Finbarr O'Reilly
@finoreilly.bsky.social
Irish science fiction writer (possibly the world's slowest). Squid, spaceships, síntí fada -- what's not to like? https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/author/finbarr-oreilly/
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
I haven’t listened to this because I hate hearing my voice - which will come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well - but here I am rambling incoherently about The Essence and the Europe books and a whole bunch of other stuff I know nothing about. Many thanks to Jon, who was the perfect host.
New Video! I chat to @hutchinsondave.bsky.social author of the Fractured Europe series, and most recently of The Essence which I read and very much enjoyed last month. Check it out 👀! 📚🪐🩵 #scifibooks #sciencefiction #booktube
youtu.be/K31ewZ2vPBQ
youtu.be/K31ewZ2vPBQ
Dave Hutchinson Interview | Fractured Europe, The Essence & Spy Sci-Fi
YouTube video by SciFiScavenger
youtu.be
February 8, 2026 at 8:52 PM
I haven’t listened to this because I hate hearing my voice - which will come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well - but here I am rambling incoherently about The Essence and the Europe books and a whole bunch of other stuff I know nothing about. Many thanks to Jon, who was the perfect host.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
Do I think Starmer will do that? Not really. But at least there's now a chance.
February 8, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Do I think Starmer will do that? Not really. But at least there's now a chance.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
It's a chance to fundamentally change the approach to governance and elections: to be clear about what the govt is trying to achieve and how it will do so, to stop alienating supporters and appealing to opponents.
February 8, 2026 at 3:52 PM
It's a chance to fundamentally change the approach to governance and elections: to be clear about what the govt is trying to achieve and how it will do so, to stop alienating supporters and appealing to opponents.
I'll be honest. I was expecting a more Buffy the Vampire Slayer-style background to this headline:
February 8, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I'll be honest. I was expecting a more Buffy the Vampire Slayer-style background to this headline:
I'm glad #McSweeney is gone - his appeasement strategy has been truly appalling.
But it's not enough. Every deal, every meeting #Mandelson helped to put in place needs investigating, esp. #Palantir and NHS.
Still more than enough rot to topple #Starmer.
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
But it's not enough. Every deal, every meeting #Mandelson helped to put in place needs investigating, esp. #Palantir and NHS.
Still more than enough rot to topple #Starmer.
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Morgan McSweeney resigns and says he takes ‘full responsibility’ for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson – UK politics live
McSweeney, who masterminded landslide 2024 election win, resigns as PM’s chief of staff after Mandelson revelations
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:39 PM
I'm glad #McSweeney is gone - his appeasement strategy has been truly appalling.
But it's not enough. Every deal, every meeting #Mandelson helped to put in place needs investigating, esp. #Palantir and NHS.
Still more than enough rot to topple #Starmer.
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
But it's not enough. Every deal, every meeting #Mandelson helped to put in place needs investigating, esp. #Palantir and NHS.
Still more than enough rot to topple #Starmer.
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Wait till he finds out Kermit is naked behind that desk
"Tell me you know nothing about the Muppets without telling me you know nothing about the Muppets."
February 8, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Wait till he finds out Kermit is naked behind that desk
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
I'm just glad he included Dublin, where 'Looper' accurately sums up the mental state of anyone proposing something this fucking ridiculous.
www.dezeen.com/2026/02/06/t...
www.dezeen.com/2026/02/06/t...
Chris Williamson proposes Neom-informed Loop to connect northern British cities
Chris Williamson has proposed linking nine northern British cities with The Loop – a raised high-speed railway informed by Neom's megacity The Line.
www.dezeen.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:11 PM
I'm just glad he included Dublin, where 'Looper' accurately sums up the mental state of anyone proposing something this fucking ridiculous.
www.dezeen.com/2026/02/06/t...
www.dezeen.com/2026/02/06/t...
There are nine living PMs since Maxwell and Epstein have known each other.
How is this not straight-up libel?
Not of the PM in the threesome (if untrue), but of the rest.
Surely all of them (except maybe Boris) suffer reputational damage by Lownie and the Mail not naming them?
#EpsteinFiles
How is this not straight-up libel?
Not of the PM in the threesome (if untrue), but of the rest.
Surely all of them (except maybe Boris) suffer reputational damage by Lownie and the Mail not naming them?
#EpsteinFiles
February 7, 2026 at 5:02 PM
There are nine living PMs since Maxwell and Epstein have known each other.
How is this not straight-up libel?
Not of the PM in the threesome (if untrue), but of the rest.
Surely all of them (except maybe Boris) suffer reputational damage by Lownie and the Mail not naming them?
#EpsteinFiles
How is this not straight-up libel?
Not of the PM in the threesome (if untrue), but of the rest.
Surely all of them (except maybe Boris) suffer reputational damage by Lownie and the Mail not naming them?
#EpsteinFiles
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
If you asked me to guess whose grandsons these strapping healthy looking handsome-in-the-unnervingly-square-jawed-way-tech-bros-want-to-look guys were, Brendan Behan would have been one of my *very* last guesses
The Lord Mayor of Dublin has unveiled a plaque commemorating Irish writer Brendan Behan at the location of Behan's childhood home beside Croke Park. jrnl.ie/6950280t
'An unmistakably Dublin writer': Plaque unveiled at childhood home of Brendan Behan
Behan “took the language of the streets and proved it belonged on the page and on the stage,” Dublin’s Lord Mayor said.
jrnl.ie
February 7, 2026 at 3:21 PM
If you asked me to guess whose grandsons these strapping healthy looking handsome-in-the-unnervingly-square-jawed-way-tech-bros-want-to-look guys were, Brendan Behan would have been one of my *very* last guesses
They could at least have photographed him with his hand in the cookie jar
Like almost everyone else, I thought this was a spoof - but no
February 7, 2026 at 11:16 AM
They could at least have photographed him with his hand in the cookie jar
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
Random memory:
I remember being on a bus for a school trip when one of my friends held up the 1st pop top can of soda any of us had ever seen. We'd only had pull tabs.
