Mike Spillane
@spillanemike.com
Cork, cycling, tech, data, beer, bread, cheese, car free, cranky bollox, sometimes Connemara
mastodon @[email protected]
#cork #cycling
mastodon @[email protected]
#cork #cycling
Pinned
Mike Spillane
@spillanemike.com
· Nov 23
Antonia's Bookstore
Independent Bookshop based in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland
buff.ly
I don't buy from Amazon, so I try to buy books from Irish stores (where possible) (posted similar previously)
Here are my go to stores
antoniasbookstore.com
booksatone.ie
alanhannas.com
philipsbookshop.com
gutterbookshop.com
kennys.ie
vibesandscribes.ie
#independentBookshopsIreland
#supportLocal
Here are my go to stores
antoniasbookstore.com
booksatone.ie
alanhannas.com
philipsbookshop.com
gutterbookshop.com
kennys.ie
vibesandscribes.ie
#independentBookshopsIreland
#supportLocal
Reposted by Mike Spillane
That’s quite an own goal by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien delaying the Finglas Luas by two years, and stalling on DART+ South West till 2030, on World Sustainable Transport Day, no less. Who needs Judicial Reviews when Fianna Fáil’s running the show?
November 26, 2025 at 7:03 PM
That’s quite an own goal by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien delaying the Finglas Luas by two years, and stalling on DART+ South West till 2030, on World Sustainable Transport Day, no less. Who needs Judicial Reviews when Fianna Fáil’s running the show?
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Sadhbh O'Neill nailed it a couple of days ago. These guys never use public transport and none of their buddies do so at best it's an abstraction. At worst it's for "other people" who haven't bought a car yet.
November 26, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Sadhbh O'Neill nailed it a couple of days ago. These guys never use public transport and none of their buddies do so at best it's an abstraction. At worst it's for "other people" who haven't bought a car yet.
Shocked 🙄
November 26, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Shocked 🙄
Not even the zig zag lines in the absence of bollards are a deterrent (they never are)
November 26, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Not even the zig zag lines in the absence of bollards are a deterrent (they never are)
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Every significant road scheme, almost without exception, is sold as the solution to traffic congestion.
As soon as the lobbyists get their way, they're on to the next sales job. Consequences are of no interest or concern to them.
bsky.app/profile/cosa...
As soon as the lobbyists get their way, they're on to the next sales job. Consequences are of no interest or concern to them.
bsky.app/profile/cosa...
2017:
"The Western Relief Road is a critical piece of infrastructure required to relieve traffic congestion and allow ongoing development of the town. The CWRR will open up lands for development, adjacent to Main Street, that will assist in consolidating the town centre."
www.cwrr.ie
"The Western Relief Road is a critical piece of infrastructure required to relieve traffic congestion and allow ongoing development of the town. The CWRR will open up lands for development, adjacent to Main Street, that will assist in consolidating the town centre."
www.cwrr.ie
Home - Carrigaline Western Relief Road
Scheme Overview Having secured €6.4 Million, from Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage under the Urban Regeneration & Development Fund, for the delivery of the Carrigaline Western Relief Road, Cork County Council, working with BAM, will commence construction in April 2021. Carrigaline is the biggest town in County Cork and the Western Relief Road […]
www.cwrr.ie
November 26, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Every significant road scheme, almost without exception, is sold as the solution to traffic congestion.
As soon as the lobbyists get their way, they're on to the next sales job. Consequences are of no interest or concern to them.
bsky.app/profile/cosa...
As soon as the lobbyists get their way, they're on to the next sales job. Consequences are of no interest or concern to them.
bsky.app/profile/cosa...
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Roads lobby just before the next general election: WE NEED A SECOND BYPASS OF DUBLIN OUTSIDE THE M50!
DART+ South West is shelved until 2030. It has full planning approval since 2024, no judicial reviews and is ready to go but construction won't start until after 2030. A lot of housing around Adamstown and Clonburris built in anticipation of this upgrade.
