John Healy (Irish journalist)

Healy was born on 22 April 1930 in Charlestown, Co. Mayo. His parents were Stephen Healy, an insurance agent, and Nora Healy (née O'Donnell), a nurse. He attended secondary school at St Nathy's College in Ballaghadereen. In 1953 he married Evelyn Duffy.^[1]

He joined the Western People in 1948, then moved to Dublin to work for the Irish News Agency, a government-run news service managed by Conor Cruise O'Brien. He worked for a time for The Irish Press group before joining the Irish Times in 1959.^[2] Healy also edited The Dublin Evening Mail for a time.^{[citation needed]}

Healy was a journalist with The Irish Times newspaper, writing the Backbencher column in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a close friend of the editor, Douglas Gageby.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

Healy was a strong Fianna Fáil supporter and one of the most fervent journalistic supporters and admirers of both Donagh O'Malley and Charles Haughey.^[3] Healy's support for the latter caused considerable controversy among his fellow Irish Times journalists, many of whom were outspoken opponents of Haughey.^[3]