Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh: Best lines from a broadcasting legend

Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh was the voice of Gaelic games, Ireland’s national sports.

Across a 60-year career, from his 1949 radio debut to his last All-Ireland final on television in 2010, the broadcaster was a constant companion for generations of Irish sports fans.

Known for his distinctive lilt and unrivalled turn of phrase, his longevity was even recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.

His death this week, at the age of 93, brought on not only a wave of tributes but also the sharing of his best ‘Mícheál-isms’ – those witty utterances that helped bring the colour of some of the biggest days in Irish sport to life.

Mr Ó Muircheartaigh, born in Dingle, County Kerry, was training to be a primary school teacher when he and 10 other students were asked to audition to become a commentator for Raidió Éireann, the forerunner to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ.

According to a tribute by current GAA commentator Marty Morrissey, he had never seen a hurling match before – but he got the gig, going on to provide Irish language commentary for a 1949 inter-provincial Railway Cup game.

He worked as a teacher until the 1980s, when he became a full-time broadcaster with RTÉ.

His death led to an outpouring of tributes.

Irish president Michael D Higgins said he turned every match into an “epic tale”, while Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Simon Harris said the word legend was “not enough” to describe him.

A post on social media from comedian Dara O’Briain read: ”A man of great wit and charm, he was the voice of the summer to Gaels all over the world. He was blessed with a long life and he lived it well.”

Here, we pick out some of the broadcaster’s finest, and funniest, lines of commentary.

• On Cork hurling star Seán Óg Ó hAilpín: “Seán Óg Ó hAilpín: his father’s from Fermanagh, his mother’s from Fiji. Neither a hurling stronghold.”

• On the precariousness of a match’s final moments: “The stopwatch has stopped. It’s up to God and the referee now. The referee is Pat Horan. God is God.”

• ”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.”

• On the fickle nature of hurling: “He grabs the sliothar, he’s on the 50! He’s on the 40! He’s on the 30… he’s on the ground!” – A sliothar, pronounced slitter, is the name of the ball used in hurling.

• On a Fox and a dog: ”Pat Fox out to the forty 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.”

• On a Fox and a Rabbitte: “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!”

• On a game’s weather conditions: “In the first half they played with the wind. In the second half they played with the ball.”

• On possible post-match refreshments: ”I see John O’Donnell dispensing water on the sideline. Tipperary sponsored by a water company. Cork sponsored by a tea company. I wonder will they meet later for afternoon tae.”

• “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.”

• On player names: ”Teddy McCarthy to Mick McCarthy, no relation, Mick McCarthy back to Teddy McCarthy, still no relation.”

• On GAA scoring conventions: ”1-5 to 0-8… well, from Lapland to the Antarctic, that’s level scores in any man’s language.” 1-5 indicates a team has one goal and five points – a goal is worth three points, so the team would have eight points total

• On Galway star hurler Sylvester ‘Sylvie’ Linnane: “And here’s Sylvie Linnane, who drives a digger on a Monday and turns into one on a Sunday.”

• On Sligo, who play in black and white kit, against Dublin in Gaelic football: ”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 (Dublin’s) Ciarán Whelan goes on a rampage – it’s a goal. So much for religion.”

• On professions: ”Anthony Lynch, the Cork corner-back, would be the last person to let you down – his people are undertakers.”

• On myths and legends: “Setanta Ó hAilpín… the original Setanta from the old Gaelic stories was 10ft tall, had 10 fingers on each hand and 10 toes on each foot but even he couldn’t be playing better hurling than his namesake here today.”

It would be remiss not to mention one final piece of Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh lore – his love, and knowledge, of a classic Irish ham sandwich.

His death led many to share a 2015 video in which he described to the Irish Times how to make the perfect version.

Sandwiches have a key place in the heart of GAA fans, as they have traditionally been the primary source of sustenance when travelling to a big match – most fans will tell you they taste best when eaten while sitting on the boot of a parked car and accompanied by a mineral (fizzy drink) or flask of tea.

Naturally, it’s an aspect of GAA, and Irish culture, that Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh understood to his core – just one aspect of many that helped make him one of Ireland’s most admired broadcasters.

His funeral Mass will take place on Saturday in Dingle.