Will Cummins

[Steve Salter @SteveSalterPGA]

Come on @Tesco!!! You buy a steak for £11 for a special occasion, looks lovely until you turn it over and realise half of it is fat and sinew. No time to return it so have to pretty much cut it in half to make it edible. Finest my ass!! Do better and stop tricking customers!!

[Óglaigh na hÉireann @defenceforces]

PUBLIC NOTICE: Today, there will be a convoy of MOWAG Armoured Personnel Carriers travelling from Cork City to the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare.

We can confirm that this convoy is the 128th Infantry Battalion conducting mission readiness exercises ahead of deployment to UNIFIL next month.

Mission Readiness Exercises are critical activities to train and prepare our personnel for conducting duties in Southern Lebanon.

[BUCHANAN: Dublin Time Machine @RobLooseCannon]

Today in 1928, Captain James Fitzmaurice climbed into the cockpit of the Bremen at Baldonnel Aerodrome in south County Dublin, and took flight in the low-wing Junkers monoplane across the Atlantic.

He was joined by Captain Hermann Köhl, the primary pilot, and Baron Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, the expedition's wealthy but physically frail financier. The magnificently named Baron had essentially bought his seat on what everyone involved knew was an extremely dangerous journey. His job during the crossing was to pass food and drink to the pilots from his compartment at the rear.

The three men were attempting something that had never been done. Nine years earlier, John Alcock and Arthur Brown had made the first non-stop transatlantic flight, leaving St John's in Newfoundland and touching down at Clifden in Connemara. What Fitzmaurice and his German companions were about to attempt was flying east to west, directly against the prevailing winds.

Fitzmaurice himself was born in Dublin in 1898 and raised in Portlaoise, where he attended a Christian Brothers school. His interest in aviation began early, kindled by a neighbouring family of motor engineers, the Aldritts, who built their own aircraft modelled on the Wright brothers' design.

At 16 he lied about his age to enlist and served in the First World War, eventually training as a pilot, though the Armistice came into effect on the very day he was due to ship to France. He later joined the Irish Air Corps and had already made one failed east-west attempt in 1927 before the Germans came looking for him.

When Köhl and von Hünefeld made their approach to the Irish government about using Baldonnel as a departure point, they extended an invitation to Fitzmaurice to join the crew. Von Hünefeld was shrewd enough to recognise that arriving in New York with an Irishman aboard would do them no harm at all.

The Bremen carried 520 gallons of petrol, enough for around 44 hours and weighed 5 tonnes. Thousands of Dubliners had made their way out to Baldonnel to watch, some of them shaking holy water at the plane and its crew as it taxied for take-off. The flags of Ireland and imperial Germany flew from the cockpit. At 5:38am, the Bremen lifted off.

For the first 20 hours conditions were reasonable enough. The aircraft cruised at around 1,500 feet and 120 miles per hour. Then storm clouds obscured the stars, the compass failed, and the three men flew blind through the North Atlantic darkness, heading north without knowing it.

When the skies finally cleared, they spotted Polaris and realised they were badly off course. They turned south-west and followed the coast of Labrador, picking out the Torngat Mountains below them. An oil leak had developed inside the cockpit and they had perhaps two hours of fuel remaining.

On 13 April, 36 hours after leaving Baldonnel, they spotted the lighthouse on Greenly Island, off the Quebec coast. Köhl brought the Bremen down onto a frozen reservoir beside the lighthouse. As the aircraft came to a stop, it broke through the ice. They we freezing and wet but otherwise unharmed.

They had crossed the Atlantic from east to west, against the wind, in a single unbroken flight. New York gave them a ticker-tape parade. President Calvin Coolidge awarded all three the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first time it had ever been given to foreign nationals.

In June 1928, Dublin granted them the Freedom of the City. The three later published an account of the flight under the title The Three Musketeers of the Air. The Bremen itself eventually found its way to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Fitzmaurice was promoted to Colonel. He spent years in America, returned to England during the war, and came home to Dublin in 1951. He died in Baggot Street Hospital in 1965 and was buried in Glasnevin. The flying school at Baldonnel now bears his name.

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

[Óglaigh na hÉireann @defenceforces]

The Defence Forces are aware of images circulating of MOWAG Armoured Personnel Carriers in convoy.

We can confirm that these are the personnel of the 128th Infantry Battalion conducting mission readiness exercises ahead of deployment to UNIFIL next month.

Mission Readiness Exercises are critical activities to train and prepare our personnel for conducting duties in Southern Lebanon.

[BUCHANAN: Dublin Time Machine @RobLooseCannon]

Today in 1849, hundreds of starving men, women, and children set out on a harrowing overnight death march from Louisburgh, Co. Mayo, to Delphi Lodge, a hunting retreat nestled deep in the mountains. They had no choice.

Two government officials had arrived in Louisburgh to determine whether famine relief, an essential lifeline of grain, would continue for the destitute. Yet, without conducting an inspection, the officials departed for Delphi, ordering the desperate crowds to follow. Their names were Captain Primrose and Colonel Hogrove.

The people were given a deadline. Present themselves at Delphi Lodge by seven o'clock the following morning, or be struck off the relief list entirely. A timed ultimatum, dressed up as procedure.

In the darkness, hundreds of emaciated people, described as "living skeletons", struggled through the treacherous Doolough Valley. The brutal wind and rain showed no mercy. Some were found afterwards with grass still in their mouths, eaten in a final, desperate attempt to keep moving.

By morning, at least 16 lay dead along the roadside, their bodies abandoned to the elements. Among them was a woman named Dalton, found lifeless with her son and daughter. Two unnamed men, who perished just a mile from Louisburgh, were left exposed for days, prey for dogs and ravens.

