SEDA gains ACELS quality markSEDA Academy has been recognised with Ireland’s top quality certi� cate for English language schools.

SEDA sta� had something to celebrate last month – and it wasn’t just St Patrick’s Day. � e

school was awarded ACELS – Ireland’s top quality mark for English language providers.

� e ACELS certi� cate means that Ireland’s Department of Education and Skills gave SEDA a special authoriza-tion to teach English to foreign students

in Ireland. It also proves that all SEDA Academy courses have a high educa-tional standard and that the school takes good care of the welfare and safety of its students. According to the ACELS web-site, just 103 English language schools in Ireland are recognised with this cer-ti� cate. “It’s a huge achievement for our school,” said Carol Cregg, SEDA’s direc-tor of studies.

� e certi� cate was awarded by � e National Quali� cations Authority of Ireland a� er a rigorous inspection pro-cess. O� cials from the Authority visit-ed the school to assess the general man-agement and administration, teaching performance and student welfare. � ey also considered the premises, facilities and resources available to students.

Continued on page 3

Issue 5, April 2012. Copyright: Skills & Enterprise Development Academy

SEDA students had a great St Patrick’s Day in Dublin. Check out more photos on pages 10 & 11. Pic by Lara Chaer.

SPORTS

TRIP

INTERVIEW

OUTSIDE

Irish martial arts champion is from

SEDA!

Our students travel to Galway and

Northern Ireland

LIVING

SEDA Director of Studies, Carol

Cregg

Starting work in Ireland: registering

for tax

100 years since the Titanic

disaster

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 7

Page 8

2 NEWS

I hope everybody enjoyed the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. � e pa-rade in Dublin was very impressive, yet again, with all of the wonderful � oats and it was great to see so many people in the city relaxing and enjoy-ing themselves. I saw some pictures of our students on facebook: everyone was dressed in green and looking really cool. We were lucky that we had a nice sunny day with only a few showers.

As soon as one party � nishes, an-other begins. Easter Sunday falls on the 8th of April this year, and there will be no classes from the 12th to the 14th of April. Chocolate eggs and hot cross buns are traditional Easter foods in Ireland, so I suggest you try them out. Don’t forget that the 11th of April is a public holiday, so the school (and many shops in Dublin) will be closed.

We’ve just had our level test here

at the school for our lower levels, so a big congratulations to those of you who changed level this week. Every-one should feel proud of their achieve-ment. I hope that everyone continues their hard work in the new term. Since many of you will be beginning a new book this month, this is a good time to remind you all that you can buy all of the class books from me in my o� ce. At only €25 or €30, it’s great value for your three month course, and of course it’s a good way to make sure you don’t lose your work.

Also this term we’ve got some ex-citing tours coming up – one to Glen-dalough and one to Cork. Keep an eye on the notice board or on the mySEDA facebook page for more details if you want to go somewhere fun with your classmates. As ever, keep your stories, ideas, articles and photos coming to news@seda.ie. Happy Easter!

Carol’s ChronicleIreland woos South American students

Students from South America are well-represented in SEDA and in or-der to encourage more people from countries like Brazil and Venezuela to study in Ireland the school’s man-agement team went out to a series of student fairs last month. SEDA vis-ited 7 cities in Brazil, including Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Recife, and also made it to Venezuela.

Six Irish colleges, including SEDA, took part in the biggest of these fairs, which was held in Sao Paulo. Govern-ment agencies like Education Ireland and Enterprise Ireland were also on hand at the event, and Ireland’s am-bassador to Brazil, Frank Sheridan, came down to meet and greet the Irish mission.

However, despite the increased ef-forts to attract more South American students, Ireland remains a relatively little-known country for most Brazil-ians, who prefer to study in the likes of Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

“These countries have had a lot of publicity in Brazil for the past 10 to 20 years,” said Tiago Mascarenhas, one of SEDA’s representatives at the fairs. “A lot of agencies in Brazil are promoting them. But there is very little informa-tion out there about Ireland. Many

people have no idea that courses here cost much cheaper than in England, though the quality is the same. It’s ac-tually cheaper to learn English in Ire-land than it is in Brazil”.

Tiago said he was happy to meet SEDA alumni in the cities he visited. Most of them were successful and have gained better prospects thanks to their knowledge of English and the educa-tion they got in Ireland, He added:

“A lot of them remember their time here very fondly and they are telling me they want to go back to Ireland for holidays”.

SEDA’s promotional activities in South America are far from over. Al-ready in May there are plans for an-other trip – this time to Chile and Co-lombia. So get ready to welcome some new classmates!

Representatives from SEDA and other Irish colleges took part in a series of student fairs in Brazil and Venezuela. Next month SEDA is going to Chile and Colombia.

SEDA News, copyright: Skills & Enterprise Development Academy (SEDA). EDITOR AND LAYOUT: Viktor Posudnevsky. FINAL REVIEW: Carol Cregg. CIRCULATION: 1 000 copies. ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL: news@seda.ie

3NEWS

Irish martial arts champ is a SEDA student!

