Former RTÉ journalist Tommie Gorman has died at the age of 68, his family have announced. After 41 years, Tommie signed off from RTÉ News for the final time in May 2021.
RTÉ Director General, Kevin Bakhurst paid tribute to his former colleague and friend: “I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Tommie Gorman. I met Tommie on Monday evening – he was in good form and optimistic ahead of planned surgery this week. Tommie was not only a great friend and colleague to me, and to so many in RTÉ and beyond, he was also a journalist of outstanding pedigree, integrity and incredible tenacity. As RTÉ’s Northern Editor he was the voice of an era as that era itself transformed from violence to peace. Tommie guided us through the intricacies with colour, command and panache. He was a storyteller journalist like no other. I am so deeply sorrowed by his loss and extend my personal sympathies to Tommie’s family.”
Born in 1956, Tommie 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 made Northern Editor in 2001, a position he held for 20 years.
He also 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.
In his final work with RTÉ, Tommie presented an insightful documentary Ireland, Cancer and Me, a personal account of living with a cancer condition. In 1994, when he was 37 and working as RTE’s Brussels-based Europe Correspondent, Tommie Gorman was diagnosed with cancer, Neuro-endocrine tumours (NETS). Two of those who fought long battles with the condition were the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs and the singer, Aretha Franklin.
In the early days of his diagnosis with cancer, Tommie discovered that under EU law, he was entitled to treatment available in another EU state if that treatment was cost effective and useful. In 1998 Tommie Gorman became the first Irish citizen to access treatment at a Swedish Centre of Excellence. He availed of an EU directive to qualify for that care. His documentary for RTÉ at the time about his treatment called Europe, Cancer and Me, charted his cancer treatment and healthcare that was available to Irish people under EU law. It helped open the door for hundreds of Irish patients to follow in his footsteps to Sweden and other EU countries to get wide ranging and vital treatments.
Deirdre McCarthy, Managing Director of RTÉ News & Current Affairs said:
“We are incredibly saddened following the death of our former colleague Tommie Gorman. Tommie was a giant in Irish journalism and an integral part of RTÉ News for over forty years. From Belfast to Brussels, and his beloved Sligo, Tommie was an outstanding Irish journalist and story breaker throughout his long career in RTÉ News. Familiar to so many of our audiences at a critical time in Northern Ireland following the Good Friday Agreement, Tommie reported from Belfast until his retirement in 2021. His talent and tenacity as a journalist saw him cover a vast range of stories during his career. He was trusted by many to share their stories, from Roy Keane to senior Northern Ireland political figures, his energy and professionalism were always highly regarded.”
Following his retirement from RTÉ he went on to write a book, Never Better, My Life in Our Times, and continued as a journalist, writing a column for The Currency.
RTÉ extends sincere sympathies to Tommie’s family – his wife Ceara, daughter Moya and son Joe, his former colleagues and many friends.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
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