GAA commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh dies aged 93

Well-known gaelic games commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh has died in hospital at the age of 93.

Mr Ó Muircheartaigh was born in Dún Síon just outside Daingean Uí Chúis (Dingle), Co Kerry, in 1930 and worked as a teacher.

His first assignment for RTÉ was to provide an all-Irish commentary on the 1949 Railway Cup Final on St Patrick’s Day.

He continued teaching up until the mid-1980s when he became a full-time broadcaster with RTÉ.

Mr Ó Muircheartaigh took over as RTÉ Radio 1’s premier radio commentator when Míchael O’Hehir retired from broadcasting in 1985.

His last All-Ireland final came in 2010, when he commentated on Cork’s win over Down in the football decider, and he retired from broadcasting in October of that year.

Speaking in 2010 ahead of his retirement, he said his work “enabled me to meet and get to know generations of great sportsmen and women and many of those associated with them”.

“It was an honour for me to be at the source of this wonderful entertainment, to be part of a continuous and successful venture,” he said.

He died this morning in the Mater Hospital, Dublin.