Colm Keane

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Colm Keane
Keane in 2014
Born1951 (1951)
Youghal, County Cork, Munster, Ireland
Died (aged 70)
Waterford, County Waterford, Munster, Ireland
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
Georgetown University
Occupation(s)Author, broadcaster, journalist
Years active1977–2022
SpouseUna O'Hagan
Children1 son (deceased)

Colm Keane (1951 – 22 January 2022) was an Irish author, broadcaster and journalist. Originally from County Cork, he studied economics at Trinity College in Dublin and Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He joined Raidió Teilifís Éireann as a broadcaster in the late 1970s, and produced and contributed to several shows with a current affairs and documentary focus. After his retirement from broadcasting in 2003, Keane became a full-time writer, authoring 29 books,[1] including eight Irish best-sellers.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Early life and education[edit]

Keane was born in Youghal, County Cork, in 1951.[10][11][12] He attended Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a B.A. (Mod.) degree and was subsequently awarded an M.A. in economics and political science.[13][14] He undertook postgraduate studies at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where he obtained an M.A. degree in economics.[15]

Broadcasting career[edit]

Keane joined the Irish national broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, in 1977, where he initially worked as a television journalist.[16] He co-presented the weekly investigative series Public Account with Pat Kenny,[17][18] and he worked as a reporter on the current affairs programme Today Tonight.[19] While in television, Keane won a Glaxo Fellowship for European Science Writers for his scripting and presentation of the science series A Future in Mind.[20][21]

In the early 1980s, Keane moved to RTÉ Radio 1, where he worked as a reporter, presenter, producer and series producer.[22] He won a Jacob's Award in 1988 for American Profiles, which featured a visit to a prison death row in Texas, a profile of an Auschwitz survivor living in New York, and a feature documentary on NASA astronaut James Irwin.[23]

As a radio producer, Keane compiled and presented documentaries based on interviews with musical figures including Burt Bacharach, Cat Stevens, Davy Jones of the Monkees, Dave Davies of the Kinks, Chubby Checker, Engelbert Humperdinck, Pete Seeger, Val Doonican, Glen Campbell, Neil Sedaka and more than 140 other performers and musicians.[24]

Among his documentary subjects was the former Manchester United footballer George Best.[25][26] He also produced and presented A Belfast Game, profiling the Troubles in Northern Ireland through the experiences of the Ardoyne Kickhams Under-16 football team. A Belfast Game inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End theatre production, The Beautiful Game.[27]

Keane's radio presentation work included Studio 10, which he co-presented with Mary McAleese, later the president of Ireland.[28][29]

Career as an author[edit]

After retiring from broadcasting in 2003, Keane became a full-time author.[citation needed] He wrote the Irish national best-sellers Going Home (No. 1),[5] We'll Meet Again (No. 1),[4] Heading for the Light (No. 1),[2] The Distant Shore and Forewarned. Most of the content of these books was based on research with survivors of near-death experiences.

Keane also wrote three national No. 1 best-sellers on the Italian saint Padre Pio – Padre Pio: The Irish Connection,[30] Padre Pio: The Scent of Roses[3] and Padre Pio: Irish Encounters with the Saint.[8] He published a further No. 1 best-seller, co-authored with his wife Una O'Hagan, entitled The Little Flower, St. Thérèse of Lisieux: The Irish Connection.[31] He collaborated with O'Hagan on the best-selling book Animal Crackers: Irish Pet Stories, published in 2016.[32] Other co-written books are the best-selling The Village of Bernadette: Lourdes, Stories, Miracles and Cures – The Irish Connection, published in 2019,[33] and The Book of St. Brigid, published in 2021.[34]

Keane founded the publishing company Capel Island Press in 2008.[35] He authored the company's first book, The Beatles Irish Concerts.[36] Since its inception, Capel Island Press has published six No. 1 best-sellers.[2][37][4][5][31][8]

Personal life[edit]

Keane was married for nearly 30 years to Una O'Hagan,[38][39] a former RTÉ newsreader,[11][40] until his death. They had one child (Seán), who died in 2007.[41]

Keane lived in Waterford, where he died from cancer on 22 January 2022, at the age of 70.[38][42]

