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Prof. Kevin Rafter

@kevinrafter.bsky.social
710 followers 599 following 73 posts

Full Prof, Political Communication, DCU - #Fulbright Scholar - Board Chair - Was a political journalist, once upon a time - Read fiction & visit galleries - NEW: #Magillbook linktr.ee/Kevinrafter

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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Excited to share the cover of my history of Magill magazine…. The book is being published by @newislandbooks.bsky.social in September. #magillbook
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Enjoyed discussing presidential politics with Art O’Leary & moderated by RTE’s Sheila Naughten. The first in a series of talks organised by @ucdpolitics.bsky.social Thank you @stefanmueller.bsky.social & colleagues for the invite. And best of luck with the new alumni initiatives.
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Stefan Müller @stefanmueller.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Are you a @ucdpolitics.bsky.social graduate? Join our discussion event on the upcoming presidential election.  🎙️ Panelists: @kevinrafter.bsky.social, Art O'Leary & Sheila Naughton 🗓️ 30 Sept, 18:30 📍 Museum of Literature Ireland Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... @ucddublin.bsky.social
Ireland's Presidency: More Than a Figurehead?

UCD School of Politics and International Relations

SPIRe alumni in conversation with
Art O'Leary, Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin/The Electoral Commission
Kevin Rafter, Full Professor of Political Communication at DCU
Moderator: Sheila Naughton, RTÉ

