Amber Flood (Ní Mhaoltuile)

Macro photo of a brown stink bug in face view on a leaf, guarding a tightly-clustered bunch of eggs that are shaped and colored exactly like a full tray of dark beer with foam on top.

Finally, the bug is back with a round of the Guinness.

We're back! Building on the success of our inaugural conference last year, we are delighted to announce its return with the new theme: Beyond the Battlefield🗡️

The conference will take place at the University of Exeter on 2-3 September. Deadline for abstracts is 22 May.

Please circulate widely!

Science in the Global Renaissance – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Modern science is typically understood as a product of the European Renaissance, but this view is far too narrow. Other cultures across the world - from Ming China to Ottoman Egypt - also experienced ...

🌍✨ Science in the Global Renaissance ✨🌍
with Dr James Poskett

📅 Thu 19 February
In person or watch online tickets available

www.brlsi.org/whatson/scie...

Was the Renaissance and the birth of modern science really just a European story?

#Renaissance #HistoryOfScience #GlobalHistory #BRLSI

Screenshot from the RTÉ website. "What became known as Skellig Night was a feature of Shrove Tuesday in parts of the south, especially Cork and Kerry. After sunset, noisy crowds went onto the streets of towns in the region and the Skellig night procession was all about loudly slagging off the still- single and telling them to "go to the Skelligs". The Skellig islands off the coast of Co. Kerry were said to still run under the old calendar, therefore Ash Wednesday would arrive later there, hence there would be still time for the single to go there to marry before Lent began. Sometimes, people in disguise would call to the homes of the single and try to take them by force onto the street to be jeered, making as much of a din as possible." #SpéirGorm #SpéirGhorm #Ireland

Single people after Valentine's Day: Well, at least that's over.

Kerry and Cork on Shrove Tuesday night: Hold my pancake

One for #Skystorians interested in teaching up-to-date histories of slavery in the classroom. From the @royalhistsoc.org blog.

Engraving showing a horse in profile

Happy Lunar New Year! This beautiful specimen is from our 1668 edition of 'Markham's master-piece ... touching on curing all diseases in horses', a seminal text on horse care #LunarYear #YearOfTheHorse

A recruitment graphic announcing a job opening for a Scholarly Communications Librarian. The background shows a person reading an academic book outdoors beside a laptop and smartphone. Text on the image states the position title and the closing date of 24 March 2026.

Recruitment graphic. The text on graphic reads as UCC Library is looking for an exceptional Scholarly Communications Librarian to join our ambitious Research Services team. The Scholarly Communications Librarian will play a vital role in making UCC’s high-quality research publications openly accessible to the benefit of all. In addition, the post holder will develop, assess and lead efforts in improving scholarly publishing across UCC, which will entail further service and policy development in line with the Library’s Vision & Plan 2024–2028

UCC Library is hiring a Scholarly Communications Librarian! Lead Open Research initiatives, manage CORA & UCC Journals, and shape scholarly publishing. Permanent, whole-time. Closing 24 March. More info

www.ucc.ie/en/hr/vacanc...

Join us for an evening lecture this month with Professor Craig Beall - 26th February!

YouTube video by clarebannerman An Poc Ar Buile (The Mad Puck Goat )

I love this version of An Poc ar Buile with a young Dáithi Ó Sé!
youtu.be/zAGhiW3qQvQ

The Board of Governors decided, unilaterally, that no published textbook in the field of sociology could be used in compliance with the law for an Intro to Sociology class. None. Victor: There's not a single existing textbook on the market that could be used that would qualify under state law? Zachary: Correct. Victor: I'm sorry, that's kind of funny. Like, the absurdity of not a single sociology textbook getting past the censors. I mean, it makes me kind of proud of our colleagues, but...

I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.

Great work everyone.

98% of the difficulty using international social media is trying to figure out whether someone is using the Irish "not mad about it" or the internet/US "not mad about it"

Happy St Brigids day and the first day of spring to everyone in all of Ireland 🇮🇪🌱💐
#StBrigidsDay #StBrigid #HappyStBrigidsDay #Christianity #Priestess #StBrigidsCross #Imbolc #Imbolg #LaFheileBride #Ireland #Traditions #History #God #Christ #Holiday #Celebration #Festival #Irish #Folklore #Holy

Shelf of small books in the Syon Abbey Library. Most have parchment bindings and hand-made modern orange labels created by the community of Syon Abbey.

Shelves of books in the Chris Brooks Collection. The books in this photograph were written for children and young adults in the 19th and early 20th century, and many of them have colourful and illustrated bindings.

Shelves of books in the Hypatia Collection of books and journals by and about women. Many of the books in this photo have colourful or illustrated spines.

Several shelves of old and very large leather-bound books in the Dodderidge (Barnstaple) Parish Library. The books have raised bands or ridges along the spines, which were created during the binding process and show the structure of the cord-bound books.

Library Shelfie Day is always a great excuse to show off the variety of ages, colours, shapes and sizes on the shelves of our rare book collections!

📷 Syon Abbey Library, Chris Brooks Collection, Hypatia Collection and Dodderidge Parish Library

#LibraryShelfieDay #ShelfieDay #RareBooks

Conference Visit the post for more.

📣DEADLINE EXTENDED!

We are delighted to announce that we're extending the deadline for applications to our 50th anniversary conference!

At this busy time, we want as many people as possible to have the chance to apply.

Now accepting applications until 23 Jan!

socialhistory.org.uk/events/confe...

29 January 2026 | Doors open 6pm | Tickets available via TicketTailor (£10)

A sketch of a pair of long scissor tongs with a diagram of their demonstration on a small dog. The dog is sticking its tongue out, clearly unable to deal with the LAZY TONGS. The text in the top right corner says the following. 'LAZY TONGS used for the removal of Dogs from Church. About 1750 to 1800. Preserved in BANGOR CATHEDRAL (wrought iron).'

Does your church have an issue with dogs wandering in? Get yourself some LAZY TONGS.

Amazing to see my county and my old secondary school represented in the news this week! Up Kerry! Well done to all

Sheet of information on the locating loss project which aims to explore histories of infertility through landscapes and spaces. Please Dm me for more info if needed!

Hello! I am sharing information about my @researchireland.ie project Locating Loss: histories of infertility in landscapes and spaces. I would love to connect with researchers/ practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, so please share widely! Sharing again for morning Bluesky!

No Google that is not what I meant.

I passed the Pikeman statues in Wexford on the way to the ferry and thought they were really cool! There's one in my hometown that was destroyed by the Black and Tans during the War of Independence and re-erected later.

historyireland.com/the-pikeman-...

Societies & groups for historians, UK and Ireland Join the conversation

If you're looking for #history networks on BlueSky in 2026, our Starter Pack - recently updated - has details of 150 leading societies, organisations and groups active in the UK and Ireland bit.ly/4ptl0On

#Skystorians

Our good friends at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris are advertising a short-term research fellowship in their old library and historical archives. Check it out at portail.centreculturelirlandais.com/index.php?lv...

Of course back in those days women didn't go to pubs on their own. Going back further than that again I think it was traditionally the day when women got the "day off." Madness! 😂

Was speaking with my Kerry nan about this over christmas and she said back in the day, husbands would take their wives out for a drink on the 6th because the "women were always too busy Christmas eve & Christmas day." 💀 Nowadays most women go out for a meal with their friends

2026 - the year I submit my PhD thesis (all going well 🤞) Had to reset the brain with a walk on Banna before returning to England to write the rest of the thing up!!

Since they have all deleted their original posts, I want to make clear that this was said in response to some AI enthusiasts arguing that existing AI could do the job of a historian in part because all existing information you would need to do history research was already on the Internet.

Thanks to @irishhiststudies.bsky.social for the opportunity to review this fantastic edited collection by @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social & @jenniferredmond.bsky.social. It’s already been v useful for my research&teaching in Irish gender history -highly recommend! www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2024/t...

Discipline and Punish, a #conference organised by our colleagues Dr Richard Kirwan and Dr Wouter Kreuze, takes place in @unioflimerick.bsky.social in January. Details at malcontents.hcommons.org/conference/

CfP 'Intimacies in nineteenth-century Ireland' @ssnci.bsky.social annual conference in June 2026. Deadline 1 Feb 2026! For details see
ssnci.org/annual-confe...

Microsoft pop-up inviting me to click a box to "stay signed in". I always tick the box. Microsoft never keeps me signed in.

I call this "The Lying Screen"