Laura Dowling

So delighted to be on the longlist for the @womensprize.bsky.social.

A damning indictment of the scheme from the Special Advocate @patriciac.bsky.social

Concern over 'poor take up' of Mother and Baby scheme www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

A poster for an event at York Literature Festival. The text reads: "Let's get philosophical, writing philosophical fiction with Rachel Handley, 6th March, 2 pm to 4 pm, York Medical Society". The background of the poster is of a pile of books stacked on top of one another.

Come write some weird and philosophical fiction with me at the @yorklitfest.bsky.social in March! You know you want to!

Tickets: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/lets-ge...

@uoyenglishrl.bsky.social @livunienglish.bsky.social @sotauol.bsky.social @uoyphilosophy.bsky.social @yorkstjohn.bsky.social

Tomorrow!

All Hands on Deck Needed to Respond to the Latest Attack on Access to Justice The Government is seeking to dramatically erode the public right of access to justice via the courts by imposing prohibitively expensive costs on eNGOs and members of civil society who seek to challen...

🚨Last Chance
The Irish Government is about to remove citizen's abilities to challenge illegal developments in our courts

You still have till 5.30 to have your say

@antaisce.bsky.social have provide excellent guidance on what’s wrong with the public consultation process and the proposal
#Speirgorm

Fiona: I will be the most chaotic contestant.

Harriet: Hold my Molotov cocktail.

#TheTraitors

Horse well drawn to a sketch meme

Harriet's detective work #TheTraitors

OMG Fiona! #TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUk

Green tile with black line drawn border that reads: Irish Celebrity Wedding Murder Mystery Party Game Vows, Vengeance & VIPs The Setting Welcome to Ballycillross Castle, hidden in the misty Wicklow mountains, where scandal and high-society drama hide. This weekend, popstars, politicians, psychics and priests gather for the celebrity wedding of the century. But before dinner, a pop mogul is dead and one of the guests is the killer!

I make murder mystery party kits with my retired detective dad.

I am loving The Traitors UK!

So I've put a 20% discount code on my celebrity wedding in an Irish castle party kit.

My money's on Fiona for ST!

#TheTraitors #TraitorsUK #TheTraitorsUK

mysterypartiesirl.etsy.com?coupon=TRAIT...

Yes yes yes! Called it. Secret traitor! #TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUk

I'd have loved this when my kids were babies. Great idea. I really wish I'd recorded more of it. It's lost to sleep deprivation.

Heading up to Trinity to give a lecture on Irish folklore, followed by a creative writing class.

Green tile with black line drawn border that reads: Irish Celebrity Wedding Murder Mystery Party Game Vows, Vengeance & VIPs The Setting Welcome to Ballycillross Castle, hidden in the misty Wicklow mountains, where scandal and high-society drama hide. This weekend, popstars, politicians, psychics and priests gather for the celebrity wedding of the century. But before dinner, a pop mogul is dead and one of the guests is the killer!

I make murder mystery party kits with my retired detective dad.

I am loving The Traitors UK!

So I've put a 20% discount code on my celebrity wedding in an Irish castle party kit.

My money's on Fiona for ST!

#TheTraitors #TraitorsUK #TheTraitorsUK

mysterypartiesirl.etsy.com?coupon=TRAIT...

"I'm not going to tell people I'm a police officer..." #TheTraitors

To think that providing homeless accommodation is fast becoming one of Irelands big indigenous service industries Yet we've over 160k empty homes & over 20k derelict homes How have we left successive governments normalise this violence While generations suffer 😡 #DerelictIreland

To think that providing homeless accommodation is fast becoming one of Irelands big indigenous service industries
Yet we've over 160k empty homes & over 20k derelict homes
How have we left successive governments normalise this violence
While generations suffer
Sickening😡
#DerelictIreland #speirgorm

Flamboyant, furious and full of hope: CMAT is the sound of 2025 | John Harris The Irish singer-songwriter does what the best musicians do: perfectly crystallising their time while inspirationally taking a stand against it, says Guardian columnist John Harris

Joyous, defiant & full of sense of the times: here's my end of year op-ed about the amazing CMAT www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My comedy novel, Spirit Level, makes a wonderful gift for a friend who likes that sort of thing and can also be hurled at an enemy from behind.

This gave me such a rush of nostalgia in the charity shop this morning…

Drawing of a skeletal Elf On The Shelf next to the words Touts Out #art #ElfOnTheShelf #ElfOnAShelf #Cartoon

End the child surveillance state

This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter

In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career.

I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters.

Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

Same. Isn't part of taking parenting advice knowing where it's come from.

A trusted friend who has two slightly older children, a person you met at a parent group and plausible sounding bullshit from the bowls of the internet shouldn't have the same weight.

Collage of five photos showing disabled individuals engaged in joyful, inclusive community events. Participants are diverse in age, gender, and disability, including visible mobility aids. Central circular graphic reads: “DWI – International Day of People with Disabilities – 3rd December 2025.” The overall tone is celebratory and empowering, highlighting advocacy, connection, and representation.

Today, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we celebrate our amazing community of disabled women and non-binary people and recognise there’s still so much work to do.

Photo of "silent night snuggle pod human pet beds" stacked up in the middle aisle of a supermarket. Pictures of people lying in a large dog bed on the floor.

Spotted human pet beds in the middle aisle. Finally an innovative solution to the housing crisis. If any of your friends go missing they've probably been rescued by a family in Wexford.

a shop that sells plus sized hats exclusively for irish people called Big Irish Head On You is this anything

Every day I work at Big Tech I understand this guy more and more

Beyond Ordinary

I've no resources put together at the moment. I'm mostly teaching in the universities. But we're thinking of running our professionals workshop online in January. You can find us at www.beyondordinary.ie

On Environmental Democracy and the Collisons’ “Abundance-Verse” Andrew Jackson 21 November 2025 I. Introduction A clamour of praise greeted John Collison’s “how to get Ireland moving” Op-Ed following its publication in the Irish Times on 25th October: the Irish…

"Ireland is highly conformist and is more prone to deference to elite or expert consensus than our British counterparts."

is how Collisons think tank, Progress Ireland, answered their own question, "How does Progress Ireland compound over time?"

Read this: elajucd.com/2025/11/21/o...

Basic ones! Bit of historical context. How to recognise rights restrictions in everyday situations. What's the difference between a person's 'will and preference" and their "best interests". How to write a letter, how to make phone call, how to attend a meeting when advocating for someone.

Slide is a picture of a women in a call centre wearing a headset with text over it. It reads 999 what's your emergency? What do you mean you've been robbed. That's not possible. Sure that's illegal!

I teach advocacy skills to health care professionals. This is my most used slide. I feel it cannot be over stated.

Well done Wendy. Our bookclub read The Benefactors and I can't wait to meet and discuss it. It was a great pick.