I've just heard the youngest daughter of a Syrian family I interviewed four years ago scored more than 600 points in her Leaving Cert and is off to study dentistry. Should note her two older sisters also did incredibly well in the LC, so happy for the family.
Volunteers from a Sikh temple in south Dublin have offered to cook and deliver hundreds of free meals to vulnerable families, gardaí and health workers for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic
Nearly 100 cyclists outside
@DubCityCouncil
offices on Wood Quay staging a die-in earlier this morning following Neeraj Jain’s death outside St James’ hospital last Friday and highlighting the dangers of living in a capital city without proper cycle infrastructure.
@IBIKEDublin
The sheer volume of vitriol this tweet has attracted in the past 24 hours is shocking, even for twitter. Also plenty of personal attacks for being a woman/white/middle class/Jew/foreigner/uneducated/entitled/stuck up... I could go on.
Refugees and asylum seekers who trained as doctors and nurses in their home countries, but who are not registered to work in Ireland, may be able to provide “essential support” during the coronavirus pandemic, the Irish Medical Council has said.
Mike Ryan: "If we stand by and allow frontline health workers and vulnerable people in developing countries to not be vaccinated while the rich north gets on with vaccinating perfectly healthy young people, then I hope the history books write that down."
My gorgeous purple peugot electra bike was stolen from outside my house in Dublin 8 this morning. I realise it’s probably gone forever but thought I’d share the word in case anyone spots it around the city centre/Francis St/St Patrick’s cathedral area
My article in yesterday’s
@IrishTimes
on the numerous non-European doctors working in Irish hospitals who are caring for our most vulnerable yet do not qualify for specialist programmes and thus cannot progress their career in Ireland
Increasingly concerned by this pattern of protests spreading around the country, particularly when we're talking about 13 single women and some families. Can you imagine arriving in a country scared and alone only to be greeted by placards and protests...
I’ve spent months working on this article which describes the Irish system of detaining foreign nationals who are refused entry into Ireland in prisons. This practice has been repeatedly criticised by the Committee for the Prevention of torture
The lack of diversity across all aspects of the Irish media is frankly shameful. Our almost entirely white, largely male, journalistic presence in this country is not representative of Irish society in 2020.
The gender disparity report found that no Irish female musicians featured in the top 20 artists played by four stations – FM104, LM FM, WLR FM and South East Radio – over the past 12 months.
Short thread: A couple of weeks ago I spoke to Mustafa Keshkeia, a translator and lecturer at Damascus university. He's been awarded a 4-year fully funded PhD scholarship at DCU but his visa application to come to Ireland has been refused...
I've just spoken to ANOTHER Latin American English language student who was questioned and held for hours in Dublin airport despite showing all her documentation. These are not isolated cases, more and more people about contacting me about this and frankly, it's a disgrace.
Why is this not front page news and top of the headlines in Ireland (and elsewhere?) 170 HUMAN BEINGS are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean. Men, women and children, like me and you. Have we become that desensitised to the plight of refugees?!
“After 14 years it was a proud moment as a Sikh man to be able to wear a turban as part of the uniform," says Ravinder Singh Oberoi who was attested as a member of the Garda Reserves this week.
More than 2,000 people are due to be sworn in as Irish citizens in Killarney on Monday with thousands more expected to receive citizenship in the first two months of next year following a delay in holding the events via
@IrishTimes
Listening to worrying report on
@RTERadio1
w. students saying they haven’t registered to vote because it ‘doesn’t affect me’ and ‘doesn’t interest me’.
Politics affect every person on this island.
If you are eligible to vote get out and register, you have till Wed Jan 22nd
First time in years I’ve attended a march rather than covering it for work. And this one feels particularly important.
Felt proud marching behind the
@POSIrl
banner with my parents and sister, joining thousands of other Dubliners in calling for
#Ireland4All
❤️🇮🇪❤️
How many more families have to go through the pain/fear the Ryan/Mathis family are experiencing before our Government actually introduces solid, reliable hate-crime legislation? via
@IrishTimes
I’ve been writing about this issue for 5 yrs and cannot understand how the Gov continues to overlook the fact that tens of thousands of foreign nationals are forced to pay rogue operators to secure visa appointments. We should be embarrassed to be treating people this way.
Undocumented migrants and asylum seekers who have been in direct provision for at least two years will be able to apply to regularise their status in Ireland from January under a “once-in-a-generation” scheme, the department of justice has announced.
