It's not even a laughing matter, is it?

The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 14h ago

Climate Act curbs could be considered to avert infrastructure ‘paralysis’, Chambers says

Stunning.

Irish Literary Times@irishlittimes.bsky.social · 12h ago

Lisa O'Neill sings Old Note at Glen Hansard's funeral:

John Gardner: "Most of the books one finds in drugstores, supermarkets, & even small-town libraries are not well written at all; a smart chimp with a good creative-writing teacher and a real love of sitting around banging a typewriter could have written books vastly more interesting and elegant" 1/2

Shane too of course.

It's been a tough few years all the same:

Such a great loss. Nance was an enormous influence upon me as a young writer during my MFA days at EWU. 🙏 May she rest in peace. www.legacy.com/us/obituarie...

Watching

A couple of courses I will be facilitating through the Irish Writers Centre. Both are online. The short story course runs for 6 weeks and the publishing one is a one-day event. irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/the-... irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/from...

A couple of courses I will be facilitating through the Irish Writers Centre. Both are online. The short story course runs for 6 weeks and the publishing one is a one-day event. irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/the-... irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/from...

David Mamet: “In the bad film the fellow says, “hello Jack, I’m coming over to your home this evening because I need to get the money you borrowed from me.” In the good film, he says, “Where the hell were you yesterday?”

Poets, your time has come!

Jesse Hawken@jessehawken.bsky.social · last wk.

Studio execs are going to want to adapt more poems for the big screen now

Remembering Edna O'Brien who died two years ago today.

“The jersey I was wearing yesterday... My father passed away, just gone three years. He was a quiet man, but he always followed the GAA. ...I said: ‘Dad sign your name there [on the jersey]...The day will come when Mayo lift Sam Maguire, and you’ll be there.’ www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

‘The emotions broke’: Mayo fan on viral moment when he was overcome with Sam Maguire win

Shane Fitzgerald, aka ‘The Mayo Bandit’, calls county’s first All-Ireland win in 75 years ‘a weight off my shoulders’

irishtimes.com

David Mamet: “In the bad film the fellow says, “hello Jack, I’m coming over to your home this evening because I need to get the money you borrowed from me.” In the good film, he says, “Where the hell were you yesterday?”

"I walked out to her and whispered ‘don’t let the bastards get you down’. She smiled and said, 'I’m not down'." Kris Kristofferson 🙏

Melissa Good Piggy 🐽 🇺🇦🌻🤍@meltart.bsky.social · last wk.

When an entire arena boos you for telling the truth, you quickly learn who has courage. Kris Kristofferson walking onto that stage and standing beside Sinéad as the insults rained down remains one of the most powerful acts of human decency I’ve ever seen. Three years resting in peace 🙌🏼🤍🙌🏼

👇

Irish Literary Times@irishlittimes.bsky.social · last wk.

Beirne is a great surname to have today. Just saying.

"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." — George Orwell, Why I Write

I like to look things up on the Google myself.

Mark Harris@markharris.bsky.social · 2w ago

I'm actually fine with sounding old.

P.S. I close my eyes and see a seagull in the desert, high, against unbearably blue sky. There is hope in the past. I am writing to you all the time, I am writing with both hands, day and night. Franz Wright

More titles included in our Waterstones pre-order offer – 25% off RRP with code SUMMER26, until Friday! 📚 The Puffin – Michelle Lovric 📚 Best British Short Stories 2026 – ed. Nicholas Royle 📚 Animal Lovers – Rob Palk waterstones.com #WPreorder

"There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges." Ernest Hemingway, born on this day in 1899

"My perfect day is sitting in a room with some blank paper. That’s heaven. That’s gold and anything else is just a waste of time.” — Cormac McCarthy, born on this day 1933

So sorry to hear that Brenda Fricker has died. www.irishtimes.com/culture/film...

Brenda Fricker, Irish Oscar-winning actor, has died aged 81

Dublin born and raised, Fricker was the first Irish woman to win an acting Oscar in 1990 for her role in Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot

irishtimes.com

Irish libraries need to move with the times instead of always lagging behind current trends.

"I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go into the library and read a good book." Groucho Marx

Nine out of ten bestselling novels in UK have one thing in common: a woman is murdered www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

Nine out of ten bestselling novels in UK have one thing in common: a woman is murdered

Author Wendy Jones highlighted the trend in an Instagram post: ‘What is going on here?’

theguardian.com

LAWSUIT alleging Google illegally copied books and stole books from behind paywalls. “The result is an AI system that competes directly with Plaintiffs’ and the Class’s works in the market,” the lawsuit claims. #AI #booksky 1/

U.S. Publishers Sue Google, Alleging Massive Copyright Infringement Behind Its Gemini AI Service - Publishing Perspectives

The lawsuit accuses Google of illegally copying millions of works to train its Gemini AI service which, the publishers argue, is already being used to flood the marketplace for books with “AI-generate...

publishingperspectives.com