LightNews LightNews
hsheridan.bsky.social
@hsheridan.bsky.social
54 followers 130 following 1 posts
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted
wendylyon.eurosky.social
Been looking at the most recent MIPEX report (on EU migrant integration policies) and I would respectfully suggest that the arguments being put forward to justify changes to Irish naturalisation laws are, not to put too fine a point on it, absolute horseshit: a🧵

www.migpolgroup.com/wp-content/u...
www.migpolgroup.com
September 11, 2026 at 5:44 AM
Reposted
cathalmalone.bsky.social
Like, never ever. Someone needs to FOI the numbers. Well, the number (0).
wendylyon.eurosky.social Wendy Lyon @wendylyon.eurosky.social · 12h
Big Jim misleading the Dáil again

"Where an applicant seeks legal aid to bring judicial review proceedings against a negative decision of the IPAT, the Minister or TARA, legal aid may be granted in respect of such proceedings"

Nobody ever gets legal aid for this.

www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/q...
www.oireachtas.ie
September 16, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Reposted
sineadgleeson.bsky.social
“If you live and work and pay taxes here, there’s an ever-tougher obstacle course. But if you’re Irish in a vaguely genetic sense, come into the parlour, there’s a welcome here for you”.

@fotoole.bsky.social on the two routes to Irish citizenship and the racism therein. archive.is/dcddi
September 15, 2026 at 7:57 AM
Reposted
wendylyon.eurosky.social
To say Irish citizenship is “given out like smarties” betrays an ignorance that is unworthy of an elected member of the Oireachtas. Also deeply insulting to the many people who have had to wait years for it due to sheer governmental incompetence.
September 16, 2026 at 7:23 AM
Reposted
rk70534.bsky.social
"Israeli rights group B’Tselem says Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank form part of a broader project aimed at eliminating Palestinians as a distinct people."

youtube.com/shorts/1OiSy...

#BDS #BoycottIsrael #FreePalestine #Israel #News #Palestine #WorldNews
Israeli rights group B’Tselem says Israel is trying to ‘eliminate’ Palestinian nationhood
YouTube video by Middle East Eye
youtube.com
September 14, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Reposted
premthakker.bsky.social
New: Macklemore says Robert Kraft — who owns Gillette Stadium, where Macklemore & Ed Sheeran were to perform later this month — called Sheeran.

Kraft rallied other owners together behind an ultimatum for Sheeran: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you won't be allowed in our venues.
I'm not sure how to start this. So I'm going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour. But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don't lose sight of that. Ed is my friend. I've known him for 13 years. We've shared late nights, studio sessions and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I've grown to love. I consider him a brother. And because of that, we've had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement. Nothing I'm writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character. But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened. Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues. Ed was in … What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I'm sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, "Free Palestine" becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me. And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying "Free Palestine" gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability. I hope this isn't the end of my relationship with Ed. Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement. I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation. When my brother Omar was doing the subtitles for the video I posted from MetLife, I thanked him. He told me there's a phrase in Arabic: لا شكر على واجب "La shukra ala wajeb." There is no thanks for a duty. That stayed with me. Because that's what this has become for me and millions of others around the world. A duty. Not something deserving of praise or gratitude. Not brave. Human. Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, who gets to play the stadium and who doesn't, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank. An entire people be…
September 14, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted
wendylyon.eurosky.social
"if there are circumstances where it is considered unsafe for gardaí to remain in a country, how is that assessment reconciled with the decision to return people there?"

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...
Safety of gardaí abroad part of reason for State chartering return deportation flights
Public Accounts Committee is told more than €3m spent so far under a contract to transport people from Ireland
www.irishtimes.com
September 14, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Reposted
unamullally.bsky.social
Wrote about how making it harder for people to become Irish citizens is a move that cannot be isolated from a broader context in which immigrants are being scapegoated.

The reasoning around bringing Ireland in line with other EU states is also very thin.
Una Mullally: It’s easy to look tough on immigration. It’s much harder to build empathy
In practical terms, new citizenship rules will be another bureaucratic obstacle for people. But its other meaning is arbitrary cruelty-by-admin
www.irishtimes.com
September 14, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Reposted
tupped.bsky.social
This is insanity.

It appears the entire Seanad voter register has been junked without letting any of the voters know and we all (TCD and NUI) have to re-register on this 1996-flavoured website to use our vote.

seanadvoter.ie/indexEN.shtml
September 10, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Reposted
diplomatofnight.com
The European Union's most senior foreign policy official, Kaja Kallas, says that a EU-wide ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements does not require unanimity of states and would be the 'principled stance'.

However, EU Commission head Von Der Leyen refuses to place the item to a vote.
Kaja Kallas: EU ban on Israeli settlement trade would be ‘principled stance’
Bloc’s most senior foreign policy official said move does not require unanimous support of all 27 member states
www.irishtimes.com
September 10, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Reposted
gavreilly.com
As of Cabinet yesterday, one now needs the ability to communicate in order to be considered a citizen.

Yet in the first three months of 2026, not a single child in ten counties was given a plan on how the State would deliver them with speech and language therapy.

This week’s column @thejournal.ie:
Gavan Reilly: Six months by law. 24.3 months in reality. Ireland's disability numbers don't add up
The eye-watering numbers of children waiting for Assessment of Need in this country expose a broken system offering little hope to families.
jrnl.ie
September 10, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Reposted
peternrees.bsky.social
With the RNLI under attack for rescuing people in the Channel, I wanted to highlight research for this article examining maritime migration and RNLI rescues. Records show that Channel crossings by refugees, and rescues at sea, are not new.

