Neil Mackay
Born1969 or 1970
County Antrim
Alma materQueen's University Belfast
Occupation(s)Journalist, editor, author
OrganizationSunday Herald
Notable workAll the Little Guns Went Bang Bang (2013 book)
The War on Truth (2006 book)
The Wolf Trial (2017 book)

Neil Mackay (born 1969 or 1970) is a Northern Irish, Glasgow-based journalist, author and film maker.[1][2]

Mackay served as the editor of the Sunday Herald from 2015 to 2018 and is the author of 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 badly beaten at the age of 14.[3] He received a scholarship to attend Queen's University Belfast.[3]

Career

Mackay worked as a journalist in Northern Ireland, but after receiving death threats he moved to Scotland in 1996.[3] In Scotland, he initially worked for The Big Issue before taking a job at Scotland on Sunday in Edinburgh.[1][4]

In 1999, he was part of the team that launched the Sunday Herald, where he became the editor in 2015 and served in that capacity until 2018.[1] In his role he tried to prevent Angela Haggerty from being fired, but did not succeed.[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 agreed a contract to produce television documentaries,[2] subsequently producing Nazi Hate Rock: A Macintyre Investigation for the Scottish Media Group, in 2006.[9][10]

In 2021, Mackay was the target of online abuse from the Wings over Scotland website.[11]

Views

Mackay is openly critical of religion.[12]

Books

The War on Truth

Main article: The War on Truth

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 the events that led up to the war in Iraq. It focuses on the disinformation campaign of the British government and questions the existence of democracy in the UK.[13][14]

All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang

Main article: All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang

All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang is a 2013 social science fiction novel set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. It tells a tale of two youths, born to violent parents, and explores the extent to which violence is learned by children, from their parents and community.[15][16]

The Wolf Trial

Main article: The Wolf Trial

The Wolf Trial is a 2017 historical crime novel about a werewolf trial in 16th-century Germany, which is used as a subtext to question if the god in Christianity is an evil or kind deity.[17]

Awards

Personal life

Mackay lives with post-traumatic stress disorder.[3] He has two daughters.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Editor Neil Mackay quits Sunday Herald due to 'ill-health' - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Neil Mackay gets signed up". Press Gazette. 13 May 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Mackay, Neil (19 July 2020). "Opinion: Neil Mackay: How I learned to cope with a diagnosis of PTSD". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b Trainer, Paul (12 February 2017). "Sunday Herald at 18: Interview with editor Neil Mackay". Glasgowist. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ Greenslade, Roy (1 February 2016). "Why the Herald's editor fired a columnist in row with Rangers". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  6. ^ Greenslade, Roy (29 January 2016). "Two columnists depart from Glasgow's Herald in row with Rangers". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  7. ^ Byrne, Ciar (15 May 2003). "We were right to name Stakeknife, say reporters". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Papers remain confident about Stakeknife identity". Press Gazette. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Nazi Hate Rock A Macintyre Investigation (2006)". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  10. ^ Mackay, Neil (22 January 2006). "White off the scale". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Matchett, Donor (18 February 2021). "Nicola Sturgeon urged to act on social media amplification of Wings Over Scotland blog". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. ^ McCarthy, John (16 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo NUJ debate: Sunday Herald's Neil Mackay clashes with 5Pillars' Roshan Salih on whether the media should critisise [sic] religion". The Drum. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  13. ^ Coates, Ken (2007). Surging for Oil (PDF). pp. 79–81. ISBN 978-0851247434.
  14. ^ Deane, Raymond (15 December 2006). "Book Review: Incandescent Nation". The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  15. ^ Smart, James (9 August 2013). "All the Little Guns Went Bang, Bang, Bang by Neil Mackay – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. ^ McClements, Freya (17 October 2013). "All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang Bang, by Neil Mackay". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  17. ^ Massie, Allan (30 April 2016). "Book review: The Wolf Trial by Neil Mackay". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  18. ^ Williams, Martin (25 April 2019). "Scottish Press Awards: Herald and Times titles celebrate awards". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  19. ^ Sharman, David. "Society of Editors Regional Press Awards winners announced - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 26 January 2022.


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