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The Week on Twitter | Article 50, Cristiano Ronaldo, & Transport Strikes

By Jade Hayden

This week, Article 50 was triggered, activists rallied outside the Dáil for disability rights, and Dublin Bus services were cancelled due to secondary picketing. Someone also made a statue of Cristiano Ronaldo, and it was an event.

#Article50 is triggered setting #Brexit in motion

This week, British Prime Minister Teresa May signed the letter that officially marks the beginning of the UK’s exit from the European Union. The triggering of Article 50 leaves just two years for Britain to engage in negotiations with the EU before they leave. Britain will have officially left the EU by March 2019 at the latest.

In the letter, May wrote that despite the UK’s decision to leave the EU, she hoped that the two would still have a “deep and special partnership.” She also stated that she would be negotiating for new trade deals for the remaining states.

Prior to May’s signing of the letter, thousands took to the UK’s streets to protest Brexit and what it means for the country – much of which is still unclear. Whether checkpoints and hardened borders between Northern Ireland the Republic can be avoided remains to be seen.

https://twitter.com/oneofthosefaces/status/846982202068029440

Major disruptions on Friday morning for #DublinBus and #IrishRail passengers

Dublin came to standstill on Friday morning as it was announced that Dublin Bus and Irish Rail services would not be running due to secondary picketing in relation to the Bus Eireann strike. Dublin Bus reported that passengers would experience “serious disruption” on many routes following pickets at many of their depots, but that they were “not a party” in the Bus Eireann dispute.

Minister for Transport Shane Ross released a statement early on Friday urging Dublin Bus and Irish Rail workers to get back to work. This is the first statement the minister has given on the issue since Bus Eireann workers went on strike eight days ago.

Many users took to Twitter to voice their anger at the severe lack of public transport available. Others urged them to direct their grievances towards the government instead, stating that it was only when an issue affected Dublin that any direct action was taken.

Pickets started being lifted from depots at about 9.30am, and full service resumed shortly after.

https://twitter.com/palkilmer/status/847721616473587713

https://twitter.com/cxloe/status/847703717293903872

#Ronaldo statue leads to many, many questions

This week, somebody made a sculpture of Cristiano Ronaldo for an airport in Portugal. This somebody was Emanuel Santos, an artist who was commissioned to make the bust in three weeks for the official renaming of the airport in Ronaldo’s hometown of Funchal.

The sculpture was unveiled on Wednesday. It didn’t look like Ronaldo. Not really. A lot of people tweeted about how much the sculpture didn’t look like Ronaldo by comparing it to Art Attack’s The Head, and some other things that Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t really resemble at all really.

It wasn’t long before Santos lashed back at critics, stating that not even Jesus pleased everybody (yes, really), and that he and Ronaldo were happy with the statue so, like, I guess that’s the main thing.

https://twitter.com/rubot/status/847119920773185539

Hundreds attend protest at Dáil for #disability rights

Thursday morning saw hundreds of activists and campaigners rally outside the Dáil to protest the government’s failure to ratify the UN’s disability pact. In 2007, the Irish government stated that they would commit to the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and yet, 10 years later, this has still not happened.

The convention, which works to improve attitudes towards and secure rights for people with disabilities, has been ratified by every EU member state except Ireland.

Disability rights campaigner Joanne O’Riordan addressed the protest on Thursday, stating that the government were acting as if people with disabilities do not matter. “That is 10 years of broken promises, 10 years of hurt and 10 years of waiting for someone to do the right thing,” she said.

Users took to Twitter to document the protest, and to share their support.

Featured image source

Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

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