Diarmuid Ó Baoill

We are Irish not because we were born in Ireland but because Ireland was born in us.

[Louth GAA @louthgaa]

1957 —— 2026 ❤️🤍❤️🤍

[BUCHANAN: Dublin Time Machine @RobLooseCannon]

The legend of the iconic ring originates in the riverside cottages huddled beside the Corrib near the walls of Galway cty. Claddagh was an ancient Irish speaking fishing village with its own laws and customs, it even elected a local “King”.

The villagers of Claddagh lived off the salmon runs, mending nets and hauling currachs. But they also had another specialist trade. They were goldsmiths.

Around 1675 Richard Joyce, a member of one of the Tribes of Galway, left Ireland for the West Indies, seeking his fortune. Instead, he was captured by Algerian pirates and sold into slavery in North Africa. There, by chance or fate, he was purchased by a Moorish goldsmith.

For fourteen years Joyce learned the craft. The folklore says it was then he fashioned the design of a ring bearing two hands clasping a heart, surmounted by a crown, a token of fidelity for the woman he had left behind on the shores of Galway Bay. Whether this was the first Claddagh ring or a refinement of an existing motif is still debated. As is pretty much every bit of the tall tale.

In 1689, following diplomatic negotiations under King William III, Joyce was freed. His master had been so impressed by his skill, he offered him half his wealth and his daughter’s hand in marriage. Joyce refused and returned home. According to tradition, his sweetheart had waited. He placed the ring on her finger, and they were married. So that definetely happened, or not.

What is not legend is that some of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings, dating from around 1700, bear the maker’s mark “RI”, widely accepted as Richard Joyce’s initials. The design was inspired by the Italian "mani in fede" hands clasped in faith. What distinguished the Claddagh version was the crown, a symbol of loyalty reflecting allegiance to the King of the Claddagh.

By the mid-1700s, goldsmithing began to shift into the city proper.Local tradition held that any fisherman found in Galway Bay without the ring could be punished as he wasnt part of the guild, entitled to fish the waters.

In 1750, Thomas Dillon established what would become the most famous Claddagh ring workshop. The Dillon family moved production from the margins of the city to William Street and later Quay Street, closer to trade, visitors, and the growing tourist economy. While other makers followed, the Dillons became custodians of the tradition, and today they are the only jewellers permitted to stamp their rings with the word “ORIGINAL”.

The 19th century carried the Claddagh ring far beyond the Corrib. Queen Victoria’s visit to Ireland in 1849 brought royal attention to the design. The Famine Queen, along with Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII, wore Claddagh rings supplied by the Dillon workshop, transforming a regional custom into a fashionable symbol.

And it was during that Great Hunger , with families from the Claddagh emigrating to Britain, America and beyond that the ring spread, becoming treasured heirlooms passed from mothers to daughters.

The heart obviously stands for love, the hands represent friendship and the crown is supposed to signify loyalty. But its the way the ring is worn that communicates your personal life.

Worn on the right hand, heart facing out, means single and up for it. Right hand, heart facing in means youre in a relationship. When its on the left hand, heart facing out, youre engaged. On the left hand, heart facing in, youre married.

Buy the Dublin Time Machine a pint and support the DTM Book
https://t.co/U7jtCrOTtb

[Diarmuid Ó Baoill @dermotski]

Stop moving Edmondstown sorting office to Lucan - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/QM2eaWtrYD via @Change

[Bernard Traversat @BTraTra]

It's happening. The JVM will enable both CPU and GPU execution :-) https://t.co/Ci3rAYiVc6
"Java for the AI world"
#java #AI #GPU

[KM2 archive @KillianM2]

Definitely the first time I've ever retweeted my own post twice twice in the space of a couple of hours, but this is worth 15 minutes of your time.

[Bernard Traversat @BTraTra]

JDK 26 Release Candidate is available! Faster startup, increased performance, leaner Java with enhanced productivity, greater robustness, and a few thousands of enhancements and bug fixes :-)
https://t.co/egt5GMtjNC
"Java for the AI World"
#java #jdk26 #AI

[Diarmuid Ó Baoill @dermotski]

@MiamiShowband Breithlá shona!

[ForbairtFeirste @Ffeirste]

Gnó means Business

If you are a business looking to promote the Irish Language, through signage, staff wear or branding we can help with funding.

Check out some of the recent business success stories below 👇

Drop us a message & we can assist you today! #Gnó #Gaeilge

[Barry McElduff @BarryMcElduff]

Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh go léir … and best wishes, good health and happiness to you all for 2026.

