Overview

• The 77-year-old died on Friday in New York City, where he had been living and working, after a brief illness, and he is survived by his wife Joan McKiernan and son Ciarán.
• The National Union of Journalists hailed him as one of the most consequential reporters of his generation and said he risked prison to defend sources and faced death threats.
• He reported extensively on Northern Ireland’s conflict and the Provisional IRA for Magill, the Irish Times and the Sunday Tribune.
• As director of Boston College’s Belfast Project, he oversaw oral histories later featured in Voices from the Grave, including accounts from Brendan Hughes and David Ervine.
• His works include A Secret History of the IRA and Paisley: From Demagogue to Democrat?, and he co-wrote the 2018 documentary I, Dolours.