Selected bibliography[edit]

  • The Book of St. Brigid, Capel Island (2021) ISBN 978-1-9995920-3-5
  • The Village of Bernadette: Lourdes, Stories, Miracles and Cures – The Irish Connection, Capel Island (2019)[43]
  • The Little Flower, St.Thérèse of Lisieux: The Irish Connection, Capel Island (2018)[44]
  • Padre Pio: Irish Encounters with the Saint, Capel Island (2017)[45]
  • Animal Crackers: Irish Pet Stories, Capel Island (2016)[46]
  • Heading for the Light, Capel Island (2014) ISBN 978-0-9559133-6-5
  • Padre Pio: The Scent of Roses, Capel Island (2013)[47]
  • We'll Meet Again, Capel Island (2013)[48]
  • Forewarned, Capel Island (2011)[49]
  • The Distant Shore, Capel Island (2010)[50]
  • Going Home, Capel Island (2009) ISBN 978-0-9559133-1-0
  • The Beatles Irish Concerts, Capel Island (2008)[51]
  • Padre Pio: The Irish Connection, Mainstream (2007) ISBN 978-1-84596-285-2
  • Ireland's Soccer Top 20, Mainstream (2004) ISBN 978-1-84596-033-9
  • Gaelic Football's Top 20, Mainstream (2003) ISBN 978-1-84018-886-8
  • Hurling's Top 20, Mainstream (2002) ISBN 978-1-84018-775-5
  • A Cut above the Rest, Town House (1999) ISBN 978-1-86059-106-8
  • The ABC of Bullying (with Marie Murray), Mercier (1998) ISBN 978-1-85635-237-6
  • The Teenage Years (with Marie Murray), Mercier (1997) ISBN 978-1-85635-195-9
  • The Stress File, Blackwater (1997)[52]
  • Death & Dying, Mercier (1995) ISBN 978-1-85635-113-3
  • Nervous Breakdown, Mercier (1994) ISBN 978-1-85635-080-8
  • The Jobs Crisis, Mercier (1993) ISBN 978-1-85635-053-2
  • Mental Health in Ireland, Gill and Macmillan (1991) ISBN 978-0-7171-1877-9

References[edit]

