Liz Allen (born 1969) is an Irish investigative journalist.[1] She is a former crime correspondent of the Sunday Independent and author of two novels.

Early life and education

Born one of eight brothers and sisters in Dublin, she developed a taste for writing at 14 by becoming a regular contributor to the letters pages of The Evening Herald. By 16 she had obtained a weekend job with the paper writing local footballers sports profiles.[2]

She studied law for a year at University College in Dublin before leaving to freelance for The Herald.[2]

Career

She and her publisher were prosecuted for offending against the Irish Official Secrets Act in 1995, after she used a police memo to write a story revealing that police had prior knowledge of Ireland's greatest bank robbery.[3][4][5]

Working at first for the Irish Independent, followed by the Sunday Tribune;[6] after the 1996 murder of colleague Veronica Guerin, Allen became crime correspondent at the Sunday Independent.[7] One of her first stories for the paper was an interview with John Gilligan, suspected of the murder.[8][2]

After resigning from her position at the newspaper in 2000, Allen sued The Independent, claiming constructive dismissal due to stress and anxiety.[9] The Employment Tribunal found in Allen's favour, awarding her IR£70,500, the largest such award to that date. After appealing, the newspaper eventually settled out of court in October 2001.[10]

In 2003 Hodder and Staughton published her first novel, Last to Know,[11] and in 2005 her second novel, The Setup.[12]

In 2014 she founded the Glasthule Gallery in Dublin, which subsequently closed down in June 2018. Later that year she was declared bankrupt with €3.7m in debts.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Journalist wins £70,000 bullying case award". Independent.ie.
  2. ^ a b c Choudhary, Vivek (27 January 1997). "A hard act to follow". The Guardian. ProQuest 187874184.
  3. ^ Collings, Anthony (2001). Words of Fire: Independent Journalists who Challenge Dictators, Druglords, and Other Enemies of a Free Press. NYU Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 9780814716052 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Garda memo lands reporter in court". The Independent. 12 December 1995. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  5. ^ Foley, Michael (17 February 1999). "Shedding light on the State freedom of information". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  6. ^ Tóibín, Colm (30 December 1996). "The Pluck of the Irish". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  7. ^ O'Reilly, Emily (2012). "Conclusion". Veronica Guerin. Random House. ISBN 9781448156566.
  8. ^ Hoge, Warren (23 November 1996). "How a Killing Roused Irish Conscience". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  9. ^ Donnellan, Eithne (7 February 2001). "Journalist was treated 'for acute anxiety'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  10. ^ Coulter, Carol (2 October 2001). "Independent reaches settlement with Allen". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  11. ^ Buckley, Dan (18 February 2003). "Allen lands €300,000 book dealEx-Indo reporter bounces back after court case". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  12. ^ Harrison, Benice (13 August 2005). "The Set Up". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  13. ^ Coyle, Colin (27 January 2019). "Liz Allen, novelist and former journalist, goes bankrupt with €3.7m debts". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 16 August 2019.


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