FEATURED post
24/09/26
Raidió Fáilte @ 20 — An Todhchaí / The Future — Cuairt Near FM Visit (GA/EN) (2026)
Cillian Breatnach, Bainisteoir Raidió Fáilte
– Belfast's Irish-language radio station
23/09/26
22/09/26
Puppy farm demonstration at Dáil — The Northside People East / West and Southside People (23.9.26)
On the day the Dáil came back for its new term (16th September 2026), a demonstration was held outside Leinster House calling for an end to puppy farms in Ireland.
Despite not having a Facebook event page for the demonstration, approximately 70 people, including eight Oireachtas members, attended, which attendees felt was a reasonably good turnout on the day. This publication attended the demo.
The event was organised by Spiddal native Máirín Ní Chonghaile, who is a Clinical Animal Behaviourist and a registered veterinary nurse. Máirín is passionate about canine behaviour, runs a Puppy School and, as part of her job every day, she "sees the repercussions of the legislation that has legalised the mass production of dogs".
In Ireland, it is "legal to have as many dogs as you want" in puppy farms, and that is unacceptable and "legalised cruelty", according to Máirín.
"The Government have refused to put in any kind of significant reform to stop this. All of the dog breeding establishments in Ireland, all of the big ones, have all got a legal licence. So we can't put the blame completely at their feet. They are doing something that has been legalised by the State."
Máirín has contacted the Department of Agriculture about a lot of the "problems with the system, but a lot of the Government TDs are held by what their party's stance is".
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has started the process of enacting legislation on this issue. But, according to Máirín, while some of the current plans in his legislation are very good and welcome, he and the Government "haven't done the most simplistic part of stopping puppy farming, which is that we need to cap the amount of female dogs on a premises". And the Government legislation currently doesn't "do anything about the conditions". Minimising the number of dogs in a puppy farm "has to be the first step", according to Máirín.
Oireachtas members attending the demo on the day included Senator Chris Andrews (Sinn Féin) and TDs Jennifer Whitmore (Social Democrats), Pádraig O'Sullivan and Willie O'Dea (Fianna Fáil).
According to Senator Andrews, "it is really important that we say enough is enough" and "that we keep the pressure on Government". The Government "talk the talk but we need them to walk the walk and ensure that dogs are looked after". Dublin People has previously covered the legislation Jennifer Whitmore TD has brought before the Dáil on puppy farms.
Speaking at the demo, Deputy Whitmore said: "Last year I brought forward a bill on behalf of the Social Democrats that would have a cap on the number of breeding females in any facility. We put a number of 30 on it. I still recognise that 30 is quite high. But I had hoped at that stage that Government would work with me on that bill and that we would be able to achieve something that would be a first starting point at really addressing industrial puppy farming.
"Unfortunately the Government aren't going to work with me on that. They brought forward their own legislation which has no cap in it."
According to John O'Callaghan from Dog Advocacy Ireland, the issue of puppy farming in Ireland is "not going away. This is a national scandal. With €200 million per annum being earned from the criminal abuse of thousands of dogs. So it has to stop."
As well as Deputy Whitmore's legislation, Pádraig O'Sullivan has also introduced his own similar legislation on the issue of puppy farms in Ireland.
According to Deputy O'Sullivan: "The Minister has already done a wide consultation in terms of improving the conditions and in terms of resourcing the various charities. But look, the proof will be in the pudding.
"The Minister has to publish an action plan. It will have to be well resourced. We are all in it for the same reasons, the right reasons. We all want to see animal rights respected.
We don't want to see animals abused. Anything we can contribute to that we are more than happy to do so.
It is something that we will continue to work on here with the animal welfare groups and the Dáil's action group with John O'Callaghan."
END
20/09/26
Sadhguru (360)
I agree with this in terms of behaviour and it is a big part of good mental health. I find it impossible to
be conscious all of the time though. When you are taking a walk or cycling a bike, for example, it is
natural I find to slip into unconsciousness / mostly. Other people will have other examples but at these
two times in my life (I don't drive a car) I am often in near unconsciousness, while being aware of what
I am doing – walking or cycling.
