Michael O'Connell
@moconnell007.bsky.social
Botanist, palaeoecologist. Research interests: long-term environmental change, local and global; also archaeology, geography, history & a spot of photography
Pinned
www.mdpi.com
#Dingle reveals previously unknown features of its post-glacial vegetation & farming history. Pleased to report on strawberry tree (#Arbutus), buckwheat (#Fagopyrum) cultivation & extensive pre-bog #fields at Kilmore Td www.mdpi.com/3378528 @mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social #mdpidiversity #Kerry #Ireland
Thanks to all participants, & esp leader, @johnjfwalsh.bsky.social, & @corkgeological.bsky.social participants for helping make this a trip for the ages. Not forgetting Muintir Árann (esp Noel & Máirtín) for facilitating the group. Got there in a storm! that quickly gave way to glorious sunshine
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Thanks to all participants, & esp leader, @johnjfwalsh.bsky.social, & @corkgeological.bsky.social participants for helping make this a trip for the ages. Not forgetting Muintir Árann (esp Noel & Máirtín) for facilitating the group. Got there in a storm! that quickly gave way to glorious sunshine
Yesterday, mid-afternoon on the Prom, #Claddagh / #Salthill. A weather front slowly approaching from the west but all still calm in #GalwayBay; people, incl. many new comers, oblivious of approaching rain & wind. Language-wise, the Tower of Babel; diverse tongues most of which I didn't recognise
November 23, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Yesterday, mid-afternoon on the Prom, #Claddagh / #Salthill. A weather front slowly approaching from the west but all still calm in #GalwayBay; people, incl. many new comers, oblivious of approaching rain & wind. Language-wise, the Tower of Babel; diverse tongues most of which I didn't recognise
School of Law @uniofgalway.bsky.social Annual Distinguished Lecture 2025: 'The US Government’s Challenge to Universities: The Attack on University Curricula’ delivered with much eloquence & passion by Prof William Treanor, Dean of Georgetown University Law Center @georgetownlaw.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 11:01 PM
School of Law @uniofgalway.bsky.social Annual Distinguished Lecture 2025: 'The US Government’s Challenge to Universities: The Attack on University Curricula’ delivered with much eloquence & passion by Prof William Treanor, Dean of Georgetown University Law Center @georgetownlaw.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 P 16, Leabhar Breac. Written in Irish by Murchadh Riabach Ó Cuindlis, at Cluain Lethan and Lothra (Lorrha) in Múscraige Tíre, in north Co. Tipperary, it is the largest Irish vellum manuscript by one scribe.
November 17, 2025 at 9:32 AM
The manuscript of the week is RIA MS 23 P 16, Leabhar Breac. Written in Irish by Murchadh Riabach Ó Cuindlis, at Cluain Lethan and Lothra (Lorrha) in Múscraige Tíre, in north Co. Tipperary, it is the largest Irish vellum manuscript by one scribe.
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
A wonderful little fungi family soak up the morning sunshine deep in the ancient woods at Abbeyleix House & Gardens @irishwoodlandtrust.bsky.social @claireissimo.bsky.social @charleenhurtubise.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 9:30 AM
A wonderful little fungi family soak up the morning sunshine deep in the ancient woods at Abbeyleix House & Gardens @irishwoodlandtrust.bsky.social @claireissimo.bsky.social @charleenhurtubise.bsky.social
Sure it is a tonic for myself given the weather we are having in Ireland. At least I made it across the Irish Sea just before the present downpours. Hope the bridges of Galway survive the waters of the swollen Corrib river. 😊🤔
Your travels are the perfect tonic to the late semester teaching blues, Michael. Keep us posted!