  1. ^ Orpen, Joy. "I lost my beloved son to cancer and then faced it myself". The Irish Independent. Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Heading for the Light". No. Irish Times 6 December 2014. Nielsen Book Research.
  3. ^ a b "Padre Pio: The Scent of Roses". No. Irish Times 28 September 2013. Nielsen Bookscan.
  4. ^ a b c "We'll Meet Again". No. Irish Times 30 March 2013. Nielsen Bookscan.
  5. ^ a b c "Going Home". No. Irish Times 24 October 2009. Nielsen Bookscan.
  6. ^ "Padre Pio – The Irish Connection". No. Irish Times 27 October 2007. Nielsen Bookscan.
  7. ^ "Nervous Breakdown". No. Irish Times 16 April 1994. Book Sellers Association Irish Branch.
  8. ^ a b c "Irish Bestsellers 30th September 2017". Writing.ie. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ^ Writing.ie. Writer Rebecca Brown. (5 October 2018). "Irish Bestsellers 29th September 2018". Writing.ie. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  10. ^ McGreevy, Ronan. "Bestselling author Colm Keane dies aged 70". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b "bestselling author on saints and near-death experience". Colm Keane. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Youghal author 'Going Home' for book signing". youghalonline.com. Youghalonline.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  13. ^ Dublin University Calendar 1974–5. p. 674.
  14. ^ Dublin University (Trinity College) Graduate Records. 6 July 1990.
  15. ^ Georgetown University Graduate Records. 29 August 1975.
  16. ^ "RTE crew outside Kerry Co-op, Listowel". rte.ie/archives/. Stills Library – RTÉ Archives. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  17. ^ RTÉ Guide. 5 March 1982. pp. Front, 12.
  18. ^ "'Public Account' production team (1981)". rte.ie/archives/. Stills Library – RTÉ Archives. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  19. ^ Today Tonight, season 1980–81. RTÉ Television Archives: RTÉ.
  20. ^ "Technology Ireland". August 1981: 7. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. ^ O'Connor, John. "Where do we go when we die?". munster-express.ie. The Munster Express. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  22. ^ "RTE Radio producer Colm Keane". rte.ie/archives/. Stills Library – RTÉ Archive. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  23. ^ "RTE Radio Archives 1 August 1987, 8 August 1987, 25 July 1987".
  24. ^ RTE Radio Archives 28 August 1997, 17 March 1999, 4 April 2002, 28 October 1996, 12 June 1997, 17 March 1998, September 1998 (3-part series), 18 March 1996, 7 August 2000, 28 December 1998.
  25. ^ "The George Best Story". RTÉ Radio Archives. 5 November 1984.
  26. ^ George Best, A Cut above the Rest. RTÉ Radio Archives. 24 September 2000.
  27. ^ Keane, Fergal. "The tragedy, hopes and fears behind the beautiful game". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  28. ^ McCarthy, Justine (1999). Mary McAleese : the outsider : an unauthorised biography. Dublin: Blackwater Press. pp. 26, 64. ISBN 978-1-84131-441-9.
  29. ^ Mánais, Ray Mac (2004). The road from Ardoyne : the making of a president. Dingle [u.a.]: Brandon [u.a.] pp. 169, 198. ISBN 978-0-86322-333-4.
  30. ^ "Padre Pio: The Irish Connection". No. Irish Times 27 October 2007. Nielsen Bookscan.
  31. ^ a b Writing.ie. Writer Rebecca Brown. (5 October 2018). "Irish Bestsellers 29th September 2018". Writing.ie. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  32. ^ "Colm Keane – Animal Crackers Irish Pet Stories". colmkeane.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  33. ^ "A Day with Colm Keane & Una O'Hagan | Knock Shrine". Knockshrine.ie. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  34. ^ Deirdre Falvey (11 September 2021). "The original feminist role model: Bringing Brigid out of St Patrick's shadow". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  35. ^ "Capel Island Press Ltd". companiesireland.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  36. ^ "The Night Dublin Rocked The Beatles". The Irish Independent. Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  37. ^ "Padre Pio:The Scent of Roses". No. Irish Times 28 September 2013. Nielsen Bookscan.
  38. ^ a b McGlynn, Michelle (22 January 2022). "Cork author Colm Keane dies age 70". Irish Examiner. Cork. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  39. ^ "Colm Keane, Una O'Hagan and Sean". rte.ie/archives/. Stills Library – RTÉ Archives. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  40. ^ Horan, Niamh (4 February 2018). "Legendary anchor Una O'Hagan announces she's leaving RTE News". Sunday Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0039-5218. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
  41. ^ "Sadness at death of Sean". The Irish Independent. The Bray People. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  42. ^ "Tributes paid to author and journalist Colm Keane, who has died aged 70". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  43. ^ Keane, Colm; O'Hagan, Una (15 September 2019). The Village of Bernadette: Lourdes – Stories, Miracles and Cures: The Irish Connection. Capel Island Press.
  44. ^ Keane, Colm; O'Hagan, Una (14 September 2018). The Little Flower – St Therese of Lisieux: The Irish Connection. Capel Island Press.
  45. ^ Keane, Colm (1 September 2017). Padre Pio – Irish Encounters with the Saint. Capel Island Press.
  46. ^ Keane, Colm; O'Hagan, Una (20 June 2016). Animal Crackers: Irish Pet Stories. Capel Island Press.
  47. ^ Keane, Colm (10 September 2013). Padre Pio – The Scent of Roses. Capel Island Press.
  48. ^ Keane, Colm (15 March 2013). We'll Meet Again: Irish Deathbed Visions. Capel Island Press.
  49. ^ Keane, Colm (10 October 2011). Forewarned: Irish Stories of Premonitions and Dreams. Capel Island Press.
  50. ^ Keane, Colm (12 October 2010). The Distant Shore: More Irish stories from the edge of death. Capel Island Press.
  51. ^ Keane, Colm (1 October 2008). The Beatles Irish Concerts. Capel Island Press.
  52. ^ Hyland, Paul (22 January 2022). "Novelist and former RTÉ journalist Colm Keane dies aged 70". Irish Independent. Dublin. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
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