Una Mullally
@UnaMullally
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Writer living in the real world. This account is now on Bluesky. https://t.co/AUTDYSdejk
Joined February 2009
I've had a lot of people from outside Ireland asking me about what's been going on in Dublin, and also about the growth of the far-right in Ireland. Here are some recent pieces I've written addressing this context.
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A smarter idea for Dublin would be to move offices from Georgian buildings - which all used to be housing - into purpose-built contemporary office blocks, and return Georgian streets and squares to housing. It would be more sustainable, and better in terms of urban planning.
Minister indicates he would consider making planning exemptions to rules which would apply to repurposing office space as housing
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Ireland should massively increase the number and size of national parks, ban open grazing, end fake sitka "forestry", and allow land to regenerate naturally. This means the state buying appropriate land at scale for rewilding, and protecting that land.
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I'm perplexed by Drew Harris' framing of what's been going on. In May, he said the far-right was not growing, which it was. You may not be able to anticipate a specific catalyst, but the issue is the underlying and unaddressed context, building for years, highlighted by many.
Asked if Gardaí failed the country, Mr Harris said you could not have anticipated that this would have been the response to a violent crime. He said nobody could have anticipated the disorder when these awful events would have occurred | Read more:
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Why wasn't the threat of the far-right-conspiracy-theorist nexus taken seriously and addressed in Ireland?. Perhaps it's down to who was sounding the warnings, and the kinds of people who were already facing intimidation, harassment, abuse and violence.
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We've lost more than a person. Sinéad O'Connor's art, what she stood for, and how she stood for it, changed so much for so many people. I'm devastated by her loss, and holding on to her lessons.
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There will be lots said and written about the violence in the Irish capital tonight, but one thing that strikes me is this: there is not one single obvious, credible leader with the authority and necessary sense of connection to speak for or to Dublin city. This is a failure.
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Over 3,000 people, including mothers with babies and schoolchildren, queue in Dublin for Christmas food vouchers. This in a city that is apparently the "wealthiest" in Europe if you use the broken metric of GDP per capita.
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Wrote about the strangeness of an Irish media and political narrative framing "immigration" as an "issue", when the "issues" are an accommodation crisis underpinned by a housing crisis, unaddressed bigotry, racism and xenophobia, and an arson crimewave.
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A new (short) BBC radio piece on the Irish Dunnes Stores workers who went on strike against apartheid, leading to the first ban on the import of South African goods by a "western" government. Boycotts work.
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People are gathering in different places to remember Sinéad O'Connor. I'll start this thread to keep track of some of those. In Dublin today (Thurs) 5.30pm, gathering at the Wall of Fame in Temple Bar. Dublin, Friday, Sinéad Night at Penny Lane thanks to @PantiBliss.
Join us tonight to pay tribute to a true Irish legend, Sinéad O'Connor. @anniemacmanus will be holding a gathering at the London Irish Centre in honour of Sinéad and her impact on the Irish community and beyond. Admission is free, sign up below.
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2017: Alan Esslemont of TG4 states his intention of helping produce an Oscar-winning Irish-language feature. 2023: An Cailín Ciúin, developed under TG4-BAI-SI's Cine4 initiative is nominated. Ambition, supporting development, trusting talent, making art with integrity, works.
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"On a matter like this there can be no equivocation, it must be condemned by all those who believe in humanitarian principles. Silence on this matter would reflect badly on any member of the European Union.".
Statement by President Higgins on attacks on aid convoys providing humanitarian relief to Gaza
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Pretty wild we've reached the point of streets being closed off in Dublin instead of being made safe through design, visible community policing, and obviously, helping people with addiction issues. Closing off laneways is not an "idea" or an "approach", it's a failure of both.
Councillors have reluctantly agreed to start moves to close a laneway off Abbey Street. “It is regularly used for intravenous drug use and is littered with needles and other drug paraphernalia,” says a council report.
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This looks terrible. Three trees, some bollards and a bin?. How is this bland, soulless, concrete, grey homogeny being pitched as an improvement?. Utterly devoid of character, grain, greenery, lushness, fun, beauty, uniqueness, with zero sense of identity or place.
Artist visual for Temple Bar Square post improvements. The improvement scheme has commenced and covers approximately 2,400m² and encompasses Crown Alley, Temple Bar Sq, Temple Bar St and parts of Fownes Street Lower and Cope St. Bit by bit we'll make this city better.
