Getting ready to head to Carlow to meet @FocusIreland colleagues from around the country. These meetings are useful in a number of ways. One of the most important for me is seeing the issues that are arising around the country... so that we can work with officials in @HousingPress or Local authorities to address administrative issues that arise...This got me to thinking about what are the tools, resources etc that drive advocacy in @FocusIreland. Excellent research for sure....

Of course costs will exceed the budget if we don’t have a realistic budget. Our population is growing, our needs are changing and we are maintaining a relatively inefficient and expensive system - at literally any cost (1/6)

https://twitter.com/Independent_ie/status/1040475236708364288

Households are increasingly filling the budget gap, too. They are paying out of pocket for services and private insurance costs have been on the rise over the past few years. The costs are crippling many people (2/6)

One of the other things I’m lucky enough to do is play music on the radio. 😀 I have an alternative show called “The Nova Guestlist” on @radionova100 on a Sunday night from 8pm, & I tweak away at the over the week, making notes & adding songs & ideas - I absolutely love it! So basically, the show’s about alternative & live music, so I play music that I think Nova listeners would love, stuff that I love, & stuff I HOPE that listeners will. There’s a bit of second guessing that goes with that, but generally, people are receptive if you’re passionate.

KENDRICK IS HERE Last night’s secret @delorentos gig at the Salty Dog stage was really really cool - the buzz at the smaller stages is always a highlight.... apart from the crazy stage diver dude...

FESTIVAL DAY!
So today my band @delorentos & me are off to @EPfestival. I’ll be tweeting through the day, from packing, to traveling to interviews & telly, all the way to the gig tonight in the Electric Arena, & beyond! #EP2018 (Let me get this out there first: We’ll be playing the Electric Arena stage at 7.15pm today. It will be the greatest show of all our lives. 😎 we’d love to see you there x)

One of the cultural things I love most are Podcasts- I pretty much alternate between Podcasts & Music in my ears every free minute. I'm always up for a recommendation- so I'll throw out a few I love & I'd love to hear what you're into! First of all, @SecondCaptains, those guys are like FAMILY to me man. I sat on a long car trip recently playing their podcasts to a dude who may have been politely humoring me while I looked at him for reaction. Anyway, Great Irish Sport insights- check it:
soundcloud.com/secondcaptains

So as I mentioned on Monday, I was adopted as a baby. It’s been a weird & wonderful part of my life & part of me, so I thought I’d share a bit about the experience. I’ll be making no political statements or judgments, just my story. Feel free to ask me anything. 😀 I was born in Bessborough Mother & Baby home in Cork in the early 80’s, run by the sisters of the sacred hearts of Jesus & Mary. My birth mother had “got into trouble” & had gone in pregnant, & left alone. Baby me stayed with the Nuns, & the Catholic Protection & Rescue society.

I'd love to share some Irish music that I'm into right now, there's so many great bands & acts making music that's not in the mainstream. (I did something similar before with @delorentos & used the #BrilliantIrishBands hashtag.)
All songs will be up here: open.spotify.com/user/delorento… For ease I'll be focusing on bands people might not have heard of or acts on their first album. I'd love you to get involved & share your discoveries or promote a song or your band! Plus I'll try to listen to everything sent this evening! 💚🇮🇪🎼

I wanted to direct you to this article if you have a minute - it’s excellently written, searingly insightful, and very personal.

Music, mental health and the struggle to connect - joe.ie/music/music-ch… It’s a changing time to be a musician- albums don’t make much money, record labels are not as free with advances, & supporting yourself & paying rent is more expensive than ever.

But music is important- it can empathise with you, encourage you, & help you face the day.

A few weeks David Kitt spoke out about how the rental crisis has forced him to emigrate. Lots of people jumped on him for various reasons- but the truth is, as an musician or artist you want to be part of a creative community, you want to be close to those you collaborate with...

https://twitter.com/david_kitt/status/1023574931420930048

... those who support you, & when the practice spaces, venues, galleries (or wherever you display your work) are. Yes, you could move to a smaller town in Ireland, but again, you just move away from these supports & structures. Other foreign cities have more rental options...

