Colmán Moloney

Part 1 Introduction

What drives/motivates you as a person?

My motivation would probably be along the lines of I’m contributing to something bigger. I very much feel that society as a whole is very individualistic, which is something I really dislike. The whole idea of people coming together, working towards a greater thing. When you think of some of humanities greatest achievements, it has been with people working together. I think that motivates me, things such as the welfare state. I really appreciate everyone coming together in order to ensure there is a floor that nobody falls beneath, like if they find themselves in destitution or financial difficulty. So I would say that is my biggest motivator. It’s something I do bear in mind, when I am studying, or when I’m working

What quality in people do you value most?

Like most people I’d value loyalty. It’s great to know you can depend on somebody and in general we do think we can rely on people but when it comes to it, you can’t, they are not the greatest support. Loyalty it is something very close to me and in my group of friends it is something I’d look for and value as well.

Who is your role model and why?

As a general rule I actually don’t like having role models, because I think you should live your own life instead of copying somebody else’s stuff and their life.  I think we should all just follow our own path, but that said there are people I do admire. People I’d admire would be would be good strong independent people and strong advocates of social justice.  People like Mary Robinson who brought herself through the courts, through her presidency, upholding human rights, figures like that around the world. So Mark Robinson would definitely be one.  Kofi A. Annan as well, as secretary general of the United Nations. I would also admire a lot of the social democratic politicians around Europe just for their political views. They bring social justice to the forefront  for Europe. That was a bit of a circularity answer but yeah.

Part 2 Interviewee’s topics 

LGBT

Explain what the LGBT society in University College Cork  tries to achieve during each college year?

Primarily the LGBT society is a social society, but there is a nice aspect of activism in it and I think it’s very essential that we have both aspects. So fundamentally year in year out we try to create a safe place for people who might identify as LGBT, who are sure or even just have friends who might identify in that way and might want to support them. During the last year I have being membership officer. Which would be the first point of call for new members. For somebody who is not sure how they feel or they are a bit nervous about joining the society. I would be their helping hand or first port of call and if they need subsequent help from counselling, therapist or any health service. Any aspect about college life, I can point them in the right direction. I think the society has a vital role. I might sound a little snooty but I think it’s more important than other societies, just because it deals with such a fundamental aspect of students life, if they do identify as LGBT or otherwise. We do a lot of socials like I said with campaigns we have been very vocal for marriage equality. We have helped register thousands of students for voting in UCC as well as national campaigns such as “humans of homophobia” which I was part of. I think it’s such a necessary society. When people ask me “What do ye do?” People often have the wrong view. My opinion is that people just assume that we all  just talks about being gay. That’s not it at all, that’s really misguided. We just help people along and I have to organise what we call “Coming Out Week” I didn’t encourage people to come out but gave them information on support in relation to doing so. I think If even one person feels more safe and comfortable after that, it was a success. I think that is the nature of the society. It might help only a hand full of people, but we really do help them and that can’t be underestimated.

Do you find any argument from people voting “no” in the gay marriage referendum particularly frustrating?

All of them. I really dislike the ones about children because they really do have nothing to do with the amendment of the Constitution. I’m doing a law degree, I have studied a lot of this in detail and I’m just sick of people talking about things they have no idea about in relation to children. In relation to surrogacy, in relation to what it might do. The Referendum is simply about extending marriage rights to same sex couples. Children will not be effected, in fact it will effect children if I child identifies as gay, lesbian or otherwise. They will have the same prospects as their brothers and sisters if they want to get married in the future. I think that’s all that we are doing. People talk about surrogacy and adoption. Surrogacy is currently unregulated in Ireland. It will be regulated whether this referendum passes or not. Oireachtas will deal with that separately. So that argument is just stupid. It really annoys me as well when you see people arguing with the yes side such as Paddy Manning who might identify as gay. Saying “no we don’t need to get married as we as a very small minority of people” I just think if you appose same sex marriage, don’t marry somebody of the same sex simple as. Leave everybody else do it. I know you probable agree with a lot of that. There are just so many arguments that are so ill founded and then the religious ones are just utterly stupid. An awful amount of them are just based on homophobia and they are opposed to gay people in general as opposed to the marriage of two gay people and that was a debate that should have been ended in 1993 when homophobia was decriminalised and not in 2015 when we have moved on.

