UL ARCHERY INTERVARSITY FINALS

  On April 13th, the University of Limerick Archery Club hosted the finals of the Irish Student Archery Association’s Intervarsity League. The event was held in the UL Arena, making it the biggest intervarsity ever held. The success of the day was largely due to the hard work...

Student Union Sabbatical Hustings

  Hustings for Student Union Sabbatical elections took place last night (Wednesday 13th, March) to give each candidate a chance to convince the packed KBG12 why they deserve their vote. The event was chaired by Darragh Roche who, along with his trusty bell, gave order to the pr...

Candidates for the SU Sabbatical Elections 2013

It's election time again and here at An Focal we're making sure that you get all the information you need to make an informed vote. Below we have the names of each candidate along with the position they are running for and a link to their campaign pages. Make sure to take a look and re...

Motorsport on our doorstep

Ireland's motorsport pedigree has been a wave of inconsistency over the past century. From early days, high calibre events such as the Gordon Bennett race and the Circuit of Ireland have attracted an international crowd and aesthetically, Ireland has proved to be a majestic location fo...

First Name On The Teamsheet: Michael Carrick

  SINCE his transfer to Manchester United seven years ago, Michael Carrick became a name associated with groans and complaints and was often seen as the typical overpriced and overpaid English footballer. Frequently viewed as a player who failed to live up to expectation and as...

The Super Mario Pendulum

  Football is full of superlatives and some age old adages. But we need to look further afield to search for a fitting definition to illustrate the unstable pendulum that is Mario Balotelli. Many talented players go through a career at the highest level with a certain amount of...

Erasmus Diary: Lads, Who Turned Off the Heat?

The weather in Malta has finally taken a turn. My shorts have been resigned to the back of the wardrobe and I’m now battling through the rain on my walk to college in jeans and hoodies! I will admit though, that the first time it rained properly here, with the rain bouncing off the groun...

Venice: Create A New Definition Of Yourself

A holiday in a holiday, how is that for inception? Well it is what I have been up to here in Italy in the last couple of weeks. With a few euros saved, a backpack loaded with clothes and some good intentions to catch up on the notes I would miss, I headed south from Venice for Naples and R...

Erasmus in Canada: Hoping for a White Christmas

Studying in Canada is a really good experience. I can safely say I will never regret making this decision. Like most trips abroad it was filled with highs and lows. But, for anyone still deciding on where to go on Erasmus, Mount Allison and Canada have two thumbs up from me. It’s a st...

Life & Style Editorial

ITS NOT often I would want to write something myself in An Focal, I like to leave the Life & Style pages as a canvas for all of you to voice your opinions on everything from fashion to sex, cookery to relationships. But my two years as an editor for An Focal have come to an end and...

The Dangers of Dianette

DESPITE the current year we live in, and the medical marvels that have come our way, the majority of womankind is still skeptical of birth control pills and the side effects that come with them. They hesitate before going on specific forms of contraception, weighing up the possible ...

Sweatshops: Are There Pros And Cons?

THE ISSUE of sweatshops being run by large global companies such as Zara and Nike isn’t as black and white as you may think. The first image that comes to mind when the sweatshop topic is brought into conversation is workers cramped into a small factory with no heating or air conditi...

Halloween Madness: The Big Trad Train Live in Dola

In the 1970, the world was hit by a wonderful new sensation called SOUL TRAIN! This gave start to some of the best performers of Soul, Rhythm and Blues music. It also led to the creation of some of the most inspiring and best written songs in modern music history, songs that still insp...

Charlie Bird To Debate with UL Students on Thursda

UL Debating Union and UL Development Society will jointly host a debate on Humanitarian Intervention in the Jonathan Swift Theatre (B1023) on Thursday, 11 October at 7.30pm. Former RTE war correspondent Charlie Bird is just one of the guest speakers attending. He has reported on both G...

The University’s radio station, ULFM, has begun its second year as official broadcasting started last week. Over 150 students and non-students applied for a slot on the online radio station. Around 50 shows of all genres, from specialist music to specialist talk. The ULFM Developme...

A Student Voice!

This year has been an interesting one in terms of media outlets in Ireland. The question of censorship is one that has been brought up by several incidents in recent weeks and it’s interesting to read about the various attitudes towards what can and can’t be published, whether in a...

A Common and Treatable Illness

  Imagine your friend breaks out in a rash. They go through feverish periods of restlessness and can’t sleep, they lose their appetite and can’t eat. They find it difficult to concentrate. They feel too ill to leave their bed or to complete the various tasks of everyday lif...

“I’m Hungarian, not Spanish!” - Diary of a G

A sentence I had to say many, many times since I’m here, in Ireland: “I’m Hungarian, not Spanish!” Not that I’m offended by the assumption, but after a while I do feel exhausted explaining that despite my appearance I am not from Spain. Or Italy. Or Portugal. On the other hand, b...