Tag: Journalism

  • Students Turn to SVP To Bridge Gaps in Government College Funding

    Students Turn to SVP To Bridge Gaps in Government College Funding

    Students receiving Government grants are still turning to charitable assistance to meet the costs of university, with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) reporting that its education bursaries support over 2,000 students.

    SVP said its Education and Training bursary fund had provided over €3 million towards expenses including books, laptops, course fees, travel, and accommodation. Individual grants typically range from €500 to €3,000, depending on circumstances and local funding.

    Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) administers the State’s student grant scheme, providing eligible students with support towards fees and living costs. According to its website, SUSI has received over 100,000 applications so far this academic year and awarded funding to over 71,000 students.

    A Trinity College Dublin medical student who receives both SUSI and SVP support, speaking on condition of anonymity, said covering the upfront costs of starting college was difficult.

    “The initial upfront cost is a bit of a shocker; the main challenges I found were buying the education materials like laptops, lab coats, which I needed for the lab, and that wasn’t cheap, and purchasing clothes to wear, because in school you have the safety net of wearing the uniform, but I wouldn’t have had enough normal clothes to wear,” the student said.

    Although the student receives SUSI, they said the timing of payments made expenses particularly challenging. SVP assistance helped them cover these costs. “The SVP stepped in early in my education, but I know people have to drop out of college due to financial difficulties.”

    The student learned about SVP bursaries through their family, which had received assistance since the student was 12. SVP later helped pay for their HPAT preparation through MedEntry.

    HPAT is a standardised admissions exam required for entry into undergraduate medicine in Ireland and other select postgraduate healthcare courses.

    “From the age of 12, they gave us food vouchers regularly, and from that we were on their radar. They helped cover a portion of my MedEntry to help me get into medicine itself,” they said.

    The student described having to work full-time hours alongside their course, which affected their studies and opportunities to participate in college life.

    “I worked until fourth year, and had to leave placements early to go to work, and working every weekend has an impact on your social life and general wellbeing. If I were to keep working, it would undoubtedly negatively affect my grades. I worked more in the past, so I didn’t have to in final med.”

    Ann Cuffe Fitzgerald, who chairs the SVP Higher Education and Training Bursary Committee, said travel, equipment, and accommodation were recurring reasons students sought help. “Accommodation, travel, and tech are our three biggies,” she said.

    Fitzgerald emphasised how some courses bring substantial specialist expenses.

    “When they ask for assistance from us, a lot of it is equipment costs. We had a fellow doing third-year carpentry, and the list of tools he had to buy for his course was nearly 2,000 euros worth.”

    Food costs also remain a concern.

    “I do think food poverty is still an issue for our students. We have always felt you should at least be able to buy a roll and a cup of tea from the canteen with our bursaries,” she said.

    Fitzgerald explained that SVP considers applicants’ individual circumstances alongside their financial needs.

    “We react as quickly as we can. We listen very hard to the circumstances of the individual. The students seeking help from us are mainly those who don’t qualify for SUSI or need extra support beyond SUSI.”

    SVP assistance is organised through local volunteer groups, known as conferences, which can provide ongoing friendship and support to students and their families.

    The Trinity medical student said unexpected household expenses also stretched their college budget, with financial support, work and savings helping them manage.

    SUSI allows reassessment following changes in circumstances, including reduced household income. However, the student and Fitzgerald described financial pressures that persist despite grant support, particularly when course demands limit the capacity to do paid work.

    SUSI and TU Dublin Students’ Union did not respond to requests for comment.

    Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union was also unavailable for interview at this time.

    Academic integrity declaration: I conducted all interviews and reporting for this article.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • From TU Dublin to Amnesia Ibiza: The College Society That Transformed LIA’s Life

    From TU Dublin to Amnesia Ibiza: The College Society That Transformed LIA’s Life

    You’re a 20-year-old third-year film student who has decided to walk alone into a TU Dublin DJ Society event on a whim. You don’t know anyone there, and you don’t know what to expect. You hope you might make a friend or two, or that you’ll get some fun nights out of it.

    What you don’t know is that you have just made what you will describe later as one of the most important decisions of your life.

    Learning to DJ doesn’t come easy to you, and the technical side is difficult, but your love for music prevails, and you keep coming back. You learn from the people around you, practice, and when you don’t understand something, you go home and teach yourself on YouTube.

    Three years later, you’re playing in Amnesia Ibiza, one of the world’s most famous clubs.

    That student was Dublin native Leah O’Riordan, better known as LIA, whose unexpected hobby would change the course of her life.

    Now 23, the Irish DJ has spent the last three summers holding residencies in Ibiza, while her career has taken her far beyond the island. This summer alone brought her debuts in Portugal, Tenerife, Greece, and the UK, a reality her 20-year-old self could hardly have imagined.

    Pictured: Leah O’Riordan playing in Amnesia Ibiza.