From page 1

“We’ve been working very hard to get this accreditation for the past 18 months”, said Carol. “We’re a new school that’s only been around for 2 and a half years. Having ACELS will make it a lot easier for us to attract more students

from abroad. When foreign students look our school up on the internet they will see that we have this quality mark, which is reassuring for them”.

In many countries, including China, stu-dents can only obtain a visa to Ireland if their school has ACELS. � erefore get-

ting this accreditation will help SEDA attract students from all over the world.For current SEDA students nothing much will change in the short term, but in 3 to 9 months the school is planning to introduce new courses. Because it has ACELS, SEDA is now fully authorized to run Cambridge exams courses, includ-

ing IELTS preparation, for international students.

“We have the quality mark now, but the truth is we have been providing this quality for a long time”, said Carol. “We just hope to continue improving bit by bit”.

Well done to our fellow student Jorge Santos who became the Irish champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) last month!

SEDA student and martial arts expert Jorge Santos was crowned Irish BJJ champion last month. � e Brazilian black belt holder won the Irish Open BJJ tournament which took place in Dublin on March 10. Fighting against another black belt athlete, Jorge started with a score of 0:4, but was able to turn the match around achieving the score of 4:8. He � nished the contest on the

8th minute a� er performing a hold called Kata-Gatame on his opponent. Jorge Santos has said that his next ob-jective is getting ready for a mixed mar-tial arts (MMA) tournament, which will take place in Dublin on May 19. In January this year Jorge merged his old team Legion BJJ with the team Lu-can MMA to form Ryochin BJJ. Jorge Santos extended his deepest gratitude to SEDA Academy and Safe Transfer who supported and sponsored him along the way.

If you want to support Jorge in the upcoming competition, are inter-ested in mixed martial arts or want to train with Jorge and his team you can log onto his website www.mmalucan.com, access his Face-book page http://www.facebook.com/JorgeSantosBJJ or call him on 0873568115.

In his own words:“My name is Jorge Santos and I am 31. I was born in Porto Alegre in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on March 20, 1981. I started training in Jiu Jitsu in 2001. My � rst team was called Aliance Jiu Jitsu Porto Alegre and my � rst teacher was Luis Fer-nando Dall’ Agnol. In 2005 I went over to Pro Fight Team and started training with my current instruc-tor Luis Antonio Guedes. Later I spent some time training with the team Chute Boxe Porto Alegre and

now I am a member of a team called Gracie Humita Porto Alegre. I was awarded the blue belt in 2007, the red belt in 2008, the brown belt in 2010 and I gained the black belt in 2011. I took part in many martial arts championships and have won 11 of them, including IBJJF South American championship. I became vice-champion in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu sem Kimono championship or-ganized by CBJJ. In 2012 I became the Irish Brazilian Jiu Jitsu cham-pion”.

Jorge after winning the Irish BJJ Open 2012 last month.

By Cintia Camargo

What is Jiu Jitsu?Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a self de-fense system that focuses on grap-pling and ground � ghting. BJJ is commonly used in mixed martial arts competitions such as UFC. Bra-zilian Jiu Jitsu is now widely prac-ticed around the world, with many schools and clubs established in Ire-land. � e Irish Brazilian Jiu Jitsu As-sociation was formed in 2010.

Don’t mess with this guy... Jorge Santos is a martial arts ex-pert from Brazil and he studies in SEDA.

SEDA gains ACELS quality mark

4 NEWS

SEDA students travel to Galway and Northern Ireland� is year SEDA students have made two trips around Ireland and got to know some of the country’s top tourist attrac-tions. In January a group of 41 students went to the West of Ireland and in Feb-ruary 25 SEDA students visited North-ern Ireland. Both trips lasted just a day, but the students got to know some of Ireland’s most spectacular sights such as

Cli� s of Moher and Giant’s Causeway. � is month the school is organizing more trips – there are plans for a tour of Glendalough, a charming mountain village in county Wicklow, and a visit to Cork, which is sometimes called Ire-land’s Southern capital. � e provisional price for these trips is just €30.“A lot of students who come to Ireland

from overseas want to travel around Europe to get to know places like France and Italy, but, unfor-tunately, many of them don’t know how beautiful Ire-land is,” said Rodrigo Cassemiro who is organizing the trips. “So we decided to bring them to Ireland’s main tourist at-tractions: Belfast and Giant’s Causeway, Galway and the Cli� s of Moher, Ring of

Kerry, Kilkenny, Wicklow... � ese plac-es are so gorgeous. It would be a shame if students came to Ireland and never visited them”.� e trips also encourage students to

make friends among them-selves as they share their stories and experience. � e students also learn to com-municate in English, unless too many of them are from the same country!

If you want to take part in one of SEDA’s upcoming tours ask at the reception or ring Rodrigo “Rodri-gats” Cassemiro: 087 3522986.

Tours around Ireland, which are organised by SEDA, are a great way to get to know the country and make friends with your fellow students.

