Hell is empty. All the devils are here: Milan prosecutors investigate alleged ‘sniper tourism’ during Bosnian war www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Donning the imperial purple on day one!

A small 12th century church and a 15th-century castle at Kilcash, Tipperary. This historic landscape is perhaps best known for the Caoineadh Cill Cáis [The Keening of Kilcash], a famous lament.

Excited to be part of this project with @discoveryprogramme.bsky.social!

Memories of plunging my hand deep into the very cold peat to uncover Iron Age wooden planks last seen over 2,000 years ago. In 1986, I started work on my first archaeology dig at Corlea 1, dated to 148/147 BC. I didn’t know then it would be some of the most spectacular archaeology of my career.

In today's edition of our free #MonumentMonday newsletter, we take a trip to visit an enigmatically decorated stone in County Roscommon. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Roscommon #Archaeology 🏺

It’s great to live in a country where your president gets an informal public guard of honor of Bernese Mountain dogs and their owners as he travels out of the official residence for his last day in office. #SpeirGorm he is so popular he appears in children’s books and even as a tea cosy

This Underwood typewriter, likely the first with Irish characters, was used by the Gaelic League around 1905. Now on display in the newly opened Changing Ireland Galleries in Collins Barracks, it’s a powerful symbol of everyday tools shaping Irish identity. www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 P 7, Annals of the Four Masters. Two full sets of the annals of Irish history from A.M. 2242 - A.D. 1616 were completed by Franciscan scholars, now known as the Four Masters.

It's Monday morning - which means a new episode of Get Around To It arts and culture podcast! It's Deep Dive week, and this week we're asking... What's it REALLY like to write a book? I talk through the writing of Social Capital and what I learned podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/d...

The Athcarne Cross • Meath If you find yourself driving along the old Duleek to Navan Road, you may find yourself distracted by a rather unusual roadside monument. It was raised in c.1675 by Dame Cecilia Dowdall to her husband, Sir Luke Bathe. Well worth stopping for a look if you're on the road!

Sorry to hear of the death of Charlie Doherty, of History at UCD, a noted scholar of early medieval Irish hagiography, ecclesiastical history, and the concept of the "monastic town". Condolences to his family & friends & former students & colleagues. #Spéirghorm #MedievalSky rip.ie/death-notice...

Looking for an adventure this weekend? Discover the stunning Atlantic coast of Mayo with our Achill Island and Clew Bay Trail. There are few places as wildly beautiful as Achill Island, yet there are many stories to discover. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Wildatlanticway

These decorated bone slips were found during excavations at Cairn H, one of the Neolithic passage tombs at Loughcrew. They date to the 1st century AD, and they were found along with other material from the Iron Age, showing that the Neolithic tomb continued as a place of importance for millennia

It's always a good day when you come home to find a new book, but this one is something special! Looking forward to getting stuck into this by the great Colmán Etchingham, who has contributed so much to our understanding of early medieval Ireland. It looks like a fitting testament to his work.

The archaeologists and the team working at Tuam have my greatest respect and gratitude.

The YouTube algorithim is pernicious beast, but once in while it serves up pure gold. Drain Cleaning Australia is now my favourite channel. A guy with all the enthusiasm and passion of Steve Irwin, only he unblocks drains. oorr eyyy its chockablock maate! It's strangely uplifting, give it a go!

Fore • Westmeath Since an early monastery was founded in this secluded valley by St Feichín in the 7th century, Fore has been regarded as one of Ireland's best-preserved historic landscapes. I'm excited to say we're going to be exploring the Wonders of Fore with Tuatha Members this month!

I see it's time for me to make the point again that the poppy is a fundraising campaign for the Royal British Legion, a specific, mundane entity that is not exempt from scrutiny and does not own the concept of remembrance. You can read its 2024 accounts here: storage.rblcdn.co.uk/sitefinity/d...

Got an object with a story? We believe every object holds a piece of history - and yours could be part of it. From heirlooms to gig tickets- bring yours to the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks & chat with curators 📍 Thursday, 6th Nov 6-7 PM 🎟️ Book now: www.eventbrite.ie/e/late-night...

Leacanabuaile Stone Fort • c.9th-11th century • Kerry Leacanabuaile is thought to have been the seat of a high-ranking family in early medieval Ireland. Its 3m thick walls enclose the foundations of four stone structures, representing houses, ancillary buildings, and a souterrain. #Ireland

Writing things I've already done in my to-do list, just to get the satisfaction of crossing them off:

In today's edition of our free #MonumentMonday newsletter, we take a trip to Boa Island on Lough Erne to visit two of the most enigmatic characters in Irish archaeology.

The only way getting Ivan Yates in to train you in communications makes any sort of sense, is after you wave him goodbye after his training session, you have someone else say "right, we'll do the exact opposite of all of that"

The new episode of Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast is live! In this episode we take a look at the unusual but enormous success two 19th century Irish emigrants had in creating and building, of all things, a billiards empire: shows.acast.com/transatlanti...