Those who survived the march and reached Delphi Lodge were told the officials could not be disturbed. They were at lunch. When the meeting eventually took place, the people were sent away with nothing.

The whole affair might have been quietly buried in that mountain pass, forgotten like the dead, were it not for a letter published in the Mayo Constitution, signed only as "A Ratepayer."

The local relieving officer, Michael Carroll, was later dismissed. His books were not in order, which was offered as the official explanation for why no inspection ever took place at Louisburgh. Carroll lost his job. Primrose and Hogrove kept theirs.

The Doolough Tragedy became a searing symbol of government neglect and cruelty during the Great Famine. A memorial stone near the lake now stands as a solemn reminder, etched with the haunting words:

"How can men feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings?"

From 1988 onwards, the harrowing inhumanity has been remembered with an annual Famine Walk, retracing the desperate route of those who perished. Figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Waylon Gary White Deer of the Choctaw Nation have walked in solidarity. Their nation donated to Irish Famine relief in 1847, having survived the Trail of Tears themselves just years before.

In 2013, Delphi Lodge, once the site of such inhuman indifference, finally acknowledged its past. For the first time, it welcomed the walk onto its 1,000-acre estate, stating:

"By opening our gates to the Afri Famine Walk, Delphi Lodge is acknowledging our part in what happened in 1849, instead of ignoring it." Today, a Famine Exhibition Centre in Louisburgh tells the full story.

Support the DTM Book https://t.co/U7jtCrOTtb

[Óglaigh na hÉireann @defenceforces]

Óglaigh na hÉireann can confirm that an operation took place to transport key Battalion personnel to United Nations Post 2-45 and to return Communications Specialists who had been performing critical maintenance to communication systems and infrastructure.

This was a joint operation in a volatile region, involving Army personnel of the 127th Infantry Battalion who conducted a patrol from UNP 2-45 to Beirut and the Air Corps flight crew of the C295 who performed the strategic air lift from Casement Aerodrome to Beirut.

This operation demonstrates the strategic reach capability of the Air Corps, as well as the capabilities of our Army personnel employing force protection measures to enable operations in a conflict zone.

#Irishdefenceforces #ÓglaighnahÉireann #DefendOurState

[Cork Safety Alerts @CorkSafetyAlert]

A Cork Safety Alerts follower has reported spotting Hemlock Water Dropwort washed up on Front Strand beach in Youghal yesterday, Wednesday 18 March. A previous sighting was also reported at Mall beach in the town.

This is one of Europe’s most toxic plants. Do not touch it and keep children and pets well away. If you or your pet have had any contact with it, seek medical or veterinary attention immediately.

[Will Cummins @willw227]

@SevillaFC_ENG Mighty craic to be had today in Sevilla!! ☘️

[Just Rock Content @JustRockContent]

“Jump Around” - House Of Pain

☘️May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door! ☘️ Happy St. Patrick Day - Rockers!
https://t.co/K2Rx4c0PLP

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The bumblebee queen learns how to use the protective cap in less than 24 hours.

[Will Cummins @willw227]

@MothHeaven_ Striped

[Irish Air Corps @IrishAirCorps]

The sky called. We answered 😎

[Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 @IrelandFootball]

"Take time to thank the people who've supported you on this journey..." 🥹

We recommend you take three minutes of your day to watch Heimir Hallgrímsson's post-match team-talk in the dressing room. All the feels. 💚

[Don Lavery @donlav]

#EUsummit
@SimonHarrisTD
@MichealMartinTD

DON LAVERY
Defenceless Ireland has now become an international embarrassment.
Our inability to even protect an EU summit a bad joke.

[Richard Branson @richardbranson]

The utter irony of Putin and Trump meeting soon in Budapest to jointly seal Ukraine’s fate should not be lost on anybody. This is the very same city where the US, the UK, and Russia came together 31 years ago to give Ukraine ironclad assurances that its territorial integrity would be respected and protected within existing borders in exchange for giving up a third of the world’s nuclear weapons (to Russia!). Ukraine trusted the US, trusted the UK, transferred all its nuclear weapons to Russia, and joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Within 20 years, Putin effectively ripped up the Budapest Memorandum, ignored Russia’s pledge, and invaded and annexed Crimea. In 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine finally removed all remaining doubts about Putin’s imperial greed.

If treaties and agreements between countries are to be trusted, the US and the UK must stand by the original Budapest Memorandum and give the Ukrainians everything they need to push Russia out of Ukraine, as President Trump said he would do before taking Putin’s latest call. It is the only way for Ukraine to get its territory back and put an end to this brutal invasion.

If the US and Russia continue to ignore the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, how on Earth can Ukraine be expected to have any faith in yet another Budapest memorandum signed in the same city between Russia and the United States? They can’t.

[Will Cummins @willw227]

@ShaneLowryGolf Outstanding Shane, you’re flying it!!

[Meidas_Charise Lee @charise_lee]

Hegseth is DISGRACEFUL AND DANGEROUS‼️
They are not “HIS” troops‼️ They are “OUR”Troops‼️

[Rock'n Roll of All @rocknrollofall]

You don't become a legend with what you play, you become a legend when you're something like this.

Hetfield speaks words of wisdom.

[Will Cummins @willw227]

@TAdventurousoul How do you even cook that?!!

[Will Cummins @willw227]

@dieworkwear 100% agree with you on this point. It is scandalous to watch this happen and standards are disappearing rapidly in attempts at sartorial elegance also.