John Healy was an Irish journalist from Charlestown

Charlestown, County Mayo

Charlestown , once named Newtown-Dillon or Ballycattell, is a town in the Barony of Costello, County Mayo, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of two National Primary routes, the N17 and the N5. Until the N5 bypass opened in November 2007, traffic congestion was a problem in the town...

, County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

, who wrote for Western People

Western People

The Western People is a weekly local newspaper published in Ballina, County Mayo in the Republic of Ireland, it was first published in 1883. The paper is now owned by Cork-based Thomas Crosbie Holdings...

and The Irish Times

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...

.

Career

Healy was a journalist with The Irish Times

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...

newspaper, writing the Backbencher column in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a close friend of the editor, Douglas Gageby

Douglas Gageby

Douglas Gageby was the pre-eminent Irish newspaper editor of his generation. His life is well documented and a book of essays about him, written by many of his colleagues who had attained fame for their literary achievements, was published in 2006 [Bright Brilliant Days: Douglas Gageby and the...

.

Healy's book No One Shouted Stop (The Death of an Irish Town), published in 1968, chronicled the economic and social decline of rural life in the west of Ireland in a time of widespread poverty and mass emigration. He also wrote Nineteen Acres on the history and lifestyle of his family, who were small farmers.

Healy was a strong Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 supporter and one of the most fervent journalistic supporters and admirers of Charles Haughey

Charles Haughey

Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...

. This caused considerable controversy among his fellow The Irish Times journalists, many of whom were outspoken opponents of Haughey.

Death and afterward

John Healy died January 6, 1991 and was survived by his wife, Evelyn.

In March 2007, a RTÉ radio journalist visited Charlestown and assessed the changes in Healy's hometown in the forty years since the writing of his book.http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_flux.xml

Honours and places bearing his name include the Western Development Commission/John Healy Awards, the N5 Charlestown bypass, and the John Healy Western People Awards.

Published works

• The Death of an Irish Town (Mercier Press, 1968)
• Nineteen Acres (ISBN 0906312108, Kennys Bookshops, 1978)