Talk:Kevin Myers

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Some excerpts from wikipedia that may - or may not! - be useful

Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an Irish journalist and writer. He writes for the Irish Independent and is a former contributor to The Irish Times, where he wrote the "An Irishman's Diary" opinion column several times weekly. Until 2005, Myers wrote for the Sunday Telegraph in the UK.

His articles often offer criticism of left-wing opinion and the "liberal consensus", sometimes incorporating hyperbole, sarcasm and parody.

Biography

Myers was born to an Irish emigrant family in Leicester, England, where his father was a General Practitioner.[1] He attended Ratcliffe College, a Roman Catholic independent school.

Myers was accepted by University College Dublin, where he subsequently obtained a degree in History in 1969. He began to work as a journalist for RTÉ, and reported from Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles from 1971 to 1978. In the 1980s, he covered the Lebanese Civil War, and in the 1990s the Bosnian War. Otherwise he has been based in Dublin and Liverpool.


Style

Myers' Irish Times opinion columns were often in contrast to its editorial position, which led to some conflict with his editors. In early January 2005, The Irish Times refused to publish a column in which he accused the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) of responsibility for the Northern Bank robbery. It was later published by the Daily Telegraph[2] He often advocates support for the United States, though he is sometimes critical of the foreign policies of the Bush administration. He ultimately endorsed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has praised George W. Bush, but has also described him as 'mad'. He is frequently critical of anti-war activists.[3]

Myers is sceptical of the viability of multiculturalism[4] and favours limits on immigration to prevent the growth of racial tension in Ireland. He has criticised the Catholic Church in many pieces, and favours the legalisation of prostitution.[5] In recent articles he has been critical of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism. In his journalism Myers has opposed the classification of Travellers as an ethnic minority,[6] and has opposed feminist philosophy and the role of trade unions in setting economic policy. He has written against the compensation culture and has opposed state policies towards the Irish language.[7] He has also criticised the prospect of Turkey's accession to the EU.[8]

Other columns have a less political nature, discussing road safety, pet peeves, rugby union, favourite places in Ireland, etc. The fortnightly satirical publication, The Phoenix, regularly lampoons what it sees as his apparent self-obsession, and referring to him by other names such as Kevin Myarse or Colonel MyArse.

Irishness and Nationalism

Myers promotes awareness of Irish soldiers who served in the British Armed Forces, particularly in World War I, arguing that they believed they were doing their patriotic duty as Irishmen. He has criticised the official commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising,[9] and has raised concerns about uncritically celebrating Irish rebellions of former times.Template:Citation needed He has been sceptical of the Northern Ireland peace process, and uses the hyphenated term Sinn Féin-IRA in some articles.[10][11][12]

The "bastards" controversy

Myers has been an advocate of unrestricted freedom of speech and an opponent of censorship and political correctness. He attracted considerable criticism for "An Irishman's Diary" of 8 February 2005, in which he referred to children of unmarried mothers as "bastards":

Template:Cquotetxt

Myers issued an unconditional apology two days later, "entirely at [his] own initiative". Irish Times editor Geraldine Kennedy also apologised for having agreed to publish the article. Myers has claimed to have received death threats over his controversial remarks.

Scotland

Myers caused controversy when he referred to Scottish people as obese and dependent on the welfare state: Template:Cquotetxt

On the 17 January 2007 he wrote a similar article about Scotland, drawing in the topical issue of the country's possible secession from the United Kingdom or gaining of some other form of independence.

