The death has taken place of the former editor of The Kerryman and the Irish Examiner, Brian Looney, at the age of 63.
He passed away in his native Cork following a short illness.
A hugely talented journalist, he started his career with the Limerick Echo and later joined the Irish Press before becoming industrial affairs correspondent with the Irish Independent in 1986.
Mr Looney became one of the youngest ever editors in the country when in 1988, at the age of 29, he was appointed to The Kerryman in succession to the long-serving Seamus McConville.
He was way ahead of his time in terms of technology development and newspaper design and one journalist that worked with him in Tralee today recalled that he ran the paper as if it was the Washington Post.
Following a successful term extensively rebranding The Kerryman, he was offered and accepted the role as editor of the then Cork Examiner in 1995.
One of his first tasks was to change the name of the title to The Examiner in a bid to attract a bigger readership outside of Cork and it later became the Irish Examiner which was totally transformed, modernised and expanded under his watch.
Mr Looney later became managing editor of a group of a regional newspaper group which included the Dundalk Democrat, the Leinster Leader and the Leinster Express.
He also worked for a time as a political advisor with Fine Gael and as a media consultant before ill health saw him return to his native Cork.
A larger-than-life personality, Brian Looney had a great sense of fun and he was terrific company with a great wit and a wonderful knowledge of the newspaper industry.
He knew the importance of recognising and delivering what exactly the reader wanted and he demanded high standards from this he worked alongside to ensure the job was done properly.