People of 196 nationalities have made Ireland their home, according to latest data from Census 2011. Overall 12% of people living in Ireland are non-Irish. � e largest foreign national group are immigrants from Poland. � e Polish community has almost doubled in size since 2006 and now numbers 122 585 people. Other large groups include people from the UK (112 259), Lithuania (36 683), Latvia (20 593) and Nigeria (17 642). � e number of Brazilian nationals in Ireland has almost doubled in the last � ve years and now stands at 8 704.

� e Census also showed that 11% of Irish residents spoke a language other than English at home. Not surprisingly, the most common language in Ireland a� er English is now Polish – some 119 526 people speak it at home. Also popular are French, Lithuanian, German, Spanish and Russian. Most im-migrants (48%) have said they could speak English very well. Hungarians, Lithuanians, Latvians and Poles had the highest percent-age of people who said they could not speak English well. For example, 30% of Lithu-anians indicated that they spoke English not well or not at all.

Ireland is home to 196 nationalities

5INTERVIEW

• In Catholic tradition, which is ob-served by many Irish people, preparations for Easter begin 40 days before the actual holiday. � is period is called Lent. During Lent people are required to give up some-thing that they enjoy – such as their favour-ite food, sweets, alcohol, cigarettes or even watching TV. � is is done as an act of pen-ance.

• Th e Friday before Easter is known as Good Friday, the day when Jesus Christ died. It is a bank holiday in Ireland so banks, schools and many businesses are closed. All the pubs and nightclubs are also closed and you can’t buy a drop of alcohol on Good Friday as shops are forbidden to sell it! So if you’re not religious stock up on some booze beforehand.

• Easter Sunday is a day of celebra-tion as Lent is over and the pubs are open! � ere are usually many events, such as fairs, horse races and festivals held during the Easter weekend.Many pubs are busy as the following Mon-day is a bank holiday as well so nobody has to worry about getting up early!

• Easter Sunday in Ireland is also a day to commemorate the Easter Rising of 1916 (if you haven’t heard about it watch the � lm Michael Collins). A formal ceremony to honor the rebels will be held in front of the GPO in Dublin’s O’Connell Street at noon on Easter Sunday. � e ceremony is usu-ally attended by the President of Ireland and many high ranking o� cials.

Where are you from?I’m from Swords in county Dublin.

It’s a big town just beside the airport. Maybe that’s why I enjoy travelling so much.

Tell me a bit about yourself and how did you start working in SEDA?

I studied communications in DCU. A� er that I did a Masters degree in English with Creative Writing in St Andrew’s in Scotland. I really enjoyed my time there and met a lot of inter-esting people. � en I did digital editing for a year or two and then I decided to do something a bit di� erent so I took a course in English teaching. � at was in 2004 and in 2005 I started working in an English language school in St Ste-phens’ Green. A� er teaching English to mostly Chinese students for several months I was promoted to assistant director of studies. I had a great time there!

But in 2007 I decided I‘d had enough of Ireland as the winter was very wet and cold. I decided I wanted to see the world and moved to Spain. I lived in Valencia for 3 years teaching English

to children and company sta� . I really enjoyed that, it was an amazing way to meet people from all walks of life. Af-ter that I got back to Ireland and got a job in SEDA. In all the time I’ve worked here I’ve been trying to improve the quality of the school and the standard of services that we provide to students.

What do you do when you’re not teaching?

My big passion is writing. I write a lot of � ction, for example short stories. I also really like travelling. I’ve been to USA a couple of times, visited Canada. I also travelled around Europe a lot. When I was a student I had a summer job in Germany in a jam factory – that was fun! I also spend a lot of my time reading.

Do you publish your writing any-where?

I’m working on it!

What languages do you speak?English and Irish – I used to be

completely � uent in Irish, but now it’s a bit rusty. I also speak � uent Span-

ish and Ger-man and can u n d e r s t a n d P o r t u g u e s e . � e more lan-guages you know, the eas-ier it gets. At the moment I’m learning French.

What kind of food do you like?

I’m a veg-etarian, but not a very healthy vegetar-ian! I also like pizza and Italian food in general.

What music are you into?Traditional Irish, American folk

music – Woodie Guthrie, that sort of thing. I also love jazz.

What are your favourite places for go-ing out in Dublin?

� ere’s a little pub on Capel Street called McNeil’s, they have traditional

music every night. � at would prob-ably be my favourite.

I like what we call in Ireland the old man’s pub: � e Long Hall, Stag’s Head, Neary’s, Kehoe’s... � ese pubs don’t have loud music on, but are noisy be-cause of the sound of people talking. So you don’t feel you have to be quiet and whisper everything, but at the same time you’re not shouting over music.

� e perfect night for me would be when you go to a pub like that for a couple of hours and a� er that you go somewhere with a bit of music...

Know your teacherIn every issue of SEDA News we will interview a member of the school’s staff so you could get to know them better. This month we got hold of CAROL CREGG, SEDA’s director of studies.

Happy Easter!SEDA News introduces you to some Irish Easter traditions.

6

My year in Ireland

Want your story in SEDA News?