November 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Sure it is a tonic for myself given the weather we are having in Ireland. At least I made it across the Irish Sea just before the present downpours. Hope the bridges of Galway survive the waters of the swollen Corrib river. 😊🤔
Monday 10 November had a fun day exploring #Herculaneum / Ercolano. A Roman town on the Bay of Naples, it was preserved for posterity by ash from #Vesuvius eruptions in 79 CE. Roman querns, charred wooden furniture, Arbutus with flowers & fruit, & the site with Vesuvius capped by a cloud in photos
November 14, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Monday 10 November had a fun day exploring #Herculaneum / Ercolano. A Roman town on the Bay of Naples, it was preserved for posterity by ash from #Vesuvius eruptions in 79 CE. Roman querns, charred wooden furniture, Arbutus with flowers & fruit, & the site with Vesuvius capped by a cloud in photos
Rural landscapes often look their best as here at Westonbirt, #Cotswolds. Isolated large oaks & horses give an added dimension to an idyllic English landscape. Nearby English National Arboretum, Highgrove & Tetbury with its Ormond / Irish connection
November 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Rural landscapes often look their best as here at Westonbirt, #Cotswolds. Isolated large oaks & horses give an added dimension to an idyllic English landscape. Nearby English National Arboretum, Highgrove & Tetbury with its Ormond / Irish connection
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
The RIA is delighted to welcome @dhkaplanoh.bsky.social past president of the @geographers.bsky.social to deliver the keynote at our panel on the importance of Geography and Geoscience education. Taking place on 19 Nov
Book your tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/royal...
@geolsurvie.bsky.social
Book your tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/royal...
@geolsurvie.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 9:35 AM
The RIA is delighted to welcome @dhkaplanoh.bsky.social past president of the @geographers.bsky.social to deliver the keynote at our panel on the importance of Geography and Geoscience education. Taking place on 19 Nov
Book your tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/royal...
@geolsurvie.bsky.social
Book your tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/royal...
@geolsurvie.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
#GGA lecture this evening at 7 pm: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill. The subject matter has seldom been more topical 😳
Tuesday, 11 Nov, 19:00 h, #GGA Zoom lecture: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill, #TCD. Earthrise (Dec 24 1968), by Bill Anders (NASA, Apollo 8), shows earth as a fragile blue marble in blackness of space. It inspired the 1st Earth Day 1970 & this lecture. www.galwaygeology.net
November 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM
#GGA lecture this evening at 7 pm: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill. The subject matter has seldom been more topical 😳
Climbed to the crater of #Vesuvius yesterday. Amazing to see gases emerging & smell S. Unfortunately, no explanations of the complex stratigraphy. Vegetation struggling to gain a foothold on the Volcanic deposits. Panoramic views of the Bay of Naples
November 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Climbed to the crater of #Vesuvius yesterday. Amazing to see gases emerging & smell S. Unfortunately, no explanations of the complex stratigraphy. Vegetation struggling to gain a foothold on the Volcanic deposits. Panoramic views of the Bay of Naples
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
Tuesday, 11 Nov, 19:00 h, #GGA Zoom lecture: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill, #TCD. Earthrise (Dec 24 1968), by Bill Anders (NASA, Apollo 8), shows earth as a fragile blue marble in blackness of space. It inspired the 1st Earth Day 1970 & this lecture. www.galwaygeology.net
November 4, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Tuesday, 11 Nov, 19:00 h, #GGA Zoom lecture: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill, #TCD. Earthrise (Dec 24 1968), by Bill Anders (NASA, Apollo 8), shows earth as a fragile blue marble in blackness of space. It inspired the 1st Earth Day 1970 & this lecture. www.galwaygeology.net
End July 2025 retraced my steps to #Inishturk, Co #Mayo on @wildatlanticway.bsky.social. Weather not as good as in April, but managed to get reasonable photos, according to my own lights! #Fulmars still plentiful on western cliffs; single chicks in some of nests. Inishturk awe inspiring as ever
November 1, 2025 at 11:10 PM
End July 2025 retraced my steps to #Inishturk, Co #Mayo on @wildatlanticway.bsky.social. Weather not as good as in April, but managed to get reasonable photos, according to my own lights! #Fulmars still plentiful on western cliffs; single chicks in some of nests. Inishturk awe inspiring as ever
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
The #ClimateEmergency and #NatureCrisis are intimately interlinked.
