John McGuirk
| John McGuirk | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 March 1984 Monaghan, Ireland |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Irish |
| 🏫 Education | St. Macartan's College |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| 💼 Occupation | Writer, communications manager |
| 🏛️ Political party | New Vision (2011) |
John McGuirk (born 2 March 1984) is an Irish writer and political commentator. He is the editor of the right-wing news, opinion, and commentary media channel Gript, and a regular contributor to The Irish Catholic.[1][2]
Career
He has worked in various public relations roles and as a communications manager for Declan Ganley's Rivada Networks.[3] He later secured the role of editor of Gript Media, which describes its primary aim as supporting news and debate "without the liberal filter", and its primary outlet, the website gript.ie.[4][5] As of 2020, he held this role.[4] He also writes for the Irish Catholic.[6]
Political career
McGuirk was a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil, of which he was national policy coordinator before resigning after a meeting at Fianna Fáil headquarters following leaking of e-mails in August 2003. He subsequently joined Fine Gael but resigned in 2007 after issues around a press release criticising the party leader with regard to Crumlin Children's Hospital; he later rejoined, then left again.[3]
McGuirk was elected unopposed as Eastern Area Officer of the Union of Students in Ireland in 2006.[7] The following year, he unsuccessfully sought the position of president of the USI.[7]
He was communications director for the Libertas Institute during its 2008 campaign against the twenty-eighth amendment of the constitution of Ireland.[8] Turnout was 53.1% and the amendment was rejected by a 53.4% majority.[9] McGuirk's involvement with Libertas continued through 2009,[10] when the amendment was revised and approved by a 67.1% majority nationally with 59% turnout.[11] During the campaign, McGuirk tweeted a photo of pro-choice campaigners at a march, who were carrying posters featuring the logo used by the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. It later emerged that these posters had been handed out to marchers who did not recognise the symbol, by pro-life campaigners as part of what was described by the Sunday Times as "a dirty trick straight from Richard Nixon’s playbook".[12] When Libertas contested the 2009 European elections with three candidates, McGuirk allegedly issued a press release attacking the Simon Wiesanthal Centre without the approval of the relevant candidate, and later attacked the same candidate in strong personal terms in a Facebook post, before apologising.[3]
In the 2011 Irish general election, McGuirk ran as the New Vision candidate for Cavan–Monaghan. He received 2.4% of first preferences and was eliminated on the second count.[13]
He was spokesman for Save the 8th,[14][15] a campaign from the Life Institute,[3] which unsuccessfully campaigned against the thirty-sixth amendment of the constitution of Ireland to preserve a constitutional protection of the life of the unborn. During the campaign, McGuirk stated "If Dublin Central is 75% yes on the day (3-1), I will never take a political job again".[16] Turnout was 64.1% and the amendment was approved by a 66.4% majority nationally, with 76.5% approving in Dublin Central.[17]
Appearances
McGuirk has appeared as a guest and sometimes panellist in Irish broadcast media, including The Last Word,[18] Tonight with Vincent Browne,[19] The Tonight Show[citation needed] and The Right Hook.[citation needed]
McGuirk spoke at the 2017 Kennedy Summer School.[20] He has also contributed to some international publications such as The Critic in the UK.[21]
Views and controversies
Questions have arisen over personal attacks on political opponents, for example a characterisation of Colm O'Gorman, head of Amnesty International Ireland, as a "cretinous stain on the Irish national discourse who’ll say whatever Soros pays [him] to" and the description of a pro-choice TD, Kate O'Connell, as a "catty, spiteful, loathsome twit" after the TD shared screengrabs of misogynistic tweets from a member of the Fine Gael National Executive.[3]
In January 2020, McGuirk defended Gript's link to the firm AggrigateIQ, which had been found to have broken privacy laws during the Brexit campaign, and was also involved in profiling of Gript readers.[22]
In the wake of violence at anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protests in Dublin by far-right groups in February 2021, McGuirk defended those opposed to Ireland's pandemic measures.[23]
References
- ↑ "Pro-life groups fund new website in response to 'liberal bias' in mainstream media". Business Post. 2019-08-18. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "Author - John McGuirk". The Irish Catholic. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Pillars of Society: John McGuirk". The Phoenix (magazine). 3 May 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Gript's Game". The Phoenix (magazine). 21 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ↑ "About (Gript. News. Unfiltered.)". Gript. Gript Media. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ↑ "McGuirk's Lack of Goodwill to All Men". The Phoenix (magazine). 7 December 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Young Bloods - John McGuirk". The Phoenix. Dublin. 20 April 2007.
- ↑ "Libertas executive director is Rivada employee". The Irish Times. 2008-05-24. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "Ireland rejects Lisbon Treaty". RTÉ. 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "Libertas and Lisbon groups in sharp exchanges as treaty debate intensifies". The Irish Times. 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "Ireland votes Yes to Lisbon Treaty". RTÉ. 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-social-media-hijack-the-referendum-0zbt98vfn
- ↑ "31st Dáil - Cavan-Monaghan First Preference Votes". ElectionsIreland. 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "No campaign defends booklet resembling official publication". The Irish Times. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "A livid John McGuirk has all the nuance of a grenade attack". The Irish Times. 2018-05-12. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "Calls for John McGuirk to honour pledge and retire from political campaigns". BreakingNews.ie. 2018-05-26. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "It's a big Yes: Stunning victory officially confirmed as 66.4pc vote to reform Ireland's restrictive abortion laws". The Irish Independent. 2018-05-26. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "Google Bans All Advertising On 8th Amendment Referendum". Today FM. 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ "What Is It You Would Have Us Do?". Broadsheet.ie. 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- ↑ 2017 Speakers - John McGuirk Kennedy Summer School 2017.
- ↑ John McGuirk Authors, The Critic.
- ↑ https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/news-website-defends-links-to-data-firm-that-broke-privacy-laws-1.4149385
- ↑ https://extra.ie/2021/03/03/news/irish-news/prime-time-protest-debate
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