I thought this might happen…

I ran a search on Google earlier this morning for ‘blogging in Dubai’, to see what bloggers in this neck of the woods are up to. While some of them opened, others presented the above note…

Du is one of the country’s mobile operators and I’m guessing one of their internet providers as well. Browsing in general in the country goes through a national proxy in order to filter out inappropriate content but everything else I’ve been doing so far - my own blog, KilkennyMusic.com, flickr, twitter, the Irish Times, and a lot of my regular web haunts don’t flag anything… yet.

Note: managed to get a few more pics up on Flickr from the N95.

It’s currently 4:37pm local time in Dubai. Which means it’s 12:37pm at home. Which means that I’ve been on the move for the last 30 hours but at about 3am this morning I landed in Abu Dhabi, flying in over some serious displays of city planning (everything is incredibly grid-like in the air) to a sunrise I’ve never seen the likes of anywhere else.

Breezing through the airport and customs, I’ve found myself in Dubai where I’m staying until the 29th of this month. If there was every a reason or a need to take photos, it’s coming to Dubai. Already the camera and the phoning are starting to gather snaps as building after building continue to amaze.

I’ll get into the meat of things tomorrow, for now I’m knocking around the apartment, stroll to the shop, unpack, get the local bearings and the likes.

That said, I have already learned that the local government are now scrapping cars that are over 20 years old - you’ve to find the solution but they’re gonna be banned off the road; a woman recently smuggled 1.5kg of cocaine in tablet form in her stomach through the airport; Kylie Minogue is set to earn a blind fortune for opening the new Atlantis Hotel here this week and if you’re tipping a taxi driver, you round up to the nearest 5 dirham.

The pic above was captured on the bus on the way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, no idea what time it was when I took it, but it’s something to start with. Thankfully having the laptop means I can shoot, shoot and keep shooting.

I’m off to go find some camels or something, rumour has we’ll try and hit some camel racing to see what all the craic is about.

photo credit: James Temple

I don’t go away places often. Flying to Toronto in 2006 was the first time I’d been on a plane in about ten years (that said, on years in between I had taken a ferry over to France now and again).

But since college life began seven years or more, I haven’t gone away many places. While good friends decided to sample the delights of Thailand, Australia, America, South Korea and more - some of them still are - I decided to stay in Kilkenny and work for myself.

Working one job is enough for some people but when the design started, soon too did the music, and the theatre. When one phone switches off at 5pm, two more go on and the world continues as normal.

I don’t take holidays, and I don’t take sick days (some companies would love that in an employee). I do enough things with my day that there isn’t time to be sick, unless of course I’m on holiday (touch wood).

When I got to Toronto in 2006 I had spent the previous fifteen months working close on seven days a week, something you’ve got to do when you’re working for yourself, or something you find yourself doing rather quickly more to the point. From December 2006 to now it’s been exactly the same, almost two years flat out in the office, with gigs and the theatre, the latter growing into something I’ve become extremely proud of for the work we do as a team.

So getting to give the whole lot up for ten or eleven days will be a shock to the system.

Not only that, but I get to try some indoor skiing, catch a glimpse of the QE2 (or so I’m told), track down some camel racing and generally disengage myself from my working life.

Sure, long weekends away are great (though 9/10 times involve some kind of work) but to get out of the country and disconnect from phones, work, music and everything else is a blessing.

I leave this Sunday and I’ll see all y’all in December.

On Saturday night I went along to the premiere screening of The Mystery Of The Night Time Refuse, the latest episode in the current series of Vultures. I almost laughed my ass off in parts (seriously) and the lads have done another great job in producing this episode, something which couldn’t be done without the terrific assistance from the Kilkenny County Council Arts Office who also support the activities of The Devious Theatre Company and KilkennyMusic.com.

While I’ve been cast to appear in episode six there’s a possibility I’ll be making a third cameo in four episodes when shooting resumes for episode four later this month.

Filmed and produced entirely on location in Kilkenny (well, sort-of, for this episode), you can now watch or download the third episode for free online. Visit VulturesPI.com or start playing the video above.

VULTURES, the online sitcom produced here in Kilkenny sees its third episode premiered this coming Saturday in the back room in Ryan’s on Friary Street for 8pm.

