Charlie Bird’s courageous final act

The death was announced yesterday of broadcaster and journalist Charlie Bird. The former RTÉ chief news correspondent, who was 74 when he died, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2021.

One of Ireland’s best-known journalists, he reported on of the biggest stories in Ireland and around the world through the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s.

However, in many ways, it was Charlie Bird’s final years, following his MND diagnosis, that perhaps will leave the greatest mark on this country.

Today, on In the News, Irish Times Ireland and Britain editor Mark Hennessy reflects on Charlie Bird’s four-decade long journalistic career and the advocacy work and campaigning which defined his final years.