November 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Roads lobby just before the next general election: WE NEED A SECOND BYPASS OF DUBLIN OUTSIDE THE M50!
Reposted by Mike Spillane
The LUAS Red Line was thrown into chaos at rush hour this evening due to an incident at St James's. In order to find out what was going on with the service, the LUAS expected thousands of affected passengers to check their X account. It's ridiculous, enraging, and at this stage totally unacceptable
I posted on X for the first time In ages. Immediately deleted the post. Holy Christ. It’s bad bad. Like sticking your head in a wasps nest
November 25, 2025 at 10:49 PM
The LUAS Red Line was thrown into chaos at rush hour this evening due to an incident at St James's. In order to find out what was going on with the service, the LUAS expected thousands of affected passengers to check their X account. It's ridiculous, enraging, and at this stage totally unacceptable
Reposted by Mike Spillane
I took all of your advice.
The new boards are now live in the SLATED Landmark Collection.
Feel free to point out any errors. It was a bit of a rush job.
Reposts would be amazing.
Slated.ie
#SLATED #speirgorm
The new boards are now live in the SLATED Landmark Collection.
Feel free to point out any errors. It was a bit of a rush job.
Reposts would be amazing.
Slated.ie
#SLATED #speirgorm
November 25, 2025 at 12:25 PM
I took all of your advice.
The new boards are now live in the SLATED Landmark Collection.
Feel free to point out any errors. It was a bit of a rush job.
Reposts would be amazing.
Slated.ie
#SLATED #speirgorm
The new boards are now live in the SLATED Landmark Collection.
Feel free to point out any errors. It was a bit of a rush job.
Reposts would be amazing.
Slated.ie
#SLATED #speirgorm
Reposted by Mike Spillane
What about the women of Palestine? Do they not deserve to live without fear of being indiscriminately slaughtered?
November 24, 2025 at 11:09 PM
What about the women of Palestine? Do they not deserve to live without fear of being indiscriminately slaughtered?
A young girl demonised for
"Her only ‘crime’ is she is a tomboy who likes to have short hair and has a sweet left foot.”
The fucker who started it and the assholes on the sideline deserve everything that comes their way.
archive.ph/202511240947...
"Her only ‘crime’ is she is a tomboy who likes to have short hair and has a sweet left foot.”
The fucker who started it and the assholes on the sideline deserve everything that comes their way.
archive.ph/202511240947...
archive.ph
November 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
A young girl demonised for
"Her only ‘crime’ is she is a tomboy who likes to have short hair and has a sweet left foot.”
The fucker who started it and the assholes on the sideline deserve everything that comes their way.
archive.ph/202511240947...
"Her only ‘crime’ is she is a tomboy who likes to have short hair and has a sweet left foot.”
The fucker who started it and the assholes on the sideline deserve everything that comes their way.
archive.ph/202511240947...
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Cork needs more green spaces. Sign the petition to turn a derelict site into a park.
🚨 Petition: Turn the O Sullivans Quay derelict site into the only city centre public park
"Please consider signing this petition. I have had a motion before Cork City Council that this happen."
- Cllr Dan Boyle
"Please consider signing this petition. I have had a motion before Cork City Council that this happen."
- Cllr Dan Boyle
Sign the Petition
Turn the O Sullivans Quay derelict site into the only city centre public park
www.change.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Cork needs more green spaces. Sign the petition to turn a derelict site into a park.
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Thanks to Amy Campbell and the Echo for reporting the Port of Cork proposals for a new €80 interchange at Tivoli.
This will be a private planning application, most likely over the Christmas period. Members of the public will be charged €20 to make an observation, even though this is a public road.
This will be a private planning application, most likely over the Christmas period. Members of the public will be charged €20 to make an observation, even though this is a public road.
‘Community deserves full clarity’ on Tivoli Docks plan
The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) will be applying for planning permission this month to significantly upgrade access to and from its Tivoli Docks site ...
www.echolive.ie
November 24, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Thanks to Amy Campbell and the Echo for reporting the Port of Cork proposals for a new €80 interchange at Tivoli.
