Michael Dwyer (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Michael Dwyer was an Irish
journalist and film critic
who wrote for The Irish Times
for more than 20 years. He was previously in this role for the Sunday Tribune
, the Sunday Press
and the magazine In Dublin.
Dwyer was central to the foundation of two film festivals in Dublin and served on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art
until shortly before his death. He appeared often on the country's top radio shows, Morning Ireland
and The Marian Finucane Show
.
He died after an illness on 1 January 2010.
. His mother, Mary, outlived him. He had two sisters, Anne and Maria. As a young man in the early 1970s he took part in the Tralee Film Society, for which he provided notes to The Kerryman. At this time he was employed by the County Library in Tralee. He began working for In Dublin followed by the Sunday Tribune and the Sunday Press.
Dwyer first travelled to the Cannes Film Festival
in 1982 and attended every one until 2009, months before his death. In 1985, Dwyer co-founded the Dublin Film Festival and directed it until the mid-1990s. In 2002, he co-founded the Dublin International Film Festival
, of which he was the chairman. In later life he served on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art
.
In the 1990s, he presented the film show Freeze Frame for public service broadcaster RTÉ
. The show resulted from a friendship he had formed with Alan Gilsenan
and Martin Mahon of Yellow Asylum Films. He was also known for his appearances on the radio shows, Morning Ireland
and The Marian Finucane Show
. The editor of The Irish Times Geraldine Kennedy
, speaking after Dwyer's death, said he was an "enthusiastic advocate" of both national and international cinema and had once said he was "one of those lucky people in life who was able to pursue his interests and call them work".
He had two cats, Fred and Ginger, to whom he spoke regularly as he admitted in an interview with actress Penélope Cruz
after it emerged she did the same.
He died at the age of 58 on 1 January 2010. His partner of 24 years Brian Jennings
survives him. Irish Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
Martin Cullen
said Dwyer was "the most singular, significant influence on cinema in Ireland for more than three decades". President of the Labour Party
Michael D. Higgins
said his work was "incalculable [...] he was an activist in promoting a knowledge and appreciation of film in all its forms". Ireland's former Director of Film Classification at the Irish Film Classification Office John Kelleher said it was "a huge loss for the world of Irish film". Director Neil Jordan
also spoke of his awe. There were tributes from Gabriel Byrne
, Daniel Day-Lewis
, Brendan Gleeson
, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Cillian Murphy
and Jim Sheridan
. The Irish Times published tribute pieces on his life.
His nephew Jim Lyons (who lives in Tralee) gave him a glowing tribute describing his beloved uncle as "one in a million" and also describing Michael "being a great family man" in the Kerryman newspaper.
Michael Dwyer is survived by his partner Brian, mother Mary, sisters Anne Lyons and Maria Barrett, brothers-in-law Jimmy and Timmy, nephews Nick, Jim & Nick, niece Fiona, grand-nieces Louise, Rebecca, Grace, Josephine, and Lucy.
A ceremony took place at the Church of the Holy Name in Ranelagh where he lived. The event was attended by notable politicians, journalists, artists, actors, writers and musicians. RTÉ newsreader Aengus Mac Grianna, a colleague of Jennings, read a tribute to Dwyer.
Daniel Day Lewis gave a very special tribute at the church service to his dear friend of over 20 years, calling for the Jameson international Dublin film festival to be renamed in Michael's honour.
Dwyer was cremated after the funeral on 5 January 2010.
in 2006.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
journalist and film critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
who wrote for 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...
for more than 20 years. He was previously in this role 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,...
, the Sunday Press
Sunday Press
The Sunday Press was a weekend tabloid newspaper printed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1973 until 1989. It was Melbourne's second Sunday newspaper, the first being the Melbourne observer....
and the magazine In Dublin.
Dwyer was central to the foundation of two film festivals in Dublin and served on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art
Irish Museum of Modern Art
The Irish Museum of Modern Art also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution exhibiting and collecting modern and contemporary art. The museum opened in May 1991 and is located in Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a 17th-century building near Heuston Station to the west of Dublin's city...
until shortly before his death. He appeared often on the country's top radio shows, Morning Ireland
Morning Ireland
Morning Ireland is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and is presented by Aine Lawlor, Cathal Mac Coille, Rachael English and Aoife Kavanagh...
and The Marian Finucane Show
The Marian Finucane Show
The Marian Finucane Show is an Irish radio programme, presented by Marian Finucane. It airs Saturday - Sunday at 11:00 to 13:00. It is the highest-rating weekend radio show in Ireland....
.
He died after an illness on 1 January 2010.
Early life and career
Dwyer was originally from Saint John's Park in Tralee, County KerryCounty Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. His mother, Mary, outlived him. He had two sisters, Anne and Maria. As a young man in the early 1970s he took part in the Tralee Film Society, for which he provided notes to The Kerryman. At this time he was employed by the County Library in Tralee. He began working for In Dublin followed by the Sunday Tribune and the Sunday Press.
