Michael Viney

Michael Viney MRIA (6 February 1933 – 30 May 2023) was a British-born Irish artist, author, broadcaster and journalist. Best known for his writings on nature, he contributed to The Irish Times from 1962.

Early life and beginning of career Michael Viney was born in Brighton, England on 6 February 1933, to parents who operated a cafe. Although interested in art as a career, he began work with the Brighton and Hove Herald at the age of 16, before stints at the Evening Argus, The Star, and Today. His articles were later incorporated into the Ryan Report on institutional abuse of children in Ireland.

Viney began working at RTÉ Television as a presenter in programmes aimed at social and consumer affairs and with items on household and family matters. He took training there as a TV director and became a production editor in 1976.

Move to Mayo Viney left Dublin in 1977 with his wife, Ethna, and daughter for a simpler life in County Mayo, at their holiday home on one acre at Thallabawn, Murrisk, near the coast south of Louisburgh. Over the years the focus of the column shifted from sustainability to natural history. His last column was published in February 2023.

Viney was a member of Aosdána, Ireland's academy or affiliation of distinguished creative artists. He was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in May 2017.