The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has indicated he will honour the last wish of former Connacht Tribune editor, John Cunningham (66), who died this week after battling with illness.

Mr Cunningham, who passed away on Tuesday evening surrounded by his family at Galway Hospice, long campaigned for the Renmore palliative care facility – and Mr Kenny said yesterday that his last wish that the funding gap at Galway Hospice be bridged by Government, would be honoured.

“In due course you can take it that John Cunningham’s words meant a lot to me that night when I was out there (visiting John at the hospice) with Deputy Brian Walsh. I tend not to forget things like that. If you like, in a personal sense, to me, it was his last request and it is one that I’d like to see we can stand over,” said Mr Kenny.

From Tuam, Mr Cunningham joined the Connacht Tribune as a junior reporter in 1964. He was appointed editor of the Connacht Tribune and served in the position for 23 years from 1984 until his retirement in 2007.

Up until his death, he continued to write for the Connacht Tribune and sister newspaper Galway City Tribune, including his much-loved weekly political column, ‘Corridors of Power’, for which he won a ‘Journalist of the Year’ award in 1979. A former member of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, Mr Cunningham also lectured journalism in the NUI Galway MA in Journalism course; and received an honorary degree from the university in 2006.

He is survived by his wife Nuala, four sons, Shane, Ivor, Gary and Enda, a Connacht Tribune journalist; his brother Patrick, sisters Mary and Therese, daughters-in-law, and his grandchildren Seán, Ellen and Ethan. His remains will repose at the O’Flaherty funeral parlour, Munster Avenue, Galway today (Thursday) from 4pm with removal at 6.30pm to the Church of Christ the King, Salthill. His funeral after 11 am Mass tomorrow (Friday) to Rahoon cemetery.

Mr Kenny joined President of Ireland Michael D Higgins in paying tribute to Mr Cunningham, and offering sympathies to his family.

See full story and tributes in this week's Connacht Tribune.