European Youth Parliament

Last weekend I attended the European Youth Parliament in Athlone. Teenagers from all over the country had come together for a weekend of debating, politics and collaboration. I was part of the committee on International Trade.

We got together on Friday in Athlone where we separated into our committees and began team building games. Within an hour, we knew each other's names. Next, we began to solve a number of puzzles together.

After a 7 hour sleep, we congregated again in the Marist College. We divided into our groups and began to work on our resolutions. Each person in my committee was given a couple of post-it notes and we were told to write down ideas we had that we could put in the resolution. We then discussed the pros and cons of each idea, and ruled a number out. In record time, after much deliberation and far too many tea breaks, we drafted our resolution. The topic of our resolution was about policies that the EU could implement to unite its citizens. It was a very broad topic, so our resolution encompassed solutions to a number of problems - we were proposing a flight card to offer discounts to those working/studying abroad, a standard VAT rate across member states, improved internet infrastructure in the EU and improved teaching of foreign languages.

After drafting the document, we had a vote on who would be presenting it before the General Assembly. I was chosen to make a speech describing the resolution and encouraging people to vote for it.

On Sunday, we gathered together in our suits at General Assembly. I had spent hours the night before writing my speech. Fueled by coffee, I was ready to debate, vote and reject a number of resolutions. I spoke rejecting a number of proposals made by different committees and made a speech against a resolution on cartels in Europe.

Then it was our turn - I had to make my speech. All of our team was on high alert - ready to reject the comments of other committees and encourage people to vote for our resolution. I must admit, much to our surprise - our resolution was passed through GA! We were ecstatic.

At six o'clock on Sunday it was time to go home. We sat through the emotional closing ceremony and exchanged goodbyes with the new friends we had made. It was a great experience. Meeting new people and working with them. I definitely feel that I have improved how I work in a team through attending the EYP. I can't wait to go back in March!

Gael Linn Radio Course

This week I am doing a radio course in Irish. Seeing as I have an interest in radio, I decided to do the Gael Linn broadcasting course. The week-long course is presented through Irish and takes place in the organisation's offices on Dame Street.

Naturally, I was a bit anxious going this on Monday. Meeting new people, learning new things, visiting new places - all in a different language! But my worries were just going astray. I was welcomed into Gael Linn by Martina, who asked me my name and where I was from. I waited till other students arrived and then headed upstairs where I was introduced to Daragh. Daragh was running the course. It was straight down to business, and we were told exactly what to expect over the next five days.

 In the morning, we went through a dictionary of Irish words that related to broadcasting. Daragh told us that this vocabulary would be essential throughout the rest of the week. We talked about different sources of news that newspapers used and watched the TG4 evening news.

After a short break we broke into groups where we wrote a press release.

On Tuesday, we split into groups and prepared our radio shows. We decided to do a show on teenage voting and if 16 year old's should have the right to vote. We then hit the streets and recorded a vox pop as gaeilge.

Wednesday was the day that we recorded our shows. At eleven, we went to the studios of Raidio na Life. Unfortunately, our main anchor presenter was sick. So, just in time, I had to stand in for her. We had a huge job re-writing the scripts and changing features. Nonetheless our show was recorded an hour later.

On Thursday, we started our second project. We started making our short film. We split into new groups and brainstormed. My group decided to make a modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet. We were each assigned characters and we began scripting the film.

Tomorrow, we will record the movie.

East Coast FM - Day 4

Declan with a guest

 I arrived in at 9:30am, just as Declan was getting ready to go on air. Guests were waiting, scripts were prepared and prizes were organised. After the news at ten he went on air. The two hours following were a blur; numerous interviews, phone calls and running in and out to the printer. Declan talked to a man from Focus Ireland about homelessness in Ireland, a local guard about a spate of burglaries in Wicklow and to a science expert about how 3D printing was going to change the world, among other things. After twelve, Claire and Declan discussed the show; what went well, what didn't go so well. It was time for lunch.

The News Room

 After lunch I joined Karen in the newsroom. She presents news daily from 12pm-7pm for East Coast FM and Sunshine 106.8, and for SPIN1038 at the weekend. The national and global stories come from a group of journalists based in Newstalk in Dublin. Around 40 stations across the country pay to take this service. But local/regional stations are required by broadcasting law to allocate a percentage of their bulletins to local stories. Karen was busy selecting which stories she wanted to read and printing each one out. Karen also had to load sound-bytes (audio clips) relating to each story onto the software system. When she had done that, she went into the editing studio to pre-record a bulletin for Sunshine 106.8. Sunshine, Dublin's country license, is owned partly by East Coast FM. As a result, they share some facilities ie. news and sales teams.

The software used to compile the news bulletins

 It was coming up to 2pm, when Karen was going to read her next bulletin. I sat in the studio next to her as she read the news, sport and weather.

 Then it was all thank yous and goodbyes. An excellent week of work experience, where I got to meet new people, learn new skills and . I hope to return to East Coast over the next year to help out!

Thank you to all involved from Diane to Anne, Claire to Declan, Mark to Rob, and everyone else in between!

East Coast FM - Day 3

Laura Wood and Rob G

 Bright and early on Wednesday, I went in to the Radio Center to meet Rob and Laura, presenters of 'Freshly Squeezed'. From 8am, I sat next to them as they presented their award-winning breakfast show. I was amazed at how much they could do ad-lib, and how they presented so naturally. The banter between the duo was so natural, and was definitely not rehearsed - I can confirm this. The pair have worked together for a number of years on the station, yet the show maintains an energy that is unbelievable when one considers that they've been up since 5am. I observed them run competitions, a quiz, play requests and read out the traffic and travel. It was an excellent experience watching two seasoned presenters who are so good at their job.

