Fr Micheál P MacGréil S.J. (born 1931), is a Jesuit priest, sociologist, writer and activist from Ireland.

Biography

Micheál MacGréil was born in Clonaslee, County Laois in 1931 and grew up in near Westport, County Mayo. Fr MacGréil was educated by the Christian Brothers in Westport, and served in the Irish Army from 1950 until 1959 as a cadet and officer.Michael Mac Greil
Veritas Books Online. MacGreil studied Louvain, Kent State University,

Milltown Park Milltown () is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Milltown was the site of several working mills on the River Dodder and is also the location of the meeting of the River Slang with the Dodder. It is located adjacent to other suburban ...

and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

from where he gained his doctorate in sociology in 1976. A lecturer in Sociology the National University at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth from 1971 until he retired in 1996, he also lectured for a time in UCD. An activist on many issues such as Prison Reform, Irish Language, and more recently the

Western Rail Corridor The Western Railway Corridor is a term, used since , for a partly disused railway line running through the west of Ireland. Currently two sections of the line, from Limerick via Ennis to Athenry and from Collooney to Sligo, see regular services ...

. He retired as lecturer in NUIM and was appointed to a parish in Westport, County Mayo. In 1980, Dr MacGréil revived the tradition of making a pilgrimage to

Máméan Binn Chaonaigh (Irish language, Irish for "peak of the moss") is one of the Maumturk Mountains of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the fourth-highest of the Maumturks, the 185th-highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in ...

. In 1981, he chaired a special working party on the Jesuit Catholic Workers College, which was to evolve into the

National College of Ireland National College of Ireland (NCI) or ''Coláiste Náisiúnta na hÉireann'' (''CNÉ'') in Irish is a not-for-profit, state-aided third-level education institution in Dublin. It was founded in 1951 as a joint venture between Irish Jesuits and ...

. Fr MacGréil has published many books, papers and reports on social issues and attitudes in Ireland. In 1994 MacGréil served as president of

AONTAS AONTAS - The Irish National Adult Learning Organisation is an Irish non-governmental organisation for the promotion and facilitation of adult learning. It was founded in 1969 by Fr. Liam Carey of the Dublin Institute of Adult Education (and o ...

, the Irish national adult learning organisation.

Publications

*''A psycho-socio-cultural theory of prejudice: As tested in data collected from selected samples in the Philadelphia and Cleveland metropolitan areas'' (1966) *''Community In The Making'' (1970) *''Prejudice And Tolerance In Ireland'' (1978) - won the

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1976. Founded by his Widow Jane Ewart-Biggs (fol ...

*''The Sligo-Limerick Railway: a Case for Its Restoration'' (1981) *''Memoirs, 1911-86 James Horan'' (1992) *''Prejudice in Ireland Revisited'' with the Survey and Research Unit, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth (1996) *''Quo Vadimus. Ca Bhfuil Ar dTriall?/Where are We going?'' (1998) *''Report on Religious Attitudes in Ireland (2007-2008)'' *''The Emancipation of The Travelling People'' (2010)Fr Micheal MacGreil publishes new report on Traveller emancipation
by Sean Ryan, CatholicIreland.net, 14 June 2010. *''Pluralism and Diversity in Ireland: Prejudice and Related Issues in Early 21st Century Ireland'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGreil, Micheal Living people 20th-century Irish Jesuits 21st-century Irish Jesuits 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians Irish sociologists Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 1931 births People associated with the National College of Ireland