19/09/26
15/09/26
Call for new Garda College to be located in Blanchardstown — Emer Currie TD (Fine Gael) — Near FM (2026)
🔊 Fine Gael on the All-Island Strategic Rail Review? – Emer Currie TD – Near FM (2026)
13/09/26
Dr. Nicole LePera (106)
I agree with this! I would also reflect that I didn't often feel like this when I was sharing houses for 15
years. And that it is I believe important to have a "safe" home and, for me, live in a safe area as
reasonable as can be.
People
I have loads of pain in the groin people in my life, and have for a long time, and I am inclined to
believe the below in that such people encourage you on through contrast on to be the person you are
meant to be.
12/09/26
Potpourri and essential oils — DJP (2026)
From my Facebook tonight. I generally get my essential oils in Holland and Barrett or get Oġam Essential
Oils and I got the potpourri I have at the moment from Wexford Lavender Farm which is great too.
Researchers tracked 43,000 women for 14 years. Here’s what happened to their political views as gender equality improved — PsyPost (2026)
"People who champion social equality are often the loudest critics of the political status quo. A new study finds that as nations actually achieve greater gender parity, these egalitarian individuals become much more likely to defend the very political systems they once criticized. The research, published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, shows how shifting social realities can alter deep-seated psychological motives."
11/09/26
Success vs negative unrealistic bastards — DJP (2026)
This is actually a deep thing I learned on my spiritual journey that a lot, maybe most, people don't give
a seconds attention or thought to, I think.
Anaïs Nin
Hmm.. I wonder. I am reposting because I find this quote interesting, not necessarily because I agree with
it completely.
10/09/26
09/09/26
08/09/26
07/09/26
Sadhguru (356)
I think that it is a habit to get into to be inhumane/indifferent to other people's and animals humanity
and sentience.
You can break the habit. I know because I did and I still have a lot to learn.
Invasions throughout history — DJP (2026)
A lot of Irish people hate the way that the island of Ireland is partitioned with six northern counties
being called Northern Ireland and officially a part of the UK (Donegal is not in NI although it is a
northern county).
A lot of Irish people resent the English invasion and plantation of Ireland centuries ago and this legacy
is still "live" for a lot of people with part of Ireland still being part of the UK.
What I have got to learn of more over the years though is that England was invaded too a few times
before they invaded Ireland.
And as well as having loads of Latin and French words the English language is actually a Germanic
language!
And the impact of Gaelic Ireland on Scotland between c. 400-1000 AD was huge.
From ChatGPT
If we start with the Romans and focus mainly on the peoples who invaded and settled in what became England, the sequence is roughly:
-
Romans — AD 43–c. 410
The Roman invasion of Britain began under Emperor Claudius in AD 43. Rome conquered most of England and Wales and at times controlled parts of Scotland. Roman rule lasted nearly 400 years. -
Angles, Saxons and Jutes — mainly 5th–6th centuries
After Roman rule ended, Germanic peoples crossed the North Sea and settled extensively in Britain:- Angles — associated particularly with areas of what are now northern Germany and southern Denmark.
- Saxons — from areas corresponding broadly to northern Germany and the Netherlands.
- Jutes — traditionally associated with Jutland, now mainly Denmark.
They established a number of kingdoms. The Angles gave England its name: Engla land — "land of the Angles."
Vikings — from AD 793; major invasions from the 860s Scandinavian Vikings, particularly Danes and Norwegians, raided and then settled large areas. Danish armies conquered much of England, creating the area known as the Danelaw. England was even ruled by Danish kings, most famously Cnut, from 1016.
Normans — 1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England from northern France and defeated the English king Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. The Normans were French-speaking, although their ancestors included Vikings who had settled in Normandy.
After 1066, there wasn't another successful foreign conquest of England on the same scale. There were later invasions and attempted invasions — including the Dutch landing of William of Orange in 1688, which successfully overthrew James II — but 1066 is conventionally regarded as the last successful conquest of England.
