Lip piercing

Where would one go to get this done in the City?

And what would the cost be?

Can anyone help me here?

Okay, being the poor, broke student that I am I need to cash a 40euro cheque in order to have moolah in my wallet for tonight.

The cheque, in question, is made out to me. Since I'm not a TSB account holder they can't cash it for me though. Added to this, AIB tell me it'll take a few days for it to be in my account if I lodge to my account.

I've heard that some places in town accept these cheques in exchange for cash. Anyone know if this is true and where I could find such an establishment?

City travel in style

Eircom League Focus
Wednesday, 16 July 2008

By Ed Leahy

I was walking out of Dublin airport at the start of the season when I was strangely attracted to a man in a black tracksuit.

Now I must admit that it was the leisurewear and not the man that grabbed my attention, and in particular the crest on the aforementioned sporting apparel.

I didn't recognise that particular man but as I turned the corner, another 20 such attires assembled in the arrivals area.

On closer inspection I noticed that the crest in question was the recently revamped Cork City FC emblem and the 20 or so men within were the one and only Rebel Army on their way to a Setanta Sports Cup match up north.

I pondered the logic of flying to Dublin from Cork, knowing the time it would take to check in, fly, disembark, collect bags and complete the journey to Dungannon by coach.

And while it may not have saved a lot of time, I deduced that it was a status symbol of the new eircom League of Ireland and what it means to a full-time club with a professional approach.

I must admit I was impressed and you could tell that the players were having it even if they were letting on that they weren't. As people passing were having a good gawk going past thinking, no doubt, that they were in the company of some category of celebrity.

The iPods were on, the oversized headphones, the works, I'm sure I even spotted the odd man-bag or two. It was just like the English teams arriving on Sky Sports before a game.

A few weeks later up at Richmond Park, I was equally impressed by the post-match setup, where the club provided an excellent facility for the manager and player interviews, complete with tea, sandwiches and a fine assortment of biscuits.

Even the television stations got in on the act, MNS, live games, two a week sometimes, surely the crowds would come.

The league kicked off and thanks to some excellent pitches, full-time players and a perceived change of mind-set throughout the league, the standard of the football on offer definitely improved.

So nothing to worry about then? Next step a ten-team league, with three teams getting relegated, which will lead to an even more-competitive league in 2009.

But sure enough, if there is one thing that eircom League clubs cannot seem to get their head around is learning from others' mistakes.

Over recent seasons, we have witnessed clubs going out of existence and others just about surviving. And guess what? It is happening again.

Over the past few weeks Galway United, Waterford United and Sligo Rovers have been plunged into turmoil, with the next few months set to determine whether they survive or not.

Both Galway and Sligo gambled with a full-time set-up this season in an attempt to secure a place in next season's ten-team league, and while Sligo are comfortable in mid-table, Galway had a disastrous start and have maintained that form ever since.

And while the pressure was on to stay in the Premier, another spanner was thrown in the works by those pushing for an All-Ireland league next season.

Suddenly, secret meetings were going on amongst the 'big' clubs talking the talk about an elite cross-border league with promises of television deals and bigger crowds.

But now, thanks to a defiant FAI, it seems that it has all gone quiet on that front as the league clubs revert to doing what they do best - creating bad press for themselves.

Now a very strange thing happened as a result of the Galway scenario. The club actually came out and said they made mistakes but are working hard to rectify the situation.

A noble gesture no doubt, but were the board at Galway the only people in the country that did not see this coming. Okay, maybe the Sligo board did not see it either but the rest of us were not even a bit surprised.

The only surprise, considering the strict FAI stipulations that clubs are supposedly acting within, is that no more clubs are in the same boat as our friends from the west.

The main reasons that clubs are in this predicament is that some of the wages that are now on offer in the league can only be described as ludicrous.

While the standard of football is getting better, it is no way near good enough to justify what some players are being paid.

Footballers in some of the strongest leagues throughout Europe are earning less than the top earners in this country.

These players are playing week-in week-out in front of huge crowds, whether in Portugal, France, Sweden or the Czech Republic, while the English league rejects in the eircom are earning six-figure salaries.

Players are nothing more than mercenaries in the league now with the Shelbourne model of old, once more, being used in search of glory.

While that club and its fans now suffer a horrible existence in the bowels of Irish football, or the First Division, to give it its proper title, the players just move on whether to United Park or to Dalymount. And granted, while some of these clubs are receiving strong financial backing at the moment, it will be interesting to see how long the sugar daddies hang around once the bad results start kicking in.

And as Bohs bowed out to the mighty Latvians at the weekend, another few banana skins lie in wait for Drogheda United, St Patrick's Athletic and Cork City over the next week or two.

All the best in Europe lads. Otherwise you might be looking for a new club when the current one stops paying your astronomical wages.

I believe Cyprus is nice this time of year.







Very funny reading about the City teams style. Strange article though, Ed Leahy comes across as a very bitter man for some reason.

Help with Directions...

Any helpful soul know where this place is exactly? I'm not familiar with Pouladuff at all at all...

Cheers

Smashing Pumpkins

Just wondering if anyone is heading to this? Trying to get a hold of tickets, considering handing over 120 bobs to ebay touts for a ticket...