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Three fifths of office space under construction in Dublin has no tenants lined up. Very predictable waste of land and really terrible planning, especially in a housing emergency. At what point is the government going to address ghost offices 👻?.
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The Taoiseach can shake his head all he wants, but Holly Cairns is completely correct here. Prioritising landlord's profits over those at risk of homelessness is so ugly and cruel. There's also no "balancing rights" when tenants' rights are imbalanced by design from the get go.
One of the most basic requirements of a functioning society is the provision of secure and affordable housing. Housing is supposedly the biggest priority for the government. And yet it is its biggest failure. The decision to end the eviction ban is indefensible.
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Fingers crossed the Taoiseach believes this survey.
Availability of housing a challenge for 70% of firms in attracting staff via @IrishTimesBiz.
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Very sad to hear of the death of the great Nell McCafferty. A formidable woman, incredible writer, unapologetic feminist legend, Irish LGBTQ+ icon, and an inspiration to so many. Her journalism was always so full of empathy, style, and truth. Love to her family and friends.
Nell McCafferty: journalist and feminist campaigner dies aged 80
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Dramatically reducing car use in Dublin City, radically improving (free) public transport, and expanding tree cover and green spaces, should be part of the vision for the Irish capital. Cleaner air, less traffic noise, and a more beautiful place to live.
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Before the 2020 lockdowns, I wrote about how vulnerable Dublin was in the context of a serious event due to a normalisation of dysfunction and inequality in the city.
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The same day Sinéad O'Connor's death was front page news, a damning report on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) detailed unacceptable failings. We need urgent, radical action. Anything less, and Ireland will continue to fail children.
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In February, I wrote that the weird, frankly naive idea that Irish people somehow wouldn't gravitate towards the far-right and racist sentiments was a myth, and that we were seeing lightening rod moments play out.
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KNEECAP will have its world premiere at Sundance on the opening night of the festival, Jan 18th. First ever Irish-language film at Sundance. First ever non-US film selected for the NEXT section.
👀A wee sneak peek of Kneecap the movie. 👇. 🎥 The first ever Irish language movie at @sundanceorg - this snippet in the language of the oppressor. "The Troubles?!" 💥
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In October 2022, I wrote about a sense of depression in Dublin street life, and that a media focus on street violence as the sole “antisocial” gesture ignores policies that created a context of deprivation and flailing services.
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Also in September, I wrote that the threat of the far-right wasn’t being taken seriously enough, and that this required urgent reflection.
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In January, I wrote that the far-right was clearly leveraging existing anger in Dublin at protests, and piggybacking on resentments within communities, in particular around housing.
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In September 2022, I wrote about how Ireland has the largest generation gap in trust government in the OECD. At the time, 70 per cent of young people aged 18-24 in Ireland were considering emigrating.
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It would be great if those in government speaking out against the toxicity of the far-right in Ireland would also look around at various colleagues in the Dáil and the Seanad, some of whom use far-right/conspiracy talking points. Wrote this in Nov 2019.
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Major moment for the student movement in Ireland, and globally. Very good reporting from Trinity News throughout, also.
Trinity outlines plan of action for Israeli ties following end of BDS encampment.
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Well worth reading this perspective from the artist Adam Doyle aka Spicebag in @IrishTimes. "Decades of neglect and negative interactions [with gardaí and the State] have led to a deep mistrust. This is easily co-opted and manipulated by outside forces.".
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Fine Gael politicians need to stop prioritising private cars in Dublin city. It's a regressive, counter-productive, populist non-idea that harms the city. We need far fewer private cars, and far better public transport and cycling infrastructure.
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New stats from @CSOIreland on data centre electricity consumption. Data centres in Ireland now consume as much metered electricity as all urban dwellings combined. Electricity consumption by data centres increased by 31% in '22. This is unsustainable.
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In July, I wrote about the reflex to frame Dublin street violence as mere “thuggery” was ignoring issues around policing, addiction and mental health services, leadership, and the urban decay and collapse the pandemic amplified.
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Kneecap's arts funding award blocked by UK government. Kemi Badenoch spokesperson: “we fully support freedom of speech, but it’s hardly surprising that we don’t want to hand out UK taxpayers’ money to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”.
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In December 2022, I wrote about the scale of street-level drug-dealing in one specific part of Dublin city centre, and the impact this was having on businesses.
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Crime might be the window through which people are viewing Dublin's problems, but the capital's issues are much more profound. Poor planning, a lack of leadership, and ignoring the needs of working class communities has broken the urban ecosystem.
