"Protecting press freedom today is not only about protecting journalists from censorship or physical attacks. It is also about protecting them from burnout, emotional exhaustion, trauma, and the constant psychological pressure of living and reporting in an increasingly hostile digital world."

I’m paying £450 a month for a Peugeot EV I can’t drive

It is 34°C in the shade in Listowel now.

There is currently a national outage in Ireland affecting ISDN lines & we are currently unable to make or receive calls on our bookshop phones. Our provider (Eir) is aware of the issue and working to fix as quickly as possible. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, hopefully will be resolved soon!

Speaking tomorrow afternoon at Listowel Writers’ Week (Kerry), now with @julianborger.bsky.social. Tickets & info here: writersweek.ie/project/sall...

Justine McCarthy: To call Irish people anti-Semitic is a collective punch to the stomach. Those who wrongly label Ireland in such vile terms fail to see protests against Israel’s barbarity are motivated by humanity, not hatred. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Ireland's 'independent' small towns are in trouble. There have been far too many talking shops set up to arrest this decline, but the actual shops are closing by the hundred. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Our home in Listowel has joined the ranks of the 155,000+ solar-panelled homes in Ireland. These generate twice as much electricity annually as the ESB’s pioneering hydro-electric station at Ardnacrusha. Yet, no one seems to have noticed this phenomenal transformation.

Remembering Sean O'Casey born on this day 1880.

I’m watching #COYBIG with soccer royalty in John B’s, Listowel. Former Irish manager Eoin Hand, (right) led the Republic of Ireland 1980-85, narrowly missing qualification for the 1982 World Cup. He has 19 Irish caps too! #CZEIRL

“Grass soon grows over a battlefield but never over a scaffold.” Winston Churchill, The World Crisis, Vol. 4 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

American exceptionalism gone mad. These unsustainable debts appear not to be a problem until suddenly they will be, and then the US will be rightly f.cked. It will only take a split second, and everything will change, change utterly, in the blink of an eye. finance.yahoo.com/economy/poli...

Can we have something similar here too, but slightly more robust, please? www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Glorious Ballybunion this afternoon — delicious!

One of the striking things about packing up to move is how many boxes of documents I have pertaining to libel threats that were made and never came to court All the thousands of hours of my life wasted with dealing with it all And I’m far from the only one

Listening to @news.rte.ie, online or via the app, is a nightmare: too many ads overlaying interviews, and even the news headlines. I’ve switched to Times Radio as there are similar issues on rival Irish stations. Make it stop, and I’ll return. @declynchwriter.bsky.social

Declan Lynch talking a lot of sense here: m.independent.ie/entertainmen...

Irish fiction is one of our passions and it continues to grow for us, John B Keane’s The Bodhran Makers was a bestseller last year as it is highlighted as a staff favourite. www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...?

Flickers of Obama: Is Georgia senator Jon Ossoff a Democratic presidential runner?

Entering the US is set to become an app-based dystopia with social media tracking. What used to be a visa-free privilege (the ESTA) is to turn into a biometric, digitally-scored identity system. m.independent.ie/business/tec...

Reform of Esta system (app-only, no website) based on: - common use of facial scans in airports anyway - tougher rules on who’s allowed in US But they also want selfies before *and after* US visit + years of social media. Lack of protest from X-based Irish ‘free speech’ folks is striking

Guinness is gouging loyal customers and blackguarding poor farmers. Cutting from today's Irish Examiner.

I normally don't break my schedule for newsletters because breaking news isn't my thing. But things are escalating quickly, so I made an exception. Please read and share these remarks from @governorwalz.mn.gov. www.altrightdelete.news/p/you-need-t...

Message from the Editor: We hit a big milestone this year

Turns out a combination of not using That Other Site and the economic landscape at the moment in general does, in fact, makes fulfilling the whole "starving artist" stereotype a whole lot more achievable 😅

Wishing all at @kennysbookshop.bsky.social warm wishes celebrating 85 years at the heart of Galway books, art, and more. This archives Kenny's brochure even included a map of the original shop on High Street!

🔺 BREAKING: It was an honour to know him, agent says in statement confirming death

I went to Assassination Custard, the most precisely chaotic and singularly wonderful restaurant in Dublin, and had a very, very nice time. observer.co.uk/style/restau...

November evening sun in Ballybunion, County Kerry, looking towards Kerry Head and the Dingle Peninsula. No filter.

SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten. "I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

Revenue extends deadline for local property tax to next Wednesday as thousands yet to file www.independent.ie/business/per...

Milestones: On this day in 1965, Irish theatre changed forever when John B Keane’s play The Field introduced the character of the Bull McCabe to the Irish stage. Actors Ray McNally as ‘the Bull’ and Eamon Keane as ‘the Bird’ took Dublin by storm.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is urgently seeking an additional 12,000 blood donations over the next four weeks as most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock.

The destruction of the Gaza city mosque is a devastating loss to humanity as a whole. A part of our global medieval heritage destroyed in furtherance to a genocide. I despair.

iPhone 17 Pro Max 2TB: EU/Ireln - €2,489 America - €1,826 (incl sales tax) €660 difference

Justine McCarthy: Catherine Connolly must unhitch her presidential wagon from Clare Daly and Mick Wallace

"The order to kill Anas Al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, along with his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza" www.cnn.com/2025/08/10/m...

I agree with basically all of this by Kev Collins www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZpd...

Vastly experienced EU negotiators gave Trump the optics of a win but will fillet the US in the details, knowing the Taco president will want to keep his win by conceding loads of goodies to keep it alive.

Mickey MacConnell, a true legend — songwriter, poet, lyricist, composer, columnist, journalist, balladeer, husband, and dad, has died. He lived amongst us in Listowel. Tá sé smith ar shlí na fírinne. www.rte.ie/entertainmen...

A wonderful short story "The Last Supper" by Jayson Carcione @carcionejay.bsky.social. www.bloodhoneylit.com/fiction/the-...

Sally Rooney in The Guardian Israel kills innocent Palestinians. Activists spray-paint a plane. Guess which the UK government calls terrorism | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is barbaric from a State whose rulers were front and centre at the Ascot Carnival, even sharing a carriage with King Charles III in the Royal Procession. At least the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, has the good sense to snub these odious despots! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Ireland is the distillation capital of the World. When Hennessy etc escaped via flight of the Earls they brought it to France. This is Dromin House in Listowel (just restored), where reference to an apple brandy distillation room dates to 1661.

NUJ joins the IFJ in condemning those responsible for death of journalist Dharmendra Singh Chauhan who has been shot and killed in India, bringing number of reporters killed in the country this year to four www.nuj.org.uk/resource/ind...

Finally, a win for journalism in the US. www.huffpost.com/entry/preakn...