Ruairí de Barra is from Co. Mayo, and now resides in Co. Cork.
He is a writer, an award-winning military journalist, and an internationally published poet.
His creative work has featured with Tinteán, A New Ulster, Live Encounters, Bangor Literary Journal, The Ranthology Anthology, Black Bough Poetry, The Boston Globe, Boston Accent, Poetry Jukebox, The Silence Anthology, The Cobh Chronicle and all his work can be read on here on www.paperneverefusedink.com
His have written work piblished on many maritime, military, historical and international subjects; including peer-reviewed academic work. As an accredited Irish Defence Forces military journalist, he is a regular contributor to ‘An Cosantóir’, the Irish Defence Forces magazine and
His work has also been published in other Defence, Military and Emergency Services publications such as ‘Emergency Services Ireland’ magazine and ‘Contact’ the Australian military magazine.
He is the inaugural winner of the An Cosantóir, ‘Gen MJ Costello Award’ for 2017, and he has been twice nominated for the European Military Press Association awards; In 2017 for his article ‘Shipshape and Ready for Action’, and in 2018 for his article “Rebuilding Somalia – The Sea is their future’.
He recently retired from permanent service as a Senior Chief Petty Officer and dedicated sailor after over two decades of service with the Irish Naval Service & Óglaigh na hÉireann. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership, Management and Naval Studies from CIT, and a Masters of Commerce in Government and Public Policy from UCC.
He has travelled extensively with the Defence Forces; including service in the southern Mediterranean on the humanitarian rescue mission ‘Operation Pontus’ in 2015 and on the European Naval Forces mission ‘Operation Sophia’ in 2018.
“A friend told me once that there was a saying that ‘paper never refused ink!’
I thought that it was a nice sum-up of the almost inherent permission everyone has to express themselves through writing, even if most of what will be written wouldn’t be read by many; if by any at all.
“I am a Mayoman lost in Cork and have not been able to find my way out for well over twenty years. I love to write and a friend gave me the best advice ever a number of years ago, he said ‘never throw away another word’ I have written, ‘before you at least re-write it’.
So I took this first step a number of years ago to publish just a little on this WordPress page and it started from there. I am always eager to learn more, think more, write more, re-write even more and throw away far less.”
Paper Never Refused Ink! 