RSVP and join us
Tuesday, September 30 6:30pm, Museum of Literature Ireland
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Something very insular and small minded about this decision… @bbcbreaking-bot.bsky.social
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Chatting on @newstalkfm.bsky.social with Patrick Geoghean about presidential elections. ‘Talking History’ airs 7pm on Sunday & also on podcast. @dublincityuni.bsky.social New edition of ‘The Irish Presidency’ in 2026
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
We’re looking for someone to write the foreword for the next edition of ‘The Irish Presidency’! One reviewer described the book as ‘essential reading for any citizen of Ireland seeking the Presidency.’ Contract signed with Palgrave for a new edition in 2026. #presidentialelection #raceforthearas
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Great few days at the Hinterland Book Festival. Speaking about #DillonRediscovered & interviewing Kevin Barry about ‘The Heart in Winter’ & ‘The Cave’, and Grainne Hurley about her book on Mary Lavin & The New Yorker. Congrats to @mylesdungan.bsky.social & his colleagues. @dublincityuni.bsky.social
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Great welcome @writersweek.bsky.social in Listowel!!! And lovely to talk about ‘Dillon Rediscovered’ at the festival. #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social
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Yaroslava @strategywoman.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
They attack. We live. They attack. We sing. Let’s go on a short walk through Kyiv with me. With a sound on, please.
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Miguel Delaney @migueldelaney.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Postecoglou dared to say it, and his players have gone and done it. A trophy in his second season, a Spurs wait over The talk of the season and the uncertain future are now United's concern Spurs, whatever next, have a moment that lasts forever www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
independent.co.uk
Spurs silence the noise with Europa League win and leave Man Utd facing bleak future
Tottenham 1-0 Man United: Spurs salvaged a dire season by triumphing in a dismal final to seal a first trophy since 2008
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Jack Pitt-Brooke @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Well I never thought I’d see the day. Tottenham Hotspur win the Europa League.
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Emily Bell @emilybell.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
This is what happens when you move to Journalism Zero ….
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
His books are well thumbed, the signed copies extra special, so many favourites but I always marvel at the devilment in ‘The Cabinet Table’. RIP, Paul Durcan.
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Wonderful writer & a lovely man who I was fortunate to have had some contact with in my previous life in journalism. RIP. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Brian Glanville, journalist lauded as ‘the greatest football writer’, dies aged 93
Brian Glanville, who was the Sunday Times’ football correspondent for 30 years and the influential author of The Story of the World Cup, has died aged 93
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Review of ‘Dillon Rediscovered’ @irishtimes.com 😀 ‘Kevin Rafter’s assiduous account breaks new ground and brings a forgotten but fascinating figure back to life.’ #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Good read… John Boyne on the art of book reviews: Never lie to readers, but deliver truth in a way that respects the writer @irishtimes.com www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
irishtimes.com
John Boyne on the art of book reviews: Never lie to readers, but deliver truth in a way that respects the writer
Twenty-one years after The Irish Times published novelist’s first review, he has now written 150
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
This was unexpected! Bestsellers @hodgesfiggis.bsky.social #dillonrediscovered
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
EJ Dillon in @irishtimes.com Academic questions: Frank McNally on Titanic terriers, epic expense accounts and the rise of the ‘full professor’ #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-i...
irishtimes.com
Academic questions: Frank McNally on Titanic terriers, epic expense accounts and the rise of the ‘full professor’
Try claiming for a piano-playing secretary today and see what happens
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Conor Horgan @conorhorgan.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
My portrait of @kevinrafter.bsky.social, whose book on legendary journalist and international man of mystery EJ Dillon has just been published to great acclaim.
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
From @independent.ie ‘Truly exceptional’ #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social www.independent.ie/entertainmen... The hair-raising exploits of a flawed but gifted journalist who was a master of disguise
independent.ie
The hair-raising exploits of a flawed but gifted journalist who was a master of disguise
In August 1895, William Ewart Gladstone decided to come out of retirement for one last public speech. The 85-year-old former British prime minister had been moved by a series of Daily Telegraph articl...
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
From @irishexaminer.bsky.social ‘Rafted has crafted a fascinating portrait of a clever, ambitious man’ #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ar...
irishexaminer.com
Author interview: Unravelling the mysterious life of a journalism legend
EJ Dillon was one of the most prominent journalists of his time, as foreign correspondent with 'The Daily Telegraph', he was the literal embodiment of an international man of mystery
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Nights like these are worth remembering. Huge thanks to everyone who joined me in @hodgesfiggis.bsky.social to celebrate the publication of ‘Dillon Rediscovered’. Really appreciate the generous words of Prof. John Horgan & Prof. Daire Keogh @dublincityuni.bsky.social #dillonrediscovered
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The nice people at @politybooks.bsky.social have just told me about a discount code and sent me some lovely graphics with some kind words attached, so forgive me if I drop them now and then. Here's the @therestpolitics.bsky.social's @rory-stewart.bsky.social.
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
EJ Dillon would have appreciated the coverage, I think! ‘Dillon Rediscovered’ in @irishmirror.bsky.social & Irish Daily Star #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social
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Gerry Arthurs @gerryarthurs.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
This looks like a fascinating publication by @kevinrafter.bsky.social described as a vivid compelling portrait in the Sunday Times today with striking parallels with the media world today.
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Colleen Murrell - ivorytowerjourno @ivorytowerjourno.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Prof @kevinrafter.bsky.social gets a whole page in the @ST__Ireland for his soon to be launched book on EJ Dillon @DCU
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Tracey Thorn @traceythorn.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
"It's magic really isn't it? I want to do it again now." www.newstatesman.com/culture/musi...
newstatesman.com
I loved performing again, but it reminded me to keep one foot in normal life
Our gigs went better than I could have hoped; even the things that went wrong added to the magic.
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Another little video about my new book on EJ Dillon, which will be in the shops this weekend ahead of its ‘official’ publication next week. The photos in the book are wonderful & perfectly evoke Dillon’s era. #dillonrediscovered @dublincityuni.bsky.social @telegraphnews.bsky.social
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
I've just signed this petition protesting Meta's theft of Irish writing, which they've used to build their AI tool. Will you sign too? my.uplift.ie/petitions/pr... @uplift-ireland.bsky.social
my.uplift.ie
Protest Meta's Theft of Irish Writing
I've just signed this petition protesting Meta's theft of Irish writing, which they've used to build their AI tool. Will you sign too?
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Prof David Farrell, UCD @davidfarrell-ucd.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
A blog post on the role of political parties in democratic innovation constitution-unit.com/2025/04/17/t...
constitution-unit.com
The role of political parties in democratic innovation
David Farrell argues that the extent of the decline of political parties and democratic decline is at risk of being exaggerated, and that the role of parties in democratic innovation is often under…
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
My review of ‘Wild Fictions’ by Amitav Ghosh @amitav.bsky.social ‘Sparkling and wise writing about the state of the world’ @irishtimes.com www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
irishtimes.com
Wild Fictions by Amitav Ghosh: Sparkling and wise writing about the state of the world
Despite his bleak prognosis, the intellectual is still trying to make connections between different peoples
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
In good company there… Thank you… #dillonrediscovered
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TheBookshop.ie @thebookshopie.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Four of the new arrivals from Irish publishers - Walking Ghosts @maryodonnell.bsky.social , Dillon Rediscovered @kevinrafter.bsky.social Clear Hold Build from Gareth Prendergast @irishdefenceforces.bsky.social @eastwoodbooks.bsky.social & A Year in the Woods by Paul Clements #newbooks #booksky
Cover of Clear Hold Build by Gareth Prendergast, showing a Republican prisoner being escorted after surrender - NLI HOG106) 

