Born: September 30th, 1939
Died: April 20th, 2023
Peadar Tomás (PT) MacRuairí, who has died at the age of 83 after a brief illness, was a dedicated journalist and tireless organiser on behalf of the Irish language.
He served as president of Conradh na Gaeilge from 1998 to 2003, having been a member of the organisation in various capacities from 1955. Paula Melvin, the current president of Conradh na Gaeilge, described him as “a giant in the Irish language and in Irish life. He has given a huge amount of his time and energy over the years to Conradh na Gaeilge and to the Irish language movement and, in a personal capacity, PT was always a great friend and mentor to me from my time as a student until this week. We are all indebted to him.”
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Language (mainly though not exclusively Irish), journalism, technology, family, and travel were central to his identity. Even in his final days in hospital, he was armed with a digital tablet and paper notebook to help him stay on top of the news, and was making plans for a family holiday in the United States this summer, including a 1,400 mile road trip from Texas to California.
MacRuairí was born the eldest of four brothers in Cullyhanna, a village near Crossmaglen, South Armagh. The family moved later to Dundalk and then to Dublin – although, mostly in jest, he later claimed to be “not a citizen of the Free State”. He always believed that Ireland’s best future would be as a 32-county republic built on mutual respect for all traditions and, a man of peace, he supported initiatives towards that end.
His 60-year love affair with the Irish language blossomed at school in Dundalk; his journalism career began at the age of 14 when he penned an article for the Dundalk Democrat.
MacRuairí moved to north Dublin to help set up and run a family shop but quickly returned to his passions for the Irish language and journalism. He wrote both in Irish and English for various publications and, although a bona fide freelance journalist, he delighted in submitting articles under pen names. Years later he admitted he could not remember some of them and that one regular column was accompanied by a pen name alongside a photograph of himself. In 1968, he would join the staff of the Irish Press (Scéala Éireann).
Many stints in the courts gave him free rein to find interesting stories, where he developed a reputation for accurate and fair reporting
He started working with Conradh in 1959, and a year later “went west” for the first time while accompanying children attending a support school in Connemara. The trip gave him his first experience of sean-nós, traditional Irish singing. Years later, sean-nós singers featured as part of the festival of Irish music, dance, and art delegation at Interceltic festival in Lorient, Brittany, in which he was involved as a board member for 25 years.
He was a founder of the Craobh Bhréanainn north Dublin branch of Conradh na Gaeilge, which led to the establishment of annual Irish summer colleges in Tír an Fhia in Co. Galway. His Conradh CV also included stints as a press officer, editor of Rosc magazine and co-ordinator of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
Shopkeeper’s daughter
In 1960, he dropped into a shop in Ferbane, Co Offaly, simply because he noticed the name above the door was in Irish, and it was there that he met the shopkeeper’s daughter, Síle. They married six years later.
His support for his native county was bolstered by his travels to numerous Gaelic football matches, even in Crossmaglen where British Army helicopters would hover over the pitch.
Many stints in the courts gave him free rein to find interesting stories, where he developed a reputation for accurate and fair reporting. He was part of the reporting team covering the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court when the Irish Press closed in 1995, and continued to work in the courts on a freelance basis for several outlets afterwards. He helped cover many cases involving organised crime and the first wave of cases involving clerical sex abuse.
Giving the public access to the power of radio led him to become a driving force behind Near FM, a community radio station in Dublin northeast, and Raidió na Life, the capital’s Irish language station
Over time, as the press pool got smaller, he established a company that employed other freelance journalists to cover criminal cases in the Four Courts and then at the new criminal courts complex.
“Tomás MacRuairí was an institution within Irish journalism. He was long associated with another institution of Irish journalism, The Irish Press, but it was his work as a court reporter and founder of a court news agency, CCC Nuacht, for which he will be best remembered,” Irish secretary of the NUJ Seamus Dooley said, paying tribute to his generosity and willingness to help other reporters.
Giving the public access to the power of radio led him to become a driving force behind Near FM, a community radio station in Dublin northeast, and Raidió na Life, the capital’s Irish language station.
He is survived by Síle, their five adult children, nine grandchildren and his two brothers.