Brendan Gallagher
It is with great sadness that we report Brendan's death on May 29th 2011. It was sudden and unexpected, and a huge shock to all who knew him.
Richard Cheeseman writes:
"Brendan had a genius for friendship. It wasn't simply that he made friends easily, he also knew how to keep them, and worked hard at doing so. Over the years he accumulated so many loyal chums that he often had to combine two or more previously unconnected groups in order to fit everyone in.
"Thanks to this, I've met a lot of interesting people I wouldn't otherwise have known. Brendan would enter the pub with an unfamiliar face in tow, who would be introduced as "an old pal". Often it would turn out to be someone he had known for 40 years or more. Once a friendship was established it rarely waned - due to his own diligence and because his friends were determined to stay in touch.
"How did Brendan inspire such loyalty? Of course, he had charisma, was warm-hearted and generous and had a singular turn of phrase. I'll forever treasure "premature ejoculation" - his label for the tendency to laugh or celebrate too soon. He could talk fluently on any subject that took his fancy but, unlike many brilliant talkers, was also an attentive listener who valued his friends' opinions.
"This ability to listen helped make him an excellent journalist. It was also one of the many reasons he was a joy to be with. I can't recall an evening in his company that didn't seem to end too soon, and the same is now true of his life."
Robert Taylor adds:
"Brendan was such a generous friend in so many ways. He was always willing to go out of his way to offer help and support; he saw meeting up with his chums as not just enjoyable, but important; and he cherished every moment that we were all together. 'May there be many more', he used to say after each gathering, and we never doubted there would be.
"He was exceptionally intelligent, articulate and knowledgeable, and a very fine writer and editor who worked harder than anyone I've ever known. Yet, touchingly, he wasn't ambitious. Financial reward was never his priority, and he disdained frippery. I well remember taking a seat alongside him in an economy-class coach on Eurostar a few years ago. Brendan looked around approvingly at the rather basic facilities, before exclaiming with not a trace of irony: "Every luxury!".
"Though he spent so many long hours churning out work of the highest quality for his grateful clients, there's no doubt that family came first. He was rightly proud of his three children, and was never happier than when they achieved a notable success. Fatherhood was, I'm quite sure, the thing he valued most of all.
"It's sad and shocking that Brendan died at such a young age. His friends have been robbed of the many happy times that we would have enjoyed with him so much. We will miss him."
