Orlagh Gaynor
@orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
55 followers 67 following 40 posts
Physiotherapist who shouts on a soapbox about nature, environment and health 🩺🌎 Gaeilgeoir, lover of languages 🇮🇪🇪🇸🇫🇷 Often found in the sea or mountains 🌊🗻 https://orlaghgaynor.substack.com/
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Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
If you wonder why we are failing to reduce our transport emissions and why we have a dysfunctional car-centric transport system. This is why. This is who are invited to aa Oireachtas committee to discuss transport and climate targets...

The mind boggles.
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
As is, with his continued push to not only lift the Dublin Airport passenger cap but also to significantly increase numbers, Minister O'Brien seems more like a minister for worsening climate change than one responsible for climate action and a sustainable transport system.

Brilliant letter below!
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
aislinnn.bsky.social
In my latest Substack, I explore how time outdoors sharpens our clarity, why psychologists say we’re wired for nature, and how urban parks can cool cities, filter air, and strengthen communities. 🌳

open.substack.com/pub/aislinna...
The People’s Parks
The co-benefits of green spaces and why we need to protect them
open.substack.com
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
...therein lies the point of the blog article - the long-standing failures in DCC urban planning are from lack of ambition and bravery to take bold leaps to catch up to our European counterparts. We can be embarrassed by the state of our city and simultaneously applaud volunteer work in the field.
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
To write bravely, to call out systemic failures and injustices for what they are, is a virtue that should be lauded. This blog is not a personal attack on anyone, and certainly not the volunteer work in question. The need for the said VW warrants criticism of local government who shapes it, and...
olaln.bsky.social
I’ve had a lot of responses to this piece, so I want to clarify a few things.

Writing and posting views like this isn’t easy. It often leads to pushback, even when the criticism isn’t aimed at individuals.
olaln.bsky.social
I am sometimes criticised for being too negative and for failing to see the progress happening around Dublin. While that may certainly be true at times, I think the far greater issue in Dublin is that we tend to accept even the smallest progress as a major victory.

My most recent Substack!
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
In light of comments surrounding this recent blog post, we would like to affirm we fully applaud volunteer efforts to work towards a safer, healthier city. However, we stand by the author's original point that Dublin's planning ambition is severely lacking and we need to dream bigger.
olaln.bsky.social
I’ve had a lot of responses to this piece, so I want to clarify a few things.

Writing and posting views like this isn’t easy. It often leads to pushback, even when the criticism isn’t aimed at individuals.
olaln.bsky.social
I am sometimes criticised for being too negative and for failing to see the progress happening around Dublin. While that may certainly be true at times, I think the far greater issue in Dublin is that we tend to accept even the smallest progress as a major victory.

My most recent Substack!
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
All too often we accept half-measures as major progress in Dublin's urban planning. When we are so far behind other cities worldwide, this is simply not an option. We must be brave enough to take bigger leaps, because our health is at stake if we don't 🌳🌍

open.substack.com/pub/olanordr...
Let Dublin Breathe
One Day of Freedom for Dublin’s Children Is Not Enough
open.substack.com
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
Excellent letter in the Irish Times this morning!

What we eat matters!
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
olaln.bsky.social
My follow-up letter on the #CarFreeDay in Dublin.

Just to be clear, I'm FOR car-free days. In fact, I think they should be a weekly event, but I'm avidly against these token gestures.

What happened this weekend was neither brave nor ambitious.

We deserve so much better in Dublin.
#ReimagineDublin
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
brenttoderian.bsky.social
“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.”

Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability & quality of life.

Common sense.

Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.
Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.
Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.
www.washingtonpost.com
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
Thank you! We struggle with a very car-centric Ireland, rooted in a culture of "owning land" giving rise to urban sprawl and low-density developments, unchecked by housing policy. An uphill battle!
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
brenttoderian.bsky.social
Bluntly, passionately, persuasively, unrelentingly, & in much less boring ways. Facts, evidence, data, communicated clearly with fun & humour where possible, and always packaged with compelling story-telling. For examples see my entire social media history, where I’m constantly trying out new ways.
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
How do you communicate the rationale behind designing greener, people-centric urban design to policy-makers/government whose politico-social leanings favour less sustainable design?
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
Tá brón orm nach raibh mé in ann dul ar an agóid seo inniubh - ag troid ar son ár gcearta teanga! Tá an teanga ag fás ar fud na tíre agus caithfimid an meas agus tacaíocht á thaispeáint dó! 🇮🇪
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
Delighted to be presenting this next month 🌍 come along to learn about the connection between nature and health, the upstream drivers and effects of climate and social injustice and the cross-system solutions we have available to us - if we only reach! 🌱

#environment #climatechange #health
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
Join us on October 14th in the Patagonia store in Dublin for an evening to discuss human health, environmental change, and climate justice.

Open to all!
#PlanetaryHealth
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
thinkorswim.bsky.social
Two weeks after its release, THE LIE OF THE LAND climbs six places to no.3 on national non-fiction bestseller list!

Pleasantly surprised to see there is real public interest in a book about Ireland and the #climate emergency.
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
@thinkorswim.bsky.social thank you so much for calling out and painting a real, vivid picture of the multi-system failures of the Irish government climate action - and the inevitable disasters that await if we fail to act. Absolutely essential reading! 🌍
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
MSF a travaillé sans arrêt et avec toute courage pour cette cause. On le savait depuis deux ans que c'est un génocide en cours. Permettons que la crise de #Gaza soit le témoignage à notre échec en tant qu'humanité.
msf.fr
#MSF et plus de vingt organisations humanitaires travaillant à #Gaza, appellent les dirigeants mondiaux à intervenir de toute urgence, après qu’une commission de l’ONU a conclu qu’un génocide est en cours. www.msf.fr/communiques-...
https://www.msf.fr/communiques-presse/gaza-les-dirigeants-d-une-vingtaine-d-ong-exhortent-les-chefs…
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
The government plans to renege on previous climate commitments by lifting the Dublin Airport passenger cap. In a worsening climate crisis, this is unacceptable.
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
Our latest statement on the Dublin Airport Passenger Cap.

Lifting it would be a betrayal of climate commitments and public health.

The choice is clear for our government: protect people, protect health, protect the planet—or protect polluters.
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
Our latest statement on the Dublin Airport Passenger Cap.

Lifting it would be a betrayal of climate commitments and public health.

The choice is clear for our government: protect people, protect health, protect the planet—or protect polluters.
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
IDE and Galway Hospital GreenED support the urgent Connemara Greenway completion. Greenways are a proven, cost-effective intervention that improve physical and mental health, reduce air pollution and road danger, strengthen local economies, and expand sustainable tourism.
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
Go raibh maith agat, a Aislínn! 💚 This won't be the last language-nerd piece 😅
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
In my latest Substack, I wax lyrical about the Irish words for Green and Grey, their connection with nature, and what you may not have been taught in school about them. It's certainly no work of @manchanmagan.bsky.social , but you can read it here! 🌳🌱

open.substack.com/pub/orlaghga...
Why Green is Grey in Irish
How the Psycholinguistics of Colour Perception Connects Us with Nature
open.substack.com
Reposted by Orlagh Gaynor
olaln.bsky.social
Pearse Street isn’t just dominated by cars — it’s designed to pull more cars into the city. So much space for cars, but NO space for safe cycling.

The result? Congestion, pollution, and unsafe streets.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Imagine a Dublin that puts people first. 🚲🌱✨
#ReimagineDublin
orlaghgaynor.bsky.social
There needs to be a shift in Irish media away from labelling victims of road collisions merely by their mode of transport. Not "cyclist" but a human being. He didn't just "die" - he was killed, and in this case, left for dead. Reporting must reflect the human cost. RIP to the gentleman involved.
irishdocsenv.bsky.social
Irish media reporting on road collisions too often dehumanises victims and hides driver responsibility. Cyclists and pedestrians are people first — the language we use matters.

Read our full statement below.