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Catriona Mackie

@cmackie.bsky.social
696 followers 618 following 62 posts

Lecturer in History & Heritage at University College Isle of Man. Doesn't fit neatly into disciplinary boxes.

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Reposted by Catriona Mackie
Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Ooop www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Ancient sheep virus found hiding in medieval parchment
Newly recovered sheeppox sequences reveal when and how the virus emerged
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Catriona Mackie @cmackie.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
A moving essay by Kevin MacNeil that hits particularly hard at the moment …
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Mairéad Nic Craith @maireadnc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A bilingual lecture on Irish language and ecology @cumannachasgaelach.bsky.social @olaoghaire.bsky.social @lillis.bsky.social @tusaite.bsky.social @gaelphobal.bsky.social @norbut.bsky.social @ria.ie @tg4.bsky.social @bellacaledonia.bsky.social youtu.be/rfxSTWuRk9M?...
youtu.be
Language & Ecology by UHI Institute for Northern Studies Professor Mairead Nic Craith
YouTube video by UHI Institute for Northern Studies
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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 25/09/2026
CFP: Religious Texts in the Celtic Languages, 1500–1900 24–25 May 2027 @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social Abstracts invited on any linguistic, philological, literary, historical or theological topic relating to religious prose & verse in the Celtic languages, from 1500 to 1900 llc.ed.ac.uk/celtic-scott...
llc.ed.ac.uk
Religious Texts in the Celtic Languages, 1500–1900 | Celtic & Scottish Studies | Literatures Languages and Culture
A two-day conference exploring religious prose and verse from between 1500 and 1900, written in Celtic languages including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Breton and Cornish. Call for papers curr...
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Dr Elizabeth Norton @enortonhistory.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Stokesay Castle, Shropshire, one of the most stunning buildings in England. Built late 13thC by wealthy wool merchant, Laurence of Ludlow, it’s a glorious example of a fortified Manor House. The great hall retains its original roof & wooden staircase. Famous yellow gatehouse is 17thC #stokesaycastle
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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
From 18 October there will be a new exhibition at the Museum of Cambridge devoted to folklore (and supported, among others, by the @folkloresociety.bsky.social)
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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Sadly no longer posting here, but this from from the inspirational @mmcfadyen.bsky.social (h/t: @sarahmay1.bsky.social LinkedIn) weaves together key themes & topics that have occupied much of my thinking in recent years. If you read nothing else this week: mairimcfadyen.substack.com/p/cultural-d...
mairimcfadyen.substack.com
Cultural Darning: Rewilding with People and Place
A talk given at ‘The Big Picture Conference,’ Scotland’s Rewilding Event, which took place in Perth Concert Hall on Saturday 19th September 2026
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The English Association @englishassociation.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Have a read of this report by @jennyrichards.bsky.social on a groundbreaking workshop that took place earlier this year - take a look at the 5 action areas outlined … #humanities #stem #thinkingforwards #collaboration #connectivity #futurefacing www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/blog/event-r...
crassh.cam.ac.uk
Event report: ‘Humanities and STEM: Skills/competencies workshop’ - CRASSH
Professor Jenny Richards reflects on the 'Humanities and STEM: Skills/competencies workshop' which she convened on 6 May 2026.
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Another thing that can tackle disinformation is critical thinking, of the sort humanities students are trained in. Oh look, here's my post about it from yesterday: manyheadedmonster.com/2026/09/22/a...
manyheadedmonster.com
A plea for critical thinking humans in our world of extremes
Laura Sangha A companion piece to: What is history for? Or: Doing history/thinking historically The train to Totnes this weekend was full of late holiday makers heading for Cornwall. They were grat…
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Rhoda Meek @wodieskodie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
BBC News: Rare Anglo-Saxon coin unearthed in Shetland www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2kwy0… #scothinews
