‘I’m getting career offers… they haven’t twigged how old I am’: NI grandmother (90) celebrates graduation A grandmother from Londonderry who only recently learned to type on a computer has today celebrated her graduation at the age of 90 — almost 70 years after she dropped out of her original course.

BRILLIANT

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/educati...

Also I LOVE the joker room idea.

Gives interesting flexibility over the lifespan of the apartments.

Amazing what happens with a different mindset isnt it.

Politicians who meet fascists half way, are just fascists.

Newsom is all about publicity & nothing about integrity.

It’s been depressing watching American ppl hero-worship a power crazed sell-out. It’s not just Kimberly Guilfoyle & cosmetic surgery he has in common with the Trumps. READ this:

Cooperative housing in Switzerland, fabulous 3-4 bedroom duplex family apartments 110 square metres, €2,500/ month

.. & we’re told that small 2-bed apartments at 45 square metres with €2,500 rent aren’t “viable”

.. it’s developer procurement that isn’t viable, not affordable housing

…Special Criminal Court in its current form. It is, in fact, evidence of a thoughtful and considered approach to human rights and the rule of law that deserves to be taken seriously. #Áras25

…,while we differed on what should replace the Special Criminal Court, there was no disagreement on the need for serious reform. It is therefore not a great gotcha moment to amplify the fact that one candidate for the presidency - Catherine Connolly - has been opposed to the…

… Equality Commission (IHREC and its predecessor IHRC), Amnesty International, ICCL and numerous academics. The most recent judge-led review group appointed by government (of which I was a member) called for repeal and replacement of the Offences Against the State Acts and…

Gentle reminder…the Special Criminal Court was opposed trenchantly and for compelling reasons by Mary Robinson before she became President; its continued existence has been criticised by the UN Human Rights Committee, UN Special Rapporteurs, the Irish Human Rights & …

Call for clarity on Ireland's data centre policy Tens of billions of euro of investment is being diverted to other countries due to uncertainty around Ireland's data centre policy, according to Digital Infrastructure Ireland.

Ireland's data centre industry has long justified its massive expansion here on the basis of being able to operate with lower emissions than the alternative. But this is not a genuine reason, as this article makes clear:

www.rte.ie/news/busines...

Line graph showing <100 people /week hospitalised with C19 in autumn 2024 falling in mid year to <50 & rising to >200 in recent weeks

🇮🇪 Last week

196 people hospitalised with Covid-19, 32 times rate of flu (6 people hospitalised)

Twice as many as last autumn

Still no HSE prevention campaign, still no accurate HSE public health information about transmission respiratorydisease-hpscireland.hub.arcgis.com/pages/covid-19

It's actually amazing the kind of nonsense FF/FG (as well as the myriad losers & cranks associated with them) are coming out with to attack Catherine Connolly when Heather Humphries is objectively one of the most feckless & useless politicians the country has ever seen.

Let's explore the Green credentials of Heather Humphreys - The woman former GP member Brian Leddin thinks should be president.
She advocated for an increased burn period during her time as Minister for Heritage, as well as prolonging the period during which hedgerows could be cut. #Spéirgorm 1/n

The more they fearmonger the more we can smell their fear.

Is CC a perfect candidate? Of course not, but she is miles better than HH, and that's the only thing that matters

And that's not even getting into the nomination campaign period, which displayed that so many prominent figures are willing to pretend to have an understanding of democracy that would fail a junior cert CSPE exam

Like, Catherine Connolly isn't perfect and there are valid criticism of her, but instead we have been subjected to some of the most incredible nonsense over the last few weeks instead. Even things with a real basis have been pushed to nonsensical extremes. A mess.

So just to clear up this week we've learned the following things are threats to democracy:

- Pleading not guilty in court
- The Bar's professional ethical standards
- Criticising the media
- Voting No on a referendum
- Paul Murphy

Political discourse in this country is a complete mess right now

Good thread.

Imo the EU will work much better if it's able to accept constructive criticism and questions.

Whereas, the other candidate is lacking in any ideological integrity.

…statement from Catherine Connolly being turned breathlessly into a gotcha moment by her Establishment opponents. It is great to have a candidate who knows her own mind and can think and speak with independence and courage. #Áras25

…Catherine Connolly opposed I strongly respect the healthily questioning tradition that she comes from and see it as an enrichment of the democratic processes that exist in this member state to validate EU treaty changes. It is really tedious to see every honest…

…concern that should neither be disparaged nor weaponised by those whose strident support for the EU regardless of its (obvious) shortcomings shouts down even the most measured critical assessment of the EU. Even though I personally voted for the various EU treaties that…

…to vote against EU Treaty changes put before the Irish people in successive referendums without becoming ‘anti-European’ (whatever that is). To be sceptical about deeper EU integration or to have concerns about militarisation is an expression of conscientious political…

I remember once talking with a legislative draftsperson who worked at a high level in government who told me that they voted against every constitutional amendment that they drafted. By the same token it is perfectly possible for someone who is ‘pro-European’ (whatever that is)…

Shane O'Farrell's mother pushes back on Humphreys' claim she did 'everything she could' for family Lucia O’Farrell said Humphreys “did nothing” to support her family’s fight for justice and answers.

Lucia O’Farrell said Humphreys “did nothing” to support her family’s fight for justice and answers. #speirgorm www.thejournal.ie/shane-ofarre...

every day that Heather Humphreys is not asked why she refused to meet with disability activists during the Scrap the Green Paper campaign is another day of ignominy for the Irish press. she's running on her record, yet she's not questioned on it any substantive way

Heather Humphreys, the right wing FG candidate for Irish President is noted for her anti-disabilities green paper & her support for the anti-disability & anti-Carer Care Ref. So no surprise to see this from an Irish Times journo with disabilities. We need a president who represents all of us!

[9] I’d share the Humphreys video except she has it set where you cannot download it. A very strange example of controlling the message. Anyone who has ever sat in a company ‘all hands’ meeting would never want that as the basis for the role of our president. Go search it out!

[8] I was shocked to see how cynical the Humphreys campaign is in producing a video showing their candidate teaching children that the job of the president is similar to a Prince Andrew style trade envoy role. We don’t want to go down that path in Ireland.

We want a first citizen:

[7] Yet could we turn the years again,
And call those exiles as they were
In all their loneliness and pain,
You’d cry, ‘Some woman’s yellow hair
Has maddened every mother’s son’:
They weighed so lightly what they gave.
But let them be, they’re dead and gone,
They’re with O’Leary in the grave.