Tony Connelly (born 21 December 1964,Tony Connelly on Twitter
it’s my birthday
21 December 2019 in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

) is an Irish journalist and author. He is Europe Editor for RTÉ News. Connelly has written for other agencies and publications, including ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'',

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

and the '' Irish Independent''. His views have also been sought by Euronews, which considers him a respected journalist and "experienced Euro watcher". Connelly's first book ''Don't Mention the Wars: A Journey Through European Stereotypes'' was published in 2009.

Early and personal life

Connelly was born in 1964. He lived in

Portstewart Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade lead ...

, before moving to Derry at the age of six. He studied English in

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 ...

. After failing to qualify for a course in the

National Institute for Higher Education A National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) ( ga, Foras Náisiúnta um Ard-Oideachas) was a category of higher education institution established in Ireland to provide higher level technical education above the standard of the then establish ...

, he moved to London to work on a construction site. He was laid off after his first day. He lives in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. His son Matteo lives in Rome.

Career

Connelly's journalistic career began writing for the ''

Derry Journal The ''Derry Journal'' is a newspaper based in Derry, Northern Ireland, serving Derry as well as County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It is operated by a Johnston Press holding company entitled Derry Journal Newspapers. The paper is publis ...

'' and the '' Oxford Courier''. He returned to Ireland in 1990. He gained work in the '' Irish Independent'', ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Even ...

'', ''

'' and

. He joined RTÉ in 1994 as a television and radio reporter. Connelly has reported from conflicts in Rwanda,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, Georgia and Gaza. In 2001 he was appointed Europe correspondent for

RTÉ News and Current Affairs (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

, along with Sean Whelan. He won an ESB National Media Award in 1998 and a second in 2001 in the Campaigning and Social Issues category. In 2007, he examined the development of biofuels for RTÉ. In 2009, at least one newspaper indicated he might replace Charlie Bird as RTÉ's

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Correspondent should Bird opt out. Bird did prematurely leave his post, replaced by Richard Downes. That year he travelled via train around Eastern Europe for RTÉ, through

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and Germany, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. In 2011, Connelly was appointed RTÉ's Europe Editor. In February 2022, while Connelly was reporting on the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, he was forced to shelter in a basement amid fears of further Russian air strikes.

Bibliography

* ''Don't Mention the Wars: A Journey Through European Stereotypes'' (2009). This book details European stereotypical views. Historian Bridget Hourican in ''

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 ...

'' notes the author "has plunged straight in: are all French waiters rude, Germans innately bellicose, Swedes depressed, Spaniards obsessed with death"? Connelly confronts the stereotypes of ten EU countries, visiting them all — "In Paris he’s served in a swanky restaurant; in Spain he attends a bullfight; in Sweden he looks at a skyscraper where none of the windows opens (to prevent suicide)". The book was launched at the European Union building on

Dawson Street Dawson Street (; ) is a street on the southern side of central Dublin, running from St Stephen's Green to the walls of Trinity College Dublin. It is the site of the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Mansion House. Location Dawson Stre ...

in Dublin on 25 November 2009. * ''Brexit & Ireland'' (2017).

References

External links

Tony Connelly's views
on "the media war in Gaza"
Interview with Irish correspondent Tony Connelly
on "

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

: a crucial moment for enlargement?"
Europe's Revolution – 20 years on
— Tony Connelly's train journey through Eastern Europ
(Article from ''The Sunday Times'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Tony 1964 births Living people RTÉ newsreaders and journalists Irish podcasters Broadcasters from County Antrim Alumni of Trinity College Dublin People educated at St Columb's College People from Portstewart Writers from County Antrim Derry Journal people Irish Independent people The Herald (Ireland) people