Renowned Gaelic games commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh died on Tuesday morning aged 93.
During a career which spanned more than 60 years, the Kerry native became a beloved voice on RTÉ's football and hurling coverage. His first day with the national broadcaster saw him provide Irish commentary on the 1949 Railway Cup Final on St Patrick’s Day.
In 2010, 61 years later, Ó Muircheartaigh retired in October after broadcasting his last All-Ireland final earlier that year.
On the occasion of his death, here is a collection of Ó Muircheartaigh’s most memorable moments with a microphone in his hand.
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“Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, his father’s from Fermanagh, his mother’s from Fiji. Neither a hurling stronghold.”
“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!”
“Dublin have scored two points, one from the hand and one from the land.”
“Teddy McCarthy to Mick McCarthy, no relation, Mick McCarthy back to Teddy McCarthy, still no relation.”
“Anthony Lynch, the Cork corner back, will be the last person to let you down – his people are undertakers.”
“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.”
“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 newsstand and I said, “I suppose ye wouldn’t have The Kerryman, would you?” 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.”
“The stopwatch has stopped. It’s up to God and the referee now. The referee is Pat Horan. God is God.”
“Pat Fox out to the 40 and grabs the sliotar. 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.”
“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.”
“1-5 to 0-8 … well, from Lapland to the Antarctic, that’s level scores in any man’s language.”
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