FORMER Irish News editor Noel Doran has received an honorary degree from Queen’s University Belfast for services to journalism.
As the longest-serving daily newspaper editor in Ireland and the UK, he was at the helm of the paper for 25 years before stepping down in April.
Having started his career in weekly newspapers, the Belfast Telegraph and later Downtown Radio/Cool FM - he joined the paper in 1993 and was appointed editor in April 1999.
He was voted “regional editor of the century” in 2020 by readers of the Hold the Front Page website, and has been credited with winning a wider cross-community readership for the paper.
He is widely regarded as one of the standout journalists from an era that included the late Ken Reid (UTV), Stephen Grimason (BBC) and Tommie Gorman (RTÉ).
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Speaking at his graduation ceremony in Belfast on Tuesday, Mr Doran said: “I am hugely grateful to Queen’s University for this award, which I view as recognition of the role played by journalism in general and The Irish News in particular across our society over many years.
“I am particularly conscious that we have lost major figures including my friends Ken Reid, Stephen Grimason and Tommie Gorman in recent months and they are very much in my thoughts at this time.”
