Will there be kiosks selling hi vis vests to tourists emblazoned with slogans like "I was visible at the Rock of Cashel"?
Dammit... I just gave away another money making scheme.
I'm so bad at neo-liberal capitalism.
Any councillor admitting on the record that they struggle to see cyclists and pedestrians on the road is admitting that they are a danger to the public and not fit to drive, and their licences should immediately be suspended.
We stand with Senator Eileen Flynn ✊️
Women face massive barriers to entering & staying in politics, including online & offline abuse. The abuse is compounded for Traveller women & women from other minority groups
❤️ Sending you our love and solidarity, Eileen
#MoreMná
@eileenflynn.bsky.social
Online abuse of politicians is a profitable business Senator Eileen Flynn's comments on far-right use of the tricolour have made her a lightning rod for online abuse - because viral hatred is highly profitable
In the space of a few weeks in 2025, Simon Harris required armed gardaí at his family home due to multiple bomb threats, while former taoiseach Leo Varadkar was subjected to a homophobic tirade by a self-styled citizen journalist who filmed the confrontation for social media. A man is due before the courts in July in connection with an alleged assault on Mary Lou McDonald and two canvassers the day before the presidential election last year. The incident was filmed and went viral online. So, last week when a video of Senator Eileen Flynn speaking about racism and nationalist propaganda went viral, a predictable and inevitable online pile on began, with posts attacking Flynn's "patriotism" or perceived
Much of the abuse directed at Ms Flynn came from Irish accounts run by people who benefit from algorithmically amplification (so called blue tick accounts), and content monetisation. Monetisation is now a commonplace feature on social media platforms like X/Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, that allows the company to "share" revenue. The more attention (likes, shares, comments etc) a post gets, the more revenue a user earns. Influencers also often have accounts on three or four platforms and post dozens of times a day, and can also benefit from tips, and paid subscribers so it is difficult to gauge how much they earn, but a single viral post on X can generate over €300 for an influencer, so this can become a quite lucrative activity for not a lot of work. Power
The abuse directed at Ms Flynn did not only come from Irish accounts; international social media influencers whose attention was already on Ireland since the fuel protests latched onto it too. Defiant Ls, an account run by a Macedonian influencer who promotes Maga content shared the video, as did the account LibsofTikTok, with the caption, 'Irish Senator Eileen Flynn says that she is "terrified" to see her nation's flag and thinks it's "disgraceful" to fly it', received more than 250,000 views and over 1,300 comments, mostly abusive. LibsOfTikTok has nearly five million fans and the account is run by Chaya Raichik, a right wing influencer who has previously targeted schools, hospitals and libraries across the United States. Victims of her attention have gone to be inundated with threats of violence.
I have a piece in the Examiner today on how content monetisation is fuelling a new wave of online harassment
Irish influencers with monetised accounts are mimicking the behaviour of people like Chaya Raichik, the owner of LibsOfTikTok, who has turned online abuse & harassment into a business model.
As someone who was nearly hit (and I mean I actually had to take significant avoiding action) yesterday, twice in 2km, whilst wearing a fluorescent yellow helmet, a bright blue and reflective panel jacket, and bright orange socks, high vis makes no difference because drivers just don't flipping look
Ireland is addicted to contracting away all kinds of State capacity
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
All those "show us what you looked like ten years ago" or "show your green art/animal art/art of women" memes are being used to train AI
So much of our language reflects
the common “car first” bias around our streets, & we should never forget that much of that language was the result of deliberate campaigns to specifically re-write our perspective of streets as “for cars only.” This is one of the more subtle, but important, examples.
I honestly believe the goal here is to give drivers an extra level of impunity and not to save lives.
By mandating high-viz at all times (an impossible ask) they'll make it harder to prosecute motorists who kill or maim pedestrians who aren't wearing them.
Screenshot from Mastodon, white text on black background: Erik Uden @ErikUden@mastodon.de Once libraries are nonexistent any modern fascist movement wouldn't even have to burn books, but flick one switch and they'd be remotely deleted from your Amazon Kindle or similar digital "library". Capitalists are already building the infrastructure to do this through DRM, so stop believing tech is apolitical - the defunding of libraries and paywalling of information are all part of this.
A reminder during #NationalLibraryWeek, libraries are our best and last defense against the fascist monopoly on knowledge and information
UN experts call for immediate suspension of EU-Israel trade agreement as ‘minimum requirement’ under international law 20 April 2026 Press statement from UN
Latest: www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
"you must pay to see a movie you have already seen in order to pay for and understand a new movie" is a hell of an argument
I am increasingly of the opinion that the moment Avengers Endgame first hit the theatres, everybody involved in Marvel Studios was cursed by a witch and forgot how to do everything that made people like their films.
No. Absolutely not. If it's vital to understanding the movie, put it in the movie. Don't assign me homework.
This isn't Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael trying to address the housing crisis. It's FFG addressing the "running out of landlords who will vote for us" crisis.
Can't afford a second property? Not to worry, FFG will let you start your landlord career from a shed... but only if you vote for them #spéirgorm
Reality check: Modular home in back garden = bed in a shed
Reality check:
Modular home in back garden = bed in a shed
I remember cahill in hysterics claiming greyhound racing was a rural tradition etc, despite it only happening in towns and cities in a few counties. Rural is such a politically powerful term that's deployed to defend anything, regardless of the impact it has on people living in the countryside
Lots of people in rural areas have their lives made worse by the government coddling of interest groups that claim authority over the term rural and who it means, what work it includes, and what interests it's used to justify
There is a rural urban divide.
And people who live rurally are right to be pissed off with the lack of GPS, Hospitals and public transport.
And clean water!
So many small towns have been left to die off, with no investment under FF and FG governments.
#speirgorm
That looks like a solid ID. Fingers crossed the next time you find a puffball it's a real one and a giant at that 😁
Tell me about it. I work in a heritage setting that's looking to insist I grow varieties and crops from the late 18th century. I'm like -I don't have their climate. They didn't have the pests and diseases we now have and I don't have their workforce!!!!
Any idea why the Gardaí are subject to "overzealous oversight"? Anyone?
www.dublininquirer.com/19-years-ago...
Another cheery release from Ireland's Dept Of Housing on all the lovely new build homes coming onstream.
Leaves out the bit about how many new build homes in Cork City were sold on the open market in 2024.
2%. It was 2%.
So they might as well be telling ppl about new Faberge Eggs
When I talk about the motherhood penalty being a choice, that it is caused by policies made by those who are not impacted by them, this is what I mean. The key players here are all men.
www.independent.ie/business/in-...
I don't think it's porcelain fungus. There's usually a stem and I've never encountered one on its own like that.
I'm sorry I can't offer any better guess though.
We'll be attending Saturday. Thanks for the recommendation!
Ireland must close its airspace to US military aircraft en route to fulfil military objectives in the Middle East.
How can we be confident the Government knows there is nothing of concern in the military planes overhead when they can’t even accurately count them?
@patriciastephenson.bsky.social
A photo of 6 people participating in a sod turning event in Cork. They are all wearing high viz jackets and hard hats.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are great for talking about housing "commencements". I can't live in a commencement.
If my partner is mad at me for not buying chicken on the grocery shop I can't gaslight her into thinking I did by pointing to the carton of eggs I did remember to buy. #Spéirgorm