Hello! 👋
My name’s Kieran and I’ll be chatting on the @ireland account this week.... thanks to @darraghdoyle and the team for having me! I’d love to let you know a bit about me and what I’ll be talking about.... I’m a singer, songwriter, & guitarist in @delorentos- we’re an independent 4 piece who play melodic alternative tunes. We’ve been signed, broken up, back together, dropped, label went bust, won awards, toured all over. Best of all we’ve released 5 albums & we still talk... 😂

Hey there peeps 😎
The All-Ireland Fleadh in Drogheda is just around the corner and there will be some competitors leaving Muine Bheag after the weekend having qualified to compete there....are any of you good folks going?
#fleadh #fleadhcheoil Maybe there are some regular Fleadh-tendees (sorry) out there who might be able to give hints/tips/recommendations for @fleadhcheoil ....would love to share them here 🤩

Here’s a little background about the Fleadh, for anyone who is unfamiliar 📝
Comhaltas is the name of a group responsible for promotion of Irish culture, both here in Ireland and internationally. 1/ Fleadh is the Irish word for festival, and every year, these festivals take place at county, provincial and national level. These festivals celebrate Irish music, dance, song and language.
2/

With an hour left, I want to finish off by highlighting some of the positives of #cycling:
The number of people cycling to work increased by 43% between 2011 and 2016. In Dublin, various traffic counts show massive growth in everyday cycling (commuting, shopping etc) over the past decade.

Thread coming up on some of the benefits of everyday cycling.
First one: Cycling to work can reduce the risk of developing cancer and heart disease by up to 46%.
independent.co.uk/news/health/cy… Cycling to work has been shown to be as effective for weight loss as regular gym sessions, according to this Danish study.
bikebiz.com/business/cycli…

I didn't finish my follow friday #FF but as the sun sets on my week as the @ireland curator here's a quick round-up of heritage tweeters you should follow if you're interested in built heritage! @stephen_coyne @heritage_dublin @DavidGunne @lisamgriffith @archiseek @Gilleeece Irish architectural & heritage orgs/projects/etc to follow @IrishGeorgian @ulsterahs @DoCoMoMoIreland @ICOMOSIreland @SPABIreland @AnTaisce @HeritageWeek @ESBArchives @MerrionSqDub @dfarchives @MarshsLibrary @MakingVicDublin @HurdyGurdyRadio @DubHistorians @IAFarchitecture

As its Friday, I thought it would be a good idea to do a heritage #FollowFriday here, profiling some of the people and organisations involved in and responsible for preserving and promoting Ireland's unique built heritage and traditional skills! #FF #EuropeForCulture So my first #FF is @SPABIreland is an enthusiastic and hard working group of young professionals in the conservation sector who raise awareness and promote traditional techniques through practical workshops and site visits and also host fun events like sketching days!

A glimpse of Herbert Simms beautiful Pearse House. As seen from Pearse Street this morning. @Simms120 currently has a call for papers for their upcoming conference this autumn. Speaking of urban living my favourite social housing scheme after Simms is Edwin Lutyens flats on Page Street in Pimlico, London (built 1928-30). housingprototypes.org/project?File_N… @LutyensTrust

Last year as part of the annual Yeats Festival @TreadSoftlyFest in #Sligo friends & I led a historical walking tour 'Threads of the Town', looking at the various textile industries & businesses that had thrived there over the past century. (@orlaffitz at the former Linen Mill.) Joseph Martin @jmartintailor invited us into his atelier & store & talked about the business of modern tailoring. It has been a family business in Sligo since 1895 & continues to thrive despite changing tastes but quality continues to be the chief concern. josephmartin.ie

This year marks 50 years since Castletown House @opwcastletown (c.1722) opened its doors to the public, thanks to Desmond & Mariga Guinness who purchased the house in 1967 to save it from demolition (for a housing estate). It has been managed & operated by @opwireland since 1994! Gosh that's a terrible quality image of Castletown House - here's a better one, plus a beautiful images of the central hall - laid with portland stone. This image graces the cover of the Irish Georgian Society book, published in 2008 to commemorate our 50th anniversary!

Hi everyone, happy to be here! I was in a work meeting this morning so couldn't tweet right off the bat! Its very busy in work @IrishGeorgian right now as we've just re-opened the restored City Assembly House to the public and are hosting an incredible exhibition of 18C Irish art The City Assembly House on Dublin's South William Street was built in 1765-66 by the Society of Artists in Ireland - it was the first public exhibition gallery in Ireland & Britain! In this 1795 print by Malton you can see the corner of CAH to the right of Powerscourt Townhouse.