Vultures is a comedy about three private detectives who run a moderately successful private investigation agency called Vulture Private Investigations. They specialise in divorce cases, fraud, missing persons, animals or plants and occasionally, just occasionally, they’ll be served up something that approximates a mystery. Written, produced and directed by Mycrofilms here in Kilkenny, The Mystery Of The Night Time Refuse (the third episode) will also be available online at VulturesPI.com from this Sunday, November 9th.

The story sees the gentlemen detectives of V.P.I procuring new offices, only to find that someone is illegally dumping rubbish outside. When ball busting rubbish warden Ned Savage (John Doran) shows them evidence that the rubbish is theirs and issues them a fine, Tennyson, Vultour and McGrain realise that someone is trying to push them out of business. But what fiend would do such a thing? And is it safe to inspect manky bags of rubbish in a contained area? And what does Eddie Hobbs have to do with all this?

The fourth episode is currently in filming in Kilkenny with a view to being released before the end of the year (or I would hope anyway).

Production on the entire series will have concluded by next summer.

Keep an eye on VulturesPI.com for the latest installment this weekend.

photo credit: wyteone

I’ve decided to test the auction waters for domain names, putting up one of a large collection I have, most of which were active at some point in time including CelebrityNews.tv.

Formerly a celebrity news blog, I realised after a few short months that I just couldn’t keep up with the content (and get around to launching different ideas for it) so the domain went into hiding until last weekend.

I signed up for GoDaddy.com’s auctions, listing CelebrityNews.tv. The domain, I feel, would be ideal for someone looking to start a celebrity media site - blog, magazine, audio, video, or the whole lot together. The bidding on the domain, ending approximately 8pm Irish time tomorrow (Friday October 31st) currently stands at US$200.

If you’re interested and would like to place a bid, check out the auction listing here.

The last few weeks have shot by in nothing but a blur. Work life is changing and evolving, music is moving, I’ve been involved in another festival, thrown a bunch of gigs and managed to pull off my third theatre production of the year, again donning one of the producer hats available from The Devious Theatre Company’s hat box.

It all comes down to tonight.

The Devious Theatre Company (of which I’m involved in running and have been since May 2006) proudly present our own version of H.G. Wells’ classic ‘The War Of The Worlds’, airing tonight on KCLR96FM. You can pick up KCLR in Carlow, Kilkenny, south Kilkenny and areas of Waterford and surrounding counties. If you’re well outside the range or would like to listen in from foreign soil, you can do so by hitting the station’s website on KCLR96FM.com.

Fitting it should fall on the 70th anniversary of the original broadcast by Orson Welles, October 30th 1938.

We’ve been working on the show solid for the past 2-3 weeks with many a late night had in the recording studio (including this Tuesday gone) in the buildup to handing over the finished production to the station yesterday.

As a company we’ve built up a nice reputation in Kilkenny. War Of The Worlds marks our fifth production (fifth new production as we brought one show back for two further runs in 2006 and 2007) and our first foray into the world of theatre for radio. We’ve concentrated so much on the visual - sets, costumes, lighting, makeup, props, the venue, our advertising, promotional photos, posters but this show turns it on it’s head.

The Bigger Picture

Taking a step back to look at the bigger picture, I have to hand it to the lads, and ourselves as a company. We’ve come through two tough productions with Trainspotting (June 2008), Smitten (August 2008) and with little or no break we ran straight into The War Of The Worlds, writing an entirely new script, casting, scheduling, sourcing sound effects and learning to concentrate on everything you don’t see. It’s one thing producing a piece of work for an audience who will sit and watch you, but another thing altogether in producing a piece of work for an audience you want to sit and listen to you.

But everyone pulled it together, that’s what we do when we’re working as a proper functioning theme. You’re an actor, but you’re also the producer, the director, the driver, the one that goes for food, the one that remembers to bring biscuits and tea, the one that stays up all night mixing - we’re all of those. So while it’s a brilliant move for the company, it’s a brilliant show of teamwork as everyone had a part to play and everyone played it so well.

Not only that, but they managed to wrap it into a neat bundle that airs tonight around 9:03pm and runs for 53 minutes and 57 seconds. And we did it all without any external technical support. We were offered the use of the radio station for production but we opted to carry the can ourselves knowing we’ve got the ability to pull it off.

I’ve held back from listening to the finished version (we’re having a listening party tonight) though initial feedback from the station calls the show “absolutely fantastic”. Fingers crossed.

