I know a lot of people are starting to log out for the holidays, so while we're all still here, I just want to share an important annual reminder from Comic Book Dad that you are awesome --

I'd say lack of mental/health services, lack of housing, lack of public transport infrastructure, lack of "the third place" and pandering to right wing talking points in the face of neoliberalsim and late stage capitalism is the biggest threat to 'social cohesion'. But fuckit what do I know.

The biggest threat to social cohesion is the lack of affordable housing NOT immigration. Immigrants are not paying 1M€ plus for a mediocre end of terrace 3 bed in Rathfarnham. They’re not buying fancy apartments around Dublin. We need to invest in social/affordable housing or we are fucked.

We will have about 13,000 in 2025. About half will be allowed stay. I don't think 6,500 extra people in a population of 5 million is a threat to "social cohesion". Not being able to afford a home or to see a doctor or not having to wait 3 years for my kid's needs to be assessed is.

A German version of “the early bird catches the worm” translates to “the morning hour has gold in its mouth.” A Czech version is “he who does not laze around, gets the greens.” But my favourite is the French “the first cow to the meadow licks up all the dew” (imo, a vache improvement on the others).

often when i listen to the irish times politics podcast (masochism) i hear them frame the housing crisis as somehow linked to immigration, too the housing crisis is one of ff&fg for *decades* treating houses as investments for the rich to squeeze money from, not homes for people to comfortably live

I'll be presenting Rent Strikes: A history of collective tenant actions across the world in Stockholm on January 13th, together with my co-editor @hannesrolf.bsky.social. The book is open access - free to download: uclpress.co.uk/book/rent-st... 🧵1/3

The British Library have a searchable interim Archives & Manuscripts Catalogues up & running: searcharchives.bl.uk (posting for all the folks who, like me, had somehow managed to miss this important development)

This site is digitizing found cassette tapes of old dj sets, mixes & radio shows from around the world intertapes.net

Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organizations in the past weeks in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.

Impossible to photograph, but this morning in Maynooth village there was an amazing murmuration of rooks, hundreds and hundreds of them wheeling low in the sky and filling every treetop. I’ve only seen this a couple of times before, and it’s always on winter mornings.

🚦 Cabra 🚦 The traffic lights are out of action on Navan Road at Cabra Cross. Take care in the area.

Join us tonight at 6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern for a YouTube Premiere of @frankcifaldi.bsky.social's impassioned, energetic talk about the state of video game preservation. This was previously for GDC attendees only, but has been unlocked for all. We'll be in chat! youtu.be/_00AjQNjgDk?...

We’re proud to hold a range of #EYADigital collections: photos, documents, audio, video and born-digital material. Today we’re highlighting the Imirce Project, which shares thousands of Irish emigrant letters and life stories. Explore it here: imirce.universityofgalway.ie/p/ms #ExploreYourArchive

It wasn't an absence of 'red tape' that built Ardnacrusha. The Free state set up the ESB as the first national energy utility to build the largest hydro-electric project in the world because it wasn't profitable to electrify the country. www.rundale.org/2025/12/01/a...

My talk on 18th century histories of disability and resistance at the Institute of Historical Research is now available as a podcast www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

“Researchers from MIT, Northeastern University, and Meta recently released a paper suggesting that large language models (LLMs) similar to those that power ChatGPT may sometimes prioritize sentence structure over meaning when answering questions.” i keep telling students ChatGPT writes word salad.

Penicillin was the original "cancel culture"

WES is looking for book reviewers! Find the full list of books up for review below with details on how to submit. www.britsoc.co.uk/media/27062/...

RIP to Jimmy Cliff, a constant part of the soundtrack of my childhood and integral part of what I would argue is the best sountrack of all time for The Harder They Come. This one hurts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg7q...

