Opinion: My heart sank when I saw the laughter in the Oval Office about our housing crisis #speirgorm jrnl.ie/6649185

NEW: A searing editorial in the The Kyiv Independent. “It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up. “A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky.” @kyivindependent.com

Zelensky will go down in history as a man who gave his all to stop the march of Fascism across Europe. Will he succeed? Not if we scroll past what’s happening.

BREAKING: There has just been a huge argument between Zelenskyy, Trump & Vance in the Oval Office. Trump calls Zelenskyy disrespectful and says he “is no position to dictate” to the US. Trump raises his voice to Zelenskyy. He can’t stand someone standing up to him. This is unbelievable.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, due to meet Trump on St Patrick's Day, is due to be interviewed on The Late Late Show. Not the most combative environment, but it should be interesting nevertheless...

Press release from Irish Cancer Society- Public cancer patients left behind in two-tier health system - Leading oncologist’s first question is now “Do you have health insurance?” www.cancer.ie/about-us/new...

In the second Trump Administration, a class of Silicon Valley leaders is insinuating itself into politics. For one historian, it’s reminiscent of the élite bureaucrats who seized political power and drove Japan into the Second World War.

These do not seem like significant cost centres in the context of the provision of all services. If the HSE wanted to take really effective, long term cost saving action, they would hugely increase expenditure on maternity unit staffing and training to prevent avoidable catastrophic birth injuries.

An ad put up at a bus stop in London today.

Historians Politely Remind Nation To Check What's Happened In Past Before Making Any Big Decisions theonion.com/historians-p...

the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president

An important decision on litigation capacity - mentally ill man’s case over father’s will to be progressed by decision-making representative, judge orders www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...

Delighted to see that Alice Mary Higgins (NUI) & Lynn Ruane (Trinity)should be returned to the Seanad. With the disgraceful dearth of women in Ministerial positions it’s great that we’ll have two powerful women’s voices / activists for the marginalised will (🤞🏽) be back in the Oireachtas. #speirgorm

#StormÉogwyn #Speirgorm

Why can’t we have a disabled person analyse and respond to the programme for government in studio rather than be in the feature VT piece before? @rteprimetime.bsky.social #rtept The media ableism never ends.

Blinne ní Ghrálaigh KC: enacting the Occupied Territories Bill is the *minimum* required of Ireland under international law, in light of the July 2024 World Court Advisory Opinion on State's duties in relation to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.

Government promises: The word ‘explore’ appears 34 times and ‘examine’ 86 times in Coalition document

With ‘corridor care’ back in the news, worth revisiting this piece by Heather Wilson and @mrsbosanquet.bsky.social about the impact on patients and #NHS staff. @healthfoundation.bsky.social

Something to keep in mind the next time you hear any politician, journalist, or broadcaster saying there needs to be a conversation about immigration in Ireland. #Speirgorm #IrishPol

The enshittification of uk general practice. (He’s talking about our paper!!) led by @oohgpwales.bsky.social bjgp.org/content/75/7...

I'm involved in tech hiring. I've interviewed thousands of engineers. And I'd like to tell you about a disturbing trend I've seen in tech in the last 10 years 🧵

How to critically read a text. This is what the author wrote, here’s one way to interpret what they’re saying and here’s why I think it’s interesting or significant. It’s an invaluable skill. And increasingly rare across different mediums.

Thou shalt not pretend that wanting everyone to have healthcare is “radical.”

The DCC executive can't pass bye-laws, this is a reserved power for council members. If you're opposed to this proposal (as I am) let your councillors know - I think the numbers are probably there for the elected members to stop this.

So, Israel closes embassy in Ireland. Accuses the Irish of Anti-Semitism. Zionists start calling the Irish #Paddystinians - they think this is an insult. The Irish embrace the term, start to produce badges and t-shirts. The Irish President posts photos with new Palestinian Ambassador. #speirgorm

Rolling Stone gets it. #DepartmentOfGreedAndExcess www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Headline reading “President Michael D Higgins’ final Christmas message” just gave me a very sad feeling. Having him in office these last few years has made a huge difference to the country. He’s a necessary corrective to the neoliberal diet we get everywhere else. Losing him will be very difficult.

This is a fantastic, brief but brutal, takedown of one of mental health's golden idols: Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score. Props to @eminietfeld.bsky.social and @motherjones.com for the piece. Not a good sign when the scholars you cite disagree with your conclusions... #SocialWork

The triad of knowledge is clear in my research. Academia without practice is theory. Practice without academia is reliant on hope. The absence of lived & living experiences is an exercise of power. All are required, working together, to deliver settings, services & systems that make a difference.

Every time this comes up, it turns out the babies with Pulse records in the Garda intelligence system created for them are Travellers. Just in case that wasn’t clear. Pulse even has a setting for “family tree”.

Welcome to BookSky! 💙📚 1️⃣ save/pin the feed if you're enjoying it 2️⃣ repost to help us find more bibliophiles 3️⃣ use 💙📚 or 📚💙 to post to feed 4️⃣ more niche feeds on my profile (some are NSFW) FAQ 👉🏻 bit.ly/bookskyFAQ

Good week on #speirgorm with #GE24. Next weekend is #ToyShow. The groundwork on #spéirgorm is starting to get in place! bsky.app/profile/did:...

The difficult second book. Pre order available online What’s your A-Z of practice? #socialworkcatsandrocketscience

My mistake spawned several very funny #FloridaDave threads but this one really is glorious. The warmth and wit and the welcome takes me right back to the good old days on the Other Place. And it’s abundantly clear I could not have randomly tagged a nicer guy. #GE24

There are *still* more Michaels than women as TDs in Cork, Ireland's biggest county, a fact first noted by Holly Cairns after the 2020 election. www.irishexaminer.com/news/politic... #ge24 #missing

Gutted for Thomas Pringle 😭 A fantastic, principled, representative for Donegal, who was already in place fighting the good fight for 100% redress (+ Palestinians, Irish women, migrants etc.) Hopefully not the last we see of him in electoral politics 🤞🏻🤞🏻 #GE24

Looking at Ireland’s coalition history, Eoin O’Malley suggests a factor is the larger parties ‘smother’ small parties by absorbing their popular policies, forcing unpopular compromises and limiting their ability to criticise government actions.

#GE24 During the night, Galway West finally elected Hildegarde Naughton, John Connolly, and eventually Noel Grealish, after previously electing Catherine Connolly and Mairéad Farrell at a more sensible hour.

We have two TDs! They're like buses... Mairead Farrell (SF) in pole position on 10,610 votes, closely followed by Catherine Connolly (Ind) on 10,578. See our live blog for full details www.advertiser.ie/galway/artic... #GeneralElection24

I’ve made it, Florida Dave has seen the Smarties video 😎

Thomas Pringle will be such a huge loss. #GE24

Catherine Connolly (Independent) elected in Galway West | Live updates: rte.ie/b/1484023

Current Galway West counts. SD candidate to be divided so transfers should probably put Farrell(sf) over the line & get Catherine Connelly closer if not there. FG still tight with Ind Ire but Kyne votes once excluded will probably secure it. #GE24

Galway being the slowest to count every general election is the most Galway thing ever though, so it's good. #GE24