President Michael D Higgins last night paid tribute to the late Irish writer, publisher and activist John Boyle O’Reilly, describing him as a man who made “feverish efforts” to create a more inclusive society.
He said Boyle O’Reilly, who was born in Dowth near Drogheda in 1844 and went on to edit the Boston Pilot, forerunner of the Boston Globe, had made a significant contribution to life as a humanitarian, author and founder through his newspaper of a network for Irish people who had emigrated to the US.
Mr Higgins said Boyle O’Reilly championed “the underprivileged, the weak, the working man . . . ”
