A deputy editor whose service to a regional daily spanned four decades has died aged 95.

Tributes have been paid to Dan Kinney, who also held roles including business editor and chief leader writer with the Belfast News Letter.

Dan, pictured, also worked for titles include the Irish News, The Guardian and Farming Life during his career.

He joined the News Letter in the 1960s and retired in the mid-1990s. Senior News Letter journalist Billy Kennedy described him as “an exceptional newsman.”

Said Billy: “When I joined the News Letter in November 1974, Dan was the paper’s business editor and I well remember being first introduced to this burly grey-haired and straight-talking man with a healthy ruddy complexion in our Donegall Street offices.

“Dan Kinney was a man of great integrity, intensely proud of his Cushendun, Glens of Antrim roots, and although he came from a nationalist background, his high level of professionalism allowed him to uniquely and accurately convey a measured traditional pro-Union and best civic awareness response to the pressing issues of the day through the ‘Morning View’ column.

“Dan’s work shifts in Donegall Street were mostly at night and he saw the paper to bed into the early hours of the morning. He did not suffer fools easy, and called out any contributions that were not up to standard.

“I learned much working alongside Dan – he was old school, but was a journalist who maintained the highest levels of accuracy, integrity, morality and decency. My sincere sympathy is extended to his family.”

Farming Life editor Ruth Rodgers added: “Dan’s columns on the countryside and its management were both knowledgeable, entertaining and informative.

“It was clear he had a genuine love for the outdoor life and he was usually accompanied by one of his grandsons as he took off across the moors in search of grouse, a fox or a missing dog.

“His passing leaves a big hole for his family and the wider community.”

Dan is survived by his wife Celine, four daughters and a son.