The Restoration

(A poem inspired/provoked by the image (above) photo of the five Fianna Faílers elected to Galway City Council last week)

Election results tumble in,
like pinstriped clumps of hairy bacon
being lowered via giant mechanical arm
into a fizzing Jacuzzi
to be congratulated by the media
who have long since discarded their g-strings.

Things as they used to be
have been pasted back together,
or almost, like a vase broken during an argument
or a marriage in which both parties
have agreed to pretend.

Right thinking people will have restored to them
the right to their old wrongs
and for the first time be permitted by law
to order children’s teeth on Amazon,
to do with as they wish in the privacy
of their vastly worthwhile lives:

for example
fashion them into impromptu dentures
for their Julian Assange effigies,
or offer as mints to those who got unlucky
and now mess up the pavement
by living on it.

Kevin Higgins

Pic Mike Shaughnessy




This morning.

Dublin Airport.

Minister for Sport Shane Ross shadows Katie Taylor on her arrival from New York.

Meanwhile…

Ah here.

Rollingnews

Boxer Katie Taylor, accompanied by Sports Minister Shane Ross, returns home after being crowned the new undisputed world lightweight champion following her 96-94, 96-94, 95-95 win over Belgian boxer Delfine Persoon at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.

Meanwhile…

Via Kacey O’Riordan

UPDATE:

The ‘Here’s How’ podcast

Host William Campbell (above right) meets Graham Doyle (left) Deputy Commissioner, and Head of Communications with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

William writes:

Are they up to the job of tackling enormous multinational internet giants like Facebook or Broadsheet Google?

Listen here

Here’s How

One of a series of ‘futurist films’ by global design collective Universal Everything exploring human-machine collaboration through performance and emerging technologies. To wit:

A dancer teaches a series of three robots (in this case, Izzy) how to move. As the robots’ abilities develop from shaky mimicry to composed mastery, a physical dialogue emerges between man and machine – mimicking, balancing, challenging, competing, outmanoeuvring…

…killing all humans, etc.

Previously: More Than Human

curiousbrain

Dublin Rental Investigator tweetz:

A bunk space in the living room for €425pm. It’s unclear whether this is a studio or one bed apartment. There are currently 2 residents looking for 3 so one would hope it’s not a #BedShare #RaiseTheRoof

9, Belvedere Place, Dublin 1 (Daft.ie)

Luas tweetz:

Seconds could change your life. Luas reminds all motorists, pedestrians and cyclists to be aware of surroundings at all times. ALWAYS look left and right and NEVER break a red light.

Seconds Could Change Your Life – A safety message from Luas (Luas)

Playwright Colin Murphy’s column in the Sunday Business Post at the weekend

In the Sunday Business Post at the weekend, playwright and columnist Colin Murphy wrote about the coverage of Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey.

He wrote:

In school, we called this a pile-on. Online, it’s called a shaming. The journalist Jon Ronson wrote an illuminating book about this, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, where he tracked down people to whom this had happened.

This emerging culture of online shaming “felt different to satire or journalism or criticism”, he wrote. “It felt like punishment.” This punishment may not have been intended by those contributing to it, but it was real.

…Maria Bailey gave us all a laugh. For those who perceive her party as out of touch, arrogant and reeking of privilege, #SwingGate was symptomatic of a broader malaise.

But it is not a significant political or policy story. Linking it to the ‘compo culture’ issue is valid but unenlightening; most of this linking of it has merely been self-righteous political opportunism.

The newspaper failed to mention that Mr Murphy is a brother of Fine Gael TD and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy.

Further to this…

ucancallmecaroline tweetz:

Should journalist state a conflict of interest if they have family members related to political parties when writing political articles.

It’s time to back off: Bailey has been punished enough (The Sunday Business Post)

Members of the Sanctuary Runners in Cork and Dublin (above) at the weekend

At the weekend.

Members of the Sanctuary Runners took part in the Cork City Marathon and the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin while founder of the initiative Graham Clifford addressed the Cork contingent after the run (above).

Olivia Kelleher, in The Irish Times, reports:

A group of runners promoting solidarity with and wellbeing of asylum-seekers living in Direct Provision played a major part in the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.

Bus Éireann stepped in to provide transport to bring members of the Sanctuary Runners group from the Direct Provision centre at Kinsale Road in Cork to Patrick Street for the marathon.

Over 350 people from accommodation centres nationally and individuals running to support them took part in the marathon, the majority of them in relay teams.

‘Breaking down barriers’: Solidarity on the run in Cork City Marathon (The Irish Times)

Meanwhile…

The Sanctuary Runners (Facebook)

The Sanctuary Runners (Twitter)

Previously: Speaking Directly

Bualadh Bus

Related: Ireland’s Strange, Cruel System for Asylum Seekers (New Yorker)

Broadsheet.ie