| Paul Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964 (age 47–48) |
| Education | Leaving certificate |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Other names | "The Hack"[1] |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Notable credit(s) | Dirty Money: The Story of the Criminal Assets Bureau Paul Williams Investigates—The Battle For The Gas Fields |
Paul Williams (born 1964) is an Irish crime journalist and author. He previously worked for the Sunday World tabloid newspaper; he moved to the Irish News of the World before it was caught up in the News International phone hacking scandal and shut down. After this he went to the Irish Sun newspaper where he is employed as "Investigations Editor".
In 2011 he joined the Irish Sun after the closure of the Irish News of the World.
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Williams was first educated in Ballinamore, County Leitrim. He attended secondary school in Carrigallen, Leitrim. He moved to Dublin in 1984 to study journalism at the Rathmines School of Journalism but dropped out after one year.[1] He pursued post-graduate studies in criminology.
Williams lives in a €1 million house in Rathfarnham.[1] He is married to Ann with whom he has two teenage children.[1] He enjoys being among his associates in the pub; these associates are mostly serving or former gardaí, including former garda commissioner Pat Byrne and retired assistant commissioner Tony Hickey, as well as former Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea and RTÉ's Joe Duffy.[1] Williams has been described as "a jealous guardian of his position as top dog among crime journalists".[1]
Williams has been satirised as Paul 'The Hack' Williams on Oliver Callan's Nob Nation sketches on RTÉ Radio.[1]
Williams is the author of best-selling crime boss exposé, The General and The Untouchables (2006). As a crime correspondent with the Sunday World, Williams first broke before other members of the Irish press many news stories on the notorious Martin Cahill (nicknamed "The General"). The General was made into a major award-winning movie directed by John Boorman. Williams' other books include Gangland (1998), Evil Empire (2001) Crimelords (2003), and "Crime Wars" (2008). The General was also published in the USA and Spain. "Evil Empire" was also published in the USA (Tor Forge New York) Williams also ghost-wrote the book Secret Love (1995) with Phylis Hamilton; this told the story of her secret 20-year love affair with Ireland's most outspoken Catholic priest on issues of sexual morality, Fr. Michael Cleary. Hamilton, who worked as Fr. Cleary's house keeper, had two sons with the celebrity cleric.
His latest book Badfellas was published at the end of October 2011.
A six-part TV series on the history of the Criminal Assets Bureau by Paul Williams began on January 2008 on TV3; it won Best Documentary at that year's TV Now Awards.
In Paul Williams Investigates—The Battle For The Gas Fields aired in June 2009 on TV3, Williams reported on the Corrib gas controversy.[2] Campaigners who are against the Corrib gas project argued the documentary was biased in favour of Royal Dutch Shell - the title itself shows that the "battle" is "for" the gas fields. Irish Independent reviewer John Boland also criticised Williams's obvious bias - "instead of providing an exposé [Williams] contented himself with innuendo and abuse", while "At the outset, he disingenuously asked if these 'vocal underdogs' were national heroes or 'villains' standing in the way of national progress, but he himself had no doubt about the answer, his attitude announcing itself in the language he used".[3] The Irish Times reporter Frank McDonald reported that the documentary failed to explain the aims of the Shell to Sea protesters. It is worth noting that TV3 is owned by Denis O'Brien, a major shareholder in the Independent Media Group (owners of the Irish Independent, Paul Williams's main journalistic employer) who is now firmly aligned with that group's owner, Tony O'Reilly, who also owns an oil exploration company with an interest in the Corrib gas field. Complaints were made to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission but were rejected on the grounds that the broadcast gave a fair opportunity for both sides to have their say.[4]
After the murder of noted crime correspondent Veronica Guerin in 1996, Williams took over the mantle of Sunday World reporting on some of Ireland's most notorious criminals. His articles appear weekly there where, according to the newspaper's website, he maintains a vast archive of background material.[5]
Williams has been the recipient of several death threats from organised crime and terrorist groups and has been receiving armed Garda protection for several years. The cost of this to the tax payer has been heavily criticised and questions were raised about why the Sunday World did not pay for this.[6] However, all attempts on his life have either been hoaxes, false alarms or have led to the suspects being released when put on trial, so there have been no serious issues. On March 16, 2007, a man was acquitted at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of "threatening to kill or cause serious harm" to Paul Williams.[7] The jury of four men and seven women deliberated for just one hour and thirty minutes to acquit Walsh on both charges on the sixth day of the trial.
In 2003 Williams caused himself, his family and 150 neighbours to be evacuated from their homes when Gardaí found a bomb (later found to be a hoax) attached to his car.[8] Williams responded in his usual way, saying "I am not going to stop taking on these bast**ds".[1]
Paul Williams frequently quotes "unnamed sources" or "senior Gardaí" in his sensationalist reports, providing little or no corroborative evidence with regards to dates, times or fact, and frequently editorialises his own political agenda into his "objectivity".
Williams has been the subject of criticism that he is a mouthpiece for the police "who use his column to shape the public perception of the criminals he writes about and, quite possibly, to stir up tensions between rival gangs and major league villains".[6] The Sunday Tribune said a common criticism of Williams is that he is "little more than a cheerleader for the gardaí" and noted Williams's tendency to steer away from any crime or corruption within the force.[1]
Williams has been criticised for his tendency to give nicknames such as "The Tosser", "The Penguin", "Babyface" and "Fatpuss" to the criminals he is reporting on.[1] This has naturally only served to glamourise the criminals and to boost their public profile.[1]
In 2008, the Sunday Tribune reported that "his stories these days almost take second place to his personal celebrity" and that "friends say that he is only too aware of this and has renegotiated his contract throughout the years to reflect his market value".[1]
After receiving what he described as "a substantial offer" thought to involve a €250,000 salary, Williams left the Sunday World, where he had worked for 23 years, in January 2010, and joined the Irish News of the World as its crime editor.[9] However, the Sunday World took out a High Court injunction in an effort to prevent him from taking up his new position until his three month's notice to leave had expired.
His Sunday World contract had seen Williams paid a salary of just €145,000, increased by 2.5 per cent in 2008 and 2009.[10]
The dispute was settled soon after.[11]
He joined stablemate the Irish Sun in October 2011.