Tim Pat Coogan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Coogan in 2015 | |
| Born | Timothy Patrick Coogan (1935-04-22)22 April 1935 (age 90) Monkstown, Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupations | Journalist, writer, broadcaster |
| Notable credit | Editor ofThe Irish Press (1968–1987) |
| Spouse | Cherry Coogan (marriage dissolved) |
| Children | 6 (five daughters, one son) |
Timothy Patrick "Tim Pat" Coogan (born 22 April 1935) is an Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster. He served as editor ofThe Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987. He has been best known for such books asThe IRA,Ireland Since the Rising andOn the Blanket, and biographies ofMichael Collins andÉamon de Valera.[1][2]
Coogan's particular focus has been Ireland's nationalist/independence movement in the 20th century, a period of unprecedented political upheaval.[3][4] He blames theTroubles inNorthern Ireland on "Paisleyism".[3][5]
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Coogan was born inMonkstown, Dublin in 1935, the first of three children born to Beatrice (née Toal) andNed Coogan. Ned (sometimes referred to as "Eamonn Ó Cuagain"), a native of Kilkenny, was anIrish Republican Army volunteer during theWar of Independence and later served as the first Deputy Commissioner of the newly establishedGarda Síochána, then aFine GaelTD for theKilkenny constituency. Beatrice Toal, the daughter of a policeman, was a Dublin socialite who was crownedDublin's Civic Queen of Beauty in 1927. She wrote for theEvening Herald and took part in various productions in theAbbey Theatre andRadio Éireann. Coogan spent many summer holidays in the town ofCastlecomer inCounty Kilkenny, his father's home town.
A former student of theIrish Christian Brothers inDún Laoghaire andBelvedere College inDublin, he spent most of his secondary studies inBlackrock College in Dublin.
In 2000, Irish writer and editorRuth Dudley Edwards was awarded £25,000 damages and a public apology by the High Court in London against Coogan for factual errors in references to her in his bookWherever Green is Worn: the Story of the Irish Diaspora. In the book, Coogan had written that Dudley Edwards had "grovelled to and hypocritically ingratiated herself with the English establishment to further her writing career". He also alleged that Dudley Edwards "had abused the position of chairwoman of the British Association for Irish Studies (BAIS) by trying to impose her political views on it" and that her commission to writeTrue Brits had been awarded because of political favouritism.[6]
WhenTaoiseachEnda Kenny caused confusion following a speech atBéal na Bláth by incorrectly claimingMichael Collins had broughtLenin to Ireland, Coogan commented: "Those were the days when bishops were bishops and Lenin was a communist. How would that have gone down with the churchyard collections?"[7]
In November 2012, for reasons that are uncertain, the United States embassy in Dublin refused to grant Coogan a visa to visit the U.S. As a result, a planned book tour for his book (The Famine Plot, England's role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy) was cancelled. After representations to then Secretary of StateHillary Clinton by United States SenatorCharles Schumer (D-NY) and CongressmanPeter T. King (R-NY), Coogan received his visa.[8]
Coogan has been criticised by the Irish historiansLiam Kennedy andDiarmaid Ferriter, as well asCormac Ó Gráda,[citation needed] for a supposed lack of thoroughness in his research and bias.[9][10]
