marklaffan.bsky.social
@marklaffan.bsky.social
Father, Lefty, Singer, Rugby fan and occasional singer. Limerick, Munster, Ireland.
I disagree with his views on trans people, but that to me is almost irrelevant at that point. His actual behaviour has been appalling, and would be appalling if I agreed with him. And it’s his behaviour, not his views, that have caused him issues.
November 28, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I disagree with his views on trans people, but that to me is almost irrelevant at that point. His actual behaviour has been appalling, and would be appalling if I agreed with him. And it’s his behaviour, not his views, that have caused him issues.
It all just feels a bit settled. The squad needs some lads in their early twenties full of piss and vinegar rolling out at training sessions looking to take down some big names. I remember when the likes of Horan, Flannery, O’Callaghan did that to Corrigan, O’Kelly, Byrne…same is needed now.
November 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
It all just feels a bit settled. The squad needs some lads in their early twenties full of piss and vinegar rolling out at training sessions looking to take down some big names. I remember when the likes of Horan, Flannery, O’Callaghan did that to Corrigan, O’Kelly, Byrne…same is needed now.
On My Own and I Dreamed A Dream would carry most shows. The others aren’t actively bad - they keep things ticking over. Master of the House and Do You Hear? help it along.
November 21, 2025 at 8:09 PM
On My Own and I Dreamed A Dream would carry most shows. The others aren’t actively bad - they keep things ticking over. Master of the House and Do You Hear? help it along.
This has raised its head a few times over the years, usually in relation to London Irish/Welsh/Scottish. World Rugby won’t have it.
November 17, 2025 at 9:07 AM
This has raised its head a few times over the years, usually in relation to London Irish/Welsh/Scottish. World Rugby won’t have it.
It’s depraved. As well as being wholly ridiculous. How is this going to work? Someone at the home office nipping down to cash converters? The idea that the govt will find itself trading in second hand goods, and employing people to do so, and can do so profitably is preposterous.
November 17, 2025 at 9:01 AM
It’s depraved. As well as being wholly ridiculous. How is this going to work? Someone at the home office nipping down to cash converters? The idea that the govt will find itself trading in second hand goods, and employing people to do so, and can do so profitably is preposterous.
I think his argument would be that they’re two sides of the same identitarian politics and that both are “making everything about race”. Which is a very stretched idea of woke and, well, just horseshit really.
November 12, 2025 at 9:44 AM
I think his argument would be that they’re two sides of the same identitarian politics and that both are “making everything about race”. Which is a very stretched idea of woke and, well, just horseshit really.
Fat Fascist Cunt stadium doesn’t really work.
November 8, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Fat Fascist Cunt stadium doesn’t really work.
It hasn’t a hope. There’s no grass roots American sports culture. Adult men don’t play team sports unless they’re professional. Rugby is hoping to manage entirely on people who’ve stopped playing other sports.
November 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
It hasn’t a hope. There’s no grass roots American sports culture. Adult men don’t play team sports unless they’re professional. Rugby is hoping to manage entirely on people who’ve stopped playing other sports.
I love the fact that the NYP thinks will be deeply shocking to a city full of Italians, Irish, Greeks, Arabs…cultures in which “He/She’s not my Uncle/Aunt but”….is a sentence that every single person has said.
October 29, 2025 at 9:31 AM
I love the fact that the NYP thinks will be deeply shocking to a city full of Italians, Irish, Greeks, Arabs…cultures in which “He/She’s not my Uncle/Aunt but”….is a sentence that every single person has said.
I think it’s the most egregious capture of a board I can remember. A CEO involved in multiple roles, a falling share price, making demands…unimaginable with any other board. He is an owner in all but name, running a private company in all but name.
October 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I think it’s the most egregious capture of a board I can remember. A CEO involved in multiple roles, a falling share price, making demands…unimaginable with any other board. He is an owner in all but name, running a private company in all but name.
It’s a sensitive area, as it can be seen as diminishing the importance of broader interventions to deal with underlying issues. But it’s a strand of many prevention strategies. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Restriction of access to means used for suicide
One of the most effective public health measures to prevent suicide is the restriction of access to means used in suicidal acts. This approach can be …
www.sciencedirect.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
It’s a sensitive area, as it can be seen as diminishing the importance of broader interventions to deal with underlying issues. But it’s a strand of many prevention strategies. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From what I remember of undergraduate psych, suicide is overwhelmingly linked to opportunity. Farmers aren’t particularly depressed - they have high suicide rates because they have barns and shotguns. Access to means in the moment is a massive factor.
October 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
From what I remember of undergraduate psych, suicide is overwhelmingly linked to opportunity. Farmers aren’t particularly depressed - they have high suicide rates because they have barns and shotguns. Access to means in the moment is a massive factor.
Qualifications (Left).
October 23, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Qualifications (Left).
I suspect, scarily, that a lot of the future lies in the hands of the press. Reform’s biggest challenge will be fielding 650 candidates without descending into complete chaos. The extent to which the press allows Farage to run a presidential campaign will decide whether that chaos is ignored.
October 22, 2025 at 8:14 AM
I suspect, scarily, that a lot of the future lies in the hands of the press. Reform’s biggest challenge will be fielding 650 candidates without descending into complete chaos. The extent to which the press allows Farage to run a presidential campaign will decide whether that chaos is ignored.
I don’t think it’s illegal. He’s not in possession, so it’s not a throw forward. And he gathers, so it’s not a knock on.
October 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
I don’t think it’s illegal. He’s not in possession, so it’s not a throw forward. And he gathers, so it’s not a knock on.
Timing too - Irish teams are usually slow out of the blocks, timing their season to peak from the 6N to the European knock outs. Mostly the provinces don’t hit their straps until December.
October 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Timing too - Irish teams are usually slow out of the blocks, timing their season to peak from the 6N to the European knock outs. Mostly the provinces don’t hit their straps until December.
I think that misses a bit. Farrell shifted us to an off the ball system because Nienaber moved Leinster to one. He can supplement his pack with transfers and Farrell can’t. AF has done great things with Ireland, but will stand or fall on his ability to optimize a system to fix that gap.
October 19, 2025 at 10:36 AM
I think that misses a bit. Farrell shifted us to an off the ball system because Nienaber moved Leinster to one. He can supplement his pack with transfers and Farrell can’t. AF has done great things with Ireland, but will stand or fall on his ability to optimize a system to fix that gap.
We changed the whole system just last year. If what we mean is “relies on putting out the Leinster team” then we’re fucked. Agree that Farrell isn’t the answer for the next WC, but he’s the answer to whether we’re picking on form or not.
October 19, 2025 at 10:25 AM
We changed the whole system just last year. If what we mean is “relies on putting out the Leinster team” then we’re fucked. Agree that Farrell isn’t the answer for the next WC, but he’s the answer to whether we’re picking on form or not.
Tom Farrell has to be given a run. There’s not many centres really putting their hand up. I’m less concerned about the pack - Munster have a rake of big, strong, young players coming to the boil. Edogbo, Gleeson, Quinn and Ahern will all be test players.
October 19, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Tom Farrell has to be given a run. There’s not many centres really putting their hand up. I’m less concerned about the pack - Munster have a rake of big, strong, young players coming to the boil. Edogbo, Gleeson, Quinn and Ahern will all be test players.
I don’t think those early season games tell us much about relative strengths. Irish provincial packs have more than held their own against SA teams over the last 3/4 seasons and will again this year.
October 19, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I don’t think those early season games tell us much about relative strengths. Irish provincial packs have more than held their own against SA teams over the last 3/4 seasons and will again this year.
I think that presupposes that any of the listed players somehow “should” have been test fly halves. I don’t think any of those players moves Sexton before the last WC, and Crowley and Prendergast are better than all of them. All subjective, obviously, but I struggle to see what was missed.
October 14, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I think that presupposes that any of the listed players somehow “should” have been test fly halves. I don’t think any of those players moves Sexton before the last WC, and Crowley and Prendergast are better than all of them. All subjective, obviously, but I struggle to see what was missed.
Joey’s injuries aside, I don’t think any of those players underachieved. Look at NZ, England, France. Have any of them done a better job in producing test level 10s? They’re a pretty rare type of player.
October 14, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Joey’s injuries aside, I don’t think any of those players underachieved. Look at NZ, England, France. Have any of them done a better job in producing test level 10s? They’re a pretty rare type of player.
And he ignores the fact that they had a look at Billy Burns too. I don’t think any side in Europe gave as many 10’s a run as Ireland did in that period. I think there was only Healy and Hanrahan they could have added to the list.
October 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
And he ignores the fact that they had a look at Billy Burns too. I don’t think any side in Europe gave as many 10’s a run as Ireland did in that period. I think there was only Healy and Hanrahan they could have added to the list.
It doesn’t matter. They and their voters believe that government is an essentially bad thing. They have no expectation of it functioning well, and when they mismanage it it provides further evidence for their case that all government is bad. Win win (for them, obviously everyone else loses).
October 13, 2025 at 5:48 AM
It doesn’t matter. They and their voters believe that government is an essentially bad thing. They have no expectation of it functioning well, and when they mismanage it it provides further evidence for their case that all government is bad. Win win (for them, obviously everyone else loses).