bbc.co.uk
BBC News: Rare Anglo-Saxon coin unearthed in Shetland
The northernmost Anglo-Saxon coin found in the UK has been discovered in Shetland, say archaeologists.
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Donna Rainey @donnarainey4.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
These #fungi were illuminated by the sun, under the shadow of a majestic Oak. Such beauty in the woods.
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Dr Louise Ryland-Epton @lrylandepton.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Begun 370 years ago & now out in full: John Aubrey’s Natural History. Geology, hydrology, meteorology, botany, agriculture, architecture, garden design, sport, folklore, medicine, zoology, demography, pastorals, biography, palaeontology & more is all here!! www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/john...
hobnobpress.co.uk
John Aubrey’s Natural History, edited by Louise Ryland-Epton — Hobnob Press
John Aubrey (1626-1697) is best known as a biographer and antiquarian, but he was also a scientist. Begun in 1656 and shaped over four decades, Aubrey's Natural History  was the first systemat...
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John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Gold posy ring, c. 1595-1633 “Mutuall consent gives true content” Dead right. Maker’s mark of Robert Tyte of Salisbury (British Museum)
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Rhoda Meek @wodieskodie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Lost oyster beds rediscovered thanks to Gaelic and Scots language - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck4gl6e… #scothinews
bbc.co.uk
Lost oyster beds rediscovered thanks to Gaelic and Scots language - BBC News
Long lost oyster beds on the West Coast of Scotland have been rediscovered thanks to Gaelic and Scots language. Gillebrìde MacMillan, Dr Claire Ramjan and Dr Anna McGregor are delighted with the findings of Project Eisirean.
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Peter Edge @edge-law.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Interesting BBC special on the forthcoming election to the House of Keys, including a great, punchy, interview with @cmackie.bsky.social drawing on the Women in Manx Politics project.
bbc.co.uk
Politics North West - 13/09/2026
The latest political news, interviews and debate.
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Catriona Mackie @cmackie.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This month's #IsleofMan election is the focus of this week's Politics North West on the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
bbc.co.uk
Politics North West - 13/09/2026
The latest political news, interviews and debate.
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Adam Smyth @adamwithbooks.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Record what you're doing on our phone 5.35pm BST on Friday 2 October and be part of an international collage of one minute on the planet 📽️ ⏱️ 🌍 adamsmyth.substack.com/p/be-part-of...
adamsmyth.substack.com
Be part of a film!
An invitation!
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Duille @duille.com · 28/08/2026
On this day in 1833 The British Slavery Abolition Act was passed freeing more than 800,000 enslaved people across the British Empire. Abolition Teapot. Josiah Wedgewood. c.1770. Image: BMAG. Wedgwood was a lifelong anti-slavery activist.
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Peter Edge @edge-law.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
This is a really interesting open access article, especially for anyone interested in the Isle of Man's role in the Island games. doi.org/10.1080/1746...
doi.org
New territory? Åland in the Island Games
This article examines Åland’s participation in the Island Games since 1985. Initially, this was facilitated by a postmaster who was also a major figure in the Finnish autonomous region’s volleyball...
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Catherine Fletcher @catherinefletcher.info · 12/08/2026
My university (Manchester Met) is inviting expressions of interest for Leverhulme postdocs. If you have an innovative early modern European and/or public history project to put forward, please get in touch. Deadline for completed EOIs is 9 October.
leverhulme.ac.uk
Early Career Fellowships | The Leverhulme Trust
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Council for British Archaeology @archaeologyuk.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
For this year’s Festival of Archaeology Haiku Competition, our winners found two very different ways to connect with the past: one through tenderness, grief, and memory held in the earth; the other through a sudden flash of colour, fire, and clay. Congratulations to our winners💚
Under 18's winner: 