Contact us on news@seda.ie

SEDA student and employee RODRIGO CASSEMIRO shares his story of studying in Ireland for one year, going to Brazil for a fabulous holiday and... deciding to go back to live in Dublin.

� e language is ac-tually the smallest

of lessons that you learn in this huge univer-sity of life that is called studying abroad.

A year has passed since I arrived on the Emerald Isle, in the cold and gray month of January, with a million ques-tions and millions more uncertainties in my mind. Ireland seemed beautiful, di� erent and SO VERY COLD! But it is precisely the cold – seeing people in their winter jackets and scarves walking in the street – that gave me this wonder-ful feeling of being in Europe, on the other side of the world.

I had no problems at school. Carlos Rua greeted me on my � rst day, showed me around and answered all my ques-tions. � e � rst six months in SEDA were really important because my English wasn’t enough to make friends. It was in SEDA that I learned grammar and some

invaluable slang words. I also got used to the sound of the Irish accent, which isn’t all that di� cult as some people think.

PPS number, bank account, GNIB card... within a week I was all set to live in Ireland. Finding a job was more dif-� cult. For some time I worked in a pub as a � oor sta� and distributed Metro Herald newspapers. But it was SEDA that gave me a great opportunity to ful-� ll my goals. From organising student trips to working as a receptionist, the eleven months I spent at SEDA helped me develop professionally and allowed me to earn money for travelling around Europe. It also made the days I spent in Dublin some of the best days in my life. � e only drawback of working here is seeing students go away, the moment of “goodbye” still upsets me greatly...

One thing I can say about studying in another country is that it is a very in-tense experience. Your � atmate is o� en your best friend, companion and con� -dant and your lover is almost like your wife or husband. A� er living with some-one for just three months, they become your family. And I think few will disa-gree that with all the beautiful men and women here from all over the world, heartbreaks pass much faster – while drowning your sorrows in Dicey’s you can already meet a new guy or gal...

A� er ten months of this life of love, culture, illusions and reality shock, doubts began to arise in my head wheth-er to renew my course or not. Should I continue with this life of Cinderella when one hour you’re a prince, doing everything you ever wanted to do, and the other you’re cleaning the � oor in Tesco or mopping spilled drink in some pub so you can spend the weekend in Ibiza! In the end I chose to renew, but like any self-respecting Brazilian I de-cided to go home for a holiday � rst.

I cannot tell you when I felt worst butter� ies in my stomach – when I � rst came to Dublin or before my trip back to Brazil. It was not only the fear of � y-ing (yes, I hate � ying!), but the thrill of seeing my family, friends, city and eve-rything that I was used to for twenty-three years.

When the glass door of the arriv-als hall opened I saw my mother, blond and beautiful, and my father. We cried, hugged and kissed and I felt an emotion impossible to describe... and in the mid-dle of all this I said “I LOVE YOU” in

English, but they understood.My mother asked me millions of

questions about everything and the drive to my favourite pizzeria in Bela Vista seemed like 5 minutes. We were passing cars, motorcycles, beggars, ex-treme poverty and extreme wealth, tall buildings of glass and steel, people smil-ing in 26-degree heat. � e night was beautiful – no clouds and a moon that shone like the sun.

Seeing my family, hugging my broth-er, saying hello to dear grandparents, uncles and aunts made me feel very special. I went to many parties, barbe-cues, restaurants and had a strange feel-ing that everything was new, like I was a tourist. Everything seemed beautiful and di� erent, almost without fault. A wonderful country with beautiful peo-ple of all races, colours, traditions and styles.

However, soon reality struck. I be-gan to see that my friends remained the same, with the same thoughts. I saw that people did not care about culture or books and instead of saving their money to travel or study, they spent everything on designer clothes and parties. I knew then that my holiday was over, but my friends couldn’t understand. Why did I want to live in a cold, foreign country? How was this possible?!

� e answer is simple. I wanted to try

something new and di� erent because I felt that my life in Brazil was too small for me and my dreams. Doing what I don’t like has always brought me to a personal hell, so I made a promise to myself to not let the dreams of others be part of my life. My biggest goal was liv-ing my own life and my biggest hero was myself.

People have asked me: what’s so im-portant about learning English? But the language is actually the smallest of les-sons that you learn in this huge univer-sity of life that is called studying abroad.

Saying goodbye to my family was the most di� cult part. � e three of us hugged and cried and I was feeling homesickness, excitement, pressure and love for my dear parents all at once. As I le� for the plane my mum said “I LOVE YOU” in English, and I smiled and blew her a kiss from the distance. � e plane was taking me to my new life and I was happy with the choice I had made.

”

“Rodrigo at his desk in SEDA

Rodrigo Cassemiro spent a fantastic holiday with his family in Brazil, but decided to go back to Dublin and continue his studies.

YOUR STORY

7

What do I need to do?Your new employer must deduct tax

from your pay under the PAYE (pay as you earn) system. To make sure that your tax is properly dealt with from the start and that your employer deducts the right amount of tax from your pay you should do two things:

1) Give your employer your PPS No. (Personal and Public Service Number). He/she will then let the tax o� ce (Revenue) know that you have started work.

