Jim Fitzpatrick Chairman and former editor of the Irish News Jim Fitzpatrick has died.
Mr Fitzpatrick, 92, had owned the newspaper since the early 1980s.
Great privilege
Taoiseach Micheál Martin led tributes, saying that he had the “great privilege” of knowing Mr Fitzpatrick for many years, and that he was “in every respect, a true gentleman”.
“In his decades-long stewardship of the Irish News, he was a profoundly important advocate for an end to violence in the north,” Mr Martin said.
Posting a tribute on Twitter, columnist with the Irish News Martin O’Brien said that Mr Fitzpatrick’s mission was “anchored in his deep Christian faith”.
“Mr Fitzpatrick was a patriot who has left his mark for good on this community in so many ways and his loss leaves a great void,” he wrote, continuing, “He was a good and decent man and a person of great personal kindness and charity.”
Peace
“He worked hard to realise a vision of peace and prosperity for our country and was always driven by Gospel values and his commitment to the common good,” Mr O’Brien wrote.