Former RTÉ journalist Tommie Gorman dies aged 68

Former RTÉ journalist Tommie Gorman has died at the age of 68.

Mr Gorman retired from RTÉ in April 2021 after working at the broadcaster for more than 40 years.

At the time of his retirement, Mr Gorman was RTÉ News’s Northern Editor.

In a statement, Mr Gorman’s family said that he died today surrounded by his family.

“Tommie was a cherished husband, father, brother, and friend whose innate kindness and generosity of spirit touched the lives of all who knew him,” his family said.

“His memory will forever remain in our hearts, and his spirit will continue to guide and inspire us every day.”

Born in 1956, Mr Gorman was a native of Sligo. He was educated in Summerhill College and at the College of Journalism, Rathmines, Dublin.

He spent three years working in the Ballina-based Western Journal before joining RTÉ in 1980 as North-West correspondent.

In 1989, he moved to Brussels to become Europe Editor. He was appointed Northern Editor in 2001.

Mr Gorman interviewed Roy Keane after the footballer’s row with manager Mick McCarthy in the Republic of Ireland team’s Japan 2002 World Cup training camp on the island of Saipan.

He also tracked down poet Seamus Heaney on a Greek island after he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

During his career, Mr Gorman made several documentaries including ‘Europe, Cancer and Me’, ‘The Queen’s Speech’, ‘Paisley – from Troublemaker to Peacemaker’ and ‘Inside Court No. 5’, an account of the Michaela McAreavey murder trial in Mauritius.

Mr Gorman became a Freeman of Sligo in 2003 and was conferred with an Honorary Degree by NUIG in 2011.

He was first diagnosed with cancer in 1994 when he was 37-years-old and working in Brussels.

Some years later, Mr Gorman told the Irish Examiner: “Ever since my diagnosis, work has been the ultimate distraction.

“You can lose yourself in work; you can lose yourself in living. You need to engage in living.”

He is survived by his wife Ceara Roche and their two children Moya and Joe.