By Diarmaid Doherty and Louise Doyle
WHEN Kate Heaney joined the first ever journalism class at North West College in Derry, little did she think that she was taking her first steps into a career where she would excel for the best part of 30 years.
The course afforded the Fahan woman the chance to learn so much about media – how best to write a story; how to compile a news feature; and even the opportunity to learn shorthand – a skill set she still uses all these years later.
Kate Heaney receives a presentation from Dominic McClements, managing director, North West News Group
The course also offered Kate the chance to take up a work experience position with the Donegal News and she got her first taste of a local newsroom environment joining the team in their High Road office in Letterkenny in 1997 where the editor was John McCrory.
Kate quickly made her mark and when a full-time position became available in the newsroom, she was very quickly offered a permanent role.
It was an inspired appointment, and she has been our constant since.
Doreen Gallagher congratulates Kate Heaney on her retirement
And while Kate will be quick to point to the advice and help she has received from former colleagues in the early part of her career, she in turn has been an important mentor to so many others who have worked with us since.
There’s a skill to writing a story. And Kate always relished the challenge of highlighting the issues that needed coverage, taking pride in giving a voice to those who might otherwise never be heard.
A newshound and a powerhouse, Kate has a tenacity for detail and a warmth to match. These attributes made Kate a trusted go-to to tell a person’s story, as seen in her popular feature, ‘Friday Talk’.
Kate’s reporting also held those in power to account, and many will recall her excellent reporting on the findings of the Morris Tribunal.
All we can do is thank Kate for her wonderful contribution to local journalism, and especially the Donegal News.
We’ll miss her presence in the newsroom. We’ll miss her cherished advice when difficult decisions need to be made.
We’ll miss her wonderful ability to engage with a caller on the phone – she rarely ends a call without a quip or a laugh with the person on the other end.
We’ll miss her quick wit and that look she gives you over the glasses. We will miss many things about Kate, such as her many unique sayings including, ‘sure you’re only a pup’, referring to someone’s youth, and ‘fadó fadó’.
We’ll also very much miss keeping the office temperature to a balmy 23 degrees because Kate, by her own admission, hates to be cold!
But mostly we will miss Kate. Our newsroom is certainly less without her, but we are all the more enriched by Kate’s knowledge, wisdom, kindness and steady head.
Away from the newsroom, Kate enjoys travelling, is a keen gardener and loves spending time with her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchild.
We wish her all the health and happiness to enjoy these things going forward.
So while Kate hangs up the notepad and pen, we say a fond farewell.
Be proud of yourself Kate, and be proud of all that you’ve achieved in a simply brilliant journalistic career.
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