What would your advice be to a young person who is in the closet and does not feel they are in a supportive environment?

I think these days there is definitely a support system there for everybody and it’s called the internet. There is a lot of information that can be accessed. It is nice to have a friendly face to support you and if you don’t have that in your family and friends it is immensely difficult but there are helplines you can ring up. There are switchboards, there’s people you can email in search of support and advice.  I think there was a campaign launched in the USA a few years ago called the “It gets better campaign”. They use celebrities who were LGBT or LGBT allies in which they told people it does get better. It could be a few days, weeks,  a few months. Anybody who I have spoken too who has come out has always said it is hard the first few times but it does get easier. As you grow up you find people are more accepting of it and you will surround yourself with people who like that part of you or people who don’t even think of that part of you. You are so great in other aspects of your personality. At the time coming out is the biggest thing in the world and it can be so bad for people’s mental health if they are not going to be accepted and they don’t get the support. But I suppose the advice I would give is things do get better and there is always somebody to talk to on the internet if not your friends and family.

Travel

What are you hoping to achieve from your year abroad in Copenhagen?

From my year in Copenhagen I’m hoping to achieve another outlook I suppose. As I said earlier I do think society is very individualistic but in the northern countries I think they have moved away from that. They are very much about society as a whole and they all help each other. In Denmark, it’s known for it’s quality of living in regard that nobody is very poor but by the same token nobody is very rich. I think that is fair that the wealth is spread out more equally.  In terms of experience I really do think I will be opened up to many new experiences, ideas, international people from all corners of the globe from the Danes themselves. I still live at home which is not the most ideal situation when you’re in college when you want to be out fee and the whole lot. So I’m looking forward to kind of fleeing that and having to be a little independent.  I really do look forward to the travel opportunities. Going to other cities and Countries and all that and I just think that, that’s something that stands to any person. Travelling I just think it’s such a wonderful thing to do so I am really looking forward to that.

Why did you choose Copenhagen? Is there anything about Danish culture that particularly interests you?

I think here, it’s being in the media a lot lately, it’s really admired for it’s standard of living. I think 50% of people cycle to work school or college every day. It’s fantastic that they don’t rely on the car the same way we do and I think people have their cities back because they are not completely taken over by cars and what not. I like their sense of community there. I real thing that did draw me to it was something that might sound a little strange. It was television because Denmark was being producing very strong TV dramas in the past few years and have gone on air on TG4 and BBC. Things such as, Borgen which is a Danish political drama. The Killing which was a murder mystery and The Bridge was another murder mystery thing. I think that exposed a lot of people to Danish culture. TV is not always the most realistic portrayal of real life .But  I think it’s something that drew me in. Even their political system is all about getting general agreement as opposed to really strong view that might disenfranchise people. I suppose in general the society there is what has drawn me and the society seems like a great place.

Part 3 Interviewer’s Topics

Technology

Do we rely on our mobile phones too much?

I think we do. I think they have enriched our lives and they have made things a lot easier. Instead of having to carry around a few books, notebooks and a diskman or whatever for your music it’s nice that it’s all combined into one. But I do think we use them too much. Even if we looked out the window now we would see people twiddling their thumbs away on a phone and I just think it’s great that you can communicate with people so easy and so instantaneously, but at the same time you will see so often in social situations people are there they might have met up and one person there on their phone instead of looking at the person across the table from them. I think it can be a bit rude, but we are just so used to it now it’s just accepted. People do rely on them too much, we should curb our use of them. How do we do that? It is handy, if you are lost you can use the map application or you can google something on the internet but I just think we are living our lives too much through our phones. You see it at concerts, people record the concerts rather than putting it down and looking at what they have paid money to see, and I think that is frustration. So yes we do use our phones too much.

Would you ever find yourself spending too much time on social media? What is too much time?

Admittedly I do, so I am preaching to myself in regards to that question. I do use it too much but I am conscious of how much I use it. What I have tried to do lately is switch off my phone for a few hours, so I am not constantly contactable. I don’t think you should be despite what we feel about modern society. So that is something I am due to curb out of myself. It’s hard to quantity what too much time is. I suppose if you are staying up late at night rather than sleeping because of social media or you’re looking at it rather than talking to the friend you have met up with. It can’t be quantified in time, but common sense tells us a lot there. 1

Woman in the workplace

Is there anything we can do to make sure woman are treated more equally in the workplace?

