@Ireland Curator: Abigail Rieley

@fhayesmccoy I'll come and find @MeaveofConnaugh from the other account. :-)

And that's it, I'm no longer a country. :-) Goodbye lovely world. Be nice to Marian. See you on the other side. xx

@geoffboyle We're all different. You'll have to ask @dinglenews. I'll be over at @abigailrieley. :-)

@JayCoyle @dinglenews Thank you. I had a blast. :-)

@mc_elhill It was brilliant. :-)

5 minutes left. Did I mention I hated goodbyes? Next week you'll be in the capable hands of Marian O'Flaherty (@dinglenews) in lovely Kerry

@a_byrne_ Thanks I've had a blast.

@johnthegeo Thank you! That means a lot. It's been quite a week. :-)

@MyDDublin Thank you and absolutely. You know where to find me. :-)

@punkinsangel Good luck. :-)

Ok we're into the last 1/4 hour. It’s been an incredible week. If you want to continue any of the conversations we've had I'm @abigailrieley

@omaexlibris They're currently online and on here but still new. :-) @WMusIrl

@punkinsangel I'm just finishing up but there'll be a new person curating from tomorrow. :-)

@GioraMoore Thank you. I'll be over at @abigailrieley from here on in. I'll come find you. :-) @edainduguay

. @omaexlibris There's the Women's History Museum, launched this year. They're at @WMusIrl. They're certainly on the job. :-)

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland many unknown women have played in our society over many centuries.

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland get our education system and heritage bodies to start educating and acknowledging and giving overdue recognition …

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland Thank you. I will be interested in seeing what others find and can add to the discussion also. Perhaps a movement…

@onetruecathal Thanks. I've really enjoyed myself. :-)

@omaexlibris Thanks. :-)

@linglang Thanks, I had a blast. :-)

@omaexlibris Of course. I'm at @abigailrieley. Look forward to continuing the conversation. :-)

I know this week has been a bit issue driven but I was trying to tug at the corners of what makes the Ireland I know & love. :-)

@omaexlibris Thank you. I had a brilliant time. :-)

@katia75014 Thank you. :-) I've really enjoyed myself. Really enjoyed talking to you. :-)

@fhayesmccoy Thank you. :-) I've had a great time. Really enjoyed today.

Thanks for the incredible response and for putting up with me. I've met a lot of extraordinary people & hope to continue conversations later

I'm almost done. Just entering the final hour. It’s been great Twitter. Thanks for the discussions & the laughs & the occasional weirdness

@MsFrugalone :-) @Oireachtas_RX

RT @we_are_brazil: Last day here and so few followers =/ Can we have an RT? @PeopleofNZ @WeAreCzech @WeAreUkraine @VisitorInSweden @sweden …

@MsFrugalone It’s been great. I always did enjoy rattling the bars a little. :-) @Oireachtas_RX

Missed that. RT @MsFrugalone: @Oireachtas_RX Wow! They've started already - completely missed that at the time. More needed though @ireland

Well we're getting very close to signing off time and the time we have left a include my dinner. :-(

@MsFrugalone Hmm. I'll have a lot more time on my hands next week. :-) @Oireachtas_RX

@MsFrugalone Yes! How can we make it so? @Oireachtas_RX

RT @MsFrugalone: @ireland Need similar here RT @Oireachtas_RX: Deutsche Post ran a 'Women in German History' series of stamps in 2003. http…

@_AltGrEimear Aw thanks. I now have a very chuffed @aperture11 beside me. :-)

@may_gun The Celts were reputed to go into battle naked so maybe...

That last pic of Maeve by the way was taken by @Aperture11. No room in the tweet to say. :-)

@cathyby You'd think. :-)

@Netherlanders Mine chirrup. Seemed like a good idea last Sunday. :-)

I almost forgot. Closer to Boudicca than Pankhurst & with a lot less clothes on it's Maeve Queen of Connaught! pic.twitter.com/S8WthQXi9q

@Netherlanders Definitely. I'm hearing the tweet notification on my phone in my sleep at this stage. :-)

The earlier link I tweeted for that article didn't work. :-)

RT @Aperture11: @ireland Violent misogyny on Facebook. Carol Hunt - bit.ly/ZmoVhO

@cathyby Yeah. I've gathered it might be an occupational hazard. :-)

@Netherlanders I'm already getting the following sorted. Kind of thinking of a day off tomorrow though. :-)

@Netherlanders I surprised myself by tweeting a picture of the current manicure on Monday. I might vary it & try the toolbox next. :-)

@jeannedesutun @WMusIrl @ingeniousie @WITSIreland It was great to see all the NWD events this year. Exciting to see so much discussion. :-)

@archtempterred I'll at @ireland when I put it up. Was hoping to have it done before I sign off but have something else to work on today :-)

Yeah. It’s been an odd week all right. :-)

Will I be able to stop asking semi rhetorical questions?

I'm also left with lots of questions to answer when I return to my own account. Will I tweet my nails again? Will I get used to the quiet?

@KathOMeara :-)

@Ali__Meri It fascinates me as I've watched it change as I've grown up. Rather like where it sits now. It feels balanced. :-)

@amowriting Heh. I did mention it earlier in the week. Rather nice it doesn't come up online unless I mention it. :-)

@ConzieSays Sorry. You got a little lost in the babble. Yes I will. Think I'll continue this 1 back home. :-) @chtmdublin @donalfallon

Like I said. It’s an odd feeling.

Scifi imagery naturally springs to mind. The Matrix, The Borg (stay with me here). You're part of a consensus & plugged into the mains.

I'll put all this in a blog once I get my head back. People have asked me during the week what it's like doing this. It’s a hard question.

It’s not that I doubted my Irishness. I just wasn't 100 pc sure how it sat. Like I said it's not something you think of all the time.

I was born in England. All my early experiences were English. That's hardwired & is going nowhere. But so's Ireland & going nowhere too.

I used to joke as a kid that I was Heinz 57 varieties. My family certainly got about. Now it all boils down to 2,the 2 I will always be.

It’s the kind of thing you never think about that closely day to day but there's nothing like talking to the world to sharpen the mind.

It’s made me think about my own relationship with this wonderful complex lunatic country. Especially when we talked about racism.

It’s been an mad experience spending this week with you Twitter but I'm glad to have had the opportunity.

@cathyby Wow. I must investigate so. :-) @mylesdungan1

RT @hilarylennon: @ireland other possible writers deserving monuments are Maeve Brennan, Mary Lavin, Edna O'Brien, Teresa Deevy, and that's…

@hilarylennon I like your thinking. :-)

@ingeniousie Very. We should talk. :-)

RT @Aperture11: Violent misogyny on Facebook is no laughing matter independent.ie/opinion/analys… @ireland

That last RT re Lady Gregory who was earlier maligned for being a rewrite merchant. Not by me I hasten to add. :-P

RT @hilarylennon: @ireland @eddiewhyte Spreading the News and The Rising of the Moon (adapted to film by John Ford in '57) are two of her b…

@TwtUMP @abigailrieley Thank you. I'm actually rather looking forward to the peace. :-)

So if anyone's looking for me after today you can find me @abigailrieley. I'll tweet that again closer to the time. I hate goodbyes. :-)

@hilarylennon Of course. Usually remember that. :-) @eddiewhyte

@pimunchers Oh don't worry I will. :-)

@TalentCoop Thank you! I've had fun. :-)

@amowriting Thank you. No I've not had the pleasure of checking out @goodwifesguide. Will have a look later. :-)

@ingeniousie The broader stuff we mentioned here I mean. :-)

@ingeniousie It would indeed. One I'd love to give actually as well as go on. Used to be a tour guide back in the day. :-)

I know I'll get home kicking myself for not getting the opportunity to talk to some of you. :-)

The response has been so fantastic I feel like I've been at a very engaging cocktail party for the past week. 2/2

The clock is ticking today. Less than four hours left. It really has been great talking to everyone. Sorry if I haven't replied to your 1/2

RT @ingeniousie: @Ireland eg Clerke Crater, for astronomy writer Agnes Clerke from Skibbereen ow.ly/lCNgY #histsci

@ingeniousie Very cool indeed. :-)

RT @ingeniousie: @Ireland There are craters on the moon named after some great Irish women!

@LifeLoveLang It’s Ok. The new tenants will be in bright & early tomorrow. I'll be back at @abigailrieley :-)

RT @ingeniousie: @ireland Another important revolutionary doctor: Dorothy Price, introduced BCG vaccine (TB) to Ireland, to much opposition.

@Sharrrow Can't find it anywhere. :-(

Speaking of public statues to prominent women I'd love to see one of Winifred Carney with her typewriter in the GPO. Great image.

@davidsonjenn Ooh fascinating. I love nosing through the DWSA collection. :-)

@jeannedesutun Yay! That would be wonderful. I will then shout about it from the rooftops. :-) @WMusIrl

RT @jeannedesutun: @ireland Hi Abigail, I'm with the @WMusIrl - hopefully in a few years time we'll be able to rectify your Sunday museum v…

This is Winifred Carney. Another suffragist. :tinyurl.com/ktw3lad

There's actually no mention of Cumann Na mBan in the separate 1916 installation and no mention at all of Winifred Carney, who had a key part

It’s very noticeable that women are lacking in the displays. They're there but usually as nurses & runners. Or mentioned in passing.

I've come down to Collins Barracks museum looking for suffragettes. I'm not getting very far. :-(

Dr Kathleen Lynn's iodine bottles. She was a woman's rights advocate & nationalist we were talking about earlier. pic.twitter.com/Tx7snkZbt1

Regarding women's rights advocate & nationalist Dr Kathleen Lynn here are her iodine bottles @NMIreland :-) pic.twitter.com/RrewAkfsLR

RT @cathyby: @ireland Actually you know Wollstonecraft worked in Ireland for a year? Small world :-)

@cathyby Hah. No I didn't.

@alsoharryshine Yup. You'd get no argument from me. :-)

@alsoharryshine *bites tongue* I'm not going to make that comment about sticking to historical characters...

@cathyby Wow. Must track that down. I've been reading a lot of 18th & 19th century female writers lately. Starting with Wollstonecraft. :-)

RT @cathyby: @ireland Ooh, missed this. Anna Doyle Wheeler? Writer with William Thompson of most important feminist arg between Wollstonecr…

@cathyby Wow. I'm learning so much today. :-)

@m_gilmartin I've never heard of one. :-\

@cathyby Oh I'm not familiar with her. Irish?

RT @lacanlune: @ireland And Margaret Burke Sheridan - there's a memorial plaque in Castlebar and I think there's another memorial on the N4…

RT @HazelKLarkin: @abigailrieley @ireland Dr Kathleen Lynn is one of my personal heroines. :-)

@eddiewhyte Retelling other people's stories doesn't mean you're not a writer. Look at Shakespeare.

@NylonsAndAll @fhayesmccoy Wow. What an amazing thing to have. :-)

RT @NylonsAndAll: @fhayesmccoy @ireland flickr.com/photos/9435945… Front of postcard

@omaexlibris Love her. I've been reading a lot of her books researching my own. :-)

Lady Gregory for example. You fall over statues of male writers in this town, Joyce, Wilde, Behan, Paddy Kavanagh. Great but no women. :-(

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland Lady Augusta Gregory performed a great service in helping collect and preserve our folktales, legends, a whole pa…

I'm interested in the lack of public memorials there are for these extraordinary women.

@omaexlibris Absolutely. A fantastic example. :-)

@KathOMeara Thank you. :-)

@NylonsAndAll Worries me especially in the archives here. It’s a sysiphean task. :-)

@NylonsAndAll I've got to know a lot of the archivists in Dublin since I started. There's a scary lack of funding even for conservation.

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland @irlchrism men, such as Maud Gonne as the lover of W B Yates or Nora Barnacle being Joyce's muse.

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland @irlchrism women of importance in our history that we ever are taught tend to be almost an afterthought and only …

RT @omaexlibris: @ireland @irlchrism Maud Gonne was another important woman, though I'm unaware of any memorials or recognition. Problem is…

@NylonsAndAll @fhayesmccoy I'm getting more radical as I get older I think. Always felt strongly but now speaking out more. :-)

@thremnir Tell me more. :-)

RT @thremnir: @ireland Has anyone mentioned the #Lonsdale Building at UL? Simple, effective and appropriate commemoration of a great Irish…

@NylonsAndAll I've digital copies but if the archive doesn't do likewise they'll fall apart soon.

@NylonsAndAll Excellent. Thank you! I've been researching my current book for 2 years. The documents are so fragile it's heart breaking.

Must say I'm loving this chat about how we mark our inspirational women. So many names suggested & amazing points made.

RT @NylonsAndAll: @fhayesmccoy @ireland Come from a line of strong females so stuff was passed on. Women today don't know about suffragette…

@NylonsAndAll It’s terrifying to think that so much paper history could eventually crumble away. :-)

@NylonsAndAll That would be wonderful. I'm rather passionate about digital preservation. Have used so many unique fragile documents myself

@John_F_Power All the more reason to widen the pool. All this focus on 1 woman also focuses on the negatives. @omegar24

@eefster @omegar24 Yes. With one or two exceptions that list shows such a depressing lack of imagination.

RT @fhayesmccoy: @ireland @davidsonjenn Yes. When u understand where u've come from u're more able 2 c where u're going. & then 2 consider …

@NylonsAndAll Wow. That's fantastic. Would love to see those. :-)

RT @NylonsAndAll: @ireland My great-grandma was a campaigner for women's suffrage near Cork + Belfast. Postcards to her dad that I have det…

@fhayesmccoy Absolutely. That's one reason why it's so great to get a conversation like this going. :-) @davidsonjenn

. @omegar24 But there are so many things already named after Constance Markievicz. She was amazing but has to be more than a token woman.

RT @openplaques: @ingeniousie @ireland Plaques for Mainie Jellett, Constance Markievicz, Elizabeth Bowen and more in Dublin http://t.co/RVe…

@fhayesmccoy Yes. We tend to forget the pre independence mindset where gaze turned out far more alongside the sense of self. @davidsonjenn

@fhayesmccoy I think that rather continues to this day. :-) @davidsonjenn

RT @fhayesmccoy: @ireland @davidsonjenn Also a sad tendency 2 dismiss the complex social/political/ideological issues they grappled with as…

RT @Bellitum: @ireland @fhayesmccoy @Eanair Saw roundabout in Longford named after Charlotte Brooke (Reliques of Irish Poetry) Nice to know…

RT @Sharrrow: @ireland maybe we need a shared google map with pins in for them.

