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Neil Hegarty

@neilhegarty.bsky.social
1.9K followers 870 following 487 posts

Writer, Dublin & Derry. Worlds, words. Novels: The Jewel•Inch Levels. Essays (ed.): Impermanence. Dublin Review•Stinging Fly•Banshee•PVA• Tangerine•Cyphers•Irish Times 📖 & 🌿 & 🏳️‍🌈 & 🎂 neilhegarty.com

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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Very glad to pop up on RTE Arena with @rickoshea.bsky.social to discuss forty years of the RTE Short Story Competition, and to pick out some of my favourite entries - including fabulous work by Mattie Brennan and Danielle McLaughlin. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
rte.ie
RTÉ Short Story Competition at 40
Rick is joined by former judge and writer Neil Hegarty, former competition winner John Donnelly, and the Short Story Series producer, Sarah Binchy, to celebrate 40 years of the RTÉ Short Story Competi...
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Moonrise over the south Wexford coast: and I'm looking back with pleasure at a busy weekend at the Write by the Sea book festival at Kilmore Quay. Teaching, moderating - and feeling impressed at the impact of a weekend festival. With thanks to @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social @eatthestorms.com.
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PAT FINUCANE CENTRE @finucanecentre.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Remember folks-at times of high community tension and re-traumatisation as is the case this morning with Drumcree/Garvaghy Rd there is one small step you can make for your own mental health and well being-do not listen to the toxic Nolan Show on Radio Ulster...
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Beau @drbeaubeaumont.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
To be fair, you honestly can’t say that Enid Blyton isn’t prepared to move with the times.
BBC headline: Five arrested as counter-terror police investigate major incident near RAF Fairford
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RTÉ Concert Orchestra @rteco.rte.ie · 25/09/2026
🎄On sale now! 🎄 RTÉ Radio 1 Sunday Miscellany celebrates Christmas with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall. With Paul Howard, John Toal, Neil Hegarty, Olivia O’Leary and more. 🗓️ Thurs 3 December 🎟️ Tickets expected to go very quickly www.nch.ie/all-events-l...
nch.ie
Sunday Miscellany Celebrates Christmas with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra (1) | National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall is a national cultural institution and the designated home of music in Ireland.
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The Lilliput Press @lilliputpress.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
He’s only gone and done it 🎉 A HUGE congrats to our submissions editor (and esteemed author!) Seán Farrell on winning the John McGahern Prize for his debut novel Frogs for Watchdogs 🎉 Frogs for Watchdogs is a brilliant, beautiful depiction of childhood, and we’d really recommend you get yourself a
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Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann @irishpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We're delighted to announce the shortlisted titles for the 2026 PEN Heaney Prize with partners @englishpen.bsky.social & @seamusheaneyestate.bsky.social The winner will be announced, 1st December at the Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds in partnership with @nationalpoetrycentre. Tkts www.englishpen.org
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Ciaran De Buitlear | Gardeningwell @gardeningwell.ie · 24/09/2026
Same garden. About five years apart. I’m here so often that I don’t really see the change happening. Then I look back at an old photograph. A lot can happen to a small piece of land when people keep turning up and caring for it.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
So glad to be part of this year's RTE @sundaymiscellany.bsky.social special Christmas edition, live from the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 3 December. It's a beautiful way to begin Christmas - and tickets go on sale ... this morning! nch.ie
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Sunday Miscellany @sundaymiscellany.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Reminder! For getting tickets for our Christmas show with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra (National Concert Hall, Thursday 3 Dec). Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Friday 25 Sept, from 10am, NCH website and booking line only – early booking is advised! www.nch.ie/all-events-l...
writers and performers taking their final bow at the 2025 Sunday Miscellany Christmas concert
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is a spectacularly chilling thread from @sarahjeong.bsky.social. Such applause, not, for British Airways.
