Geraldine Kennedy facts for kids

Geraldine Kennedy was born on 1 September 1951. She is an Irish journalist and former politician. She made history as the first female editor of The Irish Times newspaper. Before that, she served as a Teachta Dála (TD), which is a member of the Irish parliament, representing the Dún Laoghaire area from 1987 to 1989.

In 1982, Geraldine Kennedy's phone, along with those of two other journalists, was listened to without permission by the Minister for Justice, Seán Doherty. Years later, in 1992, it was revealed that Charles Haughey, who was then the Taoiseach (Ireland's Prime Minister), had ordered these phone listenings. This discovery led to Mr. Haughey resigning from his position.

Starting a Career in Journalism

Geraldine Kennedy studied at the Dublin Institute of Technology. She began her journey in journalism at a local newspaper called the Munster Express. After a short time, she moved to the Cork Examiner. She worked there for a few years before joining The Irish Times, a well-known national newspaper.

In 1980, when the Sunday Tribune newspaper was created, Kennedy became its political correspondent. She had previously written for a journal called Hibernia, where the Tribune's publisher, John Mulcahy, had noticed her work. When the Sunday Tribune temporarily stopped publishing, Kennedy moved to the Sunday Press.

In early 1987, Geraldine Kennedy took legal action against the government led by Charles Haughey's Fianna Fáil party. This was because her phone had been listened to without permission.

Time in Politics

Geraldine Kennedy decided to run for election in the 1987 Irish general election. She was a candidate for the new Progressive Democrats party in the Dún Laoghaire area. She finished third in the vote, getting 9.4% of the first-choice votes. She was one of fourteen Progressive Democrat members, known as TDs, who were elected to Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) in that election. This was the most seats the party ever won. Kennedy was chosen to be the party's spokesperson for foreign affairs.

She ran for election again in the 1989 Irish general election. She received 9% of the first-choice votes but did not win her seat back.

Returning to Journalism

After her election defeat, Geraldine Kennedy went back to The Irish Times. At that time, the newspaper was edited by Conor Brady, whom she had worked with before at the Sunday Tribune. For several years, she avoided writing about party politics. However, in the early 1990s, she returned to covering political news. In 1999, she became The Irish Times' political editor.

In late 2002, when Conor Brady left his role, Geraldine Kennedy became the newspaper's first female editor. One of the other people considered for the editor's job was Fintan O'Toole, a well-known writer for the paper.

As editor, Kennedy was paid a significant salary. Some people, including columnist Fintan O'Toole, felt that the pay was too high, especially when the newspaper was also looking to reduce staff. O'Toole said that the paper often spoke about high corporate pay, but this situation felt like "excess."

In September 2006, Kennedy approved an article in The Irish Times that shared private details about investigations into payments supposedly made in 1993 to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. When the investigating group, called the Mahon Tribunal, asked her to share where she got the information, Kennedy refused. She said the documents had been destroyed. This led to a legal case, but in 2009, the Supreme Court decided that journalists have a right to protect their sources.

On 12 March 2011, Geraldine Kennedy announced that she planned to retire from The Irish Times by September. She actually retired in June 2011, after being editor for nine years. Kevin O'Sullivan, who was the news editor, took over as editor on 23 June 2011.

In August 2012, she was appointed as a special professor of journalism at the University of Limerick. She has also received five honorary doctorates from Irish universities, which are special awards recognizing her achievements.