Jim McDowell, a veteran journalist based in Belfast, died last week after a sudden illness. His wife Lindy informed colleagues of his passing the day after a hospital visit by family and friends.

McDowell worked as a sports correspondent covering athletics from 1976. He reported on Belfast City Council politics during the 1980s and 1990s. He wrote columns for the Irish News and appeared on Talkback.

In 1996, McDowell sustained injuries in a helicopter crash landing. Colleagues Stephen Grimason and Barney Rowan visited him in hospital that year. Rowan later noted McDowell served as best man at his wedding ten years after first meeting through athletics coverage.

McDowell ran marathons in Belfast and Derry during the 1980s. He competed in the first Belfast marathon in 1982 alongside Barney Rowan.

In 2001, Rowan informed McDowell of the shooting death of their colleague Martin O'Hagan. McDowell covered crime in working-class Protestant communities and reported on paramilitary drug activity.

In 2009, McDowell was attacked by a gang at Belfast's Christmas Market. No convictions followed the incident.

McDowell gave Rowan his first job in journalism.