At a time when the Trump administration is trying to force people to conform to their ideology, last week's ruling is an important reminder that the government can't restrict speech based on its political agenda.

How it started // How it’s going

JOB: lecturer/assistant professor in global film and media studies. 5yr contract, salary scale €64,753-€102,538, closes noon (Irish time) on October 20th. pls share and lmk if you have any questions! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOU194/l...

Received Samin Nosrat’s new cookbook ‘Good Things’ as a birthday gift yest - it’s delightful! Made chicken schnitzel for dinner tonight, and new potatoes with her ‘house dressing’, along with pickled vegetables - turned out perfectly. Her writing reflects the joy it gives me to cook for my family 🥰

Just finished a long afternoon at Higher Options at the RDS. Waiting for a bus with two Asian schoolgirls and an older man, who out of nowhere started racially abusing them. I told him to stop, that he had no right to speak to them that way. He shouted at and threatened me and spat at me.

It’s here! We’re elated to share that WTF Happened: #WakingTheFeminists and the Movement That Changed Irish Theatre by Sarah Durcan with Lian Bell has arrived in the world. Learn about the story behind this groundbreaking feminist movement. 🔗 Order at bit.ly/WTF-Happened or bookstores nationwide

"We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically." www.ru.nl/en/research/...

The free speech activist who built a list of professors he worked to get fired for their speech must be celebrated for his support of free speech, and anyone who quotes his speech accurately in context will be fired and/or face state punishment by the champions of free speech, do I have that right?

Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.

Yesterday's piece from @jamellebouie.net is the only high-profile piece I've seen that specifically discusses the watchlist, its effect on academics, and its effect on public attitudes toward academia as a whole. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/o...

a truly lovely piece of writing

like this is the most irresponsible level of hysteria i’ve ever seen. most of these people are either paid by the republican party, or are high level advisors and allies. this is insane

Update: Civil War cancelled due to shooter being demographically uncooperative

This is a jaw-dropping statement from anyone in a uni leadership role — but also — what exactly is ‘low-quality’ and ‘hobbyist’ research? Nearly every academic I know is burning the candle at both ends and STILL producing important work in their fields. This feels like an anti-humanities dog whistle

Really enjoyed the ‘Words on Waves’ exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland, with truly spectacular early Irish manuscripts loaned from the monastery of St Gall in Switzerland, paired with related artefacts from the NMI’s collection. Mobile art and ideas taking literal form! Unmissable.

“The rise of GenAI underscores that we must fight for the university as a place of debate, of critique and of contestation. We should therefore protect and promote the independent thinking skills that enable such a debate now, and in the future”. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

Word of the day is ‘tamalou’: a French name for an older person who no longer greets their friends with ‘how was your holiday?, but with ‘t’as mal où ?’, ‘where does it hurt?’. There follows an enthusiastic account of aches and pains and doctor’s appointments.

A brilliant evening of celebrations, welcoming four (!!) new PhDs in UCD art history, and especially celebrating the achievements of Dr @susancurleymeyer.bsky.social whom I had the very great privilege of supervising!! 🎓🎓

Many thanks to all who came out to Dublin Castle for my lecture on the Casimir Markievicz show! I was delighted to spotlight the hard work of archivists, conservators and curators who made it possible ❤️ Less than two weeks to go - the last time this work will be together - don’t miss it! 🇵🇱🇮🇪

Flashback to 8 years ago, when I met Carlos Núñez (king of the Galician pipes) in A Coruña, and he gave me a lift and rang Paddy Moloney of the Chieftans while in the car (who was my neighbour in Dublin at the time), and the two of them sang and chatted away like besties 🪈🎶🇮🇪🇪🇸

Registration closes 7 Sept. 35th Irish Conference of Historians, 12-13 Sept. @maynoothuniversity.ie Please share widely. @muahi.bsky.social @muresearch.bsky.social @mu-ssi.bsky.social @mulibrary.bsky.social @tlrhub.bsky.social @irishstudiesqub.bsky.social @qubhistory.bsky.social

Incredible talk by Sean Ronayne at the Pavilion Theatre - first of three sold out nights! A gorgeous meditation on the fragility of Ireland’s natural world, the sounds all around us, and the brilliance of all things bird! Grab tix in your area if you can 🪶🪶 www.irishwildlifesounds.com/irish-tour/

It’s official: @cmatbaby.bsky.social’s new album slaps

I’ve written lots about the problems with historical photo colourisation (which also uses forms of AI). This is an extension of this practice (an extreme one) reliant on the same logic of emotional ‘impact’ outweighing veracity, and ignoring or refusing to accept the historical limits of imagery.

