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Michael

@mmchael.bsky.social
147 followers 173 following 141 posts

Family carer, disability, politics. Inclusive creative projects, food, medievalism, history, art. 🇮🇪🇫🇷 Largely offline. Kerry, Ireland. He/Him.

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Reposted by Michael
Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Really uncomfortable with the number of teachers I know or hear of using AI for well, nearly everything. Aside from any of the obvious pitfalls, it's an incredibly bad example to set for young people who need to develop, hone and practice their *actual* skills and capacities. #spéirgorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We had over 1000 plums this year. Having only ever had a handful in previous years, I was determined to do whatever I could with them. So... three types of umeshu, plum gin, eau-de-vie de pruneaux, plum jam, glacé plums, plum syrup, plum chutney, plum vingegars and many frozen plums!
A collection of jars and bottles with various plum products in brown, yellow, pink and purple tones. They are of differing sizes and shapes and sit on a green gingham tablecloth.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Really uncomfortable with the number of teachers I know or hear of using AI for well, nearly everything. Aside from any of the obvious pitfalls, it's an incredibly bad example to set for young people who need to develop, hone and practice their *actual* skills and capacities. #spéirgorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Jodie's birthday dress had a Japanese theme (as does everything that Jodie wants lately) and it turned out really well.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Almost evey time I read about the welfare systems of other EU countries, I subsequently end up writing to TDs to highlight problems with ours by comparison. In short, being interested in welfare policy AND wanting to do anything about it is time consuming. #spéirgorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Almost evey time I read about the welfare systems of other EU countries, I subsequently end up writing to TDs to highlight problems with ours by comparison. In short, being interested in welfare policy AND wanting to do anything about it is time consuming. #spéirgorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Pretty tired today, but we manged to get out to see some really wonderful Indian drumming and dancing for Culture Night. Jodie was mesmerised!
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The idea of 'No.10 North' being a secondary political nexus for the entire UK administration, but STILL being entirely within England itself, doesn't do much to dampen the (correct) notion that England unfairly dominates the union.
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Reposted by Michael
Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wait, sorry, but... *who* are the government 'pushing very strongly' for this? Is it not... *their own decision* Government 'committed' to introducing cost of #disability payment in budget jrnl.ie/7162389 #Spéirghorm #Spéirgorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wait, sorry, but... *who* are the government 'pushing very strongly' for this? Is it not... *their own decision* Government 'committed' to introducing cost of #disability payment in budget jrnl.ie/7162389 #Spéirghorm #Spéirgorm
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Reposted by Michael
gamera obscura @ohrobin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The return to physical media is a radical act. A book in your hand or a record on the turntable belong to a world beyond subscriptions, licenses, and corporate permission, and they can be lent, inherited, annotated, repaired, and loved. They remain when the platform fails and the servers die.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I was a double carer for ten years, & no matter how inured you become to this stuff, it still stings. Care -of children, #disabled people and the elderly is the go-to example of undeniably necessary & difficult work in exchange for what often amounts to exclusion & derision. #spéirgorm #speirgorm
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Reposted by Michael
Rita Wild @ritawild.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
RT if you’ve never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I was a double carer for ten years, & no matter how inured you become to this stuff, it still stings. Care -of children, #disabled people and the elderly is the go-to example of undeniably necessary & difficult work in exchange for what often amounts to exclusion & derision. #spéirgorm #speirgorm
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Reposted by Michael
Jen Keane @zenbuffy.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A significant contributor to the gender pay gap and the continuing financial disparity between men and women is the undervaluing of all of the unpaid care work done by women in Ireland. Women all over Ireland get up early, every morning, and go to work, unpaid and unvalued.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
I finally gave in to Jodie's months-long campaign, and made Samin Nosrat's Miso Egg. I don't eat eggs, so I've no idea if they're good, but it was fun to do.
Some boiled eggs that have been cured with miso paste and turned a warm brown colour are sitting in a glass dish on a green gingham tablecloth. 

