Elizabeth Boyle

I wrote something on anger, today and in medieval Ireland. #MedievalSky #OpenAccess #Speirgorm #Spéirghorm www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

This day will be marked red in my calendar. In spring 2016, we organised the 5th international conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales at @maynoothuniversity.ie @ceilteachomn.bsky.social. My colleagues Lára Ní Mhaoláin, @thecelticist.bsky.social and I edited the proceedings. Two years ago...

"Music Against the Night is about the relationship between life and art; about what it means to sacrifice a life to art; and about what exactly is sacrificed, when such a sacrifice is made." www.theguardian.com/books/2026/o...

"Hollands worked with Prof Caroline Jackson, a leading Roman glass expert, in conducting the initial research. Then came the challenge of embedding into glass nanoparticles of gold and silver – each a thousand times smaller than a grain of sand." www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Attended my beloved uncle's funeral yesterday, & loved how my cousins managed to shoehorn into the 10-minute eulogy - apropos absolutely nothing - that my Irish migrant-to-England uncle, who had nothing at all to do with the USA, & never even been to America, really fucking *hated* Donald Trump. 😃

23 October 2026 Mícheál Ó Cleirigh seminar w/ the Locating Loss project: Prof Deborah Hayden: ‘Textual amulets and women’s medicine in medieval Ireland'. Dr Róisín Donohue: ‘Devotion and Deliverance: Childbirth Practices in Late Medieval England'. K114, School of History, UCD, 4pm. All welcome!

The @dias.ie @scs-dias.bsky.social 'Samhain agus Science' Lecture takes place on October 29 at 7pm. Tickets below: Grisly tales from the Anglo-Norman advance: horrors of the twelfth century Tickets, Thursday 29 October  •  7 PM - 8 PM | Eventbrite share.google/UiHzUNyMP4fa...

Holy cow. The Guinea-Bissau offices of the two Danish researchers who were funded by RFK Jr. to conduct an unethical experiment with the HepB vaccine just had their offices raided and vaccines seized by the police. Great work on reporting this story once again by @melodyschreiber.com.

Just had privilege of watching my fantastic colleague @niamhwycherley.bsky.social giving a superb lecture on the diversity & mutual flow of people, texts & ideas into & out of medieval Ireland, part of "Wider World" lecture series @muahi.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie #MedievalSky #Spéirghorm

"We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the protest in 2017 by forming a human chain around the White House and attempting to levitate it,” says Sanders. “Again, we shouted ‘out, demons, out!’ and, again, nothing happened." www.theguardian.com/music/2026/o...

I didn’t know much about about Abdul El-Sayed before watching this but I knew as soon as I’d seen it that he’d worked as a teacher — and sure enough he was an assistant professor in epidemiology. This is how you walk a student through a dumb take.

'This meant Bonetta was “effectively indentured to Queen Victoria until age 19” under the post-abolition legal structures, Lovejoy said. Bonetta was then married off to James Pinson Labulo Davies, a merchant and philanthropist, of whom she would write: “I don’t feel a particle of love for him.”'

Last night was truly epic. First, the lovely and talented João Kombi (of Test) doing a solo noise set. Next up, the hugely enjoyable Irish space-rock band Wild Rocket. And finally, the fabulous Brazilian noise-punk-dub duo Deafkids. What a brilliant and eclectic night in the Bello Bar, Dublin. 🤘

"I think because of who I am, my upbringing, all these cultural influences are like tributaries that flow into it. We are all interconnected, not only with each other as fellow human beings, but with nature. For me, the long narrative form is about honouring those connections."

Let’s all pour one out for our friends and colleagues who weren’t online this week and completely missed the entire Zacharia arc.

📢 Applications are officially OPEN! We’re excited to launch our latest round of Fellowships, Prizes, and Bursaries ! Whether you're a early career scholar, or established historian, discover how our funding can support your research, travel, and publications. 🗓️ Apply: buff.ly/2aZE829

IHR-RHS DC Thomson Applied History Fellowships launch today. Scheme for UK-based recent post-1500 British or Irish History PhDs, providing a 6-month bursary of £12,250 to expand their career opportunities while applying their historical skills in a workplace. #Skystorians

What a fantastic day of solidarity. Wonderful to catch up with so many brilliant colleagues, and to have such overwhelming support from the wider public. Power to the people! ✊️ @ifut.bsky.social

SY Qureshi: “This is a national harassment exercise designed to throw Muslims off the electoral roll,” he claimed. “The only way to restore the credibility of India’s elections is to restore those deleted voters.”' www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

I, a member of the public, do not wish to see my fellow members of the public who teach my children, heal me if I am sick, who administer the state and so on left worse off due to inflation each year.

It's hard to find any rationale for not giving pay awards, at minimum, in line with inflation. It doesn't increase the share of gdp going on public expenditure, and it isn't a pay rise. Making that a stumbling block for negotiations is bizarre.

As a member of the public, I support striking workers today. Public sector workers are woefully undervalued, and I thought we learned that lesson during the COVID lockdowns, but apparently we need a reminder. I want workers to be paid fairly for the valuable services they provide. Yup the unions!

