Paddy Doyle: Biography

Biography

Paddy Doyle was born in County Wexford, Ireland, in 1951 and now lives in County Longford. Married with three grown up sons, he is recognized as one or Ireland's leading disability activists. Paddy has served as member of the government-appointed Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities

A frequent contributor to television, radio and the print media on matters as diverse as the role of the church in caring for children to the legalization of marijuana for medical use. He has now resigned as Chief Executive of the National Representative Council - a body established to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities are upheld. He has also travelled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, speaking at conferences about disability and child sexual abuse.

Paddy Doyle was the first recipient of the Christy Brown Award for Literature, in 1984, for a television play entitled Why Do I Bother?. Shortly after it was published, The God Squad became a bestselling book in both Ireland and the United Kingdom and has been translated into German, Danish and Japanese. His book also won the Sunday Tribune Arts Award for Literature. In 1993 Paddy Doyle was awarded a Person of the Year Award for "An Outstanding Contribution to Irish Society."