Arsenal were founded in 1886 at the Woolwich Factory in London, and I have been supporting them all my life. The transformation in the last 8 years have been astonishing. Since his arrival, Arsene Wenger has turned Arsenal into a new, swift counter-attacking team, with great speed and accurate short passing. My favourite players, as you can see from the pictures above, are Robert Pires, for his style and pinpoint passing, Freddy Ljungberg, for his technical ability and his never give up attitude, and Thiery Henry, for his sheer all-round skill and his sniper like accuracy in front of goal.
I try to watch as many games as I can during the season, and I've also been to Highbury on a few occasions. After last seasons dethroning from Chelsea, Arsenal and its fans are now ebven more determined to win the back the English Premiership crown, and win the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever.
Kendo is the Japanese martial art of the Sword. It is practised using a bamboo sword, called a shinai, and protective gear. UCC Kendo Club was founded by Peter Sheriff, 3rd Dan, in 1999. The club is now lead by Vincent Long, 2nd Dan, who has also captained the Irish National Kendo team for the last four European Championships, and World Championships. The club is also known as Soseki, meaning Foundation Stone, as it was one of the first Kendo clubs created in Ireland.
The shinai represents the sword of a Samurai. We wear protective gear known as bogu to protect ourselves from injury. The valid strike points include: the Head(Men); the Throat(Tsuki); the Hands(Kote); and The Stomach(Do). We train twice a week in the U.C.C Mardyke Arena, and last year I fought with the Irish National team in the European Championships, which were held in my hometown of Cork City.
| Top 5 Bands | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1.The Strokes | Is This It | Someday |
| 2.Maximo Park | A Certain Trigger | Limassol |
| 3.Bloc Party | Silent Alarm | Price Of Gas |
| 4.Razorlight | Up All Night | Stumble & Fall |
| 5.Bob Dylan | Greatest Hits | All Along The Watchtower |
In at Number 1, The Strokes are my favourite band. I picked up their first album back in 1999, and since then they've gone on to be one of the biggest Rock & Roll bands in the world. I've seen The Strokes live twice, and both performances were absolutely amazing!
| Top 5 Films | Year | Lead Actors |
|---|---|---|
| 1.The Last Samurai | 2003 | Tom Cruise |
| 2.The Boondock Saints | 2001 | Patrick Flannery |
| 3.Dead Mans Shoes | 2004 | Paddy Considine |
| 4.The Matrix Reloaded | 2003 | Keanu Reeves |
| 5.The Fast And The Furious | 2001 | Paul Walker |
From my 5 years spent in an All-Irish Secondary School, I have acquired an impressive understansing of the Irish language. As a result of this time, and of class weekends in the Gaeltacht, I have become a fluent speaker of the Irish language, and enjoy talking in Irish to friends now and then. It truly is a shame that our native language has become so defunct in the last hundred years. But there is a silver lining - since the introduction of the Irish channel, TG4, the number of young Irish speakers is on the rise in Ireland. This bodes well for the languages' future. From my time in school, I have also become a useful speaker of conversational French. I enjoy being able to speak a little French, as it is the language of love!
