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David Kenny

@dkennytcd.bsky.social
1.2K followers 664 following 63 posts

Professor in Law and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, teaching constitutional law, law & lit, & why law is basically nonsense. he/him

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Reposted by David Kenny
Conor J. Kelly @conorjkelly.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thanks to @irishtimes.com for publishing this article by @dkennytcd.bsky.social and me on the criteria for calling a border poll. www.irishtimes.com/politics/202... #BorderPoll #Ireland #BorderPoll #SpéirGorm #NorthernIreland #UKPolitics #IrishPolitics
irishtimes.com
How would a Border poll on Irish unity get called in Northern Ireland?
The Belfast Agreement sets out rules for calling a unity referendum, but is vague on some details
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Hugely pleased with this: my article about Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels as proto-comparative constitutional law is now out in @law-and-humanities.bsky.social! It’s open access thanks to @tcdlibrary.bsky.social so it’s available to all. You can read it here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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Nicola Horgan @nicolahorgan.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Oh what a night of ancient Indian Irish musical dialogue at the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival ... Soumik Datta on sarod alongside the piano/ voice of Michael Gallen & bodhrán virtuoso Cormac Byrne layered with delicious tales of Jonathan Swift from @dkennytcd.bsky.social
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Anyone in Belfast: the Jaipur Literature Festival Island of Ireland kicks off in Ulster University tomorrow evening! I’m chatting with Shashi Tharoor about Living Constitutions on Saturday afternoon. Free to attend, all welcome! Full programme and registration available here: jlflitfest.org/ireland
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Reposted by David Kenny
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 02/05/2026
A college professor spent seven years decoding the inscription on the grave of the writer Jonathan Swift. He thinks he’s finally cracked it. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
newyorker.com
Jonathan Swift Wrote His Own Epitaph. Was It a Joke?
A college professor spent seven years decoding the inscription on the grave of the writer Jonathan Swift. He thinks he’s finally cracked it.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
One of the most fun things that has happened to me: @edcaesar.bsky.social, one of my favourite writers, wrote for the @newyorker.com about my long-running quest to find a hidden meaning in Jonathan Swift’s epitaph. Thanks to Ed’s narrative skills, it’s a great read! www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
newyorker.com
Jonathan Swift Wrote His Own Epitaph. Was It a Joke?
A college professor spent seven years decoding the inscription on the grave of the writer Jonathan Swift. He thinks he’s finally cracked it.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
The great Cass Sunstein delivering a public lecture on campus free speech at Trinity next Thursday. Should be hugely worthwhile. All welcome, booking essential at the form below. forms.office.com/pages/respon...
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Have any legal practitioner friends in Ireland had courtroom encounters (criminal or civil) with people using the methods of the Freemen on the Land? Would love to chat quickly at some stage if so.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Paperback is here and, to judge by its cover, it’s great! It can be yours for €37.50 including shipping if you want 2026 to be your year of law and literature!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
New symposium issue of Comparative Constitutional Studies: “After the Referendum”. Includes analysis of referendum failures in Ireland (by me), Australia, Chile, and Taiwan, alongside other great papers and book discussion. Open access for a limited time! www.elgaronline.com/view/journal...
elgaronline.com
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Just in time for the Christmas, you can preorder the paperback copy of my book! It won’t arrive until after Christmas, which I know will disappoint many, but a printout of a preorder is often an even better stocking filler than a book. 20% off with code below! www.routledge.com/Pragmatism-L...
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Another obscure academic crowdsource request - does anyone have access to the Philological Quarterly from 1966 and a willingness to help me?
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Reposted by David Kenny
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Rarely spotted job fairy alert! A specific public law senior lecturer/reader post (and a few other positions - including in environmental law - to boot). Please spread the word! Happy to discuss with anyone who is tempted to come join us in Newcastle: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM199/s...
jobs.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer/Reader in Public Law at Newcastle University
Apply now for the Senior Lecturer/Reader in Public Law role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Extremely niche request, very unlikely to work: does anyone know anyone who specialises in analysis of historical handwriting??
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Really looking forward to presenting to wonderful colleagues at Glasgow tomorrow on some recent work about Irish parliamentary culture and practice.
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Law and Humanities @law-and-humanities.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
CfP: announcing the 8th L&H Roundtable workshop 'Visions of Democracy in Art and Literature' @tcddublin.bsky.social on 19 Jun 2026. Submit abstracts to Roisin.acostello@tcd.ie by Fri 6 Feb @legalhumanities.bsky.social @sophiedoherty.bsky.social @dkennytcd.bsky.social @drelenacooper.bsky.social 👇
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Exciting news: the Law and Humanities Roundtables comes to Trinity College Dublin next summer!
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Law and Humanities @law-and-humanities.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Is the legal world really too complicated for any abstraction? @dkennytcd.bsky.social argues so in his new book 'Pragmatism, Law and Literature' tinyurl.com/yc5spfh3 as reviewed for us by @adamhanna.bsky.social - Find Adam Hanna's review here: doi.org/10.1080/1752...
tinyurl.com
Pragmatism, Law, and Literature
This book uses literary examples to make the case for understanding law and the legal system through the lens of philosophical pragmatism. For pragmatists, experience is everything; they argue against...
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Aoife O'Donoghue @aoifemod.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
This is going to be an excellent event with speakers including @maireadenright.bsky.social @conorkelly.bsky.social @dkennytcd.bsky.social @aileenkavanagh.bsky.social @aileenmcharg.bsky.social @danielwincott.bsky.social @profnicolamcewen.bsky.social 📢
