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Rónán Mac Con Iomaire

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Rónán Mac Con Iomaire
Born (1975-01-02) 2 January 1975 (age 49)
Galway, Ireland
OccupationDirector of Regional & Community Development & Language, Údarás na Gaeltachta
NationalityIrish
Alma materDublin City University (DCU)
GenreNon-fiction, sports history
Notable worksThe Man Who Was Never Knocked Down, Rocky Ros Muc
Notable awardsESB National Media Award, Oireachtas Journalist of the Year, An tOireachtas New Writer of the Year, Celtic Media Festival Sports Documentary of the Year

Rónán Mac Con Iomaire is the Director of Regional & Community Development & Language with Údarás na Gaeltachta and is an award-winning Irish author and broadcaster.

Early life

Mac Con Iomaire was raised in the Connemara Gaeltacht village of An Cheathrú Rua, the eldest of three children of Tomás Mac Con Iomaire and Mairéad. He is a brother of Donncha Mac Con Iomaire and Síle Nic Con Iomaire.

Career

Mac Con Iomaire was educated at Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin, and studied BA in Journalism in Dublin City University (DCU). While at university, he was editor of the college newspaper and contributed to a number of other university publications.

He began his journalistic career as a news feature writer with the Evening Herald and also worked for the Irish Independent.

In 1996, with the opening of Teilifís na Gaeilge, Mac Con Iomaire took up a role as video journalist with Nuacht TnaG. Two years later, he returned to Independent News & Media as a freelancer, while also working as Dublin Correspondent for the Irish language newspaper Foinse, and as an editor for the Telecom Éireann (now eircom) online publication Cumasc. He was also a contributor to various publications such as Magill and The Irish Times during this period.

In 1999, he co-founded the communications company, meas media, along with Breandán Ó hEaghra, and became managing director of the company, focussing mostly on the expanding web industry and the Irish language sector. During this period, he also became involved in the hospitality trade, taking out a lease on two Galway city public houses, An Gob Fliuch and de Burgo's.

In 2002, he returned to television journalism and was appointed Local Government correspondent for Nuacht RTÉ and Nuacht TG4, where we won a number of awards for his journalism. In 2004, he won an ESB National Media Award for his investigation of planning irregularities.[1] In 2006, he was awarded the Oireachtas Journalist of the Year award following his revelations regarding a personal fund-raising dinner in Manchester for the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.[2]

While working for RTÉ, he worked on a number of documentaries. The well-reviewed [3] UEFA sa Ghaeltacht, which saw Mac Con Iomaire as presenter and writer, told the story of a UEFA Cup soccer match being played on a Gaelic football pitch in rural Connemara. "Trálaer" looked at life aboard a deep-sea pelagic fishing trawler from the Aran Islands, which was again presented and written by Mac Con Iomaire. Saighdiúr looked at the role of Irish citizens in the British army during World War II, where Mac Con Iomaire used the case of his grand-uncle, Paddy Ridge, to illustrate the story. Ridge was killed while serving in the Irish Guards in Tunisia in 1943. Mac Con Iomaire shot, co-directed, wrote and presented Saighdiúr.

He was appointed Leascheannaire (deputy head) of Ireland's national Irish-language radio broadcaster, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, in 2011.[4]

In 2014, he was appointed RTÉ's first ever group head, Irish Language. [5]

In 2019, he became Director of Regional & Community Development & Language with Údarás na Gaeltachta.[6]

Writing

Mac Con Iomaire is the author of Rocky Ros Muc (Cló Iar-Chonnachta), a biography of Irish boxer Seán Mannion, who fought for the light-middleweight world championship in Madison Square Garden, New York in 1984. The book looks at how Mannion, who won the US light-middleweight title in 1983, escaped a future as one of Whitey Bulger's henchmen and climbed his way to the top of the rankings in what was one of the most competitive weight divisions in boxing history, and how drink and depression put an end to his ambitions of glory.

