Andy Pollak is a journalist, editor, writer and commentator focusing on cross-border cooperation in Ireland. He led the Centre for Cross Border Studies, and served on the board of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

Early life and education

Pollak was born in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and largely brought up in London. His father, a Czech citizen of German-speaking Jewish descent, lost his editor's job and was forced to flee Czechoslovakia after the Communist takeover in 1948. His 1951 book, ''Strange Land Behind Me'', tells the story of his 11 years between being badly wounded fighting for the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War in 1937, through adventures and imprisonment in the Balkans and India, to his escape from Prague. Pollak's mother, Eileen Gaston, from Ballymena, had gone to Prague to teach English after the Second World War. He received a history degree from the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

in 1969.

Work

After graduation, Pollak spent some time travelling and working in England, France, Canada and Latin America. He returned to Ireland in 1972, and worked for a period with

Hibernia () is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). In his book ''Geogr ...

magazine and then as a sub-editor with

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

. He continued to work as a journalist in Dublin, London and Mexico City. In Belfast he worked for BBC Northern Ireland as a reporter (1978–1980), the Irish Times as a reporter (1981–1985) and as editor of the Belfast cultural and political magazine,

Fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

(1981–1985). In 1986 he co-authored (with Ed Moloney) a biography of DUP leader Rev. Ian Paisley. In 1992–1993 he was coordinator of the

Opsahl Commission Torkel Opsahl (17 March 1931 in Stavanger — 16 September 1993 in Geneva) was a Norwegian human rights scholar, professor of the University of Oslo since 1965 and head of the board of its Human Rights Institute since 1987. From 1970 to 1984, he wa ...

(chaired by the Norwegian human rights lawyer

Torkel Opsahl Torkel Opsahl (17 March 1931 in Stavanger — 16 September 1993 in Geneva) was a Norwegian human rights scholar, professor of the University of Oslo since 1965 and head of the board of its Human Rights Institute since 1987. From 1970 to 1984, he wa ...

), an independent 'citizens inquiry' into ways forward for Northern Ireland.Andy Pollak Our Team – Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation
/ref> He was the founding director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies, with offices in Armagh and Dublin (1999–2013). Before that he was a Dublin reporter, religious affairs correspondent, education correspondent and assistant news editor with

from 1986 to 1999. He also contributes to the

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

, Belfast

Newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

The Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its ed ...

and the Dublin Review of Books. During his time as director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies, he also edited the ''Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland'', and was secretary of Universities Ireland (the all-island university presidents' network) and the all-island Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). He was a board member of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation from 2014 to 2020. From 2016 to 2023 he was a board member of Places of Sanctuary Ireland, which works to welcome and integrate refugees, asylum-seekers and other vulnerable migrants. A blogger, he publishes 2 Irelands Together, commenting on Northern Irish and cross border issues.2irelands2gether
A Blog by Andy Pollak.

Works

In 2019 he co-authored, with the former Northern Ireland deputy first minister and deputy SDLP leader Seamus Mallon, 'Seamus Mallon: A Shared Home Place'.

Personal life

Pollak is married to radio producer/presenter, voice coach, chair of Fishamble Theatre Company and Eurovision 1981 presenter Doireann Ní Bhriain. The couple have two daughters, Sorcha Pollak (Irish Times journalist and author of ''New to the Parish'', about recent immigrants to Ireland) and Grainne Pollak (project manager of Safe to Create, which aims to provide safer working conditions for workers in the arts in Ireland). Pollak is member of the managing committee of the Unitarian Church in Dublin.

Publications

*''Paisley'' by Ed Moloney and Andy Pollak, Poolbeg Press, 1986 *''A Citizens Inquiry: The Opsahl Report on Northern Ireland'' ditor Lilliput Press, 1993 *''Seamus Mallon: A Shared Home Place'' by Seamus Mallon with Andy Pollak, Lilliput Press, 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollak, Andy The Irish Times people Irish Unitarians Living people People from Ballymena Alumni of the University of Sussex Year of birth missing (living people) Belfast Telegraph people Writers from County Antrim 20th-century journalists from Northern Ireland 21st-century journalists from Northern Ireland 20th-century biographers from Northern Ireland 21st-century biographers from Northern Ireland