CIRCULAR

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March 2007

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2 NEWS THE CIRCULAR

APOLOGISE FOR THE SLAVE TRADE

– NOT ME!
A monument to the slaves sold at the old slave market in
Stone Town, on Zanzibar.
state’s legislators expressed ‘pro-
By Helen Morrogh found regret’ over the use of
natives as slaves by the colonisers
In February, Virginia became the and described the slave trade as
first American state to make a for- ‘the most horrendous of all depre-
mal apology for its involvement in dations of human rights and viola-
the slave trade that ended approxi- tions of our founding ideals in our
mately two hundred years ago. The nation’s history’.
This apology leads us into the
debate that existed long before
Virginia issued its apology; should
anybody be apologising for the
slave trade?
No state should have to apolo-
gise for something that ceased
some two hundred years ago. To
do so, is to admit responsibility for
a time when none of us were alive.
The British Prime Minister,
Tony Blair, following the bi-cente-
nary of Britain’s involvement in
the slave trade, refused to submit
an apology and instead expressed
a ‘deep sorrow’ for Britain’s pri-
mary role in the exploitation of
natives by white settlers. This is
sufficient. While Blair recognised
Britain’s role in the slave trade, he
did not admit responsibility. The
time for apologising was when
those who were directly involved
were still alive.
Who is actually being
apologised to? The slaves are now
long dead. They do not need a fee-
ble apology from statesmen wish-
ing to secure votes who had
absolutely nothing to do with the
tyrannical regimes run by the
colonisers.
Yet, many feel that the descen-
dants of the millions of slaves
who were so horrifically treated by
their owners are owed an apology.
They have had to live with the
knowledge that their ancestors’
existence was as mere commodi-
ties to the white settlers. Their
ancestors were beaten regularly
and many died through disease or
maltreatment. They neither
received an apology nor saw jus-
tice carried out. While slavery was
finally abolished worldwide by the
early nineteenth century, nobody
was ever forced to pay for what
happened. Nobody was ever
obliged to face up to what they
had done.
As a woman, I do not feel the
need to be apologised to for the
way in which women were treated
centuries ago. Neither do I feel I
should be apologised to by the
British for the way in which the
Irish were treated in the nine-
teenth century and before. It may
sadden me, but I certainly do not
feel that anybody owes me an
apology.
Rightly, Tony Blair has refrained
from apologising as this could lead
to compensation claims. If he
admits to guilt, then somebody
else who wasn’t alive at the time, is
going to gain. As far as the present
is concerned, the slave trade
should remain a topic in books,
and one that is taught in schools
and universities, not something
that is turned into a wrong-doing
of contemporary society.
History is something that must be
respected. No matter how
appalling, the pages of history
cannot be changed. Rather than
apologising for what happened, we
should be analysing what each
event in history means, how and
why it happened and what the out-
come has been. If this means that
we discover the plight of certain
historical peoples’ has shaped the
way many live their lives now, very
well, but this does not mean that
we should apologise.
The slave trade should never
have started, but it did. Most of us
cannot even begin to understand
how anybody could treat a fellow
human being in such a manner.
Slavery is something that should
never be forgotten and it most
likely never will be. The time for
apologies has passed. Now, all we
can do is document the lives and
hardships of these slaves and
remember them with the respect
and dignity that they were robbed
of all those years ago.

JOBS GLOOM FOR PHYSIO GRADUATES

By Enid O’Dowd
Figures for 2007 CAO applications
released this week show a 30%
drop in applications for the high
points physiotherapy degree after
complaints from 2006 graduates of
poor job prospects.
This does not surprise 22 year
old physiotherapy student Petra
Grehan who is in her final year.
“Most of my class are planning to
go to New Zealand. There are no
jobs for us here.” Petra is one of
two UCD student representatives
to the Irish Society of Chartered
Physiotherapists (ISCP).
Petra and her fellow students
only became aware of their limited
prospects in the past few months.
Over their four-year B.Sc degree
programme, they spend 1000 hours
working on clinical placements in
hospitals for no pay and normally
not even a free or subsidised lunch.
Nursing students on placements
are paid. Physiotherapy students
had assumed there was a job for
them at the end of their free stint
in Irish hospitals.
Figures released by ISCP late last
year revealed that the majority of
the 150 physiotherapists who grad-
uated in 2006 are unemployed,
under employed or on part-time or
temporary contracts.
The situation is exacerbated by
the return of young Irish physio-
therapists who trained in the UK
because they could not get the 530
plus points needed here.
Following pressure from ISCP,
the Minister for Health and
Children, Ms Mary Harney, admit-
ted in an RTE radio interview in
December 2006 that there was
unemployment among young phys-
iotherapists.
A meeting between ISCP and
the Health Service Executive
(HSE) resulted in an advertisement
in January 2007 for physiothera-
pists but with no indication as to
the numbers to be employed.
Finola Doran, National projects
Office, HSE, refused to tell this
reporter how many jobs were on
offer. She referred me to the press
office who said it was “not really
within their remit”.
It took a parliamentary question
from Green Party Health
spokesman John Gormley TD to
find out the answer. Deputy
Gormley said, “the reply says the
number is ‘of the order of 30’,
which in my opinion only repre-
sents some of the long sanctioned
posts left unfilled to save money.
This number is quite inadequate to
meet the needs of patients.”
The advertisement makes it clear
that any further recruitment in
2007 is unlikely as panels will be
formed from the unsuccessful
applicants.
A staggering 370 applications
have been received from unem-
ployed or underemployed physio-
therapists for these 30 posts.
Interview panels throughout the
country are currently interviewing
350 of these applicants.
In July 2001, the then Minister
for Health and Children, Micheal
Martin, launched a report by Dr
Peter Bacon on the ‘current and
future supply and demand condi-
tions in the Labour Market for cer-
tain professional therapists.’
The report concluded that a
major expansion in the number of
therapists (physiotherapists, speech
therapists and occupational thera-
pists) was essential to pre-empt the
emergence of a persistent and
growing deficit in service provi-
sion.
In response to the report, the
government opened a new training
school with 25 places in the
University of Limerick in 2002.
The first students graduated in
2006.
A more recent report from the
Expert Group on Future Skills
Needs in October 2005 endorsed
Bacon’s findings and predicted
shortages of physiotherapists in
the future.
In the context of these reports it
seems strange that young graduates
are unemployed.
According to Ruaidhri
O’Connor, ISCP Chief Executive
Officer, “there is a shortage of
approved posts within the Irish
health service. The recruitment
cap has meant the non-filling of
vacant posts and targeted new
development posts failing to mate-
rialise.”
A recent caller to the Joe Duffy
Liveline show told listeners of a let-
ter from the HSE – western area.
His son, recovering from a broken
bone in his foot, had been taken off
the list for an outpatient physio-
therapy appointment due to ‘staff
shortages.’
According to the HSE, there has
been a 129% increase in the
employment of all grades of phys-
iotherapists in the ten years from
1996 to 2006, and 190 new devel-
opment posts are “anticipated” in
the next two years.
However, close r examination
of the figures show that the
increase in the employment of Petra Grehan
physiotherapists (graduate entry
level) since the Bacon report was
19.6% or just 83 posts. When the 30 posts on offer are
There was no increase in filled, there will be 340 qualified
employment – not one single job – physiotherapists out of work. The
in 2006, the year which saw the first class of 2007 joins them in May,
Limerick graduates and increased bringing the number of unem-
overall numbers of graduates. ployed young Irish physiotherapists
Petra Grehan and the rest of the to 490.
class of 2007 are facing their finals Martin McDonald, National
knowing their professional future is Director of Human Resources,
uncertain. HSE, says in a letter dated February
It costs up to ?100,000 of tax- 28, 2007 to Deputy Gormley, “I am
payer’s money to train each physio- aware that an issue has arisen
therapist. The public interest is not around the availability of employ-
served by their involuntary emigra- ment for recently qualified physio-
tion. therapists.”
Even allowing for retirements, ISCP is seeking an urgent meet-
“promised” new posts in commu- ing with the HSE. “This year’s
nity care and some opportunities in graduates must not face the same
the private sector, the situation is situation as the 2006 graduates
bleak. did,” insists Ruaidhri O’Connor.
THE CIRCULAR
Think before rushing onto the
property ladder
It’s not surprising that most people, who don’t own a house, want to do
so as soon as possible, to the point of obsession. They are bombarded
with propaganda, and the pressure to buy just about anything, is huge
By Enid O’Dowd
It’s not surprising that most people,
who don’t own a house, want to do
so as soon as possible, to the point
of obsession. They are bombarded
with propaganda, and the pressure
to buy just about anything, is huge.
Last year, RTE gave us I’m an
Adult – Get Me Out of Here in
which twenty somethings were
given advice on how to leave the
family home for the mortgage
minefield.
One programme featured two
sisters aged 22 and 27 living at
home somewhere in south Dublin.
Daddy gave them ‘pocket money’
of €500 per month to supplement
their salaries which was apparently
needed to support their then mort-
gage-free lifestyle.
There’s nothing wrong with liv-
ing with your family – especially if
the family home is convenient for
your work and lifestyle.
Housing is a basic human need,
and the state policies should ensure
that citizens can provide them-
selves with a roof over their head,
at a price they can afford.
But there is no absolute right to
own a house. The state has no obli-
gation to subsidise home owner-
ship for young people barely out of
college.
“I’m an adult
- get me out
of here”
Young people face peer pressure
from friends who are in the mort-
gage trap, and sometimes pressure
from parents who may want them
out so they can downsize.
Then there’s the pressure from
auctioneers and the property sup-
plements. They make big money
out of the Irish obsession with
property and naturally want to keep
things that way.
Auctioneers get paid a percent-
NEWS 3
age of the selling price, so the high-
er the price, the bigger their bank
balances. And property supple-
ments make much needed advertis-
ing revenue for their newspapers.
Politicians add to the pressure.
With a general election imminent,
the parties are falling over them-
selves to offer goodies to the home
ownership lobby because it always
votes. For example, various ver-
sions of stamp duty cuts are cur-
rently on offer.
It’s doubtful whether stamp duty
cuts would really help first time
buyers because demand exceeds
supply.
A little bit of honesty wouldn’t
go amiss, but that would lose the
politicians votes.
Land is a finite quantity and as
population increases so does the
price of houses. That’s basic eco-
nomics. According to the Central
Statistics Office, Census 2006
showed a population increase of
317,722 in the four years since the
last census.
Young people complain they
cannot afford houses in the areas
where they grew up. That’s
inevitable if they grew up in a
mature area convenient to the city
centre where developers have now
built on every little bit of land.
In such areas – unless you
increase supply by building on
school playgrounds and the little
green space – prices can only go
up. Even if price growth is restrict-
ed a little by increasing mortgage
rates, there simply isn’t enough
property to go round.
The possibility of ‘negative equi-
ty’ is now very real for Irish buyers.
Once upon a time, the lending
institutions insisted that house buy-
ers saved a significant deposit. Now
they compete to offer mortgages
up to 100%, loans to meet the
deposit, deferred payment mort-
gages, and just about anything that
might get potential house buyers to
sign on the dotted line. to home buyers as opposed to ten- unrelated to the close association and those to come.