Well on the note of woman, woman’s issues are something that I would hold close to my heart. I’v had a few rants over the last few minutes about social justice. I’d be a hypocrite if I did not talk about woman’s rights. I think in the workplace people do feel woman are treated equally but statistics would still say woman are paid less for the same work and things like that. It’s better than it was but that’s no excuse for them not getting paid the same as men. I would say in the workplace, things that would work would be gender quotas. People do appose quotas they think they are giving woman rights over men but all they are doing is giving woman an equal chance. Whereas for millennia they have being subjected to mal-treatment . Men have being given president over them. I would say quotas are definitely for the workplace. They just work really effectively in the countries they have being implemented in such as Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands as well. When it comes to boards of companies a few countries have made a mandatory quota where 40% of boards have to be woman. I think that is such an encouraging thing. You’re saying that their gender should not be something that prevents them from becoming a CEO of a company or on the board or whatever. I think in relation to the treatment of woman, education is something that needs to be hammered through again and again. It’s not okay to judge woman’s appearance because you would not necessarily do that to a man. Education and quotas, they are the solution to treating woman more equally in the workplace.

Do people in general have a poor concept of what exactly feminism is?

I think the concept of feminism in the public conscious is improving. Historically people would have thought of feminist as a barb man hating woman. People have come to realise lately, maybe in the last year or two that feminism isn’t just that. That might be the extreme aspects of it but it’s just about wanting woman to be treated equal to men. For woman to be seen as equal. Peoples’s perception of feminism is changing, maybe not as much as we like, but it is definitely changing. I think education is the only way to show that. In college I would have met a lot of people who declare themselves as feminist and they would call people up on views that are antifeminists or meninist as they are so often called. Obout views that are outdated that belong in the 1950’s. The perception is changing but we need to work more to change what more people think feminism is.

Part 4 Philosophical questions

How important is it you do what you love for a career?

I think it’s immensely important, it’s all well and good slaving away 9-5 at a job that you might hate just for the pay cheque but I do not think that’s sustainable. I think you really need to be passionate about what you do and I think that should be payment enough in itself. University College Cork (UCC) has a campus radio, I’d always listen to it when I’m driving and they do some very good documentaries. They were talking about these students some Law students that went over to Atlanta who went over to help with a trust that was set up by a lawyer. He was kind of against the death penalty and things like that in the state of Georgia and he had worked for a big American law firm where he earned one of two million dollars a year but in this job with this foundation he would only be earning 40-50,000 dollars a year. Which is still fairly high but still nowhere near a million. He was happy because he was genuinely perusing what he loved. I think that is a lot more satisfying than for the man in a corporate environment. It’s important to do what you like and I don’t think that’s emphasized enough in school. When it comes to things like the leaving cert. People, students, parents, we are all guilty of it, we are all guilty of leaning towards what you would be guaranteed a job for rather than what you have an interest in and I think that is so wrong. If you love something enough and you work at it you will find yourself a job no bother. It might take time but you are better off pursuing your passion

Interview 3 Thomas O’ Sullivan

So introduce yourself?

My name is Thomas O’ Sullivan and I’m from Ballincollig in Cork. I am 18 years old.

What are your passions in life?

I have one serious passion in life and that’s writing music.

What so you make of people who get tattoos for the sake of it?

I see no reason as to why people would do this; tattoos are not a thing you get to look cool or fit in with a crowd.  If that’s the only reason you’re getting it, you will regret it

Would you like to explain some of the meanings behind your tattoos?

My tattoos are to do with a family member passing, I don’t usually go into it.

What would you say to an employer who might not hire somebody because they have tattoos?

People with tattoos are often the nicest people you will ever meet, Often they are very creative and very realistic.

Would you ever get a tattoo on your face?

No, I would never get a tattoo on my face, I believe you should be able to hide tattoos if needed.

Hunting

David Cameron recently said he would like to legalise the hunting of foxes. If you were in his position would you try and implement a similar law?

Yes, as you can see in England vermin such as fox and rabbit have gone out of control and are often inbreeding leading to sick animals being born, hunting, keeps animals genes healthy as they dont get to in breed due to the fact they are controlled.We have seen countless attacks on babies and kids by foxes, as they longer fear humans.

