Laura McAtackney

@lauramca.bsky.social

2.3K followers 1.2K following 560 posts

Irish Academic, archaeologist, heritage, memory, creative at UC Cork. Interest in post/conflict and post/colonial contexts inc fieldwork in Ireland and Caribbean.

Videos

History 22%

Political science 20%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Laura McAtackney

Northumbria UCU Branch @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social · 20h

👉👉👉Hey! Please sign and share! Let's get to 500+ today! www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/no...

Northumbria Pay and Pension Petition: Stop the Steal!

If Northumbria does this, other universities will too.  These cuts will harm thousands of people, their students, families, and their local communities now and into the future.

www.megaphone.org.uk

Reposted by Peter Schöttler, Kristof Titeca, Laura McAtackney

History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 21h

Why has Eastern Europe been absent from studies of decolonial history?

In our latest podcast, Oksana Dudko (@oksanadudko.bsky.social) and Anna Hájková (@ankahajkova.bsky.social) discuss Ukrainian history in an age of invasion.

Teaching Eastern Europe Through a Decolonial Lens

Why has Eastern Europe been absent from studies of decolonial history?

www.historyworkshop.org.uk

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 2d

Ahhh Project Fear beginning already re departitioning of Ireland! V similar to the fearmongering that appearing around Scotland’s indyref - but strangely it was not as pronounced with Brexit, despite conflation - the status quo’s response to progressive change. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

A united Ireland referendum must not be ‘another Brexit’, analysts say

Two leading journalists from both sides of the border warn against another ‘vague, thumbs up-thumbs down’ vote

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Laura McAtackney

David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 14d

The Guardian gave Goodwin lots of space in the 2010s to whitewash racism as Legitimate Concerns, imbue those Concerns with faux working class authenticity, and denigrate anti racism as the bleatings of a cosmopolitan elite. Its a bit late to start Noticing now.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Reform UK accused of embracing racism over its pick for head of student organisation

Matthew Goodwin argued people from minority ethnic backgrounds born and raised in UK were not always British

www.theguardian.com

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 17d

A little too much cronyism and expecting to trust ppl to do the right thing when they clearly have no sense what that is.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 17d

Indeed, all this needs is for us all to decide we are perfectly ethical and we just need to be trusted re what we decide to disclose or not. don’t know what the problem is?!

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 17d

Haha, he’s just a gift ‘i asked myself, is what i’m doing legal?’. I mean, we are many kilometers passed ‘ethical’ when you’re trying to walk the line with that one!

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 17d

I love when case-studies come up during my teaching that are just too perfect. Nearing the end of a course on ethical dilemmas in anthropology and we have Ivan Yates fudging the difference between legal and ethical. Chefs kiss! www.rte.ie/news/politic...

Client confidentiality reason for non-disclosure - Yates

Ivan Yates has said client confidentiality was the reason he did not disclose the fact that he gave media training to Fianna Fáil presidential candidate Jim Gavin.

www.rte.ie

Reposted by Laura McAtackney

The Irish Story @theirishstory.bsky.social · 17d

New documentary review on the site by @brian-hanley.bsky.social on the RTE Documentary NORAID, Irish America and the Troubles. www.theirishstory.com/2025/11/10/d...

Reposted by Laura McAtackney

Marcus 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 17d

Institutional capture of the BBC: Michael Prescott former political editor of the Murdoch Sunday Times - so you can guess his politics - alleges the following. All the current far right obsessions in bullet points. Laughable and totally rancid

• "Anti-Trump" bias: Prescott says the BBC's coverage of the 2024 US election was more critical of Donald Trump than of his opponent, Kamala Harris - including a misleading edit of a speech Trump delivered on 6 January 2021
• "Ill-researched" stories on racism: He says the BBC had published "ill-researched material that suggested issues of racism when there were none", including in a now-removed BBC Verify story about car insurance
• Too few push alerts on migration and asylum seekers: There was a "selection bias" against sending stories about migration and asylum seekers to BBC News app users as push notifications, Prescott says
• "One-sided" transgender coverage: He says the BBC had often published stories
"celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity" and had ignored certain voices

Anti-Israel bias in BBC Arabic: Several contributors to the BBC's Arabic service selectively covered stories that were critical of Israel, Prescott writes
• Broader issues in Gaza coverage: His other criticisms include misrepresenting the percentage of Palestinian women and children who have been killed by Israel's military, and misrepresenting the likelihood of children starving under Israel's aid blockade
The BBC has not yet responded directly to the publication of this memo, but outgoing CEO of News Deborah Turness has said this morning the organisation "is not institutionally biased".

