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Journalist Brendan O'Brien dies aged 82

Headshot of Brendan O'Brien
A significant moment of Brendan O'Brien's career was when he confronted criminal Martin Cahill (Image: O'Brien Press)

Journalist Brendan O'Brien has died at the age of 82.

Mr O'Brien was a reporter in RTÉ from 1974 to 2002 and also made documentaries about the IRA.

In 1983 he won a Jacob's Award for his reporting on current affairs programme Today Tonight.

A significant moment of his career was when he followed criminal Martin Cahill - known as The General - and confronted him in the street.

Mr O'Brien won many awards for investigative journalism and since retiring from RTÉ he lectured extensively on the Northern Irish conflict and the peace process.

He was also an author, having penned 'The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Fein', as well as children's book 'The Story of Ireland', which won the Irish Children's Book of the Year Award in 2008.

He is survived by his wife, five children and three grandchildren.