'The fort opposite the oakwood, Once it was Bruidge’s, it was Cathal’s It was Aed’s, it was Ailill’s, It was Conaing’s, it was Cuiline’s and it was Maeldúin’s The fort remains after each in his turn and the kings asleep in the ground'. c.8th century Irish poem describing this ringfort at Rathangan

The male Isabelline Shrike in Co Wexford today- an extremely rare vagrant and only the first ever adult male recorded in Ireland. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #IrishBirding

The interconnected lakelands of Lough Erne in County Fermanagh is a truly rewarding place to explore. Surrounding its calm waters, you can discover many echoes of the past. With enigmatic idols, island monasteries, and Plantation castles. #Fermanagh #SpéirGhorm #IrishSky

Ahhh! Wanna support indie #Irish games, made in #Ireland, set in Ireland with an Irish voice cast and made by a small team? Please consider voting for our game #EyesofHellfire in Polygon's best of here!! www.polygon.com/best-horror-... #gamedev

Oíche Shamhna shona duit! 🐈‍⬛ Here's a short moment captured at the entrance to Oweynagat, Uaimh na gCat (Cave of the Cats) in the ancient landscape of Rathcroghan, Roscommon. There are many tales about the dark depths of the cave, once described as the 'Gateway to Hell' in the Book of Leinster.

So do you think Heather Humphries will actually learn Irish now or??? I mean she said she would when minister for the Gaeltacht, and she said she would during the presidential campaign

Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh! Our ethereal expert Dr Hannah Mac Auliffe @maynoothuniversity.ie guides us through the darkness of #samhain a time for feasting, mischief & terror in medieval Irish literature, when the veil between worlds is thin, & ghastly ghouls abound. open.spotify.com/episode/6gQ6...

Continuing the ghoulish theme for Halloween, here's a rather creepy depiction on the 9-10th century Market Cross at Kells, County Meath. It features a horned and bearded figure, embraced by two wolf-like beasts on their hind legs. Could this be a rare early depiction of the Devil, or Crom Dubh?

“Are you wearing the-“ “The poorly but enthusiastically sculpted Samhain turnip earrings I made a few years ago? Yeah, I am.”

Lankum doing the Specials proud here. Love the way it builds and builds. youtube.com/watch?v=aLLn...

The tomb of Sir Edmund Goldyng and his wife Elizabeth Fleming (I bet it was his idea), in the grounds of St. Peter's Church, Drogheda. This effigy dates from the 16th century. It is known as a ‘cadaver tomb’ and depicts the decomposing bodies in their burial shrouds. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Samhain

To mark the launch of Colmán Etchingham's Vikings in Early Medieval Ireland, Boydell & Brewer are offering a **65%** discount on the book until the end of November. Enter the code BB158 when ordering it from their website (individual not institutional orders): boydellandbrewer.com/book/vikings...

They should have a running total on how much he and his family have cost the state, indexed to how many surgeries etc it could have paid for.

This Halloween, delve into the world of 'ghost words' with Dr Anthony Harvey, Editor of the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources (DMLCS).

🦴 @paoloviscardi.bsky.social, Keeper of the Natural History collection shares how the Dead Zoo natural history helps us understand biodiversity via @siliconrepublic.bsky.social 📖 ​https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/ireland-dead-zoo-living-natural-history-museum-keeper-biodiversity-research

We will be launching Vikings in Early Medieval Ireland: Church-raiding, Politics and Kingship, by our late colleague Dr Colmán Etchingham, on Thursday 13th November in Maynooth. @maynoothuniversity.ie @ceilteachomn.bsky.social

It should be made very clear where the toll money goes. Is it used for upkeep of our national infrastructure, or is it to increase profits for international pension funds etc? I dont mind a reasonable toll if that money is used to reinvest in upkeep and more sustainable public transport...

A traditional Irish ghost turnip for Halloween #OicheShamhna #Samhain #Halloween #thinveilbetweentheworlds #NaSídhe

My semi-regular post in praise of Ambient Orbit on RTÉ Lyric FM. A gentle mix of natural soundscapes with ambient music, I find it the perfect soundtrack for creative work. You can try it out and listen back here: www.rte.ie/radio/lyricf...

This unusual medieval panel in the National Museum of Ireland depicts the Devil driving the Damned, in the form of goats, into Hell. An appropriately demonic scene as Halloween approaches! 🐐🐐🐐🐉 #Ireland #SpéirGhorm

Such good news #spéirgorm

We have a special Halloween edition of our free #MonumentMonday newsletter today! Check your inbox as we visit three macabre monuments that have a supernatural story! 👻 #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Archaeology #IrishHistory

Do you think newspaper columnists are all going a bit mad because they never leave the house anymore? Is the switch between chatting to people in a pub to doomscrolling having a negative effect on their perspective? Is the loss of shared social space impacting democracy? Me for the Irish Times

Straw poll for archaeologists 🏺: 1) Do you listen to archaeology podcasts? If so, which ones? 2) If you don't listen to archaeology podcasts, what podcasts do you listen to? 3) If you don't listen to archaeology podcasts, what would get you to listen to one?

The Dreenan Figure • Boa Island • Fermanagh The larger of the two enigmatic idols on Boa Island, the Dreenan Figure is two-sided, with depictions of a bearded figure on both sides. While the depictions are not identical, they both show an oval-faced, bearded man with large, almond-shaped eyes.