Download it here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
September 10, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Reposted
carolinepennock.bsky.social
In news that will surprise absolutely no one in HE... ‘It notes that institutions “routinely” hire consultancies for these restructures as well as change management specialists, however, these processes often introduce additional management layers, “adding cost rather than removing it”…’
Restructuring ‘too often adding cost rather than removing it’
Universities are ‘underestimating’ the challenges caused by outsourcing services amid major professional services staff redundancies, report warns
www.timeshighereducation.com
September 8, 2026 at 7:42 AM
Reposted
joenoonan.bsky.social
The EU supplies over a third of Israel's arms imports.
and refuses to apply sanctions.
kajakallas.bsky.social Kaja Kallas @kajakallas.bsky.social · 8d
The Israeli Government’s settlement expansions in the West Bank are undermining the prospects for a viable two-State solution.

The EU remains the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank. (2/3)
September 8, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Reposted
iccl.bsky.social
No rationale, research or evidence has been presented by the Justice Minister for his proposed changes restricting citizenship access.

These plans that are simply aimed at making Ireland a hostile place for migrants who contribute so much to our economy and society.

www.iccl.ie/news/citizen...
Citizenship proposals will destroy a crucial route to integration
Human rights organisations express serious concerns about proposals that will significantly restrict access to Irish citizenship.
www.iccl.ie
September 8, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Reposted
fergalc.bsky.social
All this performative unpleasantness is entirely unnecessary for Jim O'Callaghan, who's already naturally widely disliked
September 7, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted
neiljackman.bsky.social
As a relatively new Irish Citizen, this is so disappointing. It smacks of some surface-level attempt to look tough on immigration.

If you haven't a parent or grandparent, getting citizenship is difficult, time consuming and often very expensive already. This is lousy politics.
thejournal.ie The Journal @thejournal.ie · 9d
Planned changes to Irish citizenship requirements will ensure that new citizens have an “understanding” of the country and its values, the Taoiseach has said. jrnl.ie/7154915
September 7, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Reposted
darach.bsky.social
I’m not sure what raising the residency period from 5 years to 8 years will achieve for the common good. It’ll make it easier to deport children who’ve never lived anywhere else, and harder for applicants to prove unbroken periods of residency.
thejournal.ie The Journal @thejournal.ie · 9d
Planned changes to Irish citizenship requirements will ensure that new citizens have an “understanding” of the country and its values, the Taoiseach has said. jrnl.ie/7154915
September 7, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Reposted
pantibliss.bsky.social
Just pure gutter racism dressed up in a suit. Appalling stuff.
And I wish I believed the media would put on their grown up pants and deal with this properly but I suspect they'll soft-soap and both-sides it into reality.
thejournal.ie The Journal @thejournal.ie · 9d
Planned changes to Irish citizenship requirements will ensure that new citizens have an “understanding” of the country and its values, the Taoiseach has said. jrnl.ie/7154915
September 7, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Reposted
deanbuckley.bsky.social
"I want more citizens, I just want fewer and fewer of them to be immigrants" is astounding enough, but then he outright says he's just playing his part in the race to the bottom on immigration law with the rest of the increasingly authoritarian west. just doing his job. just following orders
virginmedianews.bsky.social Virgin Media News @virginmedianews.bsky.social · 9d
"We're trying to is restrain the level of growth in that number"

Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan has said new citizenship rules are aimed at bringing down the number of people granted citizenship each year.

#VMNews
September 7, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted
robertsaunders.bsky.social
90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects.

The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)
You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.
September 7, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted
sallyhayd.bsky.social
Watching the news from Germany. It might be of interest to people that 'My Fourth Time, We Drowned' has 6 translation deals but we never managed to find a German publisher (though it's the one we tried hardest for). It is about migration & EU complicity in crimes against humanity on Europe's borders
sallyhayd.bsky.social Sally Hayden @sallyhayd.bsky.social · Dec 21
A reminder that 'My Fourth Time, We Drowned' is now available in
Spanish 🇪🇸: capitanswing.com/libros/cuand...
Italian 🇮🇹: www.bollatiboringhieri.it/libri/sally-...
French 🇫🇷: www.buchetchastel.fr/catalogue/bi...
Dutch 🇳🇱: nieuwamsterdam.nl/producten/en...
Polish 🇵🇱: soniadraga.pl/postfactum/p...
September 7, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Reposted
tupped.bsky.social
I urgently wish to know what the Values of Ireland are.
thejournal.ie The Journal @thejournal.ie · 9d
Planned changes to Irish citizenship requirements will ensure that new citizens have an “understanding” of the country and its values, the Taoiseach has said. jrnl.ie/7154915
September 7, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Reposted
tonygroves.bsky.social
The idea of designer - economic utility- immigration is an old fascist one. That it’s now to be implemented by “centrist” governments is the Scorpion and the Frog madness.
Jim O'Callaghan to seek approval for new, strict requirements for Irish citizenship
September 7, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Reposted
antaisce.bsky.social
'Commission for Regulation of Utilities warns data-centre expansion will make it hard to source enough gas to meet national demand during extreme cold events ... Analysis shows just 17 planned new data centres would have gas demand of six large gas-fired electricity generators or 2.6 million homes'
September 7, 2026 at 8:39 AM