Tara O'Donovan

Would you mind keeping that rain up there with ye? We've had a tough enough few days here in Cork and could do with some more sunshine.

Petition to include services in the Occupied Territories Bill What is the occupied territories bill? The Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 (commonly known as the Occupied Territories Bill) is a proposed Irish law that would ban and cr...

An easy decision to make.

Action Alert for #Palestine: I've signed a petition to demand Services are included in the Occupied Territories Bill. Please sign it too, we have to take real action.

#StandWithPalestine

act.forsa.ie/occupied-ter...

Very foggy view with a barely discernable outline of the Holland America Line cruise ship leaving Cobh. The foreground shows the road and white sea wall but very little is visible above the sea wall because of the fog.

We could do with something to clear the fog...the @hollandamericaline.bsky.social is looking like a ghost ship as it leaves the @portofcork.bsky.social.

It was all thanks to Jim's lens. He had it set up, all I had to do was align my phone to the eyepiece!

The judgemental posing is all falcon!

They've been very obliging any time Jim Wilson does a bird walk and will obligingly pose for a photo when Jim sets up the lens. I snapped this a few years ago by sticking my phone to the lens which was, apparently, a major faux pas because look at the judgemental face it gave me!

It's giving, "Dulce Est Decorum Est" vibes.

I grew up in Blarney when Blarney was the county and not the city (in the late 1900s, as the kids would say) & always knew it as the motto of Cork but maybe that's because of my city-born mom?

I'm living in Cobh now, which has yet to be annexed by the city, and the shelter of the cove starts here.

The nesting box is close to that. One of last year's young fella's kept coming back and being fed by Dad this year and that seems to have prevented Mom from laying but hopefully next year we'll get some more chicks!

www.youtube.com/live/yfQrj3_...

"Statio Bene Fide Carinis" or, "Safe Harbour For Ships" is our motto because Cork Harbour is a sheltered cove. When big storms are coming, we get many ships coming in to drop anchor close to the Spitbank Lighthouse just off Cobh's west side.

Finally orcas have somewhere to park their bike! They've been calling for this for years. Now, who is working on the roller-stake arena for pelicans?

(Apologies, I'm sleep-deprived. Gorgeous work!)

Listening to the #DawnChorus on RTÉ Radio 1 with #JimWilson & Derek Mooney in the background with @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social running alongside it to aid identification is fascinating.

Also, the black-headed gull sounds like a gibbon escaped from @fotawildlife.bsky.social.

The two interviewed here are distant strangers in comparison to the Perth twins!

I feel that if they were clearly segregated on the same sign as native vs invasive, it could open discussions on the importance of protecting native species and raise questions on what is being done to eradicate invasive flora & fauna.

Out of interest, what would your recommendation be for info signs on flora & fauna?

A split line separating native vs invasive? Or, is it more nuanced with f&f that are non-native but naturalised over centuries and not known as causing harm?

Seeing his little brother growing up with the same mannerisms and loving ways is bittersweet for all of us who knew André. Their parents are absolutely incredible in the way they raise their boys to love and be loved.

André Castro Ladeiro Joe speaks to César Ladeiro, father of André (8) who was killed at a pedestrian crossing by a dangerous driver.

Absolutely the hardest piece I've ever listened to. Do not listen to this @rteradio1.bsky.social piece unless you're in a safe headspace but we've all been in a vehicle with someone who drives unsafely. Send it to them.

André deserved better.

#SpéirGorm

www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Great to hear you promoting the move from that other place to #BlueSky.

Using your voice to speak out against the manbabies leading your country right now and the atrocities they are supporting is something you will look back on and be proud of.

Keep raising your voice.

#SaoirseDonPhalaistín

For what it's worth, I stumbled across Smosh for the first time last spring while discovering my own neurodivergent profile. Seeing yourself and the rest of Smosh be so accepting of each other is incredibly powerful and inspiring.

You are positively influencing more people than you will ever know.

#FlyBirdsFly

#SaoirseDonPhalaistín

#SpéirGorm isn't very active tonight but I've enjoyed this game.

I've no idea who she is, just came across the photo. I've been known to make an occasional mistake once or twice in my life myself so I assume others are liable to make them too.

That photo isn't the kind of wall I'd lose sleep over.

It's a gorgeous photo. More heinous crimes have been committed in the world than incorrectly labelling a photograph! We'll hold off on calling the firing squad for a while. You'll be grand!

No idea why that other person got so worked up! We're usually a peaceful lot on #SpéirGorm!

To be fair, I've visited other countries and blurred locations too.
As heinous a crime as an incorrectly labelled photograph is, let's not call the firing squad just yet.

Oh fab. When you visit Cobh, take time time to go across to Spike Island also. It's the island across from us in Cork Harbour and is known as, "Ireland's Alcatraz". Stunning spot filled with history.

Use the tag #SpéirGorm (Irish for Blue Sky) to make contact with Irish people here for local tips!

Cobh is in East Cork and Kinsale is another seaside town in Cork but about 50km away on the mainland, in the south of the county. Also a gorgeous town to visit and would have a similar "seaside town" vibe - more sandy beach and less history.

If you haven't made it to Cobh, stick it on your list!

Definitely not Cobh, we don't have a branch of McCarthy's.

Possibly Kinsale?

Black and tan terrier asleep on a brown leather couch. The dog is lying on her side with all four legs and tail tucked in front. Her forelegs are crossed with one paw over the other elbow.

I want to get up off my seat but doing so would wake the dog and it would be cruel to wake her when she's this peaceful looking!
After 24 hours entertaining my nephews, she has earned her rest!

Black seabird with wings outstretched in the centre of the photo. The bird (possibly a shag), is looking out to a choppy sea as huge waves are about to crash over the stone cambered wall it's standing on.

I was trying to snap a photo of a shag (not cormorant, I think?) sitting on this camber in Cork Harbour but it suddenly rose and was swallowed by a wave crashing over the top.

It popped up again a short distance away, looking around in a, "I think I got away with that" look.

Wild waves all day.

I love the idea that feelings are something that we wear, they cloak us until we choose to remove them.

If one feels sadness, one is truly sad in the moment but, at the same time, it is not who one is. One also can remove that sorrow and wear a different emotion when finished with the sadness.

The question has already been answered so I will throw something else at you.

One of my favourite things about Irish is that we wear our feelings.

Tá sásta orm. =Happiness is upon me.

Tá brón orm. = Sorrow is upon me. (Also works as an apology ie I'm sorry.)

It's so evocative.

100% and, if one day a story is written about any edits you make to this version and subsequent findings, the title shall be, "A Storm In a Blue Sky".