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Broadcaster and historian Robert Kee passes away

Broadcaster and historian Robert Kee passes away

THE broadcaster and historian Robert Kee has passed away at the age of 93.

He had enjoyed a long and distinguished career with perhaps his work on Ireland among his finest contributions to broadcasting and writing.

His three-volume history of Irish nationalism — The Green Flag — was published in 1972. Mr. Kee then presented the series Ireland — A Television History (see below) which was based on his books. The 13-part series won great acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.

Mr. Kee had studied history at Magdalen College, Oxford, before entering journalism immediately after the Second World War — during which he had served as a bomber pilot in the RAF and been a prisoner of war for three years.

After working in print journalism for a range of titles including Picture Post, Sunday Times and the Observer, he then moved into television in the late 1950s.

Over the years he worked for both the BBC and independent television becoming a highly regarded current affairs correspondent and presenter with such programmes as Panorama, First Report and 7 Days.

He was awarded Bafta’s Richard Dimbleby Award in 1976.

In 1983 Mr. Kee became a member of the so-called Famous Five when he joined David Frost and others to launch the breakfast-time television show TV-AM.

Among his many books were several dealing with the Second World War, including The World We Left Behind: Chronicle of the Year 1939, which examined the way people perceived events as war approached.

He also published Trial and Error: The Maguires, the Guildford Pub Bombings and British Justice (1986), which dealt with the miscarriage of justice. Mr. Kee had campaigned for the release of the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven who had been wrongly convicted.

To view an excerpt from Ireland — A Television History, click here.

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