Kevin Boyle (1943-2010) was one of the world's great human rights lawyers. In a career that lasted decades and spanned continents, he tackled issues ranging from freedom of the press to terrorism to minority rights. This compelling account of Kevin Boyle's life and work is a remarkable tale of how a taxi driver's son from Northern Ireland inspired the human rights movement around the world. Born in Newry in 1943, Boyle attended Queen's University Belfast in the early 1960s, beginning to teach law in 1966. He was a co-founder of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) and the People's Democracy, mediated during the 1981 hunger strikes and helped forge the basis for the agreement that ended the Troubles. His ideas, endorsed in a previously unrevealed conversation Margaret Thatcher had with Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald, provided much of the intellectual underpinning for the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. He was the lead lawyer in the case that decriminalized homosexuality in Northern Ireland, which then led to its decriminalization in the Irish Republic and other countries. Through a series of landmark cases at the European Court of Human Rights, he left an enduring mark on international human rights law, campaigning against apartheid in South Africa and repression in Turkey. He also played a critical role as the senior advisor to Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during 9/11 and was involved in shaping the international response. He also led the campaign to support Salman Rushdie after the writer was targeted by Iran's ayatollahs in 1989. Kevin Boyle was central in founding human rights law centres at universities from Ireland and Britain to Brazil and Japan. Though he was a towering figure, his personal story is not well known. Now, based on years of research, thousands of documents, and scores of interviews, former CNN correspondent Mike Chinoy has crafted the compelling life story of a remarkable Irishman.

About the Author

As a foreign correspondent for CNN for 24 years, Mike Chinoy has won Emmy, Peabody and Dupont awards for his journalism. While he worked primarily in China and North Korea, he also reported on the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s. It was during this time that he met Kevin Boyle. Chinoy is currently a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California's US-China Institute and is based in Hong Kong. His books include China Live: People, Power, and Television Revolution (1999), Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis (2008), and The Last POW (2014). His work has been widely acclaimed across the globe

Reviews

A terrific biography told by a world-class journalist.

-- Dan Rather * CBS News *

An eloquent account of the life and work of one of the greatest heroes who has ever worked in the sphere of human rights... and I am delighted that Mike Chinoy has written this book.

-- Zeinab Badawi
This chronicle of Kevin Boyle's life is outstanding. Told by an accomplished writer, it is an engaging narrative of five interwoven strands; the political, the historical, the international legal, the academic and the deeply personal. * Dublin Review of Books *
Chinoy's book is a worthwhile read and a fitting homage not only to an individual pioneer of international human rights law, but also to the underestimated power of the law in challenging injustice and inequality around the world. -- Connor Beaton * Irish Legal *
Chinoy's biography is a conscientious, engaging tribute to a true believer in universal human rights. While lawyers rarely seem glamorous, Boyle proves they can still be heroes. -- Melissa Chan * Los Angeles Review of Books *
A fitting tribute to a great man who helped forge Irish peace. -- Eilis O'Hanlon * The Independent *
In this beautifully-written and fascinating book, Mike Chinoy has brought to life one of the great pioneering human rights lawyers of our times, a brilliant and dedicated fighter for justice, first in Northern Ireland and then on the international stage. -- Conor O'Clery

The story of the late Kevin Boyle is well worth telling ... Never one to seek the limelight, his name and legacy slipped into an obscurity from which Mike Chinoy has deservedly rescued him.

-- Mary McAleese



Book Information
ISBN 9781843517726
Author Mike Chinoy
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint The Lilliput Press Ltd
Publisher The Lilliput Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 1000g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 480mm