focus is put
on South Africa, Zimbabwe
and Mozambique through
implementation of long-term
development programmes.
Small scale programmes
including funding and capac-
ity building support for local
partners are put in place in
Thailand, India, the Philip-
pines, Brazil and Zambia.
Funding donors include
Irish Aid, Misean Cara,
Electric Aid, JP McManus
Charitable Fund, the RTE
One World Fund and the Irish
Dairy Board. Money is also
raised by volunteers through-
out the Irish community.
Volunteering programmes
range from educational pro-
grammes to development
of infrastructure and sus-
tainable development. The
programme in South Africa
for instance focuses on
improving health care and
public awareness on topics
like AIDS and HIV.
Volunteering work can
include working in the pub-
lic sector, like crèches and
schools, visiting patients,
improving infrastructure or
educating the public.
Projects in Brazil have
seen to the construction of
houses and improvement
of infrastructure in poverty-
stricken areas.
There are volunteering
options and different time
periods available for indi-
viduals or groups of people,
such as community groups
and schools. Programmes
take place between June and
August each year and are
opentoindividualapplicants.
By Siobhán Whyte
The Centre for Astronomy
in NUI Galway is hosting two
OpenDaysthissemesteron13
November and 11 December
both starting at 7pm.
Attendees have the oppor-
tunity to get a 3D tour of the
Universe after an hour-long
information session. The
facilities are usually reserved
for students, but these open
nights give others the chance
to get their hands on the
observatory’s state-of-the-art
computer-controlled tel-
escopes (16” and a portable
10” model) and cameras.
There’s also a radio tel-
escope with a hydrogen line
spectrometer which is able
to map out and measure the
velocity of the sun and the
Milky Way.
This would be a really
good place to start for any-
one seeking an introduction
to astronomy. It is, of course,
aimedateveryonefrombegin-
ners to seasoned enthusiasts.
Theopendaysareweather-
dependent, but the Centre for
Astronomy hopes to show-
case as much as they can on
the nights.
Observatoryopennightsare
suitableforchildrenandadults
alike. However, they recom-
mend that children be at least
10 years-old before attending.
Admission is free but
access is ticket-only. Email
tara.shanahan@nuigalway.ie
tobookinadvance.Ticketsare
limited to two per person.
The Centre for Astron-
omy on campus opened
the Imbusch Astronomical
Observatory in 2004. The cen-
tre hosts open nights as part
of an outreach programme
which aims to make astron-
omy accessible for everyone.
The programme also
includes public talks.
For more information on
the outreach programme you
can visit the CFA website on
http://astro.nuigalway.ie/.
By Niamh Corry
The following local organ-
izations have dedicated
themselves to the Galway
Community Garden Project:
Cuan Mhuire, Ability West,
Shine, Rehab Care, Irish
Advocacy Network, Quest
and Grow. We are very much
looking forward to working
closely with them in develop-
ing the garden.
Furthermore, the project
has developed five subgroups
for the service users to
become involved in that will
not only help get the project
off the ground but equip the
service users with new skills
too. They are the logo group,
website group, space group,
tree mapping group and pho-
tography group.
Two events were held dur-
ing the week of 23 September
2013 to begin raising money
for the Galway Community
Garden project. Students
held a bake-sale in Aras Moy-
ola and raised an incredible
€450 for the project.
In the same week the quiz
and Disney societies held a
quiz in aid of the project and
almost €500 was raised. That
was just under €1000 in one
week. A huge thank you has
been extended to everyone
who supported these events.
Some students from the
class developed the first code
of ethics for the project. This
marks an important step as
the code of ethics will guide
all decisions that are made
involving the garden.
A crucial milestone in
the project was achieved
recently. An initial design for
the garden including plants
and flowers, pathways and
plant beds was developed.
The aim is to develop the
idea into a 3D design in order
to create a clearer image of
what the garden will look like.
An interior designer
has been introduced to the
project and with her advice
and expertise this idea will
progress further in the com-
ing weeks.
Jigsaw Galway Raise ¤5000 with 8k run around NUI Galway Campus
Jigsaw Galway, the free and confidential support service for young people
in Galway city, is to benefit from the NUI Galway/Kingfisher Club 8k run
for staff, students and alumni around the University’s campus.
Jigsaw support young people aged 15-25 experiencing difficulties that
affect their mental health and well-being. Jigsaw also provides advice and
guidance to anyone concerned about a young person in their life.
Pictured at the cheque presentation were (l-r) Seán Kearns, NUI Galway
SU President, Dr Jim Browne, NUI Galway President, Justin McDermott,
Jigsaw Galway and Joe Cosgrove MD Kingfisher Fitness Club.
By Jessica Thompson
Two Galway entrepre-
neurs have launched a new
website that allows users to
sell their old clothes and buy
almost new clothes for dis-
counted prices.
Roman Sadowski and
Enda Glynn launched the
website as Ireland’s only
online store for ‘like new’
clothing. At littlethings.ie
buyers can purchase the
brands they love for a frac-
tion of the high street price.
Littlethings.ie was set up
to give people the opportu-
nity to realise the value of
the items locked in
their wardrobe.
Most people
wear only 50% of
the clothes they
own, yet they
are constantly adding new
items to the pile.
This realisation was the
inspiration behind littleth-
ings.ie which allows people
to trade up their wardrobe
by buying and selling the
clothes they love.
When registering for
littlethings.ie, users can
request a shipping
bag and send their unwanted
clothes off to be sorted,
allowing them not only to
clean out their wardrobe,
but earn cash while doing so.
Once clothes have been
received, they are reviewed
andmeasuredandprofession-
allyphotographed.Thevery
best stuff is sold for up to
90% off the retail price.
The website was founded
duringthesummerbyRoman
Sadowski and Enda Glynn
who met in university in Gal-
way three years ago.
The pair immediately
hit it off and bounced sev-
eral business ideas off each
other before coming up with
Littlethings.ie.
Both men are from dif-
ferent backgrounds and
different countries and have
different histories, but both
have the unifying goal of
building a great company
that creates real value for
their customers.
For more information,
visit www.littlethings.ie or
email info@littlethings.
ie. Littlethings.ie can also
be found on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/
littlethingsireland.

The beanstalk of Shop Street targeted by Galway City Council
Brazilian flavour on Irish campuses
Cannabis worth
over 2 million Euro
seized by Gardai
Penalty system aims to encourage
job seekers to take up suitable work
Made In Galway
By Arindam Halder
Irish universities have
welcomed more than a
thousand students from
Brazil this year as part
of Brazil’s Science with-
out Borders (Ciência sem
Fronteiras).
Science without Bor-
ders directly funds 75,000
scholarships and a further
26,000 are being funded by
the private sector.
The programme seeks to
add to students’ knowledge
of science and technology
and improve innovation and
competitiveness through
international mobility of
undergraduate and graduate
students and researchers.
These students not only
gain from the high quality
Irish education system but
also help the Irish economy
and colleges to the tune of
€25m.
The Irish Government
hopes to get about 3000
more students over the next
four years in a deal worth
€110m spread over the next
four years.
The South American
country has earmarked Ire-
land as a key destination for
the program to take advan-
tage of the highest quality
education available in the
country across key sub-
ject areas spreading from
international business to
cutting-edge science.
Institutes of Technology
Ireland CEO Gerry Mur-
ray said the students were
already making a positive
impact on Campus life.
He said the institutes
were determined to ensure
that the students' time in
Ireland would be marked
by high-quality education
and an enriching cultural
experience.
is also taking advantage of
the desire of the Brazilian
students for greater inter-
national experience and
exposure.
is hard selling Ireland as a
favored educational destina-
tion to emerging countries
such as India, Russia and
has been able to attract stu-
dents from across the globe.
