The increasing role that the data centre industry plays in the generation, transmission and distribution of energy in Ireland means that it is a de facto energy utility without any formalised responsibility or oversight. www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

The open letter from President Pezeshkian to the people of the US is brilliant. 'Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war? Was there any objective threat from Iran to justify such behaviour?' www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...

Significant that on the same day one of the leading authorities on international law writes in the IT about the need to retain the Triple Lock and defend the UN, over 400 academics and university workers sign a letter to the Taoiseach calking on him to do the same.

'Instead of turning its back on the need for UN approval to participate in peacekeeping, Ireland should now try to muster other members of the General Assembly to defend the UN and keep peace operations going.' Professor Ray Murphy, former UN peacekeeper www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

We are still collecting signatures to the open letter to Micheál Martin on maintaining the Triple Lock. It’s open to sign for academics (including PhD researchers) & university workers across the island of Ireland and those living and working overseas. forms.gle/ZWEJAt1wh2XN...

'Solidarity is beautiful.' So is this piece by @dondeniamh.bsky.social, and great to see a national newspaper publish it. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

We are used to hearing from a handful of academics in the media on foreign policy, defence and security, and geopolitics. They all dismiss Ireland's tradition of neutrality and its basis in international law and decades of peacekeeping. They are not the majority. www.thejournal.ie/academics-an...

IDSA, the same Irish arms lobby group that meets and advises the Minister for Defence and senior department officials? We really need a 'serious' debate about whose interests and agendas are driving defence and security policy in Ireland. www.ontheditch.com/irish-arms-l...

'As we seek to build left unity in Ireland, what can we learn from the recent left alliances in France? Prioritising policy and people power over parties and personalities is a good place to start.' @donalh.bsky.social on the lesson from France's Left alliances. www.rundale.org/2026/03/30/t...

🚨March issue of Rundale🚨 rundale.org ✒️'Where Extractivism Meets the Military Industrial Complex: Céad Míle Fáilte to the War Economy in Ireland', V'Cenza Cirefice ✒️'The Lesson from France’s Left Alliances', Dónal Hassett ✒️'The Last Wild Places', Ann-Louise Bresnahan

Spain, France and Italy refuse US military access to airspace and airports. All three are NATO members. Meanwhile, the Irish Govnt hides behind the term 'militarily neutral', which is not just meaningless but intentionally deceptive. www.ontheditch.com/ag-insint-br...

Ireland needs a Government committed to housing as a human right and social good, rather than a financial asset that benefits the few at the expense of the majority. www.thejournal.ie/regina-doher...

The normalisation of war crimes includes the ongoing material and political support by the EU, including the Irish Government, for US-Israeli actions in Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, and US illegal interventions in Venezuela and Cuba.

Ireland's neutrality is anchored in international law & decades of peacekeeping - more important than ever at a time of escalating conflict and the normalisation of genocide. This article was published in November. Re-sharing as the IT hasn't published anything similar since.

We need this level of mobilisation across all Irish local authorities.

In 1991, Afri launched their 'Just a Second' campaign. In schools across Ireland, children made and sold Brigid's crosses, raising the amount of money spent on the international arms trade every second. That money was then spent on social projects. Such a good campaign.

'Enduring solidarity'. The most significant thing his Government has done for Palestine is endorse the IHRA definition of antisemitism, suppressing activism and speech critical of Israel and Zionism.

'If Ireland fail to qualify for this World Cup, I’ll be despondent but that at least is an emotion I can predict, a taste I can feel inside my mouth right now. What scares me is I have no idea what it’ll be like if we do go through.' Great writing as always.

'We’re dependent on partnerships both strategically and economically, and we have to play our part as being part of the gang.' That the senior civil servant in the Dept of Defence would talk about 'being part of the gang' when it comes to EU common defence is v unsettling.

Jacqui McCrum told a defence conference in France that Ireland's approach to neutrality is 'maturing' but there is a 'smaller voice that gets a lot of air time.' 70% of Irish people consistently poll in favour of retaining the traditional policy of neutrality. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

People from Donegal, Waterford, Cork and Galway outside the Dáil today for eight hours calling on the Government, again, to pass the OTB. The commitment to Palestine amongst many Irish people gives hope against a captured political establishment.

It is obvious that these monopoly tech companies are destroying our collective social and ecological fabric, and yet still their products are talked about as though they are inevitable. www.rte.ie/news/2026/03...

Compare the underdevelopment of social infrastructures in Ireland - hospitals, housing - with the overdevelopment of infrastructures for US FDI - data centres. www.rte.ie/news/health/...

'British security is hardly compatible with the existence of a Cuba a few miles form her Western shores'. Daily Telegraph, 1976

This story does not just reveal the lack of transparency in our national media, it challenges the familiar line from prominent commentators that we need a 'serious' debate about defence and security. 1/3 www.ontheditch.com/daniel-mccon...

Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza, is involved in an illegal war against Iran, and is attempting to seize Southern Lebanon, expanding its illegal, colonial occupation. The very least this Govnt could do is pass the Occupied Territories Bill, 8 years in the making.