Is it true that a dog is a man’s best friend? 

Yes, in my opinion dogs are the only things that love a person more then they love themselves.

What advice would you give to somebody who just got their first dog on how to look after it?

Listen to your elders , you’d be amazed at all the things I have  learnt from just listening to them.  Also train your dog really well it makes things a lot easier inn the future.

What is more important for a music act, to be brilliant on stage or the recording studio?

I personally believe it is more important that your lyrics reach out and help people.

Does it take time for a song to grow on you or do you know after the first few bars?

Normally if the first couple of bars don’t hit me I will turn it off, it is very important to start with a bang in my own opinion.

How do you know you can trust somebody?

When a person is straight up with you, I would prefer a person that speaks their mind , I dont care what they say or how they say it , once it is said. I like a person that doesnt care what they say or who they say it in front of.

Can you have happiness without success and vice versa?

Yes, happiness is a state of mind.

Interview 1 Shauna Williams

Shauna Williams

Part 1 Indroduction

So a quick introduction?

So I’m Shauna Williams. I’m nineteen and I’m from Tipperary in Ireland. There’s nothing else too exciting about me.

Are you like any movie/TV character and why?

I don’t personally think I am. You know if you are watching stuff and you can relate to the characters depending on the situation but I don’t think I’m like anybody in particular.

Part 2 Main Topic

Why did you choose to study psychology?

Well in interested in other people and learning about them. I think it’s important especially these days to be aware of issues such as mental health. It needs to be spoken about and psychology is an important part of that. Especially if you feel you can’t talk to anybody else about things like depression, it’s tough. Knowing there are people out there that will sit and listen to you can make it easier for people.

Why did you choose psychology over something like nursing?

I wanted to do medicine or veterinary but in those you physically fix somebody. It’s short term somebody can come back again with a broken arm, but with psychology it works in the long run.  You are trying to help somebody long term and to help fix their cognition.

What inspired your interest in psychology?

Nothing really, you know your own mental health, looking at the people around you and their mental health. It’s nice thinking you could do something to help other people like them.

Part 3 My Own Topics

Sports

What do you make of the wages sports stars get? Is it any more justified from the obscene numbers musicians and actors get paid?

I think it’s all crazy anyway but that’s just society. There is always going to be people with more money than everybody else. Obviously they are professionals and they are getting money for what they do but some of them do give it to charity so it’s okay in that sense. It’s still crazy money.

What sports are better? Individual or team sports and why?

I think they are both important. I think Individual sports are important for those who have lots of self-determination and are able to push themselves on. Team sports the good for making friends, team work and to feel like you’re part of something, to do something worthwhile.

Religion

Do the actions of Isis put the Islamic faith under unfair scrutiny?

I think they do because that all Islam’s are like that. When I heard the question I thought of the Irish and the IRA bombings. People just assumed every Irish person was in the IRA.  That they were all going to bomb everybody. It’s tarring everybody with the same brush.

Should religion have a say in a government’s decisions for example gay marriage?

I don’t think so no. It really annoys me, religion depends on the person, it’s a personal thing and they shouldn’t be making the decisions for other people. Only for people within their church.

So you don’t think it’s fair that the majority should rule, or should it just be people within that religion?

It’s a personal thing you know, trying to impose on legal things decisions especially the whole legal marriage thing is really annoying because it’s nothing to do with them.

University Life

What advice would you give anybody entering university this year?

I think going to orientation is very important, I missed it and I felt I missed out on a lot. You really have to get in there in the first week because if you don’t your lost basically. I don’t mean to sound horrible but if you don’t make friends my then it’s hard. It is the same as secondary school in the sense groups are made very quickly. If you come with people you know it’s good to spread out from them but you know you have them at the same time.

Is it worth the effort of the leaving cert to get to University?

It depends, I think it’s good in the sense you have to push yourself and work to get your points but it’s not a fair system for everyone. For example people for are more practical orientated rather than written.

Part 4 Philosophical Questions

What is a best friend?

It’s somebody who is just there. My best friend now I have not seen for two months but we were on the phone last night for three hours, it’s doesn’t that way. She’s there and she will listen to you. It’s who you get on with best rather than who you see most often. We are just complete freaks for anybody who didn’t know us. They would be scared. She just knows what I’m like.