By January the governement will have spent more on giving in to the demands of fuel protestors than they've provided for in pay rises for the whole public sector. ( €1.2 bn )

Poll: Do You Support Strike Action Or Are You Suckling On The Barren Tit Of Capitalism In Hope You'll Get A Drop Of Sour Milk? https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2026/10/13/poll-do-you-support-strike-action-or-are-you-suckling-on-the-barren-tit-of-capitalism-in-hope-youll-get-a-drop-of-sour-milk/

I have logged out of my email, shut my laptop, & closed my books. Solidarity with the teachers, nurses, firefighters, librarians, doctors, special needs assistants, administrators, prison officers, heritage workers, midwives ... We have strength together! ✊️🇮🇪 #Spéirghorm #Speirgorm jrnl.ie/7191256

June 2027, Jonathan Cape. "As time increases its speed, I'm more of a feminist than ever." - Grace Paley

"Dr. Price’s latest book, “The Sea-King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age,” humanizes that world even further by diving into the distinct histories of 21 people from ancient Norse burial sites." #MedievalSky www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/s...

Getting ready for Wednesday. Stand together, strong together. ✊️ Strike set to go ahead on Wednesday as unions reject minister's latest bid for WRC talks jrnl.ie/7190805

I have some issues with the way the Dream of Macsen Wledig is exploited to frame these finds - the finds are exciting enough without the typically unnuanced "could prove a myth is true!" story that the media love so such. But still: yay! Interesting finds! #MedievalSky

This Black History month, recall Isabel Jennings, the secretary of the Cork Ladies' Anti-slavery Society and lifelong friend of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Irishwoman's Diary @Irish_examiner #Speirgorm www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/colu...?

There will be many appreciations of Chris Wickham - as a historian and as a human being. This is a good starting place. www.medievalists.net/2026/10/chri...

Went to see the mesmerising Cinder Well at the Bello Bar, Dublin, this evening, supported by Daragh Lynch from Lankum (doing a rare solo set). An excellent evening, far from my usual musical fare.

(Shared from various people on FB) RIP Chris Wickham

'I felt bad about adding work to her life and so I sent her a follow-up message saying, “But we don’t have to do something public. We can just relax and enjoy ourselves.” Anne responded: “I prefer working. That way I don’t have to think about the world. Or myself.”'

"It’s more about documenting our times and standing for what’s right rather than selling lots of records, but punk rock gave me the greatest superpower: question everything." www.theguardian.com/music/2026/o...

The mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, literally used himself as a human shield to protect students from police violence

"... the manuscript’s folded sheets may have originally been piled on top of each other as “singulions” ... but were mis-bound in a more typical “nested” arrangement at some point in the mid to late 15th century." Something sensible about the Voynich manuscript?! Mirabile dictu! 😱 #MedievalSky

"The Occidental Book of the Dead” is an adrenaline-filled high-wire act. ... It is storytelling from a writer who knows the fundamentals of the craft well enough that he can break all the rules and still build a propulsive story." www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/b...

Extremely late but I got a substack: substack.com/@sallyhayd

Members @ifut.bsky.social staged a 1-hour walkout today at Maynooth as part of the Irish public sector pay dispute. Grateful also to the Postgraduate Workers' Organisation for their support. Solidarity with our colleagues in other unions who have begun working to contract. Power to the people! ✊️

Great turnout for our one hour IFUT work stoppage today at Maynooth, part of the broader public sector campaign for fair pay and working conditions. We wre joined by a great cohort from the Postgraduate Workers' Organisation. Now I have to source some intimidating bunting for the picket...

Along with my fellow trade union members, I am withdrawing my labour for one hour today, 12-1pm, in #solidarity with other public sector workers in Ireland, including teachers & nurses, as part of the public sector pay dispute. ✊️ climatejusticeuniversitiesunion.org/statement-of...

On Tuesday @ceilteachomn.bsky.social said a proper farewell to @davidstifter.bsky.social, who has taken up a senior professorship @scs-dias.bsky.social: a lovely, warm speech from @dhaydenceltic.bsky.social, gifts including a print by Maura McDonnell, & some parting words of wisdom from David 🥂

Oh retractionwatch.com/2026/10/02/p...

Huge congratulations to my PhD student @lydiahursh.bsky.social, who just submitted her thesis @ceilteachomn.bsky.social on "Gendered Politeness in Medieval Irish 'tochmarca'", using sociolinguistic politeness theory to analyse speech in medieval Irish "wooing" tales. Brava, Lydia! #MedievalSky

Exciting new finds on the English immigrants living in early 10th-c. Rome.

Court hears of ‘significant’ and ‘out of blue’ change of practice by Minister for Justice www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...

"What the islanders discovered were extensive burial grounds, decorated stonework and early buildings – all the features belonging to a major sixth-century monastery, comparable to the much better known site of Iona a little to the south-west." #MedievalSky www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

"The resulting image of reality is haunting. Every fact is only a fact relative to something else, and even the fact that a fact is relative to something else is itself relative. There is no ground floor." www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...

NEW: @DavidSacks pushed Trump to reject new AI safeguards. At the same time, his venture capital firm was investing in AI startups positioned to benefit from looser rules. Now, that firm is raising a new $1 billion fund.