'Accidental journalist' Brian Looney backed reporters and trusted his judgement

The death of former 'Examiner' editor Brian Looney, aged just 63, may well mark the end of an era.

Brian Looney was just 24 when he became editor of 'The Examiner'.

In the old office of the Irish Examiner on Academy St, the editor's desk was a kind of eyrie, located at mezzanine level so the incumbent could survey all the noise and drama of the newsroom below. 

But Brian Looney, who has died aged just 63, rarely stayed up in the rafters.