Former Irish Times and Belfast Telegraph journalist Michael Devine dies aged 79

The death has occurred of journalist Michael Devine, a former Irish Times and Belfast Telegraph correspondent. Mr Devine died in Beaumont hospital overnight on Saturday aged 79. He had been suffering from cancer.

His father, also Michael Devine, worked as a journalist for The Irish Times and his son followed him into the newspaper, working there until the early 1970s before moving to the Belfast Telegraph as Dublin correspondent.

A highly respected journalist who was based in Leinster House, he reported on the view from Dublin during the Troubles, the difficult relationship and continuous talks between Ireland and Britain during that time.

Upheavals

He recorded the upheavals in Irish politics over the careers of six taoisigh, as well as major incidents including the kidnapping of Dutch industrialist Tiede Herrema in 1975 by the IRA.

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A skilled golfer, he was also a member of what was known at the time as the Friday teatime club, when political correspondents met for drinks in Mulligan’s pub.

Mr Devine, who lived in Clontarf, is survived by his wife Deirdre who he met when she worked for the Sunday Review, a paper owned at the time by The Irish Times, and his three adult children Shane, Joanne and Michelle.