pressplay4;the farewell issue

Connaught-Ulster Regional Session 2014

a (final) note from the editorsDear reader,So it's a big goodbyefrom us, then. We'vebeen slaving away behind closed doorsfor the majority of thesession in order foryou to recieve all thewritten, photo, video,social media, andgeneral banter contentthat could be produced.We hope you've enjoyed it ,because we've really enjoyed putting it all together.

We'd like to also come back to a point we madein the welcome issue, where we emphasised thatwe as Editors have very little to do with it - the brilliant content is all thanks to your brilliant Journalists. And that still stands. Your Journos have been an excellent, creative bunch to work with, and have excelled our own expectations. So give them a(virtual) pat on the back.Sit tight and enjoy the closing pages,Anthony & James

Anthony M

cKee (UK)

James D

e Burca (IE)

Naomi Foale (U

K)

say goodbye to the team

Dear reader,So it's a big goodbyefrom us, then. We'vebeen slaving away behind closed doorsfor the majority of thesession in order foryou to recieve all thewritten, photo, video,social media, andgeneral banter contentthat could be produced.We hope you've enjoyed it ,because we've really enjoyed putting it all together.

We'd like to also come back to a point we madein the welcome issue, where we emphasised thatwe as Editors have very little to do with it - the brilliant content is all thanks to your brilliant Journalists. And that still stands. Your Journos have been an excellent, creative bunch to work with, and have excelled our own expectations. So give them a(virtual) pat on the back.Sit tight and enjoy the closing pages,Anthony & James

Your thoughts on the team"She was good fun and really...she's the best."

AGRI on Lisa"Thanks for being such a LI-bae!"

LIBE on Conor"This is the pointing game: listen very carefully and tell me who it is."

ECON I on Anna

Oisín O Sull

ivan (IE)

Eileen De Sousa (IE)

Hugh

Whe

lan (

IE)

Katarzyna Kessler (PL) Jack Sarge

nt (IE)

Conor Dunne

(IE)

Aoife Watson (IE) N

aomi Foale (UK)

Lisa Smith

(IE) Anna Kosova (FR)

we forgot to look thereAfter a search of the premises and several ECON-spiracy theories being hurled about, we finally have our answer as to #WhereInTheWorldIsECON2. Answer: they're not. Oisín O Sullivan (IE) and Conor Dunne (IE) explain

It has happened. We found them. The discovery came the very moment GA was finished. Our Journo Conor received a call from an anonymous contact of his in Rosetta. We asked Conor how he knew this contact and it's allegedly due to him being an absolute 'LAD'. However, back on topic - Conor's contact informed us that they received some very strange images from the Philae probe. The grainy images revealed the committee playing a game of ninja on the ice cold surface of the comet. Rosetta is trying to ascertain whether this counts as extraterrestrial life or not.

After their game of Ninja was concluded they sent us back a postcard telling us all about what happened. It read "Dear EYP, we were on our way to the session venue and we must have been standing on the wrong platform or something and we ended up here. We tried our best to recreate a real EYP experience but we never managed to make a resolution let alone go to GA. We're really sorry we couldn't be there and we hope you had a good time in our absence. From the committee that are out of this world."

boogie nightsJack Sargent (IE) reports on how the session strut their

stuff across the floor at the 'dishco'

Suffice to say, we are currently still in the shadow of Satruday night's disco. The incredible talent "on decks" as the kids

would say, constituted the "definition of banter".The organisers Jack McGann and Thomas Monaghan revealed their secret Djing skills, to

the delight of the officials and the Delegates with good music tastes. As a result of their immense skill(z) we are left to discuss the ques-

tion, "turn down for what?"One of the many highlights of the night, was my very own editor Antho-ny McKee, who inspired all present with a masterclass in the art of the

fist pump (Jersey Shore varient) amidst delegates who were in shock and awe, at the sight of such "slick sassy moves" to quote an anony-

mous delegate.However the usual disparity in dance moves, which sees the officials demonstrate how one can "catch the honeys with fly" because every

little helps the delegates, and their EYP venture. Which evidently, proved to be quite productive.

Last, but not least, we were left with the birthday of Cathal Monaghan, who opted for EYP shenanigens at his 17th birthday. Top

notch lad. Not all of us can say we spent the first day of our 17th year in GA.

Looking at the twitter it is obvious that committee rivalries are tearing the session apart. From CULT I and CULT II, to AGRI and ENVI jealousy and gossip is rife. At times it gets really brutal, as when CULT I accused CULT II of just being a mere copy. It seems that CULT1 has some serious issues, once tweeting: "You all think you're fly. We are way out of you're league. Don't mess with CULT 1." #whaaaat? Also, the Hunger Game theme is not the only thing heard in the corridors - apparently AGRI is trying to get ENVI. Careful there, you might be playing with fire. With all this gossips going on, we've almost forgot about the mysterious disappearance of ECON II. Some of the committees seem to be better informed about its whereabouts than the media team. Now we're gonna reveal the most popular theories. LIBE and EMPL suspect that ECON II have been mysteriously kidnapped and are being kept in Mongolia. And ECON1 delegate whose identity we can't reveal suggested that they transcended to a better place. Finally, CULT I and FEMM agreed that it must have been the illuminati who took them into a different dimension.

rivalries 'n' rumoursKatarzyna Kessler (PL) discovers the bitter rivalries from committee to committee, plus some gossip

strike a poseOur fashionistas Anna Kosova (FR) and Naomi Foale (UK) scrutinise the trends that took the session by storm

Reviving a trend that we all missed dearly, this fashionista rocked the choker to perfection.

This classic collar has en-dured due to its versatility, complemented by the white button which adds to the

retro throwback.

Small but necessary, hidden but important for comfort,

socks provide an opportunity for fashion flair in a more

understated manner.

Connoting technology and presenting an

anti-Windows stance, this sticker makes a big state-

ment, despite its small size.

Classic, discreet and ideal for any occasion, but particularly the opening ceremony, black heels can complement any

outfit - if you can walk in them.

The bow tie itself is not a new concept, but a recent revival

in their popularity has allowed for modern twists to facilitate

its reinvention.

This one of a kind piece encourages nostalgia in our

hearts for the nursery rhymes and fairy tales of our childhoods.

water, water everywhere...but not a drop to drink, if you can't pay for it. Ireland is

soon to face water charges which has caused uproar in many parts of the island. Eileen De Sousa (IE) takes a

European angle on the issueWater, H2O, aqua...regardless of what name you go by, water is a fundamental building block of life on Earth. It is no wonder then that the issue of water charges is so hotly debated in Ireland.In order to assess the situation, it is important to contex-tualise Ireland compared to the rest of Europe. What does water cost? In 2011 GWI conducted a survey of 65 cities in Europe to investigate the cost of domestic water to the consumer. Their findings are shown in the following table.

Interestingly enough, of the cities surveyed at the time Dublin, Cork and Belfast were the only ones not to charge directly for water.The reality is water is a commodity and scarcer than you'd think. Millions die each year from diseases related to unsafe water, or for lack of access to water and many more travel miles every day to make ends meet. Ethically, the question here is not whether or not we should pay for water, but why we in the first world feel entitled to a resource that we use, abuse and take for granted.

humans of connaught-ulstersAnna Kosova (FR) puts her photojournalist hat on and focuses on the lives of ordinary people at the session, making them extraordinary

"Personally, I'd like to time travel into the past, because like, if I can pick all the right things and all the right times,

like, I can kind of decide the future in my own little way? Yeah, no regrets." - Ciaran

"Yeah, I wouldn't like to travel into the future, because, I don't even know what's gonna happen? I don't like the

element of surprise!" - Maeve

"What have I learned from EYP? Always make sure that your hot water is hot if you're serving coffee. It's important. My advice to delegates: have the craic with it - like the main part of EYP is the people you're around, who are more fun and you can chillout with, inside and out of session, so, make friends, and be happy!" - Andrew

"The easiest way to describe EYP is this 3 extremes : no sleep, a lot of work, plenty of fun." - Jack

"My brother had done it be-fore me and he told me about it and how great it was.That really inspired me to go on and try it all." - Peter

" I was never really chosen as an official for any session and I kinda really applied for all of them." - Yannick

" Today with my committee we met each other, talked a lot and got to know each other." - Chloe

number crunchingIn order to get a better, more proportional picture of what delegates were thinking mid-session, Oisín O Sullivan (IE) has conducted a little survey to get the solid facts of what really made the session

Only 14% of delegates have matching socks on right now

Funnily enough 72.2% of delegates didn't shower this morning

We found that 4% of delegates actually like rich tea biscuits

As I thought, 98%of delegates would like a bouncy castle at the session

It became clear that 65% of delegates think that members of the opposite sex look "well fit" in

formal gear

Surprisingly, 1% of delegates weren't tired in GA

It's hard to believe that 33.3% of delegates are werewolves

By now 45% of delegates have stopped caring about this article

Most importantly 99.992% of delegates think that Oisín has the best hair at the session

I'm sure you've realised by now that 87.484928447% of statistics used by journos

are made up on the spot

but no one wants to play street fighter with me...

PED is a real thing you can diagnose for (ask your local GP or mammy if you don't believe us).

Hugh Whelan (IE) provides the best cures to this affliction

You arrived on Friday afternoon to the hostel not really knowing what to expect, but after a wild three days of team games, committee work, and finally GA, you feel strange going back into the "real" world. PED is definitely a thing: here are the symptoms and how to deal with it.

1. Coffee BreaksYou'll miss the times when you get first pick on the sandwiches for lunch or when you find cookies on the biscuit plate (it's the best feeling). But you definitely won't miss boring ole' rich tea biscuits! Rich Teas that hide among the Custard Creams and pretend to taste equally as nice but in reality, they're boring and they get soggy and drop into your tea/coffee, betraying your trust in the process.

2. The BanterAn outstanding characteristic of EYP sessions is the banter that's had. For example, whom of your 'normal' school friends can you go up to and start singing "Big Fat Pony" with? The embarrassing stories you share, crazy games played...this is stuff you won't find anywhere else, and you'll miss it a lot.

3. The PeopleYou'll miss the officials, the laughs with your Chairs, the games with the Journos, and breaking it down in the disco with the Orgas. But most of all you'll miss your newly made friends. You'll certainly have made invaluable friendships with your fellow committee members, and with the other delegates at the session. The people at EYP are like no-one else you know, and you'll miss those great feelings of hang-ing out with these amazing people all day for 3 days. The best way to deal with missing them is to look back on the funny photos, session videos and other fond memories you have with each other.

you remind me of someone...Connor Dunne (IE) thinks some of the officials can leavetheir day jobs and work as celebrity impersonators. Whatdo you think?

Danny (The Script) &

James De Burca

Troy Bolton (HSM) &

John McGuinness

Sarah Hyland (Modern Family)

&Emma Skelly

Fred (Scooby-Doo) &

Eoin Hennessy

Michael Cera &

Andrew Forde

Zach Galifianakis &

Anthony McKee

the final (final) wordAs it's his last session, we decided to dedicate the last

page as space for the words of the President of the Session, Edward O'Carroll (IE). Lean ar aghaidh, Prez!

After reflecting (and sleeping)over the last few days, a great sadness has come over me. My EYP Ireland adventure has drawn to a close with this session. The taste ofbitter sweet, mixed with pizza and coffee, is still present in my mouth. On one hand the session is over, but on the other hand it could not have gone any better. This was thanks to you guys! Anybody and everybody involved in the weekend was more enthusiastic than I ever could have hoped for, and for that I am grateful. I have been asked on more than one occasion what my highlight has been and I still can't come up with just one. Walking into the hall on Friday evening to see everybody playing "Big Fat Pony" is up there. So too was the dance competiton on Friday night. I loved popping my head into all the committee rooms and recognising everybody who sat there. That is some-thing not every president can boast! I can't talk about favourite moments without talking about the high standard of the resolutions and GA for that matter.I shall leave you guys echoing the words I left you with in my speech. Hold onto the constants, it makes change that little bit less scary! Again I want to thank everybody. I am so happy with the people that started their EYP adventure on the same weekend I ended mine. Yours sincerly,Ed