Aidan Pender had presence. His arrival in the din of the old-style caseroom, where pages were made up amid the clang of mallet blows, or in the linotype hall, where noisy Heath-Robinson machines incessantly spat out slugs of metal, was sensed at once. Occasionally his arrival was signalled by the scent of plug tobacco from his pipe, but generally there was that indefinable feeling of authority. He was "The Editor" and was instantly recognisable as such.
Aidan Pender who died on September 12th aged 83, was tall, grey-haired and patrician in appearance. He had a military bearing and, from time to time, a stern command for those who failed to obey orders or who lacked discipline. In his days as Editor of the Evening Herald and Irish Independent, there were plenty of the latter around. Newspaper offices in Ireland and elsewhere were tough places in those days. Many of the journalists were hard-bitten types with unquenchable thirsts and apparently indestructible livers.
The path between the official headquarters of Independent Newspapers and the "Branch Office", known to others as the Oval Bar, was a well-beaten one, but there was an acceptable level of behaviour which, though unwritten, was instinctively known to almost all. Transgressions were dealt with in sharp military fashion, otherwise the daily battle might be lost.
Aidan Pender's interest in the Army was by no means accidental. He served in the Defence Forces in the days of the Emergency, as the second World War was known south of the Border, and his intense interest in military affairs remained with him throughout his journalistic career.
His appearance and bearing, his tweed jackets and sparkling shoes endowed him with all the hallmarks of a former officer and contributed to his image as a figure of authority.
He was also very much a family man in a company which for most of his time as editor, was a family business. A high proportion of the employees in Independent House had family traditions associated with the newspapers produced there.
Aidan Pender's father, Martin Joseph Pender, joined the Irish Daily Independent in 1890 and worked there as a proof-reader at a time when Arthur Griffith was a familiar figure in the office.
It was almost inevitable therefore, that Aidan Pender would join the Independent's staff. He did not, however, do so at the start of his working career. Neither did he go straight into the editorial section of the company as might have been expected of someone who was to become editor of two of the company's national titles.
In his early years he travelled extensively in South America, returning to Dublin as a fluent Spanish speaker and with a strong interest in that part of the world. His newspaper career began in the "works" department of Independent House, where the newspapers were physically produced. And he brought his knowledge of this area to the editorial section, making sure deadlines and train connections were not missed.
As chief sub editor of the Evening Herald his organisational ability was brought to bear on the editorial production system in the days when evening newspapers, with their several editions, were the main source of breaking news as well as providing running results from the racecourses of Britain and Ireland to a city in which betting was an important part of the lifestyle.
The job called for quick and accurate decisions and the experience he gained and the success he achieved in this position led to his appointment as editor of the Evening Herald in 1964.
Aidan Pender succeeded Louis McRedmond as editor of the Irish Independent in 1970 and remained in the post for 11 years, in the course of which he was instrumental in achieving major gains in circulation while maintaining the Independent's reputation as a responsible and accurate newspaper which shied away from sensationalism and played an important and respected role in Irish society.
His experience in the production and editorial sides of the industry was something shared by few editors of his time.
He developed a keen business sense during his long service at Independent House and was eventually to become the company's editorial director and a member of the board of Independent Newspapers.
Aidan Pender was editor of the Irish Independent at the time of the company's takeover by Dr A.J.F. O'Reilly in 1973.
It was a particularly turbulent time with a "sit-in" of journalists halting production of the newspapers as a protest against their not being consulted in the sale of the three titles. Not long afterwards, however, a landmark agreement between management and the National Union of Journalists put editorial workers on the Independent on a level of remuneration and working conditions which was to lead to a considerable raising of status for journalists on all national newspapers. Aidan Pender played an important role in this achievement.
While stern and intolerant of indiscipline and errors of fact and judgment, he had a warm personality, knew all members of his staff by name and made time to speak kindly even to the humblest copyboy. A religious man, who shunned undue religiosity, he was particularly devoted to his wife Lil and their six children, Kevin, Sheila, Terry, Barry, Caitriona and Joanne, by whom he is survived.
Aidan Pender: born 1917; died, September 2000