People say rent is dead money – ants. The maximum tax credit avail- between the government and the You live where you want to live
which is true. Tenants will always able to a single person renting is building industry. Ask yourself so you don’t have to run a car
have to pay for their housing. €360 in a tax year, but a single per- which party’s councillors were most because your estate has inadequate
However, mortgages used to be son buying for the first time can get in demand as witnesses in the vari- public transport into the city.
given for 20 years. Most lending a tax credit of up to €1,600 in a tax ous tribunals into planning corrup- Research by auctioneers Hooke
institutions now lend for up to 35 year. tion. and McDonald released this month
years. A survey by the Sunday These tax credits are doubled for Tenants could and should be shows that one in five of first time
Business Post this month revealed a married couple. The home buyer given the same tax treatment as buyers are now under 25, and two-
that the Ulster Bank would lend a can also rent out space in his home homebuyers. thirds are under 30.
couple seven times their income under the ‘rent a room’ scheme and The plus side of renting is that I’m an Adult – Get Me Out of Here
over 40 years providing they agreed not be liable for tax on the rental you’re mobile, especially relevant is coming back later this year.
to rent out a room. The normal income providing it’s less than when changing your job. You don’t Apparently seven out of the eight
loan to income ratio is 5 to 1. €7,620 per year. have to worry about repairs, main- young people featured in the first
The Revenue Commissioners' The difference in tax treatment tenance and insurance. You don’t series are now buying their own
website reveals a big difference appears illogical and unfair. have to worry about the six interest homes.
between the tax concessions given One could argue that it’s not rate rises since December 2005, These young people may have a
4 NEWS
Poles apart...
But not that different
Jennifer O’Shea looks at the vibrant and
expanding Polish community in Ireland
Ireland is facing a phenomenon
that it has never faced before.
Multiculturalism is fast becoming a
reality that Ireland. Since May 1 st
2004 with the enlargement of the
European Union, Hungarians,
Baltic nationals but most noticeably
Polish nationals have been coming
to Ireland in large numbers in
search of work and the hope of a
better future.
According to the Polish
Embassy, about “200,000 Poles live
in Ireland.” The Polish community
“is the fastest growing immigrant
group in Ireland”, says networkeu-
rope.cz. There is talk of Ireland
developing a ‘‘Polish town’’ akin to
the ‘‘Chinatowns’’ many other cap-
ital cities in the world have.
According to the Ireland-Poland
cultural foundation “Polish is now
spoken by more people in Ireland
then the Irish language.”
The similarities between Poland
and pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland are
quite astonishing. It is no wonder
that Poles have settled here with
relative ease.
Before this current cultural
explosion, Irish society was made
up predominantly of Irish citizens
with little domestic experience of
foreign nationals or immigrants.
Although, Ireland is gradually
becoming more culturally diverse,
we continue to be a relatively cohe-
sive people. Poland and the Polish
people have much the same level of
cohesion with a population of 98%
ethnic Poles. Religion also binds us
with the vast majority of Poles.
“Up to 90%” according to the
Polish Embassy’s website, claim to
be Roman Catholic.
It is perhaps our mutual histori-
cal experience that connects us
most. Both Poland and Ireland
“I’ve found
something
that I didn’t
have in
Poland”
have been on the receiving end of
colonial imperialism that has domi-
nated our history and has had a
lasting impact on our mindset.
But how is this growing commu-
nity expressing their culture in this
‘new’ land and are they being made
welcome?
More then any other non-
national community, the Polish
community has attracted media,
business and societal attention.
Polish community websites like
dublinek.net have been set up to
help provide Polish people with
information on anything from
accommodation and jobs to buying
and selling furniture.
Polish cultural societies have
Polonia: local Polish shop on South Circular Road.
been established to help promote
and strengthen Polish traditions
and culture in Ireland. The Ireland-
Poland Cultural Foundation was set
up to “promote and strengthen cul-
tural exchange between Ireland and
Poland.” With Seamus Heaney as
their patron, the Foundation strives
to bridge the gap between the two
communities along cultural lines.
They plan to establish an annual
cultural promotions programme to
“provide a platform for the cele-
bration and promotion of artistic
achievement”.
Other aspects of Poland’s rich
culture have also been recreated.
Polish bars such as, Zagloba on
Parnell Street and Chaplains Bar on
Hawkins Street, are popping up
and provide an opportunity for
Poles to meet each other and
exchange their experiences here.
The first annual Polish Film
Festival was held in Dublin last
November to show case the best of
Polish film. Barbara Boldys,
Culture Officer with the Polish
Embassy, said the festival has been
run this year in response to the
“growing interest in Poland”.
The media has also responded to
the influx of Poles. The Evening
Herald was the first national publi-
cation to cater to immigrants in
their own language. ‘Polski Herald’
is a free Polish supplement with the
newspaper on a Friday. Head of
Marketing for ‘Polski Herald’
Bridget McCaul, acknowledged the
benefits of appealing to this grow-
ing community in Ireland. “We
have noticed a significant increase
in sales on a Friday which we attrib-
ute to Polski Herald.” Other publi-
cations set up to appeal directly to
the Polish community include
SOFA magazine, Polski Express
and Gazeta Polska, which was set
up two years ago and sells 10,000
copies weekly. The TV station City
Channel has also responded the
growing number of Poles in
Ireland by developing a programme
called ‘Oto Polska’ presented by
“I didn’t
come here
to have a
second
Poland”
Polish national Izabela Chudzicka.
The main reasons for coming to
Ireland appear to be education,
improving their English or finding
employment.
According to the Department of
Social and Family Affairs it has
issued 195,740 PPS numbers to
Polish citizens since the enlarge-
ment of the EU, a far greater num-
ber than for any other immigrant
group. Poles with little English
find it very difficult to get work.
THE CIRCULAR
Brian McCormack Economist with
the Planning and Research
Department of FAS, says that the
numbers of Poles taking up FAS
courses is “quite low”.
Justine Pieprz from Pozman, a
city in West Poland, came here
alone and knowing no-one, almost
a year ago. She has turned her hand
to a number of jobs in Ireland and
is currently very happy, working in
the Food Room on Clontarf Road.
She faced a number of problems
when she first came but found the
Irish supportive. “Mostly, Irish
people helped me when I had
problems when I first got here in
finding jobs and accommoda-
tion….”.
Justine faced other problems
when she first moved into her
home in Dublin 5. “When I started
living here, teenagers from around
the area threw stones at my
house...and broke my window”.
However, once their parents were
notified, the harassment stopped.
It did not dampen Justine’s
enthusiasm for Ireland. “I’ve found
something that I didn’t have in
Poland…I have found peace
here…I’m a new person, more
happy”. She welcomes Ireland’s
ever growing multicultural society
and feels her fellow Poles should
welcome this opportunity to learn
and experience new things. “I’m
feeling good with the multi-cultural
community… I didn’t come here to
have a second Poland…open your
eyes”.
THE CIRCULAR LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE 5

Understanding attraction: a
man’s view
By PJ O’Shea
I used to be a very shy guy. My
first kiss was a total fluke. It
always seemed to be the girl who
made the first move. I just didn’t
know what to say. “Girls like boys
who are nice to them,” my mom
would say; but that was the thing -
I didn’t want them to like me, I
wanted them to want me!
No matter how nice I was to a
girl, it only ever seemed to push
her further away. This taught me
my first lesson in attraction; don’t
ever come across as either clingy
or needy. It was only after I started
ignoring girls that they began to
show any interest in me. This
taught me my second lesson in
attraction; women make absolutely
no sense - at all.
Now, guys are easy to under-
stand. Most of us enjoy looking at
pictures of naked women, watch-
ing football on TV and some of
us even read the paper. If a guy
says he hates something or some-
body, ninety-nine point nine per-
cent of the time he actually means
it.
Most women never say how
they feel – ever. My understanding
is that when a woman says she
likes something she probably hates
it and if she says she hates it, she
probably loathes it. When a guy
sees a footballer score a great goal
on TV he wants to see it over and
over again, but most women fail to
see the point; likewise, most guys
can’t understand a woman’s attrac-
tion to romance novels.
Not only do we think different-
ly, we want different things too.
Consider sexual attraction. When
most guys see a beautiful woman
in a bar, they are immediately
attracted to her, but when a
woman sees a beautiful guy in a
bar, she tries to figure him out.
When an ugly woman is in a
bar, there is very little she can do
to make guys feel attracted to her.
But an ugly guy in a bar, (luckily
for most guys) is not necessarily
ruled out.
For women, personality counts
and there are lots of acceptable
types out there.
Probably the most magnetic
personality is the Bad Boy person-
ality – the Sawyer figure, the
Tommy Lee. There’s something
magnetic about a guy who is dan-
gerous and unpredictable. Most
likely thing to hear after a break-
up: “He made a mistake, but I still
love him…”
Another highly addictive per-
sonality for women is the thrill-
seeker. The sort of guy that lights
up every party, practices extreme
sports and is a total risk- taker.
Most likely thing to hear a woman
say: “Damn fun! I wish I could’ve
tamed him…”
The seducer is innately sensual,
a natural flirt and devotes their
time to fulfilling their lovers’ every
need. Watch Don Juan De Marco
with Johnny Depp and you’ll
understand what I’m talking about.
Most likely thing to hear after-
wards: “The sex was great…but
why didn’t he stick around?”
The artist is totally complex,
and when he looks to a lover, it is
for support and understanding,
because most of the time he does-
n’t understand himself. Women,
sense that sensitivity and latch
onto it – Most likely thing to hear
in a relationship: “Don’t worry
baby… I get you…”
Finally, probably the most obvi-
ous personality is that of the suc-
cessful guy. This could be a rich
businessman, a doctor, a lawyer –
basically anyone who has a decent
paid job. These are the kind of
guys women are brought up to
seek out and marry – a “keeper”.
Most likely thing to hear after a
break up: “I’m just glad I didn’t
sleep with him…”

Punch and Judy banned in Blackpool
By Barbra Statham
Political Correctness (PC),
according to Wikipedia, is “used to
describe language or behaviour
which is intended, or said to be
intended, to provide a minimum
of offence, particularly to racial,
cultural or other identity groups.”
As such, political correctness per se
is a cultural phenomenon which is
to be welcomed. It is only when
the PC phenomenon gets into the
hands of ideological zealots that
the whole concept is in danger of
PC WORLD
Barbra Statham questions whether political
correctness has gone too far?
being negated. Most thinking peo-
ple object to the consensus culture
which is a direct result of PC and
fear that open honest expression is
being replaced by humourless dik-
tats which are handed down to us
by the thought police.
The more highly educated people
are, the more they seem to be in
fear of saying or doing the wrong
thing. There is also confusion
about how to behave. If a man
holds a door open for a woman,
or offers her his seat on the bus, is
he offending her feminist aspira-
tions?
