Most read on #RTEBrainstorm: the roots of the rites and traditions associated with January 6th, the last day of Christmas and the day known as #NollaignamBan. By @marionmcgarry.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

The roots and traditions associated with January 6th, the last day of Christmas and the day known as Nollaig na mBan. By @marionmcgarry.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Really love this book Marion! Read it so many times now that the pages are falling out. ❤️

Much as I love Mark Gatiss I did not like this year’s A Ghost Story for Christmas. There, I said it. It didn’t make any sense.

Lovely to pop into my local Easons and see this on the shelf… 5 years since it was published and still popular with readers… 🤓

Ah sure you'll have one, tis the Christmas... From @3castlesburning.bsky.social and @newislandbooks.bsky.social - our Book of the Year (and, as of yesterday our bestselling book of the year also). The Dublin Pub. It's your shout.... #speirgorm thebookshop.ie/donal-fallon...

Cranky man doesn’t like to be questioned by a woman he sees as his subordinate. Well done Louise Burne on doing your job fearlessly. We need more of this in Ireland 👏

Watching this reported on #rtept made me very angry. Another sick child failed by the state, and her poor mother is left without her. What the hell is going on in our hospitals. If you’ve not read the story of 16 year old Niamh McNally please do so below

Watching this reported on #rtept made me very angry. Another sick child failed by the state, and her poor mother is left without her. What the hell is going on in our hospitals. If you’ve not read the story of 16 year old Niamh McNally please do so below

“What next, you may ask? A centrepiece of broccoli at the wedding reception? A head of cauliflower dangling from every church pew?” I think you’ll find the Irish floral designer Constance Spry was including kale in flower arrangements from the 1930s 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓 www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-i...

Restoring cultural invention doesn’t require upending the current industries—it just needs a small vanguard to change its direction, writes W. David Marx:

If Ireland is to succeed into the future, “there needs to be a concerted effort to encourage graduates to stay here.” 👇 www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

I absolutely deplore everything that Israel is doing. I also think renaming Herzog Park is a disgraceful move. As usual, shallow performative bullshit from Dublin City Council.

Resistant to fever, bird flu viruses are a threat to humans #BBSRC #AcademicSky

After a rather stressful week, why not enjoy a Friday treat by rewatching this documentary about the cultural attaché to Greece 😍

My stance at this point is that I don't trust ANYTHING written by ANYONE that is positive about #LLMs. If the supposed author is praising LLMs then it's likely that they use it and have used it to generate the text. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03506-6 #ai #academia #academicchatter

For a start, this Guardian TV review has confused Ken Clarke with Kenneth Clark. Basic fact checking has gone out the window here. The irony as they’re talking of the imminent fall of western civilisation. What a time to be alive @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Annagh Stone Row • Mayo Though typically thought of as a place of Christian pilgrimage, the hinterland of Croagh Patrick has long been a sacred place. This can be inferred from the number of prehistoric monuments in the immediate hinterland of the mountain. Like this stone alignment at Annagh.

This is an absolute outrage!

“We need to have a proper look at infrastructure in the west of Ireland” Great discussion about the wider impact of Galway’s traffic problems - now widely acknowledged to be worsening - I can attest to this: my own commute has extended by 30m since September. open.spotify.com/episode/5tgp...

“Who knows how many children I & my friends would have with [secure high quality affordable housing] certainly enough to maintain pension-paying workforce. Govt’s strategy of pinning pension hopes on migrant workers is short-sighted & a tragedy for Irish women” 💯 www.irishtimes.com/opinion/lett...

Heartening to see growing interest in these topics and thanks to @rte.ie allowing me a platform to educate the public about old Irish traditions: another ‘most read’ piece on @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2... @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social

Why November 11th was a day for blood sacrifice rites in Ireland. @marionmcgarry.bsky.social ATU on how blood sacrifices involving pigs, sheep or geese were practiced in Ireland well into living memory on Martinmas www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

@mcculld.bsky.social nice scoop having Ivan Yates on as first guest! Great listening while I’m stuck in STANDSTILL traffic jam

‘Stop, that’s my case’ - Áine Ryan on adventures on the Westport non-express

A 2022 study showed that international travel for students can increase their carbon footprint by 50%. Virtual exchanges are a way of addressing this, while maintaining valuable intercultural learning. Join this free webinar about Virtual Exchanges on Weds 12 November.

