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Irish Daily Mirror

TUESDAY 20.08.2013

DMEEIR

DMEEIR

Irish Daily Mirror

TUESDAY 20.08.2013

13

DEATH OF MIRROR REPORTER: JOE GORROD 24/9/1938 - 18/8/2013

VICTORIA McMAHON j.beattie@mgn.co.uk

BY

JILLY BEATTIE and

The veteran reporter, who moved to the North from Co Durham in 1969, passed away peacefully on Sunday night following an illness. Joe, 74, had dedicated more than four decades to reporting the news, describing the reality of the days he lived through, and exposing the bully boys he said were ruining his beloved adopted home. As news of his passing emerged yesterday, tributes poured into the Daily Mirror offices as friends and colleagues remembered him. john kierans John Kierans, EditorIn-Chief, Mirror Group Newspapers Ireland, said Joe had taught him all he knew about newspapers and journalism. He added: Joe Gorrod was the heart of the Mirror. He taught us all so much over the years and he personally taught me as much as he could about the business. He was a legend in the game, a true Mirror man who was passionate about reporting the news in full colour and passionate about the Mirror and what the paper stood for then and today. He championed the ordinary person, whether they were our readers or our young reporters, and he went out of his way to help anyone who needed it. In the North he covered the Troubles and the birth of the civil rights movement right through to the peace process. He was extremely brave. He was threatened many times and caught up in many gunfights on the streets trying to bring the news to our readers. Joe carried the Mirror through the Troubles with his own style and flair. He made the news make sense, he ensured the public were presented with the truth about what was happening and he spoke plainly to everyone. He was an excellent reporter and a fantastic writer who could make the readers laugh and cry. We have missed him since he retired four years ago. We will never forget Joe no one who met him ever could. Joe died a month short of his 75th birthday and pals and former colleagues recalled he faced everything in life with a wry smile, cigarette in his hand and a no-nonsense approach.

HE world of journalism has lost a unique talent following the death of Mirror man Joe Gorrod.

He was passionate about reporting news and what the paper stood for

A legend and true Mirror man, he could make the readers laugh and cry. Well miss him VETERAN JOURNALIST dies after illness
nnmaking the news Joe and Des McMullen discuss papers layout JJbest bar none With Jim McDowell
Malaya and later served with the Paras. But a broken leg ended his soldiering career and he joined the Royal Military Police and was posted to Belfast. He met his wife Eileen at the Plaza dance hall and the couple went on to have a son and two daughters. He joined the Northern Whig as a reporter before moving to the Belfast Telegraph, the Daily Express and then joined the Mirror his spiritual home. He relaxed by spending time with his family, his dogs and cats and war gaming, occasionally joking with friends he sometimes allowed the Bismark to sail off and Hitler to win. After a lifetime working for the Mirror, Joe retired only to be encouraged back into the job to accompany the sisters of IRA murder victim Robert McCartney. He was the only reporter they trusted to help them lobby Washington in their bid for justice and he came back with the exclusive scoop President George Bush backed the familys campaign. Four years ago, Joe retired for the final time from the Daily Mirrors Belfast office, leaving behind an empty desk that