But most confusing of all is the
change brought about in ordinary
everyday language by political cor-
rectness. There is a whole new lex-
icon of acceptable words used to
describe minorities such as homo-
sexuals, non-whites, women, the
mentally and physically handi-
capped. Essentially, the PC brigade
are patronising these people. The
inherent implication is that all
these people are inferior and need
protection.
Some attempts to influence chil-
dren to think in a PC way are for
the better. For example, Jane in
the Peter and Jane series of pri-
mary-school books is no longer
only to be found helping mum in
the kitchen. She now thoroughly
enjoys rolling up her sleeves and
helping dad repair the car. But
God help Jane if anyone is foolish
enough to give her a present of a
golliwog ... not the done thing to
play with that! Yet no one has
explained why it is perfectly ok to
play with white dolls.
Although nothing to do with PC is
a laughing matter, some of the fol-
lowing examples are hilarious:
A grand-mother in
Southhampton was asked not to
take photos of her grandchildren
in the park in case it encouraged
paedophiles to do likewise.
Teachers in a London crche were
advised to replace the word black
in the nursery rhyme baa baa black
sheep.
Punch and Judy shows have
been banned from Blackpool.
Jacobs Biscuits were put under
pressure to rename their Gypsy
Cream biscuit. It is now known as
a Romany Queen”
And finally... how would this go
down in Ireland? Police in
Cornwall refused to accept the
description “gypsy skirt” (the term
everyone used to describe flowing
cotton skirts) and asked for it to
be called a traveller skirt instead.
On the plus side and indicative of
how far we have come in Ireland,
partly as a result of PC, the recent
homophobic ranting of visiting
Polish president Lech Kaczynski
was greeted with a genuine sense
of shock and outrage. Yet 20 years
or so ago we listened to similar
nonsense from the clergy without
question. Maybe, just maybe, we
have grown up and can decide for
ourselves how to think.
6 LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE
Out-foxed
By Gillian Wallace
“Is fox hunting cruel? The answer,
of course, is that it is. How can it
be justified? The answer is that it
cannot.” said Nicholas O’Hare,
columnist with The Irish Field.
“No matter how traditional or
how highly eulogised by its sup-
porters, it is a minority sport with
the damning spectre of cruelty
hanging over it.”
In civilised society there is no
place for the savaging of a
defenceless creature in the name
of a so-called sport. The Irish
Council Against Blood Sports has
displayed video evidence of the
sickening cruelty of fox hunting
on their website. One clip shows a
hunt terrier gripping a fox’s head
between its teeth and ripping off
part of its scalp. The fox’s eyes are
bulging, and clearly terrified it is
held down by a hunter, with blood
leaking from the gaping wound in
its head. For the fox, the torture
has just begun; it has yet to endure
the hounds being called in to rip it
to shreds. How can this be called
sport?
It is not just animal rights
activists who campaign against this
Curtains Fall for TCD Actors
By Eimear Harte
Trinity College announced in
January that it is to axe its
renowned three year undergrad-
uate degree course in acting.
The announcement has a come
as a shock and has angered
many in the Irish theatre com-
munity. In a public statement to
Trinity College Dublin, promi-
nent directors, actors and a
Trinity College professor signed
their names in joint effort to
show their disappointment and
dismay at the decision. The
course, they told the Irish Times,
“has been of enormous value
not only to Trinity College but
to Irish theatre as a whole”.
The main reason for the deci-
sion to drop the course is that it
“A country isn’t
remembered for its
accountants, it’s remem-
bered for its artists”
is not financially viable. Annual
spending is said to be in the
region of €250,000, according to
the college. This goes against
statements made by Trinity
College Provost, Dr John
Hegarty in the Irish Times, that
Trinity’s “academic staff could
lead the world”. He went on to
say “there is a compelling case
The myths surrounding fox-
hunting debunked
sport. Philip Lynch, Chairman of
Farmers against Fox Hunting and
Trespass (FAFT) says, “we
demand action now to rid the
countryside of foxhunts.” FAFT
outline the rights of farmers not
to have their lands poached, their
fences knocked down or
destroyed, or their crops trampled
into the ground.
“the nearest
thing you
can get to
natural
selection”
Thomas Hardiman from
Craughwell Co. Galway, was once
a supporter of fox hunting, but
became disgusted at the cruelty he
witnessed and has campaigned
against fox hunting since 1998. He
recalls observing the hounds maul-
ing a farmer’s sheepdog.
According to Mr.Hardiman, “The
to be made for greater emphasis
on the arts, humanities and
social sciences at the national
level, and for increased public
investment at undergraduate and
graduate levels.” This comes at a
time when Ireland is still experi-
encing the financial bliss of the
Celtic Tiger, yet there is no
money to invest in this course
and in turn, in the future of
Ireland’s artists.
On the Drama website of
Trinity College Dublin, it states
that the BA Acting course is the
only one of its kind in Ireland
with an aim to produce fine
actors. To date, examples
include, Ruth Negga, Derbhle
Crotty and Jason Byrne. Access
to the course is non-CAO based
and admission is through audi-
tion only. Plans by the college
to introduce a new postgraduate
hunters wanted to put the dog
down but the farmer said no. Of
course, the reason the hunters
wanted to shoot the sheepdog was
so that they could cover up the
cruel attack by the hounds.” He
pickets the Dail every Wednesday
and has done so for 105 days.
Fox hunting provides no meas-
urable benefit to the environment
and there is no evidence to sug-
gest that fox numbers would soar
and become problematic. A
Ministry of Agriculture report
states that, “A study of lambing in
upland areas showed that lamb
losses were unaffected by the pres-
ence of foxes”. In reality, the hunt
is much more likely to cause dam-
age than the fox.
Although the season usually
begins in November, the Irish
Council Against Blood Sports
explain that prior to this, the
hunters meet for what is
euphemistically termed autumn
hunting. This cub hunting is so
despicable that the hunt attempts
to hide it from the public. Hunters
attend only by invitation of The
Master of Foxhounds. A caller to
course in acting will not replace
like with like. Forementioned
past pupil of the BA acting
course and Artistic Director of
Loose Canon Theatre Company,
Jason Byrne, is not in favour of
the proposed post graduate
course. Byrne claims he got
accepted onto the acting course
through his ability to act, as he
had not done well in the Leaving
Certificate. The new postgradu-
ate course could potentially
bypass people like him, as
emphasis would shift to academ-
ic achievement. The course will
also carry an entrance fee, for
which the cost has not yet been
disclosed. This Byrne feels, will
again be an obstacle to those
who cannot afford the fee.
In the meantime, students
who were planning to pursue the
BA Acting course for 2007
Just another day for farmer Thomas Harding
Mid West Radio, who identified
himself only as Derek described
how he had been hunting in the
UK and Ireland for thirty years.
When he was quizzed about cub
hunting he touted it as being ‘the
nearest thing you can get to natu-
ral selection”.
Obviously, this sadistic sport is
a far cry from what nature intend-
ed.
It is hard to believe such cruelty
has yet to be banned in Ireland.
incurring no fees, now have to
decide what other options are
available to them. Established in
1995, the BA Acting course has
always attracted great interest
and currently has 35 students
enrolled, with an average class
size of 12 every year.
Trinity additionally offer stu-
dents an honours degree pro-
gramme in Drama and Theatre
Studies. Entry to this course is
decided by audition and leaving
certificate points obtained.
Jason Byrne: former
graduate
THE CIRCULAR
Seeing that fox hunting has been
banned in the country from where
it originated, the argument that it
should be preserved because it is
traditional can immediately be dis-
pelled. Claims by hunting enthusi-
asts that it is not the kill that
inspires them hold no weight, as
they shun the humane alternative
of drag hunting. Only one element
of the hunt is absent from drag
hunting -the slaughter of a
defenceless animal.
There is also an option to take
Drama Studies combined with
another Arts subject. DIT also
runs a three year undergraduate
degree in Drama Studies which
includes acting modules. Other
options are postgraduate courses
available in UCC and UCG in
drama and theatre studies. These
courses incur fees of over
€6,000. The Gaiety School of
Acting also runs a two year act-
ing course costing €5,000 a year
to the student.
However, for a student to ful-
fil his or her desire to study act-
ing, he or she may have to look
towards British drama schools.
Competition for such is fierce,
and fees are again very high.
Instead of Ireland investing in
our future artists, we are in dan-
ger of losing them.
DCU are in discussions with
the Gaiety School of Acting
about the establishment of a
new three year undergraduate
degree course in acting, which
they plan will be fee-free. This
course is in early developmental
stages so students will have to
hold out for this class format to
be made available to them.
Taking a quote from Trinity
News, January edition, the deci-
sion to cut the course on
grounds of finances is short-
sighted … “a country isn’t
remembered for its accountants,
it’s remembered for its artists”.3
THE CIRCULAR
Psychiatric Care: Public or Private?
By Kim Warnock
January 24th, 2007 marked the first
anniversary of the launch of “A
Vision for Change”, Ireland’s new
national policy on mental health-
care services. The report set out a
new national policy framework for
mental health services, replacing
the 1984 policy “Planning for the
Future”. The expert group’s report
has recommended an overhaul of
mental health services with a move
towards community mental health
teams and a reduction in the num-
ber of in-patient beds for psychi-
atric patients.
“It is not uncommon that people are
discharged and decline in health
while they wait for appropriate hous-
ing. They end up back in the wards
and so it’s just a vicious cycle”
A key feature of this new report
is greater emphasis on holistic heal-
ing. Broadly speaking, holistic
means covering all aspects of men-
tal health: biological (e.g., medica-
tion), psychological (e.g., “talking
therapies”) and social (e.g., housing,
employment, education/training).
But Ireland still has a mix of insti-
tutional care and community and
home-based services, and a high
rate of repeat admissions. This is
leading to a culture of maintenance
rather than recovery.
Mental health service users and
Media Editor
Ne ws Editor
Culture & Lifestyle
Spor ts Editors
Sub-editors
Design and Layout
providers are still struggling with
an outdated, fragmented, and
severely under-resourced system.
We need to see meaningful
progress towards a more holistic
approach to mental health, based
on the principles of human rights
and equality.
One mother welcomes the
change, and believes that recovery
outside the hospital is crucial for
her daughter, who suffers from
schizophrenia. However, the prob-
lem may be that daycare is not
immediately available for out-
patients.
“My daughter Kate has been in
and out of St John of God’s hospi-
tal about sixteen times over the last
five years. She never once received
aftercare or visitations from com-
munity nurses. Then before
Christmas she was admitted to St
John of Gods again. My husband
had to sign her in after Gardai
found her wandering around in
Rathmines; she didn’t even know
her name.”
“She was rushed to St John of
Gods who requested my husband
fill out more forms. Then a couple
of hours later they rang to say they
needed to move her to St.James’s.”
“A few weeks later we had a
Deannna O’Connor
Enid O’Do wd
Angie Cro we
Helen Mor rogh
Ciara Hegar ty
Eamonn McGurk
Enid O’Do wd
Helen Mor rogh
Kim War noc k
Deanna O’Connor
Angie Cro we
Ciara Hegar ty
Iselin Fotland
Jen O’Shea
Deanna O’Connor
Ciara Hegar ty
Fiona Gunn
Angie Cro we
HEALTH 7
meeting with the District
Community Nurse and the attend-
ing psychiatrist in James’s. They
told us she needed at least three
more months of treatment. They
discharged her three weeks later
and now she is on a waiting list for
a day hospital.”
