Paul Williams (media personality)

Williams was first educated in Ballinamore and then in Carrigallen (both in County Leitrim). He moved to Dublin in 1984 to study journalism at the Rathmines School of Journalism but dropped out after one year.[1]

Paul Williams is married to wife, Ann, with whom he has two teenage children.

Williams has been satirised as Paul 'The Hack' Williams on Oliver Callan's Nob Nation sketches on RTÉ Radio.[1]

While on Liveline, Williams denied attempting to link the Republican movement with the criminal underworld. This prompted several people, whom Williams had linked to crime in his articles, to phone in and tell Joe Duffy that Williams was always making false allegations against them. Williams attempted to deflect the questions by focusing on their time spent in prison and implying that they had therefore lost any right to a reputation.[2] In 2010, Williams contradicted himself by telling an audience that the Republican movement was linked with organised crime, so much so, he claimed, somewhat uncertainly, that 1969 was "probably the last truly peaceful year in this nation of ours. That", he said, "changed with the escalation of problems in Northern Ireland."[3]

Williams pens books with titles like Gangland (1998), Evil Empire (2001), Crimelords (2003), The Untouchables (2006), Crime Wars (2008), and Badfellas (2011).[4]

His notorious 2014 book (titled Murder Inc) prompted objections and calls for a boycott from disgusted residents of Limerick when he attempted to do a signing there. A local bookstore owner posted a letter online saying he had never before had a visiting writer stir up so much anger from the public.[5] Barrister and politician Emmett O'Brien, speaking on radio following Williams's self-promotional appearance on The Late Late Show, said the same crime stories are continually being "rehashed" and that Williams declined to mention any positive development, i.e. a decline in the city's murder rate. Photographer Darren Ryan said of Williams: "He's making a personal profit off the misery that the good citizens of Limerick have had to endure."[6]

Williams also ghost-wrote the book Secret Love (1995) with Phylis Hamilton; this tells 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 housekeeper, had two sons with the celebrity cleric.[7]

Dirty Money: The Story of the Criminal Assets Bureau, a six-part TV series on the history of the Criminal Assets Bureau by Paul Williams, began in 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.[8] Campaigners who protest 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' 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".[9] The Irish Times reporter Frank McDonald reported that the documentary failed to explain the Shell's aims to Sea protesters. . 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.[10]

Williams has been the subject of criticism that he is a mouthpiece for the gardaí "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".[11] 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] Critics complain this has served to glamourise the criminals and to boost their public profile.[1]

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.[11] On 16 March 2007, a man was acquitted at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of "threatening to kill or cause serious harm" to Paul Williams.[12] 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 2016 Williams joined the newly revamped Newstalk breakfast show as a co-presenter.