Ireland is also favored by
students given the friendly
people and English as a
medium of education.
NUI Galway is a prime
example of how this strategy
is succeeding. NUI Galway
has students from over a
100 countries and has the
highest number of foreign
students.
By Adrian Larkin
A recent County Council
initiative in Galway aims to
promote a range of Galway
craft and food producers.
To do this, the Council has
launched a website.
Made in Galway is a free
directory listing the fantas-
tic range of food and craft
products that are available
in Galway.
It is an initiative designed
by Galway County Council in
a bid to support and encour-
age cultural and economic
development in Galway.
Made in Galway can direct
you right to the doorsteps of
world class producers based
in the county.
Each listing is regularly
updated by the individual
producer to ensure it is kept
current, and most listings
contain links to producers
own websites or social media
so you can browse even fur-
ther.
Galway has an incredible
variety of top quality authen-
tic local artisan produce to
delight all tastes, and this is
shown clearly through the
website.
The website also contains
a number of blogs on many
of the locally produced goods
along with an interactive
map which shows where
exactly in Ireland the goods
are produced.
Be sure to check out the
website at www.madeingal-
way.ie and to find further
information on Facebook
and Twitter.
By Michael Finn
One of Shop Street’s most
distinguishing features, the
Beanstalk Mural on Claddagh
Jewellers, has become the tar-
get of Galway City Council.
The mural has caused
uproar since it was painted
by Ruairi O'Byrne and com-
missioned by Claddagh
Jewellers in 2011.
The council believes that it
is “excessively obtrusive, does
not integrate into the street-
scape generally and affects
the character of the area”.
However, the public
believe that it is a great addi-
tion to Shop Street and 87%
of those who were surveyed
agreed that it should stay.
There is some reason
for concern with regards to
keeping Galway aesthetically
pleasing.
Since Galway is an old city,
allowing business owners to
have free reign over how to
present their shop front could
make Galway look ‘tacky’.
“To this end, shop fronts
and any mural paintwork
should respect the scale,
character and setting of
the building to which it is
attached,” according to the
Galway City Development
Plan 2011-2017.
“The need to have regard
to these policy objectives
is more critical where the
building lies within an Archi-
tectural Conservation Area
(ACA).”
Caroline O’Byrne, wife
of the painter voiced her
opinion on the matter to the
Galway Independent in mid-
October; “He really enjoyed
the process and the positive
attention the mural got from
so many locals and tourists
alike. It seemed that every-
one was happy to witness its
creation.”
Feature Walls, Ruairi’s
company, has done murals
in many locations around
Galway, Sligo, Dublin, and
many other towns and cities
in Ireland.
Their GAA mural in Drum-
condra, entitled; ‘One will
conquer all’, was sponsored
by Guinness and remains
one of their most famous
pieces to date.
By Lisa Penski
Gardai seized a total of
over €2m worth of cannabis
plants in 3 searches. Three
suspects, one of Chinese and
two of Vietnamese national-
ity, were under investigation
regarding the raids, while a
fourth suspect needed medi-
cal treatment.
Three searches were
undertaken as part of Opera-
tion Nitrogen, an operation
by the Garda National Drugs
Unit (GNDU).
One factory containing
around 1800 plants worth
about 1.3 million euro was
raided in an industrial estate
in Clash, Trallee, Co. Kerry.
The search was carried
out by Gardai on Monday 21
October. A house in Carriga-
loon, Virginia, Co. Cavan was
also searched and found to
contain 700 cannabis plants
worth around €560,000. The
search was undertaken by
local Gardai.
A third search took place
in Oldtown, Athlone, Co.
Roscommon, where a house
was found to contain can-
nabis worth around 240,000
euro. The search was led by
the Roscommon/Longford
Drug Unit, who were assisted
by members of the GDNU.
The factory in Trallee, the
house in Carrigaloon and
the house in Athlone were
all searched at the same time.
Regarding the operation
a Garda spokesperson said;
“The total value of the can-
nabis plants seized over the
course of the three searches
is approximately €2.1m.”
Two Vietnamese men,
believed to be in their late 20s
or early 30s, were arrested
during the search in Tral-
lee. One suspect was held
under investigation in Trallee
Garda Station while the other
injured himself while jump-
ing off a roof in an attempt to
escape and needed medical
attention.
A third suspect, a Chinese
male in his 20s was arrested
at the house in Oldtown,
Athlone. The third search
in Carrogaloon led to the
arrest of a 50-year-old Chi-
nese man.
Relating to the arrests, a
Garda spokesperson said;
“There was three suspects
arrested and are currently
being detained under Sec-
tion 2 of the Criminal Justice
(Drug Trafficking) Act 1996
in Trallee, Roscommon and
Bailieboro Garda Station
respectively. An additional
suspect is currently receiving
medical attention at Tralee
General Hospital.”
By Siobhán Whyte
The Department of Social
Protection has recently spo-
ken about strengthened
penalties introduced for
job seekers in the welfare
system.
The penalty system
is aimed at encouraging
people to take up suitable
work or education, and
sanctions will be imposed
should anyone refuse or
fail to do this.
Measures were first
implemented in April
2011, but sanctions have
been reinforced this year.
Penalty rates and possible
suspensions are now what
unemployed individuals
are faced with should they
fail to comply with regula-
tions.
Beginning last July, it is
now possible for jobseek-
ers to be disqualified from
payment for up to 9 weeks.
According to the Depart-
ment, the number of
penalties applied has risen
over the last 2 years. In the
period May to December
2011, 352 penalty rates were
applied.
In 2012, 1,455 penalty
rates were applied but to
the end of September this
year, 2,403 penalty rates
were imposed. This brings
the overall number to 4,210
since their introduction.
“Reduced payment
rates for job seekers […]
allow for a penalty of up to
€44 per week. A jobseeker
claim may be disallowed
where the customer fails
to meet the conditions of
the scheme,” Deputy Min-
ister Joan Burton stated
when questioned in the
Dáil recently
This shows a willing-
ness to enforce scheme
regulations on recipients.
These conditions are in
compliance with the Job
Seekers Allowance/Ben-
efit schemes, which state
that the claimant must
be available for and gen-
uinely seeking work to
retain payments.
Many people have been
dissatisfied, however with
the Government’s failure
to provide job seekers
with suitable employment,
training or education
options.
They are now left wor-
rying about possible
decreases in their already
low income. This criticism
comes after the recent
Budget 2014, where more
austerity measures were
taken.
There have been cuts
to under-25-year-old job
seekers, a reduction in
pension benefits (the tele-
phone allowance has been
scrapped) and the abolition
of the bereavement grant.
Changes were also made
for Medical Card holders
with regards to income
limits. Job seekers can
now avail of a new service,
Intreo, which is in the proc-
ess of combining FÁS and
Social Welfare local offices.
It is hoped that this will
simplify the process for
claimants by integrating
employment services with
payment applications.

Enda Kenny confident on bailout exit
New Children’s
Hospital for Belfast
Ireland welcomes 4,000 new Irish citizens in 2013
Roma child Maria
returned to her family
By Yvonne Clinton
On 15 December Ireland
will exit the EU/IMF bailout
programme. Speaking at Fine
Gael’s party conference, Enda
Kenny was adamant Ireland
would make a successful exit
from the programme, declar-
ing us to be on course to
"retrieve our economic sov-
ereignty and independence".
After seven austerity budg-
ets, including 15 October’s
€2.5bn package of spend-
ing cuts and tax increases,
it seems Ireland is finally on
the road to recovery. In Enda
Kenny’s words “the economic
emergency will be over”.
In November 2010, Ire-
land’s interest rates on the
bond markets soared to 7%,
making it far too expensive
for us to borrow money.