@ingeniousie Fantastic ! @WMusIrl @witsireland

@Eanair Thank you and of course. :-)

@HugoBeB @Gilleeece Yeah it is. There were calls to change that after all the reports into the clerical sex abuse.

Or writers, artists RT @irlchrism: @ireland We don't celebrate inspirational men either unless they were involved in the national movement.

@fhayesmccoy @davidsonjenn Ooh fascinating. I'd like to hear more about that. It makes me so cross. :-)

Yes sorry. I meant to link. Great site. :-) RT @DeniseMcCarthyx: @ireland have a look at womensmuseumofireland.ie

RT @ingeniousie: @ireland Astrophysicist Margaret Huggins (Dublin), science writer Agnes Clerke (Skibbereen) & quite a few more around th…

RT @ingeniousie: @ireland Commemorative plaques to some women scientists & pioneers....

@stibhan Hmm. Maybe not. :-)

RT @ingeniousie: @eanair @ireland Yes, a lovely photographic plaque to the Irish Women Workers Union, for #IWD2013 ow.ly/lCA1B

RT @fhayesmccoy: @m_gilmartin @ireland And don't kno why Eva Gore-Booth's not commemorated - suffragist, prison reformer, pan-pacifist, lab…

RT @m_gilmartin: @ireland and... Maureen O'Hara in Kells

RT @m_gilmartin: @ireland Markievicz monument in Sligo (and GAA pitch named after her); Maria Edgeworth in Edgeworthstown

@MsFrugalone Yes. Just going to link. Just seeing if we can locate plaques or statues though.

@OliviaFranceska It’s the centenary of the Dublin lockout this year in which she was a major player (at 18).Also to name after a woman.

Yes, in Dublin Castle. :-) RT @DiamondsIRL: @ireland and of course Veronica Guerins memorial.

@JeremyTaxman I'll take Amelia Aerhart. Trying to keep them real though.

@Eanair Yes! Women placed on a pedestal but there's nowhere for us to place flowers... If you see what I mean. :-)

RT @Eanair: @ireland And the 'special place' of women in the Irish constitution did a lot of harm to the economic/public options for 20thC …

RT @Eanair: @ireland However, the fact that we're all having to rack our brains here tells its own story about the public invisibility of I…

RT @Eanair: @ireland I seem to remember hearing of a memorial put up recently near Liberty Hall to the Irish Women Workers Union in 1913.

@misterscoop :-P

RT @m_gilmartin: @ireland there's a Markievicz monument in Stephen's Green, but most monuments to women in Dublin are to fictitious women.

@m_gilmartin Ha. That probably says a lot! :-)

@OliviaFranceska It’s only just built so it's currently in anonymous limbo. :-)

@Doryo Have they voted on that? I knew she was shortlisted.

@JJ5000 Not quite what I had in mind. Looking for real life inspirational women not representations of the female form. :-)

There's a campaign to call the new Dublin bridge after lifelong trade unionist Rosie Hackett (who was involved in the lockout of 1913)

There was a campaign to rename Merrion Square for Oscar Wilde's mother Speranza.

What I'm saying is where are the memorials to inspirational women here? I know there have been campaigns in the past (mf)

@DiamondsIRL Do you know where that one is? Been trying to remember.

@davidsonjenn Absolutely definitely. We need our inspirational women. :-)

@JustJimWillDo Not really on the list of inspirational women... :-)

RT @davidsonjenn: @ireland I looked this up after the doc. Because Suffragettes here were led by Quakers it was seen as a British thing. La…

. @davidsonjenn That makes sense. Still under celebrated though.

@m_gilmartin Oh I think you might be right. Can't visualise where it is though.

RT @Sharrrow: @ireland there is a tiny Irish sufgerage exhibition in the Collins barracks museum.

@Sharrrow I was thinking about that. Yeah it's not much is it?

I've been wracking my brains but can't think of anyone apart from Constance Markievicz who's memorialised like that. Anyone?

In the UK there are memorials to Emily, to the Pankhurst & to Mary Wollstonecraft. Just wondering if there's anything similar in Ireland?

In the lead up to the centenary of her death there's been plentiful & varied coverage of Emily Davison's story. This is as it should be.

So I was tweeting last night about a programme I was watching about British suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. It got me thinking.

@abdelevan I first saw the pics over on Facebook. Hugely impressed. @deloresaudioboo

My sense of humour still hasn't recovered from seven years following murder... I've toned it down this week. :-)

But we did have some laughs. Often at the dystopias & crime & sex, religion & all that jazz. What can I say?

We've also talked about dystopias and crime and punishment...oh...

We've covered a lot. Religion or rather the lack of it, women's rights & equality, racism and xenophobia. But it hasn't all been heavy.

@Netherlanders @TWkLGBTQ Likewise. :-)

Obviously haven't imbibed sufficient caffeine this morning. That should be "all round the houses" a couple of tweets ago.

@TWkLGBTQ Definitely. :-) Let me know if you do storify it. I'll be at @abigailrieley. Bye. :-)

It’s been a generally sedate week. We didn't really stray into those other standards - sex, drugs & rock 'n roll. Maybe next time. ;-)

We've gone all doing the houses this week (sometimes literally). I've tried to touch on the old standards - sex, politics & religion

Some Irish sf from the lovely @hughoconor (Thanks for sending) MT @hughoconor: @Conor_Horgan @Scifiie @oneofmanyjbs bit.ly/11wNQvx

@hughoconor There's never anything wrong with silly! :-) @Conor_Horgan @Scifiie @oneofmanyjbs

@travi44 Grand. Just getting started. :-)

So before I start gathering my stuff & feeling around under the table for that earring I dropped, let's stick the kettle on & have a cuppa

@travi44 Hello. :-)

@TWkLGBTQ Are you done? I'm on the homeward stretch. Lovely to chat during the week. :-)

Dublin, or the bit of it I can see out of the window anyway, is basking in morning sunshine.

It’s been fun and we've some hours to spend in each others company before I finally hand back the keys.

Well this is it Twitter. My last day. *Cue swelling music as Sinatra starts to sing My Way* :-P

@ImACultHero It’s ok. We're licensed.

Oh dear. I'm laughing like a drain at the feeling of popping candy on my tongue. Probably thing to call it a day. :-\

@deloresaudioboo I can imagine! So much respect, that took real guts. Thanks to @abdelevan for sharing :-) @audioboo

@Beanmimo Well I wanted to be Leila as a kid. Nowadays I'd prefer to be River Song I think. :-)

@ajsumms Same here. Part of the reason I got citizenship was because I couldn't sit by & watch people vote in referendums on my future.

I love the fact that the auto correct on my phone actually inserts Emily Wilding Davison if I put in Emily W.

@amowriting It’s a shame. I remember when I was a kid they used to stay for years (well it felt like that anyway)

Just catching up with @clarebaldwin's programme on suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. Extraordinary story. What a woman.

@Conor_Horgan @Scifiie I hadn't heard @hughoconor had directed Sci-Fi. Must track it down :-)

@Scifiie SF I think @Conor_Horgan?

@Jonathanwpurvis The only true Doctor is of course Tom Baker. :-)

@Jonathanwpurvis I know. I really liked him. Mind you I find as an adult I always acclimatise to the new guy...not like when I was a kid.

Well Hive Mind...can you help? RT @Conor_Horgan: @ireland I need a list of Irish Sci-Fi shorts for a program I'm curating - any suggestions?

Nine inspiring lessons the suffragettes can teach feminists today - gu.com/p/3g77f

@Conor_Horgan I'm not that familiar with shorts unfortunately. I can send it out into the hive mind? @Scifiie might have some ideas

@annemariewyley *coughs* Oh dear. Those are good ones. :-)

@ImACultHero That is certainly special. :-)

On a scifi related note, I just had to share this. >Huge Doctor Who News Coming Tonight - Matt Smith Has Quit - tinyurl.com/lr8xy8v

This headline goes back a couple of years but it's still a cracker. :-) pic.twitter.com/VlgbE6YjDF

@kirankaja12 Wow I can imagine. I'm an only child. It’s hard to visualise. :-)

Fair play Delores. :-) RT @abdelevan: Pic: BNP interview by intrepid reporter for @audioboo @deloresaudioboo pic.twitter.com/0lDKqjXBPc

@kirankaja12 Altogether I've traced about 40 relatives in India over the generations...thought it'd be a quick little project...

@kirankaja12 Sorry it was his dad worked in the bank. My grandad became a doctor but my great uncle ran away to sea at 15. End up in the US

@agquarx Thank you! #blushingnow

@kirankaja12 He also lived in Calcutta. I think that was where he studied medicine. :-)

@kirankaja12 I'm sure. I know my grandfather went there for work and brought brought his family. I think he'd been living in Chennai before.

Best headline! >Far-Right Extremists Chased Through London by Women Dressed as Badgers - tinyurl.com/kpdea86

@kirankaja12 Definitely. :-)

@kirankaja12 There are one or two other leads but I think they'll all need to be followed over there. :-)

@kirankaja12 My aunt is on the other side. :-)

@kirankaja12 I'm sorry. It’s taken on the steps outside the home in Mach. My dad as a toddler with his bearer beside him, a Sikh.

@kirankaja12 Ah. I know my great grandfather was a bank manager. I think they did move around but a lot of records give Ooty as residence

That last picture was taken in Mach, in Pakistan when my dad was no more than 3. Love the fact he obviously couldn't keep still. :-)

.@kirankaja12 My dad and aunt with my father's bearer who pretty much brought him up. :-) pic.twitter.com/JnuzrUE086

@MyDDublin It looks like Monday night actually be stunning according to the weather forecast. :-)

@kirankaja12 I know the family spent most of their time in Ootacamund. My dad was born in Mach though, now in Pakistan. :-)

As it's a bank holiday Saturday it's just been chucking it down out there. #itsthelaw

Faint strains of the Forbidden Fruit festival drifting across from the Phoenix Park. We're listening to jazz though. #thatsjusthowweroll

@kirankaja12 I plan to at some point. :-)

@kirankaja12 I've learnt my skills in Ireland. 800 years of records were destroyed during the civil war. I'm used to getting creative :-)

@masanbol Thank you! :-)

@kirankaja12 I know there were 4 or 5 generations & have dozens of names but very little detail beyond my grandfather. There's a lot more :)

@kirankaja12 I started researching a couple of years ago. Initially hit a brick wall then found an online resource for Anglo Indian records

@kirankaja12 It was so much part of my upbringing even so. I've always been sorry not to have seen it. One day.

@kirankaja12 They lived in India from the early 1800s. It’s absolutely fascinating. I'd love to find out more. :-)

@kirankaja12 My dad's family moved back to the UK in the early 30s.I've never heard of any relations out there but there may be.

@helena_bonett The sculptor's Danny Osborne, from Dorset. It was put up in 1997. It’s wonderful. :-)

Lastly, here's Oscar himself. Looking very pleased with himself. :-) pic.twitter.com/F1CBkZTBj9

@Beanmimo Heh. Yup. I never do turn my back. :-)

While I'm sharing pictures from yesterday here's another Irish writer. George Bernard Shaw. :-) pic.twitter.com/xWs6lpkh92

Took this yesterday. Love this little lady. She's part of the Oscar Wilde sculpture in Merrion Square. #dublin pic.twitter.com/4wmDxvPUJS

@Beanmimo Yeah. I remember the quiet after tweeting a really high profile. Still not quite the same league but a slight taster. :-)

@davesixtyfive44 :-D

@Beanmimo It’s quite an experience. Very different from having a personal account. Very Matrix. More of a hive mind sense than I'm used to

RT @GoToIrelandCA: Calling all literature fans! Enjoy a week long celebration of the written word at the West Cork Literary Festival... htt…

RT @katerferris: .@ireland Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend on at Project Arts Centre June 11th - 15th. Booking: projectartscentre.ie/programme/what…. PLS RT.

@davesixtyfive44 Damn! Stop it! :-)

@Beanmimo Exactly. Though I'm going to need a blog post after this week. :-)

@davesixtyfive44 Damn! Hang on, I'll do that again. :-)

@sineadw Now I want custard! :-)

@katia75014 Fair enough. I've read some very positive buzz about it. :-) @katerferris

RT @katerferris: I've just launched my first ever fund it campaign. Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend touring to Edinburgh: fundit.ie/project/solpad…

. @CelestialBeard There's always Tweetlonger but that seems like cheating. I like the discipline of trying to make every tweet count.

. @CelestialBeard This is the problem. Makes for an interesting argument when responses are fragmented & jumbled in people's timelines.

@davesixtyfive44 Thank you! I've a few things left up my sleeve I think. :-)

It’s always harder to talk about the big, more abstract subjects on Twitter. They don't fit in 140 characters. We're reduced to soundbites.

It’s been interesting (& I know it's not over yet). I've just been talking about the things that matter to me. We've covered a lot of ground

This week of curating has absolutely flown. Tomorrow's my last day. Then I'll just be lowly @abigailrieley. I've enjoyed being a country. :)

@susanwfd Not really. Plenty of that already. You can't push the rest under the rug & forget about it. Happened too much in the past

@kealycopy Nooo! And those they haven't messed with have shrunk. :-(

@johnmadden78 On the plus side it's making me want to hit the baking bowl & make a proper one. Haven't baked in ages. :-)

@johnmadden78 It has. Haven't had any in years but remember it well. It's about two shades lighter note & noticeably sweeter.

@MWhalan Ooh. That could be it.

@AwfullyChipper It’s very odd. Used to get it as a treat when I was a kid. Loved the dark, sticky goodness of it. :-(

@tommycollison Oh the best of luck!

@jendatweets Excellent. Having a very mellow weekend so far. Trying to keep out of trouble. :-)

:-)

Why has McVities Jamaica Ginger Cake got lighter and sweeter? Seriously. Stop what you're doing & look into this.