Do you think there’s any truth to zodiac signs and horoscopes?

I don’t really know. If they are in a paper I will read it. Sometimes you are like “oh yeah” but other times their just stupid. I’m really superstitious so it just depends on the person I think.

Mark Goldbridge

Part 1 Introduction

So a quick indroduction

To introduce myself, I’m Mark Golbridge. Some of you may have seen me on the United Fan channel on Youtube called The United Stand – if you haven’t make sure you pay us a visit and join in with the fan channel that says it how it is for the fans.

In three words how would you describe yourself?

Good looking, intelligent and loaded. No, that just sounds arrogant. Good looking, intelligent and fairly well off. Ok, I’ll be serious now. Loyal, creative and passionate

 

What drives you as a person?

To start with, I’m obviously a passionate Manchester United fan and make no secret of the fact that I wasn’t born in Manchester. To me it’s irrelevant. I accept that being a Manc and supporting United is a unique feeling but it doesn’t make you any more of a fan. I’ve been educated in the United ways since I was a child, I have as good an understanding of the club and what it means as any fan I’ve ever spoken to about the club and I’m passionate about protecting that right. A fan should be judged on their knowledge of the game and the club, not their postcode. If I’m passionate about something I enjoy it and I’ll do all I can to make it work. As for me, you may have noted the use of the word passion on more than one occasion in this blog. And if I had to use one word that drives me it is that.  If I’m not then there’s little point in trying because it will never have my full attention. It is this passion that has driven me to start the United Stand.

What quality in people do you value most?

I’m  also very loyal and loyalty is something I hold in high regard. To use a line from a famous comedy with Robert De Niro,” there’s a circle of trust and once you’re in it you have my total backing. But if you betray that trust you’ll never be allowed back in.” Harsh maybe, but it’s served me well so far and it leaves you in a position where the people you’re close to are people you know have your back.

Part two, Interviewee’s topics 

What do you do in your free time away from  football? In other words if they was no such thing as football what would you be doing when you have a free moment?

Invent the game of football? No, I love football but if it didn’t exist I’d put my passion towards other things. I have an interest in film and TV – when I say film I can’t be doing with rom com’s or the latest Jason Statham flick. I like my films with a bit of depth and reality – The Departed, The Godfather and Gladiator spring to mind. As for TV, I very rarely have the opportunity to sit down and watch scheduled TV – other than football, which for this question doesn’t exist . However, I’m a massive fan of the sitcom genre – Only Fools and Horses being the one that fed my interest and then over the years I’ve really enjoyed The Office, Alan Partridge and recently The Trip with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

Reading is another thing I enjoy. Sadly in recent years it’s something I’ve neglected. I’d like to use the excuse of lack of time but the truth is social media has taken over. Because when I think of the times, I used to read on the way to work, before bed etc – that time is now taken up by tracking twitter. I suppose it’s reading in a way but I do miss being engrossed in a decent book.

Why Manchester United?

My Grandfather loved football and the best player he ever watched live was Duncan Edwards. He adored Edwards and the Busby Babes and having witnessed their greatness it was a hammer blow to the heart when they were taken away from us on that fateful day in Munich.

Thankfully the club rose from the grave and achieved the dreams the babes had ripped away from them so cruelly.  My Grandfather always said, there’s no greater story in football than Manchester United and he was right. From the tragedy of Munich, through the rebuilding of a dynasty in the sixties that culminated in that momentous European Cup win in 1968. Then back in to the wilderness for nearly three decades before a certain Alex Ferguson came down from the North and built an empire so successful it will never be repeated. No club comes close to the history we’ve enjoyed, but also at times endured. From Edwards, Charlton, Law, Best, Robson, Keane, Giggs and Scholes the club has entranced those of us fortunate enough to fall in love with it. And long may that continue.

Why did you start the United Stand, it seems like an awful amount of work?

The United Stand was my chance to combine two things I’m passionate about – Manchester United and the fans. The fans are losing their place in the modern game. The money men have moved in and the game has changed. Now it’s all about hype and taking money from your pocket. The fans used to matter, it was them the clubs and players wanted to please. Now the fans are the meal ticket. The one’s who stump up the money to feed the sponsors.

