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BlackVelvetBand

@myirish.bsky.social
678 followers 836 following 992 posts

Mother Friend Trade Unionist .Activist till I die I repost things that interest me not because I always agree with them. Belfast City She/Her Sí/í

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Reposted by BlackVelvetBand
Dr Mary McAuliffe @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social · 1h
‘The plaque recognises Sarah Doherty's significant contribution to workers' rights, trade unionism and social justice during her lifetime from 1884 – 1947, a transformative period in the city's history’. www.derrystrabane.com/news/blue-pl...
derrystrabane.com
Derry City & Strabane - Blue Plaque to honour activist and shirt factory worker unveiled
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Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 3h
On Saturday, October 3, the Israeli military said it carried strike on an apartment in Gaza ​in an attempt to kill Ali al-Amoudi, who leads the Hamas political office in Gaza. The air-strike killed at least five Palestinians, including four women. www.reuters.com/world/middle...
reuters.com
Israeli strike kills five in Gaza, including four women, health officials say
An ​Israeli airstrike killed at least five Palestinians, including four women, in an apartment building in Gaza ‌City early on Saturday, health and civil defence service officials said.
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Claire Mitchell @clairemitchell.bsky.social · 3h
We have nearly 1500 names now. Last day to sign
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Alan Rodgers @bi99le5.bsky.social · 15h
"... Jon Burrows, said the scenes at the Garvaghy Road on Saturday represent a serious failure of political leadership. Indeed, by unionists. That they endorsed the resurrection of this disgraceful attempt at intimidation is to their shame. They knew what would happen. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Portadown: Rallies take place on Garvaghy Road and Edgarstown over Drumcree dispute
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said anyone found to have blocked the Garvaghy Road will be treated as participating in an "illegal protest".
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Paddy Hillyard @paddyzemia.bsky.social · 17h
Beyond the Pale Books @btpbooks.bsky.social have made available a Pdf of ‘Garvaghy: A community Under Siege’ published in 1999. It is highly recommended, esp for the NIO and PSNI to understand the community’s trauma and the extent of violence associated with past Orange Order marches in Portadown.
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RTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 20h
Gaza's civil defence agency and a hospital have said that an overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City killed five Palestinians, including four women.
rte.ie
Five killed in Israeli strike on Gaza apartment building
Gaza's civil defence agency and a hospital have said that an overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City killed five Palestinians, including four women.
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alt-DUP @duponline.eurosky.social · 22h
Posting Eamonn McCann's recent article earlier reminded me of the various pieces he's done about Ian Paisley, a couple of which I'd encourage you to read.
hotpress.com
Eamonn McCann: Ian Paisley is a Liar and a Hypocrite | Hotpress
Would Ian Paisley Jnr and his DUP colleagues opt to gag the Gaelgóirí rather than preventing abortion being introduced in Northern Ireland? The question,...
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Sarah Kay @k-interarma.bsky.social · 22h
Back on the Garvaghy Road for day 7 of the stand off. Following a giant line of cars going at glacial past due to the number of people on that side. I can see a huge crowd as I’m walking forward. On one side, those who protect the peace process, buffering for 28 years. On the other…
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Like the Institute of Economic Affairs were running events and writing articles advocating against football regulator last year Wonder who paid for these? 😱 iea.org.uk/films/is-a-f...
iea.org.uk
Is a football regulator necessary?
Is English football broken? Should government try to fix it? And are any of the proposals in the Fan-Led Review … Continue reading "Is a football regulator necessary?"
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Always worth listening to Stormont Sources for an informed account of NI politics, but it's very NI that you are more likely to get a discourse on "love your neighbour" than on Art 11 ECHR. Go here for a weekend read on the relevant law around parades: ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/09/30/r...
ukconstitutionallaw.org
Richard Martin: Scenes from the Garvaghy Road, 2026: Protest, Police and Public Law in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland’s so-called marching season is usually petering out by now. This year looks to be different. On Sunday 27 September, after a 28-year wait and a flurry of last-minute legal challeng…
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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This now being shared around without anyone actually seeing if he said that in the clip... Doing the rounds over on Twitter as well.
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Dublin Inquirer @dublininquirer.com · 03/10/2026
What to do with the horses of Darndale? Grazing in public parks means other uses are being pushed out, and adding momentum to calls for an equine centre and stable club to properly support horse culture in the area.
dublininquirer.com
What to do with the horses of Darndale?
Grazing in public parks means other uses are being pushed out, and adding momentum to calls for an equine centre and stable club to properly support horse culture in the area.
