Veteran BBC journalist Stephen Grimason who broke news of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998 dies aged 67

The veteran BBC journalist Stephen Grimason who broke news of the historic Good Friday Agreement in April 1998 has died aged 67.

The former BBC Northern Ireland political editor passed away following a long-term battle with cancer.

Following his iconic three-decade-long career in journalism, Grimason, originally from Lurgan, Co Armagh, later went on to work for the Stormont administration as director of communications.

He spoke publicly over the last year about his fight against cancer and said he received well wishes from former Prime Minister Tony Blair among others.

In an interview in January when he, along with former UTV political editor Ken Reid, was honoured with the Chancellor's Medal for services to journalism, he described leaving it as 'a bit of a wrench', recalling 'being surrounded by tremendous people'.

Looking back, he said he had a 'seat at the table for an awful lot of pretty dramatic Executive meetings' in the 2000s.

Grimason cut his teeth working in local newspapers including the Lurgan Mail, the Ulster Star in Lisburn and Banbridge Chronicle, as well as regional papers, the former Sunday News newspapers and the News Letter.

At just 27-years-old, Grimason had become the editor of the Banbridge Chronicle. 

Later, after 12 years in newspaper journalism, he applied for a job at the BBC in Northern Ireland.

'There were something like 300 of us (who applied) and two of us got jobs - so I must have bluffed my way rightly,' he said of that time.

Speaking in January at Queen's University around the then political stalemate, Grimason noted the 'tide of Irish and Northern Irish politics goes in and out', adding: 'If you're not careful and you don't lead, you'll be left on the beach.'

He also spoke of covering some of the darkest days of the Troubles, including atrocities within days in January 1992 - an IRA bomb which killed eight construction workers at Teebane, Co Tyrone, and the killing of five people by loyalists at the Sean Graham bookmakers on the Ormeau Road in Belfast.

'I was the first reporter at Teebane. In the end, I think that the big success of the peace process was that actually peace, or an imperfect version of it, did win through,' he said.

When Grimason memorably broke the news of the peace deal which helped end the troubles, he declared on television: 'I have it in my hand'.

Grimason was described as a 'brilliant political editor' by former Northern Ireland presenter Noel Thompson, BBC reported. 

'He had the two most important attributes for the job. He loved the gossip - the inside track - and he loved to share it with the rest of us,' he said.

'His biggest scoop was of course getting hold of a copy of the Good Friday Agreement before any of the hundreds of other journalists camped out at Stormont.

''I have it in my hand' he told me live on air, with justifiable pride and excitement. It's one of the key journalistic moments of the last 30 or 40 years.'

Grimason left the BBC to become Stormont's new director of communications, a role he held until 2016. 

He suffered heartache in 2022, when his younger brother Darryl, who was also a BBC journalist ad presenter, passed away. 

Adam Smyth, director of BBC Northern Ireland, also paid tribute to Grimason following his shock death.

He said: 'Stephen Grimason possessed the special talents that only the very best editors and correspondents exhibit - the audience always came away from his broadcasts feeling they knew and understood the political landscape better, and they trusted what he had to say.

'Stephen's list of contacts and sources was so extensive he regularly seemed to be one step ahead of everyone else - including the politicians.

'His contribution to BBC Northern Ireland is deeply appreciated and we offer our sincerest condolences to Stephen's family.'

Ken Reid wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'Stephen Grimason, my dear friend, has died.

'He showed enormous courage against the odds right to very end. In over 40 years of friendship and rivalry we never exchanged a cross word. 

'Lucky to have spent time with him in his last days. Sleep well my friend'. 

Outside of work, Grimason was reportedly an avid golfer and a keen rugby and football fan, and passionate about Chelsea FC.