Editing Tim Pat Coogan

{{short description|Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster (born 1935)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name        =  Tim Pat Coogan
| image       = Tim Pat and Martin McGuinness (cropped).jpg
| caption     = Coogan in 2015
| birth_name  = Timothy Patrick Coogan
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1935|4|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Monkstown, County Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| occupation  = Journalist, writer, broadcaster
| spouse      = Cherry Coogan (marriage dissolved) 
| children    = 6 (five daughters, one son)
| credits     = Editor of ''[[The Irish Press]]'' (1968–1987)
}}
'''Timothy Patrick "Tim Pat" Coogan''' (born 22 April 1935) is an Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster. He served as editor of ''[[The Irish Press]]'' newspaper from 1968–87. He has been best known for such books as ''The IRA'', ''Ireland Since the Rising'' and ''On the Blanket'', and biographies of [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] and [[Éamon de Valera]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://us.macmillan.com/author/timpatcoogan/|title=Tim Pat Coogan {{!}} Authors {{!}} Macmillan|work=US Macmillan|access-date=2017-09-04|language=en-US|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926160213/https://us.macmillan.com/author/timpatcoogan/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/dubliners-video-series-1469140-May2014/|title=Video column: The Writer – the life and work of Tim Pat Coogan|last=Brennan|first=Eoin Lynch and Deirdre|work=TheJournal.ie|access-date=2017-09-04|language=en|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904204518/http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/dubliners-video-series-1469140-May2014/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Coogan's particular focus has been Ireland's nationalist/independence movement in the 20th century, a period of unprecedented political upheaval.<ref name="historyireland">[http://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/tim-pat-coogan 20th-century contemporary history: Coogan profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125935/http://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/tim-pat-coogan/ |date=2 April 2015 }}, historyireland.com; accessed 1 March 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/writing-himself-into-irish-history-1.894816 "Writing himself into Irish history"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920222129/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/writing-himself-into-irish-history-1.894816 |date=20 September 2020 }}, irishtimes.com; accessed 1 March 2015.</ref> He blames the [[Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]] on "[[Ian Paisley|Paisleyism]]".<ref name="historyireland"/><ref>[http://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/tim-pat-coogan Reference to Paisleyism by Coogan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125935/http://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/tim-pat-coogan/ |date=2 April 2015}}, historyireland.com; accessed 20 July 2014.</ref>

==Biography==
{{BLP sources section|date=February 2022}}
Coogan was born in [[Monkstown, County Dublin]] in 1935, the first of three children born to Beatrice (née Toal) and [[Eamonn Coogan|Ned Coogan]]. Ned (sometimes referred to as "Eamonn Ó Cuagain"), a native of Kilkenny, was an [[Irish Republican Army]] volunteer during the [[Irish War of Independence|War of Independence]] and later served as the first Deputy Commissioner of the newly established [[Garda Síochána]], then a [[Fine Gael]] [[Teachta Dála|TD]] for the [[Kilkenny (Dáil constituency)|Kilkenny]] constituency. Beatrice Toal, the daughter of a policeman, was a Dublin socialite who was crowned ''Dublin's Civic Queen of Beauty'' in 1927. She wrote for the ''[[Evening Herald]]'' and took part in various productions in the [[Abbey Theatre]] and [[Radio Éireann]]. Coogan spent many summer holidays in the town of [[Castlecomer]] in [[County Kilkenny]], his father's home town.

A former student of the [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Irish Christian Brothers]] in [[Dún Laoghaire]] and [[Belvedere College]] in [[Dublin]], he spent most of his secondary studies in [[Blackrock College]] in Dublin.

