"Being a journalist means sitting in the front row of the theatre of life, seeing the drama of history unfolding before your eyes," says Frank Kilfeather of The Irish Times. His book Changing Times - A Life In Journalism is published today.
It is a personal memoir of 40 years in Irish journalism and describes his early days in the provincial press and coverage of major national events - civil rights marches in Northern Ireland, the Arms Trial, the burning of the British embassy, the Dublin bombings in 1974, the kidnapping of the Dutch industrialist, Dr Tiede Herrema, the beef tribunal, and the recent Dunnes Stores payments-topoliticians tribunal.
Published by Blackwater Press, it is a reporter's view of those times.
Interspersed throughout are portraits of some of the great figures of Irish newspapers, including Douglas Gageby and John Healy.
"To work as a journalist is not a job, it is a privilege," says Mr Kilfeather. "It may be a topsyturvy existence, full of unpredictability and tension, but it has wonderful compensations.
"This is not a historical, indepth look at Irish journalism in the past four decades. It is basically a light-hearted, often humourous, look at what it has been like `on the road', providing a news service, earning a living.
"It is also about the colleagues who worked with me; the fun we had, the scoops, the cock-ups, the disappointments, the frustrations."
A native of Sligo, Mr Kilfeather was educated at Blackrock College. He began his career in journalism on the Drogheda Argus in 1958 as a junior reporter. In 1960 he moved to the Wicklow People where he spent four years before moving to Independent Newspapers.
He has worked for The Irish Times since 1969.