Athlete, civic spokesman Noel Carroll dies at 56

Mr Noel Carroll, chief executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and former spokesman for Dublin Corporation, died suddenly yesterday apparently after suffering a heart attack while on his daily lunchtime run.

He represented Ireland in athletics, including the Olympic Games in Tokyo (1964) and Mexico City (1968).

A Louth man born in Annagassan in December 1941 he was appointed in 1972 to the post which gained him more public recognition over 24 years as spokesman for Dublin Corporation.

When the lifts failed to work in Ballymun or communities were up in arms over the corporation's road-widening schemes, Noel Carroll was sent out to defend the civic bureaucracy.

He was always good for a quote. In 1986, when Hurricane Charlie caused the Dodder to flood in Ballsbridge and there were complaints of inaction by the corporation, he said: "People who live beside a river should expect to get their feet wet now and again."

Accurately reflecting the view taken by Mr Frank Feely, the city manager for 17 years, Mr Carroll often characterised the corporation's opponents as "self-appointed critics" who were pursuing their own agendas. And as the former city manager said on RTE yesterday evening, he was available at all times to speak for the corporation.

He also initiated the corporation's newsletter for schools and was responsible for many of its other publications. His brief included civic protocol, such as welcoming home the Irish football squad from the World Cup in 1990 and the Freedom of the City for President Clinton in 1995.

Though personally very likeable and engaging, he often gave an impression in the media of being dismissive of criticism or the arguments of opponents. However, those who knew him well came to realise that this was a mask that he had to wear to do his job as the corporation's public relations officer. He was never afraid of journalists, even at their most critical, and gave little quarter. No opportunity was lost to challenge any criticism, and he often engaged in battles in the letters columns whenever the corporation came under sustained attack.

Noel Carroll was not a man for mincing words. When Goal, the Third World relief agency of which he was chairman, found itself in difficulties last year over State funding, he accused the Department of Foreign Affairs of conducting a smear campaign against it.

He could often be abrasive, especially if he felt that criticism was unfair or distorted. Two years ago 17 Fingal county councillors sued him and RTE for libel after he made a damaging comment about their land rezoning activities on The Late Late Show.

During the latter years of his service in Dublin Corporation, he applied for the post of Head of Sports with RTE, in succession to Mr Fred Cogley, but he was unsuccessful. In 1996, however, he was appointed chief executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

He was soon embroiled in the Luas light rail controversy because of the chamber's insistence that it should go underground in the city centre. Showing again that he had not forgotten his facility for words, he described Luas as a "red herring" in the context of Dublin traffic.

Last month, in an Irish Times supplement on the Chamber of Commerce, he said there were too many other infrastructure projects, such as the Port Tunnel and finishing off the M50, to be completed before the streets should be dug up to facilitate Luas.

He was also actively involved behind the scenes in many other projects, such as chairing an advisory committee on the most suitable schemes to be undertaken to commemorate the millennium. Recently, he described himself as an eccentric. Though he had his own philosophy, he did not believe in "forcing it down anyone else's throat". He was "certainly not an obsessive" person when it came to his work and was always able to look at both sides of any argument.

He is survived by his wife, the singer and harpist Deirdre O'Callaghan, and by their children, Enda (33), Nicola (32), Noel (28) and Stephen (24). Athletic community will mourn loss, Sport supplement, page 1; A runner who set track standards for others to follow, page 2