John Quinn, who has died aged 84, was one of the great listeners of Irish broadcasting: a man whose life’s work was shaped by an attentiveness to language, memory and the quiet drama of ordinary lives. A Galway-based broadcaster and programme maker for more than a quarter of a century, he transformed radio into a space where curiosity, empathy and imagination could flourish, and where the voices of others were always placed at the centre.
Born in Ballivor, Co Meath, on December 11, 1941, Quinn’s early life furnished him with the sensibility that would later define his work. He often returned, in his writing and documentaries, to the landscapes and cadences of his childhood, not in nostalgia but with an anthropologist’s eye for how people speak, think and remember. After training as a teacher, he began his professional life in education, a grounding that never left him. Teaching, for Quinn, was never confined to the classroom; it became a philosophy that shaped his broadcasting, his writing and his understanding of radio as a democratic medium.
In 1970 he changed direction, becoming general editor with Fallon’s, the educational publishers. Five years later he joined RTÉ as an education officer on the pilot Radio Scoile scheme, part of an ambitious effort to extend learning beyond formal institutions. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful association with the national broadcaster. By 1977 he had become a radio producer, and over the next 25 years he helped redefine what educational and documentary radio could be.
Quinn worked on Education Forum from 1979 to 1989 and later on The Open Mind, the influential weekly magazine programme that ran until his retirement in 2002. These programmes were never didactic. Instead, they invited listeners into conversations about ideas, ethics, history and lived experience. He was also a driving force behind The Open Mind Guest Lecture Series, bringing figures such as Gordon Wilson, John Hume and George Mitchell to Irish audiences, and editing the accompanying publication in 1999.
As a documentary maker, Quinn was both adventurous and meticulous. Programmes such as The Curious Mind and Three Men Standing at the Met exemplified his instinct for stories that revealed something larger about human nature through precise, intimate observation. His work earned numerous national and international awards, with recognition coming from across Europe as well as from New York and Tokyo. Yet accolades were never the point. What mattered to him was connection.
That quality was recognised by colleagues. Liam O’Brien, series producer of RTÉ Documentary on One, described Quinn as a pioneer and a trailblazer, someone who consistently thought outside the box in selecting and telling stories, and who redefined the possibilities of radio and its relationship with audiences. Even after retiring from RTÉ, Quinn remained a regular contributor to programmes such as Sunday Miscellany, his voice and perspective undimmed.
Alongside broadcasting, Quinn built a distinguished parallel career as an author. He wrote fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children, often exploring themes first encountered through his radio work. His children’s novel The Summer of Lily and Esme won the 1992 Bisto Children’s Book of the Year award, and other works included The Duck and the Swan. His memoirs, including Sea of Love, Sea of Loss and Goodnight Ballivor, I’ll Sleep in Trim, reflected tenderly on family, place and loss. The latter grew out of a radio documentary of the same name broadcast in the late 1990s, exemplifying the porous boundary between his spoken and written storytelling. In later years he continued to publish, with Homage: A Salute to Fifty Memorable Minds (2024 ) and The Passing Year (2025 ) appearing shortly before his death.
In 2003, the University of Limerick conferred on him a Doctorate of Letters. Speaking at the time, Quinn said his work had been inspired by the “wonderful extraordinary ordinariness of people… who we are, the way we are, and the way we use language.” It was both a credo and a quiet manifesto.
John Quinn died on New Year’s Day at University Hospital Galway. He lived in Clarinbridge, Co Galway, and was predeceased by his wife Olive, who died in 2001. He is survived by his daughters Deirdre and Lisa, his son Declan, and several grandchildren. His funeral Mass will be held in Clarinbridge on Monday, followed by burial in Dublin on Tuesday.
In listening so closely to others, John Quinn taught Ireland how to listen to itself.