This will be a private planning application, most likely over the Christmas period. Members of the public will be charged €20 to make an observation, even though this is a public road.
This will be a private planning application, most likely over the Christmas period. Members of the public will be charged €20 to make an observation, even though this is a public road.
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Sadly the current right-wing coalition government in Finland has cut the funding for the nation’s “Housing First” success story, & homelessness is now on the rise again. That just reinforces the fact that such programs work, if political ideology doesn’t stand in the way.
ysaatio.fi/en/news/home...
ysaatio.fi/en/news/home...
Homelessness on the Rise in Finland - Y-Säätiö
Asunnottomien ihmisten määrä on kääntynyt kasvuun. Nyt asunnottomien määrä kasvoi Helsingissä, vaikka asunnottomia asutettiin vuoden aikana vaikuttava määrä.
ysaatio.fi
November 24, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Sadly the current right-wing coalition government in Finland has cut the funding for the nation’s “Housing First” success story, & homelessness is now on the rise again. That just reinforces the fact that such programs work, if political ideology doesn’t stand in the way.
ysaatio.fi/en/news/home...
ysaatio.fi/en/news/home...
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Flanders eyes a bold plan to fight worsening storm surges: dunes and grass that trap sand, shift the coastline seawards, and stand resilient against rising seas.
50 people plant marram grass during Science Day in Ostend
50 people plant marram grass during Science Day in Ostend
www.brusselstimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Flanders eyes a bold plan to fight worsening storm surges: dunes and grass that trap sand, shift the coastline seawards, and stand resilient against rising seas.
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Rebuttal to John Collison's highly contested Irish Times “sermon to the nation", by lawyer @andrewlrjackson.bsky.social. A fact-check pushing back on the tech-optimist, deregulation-first vision - defending environmental law, democratic oversight & evidence-based planning elajucd.com/2025/11/21/o...
On Environmental Democracy and the Collisons’ “Abundance-Verse”
Andrew Jackson 21 November 2025 I. Introduction A clamour of praise greeted John Collison’s “how to get Ireland moving” Op-Ed following its publication in the Irish Times on 25th October: the Irish…
elajucd.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Rebuttal to John Collison's highly contested Irish Times “sermon to the nation", by lawyer @andrewlrjackson.bsky.social. A fact-check pushing back on the tech-optimist, deregulation-first vision - defending environmental law, democratic oversight & evidence-based planning elajucd.com/2025/11/21/o...
Cudy P5 with a clear mobile SIM 170mbps, (previous 20Mbps with sky)
Added the long idle Protectli Vault with pfsense and an ubiquiti nano AP
It's a good awful wired mess but works
P5 needs to be near a window which isn't ideal, but it'll do for now, I might look at an external antenna eventually
Added the long idle Protectli Vault with pfsense and an ubiquiti nano AP
It's a good awful wired mess but works
P5 needs to be near a window which isn't ideal, but it'll do for now, I might look at an external antenna eventually
In a desperate attempt to see if I can get better internet speeds I signed up for a 5g sim only plan and bought a 5g router (cudy p5)
Desperate times and measures and all that.
It does give me the chance to configure the protectli vault I got ages ago 😳
Desperate times and measures and all that.
It does give me the chance to configure the protectli vault I got ages ago 😳
November 23, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Cudy P5 with a clear mobile SIM 170mbps, (previous 20Mbps with sky)
Added the long idle Protectli Vault with pfsense and an ubiquiti nano AP
It's a good awful wired mess but works
P5 needs to be near a window which isn't ideal, but it'll do for now, I might look at an external antenna eventually
Added the long idle Protectli Vault with pfsense and an ubiquiti nano AP
It's a good awful wired mess but works
P5 needs to be near a window which isn't ideal, but it'll do for now, I might look at an external antenna eventually
Western relief road.... Not bypass
I don't think the bypass has done much for removing traffic from the main street based on what I've seen. It looks as congested as ever (not surprised)
Heavily congested Cork town has no working air pollution monitor
www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...