Now I'm back I have another important issue to raise...

Good afternoon Twitter. I hope you've been behaving yourselves while I've been gone.

@agquarx I've spent half my adult life trying to get it. I'm jealous. :-)

@agquarx They are. The sun's been out lately though so they've been out in droves. :-)

@agquarx Though according to our tourist board there's red hair involved. In reality generally human shaped, beyond that... :-)

@agquarx As I've also said before, you'd want to ask those who decided I didn't fit the bill. :-)

RT @thejournal_ie: McAleese Report into Magadalene Laundries criticised by UNCAT jrnl.to/12W4IhV

RT @VibrantIreland: Neolithic stone carving on Mt Leinster #sunnysoutheast RT @whiteecotrails: Isn't this amazing? buff.ly/16y7wZ7

@susanwfd An account manned by so many different people will reflect the mood of the country. There's a lot of anger here over many things.

RT @ClaireNolan: @ireland Nationality, like gender, is really just an agreement as to a state of mind. Criticism threatens the consensus so…

@MichaelMoriarty @cathyby My first job after leaving school was as a genealogical researcher. Didn't start my own till recently though.

@ClaireNolan Yup. Been getting a bit of that all right this week. Some people just sit waiting to stamp on dissent. :-)

@davesixtyfive44 Appreciated. :-)

@pauldonovan20 I've only been manning the account since Monday so don't think they're mine. It’s a different curator each week.

@katia75014 A bit. I expected it so nothing I can't handle.

@JoBW Ireland really is a great country. But like anywhere it's not perfect. :-) @unakavanagh @IrishTimes

For those giving out to me for not saying how great Ireland is. Once again. I'm proud to be Irish. Love the country but there's this too.

@cathyby They're definitely changing. You can see it in the way we have these discussions now but it'll take a while to filter in deep. :-)

@pauldonovan20 Thank you. :-) Which ones?

@cathyby That's something I've definitely noticed. It’s a fascination subject. Gets right to the heart of so many things.

@cathyby The colonial records can be pretty good but the Irish end is frustrating. So much stuff was lost.

@cathyby can be hard to find social histories that aren't focused on the Famine. I know the Famine was cataclysmic but still.

@cathyby It’s such a shame. There can be such a narrow focus. I've been researching the 19th century and it

RT @unakavanagh: I wrote an extended piece for @IrishTimes on my encounter last Thursday. Available here and in print edition: http://t.co/…

@KathOMeara Past the red rope at the back, through the door and up the back stairs? Love it. :-)

@KathOMeara Definitely. Hoping to use some of my research as the basis for a doctorate. Could happily spend the rest of my life in archives

What a legend. Video: Patrick Stewart Gives Passionate Response to Question At Comicpalooza 2013 youtube.com/watch?v=TqFaiV…

. @86thLeinster @Sharrrow Also love the album. :-)

RT @86thLeinster: @Sharrrow @ireland It's true the Book of Invasions is basically a cross between Neighbours and a Terry Prachett novel.

@TWkLGBTQ Thank you. :-)

@KathOMeara I've loved researching my current book. 19th century Dublin, mostly protestant middle classes. Fascinating social history

@TWkLGBTQ I'd be wary of abuses of the system though. Been so many scandals.

@TWkLGBTQ It’s complicated and life got in the way so not yet. Want to at some stage though. So many need good homes.

Very Ankh Morpork :-) RT @Sharrrow: @ireland we are the land of invasions people come live here & become Irish it had always been that way.

@TWkLGBTQ My mum was the same. Once told her we were thinking of adopting from abroad. Not "one of those" kids she replied. *rolls eyes*

@EXECUTIVESTEVE @aoiph Ssh. That's a whole other kettle of worms. :-)

RT @PaulFedayn: @ireland @EXECUTIVESTEVE @aoiph Anti fascist anti racist march in Belfast right now. instagram.com/p/aA3ZZCvOWJ/

@Sharrrow All very Ankh Morpork. :-)

@TWkLGBTQ Ooh yeah. That's the stuff you really need to keep an eye on.

@EXECUTIVESTEVE @aoiph Really need to get a grip on the casual stuff though. And the more concerted randomers

@EXECUTIVESTEVE @aoiph Yes exactly. It’s one of the things I love about Ireland. The fact that stuff doesn't take hold.

RT @EXECUTIVESTEVE: @aoiph @ireland About the one thing we can be proud of is the fact that extreme right racism in Ireland is tiny, fractu…

@TymCon Exactly.

RT @aoiph: @ireland Wonder what it'd take to make those people believe racism exists here? Have they never read the comments on any Irish n…

@TWkLGBTQ We really need to catch on to ourselves. The casual stuff allows the extremists a level of validity.

@katia75014 Haven't anything mad planned. Just bumbling around and enjoying the break I think. :-)

@TheHappyVeggie And I think the attackers definitely mix the two up. :-)

@TheHappyVeggie I've been conscious of that myself. I think Ireland is largely xenophobic but there's been an increase in racist attacks.

@CalJamieson Very cool. Didn't know there was an English root too. I like the idea of wood clearings. :-) @Aperture11

But every time someone tells me Ireland doesn't have a problem with it someone else describes their own experience of #casualracism

By the way everyone. I'd love to move on from the subject of racism here. I know some people would rather I did.

@CalJamieson I'm intrigued to know if that was the case. I gather it was actively encouraged at the point they moved over. @Aperture11

@CalJamieson It’s equally possible they could have switched teams. Rieley (however it's spelt isn't a madly protestant name) @Aperture11

@CalJamieson I tend to get lumped in with the Ascendancy lot coz I was brought up C of E but I don't know @Aperture11

@CalJamieson Mainly hearsay as it turns out. We allegedly come from Cavan but no idea beyond that. @Aperture11

@diarmuidcogan I'm really not sure. By the time I actually got back here I'd gone beyond reliable documentation. :-)

@OliviaFranceska My lot were around there for a while too. Fascinated by the time. :-)

@MrJasonMcGee Cool. I'll look into it once I've stepped off the Twitter toboggan. :-)

RT @MrJasonMcGee: @ireland We are running a project to record social history of people coming back to Ireland on gatheringhistory.com

@OliviaFranceska @thelittlepakeha :-)

In the late 18th, early 19th century the East India company opened up recruitment to Irish catholics. Many went over.

The point I'm trying to make is that my dad's family's story is Irish history too.

As far as I can find out my dad's family left Ireland around 1798 for India. They stayed there for the next couple of hundred years.

@mollie5555 No I'm just saying it's not accepted we have a problem with it here which we do.

Lot of people asking me what I mean by "not looking Irish". I don't know. You'd better ask the idiots who were telling me that I didn't.

@OliviaFranceska No that fits in just fine. :-) @thelittlepakeha

@FeargalOC Sarcasm doesn't work so well in 140 characters. But disorganised racism is still racism.

@OliviaFranceska I wish I knew. I know the tourist board would have us believe they have tumbling red curls & freckles.

Last few years I've been tracing back my family history. After finally getting my citizenship I wanted to find that link.

My dad was born in India and went to school in England. He never lived here. But I have an old Irish farthing from the one trip he did make.

He wrote about rushing back to the book shop where he'd seen it in case some other Irish man had seen it as well. :-)

I recently found my dad's old book journal and read how delighted he was to have found a 19th century history of Ireland.

Like many others who've experienced the same I had been brought up to be proud of my Irish heritage.

Like I was saying the other night I've had a fair bit of hassle in the past for not looking Irish not to mention having an English accent

@HazelKLarkin Most enjoyable. :-) @Aperture11

@FeargalOC Ah yes. That lot.

@ke4no Oh yes. :-)

@leedalyire Of course. As should any attack based on superficial difference, accent, sexuality, religion etc, etc

RT @KJDMoyles: @ireland Yup, plenty of people who have to keep their head down because of just their interests alone! Nevermind being gay, …

@HazelKLarkin Exactly. Trying to ease into it gently. It’s still early in the day. :-)

RT @HazelKLarkin: @ireland And I think there comes a time when you need to stop blaming history for everything as an excuse for doing nothi…

@leedalyire Biggotry crosses many lines. I agree it can be too easy to focus on just one area but for Twitter it can focus things.

@ke4no The idiots who come out with that rubbish don't represent you. Yet another reason why they can't be tolerated. :-)

I know the history of these divisions but the history of a country is made up of all its citizens' stories.

But national identity was so wrapped up in a narrow cultural definition it didn't leave much room for much else.

Even before there were the levels of multiculturalism we have now there were still plenty of people who didn't fit the mould.

Experienced it too. Some people have a very narrow idea of what it is to be Irish. It’s a lazy way of thinking but happens all the time. 2/2

That's the problem. It’s not an isolated incident. Even talking about it here the other night the number of people who were saying 1/2

RT @boomjayo: U have a great day! RT @officialchalker: U wud know more about a chicken chow mein.

@achillgooner It’s not exactly splitting the stones here but it's dry & fairly warm (so far). I can work with that. :-)

It’s fantastic to see the reaction to @unakavanagh as she talks about what happened to her. Well done for taking such a stand Úna. :-)

Good morning Twitter. It looks like the weather is going to behave itself for the bank holiday weekend. :-) #wonderswillnevercease

Great article by Romola Garai RT @Aperture11: Pussy Riot & what it means to be actively outside a corrupt system. gu.com/p/3g8qb

RT @TFMRIRE: The powers that be are in the Dark Ages. Comment - Voices - The Independent independent.co.uk/voices/comment… via @independent

@Alan_199 Not personally I think but by reputation. :-) I have some very dear pagan friends but I'm not part of the community.

Don't worry I won't tweet the whole film. That bit just always amuses me. :-) #thewolfman

Lon Chaney spies on his neighbour with a huge telescope then nips down her shop to tell her he's been peeping into her bedroom. #charmer

Some of the strangest Hollywood casting in this. Large hulking American Lon Chaney is the son of petite French Claude Rains. #thewolfman

@SligoChap @BrigidsFire Nah. They're going with the less ecclesiastical version. :-)

@loraob @pagansinthepub @brigidsfire @FeileDraiochta I will. :-)

There's also a magazine about Irish paganism @brigidsfire.

By the way, if any of you are interested in Irish paganism, there's a social meet up every couple of weeks that's @pagansinthepub

@RichRennicks Pretty much. :-) @RevDBH

@Richard_Duffy I know. I described it as an earth based spirituality. The religious side much wider, not space in a tweet. :-)

@loraob Yes I'm sure you do. I know a lot of the guys from @pagansinthepub, and also @brigidsfire @FeileDraiochta

@unakavanagh Have had a lot of those responses during the chat here last night. River in Africa anyone?

RT @unakavanagh: A man on Facebook is questioning my article and saying that racism is a 'rare' thing in Ireland. He's 100% incorrect. It's…

@SophiaGrene Thank you. :-)

@RevDBH I hadn't ever heard of St Blaise, still less seen the cross candles. :-)

@RevDBH I would have thought them very similar to corn dollies in most ways despite their form.

RT @RevDBH: @ireland the St Brigid Cross seems something distinctively Christian.

RT @RevDBH: @ireland I’d argue our holy wells are a better example of pre-Christian Irish spirituality. St Blaise & blessing of fields not …

Ah now. I don't call you names. RT @cohanlon93: @ireland You are incredibly pretentious

RT @mrsims82: @ireland If you could reason with religious people there wouldn't be any religious people. - Hugh Laurie.

@cohanlon93 And you're incredibly rude Sweetie. Run along now if you won't be polite.

Paganism is an earth spirituality. It follows the circle of the year and the phases of the moon.

By the way, as I've already said this week, I'm not religious. But if I was I'd be happy to be a pagan.

@gillmac And don't forget Easter. :-)

There are those that would argue that the Virgin Mary herself had a previous life as the Mother Goddess.

Definitely! RT @diarmuidcogan: @ireland Christianity has appropriated many pagan emblems and celebrations over the millennia.

@johannas_tweets Definitely not. I'm pacing myself very, very carefully. This is a wee bit too public. :-)

2/2 sore throats), putting the Child of Prague in the garden to keep off the rain. Lots of folk traditions. :-)

Irish Christianity has always been a pretty pagan affair I think, what with Bridget's crosses, blessing the fields, St Blaise (a charm for

Beautiful. :-) RT @redmum: :) #stoneybatter #dublin #ireland #chimneys @ Stoneybatter instagram.com/p/Z_WY2BrnVS/

@jellomorton I've been to quite a few over the years. Most recently a beautiful hand fasting. It’s a lovely ceremony.

@GioraMoore I'll see do this lot know them. :-)

@GioraMoore I've written a couple of articles about them over the years but it's not my specialist subject. What're the names of the novels?

@JackHammerDD I know. They've given me a whole country to play with. Silly people. :-)

There's a wide variety of traditions here now, mainly various branches of neo Paganism but also Druids, shaman & Scandinavian heathens.

They follow on from a rich traditional of wise women & cunning men, who were often called horse doctors. :-)

Promised I'd tell you a bit about them. :-) They're Pagans. There's a healthy pagan community in Ireland.

Finally in the pub after a long week with you lovely lot in my pocket. Meeting some old friends to celebrate the husband's birthday.

@niallj2000 Very. It’s worrying.

@gormansdingle True. Racism is just one corner of a deeper problem. Just tugging at it a bit to unravel the subject. :-)

@Jonathanwpurvis Absolutely. Always such a strength. :-)

@jellomorton I was born in London & lived there till I was 14. Totally agree. I never looked particularly English either. :-)

@ManonDeniau :-)

@jellomorton Very true. It’s certainly caused the odd problem. :-)

@Jonathanwpurvis Absolutely. Sadly this has been a problem for a while & it's been largely swept under the rug.

@ManonDeniau It’s real and can be widespread. It might only be a minority doing it but they get around.

It really is fantastic to see this issue being discussed. Racism is a problem here. We need to talk about it and stamp it out.

RT @unakavanagh: Despite all the nice people online who are very supportive, there's always one lad who's happy to PM abuse: http://t.co/kR…

@unakavanagh Excellent. Brilliant post by the way.

