Funeral of iconic GAA commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh to take place

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Updated at 11:30am

The funeral of renowned Gaelic Games commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh is to be held in Co Kerry on Saturday.

Mr Ó Muircheartaigh died on Tuesday morning, aged 93, in a Dublin hospital, surrounded by family members.

His funeral mass will be held at 11am at St Mary’s Church in Dingle, Co Kerry before he is buried in St Brendan’s Cemetery.

The voice of the former RTÉ broadcaster from Co Kerry became synonymous with the GAA in Ireland during a career that spanned decades.

A teacher before he joined RTÉ full-time in the 1980s, Mr Ó Muircheartaigh commentated in both Irish and English.

His life as a sports commentator began many years before taking on the job full-time.

President Michael D Higgins said his commentaries captured “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”.

Since his death, people have been reminiscing on the one-liners that made his commentary so unique.

Many have cited his description of Cork hurler and footballer Seán Óg Ó hAilpin, about whom Mr Ó Muircheartaigh once remarked: “His father’s from Fermanagh, his mother’s from Fiji – neither a hurling stronghold.”

Another is: “The stopwatch has stopped. It’s up to God and the referee now. The referee is Pat Horan. God is God.”

Mr Ó Muircheartaigh is survived by his wife Helena, his children Eamonn, Niamh, Aonghus, Cormac, Neasa, Nuala, Eadaoin and Doireann, and his grandchildren.