Patsy McGarry was born in November 1952 in County Roscommon. Following a spell in teaching and then radio in Dublin, he became the theatre critic for The Irish Press. In 1992 he won a national media award for political coverage in the Sunday Independent on the fall of Charles Haughey. In 1993 he began working for The Irish Times and in 1997 became Religious Affairs Correspondent. He has published a number of books, including Christianity, While Justice Slept: The True Story of Nicky Kelly and the Sallins Train Robbery and First Citizen: Mary McAleese and the Irish Presidency.