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 19d

Academic book publishers pre-advertising ‘black friday’ deals on social media. Grim.

Reposted by Catherine J. Frieman

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 19d

In yet another addition of willful ignorance by the British tabloid press, the cyclical poppy furore. It is incredible it has to be explained to adults that there is nothing apolitical about remembering war and especially how it is used in the contemporary. www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer...

Katie McCabe takes clear poppy stance as she follows in McClean's footsteps

Katie McCabe follows in the footsteps of James McClean by not wearing the poppy while in action for Arsenal.

www.irishmirror.ie

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 25

absolutely

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 25

It’s an odd one, i worked the elections in the north for years and we kept spoiled votes and they were counted (the text was not recorded) but it wasn’t announced with the tallies afaik?! But given the social media campaign it became more prominent this time.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 25

Absolutely, the mainstream media and politicians continue to be abysmal at confronting an increasingly emboldened far right and seem to be happy just allowing their BS claims. I’m delighted with what looks like a landslide for Connolly but this ability to so easily claim a false narrative is bad.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 25

While it was a less than ideal Presidential campaign - with only two candidates still running in the end - it’s useful to see the names and bios behind the ‘spoil your vote’ campaign. Mainly a lot of failed politicians, right wing agitators and social conservatives. www.rte.ie/news/primeti...

Who was behind the 'Spoil The Vote' campaign?

A network of businesspeople and online commentators campaigned for voters to spoil their ballots as a form of protest. Here's who they are — and how they became part of the movement

www.rte.ie

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

Beautified by the ultimate warrior
woman accessory xxx

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

You’re just right, everything about the imposed legacy act and its associated measures are ethically indefensible. There is no sustainable peace without transparency.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

And mostly absolutely no understanding as to what that means, no one is going to record and analyze the mad witterings they decide to write on the ballot paper. Just a waste of their democratic privilege.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

I’ve not been as excited about an election in a long time!

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

Heading to the polling station to vote for @catherinegalway.bsky.social - after y’day horror with the Soldier F trial Ive put on my best clothes and am representing the North in my person and in my gorgeous @saraoneill.bsky.social scarf!

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

So many posts y’day let me hold onto to some semblance of sanity, it’s like a constant retraumatizing groundhog day.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

Unresolved pasts never really stay there, they continue to impact the present and no matter how much the WM govt want to. Imposing ‘legacy’ acts cannot achieve closure when the main aim is to stop revealing the degree of British statement involvement in a dirty war.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 24

It’s the hope that can get to you but we need to remember the WM govt has imposed ‘legacy’ on our past and in reality that stifles our ability to achieve any semblance of positive peace in the present. Across communities.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 23

These wouldn’t the be same academics who believe their access to British archives so they can write their wee official histories are worth more than justice, by any chance?

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 23

absolutely exhausting, often with little to no knowledge of what any ‘community’ needs or wants (especially those within it who are not open to being just incorporated into the current set up).

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 23

Thanks Colin, it does make a difference hearing that unconnected people recognize the complete lack of justice in the British govt yet again looking after its own. I’m sure there is a lot we don’t know but at least there is no dispute on where wrong lies.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 23

If anything i think attitudes are reversing, people are so used to northern nationalists just having resilience and awaiting whatever change is bestowed on us that we are overlooked and expected to just accept the crumbs. It’s so retraumatizing.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 23

Yes, it’s retraumatizing to continue being overlooked. I’ve been reading about Judith Butler’s concept of grievability, which she coined after 9/11. For states to justify their actions they must focus on the worth of some - eg British soldiers - and make the deaths of others - us - ungrievable.

Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · Oct 23

As someone from the North living the South, it can feel b othering that so much of the election talk is about appealing to Northern unionists and virtually no recognition of the ongoing trauma inflicted on Northern nationalists. Yet another day in the British state being denied justice.

Seána @grantsana.bsky.social · Oct 23

Some people on this island are voting to elect their head of state
Others are digesting the fact that their state deployed paratroopers as peacekeepers - an oxymoron in itself, who killed children in broad daylight & then frustrated justice to the point that it was impossible. Such a stark contrast

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