Greyhounds are the world’s fastest dogs: beautiful, athletic creatures which deserve better than to be put at risk of injury or death to entertain people on racetracks. My Irish Independent column on why it’s time to phase out greyhound racing in Ireland.

John Banville is always interesting to listen to, regardless of whether you agree with what he says. Here he is on making “a pet of grief”, the slipperiness of language, the 1950s, and his favourite crime books. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Protesters from all-Ireland group Rural Ireland Against Fox Hunting gathered outside Dáil today urging politicians to ban this “barbaric” practise. Some dressedas suffragettes to highlight how 3 in 4 people feel ignored on issue.Polls show 77pc majority oppose fox hunting @banfoxhunting.bsky.social

Hopeful article from @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social: www.independent.ie/opinion/comm...

Why I’ve come down with a bad case of mayor envy for New Yorkers. My Irish Independent column. #Mamdani #StPatrick’sDay #NewYork #US

Anyone else remember the persistence, conviction and creative approach to protest of the Greenham Common women? They made the case for peace. Agitated for nuclear de-escalation and disarmament. In a world torn apart by war we need their like again. My Irish Independent column.

Fascinating interview with one of my favourite authors, Mary Costello, on @rteradio.bsky.social’s Arena. Her new novel is A Beautiful Loan and it’s about love, longing and self-discovery @canongate.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

The Irish government wants Europe to do the heavy lifting and ban social media for children - instead of doing the right thing itself. My Irish Independent column.

One of the many charms of Lisa McGee’s How to Get to Heaven From Belfast is its depiction of Ireland as one place not two political entities. My column www.e-pages.dk/irishindepen...

Powerful, immersive version of Arthur Miller classic The Crucible which stands the test of time running @thegaiety.bsky.social - a reminder that every age has its witches or scapegoats.

Can Britain’s royal family insulate itself from the Epstein fallout? My Irish Independent column

“We sit over the fire wearing for the post - the cream of the day, I think,” Virginia Woolf wrote in a letter one January day. I still wait hopefully for the #post. Presumably I’m in a minority. But, oh,the pleasure of an unexpected, handwritten missive.

Great to see the Brontes’ Irish dimension explored in this well-researched piece in yesterday’s Sunday Times.

Deepfakes and deliberate disinformation campaigns are here to stay. They are an assault on democracy from east and west. Ireland should be proactive in protecting its values. My Irish Independent column

www.eventbrite.com/e/1982620876.... This will be a brilliant conversation between Yaryna Chornohuz and @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social Please share @irishpen.bsky.social @nessao.bsky.social @vivianafiorentino.bsky.social

Talked about St Brigid and the wonderful writer Kate O’Brien (there was a connection but you had to be there to follow it) with UL’s Tina O’Toole and UAH’s Marisol Morales at an Irish Embassy event in Madrid tonight. Added bonus: another excuse to wear my St Brigid’s cross brooch.

It’s not just Irish farners who don’t like the Mercosur trade deal. A protest by Spanish farmers is under way currently in Madrid.

Talking about the Brontes here on RTÉ’s Arena arts show with Dr Sophie Franklin of UCD. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Please note this is happening Mon Feb 16

“For authors, the loss cuts even deeper. When journalism shrinks, arts and culture coverage disappears first, and with it, one of the last spaces where books and ideas can reach readers outside the grip of algorithms and corporate marketing." www.ifj.org//media-centr...

Rare to get the chance to hear firsthand account of war in Ukraine from someone both soldier and poet. I’m doing public interview with Yaryna Chornohuz, former combat medic now soldier with 140th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, who still makes time to write poetry. Free but register 2pm Feb 18 TCD

Just spotted several shelves of Ukrainian #books for adults and kids in the fabulous @ravenbooks.bsky.social

#LaFheileBride #StBrigidsDay

A lovely recommendation for Charlotte by @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social spotted in @dubray-books.bsky.social 🌟

Horrifying @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social latest column www.independent.ie/opinion/comm... about the US imposing taxes on remittances to other countries by migrant workers. Think how much more Ireland would have suffered through the 50s and 60s if such measures had been imposed on us!

