Michael Doherty

Maker of things in wood & of the earth, Photographer of Stuff, Creator of Torturous Noise.

[Michael Doherty @mickeyned2003]

Goodnight Jenifer 1.
Wee improvisation I did for the missus. @robertkeeley Eccos into two amps with a touch of Mag Echo and hall reverb. #guitar #improvisation #followtheeccos

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

In December 1968, a young mother in Ireland wakes from a four-day coma, her body ravaged by her third pregnancy in less than two years. The twins she delivered are healthy, but May McGee has nearly paid for them with her life...

Her doctor's words are blunt. Another pregnancy could kill her. He writes a prescription for a diaphragm and spermicidal jelly, contraceptives she cannot legally obtain in her own country. The only option is to import them from the UK.

When the package arrives at Irish customs, it's seized. Officials deliver a chilling warning to the McGees: attempt this again, and face prosecution. May McGee, just 24 years old with four children born in 23 months, is told by her government that her life is less important than a law written in 1935.

She refuses to accept it. "I was livid that somebody in government could tell us how to live our lives," she would later recall. "I wasn't going to back down."

With support from their doctor and the Irish Family Planning Association, the McGees file a lawsuit. The High Court rejects them in 1972. But they appeal to the Supreme Court, and on December 19, 1973, something remarkable happens. In a 4-1 decision, the court rules that married couples have a constitutional right to privacy in family planning decisions.

The moment that crystallized the case came during testimony. When asked how he felt about his wife using contraceptives, Shay McGee answered with devastating simplicity: "I'd prefer to see her using contraceptives than be placing flowers on her grave."

Years later, Supreme Court Justice Gerard Hogan would call it the court's "single most important decision" in nearly a century, one that ignited "a social revolution." Yet that revolution moved painfully slowly. Politicians didn't pass legislation allowing even limited access until 1979, and only for married couples with prescriptions. Full unrestricted access to contraception didn't arrive until 1993, twenty years after the McGees won their case.

The Sunday after their victory, May and Shay attended Mass in Skerries. From the altar, they were publicly condemned. They walked out and never returned to the church. May McGee never sought recognition for what she had done, but her refusal to back down transformed Irish society and opened doors for generations of women who followed.

© Reddit

#archaeohistories

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

The math on this image is insane.

New Horizons transmitted at 2,000 bits per second from 3 billion miles away. Slower than a 1990s dial-up modem. It took 16 months to download all the flyby data.

The spacecraft had to hit a target box 100km wide, arriving within 150 seconds of schedule, after 9 years of flight. Miss it and the preloaded observation commands point at empty space.

Ten days before arrival, the spacecraft crashed and went into safe mode. Engineers had 72 hours to restore everything.

The probe is now 5 billion miles out, still whispering data back to Earth. We got 50 gigabits of Pluto photos using technology slower than your phone’s bluetooth.

[Barry Malone @malonebarry]

To put this in simple terms. For several hours now, Israeli soldiers have been kidnapping civilians from at least 44 countries in international waters.

And most of their governments are silent.

[Gerry Adams @GerryAdamsSF]

Senator Chris Andrews illegally kidnapped by Israel aboard Global Sumud Flotilla https://t.co/rpgJuJvtUh

[Global Sumud Flotilla @gbsumudflotilla]

🚨 SOUND THE ALARM – INTERCEPTION 🚨
BREAKING: On Oct 1, 2025
Israeli naval forces illegally intercepted and boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla’s vessel Morgana along with other boats in international waters.

Live-streams and communications have been cut… https://t.co/QDL3eqB3Fc

[liam cunningham @liamcunningham1]

Flotilla attacked. 4 boats attacked. No injuries. https://t.co/xLNL8B0Ngo

[Tehran Tadhg @TadhgHickey]

It'd be great if some MSM would start covering the @gbsumudflotilla because the entity is desperately trying to manufacture consent to murder us like they murder Palestinians every day 🙏

[Tehran Tadhg @TadhgHickey]

Looking forward to the Irish government's condemnation of this attempt on my life last night 🙏 @MichealMartinTD, @SimonHarrisTD

[Scoil na nAmadán @NaAmadan]

There’s people applying to be President like they’ve just seen it advertised as a Fás scheme on the notice board in SuperValu.

[Leyla Hamed @leylahamed]

There is no greater insult to sport — and to humanity itself — than letting Israel parade in international tournaments while carrying out genocide.

[Leyla Hamed @leylahamed]

Roger Wade, founder of @Boxfresh, has been banned from Brighton & Hove Albion for 5 games for wearing a Palestine football kit.

A ST holder for 10 years, he was pulled out mid-game with no explanation. Instead of dialogue, the club sent him a ban letter. @OfficialBHAFC

[KNEECAP @KNEECAPCEOL]

Our good pals The Mary Wallopers have just been pulled off stage and the PA shut down at @VictoriousFest in Portsmouth for taking out a 🇵🇸 flag and saying Free Palestine.

Speak up against genocide in England and you're treated like a criminal.

Up the Mary Wallopers 💚🤍🧡

Free Palestine!
Free the 6 counties!

[Michael Doherty @mickeyned2003]

@OrangeAmps At last, the fame she has sought her whole life is bestowed upon her!

[Michael Doherty @mickeyned2003]

@OrangeAmps TH30, Tiny Terror combo, Fender Bassman reissue featuring Anna (tabby), Lilo (black as the night) and Stitch (gentlemanly tuxedo)

[Michael Doherty @mickeyned2003]

@TadhgHickey He’s got the stuff.

[Tehran Tadhg @TadhgHickey]

It's all bullshit

[DOZA🧐 @lil_doza]

The Irony of Bonfire Culture in the North of Ireland explained.

[Michael Doherty @mickeyned2003]

@GetMyGuitars Lowden F-32C from around the mid 90’s. Played one when I went to London to labour on the sites she I was 17/18 one summer and thought long and hard about blowing a good portion of my hard earned wages on one. Didn’t, should have. The warmth of the sound was like nothing else.