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Conor Brady
Conor Brady is an Irish journalist, novelist and academic. He was the editor of The Irish Times between 1986 and 2002.
Brady was born in Dublin and spent his early childhood in Tullamore in County Offaly, Ireland. He received his primary education at St. Columba's Christian Brothers College, in Tullamore; his secondary education was at the Cistercian College, Roscrea in County Tipperary. At University College Dublin (UCD) he took primary and postgraduate degrees in history and politics. While at UCD he also edited Campus UCD News, one of the college's two newspapers.
He was the editor of the Sunday Tribune and worked both on radio and television with RTE before assuming the Editorship of the prestigious The Irish Times in 1986. He joined The Irish Times as a trainee journalist, on graduation from UCD where he had been editor of "Campus," the college newspaper. He worked for the newspaper in its Dublin, Belfast and London offices and for a time on the newly-established European Desk. In 1973,he re-established The Garda Review which had ceased publication and in 1975 was chosen to be one a team of journalists to establish the news features section of RTE under the direction of the legendary Mike Burns.
The fact that he was the first Catholic to be appointed as editor of what was still perceived as a Protestant-oriented newspaper was remarked upon at the time and was seen as part of a process of The Irish Times seeking to broaden its position in Irish society. He was also the first editor to be appointed at the newspaper after a competitive interview process with the participation of staff representatives.
Previously he had been Features Editor, then Night Editor and latterly Deputy Editor. He reported on crime and security and covered events in Northern Ireland before being assigned to the London bureau in the 1970s. Later he worked on the newspaper's European Desk and on a number of assignments abroad, including the accession of new member states to the European Economic Community. He reported on the conflict in Rhodesia, later Zimbabwe. He was appointed as a director of The Irish Times Ltd in 1985.
Brady was judged to be an excellent editor who increased the newspapers circulation figures to their highest levels over two decades. He positioned the newspaper firmly behind the Northern Ireland peace process while strongly supporting the liberal reform agenda in the Republic.
He focused on developing coverage of foreign news with the establishment of overseas bureaux in Moscow, Beijing, South Africa and elsewhere. He also extended the coverage of arts and books as well as finance and sport. The Irish Times launched its first digital editions during his tenure. He was chair of the World Editors Forum (Paris) 1996–2000 and chair of the Advisory Committee to the European Journalism Centre (Maastricht) 1996–1999.
He retired from The Irish Times in 2002, after implementing an editorial restructuring of the organisation, necessitated by an accumulation of high costs and a fall in advertising revenues. Editorial numbers dropped by more than 100 as journalists opted for redundancy terms. There was some staff criticism of the parting package agreed between Brady and the company, with some claims that it was over-generous at a time of financial challenge for the organisation. However, The Irish Times subsequently went into a lengthy period of marked financial success, with reduced costs, strong revenues and free of debt. He published his autobiography, entitled Up with The Times, in 2005.
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Conor Brady
Conor Brady is an Irish journalist, novelist and academic. He was the editor of The Irish Times between 1986 and 2002.
Brady was born in Dublin and spent his early childhood in Tullamore in County Offaly, Ireland. He received his primary education at St. Columba's Christian Brothers College, in Tullamore; his secondary education was at the Cistercian College, Roscrea in County Tipperary. At University College Dublin (UCD) he took primary and postgraduate degrees in history and politics. While at UCD he also edited Campus UCD News, one of the college's two newspapers.
He was the editor of the Sunday Tribune and worked both on radio and television with RTE before assuming the Editorship of the prestigious The Irish Times in 1986. He joined The Irish Times as a trainee journalist, on graduation from UCD where he had been editor of "Campus," the college newspaper. He worked for the newspaper in its Dublin, Belfast and London offices and for a time on the newly-established European Desk. In 1973,he re-established The Garda Review which had ceased publication and in 1975 was chosen to be one a team of journalists to establish the news features section of RTE under the direction of the legendary Mike Burns.
The fact that he was the first Catholic to be appointed as editor of what was still perceived as a Protestant-oriented newspaper was remarked upon at the time and was seen as part of a process of The Irish Times seeking to broaden its position in Irish society. He was also the first editor to be appointed at the newspaper after a competitive interview process with the participation of staff representatives.
Previously he had been Features Editor, then Night Editor and latterly Deputy Editor. He reported on crime and security and covered events in Northern Ireland before being assigned to the London bureau in the 1970s. Later he worked on the newspaper's European Desk and on a number of assignments abroad, including the accession of new member states to the European Economic Community. He reported on the conflict in Rhodesia, later Zimbabwe. He was appointed as a director of The Irish Times Ltd in 1985.
Brady was judged to be an excellent editor who increased the newspapers circulation figures to their highest levels over two decades. He positioned the newspaper firmly behind the Northern Ireland peace process while strongly supporting the liberal reform agenda in the Republic.
He focused on developing coverage of foreign news with the establishment of overseas bureaux in Moscow, Beijing, South Africa and elsewhere. He also extended the coverage of arts and books as well as finance and sport. The Irish Times launched its first digital editions during his tenure. He was chair of the World Editors Forum (Paris) 1996–2000 and chair of the Advisory Committee to the European Journalism Centre (Maastricht) 1996–1999.
He retired from The Irish Times in 2002, after implementing an editorial restructuring of the organisation, necessitated by an accumulation of high costs and a fall in advertising revenues. Editorial numbers dropped by more than 100 as journalists opted for redundancy terms. There was some staff criticism of the parting package agreed between Brady and the company, with some claims that it was over-generous at a time of financial challenge for the organisation. However, The Irish Times subsequently went into a lengthy period of marked financial success, with reduced costs, strong revenues and free of debt. He published his autobiography, entitled Up with The Times, in 2005.