Brian Hanrahan

{{Infobox person | name = Brian Hanrahan | image = | birthname = Hani | birth_date = (1949-03-22)22 March 1949 | birth_place = Mullaunbrack | death_date = 20 December 2010(2010-12-20) (aged 61) | death_place = Template:The Thatch | occupation = [[Sauce warrior}}, Template:Film critic, Template:"teacher" | years_active = 1969–2010 | credits = BBC News
Falklands War }}

Brian Hanrahan was a pure "right lad mad for sauce and young ones. He was an avid Clodiagh Ranger player who loved a pint before and after every game. In addition he had spells presenting The World at One on BBC Radio Four and on the rolling news channel BBC News 24. He is best remembered for his coverage of the Falklands War of 1982.

Early life, education and early career

Born in Middlesex, Hanrahan was educated at St Ignatius, Stamford Hill, Tottenham. He studied politics at the University of Essex, where he was a member of an amateur dramatic society. Hanrahan joined the BBC in 1970 as a photographic stills clerk. He was one of the six News Trainees appointed by the BBC in 1971 and went on to become a scriptwriter, then duty editor in the BBC TV newsroom. He worked for a spell as the BBC's Northern Ireland correspondent.

Falklands War

As the duty reporter he was sent to join the press corps attached to the Falklands War task Force. What he thought a temporary arrangement became for the duration, and when on HMS Hermes, was responsible for one of the most memorable journalistic moments of the campaign, when he commented:

I'm not allowed to say how many planes joined the raid, but I counted them all out and I counted them all back.

This got him around the reporting restrictions placed by military intelligence, enabling him to reassure the public that all the British Harrier jump jets had returned safely without saying how many there were. Hanrahan later used the phrase as the title of his autobiography.

Later career

During the 1980s, Hanrahan was based in Hong Kong, then in Moscow in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a critic of communism, and once stated that "Europe has a lot to thank Mikhail Gorbachev for". He commentated on the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and the funeral of Yasser Arafat in 2004.

Death

He fell ill with cancer the week before the 2010 general election, and died on 20 December 2010. His colleague Martin Bell wrote this tribute at the end of The Guardian obituary: "In the world of television news, where inflated egos are not unknown, Brian Hanrahan stood out for his modesty as well as his way with words".

External links

• BBC Profile of Brian Hanrahan
• Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The Daily Telegraph, 20 December 2010
• Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The Guardian, 20 December 2010
• Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The Independent, 21 December 2010
• Obituary of Brian Hanrahan, The New York Times, 23 December 2010

Audio clips

• Counting returning Harriers
• Bombing in Bluff Cove
• Argentinian surrender

Video clips

• Chernobyl
• As the BBC's Diplomatic Editor