Brendan O'Brien (1943 or 1944 – 4 May 2026) was an Irish journalist on RTÉ One's Prime Time current affairs programme; he worked for RTÉ from 1974 until 2002.
Life and career O'Brien was a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, and the University of Ulster.
In 1983, O'Brien won a Jacob's Award for his reporting on the RTÉ current affairs programme, Today Tonight.
He is noted for his report and investigation of Martin Cahill where he followed said criminal and confronts him in the street.
In 2008, O'Brien won the Irish Children's Book of the Year Award for The Story of Ireland."Book Review – The Story of Ireland". Staff Reporter. Galway Independent. 9 January 2008. Archived 23 July 2011. Retrieved 2014-10-16. He also wrote about the history of the IRA.O'Brien, Brendan (1999). The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin. Dublin: The O'Brien Press. ."O'Brien Pocket History of the IRA by Brendan O'Brien". The O'Brien Press. Retrieved 2014-10-16. Publisher sales display. . With short biography of O'Brien.
He worked from 2005 until 2010 for the independent radio station Newstalk presenting The Saturday Edition.
O'Brien died on 4 May 2026, at the age of 82.
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