Mary O'Hara is a journalist, writer and anti-poverty activist.

Life

Mary O'Hara was born in west Belfast where she attended

St Louise's Comprehensive College St. Louise's Comprehensive College (Irish: Colaiste Naoimh Labhaoise) is a comprehensive high school located in the Upper Falls Road, Belfast. History St. Louise's was established in 1958. The religious order the Daughters of Charity of St Vinc ...

before proceeding to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She read Social and Political Science at

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

where she was awarded a college scholarship.

Work

After leaving university she worked for a year at

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

in London. She then worked for ten years as a journalist at

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

and

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

. She was awarded an

Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

which enabled her to spend one year at the

University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

where she conducted research on press coverage of mental illness. On return to the UK, she has worked free-lance having material published in The Guardian, the

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

, and

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

. She has published a series of books and book chapters on austerity and poverty. She has been actively involved in various anti-poverty campaigns. She founded ''Project Twist-It'', a multi-platform anti-poverty initiative challenging negative stereotypes surrounding poverty. She has also been a producer on ''Getting Curious'', a weekly podcast with

Jonathan Van Ness Jonathan McDonald Van Ness (born March 28, 1987), also commonly referred to by his initials JVN, is an American hairstylist, podcast host and television personality. He is best known as the grooming expert on the Netflix series '' Queer Eye'', ...

Productions

Books

* Austerity Bites: A journey to the sharp end of the cuts in the UK (Policy Press, 2014) * The Shame Game: Overturning the toxic poverty narrative (Policy Press, 2020)

Films

* Beyond the Railings

Honorary positions and Awards

* Chair, David Nobbs Memorial Trust * Trustee,

Arts Emergency Arts Emergency is a UK-based charity that seeks opportunities in the Arts and Humanities sector for underrepresented young people aged 16-26. History Founded by campaigner Neil Griffiths (current CEO) and comedian Josie Long in 2011, Arts Emergen ...

* Fellow,

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

* International Columnist of the Year in 2017 and 2018 by the Los Angeles Press Club Southern California Journalism Awards for her Guardian column, Lesson From America *

Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

Journalist of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OHara, Mary Writers from Belfast Living people Year of birth missing (living people)