Media

Bryan Dobson: David Davin-Power was a natural storyteller in both professional and personal life

Veteran broadcaster had a way of bringing people together, a talent for analysis and a deep respect for the importance of language

Former RTÉ journalist David Davin-Power (left) and Bryan Dobson at the launch of the Fianna Fáil general election campaign in 2016. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons/The Irish Times
Former RTÉ journalist David Davin-Power (left) and Bryan Dobson at the launch of the Fianna Fáil general election campaign in 2016. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons/The Irish Times
Bryan Dobson
Fri Nov 01 2024 - 17:47

David Davin-Power, who died this week at the age of 72, was my friend and colleague for the better part of four decades. We first worked together closely in the early 1990s, when he was reporting on the advances and setbacks in the emerging Northern Ireland peace process in his role as RTÉ’s Northern Editor.

David was already a familiar voice to RTÉ audiences from his time as presenter of Morning Ireland, which he had helped to launch with co-presenter David Hanly a decade earlier.

Ten years on, as a war-weary Northern Ireland edged towards peace, DDP, as he was known to all his colleagues, brought to that same audience news of the paramilitary ceasefires, reported from the multiparty talks at Stormont and, when the breakthrough finally came, led RTÉ coverage of the Belfast Agreement.

[ Bertie Ahern pays tribute to late broadcaster David Davin-Power ]

For presenters such as myself, David’s appearance on a satellite link or in studio when a big news story was breaking was always deeply reassuring. He excelled in the analysis of sometimes complex stories, getting to the heart of the matter but without sacrificing nuance. These were skills he went on to deploy during his 16-year tenure as RTÉ political correspondent at Leinster House.

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From the high-water mark of Fianna Fáil’s three-in-a-row election victories to the crushing humiliation of the banking collapse and the bailout, and the political upheavals that followed, David was trusted to tell the story as he saw it. Trusted by us, his colleagues, and trusted, I believe, by our audience.

Then tánaiste Dick Spring (left) with Morning Ireland editor Shane Kenny (second left), presenter David Hanly (second from right) and David Davin-Power at RTÉ studios in 1984. Photograph: Jack McManus
Then tánaiste Dick Spring (left) with Morning Ireland editor Shane Kenny (second left), presenter David Hanly (second from right) and David Davin-Power at RTÉ studios in 1984. Photograph: Jack McManus

David was a natural storyteller, in both his professional and personal life. His broadcast analysis on the Six-One or Nine O’Clock News, often delivered live, was meticulously prepared. He had a deep respect for the importance of language, but wore his eloquence and learning lightly. Well read and always curious, David’s conversation was never less than engaging, often very amusing and sometimes quite challenging. He was never one to accept without question conventional wisdom.

During those years I would frequently turn to David for advice and guidance ahead of a big interview. Whether in Stormont or at Leinster House he would give that distilled analysis that characterised his broadcasting. But from his years on Morning Ireland, he also understood the challenges of sitting in the interviewer’s chair. He taught me to anticipate the answers I might get and prepare good follow-up questions, which is where the “news line” often emerges.

We shared many interests, a fascination with politics of course, an interest in history and in particular Irish involvement in the first World War in which both our grandfathers participated. Perhaps surprisingly, we also shared a passion for cricket. When Ireland was admitted to Test cricket some years ago, we spent a delightful day, under a clear blue sky, watching the national side play Pakistan at Malahide.

David Davin-Power in 1984. Photograph: RTÉ/PA Wire
David Davin-Power in 1984. Photograph: RTÉ/PA Wire

I think friendship was important to David. He had friends from his school days who remained close, and during his final illness he was anxious to see as many friends as possible. He had a talent too for bringing people together, not least each Christmas when he and his wife Dearbhla and their family hosted a party for friends and neighbours.

Guests might find themselves chatting to a Supreme Court judge, while noticing a former taoiseach in conversation with a current government minister. There would be guests too from the worlds of music, the arts, media, and journalism, united by their shared friendship with David and Dearbhla.

David’s death has left many of those friends shocked and bereft.

David Davin-Power: husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, reporter, editor.

May he rest in peace.

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