John Waters (columnist)
Encyclopedia
John Waters is a columnist with The Irish Times
and a former editor of Magill magazine. His career began in 1981 with the Irish political-music magazine Hot Press. He went on to write for the Sunday Tribune
and later edited In Dublin magazine and Magill
. Waters has written several books and, in 1998, he devised The Whoseday Book — which contains quotes, writings and pictures of 365 Irish writers and musicians — that raised some €3m for the Irish Hospice
Foundation. Waters is an ardent supporter of fathers' rights
in Ireland.
He writes a weekly Friday column for The Irish Times. He was briefly fired during a dispute with the editor, Geraldine Kennedy
, but was shortly thereafter reinstated.
He had a daughter in 1996 named Róisín with singer Sinéad O'Connor
.
.
In his articles titled Impose democracy on Iraq and Bush and Blair doing right thing, Waters explained his support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, a position based on his belief that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the West due to its possession of weapons of mass destruction
.
He wrote an article titled Two sides to domestic violence, which criticised the lack of gender balance in Amnesty International
's campaign against domestic violence
in Ireland. Waters cited the National Crime Council report, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute
, which found approximate gender symmetry in most measures of domestic violence and he pointed out that despite these statistics, funding for women victims of domestic violence (€15 million) disproportionately outstrips funding for male victims. Waters' article led to a response from the head of Amnesty International
's Irish branch.
Waters also devotes much of his column space in The Irish Times to discussing the role and importance of religion and faith in society. In an interview, he has described people of faith as "funnier, sharper and smarter" than atheists.
He is an active participant in the Catholic cultural movement Communion and Liberation
.
music festival in 2010 and wrote that he felt a sense of dissatisfaction with the event, concluding that there was a lack of meaning underpinning events at the festival. Sunday Tribune
journalist Una Mullally replied that if John Waters felt disconnected or out of place at the Electric Picnic, that it was because the country had changed, and continued "perhaps this is the first Irish generation who have purposely opted out of tormenting themselves by searching for some unattainable greater meaning and who have chosen instead just to live".
's vision of a rural Ireland including "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". In the book, Waters comments on modern Ireland. Another non-fiction work, Lapsed Agnostic, describes his "journey from belief to un-belief and back again."
. The song was not accepted for the selection final. Waters publicly criticised the fact that the selected singer, Brian Kennedy
, had been allowed to enter his own composition, "Every Song is a Cry for Love", in the final and alleged favouritism towards Kennedy. He referred to people who had publicly criticised his song as "corner boys" in a column in Village
magazine.
In 2007, the song that he co-wrote with Tommy Moran, "They Can't Stop the Spring
", was shortlisted for Ireland's entry to the 2007 contest
. On 16 February 2007, They Can't Stop the Spring was selected on RTÉ's
The Late Late Show
to represent Ireland in that year's final in Helsinki
. After a telephone vote of viewers, "They Can't Stop The Spring" won the selection. The song finished last in the European competition final, receiving only 5 points.
In 2010, RTÉ announced that he sought to represent Ireland again at Eurovision, with the song "Does Heaven Need Much More?", co-written with Tommy Moran. In the Irish National Final on 5 March 2010, the song was performed by Leanne Moore, the winner of You're a Star
2008, and finished in fourth place.
, Waters declared blogs and bloggers to be "stupid". He then repeated those claims the following week, sparking controversy amongst Irish bloggers who took exception to his views. In the same interview, Waters claimed that "sixty to seventy percent of the internet is pornography".
In the Irish Mail on Sunday
of July 6, Waters bemoaned vandalism and untruths in his Wikipedia entry, called for increased regulation, and backed legal action against Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales
and the Wikipedia foundation in such cases. He said he set up his own web site as a response to Wikipedia.
On 26 November 2009, he contacted RTÉ
's radio programme, Today with Pat Kenny
, during an interview with Jimmy Wales to say that "only crackpots write for Wikipedia".
