It's New Year, so time to look back and forward. These are 10 things I think we need to recognise in 2026. It’s a response to what I think are profoundly damaging mistaken assumptions I’ve heard and read from practitioners, journalists, and analysts in 2025. Warning: very long🧵

I politely suggest to the council that we have two Toy Shows moving forward, one for toys and one for books #LateLateToyShow

The entire country will now go to war for Keelan and Dylan #LateLateToyShow

Ok, now its Christmas. We've already had dinosaurs, Gen Alpha Billy Barry doing a non age appropriate song, and now a spy kid. Make sure you're donating #LateLateToyShow

How do the minimalist professional girlies do it with their tiny bags? I was down for an overnight in Dublin for work and I didn't need my laptop. This meant I didn't need to bring my rucksack. It nearly ruined the entire trip. As it transpires, I do not know how to function travelling without it.

1/6 On this day, 5 Oct 1968: a banned civil rights march on Duke Street, Derry, met violent RUC attacks – filmed and broadcast worldwide. It ignited a movement for change. #CivilRights68

In this house, we trust the clairvoyance of Queen Oyin #TheTraitorsIRL

Just to be blunt, if you want Wired and 404 and The Verge to employ reporters who understand the memes on bullet casings and can connect them to gaming culture while having the legal and support resources to deal with waves of harassment when we do it… you have to subscribe and pay for the work

"Ireland will not participate in Eurovision if Israel takes part" www.rte.ie/entertainmen...

I challenge some hero to make the sky scroll. I lack the technical chops.

No, YOU lost your copy of Thomas Bartlett's "Ireland: A History" and had to buy a replacement one.

Marisa Tomei taking the stand in My Cousin Vinnie is one of the greatest scenes in cinema history.

A lot of things happening on the news front this morning where "laughs in Northern Irish" is the only response. People are having a totally normal one.

A baby flamingo is called a flamingling.

At Euston Station. Most of London is actually fine, a lot of it is quite nice. Not Euston. God really turned a blind eye when this was being built.

The London water + London weather combo is doing an absolute number on my hair. It has the texture and consistency of a used brillo pad. More power to the insta girlies because I truly don't know how they do it.

65% of people are lying.

I'd like to offer my personal apologies for the thunderstorms in London. I wore shorts, and brought a coat that wasn't fully fully waterproof. God was never letting that level of Irish hubris stand.

Yeah NYT, they just started a genocide instead.

I walked 9 miles yesterday for touristy reasons and now my app is trying to tell me its a good day for running. Not in this life or the next, app.

In a contemporary art exhibition and the prams in London are so fancy I can't tell which ones are for actual babies and which ones are displays.

Out here fighting the good fight in 32°C, trying to be cute. So far, I've had to clip my hair up to stop it from welding to my face, I've progressed from "shiny" to "sticky" (powder be damned) and I dropped a knife on my skirt so now its stained. Give me a chance here.

A number of Four Courts Press books can now be borrowed on archive.org. Four Courts is a key publisher of works on Irish history, and this means some out of print edited collections on early modern history are now more readily available. And you can read some of my articles there too! For example:

I know everyone disagrees over ranking lists, it's why they're so popular etc etc etc... but this list is actually unhinged.

Devastated to say mine would also be wrestling booker.

Happy All Ireland Sunday to all who celebrate. As a Derry woman, I'm backing Donegal to the end. Sam's coming back to Ulster lads.

Discord also being subject to the OSA is hilarious because it can only go one of two ways; a systemic collapse of the UK user base OR a mass exodus of UK users to be replaced by "international" accounts.

As a wrestling fan, I must say I'm having a great time on here today.

Two things can be true at once: people like Corbyn and are crying out for a coherent socialist alternative, AND I refuse to acknowledge any name other than this.

So THIS is what I go to war over. Interesting.

Right. KPop Demon Hunters. Let's go.

Going to Superman today! Excited for two reasons: 1. James Gunn Superman! 2. 2+ hours in one of the few buildings in town with air-conditioning

Death Becomes Her

Reasons I don't need to do age verification: - I get emails from M&S - They did a push notification about their linen range because it's so warm - I'm so warm I'm thinking about buying them

Some sunny day, I will not get bitten by an insect. Yesterday was not that day. Today isn't looking great either.

Am I 38? No. But am I 38? Yes.

I was having A Very Bad Day ™️ but then my darling other half reminded me that Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3&4 was available on pre-release. Evening and mood saved. I'm still bad at combos.

In my righteous fury about AI, I always forget Stage 0: A classroom must have a computer for a lecturer to be replaced by one. Step one isn't happening anytime soon, I think we might be alright.

My brother couldn't have burned me this hard

My claim to fame is that I called Alan Sugar and his accountant out for this exact thing back in the Twitter times (he thought people would lose 70% of their salary) and I ended up in the paper.

It's the fourth of July, it hasn't stopped raining for 3 days, and I've just had to put the heat on.

Very glad were discussing the big issues coming out of The Bear Season 4, because what fresh hell was this?

"You're so funny when you're pretending to be angry." "I'm not pretending. I am angry. Leaning into it makes it more palatable."

Parking the "Kneecap are right" discussion for just a tic, this whole thing is hilarious because a) Kneecap (and Bob Vylan) will never need to spend a penny on marketing again, and b) people are going to go looking into what the fuss is about, AND WILL AGREE with the supposed "criminals".

One does not simply remain anonymous in Donegal

Well more power to Helen and I hope she's having a wonderful evening.

I've had a really stressful few weeks with no let up so, obviously, I've decided to watch all of The Bear Season 4 and Squid Game Season 3 over the next 2 days.

Gaelic/Hurling/All Ireland Finals takeover, anyone?