@DrDavidWright3c That looks excellent. :-)

@FortEvilFruit Problem is that while younger Irish are pretty secular it hasn't quite translated into official Ireland. :-)

@FortEvilFruit ethos. It runs pretty deep.

@FortEvilFruit Heh. Still a fair way to go before it's a truly secular society though. People might be lapsed but don't challenge cultural

@FortEvilFruit Of course this is still a Catholic country. 84pc according to the last census. Angelus daily on national broadcaster.

@PFQMUSIC @desmarkie The Health Service has had to go to court if a girl in care needs an abortion.

@PFQMUSIC @desmarkie Sadly that doesn't surprise me. The crowds outside the courts when there's HSE case are sickening.

@thomasjstamp @Aperture11 Don't really think it's something you should discuss with this account. Not really appropriate. Use @abigailrieley

@ImACultHero It was @unakavanagh got me onto the subject in the first place. Enraging!

Man and some distant cousins @NMIreland pic.twitter.com/p0TXiBpYDp

@onetruecathal It would have to be a separate debate. The X case legislation is too important to get right.

Just popping in to wish a very happy birthday to my lovely husband @Aperture11.

@TWkLGBTQ I have noticed that on occasion. :-)

@onetruecathal I think that's one reason we should have a vote on the 8th ammendment. Huge pc of the population had no say in that

@OliviaFranceska I'd be much the same. I've wanted children & not been able to get pregnant so it breaks my heart but it's not me.

Just please play nice. I don't want to come back to blood on the floor and scraps of hair. xx

If I don't get back to people on this forgive me. I'll only be able to duck in & out today but do check the @ replies & talk yourselves

RT @rlbowie: @ireland we @TFMRIRE have been fighting intensely for last year for this to change-It's exhausting.Many TDs offer sympathy but…

This is all about humanity and if at this stage of the debate you still cause yourself pro life that's one thing you're considering.

If you call yourself pro life you're on a side I'll never be on. If you think it's right that we have the laws we do you've lost me.

It doesn't matter where you stand on the religious spectrum either.

By the way. I'm not arguing on this one. I'm not getting into a discussion about the whens & the hows.

@rlbowie I'm so sorry. I wonder too. The divisions run so deep on this one.

I'm pro choice by the way.

@MrSeamusKearney Neither does the church.

Rather than throwing it's weight around with threats and cajoling like a seedy old gangster.

But still they listen to the church. We shouldn't even be having this conversation. The Church should have the humility to butt out.

But the abortion issue is not a silly little thing. The government has long been told to act on this by our own courts & by the ECHR.

I know that Ireland has a predominantly Catholic population but that faith has no place in law. Most of the time it's silly little things

As I said before, I'm not religious. I don't see why my life should be ruled by someone else's beliefs but in Ireland that's often the case

No one else has that right.

I couldn't say if I would ever have one. I've never been in that situation but if I was it would be down to me & my partner.

Abortion to me is a sad medical procedure. It’s never a good decision to have to make & anyone who thinks it is is an idiot.

Now just to be clear I've always been sure of where I stood on this particular issue. I remember the X case vividly. Went on the marches

It’s utterly ridiculous we don't allow women who are carrying a baby that will not live outside the womb to end that sad situation quickly.

I've been watching the abortion debate as it's heated up over the past year or so & I'm utterly appalled by the inhumanity of some arguments

Before I duck out though there's this :Article: Anti-choice logic untenable in cases of fatal foetal abnormality tinyurl.com/jwm4cgn

Morning Twitter. There will be less prolific tweetage today as I have a birthday to see to. Not mine I hasten to add.

@LauraSlattery Aw chucks. Thank you. :-)

Before I go @unakavanagh on what happened to her today - Today I was spat on because I looked different. tinyurl.com/lswudx4

@patomahony1 :-) I'm rather enjoying being a country myself.

N'night Twitter. x

Well that's it from me for tonight. Might not be tweeting quite so much tomorrow...We'll see. :-)

@patomahony1 Hello by the way. :-) @bryknow

@patomahony1?? @bryknow

Thanks for all the RTs and replies everyone. It’s been good to talk about all this.

RT @conorleeson: @ireland It's borne of ignorance mainly - and a complete lack of multiculturalism here until relatively recently...

@conorleeson Exactly.

@kefjo Ha. Yes. That's always a good one. :-)

@mizzizzmoo Same here. It’s daft to make such superficial assumptions.

@ErisianLib That's the thing. Yes we are better at that. That's what makes the prejudice so hard to take.

@N0CARSGO Jaysus. One sunny day...

@N0CARSGO No. Haven't had a chance to catch up on the news. They warned me about this Twitter thing. :-) What happened?

@ruthie147 Oh absolutely. There's a long list. All utterly wrong.

@artbyailbhe I can imagine. Plenty of the same problems over there. It's a global problem that needs dealing with. :-)

@misterscoop Yeah but you never know when you're going to run into the predictable.

It’s something we need to talk about. Accept it's a thing and don't tolerate it. We are better than that.

Times are tough at the moment and there are those in society who look for people to blame. These incidents are on the rise.

Some prejudices have been tolerated for so long they can still pop up in the most unexpected places.

The problem with racism and prejudice in Ireland is that you don't know where it's going to come from.

That last RT was a case in Limerick where a guy was assaulted & kicked in the head because he had a UK registered car.

RT @ErisianLib: @ireland detail: m.limerickleader.ie/news/leader-lo…

@ErisianLib It’s still a minority. Doesn't happen to everyone but it's scary to know it's out there.

@mizzizzmoo Thank you! I'm amazed by the response. So many people have come back with similar stories.

@gillmac finding that in anyone who's different. They're idiots but we can't turn a blind eye.

@gillmac It’s good people talk about it. These are difficult times and there are those who will always for scapegoats.

@Lailedcat Let's hope so.

@irishstu It’s on the list. Just didn't fancy a double whammy this evening. :-)

@conorleeson I know. Sometimes putting yourself in the other's shoes goes out the window.

@ErisianLib Jaysus. That's what's scary. Some people simmering already...then add alcohol & they go off almost at random.

@irishstu I haven't even got onto the abortion debate yet. :-)

@unakavanagh Yes I think there might be. :-)

@cmcgovern :-D @Kitsgirl1

@irishstu Heh. Yeah the husband has said something similar. :-)

@Lailedcat Yeah there's a lot of that about. These people really aren't the cleverest. :-)

I know Ireland isn't unique in this but don't let that diminish the fact it happens. Any kind of discrimination should not be tolerated.

Most of the incidents I've described happened years ago but those attitudes haven't gone away they've just got easier targets.

@jacoreilly Thanks. :-)

@teejayblanch Ouch! Yeah, there's never an excuse for ignorance. Or rudeness for that matter.

@liam_coburn Yup. As we've seen once or twice before. :-)

@dakirker :-) It would take more than that.

@irishstu I'm naturally gabby. Then I get all the replies & think oh dear. :-)

@LoganNZed Empty lives I've always assumed. :-)

@teejayblanch I know exactly what you mean. Lived in France for a while. There are times you just feel alien.

@wyvernfriend @dermotcasey That was a while ago. I doubt it'd happen now. I hope.

@LoganNZed Usually somewhere nameless in Eastern Europe buy have also had Spain, Australia and South Africa. Go figure.

@faduda @GregHughes2 On the other hand the Irish can be extraordinarily welcoming and inclusive. That's what throws it into sharp relief

@teejayblanch God, not at all. :-)

@liam_coburn That's what scares me.

@liam_coburn Yeah. I've that problem here. You'll get a degree of it everywhere but I do think here it isn't talked about.

@MadIrishLass I've noticed that. That's the problem. You don't know where you'll find it.

@ideasasylum Oh god I know. I never looked particularly English either. :-)

@JayCoyle These aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. :-)

@unakavanagh I'm glad to. I'm over-whelmed by the responses. It is important to talk about these things. :-)

@JayCoyle Mainly. Though once on Grafton Street it was Spain.

And as I said, it hasn't gone away.

Now this happened years ago and I'm still here. :-) But incidents like that left me wary.

There was a garda standing about two feet away. He did nothing.

My friend and I were so shocked we didn't do anything for a minute. Then he pulled me away from her.

She was screaming "Get back to your own country you Brit bitch" (at least she got the country right)

I had just moved back to Dublin from Belfast and we were talking about that. Suddenly the woman launched herself at me, hitting me.

I do remember one memorable occasion when I was talking to a friend on O'Connell Street. A woman started edging towards us, listening.

Actually when I get hassle it's usually because the person thinks I'm from elsewhere in Europe.

I was hesitant about mentioning my experiences here. I've been told more than once not to worry about it because it's just that I'm English

@BridgetFitz Definitely. I understand why it's there but you can't blame ordinary people for the actions of goverments

@muddyringlets I think it needs to be discussed. If we don't it will never change.

@BridgetFitz Jaysus. Sadly that doesn't surprise me. Got a fair bit of that at school myself.

@KathOMeara Thank you. I wasn't going to bring it up but since it came up...

@Eoin_Hayes Thank you. As I said it's not representative but it sticks.

@AMMntn I'm so sorry to hear that. Kids can be horribly cruel.

@ImACultHero It’s shocking sometimes. Especially when you've experienced the incredible welcome first. :-)

@MadIrishLass I've been seeing a lot more of it locally. It’s got worse since things got bad unsurprisingly.

@colz Yup. Makes me want to throw things. :-)

@BondedThunder It makes me sad and angry in equal measure. It lets this lovely country down.

I love Ireland. I loved it enough to become a citizen but that's not enough for some. They are a minority. But they shouldn't even be that.

All because I don't fit into someone's narrow perception of what an Irish person should look like.

I've been pushed, punched and spat at at various points and told to get back to my own country. It doesn’t happen often but once is too much

It irritates me when people don't accept that it is a problem here, as it is many many other places.

Ireland is a beautiful country with wonderful people but there are some who will not tolerate anyone who's different.

One of the reasons I get so incensed about racism here in Ireland is because over the years I've more than once been on the receiving end.

@unakavanagh :-)

@leoie :-)

RT @JewelleryStar: @unakavanagh @ireland this sums it up well- v. ashamed that some Irish are as ignorant as this American: http://t.co/S7A…

. @MonicaBulan Don't get me wrong. Ireland can be the best place on earth. It just doesn't feel like it when something like that comes up.

@leoie That was what attracted me in the first place. Love the kaleidoscope aspect of it.

@leoie sometimes it makes me want to scream. :-)

@leoie I'm mindful of that. Hence today's travelogue. But all the other stuff is Ireland too. I've always loved that complexity even if...

@leoie Yeah. That hit home fairly quickly. Mind you, I have had exposure before. It’s been some practice. :-)

@unakavanagh That is awful. Hope you're ok. There is far too much of it around. Especially north inner city.

@leoie :-) Been a long day and just can't abide that kind of thing. I get a bit cross!

. @leoie Chatty is right. Not saying these idiots are in the majority but the fact they exist at all is bad enough.

RT @ruthie147: @ireland yes it does matter that there are racist people elsewhere: people learn behaviour from peers worldwide through medi…

@ruthie147 Granted but disagree with the responses that suggest that somehow makes it less of an issue. :-\

@GalvinIRL How is that closed? Was just referring to a specific place. And I don't think we live in Utopia. Racism's never acceptable.

RT @TheSnappyBoss: @ireland I've been subjected to them myself just because I am profoundly deaf.

Ireland's a great country. Doesn't need that kind of rubbish.

Sorry lads. It doesn’t matter that there are ignorant people elsewhere. It matters that they are here.

I've been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty comments myself over the years. There are some very ignorant people out there.

Re those 2 RTs sometimes it really isn't Ireland of the Welcomes.

RT @unakavanagh: How am I supposed to call Ireland my home when these racist bigots exist? Day after day I've to keep my head down and hide.

RT @unakavanagh: Was just spat at by some gobshite children who also called me a chink. hope they grow up to nothing. I hate Ireland someti…

RT @Aperture11: Education becoming more and more privileged in @ireland twitpic.com/cubi9h

RT @boucherhayes: #rtept Creches - is the business model bad for kids? Blog and Podcast: People behind the companies in the Prime Time http…

RT @terryandrob: Brilliant. If anyone knows the artist or where we can get a print... pic.twitter.com/Eqgs5wa4aV

@sasinshort Public transport reaches most places. If you want any pointers just ask Twitter. The Irish contingent are a friendly bunch. :-)

@sasinshort The West is great and very different from Dublin & Wicklow. I'm biased though. Spent my teens in Sligo. :-)

@sasinshort If you get the chance keep Dublin for the start & finish and spend the rest of the time travelling round.

Time to log out for a bit and give my poor overused smartphone a break. :-)

@Peter_Hegarty That's certainly an occupational hazard. Though the really interesting stuff is at least kept in the stacks :-)

@sasinshort Thank you. :-) It’s a great city.

I hope you enjoyed that wee tour of my Dublin. A beautiful day for a ramble and it was great fun sharing with you all. :-)

I love Dublin on a sunny day. :-) pic.twitter.com/uKqvaxfIfA

It'll all be going up on the JFK Homecoming website. I'm told some of today's stories should be up early next week pic.twitter.com/cbv30EAU25

People are bringing in personal memorabilia from JFK's visit to Ireland. Sounds like there'll be some amazing stories.

Totally geeking out having a look at the JFK collecting day @NLIreland. Sounds like there'll be some amazing stories pic.twitter.com/PAWgugdf4E

I love these little owls on the columns in the genealogy microfilm room. pic.twitter.com/1LgO1LVCuH

Da Vinci on the stairs @NLIreland :-) pic.twitter.com/4556OoX2pl

I've spent many, many hours on one of these researching old papers. I still hear their rattle in my sleep @NLIreland pic.twitter.com/j2VfxxPQFu

They held fairs there and archaeologists have found bear bones from baiting. #dublincourts

There used to be a gallows near Arbour Hill in Stoneybatter. The area used to be called Oxmantown Green. #dublincourts

Actually something I forgot to mention regarding the history and #dublincourts stuff.