2) Apply for a certi� cate of tax credits by completing Form 12A (Application for a Certi� cate of Tax Credits and Standard Rate Cut-O� Point) and sending it to the tax of-� ce. Ask your employer for a form 12A. Your employer will tell you to which tax o� ce the completed form 12A should be sent (or he/she will send it for you). If your employer does not have a form 12A, you can get one from any tax o� ce, or call: 1890 30 67 06.

Ideally, you should do all this as soon as you accept an o� er of a job - even if it is only part-time or holiday employment. � is will

give your employer and the tax o� ce time to get things sorted out before your � rst pay-day.

What happens next?Your tax o� ce will send you a Certi� cate

of Tax Credits and Standard Rate Cut-O� Point, which sets out in detail the amount of tax credits due to you. � e tax o� ce will also send a Certi� cate of Tax Credits and Stand-ard Rate Cut-O� Point to your employer which shows the total amount of your tax credits.

What are tax credits?Tax credits reduce the amount of income

tax that you have to pay. Your gross tax is calculated depending on your income. Tax credits are then deducted from the gross tax to give the amount of tax that you have to pay.

What do I have to pay tax on?Tax is payable on earnings of all kinds

that result from your employment. Pay that you receive through working extra hours

(overtime), bonuses etc., is included as part of your taxable pay for that week or month.

What is Emergency tax?If your employer has not received either

a:

Certi� cate of tax credits from the tax of-� ce or,

Form P45 (parts 2 and 3) from you, in respect of your previous employment,

� en your employer will be obliged to deduct tax on an emergency basis when paying your wages or salary. � is means that they will deduct a very high amount of tax. � erefore it makes sense to avoid the emer-gency basis by following the simple steps outlined earlier when you start work in Ire-land.

What to do if you are starting a second job?

If you choose to take on a second job, your � rst employer will already have in-structions from the tax o� ce to give you all the tax credits to which you are entitled

against your pay. Unless you advise your District Tax O� ce to issue new certi� cates, one to each employer, dividing the tax cred-its and standard rate cut-o� point between the two jobs, your new employer (that is, in your second job) will operate your pay on an emergency tax basis. In order to avoid this contact your local Revenue o� ce and advise them that you have started another job.

Revenue Dublin City Centre o� ce is located at 9/15 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1. � ere is an informa-tion service Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (excluding Public Holidays). Or you can contact the of-� ce by phone: 1890 333 425.

� ousands of people every year are forced to seek help because their landlord has failed to return their rent deposit. Before you pay a deposit to your landlord consider these tips from � reshold, Ireland’s national housing organisation that provides advocacy and support to tenants.

1. Only hand over money when you’re happy with the accommodation. Always get a receipt.

2. All rent and bill payments must by law be recorded either in your rent book or by receipt if you have a lease (letting agreement).

3. Your landlord must give you a list of all furniture and appliances provided. � e � reshold rent book provides space to note these items and their condition.

4. Take photographs of every room including any damaged items when you move in. Ask your landlord to sign and date them.

5. Look a� er your accommodation and promptly inform your landlord if any repairs are needed. Allow the land-lord access to make repairs.

6. Give appropriate notice when you are leaving.

7. Make sure that all rent and bills are paid.

8. When you leave, your landlord must promptly return your deposit. � e landlord may only keep some or all of the deposit to cover rent arrears or the costs of repairing any damage above normal wear and tear.

9. Remember: your rent deposit be-longs to you, not to the landlord.

10. If your landlord fails to return your money or makes unfair deduc-tions, contact � reshold advice centre:

21 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7T: 01 678 60 96email: info@threshold.ie

You can get a Dublin bike (or db for short) from 44 stations which are locat-ed in the centre of Dublin city. � ere are two ways of getting the bikes – either by registering for an annual subscription (which costs just 10 euro per year) or by buying a 3 Day Ticket (which is 2 euro).

� e � rst 30 minutes of using the bikes is free. � e next 30 minutes cost 50 cents, the following hour is €1.50, the hour a� er that is €3.50 and so on. So if you’re using the bikes for short journeys in Dublin city centre they’re free (you only have to pay for the ticket or annual subscritpion)!

How to buy a 3 Day Ticket?You can buy a 3 Day Ticket at db

stations with credit card terminals (but Laser Maestro, VISA Electron debit card

and cash are not accepted). Consult the terminal menu for detailed instructions. � e ticket contains an ID which you will need to enter each time you hire a bike, in addition to a PIN selected by you.

How to subscribe for a year?You must register for a Long Term

Hire Card online. During the registra-tion process you can choose to pay your subscription either by credit card or by direct debit. Please note that VISA Elec-tron and Laser Maestro debit cards are not accepted. Your credit card will be charged €10 for the year and you will also have to agree to a €150 deposit which you will have to pay if the db is not returned to the station in 24 hours.