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Excellent essay by Sally Rooney on the exploitation of renters in Ireland, and the idiocy and failures of current housing policy.
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As the housing crisis grew, Fine Gael didn't listen to homeless families, or those needing public housing, or low-income workers, or students, or people working in the arts, or hospitality workers, or teachers, etc., etc. Maybe, just maybe, they'll listen to accountancy firms?.
Grant Thornton boss says a third of job offers to international applicants had been turned down due to lack of accommodation. Recruiters say that the top ten accountancy firms are struggling to attract staff because of the high rents .
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Also in February, at another anti-migrant protest in Dublin, I wrote about how many participating were in denial about their own racism and xenophobia.
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Tried to offer some context here RE: the rioting we've seen in Dublin. Thanks to Owen for the conversation.
What on earth just happened in Dublin?. To explain yesterday's shocking events, the brilliant @UnaMullally explains with eloquence and insight 👇.
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In April, I wrote about the level of destitution in Dublin city in the context of the eviction ban being scrapped by the government.
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In September, I wrote that the focus on street crime alone was blurring the broader lens we needed to look at Dublin through, including the housing and amenity needs of working class communities, and the lack of street life, aka “eyes upon the street”.
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In May, myself and Patrick Freyne wrote about the increase in harassment, abuse, and violence against LGBTQ+ people on the street, and the context for that.
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Wrote a personal reflection on the connection Sinéad O'Connor created, and the impact she had.
"In any society at the time, this stuff was radical. But in Ireland, it was revolutionary.". The Irish critic Una Mullally remembers when Sinead O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope on “Saturday Night Live.”
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The company behind a proposed co-living block in the Tenters went bankrupt, so the developers have a bright idea: another hotel!. Hilariously, a separate hotel right beside it is "raising concerns". Even the hotels think there are too many hotels! .
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Dublin should be preparing for the commercial property crash and dead space killing street life. Policies should be developed to move offices situated in what was formerly housing to purpose-built office blocks and return Georgian streets to housing. None of this is happening.
So-called ‘grey space,’ — surplus office accommodation that is leased but not being used — currently accounts for about 32 per cent of all available supply in Dublin via @businessposthq.
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Wrote about some of the issues Dublin is facing as tourist numbers and spend fall. Much to discuss on this topic, but erasing a sense of place with terrible development, and not understanding how important ambience is to everyone, are two big problems.
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The crane showing signs of life in Ireland is so encouraging, but other bird species face obliteration due to over-farming and sitka plantations. We need to act immediately to save them. Spoke to Seán Ronyane about cranes, hen harrier and ring ouzel.
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Alternatively, Bakhurst could just make 2fm better. Anyone saying 2fm doesn't serve a purpose is lacking in imagination. Creating an amazing outlet that genuinely supports music and artists in Ireland = public service broadcasting. Drop the filler, make it killer. Not hard.
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Paul Mescal being a Gaeilgeoir on the red carpet gives me the opportunity to bump some pieces I've written about the growth of the Irish language over the past while. On Kneecap, An Cailín Ciúin, and 32 Words For Field:.
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Vigil for murdered journalists to take place in Dublin, November 11th.
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Good thread on Dublin City. I'd add that because those with the deepest pockets in hospitality have least creative impulses, they've suburbanised the city centre with homogenous and essentially boring stuff. The interesting things are happening on the edges of the city centre.
Here's my thoughts on why town is challenging atm.🧵.
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Public invited to pay their respects to Sinéad O'Connor with a seafront procession on Strand Road from 10.30am in Bray next Tuesday. "With this procession, her family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love for her.".
Family say procession to acknowledge ‘outpouring of love for her from the people of Co Wicklow and beyond’
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Wrote about the massive anti-racist march in Dublin, and the credit People Before Profit deserves for its grassroots work.
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A thriving O'Connell Street is simple, possible, and filled with potential. Making Dublin's main street a beautiful and fun thoroughfare of culture, art, history, markets, entertainment and play isn't hard or crazy expensive, it just requires vision.
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"the European Union can no longer treat Israel as though it were a normal, liberal, western democracy. It is not behaving like that any more, it hasn’t for a long time." - Leo Varadkar.
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"It's possible to massively shift how people get around, focusing on reducing space for cars and increasing non-car investments.". Any city, including Dublin, still prioritising private car-use, or delaying any actions that remove cars from city centres, is stuck in the past. ⬇️.
