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eilymay.bsky.social
Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
@eilymay.bsky.social
590 followers 940 following 360 posts
PhD student researching neurodiversity and criminal justice. Yapping into the void. Sharing passing thoughts on books (mostly fantasy, mostly queer) and, from time to time, law.
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Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
ritawild.bsky.social
"The housing crisis will end when steps are taken to end it. It will end when entire streets’ worth of houses can’t be bought up by vulture funds, it will end when short-term rentals such as Airbnbs are banned or heavily restricted, .."

www.thejournal.ie/readme/surre...
Surrealing in the Years: Yates' Fianna Fáil dealings an open kimono moment for Irish politics
Agh, my eyes. My eyes!
www.thejournal.ie
November 9, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
snig.bsky.social
I see the 2021 scandal around Kate Clanchy's book "Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me" is back in the news as Clanchy receives an apology from the publisher of that book. Here's a reminder of the racism, Islamophobia, anti-LGBT comments, and fat shaming from the book.
"Like all the Syrian kids, she is very pretty: pale skinned & dark eyed with a sensitive mouth & a tiny, high-pitched voice." p263 "Izzat so small & square & Afghan with his big nose & premature moustache." p139 "Aadil always seems so grand: a tall Somali boy with a deep, African voice, & the almost aristocratically calm manner that sometimes goes with being extremely good-looking." p85 "Cumar is long & slender as many of the Somali kids are, with a thin nose, narrow skull, & very dark, almost black skin. Aadil is more muscular & square-set, with chocolate-coloured skin, a broad-based nose, & rounded head." p85 "Jonathon, six-foot five inches tall with a slow, resonant African accent." p78 & "Tall, strong, African Jonathon." p243 "The small round Priti & her taller, silent cousin, Priya." p93 "She would call out to me for words, urgently, her black, almond-shaped eyes snapping, slim fingers blossoming." p108 All so different from "my Nordic height & Celtic colouring". Hijabs Clanchy thinks about hijabs - a lot. "I wonder again what Shakila does to her hijab, & why it seems to sit fuller & higher than the other girls' - a Mother Superior hijab, or one from Vermeer. It can't be starched. Maybe it's draped over twisted horns of hair like Carrie Fisher's in Star Wars. That would go with her furry eyebrows, her slanting, sparkling black eyes, her general, Mongolian ferocity." p78 "Her high-set, starched hijab - did she have extra ears under there?" p109 "It is possible to wear a flirty hijab, like Samira's leopard-patterned one. & that Farida's dress may be loose & floor-length, but it still manages to show the beautiful lines of her figure when she hitches it tight around her as she sits by the basketball courts." p117 "If I could put a burqa on Susie & Kristell tomorrow, I would. A year or two of being invisible to the male gaze, of going home quietly to study, could only be liberating, & enabling too, of the rest of their lives... It's important to say that nothing that Susie or Kristell ever wear, however brief, entitles them to any abuse, ever." p165 LGBTQI+ Clanchy is supportive of gay pupils, although she's hampered by stereotypes & sees camp as a "statement of otherness". Nevertheless, she takes an 18-year old to his first gay club, which she admits wouldn't be acceptable now. She sends him in with the words: ""Liam,' I said, 'I love you. You have to promise me to always use a condom & never get AIDS." p33 But she's more dismissive of trans pupils. Like much of what she writes, I understand the concern she's raising, but the tone is trivialising: "Are we all 'fluid' now? Perhaps. It is commonplace to proclaim oneself transsexual. & to actually be gay, especially if you are as pretty as Kristen Stewart is positively fashionable. A couple of kids have even changed gender, a decision so deliciously of the moment, so furiously defended by righteous students against non-existent opposition from staff that I worry only that they won't feel the freedom to change back if they feel the need." p34 Weight All the critical comments about weight are applied to girls, & most are in a section about health. Clanchy tries to include a compensatory compliment, but there are weird sexualising & classist undercurrents: "When Kristell arrived in Year 9, she had a bosomy, curvy figure, with a tiny waist & pretty ankles... She had a soft, breathy voice to match the Bambi lashes & fresh mouth." p237 Later "She has put on a great deal of weight, so that the pretty figure is blurred... The dark eyes gazing out of the fat pink cheeks are still so very lovely." p238-9 "Danielle really was special: she was exquisitely pretty in the dark & elfin, Audrey Hepburn mode. She knew it too; she was always finding occasion to take off her clothes & expose her pale, beautifully turned limbs." p233 Later "As if refusing middle-class food along with middle-class ambition, Danielle put on weight... her new bosom protruding ever more bulbously... I was surprised how hurt I was to see it. It wasn't the flesh so much as the loss of grace." p234 I know what she means with this next one, & there is a valid point. It's probably intended to be self-deprecating & tongue-in-cheek, but... "Lianne is stuffing fig rolls, my favourite, into her pretty fat face, & it is very hard indeed not to have one. I can manage it, I think, in the same way that I can manage to finish a poem, because I am middle class. Because, since I was a tiny child, I have been taught to wait for long-term goals." p235
November 4, 2025 at 5:07 PM
eilymay.bsky.social
Remembering Rosalind Franklin.

