Páidí Ó Lionáird (born 17 August 1968) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

television presenter and columnist from

Cúil Aodha Cúil Aodha (), anglicised as Coolea, is a townland and village in the Gaeltacht region of Muskerry in County Cork, Ireland. The area is near the source of the River Sullane in the Derrynasaggart Mountains. Geography Cúil Aodha townland is i ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

. Since 1997, Ó Lionáird has been the presenter of current affairs and entertainment shows on the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

channel

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

. His older brother is Iarla Ó Lionáird, a singer and producer. His other brothers include Seán, judge on TG4's ''Feirm Factor'', and Peadar, co-owner of Folláin, which is a jam and chutney manufacturer.

Early life

Páidí Ó Lionáird was born in Gort na Scairte, Baile Bhúirne in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area of County Cork)

, part of the

Muskerry Muskerry ( ga, Múscraí) is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

in County Cork. The youngest of twelve siblings, his father was the principal of a local secondary school and owned a small holding of land. After leaving school, he initially studied Furniture Technology and Design at

Dundalk Institute of Technology Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Dhún Dealgan) is an institute of technology, located in Dundalk, Ireland. Established as the Dundalk Regional Technical College, students were first enrolled in the coll ...

,before using his carpentry skills in London. He eventually ended up working as doorman at different establishments like the Kensington Park Hotel and then as a Concierge at the Gloucester Hotel. On his return to Ireland, he was appointed as development officer for Munster with the Irish Language Youth Organisation Ógras. He met his wife Karen in May 1990 at the AGM of

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

. Together they have one son and live in South Connemara,

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

. Having initially studied public relations at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

, Ó Lionáird then qualified as a primary school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

at MIC Limerick. His studies continued, he now holds a master's degree in Irish Media Studies from MIC and UL. He has taught communications at ATU (GMIT) and DCU.

Television career

Ó Lionáird's television career began with a successful screen test for

in 1997. He soon became involved with a number of different shows, from the light-hearted ''

Ardán ''Ardán'' is a weekly Irish language chat show produced by RTÉ for TG4. It is presented by Páidí Ó Lionáird and is broadcast on Sundays at 20:30. Overview ''Ardán'' (pronounced ''/'ɔrdɔ:n/'', and meaning "platform") has been on the TG4 ...

'' to the hard-news political and current affairs show '' 7 Lá''. He has been co-commentator on TG4's Tour de France coverage alongside former Irish pro cyclist, Pádraic Quinn (Velotec) since 2004. He also presents TG4's annual flagship Traditional Music Awards programme,

Gradam Ceoil TG4 TG4's Gradam Ceoil was set up in 1998 with the purpose of recognising the various musicians and organisations who are significant in the creation of Irish Traditional music and in developing both the music and other musicians in Ireland and arou ...

. Ó Lionáird chaired the

debate held between the seven candidates in the

2011 Irish presidential election The 2011 Irish presidential election was the thirteenth presidential election to be held in Ireland, and was contested by a record seven candidates. It was held on Thursday, 27 October 2011. The election was held to elect a successor to Mary ...

on 18 October 2011. He joined the RTÉ newsroom based in Baile na hAbhann where he is currently Chief Sub-Editor,

Nuacht RTÉ Nuacht RTÉ le TG4 (Irish for ''RTÉ and TG4 News'') is the main news service for Irish speakers on RTÉ television. The service is broadcast from the news studios at Baile na hAbhann in the Connemara Gaeltacht, County Galway, Ireland.a Nuach ...

. He initiated and presented 7Lá on TG4 from 2003 until 2019 and has anchored 2 marathon General Election programmes (15+ hours consecutive live) in 2016 and 2020. in 2022, Ó Lionáird joined the Office of the Irish Language Commissioner as Communications Manager.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OLionaird, Paidi 1968 births Living people Irish television journalists Writers from County Cork TG4 presenters 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Alumni of Dundalk Institute of Technology Broadcasters from County Cork Alumni of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick