Gerald the Rhymer The remarkable life of Gearóid Iarla: aristocrat, poet, sorcerer, son of a goddess, defender of women, and possibly the medieval man I would most like to invite to a party

To lighten the mood a little I wrote about my first historical crush. A lover AND a fighter and quite literally a legend. It’s Earl Gerald of Desmond. A man taught the dark arts by the devil himself and possibly turned into a goose by his mother. open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Wait till she hears about the Irish Aos Sí. We still don’t touch fairy forts.

For the day that's in it, here's a paper answering the question on everyone's mind: what language did St Patrick swear in?

More precisely, it discusses the exclamation "mo debroth!" attributed to him, claimed by some to be of Brythonic origin, but plausibly Irish too.
www.jstor.org/stable/20787...

Baked beans traitor!

Saw this last year. Worth a watch.

γλυκὺς ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος

There’s a whole heritage project there

Couldn’t remember date but it was in the news. Police were called and ‘Barney’ and Co had to lock themselves away.

Wasn’t there a Barney the Dinosaur riot once in the old Maysfield Leisure centre by disgruntled parents? Think the 80’s?

Are you at a wake? Looks like a normal ‘good room.’

Kilmalkedar Ogham Stone (RGB) - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme) Kilmalkedar Ogham Stone (RGB) - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme)

In Archaeology Ireland (Summer 2015), Nora White, Gary Devlin & Fionbarr Moore explored 3D recording of ogham inscriptions.

Now you can explore the ogham stone at Kilmalkedar Church in high-resolution 3D via The Discovery Programme.

sketchfab.com/3d-models/ki...

As always, worth a read.

Photo of a proto-cuneiform clay tablet against a white backdrop. The tablet is divided into several squares which each contain some pictographic signs. On the far left is one that looks like a jug on a stand

What an honour to speak at an event for the Earth Rover Program last week alongside some incredible people, almost none of whom seem to be on BlueSky except for @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

I spoke on soil health in ancient Mesopotamia, and here are some snippets of what I learned along the way

Because of the Saint Patrick myths I didn’t even know we had reptiles here, until Belfast Hills Partnership started posting a few years ago about our NATIVE lizard.

Where do you usually list online? If you don’t mind me asking.

Enjoying Bluesky’s coverage of the Winter Olympic Opening. Good natured (from what can I see) teasing. Cat was also mesmerised by Mariah Carey

Did... ChatGPT write this policy?

Funding boosts exciting plans for Carlisle Memorial THE redevelopment of an iconic North Belfast building has received a major shot in the arm after receiving support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Delighted to see this news. Brilliant building with so much potential in our North Belfast Heritage Cluster belfastmedia.com/carlisle-mem...

Whatever happened to the art collection that used to be in Havelock House?

Who knew that in 2024 I would subscribe to a *print* edition of, well, anything?

Congratulations!

Photo of a fragment of a clay tablet shaped a bit like a diamond. Although it is only a fragment, the cuneiform text on it is well-preserved. There is a vertical line down the centre which indicates it once had at least two columns. The colour is reddish brown

“Do not bend your neck for that which cuts necks.”

A Sumerian proverb, as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.

Congratulations Mark.

Photo of a map of the ancient city of Assur with a section in the middle zoomed in on in a separate box in the bottom right corner. The zoomed in part shows the plan of the house for a goldsmith archive

Well this 2,600-year-old clay letter was a journey.

It comes from the archive of a goldsmith named Nabû-zeru-iddin in the heart of ancient Assyria. We’ve got someone left on read, a lawsuit, a mean step-mom, and people who get drunk and steal silver.

This Thursday, join us at Clifton House or online for an intriguing look into the darker side of Belfast's history in the 19th century. A time in which body-snatchers were terrorizing local cemeteries, stealing bodies for medical dissection.
cliftonhousebelfast.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...

The greatest lie ever is “cook onions for ten minutes or so until caramelised”!

As it’s on the news, sharing this again. The view of the pyramids at the top of the grand staircase is wonderful.

I've been getting back into the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series after many years, and the most relatable part is how everyday objects like doors and elevators have been imbued with artificial intelligence and it just makes them obnoxious and frustrating to use and everyone hates it.

[Scene is the entrance cabin to a NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTY AND GARDENS] 1 NATIONAL TRUST EMPLOYEE [inside cabin]: Hello there 2 [A young family - two parents two kids - have arrived at the front desk]. DAD: Hi - do you have an activity trail, for the kids? 3 NT EMPLOYEE: Of course – you’re just in time for the Autumn Gammon Trail! 4 MUM: That sounds fun, doesn’t it kids? 5 NT EMPLOYEE [handing an activity sheet and pencils to the kids]: Every autumn, the Reform Trust gammons flock back to the National Trust for the AGM. Just follow the trail round the grounds, and see how many you can spot! 6 NT EMPLOYEE [hearing something in the gardens]: Listen - that's their call [Calls emanating from the landscape]: tut-tut woke-woke 7 NT EMPLOYEE [showing the family an apparently empty fenced enclosure with some bushes in]: They are extremely sensitive and fragile... But you can bring them out of hiding if you put a little sign down mentioning slavery. 8 KIDS [pointing]: There they are! [Some little red faced PEOPLE wearing Barbour jackets and gilets emerge cautiously from the bushes. They are creeping towards a TINY SIGN in the middle of the enclosure]. [Little people noises]: woke-woke tut-tut woke-woke 9 [Close-up of the TINY SIGN - we can read that it says]: Slavery had a bit to do with building this massive house. [Noises from the little people again as they inspect the tiny sign]: tut-tut woke-woke 10 MUM [pointing]: What's that one doing there? NT EMPLOYEE: Oh, that's so sweet… 11 [We see that one of the people is sat on a rock, with a little laptop open on a tree stump, and they are furiously typing away]. NT EMPLOYEE: I think he's writing a column for the Daily Telegraph… 12 [We see close up to the little person’s screen, it is a word document reading]: Are National Trust scones secretly WOKE? [ends]

If you're a National Trust member, it's that time of year again: Midnight tonight is the deadline. It's a shame people have to keep doing this to keep a toehold on historical truth in this country, but here we are. Voting link: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...