[KNEECAP @KNEECAPCEOL]

Lá an Dreoilín shona daoibh.

[Border Ireland for a United Ireland @border_ireland]

RUC fired from armoured car mounted machine gun on housing complex of flats, killing 9 year old child.

No RUC member was ever even disciplined.

Took the British 56 years to settle and apologise.

The British hid their accountability for the Troubles using Deny, Delay, Deflect.

[BUCHANAN: Dublin Time Machine @RobLooseCannon]

Today in 1867, in the grey industrial town of Salford, William Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O’Brien were hanged for their part in one of the most dramatic episodes of Fenian resistance.

By 1861, one in every five people in Manchester was Irish. They were refugees of famine and the long shadow of evictions due to landlordism. The city became a breeding ground for the Irish Republican Brotherhood. It's backstreets, grim terraced gaffs noisy mills and warehouses formed a sanctuary for the secret movement.

It was in this atmosphere of grinding poverty and resentment that two senior IRB men, Thomas Kelly and Timothy Deasy, were arrested in September 1867. Their comrades were determined that they would not stay in British custody. What followed was a rescue attempt that was bold to the point of recklessness. A Fenian unit stopped the police van carrying Kelly and Deasy on Hyde Road. In the chaos that followed, a shot was fired. It tore through the lock of the van, ricocheted, and struck Police Sergeant Charles Brett who died almost instantly.

Within hours authorities rounded up 62 Irish suspects. 23 were put on trial. After only sixteen days, 5 men were found guilty under the 1848 Treason Felony Act. Among them were 19 year old William Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O’Brien. Thomas Maguire, a Marine, and Edward O’Meagher Condon, a naturalised American, were also condemned.

The trials were swift, despite witnesses contradicting themselves and identification evidence collapsing under scrutiny. A public campaign eventually exposed enough perjury to clear Maguire. Condon was spared execution through the pressure of the American government, though not before delivering the line that would immortalise him. On hearing the death sentence, he stood firm and said, without trembling, “I have nothing to regret, or to retract, or take back. I can only say, God Save Ireland.”

Yet even American diplomacy could not save Michael O’Brien, despite the lobbying of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward. The British government was not in a merciful mood. The political climate demanded punishment, an example, made of Fenianism.

And so, on a cold November morning, Allen, Larkin, and O’Brien walked to the scaffold at New Bailey Prison while thousands gathered outside in hushed, furious witness. The tension spilled far beyond Salford. In Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, mass demonstrations filled the streets. In New York, crowds chanted prayers and curses. Even in New Zealand, halfway across the globe, Irish settlers marched in protest. Something had shifted. The Fenians now had martyrs. And martyrs, once created, cannot be recalled.

Friedrich Engels, watching events unfold wrote to Karl Marx that these executions “accomplished the final act of separation between England and Ireland. The only thing the Fenians had lacked were martyrs. They have been provided with these.”

[Diarmuid Ó Baoill @dermotski]

@EmmaCDeSouza Love this👍

[Féach News @_FeachNews]

Simon Harris, Bertie Ahern, Daniel O'Donnell, Fianna Fáil, Tull McAdoo, Leo Varadkar, Alan Kelly, David Quinn, The Burkes, The Irish Independent, Mary Harney, The Daily Mail, The Irish Times, Ivan Yates, CAN YOU HEAR ME IVAN YATES?
Your candidate took one hell of a beating.

[Diarmuid Ó Baoill @dermotski]

A hard won bottle, finished a great event 60kms from Dublin city to Glenmalure over Friday night, for a great cause - all donations appreciated at: https://t.co/giLhcYl9dc

[Sharat Chander @sharatchander.bsky.social @Sharat_Chander]

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[Sinéad McGarry @Sineadmcgar]

This, 1000% times this. Mairead McGuinness voted without her humanity, time for you to vote WITH yours. She stands for everything Michael D opposes..

[Irish Unity 🇮🇪🇵🇸 @IrishUnity]

🤝 Tyrone and Kerry Gaels united at Croke Park today

🗣️ Demanding the Irish government issue visas for 33 Palestinian children due to visit Ireland to play hurling and football

🏐 Let them play

[gaa_palestine @GAA_Palestine]

Support is flying in and we have so many people asking how they can help.
Please share this post and get the word out on the many ways you can take action today.
We're not giving up and you're not either ❤️❤️
Petition link: https://t.co/vDvweHjRcS

#freegaapalestine #letthemplay