You can register for a Long Term Hire Card on www.dublinbikes.ie

Starting work in IrelandSEDA News explains what you need to do when you start work in Ireland in order to pay the right amount of tax.

Renting: how to make sure you get your deposit back

Go for a ride on a Dublin Bike!

LIVING IN IRELAND

Dublin Bikes are a great way to get around Dublin city centre and it’s free!

8SHOWS & GIGS

CIRQUE DU SOLEILThe O2, Dublin

Wed, 25 Apr – Sun, 29 AprCirque du Soleil, the multi-faceted international creative force, is bring-ing its critically-acclaimed produc-tion Alegria to The O2, Dublin for the very � rst time in April 2012. Alegria is a Spanish word that means happiness, joy and jubila-tion. The show features an inter-national cast of 55 performers and musicians from 17 countries and showcases breathtaking acrobatics, such as the intense and high-energy Aerial High Bars in which daring aer-ialists � y to catchers swinging more than 40 feet above the stage. In the rhythmic and dangerous Fire-Knife Dance, artists manipulate � aming knives around their bodies, while Power Track showcases a brilliant display of synchronised choreogra-phy and tumbling on a trampoline system magically concealed under the stage � oor. In Russian Bars, art-ists � y through the air and perform spectacular somersaults and mid-air turns, landing on bars perched on the sturdy shoulders of catchers.Tickets from €49.20

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK & BACKSTREET BOYS

Sat, April 21The O2, Dublin

Two American boy bands, hugely popular in late 1990s, will perform a show together in Dublin

GUNS N ROSESThe O2

Thu, 17 MayThe legendary American band will play with special guest, Irish rockers Thin LizzyTickets from €64.50

AVICIIThe O2, Dublin

Sun, 3 JunThe 22-year-old Swedish house mu-sic producer has become a world-wide phenomenon after releasing the track Levels. He’s coming to Dublin in June.Tickets €44.50

Tickets to all these shows are available from Ticketmaster outlets.To book by phone call: 0818 719 300Online booking: www.ticketmaster.ie

GOING OUT

Event of the monthTitanic commemorationsApril 2012 marks 100 years since the sinking of the Ti-tanic. The ship was built in Belfast and its last port of call was Cobh in county Cork. Both cities will hold a num-ber of events to commemo-rate the tragedy.

1517 people died on April 15, 1912 a� er Titanic collided with an iceberg and went down to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. � e ship, which was the biggest man-made object of its time, was making its � rst trip and had only been � tted out two weeks be-fore its demise. Numerous books and � lms were released, based on the tragedy, and 100 years on Titanic still captures many people’s imaginations.

� e ship was built in Belfast and to com-memorate its anniversary a huge six-storey visitor centre was opened in the city on March 31. � e museum follows Titanic’s story from the ship’s conception in Harold & Wol� shipyard, which exists to this day, to its construction, launch and � tting out. � e visitors then learn about the ship’s maiden voyage, its catastrophic sinking and the af-termath. � e last gallery is a journey to the bottom of the Atlantic as visitors get to see unique footage of Titanic’s wreck and have fun in the Ocean Exploration Centre.

All exhibitions are interactive and fea-ture innovative technologies that give visi-tors a feel for the ship and its era. One of the galleries resembles a Disneyland attraction – it is a ride that uses special e� ects, com-puter animations and reconstructions to show what it was like working on a shipyard in Belfast in the early 1900s. Another gallery features a 3D “cave” or room whose three walls are actually huge computer screens. Images of Titanic’s lavish interiors are pro-jected onto the screens. As a result, the visitor feels as if they were � ying around the ship right through its walls and decks.

Another Irish town with major Titanic connections is Cobh in county Cork. 100 years ago the town was known as Queens-

town and it was the ship’s last port of call – just four days a� er docking here the Titanic sank.

To mark the ship’s 100th anniversary Cobh will stage a massive outdoor Gala Concert on April 11. From April 9 to April 15 the town will host an event called Mari-time Fair, an open air market with various foods, souvenirs and cra� s. On April 14 there will be a Veteran and Vintage Car Run and Show.

To get to Belfast from Dublin take the train from Connolly Station or the bus from Busaras, which is a cheaper option (€25 for a return ticket). You can � nd out more about Belfast Titanic experience on www.titanicbelfast.com Tickets cost from £5 to £13.50.

To learn more about Titanic commem-orations in Cobh log on to:

www.titanic100.ie

Prawns anyone?� is month’s � nal weekend is a great time

to visit Howth, a lovely � shing village in North Dublin. � e village will host Dublin Bay Prawn Festival, with food stalls and tasting sessions just beside the harbour. Howth restaurants will have special menus and their chefs will perform cook-ery demonstrations. � ere is also a fun program of events that includes street entertainment, walks, talks and even prawn-shelling competi-tions. In the evening Howth pubs will host con-certs by local bands. Check out:

www.dublinbayprawnfestival.com

Even if you don’t like prawns Howth is a great place to visit. You can walk the cli� s and enjoy the views of Dublin Bay and Irish Sea. Take a walk down the pier and you’ll most certainly � nd a seal or two in the water. You can also take a boat tour to see the beautiful scenery of Howth and the surrounding islands as well as get to know the local wildlife which includes interesting species of birds and � sh, not to mention crabs, lobsters and... prawns!

