Stephen Moran
@sjmoran.com
London Irish from Dublin. 1954-2854. Published poetry, fiction and blogs. Made a living from computer programming. Banner photo: Shankill Road, October 2012. Website: StephenMoransMuseumOfIllusions.WordPress.com
Pinned
Alicia Keys - We Are Here (Official Video)
YouTube video by aliciakeysVEVO
youtu.be
We're limping to the end of 2025 like marathon runners on their last legs, reaching for Jules Holland's wonderful though fake countdown and Hootenanny music delights. We'll try to eat 12 grapes while Big Ben chimes 12am. No one knows why. youtu.be/HrKmDgk8Edg?... #WeAreHere #AliciaKeys #HappyNewYear
Creatives! Show me your favourite thing you made in 2025…
January 1, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Creatives! Show me your favourite thing you made in 2025…
Reposted by Stephen Moran
Going wild over here, huh?
Good luck in 2026, y'all.
明けましておめでとうございます。
Good luck in 2026, y'all.
明けましておめでとうございます。
December 31, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Going wild over here, huh?
Good luck in 2026, y'all.
明けましておめでとうございます。
Good luck in 2026, y'all.
明けましておめでとうございます。
Reposted by Stephen Moran
Right, so I seldom have a ranty post n this platform because - let's be frank - what's the point? Social media ceased to have any valency beyond solipsistic self-affirmation for shakey lock-ins, lonely psychopaths or morbidly obese Nazis whose hands are welded with dried semen to their mice...
January 1, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Right, so I seldom have a ranty post n this platform because - let's be frank - what's the point? Social media ceased to have any valency beyond solipsistic self-affirmation for shakey lock-ins, lonely psychopaths or morbidly obese Nazis whose hands are welded with dried semen to their mice...
Reposted by Stephen Moran
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Latest toon for The Morning Star, out in print 1.1.26
December 31, 2025 at 9:16 PM
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Latest toon for The Morning Star, out in print 1.1.26
Blogged this, which I recently shared here but with a different image for illustration. Boxing Day stephenmoransmuseumofillusions.wordpress.com/2025/12/30/b...
Boxing Day
Image: Bare branches of a tree behind strong sharp-angled metal railing silhouetted against a sunset sky mostly blue with some reddened clouds to one side and the straight ultra-white contrail of a…
stephenmoransmuseumofillusions.wordpress.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Blogged this, which I recently shared here but with a different image for illustration. Boxing Day stephenmoransmuseumofillusions.wordpress.com/2025/12/30/b...
We're limping to the end of 2025 like marathon runners on their last legs, reaching for Jules Holland's wonderful though fake countdown and Hootenanny music delights. We'll try to eat 12 grapes while Big Ben chimes 12am. No one knows why. youtu.be/HrKmDgk8Edg?... #WeAreHere #AliciaKeys #HappyNewYear
Alicia Keys - We Are Here (Official Video)
YouTube video by aliciakeysVEVO
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
We're limping to the end of 2025 like marathon runners on their last legs, reaching for Jules Holland's wonderful though fake countdown and Hootenanny music delights. We'll try to eat 12 grapes while Big Ben chimes 12am. No one knows why. youtu.be/HrKmDgk8Edg?... #WeAreHere #AliciaKeys #HappyNewYear
Reposted by Stephen Moran
Tá seo greannmhar!
December 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Tá seo greannmhar!
Reposted by Stephen Moran
I knew someone in the middle of trying to get citizenship and his life (and earning capacity) was so limited as a result. If we want people to become a successful part of our country and not sit at the edges feeling alienated we need to get the process streamlined, imo.
British citizens and UK-based folks: please consider signing and sharing this petition:
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...
#RefugeesWelcome
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...
#RefugeesWelcome
Petition: Keep the 5-Year ILR route for refugees. Do not extend it to 10 or 20 years
We call on the UK Government to preserve the current 5-year route (ILR) for refugees and people with humanitarian protection.
petition.parliament.uk
December 30, 2025 at 9:34 AM
I knew someone in the middle of trying to get citizenship and his life (and earning capacity) was so limited as a result. If we want people to become a successful part of our country and not sit at the edges feeling alienated we need to get the process streamlined, imo.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
It’s not our duty to just smile and nod when a man with this much power demonstrates that he’s a pathological liar and an imbecile. Quite the contrary. Real patriots say out loud this is just plain nuts and he’s unfit to hold office.
Trump: "It's funny, I settled 8 wars. Some were going on for 35 years. And we got them settled in a couple of days. Some of them -- one was going on for 37 years. I settled it in one day. But this is a very complex one."
December 29, 2025 at 10:38 PM
It’s not our duty to just smile and nod when a man with this much power demonstrates that he’s a pathological liar and an imbecile. Quite the contrary. Real patriots say out loud this is just plain nuts and he’s unfit to hold office.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
I bloody love December
December 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I bloody love December
Reposted by Stephen Moran
So heartwarming to play the organ for my home village church on Christmas Day - I’d like to say I pulled all the stops out but I’m not sure what they do… Merry Christmas everyone! ❄️❤️
December 25, 2025 at 1:03 PM
So heartwarming to play the organ for my home village church on Christmas Day - I’d like to say I pulled all the stops out but I’m not sure what they do… Merry Christmas everyone! ❄️❤️
Deep connections in Irish names and mythology to the animal kingdom. And some fascinating examples of words to do with the sounds made by horses and cattle. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1... #SundayMiscellany #Audio
Aingil na bhFlaitheas, by the late Manchán Magan
The words of philospher John Moriarty that ring so true - when on Christmas Eve "the light of the highest heaven" enters a home
www.rte.ie
December 28, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Deep connections in Irish names and mythology to the animal kingdom. And some fascinating examples of words to do with the sounds made by horses and cattle. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1... #SundayMiscellany #Audio
Reposted by Stephen Moran
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
A v strong letter from a teacher at the school at the time. Big {{eye roll}} for the senior staff who claimed Fartage was just ‘naughty’ - as well as for Fartage’s own deep-baked wankery.
A v strong letter from a teacher at the school at the time. Big {{eye roll}} for the senior staff who claimed Fartage was just ‘naughty’ - as well as for Fartage’s own deep-baked wankery.
‘Of course he abused pupils’: ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims
Exclusive: Chloë Deakin tells how she wrote to Dulwich college master to argue against Farage’s nomination as prefect
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2025 at 11:54 AM
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
A v strong letter from a teacher at the school at the time. Big {{eye roll}} for the senior staff who claimed Fartage was just ‘naughty’ - as well as for Fartage’s own deep-baked wankery.
A v strong letter from a teacher at the school at the time. Big {{eye roll}} for the senior staff who claimed Fartage was just ‘naughty’ - as well as for Fartage’s own deep-baked wankery.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
Please (please!) try to avoid messages like “Glad you are still alive/not injured”.
And tell others.
It hurts.
Kyiv is still under heavy attack.
No power, heating, water.
But we hold on.
And tell others.
It hurts.
Kyiv is still under heavy attack.
No power, heating, water.
But we hold on.
December 27, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Please (please!) try to avoid messages like “Glad you are still alive/not injured”.
And tell others.
It hurts.
Kyiv is still under heavy attack.
No power, heating, water.
But we hold on.
And tell others.
It hurts.
Kyiv is still under heavy attack.
No power, heating, water.
But we hold on.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
The US declassified exchanges between US President Bush and Putin from 2008 in which Putin already called Ukraine an „artificial“ state, clearly denying its right for existence.
December 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The US declassified exchanges between US President Bush and Putin from 2008 in which Putin already called Ukraine an „artificial“ state, clearly denying its right for existence.
Photo: Buddleia on the road bridge wall 25 December 2025, partially silhouetted, late afternoon, cold sky, crouching buildings, train tracks
December 26, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Photo: Buddleia on the road bridge wall 25 December 2025, partially silhouetted, late afternoon, cold sky, crouching buildings, train tracks
#NowPlaying "The Bells of Dublin" (1991) by The Chieftains and guests featuring the "St Stephens Day Murders" with Elvis Costello, a ratty old dirge but also nice things like The Wexford Carol with Nanci Griffith. open.spotify.com/album/6aL012...
The Bells Of Dublin
open.spotify.com
December 26, 2025 at 11:20 AM
#NowPlaying "The Bells of Dublin" (1991) by The Chieftains and guests featuring the "St Stephens Day Murders" with Elvis Costello, a ratty old dirge but also nice things like The Wexford Carol with Nanci Griffith. open.spotify.com/album/6aL012...
Reposted by Stephen Moran
I have a new story playing on BBC Radio 4 on Boxing Day. Perfect to listen to if you're getting cosy while waiting out a turkey hangover www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Short Works, Baltic Christmas by Gerard McKeown
A young man returns home for a charity swim off the north coast of Ireland.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I have a new story playing on BBC Radio 4 on Boxing Day. Perfect to listen to if you're getting cosy while waiting out a turkey hangover www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Reposted by Stephen Moran
This is my only Xmas poem, a carol inspired by sitting up all night to watch the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners in the 2010 Copiapó accident after 69 days in what seemed like a miracle to me as slowly the darkness gave way to dawn.
December 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
This is my only Xmas poem, a carol inspired by sitting up all night to watch the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners in the 2010 Copiapó accident after 69 days in what seemed like a miracle to me as slowly the darkness gave way to dawn.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
Kyiv on Christmas Eve.
I film these moments to show you our strength.
We haven’t lost our spirit in this long war.
I film these moments to show you our strength.
We haven’t lost our spirit in this long war.
December 24, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Kyiv on Christmas Eve.
I film these moments to show you our strength.
We haven’t lost our spirit in this long war.
I film these moments to show you our strength.
We haven’t lost our spirit in this long war.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
giving this beautiful essay a Christmas Eve boost
This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.
There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
George’s vision of his wife without him is essential to the film, but critics continue to miss its true—and profound—meaning.
open.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
giving this beautiful essay a Christmas Eve boost
Photo: Wood End Road, Christmas Eve, 1:34 p.m.
December 24, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Photo: Wood End Road, Christmas Eve, 1:34 p.m.
Reposted by Stephen Moran
Fascinating timelapse story of building and launching the Ariane 6 rocket. Noisy music. I watched with sound off. youtu.be/gnHuDZA2MSw?... #ESA
How Europe’s biggest rocket came to be: Ariane 6 montage
YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Fascinating timelapse story of building and launching the Ariane 6 rocket. Noisy music. I watched with sound off. youtu.be/gnHuDZA2MSw?... #ESA