The death has been announced of Professor Rick Wilford. Though born in Wales he long ago made Northern Ireland his home. He was an Emeritus Professor at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s and a respected commentator of the political scene.
Rick was a familiar face on our screens, especially during election counts. He was known for his laid back manner and dry wit, and amazingly for our divided society, he was universally respected for his warmth, kindness and decency.
Our condolences to his family.
Devastating news that my dear friend and long term partner in commentators corner on @bbctheview Prof Rick Wilford has passed away.
A legendary figure in NI academic and political circles. His wisdom, insights and laughter will be much missed. #RIP pic.twitter.com/Q3xWWrnmaN
— Deirdre Heenan (@deirdreheenan) June 15, 2021
Prof Rick Wilford was one of the most kind and decent academics during my time at QUB – always made time for students – and as gracious any time I did commentary with him. Very sad news – thinking of all his family and friends.
— Orna Young (@OrnaYoung) June 16, 2021
So sorry to hear of the death of Rick Wilford. We shared many fun times in radio/TV studios and he once described himself as the “miserable optimist to Alex’s happy pessimist.’ An epically good guy with a beautifully tuned sense of humour. And a friend to me and @KerriDunn : ) pic.twitter.com/g8jnPIQRC7
— Alex.Kane (@AlexKane221b) June 15, 2021
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
Discover more from Slugger O'Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
