THE DEATH has occurred in Dublin of Brendan Glacken, former humorous columnist and television critic with The Irish Times, after a long illness. He was 60 years old.
A native of Ballina, Co Mayo, both of his parents were teachers. He attended Rockwell College and later University College Dublin where he was part of the elite “pure English” Group IV, which produced many journalists, and graduated with a BA in English Language and Literature in 1972.
He joined The Irish Times as a subeditor on the finance desk in the mid-1970s and later moved to the features department. He was the paper’s television critic for ten years from 1981.
His humorous column “Times Square” ran for 10 years from 1992. In 2000 the column was a winner at the ESB National Media Awards in the features section. A collection of the columns was also published by the paper.
He wrote radio plays, including Omphalos and Canned Laughter, which were broadcast on RTÉ and contributed to the now-defunct London-based humorous magazine Punch. He took voluntary redundancy from the paper and later joined the parliamentary reporting staff of the Oireachtas.
He continued to contribute occasional articles to The Irish
Times, including a piece for the Health Supplement last June called “Fighting Talk” which described his treatment for two inoperable brain tumours. He wrote that, “some days I feel as if I have been used as a sparring partner by Mike Tyson” but pointed out that, “a couple of years ago, Mike Tyson was defeated by an Irishman”.
He is survived by his wife Trisha McKay, children Ruth, Ross and Nick, and his mother, Peg. He will be waked at home from 5pm today. Removal tomorrow to the Church of St Paul of the Cross, Mount Argus, arriving at 11.05am for 11.15 Mass, followed by interment at Mount Jerome Cemetery.