I’ll be on the radio later this morning (just after the 11am news) talking about the show. You can listen in live via KCLR96FM.com.

To those of you who are listening in tonight, thank you very much. From myself and all at The Devious Theatre Company I really do hope you enjoy the efforts of the group as much as we’ve enjoyed producing it. If it all goes well then maybe we’ll gun for another one next year. Our thanks too go out to all at KCLR for their support and in giving us the opportunity and airtime to develop another original production.

For those of you who can’t listen in tonight then don’t despair, we’ve something nice in store for you too.

The Corkonians are bringing BarCamp home, back to where it started in Ireland in 2006. Having attended and organised BarCamp / CreativeCamp / PodCamp events (three of which were in Kilkenny) in the last year or more I can safely tell you that these are the kind of events you should be going to.

You’re not going to be asked for a registration fee. You don’t need to dress up for the occasion. You will meet some seriously nice, helpful, informative, clever, talented people. You can do it all from lurking in the background to throwing yourself into the thick of things and giving a talk or helping out as a volunteer on the day.

Conor O’Neill looks like he’s at the helm for BarCamp Cork 2 which takes place at WebWorks on Saturday November 1st.

Register (for free) to attend, you won’t be sorry.

I finally cracked the drive to Dublin with the Irish Web Awards last week and was hoping November 1st would see me crack the drive to Cork as well but it looks like I might mixed up some course dates on the Kilkenny side of things. I’ll (at least) be following the activity in the run up to November first on Twitter where hopefully there’ll be plenty more coverage on the day.

photo credit: wonker

The first of this week’s podcasts is finally online. I’ve got to learn not to go browsing around MySpace with 20 tabs open on the laptop while ProTools is bouncing out the show.

Especially when it’s getting close to 1am and you’re already tired.

Technical difficulties aside, you can listen to the 40th Playlist Mix here or click here to download the show (27mb mp3). There’s music from Bloc Party, Ingrid Michaelson, Gum and more. You’ll also get a listen to the current radio advert for The Devious Theatre Company’s ‘War Of The Worlds’ which wraps recording this Sunday.

The Sound System Podcast with KilkennyMusic.com records and airs tonight and will likely feature a lot of chat, recaps and mental flashbacks from the 2008 Irish Web Awards in Dublin on Saturday gone.

Playlist Mix #40

So last night in Dublin myself, Costigan and 298 other people (maybe a few more or less) turned out for the 2008 Moviestar.ie Irish Web Awards.

While we had made plans to attend long before the longlists and shortlists were announced, it was nice also nice to be represented in two categories - myself as Best Podcaster with Playlist Mix (weekly on a Tuesday) and myself and Ross there to represent KilkennyMusic.com in the Best Music Site category. Little did I think I’d be walking away with a trophy and a bottle of champagne to match!

Then of course, little did Elly Parker think she’d end up wearing the bottle of champagne, but when someone sprays you in Formula One-style celebration, it’s only right to return the gesture.

I’ve no idea what I said in accepting the award - nothing to do with the two pints and a tequila I’d had before taking my seat for the start - but the surprise was genuine and I apologise if I sounded like a babbling idiot on stage. Though photo evidence suggests that both Ross and Darragh have the acceptance on video.

Seriously though - thank you. To the judges, to the other podcasters in the category, to Karl Deeter of Irish Mortage Brokers (category sponsor), to Damien and the web awards gang, Moviestar.ie (I’ve been looking for a new DVD player for ages), Darragh and Niamh for the roof over our heads for the night, to those of you who listen to the podcast and those of you who have yet to listen to the podcast (there’s plenty more to come!). Thanks to Ross as well, always nice to have one of your own share in something like that. Though I blame you for the tequila issues throughout the night. God help the Radisson staff… the look of sheer wonder and disgust on their faces at the same time.

Winning an award aside, the IWAs was simply one of the best nights had out in ages. There were a whole lot of hugs, drinks, chats, random singing, dancing, eating (the food was outstanding), more drinking, more chats, more hugs (why all the hugging?) and finally getting to meet up with the likes of Eoghan, Robin and more.

While it was good to catch up with familiar faces, the awards once again served as a fantastic outlet for connecting with new faces. Introductions were made, chats were had, ideas shared, plans revealed and batted around.

