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Dr Laura Watson

@lauracwatson.bsky.social
750 followers 517 following 139 posts

Musicologist/Associate Professor, Maynooth University | author Paul Dukas: Composer and Critic (2019); coeditor Dukas: Legacies of a French Musician (2019); coeditor Women and Music in Ireland (2022) | Sounding the Feminists | Memoirs | she/her

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Reposted by Dr Laura Watson
Ireland against Fascism @irlagainstfascism.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
'Peadar Browns' (best pub in Dublin in oh so many ways) has been compiling a list over pubs in Ireland and abroad who will not show the game between Ireland and IsraHell. We'll add them below. 100 and counting as more join in #BoycottIsrael #StopTheGame stopthegame.ie?fbclid=IwdGR...
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Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign @ipsc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Gavin Bazunu's statement on pulling out of tomorrow’s game against apartheid Israel. We salute him, he will go down in history for this, a legend. And we hope more of the players will take such a principled stand. There is still time for the FAI to do the right thing. #StopTheGames
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Very proud of my husband's contributions to this meeting, quoted extensively here. Mark articulates brilliantly why we should object to the proliferation of data centres in Ireland. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...
irishtimes.com
‘We just don’t want them’: Hundreds gather in a Kildare town over data centre plans
Noise issues in Clondalkin are a cautionary tale – but it’s not too late for Kildare, town meeting hears
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I enjoyed speaking about Sinéad O'Connor at Queen's University, Belfast as part of the SMI-RMA-EADH conference yesterday.
Me standing at the lecture podium.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Hearing Maternity #musicology #motherhoodstudies @maynoothuniversity.ie @muahi.bsky.social www.maynoothuniversity.ie/music/news/d...
maynoothuniversity.ie
Dr Laura Watson, invited participant at Hearing Maternity
On 28 – 29 July 2026, Dr Laura Watson was an invited participant at the Hearing Maternities Project seminar held at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. This project on music and motherhood is
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Too much death lately. RIP, Dolly.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
For those that don’t know, mental health issues, stress, imposter syndrome, insecurities of all kinds are very, very common in academia at the best of times.
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Nialler9 | Niall Byrne @nialler9.com · 15/08/2026
What wasn't said about Glen Hansard nialler9music.substack.com/p/the-news-a...
nialler9music.substack.com
The news at Nine: What wasn't said about Glen Hansard
What wasn't said about Glen Hansard
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A certain prof in my field was relentlessly posting and writing about Jason Arday over the past fortnight. This is an abuse of power.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
rip.ie/death-notice... My dear father-in-law, Michael, died a few days ago. He played violin in the Abbey Theatre orchestra in his youth, and one of the few I've met outside musicology and academia who knew of Rhoda Coghill. Trying to honour his musical side in the funeral planning. Rest in peace.
rip.ie
Death Notice of Michael J. Walsh (Leixlip, Kildare) | rip.ie
The death has occurred of Michael J. Walsh of Leixlip, Kildare Ireland, on 11/08/2026. You can view the full death notice and add your condolences here.
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Dean Van Nguyen @deanvannguyen.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The great Jess Kav on the soul-searching (or lack thereof) in the Irish music scene over the last week or so
open.substack.com
Angel At The Table
The thicket of un-grooming and the Irish music industry
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Leah Broad @leahbroad.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
For women's music to stay in the repertoire, we don't just need recordings. We also need score publication, composer info & advocacy. So I'm delighted to announce the launch of UNHEARD HERITAGE, a recording initiative marrying research & performance leahbroad.substack.com/p/announcing...
