Ruairí McKiernan

Ruairí McKiernan; born 1977 in Cootehill, County Cavan, Ireland), is an Irish social entrepreneur and campaigner on youth, community, health and social justice issues. In 2012 he was appointed to the Irish Council of State by President Michael D. Higgins.

In 2004 McKiernan founded the SpunOut.ie national youth organisation in Ballyshannon, County Donegal. He was CEO there until October 2011. McKiernan was a co-founder of the Possibilities civic engagement initiative, which hosted the Dalai Lama's 2011 visit to Ireland. He is also a co-founder of Uplift, a progressive civic action movement, a founding board member of the Soar Foundation, and part of the founding team behind the A Lust For Life mental health and wellbeing organisation. In 2013 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to undertake civic engagement research in Berkeley, California.

McKiernan is the recipient of a several awards including a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland award, an Irish Internet Association Net Visionary Award, and a Junior Chambers International Ireland award. In 2013 he was awarded a European Next Generation Leadership scholarship by the Korea Foundation.

McKiernan is a regular contributor to media outlets including the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the Irish Examiner, RTÉ TV and radio, TV3, the BBC, and the Huffington Post. Media work has included an interview with Professor Noam Chomsky and a video interview with the late Aaron Swartz that featured as part of the Oscar short-listed documentary The Internet's Own Boy.

McKiernan was involved as a board member of the We The Citizens initiative and was appointed by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to the voluntary board of Gaisce – the President's Award. McKiernan received a BA with distinction in Business and Management with HR from the University of the West of Scotland and later worked as a youth worker, web designer, researcher, and community organiser.

In 2013 he undertook a "Hitching for Hope" tour to listen to the voices and visions of the people of Ireland. In 2016 his "New Ireland Rising" video commemorating the 1916 Rising went viral online. In 2017 Ruairí helped organize the St. Patrick's Day "Irish Stand" civil rights rally in the Riverside Church in New York.