The then Government
was forced to seek a bailout.
It would total €85bn, with the
interest rates on the loans
now averaging just 3%.
The main question being
asked now is whether or not
Ireland will exit the bailout
unaided. ECB President
Mario Draghi declared that
a precautionary credit line
for Ireland is “just being
discussed by the relevant
authorities”.
In a letter to his Euro-
pean counterparts on
Wednesday, October 23rd
Enda Kenny declared the
negotiations to be “finely
balanced”.
A precautionary credit line
would act like an insurance
policy supporting Ireland’s
return to the bond markets.
There are fears in Europe
thatasoloexitforIrelandcould
causethemarketstoreactneg-
atively due to the countries’
high deficit. Fear is the enemy
ofmarkets,andcouldcausejit-
ters across the entire EU.
Whether or not Ireland
exits unaided depends on
the results of bank stress tests
being carried out.
MinisterforEuropeanAffairs
PaschalDonohuehassaidthat
Irish banks were “well-capital-
ised”and“well-scrutinised”.
However, a member of the
Executive Board of the ECB
declared there to be “pend-
ing risks” for Ireland exiting
the bailout.
Ireland has already man-
aged to raise some money on
the bond markets since June
2012, and the results have
been promising. The inter-
est rates charged have been
less than 4%, lower than any
other country in a bailout.
A cash pile of €25bn has
been built up. This hopefully
will be enough of an ‘insur-
ance policy’ to allow a solo
exit in December.
The EU needs a country
to successfully exit a bail-
out to show that this form
of rescue programme has
worked. After all the years of
austerity, it looks like Ireland
may finally be an example to
Europe – and the world.
By Conor Lane
A seven-year old girl who
had been taken in a raid by
theGardaifromaRomafamily
locatedinTallaghtintheWest
ofDublinhasbeenreturnedto
her family.
Itwasbelievedshemaynot
havebeenrelatedtoherfamily
but DNA tests confirmed that
she in was. The father of the
little girl said that he “doesn’t
want this to happen to any
family”.
Thefamily’ssolicitorstated
that “her removal has been a
cause of huge upset to her
parents”andthat“theydonot
accept there was any proper
orsufficientbasistotaketheir
daughter away from them,
therebycausingherandthem
the upset which has been
caused”.
The Roma family has been
victim to racist attacks in the
area previously and had been
living in their house for five
years which now has fortified
glass installed to repel bricks.
TheGardaiusedtheirpow-
ers under the Child Care Act
to remove the child from the
family where she was kept in
the custody of the HSE until
DNAtestscouldbeperformed.
Thiscasecameafteralittle
blonde girl, Maria, was taken
fromaRomafamilyinGreece
whoserealparentswerefound
in an impoverished camp in
the neighboring country Bul-
garia.
A 35-year-old Bulgarian
Roma woman said she gave
birthtoababygirlwhilework-
ingasanolivepickerinGreece
and had no choice but to give
her away as she was too poor
to care for her.
TheGreekcouplehasbeen
arrestedonabductioncharges
but has said that they were
given the girl as a baby from
herbiologicalmotherwillingly
before she left the country.
The case which has drawn
a global audience has led to
other nations such as Ireland
attemptingtoclampdownon
suspectedabductionsbutthe
criteriabywhichfamilieshave
been targeted has led to out-
cries by people labeling these
actions as a selected racism
regime.
Pavee Point said that there
is a “real danger” that if the
State is going to carry out
actions such as these against
families based solely on
appearance then they would
essentiallybehelpingtofoster
an environment for racism in
Ireland.
A two year-old boy in Ath-
lone has also been returned
to his home after being taken
from another Roma family.
Minister for Justice Alan
Shatter said that it is impor-
tantthat“nogrouporminority
community is singled out for
unwarranted attention, or,
indeed, suspicion in relation
to child protection issues.”
By Áine O Donnell
Northern Ireland’s Min-
ister for Finance Simon
Hamilton announced in
the Northern Assembly on
21 October plans to develop
a “state of the art” children’s
hospital in Belfast.
The new hospital will
be built on the grounds of
the Royal Hospital Belfast.
The project has a projected
investment of £250m, the
equivalent of €295m.
The development of
the hospital will be partly
funded by a relocation of
an investment which was
originally intended to be
spent on the A5 road from
the border at Aughnacloy,
Tyrone to Derry City.
and the Northern executive
had initially promised to allo-
cate £400m each to the road
improvement scheme under
the St. Andrew’s Agreement
in 2006 but the Irish Gov-
ernment had to postpone
funding due to the economic
downturnsouthoftheborder.
The Department of Health
in Northern Ireland will
receive £52m of the reallo-
cated funds of which £15.5m
will be dedicated to the
beginning of development
at the new hospital site. The
hospital is estimated to be
completed by 2021.
Thecurrentchildren’shos-
pital in Belfast, Royal Belfast
Hospital for Sick Children,
was updated 15 years ago and
has a capacity of 107 beds.
Minister Hamilton
admitted that although the
building had been renovated
it remained in unaccept-
able condition, saying he
was “shocked” by the state
of the hospital when he vis-
ited recently.
He added that there are
“dedicated health profession-
als going beyond the call of
duty to treat some extremely
ill children, but doing so
in surroundings that I’m
ashamed to say are far from
fit for purpose.”
Work is set to start next
year on the project. The
hospital will mark an achieve-
mentforthecurrentNorthern
AssemblyaspreviousGovern-
ments including under direct
British rule proposed plans
for a new hospital, most sig-
nificantly in the early 1990’s
under Minister for Health
Baroness Denton.
The Minister for Finance
also allocated funding to
the improvement of the A8
Belfast to Larne (£30m) and
the A31 Magherafelt bypass
(£13.6m).
Ferries running off the
coasts of Antrim and Down
will also receive funding.
Minister Hamilton stated his
allocations“willleavealasting
economic impact on North-
ern Ireland”.
By Hazel Elliffe
Last month, 4000 peo-
ple from over 120 countries
nations, including Syria,
Egypt, Australia and South
Sudan became Irish citizens
in four special ceremonies in
Dublin.
Since the famine there
has been a wave of Irish emi-
grants departing our shores,
to America, England and
as far away as Australia for
economic reasons. Unem-
ployment in the 1980s also
saw a mass exodus of young
Irish seeking opportunities
abroad.
Then during the Celtic
tiger era Ireland’s robust
economy attracted refu-
gees from countries such as
Nigeria looking for a better
quality of life, often poor liv-
ing conditions coupled with
corrupt governments were
their reasons for coming.
The property crash and
collapse of the Celtic tiger
has seen a new generation
of Irish having to emigrate
yet again to seek opportuni-
ties abroad.
The Irish ceremonies
whereindividualsmakeadec-
larationoffidelitytothenation
and loyalty to the state and to
respect its democratic values
were held in the convention
centre in Dublin, overseen by
the Minister for Justice and a
High Court judge.
Since 2011 there have
been 81 ceremonies with
59,000 people becoming Irish
citizens. The first ceremony
took place on 24 June 2011
and, on that day, 73 new citi-
zens were welcomed to the
national family.
These new citizens come
here for many reasons to
set up homes, get jobs, pay
taxes and open businesses.
Some applicants are asy-
lum-seekers coming from
troubled parts of the world
such as Syria; the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo;
Somalia; Egypt; Iraq; and
South Sudan.
Those that are granted
citizenship under these cir-
cumstanceswerealsogranted
political asylum by the state.
The citizen’s information
advice webpage have infor-
mation for anyone wishing
to apply for Irish citizenship.
The application fee is
currently €175 and there
are a number of rules to be
adhered to. A person must
be over 18 years of age and
have lived in the country for
a number of years; one year
of residency immediately
before application and have
had residence in Ireland for
four years before that.
