Brendan Donlon

Just opened today's door on my MC Escher Advent calendar and there's a picture of me opening the door from the other side.

I've previously had great success with the chat feature on the app - after an initial few automated responses it will connect you with a human chatter, and they're very helpful.

Not doing Black Friday because I'm against the creeping Americanisation of Irish life and can't afford to as a small artist, but WILL be doing Vengeful Hag Friday where for every piece of art you purchase from www.ciaraioch.com/artprints I will fervently wish bad cess to your enemies

Winter is Coming by Brendan Donlon on Apple Music Playlist · 47 Songs

For anyone looking for an Apple Music version of this playlist - Pete gets full credit in the description! music.apple.com/ie/playlist/...

Just microdosed some Jimmy Webb before a difficult meeting

That looks like the maroon-and-blue HQ of #NaomhOlafGAA - and I'm guessing it's a 50kWh system, purely on the basis of them going as big as is possible to go!

Chocolate brown oriental cat sitting on MacBook.

This cross-platform open source app reminds you to take breaks when working on your computer.

As long as these people exist I feel like we have a shot as a human race. The intersection of compassion and ingenuity is never unwelcome.

Forty years on, the Anglo-Irish Agreement has proved its worth Treaty ‘normalised’ relations between Dublin and London

Forty years on, the Anglo-Irish Agreement has proved its worth, writes former diplomat, Sean Donlon

www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...

[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.] JANET: Ugh... LIZ: What's up? JANET: I am so bored of cooking peas! LIZ: Have you tried... AI peas? JANET: AI peas? LIZ: They're peas with AI! [Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI]. LIZ: Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas JANET: What LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines] Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas? [Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it] LIZ: Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine [Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas] LIZ: With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas! JANET: What LIZ: Shut up LIZ: Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow From opening the bag of peas to boiling the peas to eating the peas To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means. JANET: Is it really necessary to- LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]: THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET [Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan: AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas. [Ends]

Every ad now

Exterminate/Regenerate: The Story of Doctor Who is now 99p on Kindle, for a short time only, so fill your boots! www.amazon.co.uk/Exterminate-...

Check The Facts - Marie Keating Foundation Men are more likely to talk about the news, sports or the weather than they are about their health. But it’s time to Get Men Talking because many cancers ca ...

Find out more at mariekeating.ie/checkthefacts/

A group of five people stand smiling outside The Grafton Barber in Skerries at the launch of a men’s health awareness campaign. From left to right are actor Simon Delaney, tossing coconuts into the air; Conor and Hugh McAllister of The Grafton Barber; Liz Yeats, CEO of the Marie Keating Foundation; and Brendan Donlon from Bowel Cancer Ireland. Together they hold a large campaign sign featuring two cartoon walnuts with the slogan “Don’t be nuts, check the facts!” promoting men’s cancer checks. The mood is upbeat and light-hearted, encouraging early detection through humour.

For November, I was asked to represent Bowel Cancer Ireland to launch a campaign from #MarieKeating to encourage men to check the facts about their most common cancers. Make sure to signup for screening that’s open to you, talk to your GP about proactive screening, and never ignore lasting symptoms!

In the dim autumn light of a Dublin hallway, a sleek black cat crouches low, her golden eyes glowing like twin lanterns. Through her body we see a strange talisman — a meat-cleaver streaked with crimson. She waits in eerie stillness on the polished wooden floor, halfway between shadow and radiator heat, as though she alone knows what dark mischief lurks in the house tonight. Somewhere, a floorboard creaks — but Luna does not flinch.

At the threshold between the warm light of home and the dying glow of dusk, Luna lounges like a sentinel of Halloween itself. A blood-splattered cleaver appears lodged in her side — a trick of costume, but convincing in the fading sun. Her eyes gleam toward the street as though watching for lost souls or late trick-or-treaters. The mat beneath her paws becomes an altar of calm before the night begins to stir.

On cold stone steps, beneath a pot of purple blossoms, a black cat crouches beside a pair of pumpkins — one smiling, one sinister. A tiny skull lurks in the shadows. Luna’s fur drinks in the twilight, her yellow eyes catching the last light of day like molten gold. The doorway yawns behind her, open to whatever spirits dare enter. Autumn leaves and whispers of Halloween drift in the air around her, soft but spellbound.

Inside a cardboard box labelled Halloween 2025, Luna sits like something summoned. Her gaze is calm, ancient, and faintly amused — as if she alone remembers last year’s hauntings. The label’s tiny pumpkin and vampire-tooth icons serve as warnings: beware what you order when October calls. Around her, the kitchen glows warm and ordinary, yet the cat in the box turns the moment uncanny — a familiar awaiting her midnight cue.

This year's #halloween #luna portraits... #cat #blackcat 🐈‍⬛ #proofofcat

I, too, abhor a vacuum. Not any too fond of dishwashers either.

A black background decorated with gold illustrations of branches, stars, swords, ravens, and tiny ghost shapes. In the centre, bold text reads: “BIRDS BUT THEY GET SPOOKIER EACH TIME.” Two ravens perch on bare branches at the bottom, with candles glowing beside them.

Birds but they get spookier each time. 🎃👻

Enter if you dare...🚪

I'm not saying a writer's retreat is a bad thing. I'm just saying that it should be a tactical decision designed to lure your enemy into a trap so you can turn a difficult situation into a successful writer's attack.

Too late, NYT. That top line ain’t fooling anyone.

Luna on the armchair, being petted A sleek black cat with golden eyes, Luna lies on her side on a mustard-coloured tweed armchair, enjoying a gentle belly rub from a human hand. Her expression is calm and content, her white whiskers and a round ID tag visible against her glossy fur.

Luna draped over a white chair Luna, a black cat with bright eyes and a small white patch on her chest, lounges with her front legs hanging over the back of a white wooden chair. The background is softly lit with warm, colourful light, giving the scene a cosy, playful atmosphere.

Luna perched on a (closed!) toilet seat Seen from above, Luna looks up with wide, curious eyes while sitting neatly on top of the toilet in a tiled bathroom. Her rounded shape and shiny coat make her resemble a perfectly poised loaf.

Luna inside a cardboard box Luna sits alert inside an open cardboard box on a kitchen counter. Her head peeks just above the box’s edge, with ears pricked and eyes wide as she surveys the room. The stainless steel oven and counters in the background give the scene a modern, homey feel.

Taking a "what is seldom is wonderful" to #caturday pics of #luna - here are some of her most winsome poses from recent months. We're now entering the time of year when we really appreciate the comfort of a warm & weighty fluffball immobilising us with her purring presence... #proofofcat #blackcat 🐈‍⬛

This image shows a polling station in the Dublin Rathdown constituency during the Irish Presidential Election of 2025. The setting is a primary school building - Our Lady’s Boys National School - in use as a temporary polling centre. The school has a mid-20th-century architectural style, with flat roofs, large windows, and beige-brick walls trimmed with blue. Voters are seen arriving and departing the site, with a mix of people walking towards and away from the entrance. A modest queue of parked cars suggests steady turnout. A small election signboard is visible outside the door, indicating where voters should enter. The clear blue sky and bright sunlight suggest it’s a crisp autumn morning.

A beautiful, crisp Autumn day to cast a vote. Fingers crossed the turnout here in Dublin Rathdown (and everywhere else) is better than predicted…

#Aras25 #SpeirGorm

We see plenty of homes being built in Sandyford and the wider Dublin 18 area but where are the community facilities to match?

Imaginosity is now a vacant building here in BSQ in Sandyford Business District. The council need to be acting much faster to bring it into use as a community facility.

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

Happy Friday 🐈‍⬛🐈

a small pumpkin with a smiley face drawn on in sharpie pen sits within a larger pumpkin carved to look like its home

a pumpkin man sits inside a pumpkin house, is the house made of flesh, or is he made of house? he smiles for he does not know

A pig, working the camera like her life depends on it.

Went to the farm earlier. Saw the most coquettish pig you've ever met.

"Hey handsome. Why not come over to my place and eat the fried breadcrumbs I'm covered in?" she said, croquettishly.

This morning I turned on my phone only to find that it had changed my user name to Shirley, and when I tried to enter a simple Google query it came out as "Do you like gladiator movies?"

Then I realised it was in Airplane! mode.

The spelling of minuscule is why I have trust issues.

In memoriam...

maintaining a delicate balance between wanting to stay informed and wanting to stay sane