Stephen Grimason was born on the 27th of March in 1957, and passed away on the 27th of April, 2024, at the age of 67, after a prolonged illness. He was recognised as the journalist who was the first to secure the Belfast Agreement, a significant achievement in the journalistic world, announcing its publication by quoting, “I have it in my hand.”
In his subsequent role as the Director of Communications for the Northern Executive, he was charged with overseeing the press and public relations for a number of challenging, and occasionally contentious politicians, including David Trimble, Seamus Mallon, Ian Paisley, and Martin McGuinness.
Before this, during his tenure as BBC Northern Ireland’s political editor, he was responsible for covering the unsuccessful initiatives to initiate a viable peace process, alongside the respected author and previous BBC security editor, Brian Rowan, who reported on the equally distressing topic of violence and terror.
Their reports were usually filled with a sense of despair, earning them the nickname “Doom and Gloom” in the BBC Belfast newsroom. However, in the spring of 1998, there was a sense that the situation might improve. At that time, Grimason, along with other journalists, was housed at Castle Buildings, Stormont, where former US senator George Mitchell presided over conversations aimed at reaching a comprehensive political and peace agreement.
These discussions reached their pinnacle in the early April of Holy Week, with the atmosphere filled with hope and despair. But Grimason was hopeful. He believed in the possibility of an agreement by Monday, due to assurances from John Hume and David Trimble. He noted that there was no other alternative path.
The Belfast Agreement was handed to Grimason in a brown envelope around 1.20 pm on Good Friday. However, he was concerned that the BBC’s live coverage of the talks, hosted by Noel Thompson, was about to take a break. He worried that during this break, someone else might receive the agreement. He commented on how they endured the Troubles based not on counselling, which they never had, but on dark humour and alcohol.
Upon obtaining the vital document, he immediately alerted the BBC’s control room and insisted on going on-air instantly. This haste led him to ignore a golden rule in TV journalism – do not dash upstairs at a blistering pace. Once he settled before the camera, he discovered he had no wind left in his lungs. All the while, he was the first person to present a public copy of the Belfast Agreement and announce, in essence, to Thompson and everyone else that a resolution seemed to be in the offing, even though the final agreement took another three hours.
However, he did not unveil the identity of his informant, stating his motto of, “A source isn’t just for Christmas,” implying his belief that receiving the document was intended to push the agreement towards completion.
He ascended to the role of communications director for the Northern Executive at Stormont three years later, a position he held until 2016. He held major esteem for the early first minister and deputy first minister, David Trimble and Seamus Mallon, despite finding their nature gruff on occasion.
When the Ulster Unionists and SDLP passed the reins to Sinn Féin and DUP, he noticed a peculiar warmth blooming between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, who the locals often dubbed “The Chuckle Brothers”. The genesis of this camaraderie could be traced back to the moment they composed a letter to Northern secretary Peter Hain requesting him to leave Stormont Castle, which would then be home to their offices. This led to Paisley receiving an ironic missive from McGuinness who jested that Paisley’s first written work as the first minister was a ‘Brits Out’ letter.
Grimason had unwavering respect for John Hume, despite experiencing some difficult moments with him. He did not begrudge saying that, “In my eyes, John was the most honourable Irish man, ever to have lived, present or past…however, he was exasperatingly demanding.”
Grimson’s sense of humour was best exhibited in his and Reid’s wager of £50 on who between them would pass away first. Grimason saw it as a rather unusual, yet positively curious way of affirming life’s quirks, despite appearing morbid.
Stephen Grimason, born in Lurgan, Co Armagh in 1957 to a protestant family made a name for himself in the world of journalism from a young age. Right from his school days, his teachers had identified his potential in journalism owing to his inquisitive and somewhat ‘troublemaker’ nature. His career kick-started in 1975 at the Lurgan Mail and subsequently, he made moves to the Ulster Star in Lisburn and the Banbridge Chronicle, rising to the position of editor at the age of 27. In 1987, he took his skills to the BBC.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer about three years ago, Grimason dealt with his affliction bravely, often bringing comfort to his family with the profound statement, “Death smiles at us all, all that we can do is smile back”. He was incredibly grateful to the medical professionals who took care of him, expressing immense gratitude especially to the renal unit of Belfast City Hospital.
Grimason and Ken Reid, the ex-political editor for UTV, were honoured with the Chancellor’s Medal from Queen’s University Belfast earlier this year, both lauded for providing indispensable public service during times of unease and fear.
Reflecting on his career which focused mainly on tackling violence and political efforts to stop killings, Grimason expressed that survival in such situations wasn’t sought through counselling, a service they didn’t have access to, but through a combination of morbid humour and alcohol. A demonstration of this sense of humour is evident in the bet Grimason had with Reid about who would pass away first – a bleak yet, in a peculiar journalistic way, life-affirming wager.
At Grimason’s funeral a fortnight ago, his spouse, Yvonne, handed over an envelope containing the £50 bet to Reid, quoting her deceased husband’s wishes.
Grimason is remembered today by his wife, Yvonne; his first wife, Heather, their four children: Jennifer, Chris, Rachel, and Jonathan; his mother, Jean, sister, Cherryl, and his seven grandchildren. His younger sibling, Darryl, who also pursued journalism at the BBC, passed away in 2022.