Why subscribe or follow this Substack?

This is a non profit blog written because I love Irish history, technology and culture and couldn’t find anywhere online where all of these come together. I also love music and I’m experimenting marrying text, images and music together here. Please click on like if you enjoy the writing.

The ‘Allthatssolid’ handle (I’m already regretting this, but I’m stuck with it now) is taken from Karl Marx : All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.

This isn’t because I’m wedded to the ideas or solutions of socialism or indeed of capitalism- I’m not - but because I think Marx put his finger here on the defining problem of our times, the dissolution of traditions, the disappearance of guiding myths and social structures both on the left and right, which has left us in my opinion unmoored without guidance from the past for the problems of today. So I’m looking to see if there are any lessons from the past which might help us in the future.

But “all that is solid” also refers to my intent to intertwine history to real world solutions. In the thread called Meitheal I want to look at community based initiatives for the energy crisis and best practice from round the world. No philosophy, just some practical solutions and ideas that I’ve picked up on my meanders through the internet.

Legal stuff

There is no commerical gain for these essays, no one’s paying me for anything, it’s free and it will stay that way. I do this because I love it.

The images and video clips used are under my understanding of the ‘Fair Use’ policy, see here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright#sufficient-acknowledgement.

I also refer to:

https://mediablog.prnewswire.com/2020/01/08/choosing-photos-for-your-blog-3-copyright-rules-to-know/ on guidance for copyright issues.

and

https://psu.libanswers.com/faq/336502

I mainly use royalty free images from sites like Pexels, Unsplash or Shutterstock, but sometimes other photos, and I try and ask permission where I do.

I don’t want to infringe copyright here, or to upset anyone, but sometimes it’s not always easy to track down owners (although I do my best) so if you own a copyright on an image or clip and object to it being used here get in touch via Direct Message and I’ll take it down as soon as I can.

It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, I do not use AI for either writing these posts, nor for any of the illustrations. You are welcome to quote me if you find something that you like, but I’d be grateful if you attributed it to the blog. Don’t use any of the clips or pictures without attribution, they don’t belong to me and you need to get your own permission if you want to reuse them.

Who is my Audience?

I’m looking for a small group of people who are interested in discussing contemporary issues through the lens of (mainly Irish) history and culture - if that’s you, welcome and pull up a chair! If that’s not you, then no problem - thanks for stopping by ;)

I don’t want to bombard anyone with stuff that they are not interested in, and if you find it’s not what you expected here - or it’s just not your thing, I don’t mind if you unsubscribe.

Please feel free to add comments behind the essays, but keep the tone calm and respectful of others, if you want an argument go elsewhere (my sandbox, my rules). I may go offline from time to time due to other commitments- don’t expect a regular schedule, I post when I feel I have things to say and not otherwise. No advertising please or plugging your own commerical projects either (see above). Enjoy!

For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.