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Everyone always talks about the power of the music video for Nothing Compares 2 U (and it is amazing, obviously), but what I also love is @hughoconor's gorgeous video for 8 Good Reasons. It captures so much hope, beauty, and humanity. And what a song.
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Trinity College has retracted its €214k fine against the students' union, and has also dropped the disciplinary proceedings against union leaders.
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Wrote about Leo Varadkar's "grass is greener" remarks, once again demonstrating Fine Gael's fingers-in-the-ears refusal to acknowledge the difficulties people are experiencing. Why empathise, when you can just smugly "well, actually" everyone instead?.
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"Studio apartments" are meant to be cheap. But the link between size and affordability for Dublin renters especially is completely broken.
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Hard to believe now, but not so long ago people living in tents in Dublin was extraordinary. We use the "boiling frog" metaphor for major faultlines in other societies, but what about how recent housing policies have done so much damage to Irish society?.
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Is Ireland's runaway economic growth "real"? . The broader conversation is: if we are this "rich", then why are our services, infrastructure and public realm so poor, and why do we have the most unequally distributed wages of any "high income" EU economy?.
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Huge comhghairdeachas to @KNEECAPCEOL, @richpeppiatt and everyone involved in this brilliant film. What an incredible achievement.
🏆 The Audience Award: NEXT presented by @Adobe goes to KNEECAP, directed by Rich Peppiatt (@richpeppiatt). #Sundance
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Excellent piece on the regressive, cynical populism of some Fine Gael politicians when it comes to Dublin's transport plan, and the reality of what Dubliners and businesses support and need to make their city centre more liveable.
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Wrote a piece about my connection to the Irish language, and the importance of the work of Manchán Magan and Kneecap.
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Taoiseach making exciting inroads at joining us all in the real world.
Varadkar says that there is a need to scale up the number of houses built in Ireland, but that increasing supply "on it's own will not solve this problem". He adds that rents are "out of line" in Ireland compared to other countries.
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One of the less-mentioned aspects of the press and praise the @quietgirlfilm is garnering, is how beautifully Colm Bairéad speaks about filmmaking. All of his interviews are worth reading and listening to, and here's another good one on @DEADLINE: .
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This bland, generic proposal to "redevelop" St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is not only boring, it's symptomatic of the flat, uninspiring corporate homogeny taking over Dublin. Good piece here by on the latest insult to streetscapes. @frankmcdonald60.
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Government politicians appear very interested in Dublin when they can spout phoney "tough on crime" hyperbole. As for actually engaging with the obvious, systemic issues that need to be addressed, demonstrating leadership, and having a plan? *tumbleweed*.
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Wrote about the confluence and context that led to what happened in Dublin last week. As always in such situations, all that was needed was a catalyst. There will probably be another one, with reaction depending on how fundamental issues are addressed.
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I wrote this back in February. I've been writing about Dublin's issues for years. What's happening is a confluence of organised far-right violence in the context of a city that is functioning really well in many ways, but frankly collapsing in others. Dublin needs leadership.
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If government can fix the price for builders, then why not cut rents by 50% and introduce rent control and 10-20-year leases?. Why not guarantee that price?. Why is it always those seeking to profit from the housing crisis who get the deals, and not those suffering it?.
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Amazing - and well-deserved! - achievement and accolade for Lankum to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. Buy the album:
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Right on, Amanda!.
A clip from BBC Newsnight. The question itself - “How do YOU think Sinéad O’Connor should be remembered?” - broke my heart and is such a painful example of how it all works (and doesn’t work at all). Ask yourself: would this question have been asked had she been a man?. I
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So sad to hear about Edmund Lynch's passing. He was a fearless trailblazer who made, lived, and relentlessly documented the Irish LGBTQ+ community's history. His Irish LGBTI+ Oral History Project is a treasure trove. We owe him a lot.
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With the Dublin Pride march this weekend, myself and @PatrickFreyne1 worked on this piece about early Irish LGBTQ+ protests and activism. Many brave people were organising in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Here are some of their voices and memories.
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Happy Pride! . Wrote about how queer people helped transform Ireland for the better, and the importance of continuing the fight for all LGBTQ+ rights, safety, and freedom. Well done @ciaraky on a great Pride issue of the @IrishTimesMag today.
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Beautiful transformation and instantly soothing. More please!.
