Páidí Ó Lionáird (born ) is an Irish television presenter and columnist from Cúil Aodha,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

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

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

channel

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

Early life

Páidí Ó Lionáird was born in Gort na Scairte, Baile Bhúirne in Cúil Aodha, part of the

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

(Irish-speaking) area of County Cork. The youngest of twelve siblings, his father was the principal of a local secondary school and owned a small holding of land. His older brothers include

Iarla Ó Lionáird Iarla Ó Lionáird (born ) is an Irish singer and record producer. He sings in the traditional Sean-nós singing, sean-nós style. He was a member of the Afro Celt Sound System and is a member of the Irish-American supergroup (music), supergroup ...

, a singer and producer, Seán, judge on TG4's ''Feirm Factor'', and Peadar, co-owner of Folláin, which is a jam and chutney manufacturer. After leaving school, he initially studied Furniture Technology and Design at

Dundalk Institute of Technology Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT; ) is an institute of technology, located in Dundalk, Ireland. Established as the Dundalk Regional Technical College, students were first enrolled in the college in 1971 and it was later re-defined as an i ...

, before working as a carpenter in London. He had a number of jobs in London, before returning to Ireland. Shortly after his return, 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 emer ...

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

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. After studying public relations at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

, 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. w ...

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (''Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál''), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the ...

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

Career

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

in 1997. He had roles on 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 T ...

'' to the hard-news political and current affairs show ''

7 Lá ''7 Lá'' (''Seacht Lá'', meaning "seven days") is an Irish-language weekly current affairs show. All topics are discussed but particular focus is given to regional and Gaeltacht affairs. External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:7 La Irish-lang ...

''. He was co-commentator on TG4's

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

coverage alongside former Irish professional cyclist, Pádraic Quinn (Velotec) from 2004. He also presented

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 ...

, TG4's annual traditional music awards programme. 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, as of 2019, he was chief sub-editor,

Nuacht RTÉ Nuacht RTÉ le TG4 (Irish for ''RTÉ News by TG4'') 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. Nuacht RT ...

and

. He initiated and presented 7Lá on TG4 from 2003 until 2019 and anchored two lengthy general election programmes in 2016 and 2020. In June 2022, Ó Lionáird was reported to be leaving RTÉ to join the Office of the Irish Language Commissioner (''Coimisinéir Teanga''). As of 2023, he held the role of communications manager with that organisation.

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