Neil Mackay
Northern Irish journalist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neil Mackay is a Northern Irish journalist, writer and former regional TV producer based in Glasgow.[1][2]
Neil Mackay | |
|---|---|
| Born | County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Occupations | Journalist, former editor, author |
| Organization | Sunday Herald |
| Notable work | All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang (2013 book) The War on Truth (2006 book) The Wolf Trial (2017 book) |
Mackay edited the Sunday Herald from 2015 to 2018 and wrote three books: The War on Truth, (2006), All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang (2013), and The Wolf Trial (2017).
Early life and education
Mackay is from County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.[1] He was born in 1969 or 1970.[3] He grew up in The Troubles and was beaten up aged 14.[3] He received a scholarship to attend Queen's University Belfast.[3]
Career
Mackay was a journalist in Northern Ireland, but moved to Scotland in 1996 after receiving death threats.[3] He worked for The Big Issue, Scotland on Sunday.[1][4]
In 1999, he joined the launch team of the Sunday Herald, which he edited 2015-18.[1] He tried to stop columnist Angela Haggerty from being fired but failed.[5][6] In 2003, after a long investigation, he named a British spy who had infiltrated the Irish Republican Army.[7][8]
In 2004, he was a contract TV producer working for the Scottish Media Group on Nazi Hate Rock: A Macintyre Investigation.[9][10]
Books
The War on Truth: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Invasion of Iraq but Your Government Wouldn't Tell You is Mackay's 2006 account of events leading to the Iraq war.[11][12][better source needed]
All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang is a 2013 social science fiction novel about two boys with violent parents, and explores the extent to which violence is learned by children, from their parents and community.[13][14]
The Wolf Trial is a 2017 historical crime novel about a werewolf trial in 16th-century Germany, which examines if god in Christianity is an evil or kind deity.[15]
Awards
- Scottish Press Awards, Columnist of the Year Award, Winner, 2019[16]
- Regional Press Award, Columnist of the Year, Highly Commented, 2020[17]
Personal life
Mackay has post-traumatic stress disorder.[3] He has two daughters.[4] He is openly critical of religion.[18]
