🧵 I don’t write about illustrators too much, but want to bring you the Norwegian Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914), who died on this day. I love how he created images of Norwegian mythology & tales that are as attractive today as when they were created. Watch out for trolls! [1]

🧵 Wisdom is a gift! [1]

Earth, Wind & Fire (1979) Boogie Wonderland This is music!

🧵 This gold boat is my talisman. It’s Hiberno-Celtic & dates back over 2,000y ago. The shape & proportions are ones I use, when I draw; I first saw it over 50y ago. As you can see in the one-off drawings in this thread, I use Irish aesthetics to create them. See what you think? [1]

Canada, Australia, UK & Portugal recognise the State of Palestine. The importance of this is indicated by how hard the far right government in Israel has worked to stop it.

Australia recognises the State of Palestine.

Here’s a rarity from 1980. Karen Carpenter & Ella Fitzgerald sing Masquerade.

One of my top favourites. Galliano (1988) Frederic Lies Still. I love Acid Jazz, but it came & went…

I only know surface level stuff on Megan Thee Stallion, but I really liked the attitude in Hiss (2024) & its lyrics.

Madonna [2005] Hung Up. I really liked the song, but the video was weird. Who the hell wants to be filmed in green light in old lady socks. You gotta love Madge for experimenting, though! Catchy tune!

A great song, released in 1998, Madonna’s Frozen. 27y ago!

The new and improved 2nd Edition of The Holocaust in Eastern Europe is out now, hot off the presses!!! If you're teaching about the Holocaust or just interested in the topic, please check it out!

This is a great charity to give toys to kids living in poverty around the world. You can donate & learn more here: www.teamhope.ie/christmas-sh...

Have yourselves a #painting. "Cliffs of Moher III" came from a day I'd spent with friends seeing who could throw the largest stone over the cliffs that the wind would throw back at us. Aside from ducking a lot I also spent a fair bit of time savouring the views and our youth. #SpeirGorm #ArtYear

In collaboration with Professor Christine Casey and the Department of History of Art in Trinity College Dublin, we are delighted to welcome Dr Greg Sullivan to Christ Church on a Long Room Hub Short Term Fellowship. Find out more via our website ➡️

Dutch Baby, that princely, puffy Yorkshire pudding of a breakfast pancake, is #RecipeOfTheDay, I’m pleased to be able to report! www.nigella.com/recipes/dutc...

This kimono displays a striking geometric composition that beautifully exemplifies the intersection of traditional Japanese design with early 20th century modernist sensibilities. 1912-1940

Babysitting would be a lot easier if Netflix et al only showed kids movies, where the voices are not so high pitched, that it’s like a drill going thru your head, & where the animation isn’t so terrible you want to punch the screen. I chose Chicken Run & 30 mins later 2 of the 3 were asleep.

🧵 I hope all those ‘progressives’ who chose to ‘honour’ a Neo-Nazi’s memory realise what they have done. He quoted the horrific homophobic verse from Leviticus & added a snide ‘just saying’. You can see the vid on Twitter. Now his fans are trying to carry it out [1]

10 years ago, there was only a single 'leathceann' (windswept) birch tree in the foreground. Now, there's a full-on exploding diverse native rainforest, none of which was planted. All it took was fencing out sheep. Let's rewild the world 🌏

In a church in Dublin today, 668 names were read out. Behind each one of those names is a face, and behind each of those faces is a family

Really good group for Norn Iron parents of LGBTQ kids. In my day it would be said - parents of ‘artistic/musical’ children’ 😉 Pass it along!

Drawings by Lauren & Grace. Zoey by Lauren; Baby Alien & Crazy Lady by Grace

1972, I was the best kid in the world. 2025, I’m babysitting three little people. That’s me foreseeing my destiny & its terrors.

The reaction to Mamdani, a slightly left of centre politico, by establishment Dems is mind blowing. Unless the Dems become a party for ordinary people, rather than for the rich donors, a lot of ppl are not going to vote. Mamdani is the acid test for whether individual Dems are for you, or for them…

Top tip: How to distract a middle aged man from a rant about how it’s not like how he imagined growing up & knows exactly who or what to blame. Ask him his cholesterol score & get him to explain it & then ask him how he’s dealing with it. Then the food he misses etc. Then ask him about the…

🧵 Autumn is in Dublin! For kids it’s all about Samhain, or, after it was appropriated by Christians, Halloween. This evening I’m off to check out my little nieces’ & nephew’s costumes & we are going to do some art. I get a lot of inspiration from them, as you can see in this thread! [1]

'President Michael D. Higgins this afternoon received the newly appointed Laureate for Irish Fiction 2025 – 2028, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, at Áras an Uachtaráin.' #SpeirGorm @president.ie

Canada following the US into cultural censorship.

Presumably the reason the billionaire has moved to the Republic of Ireland? Are Brits really this gullible? I genuinely find it hard to believe. He’s clearly struggling, having just spent €30m on a house here. Sir James Dyson says Brexit was worth it – even if it’s made people poorer

Hey @shedfpl.bsky.social and any others wanting to make hot sauce, my rather ad-hoc recipe is in the Alt text. #Chillies #HotSauce #CarolinaReaper

Sinn Féin, Ireland’s largest opposition party, has decided to support Catherine Connolly for president. With the right wing & centre right nominees flailing, this is a shot in the arm for the independent left-winger’s campaign. The three national newspapers, all hard right, will be on the attack! 😉

This tulip travels on an Irish passport. It’s time that the Dept of Foreign Affairs looks into grounding him. He has the right to be an Irish citizen, but the Department needs to confiscate his passport. The Irish taxpayer should not be paying the cost of his consular assistance as he spreads hate.

The year of Our Lord, 2025, & a former British PM is championing the views of a Neo-Nazi, as he attacks students for not genuflecting to fascism. I think, if we were to believe in horror movies, the flatulent & incandescent corpse of Churchill must be searching for Johnson now…

A little bit of Leitrim music, from the 18th C, by the great Irish composer Turlough O’Carolan. He lived out the end of his days near my ancestors’ farm. You can get a feel for classic Irish music with this version by The Chieftains & James Galway (1987)

This one reminds me of clubbing in Edinburgh & crazy drives thru the night to warehouses in Glasgow. House of Handbag. Billie Ray Martin (1994) Your Loving Arms

Faithless (2015) Insomnia. This used to be my favourite dance tune. The past is a different country!

The decent skin of Irish music. A massive & outspoken Queer human rights supporter. Too Sweet (2024)

The Script (2009) The Man Who Can’t be Moved A great bunch of lads, doing well for themselves!

Another Irish one. Macklemore (2024) Hinds Hall. Ben is one of the few US major musicians willing to call a spade a spade. In being so clear about the UN reported genocide in Gaza, he gave millions the courage to speak truth to fascist power. It’s probably the most Irish anthem ever.

I wore out my cassette tape listening to M People (2009) Moving on Up as I whizzed around these islands hugging trees. Even got to see them. High energy stuff!

Sure you couldn’t do a singalong, back in the day, without everyone doing Vogue in the hallway. Madonna (1990). Madge is one of the few major musicians who has stuck true to the Queer community thru thick & thin, without using us to virtue signal. The ultimate zeitgeist

Another atmospheric blast from the end of my teens. Something Happens (1990) Parachute. [Ireland was dominated by state broadcasting & it pumped out boyband U2 & its in-house Eurovision, the Hot House Flowers 24/7. It still feels no responsibility to promote Irish music. Crazy stuff.]

I’ve always loved Annie Lennox. Would I Lie To You? (1985) is one of the best Eurythmics songs.

There was a long history of combining Irish trad music with other musical styles & The Saw Doctors combined that with fun. They pulled in tens of thousands to wet fields & were beloved by young & old. I Useta Love Her (1991)

Sinead O’Connor was agreed to have an astonishing voice. No auto tuning for her. Our theocracy didn’t like her, & she made it clear, the feeling was mutual. At the time we were so indoctrinated we thought she was mad; with her death, we realised we were the ones who were crazy [1990] A prophet.

1999, Mary Coughlan sang Love for Sale to the Pride After Party in Dublin. When she sang it, about outcasts, to a thousand outcasts, just 6 years after the decriminalisation of homosexuality she had the room in her hands. A magical experience & one of the best written songs ever.

The 4 of Us [1989] Mary. It even felt nostalgic at the time. The band was from Newry in Northern Ireland

Another Dublin one, Aslan (1988) This Is. The city & country were a basket case 40y ago. East Germany had a better economy. Heroin was epidemic & 50,000 kids left secondary school each year & 50,000 emigrated. Aslan, & bands like them, were one of the few bright spots:

Although Two Tribes (1984) might be the soundtrack to 1980s Cold War fears, it was Relax (1983) that shocked the reactionaries with its full throated roar of gay sexuality. It was censored by some media & ironically flew over the heads of many in the Irish theocracy. Frankie Goes to Hollywood