The @clirnews.bsky.social is accepting applications for Recordings at Risk, which supports the preservation of rare audio and AV content on degradin. CLIR will host a webinar on Dec 2 to share info about the program and answer questions. Registration is required: clirdlf.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Of course I would say this, but we need to talk about the moral & ideological case for play & leisure more than ever. So much political discourse - especially from the super-rich - assumes we ought to construct society around forcing citizens to spend most of their one, unrepeatable life working.

Book Launch for 'From The Bog To The Cloud' is in Connolly Books on Wednesday, November 26th. Pat and I will be in conversation with Conor McCabe and Eugenia Siapera. Should be good! www.connollybooks.org/product/from...

Happy Fenton Day to all who celebrate. Jesus Christ, fourteen years. youtu.be/3GRSbr0EYYU

Happy World Digital Preservation Day y’all. Here is our wonderful memberships manager Maeve O’Brien introducing the work of @dri.ie #WDPID2025

Ah, jaysus. 💕

Higher education has been destroyed in Gaza Eradicating learning, including to third level also has the hallmarks of a genocide #endthegazagenocide www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

Evidence of the last 30-40 years is that, generally, once you start reducing the state’s role in pursuit of efficiency, there is no point at which people will believe “value for money” has been achieved. It just undermines the state’s capacity to deliver (and people’s trust in public institutions).

’Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world.

"The general problem is that the traditional right adopts the rhetoric of the far right, but instead of gaining seats, they lose them to the extreme right. This is something we see in almost all of Europe."

Happy Samhain 🔥

Wow. ❤️

I've been reading 1960s oral histories and am surprised at parallels with our present-day. "Everything happens so much" was just as true then. For activists, in 1968, everything happened all at the same time and too much. And, social movements we may imagine as separate were also shmushed together.

Looking forward to this 🍿

Updating my LEGO White House

🎼Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) field-recording programme is hosting a free lunchtime lecture on "How to Conduct a Field-Recording Interview" as part of a pan-European music project. When: 4th Nov 1-2pm Where: 73 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 FREE Visit: www.tickettailor.com/events/irish...

If you are in London, or know someone who is, Pat Brodie and I are having a book launch event in the AA Bookshop this Wednesday 22nd. Ireland, data centres, bogs, postcolonial development, imperialism, anti-colonial struggles....something for everyone.

Mark Bray wrote a great book about antifascism and its history. He’s now being targeted by right-wing provocateurs. You can buy his book here: a.co/d/7Gvdrtt

Solidarity with Mark Bray - it is absolutely shocking that threats and harassment against his family is forcing him to leave his country.

Very excited launch of #Saothar50 is today 🥳 🥳. Looking forward to attending later as part of #DublinFestivalHistory & being in fab company of @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social @sonjatiernan.bsky.social @fionnualawalsh.bsky.social @helenbeaumont.bsky.social. Hope to get quick 🌊🏊‍♀️ in as well 🥶. ❤️Dublin.

“When the Irish dockers went out on strike in 1912, it was a terrible time. Jewish families took in hundreds of their children. They were starving. “We knew they wouldn’t forget. They wanted to repay the debt.”

Delighted to finally finally see this in real life 😂 Available to order here: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/single-mo... Book launch details to come...

“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.” ― Jane Goodall 💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero

Three Irish citizens among activists detained as Israeli forces seize flotilla ships, organisers say. Thinking of Sarah Clancy - all eyes on the flotilla #speirgorm jrnl.ie/6832196

So grateful to @sonjatiernan.bsky.social & editors of #Saothar50 for opportunity to write on Irish housewives. By mad coincidence my ma was interviewed about her everyday experiences in 1968 & that features in my new article. #familyhistory #femaleactivism dublinfestivalofhistory.ie/event/specia...

Scene representing #October, from the 15th-century Très Riches Heures — taking place at what would now be the centre of Paris (a block or two south of l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts). More here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/labors-of-the-months-from-the-tres-riches-heures

Google deletes history:

I'd no idea that random Irish-MAGA chancer in Indonesia was posting mad stuff about Micheál Martin and Jim Gavin on X until the Irish Times and Independent helpfully signal-boosted him with stories on their homepages.