 Next, I met Claire Darmody. She produces the 'Declan Meehan Show', East Coast's flagship magazine programme. She gets in each morning at seven to prepare for when they go on air at 10. I was immediately struck by this woman's passion for radio. While producing Declan's show on East Coast, she also juggles a job as a producer for the Vincent Brown programme on TV3.
 Declan's show is a mix of guests and chat about topical issues; ranging from light-hearted talking points to politics. Declan was joined by a number of guests including Gavin James, and up-and-coming Dublin singer-songwriter. He performed in studio and talked to Declan.

Declan Meehan with Gavin James

 After the show, I got talking to Declan, who is an Irish radio veteran. We had an enjoyable chat about the Irish radio industry today, and the challenges it faces. I then joined him in studio 2, where he edited out the best bits of the show for a 'best-of' edition broadcast on Saturdays.

 After lunch I joined Tommy Greene. Tommy is East Coast's afternoon jock, and presents weekdays from 12 'till 4. He explained how the studio equipment works and told me about his show. Tommy, who has worked for stations including Today FM, Q102 and Sunshine, expressed his worry about the lack of security in radio - "One day you can have a job, and after a bad JNLR book, you'll be unemployed". This is the attitude taken by some stations in Ireland, but he told me that luckily East Coast FM is not one. Tommy gave me some advice regarding entering the radio industry and how I should be wary of the low salaries and freelance arrangements.

Tommy Greene

East Coast FM - Day 2

 It wasn't long after I came in at 11am that I was sitting in studio 2, alongside Rob G and Laura Wood. The duo present Freshly Squeezed, the station's breakfast show, which runs weekdays from 6-10am. Rob explained to me that he comes in at 6am, but Laura gets to have a lie in and arrives at 7 o'clock. As a result, they pre-record a number of their links for the 6 o'clock hour. I observed them recording their links and programming them into Myriad, the software that they use. After that, I got to chat to Rob about his career in radio; how he got into the industry, how he juggles the two shows he presents (breakfast on East Coast FM and weekends on FM104) and some other geeky questions that I had.

 Next, It was to Rob Diggins. He is the production director of the station. His role is to produce all of the advertisements that are broadcast on air and to create jingles/imaging. We observed Mark Robinson, the Programme Director at the station, record a promo about an outside broadcast which East Coast are holding in Arklow. Mark is new to the station, only taking up the role two months ago. Yet he brings a wealth of experience to the team. The Aussie has worked at stations all around the world and presents a weekly podcast about sports. After he recorded his voice-over, Rob edited it. It was our task to choose a piece of music to be played with the voice-over. After much deliberation, we chose a light-rock track called 'half of double'. The promo was then put together and is currently on air at the station.


 After lunch we returned to the gloomy reality of office life. It was my job to fold and envelope numerous invoices and statements of accounts for Sunshine 106.8, East Coast FM's sister station. A long and painstaking process, we finished with ten minutes to spare. Unfortunately, there was a catch. Sales manager Margaret told us that we had only done a fraction of the work that needed to be done!

Roll on tomorrow....

East Coast FM - Day 1

Just another Manic Monday!

 In the morning, I was greeted by Anne, the receptionist, who said that she had a mountain of paper work for me to do. Anne, true to her word, handed me three large A4 folders and a pile of invoices. Each invoice had a reference number, and my job was to order these reference numbers among the invoices in the folders. Forever trying to be organised and orderly, I dealt with small numbers of invoices at a time, ordering them and piling them up. After about two hours of painstaking work, the task was complete. I could finally breathe a sight of relief.

 After a short lunch, and game of coin toss (of which I am a master), it was time to get back to work. Our job was to erect the Christmas tree in reception. A logistical nightmare, we were confined in a small space, with a large tree. Half an hour later, the Christmas tree was up, but looking quite bare. We found a box of decorations and began to embellish the tree. It was not long before we realised that decorating Christmas trees is not my forte!! - Nonetheless, we got our picture put on East Coast FM's Facebook page to thank us for our hard work!

Onwards and upwards...

DCU Open Day

 At 9:30, we crossed the city to go to the bright and modern DCU campus.

We had read the list of the various lectures on at different times, and chosen the ones we wanted to see. First, it was to what is called the Henry Grattan building. I willingly went inside to the labyrinth of corridors, classrooms and lecture halls. After seeking help from a student, we promptly got to the Law and Politics talk. An interesting lecture, the head of department told us what to expect if doing the degree in DCU; the coursework, job opportunities and class sizes etc.

 Soon it was 11:30, and time for the talk on 'Global Business'. We heard about the great variety on the course, DCU's partner universities around the world. What interested me about this degree was that you spent two years in another country, achieving fluency in the local language, and spending 6 months completing a work placement. Then, it was back to Dublin for two years, where you would study and complete a two year work placement. An interesting degree that has many practical elements to it.

 After lunch in Spar, I split off from the group to pursue my interest in journalism. Unfortunately, I only caught 15 minutes of the lecture, but I learnt a lot. Including the impressive pupils who have passed through the course over the past 30 years. A sample of whom are shown below:

Ardal O'Hanlon

Laura Whitmore

Kevin O'Sullivan