Aid to Africa

In July 2008, Myers wrote an article arguing that providing aid to Africa only results in increasing its population, and its problems.[13] This produced strong reactions, with the Immigrant Council of Ireland making an official complaint to the Garda Síochána alleging incitement to hatred.[14]

Hans Zomer of Dóchas, an association of NGOs, and another complainant, took a complaint to the Press Council on the grounds that it breached four principles of the Council's Code of Practice: 1) Accuracy, 3) Fairness and Honesty, 4) Respect for Rights, and 8) Incitement to Hatred.[15][16] In their case details the Press Council said

Template:Cquotetxt

Other work

He was presenter of the Challenging Times television quiz show on RTÉ during the 1990s. In 2000, he published a collection of his An Irishman's Diary columns (ISBN 1-85182-575-4) and in 2003, he published a novel Banks of Green Willow (ISBN 0-684-02013-0) which was described by John Banville "as fresh as tomorrow's headlines".Template:Citation needed In 2006, he published Watching the Door (ISBN 1-84351-085-5), about his time as a journalist in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. The book was positively reviewed by The Times,[17] The Guardian,[18] and the New Statesman,[19] while The Independent published a more mixed review that wondered whether there was "an element of hyperbole" in Myers' account.[20]

He is member of the Film Classification Appeals Board (formerly known as the Censorship Board.)[21]

Books - Full titles needed

  • Kevin Myers: From the Irish Times Column 'An Irishman's Diary' (2000)
  • Banks of Green Willow (2003)
  • Watching the Door: A Memoir, 1971-1978 (2006)
  • More Myers: An Irishman's Diary, 1997-2006 (2007)

Notes

  1. ↑ Craig, Patricia. "Watching the Door, by Kevin Myers". Irish Independent, 7 March 2008. Retrieved on 27 May 2008.
  2. ↑ Myers, Kevin. "The price of peace? £22m in cash" The Telegraph. The Irish Times, 16 September 2005. Retrieved on 25 April 2007.
  3. ↑ Ref needed
  4. ↑ Myres, Kevin Opinion: An Irishman's Diary". Retrieved on 27 May 2008.
  5. ↑ Myers, Kevin. Let sanity prevail and bring prostitutes in from the cold. Irish Independent, 26 March 2008. Retrieved on 27 May 2008.
  6. ↑ I'm Irish, I know about the gipsy problem, Daily Telegraph, October 3, 2004
  7. ↑ Kevin Myers: Language busybodies trying to impose Irish upon us by diktat, Irish Independent, December 9, 2009
  8. ↑ For 250 years, Turkey's presence in Europe was invariably as an armed invader in Christian lands, Irish Independent, March 31, 2010
  9. ↑ Myers, Kevin. "There is nothing to celebrate in the Easter Rising; Nothing, absolutely nothing". Belfast Telegraph, 13 April 2007. Retrieved on 27 May 2008.
  10. ↑ What was achieved by Adams and McGuinness stands out as a perfect model of courage, Kevin Myers, Irish Independent, 13 November 2009, retrieved 10 December 2009
  11. ↑ IRA collusion tale is a bloody, black comedy, Kevin Myers, Irish Independent, 12 February 2008, retrieved 10 December 2009
  12. ↑ Staring into Northern Ireland's moral abyss, Kevin Myers, The Belfast Telegraph, 30 March 2008, retrieved 10 December 2009
  13. ↑ Myers, Kevin. Africa is giving nothing to anyone except AIDS. Irish Independent, 10 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  14. ↑ Immigrant body lodges Garda complaint over Myers article. Irish Times, 16 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  15. ↑ Press Council upholds complaint against Myers article, Irish Times, October 18, 2008
  16. ↑ Complainants and the Irish Independent, The Irish Press Council, 10 October 2008
  17. ↑ Watching The Door: Cheating Death In 1970s Belfast, by Kevin Myers. 2008-03-22. 
  18. ↑ Guns and girls. 2008-04-18. 
  19. ↑ Here comes trouble. 2008-03-27. 
  20. ↑ Watching the Door, by Kevin Myers. 2008-03-07. 
  21. ↑ http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/when-looney-film-censors-ran-our-moral-madhouse-1263169.html

External links


http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82069 http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78150 http://www.indymedia.ie/article/68550 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Myers http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/lies-damned-lies-and-the-wickedness-of-wikipedia-1388050.html

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