Described by colleagues as a ‘true Mirror man’, Joe joined the paper in 1968, and moved to Northern Ireland from Country Durham a year later.
Joe dedicated more than forty years to reporting the news, describing the reality of the days he lived through and exposing the ‘bully boys’ he said were ruining his beloved adopted home.
He covered the worse of the Troubles and afterwards, the tortured journey towards peace in Northern Ireland.
Tributes have poured into the Daily Mirror offices as friends and colleagues remembered him.
John Kierans, Editor-In-Chief, Mirror Group Newspapers Ireland, said Joe had taught him all he knew about newspapers and journalism. He added: “Joe Gorrod was the heart of the Mirror. He taught us all so much over the years and he personally taught me as much as he could about the business.
“He was a legend in the game, a true Mirror man who was passionate about reporting the news in full colour and passionate about the Mirror and what the paper stood for then and today.
“He championed the ordinary person, whether they were our readers or our young reporters, and he went out of his way to help anyone who needed it.
“In the North he covered the Troubles and the birth of the civil rights movement right through to the peace process.
“He was extremely brave. He was threatened many times and caught up in many gunfights on the streets trying to bring the news to our readers.
“Joe carried the Mirror through the Troubles with his own style and flair.
“He made the news make sense, he ensured the public were presented with the truth about what was happening and he spoke plainly to everyone.
“He was an excellent reporter and a fantastic writer who could make the readers laugh and cry. We have missed him since he retired four years ago. We will never forget Joe – no one who met him ever could.”
After a lifetime working for the Mirror, Joe retired only to be encouraged back into the job to accompany the sisters of IRA murder victim Robert McCartney.
He was the only reporter they trusted to help them lobby Washington in their bid for justice – and he came back with the exclusive scoop President George Bush backed the family’s campaign.
Four years ago, Joe retired for the final time from the Daily Mirror’s Belfast office, leaving behind an empty desk that was once littered with loose tobacco and a huge gap where a legend once worked. He warned hacks covering the Sunday shift in the Mirror to be on their toes, adding: “Everything happens on a Sunday. Look at the Battle of Waterloo.”
