Ruairí McKiernan is an Irish author,

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

and campaigner on youth, community, health, and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

issues. In 2012, he was appointed to the Irish

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

by President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

. He has been named by

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

as one of the top 10 people leading social change in Ireland. McKiernan is the author of the bestselling memoir ''Hitching for Hope'', which was published in 2020 by US publisher

Chelsea Green Publishing Chelsea Green Publishing is an American publishing company which specialises in non-fiction books on progressive politics and sustainable living. Based in Vermont, it has published over 400 books since it was founded in 1984, and now releases b ...

and reached number 1 in the Neilsen Bookscan and Irish Times paperback non-fiction charts. McKiernan is the host of a chart-topping podcast called Love and Courage, which profiles leading thinkers and activists from around the world. Previous guests have included

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo the Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a memb ...

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

Johann Hari Johann Eduard Hari (born 21 January 1979) is a British writer and journalist. Until 2011, Hari wrote for ''The Independent'', among other outlets, before resigning after admitting to plagiarism and fabrications dating from 2001 to 2011. Since t ...

, Stanislaus Kennedy,

Ivor Browne William Ivory "Ivor" Browne (18 March 1929 – 24 January 2024) was an Irish psychiatrist and author who was Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board, and professor emeritus of psychiatry at University College Dublin. He was best known f ...

Frances Black Frances Patricia Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish singer and politician. She came to prominence in the late 1980s when she began to play with her family's traditional and contemporary Irish music band, The Black Family. Black was e ...

, and

Lynn Ruane Lynn Ruane (born 20 October 1984) is an Irish politician who has served as an independent senator for the Dublin University constituency in Seanad Éireann since April 2016. She was the President of the Trinity College Dublin Students' Union ...

. Originally from

Cootehill Cootehill (; ) is a market town and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. Cootehill was formerly part of the neighbouring townland of Munnilly. Both townlands lie within the barony of Tullygarvey. Cootehill is 20 km north-east of Cavan tow ...

, County Cavan, Ireland, McKiernan founded the SpunOut.ie national youth organisation in

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

, County Donegal in 2004. He was CEO there until October 2011. McKiernan was a co-founder of the Possibilities

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

initiative, which hosted the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

's 2011 visit to Ireland. He is also a co-founder of Uplift, a progressive civic action movement, a founding board member of the Soar Foundation, and part of the founding team behind the A Lust For Life mental health and wellbeing organisation. In 2013 he was awarded a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

scholarship to undertake civic engagement research in Berkeley, California. McKiernan received a BA with distinction in Business and Management with HR from the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland (), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Blantyre, Dumfries and Ayr, as well as a campus in London, England. T ...

and later worked as a

youth worker Youth work is a community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In general, it provides an environment where young pe ...

web designer Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code an ...

, researcher, and community organiser. He is the recipient of several awards including a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland award, an Irish Internet Association Net Visionary Award, and a Junior Chambers International Ireland award. In 2013 he was awarded a European Next Generation Leadership scholarship by the Korea Foundation. McKiernan is a regular contributor to media outlets including the ''Irish Times'', the ''Irish Independent'', the ''Irish Examiner'', RTÉ TV and radio, TV3, the BBC, and the ''Huffington Post''. Media work has included an interview with

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

and a video interview with

Aaron Swartz Aaron Hillel Swartz (; November 8, 1986January 11, 2013), also known as AaronSw, was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivism, hacktivist. As a programmer, Swartz helped develop the we ...

that featured as part of the documentary ''

The Internet's Own Boy ''The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz'' is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Aaron Swartz written, directed, and produced by Brian Knappenberger. The film premiered in the ''US Documentary Competition program'' ca ...

''. McKiernan was involved as a board member of the We The Citizens initiative and was appointed by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to the voluntary board of

Gaisce – The President's Award Gaisce – The President's Award () is an award in Ireland, earned by young people between the ages of 14 and 25 for participating in several activities for a certain period. There are three awards: bronze, silver and gold. The term "gaisce" ...

. In 2013, he undertook a "Hitching for Hope" tour to listen to the voices and visions of the people of Ireland. In 2016, his "New Ireland Rising" video commemorating the

1916 Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an i ...

went viral online. In 2017, McKiernan helped organize a civil rights rally in the

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The church is associated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Un ...

in New York. He is also one of the founders of the Gaelic Voices For Change movement that involves sports stars engaging on social issues, including homelessness.

References

External links

*http://www.ruairimckiernan.com/ – Ruairí McKiernan official website *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_efraoSQA – Ruairí McKiernan – A New Ireland Rising video *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vLrreR6YOE – Ruairí McKiernan – TEDxFulbright talk *https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/hitching-for-hope/ – Hitching for Hope {{DEFAULTSORT:McKiernan, Ruairi 1977 births Living people People from Cootehill Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) Writers from County Cavan 21st-century Irish writers

References

Further reading

External links