Dwyer first travelled to the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1982 and attended every one until 2009, months before his death. In 1985, Dwyer co-founded the Dublin Film Festival and directed it until the mid-1990s. In 2002, he co-founded the Dublin International Film Festival
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival
The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is a film festival that is held annually in February over the course of ten days in Dublin, Republic of Ireland-History:The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003...
, of which he was the chairman. In later life he served on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art
Irish Museum of Modern Art
The Irish Museum of Modern Art also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution exhibiting and collecting modern and contemporary art. The museum opened in May 1991 and is located in Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a 17th-century building near Heuston Station to the west of Dublin's city...
.
In the 1990s, he presented the film show Freeze Frame for public service broadcaster RTÉ
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 show resulted from a friendship he had formed with Alan Gilsenan
Alan Gilsenan
Alan Gilsenan, Irish writer, director and film-maker.A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin - he won First Class Honours in Modern English and Sociology - Gilsenan received the inaugural A.J. Leventhal Scholarship...
and Martin Mahon of Yellow Asylum Films. He was also known for his appearances on the radio shows, Morning Ireland
Morning Ireland
Morning Ireland is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and is presented by Aine Lawlor, Cathal Mac Coille, Rachael English and Aoife Kavanagh...
and The Marian Finucane Show
The Marian Finucane Show
The Marian Finucane Show is an Irish radio programme, presented by Marian Finucane. It airs Saturday - Sunday at 11:00 to 13:00. It is the highest-rating weekend radio show in Ireland....
. The editor of The Irish Times 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...
, speaking after Dwyer's death, said he was an "enthusiastic advocate" of both national and international cinema and had once said he was "one of those lucky people in life who was able to pursue his interests and call them work".
He had two cats, Fred and Ginger, to whom he spoke regularly as he admitted in an interview with actress Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
after it emerged she did the same.
Illness and death
Dwyer became unwell after a trip to the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009. He took a break from writing for The Irish Times, returning in December 2009 to contribute his first—and what was to be his last ever—piece in six months to weekly entertainment supplement The Ticket. The article was a review of cinema in 2009 and of the 2000s, and in his contribution Dwyer referenced the ill health which had haunted him for much of the previous year and which had prevented him from viewing any cinema releases between June and September.He died at the age of 58 on 1 January 2010. His partner of 24 years Brian Jennings
Brian Jennings (journalist)
Brian Jennings is an Irish radio journalist and newsreader. He has been employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann since 1988, having previously worked for Irish pirate radio.-Career:...
survives him. Irish Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism (Ireland)
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is the senior minister at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the Government of Ireland.The current minister is Jimmy Deenihan, TD. He is assisted by:...
Martin Cullen
Martin Cullen
Martin Cullen is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Waterford constituency. Cullen was a member of Seanad Éireann and served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government , Minister for Transport and Minister for Social and Family Affairs and...
said Dwyer was "the most singular, significant influence on cinema in Ireland for more than three decades". President of the Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
Michael D. Higgins
Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins is the ninth and current President of Ireland, having taken office on 11 November 2011 following victory in the 2011 Irish presidential election. Higgins is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, author and broadcaster. Higgins was President of the Labour Party until his...
said his work was "incalculable [...] he was an activist in promoting a knowledge and appreciation of film in all its forms". Ireland's former Director of Film Classification at the Irish Film Classification Office John Kelleher said it was "a huge loss for the world of Irish film". Director Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
also spoke of his awe. There were tributes from Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
, Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
, Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty...
, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
and Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
. The Irish Times published tribute pieces on his life.
His nephew Jim Lyons (who lives in Tralee) gave him a glowing tribute describing his beloved uncle as "one in a million" and also describing Michael "being a great family man" in the Kerryman newspaper.
Michael Dwyer is survived by his partner Brian, mother Mary, sisters Anne Lyons and Maria Barrett, brothers-in-law Jimmy and Timmy, nephews Nick, Jim & Nick, niece Fiona, grand-nieces Louise, Rebecca, Grace, Josephine, and Lucy.
A ceremony took place at the Church of the Holy Name in Ranelagh where he lived. The event was attended by notable politicians, journalists, artists, actors, writers and musicians. RTÉ newsreader Aengus Mac Grianna, a colleague of Jennings, read a tribute to Dwyer.
Daniel Day Lewis gave a very special tribute at the church service to his dear friend of over 20 years, calling for the Jameson international Dublin film festival to be renamed in Michael's honour.
Dwyer was cremated after the funeral on 5 January 2010.
Awards
Dwyer's "contribution to French cinema" led to an honour from the French government. He received the Chevalier des Arts et des LettresOrdre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
in 2006.
External links
- Obituary in The Irish TimesThe Irish TimesThe 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...
- Dwyer's last article and first since June 2009—dated 11 December 2009 and published in The Ticket
- "Michael Dwyer: the best bits", reproduction of some of his work, published in The Ticket on 8 January 2010