Mr Arthur Noonan, who has died at his home on Achill Island, Co Mayo, was one of the State's best-known political journalists throughout the 1960s and 1970s in the print and broadcasting media. His long journalistic career saw him participating in the coverage of momentous events in Irish life and politics, including those involving four taoisigh, Eamon de Valera, Sean Lemass, Jack Lynch and Liam Cosgrave. A native of Belcarra, near Castlebar, Co Mayo, he first worked with the Mayo News in the late 1940s and early 1950s, before moving to the Irish Press in Dublin.
It was a time when the Irish Press was gaining an impressive reputation for its sharp news coverage, and Mr Noonan quickly emerged as one of its outstanding reporters, capable of fast, accurate and concise work on the many and varied journalistic tasks he undertook. He covered some of Eamon de Valera's major public appearances, including his election rallies in College Green, which drew huge crowds. He also contributed to the Sunday Press and the Evening Press.
He then moved to the Irish In- dependent as political correspondent, and throughout the 1960s he was widely read and highly respected for his accuracy and insight. As well as reporting on developments in Leinster House, he wrote a column each Saturday analysing the week's events. He covered foreign trips made by Mr Lemass and Mr Lynch.
He participated in the RTE television programme, The Hurlers on the Ditch, chaired by the late John Healy of The Irish Times, E, which became enormously popular.
Mr Noonan joined RTE in the early 1970s as political correspondent and later worked as political editor. He served for a time on the RTE Authority. When he retired, he went to live on Achill Island, but maintained contact with his former colleagues during occasional visits to Dublin. He is survived by his wife, Frances, and four children.
Mr Wesley Boyd, who as director of news worked with him in RTE, said last night: "Arthur was one of the most reliable and trusted of political correspondents. He worked in the Dail in an age when political correspondents dealt with hard facts and rarely added their own opinions of developments.
"His broadcasting style was homely and occasionally hesitant and he quickly established a relationship of trust with listeners and viewers. No one could doubt for a moment the veracity of Arthur's reporting. Politicians did not always like his version of events, but he retained the respect and trust of all parties in the Dail."