According to Kate’s psychiatrist
she is responding well to her med-
ication. But Kate’s mother worries
that her daughter isn’t ready to be
discharged from hospital until she
is actually admitted to the daycare.
Kate’s community nurse said the
system just don’t have the resources
to provide aftercare for all patients
who are ready to be discharged .We
are equipped to provide housing
for only a percentage of patients.
Each area is assigned a certain
amount of flats, not many, just a
few.
At any one time there are many
people on the waiting list. It is not
uncommon that people are dis-
charged and decline in health while
they wait for appropriate housing.
They end up back in the wards and
so it’s just a vicious cycle. Kate’s
mother is hoping the daycare hos-
pital will assess her daughter soon
so that her daughter can finally
seize the opportunity to make a
long-term recovery.
Each time her recovery has been
short term because she feels alone
after she gets discharged. To go
from doctors visiting you every day,
group therapy most days and the
security of medicine to the very
opposite is disconcerting and obvi-
ously not working. years, the time Kate spent in and said that the latter illustrates there
Although the system has its out of its care. In essence public exists a paradox in the system.
weaknesses, at least Kate can hospitals like St James provide a The “Vision for Change” policy
remain optimistic about receiving better service for their patients will penetrate the Public Sector
daycare and out-patient treatment. than private hospitals like St John gradually and it is estimated this
St John of Gods failed to provide of Gods. A spokesperson for the change could span over several
the latter over the course of five Irish Mental Healthcare Coalition years.
email: thecircularmagazine2007@hotmail.com
The Circular is produced b y
students of Gr iffith Colleg e
Dublin, SCR, Dublin 8.
Tel. 01 4150400
8 LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE
By Aine Cotter
Having dinner recently with some
of my girl friends, I was drawn
into a discussion about the phe-
nomenon of size zero culture. As
we munched on our bruschetta
topped with feta cheese, we delib-
erated. The general consensus was
that it is a sick trend; a cancer in
our society that the celebrity world
is promoting. However, after five
glasses of Merlot, Jane, whose
chief life ambition is to be a
WAG, spoke up. She (or maybe it
was the wine, we couldn’t be sure)
posed a question… given the
chance would we opt to be skin-
nier? Yes, of course we wanted
Anorexia: The Facts
By Violette Ouassa
Anorexia is a behavioural problem
that effects between 1 and 2% of
women. This disease primarily
affects girls from the ages of 12 to
20. However, it can appear in girls
and boys as young as nine or ten
years old.
This obsession for thinness can
involve other drastic measures,
such as bulimia and the excessive
use of laxatives and diuretics.
Other psychological troubles can
occur such as anxiety, depression,
dependence on drugs and alcohol
and even suicidal tendencies.
Physically, this disease results in an
extreme loss of weight that can
reach up to 50% of the recom-
mended weight for the sufferer’s
height. Food deprivation obviously
has consequences for the body:
insomnia, hairs loss, loss of mem-
ory and the discontinuation of the
menstrual cycle.
The causes are still difficult to
identify, they are complex and
controversial. Some people blame
metabolic or genetic factors; oth-
ers think that the psychological
and irrational causes are decisive.
The starting point can be a simple
diet, mourning a loss, a school
phenomenon or simply a fashion
trend. Anorexia, by defying
smaller waists, but zeros are mere
emaciated twigs. She then accused
us of jealousy; deducing that we
were envious of the will power of
these women. Will power? I was
lost for a response.
That night I began to think
about what Jane had said, I could-
n’t help but feel that my inebriated
friend had a point. Being tiny in
tinseltown does seem to reap ben-
efits. Nicole Ritchie went from
Paris’s podgy side-kick to tiny
trend-setter after she lost weight.
Sure, there are a few nasty side
effects to being thin, but nothing
in this life worth having comes
without a cost. Increased body
hair can be fixed by wax, fatigue
can be banished with ginseng and
who wants periods or sprogs any-
nature, allows a teenager to prove
that they hold control over their
body. Moreover, it can mask a lack
of self-confidence or a tendency
towards personal devaluation.
External help is generally neces-
sary. The main difficulty is then
the refusal of a treatment. These
teenagers do not admit to being
sick and reject the specialised con-
sultation or follow-up treatment in
a rehabilitation programme.
The treatment generally consists
of psychotherapy which helps to
engage a dialogue with the teenag-
er. Unfortunately, the various treat-
ments for anorexia have a limited
effectiveness. In one third of
cases, the sufferers recover and
can start to lead a normal life. For
another third, the treatment is not
completed and victims continue to
show an unhealthy weight and psy-
chological disorders and therefore
risk relapse. For the last third, the
anorexia problem persists and
patients require constant treatment
for their disease. It should be
known that 10% of anorexics die
from the effects of the disease;
either from malnutrition or sui-
cide.
Size zero - this is the new craze
in our stars’ world. Size zero is
now the desired size of a huge
number of the Hollywood stars.
What does “zero” mean? For me,
SIZE ZERO: FASHIONABLE
OR FATAL?
way? Being a zero is fashionable,
it’s cheap (hell, you can shop in
kid’s clothes sections) and you are
certain to bag yourself a gorgeous
guy (just look at Posh and Lindsay
Lohan).
I was almost converted. That
was until I turned on the television
and caught the final segment of a
documentary by Louise Redknapp.
She aimed to uncover who was
responsible for this increasing
trend, while simultaneously she
sought to become a size zero her-
self over a three month period.
She started a regime of over-exer-
cising and under-eating. As her
weight plummeted, she endured
more and more horrendous side
effects. She suffered skin prob-
lems, headaches, acute stomach
cramps, fatigue and diarrhoea
(after taking laxatives in an attempt
to drop a few extra pounds). The
stark reality of being a lollipop
had been revealed to me and it
was not pretty. I was curious to
investigate what the long-term
consequences of maintaining a
low body weight were.
I discovered that the incidences
of eating disorders are growing at
its mean “nil”, but I get lost in the
maze of fashion, where, apparent-
ly my definition of zero and the
fashion industry’s definition of
zero do not have the same mean-
ing. In the fashion industry, sizeze-
ro means very thin, and involves
an extreme diet to squeeze into
designers’ small clothes.
In celebrity, size zero is a
chance to be on the front page of
magazines. But size zero also
means putting your life in danger
on behalf of fashion. Who are
these designers who insist on cre-
ating clothes for these skeletal
models? How can the fashion
industry condone the publicising
of these models, especially after all
the alarm signals given by the spe-
cialists?
When I think about all those
tiny stars making the front pages
of our favourite magazines or if I
think about giving a good example
to a teenager considering one of
these diets, I just want to tell to
them, “stop making your body
into an unnatural shape. You are
sick and you need to get some
help.” What is happening to our
fashion women? We are in the 21st
century, what about all those
women who worked so hard to
improve our civil rights? It is like
the age of women’s lib never hap-
pened.
an exponential rate in our society.
As the stars get smaller it seems
the number of people becoming
affected gets bigger. We look to
them to set trends, we want the
clothes they wear, the cars they
drive, the houses they own.
Accompanying the rise of eating
disorders is the sudden growth of
pro-anorexic and bulimic web
sites. Sufferers chat about their
obsession and exchange tips on
how to become thinner. The best
strategies for avoiding meals with-
out arising suspicion and methods
for curbing hunger pains are com-
mon issues debated. Frequently
they refer to hating themselves and
having low self esteem. Some even
mention suicidal thoughts and
some have actually attempted to
take their own lives as they felt
they could never attain the perfect
body. It is not just mental issues
sufferers deal with, being under-
weight for an extended period of
time is detrimental to one’s physi-
cal health also. Anorexia is linked
to kidney disease, heart failure,
osteoporosis, cancer and infertility.
In January this year two European
All of the Dublin fashion
industry people I tried to talk to
about anorexia seemed to be
unconcerned. One of them told
me that all his models are naturally
thin and nobody would like to
work with an overweight girl.
I would like to tell every woman
THE CIRCULAR
size zero models died as a direct
result of starving themselves. This
has led to size zeros being banned
from numerous catwalks around
the world. However, some bosses
within the industry will not con-
form and during London Fashion
week skeletons paraded up and
down the runways.
What I have just mentioned is
just the beginning. Numerous aca-
demic journals as well as popular
press articles have been written on
size zeros and eating disorders.
The material is as abundant as it
shocking. What surprised me the
most was my own personal igno-
rance. I didn’t realise the extent
and diversity of eating disorders
and I was blissfully unaware of the
real contributors and conse-
quences of these conditions. I
think we use the phrases anorexic
and size zero so loosely in our cul-
ture that we neglect to stop and
think what they actually mean. But
we should. My eyes weren’t
opened they were pulled apart.
The next time I see a picture of
Posh on the red carpet I’ll think
twice about being jealous and put-
ting down the box of chocolates.
that the most important thing is
to have a size that makes you feel
good in your body, one that is not
going to put your life in danger.
The most important thing is to be
yourself; to eat healthily and to
exercise sensibly. Girls, you are
beautiful, whatever your size.
THE CIRCULAR LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE 9

Vegetarianism: a better deal all round

By Barbara Shaw
If you think vegetarianism is just
about what you eat, well think
again. Life is about making choices
and for those of you who decide
to avoid eating a meat-based diet,
you are choosing a lifestyle. You
are also entering a world that is
healthier, more economical, and
“If you think
Vegetarianism is
just about what
you eat, well
think again”
environmentally friendlier.
In essence, a vegetarian is
someone who abstains from eating
slaughtered animal products
including by-products such as gela-
tine, rennet, and isinglass (a type of
fish gelatine).
When it comes to health, the
benefits of a vegetarian diet are
substantial. Studies show vegetar-
ians live longer and healthier lives
than carnivores. According to a
study published in The Journal of the
American Medical Association “a vege-
tarian diet may be just as effective
as ‘statin’ drugs in lowering blood
cholesterol”. Further research car-
ried out over a twenty year period
by Southampton University which
included 8,000 volunteers lead to
the conclusion that “those who
stick to a diet of fruit and vegeta-
bles are more likely to gain a degree
and hold down a good job”.
The environment can indirect-
ly benefit from vegetanarism.
Feeding animals to feed people is
an inefficient use of our land
resources. Roughly one acre of pas-
ture that produces approximately
165 lbs of beef (over 50% inedible)
could produce 20,000 lbs of pota-
toes. PETA (People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals)
have said that 44% of all grain in
the world is used for animal feed.
Thus if the US alone reduced their
meat consumption by 10%, it
would free 12 million tons of grain
annually that would adequately feed
the 60 million people who die from
starvation each year.
Seventy-six percent of the
world’s agricultural soil (70% of
E.U. soil) is used for animal agricul-
ture. Part of that is derived
through deforestation in continents
like Asia, Africa and in particular
South America. According to Dr
David Brubaker, of the Johns
Hopkins University’s Centre for a
Viable Future: “The way we breed
animals for food is a threat to the
planet. It pollutes our environment
while consuming huge amounts of
water, grain, petroleum, pesticides
and drugs.