Child bones, softly placed
Flowers pressed beneath the earth
Grief keeps its promise

-  Pranshi Gupta

I think, it’s very poignant, tender and has a great metaphor for preservation of memory in the landscape. 

-  Raksha Dave, Competition judgeOver 18s winner:
Flash of fire-bright red
Like an ember in the ground -
Earth-born peg tile clay.

-  Alexa Wolff

The imagery and metaphors within this poem is fantastic and it perfectly encapsulates the concept and themes of Haiku!

-  Raksha Dave, Competition judge
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Dan Rebellato @danrebellato.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Happy birthday to René Goscinny, 100 years old today, who wrote the first two decades of the Asterix books and thus brought endless, mischievous joy into the lives of me, my son, and millions of people around the world.
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UHI Archaeology Institute @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Eleven funded PhD projects are now available as part of the  North Sea Heritage in Transitions (NHT), which launched last month.
archaeologyorkney.com
Two Orkney-led PhDs available as part of North Sea Heritage project
Eleven funded PhD projects are now available as part of the  North Sea Heritage in Transitions (NHT), which launched last month.
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Tuatha @tuatha.ie · 16/11/2024
Hello! We're brand new to Bluesky! We are a small company based in Clonmel, Tipperary. We're archaeologists who are focused on helping people to discover some of Ireland's wonderful ancient monuments and historic landscapes. So if you're interested in Irish heritage, please do give us a follow!
An aerial view of the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary. A complex of medieval ecclesiastical buildings set on a prominent rock outcrop.
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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Who doesn't love a bit of gossip?
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 13/07/2026
We have the following 3 calls for research funding for RHS Fellows & Members: bit.ly/4wwSMGu > 'Open Research Grants', for mid & later career historians > 'Early Career Fellowship Grants', for postdocs > Martin Lynn Scholarship', for PhD research in African history Closing 4 September #Skystorians
bit.ly
Calls for research funding from the Royal Historical Society: September 2026 deadlines - RHS
The Society invites applications for the following three schemes — open to historians at a range of career stages — with closing dates of 4 September 2026. Early Career Fellowship Grants, 2026-27* off...
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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 13/07/2026
The 2026 World Cup (medieval edition). #MedievalMonday Bodleian Library MS. Douce 62
A medieval-style illustration features a figure in blue, poised as if about to kick a ball. The phrase "The 2026 World Cup (medieval edition)" is prominently displayed. The border of the page includes ornate designs.
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The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Someone asked me to "please stop" with my posts about the Oxford comma. After careful consideration, I’ve determined that I’m unable to abide by such an unreasonable, discourteous, and ill-mannered request.
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Marc Morris @marcmorris.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Microsoft Word is absolutely insistent that '200 armed men' requires a hyphen, as if I am writing about an indeterminate number of men with 200 arms each.
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Rachel Pope @prehistorian.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The heritage sector generates £15 billion for the economy. If we cut archaeology as a subject, we lose the engine that helps generate it. We also lose our knowledge of past societies. We lose any grasp of who we are, who we’ve been, and who we might yet be.
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Peter Edge @edge-law.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
My regular trawl of newly released documents from the UK National Archives has given an unusually rich haul this time. Want to know what the UK thought the pros and cons of Manx, Jersey, or Guernsey independence were for the UK? Full downloads now available for free! edgelawblog.com/2026/07/05/n...
edgelawblog.com
Newly available in the UK National Archives: July 2026.
Looks like I missed a six monthly round up, so a year’s worth of newly released records in this post! The most interesting files have just been released. Records being released are now a mix …
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 05/07/2026
turn it up, it’s my favourite song
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Peter Edge @edge-law.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
It is nearly *the* national day of July (sorry USA). If you are at Tynwald on Monday, Catriona will be there if you want to talk about why voting in September matters; or what our research has to say to anyone considering standing as a candidate for the Keys.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Mary Parry of Llanfechell, Anglesey, north Wales, c.1875, photo by John Thomas (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National Library of Wales).
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Dr Valentina Bold @valbold.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
For those currently wondering about the evolution of coning, this super article, by Joel Conn, from the current Review of Scottish Culture! journals.ed.ac.uk/rosc/article...
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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Antidote indeed and if you're around Dundee on Sunday PM, @archscot.bsky.social are hosting a guided walk of Balgay Park led by New Scots who have been researching the history and archaeology of the park. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/refugee-fe...
eventbrite.co.uk
Refugee Festival 2026
Join us for a special guided walk through Balgay Park as part of Refugee Festival Scotland 2026!
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David Petts @davidpetts1.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
For historians who are endlessly organising workshops on the "material turn" - please remember that archaeology is an entire discipline predicated on material culture and we might just have something to contribute #disciplinarymyopia
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Jane Winters @jfwinters.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Five collections of UK documentary heritage have been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World National Register: from medieval civic records & the foundation of one of Scotland’s oldest universities to archives of pioneering mental health care, industrial innovation & female anti-slavery campaigning
unesco.org.uk
Five outstanding collections join the UNESCO Memory of the World National Register | UNESCO in the UK
Five remarkable collections of documentary heritage from across the United Kingdom have been inscribed onto the UNESCO Memory of the World National Register, recognising their outstanding historical…
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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Interesting work: "Through twenty-four semi-structured interviews & questionnaires w/ private collectors & institutional representatives the study traces how these artefacts have circulated globally & acquired new meanings beyond their archaeological contexts." 👍 Open access: tinyurl.com/32z344fk
Image of a Roman iron nail encased in perspex with a typed, adhered label that reads: 'A Roman Nail found during excavations of the Roman Fortress at Inchtuthil in Scotland, known to have been built in AD83 and demolished AD87.' 

Image credit: Arianna Magyaricsová
Full paper available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/2159032X.2025.2604362
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Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Help ma boab! 17th-century tombstone, Old Logie Kirk, Scotland
A comically alarmed-looking skull and crossbones carved into a tombstone
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Catriona Mackie @cmackie.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Here’s a wee introduction to our new video aimed at first-time voters on the #IsleofMan. youtu.be/YTt7KP2IMqk The link to the video itself is in the comments 👇 With @edge-law.bsky.social
youtu.be
First time voters for the Isle of Man elections: 22.5.2026
YouTube video by Isle of Man TV
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Catriona Mackie @cmackie.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
If you’re thinking about standing for election to the House of Keys this year on the #isleofman, check this out: youtu.be/EG1dDCmhr-s?.... The link to the talk being discussed is in the comments 👇
youtu.be
What you need to know to be a MHK: 22.5.2026
YouTube video by Isle of Man TV
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Catriona Mackie @cmackie.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
If you know anyone who'll be voting for the first time in this year's #isleofman General Election, @edge-law.bsky.social and I have created a short video exploring why young people should vote. youtu.be/vEGMca-y5Q0
youtu.be
The Isle of Man General Election for First-Time Voters
YouTube video by Catriona Mackie
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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
👀 Excellent, funded PhD ... someone's going to be busy! "...combining archaeological excavation of targeted heritage features, palaeoecological studies to establish long-term ecological heritage & investigating intangible heritage of folk customs & traditions [+] Advanced digital visualisation..."
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Cornwall Council @cornwallcouncil.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Explore #Kernewek with the BBC’s new Learn Cornish podcast. Join Danni Diston and Kernow King, alongside guests including #Cornwall Council’s Cornish language officer Sarah Buck, as they celebrate #Cornish language, culture and history. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Learn Cornish, Dyski Kernewek - 2. Bus Stop Basics - BBC Sounds
Learn the everyday ways to greet people, say who you are and where you’re from.
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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Well worth googling 'David Attenborough' today... Happy 100 Sir! 🎉🎉
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Stephen Gadd @docuracy.co.uk · 01/05/2026
✉️ Explore 145,000 medieval merchant letters as a live map: the correspondence network of Francesco di Marco Datini (c.1363–1412), spanning Florence to Barcelona to North Africa. Visualise routes, travel times & seasonality. docuracy.github.io/datini/ #DigitalHumanities #MedievalHistory
A dark-themed interactive map of the medieval western Mediterranean showing 14th-century merchant letter routes as curved arcs coloured from cyan (fast, 0–5 days) through yellow to red (30+ days). Short land routes between Tuscan cities glow cyan; longer sea routes to Barcelona and Majorca burn orange and red, revealing the unpredictability of medieval maritime travel.
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Long (accessible description for screen readers / figure caption):
Screenshot of the Datini Letters Geospatial Explorer in Travel Time mode. A dark basemap of the western Mediterranean is overlaid with curved arc lines connecting pairs of cities in the Datini merchant network. Arc colour encodes average letter delivery time on a gradient from cyan (near-instant, 0–5 days) through green and yellow (one to two weeks) to orange and deep red-magenta (more than 30 days). Dense clusters of fast cyan arcs radiate from Florence and Pisa across Tuscany, reflecting the reliable day-or-two land post. Arcs reaching westward to Barcelona, Valencia, and Palma de Majorca shift to orange and red, capturing the slower and far more variable sea routes that could take anywhere from a week to several months. City nodes are shown as circles: pink for the main Datini fondacos (Pisa, Florence, Barcelona, Genoa, Valencia, Majorca) and blue for correspondent cities. A sidebar on the left shows the Travel Time mode is selected, with a cyan-to-red colour legend and a filter slider for minimum letters per route.
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Vagina Museum @vaginamuseum.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
On this day in 1851, the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace was opened by Queen Victoria. So let's talk about the revolutionary toilets in the building, because we love talking about lavs and how people peed in the past...
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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
👀 7.00PM Wed 06 May 2026 ...
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Catriona Mackie @cmackie.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
👋 Thinking of standing for MHK in September's #IsleofMan election? Join us on Wednesday (in person or online) to find out what being an MHK involves and to get some tips about running for election.
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