Fergal Keane
Encyclopedia
Fergal Patrick Keane (born January 6, 1961), is an Irish
writer and broadcaster. For many years, Keane was the BBC
's correspondent in Southern Africa
. He is the nephew of Irish author John B. Keane
.
, he grew up in Dublin and later in Cork
. His father was the Listowel-born actor, Éamonn Keane
. He attended two independent, fee-paying schools, Terenure College
in Dublin and Presentation Brothers College
in Cork. In 2010, he published his first major history work Road of Bones: the Siege of Kohima 1944, an account of the epic battle
which halted the Japanese invasion of India
in 1944.
with the Limerick Leader
. Subsequently, he worked for The Irish Press
. Later, he moved into broadcast journalism with Raidió Teilifís Éireann
(RTÉ).
He joined the BBC
in 1989 as Northern Ireland
Correspondent, but in August 1990 he was appointed their Southern African Correspondent, having covered the region during the early 1980s. From 1990 to 1994 Keane's reports covered the township unrest in South Africa
, the first multi-racial elections following the end of apartheid, and the genocide in Rwanda
. In 1995 he was appointed Asia
Correspondent based in Hong Kong
and two years later, after the handover, he returned to be based in the BBC's World Affairs Unit in London.
Fergal Keane's reporting has attracted widespread critical acclaim. He was named as overall winner of the Amnesty International
Press Awards in 1993 and won an Amnesty television prize in 1994 for his investigation of the Rwanda
n genocide, Journey Into Darkness. He is the only journalist to have won both the Royal Television Society
Journalist of the Year award and the Sony Radio Reporter of the Year in the same year – 1994. He won The Voice of The Viewer award and a Listener Award for his 1996 BBC Radio 4
From Our Own Correspondent
despatch Letter To Daniel, addressed to his newborn son, and a One World Television Award in 1999. He won a BAFTA award for his documentary on Rwanda, Valentina's Story. He has won the James Cameron Prize for war reporting, the Edward R. Murrow Award for foreign reporting and the 1995 Orwell Prize
for his book Season of Blood. In May 2009 he won a Sony Gold Award for his Radio 4 series Taking A Stand.
In the three-part documentary Forgotten Britain serialised on the BBC in May 2000, Keane travelled across the country meeting people living on the edge in affluent societies. Keane visits and interviews residents living on a drug-infested housing estate in Leeds
, interviews a Govan
shipyard worker faced with the constant threat of redundancy and travels through the idyllic landscapes of Cornwall
and Wales
interviewing independent dairy farmers who claim they're being ruined by competing supermarket chains.
In 2005, Fergal Keane helped to found the UK-based Third World development agency Msaada, which assists survivors of the Rwandan genocide.
He has been awarded honorary degrees in literature from the University of Strathclyde
, Bournemouth University
and Staffordshire University
. In 1996 Fergal Keane was awarded an OBE
for services to journalism. He is now working on a television history of Ireland
for the BBC.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
writer and broadcaster. For many years, Keane was the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's correspondent in Southern Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He is the nephew of Irish author John B. Keane
John B. Keane
John Brendan Keane was an Irish playwright, novelist and essayist from Listowel, County Kerry.-Life and career:...
.
Early life & education
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he grew up in Dublin and later in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
. His father was the Listowel-born actor, Éamonn Keane
Eamon Keane
Eamonn Keane was an Irish actor.Keane was born in Listowel, Co. Kerry and was a brother of the playwright, John B. Keane. He was a member of the Radio Éireann Players and appeared in many of the station's drama productions on both radio and television...
. He attended two independent, fee-paying schools, Terenure College
Terenure College
Terenure College is a Carmelites-run secondary school located in the Terenure area of Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded in 1860 and comprises a primary and secondary school. The school is part of the popular culture "Rugby Belt" or Leinster Schools Rugby playing institutions, having a strong...
in Dublin and Presentation Brothers College
Presentation Brothers College, Cork
Presentation Brothers College is a Catholic, boys-only, fee-paying college based in Cork, Ireland.- History :The college was founded by the Presentation Brothers in 1878, in the South Mall. Soon afterwards it moved to the Grand Parade and, in 1887, to the Western Road...
in Cork. In 2010, he published his first major history work Road of Bones: the Siege of Kohima 1944, an account of the epic battle
Battle of Kohima
The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 in the Second World War. The battle was fought from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima in northeast India. It is often referred to as the "Stalingrad of the East".The battle took place in...
which halted the Japanese invasion of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1944.
Career
On finishing school in 1979, he started his career as a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
with the Limerick Leader
Limerick Leader
The Limerick Leader is a weekly local newspaper in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded in 1889. The newspaper is headquartered on O'Connell Street....
. Subsequently, he worked for The Irish Press
The Irish Press
The Irish Press was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995.-Foundation:...
. Later, he moved into broadcast journalism with Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
(RTÉ).
He joined the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1989 as Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
Correspondent, but in August 1990 he was appointed their Southern African Correspondent, having covered the region during the early 1980s. From 1990 to 1994 Keane's reports covered the township unrest in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the first multi-racial elections following the end of apartheid, and the genocide in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. In 1995 he was appointed Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
Correspondent based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and two years later, after the handover, he returned to be based in the BBC's World Affairs Unit in London.
Fergal Keane's reporting has attracted widespread critical acclaim. He was named as overall winner of the Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Press Awards in 1993 and won an Amnesty television prize in 1994 for his investigation of the Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n genocide, Journey Into Darkness. He is the only journalist to have won both the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Journalist of the Year award and the Sony Radio Reporter of the Year in the same year – 1994. He won The Voice of The Viewer award and a Listener Award for his 1996 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
From Our Own Correspondent
From our own Correspondent
From Our Own Correspondent is a BBC radio programme in which BBC correspondents broadcast monologues on topical current events from countries outside the UK...
despatch Letter To Daniel, addressed to his newborn son, and a One World Television Award in 1999. He won a BAFTA award for his documentary on Rwanda, Valentina's Story. He has won the James Cameron Prize for war reporting, the Edward R. Murrow Award for foreign reporting and the 1995 Orwell Prize
Orwell Prize
The Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
for his book Season of Blood. In May 2009 he won a Sony Gold Award for his Radio 4 series Taking A Stand.
In the three-part documentary Forgotten Britain serialised on the BBC in May 2000, Keane travelled across the country meeting people living on the edge in affluent societies. Keane visits and interviews residents living on a drug-infested housing estate in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, interviews a Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
shipyard worker faced with the constant threat of redundancy and travels through the idyllic landscapes of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
interviewing independent dairy farmers who claim they're being ruined by competing supermarket chains.
In 2005, Fergal Keane helped to found the UK-based Third World development agency Msaada, which assists survivors of the Rwandan genocide.
He has been awarded honorary degrees in literature from the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
, Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
and Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
. In 1996 Fergal Keane was awarded an OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to journalism. He is now working on a television history of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for the BBC.
External links
- BBC – Biography from the BBC Press Office – 2006-11-04
- BBC News – The power of storytelling – 2005-09-01
- BBC Panorama – The Accused – aired 2001-06-17 (transcript and comments)
- Frontline – Ghosts of Rwanda interview
- Letter to Daniel, link to Audio