Ultán Gillen

So Liz Truss just wanted to take.students out of the migration stats. Stopped clocks and all that.

80s theme tunes ruled and this is possibly the best. Though Airwolf another respectable choice.

I post about this a fair bit but I still find this statistic absolutely flabbergasting. The country rests on its laurels for how well its population is educated while it cripples the sector by starving the patient.

*chef’s kiss*

Out with IFUT and SIPTU colleagues at Trinity’s Front Gate today. Big turnout and lots of support for strike from people on street and horn tooting drivers.

No messing around. 300k workers out. That is more than 10% of *all* people in employment in the Republic of Ireland. www.rte.ie/news/2026/10...

Jimmy an absolute legend of the highest order

Reminder: the CfP closes in two weeks, on Friday 23 October! Doctoral and early career researchers especially encouraged. #IrishHistory #EconHist #SocialHist

New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854

A new Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology has just been published, in which it is claimed that the human species is polytypic: not only is race biologically meaningful but the races are distinct enough to be considered subspecies. Published by Elgar. In 2026.

TIL that the 'Gardens of the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland' had a thriving lion breeding programme, which between 1857 and 1886 produced 131 cubs, of which 85 were sold and distributed across the US, India, and 'elsewhere' including Peru.

According to leaks, Anthropic reported a $42B net loss in 2025. This was revealed as Anthropic is preparing a massive IPO and even bigger investments in AI infrastructure. How worried should we be about the AI bubble bursting?

GROUCHO MARX walking his daughter Melinda to School in 1953.

Crying at how the new intern at work was born in 2005 and knows about the Blair government because "we studied it in sociology".

DASTARDLY & MUTTLEY IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (1969-70) #HannaBarbera

Building docks to build submarines. I think I’d prefer more money into Best Start (the revival of ‘Sure Start’) making universal credit less draconian, and some mayor-like initiatives such as some new bus routes, community and sports centres, library upgrades, even road and pavement repair.

The amount of Amazon workers relying on SNAP and Medicaid has nearly tripled since 2020 — while Amazon’s annual profits soared by over 550%. It’s the same story everywhere: corporate profits are at record highs, while workers’ share of the economy is at a record low. We must unrig the system.

Things Hawaiians never said

Mad genius

Richer than ever, the Irishruling class once again prepares to sacrifice other people's children to ensure their control and accumulation. And none of the opposition parties in the Dáil are proposing anything on the scale required

Reading about an organisation in the 1860s called the National Reading Room, basically an IRB front. After a dispute too complicated to explain here, the Cork branch left - and renamed themselves, not the Cork Reading Room, but the Cork National Reading Room.

Maybe the Irish state defence discourse is a sitcom of which we are unaware

So iirc we have the possibility of differential fees but everyone chose the top fee?

While I applaud the ways that Universities adapted to the shortsighted funding commitments of the government of the day, I'll simply add that the cost is most often borne by burnt out lecturers, precarious staff on fixed contracts, & students at the sharp end of overcrowded under-resourced courses

This statistic is wild.

'Student advocates have raised concerns over UK universities’ commitment to introduce work experience into degrees, arguing that students cannot be expected to undertake unpaid placements amid a cost-of-living crisis.' Own goal, UUK.

All true (via @lordbonkers.bsky.social)

Spam email asking me to upload a copy of "my" paper actually written by someone else whose name is included, with the Dear ... being addressed to a completely different third person. Impressive

The 400 richest Americans are now worth a record $8 trillion. The entire bottom 50% of American households is worth just $4.27 trillion. Read that back. Remember: Wealth can’t be separated from power. Power begets wealth and wealth begets power.

The amount of Amazon workers relying on SNAP and Medicaid has nearly tripled since 2020. — while Amazon’s annual profits soared by over 550%. It’s the same story everywhere: corporate profits are at record highs, while workers’ share of the economy is at a record low. We must unrig the system.

Shocking Rousseau slander

Sweden votes today on whether to bring the Sweden Democrats formally into government. But the more important story is how much of their politics has already moved into the mainstream. My latest piece looks at the far right’s deeper victory: changing what everyone else thinks they must do to govern.

Saint-Denis

Great letter but also just looked at her bibliography. Incredible

Why do pigeons matter to the story of the French Revolution and its legacy? Excited to plumb the archives at Stanford later this fall. francestanford.stanford.edu/projects/gre...

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/lectu...

(NBC News) — It is now the least rewarding time to be a worker in the U.S. economy since the government started keeping track. @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

Except of course if they use public transport to get to work Those people will have to pay at least 15% more to get there

The marker at the edge of the Iowa cornfield in which Buddy Holly died in 1959. One of my own photos, taken a few years ago. In all honesty, I couldn't believe it when I got there. Sometimes a guy gets lucky.

I'm looking forward to giving this talk on Ireland, Ulster, and the American Revolution at PRONI next Thursday, 17 September, as part of the 'Voices Across the Atlantic' Lecture Series. The talk is free to attend and is taking place from 1-2PM. www.proni.gov.uk/events/revol...

Vote Blade

Hammer can make this half a century ago and Marvel still screwed up Blade