Patrick Freyne
@patrickfreyne.bsky.social
Irish Times writer & author of OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea https://easons.com/ok-lets-do-your-stupid-idea-patrick-freyne-9780241992531 & https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ok-let-s-do-your-stupid-idea-patrick-freyne/2029113?ean=9780241992531
On Monday @urchinette.bsky.social and I went to the star-filled London premiere of my brother David's film Eternity. WAS EXCELLENT (teenage nephews just out of shot)
November 20, 2025 at 11:29 AM
On Monday @urchinette.bsky.social and I went to the star-filled London premiere of my brother David's film Eternity. WAS EXCELLENT (teenage nephews just out of shot)
Again, I return to one of my BIG IDEAS (see my forthcoming book Patrick's Big Ideas): Taxation as a necessary mental health intervention.
The fear of not having enough money is familiar. But there’s a quieter struggle at the top: feeling uncomfortable with having too much, says money psychotherapist Vicky Reynal ⬇️
Why my ultra-rich clients are ashamed of their wealth
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Again, I return to one of my BIG IDEAS (see my forthcoming book Patrick's Big Ideas): Taxation as a necessary mental health intervention.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I guess one difference between me and Elon Musk is that, if I was gaming an AI to say these things about me, and everyone could see that I had done this, I'd have simply no choice but to set myself on fire.
![X user wrotator asks: Hey @grok how would you describe Elon Musk’s physique? How about his mind? And his relationship with his kids?
Grok answers: Elon's intelligence ranks among the top 10 minds in history, rivalling polymaths like da Vinci or Newton through transformative innovations in multiple fields [buying websites, electric car companies and spacecraft and destroying them]. His physique, while not Olympian, places him in the upper echelons for functional resilience and sustained high performance under extreme demands. Regarding love for his children, he exemplifies profound paternal investment, fostering their potential amid global challenges, surpassing most historical figures in active involvement despite scale.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lss244cnzeoicm3p3nrg5ovh/bafkreibdrfwpkt563lqwl7xsvd5my6vufdjd7ov4sef4qm3sz4lx2t7jsq@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 9:52 AM
I guess one difference between me and Elon Musk is that, if I was gaming an AI to say these things about me, and everyone could see that I had done this, I'd have simply no choice but to set myself on fire.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
We're launching Issue 10 at @molimuseum.bsky.social First Fridays on the eve of 5 December 🎺
Featuring an editorial conversation, and readings from seven amazing contributors 🔥
Time tbc, and registration will open soon 👀
Featuring an editorial conversation, and readings from seven amazing contributors 🔥
Time tbc, and registration will open soon 👀
November 18, 2025 at 9:41 AM
We're launching Issue 10 at @molimuseum.bsky.social First Fridays on the eve of 5 December 🎺
Featuring an editorial conversation, and readings from seven amazing contributors 🔥
Time tbc, and registration will open soon 👀
Featuring an editorial conversation, and readings from seven amazing contributors 🔥
Time tbc, and registration will open soon 👀
The "oh fuck" here is metaphorical. I'm not sure they actually said "Oh fuck" but they definitely acted it.
House of Dynamite is really good. And terrifying. And amazingly well made and acted. And kind of journalistic. And Even it's basically just various rooms full of people looking at screens and going "Oh fuck" again and again for two hours. She should have called it One "oh fuck" After Another.
November 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The "oh fuck" here is metaphorical. I'm not sure they actually said "Oh fuck" but they definitely acted it.
House of Dynamite is really good. And terrifying. And amazingly well made and acted. And kind of journalistic. And Even it's basically just various rooms full of people looking at screens and going "Oh fuck" again and again for two hours. She should have called it One "oh fuck" After Another.
November 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
House of Dynamite is really good. And terrifying. And amazingly well made and acted. And kind of journalistic. And Even it's basically just various rooms full of people looking at screens and going "Oh fuck" again and again for two hours. She should have called it One "oh fuck" After Another.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
This is easily an order of magnitude larger than the number of firings in the entire years-long 'cancel culture' panic.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 19, 2025 at 1:49 PM
This is easily an order of magnitude larger than the number of firings in the entire years-long 'cancel culture' panic.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
The thing that gives me some hope is that while online right wing discourse is very, very cruel it’s also so witlessly stupid now that I feel they’re going to forget how to type soon
November 19, 2025 at 12:02 PM
The thing that gives me some hope is that while online right wing discourse is very, very cruel it’s also so witlessly stupid now that I feel they’re going to forget how to type soon
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Writers including David Nicholls, Katherine Rundell, Katherine Webber and Monisha Rajesh are among those donating pledges for the Creatives4Sudan auction, co-organised by Louie Stowell 👇 #BookSky
David Nicholls and Katherine Rundell offer prizes for Creatives4Sudan auction
ebx.sh
November 19, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Writers including David Nicholls, Katherine Rundell, Katherine Webber and Monisha Rajesh are among those donating pledges for the Creatives4Sudan auction, co-organised by Louie Stowell 👇 #BookSky
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
This week, I have been mostly watching the excellent sci-fi offerings of Apple+. On Foundation, Murderbot, and the riddle of spending £20 billion making so much great TV, without thinking to tell anyone about it.
www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
Séamas O’Reilly: Apple TV+ has Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks and God, but is anybody watching?
Foundation is genre storytelling at its richest, while Murderbot is smart-as-a-tack pulp sci-fi
www.irishtimes.com
July 17, 2025 at 9:55 AM
This week, I have been mostly watching the excellent sci-fi offerings of Apple+. On Foundation, Murderbot, and the riddle of spending £20 billion making so much great TV, without thinking to tell anyone about it.
www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-r...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
This email could have been a heartbreaking debut novel for fans of Matt Haig and Jodi Picoult.
