The Author, Séamas O'Reilly

TERF Never thought I'd be fighting alongside the far right Far Right Yes, you did.

Ryanair and Ianrod Eireann have both denied mine recently. Bank of Ireland the odd time too, but haven't had an account with them for twenty years.

Me: Yes, of course. That'd be O'Reilly
Website:
Me: To repeat, that's O'Reilly.
Website:
Me: O-Apostrophe-R-E-
Website: Come come, Mr O#Reilly, we tire of these childish games.

Website: and your postcode?

Me: my address is—

Website: no no I’m keen to guess! Postcode?

Me: *enters postcode*

Website: is it no. 132?

Me: no

Website: is it no. 134?

Me: it’s 1—

Website: SHUT UP is it no. 136?

I also hope it's not true, and allowed myself a slight pinch of salt considering Fiennes was speaking to a reporter in the middle of a press run for a film he and Murphy are both in, so the "umm, I dunno, that guy over there would be good!" angle makes sense.

Can confirm it's still absolutely excellent!

We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing "the" labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant. 9,742 L7 19.4K 43.8K 个 AP The Associated Press @AP Replying to @APStylebook The use of "the French" in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming. 12:18 AM • Jan 27, 2023 • 382.8K Views

Happy 3 year anniversary to this post

The parable of the Nazi Bar, a screenshot of a series of tweets by Michael Tager (in a screenshot from Google Images). It's a long text and I'm not going to transcribe it here, but this Wiktionary explains it link and full Wiktionary definition below): https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nazi_bar Popularized by an anecdote shared by Michael B. Tager (@IamRageSparkle) on Twitter in July 2020. Tager recounted visiting a "shitty crustpunk bar" where he saw a patron abruptly expelled: the bartender explained that the man was wearing "iron crosses and stuff", and that he feared such patrons would become regulars and start bringing friends if not promptly kicked out, which would lead him to realize "oh shit, this is a Nazi bar now" only after the unwanted patrons became too "entrenched" to kick out without trouble.[1][2] (Instances of people noting that if a bar starts serving Nazis other customers stop going and it becomes a Nazi bar are older.)

The screencapped tweet from the OP, Thea Sewell complains she's been told she's unwelcome in a local pub because of her bigoted views.

So nice of The Times to make sure we finally get the other side of the story.

People saying this is made up don't know the man. I was in the Oval Office and I'll never forget Trump rising to break the silence with those same words of Kierkegaard's that he's repeated to me so many times. "Tears" he said, glassy-eyed but stoical, "are the silent language of grief".

Stunned and betrayed to discover that Professor Matt Goodwin was not the wholly neutral and unbiased expert on the far right which I believed him to be!?!?!?

Sorry Sharron, you've forced our hand. They're 14 minute cities now. We will keep knocking a minute off until you comply

Sharron Davies ranting against 15 minute cities, because of course she is.

Suzanne Moore in the Telegraph saying she wants to... kill all dogs??

Julie Burchill asking "does it matter if Grok undresses us all?" in The Spectator

Graham Linehan in the midst of his now four-day-long double down on Alex Pretti's murder being justified and fine.

Calling transphobia a 'gateway drug' to the far right undersells it. It's pure accelerant. Grimly fascinating to guess what crankery becomes any famous transphobe's secondary obsession, cos they all have one: 15 minute cities are fascism! Grok noncing is cool! ICE are good! We should kill all dogs!

A screenshot from the Graham Linehan Facebook page, dated January 26, 2017. "Here's something to watch for: sub-par entertainers/hacks etc smelling that sweet right wing sucker money and making their move."

Nine years to the day since Graham Linehan foresaw his own fate.

incidentally think transphobes did something similar! spent so much time discussing the quasi-philosophical issue of What It Truly Means To Be A Woman, Deep Down when the issue should have mostly been "how are these very much already existing people meant to live in the world"

JOB(S) ALERT

We're looking for TWO new members for the editorial team - send your application to editorial@the-fence.com.

COME AND WORK WITH US.

Hi, I'm looking to paint my bedroom, can I nick that hammer for a few days?

Donate to Irish Hospice Foundation Donate to Irish Hospice Foundation to support people in Ireland facing end of life and bereavement.

National Grief Awareness Week runs Jan 26 – Feb 1, and its message is that grief affects everyone, and no one should grieve alone. The Irish Hospice Foundation’s Bereavement Support Line is at 1800 80 70 77.

And, if you can, please donate to help them do what they do.

hospicefoundation.ie/donate

Donate to Irish Hospice Foundation Donate to Irish Hospice Foundation to support people in Ireland facing end of life and bereavement.

National Grief Awareness Week runs Jan 26 – Feb 1, and its message is that grief affects everyone, and no one should grieve alone. The Irish Hospice Foundation’s Bereavement Support Line is at 1800 80 70 77.

And, if you can, please donate to help them do what they do.

hospicefoundation.ie/donate

It’s the anniversary of my mum’s death – and I’m thinking about space rocks and shell suits There’ll be more laughs than tears today… as long as you discount tantrums from the three-year-old

As part of National Grief Awareness Week, I've partnered with the Irish Hospice Foundation to share some writings on the subject.

This piece was an attempt to trace the odd, circuitous routes that grief takes over decades.

#NGAW2026 #IrishHospiceFoundation

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘Your mammy was a flower’: a young boy’s bereavement One of 11 children, Séamas O’Reilly was just five years old when his mother died. In an extract from his touching new memoir, he recalls the day of her wake

I've always found writing about grief difficult, but rewarding. Today I'm sharing this piece, adapted from my memoir's first chapter, which is a good intro to its themes (death is sad) and its tone (things are still funny). #NGAW2026 #IrishHospiceFoundation

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Logo graphic for the Irish Hospice Foundation, centring 40 Years Of Impact

Honoured to partner with @irishhospice.bsky.social for National Grief Awareness Week. They got in touch because my memoir, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died, clearly touches on those themes. They didn't know that my mum was a very active supporter of hospice care her entire life, so it's v close to my heart.

"Up to 380 people may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week". The West's normalisation of the mass death of black Africans (because that is predominantly who these people are) will never be less than devastating.

Reminds me of a very similar bit of training female members of the British secret service were given during WW2: "Don't ask a man who works for their government what's happening. Confidently tell him something you know to be inaccurate, and he will be forced to correct you".

Mocking someone's addiction relapse because they happen to be a Jewish person who treated Palestinians with a basic level of humanity is really really low. I honestly don't know how you can do that and still see yourself as a good person fighting the good fight.

brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis

Imagine how easy it would be to prove that protesters were paid - a person who'd go to a protest for a cause they didn't believe in would surely also sell their story. There'd be recruitment ads, reddits, glassdoor reviews, social welfare officials would suggest that work to the unemployed.

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Massive story in the current newsletter

thefence.substack.com/p/off-the-fe...

"Dan and Jane resisted the idea that they had become political. A better word, Jane said, was *humanist*"