Applicants must also sup-
ply evidence that they are
self-sufficient and show that
they have not received state
support in the 3 years prior
to application.
If the application is
approved certain documen-
tation and a certificate fee of
€950 is required before being
invited to a citizenship cer-
emony at which they will be
granted their citizenship of
naturalisation.
There are approximately
20,000 applications per year.
While previously an appli-
cation for citizenship could
have taken up to four years,
due to advances in technol-
ogy, it now takes six months.

Berlusconi banned from
public office for two years
UK nuclear plant gets green light
Rome hit by anti-austerity
demonstrations and transport strike
By Maria Keenan
With operations set to
begin in 2023, Britain has
given the go-ahead for the
construction of a nuclear
power plant at Hinkley
Point, Somerset.
Stake in the plant is
split among French util-
ity firm EDF (45%), China
General Nuclear Corpo-
ration (CGN) and China
National Nuclear Corpo-
ration (CNNC) (combined
30%) and Areva (10%).
The cost of the project
is estimated at £14bn. Hin-
kley Point C will be the first
nuclear facility established
since the Fukushima inci-
dent in March 2011.
It is projected that the
plant will produce 7% of the
UK’s energy needs serving
five million homes.
Though the site was
initially designated for wind-
generated power, these levels
of production were deemed
impossible, whether off-
shore or on-shore.
The British Energy Secre-
tary, Ed Davey, stated that the
Hinkley Point reactor’s capa-
bilities are 6,000 times that
of the proposed wind farms.
The Strike Price (or guar-
anteed price to be paid for
electricity produced by the
plant) has been guaranteed
at £92.50 per megawatt hour
– nearly twice the market
price for electricity.
The British Government
has come under attack in
recent months over vast
increases in energy prices
with consumer costs rising
by up to 10%.
These increases come in
the shadow of Labour leader
Ed Miliband’s recent pledge
to freeze energy prices for 20
months. Advocates of these
criticisms have included the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
The move is backed by the
Liberal Democrats who have
responded to these negative
accusations by advocating
the necessity for the energy
security provided by nuclear
power.
The government also
argues that the taxpayer sub-
sidies used to partially fund
the project are equal to those
being put into other carbon-
free industries.
The High Court has under-
taken a challenge to the plant
after the Irish government
was not consulted about the
planned establishment.
The designated site is
equidistant to both London
and the Irish coast.
By Benjamin O’Gorman
Large-scale demonstra-
tions and occupations,
coupled with a 24-hour
transport strike, caused sig-
nificant disruption in Rome
on Friday and Saturday, 18
and 19 October.
The protests and indus-
trial-action followed the
presentation of the budget by
Prime Minister Enrico Letta
earlier in the week.
Demonstrators cited a
number of concerns, includ-
ing the socio-economic
impacts of austerity, housing
issues, and discontent with a
planned high-speed rail link
between Turin and Lyon.
The protest organisers
placed the number involved
on Saturday at 70,000,
whereas police estimated
approximately 50,000 peo-
ple took part. About 3,000 to
4,000 police were on duty.
15 individuals were
arrested during Saturday
and about 100 demonstrators
were witnessed propelling
rocks at police securing the
Finance Ministry, who pur-
sued them down side streets.
On Saturday night, in a
similar occupation to Friday
night, protestors established
a camp with tents in Porta Pia
Square.
Approximately 140 flights
were cancelled at Rome’s
main airport Fiumicino as a
result of the transport strike
while national train and bus
services operated solely at
rush hours, leading to severe
traffic congestion in Rome,
Milan and Naples.
Protestor anger came
against the backdrop of a
two-year recession and an
unemployment rate which
has climbed to a record high
of 12.2 % as of August.
The economic downturn
has led many Italians to fall
behind in mortgage repay-
ments and rent, resulting in
a marked increase in repos-
sessions and evictions.
“We are protesting a one-
way austerity that is bringing
the country to its knees,” said
Piero Bernocchi of the trade
union Cobas on Saturday.
Paolo Ferrero of the Com-
munist Reformation Party
called on Letta’s adminis-
tration to change economic
course and address youth
unemployment; “It needs to
answer the demand to aban-
don austerity and answer a
generation that is not being
offered anything at all.”
The protest on Saturday
has also been connected
with the ‘NO-TAV’ move-
ment, a group attempting to
halt the construction of the
new high-speed TAV rail line
between Turin and Lyon. The
increased militancy of the
group has led to a number
of bomb attacks on the line
in Piedmont.
By Andrew Brennan
A court in Milan ruled
on Saturday 19 that Italy’s
former Premier Silvio Ber-
lusconi should be barred
from holding any public
office position for two years
following his tax fraud con-
viction.
Mr Berlusconi is currently
a senator and as such the
court's ruling will have no
immediate effect. His expul-
sion from the Italian Senate
will depend on a separate
vote in the upper house of
Italian parliament which is
expected to take place in
November.
Saturday's court ruling
reflected the prosecution's
request for a two-year ban
on Mr Berlusconi holding
public office.
Berlusconi's lawyers
said they will appeal the
decision to Italy’s Supreme
Court and have asked for
the minimum penalty
under Italian law which
is a one-year ban, being
applied to the case. The
maximum ban would be
for three years.
The Italian Supreme
Court previously and defini-
tively upheld a tax fraud
conviction against the cen-
tre-right leader, rejecting
Silvio’s final court appeal
against an earlier four-year
jail sentence on 1 August.
The four-year sentence
handed down to Mr Ber-
lusconi was commuted
down to one year, and, if the
Italian Senate expels him,
Berlusconi, now aged 77,
will spend the entire year
either under house arrest
or in community service.
In the 1 August ruling,
the Italian Supreme Court
confirmed Mr Berlusconi’s
tax fraud conviction but
ordered a further judicial
review of banning a person
from holding public office
regarding the tax fraud
offence.
The Italian Senate’s vote
this coming November
will effectively supersede
the Milan court's ruling
because it will be based
on a separate law, which, if
Silvio is expelled, will ban
Mr Berlusconi from public
office for six instead of two
years.
Losing his seat in the
Italian Senate would
deprive Berlusconi, who is
currently fighting a convic-
tion for paying for sex with
a minor, a girl of Moroccan
decent nicknamed Ruby
Heartstealer, among other
legal cases, of Silvio’s par-
liamentary immunity from
arrest.
The Italian Senate is
dominated by Mr Berlus-
coni’s opponents from both
the left and the anti-estab-
lishment 5-Star Movement
and is expected to vote on
expelling Silvio from the
Italian Senate.
The media mogul billion-
aire and political veteran
has protested his inno-
cence, accusing magistrates
of unfairly persecuting him
since Silvio’s entry into Ital-
ian politics 20 years ago.
Mr Berlusconi has
appealed to participate in
community service for a
year rather than being con-
fined under house arrest
regarding another con-
viction and has appealed
another conviction that
would see him spend up to
seven years in prison.

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 58 Features
This week’s debate:
Should Cannabis be Legalised?
No: Cannabis is a health riskYes: We're losing the war on drugs
Roscommon TD Luke Ming Flanagan recently put forward a motion to legalise Cannabis. The motion was defeated
by 111 to eight in the Dáil last week. In this week’s debate we discuss whether Cannabis should be legalised.
By Hazel Elliffe
TD Ming Flanagan has
opened the debate for a 2013
Bill to legalise Cannabis use
in Ireland. Many people see
cannabis as a harmless sub-
stance that helps you to relax
and “chill” – a drug that, unlike
alcohol and cigarettes, might
even be good for your physical
and mental health.