Re the crime and punishment part of the day RT @thejournal_ie: Majority of criminals re-offend within three years jrnl.to/12RcsBQ

@LissettMary You really can't beat that smell. :-)

@LissettMary I've also got to research in Trinity College Library and had to go through the Long Hall. Amazing place. :-)

@Bellitum The staff here are lovely. :-) @NLIreland

@Peter_Hegarty It’s a lovely place to work...although much of my research involved grappling with microfilm. Not so good. :-)

Years ago working in the Reading Room I heard the announcement of Charlie Haughey resigning & we all went out to watch him leave the Dáil

This Reading Room makes an appearance in Ulysses don't you know. :-)

I've lost count of the hours I've spent gazing up at these guys when I should have been working. It’s their toes. pic.twitter.com/IhSnHpmiyA

I love being surrounded by the smell of old books. :-)

This wonderful place is the Reading Room. I've spent much of the past 2 years working in here. pic.twitter.com/0wwkXUh9hj

So here we are. Home! @NLIreland :-) pic.twitter.com/s1ACRbQVaX

@JustJimWillDo There are toilets round the corner. Just a very civilised place to wait. :-) @NLIreland

You all wanted to know the best ladies' toilets in Dublin didn't you? Well here they are @NLIreland :-) pic.twitter.com/sziPRi6uFp

@MWhalan Very. It’s a wonderfully BBC apocalypse :-)

@MWhalan That's right. I enjoyed the remake but there's something reassuring about all the polo necks in the original. :-)

@Celticsleftwing I've been wondering when that shift would happen since Amazon et al were called before the Commons committee

Getting close to @NLIreland after whistlestop history of #dublincourts. Can never resist pausing at Cathach Books pic.twitter.com/u88oob5DZ6

@Rowstar Thanks for the shout out. Having a rare non controversial day today as the sun's out for once :-) @sweden

RT @DubCityCouncil: @KieranBinchy @ireland These boxes were painted as part of the @DCCBeta project. They should be albe to assist.

@KieranBinchy Ah that's why Tintin is rubbed off. :-)

@mrcbehan I'm not calling in as I've got to make it over to the library. I'd suggest seeing if @DyaneconnorTV3 or a colleague knows. :-)

Given the volatile nature of the location, the courts didn't stay long - though I haven't found any mention of an explosion. #dublincourts

The courts were held above the munition stores. And since this is the location of the armoury at the time ... #dublincourts

The Four Courts camped out here in the 17th century. They would have been roughly where the previous picture is. #dublincourts

@architectmark It’s a stunning building. They did a great job of rebuilding but I'd love to have seen Gandon's original. :-)

The court was packed with onlookers as it was a high profile trial. There was a rush for the stairs. People got crushed. #dublincourts

@futurefragment There's a lot more to come. Haven't even got to the gallows yet. :-)

As the court filled with smoke the judge panicked & tried to climb out of the window to safety. He got stuck. #dublincourts

What happened was this. A chimney nearby in the warren of buildings caught fire. #dublincourts

While the courts where at Christchurch there was a tragic stampede during a murder trial. More than a dozen people died. #dublincourts

@ingeniousie Hello. :-)

There was a physic garden there and fragrant herbs would be cut from there for the floor of the courts. #dublincourts

Where the Four Courts now stand was once a monastery. By the time I'm talking about it housed the judges. #dublincourts

This is going back to the 17th/18th century. #dublincourts

@TheHappyVeggie Stunning. I wish more people would go to watch trials. They're such a window on society.

This was before the road was widened in, I think, the 18th century. Christchurch was also the temp home of the Four Courts #dublincourts

All the best toy shops were in Hell & a statue of the Devil marked the entrance. :-) #dublincourts

Hell was another example of Dublin humour. There used to be a warren of streets and lodgings here.

I'm up in the old city now across the river from the Four Courts. In terms of #dublincourts I've just travelled back in time. :-)

@BondedThunder I did until last year. Used to cover murders & have written a couple of books. Now more focused on the history.

RT @ingeniousie: @ireland @ILoveEyelash Someone told me y'day a Thomas St distiller provided casks for Emmet's gallows stand. Is that true?

@ingeniousie @ILoveEyelash I hadn't heard that. Perhaps the hive mind knows. :-)

I'll talk a bit more about the Four Courts in a bit but right now I'm heading south of the Liffey to their former home. #dublincourts

@TheHappyVeggie It’s stunning isn't it? I loved working there. :-)

At the moment I'm standing at the side gate into the judges' yard. Used to watch prisoners led across from the cells #dublincourts

These days only civil cases are held in the Four Courts. I can't take photos inside without permission so won't go in today. #dublincourts

Some Dublin humour outside the Four Courts. They held criminal trials until the new courthouse opened in 2010 pic.twitter.com/RN1FRZ5zTP

Skipping the modern home of criminal trials today but I'm now at the Four Courts. #dublincourts pic.twitter.com/aebElDvyWR

RT @ILoveEyelash: @ireland And here is an image of Emmet's execution on Thomas St. pic.twitter.com/xvLBwwS7Rj

That's the one. Thanks. Abraham Lincoln knew it by heart. RT @EmilyAM: @ireland This one? robertemmet.org/speech.htm

One of the characters in the book I'm working now was tried here in 1852.:-) #dublincourts

Robert Emmet made his famous speech from the dock soon after it was opened. Anyone at a computer who could tweet me a copy? #dublincourts

Green St used to house the Commission of Oyer & Terminer in the old days. Many famous murders were tried here. #dublincourts

@SophiaGrene I've decided on a compromise. Library, nicer on a sunny day, but crime & courts on the way. :-)

@Jonathanwpurvis Both places are close to my heart. Have spent large chunks of my life in both. I'll work it out. :-)

But for a compromise how about we swing by some of the previous homes of the courts on the way to @NLIreland :-)

Ok so, straw poll leaning strongly towards booky writingy pursuits rather than those of a crimey punishmenty bent...

@NLIreland I think your lovely loos deserve to be shown to the world again. :-)

@NLIreland It certainly looks like the ayes have it. :-)

@NLIreland You would say that. :-P x

and talk about booky, writingy, historyey things... So which is it to be? Crime & punishment or the library?

I had been thinking about going down to my old stomping ground of the criminal courts and showing you that OR we can call on @NLIreland 1/2

Good morning Twitter. Too nice a morning to hide indoors. Since you're spending the week in my pocket I'll give you a choice. :-)

@thomasjstamp Oh yes. So does Blakes 7 really thought it crosses the 2. Tends to be a difference between pre & post Thatcher dystopias. :-)

@EleanorFitz Had a feeling that walking tour would be right down your street. :-) @Rowstar

I love this story. : York mosque counters EDL protest with tea, biscuits and football tinyurl.com/ozab2q5

@Rowstar @EleanorFitz Brilliant. Thanks a million. :-) x

@thomasjstamp Yes it's Terry Nation. He did heavy stuff too. Lots of dystopian grimness in the 70s. :-)

@girl__friday Ok won't do any more. :-)

@girl__friday Sadly no. It’s something I do on my normal account. Narrating episodes as I watch them on dvd... It sounds odd I know.

Oddly, Charles turns up later in the series, much later. No mention is ever made again of his plan to impregnate the planet #bbcsurvivors

Abby, Jenny and Greg make their excuses and leave just as the music swells. #bbcsurvivors

RT @LATimescitybeat: @garethoconnor Thank you! I look forward to more #mydayindublin glimpses of that beautiful city.

Oh gawd. Now he's at Jenny. Charles has totally lost the run of himself. #bbcsurvivors

@garethoconnor @gaffneyamy @latimescitybeat Excellent. :-)

Charles says that to all the women... #bbcsurvivors

"You're the right kind of survivor" says Charles to Abby just before telling her she should get pregnant & he loves her. #bbcsurvivors

Half of Charles's commune have died from dodgy fish. Abby doesn't know the full extent of his plan for the future. #bbcsurvivors

And now Greg's singing a jolly song about the armageddon. #bbcsurvivors

Charles has previously mentioned how loving people are after the decimation of mankind. #godlovesanoptimist #bbcsurvivors

Oh dear. Charles has arrived home to sickness. Did I mention he was into breeding? #bbcsurvivors

Having said that the writing, especially the episodes written by Jack Ronder, are truly excellent. #bbcsurvivors

@garethoconnor Blakes 7's all gone. Though I might try and get the last episode in before the end of the week. :-)

@aidan_walsh @OrphanBlack @mariadkennedy Ooh no I haven't. I will check it out. And re spoilers. Sorry. :-)

Also the really obvious class structure. Seriously. Greg, the engineer is top dog until Charles the architect comes along. #bbcsurvivors

I love this original series of #bbcsurvivors. There's such a naturalistic edge to it. Complicated relationships. Human frailty.

In the last episode Greg told tatty Welshman Tom that he could work for his place. Charles said the same to Greg. #awkward #bbcsurvivors

Charles is very big on breeding. #noeuphamism #bbcsurvivors

Greg's not happy. He'll play that guitar in a minute. #bbcsurvivors

@Colinp02 Same here. Prefer the old series. :-)

Charles was an architect. He used to make his own wine. Poor Greg. #bbcsurvivors

@garethoconnor Having great fun. Lots of energetic discussions. :-)

Greg's feeling impotant because he's an engineer & Jenny can't find his jubilee clip. Oh dear Charles has arrived. #bbcsurvivors

See. Greg's got access to a guitar. He's not got shut of the velvet cap he wore in the last episode. #bbcsurvivors

Charles is wearing a polo neck & a sheepskin jacket. He's got a beard. Greg won't be happy. #toomanyalphamales #bbcsurvivors

If I remember correctly Charles has taken rather unorthodox steps to getting the world back to normal. #spoilers #bbcsurvivors

First introduction of Charles. The other Welsh character. Charles has a lovely voice. Sorry @Aperture11. :-)

@Colinp02 What I'm watching now. One of my favourite shows. :-)

Again to explain, this is something I do over on my own account @abigailrieley. I love old scifi. :-)

Abby's heading home to look for her son. Greg's feeling pointless. Jenny's making doe eyes at him. Hey how. #bbcsurvivors

Watching #bbcsurvivors again before bed. Episode 4 this time. Corn Dolly. Chaffinches & snowdrops herald new beginnings.

@teejayblanch @Aperture11 :-D

@teejayblanch @Aperture11 And now I will have Spanish Train rattling around in my head for the next week. :-)

Brief romantic interlude over. :-)

I married him because he made me laugh. Also because he sometimes brings me roses. Ok there are one or two other reasons too. :-)

And no, not the parrot. :-)

Meet the husband :-) MT @Aperture11: My parrot Roger bit his foot off to 'Mandy'. Broke his own neck to "I Write The Songs".

@NMIreland Love coming down with the cameras. Took this shot in Collins Barracks. :-) @irishstu pic.twitter.com/OVbU0QPNcK

@irishstu Also @NLIreland have a Flickr commons collection & give permission for personal blogs. Have dealt with them myself. :-)

@irishstu @NMIreland now allow photos as well. Only recent though, the last year or so I think.

RT @irishstu: Many Irish institutions worry about people ‘stealing’ their images online, meanwhile rijksmuseum.nl make it easy to …

RT @championofwomen: if women really think #FBrape was victory,we have no hope! Work on stopping actual rape! #militaryrape,400000 rape kit…

@teejayblanch Hang on I'll just write that on the back of my hand. :-)

RT @UnlikelyWorlds: Ban killer robots before they're built. 'Heyns's call for a moratorium draws the UN into the realms of sci-fi:' http://…

RT @levdavidovic: Hearing of murder of 4 Alabama girls, Nina Simone said she'd shoot someone. Instead she wrote this buff.ly/13XuGnX…

@Not_So_Witty Ooh nice. :-)

@PaulFedayn Table tennis?

Should probably point out that I am really, really not into sport. Don't know my offside rule from my scrum half.

@paddycullivan @EmCally Always had my doubts about him. Thumbelina didn't have a lot of options. :-)

Ok, so I gather there's some kind of sporting event on this evening?

@wyvernfriend Ooh that looks like something to peruse at leasure. :-) @Aperture11 @Scifiie

@dakirker Thank you. :-)

@Scifiie Definitely. I've only ever read the novelisation of the first Dr Who story. Was all there was before videos. :-)

RT @ingen1ous: Working women should be molested, Saudi self-help writer claims bit.ly/16px4rb @gulf_news

@EmCally @paddycullivan Extraordinary. The poor little thing. A real Tom Thumb.

@Aperture11 There's one for the present list my Love... (hint, hint) @Scifiie

@nhead77 @unsarcasticone I did warn at the start I can be mouthy. :-) Thank you again.

@unsarcasticone :-)

@pimunchers The levels of anger have got daft. Nothing wrong with passion but it should never get in the way of reasoned argument.

RT @mrcbehan: @Ireland "@Independent_ie: How three women took on sexist #Facebook and won. indo.ie/lvu1c"

@mrcbehan Fair play to them. I've been watching the @everydaysexism account for a while. Important stuff. @Independent_ie

@Scifiie No. But now won't rest till I've found it. Had his Blakes 7 novelisation as a kid. Loved it! :-)

@BondedThunder And I wouldn't change that passion for the world. It does sometimes give me a headache though. :-)

@unsarcasticone Thank you. It's been mainly people telling me to shut up and sit down today. :-)

@enorris I think you're being a little optimistic there. The conservatism is still there. As for politics it's hard to avoid.

@pimunchers Yup. It gets very shouty here at times. Gets in the way of a clear discussion all the time.

@BondedThunder I know I scare some of my English relations when I get going on a subject I care about. Easy to veer into dogmatism. :-)

This being a naturally conservative country marginal viewpoints get shouted down or ignored. But there's huge variety in humanity.

@pimunchers That's the problem with this dialogue in soundbites. Flip comments hide a much higher level of bigotry.

Yes, even pro choice. Those labels all hide more subtle standpoints but as I've said before Twitter doesn't allow for subtlety.

I think growing up different in Ireland has made me more staunch in my convictions. I'm quicker to label myself be it atheist, feminist 1/2

@pimunchers I'm always surprised by the virulence of the response. Should have learnt by now but I'm an optimist. :-)

Sure, it's all the fun of Twitter isn't it? :-)

It’s a little like tweeting a picture of a cat and the dog appreciation lobby wading in.

That was a very busy morning. Who'd have thought there'd be such strong views on the subject of the sexes. :-P

@onetruecathal have to be used when there are far cleverer ways to sell. Even possible to use sex to sell without objectifying.

@onetruecathal Absolutely. This argument should be about equality at its root. Wouldn't advocate censorship but don't see why said imagrs

@ggnell Thank you! Getting nothing done this morning though. :-)

RT @aoifejohanna: @_Niall_M @Aislingdreamsof @ireland perhaps not overt patriarchal pressure, but a sublimation of it #wortharead http://t.…

@SophiaGrene That's the problem with 140 chars. :-) Being judged by looks part of the job for ALL actors. Just not what I wanted.

@SophiaGreney My mum felt much the same. She taught me to be the woman I am today.

I really have to go now. Play nice Twitter. I'll be back when I can.

@artbyailbhe But they're so noisy! :-$

@natural20 I have a bump on my forehead from banging the head off the desk this morning. Always the way.

@NIALLC4 Why don't you ask to curate then?

@Netherlanders Ha. No not really. Saving that for growing into disreputable old age. :-)

@Netherlanders Yeah it was a rather flip comment. It’s been a busy morning. :-)

Where were you when I was talking about dystopias and scifi last night?

Jaysus Lads. Would you let me get on with my day. I've been perfectly open about the fact I'm a feminist. Stop brow beating.

@NIALLC4 I'm curating as myself. 1 viewpoint. I'm not here as an objective organ of the press.

@liam_coburn @louismasterson I'm not, just saying there's a far bigger problem on one side.

@NIALLC4 Of course there is but I'm talking about this issue at the moment.

@liam_coburn @louismasterson Sorry but 1 questionable ad compared to hundreds doesn't quite make a double standard.

@CurlyBubble @Louismasterson It’s not of course. But the tone is different in the Diet Coke ads. Don't particularly like them either.

Too many cases to cover. Even there sex sells.

As a journalist I covered the criminal courts for years. So many cases involve male violence against women.

Twitter's not the ideal place for subtleties. 140 chars confines you to sound bites. But these are important issues.

So perhaps some men think they can silence this already diminished voice through violence.

Sexualisation & objectification defines women solely on those terms. Their voice becomes unimportant.

I think every woman deserves the same.

I've always wanted to be judged by my words and my actions not how I would serve as set dressing.

My mum was an actress. I chose not to follow in her footsteps because I didn't want to spend my life being superficially defined.

RT one on domestic violence and nada. It’s true that sex sells them. :-* 2/2

Well that got the day off to a lively start! RT an article on objectification of women & my @ column goes crazy. 1/2

Some clip notes :-)MT @Qaoileann: @aoifejohanna great quick primer on sexual objectification and how to recognise it: thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012…

RT @aoifejohanna: @ireland @GalwayPlayer Women become sexual objects when their bodies&sexuality R linked2products that are bought&sold htt…

I haven't woken up back in the 70s have I? #lovelygirlsphotoshoots Come on people, this is basic stuff.

@GalwayPlayer Um. No. @margaretcork @jenoconnell

RT @PaulFedayn: @jenoconnell @ireland @margaretcork Good piece Jen,one of the reasons we stopped getting Metro (IT owns MetroHerald) http:/…

@PaulClancyNL Take a look at my @ replies. It takes a LOT of explaining. :-$

@Louismasterson Not really the same, since the tone is humorous. Plus 1 ad doesn't equate to hundreds over decades.

@margaretcork @jenoconnell Perhaps. It touches on the same point.

@ClareODeaZ Yeah...there's still a way to go. I know it's saying "guys, if you buy that you get this" but surely there's other ways to sell

@eefster Yup. Always the way.

RT @eefster: @ireland "Love" it. First words of article? We're told to lighten up if we complain. First comments? "Lighten up!"

@margaretcork @jenoconnell Ah yes, different issue but just as bad. All boils down to women being defined by their looks.

@kenmooney But yes absolutely.

@kenmooney I know. It was more everything else in that comment!

@stephenroden :-P

It’s all about the "gaze". The role the viewer is placed in. That's why Lady Gaga's meat dress is ok but Bionce's boob dress isn't.

But images of women as sexually available objects are still used to sell, not to mention women in submissive positions

Back in the early 70s the Boat Show in London used naked models to sell boats. We've moved on a bit from there.

. @MikOmani *bangs head on desk* Just read the article through.

RT @MikOmani: @ireland Works both ways in my opinion - Diet Coke Ads for example...hint of jealousy in the author perhaps. 21st century, se…

@margaretcork @jenoconnell It comes down to the objectification aspect. If it's relevant fine but if you're just putting a naked chick there

@margaretcork Not really. If it's August & you're doing a beach edition fair enough but if it's Santa's elves not so much. @jenoconnell

@borogovedub Absolutely. I can think of at least one high fashion house that's had some very dodgy campaigns.

@TymCon Nope. It’s a different person each week. :-) But I think @ireland has retweeted me before.

Article: BREAKING: Facebook Promises To Take Action On Domestic Violence Content - tinyurl.com/ol6u7fp

Well done Italy! Article: Italy passes European treaty that tackles violence against women tinyurl.com/n9mg8pp

Ah yes, the lovely girls :/Article: If it doesn’t have anything to do with swimwear, don’t use a bikini to promote it tinyurl.com/o7987ct

Right my lovelies. It has been fun but I am bushed. Good night. See you all tomorrow. :-)

@IanConnolly @Tupp_Ed Homework so. :-)

@colz Ooh Nigel Kneale. One of my all time favourites. Haven't seen that one though. Will check it out. :-)

@OliviaFranceska Generally. :-) @HugoFitzpatrick

@Tupp_Ed I never managed to track down Threads. Must have another look. :-)

@paulchillage Thank you. It's been rather eclectic today. :-)

@colz It’s just very, very middle class. It's not the meek that'll inherit the world but the management classes. :-)

@colz Actually this is pre Thatcher. You should see the last series of Blakes 7 from '81. I tweeted that too. :-)

@paddycullivan Oh yes. Seen it many times but I've only just finished tweeting my way through Blakes 7.:-)

@paddycullivan It makes Survivors look like Benny Hill. Very bleak but brilliant.

And the music swells. So that's #bbcsurvivors. Probably a little baffling as this episode was suitably murky. And with that I'm done

Mainly because she doesn't look like a catalogue model. #bbcsurvivors

The trade unionists have trashed the castle, which is actually a church. Abby devices she will take charge after all. #bbcsurvivors

The trade unionists are attacking. Greg's sticking around. Tom's splitting. #bbcsurvivors

@OliviaFranceska Apologies. It’s frustrating not being able to vote @HugoFitzpatrick

@paddycullivan Partial to them myself. Have you seen Quatermass the Conclusion?

Abby's looking for her son. Tom tells her he's seen a young boy near by. It's not him. #bbcsurvivors

Greg doesn't trust Tom. He, Greg, looks like a catalogue model. Velvet cap, polo Arran, lifted eyebrow #bbcsurvivors

They've met up with Tom Price, the token Welshman. Abby puts him straight to work. #bbcsurvivors

@ErisianLib Nope. I normally do this from my own account but tonight you're all getting it. :-)

"Perhaps we do need a powerful almost brutal force to lead us", careful what you wish for Abby. #bbcsurvivors

And before we go on Abby is a character. I go by Abbi. Way different. #bbcsurvivors

Greg has to be one of the most long suffering blokes in TV history. He always looks brow beaten. He's made Abby cry. #bbcsurvivors

This being 1970s Britain the bad guys are trade unionists. The middle classes are far more reasonable! :-P #bbcsurvivors

There always has to be a standoff outside a store if you're in a dystopia. #bbcsurvivors

Jenny, Abby & Greg have had a spot of bother on a run to the supermarket. Guns have been raised. Greg was masterful. #bbcsurvivors

@OliviaFranceska That was one reason I got my citizenship. :-) @HugoFitzpatrick

@paddycullivan Ah yes. I saw that years ago. Must look it up again. :-)

RT @unsmoteablekiwi: @ireland @JustJimWillDo It was at the request of the parents, seemingly rte.ie/about/en/press…

@paddycullivan It was shaping up well. I liked the addition of Max Beesley's character.

I usually tweet along with the episode as @abigailrieley. Will I go back over for the duration or do you all want to join in? I'm snarky.

Ok so. After all that I'm off to watch Survivors. I need a bit of dystopian comfort after all that. :-P

. @JustJimWillDo @rte I would assume there's a legal issue but I have no details so I'd better not speculate any further.

RT @rte: Tonight's @RTE_PrimeTime will not be available on @RTEplayer. @rte agreed that it would air tonight only, and not be available on-…

@brenstrong @jwalshireland @faduda Unless there are legal proceedings? Possibly?

@glassofwin It’s sadly a huge problem. Bizarre as the family is so vital here.

@jacqs70 @HugoFitzpatrick Exactly. And the national intern programme is still advertising for creche workers as of tonight. Ludicrous.

@glassofwin Day care facilities in this case. But there have historically been issues with homes, some of which continued into recent years

@redmum Stunning. It is nice round here isn't it. :-)

@OliviaFranceska There's a lot of lip service paid but it doesn't translate. This has been an issue for years. @HugoFitzpatrick

@jacqs70 I think sometimes empathy is in short supply here. The govt here predominantly middle aged men. Out of touch @HugoFitzpatrick

Can't argue with that last RT.

RT @HugoFitzpatrick: Oh how I hope and pray we get a Feminist and Human Rights party soon. This govt don't care about childcare, rape/abuse…

RT @urchinette: #rtept is unbearable. Now please can the public response be willingness to pay taxes to fund decent state-regulated subsidi…

@urchinette Yes! But probably not.

RT @AbiePB: Easy to be cynical about the Minister's absence. But her job is to protect kids, not make good TV. Firm response better than a …

This latest scandal goes back to the old problem of failures towards the weakest in society. There have been so many. There will be more.

@faaran Agreed. They're brilliant. They deserve to grow. :-)

It’s a major scandal. As a country we've had quite a few major scandals over the years. Many have involved children.

These are private crèches, some with massive profits. The investigation showed issues with the way children were treated

For those followers outside Ireland I'll explain. The main investigative current affairs show has just shown an expose on creche conditions

@siobhwithafada Totally agree. It’s far too easy to be outraged. Much harder to act but we need to.

RT @squidlimerick: The 16 jobbridge intern positions at Garda Vetting Office were advertised after 10 paid staff were let go #rtept

@Petehamilton10 A very modern spin. It really is disgraceful.

RT @siobhwithafada: @ireland we fail children EVERY DAY in this country. Problem is that too few of us ever move beyond moral outrage! #rte…

Once again the State fails children. Always leaves it to someone else to take care of them. The Church. Private Businesses. Shameful.

@stillgazing A friend once worked for a chain creche. She loved kids. Had to leave because of conditions.

@stillgazing Again and again and again. It really is sickening.

RT @Aperture11: Parents struggling to keep a part time job going and having to pay hundreds to the creche racket...modern Ireland. @RTE_Pr…

RT @amcteirnan: Successive governments have placed absolutely no value on funding affordable quality childcare. But we've kept the bondhold…

Watching RTE investigation into dodgy crèches. You would think, given the history of childcare here, a closer eye would be kept.

@ErisianLib Definitely. Looking forward to it. :-)

@unakavanagh Another one for the to-read pile so. :-) @barryh47 @TRIDXB

@Not_So_Witty or Hannibal Lecter. There's more variety in dystopias though. A wider range of characters. :-)

@Not_So_Witty It’s interesting. There's a similar fascination looking into the psychopathic mind. Especially a character like Tom Ripley

RT @Tupp_Ed: @ireland I have a thing on this! tmblr.co/ZkzdZx4fqXH9

@Tupp_Ed Yes! Exactly. I remember reading that.

RT @bwalsh: @ireland Harlan Ellison's short story "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" is a good one.

@ErisianLib Excellent. I'll look it out. I've also been recommended Philip Roth's The Plot Against Reality.

@delphinecoudray I'm not familiar with that one.

RT @ErisianLib: @ireland have you read Philip K. Dick's Man In The High Castle? Easy classic.

One of the things I love about dystopias is the fact that you explore the characters in extreme conditions. Unvarnished humanity.

RT @unakavanagh: @TRIDXB @ireland Have any of you read World War Z? Really great book :)

@ErisianLib Ah Philip K Dick, he of androids and electric sheep fame. :-)

@onetruecathal Well sort of. TV inherently lighter than books...maybe. :-)

@onetruecathal Yup. I'm rather glad to see them back. :-)

@delphinecoudray Yes. Loved it. :-)

@linglang @mrcbehan Yup, that's the one. :-)

@delphinecoudray Spaced, with Simon Pegg?

@irishstu I haven't. Must look them out. Yes, Survivors sometimes plays like a public information film. There's lots of committees.

@delphinecoudray :-)

@delphinecoudray Rod Serling! Brilliant stuff. The old series of the Outer Limits wasn't bad too.

@talk_2joe Ah but Firefly's also a Western. I like Westerns. Work in the same way as scifi, a reflection of their times. :-)

There were a lot of dystopian dramas in the 70s, just as there has been a bit of a resurgence now. The world was & is a scary place. :-)

@mrcbehan So I've heard. They're on the to-read list that's teetering by the bed. :-)

On the lighter side I love Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, on TV there would be Dr Who, Firefly, BSG, Babylon 5...you get the picture.

