Michael Viney
Michael Viney | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 February 1933 Brighton,England |
| Died | 30 May 2023(aged 90) |
| Occupation |
|
| Subjects | Nature |
| Spouse |
Ethna McManus (m.1965) |
| Children | 1 |
Michael VineyMRIA(6 February 1933 – 30 May 2023) was a British-born Irish artist, author, broadcaster and journalist. Best known for his writings on nature, he contributed toThe Irish Timesfrom 1962.
Early life and beginning of career
[edit]Michael Viney was born inBrighton,England on 6 February 1933, to parents who operated a cafe.[1]Although interested in art as a career, he began work with theBrighton and Hove Heraldat the age of 16, before stints at theEvening Argus,The Star,andToday.[1]In 1962, he took a career break and moved toTully CrossinConnemara,and eventually decided to stay in Ireland, performing freelance assignments forThe Irish Times,later becoming a staff journalist.[1]
Career
[edit]The Irish Times and RTÉ
[edit]In the 1960s Viney wrote forThe Irish Timesabout social issues such as the fate of people in institutional care.[2]His articles were later incorporated into theRyan Reportoninstitutional abuseof children in Ireland.[3]
Viney began working at RTÉ Television as presenter in programmes aimed at social, consumer affairs and with items on household and family matters. He took training there as a TV director and became a production editor in 1976.
Move to Mayo
[edit]Viney left Dublin in 1977 with his wife, Ethna, and daughter for a simpler life in County Mayo, at their holiday home on one acre at Thallabawn,Murrisk,near the coast south ofLouisburgh.[3][4]
Nature writing
[edit]Viney published "Another Life", a weekly column inThe Irish Times,from 1977.[3][4]Over the years the focus of the column shifted from sustainability to natural history. His last column was published in February 2023.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Viney married Ethna McManus in 1965, and they had a daughter.[1]He was an atheist.[1]
Viney died on 30 May 2023, at the age of 90.[1]
Recognition
[edit]In 1966, Viney won aJacob's Awardfor hisRTÉ Televisiondocumentary,Too Many Children.[5]
Viney was a member ofAosdána,Ireland's academy or affiliation of distinguished creative artists.[6]He was elected to theRoyal Irish Academyin May 2017.[7]
Bibliography
[edit]Viney's books include:
- Ireland: A Smithsonian Natural History.2003[8]
- Ireland's Ocean(co-written with Ethna Viney)
- 'A Year's Turning' 1996, The Blackstaff Press' 3 Galway Park,Dundonald, Belfast BT16 OAN.
References
[edit]- ^abcdefgBoland, Rosita (30 May 2023)."Michael Viney obituary: A life of self-sufficiency and curiosity in Ireland's wild west".The Irish Times.Retrieved30 May2023.
- ^Kelly, Brendan (4 October 2010)."Walking through the past in today's Sligo".Irish Medical Times.Retrieved27 November2021.
- ^abcBoland, Rosita (10 July 2010)."If I had stayed working in Dublin I'd probably be dead by now".The Irish Times.Retrieved15 July2017.
- ^ab"First words from the west; In his first Another Life column published in 1977, Michael Viney tells of adjusting to country life"".15 February 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 3 February 2018.Retrieved16 July2017– viaHighBeam Research.
- ^The Irish Times,"Television awards presented", 8 December 1966
- ^Aosdana website
- ^O'Sullivan (May 2017)."Michael Viney elected to the Royal Irish Academy".The Irish Times.
- ^Paul Clements,"Our precious stake in a fragile world"Archived25 August 2010 at theWayback Machine,Fortnight magazine,January 2004
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1933 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century Irish journalists
- 21st-century Irish journalists
- Aosdána members
- Irish atheists
- Irish columnists
- Irish environmentalists
- Irish nature writers
- Jacob's Award winners
- Members of the Royal Irish Academy
- Writers from Brighton
- Sustainability advocates
- The Irish Times people
- Writers from County Mayo