Media careers were born here

IF WE were to visit the newsrooms of most major newspapers or media organisations in this country, chances are we’d bump into a few familiar faces.

Some of the most talented writers and broadcasters in Ireland first cut their journalistic teeth in the Northside People newsroom.

As we celebrate 30 years of local journalism, it’s a fitting time to pay tribute to those who helped make us what we are today.

Our first editor was Tim O’Brien who created the local news template that we follow to this day. Tim was among the small gathering of enthusiastic and talented people who set up Northside People to fill the void left in the market by the closure of Dublin Newspapers by the Irish Press.

It wasn’t long before Tim’s talents as a local newspaper man were recognised and he was soon offered a position as editor of Lifetimes – then owned by the Irish Times. Tim is now a long-serving journalist with the Irish Times.

Joe Lowry, from Glenageary, a graduate of journalism at the College of Commerce in Rathmines, replaced Tim as editor in 1988 and stayed with the paper until the early 1990s. He is now Senior Media and Communications Officer with the International Organisation for Migration.

Tony McCullagh, who originally joined the paper as a trainee reporter in 1989, succeeded Joe as editor in 1994. Tony, who is also a best-selling author, continues to work with Northside People where he is now group editor. 

Neil Fetherston was the fourth editor of Northside People. He is also a prolific and accomplished author and has written a number of books, ranging from the biography of Aslan singer Christy Dignam to what is considered the definitive account of the 1975 Miami Showband massacre.

Although no longer at the helm at Northside People, Neil still works with us as editor of our sister paper, Southside People.

When Neil moved across the Liffey, he was replaced by one of our most versatile journalists, Pat O’Rourke, who sits in the editor’s chair these days.

Pat brought his own dynamic to the role, infusing the content of the paper with a heady mix of sport (his specialist subject), local news and features.

Aidan Kelly, from Ballymun, was the first editor of the Northside People west edition, a role he made in own for many years before moving to America in 2006.

Jack Gleeson, who we always credit with bringing us kicking and screaming into the technological age, replaced Aidan as editor. With amazing foresight, Jack first established the Dublin People website back in 1998. He continues to hold the role of Northside People west edition editor.

Over the years we have been privileged to work with some great journalists, who are the engine of any local newspaper. Many notable names from national and digital media (and public relations) started their journalism careers with us, people such as Sinead Crowley (Arts & Media Correspondent with RTE and author), Melanie Finn (Evening Herald), Siobhan Maguire (TalkWrite), Fiona Gartland (Irish Times), Aine Kerr (Facebook)
and Brian Whelan (Channel 4).

Thanks also to Jackie Rogers, Sean Murphy, Keith Falkiner, Niall Bourke, Geraldine Comiskey, Jessie McGee, Catherine Blake, Jo Ann Fox, James Phelan, Sabra Aslam, Martin Flanagan, Kevin Jenkinson, Michael Moloney, Stephen Mangan, Neil Walsh, Jamie Deasy, Aoibhinn Twomey, Warren Swords, Paul O’Rourke and Sean Creedon.

We’d also like to pay tribute to all the talented photographers who have contributed to Northside People down through the years, namely Stephen O’Reilly, Gerry Mooney, Tony Kelly, Frank Scalzo, Paul Nicholls, Gwen Kelly, Conor O Mearain, Frank Malone and Kim Haughton. Special mention goes to Darren Kinsella who has provided exceptional photography services to us since the mid-1990s.

Apologies if we have inadvertently left anyone out.