Members of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, across lots of sectors, are seeing the same pattern: Legal threats being used to deter legitimate public interest work.
🚫This is not how the justice system should function.
On this Day of Action, follow the hashtag #StopSLAPPs to learn more.
Latest from the Omagh goldmine inquiry - cyanide still referenced in the planning application.
I'll be writing on the issue for investigative and long-form journalism outlet @thedetailtv.bsky.social this week.
Read all about the proceedings here..
www.thedetail.tv/articles/cya...
A colourful banner reads: 'make the public inquiry transparent and accessible'.
From Monday 13 April 2026, she will be your host, reporting from Omagh as the goldmining inquiry restarts.
Subscribe to the Save Our Sperrins podcast for regular updates!
buttonsoptions4u.podbean.com/e/no41-publi...
@friendsofearthni.bsky.social @actnowcampaigns.bsky.social
Save our Sperrins' campaigners and supporters are listening to Marella speaking outside the PAC offices in Belfast. The sky is a bright blue and the sun is shining on the group.
Save our Sperrins' campaigner Marella Fyffe is very skilled at making complicated topics understandable.
Here she is (in the pink fleece), explaining why major transparency concerns around the Public Inquiry into goldmining prompted SOS to hand-deliver a petition to the Planning Appeals Commission.
ICYMI: The National Pro Bono Centre is recruiting a Senior Communications Officer!
They will create content & manage all external communications for NPBC, the hub for pro bono lawyers across E&W.
📆Closing date: 13 April 2026
www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk/about-us/job-vacancies/
#WeDoProBono
"A prolonged battle that will define the future of mining in Northern Ireland..."
Before the inquiry into plans to mine for gold in the Sperrins returns on 13 April, @shaunacorr.bsky.social outlines why this is one of the island's most contentious planning cases.
More in today's @irishtimes.com:
🐣Our Frequently Asked Questions page explains how we collaborate with the organisations in our membership network, how to apply for support, and how we make decisions: pilsni.org/frequently-a...
🐣The Public Interest Litigation Toolkit can help you determine whether your organisation is prepared and equipped to take legal action: pilsni.org/toolkit/
Happy Easter. The PILS team will be back online on 08 April 2026. This text appears in white letters on a deep green background, with some cheerful yellow daffodils at the bottom of the graphic.
Wishing all our member organisations, supporters and friends a restful Easter break!
The PILS team will be back online on Wednesday, 08 April 2026.
If you have questions in the meantime, our Toolkit and FAQs are here to help:
This year’s World Book Day theme invites us to Go All In — and there is no better time to go all in on stories that heal, empower, and transform.
The Rest of the Story: Transforming Trauma to Voice, Agency, and Leadership (2025) is more than an anthology. It is a social movement in book form.
Join the demo to call on the Executive to act now on an anti-poverty strategy. Thursday 05 March 2026, 1pm, Stormont.
It's time to act on poverty!
1 year after @cajni.bsky.social's court case - backed by @pilsni.bsky.social - that challenged the NI Executive's failure to adopt an anti-poverty strategy, we're taking our call for action to the steps of Stormont.
05 March 2026 @ 13.00 @equalitycoalition.bsky.social
Put the 'public' at the heart of the Public Inquiry!
For a long time, PILS have backed the call of local communities to make the upcoming goldmining inquiry accessible.
Today, we were proud to stand with Save Our Sperrins @actnowcampaigns.bsky.social as they handed over their 4k-strong petition!
Community Place's flyer
Got questions on how the planning system works?
Our member organisation Community Places are running a free advice session TODAY!
Their advisors will be at East Belfast Community Development Agency between 11.00 and 15.00.
Another great Funding Fayre.
Thanks to @nicva.org and the Halifax Foundation for NI for creating vibrant spaces where we can connect with funders and fellow fundraisers.
(...and the sandwiches were delicious, as always!)
Supporting local climate organisers to use legal tools as part of their activism is something we at PILS are passionate about.
Huge thanks to our friends @ejni.bsky.social for inviting us to be part of the conversation with @srenvironment.bsky.social in Dublin.
PILS and @cajni.bsky.social have a vibrant history of collaboration.
🧑⚖️Challenging NI Executive's failure to introduce an Anti-Poverty Strategy
🔴Teaming up w/ @cnagaeilge.bsky.social @ Info Tribunal
✅Working together in the NI Human Rights Fund
There's still time to apply for their latest vacancy:
“…I felt people were taking us a wee bit more seriously…because we had this backing of yourselves…”
Public interest litigation or legal tools aren't a substitute for campaigning. They are a powerful complement.
