Manchán Magan

Manchán Magan was an Irish writer, podcaster, and documentary maker. He wrote for the Irish Times on culture and travel, was presenter on the RTÉ podcast The Almanac of Ireland, and the author of the award-winning, best-selling Listen to the Land Speak (Gill, 2022). His illustrated books include Tree Dogs, Banshees Fingers, and Other Irish Words for Nature (Gill, 2021) and Wolf-Men and Water Hounds (Gill, 2023).

He made dozens of documentaries on issues of world culture for TG4, RTÉ, and the Travel Channel, was on the board of Hometree, a native woodland and land regeneration charity, and Common Knowledge, a non-profit social enterprise teaching skills for a sustainable homelife. He was also an ambassador for The Rivers Trust and lived for a quarter-century in an oak wood, with bees, hens, and, occasionally, pigs in a grass-roofed house near Lough Lene, Co Westmeath.

On October 2nd, 2025 Manchán died at the age of 55 of cancer. Considered a national treasure for his work bringing attention to the Irish language, Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins said of Magan and his passing: “Manchán truly lived an inspirational life and helped so many people to find a deeper meaning in their lives. . . Manchán’s vision and understanding were not limited to Ireland or the Irish language, but to what we share and are connected to with all forms of life that live within native and indigenous cultures, languages and communities across the globe. . . He will be deeply missed.”