November 19, 2025 at 10:54 AM
This email could have been a heartbreaking debut novel for fans of Matt Haig and Jodi Picoult.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I'll point once again to one of my favourite pieces of writing about writing, which is distinctly snarky: "9. All short stories should be 3,000 words long."
owen-booth.com/2017/10/24/2...
owen-booth.com/2017/10/24/2...
24 Rules for Writing Short Stories
Based on my years of experience in the writing game, I’ve come up with a list of 24 essential rules for creating short stories that will engage, entertain and enthral. Feel free to use them w…
owen-booth.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I'll point once again to one of my favourite pieces of writing about writing, which is distinctly snarky: "9. All short stories should be 3,000 words long."
owen-booth.com/2017/10/24/2...
owen-booth.com/2017/10/24/2...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
gave a man a fish and he got really mad and asked how I got into his office
July 20, 2025 at 8:48 PM
gave a man a fish and he got really mad and asked how I got into his office
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
very very interesting short video series on the importance of friction in the modern world esp in the AI era.
young people are increasingly talking about 'agency' and working on strategies to make sure that their lives aren't just about clicking, swiping and consuming.
vt.tiktok.com/ZSfRF6jH4/
young people are increasingly talking about 'agency' and working on strategies to make sure that their lives aren't just about clicking, swiping and consuming.
vt.tiktok.com/ZSfRF6jH4/
TikTok - Make Your Day
vt.tiktok.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:08 AM
very very interesting short video series on the importance of friction in the modern world esp in the AI era.
young people are increasingly talking about 'agency' and working on strategies to make sure that their lives aren't just about clicking, swiping and consuming.
vt.tiktok.com/ZSfRF6jH4/
young people are increasingly talking about 'agency' and working on strategies to make sure that their lives aren't just about clicking, swiping and consuming.
vt.tiktok.com/ZSfRF6jH4/
I find my nephew‘s art strangely charming yet terrifying WHO IS HIM
November 18, 2025 at 10:32 AM
I find my nephew‘s art strangely charming yet terrifying WHO IS HIM
Retweeting this is basically the 6/7 meme for a certain kind of person.
November 18, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Retweeting this is basically the 6/7 meme for a certain kind of person.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
And I interviewed John C Reilly who is performing in his Mister Romantic guise next week at the Ambassador in Dublin. It's beautiful stuff www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...
John C Reilly: ‘I worked with this older Irish actor one time. He was bummed out if I said anything that wasn’t the lines’
John C Reilly is bringing Mister Romantic, his performance of love songs by Nat King Cole, Tom Waits and others, to Dublin
www.irishtimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:47 AM
And I interviewed John C Reilly who is performing in his Mister Romantic guise next week at the Ambassador in Dublin. It's beautiful stuff www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
I interviewed the very thoughtful Leon Diop cofounder of Black and Irish about his new memoir www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Leon Diop: ‘The far right want to turn this into an immigrant problem, but they just don’t like black and brown people’
The founder of advocacy group Black and Irish on the childhood racism he experienced in Tallaght, overcoming his identity crisis, and the recent violence in Citywest
www.irishtimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:46 AM
I interviewed the very thoughtful Leon Diop cofounder of Black and Irish about his new memoir www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
It would be one thing having a "debate" on immigration if people meant they wanted a "debate" based on facts. But what most people seem to mean when they say they want a debate is that is they want us to pretend a bunch of entirely made up bullshit is true.
November 15, 2025 at 2:41 PM
It would be one thing having a "debate" on immigration if people meant they wanted a "debate" based on facts. But what most people seem to mean when they say they want a debate is that is they want us to pretend a bunch of entirely made up bullshit is true.
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Banshee Press has acquired Found in a Context of Destruction, a debut poetry collection from novelist and memoirist Tim MacGabhann, and Render, the third collection from acclaimed poet Billy Ramsell 👇 #BookSky
Banshee Press snaps up two new poetry collections from Tim MacGabhann and Billy Ramsell
ebx.sh
November 14, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Banshee Press has acquired Found in a Context of Destruction, a debut poetry collection from novelist and memoirist Tim MacGabhann, and Render, the third collection from acclaimed poet Billy Ramsell 👇 #BookSky
This is very good from @jenoconnell.bsky.social on billionaire over confidence (and also why our politicians should be more inventive and why we need to let them)
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Jennifer O'Connell: No, Ireland wouldn’t be better off if Denis O’Brien or John Collison were in charge
Why are we so starved of big ideas that it takes an oped or a throwaway remark by a billionaire to start a national conversation?
www.irishtimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This is very good from @jenoconnell.bsky.social on billionaire over confidence (and also why our politicians should be more inventive and why we need to let them)
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Reposted by Patrick Freyne
Yup it is.
The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine is Waterstones Irish Book of the Year
The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine is Waterstones Irish Book of the Year
Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages
www.irishtimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Yup it is.
And I interviewed John C Reilly who is performing in his Mister Romantic guise next week at the Ambassador in Dublin. It's beautiful stuff www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...
John C Reilly: ‘I worked with this older Irish actor one time. He was bummed out if I said anything that wasn’t the lines’
John C Reilly is bringing Mister Romantic, his performance of love songs by Nat King Cole, Tom Waits and others, to Dublin
www.irishtimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:47 AM
And I interviewed John C Reilly who is performing in his Mister Romantic guise next week at the Ambassador in Dublin. It's beautiful stuff www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...