Tributes paid to former Irish Times journalist Dick Hogan, who has died aged 76

Tributes have been paid to former Irish Times southern correspondent Dick Hogan, who died on Wednesday in the Mercy University Hospital in his native Cork at the age of 76.

Former editors of The Irish Times Conor Brady and Paul O’Neill were among those to praise Hogan for the quality of his journalism. He started his career in The Cork Examiner and then moved to Dublin to work for RTÉ before returning to Cork as Irish Times southern correspondent.

Brady said: “Dick Hogan’s career in journalism reflected his strong values and his many talents. I first worked with him when he was recruited from the then Cork Examiner by the legendary Mike Burns to the newly formed RTÉ news features unit in the 1970s. He was a colleague of immense charm, good humour, energy and conviviality – qualities that can carry one a long way in journalism.

“But his heart was in Cork – and in print rather than broadcasting – and when he was given the opportunity to return there as southern correspondent for The Irish Times, he jumped at it. His deep local knowledge of Cork, its people, its places and its culture was to prove immensely valuable to the paper and its readers over the many years of his tenure.”

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O’Neill echoed Brady, noting how Hogan had a deserved reputation for quality journalism that greatly enhanced The Irish Times’s standing on Leeside, where he reported for the paper for some two decades until his departure in 2002, when he went to assist University College Cork with its communications.

“Over a long career, Dick was the definitive voice of Cork and beyond, who, whether reporting on events of local, national or international significance, applied the same standards of accuracy, thoroughness and fairness,” said O’Neill.

“He was a champion of the region rather than a cheerleader for it, reflecting what he saw as good or bad with the same honesty and candour, which were integral to both his journalism and his character.”

Hogan is survived by his partner Aileen, his sons Cian, Shane and Richard and their mother Helen as well as his siblings Alex, John, Mary and Niamh, and he was predeceased by his brother Eddie.

Requiem Mass takes place at 1pm on Friday at St Michael’s Church, Upper Glanmire, Cork