    Just a year after she began DJing, O’Riordan was living in Ibiza for a working holiday when she and fellow DJ Society member Viki Dos Santos were offered the chance to play a B2B (back-to-back) set at Eden.

    Pictured: Emmie Finnegan (left), Leah O’Riordan (centre), Viki Dos Santos (right), at TUD DJ Society.

    “I really couldn’t believe my luck,” she said. Still relatively new to DJing, the pair practiced relentlessly, determined to make the most out of an unexpected opportunity, and it paid off. “We practiced and practiced our set so it would be perfect and we would make a good impression, and afterwards we got offered several more gigs at the club.”

    Not long after, Leah was given a residency at Itaca Ibiza, where her skills strengthened considerably.

    “It feels like the place I truly learned how to DJ,” she said. Playing for over five hours multiple times a week gave her the experience and confidence she needed. “It was that winter that things snowballed for me back at home in Ireland.”

    Pictured: Leah O’Riordan playing in Limelight, Belfast.

    Snowball they did. O’Riordan soon found herself playing opening and support slots for major artists such as Kettama before reaching another milestone this summer, when she closed the Smirnoff Stage alongside Viki Dos Santos at Electric Picnic, Ireland’s largest music festival.

    Pictured: Viki Dos Santos (left) & Leah O’Riordan (right) playing at the Smirnoff Stage at Electric Picnic.

    This was particularly poignant for Leah; the pair who began their journey together at TU Dublin were now sharing one of the biggest stages of their careers. “Being trusted to close a massive stage at a festival that big is a whole different ball game and felt like an incredible honour,” she said.

    As her notoriety grows, O’Riordan has become increasingly aware of the different experience that comes with being a young female DJ.

    Leah feels she receives different treatment in the booth due to her gender. “Sometimes in the form of a guy that’s playing after you trying to hop on five minutes early, or in more intimate settings where the dancers are up closer to you, men just coming up too close to me or nearly knock off the music,” she said.

    O’Riordan has also faced suggestions that her success has less to do with her ability and more to do with her being a woman.

    “I have experienced people trying to insinuate that the opportunities I’m receiving are because I’m a woman, and in a way where they didn’t even think that was an outrageous thing to say at all,” she said.

    Leah’s experiences have left her with mixed feelings about being labelled a “female DJ” rather than simply a “DJ”.

    “I understand that historically it has been a male-dominated industry,” she said. “But then I also think, why? Is it a subtle jab of some sort, or is it trying to draw some sort of novelty or spectacle out of the fact that it’s a woman DJing and not a man? I can’t help but feel sometimes it is.”

    Away from the booth, however, the person behind LIA is somewhat quieter.

    “When I am Leah and not LIA, I am a bit more reserved and quiet than I might come across online or playing gigs,” said O’Riordan. “But when I’m comfortable with you, I’m fun, loud and adventurous.”

    Before DJing became her full-time career, Leah already had a passion for creating. O’Riordan holds a first-class honours degree in filmmaking and has written and directed four short films, including award-nominated Water Weight.

    Despite her success, Leah admits that it has not come without pressures.

    “I think the hardest part that people don’t always see is the self-doubt and comparison,” she said. “I really try hard not to compare myself to others because we are all on our own journeys, but it can be tough at times, truthfully.”

    With new music to find, production to learn, sets to prepare, and an online presence to maintain, Leah struggles to switch off. “It can be tough to let yourself rest as it feels like you can always be doing something to better your career.”

    “The goal post is always moving,” she said. “I don’t always get the time to appreciate how far I’ve come because I’m always looking forward.”

    Although much has changed for Leah, she has not forgotten where it all began: TU Dublin’s DJ Society, where she credits the community of friends who pushed her to improve.

    “The community within the DJ society drove me to want to get better every week, and seeing the people around me play inspired me,” she said.

    Pictured: Leah O’Riordan playing in Café Mambo, Ibiza.

    Three years on, the 20-year-old who walked into that first session alone is almost unrecognisable from the DJ now touring Europe and playing some of the world’s most renowned clubs.

    When asked what she would say to her younger self if she could return to that day, she said, “I would tell myself that this moment is ultimately going to change your life.”

     

    All photo credits go to Leah O’Riordan.

     

  • “I Think I’ve Cracked The Code”: How Sophie McQuade Is Keeping Temple Bar Runway Ready

    “I Think I’ve Cracked The Code”: How Sophie McQuade Is Keeping Temple Bar Runway Ready

    Along the cobbled pathway of Fownes Street Upper, tucked into the terraced buildings that face the all-too-tall and modern One Central Plaza, is an array of vintage shops, a product of the McQuade family. The historic building that houses these shops has maintained its roots, still looking unchanged since the sixties, creating a striking contrast with the wannabe Rockefeller Centre opposite. Up the apparel-adorned stairs inside the shop Flip, you will find the vintage haven Sacred Heart of Vintage. Owned and run by twenty-five-year-old Sophie McQuade, Sacred Heart of Vintage is a time capsule where decades of fashion collide, and micro trends are left at the door. Sophie opened the doors of Sacred Heart of Vintage in 2022, and has since turned the shop into a hotspot for vintage fashion enthusiasts and those curious to see what vintage has to offer.