And we can ill afford to lose these trees on these under-forested islands
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
And we can ill afford to lose these trees on these under-forested islands
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Hot summer and damp autumn cause UK boom in destructive honey fungus
Huge increase in tree-killing disease is result of climate crisis, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 12:18 PM
The #ClimateEmergency and #NatureCrisis are intimately interlinked.
And we can ill afford to lose these trees on these under-forested islands
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
And we can ill afford to lose these trees on these under-forested islands
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
Some of the extensive remains of Roman Corbridge in Northumberland. A wonderful site with a great museum. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #RomanBritain #Corbridge #Northumberland
November 1, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Some of the extensive remains of Roman Corbridge in Northumberland. A wonderful site with a great museum. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #RomanBritain #Corbridge #Northumberland
#Macnas weaved its spell on the streets of #Galway last evening. An Treun – Summoning Of The Lost, a tale by Bram Stoker & featuring the haunting call of the vanished corncrake #Halloween #OícheShamhna #Samhain
October 27, 2025 at 11:50 AM
#Macnas weaved its spell on the streets of #Galway last evening. An Treun – Summoning Of The Lost, a tale by Bram Stoker & featuring the haunting call of the vanished corncrake #Halloween #OícheShamhna #Samhain
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
Neanderthal coasteering and the first Portuguese hominin tracksites🏺🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Carlos Neto de Carvalho, @stewartfinlayson.bsky.social, @gibgerry.bsky.social, @clivefin.bsky.social et al
Oldest-known hominin track sites in SW Europe and clues to hunting patterns of Neanderthals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Carlos Neto de Carvalho, @stewartfinlayson.bsky.social, @gibgerry.bsky.social, @clivefin.bsky.social et al
Oldest-known hominin track sites in SW Europe and clues to hunting patterns of Neanderthals
July 25, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Neanderthal coasteering and the first Portuguese hominin tracksites🏺🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Carlos Neto de Carvalho, @stewartfinlayson.bsky.social, @gibgerry.bsky.social, @clivefin.bsky.social et al
Oldest-known hominin track sites in SW Europe and clues to hunting patterns of Neanderthals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Carlos Neto de Carvalho, @stewartfinlayson.bsky.social, @gibgerry.bsky.social, @clivefin.bsky.social et al
Oldest-known hominin track sites in SW Europe and clues to hunting patterns of Neanderthals
Prof Clive Finlayson, Director #GibraltarMuseum & Gorham’s Cave Complex UNESCO World Heritage Site wooed a packed house with his lecture on #Neanderthal people in #Gibralter this evening. 7th William King lecture @uniofgalway.bsky.social 📷Clive Finlayson presentation
October 22, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Prof Clive Finlayson, Director #GibraltarMuseum & Gorham’s Cave Complex UNESCO World Heritage Site wooed a packed house with his lecture on #Neanderthal people in #Gibralter this evening. 7th William King lecture @uniofgalway.bsky.social 📷Clive Finlayson presentation
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
One of the most beautiful trees in
Europe is the 550 year old Arbour Oak in Wollaton Park, Nottingham
My youngest son is at university in the City, and took this photo 30mins ago
Europe is the 550 year old Arbour Oak in Wollaton Park, Nottingham
My youngest son is at university in the City, and took this photo 30mins ago
October 22, 2025 at 3:54 PM
One of the most beautiful trees in
Europe is the 550 year old Arbour Oak in Wollaton Park, Nottingham
My youngest son is at university in the City, and took this photo 30mins ago
Europe is the 550 year old Arbour Oak in Wollaton Park, Nottingham
My youngest son is at university in the City, and took this photo 30mins ago
Reminder: 7th William King Lecture 6pm, TODAY in Ó hEocha Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, S. Campus, University of Galway BY Prof Clive Finlayson, Director #GibraltarMuseum & Gorham’s Cave Complex UNESCO World Heritage Site. Introduction by Prof David Burn, President, @uniofgalway.bsky.social
October 22, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reminder: 7th William King Lecture 6pm, TODAY in Ó hEocha Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, S. Campus, University of Galway BY Prof Clive Finlayson, Director #GibraltarMuseum & Gorham’s Cave Complex UNESCO World Heritage Site. Introduction by Prof David Burn, President, @uniofgalway.bsky.social
Also impressive interview with Oliver Callan on @rteradio1.bsky.social this morning. Go n-éirí an bothar leat, a Shoilse!
