The late Derek Davis on stage with the French Rose during the 1995 Rose of Tralee.
THE death has occurred of the broadcaster Derek Davis.
Mr Davis, who was 67, was well-known on RTE is his many guises as newsreader and presenter on the national broadcaster and also presented the Rose of Tralee back in 1995 and 1996. Mr Davis was called upon at short notice to host the event in 1995 after regular compere, Gay Byrne took ill.
Mr Davis’ death was announced on the Sean O’Rourke RTE Radio Show this morning.
He is perhaps best-known as presenter of Live At 3 with Thelma Mansfield and for his sparring duels with Twink on the hugely popular ‘Play The Game’ show.
Born in Dublin to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother from Bray, Davis attended a Catholic boarding school in County Antrim.
He started as a news reporter with the American network ABC and BBC Northern Ireland before spending 11 years in the newsroom in RTÉ, where he became a newsreader on the The Six-o-clock News.
He moved to daytime TV in the mid-1980s Davis co-hosting Live at 3. He later hosted his own talk show, ‘Davis at Large’ in 1985.
During the late 1990s he presented a marine programme devoted to boats and the waters around Ireland called Out of the Blue, which ran for four series, the last of which was broadcast in 2001.
He has appeared many times on TV3’s Vincent Browne show a guest and had a radio show on 4fm.
He is survived by his wife and three sons.