if a work can't be heard, performers won't play it, so we desperately need good recordings of women's compositions if they're going to enter the repertoire.So this month I am really delighted to announce the launch of my recordings initiative, Unheard Heritage, which is dedicated to bringing forgotten works out of archives and bringing them to life in world-class recordings.Because women have always been composers. No matter how difficult it was, no matter how trying the circumstances, historical women fought to make their voices heard. We only have to listen.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Oh Lord, heading to London for work for a few days tomorrow and the forecast goes from 27 to 34 degrees. 🥵
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
So glad to watch Spain win. As for the appalling closing ceremony and half-time show (wtf) and other atrocious US sports traditions inflicted on football audiences...#WorldCup
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Ola Løkken Nordrum @olaln.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
A sad day for the planet. The Irish Minister for Climate Action 'delighted' that Dublin Airport can expand indefinitely and increase emissions in the midst of a catastrophic climate crisis.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Biarritz is beautiful.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
www.cambridge.org/core/books/e... Happy to have a chapter in this new edited collection on #IrishComposer Elizabeth #Maconchy! ELIZABETH MACONCHY IN CONTEXT ed. Justin Vickers & Lucy Walker, Cambridge University Press, is out now. #spéirghorm #spéirgorm @maynoothuniversity.ie @muahi.bsky.social
Screen shot of first page of my chapter. Book cover
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Finally saw the brilliant Stewart Lee in Dublin tonight, after seeing him in Liverpool twice in the last few years. Funnier than ever 🌚
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
www.rte.ie/entertainmen... #CMAT is iconic! Glad to see the rest of the world catching up.
rte.ie
CMAT wins Ivor Novello Award for Best Album
Irish singer CMAT has won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Album for EURO-COUNTRY.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
The perennial feeling of how did I have it in me to correct the first 30 essays over the past few days but the last 5 feel impossible.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Jan Carson, Few and Far Between (2026) is one of my favourite novels so far this year. Thought-provoking, funny, alternative-reality story of Lough Neagh and the North. Bonus features include some sharp observations about academia.
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Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign @ipsc.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Great to see! Ireland's official Eurovision fan club is boycotting the competition due to apartheid Israel's participation. Eurovision fans know what's what, they won't go along with the artwashing of Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinians people. #BoycottEurovision
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Liam Hogan @liamhogan.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Learning is a difficult and slow process. There are no shortcuts. And it is this process (reading, thinking, engaging) that makes analysis itself possible - to suggest that the heavy lifting can be outsourced in this way fundamentally misunderstands, and indeed undermines, the purpose of education.
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Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera @pantibliss.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
I'm in Mary Lou's constituency and those pricks on O'Connell St didn't make me or my neighbours of colour feel safe. A few years ago I considered giving SF my vote but over and over again they keep proving they don't deserve it. Always siding with the very worst of us
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Watched The Voice of Hind Rajab tonight. No words.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Given the festival in Maynooth this week, I'm once again reflecting on how some academics in very secure positions and who are frequently on social media discussing all kinds of things have said nothing about the genocide in Gaza.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Discussed #CMAT as part of an undergrad musicology lecture in Maynooth today! #musicology #speirghorm #WomenInMusic
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Day 2 of Maynooth Festival of Palestinian Culture today. Circus workshops, dance, and a talk by historian Rashid Khalidi. Can't wait! PS my wonderful husband is one of the main organisers and I couldn't be prouder. #palfest26 #maynooth #freepalestine sites.google.com/view/maynoot...
sites.google.com
MaynoothPalFest - Programme
2026 Festival Programme The images used on this site are a small sample of the extraordinary work of photographer Eman Mohammed and subject to copyright. We display them here with kind permission.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
sites.google.com/view/maynoot... The Maynooth Festival of Palestinian Culture begins this afternoon and will be launched by TD Richard Boyd Barrett. Check it out and spread the word! #palfest26
sites.google.com
MaynoothPalFest
Welcome to Maynooth PalFest26 This celebration of Palestinian culture will take place between 20 and 23 April across the university campus and in Maynooth town. Most events are free and all are ope...
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Meanwhile, Annie Patterson - occupation: 'Doctor of Music' - was not born in 1868 as history books and websites say: she was 70 in 1926 so was presumably born in 1855 or 1856. #1926Census #womeninmusic #musicology #speirghorm #ireland #anniepatterson
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
In contrast, ***composer*** #InaBoyle has her occupation listed as 'home duties' on the #1926Census. Sad but not really surprising. @inaboyle.bsky.social #speirghorm #musicology #womeninmusic #ireland
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
#1926Census Rhoda Coghill, age 22, occupation: pianist. #womeninmusic #musicology #speirghorm #ireland
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
What a rich resource #1926Census is. All credit to our National Archives. Learning about the early lives of the three of my four grandparents born by then, two of whom I knew, and one who died a decade ago. So much grinding poverty then, both in rural Ireland and inner-city Dublin. #speirghorm
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Eoin Murray @eoin-murray.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Wrote a lengthy essay about Clannad and how they deserve to be critically reevaluated in the same way Enya (former member, and Moya's sister) rightly has over the past decade or so. So much special music in their discography, carried in huge part by Moya's voice. You can read it here.
