Tributes have poured in for legendary Gaelic games commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, who has died at the age of 93.
President Michael D Higgins said that Ó Muircheartaigh’s legacy was that of his “beautiful Irish delivered with a love of its sounds and sense to Gaelic games.
“Indeed, so many matches may in fact be remembered more for his commentary than for the action on the pitch. For Mícheál turned every match into an epic tale, his commentaries capturing like no other the sense of occasion, the atmosphere in the stadium and on the terraces, the ebb and flow of the play and of every movement.”
Marty Morrissey hailed “a special man with a special broadcasting talent”, adding: “Today Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh died, but the magic of his voice and memories he gave us will mean, in our minds, he will live forever.”
Magic memories delivered by a unique voice in Irish life. Here, we pick out some of the Kerryman’s greatest lines of commentary.
– “Teddy looks at the ball, the ball looks at Teddy…”
– “Seán Óg Ó hAilpín: his father’s from Fermanagh, his mother’s from Fiji. Neither a hurling stronghold.”
– “Anthony Lynch, the Cork corner-back, will be the last person to let you down – his people are undertakers.”
– “I saw a few Sligo people at Mass in Gardiner Street this morning and the omens seem to be good for them. The priest was wearing the same colours as the Sligo jersey! 40 yards out on the Hogan Stand side of the field, Ciarán Whelan goes on a rampage… it’s a goal! So much for religion.”
– “The stopwatch has stopped. It’s up to God and the referee now. The referee is Pat Horan. God is God.”
– “In the first half they played with the wind. In the second half they played with the ball.”
– “Pat Fox has it on his hurl and is motoring well now, but here comes Joe Rabbitte hot on his tail… I’ve seen it all now, a Rabbitte chasing a Fox around Croke Park!”
– “Pat Fox out to the 40 and grabs the sliothar. I bought a dog from his father last week. Fox turns and sprints for goal. The dog ran a great race last Tuesday in Limerick. Fox to the 21 fires a shot, it goes to the left and wide… and the dog lost as well.”
– “Teddy McCarthy to Mick McCarthy, no relation. Mick McCarthy back to Teddy McCarthy, still no relation.”
– “And here’s Sylvie Linnane, who drives a digger on a Monday and turns into one on a Sunday.”
– “Colin Corkery on the 45 lets go with the right boot. It’s over the bar. This man shouldn’t be playing football. He’s made an almost Lazarus-like recovery from a heart condition. Lazarus was a great man, but he couldn’t kick points like Colin Corkery.”
– “Stephen Byrne with the puck-out for Offaly. Stephen, one of 12. All but one are here today, the one that’s missing is Mary, she’s at home minding the house. And the ball is dropping i lár na bpáirce.”
– “He’s not a big man, he’s not a small man, he’s what you might call a handy man.”
– “And Brian Dooher is down injured. And while he is, I’ll tell ye a little story. I was in Times Square in New York last week, and I was missing the Championship back home. So I approached a news stand and I said, ‘I suppose ye wouldn’t have The Kerryman, would ye?’ To which, the Egyptian behind the counter turned to me and he said, ‘Do you want the north Kerry edition, or the south Kerry edition?’ He had both – so I bought both. And Dooher is back on his feet.”
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