{{Short description|Bermudian writer and politician (1925–2018)}} {{Infobox person |name = Ira Philip |honorific_suffix = MBE |image = |caption = |birth_name = Ira Pearman Philip |birth_date = 16 December 1925 |birth_place = Somerset Village, Bermuda |death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|9 April 2018|16 December 1925}} |death_place = Bermuda |other_names = |education = |alma_mater = |occupation = Writer and politician |years_active = |employer = |known_for = | title = | boards = | spouse = Ismay Grant Philip | parents = Marie Antoinette Pearman Philip (mother) | children = | relatives = }} '''Ira Philip''' MBE (16 December 1925 – 9 April 2018) was a Bermudian writer and politician. He was he author of books that included ''Freedom Fighters: from Monk to Mazumbo'', ''Hakim, son of Mazumbo'', ''Heroines in the Medical Field'' and ''Champ: The One and Only Alma Hunt''.<ref name="Bermudian Heritage Museum">{{cite web|url=https://bermudianheritagemuseum.com/ira-p-philip-m-b-e-historian-extraordinarie/|title=Ira P Philip M.B.E 'Historian Extraordinarie'|publisher=The Bermudian Heritage Museum|access-date=23 December 2025}}</ref>
== Early life == Ira Pearman Philip was born on 16 December 1925, in Somerset Village, Bermuda.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Philip|first1=Ira|title=Island notebook|url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20140208/ISLAND/140209776|access-date=9 April 2018|work=Royal Gazette|date=8 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Philip|first1=Ira|title=Looking back as 90th birthday nears|url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20151212/ISLAND/151219905|access-date=9 April 2018|work=Royal Gazette|date=12 December 2015}}</ref> Motivated by his mother to become a writer, he was 11 when he had his earliest work published in the press, an essay on patriotism printed in 1937.<ref name="Bell, Royal Gazette 10-4-18">{{cite news|url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/news/article/20180410/young-essayist-with-a-sense-of-racial-pride/|title=Young essayist with a sense of racial pride|first=Jonathan|last=Bell|newspaper=The Royal Gazette|date=10 April 2018|access-date=23 December 2025}}</ref>
== Career == Philip's journalism career stretched six decades and was primary associated with the ''Bermuda Recorder'' and ZFB Radio. Philip counted Richard Allen, Marcus Garvey and A. Philip Randolph among his influences.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bell|first1=Jonathan|title=A unique voice who gave dignity to black Bermuda |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/news/article/20180410/a-unique-voice-who-gave-dignity-to-black-bermuda/|access-date=23 December 2018|work=Royal Gazette|date=10 April 2018}}</ref> Philip later represented the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) as a member of the Senate, and, in 2015, received the Drum Major Awards from the PLP.<ref>{{cite news|title=Philip listed among PLP’s Drum Majors|url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20150413/NEWS/150419904|access-date=9 April 2018|work=Royal Gazette|date=13 April 2015}}</ref>
In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours, Philip was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for public service.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55513 |date=12 June 1999 |page=25 |supp=y }}</ref>
== Personal life == Through his mother Marie Antoinette Pearman Philip he was related to the Pearman family of Somerset, Bermuda. His wife was singer Ismay Grant Philip and he was the father of seven children.<ref name="Bermudian Heritage Museum" /> On 9 April 2018, Philip died aged 92.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Burgess|first1=Don|title=Writer & Journalist Ira Philip Passes Away|url=http://bernews.com/2018/04/writer-journalist-ira-philip-passes-away/|access-date=9 April 2018|work=Bernews|date=9 April 2018}}</ref>
==Selected publications== * ''Freedom Fighters: From Monk to Mazumbo'', 1988 * ''Heroines in the Medical Field of Bermuda'', 1994 * ''Hakim, Son of Mazumbo'', 1995 * ''The History of the Bermuda Industrial Union: a Definitive History of the Organised Labour Movement in Bermuda'' * ''Champ: The One and Only Alma Hunt''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bernews.com/bermuda-profiles/alma-%E2%80%9Cchamp%E2%80%9D-hunt/|title=Alma 'Champ' Hunt|work=Bernews}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://www.bermudareal.com/tributes-pour-in-for-bermudas-media-icon-journalist-historian-author-the-late-ira-philip/ "Tributes Pour in For Bermuda’s Media Icon, Journalist, Historian & Author, The Late Ira Philip"], ''Bermuda Real'', 9 April 2018. * [https://www.legacy.com/uk/obituaries/theroyalgazette/name/ira-philip-obituary?id=43175767 Ira Pearman Philip obituary] at Legacy.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Ira}} Category:1925 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Bermudian historians Category:Bermudian writers Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Members of the Senate of Bermuda Category:People from Sandys Parish Category:Progressive Labour Party (Bermuda) politicians