Andy O'Mahony is an Irish broadcast journalist who worked for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

(Raidio Telefís Éireann) from 1961 to 2013. He was one of the network's first television news anchors, and thereafter was a radio and television host of various long-running series. He also made radio and television programmes for BBC between 1977 and 1988, including a number of television arts documentaries for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. The programmes he was most closely identified with over the years consisted of a number of book-based radio series for RTÉ. Series such as ''Books and Company'', ''Off The Shelf'' and ''Dialogue'' provided a regular forum for the discussion of ideas in economics, politics and culture. From 1988 to 2000, he presented ''The Sunday Show'', a current affairs talk show for

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

. He earned four Jacob's Radio Awards (1969, 1981, 1986, 1989). A lifelong book collector, he donated his personal library in February 2015 to the Glucksman Library at the University of Limerick. This collection of over 7000 volumes reflects the donor's various interests, ranging from philosophy, religion and literature to economics, politics and the history of ideas. His autobiographical memoir ''Creating Space: The Education of a Broadcaster'' was published by the Liffey Press in 2016.

Background, education and research interests

Born in Clonmel, County Tipperary in 1934, O'Mahony is the eldest child of Andrew O'Mahony, a local retailer and his wife Nora Collins, who was widowed in 1943. Early schooling by the Christian Brothers at St. Mary's was followed by a year at the High School Clonmel. His secondary education continued at Mount St. Alphonsus in Limerick, a Redemptorist boarding school where he studied Latin and Greek (1947–51). At the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin he was a student of the British baritone Dennis Noble. He graduated in commerce and public administration from

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 ...

(1961) and in philosophy and logic from

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 ...

(1965). He has a PhD in psychology from

and was a visiting fellow in the Department of Philosophy at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(1982–83).

Early career with the Bank of Ireland

After a year's clerking with Clonmel Foods Ltd, in County Tipperary in 1952/1953, he worked for the Bank of Ireland from 1954 to 1961. During his last year in banking, he was also a part-time announcer/newsreader with Radio Éireann.

Broadcasting career with RTÉ

In November 1961 he joined Radio Éireann as a radio announcer/ newsreader. Two years later he became a news anchor with Ireland's new television service, Telefís Éireann (later RTÉ). In that first decade of broadcasting, he also presented arts and music programmes on radio. In 1972, he quit radio and television news to concentrate on feature programmes and pursue academic research interests.

Radio

His many radio series included ''Focus, Music and Musicians, Opera and the Singer'' (1968-1972), ''Involvement'' (1972-1973), ''Lookaround'' (1972-1978), ''Beckett at 70'' (1976), ''Inside Europe'' (1978-1979), ''Bookweek'' (1980-1982), ''Introspect'' (1982) ''Books and Company'' (1985-1988), ''The Sunday Show'', (1988-2000) ''Na Taoisigh'' (2001), ''30 Years in the European Union'' (2002), ''Off The Shelf'' and ''Dialogue'' (1978-2013). One-on-one ''Dialogue'' guests over a 25 year period included :

Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. H ...

, Denis Donoghue,

Richard Hoggart Herbert Richard Hoggart (24 September 1918 – 10 April 2014) was a British academic whose career covered the fields of sociology, English literature and cultural studies, with emphasis on British popular culture. Early life Hoggart was bor ...

, Gerald Barry,

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill,

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Terry Eagleton Terence Francis Eagleton (born 22 February 1943) is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University. Eagleton has published over forty books, ...

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 t ...

, Hans Kung, John O'Meara,

Michael Dummett Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." He wa ...

Anthony Kenny Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny (born 16 March 1931) is a British philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of Wittgenstein of whose literary esta ...

, John Gray,

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, John Moriarty,

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, Roy Foster and

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Television

His television work included ''The Course of Irish History'' (1966); National commentary for ''Our World'' (1967); ''Over the Barricades'' (1975); ''Predicting the Future'' (1979); ''Opening of the National Concert Hall in Dublin'' (1981); ''Wednesday Plus'' (1983); ''Crosscurrents'' (1985); ''High Profile'' (1986/1987); Guest Host on ''The Late Late Show'' in 1989; 20/20: ''Predicting the Future'' (1999).

BBC Broadcasts

Radio

Various arts documentaries for BBC Northern Ireland from 1977 to 1987, including profiles of

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

Sean O'Faolain Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 193 ...

and

Richard Condon Richard Thomas Condon (March 18, 1915 – April 9, 1996) was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were writte ...

; documentary about religion for Radio 4 in 1986.

Television

For BBC, Northern Ireland, a six-part series, ''Widows of Writers'' (1977). ''Lifetimes'', (1978-1986) a studio interview series with writers, artists and scholars, including

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

and

Seamus Deane Seamus Francis Deane (9 February 194012 May 2021) was an Irish poet, novelist, critic, and intellectual historian. He was noted for his debut novel, ''Reading in the Dark'', which won several literary awards and was nominated for the Booker Pri ...

. Also, for the BBC ''Gallery'' series, conversations with the novelist

William Trevor William Trevor Cox (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2016), known by his pen name William Trevor, was an Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer. One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of the ...

and the classical scholar, E.R. Dodds. For BBC Two, documentary profiles of the playwright,

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

(1980),Review by Fergus Pyle, Irish Times, 8 April 1980 the tenor, John McCormack (1984), and the inventor,

Harry Ferguson Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (4 November 188425 October 1960) was a British mechanic and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor and its three point linkage system, for being the first person ...

(1984). Studio interview with writer, Christabel Bielenberg about life in 1930's Germany (1987).

Publications

* ''Irishness in a Changing Society'' (Princess Grace Library, Monaco,1988) * ''The Dolmen Press: A Celebration'', (Dublin, 2001) * ''Collective Memory in Ireland and Russia'' (Rosspen, Moscow, 2007) * ''The Irish Reader: Essays for John Devitt'' (Dublin, 2007) * Dialogue with Gillian Rose, philosopher/social theorist in the journal ''Culture, Theory and Society'' (Sage. L.A., 2008) * ''Creating Space: The Education of a Broadcaster'' (Liffey Press, 2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OMahony, Andy Irish journalists 1934 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin RTÉ Radio 1 presenters Jacob's Award winners RTÉ newsreaders and journalists People from Clonmel People from County Tipperary Harvard University alumni