Conor Brady facts for kids

Conor Brady is an Irish writer, journalist, and teacher. He was the main editor of a big newspaper called The Irish Times for many years, from 1986 to 2002.

Growing Up and School

Conor Brady was born in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in a town called Tullamore. He went to school there and later to a college in County Tipperary. He studied history and politics at University College Dublin (UCD). While at UCD, he also helped run the college newspaper, Campus UCD News.

Working in Newspapers

Conor Brady started his career as a journalist. He worked for a newspaper called the Sunday Tribune. He also worked in radio and television for RTE, which is Ireland's national broadcaster.

In 1986, he became the editor of The Irish Times. This was a very important job. He had joined The Irish Times as a trainee journalist after finishing college. He worked in different offices for the newspaper, including Dublin, Belfast, and London. He also helped start a new section about Europe.

Conor Brady was known as a great editor. He helped the newspaper get more readers than ever before. He strongly supported the peace process in Northern Ireland. He also helped bring about new, modern ideas in Ireland.

He made sure The Irish Times covered more news from around the world. He opened offices in places like Moscow, Beijing, and South Africa. He also expanded sections about arts, books, money, and sports. During his time, The Irish Times also launched its first online versions. He was even in charge of important groups for editors around the world.

Conor Brady retired from The Irish Times in 2002. He helped make changes to the newspaper to save money. After these changes, The Irish Times became very successful financially. In 2005, he wrote a book about his life called Up with The Times. From 2014 to 2019, he wrote a weekly column for The Sunday Times in Ireland.

Teaching and Learning

Conor Brady has also been a visiting professor at different universities. He taught at John Jay College in New York and at University College Dublin. In 2020, he became an Honorary Professor at the journalism school of the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG). In 2023, he received a special honorary degree in literature from the National University of Ireland.

Helping the Community

Conor Brady has done a lot of public service. He was a member of the Garda Síochana Ombudsman Commission from 2005 to 2011. This group helps make sure the police force in Ireland acts fairly. He also led The British-Irish Association for several years. He was part of a group that looked at the future of policing in Ireland. In 2016, he joined a committee that helps choose leaders for important public jobs. He became its chair in 2019.

He has also been a director for groups like ARC Cancer Support. He is a co-founder of CaliberAI, a company that uses technology to help with speech and writing. In 2022, he became the head of the board for Esker Arts CLG, a new arts center in Tullamore.

As a Writer

Conor Brady has written several books. Some of his books are about the history of the Irish police force. He has also written about his own experiences as a journalist.

He has written a series of crime mystery novels. These books are set in old Dublin and feature a detective character named "Joe Swallow." The titles of these books include A June of Ordinary Murders, The Eloquence of the Dead, A Hunt in Winter, and In the Dark River.