Orla Hegarty

A snowy scene in low light looking across the UCD lake at the UCD James Joyce Library building.

Nollaig shona daoibh and Happy Christmas from UCD Library! We hope you enjoy your holiday break.☃️

All UCD libraries will close tomorrow afternoon (23 Dec) & will reopen Fri, 2 Jan 2026. The Vet Medicine Library will reopen on Mon, 5 Jan. See our opening hours schedule at www.ucd.ie/library/use/....

How Newgrange's spectacular Solstice light show was rediscovered Those who flock to Newgrange on 21 December owe much to the excavation work of archaeologist Michael J O'Kelly in the 1960s

The Winter Solstice sunrise at Newgrange is one of Ireland’s most powerful connections to the past✨

This RTÉ Brainstorm article by Terry Clavin of the @dib.ie (based at @ria.ie) explores how archaeologist Michael J. O’Kelly rediscovered the alignment in the 1960s.

www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Just a little "head up". The December solstice will be at on the 21st (Sunday) at 15:02 Dublin time. That is the shortest day, so Monday is when the days start to get longer.

Education bosses ‘missing a trick’ by failing to roll out air cleaners in schools Northern Ireland is “missing a trick” by not rolling out air cleaners across its school estate, an industry expert has said.

'John Muir, co-founder of the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation, a UK charity campaigning for the improvement of clean indoor air, said any investment in the devices was well worth the money'.

There's a poll in this article - please vote.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/educati...

Ireland has legislated, but it’s not being promoted or enforced

We have the tools to “dramatically cut the spread of respiratory infections” such as flu, Covid, RSV, measles, etc

It is a political choice not to tell people how to reduce the spread of airborne disease spread… & to let Ireland’s hospitals fill with sick adults & children this Christmas

Fixing South Kerry's depopulation problem An alarming drop in the number of children in South Kerry is running counter to the population rise elsewhere, and it's all down to housing policy, writes Orla Hegarty

Fixing South Kerry's depopulation problem

An alarming drop in the number of children in South Kerry is running counter to the population rise elsewhere, and it's all down to housing policy” ..my piece in @irishexaminer.bsky.social today
www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...

🚈 2 days of traffic chaos from the #Luas shutdown confirms that the (abandoned) plan for *2 years* of traffic chaos for digging up the Luas & replacing it with Metro tracks wasn’t a good idea

Building Regulations: “Part M aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design & construction of the
built environment & aims to ensure.. new dwellings are visitable” assets.gov.ie/static/docum...

Glenveagh set to lodge plans to build 1,350 homes in north Dublin Irish homebuilder is planning a major residential scheme at Belcamp Hall off the Malahide Road in north Dublin

“252 walk-up apartments from 3 to 4 storeys”

*not currently permitted under Building Regs

Lifts aren’t just for wheelchairs, they’re for parents, prams, pregnancy, disability, aging, paramedics, undertakers, furniture delivery, bicycles, laundry & much much more www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

Half of Irish businesses view housing as the biggest barrier to competitiveness Housing was also highlighted as the most crucial infrastructure priority for businesses

“Half of Irish businesses view housing as biggest barrier to competitiveness”

.. I bet all of Irish businesses don’t know that the plan for achieving “housing affordability” is wage inflation. What will that do for competitiveness? www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

👀

A 2,000-year-old building site reveals the raw ingredients for ancient Roman self-healing concrete This has re-written our understanding of how Romans manufactured concrete.

“2,000-year-old building site reveals raw ingredients for ancient Roman self-healing concrete”

“Ancient Romans could make exceptional concrete mortars but as Pliny the Elder [23 or 24- 79BC] notes, poor mortar was cause of the collapse of buildings in Rome” theconversation.com/a-2-000-year...

Slide from Brent Toderian at @toderianUW.bsky.social that says “If you design a city for cars, it fails for everyone, including drivers. If you design a multi-model city, it works better for everyone, including drivers.”

Never forget, if you design a city for cars, it fails for everyone, including drivers.

If you design a multi-modal city that makes walking, biking & public transit attractive options, it works better for everyone, including drivers.

INCLUDING DRIVERS.

The “war on cars” has always been a lie.

Why is Dublin such an outlier on the price of apartments?

Have Irish property prices reached their peak? Five experts give their take Property prices in Irelaned continue to rise so is there merit in waiting to buy?

“Government has been incentivising supply at a high cost in a “mistaken belief” that more supply & wage inflation will achieve affordability” www.irishtimes.com/property/res...

Time magazine cover Person of the Year: The Architects of AI image of 8 people sitting on a steel beam high over New York (AI generated badly, obvs)

TIME person of the year
“The Architects of AI”

Real architects are ethical. They care about people’s lives, the planet & the climate emergency

3. It has internal inconsistencies & omissions that are difficult to reconcile bsky.app/profile/orla...

2. It’s written for lobbying for even more subsidies, even lower standards, & for issues unrelated to apartment costs bsky.app/profile/orla...

1. these new build apartments are “viable” & likely even profitable, we can do better in Ireland
bsky.app/profile/orla...

Big State subsidies make apartments viable, but average earners still priced out New report shows that Government incentives make the numbers add up for developers, but not at an affordable cost for buyers

“on conservative & rough assumption total capital investment [in apartments] could be €2.5 -€3 billion, & more to buyers”

.. this lobbyist “industry research” of costs has be challenged hard. It’s not independent, & we can’t afford it @clifftaylorit.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2...

Pic montage of dozens of vacant and derelict homes

Paywall lifted on the #EchoChamberPod with the powerhouse @judesherry.bsky.social and not awful @frankoconnor.bsky.social
Derelict Ireland - Awareness Is Not Enough

Listen: podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/t...

Ireland’s natural habitats decline further with 90% officially in poor condition Head of National Parks and Wildlife Service says time to begin conservation efforts ‘was yesterday’

Ireland’s natural habitats decline further with 90% officially in poor condition

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

bsky.app/profile/orla...

you have a point tho, local planning is much more effective than edicts from central govt

it is

We are building a resource hub that will support educators of children and young people with Long Covid and overlapping illness.

Thanks to all our #volunteers who make this possible.

www.longcovidkids.org/education-pr...

#Education #Inclusion #EquitableEducation #SEND #Disability

Ireland’s vicious housing circle: high costs, high rents Private rental sector investment seems to be a central focus of Government policy

“it remains to be seen if building high-cost apartments will do anything to square the affordability circle at the heart of the country’s housing challenge”

..high cost claims from development sector need to be challenged www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

related bsky.app/profile/orla...

you could be talking about housing/ construction