Former journalist and campaigner Charlie Bird has been remembered as a “hero and a legend” who was “brave beyond words” at a service to have fun his life.
Family, buddies and ex-colleagues of the previous RTE correspondent gathered in Dublin’s Mansion House to recollect and pay tribute to the famend broadcaster.
Members of the general public additionally attended the service for the 74-year-old, who died this week after a high-profile battle with motor neurone illness (MND).
His spouse Claire instructed these gathered that she was “heartbroken” at his demise and that it was an “absolute privilege” to take care of him throughout his sickness.
She introduced Bird’s beloved canine Tiger on stage whereas she shared her reminiscences of their life collectively.
“What made me fall in love with Bird was his zest for life. There was never a dull moment when you were with him,” she mentioned.
“He always loved being the centre of attention, loved all the craic.
“I love you Bird, I’m going to miss you so much.”
She mentioned they cherished being at home in Co Wicklow, walking the hills with their canine and ingesting pints of Guinness.
She additionally paid tribute to Bird’s daughters, Orla and Neasa, saying she wouldn’t have been capable of get by the previous week with out them.
The veteran information reporter, who coated most of the largest tales in Ireland and overseas over a protracted and diverse profession, had been vocal about his terminal prognosis and continued to champion charitable and social justice causes regardless of his deteriorating situation.
Members of the broadcaster’s household, together with Tiger, walked behind his coffin because it was carried into the building forward of the memorial occasion.
Bird’s good friend and former RTE colleague Joe O’Brien instructed the memorial service the broadcaster had usually been described as an “inspiration and a national treasure”.
“He was literally a household name; loved and respected throughout the country,” O’Brien mentioned.
“And in his last three years he moved, as Charlie himself said, from being a well-known journalist to being hailed as a heroic and tireless fundraiser and campaigner.
“Over recent days, there has been an outpouring of grief for Charlie but, of course, it is his family who are feeling his loss most.
“Our hearts go out this afternoon to his beautiful wife Claire, who has been at Charlie’s side, especially every day of his three-year battle with motor neurone disease. We think also of Charlie’s loyal companion Tiger.
“Our hearts also go out to Charlie’s loving daughters, Orla and Neasa, who are devoted to their father and to Charlie’s grandchildren: Charlie, Hugo, Harriet, Abigail and Edward.”
O’Brien additionally mentioned that his good friend had his personal “dynamic style of reporting”.
“Audiences grew to admire and respect the clarity and forcefulness of this delivery,” he mentioned.
“And, as the years went by, Charlie became Charlie, the Charlie we know.
“When I think of Charlie, I think of his boundless energy and his nose for news.”
Bird’s daughter Orla instructed the memorial service about life rising up in Bray.
“In the middle of this very ordinary, if charmed, family life there was an extraordinary career,” she mentioned.
“It’s almost impossible to know where family life ended and career started because it was such a big part of all of our lives. The news was a permanent fixture in our home. So, the two were closely intertwined.
“Today, though, we think back on the family memories, the walks every Sunday that we were marched on from as long as I can remember and since we could walk, even before carried on a pouch on dad’s back. These Sunday walks were a non-negotiable family activity that continued, much to our horror, into our teenage years.”
Bird’s daughter recalled the letters he would ship her when she frolicked within the United States, with every one signed off “keep smiling”.
She spoke of his hectic working life that concerned regularly leaving home at brief discover to cowl a serious information occasion at home or overseas.
“The next time we would see him he would be on TV and then you would know where he was, that was just a norm,” she mentioned.
She mentioned the household home was Bird’s “safe place to fly from and a safe place to return”.
Bird’s youngest daughter, Neasa, mentioned that her father’s motor neurone illness prognosis was his “worst fear realised” and mentioned he was “devastated and afraid”.
“Watching Dad grappling with that was heartbreaking, and as we frankly admitted to him on more than one occasion, all the more difficult for the very public way he chose to deal with it,” she mentioned.
“But that was Dad’s way, and as much as we might have wanted to retreat with him to a more private space in the last few years, the tenacity of spirit and the perseverance which saw Dad achieve so much meant that he was always going to do it his way.
“In doing so, he inspired and gave solace to countless others, and that is no small thing. Rather, it is a very great thing.”
She said on the day before he died, Bird “painstakingly typed out a final message” about courage and a fear that his courage would falter.
“But Dad’s braveness didn’t falter as a result of his braveness, his wonderful bravery and, in the end, his legacy is the way in which that he confirmed us all that it’s OK to despair.
“It is OK to be afraid. It is human to be offended when handled a hand like MND. It is OK as a result of as he additionally confirmed us, in any case of that, or extra precisely within the midst of all of that, there’s nonetheless objective, there’s nonetheless pleasure, and there’s nonetheless hope.”
The journalist’s 5 grandchildren introduced mementoes reflecting his life, together with rosary beads he was given by singer Daniel O’Donnell.
The beads will likely be buried with him on Inis Oirr on the Aran Islands, together with the employees he used to climb Croagh Patrick in 2022.
The youngsters additionally introduced a Bruce Springsteen e book, two biographies of Bird’s life and a household {photograph}.
Stardust hearth campaigner Antoinette Keegan mentioned she was “truly very saddened” when she heard he had died.
Bird was a long-time supporter of the households of those that died within the hearth on the Stardust nightclub in Dublin in 1981, having coated the story as a reporter on the time.
Ms Keegan survived the blaze but her two sisters died.
She said Bird had got to know those involved in the Stardust tragedy and became close to her family.
Describing him as “a gentleman” and “a brilliant journalist”, Ms Keegan said he was supportive of all those affected by injustice and “the one that hit him the hardest was the Stardust”.
“Over the years in our campaigns fighting for truth and justice, we’ve had so many let-downs by governments and officers. Each time we thought we have been going to get justice for our family members, we have been left with an enormous, massive disappointment,” she added.
“I will always recall Charlie’s words. He was always so supportive, stood tall for injustice and would say simple words like ‘never give up’. ‘Keep fighting and one day you will get the answer you waited so long for’.”
She mentioned that regardless of being very in poor health, Bird and his spouse Claire attended a candlelight vigil on February 10 on the web site of the Stardust tragedy.
“Rest in peace Charlie, you are our hero and a legend that will never, ever be forgotten.”
Former RTE radio presenter Sean O’Rourke mentioned that he was a “great journalist, human being and a real warrior”.
“Integrity, sincerity and fairness characterised everything Charlie did as a reporter and correspondent,” he added.
“He went literally to the ends of the earth in pursuit of the news. And long before the term was invented, he was never going to go down the road of fake news.
“With him, it was the real deal or no deal. Yes, he had a social conscience and he shone the light into some very dark places, but I think it would be wrong to see him as a campaigning journalist.
“Above all, he was a reporter. What mattered was the story and getting it right.
“He left his political activism behind him after joining RTE and he lived by the requirements of the Broadcasting Act, to be objective, impartial, and fair to all interests.”
RTE information presenter Bryan Dobson and present affairs presenter Miriam O’Callaghan have been amongst those that attended the Mansion House for the service.
The director common of Ireland’s public service broadcaster, Kevin Bakhurst, additionally attended, in addition to former president Mary Robinson.
Bird’s favorite music Land Of Hope And Dreams by Bruce Springsteen was performed on the finish of the ceremony.
