Former RTE correspondent Charlie Bird has died

Former RTE correspondent Charlie Bird has died aged 74, after a long battle with motor neurone disease.

For almost four decades, the Irish broadcaster brought stories from around the world to TV screens.

He became one of Irish journalism’s best-known faces and his work took him across the globe, from Dublin to Moscow, Baghdad and Belfast.

In later life, he pivoted to campaigning, and focused primarily on raising money for research into motor neurone disease.

Mr Bird kept helping charities right until the very end, and had planned another fundraising walk for next month.

Seamus Dooley, Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said: “Although we have been expecting this news, it is still a moment of enormous sadness.

“Supported by his wife Claire, Charlie lived his battle with motor neurone disease in the public gaze, with characteristic determination and searing honesty.

“His life should not be defined by his illness but by the remarkable qualities he displayed in the face of adversity. He leaves a remarkable legacy.

“In retirement from RTE he enjoyed the freedom to pursue new projects. His commitment to the marriage equality referendum campaign reflected his genuine interest in social justice.”

Mr Dooley added: “I extend sympathy to Claire and to all who will miss Charlie, including so many NUJ colleagues and friends. Charlie was a lifelong member of the NUJ and a former chair of Dublin broadcasting branch.”

The veteran broadcaster reported on a range of his country’s biggest stories, from the Northern Ireland peace process to the Stardust fire tragedy in 1981, as well as covering international events like 9/11.

He would later speak vocally about his terminal diagnosis and helped raised over €3.3m (£2.8m) for charity during a campaign that saw him climb Croagh Patrick in 2022.

After beginning his career decades prior, he made his final RTE broadcast in August 2012.

Nine years later he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and he often spoke publicly about the condition.

In April 2022, thousands of people climbed mountains across Ireland in solidarity with him as a part of the ‘Climb with Charlie’ campaign, raising millions.

Paying tribute, the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said Mr Bird was a “truly remarkable man”.

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“It is with the deepest sadness that all of the Irish people, and particularly all of those who were his allies in campaigning for so many significant causes, will have learnt of the death of Charlie Bird,” he said.

“An exceptionally talented broadcaster, Charlie was a truly remarkable man driven by a deep sense of social justice in the most positive sense.

“Charlie was indelibly associated with some of the biggest stories both at home and abroad during his four decades with RTE, I recall for example being with him in Iraq.

“As an intuitive journalist, Charlie identified with causes from below. His dedicated pursuit of the truth, and immense ability to build warm relationships that would last through life with all those with whom he came in contact, made him one of the outstanding journalists of his generation.

“The authenticity of these relationships is evidenced in the lifelong connections which he made with so many of those to whom he gave a voice. I think in particular of the decades-long support which he gave to the victims of the Stardust fire, and indeed the touching support which they have likewise given him.”

Campaigners for the victims of Stardust night club fire also described Mr Bird as “our hero”.