It was the feel of the cobblestone underfoot; the noise of van doors slamming, the hustle and bustle of delivery drivers depositing their wares in the open doors of the businesses of Shop Street and the City Centre. That time of the morning when pedestrianisation is abandoned to allow the raw materials of commerce to get through.
This was the time that Ronnie O’Gorman loved walking through his native city. Ducking and diving between vehicles and men and women carrying trays of bread; vegetables for the eateries, the place coming to life.
A newspaper tucked under his arm, every few metres a stop to say hello, to offer a word of encouragement; a comment on the day. Every beat of his heart warmed by the sense of progress. A new day starting up in a city in which he has played a pivotal role. Shopfronts which he had seen change and change again.
It was into this sense of a busy Galway that Ronnie was born in the months after the end of World War 2 with the smell of books and print around him. A new world being created, a great sense of possibility. And when he left and returned here just a few years into his twenties, having sampled drama school and teaching, he was not to know the impact that his unique soul and ideas would have on this market town.
Oxygen to the creative Galway
In tandem with the cultural transformation of the city, his shiny new medium was accessible and available. It came through the letterboxes and grew and grew with the city, ridiculing its early depiction as a freesheet. It gave oxygen to the newborn artistic communities who were bursting with talent and desire. And in time, that talent was to become the city's calling card.
As his cortege made its way up Shop Street from St Nicholas' Collegiate Church on Tuesday, hundreds of people stood and clapped, appreciative of all that he had done for this place. As he was passing for the last time, the respect shown was immense.
Since Ronnie fell ill last summer, his walks to and from the office were less frequent, so to in some way compensate, when I would be making my way to the office in the morning, I’d switch on my phone camera and record that walk. Ducking in and out of traffic, crossing roads, mirroring his walk, until eventually the final shot would be the sight of his pride and joy, the Advertiser building at Eyre Square. Popping them over to him on WhatsApp, his response would be almost immediate. I hoped that one day he would not need these short clips from me anymore, and that soon he would be back doing the real thing, but alas....
We are all utterly devastated here at the Advertiser, because Ronnie O’Gorman was more than just a boss to all of us. He was an eternal optimist wrapped up in a colourful scarf and comfortable shoes and beaming a smile and a sense of devilment and adventure. And we, his willing playthings.
Big beautiful handsome soul
Ronnie had a million stories hewed from a lifetime in which he became a campaigning journalist, pioneering businessman and wonderful colleague and boss. When asked at my job interview about the biggest challenge of filling his shoes as editor, I replied that the task of replacing his gravitas would be nigh on impossible, as he was hewn from different material. This big beautiful handsome soul with a heart of gold and a word of charming encouragement for everyone he met. Who saw the positive in every situation, who had brought this newspaper through several recessions and who delighted when it brought news of change and possibility in its pages.
I am writing this near midnight in our office in Eyre Square. The four floors are empty, and yet I feel that at any time the door could push open and he'd be there, politely asking if I would grant him the favour of getting something into the paper...his paper.
In this tribute supplement, I hope you get a sense of not just what Ronnie O’Gorman was like, but of how people interacted with him and of the role he played in the creation of Galwayness.
Never has Galway more needed advocates such as himself. Someone who believed in the possibility of tomorrow to be the best day ever; who feels that Galway should never have been playing second fiddle to anywhere else. That here, where the sun sets last in Ireland is where we can be a model city if the right decisions are taken.
The best tribute any of us can pay to Ronnie is to continue to pursue the ideals he sought. To promote Galway at every opportunity; to give people a voice...and a chance.
Thursday was Advertiser Day...and to a tee, Ronnie loved it. How fitting it was that his last breath would be taken on a Thursday, conscious to the end of the need to respect the deadline and to give us the maximum time to get the news out. Although he would blush at being the news.
On behalf of myself and my colleagues here, I would like to thank Ronnie's family for sharing him with us; and for enabling him the emotional bandwidth with which he changed the city.
Rest in peace, dear friend.
