Neil Mackay | |
|---|---|
| Born | County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Occupations | Journalist, former editor, author |
| Organization | Sunday Herald |
| Notable work | All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang (2013 book) The War on Truth (2006 book) The Wolf Trial (2017 book) |
Neil Mackay is a Northern Irish journalist, writer and TV producer based in Glasgow.[1][2]
Mackay edited the Sunday Herald from 2015 to 2018 and has had three books published: The War on Truth, (2006), All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang (2013), and The Wolf Trial (2017).
Early life and education
[edit]Mackay is from County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.[1] He was born in 1969 or 1970.[3] He grew up in The Troubles and was beaten up aged 14.[3] He received a scholarship to attend Queen's University Belfast.[3]
Career
[edit]Mackay was a journalist in Northern Ireland, but moved to Scotland in 1996 after receiving death threats.[3] He worked for The Big Issue, Scotland on Sunday.[1][4]
In 1999, he joined the launch team of the Sunday Herald, which he edited 2015-18.[1] He tried to stop columnist Angela Haggerty from being fired, but failed.[5][6] In 2003, after a long investigation, he named a British spy who had infiltrated the Irish Republican Army.[7][8]
In 2004, he was a contract TV producer working on Nazi Hate Rock: A Macintyre Investigation for the Scottish Media Group, in 2006.[9][10]
Books
[edit]The War on Truth: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Invasion of Iraq but Your Government Wouldn't Tell You is Mackay's 2006 account of events leading to the Iraq war.[11][12][better source needed]
All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang is a 2013 social science fiction novel about two boys with violent parents, and explores the extent to which violence is learned by children, from their parents and community.[13][14]
The Wolf Trial is a 2017 historical crime novel about a werewolf trial in 16th-century Germany, which examines if god in Christianity is an evil or kind deity.[15]
Awards
[edit]- Scottish Press Awards, Columnist of the Year Award, Winner, 2019[16]
- Regional Press Award, Columnist of the Year, Highly Commented, 2020[17]
Personal life
[edit]Mackay has post-traumatic stress disorder.[3] He has two daughters.[4] He is openly critical of religion.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Editor Neil Mackay quits Sunday Herald due to 'ill-health' - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Neil Mackay gets signed up". Press Gazette. 13 May 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Mackay, Neil (19 July 2020). "Opinion: Neil Mackay: How I learned to cope with a diagnosis of PTSD". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ a b Trainer, Paul (12 February 2017). "Sunday Herald at 18: Interview with editor Neil Mackay". Glasgowist. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (1 February 2016). "Why the Herald's editor fired a columnist in row with Rangers". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (29 January 2016). "Two columnists depart from Glasgow's Herald in row with Rangers". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Byrne, Ciar (15 May 2003). "We were right to name Stakeknife, say reporters". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Papers remain confident about Stakeknife identity". Press Gazette. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Nazi Hate Rock A Macintyre Investigation (2006)". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Mackay, Neil (22 January 2006). "White off the scale". The Guardian.
- ^ Coates, Ken (2007). Surging for Oil (PDF). pp. 79–81. ISBN 978-0851247434.
- ^ Deane, Raymond (15 December 2006). "Book Review: Incandescent Nation". The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Smart, James (9 August 2013). "All the Little Guns Went Bang, Bang, Bang by Neil Mackay – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ McClements, Freya (17 October 2013). "All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang Bang, by Neil Mackay". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Massie, Allan (30 April 2016). "Book review: The Wolf Trial by Neil Mackay". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Williams, Martin (25 April 2019). "Scottish Press Awards: Herald and Times titles celebrate awards". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Sharman, David. "Society of Editors Regional Press Awards winners announced - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ McCarthy, John (16 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo NUJ debate: Sunday Herald's Neil Mackay clashes with 5Pillars' Roshan Salih on whether the media should critisise [sic] religion". The Drum. Retrieved 26 January 2022.