Kevin Rafter | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation(s) | Professor and non-executive director |
Kevin Rafter is an Irish academic and non-executive director. He is the author of numerous books on media and politics topics, having previously worked as a political journalist. [1]
Rafter is currently Head of the School of Communications [2] at Dublin City University where he is Full Professor of Political Communication. [3] He is also Chairperson of the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland [4] and Chairperson of the Independent Advisory Committee of Culture Ireland. [5]
He chaired an independent review panel on civil service reform in 2015 [6] and was the independent rapporteur to the talks that led to the formation of Ireland's minority coalition in 2016. [7] He is a board member of Dublin Bus and Oxfam Ireland. [8]
In June 2019 Rafter was appointed Chair of the Arts Council. [9]
Prior to 2008, Rafter held editorial positions with the Irish Times (political reporter), Sunday Times (political correspondent), Sunday Tribune (political editor/assistant editor), Magill magazine (editor) and RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster (Prime Time reporter and This Week presenter). [10] [11]
Rafter has authored/edited over a dozen books including, most recently, Dillon Rediscovered: The Newspaperman Who Befriended Kings, Presidents and Oil Tycoons published by Martello, 2025.
His previous books include Political Advertising in the 2014 European Parliament Elections (2017), [12] Martin Mansergh (2002) [13] - and several histories of Irish political parties including Clann na Poblachta (1996), Sinn Féin (2005), Democratic Left (2010), [14] and Fine Gael(2010) [15]
His list of academic publications include numerous book chapters and research journal articles with a specific focus on media and politics including a study of Irish journalists in 2016. [16]