Midnight Watch Finishing The Americans: About three years ago, I started to watch The Americans on Disney+. It's a show right in my wheelhouse; spies, politics, and gratuitous violence in places. What wasn't to like? Well, this weekend, I finally finished it. It took me three years to stream a…

RSS or Bust I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters. Blog, news sites, marketing nonsense and content farms. Too much for anyone to read on a daily basis as it was around 30 emails. That's 30 emails of current events, musings, music and general reading. I'd read the headline or email subject,…

I cleaned up a laneway near my house over the weekend, as it's full of litter. Does anyone know if joining a tidy towns is worth it? They seem good but locally they're not very visible. #speirgorm

I'm trying to be a more active citizen so I'm joining groups like @irishcyclingcmpn.bsky.social and my local town team. I still haven't felt brave enough to join a political party yet so staying outside for now. But I'm still contacting TDs and Cllrs about issues like lack of parks dept and litter.

I'm all for road safety but you could have every cyclist in the land wearing a full suit of Christmas lights and drivers fucking around on their phones will still knock them down

🏗️“David McWilliams’s characterisation of lawyers as “talkers” rather than “doers” He decries legal process & points to Chinese projects. Four bridges collapsed in China in 2024 killing 42.. In 2024 Ireland recorded its lowest-ever number of workplace fatalities” www.irishtimes.com/opinion/lett...

It's fierce disappointing and disheartening to reach out to local councillors about issues and offer to get involved, then to hear nothing back. But I suppose I should join a party to get more involved.

Looking at Denmarks local elections, with over 2,000 councillors elected. It really drives me mad how beholden we are to the county system in Ireland. Most of those borders do not make sense anymore. Baltinglass is closer to Carlow than Wicklow town or Bray.

RTÉ's live thread really captures the moment

I'm told one of youse made that rapist cry is that right

Here are the Irish MEPs who just sided with the far-right (fascists, racists, sexists, homophobes, climate deniers) from across the EU They've voted to gut protections that would have made businesses check and report their supply chains for child labour, human rights abuse or nature destruction

I've been cycling to the office in town and I do no understand how to turn right from Clanwilliam Pl to Grand Canal St, without almost knocking down everyone crossing the road? Does anyone know? #spéirgorm

Funny watching Paul Murphy and John Clendennen on RTÉ the other day. Clendennen keeps saying "we need a debate about migration" to which Murphy says "okay lets have a debate", and then Clendennen just keeps saying "we need to have a debate". Its very clear what Fine Gael are trying to do here!

Simon Harris is a coward and a bully who would rather scapegoat innocent communities of vulnerable people rather than face up to the failures of either his government or himself as a leader, a Cabinet minister and a human being. Couldn't think less of him and have no problem saying it.

Every far-right riot and protest that was tolerated, every racist dog whistle from public reps, every bit of hate and misinformation allowed to spread by social media companies, all led to this moment in Drogheda last night where someone felt emboldened enough to try to burn children alive.

Wed: “Our migration numbers are too high”-Simon Harris Thurs: “Taoiseach and Donohoe back Tánaiste’s remarks that numbers migrating to Ireland are ‘too high’” Fri: ”migration numbers too high outside of international protection…as well”-Simon Harris *Arson attack on infants in IPAS centre.*

“If this was, as Harris framed it, a referendum on Ireland’s proud history of better-things-aren’t-possible centrism, then surely he must accept that his conceptualisation of Ireland is actually… wrong.” This week’s column is about how FG and FF have responded to the election results.

ff/fg “need to up their online game” isn’t a serious analysis of the campaign nor is any other analysis that talks about “young people and social media” without considering the actual (and extremely wide) political differences between one generally popular candidate and one generally unpopular one

Once again delighted that the Irish people went with the option that was cool af

Peadar Tobin is never going to shut up about these spoiled votes.

We need to have a word, an offensive one, for these people who want to run for president but think the work of TD, Senator, Councillor, Mayor, MEP or party activist is beneath them. Áras-holes?

I moved house recently so it's my first time voting somewhere other than my primary school. The nerves of figuring out where I'm going in a different primary school and figuring out the booths! #áras25

What a graph 👇 "English-speaking countries have fared far worse at increasing housing supply than other developed nations, and have generally seen steeper price rises..."

