The late Derek Cobbe, who once said that ‘being a magician could be very handy when you’re running a local newspaper’, has been remembered as ‘a consummate newspaper man’. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO Also read: Longford's Derek Cobbe in tribute to the late Gay Byrne Derek, of Gurteenorna, Longford and formerly of Rialto, Dublin, was a former editor of the Longford Leader and subsequently was proprietor and editor of the Longford News. Derek, who died on Friday, January 30, 2026 following a prolonged illness, was part of many families’ everyday life through his work as ‘Uncle Larry’ over several decades. He also practised as a consultant hypnotherapist and served the community as a Commissioner for Oaths and Peace Commissioner. Also read: A National Treasure: Longford journalist Derek Cobbe recounts fascinating story behind rare 'Ryan's Daughter' Guinness bottle Paying tribute Senator Joe Flaherty described Derek as ‘arguably the greatest media, marketing and PR mind that Longford ever knew and one of the best in the world’. Senator Flaherty said of the late Derek. He was ‘a consummate newspaper man, he edited the Longford Leader and later established the Longford News as one of the most innovative regional newspapers of the day’. Senator Flaherty, who is also a former editor of the Longford Leader, added, “But there were so many facets to the man. He launched the famed Uncle Larry children’s page which went on to be the longest running children’s page in a newspaper worldwide. He was also a consultant hypnotherapist and helped thousands to lose weight and stop smoking. “One of his great passions was the circus and he managed two well known Irish circus families from his quiet and unassuming Earl Street office. “He helped develop and inspire some of Ireland’s best reporters – Stephen Collins, John Donlon and Paul Williams amongst them. The media was a natural amphitheatre for him and he was equally at home in the newsroom or on one of his several Late Late Show
RIP: Longford mourns death of legendary magician, newspaper editor and hypnotherapist Derek Cobbe
Late Derek G Cobbe: His ‘Uncle Larry column provided a weekly, magical rainbow for hundreds of Longford children’
1.
Caption: Derek Cobbe on The Late Late Show with Gay Byrne. The two ‘grew up as neighbour’s children in Rialto’
2.
Caption: Uncle Larry, (aka Derek Cobbe) of The Longford Leader, sifting through the mail from Uncle Larry's page in the Leader office on the Market Square. Photo includes left to right: Peter McKenna, Derek Cobbe, Padraic O'Brien, Michael Shanley, Tom O'Brien and Farrell Harrison
3.
Caption: Dr Victorine May Yorke-Pettit (1899 - 1987), Keon's Terrace, Longford town was the first recipient of the Longford Person of the Year award (1980) and she is pictured with Derek Cobbe, then editor of the Longford News
4.
Caption: John Duignan, Jimmy Brady, Zac Hackett; Longford News Editor Derek Cobbe, and in the background, Milo Reilly and Liam Connerton, pictured with the Sam Maguire Cup in Clarke’s in 1982
