Loyola News reunion and tribute

Concordia alumni to gather on 40th anniversary of passing of, honour student newspaper editors

November 17, 2014

By James Gibbons

Source: Advancement and Alumni Relations

Forty years ago, two Concordia student newspaper editors were killed in a car accident — they were both in their early 20s.

Martin O'Connor

Michael O’Hearn and Martin O’Connor were editor-in-chief and news editor, respectively, of Loyola News — a student-run paper based at Concordia, a two-month old university at the time — and a precursor of current student paper The Link.

To mark the anniversary of their passing, graduates with ties to the News will reunite the weekend of November 21. These alumni are also propelling a student bursary in honour of O’Hearn and O’Connor.

“We wanted to do something special,” says David Moorcroft, BA 77. Moorcroft worked at the News from 1974 to 1977, part of that as editor-in-chief. “We thought, what better way for their memory to live on than by helping other students.”

The Michael O’Hearn and Martin O’Connor Student Journalist Bursary will serve as tribute.

In the wake of the 1974 accident, the student newsroom rallied to establish the bursary, explains Moorcroft. Being students, however, they had difficulty sustaining it.

Michael O’Hearn

“We wanted to reinvigorate the bursary and make it for budding journalists,” says Moorcroft on the second iteration of the fund, which will support a different student each year.

The Loyola News reunion itself — organized with the aid of Concordia’s Advancement and Alumni Relations — is spread over three days and is expected to draw over 20 attendees. A previous reunion took place in 2004.

“At our first reunion, some of us hadn’t seen each other in 30 years,” says Moorcroft. “It’s wonderful to reconnect with old friends and former colleagues.”

The gathering will include a memorial service for O’Hearn and O’Connor at Loyola Chapel, at Concordia’s Loyola Campus, on November 22.

On their continued tribute to O’Hearn and O’Connor, Moorcroft notes: “We were all close at the News. It was so tragic for all of us to see these wonderful people in their prime taken from us.”

Loyola News merged with The Georgian — formerly of Sir George Williams University, one of Concordia’s founding institutions — in 1980 to form The Link.

Support student journalists and donate to the bursary. Designate your gift to the O’Hearn & O’Connor Bursary.
For more information call Nancy Wada at 514-848-2424, ext. 3882

Loyola News reunion and tribute

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