In 2000, Irish writer and editor [[Ruth Dudley Edwards]] was awarded £25,000 damages and a public apology by the High Court in London against Coogan for factual errors in references to her in his book ''Wherever Green is Worn: the Story of the Irish Diaspora''. In the book, Coogan had written that Dudley Edwards had "grovelled to and hypocritically ingratiated herself with the English establishment to further her writing career". He also alleged that Dudley Edwards "had abused the position of chairwoman of the British Association for Irish Studies (BAIS) by trying to impose her political views on it" and that her commission to write ''True Brits'' had been awarded because of political favouritism.<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/uk-court-rules-against-tim-pat-coogan-26257731.html UK court rules against Tim Pat Coogan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721220501/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/uk-court-rules-against-tim-pat-coogan-26257731.html |date=21 July 2014 }}, independent.ie; accessed 15 July 2014.</ref>

When [[Taoiseach]] [[Enda Kenny]] caused confusion following a speech at [[Béal na Bláth]] by incorrectly claiming [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] had brought [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]] to Ireland, Coogan commented: "Those were the days when bishops were bishops and Lenin was a communist. How would that have gone down with the churchyard collections?"<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Brennan|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/enda-kenny-redfaced-over-wrong-claim-that-lenin-visited-ireland-3208286.html|title=Enda Kenny red-faced over wrong claim that Lenin visited Ireland|newspaper=Irish Independent|publisher=Independent News & Media|date=23 August 2012|access-date=23 August 2012|archive-date=24 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824200124/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/enda-kenny-redfaced-over-wrong-claim-that-lenin-visited-ireland-3208286.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2012, for reasons that are uncertain, the United States embassy in Dublin refused to grant Coogan a visa to visit the U.S. As a result, a planned book tour for his book (''The Famine Plot, England's role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy'') was cancelled. After representations to then Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] by United States Senator [[Charles Schumer]] (D-NY) and Congressman [[Peter T. King]] (R-NY), Coogan received his visa.<!-- book tour presumably rescheduled --><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Tim-Pat-Coogan-book-tour-canceled-after-visa-refusal-180337311.html|title=Tim Pat Coogan book tour canceled after visa refusal; best-selling nationalist author is denied visa to the United States|last=O'Dowd|first=Niall|date=21 November 2012|access-date=21 November 2012|archive-date=27 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127181938/http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Tim-Pat-Coogan-book-tour-canceled-after-visa-refusal-180337311.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Criticism==
{{unbalanced|section|date=January 2023}}
Coogan has been criticised by the Irish historians [[Liam Kennedy (historian)|Liam Kennedy]] and [[Diarmaid Ferriter]], as well as [[Cormac Ó Gráda]],{{cn|date=April 2024}} for a supposed lack of thoroughness in his research and bias: 
* "Well, I waited in this book to hear some great revelation and it just isn’t there. It’s anticlimactic. I could not see the great plot, and indeed there is no serious historian who ... I can’t think of a single historian who has researched the Famine in depth – and Tim Pat has not researched it in depth" (''The Famine Plot'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drb.ie/blog/writers-and-artists/2013/02/25/was-the-famine-a-genocide-|title=Was the Famine a Genocide?|website=Drb.ie|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015145917/http://www.drb.ie/blog/writers-and-artists/2013/02/25/was-the-famine-a-genocide-|url-status=live}}</ref>
