CATHAL O’SHANNON, who has died aged 83, was a mould- breaking journalist in the print and broadcasting media over several decades.
He worked with The Irish Times, RTÉ and the BBC and as a public relations consultant in a long and distinguished career.
Born into what he described as a “household full of books” in Marino, north Dublin, he lied about his age and joined the Royal Air Force in the second World War with his friend Fred O’Donovan, who later became chairman of the RTÉ Authority.
After three years in the Far East he returned to Dublin and was hired on the journalistic staff by Irish Timeseditor RM Smyllie in 1949.
For some years he used the name Cathal Óg O'Shannon to distinguish himself from his father, Cathal O'Shannon, a trade unionist and columnist with the since defunct Evening Press.
Young Cathal's journalistic assignments with The Irish Timesincluded a period in the London office. In 1960, the newspaper sent him to the Congo to cover the involvement of Irish troops in the United Nations peacekeeping force. He later joined the BBC.
He later returned to Ireland and worked as a reporter on the RTÉ Newsbeatprogramme presented by Frank Hall. He scripted and presented highly acclaimed documentaries, featuring the Irish who participated in the Spanish Civil War and Emmet Dalton's recollection of the killing of Michael Collins.
His most memorable RTÉ interview was with Muhammad Ali in 1972, when the boxing champion came to Dublin. His broadcasting skills enabled him to to give Ali the time and space to project his personality, with O’Shannon frequently the target of the boxer’s humour.
O’Shannon left RTÉ in the 1970s to work as a public relations consultant with the Aughinish plant in Limerick. While he missed broadcasting, he privately admitted the pay was too attractive to turn down.
When he retired from that position, aged 63, he returned to broadcasting, undertaking a series of interviews and narrating documentaries.
Broadcaster Terry Wogan yesterday described him as possibly Ireland’s greatest television journalist. RTÉ director general Noel Curran said O’Shannon had passed away almost on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the inception of Irish television broadcasting.
“He was without question one of the foremost talents of these first 50 years, with a combination of remarkable gifts.”
O’Shannon was predeceased by his wife, Patsy Dyke.
