Seamus Martin facts for kids

Seamus Martin was born in 1942. He is a well-known Irish journalist who used to be the international editor for The Irish Times. He is the brother of Diarmuid Martin, who was a very important leader in the Roman Catholic Church as the Archbishop of Dublin. Seamus Martin also served on the board of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, which is a group that helps manage radio and TV in Ireland.

Early Life and Education

Seamus Martin was born in Dublin, Ireland. He went to school at Gormanston College in County Meath. Later, he studied at the College of Commerce Rathmines, which is now part of the Dublin Institute of Technology. He also studied economics in Paris, France, at a special school for business and industry.

A Career in Journalism

Seamus Martin has had a very interesting career as a journalist in Ireland. He worked in many different roles for various newspapers.

Early Sports Reporting

When he was younger, Seamus Martin was a top sports commentator for newspapers like The Irish Press and the Irish Independent. He also became the sports editor for the Sunday Tribune and wrote columns for the Evening Herald.

Working for The Irish Times

Later in his career, Seamus Martin joined The Irish Times. He became the Features Editor, helping to decide what interesting stories would appear in the newspaper. He also wrote his own columns.

Reporting from Around the World

Seamus Martin became a foreign correspondent for The Irish Times. This meant he traveled to other countries to report on big news events. He covered two of the most important stories of the late 1900s.

Covering the Soviet Union

As the newspaper's correspondent in Moscow, Russia, he reported on the end of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union. He showed how these big changes affected the daily lives of regular people. He also wrote about how new wealthy individuals, called oligarchs, gained a lot of money during this time.

Reporting from South Africa

Seamus Martin also worked as a correspondent in South Africa. He reported on the rise of Nelson Mandela, who went from being a prisoner to the president of the country. He covered the end of apartheid, which was a system of unfair racial separation, and the start of democracy in South Africa.

Digital Journalism and Awards

After his time as a foreign correspondent, Seamus Martin became the editor for the online versions of The Irish Times. He won several awards for his work, including a top international award in 1998 for having the best international news website.

Other Work and Achievements

Seamus Martin was also very active in the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which is a group that supports journalists. He was a member of their main council in London and led the Irish branch of the NUJ.

Documentaries and Books

Seamus Martin has created many interesting works beyond newspaper articles.

Award-Winning Documentaries

His documentary series called Death of an Empire won a Gold award in 2012. This series was about the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of modern Russia. He also made TV documentaries like Martin's Moscow and Time on your hands in Latvia, which were shown on RTÉ television.

Published Books

He wrote a novel called Duggan's Destiny, which received good reviews. His memoir, Good Times and Bad, was published in 2008 and became a bestseller in Ireland. A memoir is a book where someone writes about their own life experiences.

Life in Retirement

Seamus Martin is now retired and lives in Ireland. He also spends part of the year in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. There, he has a small house and a small vineyard, which is a place where grapes are grown for wine.

He still works sometimes as a freelance journalist. This means he writes articles for different newspapers like The Sunday Business Post, the Irish Examiner, and The Irish Times when they need him. He has reported from Russia and other places.

In March 2018, he wrote an opinion piece for The Irish Times about the Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.