You can get to Howth by DART or bus no 31/31B.

Dublin Bay Prawn Festival is on from April 27 to April 29 in Howth, north Dublin.

Titanic Belfast experience. Below – a full-scale reconstruction of the ship’s � rst class cabin.

9SHOWS & GIGS

JAY Z AND KANYE WESTThe O2

Sat, 09 JunFor this project, rap stars JAY Z and Kanye West joined their talents to form the group ‘THE THRONE’. The duo scooped the award for ‘Best Rap Performance’ for their track ‘Otis’ at this year’s Grammy Awards.Tickets from €69.50

BLINK 182The O2

Tue, 12 JunAmerican punk rockers will per-form in Dublin with special guests All American Rejects & Four Year Strong.Tickets from €44.20

WESTLIFE Croke Park

Fri, 22 Jun – Sat, 23 JuneThe band is breaking up this year and will give a farewell concert to celebrate their greatest hits. West-life will be performing with special guests The Wanted, Jedward and Lawson.Tickets from €59.50

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERSCroke ParkTue, 26 Jun

With special guests Noel Gallagh-er’s High Flying Birds.Tickets from €49.50

SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA, SNOOP DOGG, TINIE TEMPAH, CALVIN HARRIS, THE ORIGINAL RUDE-

BOYSPhoenix Park

Sat, 07 JulSome of the world’s hottest dance music producers will perform to-gether in Dublin’s Phoenix Park this summer.Tickets from €59.50

MADONNAAviva Stadium

Tue, 24 JulMadonna will perform her greatest hits as well as songs from her new album.Tickets from €54.65

GOING OUT

Tickets to all these shows are available from Ticketmaster outlets.To book by phone call: 0818 719 300Online booking: www.ticketmaster.ie

Dublin attractions

Fun in the Park

Phoenix Park is the biggest city park in Europe and this year it celebrates its 350th anniversary. To mark the occa-sion, there are a number of events on, such as lectures about the history of the park, exhibitions and a “Mad Hatter’s tea party” on the Saturday before Easter, April 7 (check out www.phoenixpark.ie)

But it’s great fun to visit the park any time, especially if the day is dry and

sunny. � e best way to explore this huge playground is by bicycle. If you don’t have one just grab a Dublin Bike or you can rent a bicycle at the shop outside the main entrance to Phoenix Park.

One of the park’s many attractions are herds of deer which roam its vast open spaces. � ere is really something for everyone to do. If you like animals

check out Dublin Zoo. If you’re into sports you can play football, cricket, hurling or whatever you like on one of the park’s many pitches. If � tness is your thing then Phoenix Park is the best place in Dublin for jogging. And if you just want to unwind – come and play around in the grass or take a stroll along the park’s many beautiful lanes. Enjoy the good weather!

Pub CrawlJohnny Fox’s Public House

Known as the highest pub in Ireland, Johnny Fox’s is located in Dublin moun-tains, about a half an hour’s drive from the city. But don’t let the distance put you o� – visiting this place is an absolute must even if you have to walk all the way to it!

Johnny Fox’s is not just a pub – it’s a pub, a restaurant, a live music venue, a museum and a comedy show all under the one roof! It is the sheer abundance of detail that is amazing about the place. You can spend lit-erally hours walking around the pub, study-ing the various objects and reading mes-sages that were le� here by guests, which include politicians from all over the world, famous musicians, actors and sports stars.

For example, in one corner you may see

a beautiful stu� ed fox, in another – a stand full of 18th century pistols – and a little bit further on you � nd an extremely lovely � re-place with a collection of porcelain dolls around it. Just beside the front door there is a basket with blankets... for smokers who go outside to have a cigarette. And beside the bar there is a bronze statue of a customer who seems like he went in for a pint and never le� .

Exploring the place is really funny as you always stumble upon little plaques with Irish sayings such as “Hard work never hurt any-one, but why take the chance?” or “I don’t wear glasses, I empty them”.

If it is food you want there is a variety of menus with such local favourites as Irish stew, Dublin coddle and sea food chowder (there are also Italian and other European dishes). � e bar has live shows of Irish mu-sic and dance every night.

And the outside of Johnny Fox’s seems like another museum with many vintage cars and old agricultural equipment as well

as some quaint and funny artefacts like “the weather stone” (see it for yourself!).

� e pub is open from 11 am to 11:30 pm (00:30 on Saturdays). Live music starts at 9:30 pm every day (Sundays from 6:30 pm). � ere is also another live show on Saturday and Sunday a� ernoons from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.

You can get to the pub by an Express Bus which leaves from Dublin City Centre daily (return ticket – €10). Call: 01 - 8 22 11 22 or log on to www.expressbus.ie. E-mail: info@expressbus.ie

Dublin wildlife: herds of deer roam Phoenix Park’s wide open spaces

Phoenix Park – the best place in Dublin to soak up the sun and have some fun!

