Wren worked at
The Irish Times from 1980 to 2004 where she covered economic, political and social matters and produced an award-winning series of articles. She has reported from Dublin, Belfast and the United States, and worked as a financial reporter, business features editor, economics editor, columnist, editorial writer and senior newspaper editor. She has studied and travelled in the United States on a World Press Institute fellowship, and was a
Fordham University Ethics Center Fellow for 2005. Her first book
Unhealthy State — Anatomy of a Sick Society (2003) examined the crisis in Irish medical care, and described options for reform. Her second book,
How Ireland Cares — The Case for Health Reform (2006) began life as a study of the Irish health system commissioned by the
Irish Congress of Trade Unions in preparation for negotiations with the government. It was written with American health economist Professor A. Dale Tussing. After leaving
The Irish Times in 2004, Wren conducted independent research and graduated with a PhD in
health economics from
Trinity College Dublin, while continuing to contribute journalism and reports to
The Sunday Business Post,
Village magazine and the
Economic and Social Research Institute's
Quarterly Economic Commentary. Wren is a
Dubliner and is married to Cormac O'Rourke; they have two daughters, Claire and Sorcha. ==Selected works==