“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen” – Vladimir Lenin. You could associate that quote with any number of weeks over the past year or so but I was particularly reminded of it over the past fortnight. The past week in global politics will take their place in the…

A few issues back, I made somewhat of a promise that Byline would be a Covid-free publication for the 2020-21 academic year. As you will find out if you choose to keep reading, I am about to blatantly break that promise, and wanted to give you the option of skipping over this week’s Editorial if…

By the time this paper goes to print, we will be 1 week into 6 at Level 5—now exhausted by Heaney quotes and seanfhocails, no longer moved by “if we winter this out, we can summer anywhere” because we are wintering right where we summered: lockdown. We need to be here, and it’s both bizarre…

This is a crucial question to ask; are you okay? This is normally the space where I would write my five-hundred words of thoughts that have struck me throughout the past fortnight. Instead, this week I would like to begin by reflecting and remembering a fellow UCC student who has parted company with us this…

I think that the Byline covers are extremely important; in fact, superficial as it may sound to some, I think the cover is one of the most important elements of our publication. The reasons I feel this way are certainly rooted in my own experience as a reader of Byline over the past number of…

In this issue, the News Section seems fixated on Freshers’ Week in a time of COVID-19—from UCC’s own virtual Freshers’ and accompanying fines, to NUIG students’ viral flouting of health guidelines and how still, some students are left behind in the digital divide. It’s not an accident that so many of our stories this issue…

The impact of the dark mornings are starting to become a regular part of my day once again. Waking to my alarm at 6am each morning I often wonder where did the bright mornings go and why all of a sudden am I faced with the prospect of waking up to be greeted by a…

As I begin writing this Editorial, the 2020 Freshers issue of the Express is already behind us, but there is a certain feeling in the air that things are still waiting to begin. For most of you reading this, the Express’ seeming obsession with Freshers issue probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, so…

There are times where all I have to do is think of a certain object, of a certain location or subject, and they will appear through the ads on my Instagram feed. I can never decide which explanation for this is more unsettling: that my phone is listening to me, or the algorithm knows me…

I had hoped that you would be reading a physical paper for this issue but, yet again, Covid-19 has dealt us a hand of cards that has forced us to adapt to the situation. The first print run usually marks the beginning of the student media year, but this year it was going to mark…