Páidí Ó Lionáird (born 17 August 1968^[1]) is an Irish television presenter and columnist from Cúil Aodha, County Cork. Since 1997, Ó Lionáird has been the presenter of current affairs and entertainment shows on the Irish language channel TG4.

His older brother is Iarla Ó Lionáird, a singer and producer. His other brothers include Seán, judge on TG4's Feirm Factor, and Peadar, co-owner of Folláin, which is a jam and chutney manufacturer.

Early life

Páidí Ó Lionáird was born in Gort na Scairte, Baile Bhúirne in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area of County Cork) Cúil Aodha,^[2] part of the Muskerry Gaeltacht in County Cork. The youngest of twelve siblings, his father was the principal of a local secondary school and owned a small holding of land.^[1]

After leaving school, he initially studied Furniture Technology and Design at Dundalk Institute of Technology,before using his carpentry skills in London. He eventually ended up working as doorman at different establishments like the Kensington Park Hotel and then as a Concierge at the Gloucester Hotel. On his return to Ireland, he was appointed as development officer for Munster with the Irish Language Youth Organisation Ógras. He met his wife Karen in May 1990 at the AGM of Conradh na Gaeilge. Together they have one son and live in South Connemara, Galway.^[1]

Having initially studied public relations at University College Cork, Ó Lionáird then qualified as a primary school teacher at MIC Limerick.^[3] His studies continued, he now holds a master's degree in Irish Media Studies from MIC and UL. He has taught communications at ATU (GMIT) and DCU.

Television career

Ó Lionáird's television career began with a successful screen test for TG4 in 1997. He soon became involved with a number of different shows, from the light-hearted Ardán to the hard-news political and current affairs show 7 Lá. He has been co-commentator on TG4's Tour de France coverage alongside former Irish pro cyclist, Pádraic Quinn (Velotec) since 2004. He also presents TG4's annual flagship Traditional Music Awards programme, Gradam Ceoil TG4.

Ó Lionáird chaired the Irish language debate held between the seven candidates in the 2011 Irish presidential election on 18 October 2011.

He joined the RTÉ newsroom based in Baile na hAbhann where he is currently Chief Sub-Editor, Nuacht RTÉ & TG4. He initiated and presented 7Lá on TG4 from 2003 until 2019 and has anchored 2 marathon General Election programmes (15+ hours consecutive live) in 2016 and 2020. in 2022, Ó Lionáird joined the Office of the Irish Language Commissioner as Communications Manager.^[4]

References