Former RTÉ political editor and Buncrana man Donal Kelly passes away

Tributes have been paid following the death of Donal Kelly, a former RTÉ political editor and a native of Buncrana.

Mr Kelly was 86 years old when he passed away.

He retired in 2002 having joined RTÉ in the 1960s, following a spell at the Irish Press.

He covered the Troubles in Northern Ireland and was to the fore in coverage from the North through the 1970s and 1980s.

Mr Kelly covered international events and in 1990 he reported on Nelson Mandela's address to the houses of the Oireachtas.

He report on Mikahil Gorbachev's visit in 1989 and the divorce referendum of 1986.

Seamus Dooley, the Irish secretary of the NUJ, said Mr Kelly was “a journalist of integrity who represented the very best in public service broadcasting during periods of turbulence in Irish politics.”

Mr Kelly passed away on Friday at Altadore Nursing Home and is survived by his wife, Ann, and sons Fergal and Damian and a circle of family and friends. 

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His funeral Mass takes place on Wednesday at 10am in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Glenview Road, Glenageary, Co. Dublin, followed by cremation at Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harolds Cross.