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
and a former editor of Magill magazine. His career began in 1981 with the Irish political-music magazine Hot Press. He went on to write for the Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
and later edited In Dublin magazine and Magill
Magill
Magill was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. Magill was widely perceived as groundbreaking, specialising in in-depth investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann and Gene Kerrigan...
. Waters has written several books and, in 1998, he devised The Whoseday Book — which contains quotes, writings and pictures of 365 Irish writers and musicians — that raised some €3m for the Irish Hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
Foundation. Waters is an ardent supporter of fathers' rights
Fathers' rights
The fathers' rights movement is a movement whose members are primarily interested in issues related to family law, including child custody and child support that affect fathers and their children. Many of its members are fathers who desire to share the parenting of their children equally with their...
in Ireland.
He writes a weekly Friday column for The Irish Times. He was briefly fired during a dispute with the editor, Geraldine Kennedy
Geraldine Kennedy
Geraldine Kennedy is an Irish journalist, former politician, and former editor of The Irish Times newspaper.She became the first female editor of The Irish Times upon the departure of Conor Brady in 2002. Kennedy had held several senior positions at the paper; at the time of her appointment to the...
, but was shortly thereafter reinstated.
He had a daughter in 1996 named Róisín with singer Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
.
Politics and advocacy
Waters has referred to himself as a "neo-Luddite" or later as a "luddite". At one stage he refused to use e-mail and stated his concern that society ignores the negative aspects of the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
In his articles titled Impose democracy on Iraq and Bush and Blair doing right thing, Waters explained his support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, a position based on his belief that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the West due to its possession of weapons of mass destruction
Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
During the regime of Saddam Hussein, the nation of Iraq used, possessed, and made efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction . Hussein was internationally known for his use of chemical weapons in the 1980s against Iranian and Kurdish civilians during and after the Iran–Iraq War...
.
He wrote an article titled Two sides to domestic violence, which criticised the lack of gender balance in 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...
's campaign against domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
in Ireland. Waters cited the National Crime Council report, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute
Economic and Social Research Institute
The Economic and Social Research Institute is a think tank in Dublin, Ireland. Its research focuses on Ireland's economic and social development in order to inform policy-making and societal understanding....
, which found approximate gender symmetry in most measures of domestic violence and he pointed out that despite these statistics, funding for women victims of domestic violence (€15 million) disproportionately outstrips funding for male victims. Waters' article led to a response from the head of 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...
's Irish branch.
Waters also devotes much of his column space in The Irish Times to discussing the role and importance of religion and faith in society. In an interview, he has described people of faith as "funnier, sharper and smarter" than atheists.
He is an active participant in the Catholic cultural movement Communion and Liberation
Communion and Liberation
Communion and Liberation, or CL, is a lay ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church.-Overview:CL grew out of the educational and catechetical methods of Msgr. Luigi Giussani, who founded the movement...
.
Electric Picnic 2010
Waters attended the Electric PicnicElectric Picnic 2010
Electric Picnic 2010 was the seventh edition of the Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took take place on the weekend of Friday September 3, Saturday September 4 and Sunday September 5 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland...
music festival in 2010 and wrote that he felt a sense of dissatisfaction with the event, concluding that there was a lack of meaning underpinning events at the festival. Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
journalist Una Mullally replied that if John Waters felt disconnected or out of place at the Electric Picnic, that it was because the country had changed, and continued "perhaps this is the first Irish generation who have purposely opted out of tormenting themselves by searching for some unattainable greater meaning and who have chosen instead just to live".
Non-fiction and drama
Waters has written a number of works of non-fiction as well as plays for radio and the stage. The title of his first non-fiction book, Jiving at the Crossroads, is a quotation of Irish president Éamon de ValeraÉamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
's vision of a rural Ireland including "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". In the book, Waters comments on modern Ireland. Another non-fiction work, Lapsed Agnostic, describes his "journey from belief to un-belief and back again."
Eurovision
In 2006, Waters entered a song, "The Words That Never Wear Out", for the Irish selection for the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
. The song was not accepted for the selection final. Waters publicly criticised the fact that the selected singer, Brian Kennedy
Brian Kennedy (singer)
Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author, known for his ballads, and has represented Ireland at Eurovision 2006. He is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.-Personal life:...