'The Price of Prosperity' report written with Paulie Doyle and Pat Brodie is now available on SSRN. 72 pages on the historical development of Ireland's dependency on the US and how this constrains the state's ability to pursue an independent foreign policy. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Interesting piece but left wondering why there hasn't been any similar reporting on the US use of Shannon, illegal overflights, role of data centres in Gaza genocide, dual use goods and the arms industry in Ireland. Only for work of @wereontheditch.bsky.social. www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

And to be clear, Strategical, the UK based 'arms and aerospace growth specialists' the author works for, advertise themselves as 'competing and winning in the defence market.' The @businesspost.bsky.social article was part of a marketing strategy.

Should an editor ensure that readers are aware that the author of an article arguing that Ireland should develop a defence sector also works for the arms industry? If yes, then write a complaint to the press ombudsman about @mcconnelldaniel.bsky.social. www.ontheditch.com/daniel-mccon...

Shifting the dial, article by article. Developing an arms industry will be good for the arms industry and war-making, not Ireland. www.businesspost.ie/analysis-opi...

Support farmers in Lebanon. The Agricultural Movement is organising this solidarity campaign to support farmers who are being threatened by Israeli attacks. Money for heirloom seeds, local nurseries, and to support community farmed land in the south of Lebanon. fundahope.com/en/campaigns...

Interesting article that raises important points. Misses that equitable, ecologically sensitive energy development is stymied by the fact that it is driven by commercial companies + investor priorities, not local community opposition. @ellamcsweeney.bsky.social www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

@rteradio1.bsky.social @news.rte.ie @virginmedianews.bsky.social A fairly random list of 20 academics w expertise across law, politics, geography, culture and media who could be invited on your regular programmes to discuss such things. We need far more diversity of views amongst the 'experts'.

Since 2019, Spain doubled solar & wind generation, decoupling electricity prices from gas. In Ireland, all new wind & solar energy since 2017 has been matched by DC growth, which has also driven up demand for gas. -> policies directly affect households www.euronews.com/2026/03/11/s...

'The Commune, surrounded from every direction, had only death on its horizon. It could only be brave, and it was. And in dying it opened wide the door to the future. That was its destiny.' Louise Michel, teacher, poet and Communard.

Ireland's 'interests' should not be conflated with the interests of US tech, with promises to expand data centres and buy US LNG to power them. There are costs to this dependency, no clearer than spiking energy costs precipitated by US illegal wars. www.thejournal.ie/lng-data-cen...

Excellent analysis here as always from @phenomenalworld.bsky.social on the US(+EU)-led undermining of multilateralism, and hopes for a (China-led) Southern multilateralism: a 'UN-based governance system prioritising pluralism and expanded state sovereignty.' www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/non...

'In a couple of years, when AI has infiltrated work processes to the point that exit costs are prohibitive, the customer base will be unable to escape and coerced into paying up.' Bear in mind when your employer insists on intoducing AI technologies. newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

'Ireland’s neutrality is important not just to protect ourselves from being dragged into senseless wars. Ireland’s neutrality is essential to keep alive the hope for just climate futures.' Prof Jennie Stephens on anti-militarism & climate justice www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Paul Gavan, well said.

The Stripe brothers are directly funding research in Irish universities. This isn't against the rules but when that research produces findings that would directly benefit them, we should ask questions. www.rte.ie/news/busines...

Mamdani invokes James Connolly and Ireland's resistance to British imperialism, while the Taoiseach praised Winston Churchill, the man who sent the Black and Tans to Ireland and then Palestine.

Ireland has the weakest local government in the EU but this is not inevitable or irreversible. Reinventing local democratic institutions to improve quality of life can be common ground for many orgs and campaign groups here.

As the same minority voices once again call for a 'serious' debate on Ireland's security, here is a piece written with Rory Rowan last September that puts it all into some context. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

'Though both thought that the nation was an essential vehicle of struggle, Connolly and Fanon were fundamentally internationalists whose first loyalties were to the global fight against colonialism and capitalism.' James Beirne on Fanon and Connolly in rundale.org

Labelling those you disagree with 'infantile' is never a good basis for a 'serious' debate. If Brigid Laffan and co were serious about a national debate on Ireland's security, they should support a referendum on neutrality. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

And if you want to better understand the historical context for the current embargo and Trump's efforts at regime change - the latest wave of US attacks on Cuban sovereign development - then you would do a lot worse than listen to Manolo de los Santos' 2 part series on @upstreampodcast.bsky.social

While Micheál Martin shames us in the White House, others represent the other Ireland - bringing medical aid and solidarity to the Cuban people as they suffer the violence of US imperialism. @dondeniamh.bsky.social 💚

Ireland, the transatlantic bridge. 'Asked by Baier if he is “considered a whisperer between the US and the EU sometimes”, Martin said that has been a “bit of a bridge” and an “access point for many, many US companies” into the European market.' www.thejournal.ie/micheal-mart...