In 2001 Irvine moved to the Middle East, where he was based in Jerusalem and covered the Israeli Army's occupation of Ramallah.
It is for this coverage that he is most well known, broadcasting nightly reports for ITV News from Baghdad during the intense aerial bombardment.
On 26 December 2004 Irvine was holidaying on Koh Yao island in Phuket with his family when the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake hit.
Although unhurt, Irvine, along with his wife, Libby, and their two young children, Elizabeth and Peter, were washed 50 m inshore by the tsunami.
[3] In January 2010 he reported from Haiti immediately after the horrific earthquake that levelled Port-au-Prince with a huge loss of life.