THE past week brought back wonderful memories of great, local, national, international journalism, I have enjoyed for 44 years. As a kid, the great Irish Times journalist Uncle Arthur Quinlan brought me on every major story, world headline stories and, then back to my mothers newspaper office and, on the typewriter, compiled his story, telling me, virtually line by line, why he was framing it in such a way. He would then tell me to go away and, write my version of the story. From the age of twelve, I had a handful of written stories, I would hand into local business. At 17, I began engineering with Krups, only to have Donal Crosbie, say, it was the wrong career and, I was starting work with the Crosbie papers, the following Monday. Immediately, I was urged to work whenever with the great, Larry Lyons. We used to go out the harbour, board the visiting liners and, do great stories. But a News Editor, Steve Coughlan, asked us one day, to stand back and, leave, lovely, late Maureen Fox go out and, enjoy the wonderful hospitality. That evening, Larry arrived in the office and, asked me what stories she got. I said none. Okay, he tells me and, we get on the phone to people we knew involved. Larry, within minutes, come off and says, we have an exclusive. Yes, he found from a baggage man pal of ours, they had just uncovered a major IRA arms landing bid. You could go on for ever. The Gay Future betting coup, we were able to monitor in phone calls to gamblers laying the money with bookies, round Britain and, then next day, only one at airport, as the boys came off the flight back into Cork, hands in air, cheering, those forty years back. Indeed we had lunch with Tony Murphy, heavily involved, some days later. Think of that for grooming in hard nose, journalism, as Uncle Arthur would say. There is much, I could write about Larry, such as the phone call, I got while attending a conference in Rome. He said, he heard rumours of a Papal visit, could I check. I went up to Knock Airport activist, Monsignor Horan who, suggested we go upstairs to a private room. There were a lot of Irish media present but, when I told him what Larry asked me, he replied of his admiration for Larry and, indeed, myself. He told me the Pope was coming and, we are the only ones who knew it. Larry, not the first time, had a superbly written, world exclusive on the Cork Examiner next morning. I could go for ever in tribute to a man, that made me, I hope, people, colleagues, see as doing well in journalism as a result of on the scene training for the two greats of Munster based colleagues. Finally, we had a great social life, he told me I had an eye for daughter, Paula and, as always he was right. But her brother, publisher, Eddie would never leave us alone, as we sat on the couch watching tv. That same couch was my seat for our little press poker sessions, lovely food from his unique, very special wife and, superb drinks you could choose from the wonderful range of bottles in the sideboard behind us. Forty years on, Larry is still remembered in British media for letting the Cork Examiner have the exclusive story. We urgently need hard nose journalists, now. No journalism college, their degree, can give us that type of journalism, as I have seen for too many years now. All I say, give time to looking back at the Cork Examiner, Cork Evening Echo and, Cork Weekly Examiner of twenty five years and longer back and, see the style of so many greats, we had then. Thanks for the memory, Larry and, as you and, Arthur said, work until your last day on earth, if you can, bringing NEWS to the reader.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 18:56:09 +0000
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