, had been allowed to enter his own composition, "Every Song is a Cry for Love", in the final and alleged favouritism towards Kennedy. He referred to people who had publicly criticised his song as "corner boys" in a column in Village
Village (magazine)
Village is an Irish current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne. It was launched in October 2004 and was published weekly. In January 2007, it was announced that Village Magazine would be published monthly...
magazine.
In 2007, the song that he co-wrote with Tommy Moran, "They Can't Stop the Spring
They Can't Stop The Spring
"They Can't Stop the Spring" is a song by Irish band Dervish. On 16 February 2007, on The Late Late Show, it was chosen as the song Dervish would sing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki. It was written by John Waters and Tommy Moran...
", was shortlisted for Ireland's entry to the 2007 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
. On 16 February 2007, They Can't Stop the Spring was selected on RTÉ's
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...
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
to represent Ireland in that year's final in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. After a telephone vote of viewers, "They Can't Stop The Spring" won the selection. The song finished last in the European competition final, receiving only 5 points.
In 2010, RTÉ announced that he sought to represent Ireland again at Eurovision, with the song "Does Heaven Need Much More?", co-written with Tommy Moran. In the Irish National Final on 5 March 2010, the song was performed by Leanne Moore, the winner of You're a Star
You're A Star
You're a Star was a singing contest in Ireland,similar to th X Factor in the United Kingdom and American Idol in the USA created by Screentime ShinAwiL and Radio Telefís Éireann. It was shown weekly on RTÉ One over the winter months of each year...
2008, and finished in fourth place.
Blogging controversy
During a newspaper review on radio station, Newstalk 106NewsTalk 106
Newstalk is an Independent Radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Denis O'Brien's Communicorp group, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.The station is a "quasi-national" station as of 29 September...
, Waters declared blogs and bloggers to be "stupid". He then repeated those claims the following week, sparking controversy amongst Irish bloggers who took exception to his views. In the same interview, Waters claimed that "sixty to seventy percent of the internet is pornography".
In the Irish Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
of July 6, Waters bemoaned vandalism and untruths in his Wikipedia entry, called for increased regulation, and backed legal action against Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
and the Wikipedia foundation in such cases. He said he set up his own web site as a response to Wikipedia.
On 26 November 2009, he contacted RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
's radio programme, Today with Pat Kenny
Today with Pat Kenny
Today with Pat Kenny is a current affairs magazine broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, presented by Pat Kenny. The programme is broadcast weekdays, at 10:00 and ends at 12:00. As of 2008, the average audience for the show was 291,000....
, during an interview with Jimmy Wales to say that "only crackpots write for Wikipedia".
Famine genealogy programme
In 2008, he took part in a television programme which researched his family's past. Parish records revealed that his great-granduncle, also called John Waters, died of starvation during the Great Famine.Non-fiction
- Jiving at the Crossroads: The Shock of the New in Haughey's Ireland (Blackstaff, 1991) ISBN 978-0856404788
- Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2 (4th Estate/Blackstaff, 1994) ISBN 978-0856405426
- Every Day Like Sunday? (Poolbeg, 1995) ISBN 978-1853714238
- An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Ireland (Duckworth, 1997) ISBN 978-0715627914 New edition (2001) ISBN 978-0715630914
- The Politburo Has Decided That You Are Unwell (Liffey Press, 2004) ISBN 978-1904148463
- Lapsed Agnostic (Continuum, 2007) ISBN 978-0826491466
- Beyond Consolation: or How We Became Too Clever for God... and Our Own Good (Continuum, 2010) ISBN 978-1441114211
- Feckers: 50 People Who Fecked Up Ireland (Constable, 2010) ISBN 978-1849014427
Plays
- Long Black Coat (with David Byrne) (Nick Hern Books, 1995) ISBN 978-1854592637
- Holy Secrets (on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC 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...
, 1996) - Easter Dues (1997)
- Adverse Possession (on BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
, 1998)