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Melissa

@melissabreen.bsky.social
1.5K followers 979 following 69 posts

writer | aspiring screenwriter | editor | saoirse don Phalaistíne | sí/í

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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 13h
Hidden in this article is the statistic that for 54% of people who access mental health services, money worries is the leading factor
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 14h
Call me crazy but I don't think executions should be happening privately either
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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...
irishtimes.com
Three Palestinian students granted visas after Minister reverses refusal
A fourth student lost their appeal to the visa refusal
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 18h
It's almost like treating the healthcare system like a business instead of a vital community service that helps people, doesn't work www.rte.ie/news/health/...
rte.ie
Hospital waiting lists surpass 1m patients for first time
Irish public hospital waiting lists have surpassed one million patients for the first time.
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Eoin Lettice @eoinlettice.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
We need to have conversation about how this new 'public' square at South Main Street has been taken over by parking. The adjacent Lambley's Lane (leading to the new Cumann na mBan Bridge) is just as bad. Drive thru library anyone? #Cork
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Shade 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇮🇪🦄💙📚🎃 @sharrow.eurosky.social · 09/10/2026
FFG slashed community funding programmes during austerity, and never restored them. www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/iris... #FFGFailures
breakingnews.ie
Irish children forced into criminality inappropriately punished, major report finds | BreakingNews
Irish children forced into criminality are being inappropriately punished, as authorities fail to identify them as victims of trafficking, a major report from the US State Department finds.
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
So about 1/6th of the entire population of Ireland are waiting for medical care. Unsurprising. I've been waiting for an emergency orthopedic appointment since January, gastro for 3 years, and a urologist for I can't even remember
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Tony - Pod Guy - Groves @tonygroves.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
You’re not angry enough.
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Medusa’s Wink @medusaswink.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I would like to renew the proposition to name hurricanes after politicians who deny climate change
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Chronic Illness Humor @chronicillness.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I'm mysterious in a "how is she still alive" sort of way
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Strikes are a very important part of democracy so he can f off with that. The people who are striking represent the wants of the people of Ireland way better than the government, and especially Martin, does.
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Wardy™ @tdward.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It is crazy that Google took a sledgehammer to the one thing pretty much every internet user in the world used it for. Their name became a fucking verb it was so universally used. Now you get this fucking bollocks trying to search ANYTHING.
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Jocelynn 💙 @spongebob104.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
(1) all the people who are just completely fine with our own government executing someone by firing squad on livestream just really aren’t questioning how far they could take this? are we really just going to sit back and let them desensitize us to this? What I am really wondering is at what
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I think blaming teenagers recent bullying and dangerous behaviour only on social media is a mistake. Teenagers have always been like this, the medium has just changed and it's not done in secret anymore. Before social media, kids got beat each other up in the bathrooms, locker rooms, the school yard
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Scrimshaw's Volume 5 launch featuring yours truly is now available to watch! youtu.be/EFAGLf9-TMo?...
youtu.be
The Scrimshaw Journal's Volume 5 launch
YouTube video by Scrimshaw Journal
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026
Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.
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Dean Van Nguyen @deanvannguyen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’m so proud of Gavin Bazunu. He’s provided a yardstick for courage that his so-called teammates will eternally be judged as failing to live up to
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I've rarely seen the country so united as we are about how despicable it is that this game is going ahead. I don't know how they're going to live with themselves.
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The subtitles attempting to be English for the Irish words on CMATs performance on snl is oddly poetic Nearly forgot the sky high His two in my hand on my head August passing darkness How does god love a man
Screenshot of CMATs performance on snlScreenshot of CMATs performance on snlScreenshot of CMATs performance on snlScreenshot of CMATs performance on snl
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Smith @infiniteterror.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This articulates something I've been trying to explain to people for years about how social media is virtual reality and we've been in denial.
