In the year of 2000, I had the opportunity to gain work experience from two major Northern commercial radio stations, Downtown Radio and Cool FM’s combined newsroom. While the internet and email systems existed at that time, they weren’t the main source of research and news gathering. Instead, the newsroom would buzz with press releases delivered through faxes, regular phone inquiries from PR representatives confirming the receipt of press releases, and a celebrity journalist making reports via phone.
During my week-long experience, I did not meet in person with Eamonn Mallie, the star reporter. That was not surprising given the location of the station in a lesser-known industrial estate on the fringes of Newtownards market town. Being the political editor and the charm of the northern press during the Troubles era, Mallie was known to be constantly where the action was happening.
Even in his physical absence in the newsroom, you could feel Mallie’s presence. His name would often be heard uttered with a mix of amusement or irritance. His voice made itself known either through broadcast reports discussing the political negotiations that were on-going at that time, or during phone conversations that included one time when I unknowingly answered a call from the man himself, introduced simply and abruptly as “Mallie!”
His book “Eyewitness to War and Peace” strongly features Mallie’s distinctive voice (in both ways of the meaning). Originally from Silverbridge in south Armagh, his accent is undiluted by his long stint at BBC Broadcasting House (or Montrose). Early parts of his book recount his time at BBC Northern Ireland, describing it as “a bit stifling and provincial” compared to his years as an undergrad in Dublin and his travels around Europe. Despite his initial impressions, Mallie continued to live and work in Belfast and the North, witnessing a horrifying yet journalistically rich period.
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Moving to Downtown presented Mallie with a unique opportunity to spotlight the constant influx of news, at a time when Northern Ireland of the 1970s to 2000s was rife with events worth reporting. His book is a treasure trove of these times, diligently documenting anecdotes and nuanced information. His ubiquity, covering everything from heinous acts, large-scale trials to political discussions, allows his book to be a legitimate repository of fact-snippets and interesting discoveries. Noteworthy mentions include a revelation from a republican source about 80 per cent of IRA members departing from the group post 1998 and private insights on Ian Paisley amid additional revelations. The book indeed is a storehouse of contentious and peace negotiation-period facts and stories.
His journey involved extensive coverage for a local radio channel along with freelancing roles, demanding resourcefulness and assertiveness. The photographs in his book are evidence of his determination to uncover every angle of a story, such as forcing a perplexed Michael Foot to retreat during a British Labour Party conference in the early 1980s. Mallie’s diligence did yield results, such as a promising confirmation from Bill Clinton about his planned visit to Northern Ireland, and perhaps most strikingly, his 1993 exposé about the clandestine dialogue between the British government and the IRA.
Mallie managed to forge relationships with a varied blend of influential individuals, not merely as informants. His tales about sharing fine dining with personalities like Charlie Haughey and artist Basil Blackshaw in Abbeville, or his surprisingly intimate association with Ian Paisley and his family, all bear testimony to it. His bond with Paisley even allowed him unprecedented access, resulting in a post-retirement documentary that significantly softened Paisley’s public image.
Memories of the past inevitably capture the essence of a period that’s no more. A lengthy epoch marked by strife, succeeded by an extended post-conflict political journey, acted out by a primarily masculine cast of significant individuals, has largely concluded.
Though Mallie’s book distinctively encapsulates his brand, it also adds to the evolving repertoire of memoirs penned by journalists who lived through that era. This includes narratives from the likes of Barney Rowan, previously with the BBC, Deric Henderson from the Press Association, and Tommie Gorman who dedicated a considerable part of his career to Belfast. While none can match the individualistic flair of Mallie, all the memoirs underline a common sentiment: a sense of relief at surviving a horrific conflict and the opportunity to cover its denouement. Yet, as much as this closure was moving and therapeutic, we still grapple to transition from the mere fact of peace to discerning its actual application.
Matthew O’Toole is an SDLP MLA and heads the opposition at Stormont.