Gavan Reilly: Thank you, David Davin-Power, for showing this kid the ropes

It’s a little alarming to think that as a 37-year-old (38 later this month) I’m something of an elder lemon on the Leinster House press corps. I’ve been around for 11 years and there are only a handful of hacks who have had longer continual service in the political correspondents’ lobby. That in itself is a little frightening: a sign of high turnover of reporters who either end up moving up the ranks in their outlets, jumping the fence to take better-paid government press jobs, or simply leaving journalism altogether.

When I was sent to Leinster House in 2013 it was a different kettle of fish: only a small few of the political correspondents were especially young, and the bulk of those on the gallery were lifers who had forged well-won reputations due to their long service in the corps.

Chief among those was David Davin-Power. No doubt you will have seen or heard plenty of tributes to the great man – known to his colleagues simply as ‘DDP’ – in the airwaves and print over the last few days, about not only his journalist prowess and his ability to distil stories into their key essence, but also his wit and how enjoyable he was as company.

He was better than that: I’ve never seen someone improvise such a fluent but informative radio report, as DDP did over the phone in the crowded lobby of the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2014 ahead of Eamon Gilmore’s resignation. Someone in RTÉ wanted a radio piece, so they rang him, set the tape, and he simply talked. Magic.

But more important than all of that: he was great at dropping the ladder down below him, making sure newcomers felt welcomed, and that they knew who they needed to know. For that: thank you, DDP. Go well.