Eilín de Paor
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edepaor.bsky.social
Eilín de Paor
@edepaor.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.6K following 410 posts
She/Her. Dublin. Recent PhD: Transition from School to Adult Life: perspectives of young adults with intellectual disabilities, families & service leaders. Interests: Inclusive Research, Social Justice, Choir, Gaeilge, Poetry https://linktr.ee/edepaor
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edepaor.bsky.social
This @manderleypress.bsky.social book is such a joy. Life-affirming escapism. I just spent 10 mins on Google Maps trying (& failing) to find a tiny alley off E 71st St that Hanff describes as a perfect English mews. Now I want to go to NYC to seek it out. There must/should be a map of Hanff spots🤔💡.
Shot of front cover of “Letters from New York” by Helene Hanff. It has a jaunty yellow spine and a line drawing of a woman with glasses walking a white scotty dog, with a backdrop of hedges/trees and NY skyscrapers. Screenshot from the book, Page 2 of 2: …..“blossoms and there was nobody to open the snapdragons; but more than that, she missed him. 'He was a lovely bumble bee,' she told me sadly. "The two of us worked out there together, we never bothered each other; we were companions.' Well, last week I was on her terrace one afternoon, and I don't know what made me ask, 'Did your bumble bee ever come back?' And Nina's mouth set in a disapproving line. 'His son was here this morning, she said. 'He's an ado-lescent, he has no manners. He kept flying in my face. And he dashed all over the place, from this flower to that, and then back to the first one. He hasn't any idea what he's doing!' 'He'll learn, I said. 'One day he'll be grown up and sedate, and you'll probably be sorry. Last year Nina's son, Claudie, was an adolescent. Now he's finished college, he's grown up and independent, hes joined the Marines and you have to call him Chuck.” Screenshot from the book, page 1 of 2: “This bafled me, because bird-watchers had persuaded me that birds are easily frightened. All year round when Im walking in the Park, singing or kicking leaves, I am shushed by bird-watchers who tiptoe up to a tree and stand looking up with out breathing, for fear of scaring the birds away. So I consulted Nina about this contradiction. 'Birds, said Nina judiciously, 'don't like bird-watchers. Birdwatchers stare at them, invading their privacy, so birds hide from them. Dogs pay no attention to the birds, so the birds like them.' I gotta tell you about Nina's bumble bee. Last year a bee came every day to pollinate her terrace. The old wooden terrace door had a hole in the top, and when the bee got tired he crawled into the hole and took a nap. But last fall Nina had a new door installed. And the next day the bee came and worked, and then looked for his nap hole. He searched more and more frantically for it, before he gave up and flew off. And this spring he didn't come back. Nina was inconsolable. Her orange tree had no”….
October 30, 2025 at 9:45 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
Just spreading the word about a poetry competition closing soon (20th). I entered a previous @walklistencreate.org competition & it was a really positive experience. The organisers are thoroughly decent skins. #PoetryCommunity #Walkers