    Sacred Heart of Vintage: Sophie McQuade

    I sat with Sophie in the warmly lit shop embellished with Virgin Mary statues and deer antlers decorating the walls. Just after 6 pm, when she closed the doors and moved mannequins aside, she began to tell me her story.  Sophie was never a stranger to buying and selling vintage fashion; she began her vintage fashion ventures working with her father, who planted his roots in Temple Bar in 1987. She then moved on to be his buyer until finally opening Sacred Heart of Vintage three years ago. Sophie likes to run her show a little differently to her father. “I like to involve my staff a lot; it’s always a team effort. I ask for their advice on clothes or what stock to buy,” she said.

    Sophie also places a major focus on women’s vintage fashion, “like 80% of my stuff is women’s, because there was such a gap in all the other vintage shops, they were selling both men and women’s, but mostly men. Whereas there was no one really selling just women’s, I did kind of take that from my dad, so I think I’ve cracked the code,” Sophie explained with a giggle.

    Growing up in Temple Bar is as unique an experience as any. Before it was the tourist hotspot it is now, Temple Bar was a central hub for the arts, gathering aspiring actors, singers, artists and all those in between with the attraction of cheap rent due to the neglect the area faced prior. In the early 2000’s when Sophie was growing up, Temple Bar had begun its rebrand as the cultural focal point of the city, home to punks, skaters and many other subcultures. “It was such a community, like a meeting point for people who didn’t really fit in. We want to keep that alive between all these mega pubs and big conglomerate restaurants.”

    Her frustration with these changes is tangible. The community was serviced by Flip vintage store along with its accompanying shops by providing fashion that was conducive to each individual’s stylistic desires. Sophie strongly expresses how she wants to continue this. “It’s a shop where people can go, ‘Oh well, I don’t really like that shop’, but this shop, my shop, it kind of has something to suit everyone.”

    Sacred Heart of Vintage: Sophie McQuade

    Sophie is no stranger to the limelight; Sacred Heart of Vintage is a staple in Dublin vintage shopping, and the proof is in the many articles that make this point. In 2025, Sacred Heart of Vintage was named by Vogue magazine as one of Dublin’s best vintage stores, with news editor Anna Cafolla hailing its unique decor and varied collection of attire. I asked Sophie how it felt to be trophied in the fashion bible; her face lit up as she explained, “it kind of reinforced this thing of like I’m doing something right. Which was really a really nice feeling, but it’s one of my like greatest accomplishments.”

    Sophie is a major advocate for supporting local. She mentioned it many times throughout our conversation, and the recent rise in demand for vintage and sustainable fashion has accelerated this. As fashion fanatics become more educated on the environmental impact of fast fashion and start to despise the cyclical nature of micro-trends, more people are turning to vintage fashion for an answer. “I think it definitely has created a new kind of lease of life. It’s more popular with, you know, people that when I was younger would have thought it was really strange to wear old clothes, and because it’s gotten so popular, it’s seen as a really cool kind of trendy thing. I really like it.” She’s not worried about the future of vintage fashion, but is passionate about the motivation behind it: “at the minute, it’s very kind of environmental. I think there will be a bit of a push towards shopping small and shopping local. I hope.”

    Sacred Heart of Vintage: Sophie McQuade

    At the age of 25, Sophie is single-handedly running and managing her own business, a role she took on at 22. Without having studied business or been taught how to build and run one, Sophie was thrown into the deep end when she took over Sacred Heart of Vintage from her father. The inner workings of running the business that go unnoticed by most are often the most rigorous tasks. Sophie explained to me the ins and outs of her buying trips. “I go over to our lovely suppliers who I have an amazing relationship with, who are also a small family business, and I’ll look through hundreds of tons of clothes in the space of maybe three days. I’m looking for quality, I’m looking if there’s rips in it, I’m looking to see if it’s missing buttons, broken zippers, all those details.” Counting on her fingers, she details the quantities she’s picking up: “I’m buying between 800 and 1000, sometimes 1500 kilos at a time.” Sacred Heart of Vintage is a curated vintage shop, meaning each and every item you see in the shop has been handpicked by Sophie and her staff on buying trips.

    Before we said our goodbyes, Sophie added that she is “beyond grateful” for her business. “I have met the most amazing people in this industry. Every day there is something new, whether it’s a challenge or triumph. Either way, I think me and my team we all are so lucky to get to continue learning new lessons every day.” Sacred Heart of Vintage is a testament to Sophie’s passion for vintage fashion and relentless courage to run a business at such a young age.