[1] His life is well documented and a book of essays about him, written by many of his colleagues, some of whom had attained fame for their literary achievements, was published in 2006 [Bright Brilliant Days: Douglas Gageby and the Irish Times, ed.
He was educated at Belfast Royal Academy and Trinity College Dublin, where he was elected a scholar in Modern Languages (French and German) in 1940.
[5] In 2003 it was revealed that a director (and later Chairman) of The Irish Times, Major T. B. McDowell, had referred to Gageby as a 'white nigger' for his views and role in the paper during the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement's campaign in the 1960s.
Gilchrist was referring to conversations which he had with McDowell where the latter professed himself to be fully behind the British government in the North and hostile to Gageby's coverage of the CRM.
Nonetheless, on 24 April 2004 Kennedy defended her position by saying, "The contents of the letter in question were published on January 27, 2003, as soon as its existence was drawn to my attention.