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

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

(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 service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. 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 () 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 the station in 2010 w ...

. 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 Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

(1961) and in philosophy and logic from

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(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 university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(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. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...

, Denis Donoghue,

Richard Hoggart Herbert Richard Hoggart (24 September 1918 – 10 April 2014) was an English 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,

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, Hans Kung, John O'Meara,

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, 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 requ ...

, Sean O'Faolain,

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 1 ...

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 Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

and

Seamus Deane Seamus Francis Deane (9 February 194012 May 2021) was a Northern 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 ...

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

William Trevor William Trevor Cox (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2016) 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 greatest contemporary writers of sho ...

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

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ; 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. Early life O'Casey was ...

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

Harry Ferguson Henry George Ferguson (4 November 188425 October 1960) was an Irish mechanic and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor and its Three-point hitch, three-point linkage system, for being the firs ...

(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 20th-century 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 Writers from County Tipperary Harvard University alumni Broadcasters from County Tipperary