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TriCON @tricondublin.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Great seminar yesterday at @tricondublin.bsky.social @tlrhub.bsky.social to mark the 10th anniversary of the Marriage Equality Referendum in Ireland. Special thanks to Katherine Zappone for her fascinating talk and conversation with Profs @aileenkavanagh.bsky.social & @dkennytcd.bsky.social
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TriCON @tricondublin.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Great to partner with the Irish Jurisprudence Society for an excellent constitutional theory seminar with Prof Lawrence Sager @utexaslaw.bsky.social, with comments by @dkennytcd.bsky.social & @aileenkavanagh.bsky.social, chaired by @conorcrummey.bsky.social
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TriCON @tricondublin.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
On May 1st, @tricondublin.bsky.social members Prof @dkennytcd.bsky.social and Dr Róisín Costello will speak at this legal humanities symposium on Antigone and Ireland at the @abbeytheatre.bsky.social
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Wonderful, sunny Trinity Monday celebrating our newest Fellow Andrea Milligan FTCD and some of our terrific new scholars.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
@blueprincegame.bsky.social hi! Cutscenes don’t play on steamdeck - just hang on a test screen until you slip them - any suggestions?
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Reposted by David Kenny
Irish Humanities Alliance @irishhumanities.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
The legal humanities are a global phenomenon. Read why the IHA now has an established working group in this area from our WG Co-Chair @adamhanna.bsky.social @ucc.ie www.irishhumanities.com/blog/the-leg...
irishhumanities.com
The Legal Humanities Working Group: An Introduction | Irish Humanities Alliance
The legal humanities are a global phenomenon; the newly-established Legal Humanities Working Group in the Irish Humanities Alliance is interested in the ways in which they have been, and continue to b...
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Reposted by David Kenny
Irish Network for the Legal Humanities @legalhumanities.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Antigone and Ireland: A Symposium in the Legal Humanities Details and tickets (free) at the Abbey Theatre link below. (Full programme at their embedded Eventbrite ticket link.) www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/ant...
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
@cado.bsky.social I was just listening to this week’s episode and when you mentioned the banana game, I yelled “GORRILAS.BAS”! Is this it? My sisters and I used to play it constantly on our pre-windows DOS machine. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla...
en.m.wikipedia.org
Gorillas (video game) - Wikipedia
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Crowdsource request - does anyone have access to a document known as “The Blank of Ireland”, apparently an Irish Freeman on the Land legal manual (like The Freeman Guide, which I have) of the early 2010s? I cannot find a copy, several links I found were dead.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
I spoke to @mrkocnnll.bsky.social at @tlrhub.bsky.social last month about difficult men, big second acts, the spectre of the author in non-fiction writing, and his very exciting new book project. Recording available at the link below. www.tcd.ie/trinitylongr...
tcd.ie
Mark O'Connell Fellow in Focus - Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute | Trinity College DublinmenusearchSearchmenu
Speaking with David Kenny from Trinity’s School of Law, Rooney Writer Fellow Mark O’Connell discussed the “villains” in his books and other reccurring themes that preoccupy him.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
This year I’m channelling Samuel Beckett when, in 1984, the Times asked him for his new year hopes and resolutions and he responded with the following telegram: “RESOLUTIONS: ZERO. HOPES: ZERO. BECKETT”.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Last day at school for a while! (One photo is from last year but hopefully no one minds)
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Such a pleasure to get to comment on a fascinating research project on citizens’ assemblies being conducted by two of my former classmates from different institutions!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Excited to talk with @mrkocnnll.bsky.social about his work later today at @tlrhub.bsky.social. There is no real reason that I am doing this—rather than someone more qualified—other than I really enjoy conversation with Mark, so I asked if I could. Come along and enjoy conversation with him too!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Vacancy with us at TCD Law School for Assistant Professor in Intellectual Property Law - applications open until noon, Thursday, 5 December. Details available from jobs.tcd.ie. Happy to field any informal queries!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
An honour to speak to Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC—who delivered one of the most powerful pieces of advocacy I have ever heard in the ICJ case between South Africa and Israel—about law, human rights, and, when you see injustice in the world, deciding to do something about it. Thanks Gavin for the photo!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Just finished presenting a new draft paper about Ireland’s two failed referendums on family & care in March 2024 and what they might mean. It will change following great comments from @democracytalk.bsky.social and others, but draft here—all thoughts are welcome! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Reposted by David Kenny
TriCON @tricondublin.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
@tricondublin.bsky.social has arrived on Bluesky! Follow us for updates about TriCON events and scholarship. Good to see some TriCON members already here incl @aileenkavanagh.bsky.social @mikebecker.bsky.social @dkennytcd.bsky.social @suryaroy.bsky.social & @orandoyle.bsky.social
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
I had such fun with this paper. I have put it on the back burner for now, as I think it might fit nicely into a future book project… Thanks @lpcprof.bsky.social for sharing!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Full house for our undergraduate Law graduation. Neville Cox, Registrar and Professor of Law & Morality, begins with a really lovely address explaining the significance of commencement before we move on to award degrees to some extraordinary students. Proud of every one of them!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 08/11/2024
I’ve been thinking a lot about Richard Rorty’s 1998 prediction about the rise of an American strongman. The return of “jocular contempt for women” is particularly striking given the appalling outpouring on Twitter since Wednesday.
A short extract from Richard Rorty’s Achieving our Country about why Americans might turn to a strongman:

M]embers of labor unions, and unorganized unskilled workers, will sooner or later realize that their government is not even trying to prevent wages from sinking or to prevent jobs from being exported. Around the same time, they will realize that suburban white-collar workers—themselves desperately afraid of being downsized—are not going to let themselves be taxed to provide social benefits for anyone else.

At that point, something will crack. The nonsuburban electorate will decide that the system has failed and start looking around for a strongman to vote for—someone willing to assure them that, once he is elected, the smug bureaucrats, tricky lawyers, overpaid bond salesmen, and postmodernist professors will no longer be calling the shots.

One thing that is very likely to happen is that the gains made in the past forty years by black and brown Americans, and by homosexuals, will be wiped out. Jocular contempt for women will come back into fashion… All the resentment which badly educated Americans feel about having their manners dictated to them by college graduates will find an outlet.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 23/09/2024
Tomorrow in the Trinity Long Room Hub at 4pm, I will be speaking about why lawyers should read literature to keep us human. All welcome in person, and it’s streaming here, as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Festival this week. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxZW...
youtube.com
From Henry James to Star Wars: Why Lawyers Should Read Literature
YouTube video by Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 08/08/2024
Need to remember to post here more, so: my book—Pragmatism, Law, and Literature—is now out! 20% off the (ludicrous) hardcover price&more affordable ebook with this code, with a more affordable paperback to follow! See if your university library might get a copy! www.routledge.com/Pragmatism-L...
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 28/03/2024
In professional news, and presumably because I angered some ancient god, I will this summer be taking over as Head of the School of Law at Trinity College Dublin. Grateful for the support and encouragement of wonderful colleagues in College and beyond!
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 12/02/2024
Superb.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 15/01/2024
Great to write this post for the ICLRS blog, with PhD researcher Peter McCarthy, tracing a post-colonial religious identity in Ireland shifting across the history of the state. The whole blog series on religion and decolonisation is very worth reading talkabout.iclrs.org/2024/01/11/r...
talkabout.iclrs.org
Religion and Law in Ireland’s Post-colonial Nation-Building - Talk About: Law and Religion
It is well known that Roman Catholicism played a central role in Ireland’s colonial and independence eras. Various formal legal disabilities on and discriminations against Roman Catholics under the ...
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Cheryl Saunders @cherylas1.bsky.social · 23/10/2023
More from @dkennytcd.bsky.social, exploring the idea of constitutional culture, this time in the context of social rights in Ireland. With reflections on the possibility of cultural change.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 23/10/2023
Having a discussion this eve at EUI Law about social rights, austerity, & constitutional culture in Ireland, based on new co-authored paper forthcoming in great new issue of the Irish Jurist on topic of crisis. Early draft below papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 13/10/2023
For anyone who might be interested, I wrote an explainer about the Irish President using the unusual power to refer a bill for abstract review to the Supreme Court, and what the likely issue with the Bill is. www.thejournal.ie/readme/irish...
thejournal.ie
The president has referred the Judicial Appointments Bill to the Supreme Court - what now?
Law professor David Kenny looks at President Higgins’ decision to refer the Bill to the Supreme Court this week.
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David Kenny @dkennytcd.bsky.social · 02/10/2023
Just finished a draft of a short article for a symposium about James Boyd White, one of the founders of contemporary law and literature, discussing how his work helps remind us that law is a deeply human enterprise, and we need to engage with it in a deeply humanistic manner.
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