substack.com
The requisite Celtic soul, man
On Clannad, Enya and reappraising our Celtic New Age pioneers
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
sites.google.com/view/maynoot... This year's MaynoothPalFest - organised entirely independently by a handful of faculty and student volunteers - is on next week, 20 - 23 April. One highlight promises to be the Gig for Gaza. All are welcome. Please support! #freepalestine #maynoothpalfest
sites.google.com
MaynoothPalFest - Gig for Gaza
Thursday 23 April 7.30pm - SU Venue Gig for Gaza Featuring Jafra, Niamh Keady-Tabbal & Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Don Monté, Cormac Reynolds, MU Music Society Pop&Rock/Jazz&Blues Bands. Compèred by Seamus...
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
A friend just spotted our book, Women and Music in Ireland, next to Sinéad O'Connor's memoir in Charlie Byrne's bookshop in Galway!
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Claire Mullaly @clairemullaly.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Irish far-right are making speeches about migrants at their fuel protests.. meanwhile: 'Ireland’s energy-hungry datacentres consumed more electricity last year than all its urban homes combined, according to official figures.' Amazon AWS, Google, Equinix, Microsoft, Digital Realty, Edge Connex..
theguardian.com
Ireland’s datacentres overtake electricity use of all urban homes combined
Statistics raise concerns that rise in demand for data processing driven by AI could derail climate targets
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TheBookshop.ie @thebookshopie.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
An appeal to anyone with deeper knowledge of 20th century Irish traditional music - are the other names here also musicians? Frank O'Higgins was a notablfiddle player, but Michael Corbett and Pádraig S Ó Coirbard and Séamas Mac Mathúna? The 2nd page is pre WW1, but the names are later #irishMusic
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Yep. Also noticed that they all appear to be men - a small cohort of men who don't seem to care about other people's needs, work obligations, caring responsibilities, or simply our rights to access public spaces.
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Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera @pantibliss.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I fully support people's right to protest but I don't support far right bullshit pretending to be about farmers and hauliers and I can't recall another protest ever being allowed to bring the city to a halt for 36 hours and still going without any consequences whatsoever
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
sites.google.com/view/maynoot... The programme for Maynooth PalFest26 is now available! Check out the website: lots of great events including a Gig for Gaza and a film screening. All welcome.
sites.google.com
MaynoothPalFest
Welcome to Maynooth PalFest26 This celebration of Palestinian culture will take place between 20 and 23 April across the university campus and in Maynooth town. Most events are free and all are ope...
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Not fair. We deserved to win.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
What the fuck is wrong with people? How is this misogyny entertainment? #speirghorm
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Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign @ipsc.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Look at this! Artists, you have power to stand with the Palestinian people in the face of Israeli apartheid and genocide. Join 2,448 of your peers in Ireland who have signed our Artists' Pledge to Boycott Israel. Meaningful solidarity to be proud of. Sign➡️ www.ipsc.ie/cultural-boy... #FreePalestine
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Wish I could go to this concert! Friends in London, check it out. #InaBoyle #womencomposers #spéirghorm
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Just finished Sara Baume's Seven Steeples. One of the most memorable books I've read in years. Stunning writing. #spéirghorm
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Something here for senior academics and university bureaucrats to reflect on.
theguardian.com
Why are so many academics in the Epstein files? It’s not just about money | Christopher Marquis
In a university ecosystem that breeds hunger for status, Epstein made scholars feel like celebrities
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
The year of the flood.
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Dr Laura Watson @lauracwatson.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
rebelnews.ie/2026/02/16/t... #speirghorm #bds
rebelnews.ie
The Republic of Ireland Must Boycott the Israel Games - REBEL
On Thursday the Republic of Ireland football team drew Israel in the…
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Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Hard to overstate the extent to which Leon Botstein’s personal scorn for feminist anti-rape politics permeated Bard College’s culture while I was there. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...
nytimes.com
A $50,000 Watch and Friendly Notes: One College Leader’s Ties to Epstein
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