Gill & Macmillan says the €100,000 it spent signing up the journalist is the most it has ever paid for a book, and followed a bidding war with other publishers. The previous record is understood to have been for Bird’s former colleague, Gay Byrne, who wrote his memoirs in 1989.
The publishing house says it is confident of making back its money on Charlie Bird: My Story, due for publication in October.
The book will cover Bird’s 25 years as a broadcast journalist, and his coverage of high-profile stories such as the tsunami, the announcement of the IRA’s ceasefire in August 1994 and National Irish Bank’s deliberate overcharging of customers.
Bird’s career began in the reference library of The Irish Times, and he joined RTE in 1974 as a researcher. He transferred to the news room in 1980, and one of the first stories he covered was the 1981 Stardust fire. He made his name with reports on the trial in the Philippines of Fr Niall O’Brien.
“I think there will be plenty of surprises in store for many of the people involved,” said Bird, who is being assisted by Kevin Rafter, another journalist, in the writing of the book.
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The journalist says he was “quite flabbergasted” at the money being offered by publishers. His personal life will not be “a major part” of the book, which will be a reflection on his work.
“I have been involved in reporting every big story in this country as it happened in the past 25 years.”