It comes as no surprise that
“Studies show
vegetarians live
longer and
healthier lives
than carnivores”
cruel practices abound on factory
farms. In his book Six Arguments
for a Greener Diet, Michael Jacobson,
Executive Director of the Centre
for Science in the Public Interest,
describes how “cattle are castrated
without painkillers, pregnant and
nursing pigs are housed in crates
too small to even turn around and
male chicks that hatch in the egg-
industry’s breeder farms go right
into the disposal”.
When it comes to the slaughter-
house, Mr Jacobson reports on a
study commissioned by the US
Department of Agriculture which
outlines how 8% of pigs, 20% of
cattle and 47% of sheep are not
properly stunned prior to being
killed.
If these reasons are not enough
for you to quit meat then perhaps
nothing will convince you.

Keeping Your Body Healthy By Leila Mirza
Looking slim doesn’t neccassarily
mean you are healthy and fit. You
should also take exercise so your
body can maintain a lean body
mass simultaneously reducing
excess fat. But if you are trying to
lose weight you should remember
one pound of fat roughly repre-
sents 3500 calories.
You should make reductions
in your calorie intake over a week
rather than trying to lose it too
quickly. A healthy target involves
losing two pounds per week,
which would mean a reduction of
around 7000 calories weekly.
You should keep track of what
you eat and calculate the calories
for each food item to see where
you can cut some out over the
week. Remember, include drinks
and any other snacks consumed in
your regular routine.
Initially, when you reduce
your calorie intake, your body will
respond and you will feel hungry.
Keep healthy snacks such as celery
with you, this way you can snack
healthily between meals. If you
have a sweet tooth, try to replace
chocolates and cakes with healthier
options such as dried fruits or
allow yourself a small treat for
every week that you maintain your
diet.
The amount of exercise you
require to burn a certain number
of calories depends on your
Don’t let monotony ruin your motivation- keep it interesting weight and the type of exercise
that you do. Generally speaking,
heavier people burn more calories
while exercising than lighter peo-
ple. Also, the more intense the
exercise, the more calories are
burnt. For example, running tends
to burn more calories than walk-
ing.
Make sure that you have all
the equipment and facilities you
need and create a schedule that
you can follow. Try to stick to an
exercise routine, avoid skipping
any sessions and if you do- don’t
beat yoursef up about it. Keep
motivated and get back on track
the next day.
Once you have achieved your
weight-loss target, it is very easy to
forget all about the healthy eating
and exercise habits and slip back
into your old lifestyle which in all
likeliness would result in all the
weight coming back.
Be conscious of how much
you are eating and minimise fatty
foods. Whilst you no longer need
to count every calorie you intake,
you should still be aware of what
and how much you eat.
It is encouraged that you
exercise as much as you can but
remember you don’t have to exer-
cise every single day. Your body
needs time to relax. Keep up the
excercise though its one way to
ensure you don’t put the weight
back on.
Finally, feel good about your-
self. You have succeeded and are
now merely making sure the fabu-
lous results are maintained!
10
A Sixth Sense or Nonsense?
I ain’t afraid o’ no ghosts
By Angie Crowe
With mediums like Derek
Ogilvie selling out venues
worldwide, what is it that drives
us to part with our money - and
are we being conned?
It was with an open mind that I
headed to the Helix to find out
what exactly Ogilvie had to offer
me and everyone else at his sell-out
spiritual gig.
When I say open, I mean as wide
as my sceptical mind can get - a
slight contradiction but I’m the
kind of person who looks forward
to reading my horoscope whilst
simultaneously scoffing at the
notion that destiny could possibly
lead me and one-twelfth of the
population anywhere, let alone to
the same place-
. who have passed on. The more
I was curious about this “Baby
Whisperer” who claims to be able
to talk to both babies and dead
people, and even more curious
about those who have paid to see
LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE
him.
Next to me sits Jacqui Gilborne.
She lost a friend last week and is
hoping he will give her a sign as she
“never got to say goodbye”. She is
not alone: “I’m hoping to speak to
those I’ve lost,” says Martina Byrne
from Bray, who has no doubts that
“I’m Billy
Connolly on
acid”
spirits exist.
Sitting behind me is Catherine
McDonald from Tallaght who
came with her mother. She is an
angel card reader who firmly
believes in the spirit world and is
also hoping to speak to loved ones
people I talk to the more I realise
that there are very view sceptics
here.
The show gets off to a dramatic
start and we are unexpectedly
immersed in complete darkness. A
booming, ghostly voice fills the
theatre and cries, “Help me, HELP
ME!” My scoffing nature is sent
into overdrive so fast that I haven’t
even managed to laugh by the time
the voice moans, “I’m stuck in the
toilet.”
Okay, so clearly Ogilvie has a
sense of humour about what he
does and the ridicule it attracts.
When he runs on stage he jokes
with the audience pretending to
have the inside story on their sex
lives. This is followed by a painful
to watch, but equally hard to look
away from, pelvic-thrusting dance
routine, to YMCA as he loudly
declares “I’m Billy Connolly on
acid.”
Then down to business; Ogilvie
states that the show is: “Not about
me, not really about you, it’s about
who’s coming through from the
spirit world.” This need to respect
the spirits is something he repeats
throughout the show.
He starts with a quick succession
of questions. “Hands up a Debra
whose grandmother has passed
away? Do you have a shoulder
problem? Or pain in the right arm?
A problem with teeth on the right
side? A front door that won’t close?
No-one?” No takers.
He moves on, “Anyone who’s
got a son Patrick? He has a prob-
lem with his right knee? Recent
throat infection? Also a pain in his
right leg eight years ago?
Everything has to fit. I’ve got a lit-
tle boy here saying ‘Tell her I know
about the ear infection.’” Catherine
McDonald puts up her hand.
Everything fits but her son’s name
is Keith Patrick.
Then another hand rises; this
woman has a friend Debra who was
A Child’s World
By Caroline McGuire
I was falling asleep on a bus last
week, when a child’s excited tone
interrupted my slumber. The little
girl told her mother she wanted to
be a princess like the character in
her magazine. Her mother laughed
and said “Yesterday you wanted to
be nurse; last week you told Granny
you wanted to be a pop star!” The
girl responded by saying, “Yes
mum but I want to be a princess
too and a nurse and a pop star, and
an animal doctor.”
I cast my memory back to when
I thought like that wee girl.
Everything was possible; I could be
anything or anyone I wanted once I
was a big grown up. But as soon as
we reach a certain stage in our lives,
this sense of absolute belief that
we can become whatever we want
disappears.
When we are young, we believe
that if we want to be a teacher it
will magically happen. But when
the time arrives to succeed in our
chosen profession there is no
supposed to come and couldn’t
make it - but she assures, “every-
thing else fits” regarding the first
spirit.
He goes with this and a rapid
succession of ridiculous questions
follow. He actually asks, “Has she a
house with a front and back door?”
“Yes,” validates her friend and she
adds, “The back door sticks.”
“Excellent,” he enthuses. I look to
my notes. Didn’t he say front door?
“I am not a
fake”
This continues to the point that
there are more inaccuracies than
things that “fit”. His method seems
very similar to what cynics call the
cold-reading technique, whereby
the medium asks lots of random
questions and the person is so des-
perate to connect that they cling to
what fits. Ogilvie keeps repeating
“It all has to fit,” but with the
advantage of my notes, I can see
that it does not.
However, he comes back to
Catherine and gives her personal
detail that it is amazingly accurate.
He tells her he is speaking to her lit-
tle boy who she miscarried. He
gives incredible detail regarding her
house and her habits, such as an
intense picking of her toenails. We
can see her mother weeping on the
monitor.
The show continues on in much
the same way moving from strained
to more accurate readings. How
does he explain this? The messages
from some spirits are weaker and
harder to interpret. “I’m not per-
fect. I’m not a fortune teller” he
tells us.
magic wand to help us. In reality
most of us go through immense
stress, tears and sleepless nights in
order to acquire that all important
profession. And don’t even think
about moaning that you are not
content in your job- it’s your career
now!
Similarly as children we view our
future relationships through rose-
tinted glasses. Every wee girl and,
I’m sure, every wee boy (although
maybe at a later stage of his devel-
opment!) thinks that when they
grow up they are going to marry
prince charming or a beautiful
princess.
Well, maybe not exactly a prince
charming riding on a horse, but
someone fairly handsome who just
happens to be the perfect gentle-
man. Little girls believe they will fall
in love and live happily ever after
like all the ladies in their childhood
fairytales. However when we grow
up, we soon learn relationships are
complicated.
Of course relationships are fun
but they involve a lot of difficult
and testing moments that as chil-
dren we could never have imagined.
THE CIRCULAR
After the show, many wait to talk
to him. He walks towards the emo-
tional group of people clutching
pictures of their dead children and
loved ones, and they close in
around him. The staff put pressure
on him to leave as the show has
gone way over time and they need
to lock up. He apologises for not
being able to speak to everyone and
gives his details promising free indi-
vidual readings next time he is in
Ireland. He says “I am not a fake”
and tells us he has agreed to do the
famous sceptic James Randi’s mil-
lion-dollar challenge this year,
which no other psychic has ever
won, to prove his authenticity.
Amongst the crowd of people
who refuse to disperse, I watch him
reach for one woman and sympa-
thise with her for the death of her
baby, and I hope for his sake that if
he is not genuine - he at least
believes he is. Otherwise there is a
lot of bad karma coming his way- if
you believe in that sort of thing.
As adults the idea of finding Mr.
Perfect fades; we come to terms
with the idea that no-one is perfect,
and we have to accept the one we
fall in love with- warts and all.
Friendships are viewed different-
ly when we are children also. Recall
how quickly you changed best
friends. One day Katie was your
best friend just because she took
her new toy to school. Friendships
were about making friends with the
popular people.
Most of us probably thought
our childhood friends would be
part of our lives forever. After all
they were the first people we
became close to in our younger
years. As adults we realise how
important it is to have someone to
share things with and we hold on to
our treasured friends.
Yes life changes greatly as we
move from the child’s world to the
adult world. But why should we
abandon our inner-child, just
because we are adults? Being a child
was fun; being an adult is fun too,
but only if we keep a sense of what
we were like as a child with us
always.
THE CIRCULAR
Get Back in Your Box Dolls!
The images of women
portrayed and glorified in the
media make poor role mod-
els,writes Deanna O’Connor
Role models certainly aren’t what
they used to be. A mere decade ago,
if you asked a young girl who she
looked up to she might have
answered that she admired the
humanitarian work of Mother
Theresa, or UN Ambassador
Audrey Hepburn. Charity, inner
strength and timeless elegance are
not such widely sought after com-
modities in these pop culture-
obsessed times.
