Tom Humphries
- This article is about an Irish sportwriter. For the American university professor, see Tom L. Humphries.
| Tom Humphries | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | St Joseph's CBS, Fairview, University College Dublin (UCD) |
| Occupation | Journalist, columnist |
| Employer | The Irish Times |
| Known for | Sports Journalism |
| Height | 6 ft 6 ins |
| Title | Chief Sports Writer |
| Parents | John J and Mary |
| Relatives | Deirdre (Sister) |
Tom Humphries is a sportswriter and columnist who writes for The Irish Times. He lives in Dublin, Ireland and has a wife and two children.[1]
Humphries, born in London, [1] grew up in Foxfield, Raheny, on the northside of Dublin, and was educated at St. Joseph's Christian Brothers School, Fairview (alma mater of politicians Charles Haughey, John A. Costello and George Colley). Attending University College Dublin (UCD) he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Commerce and a Higher Diploma in Education. A notable student's union politician, Humphries unsuccessfully ran for the office of President of University College Dublin Students' Union in 1986, being defeated by Ulick Stafford. After teaching for a period he entered journalism.
His name came to international prominence when he interviewed Irish soccer player Roy Keane in Saipan in May 2002, as Ireland were preparing to take part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Originally his intention had been to write an article based on the interview, but such were the nature Keane's revelations, in particular his thoughts on the Irish team's preparations for the World Cup and the attitude of the management, players and the FAI (Football Association of Ireland), that the article appeared as a verbatim transcript of the interview, starting on the front page of The Irish Times (an almost unheard of concession) and continuing in full on the inner pages. The resulting furore caused Keane, the preeminent Irish player of his generation, to resign from the squad at the same time as being sent home by the Irish soccer team manager, Mick McCarthy, before the World Cup started.
His book Lap Top Dancing and the Nanny Goat Mambo was published in 2003 and was an account of his year spent covering sporting events in 2002, including the Saipan events and the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. He was also one of the first Irish journalists to question the validity of Michelle Smith's swimming success in the 1996 Summer Olympics.[citation needed] To this day he regularly mentions Smith in his columns.
Besides his regular sports reporting and feature articles, Humphries writes a Monday column in The Irish Times called "Lockerroom".
Green Fields: Gaelic Sport in Ireland was Humphries' first book and is an analysis of the importance of the GAA in modern Ireland, a recurring theme of his work.
He was ghost writer on Irish soccer player Niall Quinn's autobiography Niall Quinn - The Autobiography, published in 2002 and nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.
A collection of his The Irish Times and Sports Illustrated writings was published in 2004 as Booked! and was nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. All royalties from the book went to Amnesty International.
Humphries wrote the book Dublin V Kerry, an account of the series of historic clashes between the two dominant teams in Gaelic Football of the mid to late 1970s.
He coauthored Come What May, Donal Óg Cusack's autobiography.[2]
He detests the League of Ireland [3] (A better citation would be preferred here. You can help Wikipedia by providing one.) and rugby.
[edit] Arrest
Humphries was accused in April 2011 of having had underage sex with a 14-year-old girl following the alleged discovery by his daughter of naked pictures of the girl on his mobile phone. He checked into a psychiatric hospital in Dublin and was awaiting medical approval to be interviewed by Gardaí. He was also under suicide watch. Meanwhile, a second allegation of a similar nature arose.[4][5][6][7][8] The News of the World reported that the Gardaí searched his apartment and analysed his home computer, as well as texts and pictures on his mobile phones. The Computer Crime Investigation Unit obtained a warrant to search the Irish Times offices and to seize Humphries's work computer. Forensic experts planned to question the newspaper's IT department about possible evidence on their computer systems.[7] The Irish Daily Star reported in July 2011 that Humphries had been taken to St. James's Hospital in Dublin following a serious heart attack while staying at St. Patrick's psychiatric hospital. He was reported to be gravely ill, mentally and physically, and might not recover well enough to stand trial.[9][10]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Author biography. In Irish Books Online - TownHouse Dublin, Ireland. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ London Independent article about Cusack's coming out
- ^ Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)
- ^ Writer Humphries accused of underage sex with GAA girl (14) Sunday World, 2011-04-17.
- ^ Journalist in underage sex probe is named by newspaper Irish Central, 2011-04-17.
- ^ Top GAA club distances itself from underage sex scandal Irish Central, 2011-04-18.
- ^ a b Police to search newspaper offices of alleged sex offender Irish Central, 2011-04-24.
- ^ Second complaint made against sex case Irish journalist Irish Central, 2011-06-08.
- ^ Irish journalist accused in child sex scandal gravely ill in hospital Irish Central, 2011-07-17.
- ^ Reports claim underage sex case journalist Tom Humphries is close to death Irish Central, 2011-07-28.
[edit] Bibliography
- Green Fields: Gaelic Sport in Ireland (Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated , ISBN 978-0-297-83566-0, 1996)
- Laptop Dancing and the Nanny Goat Mambo: A Sportswriter’s Year (Pocket Books/Town House, ISBN 1-903650-53-4, 2003)
- Booked! (V. Carefully) Selected Writings (Town House, ISBN 1-86059-212-0, 2004)
- Dublin V Kerry (Penguin Ireland, ISBN 1-84488-085-0, 2006)