‘Bíonn siúlach scéalach’: New British Ambassador to Ireland shows off impressive Irish skills
Kara Owen today presented her Letters of Credence to President Michael D Higgins – it’s the last such ceremony he will preside over.
Kara Owen today presented her Letters of Credence to President Michael D Higgins – it’s the last such ceremony he will preside over.
‘Bíonn siúlach scéalach’: New British Ambassador to Ireland shows off impressive Irish skills
Kara Owen today presented her Letters of Credence to President Michael D Higgins – it’s the last such ceremony he will preside over.
www.thejournal.ie
October 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Also impressive interview with Oliver Callan on @rteradio1.bsky.social this morning. Go n-éirí an bothar leat, a Shoilse!
High pressure dominating for days but no sun in #Salthill; only stillness, low cloud & some drizzle. 1 pm on 13th, tide on the ebb, a few strollers explored Grattan Beach, a handful of Brent geese were joined by several others & 3 cormorants sat patiently on a rock awaiting ideal fishing conditions
October 16, 2025 at 3:15 PM
High pressure dominating for days but no sun in #Salthill; only stillness, low cloud & some drizzle. 1 pm on 13th, tide on the ebb, a few strollers explored Grattan Beach, a handful of Brent geese were joined by several others & 3 cormorants sat patiently on a rock awaiting ideal fishing conditions
Reminder: this evening’s (Wed, 15 October at 7pm) GGA @galway-geol-ass.bsky.social Zoom lecture: Coastal boulder deposits on the #AranIslands BY Professor Rónadh Cox (Williams College, MA, USA). For Z link email: [email protected] 😉🌊 @wildatlanticway.bsky.social
Greatly looking forward to this lecture by Prof Rónagh Cox on this highly topical subject - given the increased frequency of severe storms on the NW Atlantic coasts and especially western Ireland
GGA Zoom lecture (Wed, 15 October 2025 at 19:00 h): Coastal boulder deposits on the #AranIslands record at least 2000 years of extreme wave events
BY Professor Rónadh Cox (WilliamsCollege Williams College, MA, USA). For Z link email: [email protected]
BY Professor Rónadh Cox (WilliamsCollege Williams College, MA, USA). For Z link email: [email protected]
October 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reminder: this evening’s (Wed, 15 October at 7pm) GGA @galway-geol-ass.bsky.social Zoom lecture: Coastal boulder deposits on the #AranIslands BY Professor Rónadh Cox (Williams College, MA, USA). For Z link email: [email protected] 😉🌊 @wildatlanticway.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael O'Connell
Heute beginnt die Frankfurter Buchmesse. hpd-Autor Helmut Ortner gibt aus diesem Anlass zehn Buchempfehlungen zur Wappnung und Warnung in der heutigen Zeit. Aktuelle Neuerscheinungen und einige Bücher, die zwar nicht ganz druckfrisch sind, aber zum Verständnis beitragen können, in welcher Lage sich
Helmut Ortner liest – und empfiehlt Bücher
Heute beginnt die Frankfurter Buchmesse. hpd-Autor Helmut Ortner gibt aus diesem Anlass zehn Buchempfehlungen zur Wappnung und Warnung in der heutigen Zeit. Aktuelle Neuerscheinungen und einige Bücher, die zwar nicht ganz druckfrisch sind, aber zum Verständnis beitragen können, in welcher Lage sich unsere Demokratie und unser Rechtsstaat befinden.
hpd.de
October 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Heute beginnt die Frankfurter Buchmesse. hpd-Autor Helmut Ortner gibt aus diesem Anlass zehn Buchempfehlungen zur Wappnung und Warnung in der heutigen Zeit. Aktuelle Neuerscheinungen und einige Bücher, die zwar nicht ganz druckfrisch sind, aber zum Verständnis beitragen können, in welcher Lage sich