🎙️Deena Nimick & Wesley McGrady talk to To Be Fair NI about their collaboration:
Deena and Wesley are smiling directly at the camera. The PILS logo appears on a teal green background, with the To Be Fair NI podcast title in hot pink capital letters.
NEW PODCAST EPISODE 🎧
Today, To Be Fair NI features a candid conversation with CILNI’s Deena Nimick and barrister Wesley McGrady.
It's about solidarity, collaboration & the change that can be achieved when human rights activists team up with pro bono lawyers.
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-b98nh-19cab45
"First of all, in my previous life, I was a linguist before I became a barrister."
In the first episode of #TBFNI, barrister Iryna Kennedy reflects on how her background in linguistics shaped her pro bono collaboration w/ @cnagaeilge.bsky.social @cajni.bsky.social
www.podbean.com/ew/pb-uupq3-...
Iryna, Una and Cuisle are all smiling directly at the camera. The PILS logo appears on a teal green background, with the To Be Fair NI podcast title in hot pink capital letters.
We’re back! 🎙️ To Be Fair NI returns with stories of hope, collaboration & legal changemaking.
In Ep1, Cuisle Nic Liam, Úna Boyd & Iryna Kennedy talk bilingual signage, language rights & testing new legal ground.
Éist: www.podbean.com/ew/pb-uupq3-19bf11b
@cnagaeilge.bsky.social @cajni.bsky.social
🆕Podcast Alert🆕
To Be Fair NI returns for Series 2 on Thurs 13 Nov 2025.
Join us for special #WeDoProBono interviews, reuniting incredible activists and Pro Bono Register lawyers.
Justice is a team sport. @cajni.bsky.social @cnagaeilge.bsky.social @probonoweekuk.bsky.social #CILNI #BarofNI
🔗 pilsni.org/downloads/#k...
Designed to meet the needs of local human rights defenders and launched in 2025, the guide was a collaborative project between:
@pilsni.bsky.social
@cajni.bsky.social
@ejni.bsky.social
@friendsofearthni.bsky.social
Emma's laptop screen shows the live stream of the UK PBW launch event from London.
The lovely forest green cover of the Protest Guide.
At last night’s #ProBonoWeek UK launch, there was a powerful reminder that legal pro bono takes many forms.
The Know Your Rights to Protest guide, created with 5 pro bono barristers, shows how legal skills can meet grassroots needs here in NI.
Link in comments. #WeDoProBono
🗓️One week to go!
Join @pilsni.bsky.social and our @probonoweekuk.bsky.social colleagues across Scotland, England and Wales as we celebrate 'Pro Bono in Action'.
Check out the #UKPBW event calendar: probonoweek.org.uk/events
#WeDoProBono
🍂Our first Autumn Social brought together communities, human rights activists and legal professionals to celebrate the power of public interest litigation.🍂
A huge thanks to @john-wadham.bsky.social, Belfast Exposed, Yallaa, musicians Maureen Walker & Brendan Kerr and photographer Alisa Lymanska.
📰Community News/Nuacht ó Chomhphobal📰
Our NGO members @cnagaeilge.bsky.social will return to court in 2026, challenging Stormont's failure to deliver an Irish Language Strategy.
Reaction from Dr Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh ⬇️ #PublicInterestLitigation #JudicialReview
www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...
If you'd like to break out of a 'linear thought cage' at the start of the week, then the latest episode of the Save Our Sperrins podcast is what you need.
🎙️James Orr @friendsofearthni.bsky.social shares his own inimitable blend of wisdom, rebellion and solidarity: buttonsoptions4u.podbean.com
Doors open for our Autumn Social at 17.30 tonight!
💫 Guest speaker: John Wadham
💫 Venue: Belfast Exposed
💫 Live music from Maureen Walker and Brendan Kerr
💫 Food by Yallaa
💫 In a room full of creative, courageous activists and lawyers
Last chance to RSVP: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Our Autumn Social is this Thursday!
Enjoy an evening of community, conversation & celebration with fellow @pilsni.bsky.social members & supporters. 🍂
Reserve your spot before registration closes:
🔗 pilsni.org/events/pils-autumn-social-2025/
#HumanRights #PublicInterestLitigation #HRA #HRA25