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Disability News Service @johnpring.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The social security minister has still yet to decide whether secret reviews into deaths linked to the Department for Work and Pensions can be released to grieving relatives, a year after he asked civil servants to examine the issue. #DWP #BenefitDeaths www.disabilitynewsservice.com/no-decision-...
disabilitynewsservice.com
No decision from Timms on releasing secret reports on deaths, a year after speaking to DWP civil servants
The social security minister has still yet to decide whether secret reviews into deaths linked to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can be released to grieving relatives, a year after he a…
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Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Shanty homes,Montjuïc, Barcelona with Palau Nacional (MNAC) behind  Barracas as called in Spanish covered huge area of hill until late 60s housing 30,000 desperately poor who'd left even poorer rural. Realities of Francoist city. Screenshot from 1967 film "Mañana será otra día"
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 03/10/2026
More than 20 NHS trusts in England have stopped using Palantir’s waiting list tools, according to FT analysis that casts doubt on widely cited claims about the success of the controversial data project led by the US software giant. as.ft.com/r/6c8844ae-e...
as.ft.com
Over 20 NHS trusts have ditched Palantir waiting-list tools, analysis shows
FT findings prompt fresh probe by statistics regulator into health service claims over controversial data project
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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 03/10/2026
Gaza war heralds era of ‘technologically advanced barbarism’
irishtimes.com
Gaza war heralds era of ‘technologically advanced barbarism’
Pulitzer-winning journalist accuses western governments of forfeiting their moral authority through support for Israel’s war in Gaza
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Conor @ernekid.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Rodney Edwards did a great job at the Impartial Reporter in Fermanagh so hopefully he can drag the Newsletter out of the sectarian gutter that Ben Lowry drove it into
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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
“I think we all felt we have to go and stand with our friends.” - Claire Mitchell @clairemitchell.bsky.social
irishtimes.com
‘Everybody wants this to end’: Protestant group pushes UK government to end Drumcree standoff
Standoff entered sixth day on Friday as residents prepare to lodge fresh legal challenge on Monday
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Hell is empty and all the devils are here, and they have names. 👇🏼
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Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The housing protest which began Madrid has now spread to Barcelona. Plaça Catalunya this morning.
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Kathryn Milligan (Katy) @katymilligan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you're in TCD at 16:00 next Monday, this is sure to be excellent. Dabhoiwala's LRB article on Williams is fantastic, and I'm raging that I'm teaching at the same time. (Of all things, my class is on postcolonial approaches to art history...)
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Brendan Hark! T'is nearly Halloween. @brendanjharkin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Have the Parades Commission actually issued any kind of statement since last Friday? Are they just sitting back watching the disruption they've caused?
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Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Weird how Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli equates public criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism, and yet when far-right French politician Jordan Bardella engages in *actual antisemitism* ("all the banks are owned by Jews") Chikli defends him. www.haaretz.com/world-news/e...
haaretz.com
Israeli minister backs French far-right leader amid antisemitism allegations
After the publication of antisemitic messages Jordan Bardella wrote as a teenager, Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli came out in defense of the National Rally leader, accusing the French left o...
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BlackVelvetBand @myirish.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
‘Sport and Politics ‘ shouldn’t mix he really can’t be this stupidly naive
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BlackVelvetBand @myirish.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The media constantly frames the GRRC as being unreasonable they are not this is a thoroughly dishonest take
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Dublin Inquirer @dublininquirer.com · 02/10/2026
Irish National Opera has bought an old church on Abbey Street, to turn it into a performing arts space. The chapel on the ground floor is too small for a theatre “but it's the kind of place where you could have recitals, a piano player or string quartet”.
dublininquirer.com
Irish National Opera buys old church on Abbey Street, to turn it into a performing arts space
The chapel on the ground floor is too small for a theatre “but it's the kind of place where you could have recitals, a piano player or string quartet”, says Diego Fasciati, the executive director.
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End Deportations Belfast @enddbelfast.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This will impact on services, quality of life and richness of our communities. Another act of self harm by the British state, clueless local politicians who cowered from conversations about the positive aspects of immigration and of course pogromist loyalist paramilitaries and their facilitators.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
NI population almost static as growth slows to near zero between mid-2024 and mid-2025
Northern Ireland’s population stalls as net migration turns negative; see which council areas grow, which shrink and how UK trends compare.
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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yehonatan Ovadia – a Hasidic Jew and Israeli citizen who has lived in the U.S. on a visa since 2022 – is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (a notorious federal prison) and facing deportation … for his criticism of Israel on religious grounds.
nytimes.com
A Hasidic Jew Protested Against an Israeli Flag. He May Be Deported.
Yehonatan Ovadia, who opposed the mounting of the flag in a small New York town, belongs to a Hasidic branch that is anti-Zionist. He is now in ICE custody.
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Claire Mitchell @clairemitchell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🚨 Open letter from people of Protestant backgrounds concerning the Garvaghy Road 🚨 We feel compelled to speak publicly about what is happening in Portadown 🚨Over the past few hours we have collected over 140 signatures
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Conor @ernekid.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Honestly they should just ban Fraternities.
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Dimi Reider @dimireider.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Now the Supreme Court, itself under a life-or-death assault by the very ministers who sought to ban Sami, is folding and upholding the ban - but not even having the guts to issue a verdict: they're actually asking! Sami! to withdraw! and save them the blame! Beneath contempt.