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Myself and @PatrickFreyne1 wrote about a changing atmosphere in Ireland's LGBTQ+ community in the wake of violent attacks, and the rise and tonal shifts in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
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Ugly architecture, erasing a sense of place by disrupting streetscapes with bad development, restricting people's opportunities to hang out, doesn't make for a pleasant city. We need more pedestrianisation, more street life, more markets, and more places to hang out (for free!).
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Wrote about how overwhelmingly good Lankum are in concert right now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the first of three Vicar Street gigs.
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As ever, many of Dublin's problems are underscored by the housing crisis, but the focus on office-building, generic hotel development, and boring retail, has really hurt the Irish capital for those who live in it and move to it. Public space and amenities need to be prioritised.
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Gary Gannon is totally correct on the spoofing from government regarding "safeguards" come eviction time. These "safeguards" are mythical. Nothing is actually in place, so government just pitches more hypothetical "options", which are unworkable and impractical even in theory.
In mere weeks, thousands will be handed eviction notices from their landlords. But don't worry, the Govt says you'll be given the first right of refusal to buy the home. "That's insulting to a family who've lived under a cost of living crisis & extreme rents" says @GaryGannonTD
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I'm glad someone is pointing out the strangeness of the planned "National Consultative Forum" on neutrality. Why hold an I Can't Believe It's Not A Citizen's Assembly forum when we have a successful Citizen's Assembly model, process, and all the organisational learning therein?.
👉The government is scared of public opinion. They'd like Ireland to abandon all of what is left of neutrality, but they know the people aren't with them!. 👉This is why the Citizen's Assembly on neutrality was downgraded now to a 'special forum' on neutrality instead!!!
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Probably a good time to bump up this piece I wrote a month and a half ago, questioning what on earth was going on with RTÉ's executives, including how the Toy Show Musical spend was a scandal with no accountability for wasted money.
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If anyone has yet to watch the excellent RTÉ video report produced by @Mark_Coughlan on how the rioting unfolded, I'd highly recommend doing so.
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Love this video report of some of the joy on the streets in Dublin during what was such a love-filled, fun, uplifting Dublin Pride. Such an incredible display of positivity, community, allyship, resistance and solidarity. Impossible not to be beaming after this weekend!.
Tens of thousands turn out to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pride in Dublin.
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Congrats to Hozier on a massive tune and an incredible achievement in charts around the world. He joins Gilbert O'Sullivan, U2, and Sinéad O'Connor in the small but perfectly formed group of Irish artists who have hit #1 in the US.
A huge thank you for all the incredible support from around the world 🖤 #TooSweet has reached #1 in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and #1 for a second week in the UK and Ireland. It means the world that you're enjoying this song so much. Thank you all 🖤
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If you haven't watched Birdsong yet, I'd highly recommend it. You can get it on the RTÉ Player here: Seán will also be returning to @BeyondThePaleIE this month, presenting a talk on his work, and a birdwatching walk on site. Always a festival highlight!.
One man’s breathtaking mission to record the call of every bird species in Ireland 🪶🎶✨. BIRDSONG, Sunday at 6.30pm | @rteplayer | @ronayne88 #birdsong
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Great opportunity for the state to buy this immediately and transform it into a local amenity.
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Makes complete sense for companies to pull out of office development plans in Dublin right now when there's so much vacancy across the city. This surely presents an opportunity to instead build public housing on this D7 site, which was owned by the HSE.
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"On one occasion, a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head.".
I'm an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn't war — it was annihilation - by Irfan Galaria in @latimesopinion .
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Hard to think of a recent production in Dublin that has been as acclaimed as Fun Home @GateTheatreDub . If you want to be moved and entertained by an incredible story with amazing music and a brilliant cast, go!. 90 mins of pure brilliance. Don't miss it.
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What a brilliant thing Paris has done to make the Seine swimmable. Wrote a while ago that Dublin should aim for a clean, swimmable Liffey, plus an outdoor public pool everyone could enjoy. This stuff is so obvious and just requires a bit of ambition!.
Paris to bring back swimming in Seine after 100 years
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Thrilled to curate The Bechdel Fest at The Gate to accompany the production of Fun Home. From secret lesbian histories of Dublin 1 to amazing queer writers in conversation and more! . ⬇️.
GATE CONVERSATIONS: The Bechdel Fest 🙌🤩🏳🌈. A series of lesbian and queer events curated by @UnaMullally to mark the Irish Premiere of FUN HOME. See more about the events: #TheBechdelFest #GateConversations #FunHomeMusical #AlisonBechdel
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