Walk in memory of journalist Brian Hutton raises funds for Lough Swilly RNLI

A walk to mark the birthday of the late journalist Brian Hutton is raising funds for the Lough Swilly RNLI.

The walk will take place on Saturday, May 17 from the Shore front in Buncrana to Stragill and back.

The walk is being organised by family and friends of the Derryman, who died suddenly in December 2022 aged 46.

It is the third such walk held in Brian’s memory with the previous events raising funds for different local causes.

A keen sea swimmer all his life, he had a great love of Lough Swilly.

Mr Hutton’s mother Eileen Hutton said: “On what would have been his 49th birthday, the family are delighted to be gathering again with friends to walk along the shore of Brian’s beloved Lough Swilly.

“This time of year in particular invigorated Brian and he spent many evenings enjoying a stroll along the shore followed by a dip in the sea at Ludden or Ned’s Point. It seems only fitting that money raised on the walk will go towards the Lough Swilly lifeboat.”

Donations can be made at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/walkforBrianHutton.

After beginning his journalism career at the Belfast Telegraph in Derry in 2003, Mr Hutton worked for the paper in Belfast before moving to Dublin where he took up a position with the Press Association (PA) news agency. Working there for more than a decade until 2017, he became deputy news editor and his byline appeared in publications in Ireland, the UK and the USA.

A freelance career based in Dublin and later in Derry and Donegal, saw him covering stories and events on both sides of the border, working almost exclusively for the Irish Times.

A lover of the sea and a keen swimmer from childhood summers spent on Ludden beach, he was never happier than when swimming in his beloved Lough Swilly.

He returned to the north-west and moved to Inishowen, drawn by the proximity to the sea.

He passed away suddenly on December 31, 2022, after feeling unwell during a walk along Lough Swilly.

President Michael D Higgins described him as “a fine journalist and known as a brilliant colleague with a reputation for reliability and sensitive nature”.

Mr Hutton was laid to rest in St Mura’s cemetery in Fahan.

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