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Alliance for Choice @all4choice.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Autumn is officially here 🍂 Keep warm with a pro-choice hoodie, featuring a stunning Skullduggery design. Check out our full range of merch on our website! www.alliance4choice.com/merchandise/...
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End Deportations Belfast @enddbelfast.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Disinformation is used as a tool by the far-right. This week AI fakes were shared by TUV's McDowell as Drumcree is exploited to stir sectarianism. The Journal exposes Our Northern Ireland Voice stoking racism, potentially inciting violence warranting investigation under multiple laws and Meta's ToS.
thejournal.ie
AI images and misinformation shared widely online during Garvaghy Road stand-off
The deputy leader of the TUV admitted a photo he posted was AI-generated.
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Keith Adams @keithadams.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"snoring" suggests that lethal injection is just like falling asleep rather than prolonged suffocation or bleeding out from venous cutbacks
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Manchester City cheated Premier League rules, the Commission found. Did it also cheat HMRC? We've examined the decision and leaked Mancini documents. We think City likely failed to pay £12m in tax. There should be a criminal investigation. Thread:
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Dr Mary McAuliffe @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Court hears of ‘significant’ and ‘out of blue’ change of practice by Minister for Justice www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...
irishtimes.com
Four students from Gaza challenge ‘irrational’ visa refusal to pursue studies
Court hears of ‘significant’ and ‘out of blue’ change of practice by Minister for Justice
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John Breslin @cloud.eurosky.social · 30/09/2026
Arya Satheesh, an 18-year-old student from Letterkenny in County Donegal, Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegrades www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/t...
smithsonianmag.com
This High Schooler Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegrades
Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollution
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Ruth Watson @ruthwatson.eurosky.social · 30/09/2026
A genuine humanitarian. All those children. All those young refugees. Separated from their parents because the Daily Mail, politicians, and others in 1930s UK, refused refuge to their parents, thousands of whom died in the Holocaust.
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Alf Dubs @alfdubs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm so very sad to hear of the death of Esther Ranzen who played an important role in reuniting me with Nicky Winton - the man who saved my life. It's so desperately sad that she couldn't choose assisted dying as was her wish.
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Louth For Ever 🦋 @louthforever.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
That’s Niamh Dunne from BEOGA on the fiddle and the Artists for Palestine jumper on her, and the other two BEOGA lads across from her on guitar and squeeze box
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Voice4Justice @voices4justice.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Jordan Valley Activists: “📍Al-Hamma, northern Jordan Valley Settlers have taken control of the spring used by the Al-Hamma community, which consists of around 20 families. The spring has supplied water to their herds for years and provides irrigation for farmers in Ein al-Bayda.🧵
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There was a huge risk that the NI public inquiry into Laundries and Institutional Abuse was not going to get off the ground amid the turmoil of recent months - this is important news, and Langdale has vital experience as Counsel to other inquiries: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/norther...
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Appointment of Rachel Langdale KC to lead Truth Recovery Public Inquiry welcomed
Probe will cover mother and baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses
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SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID-19) @covid19disease.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨 BREAKTHROUGH: 18-year-old Arya Satheesh from Ireland has developed a plant-based plastic that can biodegrade and release an enzyme that helps break down other plastic waste. A plastic that could actually help clean up plastic waste.
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 30/09/2026
Israeli minister calls Shabana Mahmood an Islamist, because erm, erm, erm
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Richard Martin on the clash of interests at issue at Drumcree. For deep understanding, stop reading other analyses and sit down with this. For me, a coda on the "heckler's veto" point is that this works differently (Art 8) if people are on their own street: ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/09/30/r...
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thedetailtv.bsky.social @thedetailtv.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Pat Finucane inquiry is being prevented from access to millions of intelligence documents because government funding for a secure computer system has yet to be agreed more than two years after the investigation was first announced. By Barry McCaffrey
thedetail.tv
Finucane inquiry blocked from secret files over funding delay
The inquiry is still waiting for secure infrastructure to handle sensitive intelligence documents
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AustinfromHere @austinhere.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Like... This is an AI crowd? Right? Cause the politicians are sharing it like real.
Imagine if AI
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Brendan Hark! T'is nearly Halloween. @brendanjharkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here's a photo posted by an attendee on their facebook
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Brendan Hark! T'is nearly Halloween. @brendanjharkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A crowdfunder has begun to support the people of Garvaghy Road in their resistance against the Orange Order's bullying shite.
justgiving.com
Help raise £5000 to Support the residents, local community centre and the people on the Garvaghy Road – JustGiving Crowdfunding
Iʼm raising money to Support the residents, local community centre and the people on the Garvaghy Road. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.
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Stuart Bailie @stubailie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Huartan and friends. Garvaghy Road, Portadown. 28.09.26.
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