Historians of the US might be interested in this! 🗃️

Nine years old, yet still on the nose

I considered writing a long carefully constructed argument laying out the harms and limitations of AI, but instead I wrote about being a hater. Only humans can be haters.

Dearest Martha, The National Guard stand solemn watch at the Krispy Kreme tonight. I cannot tell if they defend the people from the donuts, or the donuts from the people. Powdered sugar hangs in the air like cannon smoke. Jensen took a hot coffee to the face, he may never recover. Yours in glaze,

🌈 Some stories were never meant to be hidden. But they were. We’re joining the effort to bring them into the light. 📣 “In Conversation” at Collins Barracks 🗓️ Sept 4 | 🕕 6–7PM | 🎟️ Free With Dr. El Reid Buckley & @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social 🔗 www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

You can now sign up for the 35th annual Irish Conference of Historians at Maynooth on 12-13th September. The theme is Inner Lives and Outer Realities. We have over 40 speakers, 4 book launches and two wonderful keynotes (Prof Lindsey Earner-Byrne and M'hamed Oualdi) www.eventbrite.ie/e/35th-irish...

La Storia insegna che si ripetono sempre gli stessi errori (e orrori) se non si impara dal passato.

Wonderful jaunt to the Casimir Markievicz exhibition at @dublincastle.bsky.social - great insight into a generation of Irish artists and intellectuals. Love that photo of Constance and Althea Gyles smoking together! 👏🏻👏🏻 Great work @emilymfg.bsky.social and @katymilligan.bsky.social

This was basically my week in DC

Maybe they could all retrain as ballet dancers

Mariam Dagga, a journalist killed yesterday by the IDF left behind two sets of instructions: that her colleagues not cry at her funeral, and asked her 11-year-old son to make her proud. Murdering journalists. Bombing hospitals. Causing a manmade famine. Slaughtering children. This horror has to end.

More like Mussolini’s Italy every day. And that’s not something we should emulate.

Tim Walz: "Think of how easy it would be to be a damn Republican. 'Oh, what should I wear today? This stupid frickin' red hat. What should I say today? I don't know, just make sure it's cruel. Who do we listen to? That guy -- the felon in the White House.'"

It's the last few weeks to catch the show I co-curated with @katymilligan.bsky.social at Dublin Castle! I’ll be giving a public lecture on Weds 3rd Sept on the lives and art of Casimir and Constance Markievicz in turn-of-the-century Dublin. Tix free but limited: www.eventbrite.ie/e/public-lec...

Farewell to D.C.! I will miss its excellent museums and libraries, friendly locals, excellent eats, and beautiful landscapes. I will NOT miss the over-militarised streets and metro, creepy militia dudes, and obnoxious tourists sporting MAGA gear. It’s been a time.

Laurie Anderson anticipating AI at the Hirshhorn Museum

Ranger-led tour of Ford’s Theatre in DC was excellent, even if its museum needs an overhaul (v chaotic design). Theatre interior is all reconstructed, but still impressive.

Last day of fellowship @librarycongress.bsky.social Prints & Photographs division - the fruits of my labour! Reconstructing and researching this important set of stereoscopic photos of Ireland from 1907 has been an absolute highlight. So grateful for the superb resources and expertise of staff here.

A journalist for 24 years, this is probably the most important article I've ever published. We saw the famine in Gaza with our own eyes.Together w Yarden Michaeli @nirhasson.bsky.social @haaretzcom.bsky.social has dropped the paywall on this important piece www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Or maybe you could teach your kids to treat all people as deserving of respect and dignity. And maybe you could talk to your kids about homelessness, the unaffordability of housing and healthcare, the stigma around mental illness, and why it's not okay to call people crazy.

In 1908 Lewis Hine took photos of Carolina cotton mills calling attention to child labour, including Irish migrants. Five years earlier, the Underwoods sold stereoscopic (3D) images of the same Carolina scenes - as well as stereos of Belfast capturing the explosion of textile industries in Ireland.

Intrigued by this. Piece from the Dublin Evening Post, 25 Nov 1843. Lists an art competition held by the National Repeal Association, to promote a ‘nationalist art’. Wonder what made the cut…! Meanwhile the 1843 trial of Daniel O’Connell occupies the front page.