Attribution matters and Watson and Crick weren't the only contributors to the discovery of DNA.
November 8, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
orla-hegarty.bsky.social
“Interrogating the arguments for small homes as a solution to the Irish housing crisis

“The paper critically interrogates main justifications & argues role of small homes as a potential solution to Irish housing crisis is overstated”

new research-Dr Mark Jordan www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Interrogating the arguments for ‘small homes’ as a solution to the Irish housing crisis
From 2015 onwards, successive Irish governments have promoted the proliferation of smaller homes through a range of measures including reductions in minimum floor size requirements and the removal ...
www.tandfonline.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
eilymay.bsky.social
Absolutely devoured Midwinter of the Spirit, an ITV production now on Netflix.

I'm shook to learn there's a whole book series that was never adapted.

I want multiple series of Revs. Huw and Merrily trailing across Herefordshire using the bones of Tommy Canty (St.) to banish evildoers.
October 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
eilymay.bsky.social
Look, Galway in the summer is, in theory, wonderful. But for me there are just too many people about.

Galway in the Autumn. That's my time of year.
darach.bsky.social Darach Ó Séaghdha @darach.bsky.social · 12d
Don't ask me to explain but Dublin, Belfast and Cork are all autumn cities but Galway is a summer city.
October 30, 2025 at 1:27 PM
eilymay.bsky.social
"I do not find worthiness in virtue
I no longer try to be good
It didn't keep me safe
Like you told me that it would."

Sympathy Magic by Florence + The Machine is glorious.

youtu.be/wRfet_VLbzU?...
Florence + The Machine - Sympathy Magic (Official Video)
YouTube video by FlorenceMachineVEVO
youtu.be
October 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
irishexaminer.bsky.social
Catherine Connolly's win should be taken for what it was — a landslide built on months of hard work
Catherine Connolly's campaign was a movement that united the left, brought in 15,000 volunteers and saw over 914,000 people make her the most popular Irish politician of all time, writes Paul Hosford
dlvr.it
October 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM
eilymay.bsky.social
Smaller homes with no daylight are not a solution to the lack of affordable housing.

Neither is excluding disabled people through an exemption on the requirement to have a lift in a four storey building.

Tells me all I need to know about this think tank.

progressireland.org/the-blueprin...
A screenshot from Progress Ireland's 25 solutions to solve the housing crisis in Ireland. On the left is their logo which looks like three stylised right sides of houses put together? To the right is a prominent donate button. The text of the webpage reads: To reduce the cost of delivering apartments, the Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage can use a National Planning Statement to: Reduce the minimum size of apartments. Suggested sizes: studios, 25m2; 1 bed 35m2; 2 bed 55m2; 3 bed 65m2. Reduce the minimum proportion of units in a development that must exceed that minimum size. Reduce or remove the requirement for dual-aspect; remove the restriction of the number of units per core. Remove or reduce the requirement for apartments to have private amenity space, ie balconies. Remove the restriction on the mix of units. Add an exemption of the requirement to have a lift in four-storey apartment buildings in Part M of the Technical Guidance Documents.
October 27, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
damselindystopia.bsky.social
I've said thsi before but the normalisation of the concept of the "Nazi phase" is grim as fuck. Most people do not have a phase of their life where they are Nazis actually. Fascism is not a fucking developmental stage, it's an ideology that you choose to engage with.
October 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
suzybie.bsky.social
Recent Aras elections saw multiple candidates get through process via Oireachtas or local authority support - 1997 had 5 candidates, 2011 had 7 and 2018 had 6. There is no need to change the system because the 2025 motley crew were late to process, poor quality or not serious about running at all.
thejournal.ie The Journal @thejournal.ie · 16d
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the Oireachtas may have to look at changing the process by which a person gets on the ballot in presidential elections, which he described as "restrictive".
jrnl.ie/6856687
Taoiseach suggests referendum on changing 'restrictive' process for getting on presidential ballot
One in eighter people spoiled their votes.
jrnl.ie
October 26, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
deanbuckley.bsky.social
as we look towards Galway West, a reminder that Independent Ireland's 2024 candidate, Noel Thomas, has been consorting with a seditious group of conspiracy theories who claim to be Ireland's legitimate government and are trying to set up their own courts

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...
The new IRB: a band of conspiracy theorists who have set up a parallel Irish ‘government’
This fringe group, drawn from the ranks of anti-lockdown protesters and business people laid low by the crash, have a cabinet, local co-ops and even a network of ‘courts’
www.irishtimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 6:26 PM
eilymay.bsky.social
Má tá vóta agat in Éire inniu, úsáid é! Tá na hionad vótála oscailte go dtí a 10.