I remember him drawing everyone's attention.
He said "THIS is the future."
And popped the top.
And his soda sprayed all over him.
I remember being on a bus for a school trip when one of my friends held up the 1st pop top can of soda any of us had ever seen. We'd only had pull tabs.
I remember him drawing everyone's attention.
He said "THIS is the future."
And popped the top.
And his soda sprayed all over him.
February 7, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Random memory:
I remember being on a bus for a school trip when one of my friends held up the 1st pop top can of soda any of us had ever seen. We'd only had pull tabs.
I remember him drawing everyone's attention.
He said "THIS is the future."
And popped the top.
And his soda sprayed all over him.
I remember being on a bus for a school trip when one of my friends held up the 1st pop top can of soda any of us had ever seen. We'd only had pull tabs.
I remember him drawing everyone's attention.
He said "THIS is the future."
And popped the top.
And his soda sprayed all over him.
"Morgan, are you sure this chaos line is OK? It sounds really familiar"
February 6, 2026 at 10:01 PM
"Morgan, are you sure this chaos line is OK? It sounds really familiar"
The notorious "Irish episode" of Stargate is rarely broadcast #Olympics #OpeningCeremony
February 6, 2026 at 8:34 PM
The notorious "Irish episode" of Stargate is rarely broadcast #Olympics #OpeningCeremony
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
No, really, @washingtonpost.com, I am the one who is sorry to see you go. Farewell to what was once my go-to, trusted news source. I'm sorry that you had to die in darkness.
February 6, 2026 at 7:34 PM
No, really, @washingtonpost.com, I am the one who is sorry to see you go. Farewell to what was once my go-to, trusted news source. I'm sorry that you had to die in darkness.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.
February 6, 2026 at 11:30 AM
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
I did not know this.
February 4, 2026 at 11:50 PM
I did not know this.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
You’re laughing? The wealthiest man in all of human history is miserable knowing he will never find true happiness and you’re laughing?
February 5, 2026 at 1:43 AM
You’re laughing? The wealthiest man in all of human history is miserable knowing he will never find true happiness and you’re laughing?
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
Whoever figures out how to sterilize milk will be so famous they’ll probably name the process after them.
This is bonkers. MAHA 'farmers' with ecoli tainted raw milk admit they really don't know how to make the stuff after all.
"Producing raw milk takes careful planning from a facility and infrastructure standpoint. Unfortunately, we learned this after the fact."
people.com/ballerina-fa...
"Producing raw milk takes careful planning from a facility and infrastructure standpoint. Unfortunately, we learned this after the fact."
people.com/ballerina-fa...
Hannah Neeleman's Ballerina Farm Halts Sale of Raw Milk Due to Bacteria Concerns: Report
Hannah and Daniel Neeleman have paused Ballerina Farm's sale of raw milk following health violations discovered during routine testing. Screenings from summer 2025 showed high levels of coliform, the ...
people.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Whoever figures out how to sterilize milk will be so famous they’ll probably name the process after them.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
The danger in trying to do good is that the mind comes to confuse the intent of goodness with the act of doing things well.
February 4, 2026 at 7:30 AM
The danger in trying to do good is that the mind comes to confuse the intent of goodness with the act of doing things well.
Just tell them it means "in the womb". Those two can't keep out of there.
you could not under penalty of torture get me to admit the level of ignorance about my own country and its history and culture that Irish conservatives are proudly displaying about Imbolc right now
February 2, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Just tell them it means "in the womb". Those two can't keep out of there.
Happy Imbolg everyone. Spring starts here, if you're a Celt.
February 1, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Happy Imbolg everyone. Spring starts here, if you're a Celt.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
For those just realizing how right I was about creeps like Lawrence Krauss & Richard Dawkins, you should know that I’m also right about good guys like Robin.
I will probably get told off for sharing this - but it does give some perspective on why I was under so much pressure to leave Monkey Cage - I accept my career is dead so….
skepchick.org/2026/01/the-...
skepchick.org/2026/01/the-...
The BBC Chose Transphobia over Science
Transcript: Over the holidays, there was some news out of the UK that I wanted to highlight, lest it be lost in the news black hole that is Christmas and New Year: the British Broadcasting Corporat…
skepchick.org
February 1, 2026 at 1:47 AM
For those just realizing how right I was about creeps like Lawrence Krauss & Richard Dawkins, you should know that I’m also right about good guys like Robin.
Reposted by Finbarr O'Reilly
You know, they could just erase all student loans.
(spending on education has declined from 2009/2010 when it was 5.7% of UK GDP to 4.1% in 24/25 financial year. It was 4.2% in 23/24)
(If one were prone to conspiracy thinking one would wonder if the powers that be value an educated electorate)
(spending on education has declined from 2009/2010 when it was 5.7% of UK GDP to 4.1% in 24/25 financial year. It was 4.2% in 23/24)
(If one were prone to conspiracy thinking one would wonder if the powers that be value an educated electorate)
January 31, 2026 at 7:23 PM
You know, they could just erase all student loans.
(spending on education has declined from 2009/2010 when it was 5.7% of UK GDP to 4.1% in 24/25 financial year. It was 4.2% in 23/24)
(If one were prone to conspiracy thinking one would wonder if the powers that be value an educated electorate)
(spending on education has declined from 2009/2010 when it was 5.7% of UK GDP to 4.1% in 24/25 financial year. It was 4.2% in 23/24)
(If one were prone to conspiracy thinking one would wonder if the powers that be value an educated electorate)