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
We, as a people, have the power to stop AI, we just have to do it the same way we dealt with crypto and NFTs: Take the absolute piss out of it and anyone who uses it. Be so unserious about it. Speak about Claude the way we talked about Mr. Clippy
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Titan Books @titanbooks.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
THE UNSOLVEABLE CASE by @cswritesbooks.bsky.social is coming soon... ✨ The series concludes in one last mystery for Mallory, Cornelia and Diana as they have to solve their biggest, and most important case of all - who killed Theodore. tinyurl.com/mvkc7wf
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sociohat @sociohat.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
spent too much time taking photos of psyduck under this patch of sunlight
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 26/06/2026
The UK "received intelligence that Ethiopia appeared to be supporting a genocidal militia in Sudan’s civil war as far back as 2024 but did not go public with the news for fear of upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a parliamentary committee will hear." www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
UK prioritised ties with UAE over averting mass atrocities in Sudan, MPs to be told
Foreign Office failed to act on warnings of genocide due to ‘pressure’ from emirates, Yale human rights investigator will tell a parliamentary select committee
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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
If you are unlawfully made homeless, and complain about your landlord to the Residential Tenancies Board, they will close your complaint because you can’t give them a permanent address you live at (because you were unlawfully made homeless).
= Q Dublin InQuirer
_ rina Arternieva is homeless, ricocheting
between between different bed and breakfasts, sometimes in different counties, using vouchers provided by her local council.
In March, she filed a case with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for alleged unlawful termination of tenancy, which she says is the reason why she is homeless.
But staff at the RTB have repeatedly said they will close her case if she doesn't provide an address.
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Tatiana Trifan #FBLC @tatianatrifan.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The "Who not to date" groups made by women are important not only to avoid predatorial & abusive men, and not only, as many are LGBTQ+ inclusive, but are also good for one's education. They include information about how to spot gaslighting and abuse, how to address internalised misogyny, etc.
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Ciara Knight @ciara.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
First heatwave without Fungie. Always the hardest.
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Ouch. www.thejournal.ie/readme/gavan...
But there is a broader point, about the relative lack of urgency in getting any legislation through the Oireachtas in the modern era. Only 21 bills completed their passage through the Dáil and Seanad last year – the joint-lowest total in the history of the State. The only year with fewer bills passed was 1922, where the Irish Free State only existed for three weeks before Christmas and still managed to get five Acts passed.
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Dr Miranda Fay Thomas (they/she) @drmirandafay.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
[AFTER KEIR STARMER RESIGNS] ME: PAL: ME: PAL: Lot of human rights abuses for a hu- ME: A LOT of human rights abuses for a human rights lawyer!
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Tyler, from the Internet (Haunted) @tylerfromtheinternet.com · 20/06/2026
two books on display at bookstore
"God is not mad at you"
"He's just not that into you"
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Ola Løkken Nordrum @olaln.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Policies working exactly as intended.
independent.ie
Ireland now the most expensive country in the EU for housing, health, alcohol and electricity
Goods and services are more than a third dearer than European average
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Dr Ian McCormick @wokestudies.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
"if an adult pedestrian was struck by an SUV, they were 44% more likely to be killed than if the vehicle was a smaller car. This rose to 82% higher for children." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
SUV buyers undeterred by warnings of risk to pedestrians, UK study finds
Exclusive: Research suggests financial penalties necessary if number of large vehicles on roads is to be reduced
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Irish News 🇮🇪 @news-flows-ir.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Soda Blonde appeal for help after guitars and equipment stolen from Dublin lock-up Two guitars and two pedal boards belonging to the band were stolen from a site in Dublin this week.
thejournal.ie
Soda Blonde appeal for help after guitars and equipment stolen from Dublin lock-up
Two guitars and two pedal boards belonging to the band were stolen from a site in Dublin this week.
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Social Democrats @social-democrats.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Survivors of sexual violence should be able to access counselling in confidence. The Minister for Justice promised to introduce a presumption of non-disclosure in respect of counselling notes. The Minister has broken his commitment Therapy notes should never be weaponised against victims in court.
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Mike McGrath-Bryan @mikemcgb.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Fair play to @melissabreen.bsky.social and company on Vol. 5 of Scrimshaw Journal. Had occasion to go to Bantry yesterday, and picked it up gratis at Bantry Bookshop while traipsing around the town. Devoured it on the bus home. #spéirghorm #ireland #booksky
The front cover of the Scrimshaw literary journal, an A5-size paperback, illustrated with broad strokes of yellow, blue and green beneath a swathe of white.
