Patrick Freyne
@patrickfreyne.bsky.social
Irish Times writer & author of OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea & now, out in June, Experts in a Dying Field. You can preorder here: https://linktr.ee/expertsinadyingfield
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I've written a novel, Experts in a Dying Field. It's out on Penguin Sandycove in June. It's about about a band and a tragedy & art for art's sake & aging & loss & community & Dublin. There's a fox in it. & sheet music. The beautiful cover's by Jack Smyth. You can preorder: linktr.ee/expertsinady...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
For me, in WAKE UP DEAD MAN, this scene is the *heart* of the movie.
I still think about it two weeks later.
It has no role in the plot nor mystery.
Rian simply reminds us all to have grace, and find time, to be there for one another.
I still think about it two weeks later.
It has no role in the plot nor mystery.
Rian simply reminds us all to have grace, and find time, to be there for one another.
December 23, 2025 at 3:18 PM
For me, in WAKE UP DEAD MAN, this scene is the *heart* of the movie.
I still think about it two weeks later.
It has no role in the plot nor mystery.
Rian simply reminds us all to have grace, and find time, to be there for one another.
I still think about it two weeks later.
It has no role in the plot nor mystery.
Rian simply reminds us all to have grace, and find time, to be there for one another.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
‘Acute shortage’ of care workers amid ageing demographics, official analysis finds
‘Acute shortage’ of care workers amid ageing demographics, official analysis finds
Even replacing existing workers a challenge with a quarter of workforce over 55 years of age
www.irishtimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
‘Acute shortage’ of care workers amid ageing demographics, official analysis finds
Upstairs at the front of the bus should have one of those fake steering wheels for, um, children. Yeah. For children
December 22, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Upstairs at the front of the bus should have one of those fake steering wheels for, um, children. Yeah. For children
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I spent time in a hospice in Roscommon and it was very sad but also moving and strangely life affirming.
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Inside a hospice at Christmas: ‘I didn’t know it was going to be like this. It’s beautiful here’
Patients and staff describe a day in the life inside Roscommon Hospice
www.irishtimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:38 AM
I spent time in a hospice in Roscommon and it was very sad but also moving and strangely life affirming.
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
yes of all the horror stories of AI, I think the use of "synthetic publics" to do research on might be - in a very crowded field - the worst one?
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
Pleased to see this piece. Personally, I find these uses of synthetic data v concerning and I find the traction and endorsements that this work has to be quite baffling, esp given the well-storied role of algorithmic targeting in undermining democracy
"We risk inheriting a future in which institutions answer to synthetic publics rather than real ones" rebootdemocracy.ai/blog/researc...
December 22, 2025 at 10:36 AM
yes of all the horror stories of AI, I think the use of "synthetic publics" to do research on might be - in a very crowded field - the worst one?
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
I finally got my band the NPB’s first and definitely maddest and probably best album onto Spotify and other platforms. listen to me sound young! open.spotify.com/album/588ocM...
The Sociables Prefer Pop Music
open.spotify.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:24 AM
I finally got my band the NPB’s first and definitely maddest and probably best album onto Spotify and other platforms. listen to me sound young! open.spotify.com/album/588ocM...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I spent time in a hospice in Roscommon and it was very sad but also moving and strangely life affirming.
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Inside a hospice at Christmas: ‘I didn’t know it was going to be like this. It’s beautiful here’
Patients and staff describe a day in the life inside Roscommon Hospice
www.irishtimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:38 AM
I spent time in a hospice in Roscommon and it was very sad but also moving and strangely life affirming.
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
I've a book out next year, Experts in a Dying Field, a bittersweet ensemble novel about creativity that's ALL MADE UP linktr.ee/expertsinady... In the meantime, if you're looking for presents, OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea is still available & is ALL TRUE www.penguin.co.uk/books/315303...
OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea
Patrick Freyne has tried a lot of stupid ideas in his life. Now, in his scintillating debut, he is here to tell you about them: like the time (aged 5) he opened a gate and let a horse out of its field...
www.penguin.co.uk
December 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I've a book out next year, Experts in a Dying Field, a bittersweet ensemble novel about creativity that's ALL MADE UP linktr.ee/expertsinady... In the meantime, if you're looking for presents, OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea is still available & is ALL TRUE www.penguin.co.uk/books/315303...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
It’s done! In the final episode of the story of socialism we look back over the whole season and explore different forms of socialism today. Thanks from me and @iandunt.bsky.social to everyone who listened and supported our work. It was daunting to take on but we’re very proud of it.
The finale is out! Join @dorianlynskey.bsky.social and @iandunt.bsky.social as they wrap up their epic season on socialism.
Listen now ➡️ linktr.ee/originstoryp...
Listen now ➡️ linktr.ee/originstoryp...
December 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
It’s done! In the final episode of the story of socialism we look back over the whole season and explore different forms of socialism today. Thanks from me and @iandunt.bsky.social to everyone who listened and supported our work. It was daunting to take on but we’re very proud of it.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
If the industry rumours are true about Walliams using ghost writers, a sane publisher would sign the (clearly very successful and competent) back room hack(s) up, come clean, throw the same publicity machine behind them, and have a fantastic line of popular kids’ books ready for next year.
December 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
If the industry rumours are true about Walliams using ghost writers, a sane publisher would sign the (clearly very successful and competent) back room hack(s) up, come clean, throw the same publicity machine behind them, and have a fantastic line of popular kids’ books ready for next year.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
"Inspired" by @patrickfreyne.bsky.social ..... I wud give Little Genos Christmas sandwich 5 Santas out of 5.