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Martin Doyle @martindoyle.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
My interview with Louise Kennedy about new novel, Stations: “I think writing settled something in me, because the voice in my head is completely northern. So I feel like myself when I write in a way that I probably don’t when I’m speaking in my southern accent.” www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
irishtimes.com
Trespasses author Louise Kennedy: ‘I lived on adrenaline all my life from kitchens’
The author on her new novel, Stations, moving south from the North, and how she ‘hired’ Gillian Anderson
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Late water lily.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Partitionist.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
'Super Trouper' putting on an autumn show.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I read this great book today by @gardeningwell.ie - and it has buoyed me up no end. Very inspiring and optimistic. Thank you, Ciarán.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
At Heywood today, in the county Laois.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Ready for bagging...
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 09/09/2026
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state. A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface. And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
A crescent Moon seen during the day, arcing from upper left to lower right of the frame. At lower centre is the full disk of Jupiter; the small dots to its upper left and lower right and Io and Ganymede, respectively.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Coming up at Dublin Book Festival. If you like smart, intriguing historical fiction, come along! @dublinbookfest.bsky.social @nlireland.bsky.social @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social
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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"Daltun's close, cogent and in the end unanswerable arguments are delivered unsparingly – and of course they match the moment." GREAT review by @neilhegarty.bsky.social of my new book 'Setting the Land Free - Visions of a Rewilded Ireland' in today's @irishtimes.com. Thanks Neil! 🙏
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Dublin Review of Books @dubreviewofbooks.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
'After dinner I read him to sleep. Worked at unripping. Gizzards and mutton. Rhubarb and gooseberry pie. Copied the Leech-gatherer for Coleridge. Finished the mattrass. Pulled a basket of peas. Helped Aggy Fleming to quilt a petticoat.' Vona Groarke's 'Dove Cottage'. drb.ie/article/dove-cottage/
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Big Donegal skies.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Donegal blackberries.
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Rónán Hession @ronanhession.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Bump! My writing masterclass in Derry is coming up on 12 September. I'll have loads to say. Do come! @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/writ...
irishwriterscentre.ie
Writers in the Regions: Writing, a masterclass with Rónán Hession (Derry) - Irish Writers Centre
This masterclass will focus on the writing, editing and publishing of novels of creative literary fiction with Ronan Hession in Derry
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June Caldwell @junec.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Missed this, not on insta: a summary of the work myself, @zoecomyns.bsky.social & Otto Goodwin worked on/wrote while on *Writing Place Writing Planet* programme with UCD's Mary Lavin Centre for Creative Writing & iCRAG (Centre for Geosciences). An amazing opportunity & experience. #Continent7
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Molly Farrell (she/her) @mollyfarrell.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I love this so much “I’m often asked why close reading is having a moment. The renewed focus on our fundamental methodology must be connected to the austerity that has been inflicted on the humanities”
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Irish Writers Centre @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to once again partner with Write by the Sea Literary Festival this September, to bring you a host of exciting events! Find out more about the latest stop in our literary roadshow: irishwriterscentre.ie/whats-coming...
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Daryl Hannah @dhlovelife.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Dolly broke me in early to her raucous self deprecating sense of humor when we began steel magnolias rehearsals  i asked her - how long does it take to do a hair do like yours? Dolly - no idea, i’m never there when they do it! i started taking Dolly-isms notes on the back of my script after that
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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Dolly Parton, trade unionist.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Upside-down fig cake.
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CMJohnston @cmjohnston.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
*Shares appreciated* Dear BlueSky, our drinking water comes from just beside here (Lough Neagh, County Antrim) Otters, kingfishers, swans, cormorants and more call this home Due to a near-collapsed local government there are few solutions Please raise awareness @chrisgpackham.bsky.social
Boat on algae-covered river Football on algae on river
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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
(Scots) pine wasn't among the tree species that were present in the rainforest when I arrived in 2009. But paleoecological research carried out by William O'Brien of @ucc.ie revealed that it was a major component of the locality's original wildwood, so I reintroduced it about 10 years ago.
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DeclanKavanagh.bsky.social @drdeclankavanagh.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Happy to share this statement from the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, which responds to recent comments about my position as Senior Lecturer in Eighteenth Century Studies and work I supervise. Solidarity with all marginalised academics under attack by the peddlers of a culture war.
Statement from BSECS
Published on: 18th Aug 2026
BACK
The British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies supports the work of scholars of the period from all backgrounds and career stages, working in all disciplines. The Society has recently reaffirmed its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in all its activities, and its opposition to bullying and harassment.