The United Stand is about giving a voice to the fans. We’re not interested in being liked by the media or playing by their rules. Our mantra is saying it how it is for the fans. So every Thursday and Sunday night at 9pm we have a Live United fan forum where fans can watch and join in the debate on our Live comment box. We’ve only been doing it for a few months but already we’ve built up a loyal following who get involved and we want to grow that further over the coming months.

Part 3, Interviewer’s topics

What kind of music do you enjoy?

I’m a Britpop boy. My real interest in music started and ended there if I’m honest. Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers, Shed Seven, Ocean Colour Scene, The Bluetones, Radiohead, I listened to them all and even had my own band in the mid to late nineties and wrote my own songs. In fact, I remember doing a gig with Coldplay when they were unknowns and my music claim to fame is I liked them before they were popular – I actually helped Chris Martin out with a few lyrics on their debut album. I’m joking, but if he’d asked I’m sure I’d have come up with something better than it was all yellow.

Like him or not when you consider Justin Bieber for example made his name on Youtube, how powerful do you think social media is in today’s society? What is its potential both positive and negative?

Extremely powerful. Life isn’t all sweetness and light and using my baptism of fire with social media as an example, it demonstrates perfectly how quickly a false story can spread. The United Stand was formed because having guested on another channel I found their output a little unprofessional and fake and I wanted to offer something more accurate and identifiable to real fans of football – when I say real fans of football I wanted to replicate the type of conversations and attitude you get down the local pub with your mates every week. Anyway, being the new channel with a new voice on the block this put some of the others out a little and rather than approach us in a professional manner a hate campaign of lies was spread round social media making the first few months of our existence extremely difficult. And once a rumour has been circulated it’s very hard to recover.

What this shows is any message you want can go viral on social media with the right amount of effort and if it’s a negative one it can cause real harm. The majority of people are big enough to ride it out but what about the 14 year old child who is bullied on social media? The reality is Twitter, Facebook etc are fantastic but handled incorrectly they can have catastrophic results and more needs to be done in relation cyber bullying. I call them keyboard warriors, other people may choose a more abusive term, but social media is littered with people who type the most vulgar things and dish out the move vile abuse because they know they can get away with it. Put them in a public arena and they wouldn’t dream of saying it. That is the balance social media needs to strike but it’s a huge ask. The bottom line is I detest bullies and even when it’s sometimes best to turn the other cheek I find myself standing up for what I believe in. As the great saying goes, “Evil prospers when good people do nothing”

Looking at the stands at Premier league games the majority of fans are middle aged white men. This group of people is often accused or racist sexist and homophobia behaviour. What can football and them Premier league do to change this or is it a problem for politicians to solve?

How can we improve the white middle aged male stereotype of football fan? As a young lad in the late eighties my Dad used to take me all over the country to watch football and trust me it was a totally different world to now. Football is unrecognisable and has changed for the better immeasurably with families and a wide diversity of fans evident in every football ground around the country these days. More can be done though. There’s still an undercurrent of hooligan elements and groups in existence for all football clubs and the makeup of those groups is stereotypically white and male.

So how do we continue to improve and make football more diverse? Well I’d like to see a time in the not too distant future whereby, like rugby, fans can have a beer whilst they’re watching the football. The truth is it won’t happen though. Football is tribal and with that tribalism comes a distinct dislike for opposition fans. I admire rugby and how they can have fans of different teams sat together but that won’t happen in football and in a way I wouldn’t want it to. We’d lose the chanting from the away end and the banter and atmosphere that comes from having fans separated. What I do want to see is more demographics involved in football. And although we’re only a young United fan channel, one of the things we always wanted to do was bring a female in to the team as soon as possible. We’ve achieved that by identifying Anna Adams as a talented voice with a great understanding of the game who fits that criteria and on from that we’re very aware that although football is a very white male sport, the only way to balance that is to involve others. I firmly believe that is happening and will continue to happen.

Part 4,  Philosophical questions

What advice would you give to your eighteen year old self?

I’d advise my 18 year old self to invent a social media platform whereby users can interact with each other but only through the use of 140 characters and call it Twitter. Seriously though, I wouldn’t change much. Yes I’ve made mistakes but that’s what life is about. The more you pick yourself up the more you learn. I don’t believe in regrets, I believe in fate and I think everything happens for a reason. There’s been times in my life when I’ve really needed help and help has been forthcoming, so I’d never wish to change the way my life has gone so far. Yes I could have done some things better and yes life has chewed me up and spat me out a few times. But amongst all that I’ve acquired some truly amazing life defining moments and I wouldn’t risk any of that for another throw of the dice.

