Daniel McConnell (journalist)

Daniel McConnell is an Irish journalist and author. As of 2023, he was employed as editor of the Business Post. From Stillorgan in Dublin, McConnell is a third-generation journalist who has worked with the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Irish Examiner, and the Irish edition of the Sunday Times.

He has been a "commentator on Irish television and radio" and previously acted as a stand-in presenter on Today FM's The Last Word With Matt Cooper. In 2016, he and Irish Mail on Sunday political editor John Lee authored a book, Hell at the Gates, on Ireland's financial crash and the Brian Cowen government.

In November 2022, McConnell was named Ireland's national journalist of the year and political journalist of the year. He also won "scoop of the year" at the Newsbrands Ireland award ceremony in Dublin. He had previously been named News Analyst of the Year at the 2017 awards.

Biography

Daniel McConnell was born in Dublin and attended secondary school in Kilmacud. He subsequently attended University College Dublin where he became involved in student politics and both student newspapers the University Observer and the College Tribune.

He undertook a Masters in Journalism at Dublin City University before commencing work with the Sunday Times where he worked on the inaugural "Parent Power guide to Irish secondary schools". Together with Colm Murphy, McConnell co-authored The Sunday Times Guide to Secondary Schools in Ireland: The Definitive Guide for Parents, published by Penguin.

He joined the Irish Times in 2004 as a news reporter, following in his father John's footsteps. John McConnell had written on economic matters for the Times in the 1970s. In 2006, McConnell was hired by Ciaran Byrne at the Sunday Independent under editor Aengus Fanning in 2006, working later under Anne Harris.

During a nine-year stint with Independent News and Media, McConnell held a number of roles including chief reporter, political correspondent and group political correspondent working across a number of INM titles.

Writing primarily on the financial crash between 2008 and 2011, McConnell's reporting included coverage of then finance minister Brian Lenihan's attempts to avoid the Troika-bailout in 2010.

He also served as father of the National Union of Journalists chapel for two years during a major restructuring of the company.

In October 2015, McConnell was appointed by editor Tim Vaughan to become political editor of the Irish Examiner ahead of the 2016 Irish general election. In 2016, McConnell and Fiachra O Cionnaith won the Justice Media Award for their reporting on the 'Grace' abuse story in a foster home in the South East.

McConnell became a frequent contributor to national and international TV and radio programs on political matters. In 2020, he was a contributor to RTÉ's coverage of the election of the new three-party government.

After seven years at the Irish Examiner, McConnell was appointed editor of the Business Post in January 2023, taking up his post in April of the same year. Charged with leading a "major digital transformation" of the organisation, the company announced a strategic restructuring. In July 2023, Swedish media company Bonnier News acquired a minority stake in the Business Post.