Lawrence Donegan
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Donegan is a musician
and journalist
, currently Golf Correspondent at The Guardian
.
Donegan was educated at St Modan's High School
and the University of Glasgow
, where his musical career began. He was the bassist
in The Bluebells
, whose biggest hit was "Young at Heart," and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
. After Lloyd Cole and the Commotions split, Donegan became a journalist
and an author
. In between times he worked as the House of Commons
assistant to Brian Wilson MP. While in that role, he was part of a one-off band called the Stop Its that recorded an anti-poll tax
song of a similar name. The band also included David Hill, later press spokesman for Tony Blair
. and Tim Luckhurst, who later became editor of the Scotsman newspaper and is currently Professor of Journalism at the University of Kent. In the late '80's Donegan made a number of appearances with top South London football side, Belair Casuals FC. Donegan is currently a golf
journalist for The Guardian, having previously worked at The Scotsman
. He has held a post with the former publication
since 2004, although he has been at the newspaper since 1994, as a general reporter and then as the Scotland Correspondent from 1997-2004.
He has written four non-fiction
books:
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and journalist
Journalist
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...
, currently Golf Correspondent at The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Donegan was educated at St Modan's High School
St Modan's High School
St Modan's RC High School is an S1-S6 Catholic High School in Stirling, Scotland. The school roll currently stands at over 900 pupils. Pupils travel from the Denny, Banknock, Alloa, Tullibody, Sauchie, Alva, Raploch, Cowie, Bannockburn, Braehead, Riverside, Dunblane and Blanefield areas...
and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, where his musical career began. He was the bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
in The Bluebells
The Bluebells
The Bluebells were a Scottish pop group in the 1980s.-Career:The Bluebells performed jangly guitar based pop not dissimilar to their Scottish contemporaries Aztec Camera and Orange Juice. They had three Top 40 hit singles in the UK, all written by guitarist and founder member Bobby Bluebell - "I'm...
, whose biggest hit was "Young at Heart," and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK...
. After Lloyd Cole and the Commotions split, Donegan became a journalist
Journalist
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...
and an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. In between times he worked as the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
assistant to Brian Wilson MP. While in that role, he was part of a one-off band called the Stop Its that recorded an anti-poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
song of a similar name. The band also included David Hill, later press spokesman for Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. and Tim Luckhurst, who later became editor of the Scotsman newspaper and is currently Professor of Journalism at the University of Kent. In the late '80's Donegan made a number of appearances with top South London football side, Belair Casuals FC. Donegan is currently a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
journalist for The Guardian, having previously worked at The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
. He has held a post with the former publication
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
since 2004, although he has been at the newspaper since 1994, as a general reporter and then as the Scotland Correspondent from 1997-2004.
He has written four non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
books:
- Four Iron in the Soul (Penguin, 1998) - the story of his year caddying for Ross DrummondRoss DrummondRoss Drummond is a Scottish professional golfer from Paisley whose most successful year on the PGA European Tour was chronicled by The Guardian's golf correspondent, Lawrence Donegan, in the book Four Iron in the Soul...
, the 438th best golfer in the world at the time, also published as Maybe It Should Have Been A 3-Iron in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. - California Dreaming: A Smooth-running, Low-mileage, Cut-price American Adventure (Washington Square Press, 1999) - about the time he spent as a used-car salesman in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- No News at Throat Lake (Penguin, 2000) - about working for a bi-weekly newspaper in the small DonegalDonegalDonegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
village of CreesloughCreesloughCreeslough is a village in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It lies 12 km south of Dunfanaghy on the N56 road, 54 m above sea level and overlooking an arm of Sheephaven Bay...
. - Quiet Please (Yellow Jersey Press, 2004) - about his experiences as a Ryder CupRyder CupThe Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
steward.