Fintan O’Toole

UCD ALUMNI AWARD IN ARTS AND HUMANITIES

The award-winning journalist Fintan O’Toole is one of Ireland’s most influential public intellectuals and a critical voice on politics and the arts. His writing career began with In Dublin as the theatre critic, a role he later took up with The Sunday Tribune, The New York Daily News and The Irish Times.

In 1988 after a period as editor of Magill, he joined the Irish Times and his column has featured for 30 years. He has written books on theatre, politics, biography and cultural history. Ship of Fools was a bestselling account of the fall of the Celtic Tiger and Ireland's current postage stamps are based on his History of Ireland in 100 Objects. He is currently working on the official biography of Seamus Heaney.