As such, members of the Society have been deeply concerned about the public hounding of academics by sections of the media and on social media platforms.
In the current 'culture wars', universities and their staff
- and Black scholars in particular - have been targeted to score political points about EDI, 'woke' culture and progressive causes. This tragically came to a head last week with the death of Prof Jason Arday, who had been subjected to weeks of hostile commentary and personal attacks.A recent article in The Spectator typified this trend. In this article, one of our own colleagues and his doctoral students were attacked for their work on queer readings of fiction. We stand in solidarity with our colleague, and strongly object to any such attempt to bully scholars and students in our field.
Furthermore, we insist that the study of sexuality is a legitimate and urgent academic endeavour, not least because many of today's attitudes towards sex and gender have their roots in the eighteenth century.
Indeed, current scholarship on the eighteenth century is very much alive to the challenges faced by society today, in fields such as race, gender, class and the environment, among many others. The British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies will continue to support those who carry out this important work, and we wish to assure our members that the Society will stand up to any attempt to harass them.
The Executive Committee of BSECS
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Dónal Hassett @donalh.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Ofc the one group who Martin or the commentators who share his view never think about are nationalists in the North. Are their legitimate political desires, provided for in the GFA, to be perpetually suspended until someone in Dublin or Cork decides they're ready? www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
irishtimes.com
Micheál Martin says talk of Border poll makes him go ‘bananas’
Taoiseach said party colleagues should concentrate on the benefits of the Shared Island initiative
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The Greengage Summer.
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Rónán Hession @ronanhession.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Bump! I'm doing a writing masterclass in Derry library on 12th September. I almost never do this sort of thing so do book if you're interested. irishwriterscentre.ie/whats-on/wri...
irishwriterscentre.ie
Writers in the Regions: Writing, a masterclass with Rónán Hession (Derry) - Irish Writers Centre
This masterclass will focus on the writing, editing and publishing of novels of creative literary fiction with Ronan Hession in Derry.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Bramley apple cake.
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Eoin Daly @eoinmauricedaly.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Just reviewed a manuscript I highly suspected of being slop or slop-adjacent, but it wasn’t so clear that I could excuse myself from having to go through the motions. Felt sorry for myself, but more so for all journal editors. We are already in hell😬😬
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
First fig.
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Stephen O'Neill @oneillsb.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Reminder about this event on August 4th at the Féile with Michael Magee
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Dr. Barry Houlihan @barryhoulihan.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Tune into @sundaymiscellany.bsky.social on @rteradio1.bsky.social this Sunday morning where I'll be building up to the All Ireland Hurling Final with hurling memories from my grandfather and the story of the first hurl my father gave to me. From 9am Sunday morning.
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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
These are most of the books I got in Belfast (Yeah yeah “the Hauntologies guy finds two books with Ghost in the title” yeah yeah we get it)
Uncanny Ireland (this one’s just for fun), Living with Ghosts, A Hosting, The Ghost Limb, Northern Protestants on Shifting Ground and Impermanence
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Martin Tyrrell @outsidewriters.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Very pleased to have a chapter in the forthcoming Routledge Companion to George Orwell.
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Tom Shiels @itstomshiels.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
There's only seven of these limited edition, signed, and numbered pre-orders left. If it sounds like your cup of tea then be sure to grab one today. 💚
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Dublin Review of Books @dubreviewofbooks.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Tháinig a lá. Our co-founder (2007), and until last year joint editor, at Books Upstairs in D'Olier Street, Dublin in front of a display of his newly published 'The Dark Side of France: Thirteen Chapters in the History of the French Far Right'. You'd have to say that he doesn't look hugely pleased.
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Damien B Donnelly @eatthestorms.com · 08/07/2026
The Storms journal is delighted to be taking part in the @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social journals showcase this evening 🎉
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Royal Irish Academy @ria.ie · 06/07/2026
📚 The Royal Irish Academy, in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs, has revealed the six shortlisted titles for the 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction! www.ria.ie/2026/07/03/s...
ria.ie
Six books shortlisted for the €10,000 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction - Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs has today, 3 July, announced the six shortlisted titles for the 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction.
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Neil Hegarty @neilhegarty.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Cherry harvest.
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