EX-COLLEAGUES PAY TRIBUTE

u Joes mumble, an ear-straining of the Troubles and did it with style. - Syd Young, former Geordie Irish, didnt make the big man Mirror District Reporter the easiest to understand but, boy, was uIt was a true honour to be able to he worth listening to. I first met him in 1998 when sent to consider Joe a colleague and a privilege Belfast to cover the Good Friday peace to be able to seek advice from him. He was an incredible reporter and talks and what he didnt know wasnt what I learned from him will stay with worth learning. me forever. Joe was a generous - Laurie Hanna, colleague, in and out Reporter, of the pub, and a Daily Mirror fabulous oldu Joe had quite school reporter an impact on me happiest at the early in my scene of the career and I will story, notebook remember him in hand. But, fondly. above all else, he In January 1998 was quite simply a kevin maguire I was sent, as a new very decent man. trainee reporter, to RIP Joe. The Mirrors office in - Kevin Maguire, Associate Belfast to get some experiEditor, Daily Mirror uJoe was a brilliant reporter. He had ence. It was a difficult time in the city with a real passion for the job and was a fantastic operator working during lots of tit-for-tat killings. With my English home counties some of the toughest times British accent I stood out a mile and it would journalists ever had to work in. But he always had a smile on his face have been easy for Joe to dismiss me and attacked each assignment with a as an upstart out of my depth. Instead he took me under his great sense of humour. He was a one-off and he will be substantial wing and gave me some lessons in reporting that no lecture sorely missed. - Andy Lines, former Head could instill. - Michael Greenwood, of News, Daily Mirror Trinity Mirror u Nothing beats experience in uThroughout my career Joe has journalism and Joe had seen it all. He was like a war vet and his stories always been there. He was great company, a vastly of derring-do would leave young experienced journalist, a big family man trainees terrified. Above all, he knew how to write for and one of the funniest people anyone the ordinary punter he put all the could wish to meet. - Alan Lewis, Photographer relevant information in the right order, sprinkling his stories with intriguing uJoe Gorrod was absolutely class and gave me my first shift on the Mirror in pieces of colour. He may have been old school but Belfast before I became a trainee, he made sure to pass on his knowledge entrusting me with a page lead about to each new generation of a missing one-eyed cat called Popeye. reporters. He wanted to give me a boost on - Gerry Millar, former Northern Ireland Editor my first day and somehow it got in, uI am so sad to hear the news about with my first byline. Joe was brilliant as a mentor when Joe. Ill never forget how kind, I first started out and taught me loads, inspirational and fun he was during my laughing at my clumsy struggle to three months as a trainee in Belfast. get to grips with the scary world of journalism from day one. He was a legend. - Claire OBoyle, - Victoria Murphy, Reporter, Daily Reporter, Daily Mirror Mirror uJoe welcomed u Joe Gorrod me to Belfast as was a good man, a Daily Mirror a good reporter graduate trainee who kept his in April 2007, and cool while all immediately around him was suggested I hit going mad. the streets to Working with andrew gregory look for news. Joe guaranteed I dont think I will success and he took ever forget his raised great pride in getting the job done, eyebrows and bemused with the least fuss possible. - Trevor McBride, expression when I arrived back Photographer clutching what must have been a uJoe Gorrod was a one-off talent and pathetic attempt at a story. I owe him a lot. Trustworthy, a great friend. He was honest and a brilliant, funny tenacious and big-hearted, Joe was one and fantastic colleague who could be of the finest newsmen Ive ever relied on to get the story and always known. - Andrew Gregory, Reporter, give you a laugh. Daily MIrror Joe worked through the darkest days

Joe was a generous colleague and quite simply a very decent man

press icon
Joe Gorrod passed away on Sunday

nnIn the frame Joe and Mirror reporters in 1970

He said: Joe was old school, a man born to be a Daily Mirror reporter. He had a natural feeling for a story, was liked and got on with everyone. He was a man who was determined to live life to the full and he did just that to the very end. JJsorely We were shot at many missed times and blown up in Joe Gorrod McGlades Bar too. But we just waited for the explosion to settle and carried on drinking. decades. He was lively and fun, debonair, Joe didnt make a fuss over anything, and brutally honest and he knew that we even being blown up. He was cool, had a only live once. cool head and in his younger days looked Id say Joe didnt waste a moment and like Clint Eastwood. Ill miss him very much. His contacts list was legendary and it Joe, from Blackhall Colliery, Co Durham, was what kept the paper in stories for left England with the National Service in

etired Belfast journalist Alastair McQueen described Joe as a good mate who would be sorely missed.

Tenacious & big-hearted, he was one of the finest newsmen Ive ever known

JJmaking a point Joe in office

was once littered with loose tobacco and a huge gap where a legend once worked.

e warned hacks covering the Sunday shift in the Mirror to be on their toes, adding: Everything happens on a Sunday. Look at the Battle of Waterloo.
He fulfilled his prophecy on Sunday when he passed away after a short battle with cancer. Joe was old school having learned his

craft when your memory needed to be your personal Google and getting a story could mean an afternoon doing a pub crawl around Belfast city centre. He didnt only live through the heyday of newspapers but revelled in it. At a moments notice he could be dispatched to a far-flung country, relying on his quick wit to secure a story. Joe was able to recall days when the accounts department asked Mirror hacks limit their cigars and brandies to two on their expense account at lunchtime. And he was a champion for the

underdog, always willing to cheer on the David in any Goliath battle. The stories about the man are as legendary as some he wrote. When he and another journalist were challenged at Stormont for their media ID, he disarmed with charm and quickly replied: Forgive us for our press passes as we forgive those that press pass against us. The security guard couldnt help but laugh and let them in. Then there were the extraordinary tales of the rich and famous, told with such a

straight face you didnt know whether it was fact or folklore. In later years, many a Mirror journalism student passed under his tutelage. And a healthy disrespect of authority with scepticism for the trotted-out press line was actively encouraged. Joe despaired with the unchecked growth of press officers and hankered after the days where you could actually talk to someone sensible. Journalism was his mistress he found her difficult to give up and the feeling was mutual. Joe finally retired, for a

record third time, from the Mirror in 2009. The fact he later received work offers from other newspapers was testament to what an asset he was to any news room. He was a true wordsmith who had the added qualities of warmth, wit and charm to match.Joe is survived by his wife Eileen, son Tim,

33Couple Joe with wife Eileen

daughters Joanne and Tracey and grandchildren. Eileen last night said she was deeply grateful for the care given to her husband in his final days at the Marie Curie Hospice in Belfast. She added: He was wonderfully looked after, very comfortable and was not distressed at any time. Joes funeral will be held at St Malachys Church, Belfast, at 1pm on Friday.