One egg is sliced open showing a jammy textured yellow yolk. You can see that the miso has been absorbed into the edge of the egg white.
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Reposted by Michael
Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
...and they're gone. They were wonderful.
Jodie is smiling and holding up two donut shaped Greek cookies, speckled with sesame seeds over her eyes. She has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a white top and yellow gloves. The backdrop is a messy kitchen.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
...and they're gone. They were wonderful.
Jodie is smiling and holding up two donut shaped Greek cookies, speckled with sesame seeds over her eyes. She has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a white top and yellow gloves. The backdrop is a messy kitchen.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Hard to understand what the mass appeal to the public would be, in an investment scheme conjured up by Simon Harris, and with the involvement of Ires Reit, neither entity beloved by the people. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I am always thankful that I grew up in a household with #disability, because it really forces you to see, in practical, societal and political instances -- injustice, prejudice and cowardice -- where it might have remained concealed.
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Reposted by Michael
Emma Rogan 🇵🇸 @emmadragon.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Are you an adult living with #MS experiencing difficulties with #thinking, #memory, or decision-making? 🧠 ✅Research by the University of Galway ✅Galway+Dublin '26 ✅Nationwide 2027 Join the COB-MS clinical trial designed to improve #cognitive issues in MS. www.cob-ms.com #spéirghorm #Pride #Brain
Poster for the COB-MS CLinical Trial with diverse group of people sitting, smiling and talking together. 

Logos of: 