November 11, Martinmas: “Of all the Irish customs that may or may not have been rooted in pagan origin, it is astonishing to consider that blood sacrifice was practiced in Ireland well into living memory.” Read more: www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

As so many are sharing memories of President Michael D Higgins as he departs Áras an Uachtaráin, here’s a selected highlight of my visit there in 2018 when he let us pet the dogs… 😍 he was a great president and will be missed

Ladybird book in the spotlight. ‘The Princess and the Pea’ 1967 Artist: Eric Winter

Amazing sunrise marking the start of the Celtic New Year on 1st November / Samhain, the Christian Feast of All Saints Day. At Carrowmore megalithic site, Sligo, the chamber at Listoghill faces the Ballygawley Mountains & sunrise in this position coincides with the start and the end of winter.

‘They killed civilians in their beds’: chaos and brutality reign Appalling events and genocide is occurring in Sudan 👇 www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

‘They killed civilians in their beds’: chaos and brutality reign Appalling events and genocide is occurring in Sudan 👇 www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Multiple reports of strange light moving in sky over Ireland in last 15 minutes with some describing as a like a big object with light in front but no noise and moving very quickly. Reports from Southeast, Midlands and West. Moving West to East. Anyone else spot it

The superstitions and mysteries around Ireland's 'fairy forts'. Many ringforts in rural Ireland were associated with fairy activity and supernatural happenings in the recent past, writes @marionmcgarry.bsky.social ATU www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2... #Halloween

“More than 150,000 people have died across the country and about 12 million have fled their homes, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises.” This is a genocide in Sudan.

My annual Hallowe’en brack appreciation post… looking forward to enjoying this in about two days with a strong cupán tae 😀

Lovely to feature on Sunday Miscellany on RTE Radio 1 reading my piece about BNM peat briquettes and bungalow bliss. The theme was ‘Writing the Bog’ in association with the Irish Architecture Foundation & 12th Field @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Lovely to feature on Sunday Miscellany on RTE Radio 1 reading my piece about BNM peat briquettes and bungalow bliss. The theme was ‘Writing the Bog’ in association with the Irish Architecture Foundation & 12th Field @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Pod of this morning’s interview on NewsTalk Breakfast on Hallowe’en excesses is now available. www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...

Like Versailles it began as a hunting lodge, and it’s design may have inspired the White House... As we approach the presidential election in Ireland, my piece for @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social on Áras an Uachtaráin @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

My piece @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social on the Bord na Móna peat briquette, a once popular fuel for Irish people & an Irish industrial design icon. Their memory is the source of much nostalgia and their demise, while good for the environment, represents the end of an era. www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

My piece @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social on the Bord na Móna peat briquette, a once popular fuel for Irish people & an Irish industrial design icon. Their memory is the source of much nostalgia and their demise, while good for the environment, represents the end of an era. www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

I really enjoyed Conor O'Brien's book 'the Living and the Dead' about some of the animals that have been driven out of Ireland and some that have made it back. His article here is a great summation... highly recommended! www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Like Versailles it began as a hunting lodge, and it’s design may have inspired the White House... As we approach the presidential election in Ireland, my piece for @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social on Áras an Uachtaráin @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

“Farm workers follow where the spinner has passed and collect the potatoes in shallow baskets. Picking up potatoes is back-aching work” Writer: EL Grant Watson Artist: CF Tunnicliffe

Malachy Clerkin: The Jim Gavin fiasco was a long overdue humbling for GAA exceptionalism

Who doesn’t love an Irish cottage? ‘Lost Houses’ showcases forgotten homes & overlooked architectural fragments in Galway City’s rich cultural & social landscape, in the Architecture At The Edge exhibition 2025 👏 Visited with students from BA Design @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social

So sorry to hear this. It pleasure to contribute in a small way to Manchán’s final series, Listen to the Land Speak. The series featured the landscape and mythology of the North West, beautifully depicted on screen. What a loss, ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social

Almost three-quarters of State’s top earners are men, report shows www.irishtimes.com/business/202...