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Shade 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇮🇪🦄💙📚🎃 @sharrow.eurosky.social · 16/06/2026
Why can't women be prescribed Prep here in Ireland? Currently the HSE refuses to do so. @hselive.bsky.social #spéirgorm www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
irishexaminer.com
On Ireland AIDS Awareness Day, we need to talk about women and HIV
As a queer man living with HIV, I want women to know they are not alone. We have fought this fight, and we're here to help, writes Will Kennedy
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Matt Gallagher @mattmgallagher.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
The UK's youth social media ban will require *all adults* to submit their biometric and personal data to a host of third-party ID verification providers. Some have questionable privacy records – and ties to the Israeli Govt and Peter Thiel. 🧵 bylinetimes.com/2025/07/31/t...
bylinetimes.com
The Online Safety Act is Forcing Brits to Hand Over Personal Data to 'Unregulated' Overseas Corporations With Questionable Privacy Records
The age verification services used by social media platforms include a company funded by a Trump-supporting billionaire and a firm set up by former Israeli intelligence officers
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Hundreds of thousands of disabled people with lifelong conditions are being put through “pointless” benefit reassessments, contrary to official guidelines. This includes people with learning disabilities and limb amputations. My exclusive: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Disabled people with lifelong conditions facing ‘unnecessary’ Pip reassessments
‘Pointless’ reviews are wasting public money and ‘significantly harming’ the mental health of claimants, charity says
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Christine @violagrl09.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Kids can't hang out in parks. They can't hang out at the mall. They don't have 3rd spaces because no one wants kids around and then we are surprised when they rely on SM for connection. If you take that away, what do they have left?
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Prof Deborah Lupton, MPH PhD @dalupton.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... The impacts of locking under 16 yos from their social media networks are now beginning to bite for those young people who relied on them for social connection
theguardian.com
‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities
Despite the ban’s aim to protect young people, experts are concerned that those in marginalised communities or living with disabilities could lose vital support networks
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Mike McGrath-Bryan @mikemcgb.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Hello all! It's been a busy time in my life, so I'm posting about stuff I've been involved with lately. Thread begins here. Me and my pal @ailsy.bsky.social cowrote a guide to ADHD in Ireland, which is in all good bookshops now! www.irishacademicpress.ie/product/have... #spéirghorm #ireland #adhd
irishacademicpress.ie
Have I Got Your Attention? – A Guide to Adult ADHD in Ireland
Mike McGrath-Bryan & Ailín Kennedy A must-have, practical ADHD guidebook that provides easy-to-implement strategies and essential information in an Irish context – from identification, assessment and...
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
"The count will begin from Monday next week, 8 June, for a period of one week. People are asked to look in their garden, local park, green areas or woods to try find hedgehogs" This is so cute www.rte.ie/news/connach...
rte.ie
Call for public to assist in nationwide hedgehog count
Hedgehog Conservation Ireland and researchers at University of Galway and Oxford are calling on people to take part in the inaugural Great Big All-Ireland Hedgehog Count.
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r @recombobulating.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
children are people they don't need to be taught to be human because they are already human colonial education and parenting denies this because it seeks to use personhood as a conditional reward for obedience and compliance and that's a terrible awful thing
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Patrick Bresnihan @pbresnihan.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Ireland's household electricity bills are 52pc higher than the European average - equivalent to an extra €480 a year. Large scale public-community renewable energy coupled with limit on data centre growth could mean low household bills. But F/FG. www.independent.ie/business/mon...
independent.ie
Government urged to act after second report confirms Ireland has highest electricity prices in EU
Costs here are 52pc greater than the average of our counterparts in the bloc – and data centres are being blamed
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
"The Israeli military has launched a wave of air strikes on Gaza city, killing at least 9 Palestinians, five were members of the same family. Overnight strikes targeted residential apartments with no prior warning as people were asleep"
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Cathy @cathyby.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Short, unpaywalled, must-read editorial from Irish Times debunking job figures from data centres claimed by Simon Harris last week, and pointing out that they are increasing domestic electricity bills AND carbon emissions.
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Melissa @melissabreen.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
"Ireland's economic performance will falter in the coming years, due to what it described as "increasingly regressive migration policies" adopted by the Government... migrant workers accounted for 61.4% of all employment growth between 2019 and 2024" www.rte.ie/news/ireland...
rte.ie
Ireland needs migrant workers, ICI warns Government
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has warned that Ireland's economic performance will falter in the coming years, due to what it described as "increasingly regressive migration policies" adopted by the...
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ToonHive @toonhive.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Matthew Lillard criticized the industry for prioritizing celebrities over voice actors in animation: “The ability to carry a film, as the lead of a film with only a voice, is a power very few people have. The idea that they keep hiring crappy celebrities to carry huge films is killing us.”
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