Thereportedpleasanteffects
of cannabis use are a sense of
relaxation, happiness, sleepi-
ness; colours appear more
intense with music sounding
better. So what is in cannabis
that causes such good effects?
Cannabis is of the nettle
family that have grown wild
throughout the world for cen-
turies. Its resin (ganja/hashish),
leaves (grass,weed) and flow-
ering tops (herbal cannabis)
are used. Most commonly,
the resin or the dried leaves
are mixed with tobacco and
smoked as a “spliff” or “joint”,
inhaled strongly and held in the
lungs for a number of seconds.
It contains tetrahydrocannabi-
nol (THC) that is responsible
for its mind-altering properties
and also contains non-psy-
choactive cannabidiol (CBD),
which can protect against neu-
ron damage.
Skunk refers to a range of
stronger types of home culti-
vated cannabis, grown for its
higher concentration of active
substances. It is grown either
undergrow-lightsorinagreen-
house, often using hydroponic
(growinginnutrientrichliquids
rather than soil) techniques.
It has higher volumes of
THC, the main psychoactive
component in cannabis, and
reduced quantities of CBD
which tends to counteract it.
Meanwhile medical cannabis
which has proven to offer pain
relief to various illnesses is rich
in CBD and low in THC.
So what are the bad effects
of Cannabis use? Well around
one in 10 cannabis users have
unpleasant experiences –
hallucinations, anxiety and
paranoia. These feelings
are usually only temporary,
although as the drug can stay
in the system for some weeks
the effect can be more long-
lasting than users realise.
Heath studies on psycho-
logical health have shown it
can cause anxiety, depres-
sion, lack of motivation and
difficulty concentrating. Stud-
ies have shown a clear link
between cannabis use and
mental illness in later life. There
is growing evidence that peo-
ple with serious mental illness,
including depression and psy-
chosis, are more likely to use
cannabis or have used it for
long periods of time in the past.
RecentresearchinEuropehas
suggested that people who have
a family background of mental
illness – and so probably have
a genetic vulnerability anyway
–aremorelikelytodevelopschiz-
ophrenia if they use cannabis as
well.Regularuseofthedrughas
appeared to double the risk of
developing a psychotic episode
or long-term schizophrenia.
If it is legalised it could be
abused or misused by young
people. Adolescents who use
cannabis daily are five times
more likely to develop depres-
sion and anxiety in later life.
Using it in the teenage years
can cause permanent damage
on the developing brain. Over
the past few years, research has
strongly suggested that there
is a clear link between early
cannabis use and later mental
health problems in those with
a genetic vulnerability.
The brain is still develop-
ing in the teenage years – up
to the age of around 20, in fact.
Any experience that affects
this process has the potential
to produce long-term psycho-
logical effects.
There have also been sug-
gestions that cannabis may
interfere with a person's capac-
ity to concentrate and organise
information. This effect seems
to last several weeks after use,
which can cause particular
problems for students.
Cannabis can also have a
detrimental effect on physical
health. Consultant/physician
Professor Joseph Harbison, a
doctor at St James’s Hospital,
has seen “five or six cases” of
young people having strokes
following the use of herbal can-
nabis in the past three years. He
suggested the strokes may be
linked to the increased potency
of cannabis available in Ireland.
The British lung foundation
did research on the effect on
respiratory health. The main
risk to physical health from
cannabis is probably from the
tobacco that it is often smoked
with. Cannabis is costly and
people mix it with tobacco to
make it last. Smoking is harm-
ful for the lungs and smoking
cannabis poses a risk to the
lungs as cannabis smokers
can inhale more deeply than
tobacco smokers and hold it
longer than tobacco.
Some researchers are more
worried about the effects
of cannabis with other sub-
stances such as alcohol and
tobacco. Some suggest it may
increase cravings for other
drugs. Studies have shown
individuals experience with-
drawal affects, irritability and
trouble sleeping. The irritabil-
ity, anxiety and problems with
sleeping usually appear 10
hours after the last joint, and
peak at around one week after
the last use of the drug.
The legalisation of cannabis
would send the wrong message
to young people that this is a
harmless drug. The evidence is
there that it has harmful effects
on both mental and physical
health. I for one will not be
supporting a bill to legalise it.
By Marcus Mac
Dhonnagáin
We’relosingthewarondrugs.
Independent TD for Ros-
common Luke Ming Flanagan
recently proposed legisla-
tion that would see cannabis
legalized. What Flanagan pro-
posed would be a legalization
of the drug along similar lines
as the sale of both tobacco
and alcohol. His legislation,
which has not been passed,
proposed an option that
many world governments are
not considering – the legali-
zation of cannabis.
In the early 20th century,
the US instituted a prohibi-
tion on alcohol at the behest
of societal groups that wanted
to see the evils of the liquor be
done away with. They naively
thought that by banning it,
society would become a bet-
ter place, free from the taint of
the devil liquor.
This policy failed spec-
tacularly; not only did the
American people ignore it for
the most part, but the sale of
alcohol went from the legiti-
mate honest businessman to
the determined gangster.
The measure didn’t prevent
people from purchasing and
consuming booze, and eventu-
ally the US repealed the policy,
realizing that its continuation
would continue to fund gang-
sters, as well as consume many
of their resources that might
otherwise be spent elsewhere.
The prohibition era showed
why simple criminalisation
of a substance doesn’t work;
because people who are deter-
mined to get their hands on it
will always find a way, and
there will always be a supplier,
operating outside of the law
and more than willing to use
violence in order to profiteer
from its sale.
Thankfully prohibition was
repealed, and the sale of alco-
hol went back into the hands
of the market, as well as under
the scrutiny of the authorities.
The past provides us with a real
lesson for today. The US recog-
nized that alcohol could cause
social and health problems,
the force and funding needed
to keep a ban in force would be
overwhelming, and in the end,
mostly ineffective.
The same applies to can-
nabis today.
The people that are prof-
iteering off cannabis – the
groups that world governments
have declared war on, be they
criminal gangs or paramilitary
organizations – are extremely
well-funded, well organized
and have shown that they’re
more than willing to fight back
so that they can maintain their
lucrative businesses.
Governments have become
so wrapped up in trying to fight
drugs, that they’ve resigned
themselves to a long conflict
that has no real end in sight.
And no matter their efforts, all
manner of narcotics continue
to flow into the state. It’s time
that we recognized that much
like alcohol, there are smarter
ways against fighting drugs;
beginning with cannabis.
In 2012 a report from the
National Advisory Commit-
tee on Drugs and Public Health
Information and Research
Branch found that cannabis
was the most illegally used
drug in Ireland and Northern
Ireland.
Unlike cocaine and heroin,
cannabis is a soft drug like
alcohol or tobacco. This isn’t
to say it isn’t harmful; all drugs
have negative impacts, but it’s
widely considered that its neg-
ative impacts are on par with
drugs that are legal.
Alcohol addiction is a very
real disease, and has been
responsible for the destruc-
tion of many lives. Likewise,
tobacco is a leading cause of
cancer. Why do we legalize
these drugs when they are so
harmful to public health?
It’s because we can’t con-
trol them, and, in the end,
they’re more socially accepted.
Cannabis for many years now
has seen a normalization and
social acceptance. Many polit-
ical movements, albeit in the
more alternative wing of the
spectrum, have called for its
decriminalization.
Gone are the days of hys-
teria that were created by
the 1936 film Reefer Madness.
People smoke cannabis regu-
larly, whether for medicinal
or recreational purposes, but
are technically breaking the
law for doing so. And by doing
so, their money is being used
to sustain a massive black
economy.
If people are still obtaining
and smoking cannabis in such
large quantities, and are being
prosecuted by the law for doing
so, we must ask if the current
policy is being really effective.
