Michael Viney
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Michael Viney | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 February 1933 Brighton, England |
| Died | 30 May 2023 (aged 90) |
| Occupation |
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| Subjects | Nature |
| Spouse | Ethna McManus (m. 1965) |
| Children | 1 |
Michael Viney MRIA (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 to The Irish Times from 1962.
Early life and beginning of career[edit]
Michael Viney was born in Brighton, England on 6 February 1933, to parents who operated a cafe.[1] Although interested in art as a career, he began work with the Brighton and Hove Herald at the age of 16, before stints at the Evening Argus, The Star, and Today.[1] In 1962, he took a career break and moved to Tully Cross in Connemara, and eventually decided to stay in Ireland, performing freelance assignments for The Irish Times, later becoming a staff journalist.[1]
Career[edit]
The Irish Times and RTÉ[edit]
In the 1960s Viney wrote for The Irish Times about social issues such as the fate of people in institutional care.[2] His articles were later incorporated into the Ryan Report on institutional abuse of 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 of Louisburgh.[3][4]
Nature writing[edit]
Viney published "Another Life", a weekly column in The 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 a Jacob's Award for his RTÉ Television documentary, Too Many Children.[5]
Viney was a member of Aosdána, Ireland's academy or affiliation of distinguished creative artists.[6] He was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 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]
- ^ a b c d e f g Boland, Rosita (30 May 2023). "Michael Viney obituary: A life of self-sufficiency and curiosity in Ireland's wild west". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Kelly, Brendan (4 October 2010). "Walking through the past in today's Sligo". Irish Medical Times. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Boland, Rosita (10 July 2010). "If I had stayed working in Dublin I'd probably be dead by now". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b "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 from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2017 – via HighBeam 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" Archived 25 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Fortnight magazine, January 2004
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