Who do the young girls of today
look up to? The Pussycat Dolls (a
troupe of former strippers), The
Sugababes (a band famous for its
easily replaced members and innu-
endo-loaded lyrics such as “Got
such a pretty kitty, boy I know you
want to pet it/The weather’s nice
and wet just south of the border”),
and various celebrities so riddled
with eating disorders they belong
on the pages of medical journals
not gossip magazines.
The ideals of womanhood of
every age tend to filter down into
the dolls children play with. When I
was young the dream item on every
girl’s Christmas list was a sugary
pink Barbie house. Growing up
lusting after anything as long as it
was pink, plastic or marabou
trimmed (preferably all three) may
not be conducive to passing on the
feminist flame, but it was mild in
comparison to the cartoon of
modern femininity echoed by the
dolls today’s little girls play with.
A couple of years ago my six-
Loosely Speaking...
Republic of Loose Photo:Patrick Cummins
Republic of Loose almost don’t fit
into the Irish music scene, which
for years has been characterised by
Eurovision winners and uniform-
boy-band-types.
Their sound is distinctly
American, drawing influences from
original blues, gospel, soul and con-
temporary R’n’B , everything from
year old niece requested a Bratz
doll house for Christmas. The poor
child couldn’t understand why
everyone else found it so amusing,
but the plastic palace looked like a
fantasy brothel with furniture from
several eras brought together by
one overriding principle – it was all
in the worst possible taste. She
adored it. Presidential Barbie never
stood a chance.
The dolls themselves are in the
Lollipop Lady mould. The term
that describes the body shape that
is fashionable in celebrity circles,
where the head is disproportionate-
ly gigantic in comparison to the
tiny stick of a body it rests upon.
“Insecurity is at
the root of our
vulnerability to
advertising and
emulation of
celebrities”
And like so many of today’s
celebrities and pop princesses their
outfits are hooker-chic.
There seems to be a sinister
undercurrent to the workings of
media, advertising and the celebrity
machine, which is quietly under-
mining feminine equality and repo-
sitioning women in the eyes of the
world, as mere painted, vacuous,
sex objects.
James Brown to Timbaland.
In 2001 the group formed from
the remnants of Dublin band
Johnny Pyro and the Rock Coma.
Rock Coma’s founding members
Dave Pyro and Michael Pyro joined
forces with four young musicians
Coz, Benjamin, Brez and Declan.
Over the last five years this eclectic
MEDIA AND MUSIC
Pussycat Dolls Photo:Patrick Cummins
Gloria Steinem famously said:
“Feminism is a revolution, not a
public relations movement.”
Unfortunately, for feminists, the
hard won liberation now gives
young women the freedom to fulfil
such lofty aspirations as appearing
on the cover of a gossip magazine
peddling some banal details about
their sex life.
The editorial decision to cele-
brate certain personalities is sus-
pect indeed, but it must reflect an
interest already there on the
ground. It is difficult to decide
whether we are unavoidably versed
in the details of these people
because we are fed a diet of them
by the media, or whether the media
is purely reflecting consumer
demand and interests.
The powerful influence of
advertisers is often brought into
this argument; the media promote a
vision of womanhood that will play
on women’s insecurities and
encourage them to buy into what-
mix of talent have
stormed the Irish
charts with five top
30 hits.
They have
recently returned
from a third stint
Stateside where
they played New
York, LA and
Hollywood. They
have developed a
following, and the
hit single Comeback
Girl got generous
airplay in LA.
Declan Quinn,
Loose musician, is excited about
the group’s ambitions to break
America. He says that the group
hopes to become commercially
successful in the States. “The mar-
ket over there is so vast, there is a
big enough niche for our Irish
scruffy look and different sound.”
In February of this year, their
much acclaimed second album,
ever can promise to make them
better. Sexuality and attractiveness
are at the root of much human
insecurity, and insecurity is at the
root of our vulnerability to adver-
tising and emulation of celebrities.
Nowadays young girls are sexu-
alised in their dress and manner
earlier than ever before, aping
scantily clad pop stars.
One hopes that humanity isn’t in
such a sorry state that there are no
young women worthy of being role
models, and it is purely a case of
misguided focus. Pity the poor
media dolls that have brought upon
themselves unnatural pressures and
glaring attention.
Singer Gwen Stefani, a former
neighbour of Britney Spears, came
to her defence as Spears recently
broke down very publicly. Stefani
noted that there were always large
numbers of paparazzi outside
Spears’ house. It can’t be easy to
live under such scrutiny, and
frankly I don’t think anyone should.
Maura Ryan talks to
Aaagh, was shortlist-
ed for the prestigious
Declan Quinn from
Choice
Award. They sat
Music
Republic of Loose
comfortably
amongst fellow nominees Snow
Patrol, Director and Duke Special,
eventually conceding defeat to vet-
erans The Divine Comedy.
Their popularity was confirmed
in the February 2007 Hot Press
Readers’ Poll, where they were
picked as one of the top four Irish
live bands. Also among their acco-
lades, they can count a number of
nominations at the Meteor Music
Awards, including a win in 2004.
The band has played support to a
number of big bands like Fun
Lovin’ Criminals, The Zutons and t
Scissor Sisters.
A popular route for alternative
Irish bands is to secure a record
deal in the UK. Republic of Loose
did this for their first album, This is
the Tomb of the Juice, but dissatisfied
with the outcome, they decided to
11
Celebrities who are suffering from
nervous breakdowns, alcoholism,
drug addiction, eating disorders
and the inability to wear underwear
under very short dresses should be
given a wide berth, instead of being
glamorised. Unfortunately when so
many people are famous for being
famous, rather than for any dis-
cernible talent, they cannot afford
not to be in the spotlight.
It was very telling that Scarlett
Johansson, an actress of consider-
able talent, good looks, and ability
(to wear clothes) recently skipped
the publicity of the Oscar red car-
pet in favour of a trip to Sri Lanka
and India to promote the work of
Oxfam.
Unfortunately it is the publicity-
hungry that will fight their way
onto our front pages, our television
screens and into our minds, while
those worthier of admiration are
usually too busy doing something
worthwhile with their lives to look
in to getting their own doll made.
go it alone. The result was two top
ten hits in 2005 with Comeback Girl
and You Know It. Finally, the press
got excited and airwaves and night-
clubs across the country reverber-
ated with catchy Loose rhythms.
There is a clear transition from
the first album, This is the Tomb of
the Juice, to the much anticipated
follow up, Aaagh, released in April
2006. The lyrics are toned down
although Declan readily admits that
some of the songs on Aaagh will
never be played on radio. However,
the sound is more commercial
making the band more accessible
to a mainstream audience. Yet
Declan insists they are not selling
out: “We knew we wanted to go
down a more contemporary R’n’B
route because that’s what we were
listening to at the time.”
12
Are You a Bebo Bandit?
January 2005 saw the launch of
what was to become a phenome-
non among Irish teens and young
adults - Bebo.com.
The social network website has
achieved staggering success in the
mere two years it has been opera-
tional, despite stiff competition
from similar web page providers,
such as myspace.com and
WAYN.com.
Bebo seems to have the edge,
something that we find irre-
sistible…what is it?
When co-founders Michael
Birch and his wife Xochi,
embarked on Bebo.com after lim-
ited success on other websites,
they wanted to create a place for
people to “just hang out”.
In an interview with realbusi-
ness.co.uk in 2006, he is “not
spending a lot of time thinking
about revenue” and so the site is
completely free for users, funded
Media Mirror
Many people have a false body image with no bearing at all
on their actual appearance. Iselin Fotland examines how the
media influences our self-image
Pick any TV station, newspaper or
magazine and you will probably
find one or more examples of the
following: people with beautiful
bodies, happy families, perfect
boyfriends or girlfriends and suc-
cesful careers. In short, in the
media we find the picture of what
we see as the perfect world.
Not many of us are trained to
look at the media with a critical
view. Many sit back and take in
everything without separating fact
from fiction. The media is a huge
source of information, and a chan-
nel we use to discover what’s going
on in the world, and to better
understand the things that happen
around us. When the world is por-
trayed as a perfect place it becomes
the reality that most people try to
achieve.
But that perfection is impossible
to reach. Not everybody has a size
zero body or a million dollar job; in
MEDIA AND MUSIC
by income from other ventures
such as BirthdayAlarm.com.
Advertising is predominately
through word of mouth.
“We don’t want to compromise
ourselves through short-term
greed.”
Maybe it is that laid-back, peo-
ple-oriented ethos that initially
seduces us... Many loitering stu-
dents and teenagers are embracing
this new space to “just hang out”.
They can post quizzes and blogs ,
share and copy photos, and the
interlinking of pages make it even
easier to contact fellow Beboers. A
virtual community is being creat-
ed- all for FREE! There is no
charge whatsoever for download-
ing photos or videos, leaving mes-
sages on people’s pages.
Where Are You Now
(WAYN.com) users have to pay a
subscription fee to send messages
to other members around the
fact most of us don’t.
The media also does something
that can be worse than focusing on
perfection; they turn the focus to
imperfection. Don’t we just love to
see fat people, ugly people and mis-
erable people? It makes us feel bet-
ter about ourselves, more success-
ful and pretty. We not only have
magazines focusing on how won-
derful all the celebrities are, we now
have magazines that focus on how
imperfect some can be. Those who
are looked upon as imperfect can
often be healthy, good at what they
do, and look completely normal.
But they might not be skinny
enough or have the right job to fit
the perfect image of our perfect
world.
It isn’t enough to look thin.
Youth is an essential component of
beauty. But don’t worry the answers
are out there. There are thousands
of articles on how to achieve the
world. MySpace allows members
to leave messages and view pages
for free but have considered intro-
ducing charges.
With reports of 6,000 new
recruits a day in Ireland, according
to the Sunday Mail, we can safely
assume that these are not all just
teenagers and lazy students.
Twenty-somethings are also
becoming hooked and using it to
keep in touch with friends abroad.
In Ireland today, Bebo has a
quarter of a million members,
with almost 27 million members
worldwide.
“It’s great craic to see what
everyone is up to!” says Caroline
(24), a student at Griffith College
Dublin.
“I first joined because my friend
was leaving for a year to
Australia”, explains Eimear (27) “I
just found it really handy to see
her photos and keep in contact.”
perfect weight and look, and
numerous self-help gurus who can
tell us how to live. Selling diets and
cosmetics has become a million-
dollar industry.
When we find out that the per-
fect image is impossible to achieve
we react in different ways.
According to VHI Healthcare
300,000 people in Ireland suffer
from depression each year, and
most of these are women. Another
study done by the Canadian
Women’s Health Network shows
that almost 90 percent of women
and girls are unhappy with the way
they look, and some women can
develop depression and other kinds
of mental illness when they do not
measure up to the media’s image of
beauty. When women are dissatis-
fied with their own bodies, pictures
of ultra-thin models in magazines
and on television can reinforce
those negative feelings, making
What makes Bebo the drug of
the day? Why is it the “must
have” for 2007 and who is
hooked on it? By Fiona Gunn
Other students at Griffith
agreed that the most successful
aspect to Bebo is being able to
upload and share photos from
other users. This plays a huge role
in what to talk about on Bebo and
Julie (21) admits she only uses the
site to look at people’s photos.
“It’s just so much fun just look-
ing at the comments left! We have
the phrase “Bebostalker” but it’s
up to you what you put up and
you can delete your profile at any
time.”
“In Ireland
today, Bebo
has a quarter
of a million
members”
Michael Birch puts the success
of Bebo down to two things: his
learning experiences through mis-
takes from other websites and
spending time working on it him-
self, despite having 12 employees.
“If I don’t keep getting my
hands dirty then I’d start to lose
touch with the product. All you
them feel worse about their size,
the colour of their skin, or other
physical features.
Is it possible that the depression
many women in Ireland suffer
from is a result of media influence?
Eating disorders are another
result of the media pressure. One
in ten girls and women develops an
eating disorder such as anorexia, or
bulimia. These diseases can have
serious long-term consequences on
women’s health, leading, in some
cases to death.
Why do we let the media affect
THE CIRCULAR
need is a computer and a broad-
band connection,.”
It seems to be the right attitude.
In the UK and Ireland, his infec-
tious creation is the top social net-
work site and was the most repre-
sentative search term used on
Google in 2006.
However in the US, MySpace
remains the most popular social
network. Here it remains to be
associated more with music lovers
and upcoming bands, and fails to
show the same marketing potential
as Bebo, as a medium for reaching
a young audience.
Rosanna Davis, (the former
Miss World who is fast becoming
a star of another kind on her
raunchy and controversial Bebo
page), comedian Tommy Tiernan
and radio legend Ray D’Arcy are
among the celebrities registering
on Bebo to communicate with
their fans. It continues to be the
best, easiest and quickest route to
the teenage market and proves
good business sense to use it for
advertising. With new additions
and gimmicks added by the cre-
ators to the site each month, it
looks set to be in poll position for
the near future. Bebo–addicts are
finding it harder to turn away.
“It’s a great thing about the
Internet,” says Birch, “you could
start something massive from your
living room.”
us this way? What we see in a mag-
azine or on screen is a false picture
of reality. The models have flaws
like you and me, but computer
retouching hides these. The media
play with reality to make consumers
buy their advertisers’ products.
Media images help create cultur-
al definitions of beauty and attrac-
tiveness. It is in this context we
learn to evaluate our size and
shape. The media’s power over our
development of self-esteem and
body image can be strong and
harmful..
THE CIRCULAR
Time to move on
Julie Ryan talks to Cian O’Connor about
rebuilding his life and what the future holds...
Cian O’Connor competing at the World Equestrian Festival at CHIO Aachen 2006, with Echo Beach
He sits with a welcoming smile.
Three years ago that smile was
taken from his face and along with
it his Olympic medal.
Throughout a number of turbu-
lent months he faced doping
charges that would potentially ruin
his career. Cian O Connor was
eventually cleared of any malicious
wrong doing. Now here he is in a
room decorated with rosettes and
trophies. Pictures of his victories
line the walls. This is not the room
of a tainted man.
At 27 Cian has jumped on 52
Nation Cup teams. He now has 40
horses in his care. “I work hard
buying, selling , teaching , dealing,
putting syndicates together , on the
phone and travelling worldwide”,
he says. Cian has sponsorship with
the Irish Independent, who have a
prefix on his up-coming horse
Echo Beach and also Gain
Horsefeeds. PR is an essential part
of the game. He acknowledges that
he has had a wonderful leg up but a
lot of hard grind was needed to
reach this level too. “What I’ve
learnt over the past few years is that
it’s nearly 60/70 % business acu-
men and the rest is being able to
ride the horse.”
Ireland has just been relegated
from the Samsung league. The last
leg took place in Barcelona in
September knocking Ireland out of
the league. There are eight shows in
the world with Superleague status.
“Super league is like the premier
league of football” he says. One of
the world’s leading riders Jessica
Kuerten refused to ride on the
same team as Cian after the
Olympics leaving the team at a loss.
The sport has been divided more
publicly now than it has for years
with a history of turmoil when it
come to Nations Cup teams. “If
certain people take a stance, that’s a
matter for them, I really don’t have
“We’re simply a
nation who has
plenty of very
good riders but a
serious shortage
of horse power”
an issue with anyone,” he says. “I
just like to do my own thing and get
on with the job”. He holds no
grudges. He adds, “We’re simply a
nation who has plenty of very good
riders but a serious shortage of
horse power.”
The ultimate goal for Cian was
to win gold in the Olympics and he
SPORT
achieved that. His plan came
together and he received the ulti-
mate accolade. “After the Olympics
the first six weeks were euphoric
and then everything started to go
pear shaped. The adrenaline of
having to fight and read the papers
and counter argue was tiring and
also very expensive.” he says.
“There is a zero tolerance level
within the FEI and we were outside
that, it was a fraction of a billionth
of a gram. We were outside the
rules unintentionally, not mali-
ciously and so we had to put our
hands up and say, ‘Yeah we were
wrong’. I’m happy, my conscience
is clear and the people who support
me are happy with that as well.”
Now Cian has got himself going
again and has a new plan to bring
on younger horses. He plans to
bring on five or six young horses a
year. Beijing 2008 is a target.
However London 2012 is where he
would like to make his mark per-
haps with his 8yr.old Marko Poulo,
who he named after the equestrian
centre in Athens. “He’s a really
good horse. It’s important to look
at the long term.”
As I look around his office I
notice a picture of Cian and his
former girlfriend Hazel
O’Callaghan who tragically died in
2002 after a freak accident while
attending to a horse. He keeps
good contact with her family.
“They’re obviously very sad, their
life has totally changed.” Poignantly
Cian reminisces, “When you go
“We were outside
the rules
unintentionally,
not maliciously
and so we had to
put our hands
up”
through something like that, bad
press isn’t that bad, it’s not life
threatening, you don’t really care,
it’s not the end of the world.” He
pauses and ponders, “Athens hap-
pened and I could have taken it
either way, I could have become
bitter and nasty or stronger and
more mature. I’d say I’m a bit more
hardened now and I take things in
my stride.”
Cian has recently moved his
Karlswood Stables to the late Paul
Darragh’s old yard, in Tara, Co.
Meath. It is a beautiful location
with 200 acres and 50 stables. This
is his third yard since he finished
school at 18. Essentially he would
like to buy his own yard and build it
13
up from scratch. “It’s hard to do
that and ride so I’m trying to do
everything in phases, establish
myself with enough horses for the
future, keep riding , build my place
and set up a training centre.” If that
wasn’t enough on his plate. “It is an
aim of mine to go to the next few
Olympics to win a medal and
maybe then I’ll call it a day!” I get
up to leave and catch a glimpse of a
rather exquisite looking rosette on
the wall. Cian smirks, “I gave them
back the medal but as for the
rosette, they didn’t ask and I didn’t
offer.”
It could have all gone so wrong
for this man who sits before me. It
didn’t.
Something tells me it’s only get-
ting better.
Julie with Cian at his
home in in Co. Meath.
14 SPORT THE CIRCULAR

Darren Clarke:
A year of highs and lows
By Regina Wall
There are few golfers as popular as
Darren Clarke. His great talent and
warm personality have gained him
many admirers and friends. On the
eve of the US PGA championship
last year when Clarke’s wife
Heather lost her brave battle with
cancer, they rallied to support him
As a mark of respect, a number
of players offered to pull out of the
competition. His close friend Paul
McGinley risked losing his place on
the Ryder Cup team by pulling out
of the ranking event to attend
Heather’s funeral. “The support I
got from Paul and everyone every-
where was unforgettable,” Clarke
said at the time.
It was his father who first intro-
duced him to golf. “My father start-
ed playing golf when I was eleven,
and I caddied for him and got the
bug. I went from a thirty-six handi-
cap to a thirteen the first year I
played and from a thirteen to a

“The support
I got from
everyone
everywhere
was unforget-
table”
three in the second. In the summer,
I’d play seventy-two holes in a day.
As soon as it got bright, I’d go out
to practise.”
Clarke is now recognised as one
of the most talented golfers of his
generation, winning 10 times on
the European tour and earning
over 10 million euro in prize
money. When he returned to his
locker room after beating Tiger
Woods for the $1m prize in the
final of the WGC World Match
play Championships in 2000, there
was a surprise waiting for him - a
note left in his locker from Tiger
Woods: “Congratulations. Be
proud. PS You’re still a fucker.”
Before last year’s Ryder Cup, he
had hardly played since his wife’s
death in August. The raw emotion
portrayed over the three-day event
made it one of the most memo-
rable Ryder Cups to date.
The arrival of Clarke lit up the
first tee at the K Club “Nothing
can compare with what I went
through on that first tee.”There will
Darren Clarke at the Ryder Cup
never be a harder shot or hole for
me to play.”
What followed was an inspired
Clarke, playing some of his finest
golf. After winning his singles
match, Clarke shared an emotional
moment with opponent Tiger
Woods, who lost his father, Earl, to
cancer in May. The embrace
offered the world a poignant
glimpse into Clarke’s personal grief.
“I knew it was going to be an
emotional experience not least
because Heather loved the Ryder
Cup and wearing all the glamorous
outfits, but looking back I never
realised quite how emotional it
would become.”
After the Ryder Cup, Clarke
went home to his two sons, aged
eight and five. “My boys are my
number one priority. They’re the
heartbeat of my life”
The death of his wife has put
increased spotlight on his family
and he wants to spend as much
time with his sons as possible. “I
have been occupying my time with
my sons, Tyrone and Conor, as we
all readjust our lives.”
Clarke took a break from the
European tour towards the end of
last year but has recently began
“This year is
a fresh start
for me”
playing again. He hopes to find a
balance between being a single
father and a professional sports-
man.
He still has ambitions to fulfil in
2007. “The majors are very impor-
tant to me. I’ve had a difficult time
the past few years trying to concen-
trate fully on golf but this year is a
PROFILE:
NAME: Darren
Christopher Clarke
fresh start .”
BORN: 14-08-68,
Away from the course, he has his
Dungannon, Northern
own foundation, which helps to
raise money to help fight the dis-
Ireland
ease that killed his wife. The
Darren Clarke Foundation was set VITAL STATS: 6ft 2in, 15
up in 2002 to help Irish junior golf stone
and discover the Irish stars of the
future. PROFESSION:Turned pro
in 1990
“Through the foundation I can
try and give back to all those people
TITLES: 15, including
who supported Heather through
her illness, and hopefully we can World Match Play 2000,
raise a tidy sum of money to help European Open ‘01, NEC
people who need it most.” Invitational ‘03.
Darren Clarke looks back on
2006 as a year which had highs but RYDER CUP WINS: ‘97, ‘02,
will be remembered for his loss. He ‘04, ‘06
has shown courage and bravery
throughout difficult times. The
WORLD RANKING: 38
return of the ‘Big D’ to winning
ways at the Masters in Augusta,
would seal his comeback on the OBSCURE FACT: reported
competitive circuit, which has to spend 25,000 pounds
missed his unique and flamboyant sterling a year on cigars.
style.
