I’ve just written an essay about this which won’t come out for ages (academic publishing) so in short - our planning system currently doesn’t have a mechanism to provide for the complex social meaning of these sites, meaning that impacted groups have to engage in emotional storytelling time & again

Solidarity with all my @uonucu.bsky.social colleagues as we move into the fourth week of a two month strike, and with colleagues at @goldsmithsucu.bsky.social, @sheffielducu.bsky.social, @uculsbu.bsky.social @ducuuo.bsky.social @ucu-londonmet.bsky.social also fighting for their jobs and students.

A powerful film with amazing people. Travelling to Belfast and Cork next - go see if you can 👇👇

Luqman Saeed, an academic with Ulster University, has shared his personal experience of the pogroms the last two days, describing his situation as a de facto house arrest, under violence caused by an absence of leadership www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

A shocking and shameful night in Belfast; a racist pogrom - no other terms can (or should) describe it.

This is terrible for colleagues, for students and for Nottingham. Solidarity.

Funny how things can get done

Judgment now available online. The OfS does not come out of it well at all. Final line: “The Final Decision was vitiated by bias because the OfS approached the decision with a closed mind and had therefore unlawfully predetermined the decision.” www.judiciary.uk/judgments/th...

Looking forward to @socworkscot.bsky.social Justice Conference. I'll be speaking on: 🟪 Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, with fellow Commissioner Lynsey Smith. 🟪 Our comparative #probation & Justice #SocialWork research 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧🇮🇪; (PI: Prof Nicola Carr). 🔗 socialworkscotland.org/sws-events/j...

A must read: "Contentious Spaces is an urgent, formidable work, attentive to the complicated humanity of the people who inhabit its pages." www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

When a male journalist decides to cover a femicide on the line of "why should I feel ashamed for what others have done". I've had it too. @ivehaditpodcast.bsky.social www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/comment/were...

Next Saturday ☀️

Someone sent me this.

Still time to register for this event taking place in @tcddublin.bsky.social this evening: www.tcd.ie/ahss/news-an...

Join us on 2nd April when @michbar.bsky.social will deliver Social Work &Social Policy Annual Lecture @tcddublin.bsky.social: Queer Optimism in Hard Times. Followed by panel discussion: Sen. Lynn Ruane, Megan Atkinson, Ruadhán Ó Críodáin & Maurice Devlin. Register: www.eventbrite.ie/e/school-of-...

Peak Financial Times

Ah feck

We are really looking forward to Dr Michael Barron delivering TCD School of Social Work & Social Policy annual lecture on Queer Optimism in Hard Times: Memory, Power and the Future of Community-led change. April 2nd at 6pm in Trinity College Dublin. Register www.eventbrite.ie/e/school-of-...

Objections to development at Bessborough: www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

The successful candidate to this part-time Research Associate post will be working in a research team of wonderful people/academics: @bethweaver.bsky.social @nicolacarr.bsky.social @jakephillips.bsky.social @fergusmcneill.bsky.social Sarah Doxat-Pratt, Jan Flaherty, and me! [2/2]

JOB: Research Associate, @unistrathclyde.bsky.social Fixed term, part-time (0.5 FTE) between 19th May - 1st October 2026 on a comparative research project funded by Leverhulme, 'Penal Supervision in Comparative Context.' 🔗 👇 #Criminology #SocialWork strathvacancies.engageats.co.uk/Vacancies/I/...

Interested in the nexus between algorithmic bias and right-wing extremism? Take a look this paper based on my most recent research project: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

The 2026 @acjrd.bsky.social annual conference is on 11th June - Prevention First: Designing Safer Communities from Systems to Streets - launched by Senator Lynn Ruane (Ashling Hotel, Dublin 8), registration details to follow, early info here: www.acjrd.ie/news/events/...

Sweden reducing age of criminal responsibility a hugely retrograde step www.rte.ie/news/newslen...

“As a neutral, independent country, a postcolonial society, & a people marked by famine & forced migration, we are uniquely placed to offer a valuable perspective on the challenges facing our world, not least war and displacement.” - Irish pres Catherine Connolly www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...

Research Policy Officer job opportunity at Confederation of European Probation (CEP. Closing date 1st April: www.cep-probation.org/vacancies/re...

People deserve the chance to move on from their past. Lynn Ruane’s Spent Convictions Bill would give people a real second chance to work, volunteer and rebuild their lives. Because people shouldn’t be defined forever by mistakes they’ve already paid for.

“Never has solidarity been more important from feminist-queer-decolonial perspective: solidarity across different political traditions, among those trying to resist new and old forms of fascism and across axes of obliterative oppression.” journals.sagepub.com/page/fty/cal...

Endless rain... roll on end of February

Some sense at last - Ban on the direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws was disproportionate and unlawful. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

And of course the inestimable @drhannahgraham.bsky.social!!!

Comparing Penal Supervision team meeting @unistrathclyde.bsky.social. In the final year of a three-year project exploring probation across five nations @bethweaver.bsky.social Fern Gillon, Sarah Doxat-Pratt, Jan Flaherty @jakephillips.bsky.social @fergusmcneill.bsky.social

“Never mind Manufacturing Consent – have a read of Not Giving A Shit About Consent.”https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/03/jeffrey-epstein-powerful-men-women-girls?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Why probation officers quit - or stick it out New research by @Nicola Carr, Harry Annison, Lol Burke Matt Millings & Gwen Robinson looks at the complex reasons why people leave or stay working in the probation service www.russellwebster.com/why-probatio...

#AcademicSky #Criminology #CriminologyResearchandTeaching #Crimsky

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

It has been deeply surreal to be trying to fight this occupation while also doing my usual job, parenting, etc. Just describing the basic facts sounds unreal. Really appreciate this clarity about what's happening in Mpls and how much worse it might get from the NYT today.

This is a terrible decision: www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

I tried to turn my rage yesterday into something that brings us some light. For @newrepublic.com, I wrote about how 2020 prepared Minneapolis for the current crisis of Trump's DHS. newrepublic.com/article/2050...

This is spot on: Life Under a Clicktatorship, What happens to government when everything is content?

Slán 2025 agus Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Daoibh

Chasing sunlight in the winter fields

Hard to see how anyone can continue to support this barbaric practice. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin oppose Bill to ban fox hunting www.irishtimes.com/politics/oir...

Community Service Orders (CSOs) have existed in Ireland since 1983 as an alternative to short-term imprisonment. Despite legislative efforts, they remain underutilised. This article with Niamh Maguire explores why: www.pbni.org.uk/publication/...

Winter light

Some lessons from Probation Service reform www.russellwebster.com/lessons-from... might be of interest to @probinst2.bsky.social @nicolacarr.bsky.social @matthew-millings.bsky.social @demos-uk.bsky.social @instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Looking forward to this

An Irish hero.

Seems appropriate to post the final chapter of Irish Women’s Speeches @ucdpress.bsky.social today. Powerful speech by @catherinegalway.bsky.social on the Mother & Baby home report Jan 2021.