MS Ireland, Health Research Board, University of Galway, and the Pride Progress Flag.
Multiple
Sclerosis
Are you an adult living with MS who experiences
difficulties with thinking, memory, or decision-making?
Then we're inviting you to take part in
COB-MS clinical trial
designed to improve cognitive issues in MS.
WHAT'S INVOLVED? WHY TAKE PART?HOW?
8 Sessions with
an Occupational
Therapist (OT)
2 individual, 6 in groups
Randomly allocated to:
Online In-person
Follow up assessments in:
Control
● 12 weeks
● 6 months
● 12 months
Simple & manageable
Dr. Sinéad Hynes is the lead investigator of
the COB-MS. She is a senior lecturer at the
University of Galway and a CORU registered
Occupational Therapist.
Looking for
participants
based in:
● Galway
● Dublin
Each session lasts
about an hour INTERESTED?
● Scan the
QR code:
● Or contact
us through:
cobms@universityofgalway.ie
085 114 6207
www.cob-ms.com
Help shape future
MS support.
Your voice matters
and we are stronger
together.COB MS Logo with a brain as a thumbprintMultiple Sclerosis Ireland logo with birds silhouette and the text is red and peacock blueLogo of Ollscoil na Gaillimhe University of Galway in  claret red. Silhouette of illustration of main university building.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Hard to understand what the mass appeal to the public would be, in an investment scheme conjured up by Simon Harris, and with the involvement of Ires Reit, neither entity beloved by the people. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Like, umbrellas for rain are de rigeur and rain is merely a pleasant inconvenience compared to this.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
We need to normalise being safe in the sun to a greater extent. Jodie and I just moved through town with UV umbrellas and ffs, the number of looks or giggles we got was ridiculous. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I am always thankful that I grew up in a household with #disability, because it really forces you to see, in practical, societal and political instances -- injustice, prejudice and cowardice -- where it might have remained concealed.
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Reposted by Michael
Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I was not made for mediterranean level heat, so I stayed inside and made Ladokouloura, or Greek olive oil biscuits, which I was made for.
A wire tray full of donut shaped orange and olive oil cookies dusted with sesame seeds (Ladokouloura). It sits on a green gingham tablecloth. There is a large casserole dish behind and some oranges nearby.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I was not made for mediterranean level heat, so I stayed inside and made Ladokouloura, or Greek olive oil biscuits, which I was made for.
A wire tray full of donut shaped orange and olive oil cookies dusted with sesame seeds (Ladokouloura). It sits on a green gingham tablecloth. There is a large casserole dish behind and some oranges nearby.
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
One more time. Enjoy your swims but keep an eye.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
A reminder on hot days like today to keep an eye on people with an intellectual disability & sensory issues. They may not fully comprehend the danger of the heat, & find it difficult to communicate feeling too hot or dehydrated. Talk to them about the dangers & help them take precautions.
jrnl.ie
Status Yellow high-temperature warning issued for eight counties
Met Éireann said temperatures could reach 30 degrees in some parts of the country today.
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Reposted by Michael
Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
So many outlets referring to Starmer as 'decent'. In what way is making life painful and unsustainable for disabled people or trans people 'decent'? I wish it was more common to properly vet adjectives before use.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Before I take up a new materials-consuming hobby, I always take a minute to remember the actual crate of unifinished medieval embroidery as a cautionary tale.
Embroidery hoops and frames are inside a clear plastic storage box. Two hoops featuring unfinished images of Medieval style figures are facing outwards. They are outlined but only part filled in.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We've been keeping up with cooking because it's such a good grounding ritual, not to mention nourishing, but also keeping it simple. A pesto sans-fromage with apple.
On a tablecloth of green gingham sits a large bowl of penne pasta slathered in a  bright green pesto, alongside some Italian red wine, a lemon and some glasses of water.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We've been keeping up with cooking because it's such a good grounding ritual, not to mention nourishing, but also keeping it simple. A pesto sans-fromage with apple.
On a tablecloth of green gingham sits a large bowl of penne pasta slathered in a  bright green pesto, alongside some Italian red wine, a lemon and some glasses of water.
111
Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
So many outlets referring to Starmer as 'decent'. In what way is making life painful and unsustainable for disabled people or trans people 'decent'? I wish it was more common to properly vet adjectives before use.
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Reposted by Michael
Passion Médiévistes Podcast @passionmedievistes.fr · 19/06/2026
🎧 NOUVEL ÉPISODE 🎧 Quand finit l’Antiquité et quand commence le Moyen Âge ? On en parle avec l'historien Bruno Dumézil, spécialiste du Haut Moyen Âge, dans un hors-série enregistré lors des 9 ans du podcast ! ➡️ passionmedievistes.fr/hs-43-dumezil/ Et merci à @chezdin.fr pour l'illustration 💜
passionmedievistes.fr
Hors-série 43 - De l'Antiquité au Moyen Âge, avec Bruno Dumézil • Passion Médiévistes
Quand finit l'Antiquité et quand commence le Moyen Âge ? On en parle dans cet épisode avec Bruno Dumézil !
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Before I take up a new materials-consuming hobby, I always take a minute to remember the actual crate of unifinished medieval embroidery as a cautionary tale.
Embroidery hoops and frames are inside a clear plastic storage box. Two hoops featuring unfinished images of Medieval style figures are facing outwards. They are outlined but only part filled in.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
As greater and greater numbers of people lose the ability to afford anything at all, won't the country just ... totally fail? #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
As greater and greater numbers of people lose the ability to afford anything at all, won't the country just ... totally fail? #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
We really have to stop allowing 'doing the bidding of particular international business interests' to be framed as 'a good thing for the country'. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
We really have to stop allowing 'doing the bidding of particular international business interests' to be framed as 'a good thing for the country'. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Our beautiful mother passed away peacefully over the weekend, after a short illness that took us by surprise. An incredible person, indomitable woman, and a truly exceptional mother to Jodie & I. We never went a day without speaking to her. We are heartbroken & so deeply grateful to have had her.
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Shane Anderson 🏳️‍🌈 @shaneanderson.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future." - @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit. Incredible words. Listen to all of it!
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Read 'The Green Ages' by Annette Kehnel. Wonderful to have some ecological & economic practices of the past brought to life, & contrasted against our own weird, problematic times. I love the Medieval period, and while I wouldn't choose to live in it, we can (and should) absolutely learn from it.
Book cover of 'The Green Ages' by Anette Kehnel. It shows Medieval style greenery, with figures gathering plants around a basket.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I like and have studied opera, and for me, the appeal is the human creativity, expression and participation of it. With every art, craft or creative endeavour, it's the humanity that resonates. 'Collaboration' (?) with AI in the arts would be to surrender the arts altogether.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I imagine, to Micheál Martin though, this makes us something of a leading light. Only we are pro-business enough, (to the detriment of everything else) to facilitate this at the literal expense of people, communities and the environment. #Spéirgorm #Spéirghorm
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I imagine, to Micheál Martin though, this makes us something of a leading light. Only we are pro-business enough, (to the detriment of everything else) to facilitate this at the literal expense of people, communities and the environment. #Spéirgorm #Spéirghorm
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Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Interesting Irish connections at the v&a in their jewelry section. Not surprising how aesthetically pleasing objects can be separated so easily from politics, including the colonial worlds they inhabited, replicated and circulated in, esp the murky world of ownership and provenance.
Gold Bronze Age embossed collar displayed in a glass case with black background. Large diamond encrusted crown with prominent shamrock design. Displayed against a black background.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I like and have studied opera, and for me, the appeal is the human creativity, expression and participation of it. With every art, craft or creative endeavour, it's the humanity that resonates. 'Collaboration' (?) with AI in the arts would be to surrender the arts altogether.
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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Okay, but, nearly every school I know is taking in more pupils with ASD or SEN/AEN so... aren't *more* SNA posts actually required? #Spéirgorm #Spéirghorm
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