———

If you have a vote in Ireland today, use it! Polling stations stay open until 10.

#áras25 #spéirghorm
October 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
colinmurray.bsky.social
A day where law and justice feel far apart. But criminal law really struggles to function at 53 years of remove, when so many witnesses are dead. Injustice was assured when it took this long for the state to recognise its wrongdoing and start proceedings:

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/...
Not guilty: Soldier F cleared in Bloody Sunday murder trial
A former paratrooper has been cleared of two murders during the Bloody Sunday shootings in 1972.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
shanedarcy.bsky.social
Ireland is mentioned three times by the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in her latest report on the genocide in Gaza:

⚫ For the transfer of weapons from the United States to Israel through Shannon airport

⚫ For trade - importing over $3 billion of dual-use integrated circuits from Israel
October 23, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
shanedarcy.bsky.social
Longstanding and systemic violations of international law by Israel against the Palestinians have been “facilitated through Third States’ direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection and, in some cases, active participation”.
October 22, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
garodean.bsky.social
“Rural pursuits” consist of the following: being cold indoors, having a preference about how turf is stacked, being nosey and having no public transport. Rural pursuits do not include galloping a pony across a farmer’s land in the wet and cold with the intention of having a dog kill a fox
October 21, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
colinmurray.bsky.social
Just spit out my breakfast in the middle of Morning Ireland as RTE says something vague about the "cab file" rule and then says that the truth lies somewhere between Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael's position. Reader, barristers are not their clients. Full stop:

www.lawlibrary.ie/statement-fr...
Statement from the Council of The Bar of Ireland: The fundamental importance of an independent referral Bar - Law Library
It is the duty of barristers to be independent and free from any influence, especially such as may arise from their personal interests or external pressure, in the discharge of their professional duti...
www.lawlibrary.ie
October 20, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
sellybeth.bsky.social
I had completely forgotten about this. Give it a listen...it's fucking glorious. Damn I'm gonna miss this guy...

youtu.be/WwvMNkCruGw

#SpéirGhorm #SpéirGorm #Áras25
October 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
betaburns.bsky.social
Can anyone recommend a podcast to accompany a #TwinPeaks rewatch, please? Episode by episode, autistic/obsessive hosts preferred. KidB (first timer) is finally ready. #SpeirGhorm
October 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
shanedarcy.bsky.social
Looking forward to hosting Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, for a guest lecture on the role of his office.

Thursday 30th October @uniofgalway.bsky.social - registration now open.

www.universityofgalway.ie/business-pub...
October 17, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
donnchalaw.bsky.social
Conference on public interest litigation and access to justice organised by @uniofgalwaylaw.bsky.social on 14th & 15th November 2025.

Link to full conference schedule and registration portal will go live later today:
October 16, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
sellybeth.bsky.social
I can't but if you can please do!

#SpéirGhorm #SpéirGorm
uilliammac.bsky.social Uilliam Mac G ᚒᚔᚂᚂᚔᚐᚋ @uilliammac.bsky.social · 26d
Reserves for every blood type are critically low, with only B+ being close to the bare minimum.

You can literally save a person's life by donating as soon as you can.

giveblood.ie 🩸

#Ireland #Áras25
A graph showing each blood type and the amount left, the bars on the graph are styled as test tubes, each with a small amount of red liquid in them.
October 16, 2025 at 9:21 AM
eilymay.bsky.social
Well this was a joy to read.

"The distinction some people seek to make between their persona as a living human being and their persona as a fictitious non-living legal entity is not one recognised in Scots law, or indeed in any other jurisdiction we are aware of."
October 15, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Eilís Ní Chaoimh they/them
news.rte.ie
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is urgently seeking an additional 12,000 blood donations over the next four weeks as most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock.
Appeal for 12,000 blood donations over next four weeks
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is urgently seeking an additional 12,000 blood donations over the next four weeks as most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock.
www.rte.ie
October 15, 2025 at 8:08 AM