What was achieved by the Irish Free State during the Irish Civil War was remarkable. Within a period of less than a year they raised and equipped a standing National Army of nearly 60,000 soldiers, defeating the anti-Treaty elements of the IRA. Using the counterinsurgency framework of Clear-Hold-Build, the author examines and explain how the Free State managed to attain this remarkable achievement.
Gareth Prendergast is a serving Colonel in the Irish Defence Forces with over 30 years’ service. He has seven operational tours of duty overseas including the Middle East, Balkans and Mali. Cover of the short story collection Walking Ghosts by Mary O'Connell. 
From the blurb - Mary O’Donnell captures characters caught between certainties and change — '' from urban encounters to sun-drenched beaches, lockdown anxieties to nightclub tensions. Her walking ghosts navigate the liminal spaces of contemporary life''
this has a gret cover , in blue pink and black, arranged like fragments of a broken mirror, each reflecting differnet elements - tarot cards, water, plants, a couple in silhouette . Cover design by kvaughan.com of multicoloured leaf and branch and a bird perced on the lettered title. 
Montalto estate is in County Down , this is a 'diary of a year' in the estate's parkland . 
Published by Merrion Press, 2025. Cover image shows photo of the press pass of Emile Joseph Dillon for the Versailles Conference of 1919. Dillon was a Dublin born journalist for the Daily Telegraph who had attended and reported on a host of key events - the Dreyfus case, the Armenian genocide, WW1, and much more. A fascinating ( & until now little known) life .
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Thrilled to get my hands on ‘Dillon Rediscovered’, my biography of EJ Dillon, a foreign correspondent at the Daily Telegraph. Published later this month #DillonRediscovered @telegraphnews.bsky.social @dublincityuni.bsky.social
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Poor form & shortsighted @bbcsounds.bsky.social and possibly contrary to the Belfast Agreement (definitely in breach of the spirit of the deal) www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025...
irishtimes.com
Blocking Irish listeners from BBC Sounds app a ‘slap in the face’
Broadcaster is making the change to boost its commercial income
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Agree! www.irishtimes.com/culture/musi...
irishtimes.com
The Waterboys: Life, Death and Dennis Hopper review – Sprawling, unpredictable and wholly delightful
Mike Scott isn’t telling us the story of the Hollywood bad boy’s life so much as allowing us to experience it for ourselves
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Martin Doyle @martindoyle.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
‘I am floored’: Anne Enright on winning $175,000 Windham-Campbell Prize. Booker Prize-winning author becomes eighth Irish writer to win one of the literary world’s most generous prizes www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
irishtimes.com
‘I am floored’: Anne Enright on winning $175,000 Windham-Campbell Prize
Booker Prize-winning author becomes eighth Irish writer to win one of the literary world’s most generous prizes
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
My review of Mary Daly’s ‘Battle to control female fertility in modern Ireland’ in the new issue of Irish Studies Review #irishstudies Full article: The battle to control female fertility in modern Ireland www.tandfonline.com/eprint/S94FW...
tandfonline.com
The battle to control female fertility in modern Ireland
Published in Irish Studies Review (Vol. 33, No. 1, 2025)
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
My @irishtimes review of The Sorrow and the Loss by Martin Dillon: Women whose lives were blighted by the Troubles www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
irishtimes.com
The Sorrow and the Loss by Martin Dillon: Women whose lives were blighted by the Troubles
Too often the reader is left wanting to know more about these women and their lives
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Prof. Kevin Rafter @kevinrafter.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
My @irishtimes.com review of Count Me Out by Bob Quinn: The real nuggets are in the personal stories of this important film-maker www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
irishtimes.com
Count Me Out by Bob Quinn: The real nuggets are in the personal stories of this important film-maker
The late Donal McCann, one of the giants of Irish stage and film, looms large
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Political Cartoon Gallery @politicalcartoon.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Kal @kaltoons @TheEconomist on #ukraine #Russia #Trump #Zelensky #cartoon #satire – political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com
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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 26/01/2025
Edna O’Brien: ‘She could be so queenly and dominating, but then totally wounded by criticism’
irishtimes.com
Edna O’Brien: ‘She could be so queenly and dominating, but then totally wounded by criticism’
With the release of her Edna O’Brien documentary imminent, documentary maker Sinéad O’Shea talks about the late writer’s remarkable and often difficult life
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Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
I dedicated years of my life to reporting on January 6 and exposing what happened. I was there that day, co-wrote a book, and published a series of major stories on my own, for Rolling Stone, and for TPM. I hope it mattered. I hope history will remember and understand what happened.
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Political Cartoon Gallery @politicalcartoon.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Nicola Jennings on Donald Trump’s inauguration #Inauguration2025 #DonaldTrump – political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com
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POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 17/01/2025
EU tech regulators are deepening their investigation of Elon Musk’s X after his repeated attacks on European governments, just days before Donald Trump takes office as US president.
politico.eu
EU steps up scrutiny of X as anger grows over Musk’s political meddling
Musk has made major interventions to back far-right figures in Germany and Britain.
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Maria Konnikova @mkonnikova.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Nancy Mitford once asked Evelyn Waugh how he dealt with fan mail. His reply is 👌
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John Maguire @johnmaguire.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Colm Tóibín on the LA fires is an essential read www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Colm Tóibín · In LA
A new fire started in Hollywood. It might have looked as though we were now surrounded on three sides by fires, but it...
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Prof David Farrell, UCD @davidfarrell-ucd.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Completely agree with all of the recommendations by @tjmcintyre.com here. The Irish government (and the EU) have a duty to take on these billionaire bullies and without delay www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
irishtimes.com
Opinion: Moves by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg set scene for confrontation between EU and US
Meta will now allow ‘insulting language when discussing transgender rights, immigration or homosexuality’, and no longer bans describing women as ‘property’ or ‘household objects’
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
I have now seen the Ann Telnaes cartoon of Jeff Bezos's supplication before Donald Trump more often today than I've seen any other cartoon during the entire rest of the year. So, well played, Washington Post.
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Political Cartoon Gallery @politicalcartoon.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Kal @kaltoons on #Trumpland #META #MarkZuckerberg @TheEconomist ‌– political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.co.uk
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