Heavily congested Cork town has no working air pollution monitor
www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...
Heavily congested Cork town has no working air pollution monitor
Cork County councillor Audrey Buckley claimed it hasn’t been transmitting data since October 5, 2023
www.irishexaminer.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Western relief road.... Not bypass
When the taps run dry: what the Franciscan Well closure says about the craft beer market
www.irishexaminer.com/business/com...
www.irishexaminer.com/business/com...
When the taps run dry: what the Franciscan Well closure says about the craft beer market
Molson Coors will shut the Cork brewery early next year, citing a tough craft beer market and wider economic pressures
www.irishexaminer.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:01 PM
When the taps run dry: what the Franciscan Well closure says about the craft beer market
www.irishexaminer.com/business/com...
www.irishexaminer.com/business/com...
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Pod of this week’s Last Word on the environment with Matt Cooper is now available. I argued for the futility of trying to solve Ireland’s congestion crisis with more roads, while also having a hop off a pet peeve: petrol-powered leaf blowers.
www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the...
www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the...
Are Leaf Blowers Bad For The Environment?
On this week’s Environment slot, Matt talks to John Gibbons about the noise and air pollution produced by leaf blowers.Meanwhile, in response to an earlier...
www.todayfm.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Pod of this week’s Last Word on the environment with Matt Cooper is now available. I argued for the futility of trying to solve Ireland’s congestion crisis with more roads, while also having a hop off a pet peeve: petrol-powered leaf blowers.
www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the...
www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the...
Reposted by Mike Spillane
"Paul is a fan of the Land Rover Defender"
So they decide to park them on a public park for a wedding photo, this is so apt... Probably the most off road these things have been
www.echolive.ie/corklives/ar...
So they decide to park them on a public park for a wedding photo, this is so apt... Probably the most off road these things have been
www.echolive.ie/corklives/ar...
Wedding bells for couple who matched on dating app during Cork conference
Nancy Howard and Paul Burns were wed in Cork last month. Before the nuptials, the bride had a surprise in store for the groom.
www.echolive.ie
October 25, 2025 at 7:09 PM
"Paul is a fan of the Land Rover Defender"
So they decide to park them on a public park for a wedding photo, this is so apt... Probably the most off road these things have been
www.echolive.ie/corklives/ar...
So they decide to park them on a public park for a wedding photo, this is so apt... Probably the most off road these things have been
www.echolive.ie/corklives/ar...
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Greta. Making middle-aged men angry since she was 16,
November 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Greta. Making middle-aged men angry since she was 16,
Another addition to the Christmas reading list... Struggled to get it anywhere in Ireland, settled on a store in the UK.
November 23, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Another addition to the Christmas reading list... Struggled to get it anywhere in Ireland, settled on a store in the UK.
Reposted by Mike Spillane
Was out of work 17 years ago, watched a documentary about coffee farmers and trade unions and decided to start a coffee business. It was a big struggle for a long time. Really grateful we got mentioned yesterday in Irish Times 50 great brands. Never underestimate timing, dumb luck and persistence.
November 23, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Was out of work 17 years ago, watched a documentary about coffee farmers and trade unions and decided to start a coffee business. It was a big struggle for a long time. Really grateful we got mentioned yesterday in Irish Times 50 great brands. Never underestimate timing, dumb luck and persistence.
Reposted by Mike Spillane
“Councillors said they initially heard the pollution monitor was out of action during a recent meeting they attended with CHASE, the group battling plans by Indaver to build a waste incinerator in nearby Ringaskiddy.” @chasecorkharbour.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 10:58 AM
“Councillors said they initially heard the pollution monitor was out of action during a recent meeting they attended with CHASE, the group battling plans by Indaver to build a waste incinerator in nearby Ringaskiddy.” @chasecorkharbour.bsky.social