Not only that, but by ignoring
the problem, the state has very
little oversight over the quality
of the drugs themselves, and
receives nothing in terms of
revenue from its sale. And if
cannabis continues to be the
most illegally used drug in
both the Republic and North-
ern Ireland, then gangs are still
profiting from it.
In order to properly regu-
late the consumption of a
product better, the state should
legalize cannabis, and recog-
nize that it cannot stop people
from consuming it. It has failed
to do so over the last number
of decades; what hope is there
that it can continue to do so?
Its resources are finite, and
its sellers are determined to
continue to profit from it. It’s
time that the prohibition of
cannabis came to an end, and
that the Irish government real-
ize that the war on drugs is a
fight it cannot win.
Do you think Cannabis should be
legalised? Join in the debate at
www.sin.ie/2013/11/11/
should-cannabis-be-legalised

November 11 2013
By Joseph Loughnane
Amnesty International
recently published a report
calling the use of drone
strikes in the Middle East the
unlawful killing of civilians.
What is more shocking?
The fact it’s taken this long
for Amnesty International to
come out and condemn the
US for its illegal drone activ-
ity, or the fact that the report
states that the drone strikes
“may” constitute human
rights violations and that they
“appear” to be war crimes?
Rather than focusing on
an organisation which con-
gratulated NATO for its illegal
occupationofAfghanistanon
thebasisthatthewartherewas
somehow benefiting Afghan
women; attention needs to
be drawn to Obama and the
sheeramountofcivilianswho
have died at the hands of his
drone programme.
Ben Emmerson, the
UN Special Rapporteur on
Human Rights and Counter-
Terrorism, also presented a
report to the UN last week on
the impact of drone strikes.
In his report, Emmerson said
he received statistics from
the Pakistani government
indicating that at least 2,200
people have been killed in
drone strikes in that country
since 2004.
Britain’s Bureau of Inves-
tigative Journalism has
revealed that the CIA carried
out 400 drone attacks in the
tribal areas of Pakistan, kill-
ing more than 3,500 people
since 2004. It also revealed
that there were deliberate
targeting of rescuers and
funeral-goers by the CIA.
Pakistan’s Ambassador
to the UN, Masood Khan,
has already stated that
drone strikes cause civilian
casualties and called for
their cessation. The United
States has been operating
covert unmanned drone
strikes for almost a decade
in tribal areas of Pakistan
against “militants”.
These attacks, which
began during President
George W. Bush’s tenure,
have noticeably increased
under the Obama adminis-
tration. The US has claimed
that its drone warfare is
restricted and targeted but
the reality on the ground is
quite different. The strikes
have been blamed for “col-
lateral damage” and killing
civilians as well as violating
sovereignty and humanitar-
ian law.
The US has repeat-
edly violated a country’s
sovereignty and territo-
rial integrity by unlawfully
entering its border and kill-
ing civilians by launching
deadly drone strikes, which
is against the international
rule of law and a violation of
the UN charter.
The CIA’s predator strikes
are demeaning Pakistan and
deteriorating the security
situation within the county
which has filled the inhab-
itants with deep hatred and
rage. Pakistan never con-
sented to such strikes and
it could not be argued that
the US is defending itself.
The use of drones means
that politicians and army
commanders can launch
armed attacks and under-
take military intervention
anywhere around the world
at little or no cost – remote
warfare always results in
more warfare.
Another question is
whether this current drone
policy violates US domestic
law with regard to its pos-
sible expansion of the role
of the executive vis-à-vis
the Congress and also how
it goes against the prohibi-
tion on assassination.
The US has refused to
answer basic questions
about the drone programme
posed in litigation or by jour-
nalists and public officials.
Some public comments
have been made but there
has been extensive reliance
on selective and favourable
leaks about the program to
journalists.
To determine whether Mr
Obama is a war criminal, dis-
cussions about the legality of
the drones policy both under
International Humanitar-
ian Law – the body of law
governing armed conflict
– and International Human
Rights Law often require
fact-dependent contextual
analysis. It’s looking very
unlikely that we’ll ever see
such analysis offered by the
Obama Administration.
To highlight one case
In particular, let me briefly
mention the targeted killing
of American citizen Anwar
al-Awlaki in a drone attack
in Yemen in September 2011.
The U.S. government did not
confirm or deny that it had a
role in his death until almost
2 years after the case.
Despite critics from
all sides of the political
spectrum stating that Mr
Al-Awlaki was entitled to
due process as an American
citizen, the Obama admin-
istration maintained that he
was a major figure in al Qae-
da’s operations in Yemen and
that he plotted to kill Ameri-
cans and inspired Muslims to
commit terrorist acts.
Numerous human rights
organisation have produced
evidence to the contrary,
but like with the more gen-
eral aspects of the legality
of these strikes, the jury is
definitely not out on whether
war crimes are being com-
mitted; instead we have to
deal with the numerous ways
Obama avoids international
scrutiny and attempt to bring
him and his administration
to justice for the thousands
of lives lost.
Opinion 9
Is Obama a war criminal?
Anyonewhostartstalkingabout
ChristmasbeforeDecembershouldbeshot
By Valeri Tarassov
Yes, it is that time of the
year again, and no I am not
talking about Halloween, and
I should not be really talking
about Christmas, should I?
It is not even December yet.
Folks, remember when
we were little kids, when the
excitement of approach-
ing Christmas was great. We
expected Santa to bring us
presents,andtheentireatmos-
pherewasabsolutelyfantastic;
thedecorations,theChristmas
tree,andespeciallydecorating
the tree with your loved ones.
Wasn’t that amazing?
But we’ve grown up and
for most of us the excitement
fades away from the level it
used to be. But for some rea-
son, some of us still start to
go nuts in November, Octo-
ber and even in September.
But it’s not the idea of
reliving these fond memo-
ries that are driving people,
but the shoddy commerciali-
zation that mars the season
instead.
Well the first question to
ask is; isn't it time to grow
up a little? Think of what will
happen with a future genera-
tion who take their example
from us, the adults. They will
start thinking about Christ-
mas in July, for all we know.
Are we not forgetting what
is Christmas really about? On
Christmas we celebrate the
birth of our lord, Jesus. It is a
religious holiday that must
be celebrated with our loved
ones.
So where is it all coming
from? And who should we
really shoot? Even walking
around in Aldi recently, I
can't help but notice that
Christmas stuff is already
there.
Seriously? It was the
beginning of October when
I noticed that shops are filled
with Christmas decorations,
chocolate Santa's and every
other possible thing a retailer
can sell for this holiday.
Again we have to face the
facts, it’s all become about
some suit’s pretty heartless
money-making exercise.
If the Lord sees how we
celebrate the birth of his
son by selling and buying
a bunch of crap, it’s really
no mystery as to why he is
punishing us with a reces-
sion and austerity.
In a simple scenario,
when a young boy is
promised a new Xbox for
Christmas in April, you can
be pretty sure he is going to
be thinking about Christ-
mas all that time, because
that is when he gets what is
promised to him.
It’s all motivated by that
feeling of victory, of pos-
sessing something that
comes only once a year, on
Christmas. What I remem-
bered as a special time with
my family now seems more
like simple material accu-
mulation; greed.
So Christmas has in
every sense become about
shopping. I know people
who have actually taken out
loans to cover the expenses
of the season. Can you
believe that? And not cheap
ones; some loans with very
high interest rates. Who
benefited from the season
again? Retailers and of
course banks.
It’s safe to say that the
heart has truly been taken
out of Christmas. Kids and
adults are not expecting a
family dinner, but a mate-
rial possession for this
event, so it’s really no won-
der everyone starts going
on and on about Christmas,
when it is still months away.