Excited to sign again with @lilliputpress.bsky.social for my next novel Glorious Monsters. Features Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame, set in 1819 … and Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley are also characters. Out Sep 2026. Here’s me with Antony Farrell of Lilliput #books #histfic

A gorgeous visit this morning from @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social to sign the contract for her NEW NOVEL coming this autumn 💫 We can’t say too much just yet but fans of Mary Shelley (and Martina’s previous books CHARLOTTE AND EDITH) are in for a treat ✨

World’s smallest car? Driven through traffic in Mexico City. My jaw was on the pavement…

Saw lots of Magi figures in Mexico recently but this combination is my favourite. One of the Three Wise Men is a woman. How subversive is that!

The Poet’s Calendar JANUARY Janus am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward… I block the roads, and drift the fields with snow; I chase the wild-fowl from the frozen fen; My frosts congeal the rivers in their flow, My fires light up the hearths and hearts of men. - Longfellow

Overheard a new verb while queuing in airport: wellness. “Tomorrow we’re going to focus on wellnessing, honey.” Hmm.

Ukrainian flags flew in Ireland - including here on Dalkey Castle - for President Zelensky’s visit.

Lord Byron, vampires, a haunted abbey … what’s not to like?

Huge thanks to David for dropping in this afternoon. We now have signed copies in stock - perfect Christmas gift for history buffs!

The wonderful things you see when rambling through the city - ‘a consciousness of their own dignity and worth should be encouraged in women’, Countess Markievicz #speirgorm

Today’s reading, a classic WWI memoir. Brittain goes from enthusiasm to disillusionment to conviction that war is futile.

Next month legislation to ban fox hunting in Ireland comes before the Dáil. TDs have an opportunity to ban this barbaric blood sport. Will the big parties allow their TDs to do the right thing? My Irish Independent column.

Shivaun O’Casey, daughter of legendary playwright Sean O’Casey, @abbeytheatre.bsky.social launches her memoir Next Year Will Be A Good One. She conjured up Lady Gregory, Samuel Beckett … and Barbra Streisand.

Big thanks to Kevin Street library #Dublin for allowing myself and Dr Maebh O’Regan to film in this magnificent, book-lined room. Made me want to pull off the mic, find a nook and #read

Congratulations to Ferdia Lennon who won the 2025 Rooney Prize for his debut novel Glorious Exploits. It’s set in 5th BC Sicily, when captured Athenians stage 2 Euripides plays for food. The judges loved the book (I know because I was one). Ferdia is pictured here @tcd.bluesky.social with his mum.

An ordinary woman who made an extraordinary contribution - a must-read obituary in Sunday Independent on Mary McGee whose courage forced the Irish State to legalise contraception in the 1970s www.e-pages.dk/sundayindepe...

We shouldn’t forget the damage done by the #banks to the lives of ordinary people during the crash - any sale of #PTSB shouldn’t be a celebration but a moment for reflection. My Irish Independent column

Just popped into @ravenbooks.bsky.social for a chat with owner Louisa who always gives great #book recommendations

Magnificent Picasso exhibition @nationalgalleryirl.bsky.social

Three priorities for the next president of Ireland after Oct 24 #election: build bridges domestically, with #NorthernIreland and the #EU. My Irish Independent column about the race for #Aras

New paperback edition of my novel Charlotte about Charlotte Bronte has just landed in bookshops. I popped into Gutter Bookshop for a gloat. As you do.

What tourists who grope Dublin’s landmark Molly Malone statue told me and why I think they should stop. My Irish Independent column www.e-pages.dk/irishindepen...

Great post from @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social here: www.independent.ie/opinion/comm... @irishpen.bsky.social @englishpen.bsky.social @peninternational.bsky.social

‘When death is about to happen/
does the body grow heavier or lighter?/ He felt himself growing heavier./
He felt himself growing lighter./ When a man says he hears angels singing,/
he hears angels singing.’ From Blake Dying by Mary Oliver #poet and essayist - #read her

My heartbeat’s going pitter-patter with excitement #SeamusHeaney