Forget to mention too - thanks (again) to Damien… for the poster. Something I developed as more of a promo graphic to be passed around blogs will now hang on my wall in an extremely lifesize manor… it’s huge, the print quality is great and it’s a total bonus

Of course, like an idiot, I left the award behind me. Shows how much I was actually expecting to win! Having guarded it safely for the night and stashing it behind the couch on returning to the house from the hotel, I remembered to pack everything into the van… except the award stashed safely behind the house.

While it gets minded in Dublin until Wednesday or Thursday, I’m going to pick out a shelf to hang and place the award on… it’s not all that often I pick up an award so I’ll treasure that one.

Thanks.

Seriously.

Thanks.

I started podcasting on a monthly basis back in November 2006 (though it could have been every three weeks to coincide with the One Take Sessions).

The monthly turned tri-weekly, turned fortnightly, back to tri-weekly and now weekly. That’s just with KilkennyMusic.com who during the week (yesterday in fact) managed to deliver the 61st Sound System Podcast. Admittedly, if we kept the same schedule throughout the year and didn’t take a summer break we’d be a lot closer to the one hundred mark for that particular podcast.

In March 2007 I started the Playlist Mix, abandoning the podcast after three shows. PodCamp Ireland in Kilkenny (September 2007) gave me the much needed inspiration to set out a regular podcast schedule for that show, and as of this Tuesday night gone (again, incorporating a summer break due to a hectic three-show schedule with The Devious Theatre Company) the Playlist Mix has reached show number 39.

Put the two together - you get 100 podcasts, which considering the average lengths of the podcasts (45 minutes and 30 minutes respectively) you’re looking at over 65 hours of podcast content, chat and music.

Then I got involved in the weekly PodCamp Ireland podcasts as well, but that’s another story altogether.

There’s an awful lot of learning in producing 100 podcasts, something I’m putting into the production of a further two podcasts (one monthly show due to start in November) and something that has also opened the doors to professional work through podcasting. Both podcasts have settled into a nice groove and with the Sound System Podcast in particular (which went from a four-host show to a two-host show) I’m delighted that it’s taken on a life of it’s own, something these two gents know all to well about in recent weeks.

So for this week, why not check out the 61st Sound System Podcast (download) or the 39th Playlist Mix (download) and let me know what you think.

So here it is.

It’s a big’un, 3508px * 4961px @ 300DPI, should be enough to knock an A3 copy out of at least. Sorry it took so long to get around to the link and upload… the sheer pile of stuff on my to-do list is incredible last week and this.

That said, I’m looking forward to the catch up with familiar and new faces again on Saturday night. Accommodation is seemingly sorted so it’ll be good to let the hair down.

Disclaimer: This is a mashup… the original 300 imagery is copyright of the original owners / producers / film company.

photo credit: fdecomite

As Damien mentioned earlier this morning and I blurted out on Twitter yesterday, I’ve finally been able to announce my current project, albeit almost a week past my original October 1st deadline.

Myself and a few of the other deviants are taking on HG Wells’ sci-fi classic ‘The War Of The Worlds’ in a production to be broadcast between 9pm and 10pm, Thursday October 30th this year on KCLR 96FM. While we won’t be doing an actual live performance, we’re taking on all the production (as usual), both pre and post for the show. Just when I thought my evenings were coming back to me and all…

If you want to listen in online, you’ll be able to do so by visiting the KCLR 96FM website. For those who miss the live broadcast, we’re going to look at making a podcast series out of the production (perhaps four mini chapters as well as a full-length release) for release from DeviousTheatre.com in the day or two after broadcast.

I did manage to squeeze off a QIK of the announcement yesterday, in doing show highlighting the new DeviousTheatre.com (relaunched) along with matching top and pants for the MySpace and Bebo.

So why destroy Kilkenny and Carlow? Well, we figured the station Orson Welles so gracefully attacked back in 1938 has already been done and given we’re getting nice airtime on local radio, we thought we’d localise the production, also coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the original broadcast that rocked the US at the time of its release.

Castlecomer will fall, Kilkenny City will lay in ruins and poor Carlow just won’t know what hit it.

Is this a first for Irish theatre as well? Podcasting productions in that manner? I’d like to think it is but should really do a bit more looking into the subject.

That’s enough coming up for air… back to the real world for my Tuesday evening.

photo credit: topgold

So PodCamp Ireland lands tomorrow, the third unconference in 12 months I’ve been directly involved in organising. Turns out, it’s not easy, but when you get to the day it’s all good.

