UCD STUDENTS’ UNION Entertainments Officer, Mike Pat O’Donoghue, has called the Freshers’ Ball “a great success”, surviving the late withdrawl of the advertised headline act, Tinchy Stryder.

The event, which was held in The Academy on Monday 7th September, was a sell-out with approximately 1,600 students attending.

Simian Mobile Disco were confirmed as the replacement headline act for the event on Friday 4th September, following Tinchy Stryder’s withdrawl due to a “scheduling conflict.”
O’Donoghue told The University Observer that the artist had been booked early in the summer, and that he is confident the rapper will perform in UCD in the near future despite the cancellation. He said he felt that UCD is “owed” a performance by the artist, and added that he had “no more than ten” requests for refunds from ticketholders after the change in the bill was announced. However O’Donoghue admitted that he “got lucky” with the availability of a high-calibre replacement act following Tinchy Stryder’s withdrawl.

The final line-up included Simian Mobile Disco, Fight Like Apes, The Flaws, Size2Shoes and Keywest, who performed in separate locations over the three stages of the venue.
O’Donoghue deflected criticism that the final line-up had an excessive emphasis on electro performers, saying that “there was a good mix of acts [with] something for everyone.”
Second year Agricultural Science student Josh Morton, was not disappointed with the change in line up, commenting that “the DJ acts were very good” and that “music-wise it was probably an improvement over last year.”

Not all students found the event satisfactory, however. Second year Arts student, Cormac Kavanagh, felt drinks prices at the venue were uncompetitive and “very dear.” He also questioned the value for money offered by the night, saying that the €15 ticket price was poor value for what amounted to “the same as a normal night out”.

O’Donoghue stated that the SU were prepared to run the event as a loss leader, to generate interest in the UCD Ents events. However preliminary figures show that the event appears to have turned a “small profit”. The official figures for the night were unavailable at the time of going to print.