Tom Humphries

Tom Humphries is a sports journalist and columnist who wrote for The Irish Times. He lives in Dublin, Ireland and has two children from a former marriage.^[1][2]

Early life

Humphries was born in London^[1] and grew up in Foxfield, Raheny, in Dublin. He was educated at St. Joseph's Christian Brothers School in Fairview. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Higher Diploma in Education from University College Dublin (UCD). He ran unsuccessfully for the office of President of the UCD Student Union in 1986 but was defeated by Ulick Stafford. He entered journalism following a period of teaching

Career

Roy Keane interview

His received international attention in May 2002 for his interview of Irish football player Roy Keane on the island of Saipan while the Irish football team were preparing to take part in the 2002 football World Cup. Originally, Humphries planned to write an article based on the interview,^{[citation needed]} but Keane's openly critical remarks about preparations for the World Cup and the attitudes of the team management, the players, and the Football Association of Ireland, led to the interview appearing as a verbatim transcript on the front page of The Irish Times (an almost unheard of action)^{[citation needed]} and continuing inside the newspaper. The resulting furore caused Keane, the outstanding Irish player of his generation, to resign from the squad before the tournament started, and he was also dismissed by the team manager, Mick McCarthy.

Writings

Humphries' first book was Green Fields: Gaelic Sport in Ireland, an analysis of the importance of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland, a recurring theme of his work. He was the ghost writer of Irish football player Niall Quinn's autobiography, Niall Quinn – The Autobiography, published in 2002. It won the Best Autobiography category in the inaugural British Sports Book Awards,^[3] and was nominated for a William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.^{[citation needed]} The book is not structured chronologically, but rather in the context of Quinn's career swansong, the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. A collection of his Irish Times and Sports Illustrated writings was published in 2004 as Booked! and was nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. The book's royalties went to Amnesty International. His book Dublin V Kerry was an account of historic clashes between the two dominant teams in Gaelic football of the mid to late 1970s. He co-authored Come What May, the autobiography of the hurler Donal Óg Cusack.^[4] Besides his regular sports reporting and feature articles, Humphries wrote a Monday column in The Irish Times called "Lockerroom". He detests the League of Ireland^[5] and rugby.

Criminal accusations

Humphries was accused in April 2011 of having had underage sex with a 14-year-old girl following the alleged discovery by his daughter of naked pictures of the girl on his mobile phone. He checked into a psychiatric hospital in Dublin and was awaiting medical approval to be interviewed by Gardaí. He was also under suicide watch. Meanwhile, a second allegation of a similar nature arose.^[6][7] The News of the World reported that the Gardaí searched his apartment and analysed his home computer, as well as texts and pictures on his mobile phones. The Computer Crime Investigation Unit obtained a warrant to search the Irish Times offices and to seize Humphries's work computer. Forensic experts planned to question the newspaper's information technology department about possible evidence on their computer systems.^[7]

The Irish Daily Star reported in July that Humphries had been taken to St. James's Hospital in Dublin following a serious heart attack while staying at St. Patrick's psychiatric hospital. He was said to be gravely ill, mentally and physically, and close to death, and it was thought he might not recover well enough to stand trial.^[8][9] However, it was reported in December 2011 that he had been released from hospital, and questioning by Gardaí was anticipated.^[10][11] This finally took place after his doctors said he was well enough to be interviewed when Humphries was arrested and interrogated by detectives on 29 September 2012 at Ballymun Garda Station. The detectives prepared a file concerning a number of potential criminal charges for the Director of Public Prosecutions.^[12][13] It was reported in December 2013 that he was "facing criminal charges" following garda investigations including the interview of every teenager that Humphries was in contact with during his nine years at St. Vincent's GAA club in Marino.^[14]

References

Bibliography

• Green Fields: Gaelic Sport in Ireland (Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated, ISBN 978-0-297-83566-0, 1996)
• Laptop Dancing and the Nanny Goat Mambo: A Sportswriter’s Year (Pocket Books/Town House, ISBN 1-903650-53-4, 2003)
• Booked! (V. Carefully) Selected Writings (Town House, ISBN 1-86059-212-0, 2004)
• Dublin V Kerry (Penguin Ireland, ISBN 1-84488-085-0, 2006)