Tomorrow will be no different. We’ve plenty of talks to look forward to and with 125 registered (if we got 80-90 then we’d be looking well) there’ll be a load of people to talk with and chat with. I’m sure I’ll no doubt be running around like a very calm but very headless chicken tomorrow. Along side in an organisational capacity of course are Bernie and Krishna and there’s a few people who have put themselves forward to volunteer in any capacity possible.

The session I’ve organised for tomorrow will look at (with a bit of prodding from anyone keen on asking questions) how elements of social media and various online applications have helped the development and progress of KilkennyMusic, The Devious Theatre Company and Mycrofilms. There will be a screening before lunch of The Scarlet Lady Vanishes, followed by a Q&A with the Vultures crew, KKM crew and Devious crew but keeping the unconference notion in mind “we’ll see what happens on the day”.

Registration is from 9:30am, I’ll be there in the hotel from about 8am, if anyone wants me tomorrow or wants to drop me a line before then, just contact me.

Other than that, I’ll see you all tomorrow morning in Hotel Kilkenny for the second PodCamp Ireland.

The fun has started amongst those going to the Web Awards in October with buttons and graphics. Prompted by a call for a 300 mashup, here’s my little offering…

If anyone is interested, I’ve got a 5000×3000px version available as well…

Disclaimer: This is a mashup… the original 300 imagery is copyright of the original owners / producers / film company.

Recording in a studio with no lights is no fun. Just like stubbing your toe is no fun. When you do the two together and podcast in the dark, it’s bound to become a little interesting.

As I wait on this week’s KilkennyMusic.com podcast to upload I point you in the direction of the 37th Playlist Mix podcast featuring this 90s reggae-loving gem (above), Pato Banton.

The 37th podcast brings you another 30 minutes or so of podsafe and independent music, six acts, six tracks and some background in between. It arrived online later than expected, due to unforeseen technical difficulties with lights, a crashing browser and ultimately electricity but it’s there for all to grab now.

You can download here (about 28mb) or stream below. You can also check out PlaylistMix.com for the podcast archives, see past shows and subscribe via the feed (opens iTunes) to find out what I’ve been listening to during the week and just what’s been hitting my inbox.

Playlist Mix 37

Two of my babies (can I call them that if I’m *that* close to them?) have been shortlisted at the 2008 Irish Web Awards.

While I was secretly delighted to see KilkennyMusic.com and the Playlist Mix Podcast (new podcast later this morning) make the longlist last week, there was not one but two high fives given yesterday when I discovered that KKM and PLM have made the shortlist for Best Music site and Best Podcast respectively.

Needless to say I’m all surprised and happy and I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone again in Dublin on October 11th. I’m should be dragging the blog awards ninja with me again to represent Kilkenny Music on the night but can’t wait for the show.

Congratulations too to all the individuals and companies who also find themselves on the shortlist. Registration for the awards, taking place in the is currently open with numbers already well in three figures

It’s about time I offered up a post for the Tuesday Push and I’m happy to see my first one being for DownloadMusic.ie.

With almost 900 artists on the books and close on 45,000 legal music downloads - which, by the way, contribute to standings in the Irish music charts - DownloadMusic.ie has become the place to be seen for independent Irish acts looking to make any kind of a name for themselves.

I’ll admit, I’ve never purchased music from the site. However, I use the site from the other side, as an artist and promoter helping other acts to get online and start selling their music.

While anyone can go online and purchase music via credit card or online payment, it’s nice to see DownloadMusic.ie give bands the chance to sell their music via text message. In a mobile-hungry country where mobile handset saturation exceeds 100% (I know myself I’ve got three active handsets on three different numbers with two spare handsets just in case), the service seems ideal. We are a texting nation. We’re possibly there-or-there abouts for phone calls, but we’re certainly there for texting.

Texting is where it’s at for DownloadMusic.ie. Fans of the bands can send a short code to 57501 e.g. ‘music XYZ’. They’ll be charged just a Euro for the text with the revenue split between the operator, DownloadMusic.ie (DownloadMusic.ie don’t actually take any money, leaving more to the artist again), the bulk going to the band (yes, IMRO are in there too looking for their percentage if you’re IMRO registered). The result is a text link and password for a secure download area to grab your new track and in the process of doing so you’re helping a band move one step closer to inclusion in the national music charts.

There’s no doubt that the majority of acts I work with through KilkennyMusic.com and under the One Take Sessions gig series have a presence on DownloadMusic.ie. Vesta Varro (were due in Kilkenny on Saturday), currently touring in support of new single ‘Believe’ are the featured artist on the DownloadMusic.ie homepage.

Local favourites Saving J, Myp Et Jeep and The Fundamentals are there too. At the last One Take Sessions in Kilkenny, Carlow performer Joe Cleere made a great point of asking people to text his shortcode to the DownloadMusic.ie number (57501) to buy his new single ‘Queue’.

CDs at gigs will shortly become a thing of the past. Further proof to this is the relase of DownloadMusic.ie’s first USB album (I was on the panel of judges asked to select the acts for inclusion), which is also registered for the Irish music charts and features the likes of Dirty Epics, Vesta Varro, Ro Tierney, Codes and more - €12.99 for a 1gb USB key with 15 tracks included isn’t a bad deal at all.

But you can get so much more - browse artists, get gig listings, check out the DownloadMusic.ie blog and there’s also the future possibility of bands selling tickets for gigs, band merch and more.

DownloadMusic.ie is an absolute credit to the independent Irish music scene and long may the service continue.

Ordering a pizza in Kilkenny just got a whole lot easier. On Friday (and again on Saturday) I tried the new online ordering system from ExtremePizza.com, the US-based pizza company, Kilkenny being the first Irish franchise location.

The flier in the door suggested online ordering was available so I clicked on over to the website about 5:55pm, made a custom pizza ticking off all the extras I wanted, placed the order around 6pm and was emailed a receipt and told the average delivery time would be 45 minutes.

Being one of the first houses in the estate, taxi and delivery drivers often skip past my own place and head for the bulk of the houses to seek out my address - but at least they listened to the ’special instructions’ part of the order. At 6:45pm I get a phone call from the driver saying he’d got the message, was in the driveway and described the house before approaching the door.

Instead of opting to open a company account or pay by credit card online (even more convenient), I had the cash ready from the receipt and - unlike some other pizza delivery companies I’ve heard tales of in Kilkenny - what you see on the receipt is what you pay.

In discussing the merits of online pizza ordering over a few beers on Saturday night, we put it to the test again, different house further across town, different order combination and all with the same results - order goes in, pizza confirmation emailed, 45 minutes later your internet order is at the door.

If they could knock the time down to 30 minute it’d be nice and handy but it’s great to see the whole system works and I’d hope that other places in Kilkenny catch on soon.

See my LouderVoice.com review here.

The UCD Quinn School of Business are running three evening talks from next week looking at the business of beauty, gaming and music, giving transitition year, fifth year and leaving cert students “a real insight” into viable career options in the three industries.

These are more than just a talk. They are real business people sharing their vast experience in today’s exciting world of business and the possibilities that can arise from a degree in business.

The Business of Beauty talk will be given by L’Oreal’s Eoghan O’Sullvan and Sarah Keating next Tuesday at UCD from 6:30pm to 10pm.

With a focus on specific ventures, Eoghan and Sarah will highlight the commercial, marketing, finance, supply chain management and human resource aspects to their business while you enjoy funky canapés, mocktails and goody bags on offer at the event

The Business of Gaming talk will run on Thursday October 9th with XBOX Ireland’s Orla Sheridan and Microsoft Game Studio’s Michel Buch Andersen taking to the floor to provide an insight to the current gaming marketplace, “retail distribution channels, profitability models” and more, something being pushed (by the looks of things) towards those studying business, economics or accounting.

However, the one that got my attention is the Business of Music talk being given by Universal’s Freddie Middleton (Marketing Director) and Gill Dooley (Digital Campaign Manager), the talk taking place on Thursday October 23rd. The Business of Music should offer an insight to the role of a record company in the music industry, from a traditional background through to digital media distribution. You think they’ll get a debate going on where record companies are going and how they’ll continue in 5, 10, 20 years?

Students going to the talks also have a chance to win a shadow-day at either Universal Music, L’Oreal or Xbox Ireland. Why weren’t they doing this kind of thing when I was in transition year? Were these events even open to third-level students in recent years?

If you are a second-level student with an interesting in any of the above, then head along. I know I would be anyway if the door was open to me.