Glencullen, co Dublin

10

SEDA students paint the town17 March is St Patrick’s

Day – the day of Ireland’s patron saint. Every town in Ireland – no matter how small – holds colourful pa-rades. Dublin hosted the biggest procession in the country, which was watched by some 500 000 people. � ough St Patrick’s Day originated in Ireland the biggest parade in the world is held in New York – some 2 million people line the

streets of the American city to watch the procession every year. 17 March is cel-ebrated all over the world, with festivities taking part in such far � ung destinations as Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Dubai and Buenos Aires. Dublin, though, is probably the best place to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and SEDA students didn’t miss the op-portunity!

Pedro Rockenbach took this picture of St Patrick’s Day parade

Pedro Rockenbach again, out celebrating St Paddy’s Day with some not so sober friends

Pedro Tadeu with friends

Cleber Correia Vaz is having a great night out with some pretty ladies

Carina Portal de Oliveira is enjoying herself

Leandro Lima

and... a sexy

bearded lepre-chaun

lady!

PHOTO ALBUM

11

green for St Patrick’s Day!11

Vinícius Targher with friends in Temple Bar

Liana Mascarenhas and her lovely friends

Liana Mascarenhas again, in a pub celebratingFelipe Dias and friends are having a drink with a giant leprechaun!

Claudiomira Lula joined her friends for St Paddy’s Day

Andrea Cordeiro is a true

patriot: she celebrated St Patrick’s

Day in Dublin with a

Brazilian � ag!

Been at a cool party, event or celebration?

Send us your photos on:news@seda.ie

Valesca Lima’s cat Opel - looking cute!

PHOTO ALBUM

12

Now for our next quiz. I hope this one will encourage you to go out and explore Dublin. As always, send your answers in to news@seda.ie and you could win a prize.

1) What is the name of the hidden Dublin park between Harcourt Street and the National Concert Hall?

a) Merrion Squareb) St Stephen’s Greenc) Iveagh Gardensd) Phoenix Park

2) What is the name of the famous pub beside the cricket grounds in Trinity college, where students like to go for a cold drink on a hot day?

a) � e pavb) � e pubc) � e pind) � e pot

3) Where in Dublin can you � nd the 220 year old Botanic Gardens?

a) Rialtob) Glasnevinc) Pimlicod) Crumlin

4) Which canal is only 100m from SEDA?

a) � e Grand Canalb) � e Royal Canalc) � e Swan Canald) � e Victoria Canal

5) How much does it cost to get a one year pass for Dublin Bikes?

a) €50b) €100c) €1000d) €10

6) What is the name of the moun-tains which you can see when you walk out the front door of SEDA and turn right?

a) � e Misty Mountainsb) � e Andesc) � e Mourne Mountainsd) � e Dublin and Wicklow

Mountains

7) Howth, the beautiful � shing vil-lage in the north of Dublin, has a name that looks di� cult to pro-nounce. Which of these words does Howth rhyme with?

a) Cowb) Bothc) Hotd) Book

8) What is Ireland’s main Gaelic Ath-letic Association stadium called?

a) Croke Parkb) Crow Parkc) Go Parkd) Oak Park

Send your answers to news@seda.ie and you could win a prize!

The SEDA Easter Quiz!Well done to Taciel Sharma,

who won our New Year quiz. Drop by Carol’s o� ce to pick up your prize. Well done!

Here are the answers to last month’s quiz: The shamrock is the plant which represents Ireland (most countries have a � ower), WB Yeats loved to write his poetry about fairies and ghosts. There are

32 counties in Ireland (Dublin is the best one, in case you were wonder-ing). A leprechaun is a shoemaker.

Now the grammar. Do you like

reading books? was the correct sentence, a mountain is taller than a hill or a valley, a ring is the small-est piece of jewellery and eating fruit is good for your health.

The Craic-tionarySEDA News guide to Irish slang words and expressions

Craic (pronounced “crack”) – fun, story, gossip, happenings One of the most commonly used Irish words, it appears in many contexts. You can use it to say hello: What’s the craic? How’s the craic? (meaning How is it going?)To say that something was great fun: We had great craic!To describe someone as a fun person: � is guy’s great craic!

Deadly – really good� e concert was deadly! � is is a really deadly tune! Wow, that’s deadly etc

Grand – good, � ne, acceptable� is word is very commonly used to reply to greetings: How are you? I’m grand.But can also be used in pretty much any context to say that something is good: � at’s a grand day.

In colloquial English “a grand” also means a thousand (of euro, pounds etc): I bought this car for � ve grand. He won a hundred grand in the lottery!

In this section we will attempt to make your life in Ireland easier by explaining some of the most common Irish slang words and expressions.

The Craic-tionarySEDA News guide to Irish slang words and expressions

d) � e pot

The Craic-tionarySEDA News guide to Irish slang words and expressions

IRELAND & THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE