So Ireland is having yet another vote, this time — of all things — to elect its government. As international readers might be aware, for this type of election, Ireland uses a […]
Please don’t vote for racists. Vote AGAINST them
On ‘celebratory racism’
Social controversies are frequently seized upon by bigots. In Britain, for example, the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum saw a sharp increase in racist incidents, with reports of people being harassed […]
Fact-checking the racists: A look at the psychological approach of Ireland’s alt-right
Releasing the Genie Notwithstanding frantic after-the-fact efforts to rehabilitate the town’s reputation, there is little doubt that alt-right/far-right extremists successfully infiltrated that public meeting in Oughterard. The townspeople currently protesting the proposed Direct […]
Michael Collins is the new Noel Grealish (who is the new Peter Casey (etc. (etc.)))
This guy: More pre-election stoking as @MichaelC_IND_TDjoins Casey & co with a pathetic attack on migrants. Says we're 'losing our culture' & need to help 'our own.' Interesting how those who do […]
What the alt-right are privately saying about their “important work” in Oughterard
Mainstream media in Ireland continue to report on the protests in Oughterard without referencing the involvement of leading hard-right/alt-right activists, who are quite clearly engaged in a national campaign of fear-mongering, rabble-rousing, […]
Oughterard
[I ripped this audio file from a tweet by one of Ireland’s alt-right anti-immigrant underbelly accounts. I don’t feel obliged to give credit here. Fair usage etc. You can find it yourself.] […]
New book “The Psychology of Brexit” now available to pre-order
To be released in October 2019. Just when you thought it would be safe to get back into the water… Details here.
It’s ‘bogus argument’ time again, as Ireland’s right-wingers gear up for divorce referendum
A letter in today’s Irish Times: And — oh look! — basically the very same letter in today’s Irish Independent: This chap really does make heavy use of his letter-writing kit. It’s […]
If this is what the collapse of centrism looks like, then PLEASE give me more centrism
All the “worst people in Ireland” are running for election at the same time. We’re talking your racists, we’re talking your sexists, we’re talking your anti-vaxxers, your anti-fluoriders, your anti-Semites. The anti-5G […]
The government have ordered a forensic excavation of the #TuamBabies site
It was unexpected, but the announcement was made today. The Irish cabinet have approved a decision by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone to conduct a forensic excavation of the Tuam site: The […]
Sometimes I feed the trolls
Blasphemers of the world, unite
John Waters is/is not a professional contrarian who does/does not believe that blasphemy should/should not be removed from the Irish constitution: Here is John arguing/not arguing the point back in 2009: […]
A photo essay from Tuam, and its silent vigil for #TuamBabies
You may have read that the Pope was in Ireland. He’s just left. According to our bizarre national media, all went totally smoothly. This is despite the fact that attendances at the […]
So I went to the Tuam Babies meeting to have my say, and then I realised I shouldn’t have one
I guess most of you already know the background to this. (For those unfamiliar with this story, be assured of its international significance. Check out, for example, this New York Times feature. […]
In two minutes, these (British) Gogglebox viewers produced a more cogent analysis of the Irish referendum result than the entire mainstream Irish media have managed in seven days
The #Gogglebox people get it too, even if they are usually dreadful on politics… #Repealed #8thref pic.twitter.com/ALko2omoBi — Daithi K. (@tvcritics) June 1, 2018 Every single talking point is spot on. Not […]
Those oh-so-convincing anti-repeal arguments re-capped (Greatest Hits version)
In the Irish abortion referendum, the ‘No’ side — those campaigning against the repeal of Ireland’s archaic Constitutional abortion ban — certainly had their work cut out. The way the Constitution was […]
It’s official: Ireland’s abortion ban repealed by popular vote
For: 1,429,981 (66.4%) Against: 723,632 (33.6%) Ireland votes ‘YES’. Careful, logical, critical contributions carried the day, outweighing the fake news, grim posters, emotional manipulation, attempts at foreign influence, church persuasion, alt-right hectoring, […]
This. Just this.
From the Guardian’s live results coverage: 11:07 Andanappa Yalagi, the father of Savita Halappanavar, who died of sepsis in Galway in 2012 after being denied an abortion during a protracted miscarriage, said […]
Looks like I should have gone to press with my “populist landslide” prediction. Exit poll suggests Ireland has well and truly CRUSHED its abortion ban!
Ha! Polls closed 10 minutes ago. The Irish Times, our paper of record, has conducted an exit poll. Get a load of this baby: WOWZERS! I had told folks to expect […]
Ireland is voting in its abortion referendum and this is on the FRONT PAGE of its leading national newspaper
(From the Irish Times; HT @solo1y) Does this mean that Catholics who vote to repeal Ireland’s abortion ban might be forgiven if they turn up to the Popefest in August? Or partially […]
If nobody can lie, then truth ceases to exist
This happened last night: Host Claire Byrne’s opening line revealed what, in retrospect, might kindly be seen as something of a naive ambition: Tonight, everything you need to know about next week’s […]
This pro-life activist has a foolproof plan to reduce abortion numbers, and it involves only a *little* racism
It is well known that around 3,500 women travelled from Ireland to Britain to get abortions in 2016, which, from a population of around 4.5 million, is a rather high number. So […]
This is on tomorrow, in which I talk about diversity and stuff (see how effortlessly I communicate with the lay public)
Psychology Matters. Old pun, new content: Yes, that’s me. And other people. Never forget the other people. In fact, in Ireland, tomorrow is a kind of national psychology day. There are #PsychMatters […]
Begging-the-question, conjecture, anecdote, false equivalence, and a non sequitur: those five reasons for raising the Digital Age of Consent
Cormac Ryan has been tweeting about the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and their letter to the government on the Digital Age of Consent. Its worrying that a group of medical […]
Reproductive rights in Ireland will lead to “normalisation of sex slavery”, “euthanasia”, and “the killing of political opponents”, according to local councillor who is not exaggerating at all
Is it libel if the person actually said it? Oh well. This guy has been saying stuff. A whole lot of stuff actually. Today he’s been discussing the forthcoming abortion referendum in […]
