Susan McKay (born 1957) is an Irish writer, journalist and documentary filmmaker.

Biography

Born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, McKay moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1975 to study at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(TCD). In 1981, she moved to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

to write her PhD at

The Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

but instead became one of the founding members of the Belfast Rape Crisis Centre. Thereafter, she worked on a number of community development projects before becoming a full-time journalist in 1989. McKay was social affairs correspondent, and later Northern Ireland editor, for the ''

Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tab ...

''. during which she won a number of awards, including Print Journalist of the Year in 2000 and Feature Writer of the Year In 1998, she published her first book, ''Sophia's Story'' the biography of a survivor of child abuse Other books include ''Northern Protestants – An Unsettled People'', McKay has described as "a study of the people I uneasily call my own." and ''Bear in Mind These Dead'' a history of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

from the perspective of those who were bereaved. From 2009 to 2012, McKay was CEO of the National Women's Council of Ireland, but resigned in protest at a cut by the government of 40% of the organisation's funds. She has produced award-winning documentaries for radio and television, including ''The Daughter's Story'', about the daughters of Fran O'Toole, one of the victims of the

Miami Showband Massacre The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre) was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Irelan ...

in 1975, and ''Inez, A Challenging Woman'' about Northern Irish trade union leader and human rights activist

Inez McCormack Inez McCormack (née Murphy; 28 September 1943 – 21 January 2013) was a Northern Irish trade union leader and human rights activist. She was the first female president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (1999 to 2001), representing the UNI ...

. She currently writes for ''

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 ...

''/''

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 ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' and the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...

''. She was awarded with an Honorary Doctor in Letters at Trinity College, Dublin on December 1, 2023. The citation stated: "Susan McKay is a powerful writer and journalist with a distinctive voice of her own, as is evident to anyone who reads her features in ''The Irish Times'', ''The Guardian'', or the ''London Review of Books'', ''The New Yorker'', or the ''New York Times'' - but just as striking is her ability to ''listen''. Her recent appointment as Irish Press Ombudsman is a testament to her exceptional integrity".

Books

* ''Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground'' (Blackstaff Press Ltd, 2021) * ''From Belfast to Basra, and Back Again'' (Grosvenor House Publishing, 2013) * ''Bear in Mind These Dead'' (Faber & Faber, 2008) * ''Without Fear – 25 Years of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre'' (New Island Books, 2005) * ''Northern Protestants – An Unsettled People'' (Blackstaff Press Ltd, 2000) * ''Sophia's Story'' (Gill & Macmillan Ltd, 1998)

External links

Official websiteSusan McKay at ''The Guardian''Susan McKay articles at ''The Irish Times''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Susan Irish journalists Writers from Derry (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Journalists from Northern Ireland Irish film producers 1957 births Mass media people from Derry (city) Living people Irish women film producers Women journalists from Northern Ireland 20th-century women journalists from Northern Ireland 21st-century women journalists from Northern Ireland 20th-century journalists from Northern Ireland 21st-century journalists from Northern Ireland