Sadness at sudden death of Mayo News columnist

There was shock and sadness in the Murrisk area on Tuesday evening when the news spread that well-known economist and Mayo News columnist John Bradley had passed away suddenly.

It is understood the Dr Bradley had just made the journey from Westport to Dublin on the train when he took ill and passed away. He was in his late seventies.

Dr Bradley joined the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI) in 1981 and retired as Research Professor there in 2006. He had previously worked at the Central Bank of Ireland. He went on to be an international consultant in economic development and EU cohesion policy.

He regularly advised the European Commission, the World Bank and other international organisations and governments. He also worked on policy modelling in Turkey, the Western Balkans, South Africa and Ethiopia.

In the early months of 2021, Dr Bradley began writing a fortnightly column for The Mayo News titled, 'Notes from the Western Periphery'.

The column came about in the wake of a series which ran in The Mayo News titled, 'What's best for the west', where journalist Edwin McGreal examined closely how the gap in the economic development of the west and east of the country could be narrowed.

Dr Bradley was a valuable contributor to the series and when a fortnightly column space became available in The Mayo News in 2021, he was asked if he was interested in writing it.

His column ran on alternate weeks to a column written by his good friend John O'Callaghan.

Dr Bradley's column examined in detail what needs to be done to make the lives of people along the western seaboard better. Sadly, his final column ran in this week's editon of The Mayo News, dated September 16.

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Editor of The Mayo News, Michael Duffy, said everyone at the newspaper was very saddened to hear of John's sudden passing.

“I was very shocked to hear of John's sudden passing when we received a phone call to the office this morning from one of John's good friends, Brendan Duffy of Westport Mens Shed.

“John's final column appeared in The Mayo News just last Tuesday and in total he contributed over 120 columns since he first started writing for the paper back in early 2021.

“John's columns were all about holding the government and other statutory bodies to account and questioning why many services provided on the western seaboard are of a lesser standard than those on the east coast.

“John was deservedly nominated for the Columnist of the Year at the 2022 Local Ireland Media Awards and indeed members of staff at the paper was lucky enough to enjoy the company of John and his wife Mary at the awards ceremony in the Bloomfield House Hotel in Mullingar.

“John was indeed great company and his wealth of knowledge across a broad spectrum of topics was quiet remarkable.

“Since his retirement from the ERSI, John has immersed himself in the life of Murrisk and Mayo. He continued to offer advice to many on a professional basis and contributed greatly to life in Murrisk and in Westport, where he was a valued member of the local Mens Shed Group.

“Everyone in The Mayo News would like to express our sympathy to John's wife Mary, their extended family and John's many friends in both Mayo and Dublin. May he rest in peace.”

Dr John's funeral details have yet to be released.