US publishers Rowman & Littlefield[7] published Mac Con Iomaire's second book, The Man Who Was Never Knocked Down, in 2018, an English-language telling of Seán Mannion's story. The book, which was well-reviewed,[8] was initially launched into the North American market before being released in Ireland and the UK.

Rocky Ros Muc was developed as a feature-length documentary by Below the Radar TV[9] in 2017, and has won awards at the Boston Irish Film Festival,[10] the Galway Film Fleadh,[11] and the Celtic Media Festival, among other awards.[12] Mac Con Iomaire was associate producer and contributor.

Along with being the first Irish-language documentary to be long-listed for the Oscars,[13] and achieving a cinema release in both the US and Ireland,[14] Rocky Ros Muc received numerous positive reviews.[15]

Rónán Mac Con Iomaire was awarded the New Writer of the Year award for his work on Rocky Ros Muc at the Oireachtas Literary Awards in October 2013.[16]

He is a contributor to Scéal Scéil, an insight into the way the modern Irish journalist operates. Scéal Scéil, edited by Breandán Delap will be published by Cois Life in 2014.[17]

Mac Con Iomaire is also a writer and performer of agallaimh beirte (a usually humorous conversation in verse between two people) and lúibíní (the same as an agallamh beirte, except that the verses are sung), and has won a number of awards at Oireachtas na Gaeilge.[18]

Sports

Mac Con Iomaire is a keen triathlete and runner and in 2010, founded TríSpórt, a triathlon club for the Connemara and Aran Islands area. The club has seen considerable success since its foundation,[19] and organises two events per year, the Conamara 10k in Carna,[20] Co. Galway and the Conamara Duathlon in An Cheathrú Rua, Co. Galway.[21] The club assists in the organisation of the Tour de Conamara cycling event in Clifden.

He is also a keen sailor and spent many years organising the Galway hooker maritime festival, Féile an Dóilín.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Archives". ESB ElectricMail. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Pat Stacey – 13 June 2009 12:00 PM (13 June 2009). "Kids running riot makes for great TV". Herald.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "The latest Irish broadcasting news". archive.is. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  5. ^ "RTÉ appoints Rónán Mac Con Iomaire as RTÉ Group Head Irish - RTÉ About". Rte.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Ceann de na poist is sinsearaí in Údarás na Gaeltachta faighte ag Grúpcheannasaí Gaeilge RTÉ". Tuairisc.ie. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Rowman & Littlefield". rowman.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  8. ^ "The Connemara boxer who cut eight pounds in the final two hours before his fight". SportsJOE.ie. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Below The Radar". Below The Radar. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Sean Mannion documentary packs the house at Irish Film Festival Boston - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Revealed: Galway Film Fleadh Award Winners 2017 - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  12. ^ "2 TG4 projects win awards at Celtic Media Festival 2018". TG4. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Irish language film longlisted for an Oscar". 31 October 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2019 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ "'Rocky Ros Muc' Releases in US Today - The Irish Film & Television Network". www.iftn.ie. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  15. ^ Brady, Tara. "Rocky Ros Muc review: Hard-hitting story of a Connemara contender". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Buaiteoirí Chomórtais Liteartha Oireachtas na Gaeilge fógartha | Meon Eile". Meoneile.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  17. ^ Breandán Delap. "Scéal Scéil - Cois Life". Coislife.ie. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  18. ^   Galway Advertiser, Thu, Nov 20, 2008 (20 November 2008). "Buaiteoirí an Oireachtais". Advertiser.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^   Galway Advertiser, Thu, Sep 15, 2011 (15 September 2011). "Conamara's Ní Bhaoill wraps up race series". Advertiser.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^   Galway Advertiser, Thu, Sep 29, 2011 (29 September 2011). "McKiernan to start inaugural Conamara 10k race". Advertiser.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ Brian McDonald (27 September 2008). "Sailing festival gets second wind". Independent.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
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