A long-standing journalist at a regional daily has penned an autobiography about his 50 years in the industry.

Alf McCreary, who is the Belfast Telegraph’s religious affairs correspondent, has written Behind the Headlines about his time covering some of the biggest stories in Northern Ireland.

The autobiography by the award-winning journalist provides a personal account of his life and career, giving the stories behind half a century of headlines.

Alf, who has written around 30 books, has spent much of his career at the Bel Tel and covered many of the biggest stories from the Troubles, including Bloody Sunday, the Kingsmills massacre and the Enniskillen bomb.

Other major stories he reported on were the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland, the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer and the visit of President Ronald Reagan to Ireland.

The Bel Tel reported that Alf’s book was launched at an event in November in Belfast, during which he was praised by the city’s Lord Mayor Mairtin O’Muilleoir as “one of the best-known chroniclers of life in this province.”

Said Alf: “I have known good times and bad times in Belfast, but it remains one of my favourite cities in the whole world.”

Alf, who has been awarded an MBE, has also spent time working as director of information officer at Queen’s University Belfast and reporting from Africa, Asia and Latin America for Christian Aid and Tearfund.

He has won two British National Press Awards and was also previously named the Northern Ireland Journalist of the Year.

The book is available from Amazon.