About

A more formal biography:

Céilí Doyle is a journalist based in Houston, Texas where she is on staff at Houston Landing — an independent, non-profit news organization. Céilí covers affordable housing. Prior to reporting on how housing equity affects where and how Houstonians live, she served as one of the organization’s regional reporters. She comes to Texas by way of the Midwest, most recently working for The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio through the national service program Report for America.

Her name was inspired by the 1991 Celtic rock band hit, “The Funky Céilí” and is pronounced like “Kay-lee” and spelled like ceiling (minus the -ng).

Over the past two years, Céilí has led the Landing’s coverage of Colony Ridge — exposing the Houston-area housing development for targeting a largely Latino, undocumented community with deceptive/misleading lending practices. The U.S. Department of Justice and state of Texas both filed lawsuits against the developer following Céilí’s reporting. Those efforts earned her third place in the 2023 Texas Associated Media Editors “Freedom of Information” category for her investigation into Colony Ridge.

The Chicago native has fallen in love with far-to-reach places across America. Her beat at the Landing has taken her across southeast Texas: on an alligator hunt with Willie Nelson (literally, that’s his name), reciting poetry with a fourth-generation cowboy or listening to a group of residents discuss racism in one of the state’s most conservative counties. Céilí was also given an honorable mention for “Feature Writing” in the 2023 Texas Associated Media Editors contest.

As a reporter for the Dispatch, Céilí wrote about the history of coal-mining in southeastern Ohio, the lack of internet access in Appalachia, children’s mental health and the rural LGBTQ+ community.

In April 2023 Céilí earned second-place for “Best Feature Writer” in the 2022 Ohio Associated Media Editors newspaper contest for her work at the Dispatch. The year before Céilí was named Ohio’s “Rising Star” in the 2021 Ohio Associated Media Editors newspaper contest — a recognition given to one print newspaper and one broadcast journalist each year, who have five years of experience in the industry or less.

She also earned first-place for her collaborative multimedia project, “Descendants of Hope: The legacy of Ohio’s Underground Railroad," in the Ohio Associated Media Editors’ “Best Digital Project” category and the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists "Best Minority Issues Reporting.” The piece, which was published in USA Today by Céilí, her colleagues Sheridan Hendrix and Joshua A. Bickel commemorates the memory of seven freedom seekers and abolitionists who made the journey through, or assisted folks along, the Underground Railroad in Ripley, Ohio.

In college she served as managing editor of Miami University of Ohio’s award-winning, independent student-run weekly, The Miami Student. Céilí also established and supervised The Student’s audio journalism. Her work at Miami garnered her multiple first-place Mark of Excellence awards, presented by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. She graduated from Miami in May 2020 with a B.A. in journalism and political science.

When not chasing stories, Céilí enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, traveling, attending concerts and cooking.