Irish Syrian Short Story: Noor (means light in Arabic) came with her family from Syria to
#Ireland
in 2015. She scored 602/625 in her
#LeavingCert2019
. Now, Noor is going to study Dental
#Science
@tcddublin
.
Noor, you brought more light to our beloved Ireland 🇮🇪
"This is still a deeply unfair, deeply inequitable world in which access to the basic human right of health is something that is given by privilege and by how much money you have."
"It's not just
#COVID19
that is killing people,
it's underprivilege,
it's lack of access,
it's years of living with health conditions that haven't been properly managed because of the colour of your skin, or your ethnicity, or your social group"-
@DrMikeRyan
#HealthForAll
Arrive home after long day, discover house keys have fallen off key chain. Boyfriend abroad, no spares. Spend following 45 mins cycling around Dublin checking all the spots I went today. Finally reach Cathal Brugha st and SUCCESS! Keys are lying on the path. Thank you world!
Next step is making this all-female masthead a normal occurrence in the
@IrishTimes
rather than something that only appears in exceptional circumstances
I've spoken to Deliveroo cyclists who have been held at knife point while doing deliveries while the majority say they regularly get stones thrown at them in certain parts of the city. Their bright green bags immediately make them a target in some areas, this needs to stop.
I decided to try and find out why unemployment is so much higher among Ireland's African community. My takeaway? We have a serious problem with discrimination in this country.
Over 1,000 doctors call for Yes vote in referendum - "This is not a vote of Yes or No. It’s a vote of whether or not we want to make healthcare safe and regulated.”
All the articles from the
@IrishTimes
20 yrs of direct provision series I worked on with
@MarkHilliardIT
are now available to read in one place. The series, which ran in Nov, tracks the development of Ireland's asylum system over the past two decades.
I’ve spent the past few months working on a collection of articles with
@MarkHilliardIT
to mark 20 years since direct provision was introduced. The first piece is available to read now with the series continuing in the
@irishtimes
all of next week:
Brilliant news, a term for ‘person of colour’ has finally been added to the Irish language. No more need for the farcical 'duine gorm' or 'blue person'. Massive shout out to
@olamajekodunmi1
for suggesting the change to Foras na Gaeilge. via
@IrishTimes
Girl I was in school with but hadn’t seen in yrs tweeted me last Nov that she had found a book in an Ecuadorean bookshop in Quito with ‘Sorcha Pollak, Perú/Bolivia 2011’ written inside the cover. Asked if it was me...
It was, left it in a Bolivian hostel 8 yrs ago. Blew my mind.
It's hard to remember that Twitter can be a really lovely, warm, funny community at times.
Does anyone want to share a happy Twitter story? Someone you've 'met' here perhaps? Someone who has been kind? Heart-warming acts you've witnessed here?
“When I was younger I used to think the whole of Ireland was hateful”
Racism in Ireland is real. I spoke to some young black and mixed race Irish people who have been dealing with it since childhood.
Hundreds of Irish healthcare workers have signed a letter calling on the Government to relocate 400 migrants from the Greek island of Lesvos to Ireland “as a matter of urgency” and say Covid-19 is no longer an excuse for not bringing families to Ireland
On Tuesday, Nov 6th 2018 a Polish man was found dead on the steps below St Audeon's Church, not far from Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. I've spent the past 8 months investigating his life. This is Michal's story.
Jalil Rizvi was 19 when he moved to Ireland in 2007.
In September 2021, after years of studying while working jobs in Centra, Superquinn and driving taxis through the night, he was called to the bar in Dublin’s Four Courts.
I've decided to close my DMs for a few weeks to take a break from bile I'm often sent. If you have an actual story you think should be covered get in touch at spollak
@irishtimes
.com
Hundreds of cyclists set off from Grand Canal Square calling for the Liffey Cycle Route to be implemented as soon as possible along with immediate temporary measures along the quays to protect the safety of all vulnerable road users
@dublincycling
Genuine question - how many of our Covid-19 decision makers (Martin, Varadkar, Holohan etc) have actually lived abroad? I mean longer than 3 months in US/UK. You cannot fully comprehend the importance of getting home for Christmas if you haven’t personally been in that situation.
In recent weeks a far-right Telegram account was set up using my identity & anti-semitic stickers feat. my name were posted around Dublin. These people are clearly building a stronger and more organised presence here. Important read from
@ConorGallaghe_r
I know from my own work that her words still represent a minority in this country. But I do fear the spread of this hate towards ‘the other’. Racism is a problem in this country, we need to recognise and address this.