write.walklistencreate.org/wr_instance/...
Write About Walking – In the Dark
write.walklistencreate.org
October 13, 2025 at 4:28 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
My mother likes miniatures. She’s 5 foot tall and believes nothing in the world should be any bigger than it needs to be. She is constantly trimming things - tote bags, sleeping bags, walking polls. She loves birds, but only the little ones #smallisbeautiful
2 garden bird feeders hooked on a poll, protected from large birds by an umbrella, attached to the poll with cable ties. A garden feeder surrounded by a cage, to limit access for all but the smallest birds.
September 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
ronandusty.bsky.social
Heads up. Any of ye Dubs who use the green line luas to get to work should check RTE now. There's problems with the line.
September 19, 2025 at 6:08 AM
edepaor.bsky.social
Calling bass-range choral singers based in Dublin 📣
cantoiri.bsky.social Cantóirí Choir Ireland @cantoiri.bsky.social · Sep 15
Cantóirí are back for our autumn/winter term, with rehearsals Monday nights in Ranelagh, Dublin 6. We have a pretty full choir this year, but do have room for a couple more basses. For more information contact: cantoiri@gmail.com
Cantóirí choir group shot - approx. 30 people in smart black clothes with colourful Gerbera lapel pins.
September 15, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social
There are over 18,000 types of lichen in existence. My personal favourite is ‘village bench lichen’, which devotes its entire existence selflessly to gradually making communal public seating more furry and comfortable.
A lichen-covered bench in Manaton, Devon.
August 31, 2025 at 12:33 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
This was great fun. Complete with fake moustaches and BYOB drinks and snacks. 👨🏻🎤🍿
cantoiri.bsky.social Cantóirí Choir Ireland @cantoiri.bsky.social · Aug 31
We had a lovely time at The Dot Private Cinema yesterday - a singalong showing of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie, as an end of summer choir social, to catch up and get us in the mood for our return to new-term rehearsals next week. Highly recommend The Dot as a venue for parties of any/all ages.
Photo of the front entrance of The Dot Private Theatre in Dublin City centre. There’s a white and grey wall, with an A4 poster of the visual for the Bohemian Rhapsody movie and text on it saying “a special showing of Bohemian Rhapsody for Cantóirí”. There’s a gold coloured glitter ball hanging over the sign.
August 31, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
littledeercomics.bsky.social
A gorgeous morning in Stoneybatter! The cafes are open, wonderful coffee on every corner and equally wonderful comics here! We're open until 4pm today with @tinygreens.bsky.social at the desk😌

littledeercomics.ie
August 31, 2025 at 10:12 AM
edepaor.bsky.social
Just spotted you on the bill for tonight’s Vintage Room Sessions @sineadgriffin.bsky.social . I’m booked to go along with another poetry pal. See you there. Look forward to your reading. Eilín
August 29, 2025 at 12:31 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
Passed my PhD viva today. Minor corrections and the customary college red tape left, but the finish line is well in sight. Phew! (Never again😅)
Photo of a draft thesis with dog-eared multi-coloured sticky tabs.
August 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
olamajekodunmi.bsky.social
Nearly two weeks ago, I performed some trilingual poems at Art & the Outdoors, hoping to connect us all.

