Ruadhán J McElroy, also R J McElroy, Ruadhán Jarlath McElroy, and Ruadhán Jowan McElroy (born on July 22 in Toledo, Ohio), is a blogger, writer, artist and musician who lives in Ann Arbor, MI. He usually claims to be between thirty and twenty-five years old. Since he always claims that, as per the Chinese zodiac, he was born in "the year of the Rooster," if one is to assume this as correct, he was most likely born in either 1969 or 1981 -- it may also just be a claim made from his alleged penis obsession.
He was educated at St. Adalbert's Catholic School from grades K through 6, went to public school from grades 7 through 11 and quit in his senior year, having made the choice to work full-time to pay his rent. He obtained a GED at Washtenaw Community College on a bet to get $50. He is still owed that $50.
Personal Life: Not Just Info For Nosy Bastards Anymore
Though a female-to-male transsexual, he identifies as a gay man. Unlike most visible gay male-identified FTM persons, Ruadhan also eschews the bear scene and describes his own gay gender expression as closer to that of a dandy or self-described "art fag" (Ruadhan's personal preference, as it implies a sly vulgarity) and uses both terms interchangably despite the inisitance of different meanings on the pages of Wikipedia.
Speaking of medical conditions, through no known fault of his own, his eyes are in a terrible shape. He is nearsighted and suffers from Astigmatism. His eyes are also extremely photosensitive. As of 2010, with glasses, his visual acuity is 20/60.
Family?
His father was a former vagabond and factory worker (and in the summers, a Little League umpire) from Detroit, Michigan. His mother, a former opera singer, biker and later a registered nurse from Toledo, Ohio.
His paternal and maternal grandparents were both immigrants, respectively from Ireland and from England. His parents divorced when he was ten, after his mother came out as a lesbian. He has a total of eight siblings, half-siblings and step-siblings combined making his placement in the birth order at number seven out of a total of nine children.
For all intents and purposes, he is estranged from his entired family. His mother, in 1993, "fell off the face of the planet". His father died in 2002 from a brain aneurysm at the age of 59. The two had not spoken for nearly five years. He does not speak to his step-mother or any of his siblings and maintains that this is the way everybody is happiest.
He currently describes his "family" as being his room-mate, their two cats and a small handful of close friends.
The McElroy Clan
There is very little known of The McElroy Clan, other than the surname originated in Ulster, and has many centuries-old connections in Belfast.
Ruadhán has some interest in researching his family name as well as in meeting other Irish, Irish-Scots, Ulster-Scots and Irish-American McElroys.
So far he has determined that, while generally ne'er-do-wells, the McElroy clan has had a long, albeit sporadic, connection to music and the arts.
Career?
His first job was working the front line at a Mexican deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He's since worked extensively in the field of "grunt work and gophering".
For posterity's sake, he's also a former article writer for punk and deathrock zines, and has since penned two novels featuring unusual gay characters, usually with distinct physical peculiarities.
He also has a sound collage project (he objects to it being referred to as a "band", despite the project's use of original composition) called This Is Where the Fish Lives. He's working on a This Is Where the Fish Lives album, tentatively titled Ersatz Music For Ersatz People. He's an accomplished, albeit former, choral singer as well as a self-described "guitar noodler". He's noted for playing a solid-body electric viola in This Is Where the Fish Lives.
He paints murals on comission, and claims to have once sold a watercolour "portrait" of David Bowie's crotch from the film Labyrinth for a packet of Djarum Black clove cigarettes and a bottle of Wild Turkey.
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