Tommie Gorman was one of the most compassionate and empathetic people I ever met. He was kind, and enthusiastic about journalism in a way that was refreshing and encouraging. He always referred to The Currency as “the project”, and he was delighted to see it grow and establish itself.
Tommie loved writing for us and was a true journalist. He wasn’t afraid to give constructive feedback if he felt we’d missed an angle on a story or could have asked a different question. But when times were hard, Tommie was in our corner.
I remember driving with Edel Robinson, my colleague, last year when a reader rang. Edel put her loudspeaker on in the car, thinking it was just a run-of-the-mill call to help someone who’d forgotten their password or was having a minor technological issue.
Instead, it was a call of thanks from a woman suffering terribly with cancer. She had previously written in, asking if we could introduce her to Tommie as she needed advice about how to cope. Tommie had immediately called her, and he’d stayed in touch as she went through treatment over many months.
That was Tommie Gorman. Caring, and full of hope. The more I got to know him, the more I realised how many people Tommie helped without ever asking anything in return.
*****
In November 2022, I was in London with Tommie when he launched his book Never Better in the Irish Embassy. Hosted by the then-new ambassador Martin Fraser, Gorman was skilfully interviewed by Dion Fanning before an audience that included SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, and two men who had served as secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain and Julian Smith.
Ambassador Fraser introduced Tommie with the words: “Like all good people, you don’t have to agree with everything Tommie says, and Tommie doesn’t have to agree with everything we think or say or do but we all trust Tommie and we all respect Tommie and we all love Tommie.”
Listening to Tommie Gorman was an education. The worst of the Troubles were over by the time I became an adult but Tommie was there. He witnessed it first-hand, and he knew all the key players. He was someone who was scrupulously fair and, as a result, respected by all sides.
Tommie understood nuance and detail. Over the course of an hour in London that evening, he spoke about the Good Friday Agreement, Roy Keane and how close Ireland is to Britain despite Brexit: “It’s one of the regrets I have about what happened with Brexit because I think our relationship has got more complicated, more strained and I actually think the EU without Britain is a lesser institution.”
That night was a celebration of Tommie. Afterwards, he stayed up until after midnight with his wife Ceara and the ambassador, talking and laughing.
The following morning, I went to say goodbye to Tommie. He could see that something was up and asked me what was going on. I explained how a legal letter had arrived, threatening all sorts. We were just out of the pandemic, and a stint in the High Court was not what I needed.
Tommie was calm and told me I could handle it.
I did, although it wasn’t easy. But that was Tommie, a supportive colleague and a real friend.
He often messaged me with encouragement, especially during hard times. “Just keep going, Tom,” was his constant refrain. He had ideas about stories, and was generous with them.
I know other much bigger publications came calling to hire Gorman, but he never thought about leaving. When Tommie gave an oration at Béal na Bláth in August 2023, he was honoured. He messaged me afterwards to tell me that he was introduced as a senior contributor to The Currency, an honour for us too.
Reading it back now, there is a line where Tommie writes about how, in 2010 the then Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, became the first Fianna Fáil politician to deliver the oration at what he called “one of Irish history’s sacred places”.
“Ten months later, the cancer he had fought with dignity took him,” Gorman reflected. It is 10 months, too, since Tommie spoke at Béal na Bláth.
*****
Tommie Gorman loved the idea of doing something new and taking on the establishment. Tommie spent more than 40 years in RTÉ, a place he loved, but he had a start-up mentality. He believed that things could change, and the new was possible. The writer Eoghan Harris described him to me as a person with a sense of “pragmatic hope”. This is true, and it was infectious.
Tommie’s last column for us was only last Saturday. It was about the need to develop a sustainable business model for RTÉ, but also the importance of local journalism and in particular OceanFM, broadcasting the recent elections from his beloved Sligo.
“At a time when the media industry is challenged by falling audiences, financial pressures and loss of revenue to social media platforms, this local story amounts to positive change,” Tommie reflected.
Tommie filed his copy early last Wednesday. “My pals, I’m off to Vincent’s in the morning,” he wrote. “My operation is scheduled for Friday am. I wanted to write the enclosed, to sign off on a positive note. Keep believing.”