* "Coogan is not remotely interested in looking at what others have written on 20th-century Irish history.... he does not appear interested in context and shows scant regard for evidence. He does not attempt to offer any sustained analysis in relation to the challenges of state building, the meaning of sovereignty, economic and cultural transformations, or comparative perspectives on the evolution of Irish society. There is no indication whatsoever that Coogan has engaged with the abundant archival material relating to the subject matter he pronounces on. There is no rhyme or reason when it comes to the citation of the many quotations he uses; the vast majority are not referenced. For the 300-page text, 21 endnotes are cited and six of them relate to Coogan's previous books, a reminder that much of this tome consists of recycled material.... Tim Pat Coogan... he is a decent, compassionate man who has made a significant contribution to Irish life. But he has not read up on Irish history; indeed, such is the paucity of his research efforts that this book amounts to a travesty of 20th-century Irish history" (''1916: The Mornings After'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/1916-the-mornings-after-review-tim-pat-coogan-s-arrogant-travesty-of-irish-history-1.2438119|title=1916: The Mornings After review: Tim Pat Coogan's arrogant travesty of Irish history|website=Irishtimes.com|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015151900/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/1916-the-mornings-after-review-tim-pat-coogan-s-arrogant-travesty-of-irish-history-1.2438119|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Ireland since the Rising'', 1966; ASIN B0000CMYHI 
* ''The IRA'', 1970; {{ISBN|0-00-653155-5}}
* ''The Irish: A Personal View'', 1975; {{ISBN|978-0714816388}}.
* ''On the Blanket: The H Block story'', 1980; Ward River Press - Dublin ASIN: B0013LSNEU. {{ISBN|0907085016}}. A paperback original, no hardcover was issued. First editions are uncommon in good condition. A controversial account of the "[[dirty protest]]" in the Ireland of the time. 
* ''Ireland and the Arts'', 1986.
* ''Disillusioned Decades: Ireland 1966–87'', 1987; {{ISBN|978-0717114306}}.
* {{cite book |author=Coogan, Tim Pat |title=Michael Collins : a biography |url=https://archive.org/details/michaelcollinsbi0000coog_k0q8 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |year=1990 <!--isbn=0-09-968580-9-->|isbn=978-0-09-174106-8 }}
* ''De Valera: Long Fellow, Long Shadow'', 1993; {{ISBN|978-0099958604}}.
* ''The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966–1995 and the Search for Peace'', 1995; {{ISBN|0-09-946571-X}}.
* {{cite book |author1=Coogan, Tim Pat |author2=Morrison, George |author-link2=George Morrison (documentary maker) |title=The Irish Civil War |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1998 <!--isbn=0297824546-->}}
* ''Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora'', 2000; {{ISBN|978-1403960146}}.
* ''1916: The Easter Rising'', 2001; {{ISBN|978-0753818527}}.
* ''Ireland in the Twentieth Century'', 2003; {{ISBN|1-4039-6842-X}}
* ''[https://archive.org/details/memoir0000coog_m9z6 Memoir]'', 2008; {{ISBN|978-0753826034}}.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/famineplotenglan0000coog The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy]'', 2012; {{ISBN|978-0230109520}}.
* ''1916: The Mornings After'', 2015; {{ISBN|978-1784080099}}.
* ''The Twelve Apostles'', 2016; {{ISBN|978-1784080136}}. An account of the Dublin-based assassination squad assembled by Michael Collins during the War of Independence.
* ''The [[Gaelic Athletic Association|GAA]] and the War of Independence'',2018; {{ISBN|978-1786697035|}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.timpatcoogan.com Tim Pat Coogan official website]
* [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/docs/coogan/coogan93.htm#chap33 "The Green Book"] — chapter from ''The IRA'', Coogan's book on the [[Irish Republican Army]]
* [http://www.drb.ie/blog/writers-and-artists/2013/02/25/was-the-famine-a-genocide-#sthash.aFxmWNYL.dpuf More on "The Green Book"]
* [http://www.historyextra.com/book-review/famine-plot-england%E2%80%99s-role-ireland%E2%80%99s-greatest-tragedy-0 Historyextra.com]
* [https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/1916-the-mornings-after-review-tim-pat-coogan-s-arrogant-travesty-of-irish-history-1.2438119 ''Irish Times'' article]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coogan, Tim Pat}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Irish columnists]]
[[Category:Irish non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Irish male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Irish newspaper editors]]
[[Category:People educated at Blackrock College]]
[[Category:The Irish Press people]]
[[Category:Anti-Revisionism (Ireland)]]
[[Category:People educated at Belvedere College]]
[[Category:People from Monkstown, County Dublin]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish historians]]
[[Category:21st-century Irish historians]]