Fergus Finlay: Charlie Bird would have eviscerated Lisa Chambers and Willie O’Dea

The late journalist had an unerring nose for political guff and grandstanding as shown by Lisa Chambers and Willie O’Dea in the aftermath of the referendum

Both Lisa Chambers and Willie O’Dea admitted to campaigning for Yes and Voting for No.

One of the things Ireland has always been blessed with is good, often great, journalism. And a fundamental part of good journalism is great reporting. We’ve had a lot of them, but none better in my lifetime than Charlie Bird.

We’ve all come to know Charlie as a brave and selfless man. But in his younger days he was fearless in pursuit of a story. Big or small, he threw himself into everything he was asked to report on. He always came back with the goods. And he broke and covered huge international stories — the scandal of NIB Bank, the Stardust fire, the first IRA ceasefire.