December 19, 2025 at 12:23 PM
"Inspired" by @patrickfreyne.bsky.social ..... I wud give Little Genos Christmas sandwich 5 Santas out of 5.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Every time I'm in a restaurant I remember Kevin McAleer's reply to a waiter who told him the Soup Of The Day.
"Where there any other contenders?"
"Um, no?"
"A hollow victory, then".
"Where there any other contenders?"
"Um, no?"
"A hollow victory, then".
December 19, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Every time I'm in a restaurant I remember Kevin McAleer's reply to a waiter who told him the Soup Of The Day.
"Where there any other contenders?"
"Um, no?"
"A hollow victory, then".
"Where there any other contenders?"
"Um, no?"
"A hollow victory, then".
In my column this week I wrote about Emily in Paris/Rome and her role in geopolitics www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
December 19, 2025 at 11:05 AM
In my column this week I wrote about Emily in Paris/Rome and her role in geopolitics www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I wrote about Emily in Paris/Rome/whatever you’re having yourself www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
If Emily in Paris had a HR department, the ‘HR’ would definitely stand for ‘happy riding’
Emily and colleagues have moved to Rome, where they’re doing what they do best: having sexual relationships with their clients
www.irishtimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:12 AM
I wrote about Emily in Paris/Rome/whatever you’re having yourself www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
I wrote about Emily in Paris/Rome/whatever you’re having yourself www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
If Emily in Paris had a HR department, the ‘HR’ would definitely stand for ‘happy riding’
Emily and colleagues have moved to Rome, where they’re doing what they do best: having sexual relationships with their clients
www.irishtimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:12 AM
I wrote about Emily in Paris/Rome/whatever you’re having yourself www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
We will have about 13,000 in 2025. About half will be allowed stay. I don't think 6,500 extra people in a population of 5 million is a threat to "social cohesion". Not being able to afford a home or to see a doctor or not having to wait 3 years for my kid's needs to be assessed is.
High asylum seeker numbers are a threat to ‘social cohesion’, says Jim O’Callaghan
High asylum seeker numbers are a threat to ‘social cohesion’, says Jim O’Callaghan
Minister ‘not setting any numbers’, but says population growth is too high, putting services under pressure
www.irishtimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:35 AM
We will have about 13,000 in 2025. About half will be allowed stay. I don't think 6,500 extra people in a population of 5 million is a threat to "social cohesion". Not being able to afford a home or to see a doctor or not having to wait 3 years for my kid's needs to be assessed is.
The only media discussion of "cultural erasure" I think is in anyway worthwhile and grounded opens with this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x34i...
Erasure - A Little Respect (Official HD Music Video)
YouTube video by Erasure
www.youtube.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The only media discussion of "cultural erasure" I think is in anyway worthwhile and grounded opens with this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x34i...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Overheard train chat between two tough-looking youths:
Youth one: “I got déjà vu, man. I saw this dog and felt like I’d seen it before.”
Youth two: “That’s not déjà vu. You just saw a dog twice.”
Youth one: “I got déjà vu, man. I saw this dog and felt like I’d seen it before.”
Youth two: “That’s not déjà vu. You just saw a dog twice.”
December 15, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Overheard train chat between two tough-looking youths:
Youth one: “I got déjà vu, man. I saw this dog and felt like I’d seen it before.”
Youth two: “That’s not déjà vu. You just saw a dog twice.”
Youth one: “I got déjà vu, man. I saw this dog and felt like I’d seen it before.”
Youth two: “That’s not déjà vu. You just saw a dog twice.”
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Almost certainly the best thing I was ever told about owls was when I met an owl handler at an owl sanctuary and he told me that the wild owls who lived near the sanctuary worried about the tame show owls there and sometimes stopped by to leave them shrews and mice as presents.
December 13, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Almost certainly the best thing I was ever told about owls was when I met an owl handler at an owl sanctuary and he told me that the wild owls who lived near the sanctuary worried about the tame show owls there and sometimes stopped by to leave them shrews and mice as presents.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I've written a novel, Experts in a Dying Field. It's out on Penguin Sandycove in June. It's about about a band and a tragedy & art for art's sake & aging & loss & community & Dublin. There's a fox in it. & sheet music. The beautiful cover's by Jack Smyth. You can preorder: linktr.ee/expertsinady...
November 27, 2025 at 11:01 AM
I've written a novel, Experts in a Dying Field. It's out on Penguin Sandycove in June. It's about about a band and a tragedy & art for art's sake & aging & loss & community & Dublin. There's a fox in it. & sheet music. The beautiful cover's by Jack Smyth. You can preorder: linktr.ee/expertsinady...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Watch me eat Christmas sandwiches or read me describing eating Christmas sandwiches (if that’s your thing) www.irishtimes.com/food/2025/12...
Patrick Freyne’s quest for the best Christmas sandwich in Dublin: ‘I give it five Santas out of five’
Warning: please bear in mind that our food-critic-for-a-day has the taste buds of a junkyard dog and finds almost all food delicious
www.irishtimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Watch me eat Christmas sandwiches or read me describing eating Christmas sandwiches (if that’s your thing) www.irishtimes.com/food/2025/12...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
Reposting this piece because there's a bunch of nepo-baby discourse and I am a nepo-baby www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...
Patrick Freyne: Bye, folks. I’m off to Hollywood. Nepo baby or not, I’m an excellent actor
My latest role is in Eternity. Having a voice like an earthbound angel is my curse, as you’ll hear
www.irishtimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposting this piece because there's a bunch of nepo-baby discourse and I am a nepo-baby www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...