The journalist Tom McPhail died at his Dublin home yesterday after a long illness. He was 47.
Mr McPhail was the former chairman of the Ireland International News Agency. He was a former news editor at the Irish Press Group of newspapers and had also worked as a news editor with Granada television.
Mr McPhail was born in Dublin and educated at De La Salle, Skerries, before joining the Drogheda Independent as a trainee reporter in 1969. He started working for the Irish Press Group in November 1971, and rose to become news editor.
In the mid-1970s, Mr McPhail took a career break and worked at the Simon Community's night shelter in Dublin before returning to the Irish Press Group. He was one of four founding partners of the Ireland International News Agency in December 1982, and remained at the company until serious illness forced him to retire in April 1998. Mr McPhail is survived by his wife, Adelaide, his parents, four brothers and two sisters.