“Of course we know direct provision is inhumane,” said Bulelani Mfaco from
@masi_asylum
. “The problem is we’ve never seen any of those people protest it before. It’s only when a centre is going to open in their backyard.”
I got an ethnicity update from based on new data and thought I’d share.
To all the Twitter haters who are ridiculously fixated on throwing anti-Semitic remarks my way I couldn’t be prouder of my Central European Jewishness AND my Cork rebel blood.
I've a strong personal interest in covering this topic given the crap I often have to put up with on
@Twitter
and other social platforms. Having said that, it's not even comparable to horrific abuse
@hazechu
and
@thatginamiller
have suffered
The 1st women's editor at the
@IrishTimes
The 1st Irish Times woman to return to work after marriage.
The 1st to get paid maternity leave.
Deeply saddened to hear of Mary's death - she truly was a pioneer when it came to giving a voice to Irish women.
Now that we're facing into 6 weeks of
#lockdown2
maybe the
@opwireland
would consider closing Phoenix Park to cars again?
Having access to such peace and quiet was a life saver back in Spring, I could really do with that boost of undisturbed tranquility over the coming weeks.
Ireland’s rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and racist attacks should push the State to introduce hate crime legislation without delay, a UN official has told the Government.
Last year Ghada Feddawi, a Syrian woman living in Dublin, set up the
@employrefugees
website to help match refugees looking for work with employers seeking staff. She's now calling on more refugees to add their CVs to the site. Click here for more details
This is the most beautiful version of The Parting Glass I’ve ever heard. These are scary times we’re living through, music is more important now than ever.
A beautiful version of The Parting Glass from
@Hozier
with a dedication to all the people who have lost their lives to this virus, including the health worker who died today.
#LateLate
#StayAtHome
Hidden away in Dublin 8, just steps from the popular Fumbally café, a small office is coordinating the sale of millions of tons of coal from Colombia. This is my report into the Cerrejón mine and Ireland's use of coal "stained with blood"
I never met any of my Jewish family and we don't know how many of my grandfather's relatives perished in the Holocaust. But Holocaust Memorial Day is still hugely important to me. Thanks to Jadzia & Yoram for sharing your family stories for this article.
Once again the Irish media coverage this
#StPatricksDay
is hugely focused on the Irish undocumented in the US but not a word about the more than 20,000 undocumented right here on this island.
A slightly 'older' to the parish story this week from Afshin Samali who arrived in Sligo in 1985 as a Bahá'í refugee from Iran. He is now professor of biochemistry at NUIG working to develop therapies for the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
The harassment many women face on social media is becoming frighteningly normalised.
This is not right.
I wrote a piece about the online threats I've suffered and spoke to women in Irish public life who are dealing with this abuse almost daily.
Thread: Sitting on the train just now, 2 older women beside me start discussing how Ireland is ‘letting too many foreigners in’. I politely interrupt and weigh in with own opinion on the topic. Woman beside me calmly replies that the country has become ‘overrun with foreigners’
I spoke to four Deliveroo cyclists about how they're feeling cycling the streets of Dublin following Thiago Cortes' death and the harassment they face on a daily basis delivering food to our homes
Over the years I've written a number of times about how English language students are being fleeced by rogue landlords who pile dozens of people into houses yet still, nothing changes. Even now, during a pandemic, students are sharing 3-4 to a room. Norman is one of them.
"Ireland has the lowest investment per capita in the arts in the EU. For a country known for its culture, this is a scandal. Being a professional artist isn’t some kind of quirky lifestyle choice. The denigration of the arts sector denigrates us all."
Searching through twitter for interesting tweets and I've already seen people posting photos of their marked ballot paper.
Stop this madness, please! Don't spoil your vote by taking a stupid selfie. Voting is private, leave the smart phone at home.
Ireland named the first ever winner of an international award for promoting community sponsorship as means of providing housing to refugee families. via
@IrishTimes
“Social distancing is a privilege, self-isolation is a privilege. So much of the HSE messaging is dependent on families living in a three-bedroom house with multiple rooms and access to a garden."
I was totally blown away by this 16 yr old's strength and courage in the face of such adversity.
Precious spoke to me about the bullying she faced for being "too black" and how she now feels like a "brand-new person" after discovering her passion for baking.
Tweeting this again in case people missed it last night - yet another incident of racially motivated violence on our streets.