So, very simply:
Celtic/pre-Roman Britons → Romans → Angles/Saxons/Jutes → Vikings → Normans → modern England
And this history helps explain English itself: its basic structure and much of its everyday vocabulary are Germanic, inherited principally from the Angle*-Saxons, with substantial Norse influence from the Vikings and enormous French/Latin influence following the Norman Conquest.
*Angle > Anglo
Update – Also from ChatGPT
Esther Abraham Hicks on Evolution — DJP (2026)
"There is hope because with each evolving generation they are more intuitive, more filled with the light. There is such a thing as evolution spiritually, physically, on every level."
– The Power of 10
I downloaded the audio of an Esther Abraham Hicks video today (as we are allowed to do because
Esther allows people to reupload her stuff under 15 minutes for each video/podcast) and converted
approx. 2 minutes of it to an MP4 with a photo of her (below).
What she says in this podcast builds and expands on what I have been thinking for a while but
had not found the words for. What first got me thinking about this kind of stuff was something that
Michelle Paisley Reed said to me through her spirit guides, The Power of 10, a few years ago, and it is
something I have been thinking about since. I am encouraged to hear these words below.
05/09/26
03/09/26
Health Referral Scheme for Drug Use. We need a Well-Resourced Health-Led Approach — Cllr. John Walsh (Labour Party) — Near FM (September 2026)
Soundbite 🔊 Can We Provide Full Mental Health, Addiction and Primary Care Services?
– Near FM (2026)
02/09/26
Some evil people in politics in Ireland (2026)
Update – A day after posting the below I found out that the SP have pretty much given up their
identity in recent months. I tried to look at their social media and read a thread on Reddit and
apparently 6 months or so ago they deleted the party's website and other social media. I don't know if
they still exist as a 'network' formally with Solidarity. Their name was toxic to a lot of people I believe.
And on a personal level I am glad to see them give up / give up mostly.
Sadly I think over the longer term, if they survive that long, that their decision might make Solidarity a
degree more attractive to an element of mostly young / younger people.
Any political party or wannabe movement that has a prominent Trotskyist network within it is not my
cup of tea, and I would advise anyone thinking of joining them to first evaluate if they really are
interested in and support all that Russian Revolution Communist kind of shit.
Update –
(I posted the second quote above online on a political website a few years ago)
Enclosed neighborhood streets are linked to better sleep, study finds — PsyPost (2026)
I would well believe it!
01/09/26
Eoin O’Malley: Working in a university, I’ve seen how ideology has overtaken the pursuit of truth (2026)
Good article by Eoin O'Malley in last Sunday's Sunday Independent which I just read today.
Often I think the problem in universities and higher education in general is not crazy "ideology" but crazy
misfitism. I see these people in question as misfits and weirdos more than anything else. There may be a
more hardcore element though.
Ataxia community welcomes HSE decision to fund Skyclarys — Dublin People (1.9.26)
My article this week, it is online-only and not in copy form:
Ataxia community welcomes HSE decision to fund Skyclarys — Dublin People (1.9.26)
Update on Hem incense (2026)
I have recently bought Hem Jasmine incense and find it great. It took burning one or two sticks of it
for me to get used it it though. It is strong and leaves me with or in a deep spiritual state when burning
it.
I cannot say enough for the incense sticks I burn in that sense. They put me in a deep or pretty deep
sense of spirituality while burning them. They are kind of like a drug in that sense but they are not
addictive, although the smoke of them may possibly (I don't know) be carcinogenic.
Darshan are my favourite incense company and Hem are my second favourite and not very far behind.
Darshan incense is not very easy to source I find. It is made in India but not sold a lot
in Ireland or Europe.
Watch out as well – there is another Darshan incense company and I don't know what they are like.
I stick with what incense I know and that is my favourite – Darshan lavender, white rose, red rose,
patchouli – and when I can't get what I want from Darshan I try Hem.
Previous post – Incense for well-being (2023)
31/08/26
.jpg)
30/08/26
Darren J. Prior
I mean largely in a mental health context but the word is or can be relevant for loads of things. I am just
adding this note to this jpeg in case readers think I might support the Restore Britain party which I do
not. 😊
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