@sallyrooney Yes! They need to have resonance. :-)

@delphinecoudray The 70s were grim. I was a rather morbid child. In the dystopias people survive. Yeah, I know...it's still pretty bleak :-)

@mrcbehan Haven't got round to the books but love the series. Also love Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett. :-)

@amowriting No problem. A dystopia is a world where society has essentially broken down. Opposite of a Utopia. :-)

@danielsturman Heh! Yes. Certainly looking back at the 70s they seemed to genuinely believe the world would end. :-)

@enormous @_NotTheDoctor I won't spoil the end then but when I first read it when I was about 13 it blew me away. :-)

@ImACultHero They can't prove anything. Nobody saw us take it. :-) @ScotVoices

@GenLeeSpecific Possibly. Mind you, you can start an argument over the weather round here. :-) @Sharrrow

. @delphinecoudray I actually find the dystopias comforting. Have since I was a kid. Probably a relic of a 70s childhood. :-)

And of course Survivors, Terry Nation's original 70s series. They tend to have less obvious heroes & a distrust of the authorities. :-)

When I say British dystopias I'm thinking writers like John Wyndham or Nigel Kneale or films like 28 Days Later or Children of Men

@PatMcClay Of course! Any Pratchett does me fine. :-)

. @_NotTheDoctor Oh yes, I love Orwell. Another favourite is Aldous Huxley, Brave New World's an old favourite.

@Sharrrow Thank you! And I haven't even got into any of the really thorny subjects...yet. :-)

I make the distinction between British dystopias &, say, American ones because the rules tend to differ.

I've always loved scifi and fantasy but I've never been into the "hard" form of either. I love alternative worlds.

So I've mentioned my fondness for dystopias a few times. Maybe time to explain that. :-)

Curating this account is threatening to make me all ranty. Time for a change of pace. :-)

RT @WorldJen: "Christian adoption: an industry often marked by ambiguous goals and dirty money? bit.ly/11nbpa4 @kathrynajoyce explo…

@WorldJen @kathrynajoyce Fascinating.

@Tupp_Ed @rossamcmahon Aw I remember the Funday Times.

@unakavanagh That looks divine ! @donalskehan

@rossamcmahon I've heard some worrying things about the situation being at a standstill. It’s just not a priority at the moment.

@rossamcmahon I'd wonder how many of those had their declarations before the cut off. It’s down from hundreds isn't it?

@rossamcmahon The curse of cut and paste @ChristineBohan

Adoptions in Ireland are now usually foreign adoptions but since Hague few, if any have gone through. No bilateral agreements with countries

Re last RT, that's why Ireland ratified the Hague Convention.

"BBC News - Algeria doctor jailed for child-trafficking to France" feedly.com/k/1avdeXV

@jengaj3n It would certainly make the world a nicer place. :-)

RT @roughversion: Why is every critic on the #bbc artists in their own words series male??? Where are the female art writers and thinkers??…

@jengaj3n Hmm. Yes I've noticed there are some sections of Irish society who haven't noticed the demise of the Celtic Tiger. :-\

. @PennyRed in the Spectator:Emily Wilding Davison made the only choice she could bear - tinyurl.com/pz9kurv

@jengaj3n Is that something you've experienced a lot?

RT @jengaj3n: Wish people in @ireland wouldn't discuss salaries and their expectations in public given the recession and high rates of unem…

@yvonneredmond @ChristineBohan Or the jubilee pieces that just talked about the Queen. That drove me nuts. :-)

@ChristineBohan @yvonneredmond Nothing wrong with pedantry in this line of work. :-)

@ChristineBohan Something I've always been paranoid about as I used to have difficulty spotting it. Got over that pretty sharpish!

@eimearsmack @ChristineBohan God knows, I know journalism's facing hard times but that's not the way forward

@ChristineBohan Time definitely plays a factor as does farming out the subbing. But there really is no excuse. It would take 3 words.

@sharononeill Yup. Have a major soft spot for dystopias. :-)

@ChristineBohan It’s reaching epidemic proportions in some quarters too. :-)

@ChristineBohan True. Nothing wrong with the journo who wrote the piece but subs are journalists too. Should have had the same training?

Rant over. It’s a fairly easy mistake to make but that doesn't mean it should be made & I see it all the time in some Irish papers.

I know this kind of thing happens when you just lift agency copy without editing it for clarity. It’s so damn sloppy.

Last RT contains a major bugbear of mine. It from the Irish Independent about a UK case but is written as if it's a local story.

Awful story but lazy journalism. RT @Independent_ie: Women 'conspired to force girl to marry against her will’. indo.ie/lt08u

RT @ConzieSays: @ireland @CA_Meehan on #irishwomen, @irishinkorea do an essay comp for Uni students. Inaugural winner write this: http://t.…

@davebolger I can think of way too many reasons why it'd be a deal breaker...times when it wouldn't would end the date prematurely anyway :)

@ainetron Not sure I'd relish the loneliness and isolation...wouldn't mind saving worlds though. :-)

@CA_Meehan No problem. Great article.

It’s no wonder old attitudes endure as much as they do. Way to soon for resting on laurels, if anyone was thinking of doing so.

Back to an earlier subject, it's worth remembering how recent some rights we enjoy as Irish women are, via @CA_Meehan ciarameehan.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/197…

Pussy riot member taken to hospital tinyurl.com/p5ycpxs

I wouldn't say that now (re the last RT)

RT @KingBobulousIII: Spent lunch explaining to a Spanish guy that, in @Ireland, witnessing someone throw-up on a first date wouldn't necess…

@lastlife82 Yeah. She's a bit like that in real life. :-)

@sandraregan Very. :-)

@BridgitW With so many decent cheaper brands it's way too easy to develop a serious habit. :-)

@sandraregan Aw he's lovely. :-)

@MyDDublin @melfra71 @beatingblog @niamhzie @talk_2joe Wasn't it just. :-) I must do it again when I'm back on my own account. :-)

@BridgitW I'm pasty but sallow. Love navys, burgundies & browns too. :-)

RT @punkyscudmonkey: Did the Mail do a Hilary Mantel on Nick Ross's statements about rape? telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-l… via @bmagnanti

While I'm at it here's a picture of my cat. Not a particularly cute one though. :-) pic.twitter.com/OOz9Lx9x7Z

@theevilwithinme :-)

@melfra71 It’s just a cheapo one by Catrice, Sky & Seine with Essence Dreams for Sale on top. Love the cheap polishes these days @MyDDublin

@ghughes365 Ah yes. Usually keep my head down for those. Anyway as the daughter of a proud Welsh woman neither are my team. :-)

@beatingblog I don't mind them either. Just don't normally do them. :-)

@ghughes365 Umm. There's a match tomorrow?

@sandraregan Thank you!

@BridgitW Ooh I like that colour. I love greens & blues. :-)

@niamhzie Thank you! You can't really see the sparkles but they're really pretty. @MyDDublin

Also that was a rubbish shot. Ho hum.

I can't believe I just tweeted a nail shot. Excuse me while I go and photograph my lunch. :-P

@talk_2joe Why thank you. :-) @MyDDublin

And yes that might have been a rather frivolous tweet but that's just sometimes the way I roll. :-)

In a break from weighty issues, I've just remembered I promised @MyDDublin a shot of my nails. So here it is. pic.twitter.com/6TtQZp2lCT

@Hayesm6 Yeah. Life was much simpler then. :-)

RT @CandyKorman: RT @aperture11: @ireland ‏Big shout out for @SpookyIsles Ireland's Leap Castle is Spook Central ow.ly/l04jN

@StudentsRoCur Good point. Not quite ready for that just yet. :-)

@StudentsRoCur I'm happy to pass the torch. :-)

@DulachG They still have a place in my heart. :-)

As a child I never saw the difference. It was only growing up I saw the walls. They're not as high as they were but some are still solid.

I can't remember a time when I didn't think I could be anyone, do anything. Used to want to be Dr Who. I liked jelly babies. :-)

@thmsmrngh :-) Probably as well.

@thmsmrngh Don't get me started!

@thmsmrngh Yup. It’s not as in your face as it was in past generations then suddenly you hit it. Wham. Most frustrating!

@mrcbehan It's out there somewhere. Why else are women consistently underrepresented. It can't only be that men are louder. :-)

There are differences in the way men & women might approach any given subject but all the more reason to hear from both.

I've never been able to understand why my voice as a woman might be perceived as having less weight.

RT @MargaretEWard: Wouldn't Irish media be more compelling if we heard women's opinions & voices on current affairs issues on a regular bas…

@lilyunadreamer Sounds lovely. :-)

@TWkLGBTQ Of course. :-)

RT @TWkLGBTQ: .@ireland Have you any recommendations for good SciFi novels with great feminism?

@TWkLGBTQ Hmm. Well of course there's The Handmaid's Tale by @MargaretAtwood. I'll canvas the hive mind as well. :-)

@TWkLGBTQ They're a powerful combination. :-)

@am_flynn Thanks. And I'm just getting going! :-)

@carolmhunt I think those tatty old books, and fixing them before covering them, informed my love of second hand books :-) @EtainWilson

@EtainWilson The oldest was someone's grandmother. Luckily that was on a Shakespeare not science or something :-) @carolmhunt

@EtainWilson It’s insane. We used to swap books around so people could have ones with family member's sigs. @carolmhunt

@am_flynn Thank you. It’s one that always stuck. So sorry for your loss. @cmcgovern

@weeburd1 It was more stylised for the most part. But one year it actually looked almost exactly like that. It used to smell funny.

The 60s wallpaper was most definitely not cool in those days. That's why it was covering my school books not on the walls. :-)

RT @Independent_ie: Garda have arrested a man in his 30s in relation to the horrific stabbing of a female solicitor in Dublin in 2011. More…

First job of the year was covering books with wallpaper to keep them clean. I always used to end up with funky 60s patterns for some reason

Never understood the cost of school books here. I remember using books that had book plate signatures going back years. We were loaned them

RT @carolmhunt: Added up books/uniform for 1st year dd yesterday - €450 for books, €451.45 for uniform! The school book scandal http://t.co…

@ConzieSays @rabbitholer It's a very gentle climate here. :-)

@Sinabhfuil Yes I know exactly what you mean. :-)

RT @Sinabhfuil: @ireland @rabbitholer That faint sea scent that's everywhere in Ireland

@reverbstudios Hasn't he just? Wonderfully sane. :-)

@IcedNyior Thank you. :-)

It’s funny the things we miss when we're away from home. A friend was telling me about German thunderstorms @rabbitholer. Anyone else?

Kuala Lumpur even @bluredfrank .:-)

I'd particularly like to know how she's cuttin' in Kuala Lumper. :-)

I know here in Ireland we can have 3 different climates down the length of the road (exaggeration of course) but what about the rest of you?

@linglang Hello! :-)

Ah the joys of Twitter. Half my replies are talking about the weather, the other half about naked Irish men. A normal day, so.

Don't get me wrong. I don't particularly mind grey skies. As long as they aren't leaking. :-) And it's due to clear later.

@am_flynn Excellent post. I remember covering the sentencing of Karen's killer. Such an awful case. @cmcgovern

Great post about domestic violence and our own responses here. RT @cmcgovern: Good post from @am_flynn ancailinrua.com/2013/05/26/vio…

Good morning Twitter! The sky is grey over Dublin...again.

@sfpodge Love Trouble (With a Capital T). The Book of Invasions is a great album. :-)

Russell Brand writing on the Woolwich murder but good advice across the board. Article: Woolwich Woolwich ow.ly/ls6KM

@MyDDublin :-)

@darrenmeehan Radio and TV. :-) @amowriting

@loraob Absolutely not. No screaming harbingers in this one. Just a dead end town. :-)

@EleanorFitz Bom Banes might be family friendly too. Very theatrical & fantastic sausages. @rowstar

@MyDDublin I might even tweet a picture of the nails in the morning. :-)

@EleanorFitz Definitely take them to the Aquarium so it's beautiful and the oldest in Europe. :-)

@EleanorFitz A good friend of mine & ex Brightonion @rowstar will probably have a better idea?

@EleanorFitz Sorry that 2nd place I meant Due South, fabulous organic, locally sourced food.

@EleanorFitz I think. As for other options apart from the Pavilion & the Aquarium my choices are still those of a teen year old!

@EleanorFitz Ooh you lucky thing. There's a fabulous restaurant called Bom Banes & another gorgeous one right down on the beach called Ocean

@delphinecoudray @ConorReidy Let's hope so. Coz privatisation has always worked so well in the past...

RT @ConorReidy: Tomorrow's UK Times: "Courts to be privatised in radical justice shake-up" pic.twitter.com/FgcYYLEOMp

RT @WildIreland: FFS! How come "The Gathering" app isn't available IN IRELAND? @TourismIreland1 @Ireland ow.ly/i/2do2K #fail #theg…

@loraob New American TV show from Alan Ball, who was behind 6 Feet Under, True Blood & American Beauty. It's not bad. :-)

@MyDDublin The wine red, the nails neutral glitter I think. :-)

@aleena4444 I'm enjoying it so far. Got a kind of American Gothic vibe without the supernatural side if you ever caught that.

And now I'm off to watch Banshee, have a relaxing glass of wine and do my nails. It’s all glamour here. :-)

Ok guys. Thanks for the BBC 4 info. The question's answered now. :-)

@delphinecoudray Well I saw @boucherhayes promise a midwife for tomorrow...

@delphinecoudray @boucherhayes Hmm. You may have something there. :-)

@delphinecoudray @boucherhayes I'm not sure. I worry that any attempt to tinker would cause a rip in the space time continuum. Or something

RT @UNICEF: Educated women (& their children) are healthier: educate girls, improve health equity, says #cd2015 report. http://t.co/5S0jjbD…

@alsacianne Thank you. I'll check it out @encephalartos @francotweets

@amowriting We do. :-)

RT @amowriting: Twitter in @ireland help me out pls? Quick survey - how many of you have BBC 4?

. @delphinecoudray I know, just sending people in @boucherhayes direction. Just giving a taster :-)

@SimonPRepublic Terry Callier's just brilliant. A lost star who really should be better known.

@SimonPRepublic Ananda Shankar is Ravi's son, did East meets West rather than West meets East in the early 70s.

RT @AnaPetrovna: @SuzanneChase_ @juleser @MDRN1 @ireland Why I love multi-D schools: 10 out of 30 kids doing confirmation, the rest of the…

@AnaPetrovna @SuzanneChase_ @juleser @MDRN1 That's lovely. Would love to see more of it.

