President leads tributes to former RTÉ broadcaster David Davin-Power, who has died

LAST UPDATE | 5 hrs ago

THE PRESIDENT HAS led tributes to the former RTÉ journalist David Davin-Power, who has died aged 72.

The Dubliner was born in 1952 and began as a reporter and broadcaster with RTÉ News in the early 1980s, becoming a presenter on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland in 1984.

After returning to the station following a short period at Century Radio, Davin-Power was appointed Northern Editor at RTÉ News, where he steered the coverage of the Troubles peace negotiations.

Davin-Power and his reporters led the public broadcaster’s bulletins on the day the Good Friday Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998.

The journalist was later appointed as a political correspondent in Leinster House in 2001, a role he held until his retirement in 2017.

Despite his retirement from RTÉ, he continued his work in the media. In the past seven years, he appeared on radio and television programmes and wrote guest columns for a number of newspapers as a political commentator.

His is survived by his wife, Dearbhla, and his five children,  Nick, Julia, Caroline, Ben and Emily.

President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin have paid tribute to the journalist.

“It is with great sadness that people all across the country will have learned of the death of David Davin-Power,” President Higgins said.

“A consummate broadcaster and communicator, David Davin-Power was a regular presence in the lives of so many people either over the airwaves or on television.

David provided decades of incisive analysis across his roles in RTÉ in particular and was a trusted voice whether reporting on Northern Ireland or on the business of the Oireachtas.

The President said that the broadcaster will be “deeply missed by all who knew him, his colleagues in the media, across the Oireachtas and by the public who were so informed by his work”.

“May I send my condolences to David’s wife Dearbhla, and to his children Nick, Julia, Caroline, Ben and Emily, to his colleagues in RTÉ and beyond, and to all of his family and friends.”

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Harris said: “As a journalist and broadcaster, David was a trusted name who was welcomed into homes across the country throughout his long career

“He was one of the first presenters of Morning Ireland, an accomplished Northern Editor of RTÉ at a key moment in history, a political correspondent who knew the Dáil inside-out, and in recent years, a witty and insightful columnist.”

The Taoiseach described Davin-Power as a “consummate professional, a thorough journalist, and a gentleman”.

“He was a storyteller who was generous with his time, he was an interesting person who was interested in other people, and he was kind to those around him,” he said, sending his condolences to Davin-Power’s family.

Martin said it was with “great sadness” that he learnt of the death of Davin-Power. He commended the reporter for his career and “life dedicated to public service broadcasting”.

“David was thorough and razor sharp in his questioning and analysis, but fair. He was always driven to get to the bottom of every story he worked on,” the Tánaiste said, adding that he enjoyed the many engagements he had with the journalist throughout his career.

Speaking on the passing of his friend and former colleague, retired RTÉ broadcaster Brian Dobson told RTÉ Radio One’s Drive Time said the news of his passing was “very shocking” and reflected on the memories they shared.

Dobson shared that Davin-Power was “not happy” to retire, at the mandatory age of 65.

“He described it as a redundancy by age. He would’ve very happily gone on. I suppose if it were now, he would have had the opportunity to go on – I think RTÉ does offer people that opportunity extending a bit beyond age 65 – but at the time, he had to go and he didn’t want to go.

“He loved his job, loved the people he worked with, and would have been delighted to have stayed on. But he found new outlets for his talent,” Dobson said, adding that his work after his retirement “liberated” him to share his opinion on the World.

“He did have strong opinions. But I suppose, like a lot of us in public service broadcasting, you have to put those to one side but he had that opportunity, I think, to be more forthright, maybe in in some of some of his views,” his former colleague said, adding that his columns became “essential reading”.

Director General of RTÉ Kevin Bakhurst said Davin-Power “possessed one of the most incisive political brains at RTÉ and indeed in Ireland”.

“For many years, he was familiar to audiences, colleagues and politicians as insightful, eloquent and scrupulously fair. Off-screen, he was also funny, a great storyteller and was hugely loyal to colleagues, friends and to RTÉ itself,” he added.

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