Michael "Mick" Clifford is an Irish author and investigative journalist currently working as a special correspondent with the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

''. He was awarded the title "Journalist of the Year" in 2016,O'Donoghue, Denise.
Irish Examiner's Michael Clifford named overall winner at Journalism Awards
. ''

'', 3 November 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2019 having won acclaim for his work in exposing the

smear campaign A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individual ...

against Irish police whistleblower Maurice McCabe by senior members of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

. In 2014, TV3's ''

Tonight with Vincent Browne ''Tonight with Vincent Browne'', (formerly ''Nightly News with Vincent Browne''), was a news analysis, current affairs and politics programme which was broadcast on Ireland's TV3 from 2007 to July 2017. Its time on air coincided with the prem ...

'' named him "Journalist of the Year" for his work on the McCabe story. Clifford is a regular interviewer and interviewee on Irish television and radio. When

Vincent Browne Vincent Browne (born 17 July 1944) is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Sunday Business Post'' and a non-practising barrister. From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show ...

retired from his popular current affairs television programme in 2017, Clifford was tipped as one of his most likely successors. He has also stood in for

Eamon Dunphy Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional association football, footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella ...

on the latter's podcast ''The Stand'', having previously been a regular guest. In 2018, Clifford called for an investigation into the

Irish Prison Service The Irish Prison Service (IPS) () manages the day-to-day operation of prisons in the Republic of Ireland. Political responsibility for the Ireland's prisons rests with the Minister of the Department of Justice. Budget, staff, and figures As of ...

, having claimed that "a serving prison officer has made certain claims in a sworn affidavit to the Justice Minister

Charles Flanagan Charlie Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since 2020, and previously from 1987 to 2002, 2007 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Laois const ...

about methods used to stem the suspected flow of drugs and mobile phones into prisons – by prisoners and prison officers". Clifford has written four books; the non-fiction ''

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

and the Drumcondra Mafia'' (2012, with Shane Coleman), ''A Force for Justice: The Maurice McCabe Story'' (2018), and two crime novels; ''Ghost Town'' was published in 2012. He lives in Dublin. Clifford attended

Presentation Brothers College, Cork Presentation Brothers College (PBC Cork) ( ga, Coláiste na Toirbhirte; colloquially known as Pres) is a Catholic, boys, private fee-paying secondary school in Cork, Ireland. Presentation Brothers College is currently ranked as the number one boy ...

for the final two years of his schooling.

References

External links

Archive of Clifford's columns at the Irish Examiner

Clifford's twitter account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Michael 20th-century Irish people Living people Irish journalists Irish columnists Irish political writers Year of birth missing (living people) Irish Examiner people 21st-century Irish journalists