@StudentsRoCur @jc_ie But it's too good, and I mean good in a qualified way, not to share...#shatnov

RT @boucherhayes: "... been presenting himself as a member of the moral majority protecting Ireland from conspiracies to subvert christian …

RT @boucherhayes: "Sean Brannigan TD's public utterances had ceased to be confined to evils of artificial conception. He had for some years…

RT @boucherhayes: It's after the watershed which means just one thing - your cue to unfollow me as we delve back into Ch 4 of Alan Shatter'…

So far today we've talked about religion and lack of religion. I've tweeted in French & as Gaeilge. But now I just want to share #shatnov

@juleser @MDRN1 @SuzanneChase_ This is what I'm always saying. :-)

@juleser @MDRN1 @SuzanneChase_ Though that might just be the effects of a long day!

@juleser @MDRN1 @SuzanneChase_ I feel like I should walk towards the camera saying "I've learnt something today" while the music swells...

@MDRN1 @SuzanneChase_ @juleser It’s a fascinating subject. As far as I know the catholic in that quote is in the sense of all-encompassing

@SuzanneChase_ @juleser @MDRN1 As in the phrase "one holy, catholic & apostolic church" in the Creed. :-)

@SuzanneChase_ @MDRN1 @juleser Yes... I liked the incense...and the rood screens. :-)

@MDRN1 @juleser @SuzanneChase_ Things have definitely changed in the last 10 years or so. Easier for kids coming from other backgrounds

@MDRN1 @juleser @SuzanneChase_ And that's not even getting into high & low church in C of E. I was always told high was Anglo Catholic.

@juleser @SuzanneChase_ @MDRN1 That was my point. I'd come from learning comparative religions in school so found lack of knowledge strange

@Scifiie Now that sounds right down my alley. :-) @OisinMcGann

@MDRN1 Yes of course, not to mention last rites & confession (if requested) but I didn't go for confirmation in Ireland. :-) @juleser

RT @Scifiie: @ireland Some SF by current Irish authors: @iannmcdonald (River Of Gods), Peadar Ó Guilín (@theinferior), Kevin McDermott (Val…

@Scifiie I've noticed that. Familiar with writers like @RFLong but fascinated to check out the scifi.

@juleser One of the draw backs of being an island nation perhaps? It's damn frustrating anyway. :-:-\

@johncreedon No problem. Having great craic so far. :-)

@maitiuocoimin Cinnte, tá sé an scéal go maith. Saighead go Guinness :-) @unakavanagh

@emfmcc Couldn't agree more. I hate it when people make assumptions & get dogmatic. No way to find common ground.

@encephalartos Apologies. By French I meant French language. Could never forget Brel's Amsterdam. :-) @francotweets

RT @johncreedon: @ireland You could try RTE Radio 1 now..The Clash, Little Feat, The Knack, New Irish releases,Rap.Jazz, Soul,

@unakavanagh We're up near Arbour Hill. It's a great area. :-)

@mionloch A total legend. :-)

@emfmcc It’s a delicate subject but one I think deserves to be discussed. :-)

@katia75014 Ha. I think mine probably is too. Lived in France briefly in college in the 90s so more familiar with radio from then. :-)

I often use music playlists as writing prompts. :-) RT @mc_elhill: @ireland Favourites usually tied to emotional memory.

@katia75014 You can't beat a good chanson. I like some newer French music too, Camille, Manau, Yann Tiersen. :-)

@johncreedon Ooh sounds excellent. :-)

@mc_elhill Very definitely. I use music as prompts for writing.

@katia75014 One of my favourites. I also love Emmenez Moi. :-)

@francotweets J'aime bien la musique française. Brel et aussi Charles Aznavour, Françoise Hardy, Camille, Manau. :-)

Maybe Charles Aznavour or Leonard Cohen or Kate Bush or Horslips... I listen to so many different things it's impossible to pick 1.

My musical tastes are eclectic to say the least. If I was limited to 1 only then perhaps Jacques Brel or Ananda Shankar or Terry Callier

. @GaryTraynor1 asked me for my desert island disc earlier today but I got distracted before I could come up with an answer. No compilations

@unakavanagh Didn't realise you were another neighbour. :-)

And I'm back. Today I'm mainly introducing myself. We've the whole week together after all. :-)

@mc_elhill Sort of. I'd already written 2 books but the latest is a novel so less compatible. And thanks. :-)

@mc_elhill I was a journalist for 20 yrs give or take, but gave it up this year. Been wanting a change of direction for a while. :-)

@garethoconnor Hi Gareth. I'm having great fun. Religion down, sex & politics still to come. :-) How're things?

Just going through replies and realise I missed loads from this morning. If I did, sorry. I'm getting up to speed now though. :-)

@Netherlanders I've a list of court related tweeps over on my regular account @abigailrieley :-)

@Netherlanders Sorry. Only getting back to some of this morning's replies. I'm planning on a day down in the courts during the week.

@KevinBrannigans Not tonight - it's been a hectic day. Maybe later in the week? :-)

This is fun! Time for a break for dinner though. See you later Twitter. xx

@Conor_Horgan :-) An excellent way of putting it. I'm being very equivocal today though.

@LeojjKelly I often reply I'm a hippy, basically. Do no harm is a good rule of thumb.

The long answer would involve nature and history and was the result of a rather circuitous journey. But that's more than 140 chars :-)

@jendatweets Yup. You can still find the old die hard attitudes. 2006 though. :-\

@kerriecullinan I know a lot of people who feel the same. It gets under your skin. :-)

@JayCoyle Not really suited for the metaphysical all right. :-)

These days if people ask me what I believe the short answer is I'm an atheist. That's too black & white for the long answer though.

@kerriecullinan On the whole yes. I prefer the person I've turned out to be growing up here. It’s an extraordinary place. :-)

@Beanmimo Definitely. I'm a particular fan of British dystopian sf. Will have to talk more about that before the week's end. :-)

@Rachel_Ball It's still a very common assumption. One reason why I thought I'd bring it up. :-)

@mionloch Exactly. And if I can pull that off I'll work on world peace by the end of the week. :-)

@AngelaG5575 It's getting better but there's still an awful long way to go.

@mionloch Exactly. I'm not interested in starting a row, just an interesting discussion.

@AngelaG5575 Granted. But it's still a big subject here. :-)

I've been asked why talk about religion under the @ireland account if I'm not religious. That's why.

@AngelaG5575 Why not? People asked about my experience of Ireland moving from the UK. That's part of it. :-)

After the first few months in Ireland I moved school to the local C of I school where I stayed till my Leaving Cert.

@Shane__obrien Wow. Very different times so. :-)

@LeojjKelly It was certainly different so yes. I think I prefer the woman I've grown into having grown up here rather than there. :-)

@slatterg Yup. Doesn't surprise me sadly.

@SoothSayerDude I would never want to tell others what to believe but I'm not religious myself & not mad on organised religion.

@stillgazing Yup. That drum n' bass is dodgy stuff. :-)

@Shane__obrien That's quite a change from my day. Though to be fair it was in quite a rural area.

@nhead77 And in significant numbers too. Not something you often see from outside though.

@juleser I didn't move over till I was 14 so most of that stuff had already passed. It was still a surprisingly big thing though.

My mum & stepfather were both actors. That went down brilliantly.

Our Presbyterian RE teacher only wanted to talk about hell fire & brimstone. Not to mention the dangers of music & the arts.

I remember in school here sitting with the other non catholics in religion class. One guy was Jewish. Our teacher was Presbyterian

@unsmoteablekiwi @nhead77 It's the blinkeredness that gets me every time. Religion so linked to national identity here.

@amowriting Thank you. Hoping for to get some writing chat in at some stage. :-)

@therealhatcher Especially since we moved to the rural North West. :-)

@LeojjKelly But there was plenty of religion & politics. :-)

RT @HazelKLarkin: @ireland When I was a child in Irl, a mixed marriage was when a Protestant married a Catholic.Heads exploded when I marri…

@HazelKLarkin I can imagine. Have had the mixed marriage thing a lot, even though we're both so lapsed it makes no difference.

@HazelKLarkin I hope so. I have it on good authority they have all the best tunes. :-)

@colm_ryan I'm hoping so. :-)

@clairikine Mostly. Some can be a bit touchy... On any side of the fence. :-)

Ha! RT @OlafTyaransen: @ireland Your tweet reminded me of the time I had sex with a female TD in the car park of a Cathedral.

I was officially C of E. I hadn't known that meant protestant until we moved here. I was asked if there were prayers "in your religion".

@datatheist There certainly is a stigma. I think I've avoided a lot of it because of my accent. People assume I'm CofE & I go from there.

It was rather odd growing up nonreligious in such a Catholic country. I'm going to be careful here because I don't want to insult anyone :)

@DaraghLally Quite. :-)

@defsmith It would certainly limit the possibilities. That's why it's a rule I tend to ignore. :-)

@datatheist I don't subscribe to any particular religion, no. I would generally describe myself as an atheist though not a dogmatic one :)

Funny though, since those three subjects seem to fill the bulk of conversations in one way or another. :-)

I remember being told there were three subjects you avoid here - sex, religion & politics.

@therealhatcher Oh yes. The Ireland we moved to was certainly not booming. Then the Tiger came. :-)

In England, I'd grown up in a non religious household & learned comparative religions at school. You can guess where I'm going with this :)

So as I was saying. I moved to Ireland 26 years ago when I was 14 (and I've just outed my age to the Twitter).

@Scifiie I'm not familiar with Irish sf writers to my shame but I'd love some recommendations. :-)

@paddycullivan @rickoshea @cuigcead Religion, superstition, redemption. Some really strong writing. .

@paddycullivan @rickoshea @cuigcead My favourite episodes are in the 2nd season where they deal with more abstract subject matter.

And I'm back. Real life got in the way a bit there. :-)

RT @Scifiie: @ireland Eurocon, the European SF&F con, is in Ireland next year! @Shamrokon will be held in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on 2…

@Scifiie @Shamrokon Excellent! :-)

RT @Independent_ie: Reilly rules out extending #abortion legislation indo.ie/lqpGU

I moved to Dublin when I left school. Have pretty much been here ever since. :-)

@imprositeation No problem. Good luck with it. :-)

RT @thejournal_ie: Australian cardinal admits fear of scandal led to massive abuse cover-up: jrnl.to/13UUiBQ

@aoifep I love the area. Wasn't always a fan of the move as a teen though. :-)

Back then house prices were high in London but Ireland was still in the middle of an economic depression so houses were cheap.

My mum & stepfather were both actors and had planned to run acting courses from our new home.

I moved to Ireland in 1986 when I was 14. Moving to rural Sligo was quite a culture shock after growing up in Wimbledon in London.

RT @imprositeation: @ireland Hi Abigail, just wondering if we could get a RT for our improv festival in Dublin this weekend! http://t.co/PF…

@mcwoods @Not_So_Witty Article 40.2 about the family. The Constitutional Convention voted to get rid of it back in Feb but nothing yet.

@rickoshea @cuigcead @paddycullivan Got the boxset for my birthday this year. Love it. :-)

@diesforchicken A rather narrow scifi subset but definitely a thing. :-) Generally BBC made, Quatermass, Survivors, Blakes 7, Doomwatch etc

@mcwoods Good point. A lot needs to change. Need to change the woman in the home clause of the Constitution for starters.

@robertbabington I think the Twitter might be a bit more of a distraction this week though so not sure how much work I'll get done. :-)

@PeopleOfUK @I_am_Italy @weRIndonesian @iam_pakistan @I_amGermany @sweden Hi guys. First day here too. :-)

@cuigcead Ooh. Not familiar with that one. Currently rewatching the original 70s Survivors. Brilliant stuff. :-)

Forcing women from the workplace will hurt the economy - ow.ly/lqlqL ow.ly/1WL9Th

RT @Celine_Kiernan: large number of these book-jacket T-shirts stolen from @gutterbookshop (Dublin) Let them know if you see them on sale h…

@JustJimWillDo Yeah, had a feeling I might have. I'll just go back to banging these two rocks together so. :-)

Not without carbon paper anyway.

Ok so double tweetage should have stopped. Oh the joys of modern technology. You couldn't accidentally write a second letter.

@Aperture11 Hello. Don't I know you. :-) x

@geoffboyle I may go hardcore and talk about feminist sci fi where men are reduced to breeding machines. :-)

Eek. Haven't even got round to breakfast yet & I've been asked about music...

@Alan_199 Lovely!

@patrickabbott @abigailrieley No pressure then? :-)

It is beginning to sound like I have a thing for the cat. Hmm. We're just good friends. :-)

@davemolloy @mrcbehan Like any area there's a few places. It’s changed a lot since we moved here though. Gone up in the world. :-)

@Alan_199 We moved the other way '86. My mum was from North Wales. Holywell. :-)

@Alan_199 Yeah I was thinking about chatting about that a little. I moved over in the 80s. Bit of a culture shock.

@ScotVoices @lionsofficial Hello Scotland! Thank you. :-)

So I still have an interest in crime & the courts. I also have a soft spot for 70s British dystopia (long story) and there's the cat...

I'm also interested in Dublin’s history, I've been researching the 19th century lately for a book. As a journalist I covered the courts

So yeah, what can you expect from this week? Well I've been known to be a little mouthy on feminist issues all right.

@GaryTraynor1 Ooh that's a hard one. I suppose compilations are out? :-)

@not__jolly Hello! Not really a fan of Jedward but they seem like nice boys. :-)

@mrcbehan It's a lovely area. Still proper old Dublin in parts. :-)

@divreg I used to cover the courts as a journalist so there were a lot of murders. Not so much now though. :-) @sinead_ryan

Wow. Lots of responses. Hello everyone. *waves* I'm going to have to get used to that. :-)

@sinead_ryan Maybe a little later in the week, I might come out of retirement for the day but we'll see. :-)

@divreg @abigailrieley Thank you. I'm looking forward to it. :-)

@devronbaldwin No. Only married to the husband last I checked. Mind you I'm not always sure the cat knows that. She assumes she's in charge

I'm a Londoner by birth but I've been living in Ireland for 26 years. I got my Irish citizenship in 2006.

Ok, where to start. I'm a writer and recovering hack. I live in Dublin, in Stoneybatter actually with my husband & cat.

This week I've taken the reins. My name's Abigail. I normally tweet under @abigailrieley. I should probably tell you a little about myself.

Good morning Twitter! Let's get this party started shall we?