Gerry Mulvey:GERRY MULVEY, who has died aged 90, was a former news editor and later a deputy editor of The Irish Times. He was one of the key figures in the development of the newspaper, particularly in the periods under editor Douglas Gageby, from the 1960s to the middle of the 1980s.
Mulvey, small, quietly spoken but fiercely determined with a quick wit and an impish smile, served in many roles before he retired from the newspaper in 1985. However, it was his work as deputy news editor and news editor for which he will be most remembered. As deputy to the legendary news editor Donal Foley, Mulvey was the force who ensured that all the important reporters’ assignments, or markings, were covered, that the copy was delivered on deadline and that reports were accurate and balanced. And later in 1977, when Foley had been promoted to deputy editor, Mulvey displayed great character and good judgment when he stepped into his shoes as news editor.
He was old style, a product of a time when journalists learned their trade the hard way. He had an acute sense of news judgment and a detailed understanding of the workings of the courts and the Oireachtas. Under his firm but friendly guidance, a generation of leading journalists, such as Irish Timescurrent editor Geraldine Kennedy and her predecessor, Conor Brady, were tutored in the finer points of quality journalism.
Gerry Mulvey was born in Ballybofey, Co Donegal, on September 8th, 1920. His family later moved to Sligo where he attended Summerhill College. He entered journalism when he joined the Sligo Independentin 1938 before moving on to the Ulster Herald Group.
He joined the staff of The Irish Timesin 1947. He covered the Oireachtas for many years including the historic debate on the Mother and Child Scheme. In 1968 he was appointed deputy news editor before becoming news editor in 1977. In 1981, he was appointed a deputy editor. He retired in June 1985, having worked under five editors, RM (Bertie) Smyllie, Alec Newman, Alan Montgomery, Douglas Gageby and Fergus Pyle.
He was a very active member of the National Union of Journalists. He helped form the first provincial branch of the union when he worked in the Sligo Independentand later was father of The Irish Timeschapel on two occasions.
In an interview in March 2009 he explained the importance of a breakthrough agreement between the union and the newspaper proprietors. “The best achievement of the NUJ was securing an eight-hour day under the first agreement in 1947 because it meant you were free at six or seven o’clock in the evening and could organise a social life the same as everyone else. And wages went up to 11 guineas – 11 pounds and 11 shilllings – a week which doubled the pay for some.”
He added: “For the first three months everyone was drunk – they got four to five months’ back money and they didn’t know what to do with it.”
Conor Brady said that Gerry Mulvey was a news professional. "He carried the banner for accuracy, detail and thoroughness in the vibrant, creative Irish Timesnewsroom of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He took nothing for granted; he assumed nothing to be correct. 'Check it out,' was his watchword, delivered always with quiet insistence to those of us who learned about news journalism at his side and under his direction.
"He was the utterly organised, methodical, polar opposite of the mercurial, brilliant Donal Foley. They made a wonderful team, complementing each other's talents perfectly. The Irish Timeswould have been a much poorer thing without them. In later years, he worked closely with Douglas Gageby as a deputy editor, providing solid counsel in the myriad issues that present themselves each day in a newspaper editor's office.
“At the end of the working day, over a drink or two in the Palace, he would always be the most convivial and absorbing of companions. His knowledge of newspaper lore was encyclopaedic and his judgment in the issues of the day was unrivalled.”
The press ombudsman, Prof John Horgan, who worked in The Irish Timesin the 1960s, recalled: "Before Donal Foley's return from London as news editor in 1963, the newsdesk was controlled by a troika: Dan Duffy, Michael Kearney and Gerry Mulvey. After retirement claimed the first two of these three wise heads, Gerry Mulvey provided not only the continuity with and the institutional memory of the past, but a gritty, down-to-earth quality that was a useful – and sometimes essential – foil to the exuberance and occasional impulsiveness of his better-known superior. His kindness to reporters was legendary, there were no harsh words of reproof in his vocabulary, and his dedication to the facts of every story was the hallmark of a quiet man of real quality."
Pat O’Hara, a former deputy editor in the newspaper, remembered Mulvey as a kind and generous man. “He was always ready to give of his time and knowledge to colleagues especially those starting out on their careers. He was a newspaper man of the old school.”
Jack Fagan, who worked with Mulvey on the newsdesk, recalled: “Gerry was a loyal and efficient deputy to Donal Foley. Indeed he was the perfect foil to Foley’s flamboyant approach and occasional lack of organisation, ensuring that stories were accurate and balanced and that deadlines were met. The job was frequently stressful – Gerry coped with it on a diet of paper clips; he always seemed to have some in his mouth. When he became news editor he maintained the paper’s tradition for reliable news reporting. Journalism was his life and he frequently remained on duty into the early morning to oversee late-breaking news stories. He was particularly popular with other journalists whether as colleagues or as their boss.”
Gerry Mulvey is survived by his daughter Joanna and grandchildren. His wife Mary and son Patrick predeceased him.
Gerry Mulvey: born September 8th, 1920; died December 14th, 2010