Former RTÉ Journalist Charlie Bird Dies Aged 74

Former RTÉ reporter Charlie Bird has died following a long battle with motor neuron disease. He was 74 years old.

The popular journalist was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in October 2021. 

Mr Bird who joined RTÉ as a researcher in 1972, later moved to the newsroom, going on to report on some of the biggest stories in Ireland and beyond in a 40 year career.

Such stories include the Stardust Fire, the National Bank tax avoidance scandal, as well as the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, and the Indian ocean tsunami in 2004.

One of his first reports in RTÉ saw Mr Bird cover the Stardust Fire in Artane in 1981, which saw 48 people die in the Dublin nightclub fire. Three years later, Charlie Bird reported on the arrest and imprisonment of Fr Niall O'Brien, who was an Irish Columban Missionary priest, falsely accused and detained on several charges in the Philippines.

Mr Bird was also one of the main reporting protagonists, covering the peace process in Northern Ireland. He was also chosen by the Provisional IRA as their primary media contact in Ireland.

He was also at the forefront of a new series covering injuries and deaths on Irish roads, which explored rising road fatalities, helping to bring legislative change in the area.

Mr Bird's final broadcast with RTÉ took place in 2012, when he filled in for Marian Finucane on RTÉ Radio 1 as presenter.

Following his diagnosis of MND in 2021, thousands of people descended upon peaks across Ireland and abroad on April 2022 in solidarity with Charlie Bird, as he made a personal pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick, as part of a 'Climb with Charlie' campaign, which raised over €3.4 million for several charities including Pieta, and the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association. 

Charlie Bird is survived by his wife Claire, daughters Orla and Nessa, grandchildren Abigail, Charlie, Edward, Harriet and Hugo, and his three brothers.