Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2022 August 31

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August 31

Personal accessories in Ireland

In Ireland, is/was it considered appropriate for a woman to carry a "Tipperary rifle", or is it for men only? 2601:646:8A81:6070:B9DD:6C06:334F:6F51 (talk) 02:26, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

I didn't find a definitive answer on Google, but consider this: How likely was an Irish woman to get into a physical fight? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:57, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

It depends on the woman in question, but every year several thousands of Irish women get involved in physical fights.  --Lambiam 22:06, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

I agree with Lambiam -- in particular, since any woman, Irish or otherwise, is at least somewhat at risk of rape and may need to defend herself against that! (Which is why I asked the question in the first place: I have an idea for a novel which is 50% contemporary Romeo & Juliet romance and 50% hardboiled terrorism detective story, and the romance story starts with a scene where a jihadist tries to rape my Irish heroine, and the guy whom she had just recently turned down helps her defend herself, eventually dispatching the rapist with his concealed pistol -- but in the first version of the scene the guy did almost all of the fighting, and upon reflection I decided to give my heroine a more active role in defending herself, which means giving her a suitable weapon for the task.) 69.181.91.208 (talk) 01:51, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

In a historical context, all the Google references that I could find refered to males using a shillelagh, but that doesn't disprove that females sometimes carried them too. A book on the shillelagh which has a lengthy preview on Google books, quotes ex-president Mary McAleese who says that as a schoolgirl in Belfast during The Troubles, she often carried a hurley to protect herself. [1] Another book says that the depiction of shillelagh-wielding Irismen on the American stage was a way of reinforceing anti-Irish stereotypes. [2]

In the modern Republic of Ireland, the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990 (Section 7), says:

Where a person has with him in any public place any article intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate any person either in a particular eventuality or otherwise, he shall be guilty of an offence.

So carrying a shillelagh nowadays will get you into trouble with the Gardaí. Alansplodge (talk) 11:03, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

The law is similar across the border in Northern Ireland, where Section 1(4) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 defines an offensive weapon as:

...any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person or intended by the person having it with him for such use by him or by some other person.

Alansplodge (talk) 11:18, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

What if they're just using it as a walking stick or cane? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:17, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Our article says "a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel", so definitely "made or adapted for use for causing injury". Alansplodge (talk) 13:17, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

The right of self-defence implies (IMO) that is not necessarily unlawful to carry something intended to cause injury if used, if the intended use is solely for rightful self-defense. A lawyer could argue that in such a case the clause "intended by him unlawfully to cause injury" does not apply, since the intended use was lawful. IANAL, and I don't know if this defence has been tested in court.  --Lambiam 16:57, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Dunno about Ireland, but this [3] from the UK CPS suggests that 'Reasonable excuse can include self-defence where the threat perceived is immediate or imminent as opposed to general or enduring.' In a later part, they provide a quotation from R v Povey and Others [2008] EWCA Crim 1261 in the Court of Appeal

“Carrying a knife or an offensive weapon without reasonable excuse is a crime which is being committed far too often by far too many people. Every weapon carried about the streets, even if concealed from sight, even if not likely to be or intended to be used, and even if not used represents a threat to public safety and public order. That is because even if concealed, even if carried only for bravado, or from some misguided sense that its use in possible self-defence might arise, it takes but a moment of irritation, drunkenness, anger, perceived insult or something utterly trivial, like a look, for the weapon to be produced.”

which suggests this is not just the CPS's view but probably something at least partly shared by the courts. I have no idea if this applies to Northern Ireland or only England and Wales. In the IP's case, I assume their story is not set in the any part of the UK nor in Ireland since the chance someone could legally have a concealed is likely very slim. Nil Einne (talk) 13:04, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

(edit conflict) That might work in the US, but in the UK, it's well known that if you carry a cricket bat in public for the purpose of playing cricket, that's fine (a "lawful excuse"), but if you carry one for the stated purpose of self-defence, then it's an offensive weapon. See What is an Offensive Weapon?. Alansplodge (talk) 13:09, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

BTW, this 2019 debate in the Irish parliament while specifically concerning knives which come under an earlier subsection suggest views in Ireland are probably similar [4]. See also this comment on pepper spray [5]. While that comes under a different law, they do again IMO illustrate how members of the public carrying weapons for self defence is viewed in Ireland. Nil Einne (talk) 13:16, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Baby Sleep Regressions

Are there peer-reviewed academic studies regarding baby developmental leaps and/or sleep regressions? 2601:647:4B00:820:78FC:D324:F0C6:8576 (talk) 18:31, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

What are baby sleep regressions? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:36, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

[6][7][8][9][10].  --Lambiam 22:03, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Sounds like a fancy name for something that's perfectly normal. HiLo48 (talk) 06:49, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Many things that are perfectly normal (such as farting) have fancy names (flatulence) and have been the subject of academic studies.^[11]  --Lambiam 07:49, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

There are some scholarly articles on what may be called "infantile regressions" (periods of disorganization related to the onset of developmental transitions), which generally appear to involve sleeping problems.^[12][13][14] See also the (not peer-reviewed) article "Are Sleep Regressions Real?",^[15] which questions a pop-sci theory of the concept.  --Lambiam 07:38, 1 September 2022 (UTC)