Projects & Artwork

Graffiti

Graffiti is a form of art. Some people think its vandalism but we disagree. It a way of expressing yourself. Life would be dull if there were just grey walls everywhere. It adds colour. Most graffiti artists see it as an act of rebellion. It rebels against all authority- police, adults, the government. Companies like CIE hate us! We do it because its a rush. Some people might go joyriding, but we do graffiti. It the buzz of knowing the risk of getting chased by the police- will you get caught, will you get away, will you get arrested and charged?!  Its deadly when you know that people know your name but don't know who you are. You don't use your real name. You pick a nickname, called a Tag. It can be any word you want.

This is a piece we did on the wall of the gym

Back in the early 60s, on the streets of New York where Graffiti first originated, some of the main painters were Seen, Dondi, Blade, In the 60s, Graffiti was a completely new concept. The likes of it had never been seen before- pictures painted on walls. There was uproar and outrage. Every night, trains would be hit and the authorities couldn't do anything about it. They had to spend so much money keeping the trains clean. They saw it as vandalism of private property.  It was a shock to them that people would do this kind of thing. At the time these pictures were works of Genius art but pales in comparison to the Graffiti of today. 

In the 80s, graffiti evolved. The styles completely changed, becoming more complex and intricate. This was because of the Hip Hop Explosion. Graffiti is one of the elements of Hip Hop- Graffiti, Breakdancing, MCing & DJing. and when Hip-Hop was introduced to the rest of the world, through the likes of Public Enemy, Run DMC, Fab Five Freddy, Grandmaster Flash & de la Soul, so was graffiti 

Nowadays, graffiti is worldwide, and is still progressing. The most famous crews include: Stickup kids, FX Crew from New York and TATS. In Ireland, we have TDA (The Dark Angels), SBC (Stealth Bomber Crew) and TML,  

Anyone who's interested can get involved in Graffiti, but you cant just come into the scene and expect to be respected. You have to make a good name for  yourself, by tagging, piecing, stickers- just getting up as much as possible. Putting your name on any available spaces by any means necessary. Some familiar names that you'd see around the inner city are: Go, Rest, Cist, Grift, Fed, Anish, Drop. Around the suburbs and along the train lines youd see Core44, Cex, Pot, Dekz and Emz. From Howth to Bray, the dominant painter on the Dart line is Fed.

There are two types of Graffiti. Bombing (Illegal) and Piecing (Legal).

On the legal scene, you are most likely to see pieces by Maser, Artz, Bard, Dido, Sek, Trie, Kube, Dats and Arce. There would be less bombing if we had more legal spots to paint.

The most popular paint used by artists all around the world is Montana. Different Paints are used in different areas. Northern Ireland are most likely to use Belton. In America, they use any paint they can get their hands on, In less wealthy countries, such as Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere in South America, they use bucket paint because they cant afford spray paint. Different caps are used to get different effects from the paint- Fat Caps, Skinny Caps, Smooth, Calligraphy. The Americans & Germans have their own lines of Caps.

Over time you develop can control & pick up your own style. Inspiration comes from anywhere. Some people get inspiration from Comic Books, others from real-life situations. Most people get inspiration from within themselves- inventing their own characters, and their own style of lettering. You will not be respected if you copy other writers styles. Everyone is an individual. 

The most important thing in graffiti is being yourself and expressing yourself in your own way.

By Lee 'Core44' Kearns & Tony 'Epik' Leahy

The GAA

The GAA is the Gaelic Athletic Association. It covers sports like Athletics, Handball, Hurling, Camogie and Gaelic Football.

The GAA was established in 1889 in Thurles in the billiards room. There were seven founding members including Michael Cusack. They wanted their own cultural sport so they made a cross between Soccer and Rugby to create Gaelic Football. They also created a game using sticks to hit a small leather ball into a goal or over a bar to get scores. There is fifteen people on a team. There is generally a goalie, three full backs, three half backs, two mid-fields, three half-forwards and three full-forwards. Its an amateur sports so people do it for their own enjoyment and fitness.

Every county except Kilkenny has a Gaelic Football team. Every county has a Hurling Team. All thirty two counties are counted equally. It has famous stars like Christie Ring, Joe Cooney, DJ Carey, Henry Shefflin. They all thoroughly enjoy and dedicate themselves to the sport. It is a heritage. Generally people play it because it runs in their family but it is open to anyone.

The two competitions called the League and the Championship are divided into provinces. The winner and the loser of each province are competitors in the All-Ireland. In Leinster Hurling, the main teams are Kilkenny, Wexford, Offaly and Laois. In Munster, its Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford. In Connaught, its Galway. In Ulster, its Antrim. In Leinster Football, its Meath, Dublin & Laois. In Munster, its Cork & Kerry. In Connaught, its Mayo & Galway. In the North, its Antrim, Tyrone & Donegal. The main contenders are for Hurling- Tipperary & Kilkenny. In Football, its Cork & Kerry, Dublin, Meath & Galway.

My favourite players for Hurling are DJ Carey, Henry Sheflin, Brendan Cummins because they are talented and skilful. My two all-time favourites are Christy Ring and Joe Cooney.

I play Camogie for Whitehall Colmcilles. I have been playing for them since I was four. My brother played with them before I was born therefore I had an interest. My Da got me into it as he is very interested in it and played Hurling and Gaelic for Dublin at Minor Age. My family have been very supportive by bringing me to training and matches. I hope to continue playing Hurling for ever and ever. Its the best sport ever! 

By Lorna Twohig Age 12

Poets Corner

Beer Bottle        Blue Bay        Mobile Phone

By Joe Quinn

I turned the key and walked outside

To meet my mates at the side of the road

We went to the Plex to play some pool

One of my mates was acting the fool

After the pool, we went for a walk

Because one of my mates wanted to talk

About some girl he met last night

He gave us all an awful fright

Later that night, he got in a fight

About that girl he met last night

He ran down the road and climbed up a tree

The boys ran down and grabbed his knee

He had bruised bones and a broken nose

How all this happened, nobody knows

He walked home and didnt hear a sound

Cos noone knew where he was or where he could be found

I walked around to see what was wrong

Cos his parents were gone all night long

Later that night he got a phone call

From a person that witnessed it all...

Bright, Dim, Big, Small, Tall, Short, Long, High, Low,

Just Thoughts

by Brian Stewart & Tommy Delaney

Dim Lights, Big Frights, books on a shelf

Why don't I come in contact with my self?

Big table, small table, why are horses in stables?

Small chair, big chair, why are there so many cables?

Long shelf, short shelf, why do I need help?

High room, low room, everywhere there is stealth

Small spies, big spies, why are they hiding under tables?

Big cabinets, small cabinets, all covered with labels