Derek Hanrahan

If we accept the argument that they're all doctors/nurses/engineers etc - does that not make the West guilty of stealing the brightest and best from the countries who need them the most? That's a form of post-colonial harvesting the elites should be against, surely?

@Casey5122dark @Jklunden Like the hippie and communal living movement in the past this is a social experiment and yes, we don’t know the consequences.

Here’s a proposition for discussion: When the proportion of women in a sector—law, justice, politics, education—reaches a critical mass, the culture of that sector changes in ways that are functionally independent of the dispositions of the individual women.

@_EFarrellPhoto Typical. Photographer stops to take a picture and will ya look at the state of me.

What a day! I had to stop and say a quick hello to the neighbours. Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland. #burren #coclare #ireland

@TheMandyGall I’m not sure but should that be ‘Féile Pádraig’not “Phádraig”.

Rainbow feckin snakes too

@naomirwolf I can imagine her response to Jesus’ question in Luke 9: “Who do you say that I am?” “Well, it’s complex Lord, to tell you the truth.”

What happened to the C of E?

@paddyjogorman @IrelandMeda One of the conditions is to “Have normal or corrected vision”. If you have normal vision I’ve no doubt they’ll correct you….. I’ll leave it there.

@IrelandMeda We see this sort of dishonesty in Irish medical research, too, with e.g. incidence of HIV and other STIs being recorded by “gender identity” instead of sex. The public needs to know that medical experts are faking data.

More MENopause research inclusion. Come off it. I’m sick of this nonsense.

@arealmofwonder “Raid on the Unspeakable” book by Thomas Merton. And St. Tomas Aquinas spoke of the person as being incommunicable; attributes, personality characteristics yes but not the person as such.

"Things aren't all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable: they happen in a space that no word has ever entered." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

@BTriagain Thomas Becket or St. Thomas of Canterbury’s tomb was desecrated, in 1538 by Henry 8th.

"in 1538, Lord Grey, Lord Deputy of Ireland, on the orders of Henry VIII, burned down Downpatrick cathedral, tore open the tomb of the three Saints & desecrated the bodies, scattering the bones in the cathedral".

@declanganley @State0fNation Only one person voted. Hundred percent turnout.

Far Left Leader wins again.

@paddyjogorman @DollyParton @Colm1917 I’ll drink to that……9-5!

@DollyParton @Colm1917 I love your music, Dolly. Thank you so much.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️

@jshocds @MaryLuCallahan1 And the non-Muslim slaves were castrated to prevent them breeding.

That’s true to a point, but slavery was not always based on the spoils of conflict. Patrick was not a prize of war, but captured by slave traders who regularly targeted British communities at the time. It’s worth noting that the transatlantic slave trade was a development of the internal slave trade in Africa which saw native tribes kidnap, buy & sell other Africans as slaves (so race at this point was not an issue, though tribal identity was). These tribes then saw added custom in the American slave markets, so captured fellow Africans & then sold them on to the American slavers to transport across the Atlantic (race then became an issue for the American market). And that certainly intensified the trade as the slaving tribes saw a means of increasing their wealth from an expanded trade. However the Muslim-Arab slave trade, which was established centuries before the transatlantic one, was based on creed: they traded Christians, Jews & non-Muslims. So, while not race driven, it made similar distinctions but based on religion. And these slaves were not usually spoils of war, Arab slavers captured Africans & Europeans on raids.

There’s often talk about St Patrick being a migrant, which is nonsense. That’s an error being used by some for political & ideological purposes. St Patrick came to Ireland….. …..first as a slave, revealing that slavery was widespread long before the trans-Atlantic slave trade from Africa. Shamefully, every race engaged in it & people from every race were perpetrators & victims. It’s worth noting that St Patrick’s second work, his Letter to Coroticus, was a condemnation of Irish people being kidnapped into slavery. As late as the 17th century, Irish people were captured & sold into slavery. Des Ekin has a very good book on this - the 1631 kidnapping of people from Cork for the Muslim North African slave trade (obrien.ie/the-stolen-vil…). ….then secondly as a Catholic missionary, sent by the Pope as Bishop of Ireland to intensify the evangelisation of the people here. He was a man formed in a theological school in France, sent not only to convert the Irish but to undermine the work of Arian heretics who were also at work on the island to some degree - hence St Patrick’s overwhelming emphasis on the Holy Trinity & the person of Jesus. St Patrick’s legacy is one of Catholic theological orthodoxy, effective evangelisation & intimate union with Christ. So St Patrick’s life & legacy is very different from that presented by left wing activists. He’s a man best understood, not by politics, but by faith: he was a man of God, a Catholic Christian, who wanted to win souls for Christ.

@paddyjogorman And to you and those who have endured.

Finally made it to my local to celebrate my saint’s day. Happy St Patrick’s Day to you all

@MaryKenny4 I take each situation as it comes: if my back is to the traffic I don't step off the path unless there's something obvious why I should eg old person, child, wheelchair etc. If I'm facing traffic I'll automatically step off, regardless.

Under old-fashioned rules of chivalry, men were expected to stand aside. But we rejected those as “patriarchal”!

@NorannV This often happens at Lourdes… bless you.

Two years ago today, at Byron Bay, I witnessed one of the most memorable sunrises of my life. It came at a time when I needed confirmation for a whole bunch of things. I didn't get answers, and I didn't get confirmation, but the magnitude of light spoke of unending peace.

@NorannV A wonderful photograph to have snapped. Watch out for the 9 Lords A Leaping.

On this morning's walk: a deer leaping...

@TheMandyGall It's all a bit too much and for what? More like a performance. Why can't people just be a little more ordinary.....

The best Oscar acceptance speech I've ever heard and it's from an Irish Mother 🇮🇪❤️🔥

@declanganley @Michael54325847 The cause of Ireland is the Irish People and the cause of the Irish People is Ireland.

Sinn Fein are about as representative of Irish labour as I am of the Communist Party of France.

@MaryKenny4 Good wrap around tackle……

Gorgeous.

@MaryKenny4 It would be very helpful if he turned his attention to the political influence on science and scientism.

True; but civilisations also need self-belief, confidence and purpose to survive. Stop believing in your own values and it all crumbles.

@DavQuinn Scapegoating. Gaslighting by ricochet.

RTE aired a documentary the other night about the country's huge State-run mental hospitals. It made heavy use of Catholic symbols like this rosary on a stack of files. Why associate the hospitals so closely with the Church?