What once brought out
the best in people, the
generosity, the together-
ness and the basic spirit of
goodwill, now just seems to
bring out the worst. People,
forget all material gain for
once; we can't expect that
from retailers and bankers,
because they live for turn-
ing a profit.
I am talking about us,
the buyers. Remember,
during his time on earth
Jesus gave away all of his
possessions and he became
poor. Remember what the
holiday is really about, and
if you care about religion
and those in need, help
someone who is in need
and have it quietly with
your family and at appro-
priate time.
Bah Humbug! Tis the season for Scrooges.

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 510 Opinion
Why pro-choice and pro-life should
call off the battalions and join forces
Re:New
Public
Fat-ShamingThe latest trend in our ‘material world’
By Fionnuala O’Leary
Fat-shaming is not a recent phenom-
enon, but rather one which has flourished
in today’s body-conscious, looks-obsessed
culture. This is especially evident via social
networking sites, such as Twitter, wherein
the tag ‘#FatShaming’ went viral just over a
fortnight ago; with some users going as far
as to declare a fat-shaming week.
The Urban Dictionary has two alternate
definitions for this; the first being just a tad
harsh to say the least: “a term made by obese
people to avoid the responsibility to […] take
proper care of their body and instead, vic-
timize themselves[sic] by pretending they're
discriminated [against].”
The second, however, certainly appears
to be a more apt description, likening fat-
shaming to a “bullying tactic”. Yet, many
victims of this are not de facto morbidly
obese, contrary to what the perpetrators
would have them believe. They are mostly
people who have fallen-foul of a rather
unpleasant individual: the object of the
exercise (excuse the pun) being to shame
that person into losing weight.
Consequently, in light of the purpose
here being to put-down, or ridicule, some-
one on account of their appearance, we
are presented with an unpleasant jus-
tification for excessive weight-loss,
particularly for women.
If you are, what another considers to be
a ‘fat’ individual (or worse, a ‘fat bird’ by
d’ladz’ standards) you have failed before you
have even begun apparently. This is laugh-
able considering the maturity levels of those
little boys hiding behind their keyboards, or
rather, a lack-thereof.
Indeed, the majority of jibes at a person’s
weight are most definitely not intended as
a sort of constructive criticism. Moreover,
what is the first thing someone is likely to
criticize a woman for? You guessed it, her
weight of course. Surprise! And yet, women
themselves are culpable of oppressing
each other with harsh comments related
to weight, not merely online fat-shaming,
but also face-to-face.
And why is this? It is because nowadays,
rather than being venerated for your internal
attributes, a woman is judged predomi-
nantly on the way that she looks.
Daily, we are inundated with unrealistic
images of celebrities who have just given
birth for example, and yet have somehow
managed to procure abs of steel in a mat-
ter of weeks. Oh, but she eats whatever she
wants, trill the trash-mags, lest we forget
how inept we really are (i.e. she eats noth-
ing – it’s a miracle that starvation diet).
But, then again, what else could possibly
demonstrate one’s success more than being
underweight, ladies? Nothing apparently if
someone like Rachel Zoe is anything to go
by: “I've never told anyone to lose weight
[LOL] I've worked with all sizes of women
from slim to full-figured, some of my clients
are a size 12.” Not a size 12 – blasphemy!
I would just like to reiterate here that
Marilyn Monroe was a size 14-16, a lesser
known fact that speaks for itself. Of course,
if Monroe was alive today she would find
that societal conceptions of beauty have
changed considerably, with companies,
such as Abercrombie, catering only for
‘the attractive all-American kid’ (that is
to say, only up to a size ten for women)
according to their suitably chauvinistic
CEO, Mike Jeffries.
The fat-shaming trend indicates a far
more worrying agenda than we realise, as
Naomi Wolf, author and political activ-
ist, aptly surmises; “[a] culture fixated
on female thinness is not an obsession
about female beauty, but an obsession
about female obedience. Dieting is the
most potent political sedative in women’s
history; a quietly mad population is a trac-
table one.”
Nowadays, this class of online bullying
has been embraced in lieu of tolerance. The
insidious message therein being that, if you
are thin, you will get on in life: you will be
met with pleasant squeals of “ohh have you
lost weight? You look amaaaaazing,” etc.,
ringing in your ears. And effectively, you
will be what your neighbour deems to be
a success, unlike fatty in the corner there
(because that just makes a world of sense).
I do not lend myself to morbidity, but
it is this positive-reinforcement of ‘thin-
ness’, combined with a condemnation of
the fuller figured person, that leads us to
that unfortunate, emaciated girl in a hos-
pital ward; with a drip in her arm and the
prospect of death looming.
By Sarah Ryan
After reading an article in the previ-
ous issue of Sin entitled “Stop trying to
give every ejaculation a name: Abortion
on demand is an integral part of women’s
rights” [issue 3], I took to my computer,
determined to write a rebuttal and stand
up for my beliefs.
I wanted to raise awareness about the
physical and mental health risks associated
with abortion, and to put forward a secular
argument grounded in science in order to
appeal for the rights of the voiceless.
I wrote the article. I probably re-read
it about thirty times, obsessively editing
every sentence. I hit ‘save’. I considered
using a pseudonym to avoid any social
awkwardness, decided that that would be a
spineless cop-out and typed my real name.
I cried for a bit and then watched Juno.
In my younger years I was adamantly
pro-choice. It was a direct response to the
scare tactics that were used by my religion
teachers in a Catholic all-girls school.
Among a class of thirty-something teen-
agers, I was one of two girls who remained
pro-choice after the religious intervention.
That was until I took a practical ethics
class in first year philosophy. During my
research for an assignment I realised that
abortion was not that simple. In the end, I
couldn’t take a side and resolved to write
about vegetarianism instead.
I lingered in no man’s land for several
years, until I met Theresa, a Spanish girl.
During the course of our friendship she
opened up to me about how her mother
had almost had an abortion when she was
halfway through her medical degree. If she
hadn’t changed her mind and decided to
become a nurse instead, Theresa would not
be alive. After this revelation I was decid-
edly pro-life, but for the most part kept it
a secret in fear that I would be judged for
my beliefs.
At some point while Juno was out “han-
dling things way beyond her maturity level”,
the truth started to sink in. The reason I
couldn’t bring myself to submit the rebut-
tal was that deep down I knew it wouldn’t
do any good.
It would not ease the decision-mak-
ing process of a young woman facing an
unwanted pregnancy. It would not change
the minds of pro-choice supporters who were
already decided on the issue. Right or wrong,
legal or illegal, as long as there are crisis preg-
nancies there will be abortions, and it will
take a lot more than a strongly worded article
to change this reality.
Such is the problem with the pro-choice
and pro-life campaigns. For one they illus-
trate the danger of two sides becoming so
extreme and distant they can no longer relate
on any points of discussion, or even as human
beings. What’s more is that their main point
of argument concerns legislation which has
little effect on the source of the issue, and
which fails to address the complex nature of
the situation.
Countries in which abortion is illegal
have similar rates of abortion as countries
in which it is legal. Outlawing abortion does
little to prevent its occurrence. It is also true
that unsafe abortions can lead to physical
complications, mental health problems, and
even death.
Still, those very same risks apply to “safe”
abortions. Therefore, the only way to reduce
the number of lives at risk is to reduce the
number of abortions. This can only be done
by preventing unwanted pregnancies from
happening in the first place.
When the labels are removed and all the
biases, finger-pointing and childish name-
calling are stripped away, the aims of the
opposing sides of the abortion debate are not
all that different. The pro-choice side aims to
protect the rights and lives of women. The
pro-life side aims protect the rights and lives
of foetuses.
Both aims can be accomplished by placing
a greater emphasis on prevention - improving
access to contraception, sexual education,
contraceptive counselling, and unbiased sup-
port services for women who experience an
unwanted pregnancy.
