Paul Howard (born 6 January 1971) is an Irish

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and comedy writer. He is best known as the creator of the cult character

Ross O'Carroll-Kelly Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is a satirical fictional Irish character, a wealthy South County Dublin rugby union jock created by journalist Paul Howard. The character first appeared in a January 1998 column in the ''Sunday Tribune'' newspaper and late ...

, a fictional

Dublin 4 Dublin 4, also rendered as D4 and D04, is a historic postal district of Dublin, Ireland including Baggot Street Upper, the southernmost fringes of the Dublin Docklands, and the suburbs of Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Irishtown, Merrion, Ringsend ...

"rugby jock".

Life and career

Howard was born 6 January 1971 in London. He worked for sixteen years as a journalist, mostly for ''The Sunday Tribune'', first in news and later as one of Ireland's most respected sportswriters. He was chief sportswriter of ''

The Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to ta ...

'' and one of the first to question the achievements of Michelle Smith de Bruin. He covered two Olympics, a World Cup and numerous major sporting events. He was named Sports Journalist of the Year in the 1998 Irish Media Awards for an investigation into eating disorders among Irish athletes and an interview with the disgraced former sprinter, Ben Johnson. He was shortlisted for the award in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Howard is the creator of the "rugby jock" character

, whose exploits have been the subject of twenty-one novels and three other books that have sold over 1.5 million copies in Ireland. He was named National Newspapers of Ireland Columnist of the Year in 2013 for his weekly column in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' on Saturday written under the

pseudonym. He is also the author of four plays – '' The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger'' in 2007, and '' Between Foxrock and a Hard Place'' in 2010, and ''

Breaking Dad ''Breaking Dad'' is a 2014 play by Paul Howard, as part of the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series. It had its world premiere on 30 April 2014 at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin produced by Landmark Productions. The title is a reference to the TV series ...

'' in 2014 and '' Postcards from the Ledge'' in 2017 – as well as the hugely successful 2012 puppet-based ''Anglo the Musical'' and a second musical ''Copper Face Jacks: The Musical'', based on the popular nightclub

Copper Face Jacks Copper Face Jacks is a nightclub in Dublin, Ireland that opened in 1996. It is located on Harcourt Street, below the 36-room Jackson Court Hotel. It is known for its popularity among people from rural Ireland working in the city, including teach ...

, in 2018. His first non-Ross-related venture into fiction: ''Triggs – The Autobiography of

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

's Dog'' – was a #1 Bestseller in 2012, and short-listed for an Irish Book Award. He has written several nonfiction books, including ''The Joy'', an account of life in Mountjoy Prison, ''The Gaffers: Mick McCarthy, Roy Keane and the Team they Built'', an account of the McCarthy–Keane clash during the run-up to the 2002 World Cup. He also ghostwrote the autobiographies of boxer

Steve Collins Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO ...

(''Celtic Warrior'') and broadcaster

George Hook George Hook (born 19 May 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted ''The Right Hook'' and ''High Noon'' on the Irish radio station Newstalk. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, b ...

("Time Added On"). He also co-authored Roddy Collins’ memoir “The Rodfather”. He is the author of the biography of

Tara Browne Tara Browne (4 March 1945 – 18 December 1966) was an Irish socialite and heir to a part of the Guinness fortune. His December 1966 death in a car crash was referenced in the Beatles' song " A Day in the Life". Early life Browne was the yo ...

, ''"I Read the News Today, Oh Boy"'', published in October 2016. He has written two children’s books called “Aldrin Adams and the Cheese Nightmares” and “Aldrin Adams and the Legend of Nemeswiss” and has also co-written three children's books with former Ireland rugby player

Gordon D'Arcy Gordon William D'Arcy (born 10 February 1980, in Ferns, County Wexford) is a retired Irish rugby player who was selected for two British & Irish Lions tours. He played most of his career at inside centre for Irish provincial side Leinster. He ...

called “''Gordon's Game”,'' “Gordon’s Game: Blue Thunder” and “Gordon’s Game: Lions Roar”.

Awards and recognition

Howard is a record five-time Irish Book Award winner, collecting the Best Popular Fiction prize in 2007 for Should Have Got Off at Sydney Parade, in 2010 for ''

The Oh My God Delusion ''The Oh My God Delusion'' is a 2010 novel by Irish journalist and author Paul Howard, and the tenth in the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series. The title refers to Richard Dawkins's book ''The God Delusion'' and to the expression " Oh my God". Plot ...

'', in 2013 for '' Downturn Abbey'' (each parts of the

series), Non-Fiction Book of the Year in 2016 for the biography of

, ''"I Read the News Today, Oh Boy"'' and a Special Recognition Award for his contribution to the Irish publishing industry in 2024. He has been nominated for a record twenty-four Irish Book Awards. He has written comedy for radio and television and was part of the writing teams for two series of two RTÉ comedy sketch shows in the autumns of 2012 and 2013, ''

Irish Pictorial Weekly ''Irish Pictorial Weekly'' is an Irish satirical television series which was broadcast on Raidió Teilifís Éireann starting in November 2012. Series 2 of the show started on 21 November 2013 and was renewed for a third season which began airin ...

'' and '' The Mario Rosenstock Show''. He also appeared in a number of sketches in ''

''. ''

'' was twice nominated for an

Irish Film and Television Award The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

. He has also written for two series of the award winning ''

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

'' show ''

Bad Sisters ''Bad Sisters'' is an Irish black comedy television series developed by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer. Set in Dublin and filmed on location in Ireland, it is based on the Belgian series ''Clan'', which was created by Malin-Sarah Go ...

''. In September 2019, he was the subject of an hour long

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

documentary entitled “''We Need to Talk about Ross”'' produced by Adrian McCarthy o
Wildfire Films
He was a guest on both TV shows “''Keys to My Life''” and “''High Road, Low Road''”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Paul 1971 births Living people Writers from London The Irish Times people Sunday Tribune people Irish comedy writers 21st-century Irish novelists Irish satirical novelists Irish satirists 21st-century Irish male writers