Maebh Long

A Conversation with Nicole Flattery: CISS Irish Writers Fellow — NB: August '25 Ali catches up with Nicole Flattery, the University of Otago’s Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies Irish Writers Fellow, ahead of her fellowship in August.

Lovely conversation between Nicole Flattery, the 2025 Irish Writing Fellow at the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, Uni of Otago, and Ali Boyne, of Dunedin Public Libraries. There will be a public event at the Library later in August - watch this space!

Death Notice of Breandán Ó Conaire (Portmarnock, Dublin) | rip.ie The death has occurred of Breandán Ó Conaire of Portmarnock, Dublin Ireland, on 21/07/2025. You can view the full death notice and add your condolences here.

The International Flann O’Brien Society is sad to hear of the death of Breandán Ó Conaire. In addition to research on Flann O’Brien, Breandán conducted important work on Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Seán Ó Ríordáin, Máirtín Ó Cadhain and Douglas Hyde. We mourn him and the loss to his family and community.

MARS | Galway International Arts Festival Four astronauts and an AI software interface are cooped up in the cabin of a space-craft for nine months on a mission to Mars.

If you’re at the Galway Arts Festival make sure you go to Mars, a stunning opera about colonisation, tech bros, natalist movements and tradwives. I’ve never seen anything quite like it - it’s brilliant and funny and visually arresting. #speirgorm

newsprint photo. 8 young women are kneeling down and hold up signs that spell out "The Potato Eight", each is in a matching gymanstic outfit. Behind them is an art deco swimming pavilion.

"The Potato Eight". 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔
These "glamour girls" of the Potato Marketing Board toured British seaside resorts in summer 1939 to promote eating potatoes as a route to health and efficiency and "overturn old fashioned notions about the potato being taboo for the woman who wants to keep her figure" 🤸

CFP: ISAANZ 27 | Health, Wellness and Care 31 July 2025. Submissions are invited for ISAANZ 27 Health, Wellness and Care. As the emergency measures of the pandemic fade into memory, but the virus transitions into an endemic part of our medi…

Get your abstracts in! Join the amazing abstracts already submitted, the fantastic keynotes lined up from Paul Fagan @pauleamonnfagan.bsky.social, Ida Milne @idamilne.bsky.social and Robert Sullivan and an author talk from the great Emma Donoghue @emmadonoghue.bsky.social

I used to love Weezer, but even in the mid 90s this was too much:

‘I want a girl who will laugh for no one else
When I'm away, she puts her make-up on the shelf
When I'm away, she never leaves the house…’

I remember some of my male friends at the time thinking the lyrics were wholly relatable…

Yes, that is a real oversight

Having a question on racial identity is good - the rather odd part is having a sexual orientation option in the same question. I understand the intention was to be economical with space - you can tick multiple boxes - but I suspect it will confuse readers.

It’s what Myles na gCopaleen would have wanted

I will be submitting via my institution too and I’ll comment both on the problems of the ‘ancestral diaspora’ category and the odd inclusion of sexual orientation in the racial identity section.

That's good feedback for them, thanks Marc. I'll see if I can let the Embassy know.

Irish abroad and Irish diaspora:

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is undertaking a consultation process to inform the Government’s new Diaspora Strategy. Fill in the survey below to ensure their new strategy meets diasporic needs and can adapt to evolving circumstances. #speirgorm

Derry City & Strabane - Strabane success in promoting Vibrant Town in recent Conference

It was such a joy being involved in the recent Flann O'Brien Conference in Strabane. Louise and all the wonderful people at the Alley Theatre were fabulous hosts.

Do - it’s so good!

Cover of Seven Steeples by Sara Baume

What a beautiful book by Sara Baume. An exquisite depiction of quiet lives, of the gentle entropy of repetition. Its use of spacing and pauses in the text was masterful. I loved it. @marinerbooks.bsky.social #speirgorm

It was wonderful working with @jessiepb.bsky.social and Marie on Montgomery's drafts of Cruiskeen Lawn articles. We learned so much about the co-authorship of many of the Myles na gCopaleen pieces and about O'Nolan as an editor.

The Mark Patterson Show - Derry City and Strabane District Council is to consider leasing historic Boom Hall - BBC Sounds Derry City and Strabane District Council is to consider leasing Boom Hall.

Great to talk with Mark Patterson of BBC Radio Foyle last week about the Flann O'Brien conference in Strabane. You can check it out below - our conversation is from 22.06.

‘We just want to stop people being murdered’: Kneecap on Palestine, protest and provocation The Irish rap trio have recently faced censure and a court case, but have also had support for their pro-Palestine stance. Ahead of a Glastonbury appearance deemed ‘inappropriate’ by Keir Starmer, the...

Good to see a correction issued: www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...

Come on @theguardian.com - do better. 'Mo chara' is an Irish phrase meaning 'my friend'. Correct referencing for such a stage name would be to use it in full, not cut it in two. #speirgorm

Strabane has been putting up with an influx of Flanneurs with exceptional patience and hospitality

IN PICTURES: Major international conference celebrating Strabane literary genius Flann O’Brien A major international conference dedicated to the Strabane genius Flann O’Brien is underway in the Co. Tyrone town.

Some fabulous photos from the opening ceremony of the Flann O’Brien conference in Strabane

Thank you, Deirdre!

Shucks, thank you Liam!

I am hugely honoured to be nominated in such a strong field. My article was published in the Irish Studies Review but all other nominated articles are published open access in the Journal of Flann O’Brien Studies. Check them all out!

This looks like a fascinating event on Irish-Scottish relations via arts and the humanities. A topic close to the heart of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Otago, especially as it features our former Chair of Irish Studies, @sonjatiernan.bsky.social

Donegal and Tyrone students publish book in Irish, English and Ulster Scots  - Donegal Daily FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint Main Pic: Students from Lifford National School reading ‘Abhainn Burn River’ in Lifford Library. Pic: Paul McGuckin. Donegal County…

Wonderful to hear of ‘Abhainn Burn River’, a new book by students in Donegal and Tyrone that features writing in Irish, English and Ulster Scots. The book was inspired by Flann O’Brien, who was born in Strabane, an area in which three languages and three rivers meet.

Ha! What good is going to the theatre if we can’t feel superior to those who a) aren’t there, b) laugh too hard c) don’t get the jokes 😉

I don't think you're wrong - it is both funny and infused with Beckettian stasis

Voice from the Grave – Frank McNally on a debut poetry collection from Niall Montgomery, 38 years after his death. A man of many talents he was not only an architect, but a newspaper columnist as well

Frank McNally on Niall Montgomery's new, albeit very posthumous poetry collection, his writing for The Irish Times as Rosemary Lane and his occasional moonlighting as Myles na gCopaleen. Montgomery's collection, edited by Joe LaBine, to be launched at 5.30pm, 20 June, Irish Architectural Archive

This, so far as I know, is the first copy of The Good Father to be sold. Bought by the highly discerning Lesley and Ashley Day in Dunedin. Hoping there will be a few more to follow…😉💙📚