If we can set aside our different beliefs and
instead set our minds on ensuring that every
person has unrestricted access to the kinds
of care and resources listed above, together
we may accomplish more than we ever could
separately.
If she hadn’t changed her mind, Theresa would
not be alive. After this revelation I was decidedly
pro-life, but for the most part kept it a secret
in fear that I would be judged for my beliefs.

November 11 2013 Features 11
Journalism Graduates: Where are they now?
By Niamh Towey
This summer we were greeted with the dis-
couraging announcement from the Central
Statistics Office that in the year up to April
2013, on average one person emigrates from
these shores every 6 minutes. That’s 240 peo-
ple a day; 6720 a month – that’s about the
same as the population of a large town in
Ireland, such as Dunboyne in County Meath.
Yet here we are; young, aspiring jour-
nalists full of hope, dreams and ambition
– committing ourselves to a costly education
in hope of a rewarding career. What murky
waters lie ahead of us?
Added to the Irish Brain Drain is the
technological revolution threatening the
very core and foundation of traditional print
journalism and our job prospects.
As an exercise of faith and encourage-
ment I have decided to reach out to some
recent Journalism graduates and find out
where they are now, how they got there and
if they’re happy.
Meghann Scully works as a news intern
with MTV in London – what she calls her
“dream job”. Meghann started off just like
the rest of us; graduated from her masters into
a world of unknown, with hopes of pursuing
a career in television.
She enrolled in a private TV training course
with The Park Studio in Dublin, which took
eight weeks. During this time she created a
road safety campaign, a topic which she says
“has always been close to my heart following
my brother’s death in 2005”. This tragic event,
along with other personal heartbreak, is docu-
mentedveryopenlyandsincerelybyMeghann
on her blog meghannmix.blogspot.ie.
Her road safety campaign began to gain
momentum, and Meghann found herself in
London at an interview for MTV. The inter-
view led to a wonderful opportunity, one
which Meghann is clearly very grateful for;
“I work with an amazing, young and creative
news team. Each week is different. I get to
interview a number of stars, attend events,
screenings, red carpet and numerous gigs.”
Meghann believes that the key to success
in this industry is positivity; a skill she has
earned the hard way, both personally and
professionally; “sometimes you meet those
who are not as friendly but you need a thick
skin for this industry… I feel I now have the
tools and skills needed in life and the working
world that can take me anywhere.”
Another graduate is Mark Higgins, who
only just completed his MAJ this year. Long
before he ever started his masters Mark
reported on local matches for the sports sec-
tion of his local paper The Western People; “I
was paid €30 per match and was basically
one of the back-up staff who got a call when
needed.”
During his time in Galway he kept up this
work at the weekends whilst also being the
Sports editor of Sin. He continued on to do
his work placement with the Western People
– an unpaid internship which led him on to
a fully paid contract with paper.
“It was great to get the contract extended,
I’m very happy to be here in Ballina until
Christmas,” he said.
Mark is now living in Ballina with a
coveted press pass to the All-Ireland Foot-
ball Final between Dublin and Mayo – his
home county.
Another successful NUI Galway Journal-
ism Masters graduate is Jessica Thompson,
current editor of Galway’s Sin newspaper,
founder of the website The Daily Shift and
intern at The Connacht Tribune.
After graduating from her English and
Music Degree at UCD, Jessica spent a lot
of time agonising over whether she should
go down the road of teaching or follow her
dreams as a writer – a decision many of us
had to face. Choosing the Journalism masters
in Galway was, as she said “the best decision
of my life”.
Jessica went on to do her work placement
with TV3, and then succeeded in becoming
editor of Sin newspaper – an achievement
she believes was made possible through her
work with The Daily Shift.
From here she went on to achieve an
internship with The Connacht Tribune, credit-
ing her success to her work with Sin.
She secured the editor position in Sin for
another year and has developed the news-
paper’s website to a much higher standard,
using the skills which she learned in her work
with The Daily Shift.
Jessica finished with some lasting and
encouraging words; “The Daily Shift led me
to Sin Newspaper. Sin Newspaper led me to
the Connacht Tribune. So where will the Con-
nacht Tribune lead me? Who knows?”
Interview with James Mahon
By Jessica Thompson
The past month has been an eventful
one for 23-year-old James Mahon. When
his visa ran out, he feared he would have to
leave his dream job as a reporter for WDEF
in Tennessee.
But fortunately, his worst fears have
not come true and the former NUI Galway
student is remaining in Tennessee for the
foreseeable future.
A former contributor to Sin, James was one
of the authors behind the very controversial
‘How to get the shift’ and ‘How to get from the
shift to the ride’ saga a few years ago.
In this interview, he recalls his time with
Sin, discusses his American Dream and
divulges his hopes for the future.
How does it feel to have such a
huge amount of support and large
fanbase over in America?
It’s overwhelming yet I am grateful for the
public and the fans and viewers as they make
you believe in being better.
What was the first thought going
through your head when you found out
you might have to return to Ireland?
Terrified and scared and I felt angry and
unsure as I never had a plan B!
And what was your first thought
when you found out you'd
be staying in America?
I need to get back to work to try for an
Emmy nomination in the next two years and
prove I deserve this o-1 extraordinary alien
visa. I immediately thought of how much
more I can do and need to do and give back
to those who stood by me and believed in me
when very few did.
You contributed to Sin for two
years - is that where your love
of journalism started?
No, but I was editor of an Irish Times short-
listed Secondary School magazine and also
presented an episode of news2day on RTE as
winner of a TV presenter competition when
I was 16. But I always wanted to study law or
become a teacher, never to pursue journalism
as a career. Sin taught me that words can have
a lot of power and influence and journalism
and blogging are two very different things.
Rumour has it you were the author of
the controversial "How to get the Shift”
saga in Sin a few years ago. Is that true?
Yes I was one of the writers behind it. It fiz-
zled out; it wasn't as controversial as people
made out. It was a very quiet time for news
in the city and it got more attention than it
deserved; it taught me that journalism can
divide as quickly as unite.
Do you think your contributions to
Sin helped you in any way towards
getting a job in America?
Not directly but experience of real life
controversy with Sin got me into a BJTC and
NCTJ Masters at Sheffield University and BBC
Yorkshire. From there that gave me the plat-
form to move into US media.
What are your fondest memories
of contributing to Sin?
International Suit and Tie Day in 2010 was
so much fun, so entertaining, people were
just so happy and eager to talk to you; it was
a truly wonderful time.
What was your favourite story to cover
during your American career (so far)?
Tornados were a bit of a shock; we don't
have them in Gort! Gang Shootings and teen
murders and stabbings are so common but
initially I was taken aback at how young and
how scary the frailty of life can be to gang
members.
Do you think you'll ever come home and
work in Ireland and if so, how do you
think it will compare to your current job?
I would someday but no one would ever
hire me; I'm trained by the BBC in the UK
and work for CBS in the US. Most irish
media outlets would see me as a liability
and I doubt anyone will ever even look at
my CV no matter how hard I try, which is a
pity because not all of us who leave want to
stay gone forever but are left with very few
choices back home.
Where do you see yourself
in 5 years time?
In New York or Philadelphia as a Morning
TV Anchor hopefully with the influence to
support fellow Irish in America and provide
a support network to those interested in pur-
suing media.
What advice would you give to the
budding journalists who read Sin?
Listen twice as much as you talk. Never
ever, ever underestimate an interviewee and
don't under prepare for your topic, issue or
interview as someone will call you out and
bring you and your organization down. You
are a voice, you are a face if you chose public
life don't forget that and don't forget the role
you play in a community is 24/7 not just for
a one hour newscast.

Sin newspaper

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