If somehow you receive 1 million pounds tomorrow, what would you do with it?

What would I do with a million pounds? I’d give it all to UKIP. I’m joking of course. What would I do with a million pounds? Well it’s probably not enough to retire on these days as mad as that sounds. So I’d have to invest it in something? I think maybe I’d buy a few things I’ve always wanted, nice car, a box at Old Trafford, the entire DVD collection of Jason Statham movies…. Then the rest of it I’d probably just keep aside and look to invest. It’s a difficult question because a million pounds really isn’t enough to make you tell your boss to do one and walk out. It’d certainly come in handy though.

Clearly the United Stand is something you are looking to provide to as many people as possible. If people want to find out more about you and the United Stand how can they do it?

You can find me on The United Stand on youtube, @UnitedStandMUFC on twitter and we have our own website www.theunitedstand.com.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMmVPVb0BwSIOWVeDwlPocQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedStandMUFC?fref=ts

Interviewer’s comments

I have known Mark now for a few months. It was clear to me from the very start that he loved two things that I loved. Those been football and journalism. The word was used many times in this interview but Mark’s passion is easily evident both in this interview and in general conversation.

What Mark and the rest of the United Stand members are doing is simply fantastic. It gives fans a voice no matter where they are in the world.. This would not have being the case twenty or even ten years ago. Social media offers a chance opportunity to change this dynamic. As an Irish fan or any fan not from the same town or city of the team you support you can easily feel on the edge of the club. It can be like, knowing you only got invited to a social event to make up the numbers.

The main themes for this interview were social media and football both of which I am very passionate about.

I would agree with many of Marks comments about social media. We witness big issues like political movements, often by using hash-tags, we see businesses share their products and like already mentioned in the interview we see people become famous from social media. We also see social media on a smaller scale. We use it to keep in contact with loved ones in other countries, to find out about events, and let’s face it who would know when anybody’s birthday was if it wasn’t for Facebook. On a personal level I have had to put up with both the good and the bad of social media. Like Mark said I am at a stage where I can ignore the negatives that it brings. For example harassment, racism  and bullying. Sadly the list goes on and on. Social media has opened up a whole new world for me. I have met so many interesting  people from countries such as America, England, Austria, Germany and so many more. The greatest thing I have got out of social media is the chance to have a voice in both my opinions and my photography.  A nobody can become a somebody if they are willing to put in the time. It is not like before where if you wanted to be a published journalist, you would need an editor in a newspapers approval. Now we all have an equal voice. This is something that democracy can’t even claim. Your age, gender, race, religion and so on have little bearing. If you have something of value and present it well, people will sit up and notice.

Whether its pop singers, politicians, sports starts or youtubers we often only see the person in the public light. It’s even worse with actors, because sometimes we can convince ourselves that the character they play is their true personality. I hope this interview like all interviews of this sort has shown that Mark and public  figures in general  are a lot more than what we see in newspapers and online. At the same time I do think it’s important to respect  people’s privacy.

My own contact details

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Diarmuidii_mufc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiarmuidGillinghamsPhotography?ref=hl

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX8-bbeZBrkZNwMSa7-6eAQ

About me

My name is Diarmuid Gillingham. I am currently 19 years of age. I am studying economics and German. Despite this I have always had a passion for journalism and photography. In my own mind I have proven on-line that I am a talented photographer. I have also shown I can speak about topics that I am well informed in, for example football. I guess now I want to do more. I want to show that I am a potential freelance journalist who can hold his own outside of topics that are not his hobbies. At the same time that does not mean I will not play to my strengths.

I ask you, where do we all get our inspiration? For me it’s the world around me and in particular people. So I came up with this idea. Why not interview people and find out what makes them tick. Why do they get up in the morning? What’s important to them? How do they see the world around them? I am a strong believer in the fact that it does not matter where somebody is from, what religion they are or even their education effect, their ability to teach us something worthwhile.

Everybody has something of value to say, it’s just a matter of asking. Don’t believe me?, just give me a chance to prove you wrong