Hume pays tribute to former 'Irish Times' editor

The former SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said he was "deeply saddened" by the death of former Irish Times editor, Douglas Gageby…

The former SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said he was "deeply saddened" by the death of former Irish Times editor, Douglas Gageby. "I extend my deepest sympathy to his family," he said. Carol Coulter reports.

Gageby died last Thursday and was cremated following a private family ceremony in Mount Jerome cemetery in Dublin on Saturday, in accordance with his own wishes.

"Douglas was a first-class journalist, and of course as editor of The Irish Times he made an outstanding contribution to Ireland as a whole. He transformed The Irish Times into a truly national newspaper and made it play a very major role in fully informing people on the actual situation in the North, and in particular promoting very positive and constructive analysis of attitudes to the Northern problem.

"His philosophy was a true philosophy for lasting peace in Ireland - true unity of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter based on mutual respect and agreement."

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Mr Tim Pat Coogan, the former editor of the Irish Press, where Gageby started his journalistic career, said: "Douglas Gageby to me was not merely the editor who gave me my first regular job in journalism (on the Evening Press), but a towering figure in both Irish journalism and Irish society in the twentieth century.

"He helped to shape opinion and change attitudes, and tremendously improved both the status of the papers for which he worked and the calling of journalism." Mr David Marcus, editor, writer and film-maker, described Gageby as "a major figure in how he made The Irish Times an essential part of the life of the country. He rescued The Irish Times from unionist isolation.

"He was a man of tremendous sensibility, with a great passion for Ireland. He also had a great sense of humour, and tremendous enthusiasm for the Irish language." He was also a man of enormous sophistication, according to Mr Marcus. "He loved the Continent, and he loved humanity. He was also very shrewd, but was always looking to be optimistic." He recalled spending several months with him making the Heritage of Ireland series for RTÉ in the 1970s.

"He was of Protestant stock but a Wolfe Tone republican. He was very proud of Belfast," he said. "He revelled in anything that happened suggesting that all the people on this island shared the same stories.

"He had very high standards, of journalism, of literacy, and moral standards. I can only imagine the world must have got more shocking for him as years went by, except for the signs of hope in Northern Ireland."