Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
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deshocks.bsky.social
Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
@deshocks.bsky.social
Opinion Editor, Irish Examiner |
Host, The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast | Mother of three.
Interested in news, books, politics, culture, science, climate and life in Ireland - and everywhere else. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.
Bringing back patience would be good for democracy, says @vittorio66.bsky.social
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
Bringing back patience would be a good thing for democracy
By seeking shortcuts, we are issuing an open invitation to totalitarians
www.irishexaminer.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
The resistance to Greenways also shows this culture of motonormativity. I live in the countryside and outside of our Greenway there is no safe roadway to cycle, walk, or roll.
January 14, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
People not in Minnesota: please read this excellent summary of what life is like in Minneapolis since the murderous scum ICE swarmed here. And more are on their way. By local reporter / writer / bike dude / legend @dbrauer.net .
January 13, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Just the five tantrums since 6pm… lovely evening thanks. The good news is there are only 3 more school lunch prep days left before we get our school meals and I for one will be ceremonially burning the lunchboxes

*metaphorically, that would be a waste and very messy
January 13, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
This is appalling: Top DOJ officials are actively pushing for a criminal investigation into the widow of Renee Good, leading prosecutors to quit en masse, NYT is reporting.

Who in the White House ordered DOJ to do this? That's the next thing to establish.
January 13, 2026 at 6:44 PM
From running some of Cork’s most loved pubs, to being arrested after days spent wandering barefoot around Rome clutching a bottle of whiskey, today’s podcast guest Michael Droney has overcome child sexual abuse, addiction & alcoholism to tell his own story.

open.spotify.com/episode/6yXS...
A publican’s story of addiction and recovery, with Michael Droney
open.spotify.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
When you're begging people not to be negative about your product/economic model, you know things are going great!
January 13, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
TL is full of this now - masked 'police' randomly grabbing non-white or non-obviously Amuricans - and the US Media is furiously both sides-ing it. It's insane.
This woman is harder than goddamn steel dealing with these goddamn thugs. I want her to be my neighbor.
January 12, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
Ukip have submitted a new logo and slogan to the Electoral Commission, swapping the £ pound sterling symbol for a cross, that looks very much like it is modelled on the Iron Cross used by Prussia & Germany 1871-1918 and Hitler's Nazi regime from 1933-45
January 13, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
In case you are unaware that digital images are also being manipulated to depict women and children as victims of physical violence. It's not just about bikinis.
January 11, 2026 at 8:23 AM
IBEC writing in today’s @irishexaminer.bsky.social with a warning that changes to immigration rhetoric and policy are bad for Ireland

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
Prejudice against migrants is a threat to Brand Ireland
Any policy shift or public sentiment that undermines Ireland’s reputation as a welcoming destination represents a significant risk to future prosperity, our values, and our collective quality of life
www.irishexaminer.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Nooooooo
Google Meet show how late people will be based on meeting history
January 12, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
The DOJ is more than three weeks late in delivering the Epstein Files. In those three weeks:

- Trump declared himself acting President of Venezuela
- ICE murdered a woman in Minnesota
- Trump is preparing an invasion of a NATO ally
- Trump initiated a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Powell
January 12, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
I keep having to remind myself that
ní mhaireann aon drochlá go deo

( no bad day lasts forever)
January 11, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Wow… a US bishop telling clergy to get their wills written in case they are killed by the State while defending the vulnerable.

This is…

I don’t even know the word for this.
“I have asked the clergy of the diocese to make sure their affairs are in order and they have written their wills.,not the time for statements. It is time to put our bodies between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable”. Rob Hirschfeld, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
There is no reason the Irish Gov departments can't do simular.

Run it's own server here in the country.

ec.social-network.europa.eu/about
January 10, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
Kind of wild there has been almost no coverage of the fact that the federal government unleashed chemical weapons against literal kids *at school*.

workdaymagazine.org/minneapolis-...
January 10, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
Elon Musk and xAI's Grok got suspended by Indonesia because the country not only has -- but will actually enforce -- a regulation that tries to protect people from having their images used in rampant AI generated CSAM / NCII, apparently... www.cnbc.com/2026/01/10/i...
Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Elon Musk's Grok over sexualized images
The move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualized content on the app.
www.cnbc.com
January 10, 2026 at 5:14 PM
This is a Bad Take.

I left X this time last year, reluctantly. My Twitter community built my career. I had (I think?) about 50k followers.

But it became clearer and clearer after Musk took over where it was going. Bots, nazis, all manner of hate speech and vileness. No going back.
January 10, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Jennifer Horgan’s lovely column about Jessie Buckley’s equally beautiful speech this week was in a similar vein but expressed a lot better. You can read it here: www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/colu...
January 10, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Deirdre O'Shaughnessy
Badly underfunded Irish universities (realize to EU accounting for the size of population and economy) are in a tough place, now over-reliant on exorbitant fees for international students, and external research funding, some with hidden strings attached.

www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlig...
When a written exam exposed an uncomfortable truth in third-level education
An extraordinary exam saga has reignited debate about overseas student recruitment, English proficiency standards, and the pressures facing Irish universities
www.irishexaminer.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:20 PM