Patrick Brannigan also at bsky.social

The new location of my blog written on leaving @QUBelfast qub.ac.uk/sites/StaffGat…

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Then to the Cake Room

Nice touch by the skipper, the ramp was up, he'd moved metres when a couple arrived too late, by car. He lowered the ramp, and on they went. #Strangford #Portaferry

1/ At the top of Belfast’s #OrmeauRoad toward #Forestside. You’ll pass through an area called ‘Galwally’ it’s from the Irish ‘An Gallbhaile’ meaning the 'foreigners' townland' this marked the location of Anglo-Norman John de Courcy's fortified #Motte at Belvoir Forest Park.

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6/6 My final stop to say hello to a brilliant enlightened Presbyterian & "defender of the old Irish tongue” at the top of my street #RobertShipboyMcAdam ▪️Yet some eejits with angle grinders want to erase their existence, their story -destroying the very soul of our shared past.

For centuries, Western elites have acted with sadistic cruelty in their colonies & in places they invaded like Vietnam, Iraq etc etc NOW Western populations have seen these sadistic cruelties carried out in plain sight in Gaza Things will never be the same for Western elites

Three unconnected developments: 1. After two years of supporting Israel to the hilt in its Gaza genocide, Starmer, Macron and other western leaders suddenly decide to recognise Palestinian statehood – but only if Hamas, Gaza's elected government, plays no role. 2. A temper tantrum-prone Trump seems remarkably relaxed at this act of defiance from Washington's underlings. 3. Trump immediately announces the "deal of the millennium" in which Tony Blair presides over the ruins of Gaza in an act of colonial hubris that's certain to make the Coalition Provisional Authority, set up by the US in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, look like a major success story. Oh, and if Hamas refuses Governor Blair's benevolence, Netanyahu gets a formal green light from Washington to finish the genocide. As I say, entirely unconnected developments.

We’re making this video because we could die at any moment.” “70–80% of our patients are children and pregnant women.” “I delivered a beheaded woman who was nine months pregnant.” “Can someone please stop this terror and horror?” —Australian doctors, speaking from Gaza

Israel has just imposed a new permit regime on my village, Beit Iksa. Palestinians now need Israeli permission to enter our own homes. Israel has had a checkpoint for our village for years, but now the restriction has graduated to full blown annexation. middleeasteye.net/news/israel-im…

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And .... leaves mostly gone.

Gold edging

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Mellifont across the Cloister, showing the Lavabo and all what remains of the Cloister curtain

The Cistercian order was introduced to Ireland by St Malachy. While on his way to Rome in 1140, St Malachy visited Clairvau monastery. In 1142 a group of monks arrive at Mellifont to start the building of the Abbey. View from N side of church.

“When I entered Gaza the Israeli military had a rule: I was only allowed to bring in three kilos of food. As I was weighing out protein bars, trying to get under the limit, I said to my husband: ‘How sinister is this?’ I’m a humanitarian aid worker. Why would there even be a limit on food? I’ve worked in many places with extreme hunger, but what’s so jarring in this context is how cruel it is, how deliberate. I was in Gaza for two months; there’s no way to describe the horror of what’s happening. And I say this as a pediatric ICU doctor who sees children die as part of my work. Among our own staff we have doctors and nurses who are trying to treat patients while hungry, exhausted. They’re living in tents. Some of them have lost fifteen, twenty members of their families. In the hospital there are kids maimed by airstrikes: missing arms, missing legs, third degree burns. Often there’s not enough pain medication. But the children are not screaming about the pain, they’re screaming: ‘I’m hungry! I’m hungry!” I hate to only focus on the kids, because nobody should be starving. But the kids, it just haunts you in a different way. When my two months were finished, I didn’t want to leave. It’s a feeling I haven’t experienced in nearly twenty years of humanitarian assignments. But I felt ashamed. Ashamed to leave my Palestinian colleagues, who were some of the most beautiful and compassionate people that I’ve ever met. I was ashamed as an American, as a human being, that we’ve been unable to stop something that is so clearly a genocide. I remember when our bus pulled out of the buffer zone. Out the window on one side I could see Rafah, which was nothing but rubble. On the other side was lush, green Israel. When we exited the gate, the first thing I saw was a group of Israeli soldiers, sitting at a table, eating lunch. I’ve never felt so nauseous seeing a table full of food.” ------------------------------------------------------- Aqsa Durrani is a pediatric doctor and board member of Doctors Without Borders USA, with nearly twenty years of experience in humanitarian projects. During our interview Aqsa repeatedly expressed a desire to center the voices of her Palestinian colleagues. To this end I’ve spent the past week collecting stories from the Palestinian staff of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. I will be sharing these stories over the next several days. I’m so grateful for the time that these people gave me; they were sleepless, hungry, traumatized, and often working 24-hour shifts. Because of the unreliable internet connection their images are sometimes grainy. Their words, however, will be crystal clear.

Meath were never, ever 13/5 outsiders today. Galway have been wobbling for a long time. Meath took away so much of Galway's kickout, as so many teams have done this year. They have some unbelievable players but they're just too one-dimensional to win an All-Ireland.

@TomasORuanaidh You’d assume Galway will be better in the 2nd half. Not a good match.

Galway so lethargic, serious opportunity for Meath if they can get something motoring here before half time

Far too much chat by the pundits about Dublin prior to the match #GAAplus

If this article does not knock you off your seat, I shall give up journalism forever. craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2025/…

Have we ever seen such an abundance of deliberate massacres, in such a short amount of time, of civilians seeking aid?

If you do not understand that #Trump is living in a virtual TV show (in his head) and his only care is the next episode where he's the hero...... you do not understand how pathetic & dangerous he is and who knows where this will end .....

I assume the UK ministers and other experts trotting out lines on the threat of Iran (which I don't trivialise) are unaware that Israel secretly acquired nuclear weapons, refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and therefore refuses any inspection or oversight whatsoever.

UK urges Iran to show restraint, but makes no appeal to Israel to show restraint? How many thousand Palestinians must die before the UK criticises Israel?

@TomasORuanaidh Super competition. Galway got really challenged by Down.

62 scores in Newry. Non-stop action, teams never dead. Football transformed. Down’s rise is savage to see, they’ve made some impact on this years championship - great crop of footballers there under Laverty, need to be ruthless next spring in Div3 + getting Sam Maguire football.

@GAAPlusOfficial @AIB_GAA @officialdowngaa Super kick-out by Burns

🔥GOAL FOR DOWN 🔴⚫️ John McGeough was the coolest man in Newry 😎 Football clips brought to you by @AIB_GAA #TheToughest #DOWvGAL @officialdowngaa