Letter from the Editor
Precisely one minute before the first edition deadline of this paper deputy editor Jody Corcoran called me with the news, from a source close to Tony O’Reilly’s family, that the legendary businessman and rugby giant had died, aged 88. There was no way we could send the Sunday Independent, a newspaper he owned for decades, into a single shop on the island without it carrying the sad news of his passing.
With the clock ticking, a front-page piece was rapidly turned around for that early edition, but I hope this later edition better reflects the scale of O’Reilly’s vast contribution to the Irish business and sporting worlds.
Mindful of his advancing years, and of the reports that he was not in good health, we had asked Liam Collins some time ago to write the enthralling obituary on the page opposite.
By strange coincidence, in the version of this letter completed before the news came through, I had included an anecdote about the former chairman of Independent News &
Media, one that Liam includes in an extremely entertaining piece on page 20.
It’s about fictional paperback books reviewer called Henry Cummins, a pen name of Liam’s going way back. I won’t give too much of a spoiler here, but suffice to say a front-page Sunday Independent story which appeared under that byline came to O’Reilly’s attention while the ink was barely dry.
The story had been faxed to 10 Downing Street, where it caused consternation. A phonecall to the paper’s owner immediately ensued, but when O’Reilly called the Sindo newsroom he could get no answer. When he finally got hold of someone, the desk man pointed out apologetically that it was late in the night and there was only a skeleton staff on duty.
After a slight pause, the chairman asked, quite gloriously: “And which particular skeleton am I speaking to at the moment?”
May he rest in peace – and we extend our sincere sympathy to his family and close friends.
Among the other highlights this week is the fourth annual list of Ireland’s Best Employers, with the top 150 revealed in a 20-page pullout supplement inside the Business section. Perhaps the most striking aspect is the relative decline of some of the tech giants who dominated the list in the first couple of years — a trend examined by Adrian Weckler, Ireland’s most insightful tech journalist.
On another busy sporting Sunday, hurling fans will be pleased to see that excellent analyst, Jamesie O’Connor, back in the paper. He’s tipping his native Clare to beat Davy Fitzgerald’s Waterford. In his Hold The Back Page column, Eamonn Sweeney gets stuck into the GAAGO controversy and doesn’t spare the timber.
There’s also Paul Kimmage’s piece from Valhalla, Louisville – with Offaly’s Shane Lowry roaring into contention in the USPGA golf championship last night. And on Jurgen Klopp’s last day as Liverpool manager, Tommy Conlon and Declan Lynch (in this section) pay homage.
Here’s hoping that our offering will brighten your Sunday, amid the expected sunshine.