THE CIRCULAR
Golden Oldie
Stephen O’Farrell spoke to Ronnie Delany about
winning Olympic Gold and the state of athletics today
As Ronnie Delany walked along
the north quays in Dublin he was
confronted by a man asking him if
he was Ronnie Delany, the famous
runner. When he replied that he
was, the man said to him: “You
know what, I never saw anyone get
so much bloody mileage out of
winning a medal”.
The man had a point to
“The press
had written
me off.
Landy was
the favourite”
an extent because 50 years after
Delany won gold for Ireland in the
Olympic 1,500 metres in
Melbourne he is still being hon-
oured. He recently received an hon-
orary law degree from UCD and
was awarded the freedom of the
city in March alongside Bob
Geldof.
But such awards don’t
just rest on a single medal. He is
quick to point out that his gold in
Melbourne is only one of his
numerous achievements that he has
had during a golden era for athlet-
ics. He was only the seventh man to
run the mile in under four minutes,
he went 40 indoor races unbeaten,
a record that still hasn’t been sur-
“If they don’t
contain the
drugs
problem; it
will spell the
end of the
Olympics”
passed to this day, and he became
the first Irish athlete to win a medal
at the European Championships
when he took bronze.
Before the Olympics,
Delany wasn’t given much hope of
any success by the Irish media.
“Jumbo, my teamates and my
father were probably the only ones
Ronnie Delany, after winning a gold medal at the Olympics in 1956
who gave me more than a snow-
ball’s chance in hell. The press had
written me off. Landy was the
favourite.” Delany sits back in his
chair getting comfortable before he
continues. “It was difficult to
remain calm beforehand but I tried
as best I could, I knew every
moment of anxiety used up valu-
able energy.” And on winning the
actual race itself ? “About 150 yards
from the finish, I opened up with
SPORT
everything I had. Within 10 yards I
was in the lead and going away
from the field. I knew nobody was
going to pass me; my legs were
pumping, tired but not going to
give in to anybody. My heart
swelled with joy as I approached
the tape and as I burst through, I
threw my arms wide in exultation. I
could hardly believe I had won.”
After being written off
before the race, Delany ended up
winning it by 10 feet. This is testa-
ment to an extraordinary self belief
that he’d had since he was a young-
ster. After school he had been
offered a cadetship in the army; a
stable and respected career awaited
him in an otherwise very poor
1950’s Ireland. Delany realised
soon after joining the army, howev-
er, that he would have to choose his
running or his career. To the dis-
gust of his father, he chose the for-
mer.
He was then successful in
gaining a scholarship to Villanova
University in Philadelphia where he
met his coach Jumbo Elliot. Delany
views both the facilities at
Villanova and his coach, Jumbo
Elliot, as integral factors in his suc-
cess. “I wouldn’t have won the
Olympics if I had not gone to
15
America” he says. “I was convinced
that I was destined to be a great
athlete”.
Delany still keeps a keen
eye on what’s happening on the
track today and he is concerned.
“Drugs is the big issue, it is a seri-
ous danger. With such money and
sponsorship of course greed enters
the equation. Greed, not only in the
athlete with the talent; but the
greedy manager, coach, and doctor,
who want to improve their reputa-
tion. When an athlete faces that
much pressure and he’s not a moral
person, he may take drugs.”
“There is no simple solu-
tion either. If they don’t contain
the drugs problem; it will spell the
end of the Olympics. If it gets too
dirty the big sponsors will walk
away.” His eyes glaze over. “There
is something very special, historic,
and significant in being sent by
your country to an Olympic
Games. And this realisation comes
to you as you participate in the
opening ceremony before the eyes
“I was
convinced
that I was
destined to
be a great
athlete”
of the world.”
In a time when Ireland
was a debt ridden country and low
on self-esteem, Delany’s belief that
he could be the best, made the Irish
public believe in themselves. As
Tony O’Reilly remarked in the
introduction to Delany’s autobiog-
raphy Staying the Distance, “It
made us all feel, as a country, that
we had achieved something unique,
that we could compete against the
best in the world”. But perhaps
Bob Geldof put it best at the cere-
mony for the freedom of the city:
‘The Bus would go zipping past me
and I’d dash after it and the con-
ductor would lean out and say
“Ronnie Delany, wha?” How do
you share a stage with someone
who has become an expression?’
I never saw a nation get
so much bloody mileage out of one
medal.
16
Croke Park under lights: Dublin v Tyrone, 3 Feb, 2007
GAA moves with modern Ireland
By Eamonn Mc Gurk
Ireland’s identity is changing.
Roared on by the Celtic Tiger econ-
omy we have never had such pros-
perity, diversity and confidence.
Rather than cut its ties with this
new image, the GAA has embraced
it and the future looks bright for
both it and Ireland.
“Croke Park is a true monument
of our past and a manifestation of
our vision for the future,” said
GAA President Nickey Brennan
after he illuminated the stadium
before the Dublin V Tyrone match
thus reflecting the organization’s
forward thinking attitude.
Saturday February 24 2007, was
a standout occasion in Ireland’s
recent history. Croke Park formed
the centerpiece. There it stood for
the entire world to view as a mag-
nificent tribute to the GAA and
Ireland as a whole. The editorial in
Manchester City players show their frustration
towards Chelsea’s Didier Drogba
By Ciara Hegarty
The culture of diving has
wormed its way into the ‘beautiful
game’ of soccer. Players fall to the
ground without being dragged
down, tripped or sometimes even
touched at all. They exaggerate
their injuries and are miraculously
healed if their theatrics fail to
impress the referee. This play-act-
ing and blatant foul-play has gone
unpunished and has become
accepted as an element of the mod-
ern game. This must be stopped.
In both the English Premiership
and particularly in the Champions’
League, we see players rolling
around in ‘agony’, encouraging the
Monday’s Irish Times eloquently
described the occasion:
“All in all, it was a very special
night to remember in the history,
not just of sport, but of a modern
Ireland full of self-confidence and
comfortable with herself. Indeed,
players and fans alike displayed this
self-confidence and sense of
pride.”
If the match had been staged in
Cardiff or Murrayfield, (viewed as
alternatives if the GAA hadn’t
opened up Croke Park) the occa-
sion may not have been so signifi-
cant. Since the plans were made
available in 1992, the GAA has cre-
ated a stadium fit to grace any inter-
national occasion. Brennan basked
in the glory of these recent tri-
umphs for the organisation but the
contribution made by his predeces-
sor Sean Kelly should not be for-
gotten. It was he and some grass-
roots members who had the fore-
referee to brandish cards. The main
objective of the act, and that’s what
it is an act, is to fool the referee into
thinking they are genuinely in pain.
If these players were really in
‘agony’ a booking for the opposi-
tion would be the last thing on their
mind.
Nowadays, people argue for free
kicks and penalties based on con-
tact. But contact is a fundamental
part of soccer. If it wasn’t, the
game would be called tip-soccer
and would be stripped of all excite-
ment. Soccer is a fast paced game
of attack and defence in which
players cannot possibly avoid col-
liding with each other. Players who
exaggerate injuries from tackles
SPORT
sight and courage to place Rule 42,
which had banned ‘foreign games’,
at the top of the agenda.
“Once again
it seems sport
has moved on
quicker than
politics”
Although a massive statement,
Croke Park is not the only way in
which the GAA is engaging with
and reflecting a changing society.
An organisation of around 800,000
members, it values the contribution
of people to its continued growth.
On the night the lights were
switched on, children from 18
nationalities formed the teams that
Cheating must stop
seem to get the benefit of the
doubt when really it is these divers
that are cheating while defenders
are just doing their job.
There is an idea that diving is a
foreign influence leaving Irish and
English players no choice but to
follow in the footsteps of their
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese
counterparts. Wherever and who-
ever it came from, it is clear to see
now that everyone is at it, from Joe
Cole to Ronaldo to Damien Duff.
Chelsea striker Drogba has even
openly admitted to diving.
“Sometimes I dive, sometimes I
stand”. So too has Bolton striker
El-Hadji Diouf, who describes it as
being “clever”. It is a disgrace that
these self confessed divers have
gone unpunished. Just like throw-
ing a game or fielding a suspended
player is considered cheating, this
issue of faking an injury must be
treated with the same seriousness.
Every week we hear aggrieved
managers blaming referees for poor
decisions. Penalties given for exag-
gerated injuries, genuine penalties
denied, controversial yellow and
red cards, the list goes on. It is
took the field for the half time
exhibition.
Among the solo runs, turns and
dummies these teams pointed to
signs of the future. Some of these
players may adorn the light blue of
Dublin one day. They don’t need to
look far for inspiration as Cork
hurling star Sean og O’Halpin who
captained the All-Ireland winning
team in 2005 has Fijian roots.
During a radio conversation with
Eamonn Dunphy, O’Halpin com-
mented that playing Ireland’s
national games helped him inte-
grate into Irish society and cur-
tailed the racist abuse he was sub-
jected to.
It is not only immigrants who
are being welcomed to play Gaelic
games. In the North of Ireland, the
PSNI now field a team following
the abolishment of Rule 21 in
2001, which prevented members of
the security forces playing Gaelic
unfair to criticise referees consider-
ing the influence of diving on
today’s game. They get one look at
it and have to make a call on their
first impression. Sunderland man-
“Somtimes I
dive,
sometimes I
stand”
Didier Drogba
ager Roy Keane recently admitted
that there are a lot of players out
there who are trying to pull one
over on the referee by diving.
“Players have got to look to treat
the referees fairly”.
It is hypocritical of managers to
give out about incidents of diving
that go against them one week, but
keep quiet about an easy penalty
that wins them a game the next.
Torquay United who are facing
relegation at the bottom of League
Two have decided to take action
THE CIRCULAR
sports. It took the largest
Nationalist party in the North Sinn
Fein until recently to endorse polic-
ing. Once again it seems sport has
moved on quicker than politics.
Since its foundation in 1884 the
GAA has played a central role in
communities throughout Ireland.
In modern society the faces and
attitudes of these communities are
much different than those of the
past.Former President Sean Kelly
points to inclusiveness as the key to
the future for the organisation.”In
modern Ireland every organization
has to be inclusive, and the GAA is
no exception. It’s a form of matu-
rity, of advancement, that you can
see people not by their differences
but by what you have in common.”
Guided by the vision and
courage of those like Kelly the
GAA continues to move forward
and it’s bringing many others along
with it.
against their own players if found
cheating. The club has set up a
‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy
to clamp down on the increasing
problem of diving. But if a player
is awarded a penalty or free kick
from a dive that wins them the
game, how harsh would the punish-
ment be?
Nevertheless this is a positive
step taken by Torquay United and
will hopefully encourage other
clubs to follow.
Until a video referee is intro-
duced to the game, mistakes are
going to be made and cheating will
continue. Similar to the way dan-
gerous and deliberate fouls are
cited in rugby, something must be
done about the issue of diving in
soccer.
These players are fit, profession-
al athletes who train hard to better
their skills in order to win matches
and be successful.
In the name of good sportsman-
ship, surely it is more satisfying to
win games as a result of these skills
they worked hard to perfect, rather
than fooling the referee with their
acting talents?