I enjoyed reading this thought-provoking essay on the #Aras25 campaigns by @benfraser.bsky.social

Heists are the perfect solution to the male loneliness epidemic. Every fella wants to do a heist with the lads.

I want a journalist to ask HH if she has okayed this tactic of going after the cab rank rule and pretending they don't know about it. It's her campaign and she should be forced to answer for it

I also turned 34 recently. But I refuse to continue until my son also gets older (which will be soon).

Let's explore the Green credentials of Heather Humphreys - The woman former GP member Brian Leddin thinks should be president. She advocated for an increased burn period during her time as Minister for Heritage, as well as prolonging the period during which hedgerows could be cut. #Spéirgorm 1/n

This is great and I really hope it's taken advantage of by councils. With the amount of one ways in Wicklow town, some contra-flow would be great!

News this week: I did get to see One Battle After Another (after work in an empty Savoy). I also passed my driving test but still don't plan on driving anywhere. At least not by myself.

Neither candidates or voters are used to a 2 horse race in Ireland; I think it'll lead us to a fractious, attack-laden campaign, and turnout below 40% Latest newsletter #Aras25 www.thebriefing.ie/our-first-am...

Everything I know about Enoch Burke, Conor McGregor, Maria Steen (and countless others)... I know against my will. They are constantly driving the national narrative. So much of our media is dominated by a format of asking "Does this dipshit have a point?. We'll discuss for 3 weeks".

A quick tally of who was responsible for killing each failed Irish presidential campaign: Nick Delehanty ❌ Kieran Cuddihy Joanna Donnelly ❌ Kieran Cuddihy Conor McGregor ❌ Nikita Hand Peter Casey ❌ too much Jameson Gareth Sheridan ❌ his own hubris Maria Steen ❌ Gerard Craughwell Bertie Ahern ❌ CMAT

Why is it so hard to go to the cinema 1) as a parent 2) when you live in Wicklow and don't drive? I want to see the new PTA film this weekend, but there's not great public transport to the closest cinema in Arklow on weekend. The other nearest cinema is Dun Laoghaire, which is a trek.

I stopped using BlueSky about 5 months ago as it all got a bit too much on the negativity. But, there's an election coming up and where else can we get up to second gaffes?

Disruptive cinema guests are a symbol not only of increasing lack of empathy and awareness for others but also the shift to everything being content. If there is no difference between what is on a cinema screen and your phone screen why would anyone feel the need to respect it and pay attention

“As a street photographer you really see how much people have cut themselves off from each other via this little thing that fits in our hands,” writes Bryan Wall, about his image, which won our Photo of the Month contest for March. dublininquirer.com/2...

Amazing idea. As towns in Ireland have become more car dependent, schemes like this should be rolled out and piloted. Not just in Dublin!

Some observations from 2 days in London and 2 days in Paris, walking 87km, taking 1,683 photos and a trip cost of ~€1,700. #LondonParisBETA

I got the new iPhone 16E yesterday after having an iPhone SE 2 for the last 5 years. One major change is the screen and seeing how apps are far clearer and less cluttered with the larger screen. Small screens aren't catered for anymore.

It's #stpatricksday and I present to you a thread on representations of Irishness from around the world, especially those not well-known in Ireland.

pathetic!! the people are desperate to see even a GESTURE from electeds that they intend to resist any of this in any way!!

i need less decorum and more “home game in philadelphia” when it comes to the energy in the room.

I'm currently on the west coast of the US (visiting family) and wondering why no one is posting. Then I realise it's because I following mainly Irish accounts and it's 1am on a Sunday at home...

My column this week Ireland's uncritical embrace of the NFL is bizarre and rooted in a more deferential time the42.ie/6619770

If there is one positive in all of this it is the final, definitive end to the fiction these companies are global. They are as American as the United Fruit Company and Standard Oil were in their time.

Here's something that takes seconds and could have actual positive outcomes. There is an official 'citizen's petition' system in the EU. There's one open at the moment to ban conversion therapy for LGBT+ people in the EU. Ireland can be 1 of the 7 nations needed eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#...

Why have Dublin's gyratories (one-way systems for car capacity) gone so untouched compared to London, where there's a programme to break them up or make them bus- and cycling-friendly?