If you have experienced racist abuse in Ireland and want to share your story please get in touch spollak
@irishtimes
.com
After 12 months of being a full time mama (definitely the toughest/most rewarding job I've ever done) I'm back in the
@IrishTimes
reporting on immigration and presenting
@IrishTimesAudio
's In the News podcast.
Any stories or leads, DM me or email sorcha.pollak
@irishtimes
.com
Exciting delivery to the Irish Times newsroom this morning! Huge thanks to
@NewIslandBooks
for this gorgeous book, can’t wait to see it in Irish bookshops from next week. In the meantime, you can order a copy here
Very excited to announce I’m joining
@conor_pope
in presenting our new Irish Times podcast which looks at the most important news stories in Ireland and across the globe. We’ve got an incredible team working on this and it all kicks off today. Enjoy!
Excited to announce that I'm leaving the
@NewToTheParish
series in the extremely capable hands of
@jadeswilson
&
@shaunabowerss
from next week as I head off on maternity leave.
Keep sending your stories to newtotheparish
@irishtimes
.com or contact Jade/Shauna directly.
‘Rather than follow the lead on race relations from the US or indeed the UK, let Ireland define its own path in setting an inspiring example of what a prosperous, inclusive, dynamic society can look like.’
@EmmaDabiri
The latest death toll on this is 31 people.
31 human lives.
A fisherman reportedly called the rescue services after seeing an empty dinghy and people floating motionless in the water nearby.
Why, why, why are we still letting this happen?
We CANNOT allow this to happen. I am just one of the countless people who rely on the music of
@RTElyricfm
as a constant source of calm and beauty. We boast of a deep cultural heritage of this island -
@josephamadigan
, let’s not lose a vital part of that by cutting out lyric.
Beautiful photo of Samir, Mohammed and Osman, the three CBS Westland Row students who spoke in front of a packed out hall at Croke Park yesterday about their solo journeys to Ireland as asylum seekers
I've rarely written about my personal life for
@IrishTimes
, but when it comes to my grá for Gaeilge, I'll make an exception. Here's my article about why my partner and I decided to bring our daughter up bilingually through Irish and English.
A comprehensive national conversation about this is looooong overdue. Ireland is a complete anomaly compared to other European countries when it comes to school segregation. Separating teenage girls and boys is an archaic way of educating and deeply problematic.
How do we expect to change and challenge gender norms and inequalities when we send so many of our kids to gender-segregated same sex schools?
What message does this send to our teenage boys?
@gavreilly
#OntheRecordNT
I've spotted these great lads in a few spots around Dublin in recent months. Lovely, heart-warming video from
@endajodowd
, just what I need on this grey, uncertain Monday morning.
"70% of the doctors in the hospital here are Muslim. Most of our children were born here, they go to school here. Is it too much to ask for a place to worship?” via
@IrishTimes
I'll be running the
@IrishTimes
liveblog coverage of referendum day from 7am tomorrow morning. If you have any photos, tweets or stories that you want to share throughout the day get in touch at spollak
@irishtimes
.com
Speaking to Estefany yesterday I was blown away by her strength and positivity despite what this country has put her through.
In this article she explains, in detail, exactly what happened after she landed into Dublin airport on Thursday, July 2nd
One thing I hate about this time of yr is my window for going running is so small. I'd never run at dusk/in the dark, regardless of the time of day. Like the women referenced in this article I don't feel safe running after dark, even if it's only 5pm...
Who the hell are these people? I feel ashamed to be Irish when I see this shit. We’re so incredibly lucky to have someone like Amanullah educating young minds at UCC and becoming an Irish citizen.
A handwritten letter sent to my university office telling me to leave Ireland. This Irish racism is exhausting and scary.
“You were not dropped here in chains! If you don’t like it here you can f*** off back to where you … and take a hundred thousand other invaders with you”
A taster of the almost daily tweets I’m sent re my coverage of immigration. Many attack me for failing to report the needs of ‘my own’ Irish people. A couple went so far as to dig out my Jewish heritage and throw anti-Semitic remarks my way. Honestly, I’m just sick of it.
It feels more important than ever to highlight how proud I am of my refugee background so I’m retweeting this post from a few years ago.
The recent rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric on this small island is deeply worrying and must stop.
70 years ago my grandfather Stephen arrived in Northern Ireland as a Czech political refugee. Today we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of the more than 25 million refugees worldwide. I’m proud of my refugee heritage and
#StandWithRefugees
“At this moment there is another genocide in Libya and in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a genocide and we will not be able to say to our grandson or granddaughter that we did not know.”