GOOD STORIES TO TELL!

I would now like to welcome my first guest writer to my blog a Man with insight on his way to London.

The following are his words

 Neil Callanan has moved to London after six months as a freelance journalist. Prior to that, he was business editor of The Sunday Tribune when it shut its doors in February.

“The timing came as a surprise but we always knew it would close. There was no way back from the losses that had been built up,” he said. “The journalists who worked there knew and did so because despite the lower than average pay, it was a great opportunity to prove yourself. Noirin Hegarty, the editor during my time there, was great for that. She trusted you to perform and we did.”“This picture was taken outside our former office off Baggot Street. I remember walking in for the first time and being surprised by how outdated it was. But even though it was run on a shoestring people pushed themselves to be better. I became business editor in 2010 and it was daunting but I’m proud of what the business team of Emmet Oliver (he left as business editor at the end of 2009) myself, Eamon Quinn, Jon Ihle and Ian Guider achieved. We didn’t fall for the banks’ lies and that’ll be one of the things people remember from the paper’s coverage of the economic crisis.”“I’m not bitter about what happened in Ireland because in the end the majority of people only have themselves to blame. The housing boom ended in 2001 and people knew that. It was only low interest rates that kickstarted it again, and most people just didn’t want to face up to the reality.”“Dublin developed a ‘me fein’ culture at that time that irked me, but that attitude has largely disappeared and there’s been a return to common decency and humility, two things that define being Irish. The country will come back from it all. There’s just a lot of pain to go through until we get there. “Why London? I always thought I’d end up there when I was studying journalism Dublin City University but then I got a chance in Dublin, worked hard and ended up staying. Now, it’s the right time to go.

People complain about the Irish media being all bad news but it’s as depressing for us to write as it is for everybody else to hear. London will hopefully have some good stories to tell."

Big thanks to Neil for his thoughts and we all wish him success in his new position in 
London.

Artur, Ray and Hugh shone on the night,  also it was a great shoot!

If you know anyone who is planning to leave please bring this project to their
attention as I need to make some more portraits over the next few weeks, months
and right up to the end of this year!  
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the stories along to others still untouched by this project content