#poetry #trilingual #PoetryIreland #HughLaneGallery
August 13, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
ravenbooks.bsky.social
Mortified it's taken me so long to visit @ansiopaleabhar.bsky.social in their new (temporary) location on Camden Street. Love that they're sharing the building with the School of English! Excellent window - puifín beag álainn😍 @gerrydalyart.bsky.social
August 7, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
olamajekodunmi.bsky.social
It's interesting when white people say to POC Irish, "Just be Irish, don't bring colour into it" because it isn't as straightforward as that. Our experiences are different and that needs to be acknowledged but yet celebrated in all its complexities.
July 29, 2025 at 8:22 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
I had a really enjoyable visit to the Connections Arts Centre #ConnectingArtistsCollective exhibition at RCSI this week & left filled with infectious positive energy. More info in ALT. The exhibit moves to Belfast next @universityofatypical.org
#InclusiveArts #Neurodiversity #IntellectualDisability
Picture of a painting by Peter Kehoe: "Double Trouble" (two foxes huddled together against a backdrop of lush green foliage and grass). For the artist’s bio, visit: https://www.connectionsartscentre.ie/peter-kehoe Picture is of 3 art cards and a flyer for the Connection Arts Centre. The art cards feature paintings by: Bearnard Durnin (a sea plane landing - white plane and light blue sea spray, navy sea and dark blue mountains tinged with golden light), Rachel Connell (a red plane against a blue sky with white clouds) and Pamela Kavanaugh (a cheerful brown pug dog against a white background with lots of multi-coloured spots). For more information on the artists, visit: www.connectionartscentre.ie/collective
July 20, 2025 at 1:28 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
Mrs Barry’s daughter called to the door unexpectedly today 🥲💐
Transplant I never met you Mrs Barry but the garden teemed as you intended, that first summer. A yellow rose in every bed–– a tester card from cream to corn. You were alive then still, I think, and not just in the flowers. I found a Mother’s Day card in the matted dust beneath the stairs, and old sunglasses (yellow-framed, of course). We posted them to your solicitor. We watched the roses fade, wondering if deadheading was an option, sending notes to companies to take you off their listings. NOT KNOWN AT THIS ADDRESS, we put. That wasn’t true. This address knew you to the bone. Eilín de Paor
July 16, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
racheldeering.bsky.social
🖼️ Adolf Mackeprang
Two deer running in woodland setting, painting.
July 12, 2025 at 8:40 AM
edepaor.bsky.social
Betty on #newsnight …What an inspiring person - a legend!
July 7, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
eatthestorms.com
Thank you to the perfect @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social & Ana from #NorthBayPoetics who invited me to the States via zoom, my two sensational readers @edepaor.bsky.social & @sprestonduncan.bsky.social & the open mic’ers who stunned. You left me wanting more but time is never Enough! I’ll be back🙏❤️
June 18, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
botanybeck.bsky.social
My absolute favourite 💙
Mertensia maritima, Oysterplant
Such a joy to see this gorgeous plant again this week!
Caithness #WildflowerHour
The Oysterplant is a very beautiful and rare member of the Borage Family. Like other members of this family such as Lungwort or Forget-me-not, the buds are pink before opening to five-petalled blue flowers. In the Uk it is a northern coastal plant and it’s a species on the edge. Much reduced in its former range, it dislikes rising sea levels and its seeds require a good winter chill in order to germinate.
June 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
Finding myself unexpectedly upset by #housewifeoftheyear @housewifeoftheyear.bsky.social . Born in 1975, I remember watching the competition. The restrictive ideal of womanhood depicted thankfully never seemed realistic to me. I just missed the most repressive times.I’m sad for those less fortunate.
June 8, 2025 at 7:04 PM
edepaor.bsky.social
Our choir has a concert coming up. It’s a very varied programme - all short unaccompanied pieces, with something for every taste - Monteverdi, Rheinberger, Tallis, Ukrainian & Irish folk songs, Sinéad O’Connor, Sam Ryder etc etc. Tickets: buytickets.at/cantoiri/171...
June 8, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
irishpen.bsky.social
Our statement on Gaza, signed by almost 400 Irish writers.

irishpen.com/2025/06/05/s...

Please share widely.
Statement on Gaza - Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann
‘If I must die, I want a resonant death… a death that the whole world will hear’Fatima Hassouna, writer, photographer, and journalist killed in Gaza on 16 April 2025 We, the undersigned writers of the...
irishpen.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
tonygroves.bsky.social
Eid Al-Adha haircut day for the kids thanks to the volunteers with Dignity for Palestine. The SpiceBag Ireland logo on the wall.
Yup, Adam. Yup the Shack. Yup Dignity for Palestine.
As described above
June 7, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Reposted by Eilín de Paor
stingingfly.bsky.social
We are still accepting applications for The New Writing Prize. The prize is for previously unpublished writers.
You can send in your applications via Submittable until 5.00pm (Irish Time) today.
irishwriterscentre.ie/opportunitie...
irishwriterscentre.bsky.social Irish Writers Centre @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social · May 1
We're delighted to announce a new literary award in collaboration between @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social and The @stingingfly.bsky.social 🎉

The aim of the prize is to discover, promote and encourage the talents of new, undiscovered voices in Irish writing.

irishwriterscentre.ie/announcing-t...
June 4, 2025 at 10:40 AM
edepaor.bsky.social
MacNeice’s drunkenness of things being various. (out of season).
Multi-coloured rose bush in a neighbour’s front garden. Red, pink, yellow and combinations of those colours.
June 5, 2025 at 7:22 AM