Michael D McAndrew: 'We are all Mayo at the end of the day. We don’t have to be unbiased'

Mid West Radio commentator Michael D McAndrew along with analyst Martin Carney will be broadcast Saturday's All-Ireland final to Mayo fans around the world.

Seventy-seven minutes on the clock. This to level it and bring us to extra time. Come on Robbie! ……. He did it! He did it! It’s over the bar! And now it’s Mayo 13 points, Dublin 13 points.”

- Michael D. McAndrew, Match Commentator, Midwest Radio, 14 August 2021

“When the ball was in the air, the whole world stopped. We were following it just not knowing. We had to keep going, keep talking about it. And then it went over. On a personal level, it was brilliant that it was Robbie.

As Martin said, he got a lot of criticism in Mayo over the years. And that point – that kick – was so important. Once it went over, we knew we had a great chance in extra time. Dublin were like a heavyweight boxer just hanging on at the end”, is how Michael D. McAndrew, commentator with Midwest Radio describes his commentary of the last seconds of normal time in the All-Ireland football semi-final when Mayo beat Dublin.

“There’s a Mayoman down. Number 10 is down. Diarmuid O’Connor. There’s a Dublin man after hitting him. There should be a Dublin man sent off here. Dublin are all over the place here. But Hennelly, Hennelly, Hennelly! Let’s carve his name with pride! Again and again, that man has got more abuse from Mayo fans. And fair play to him! No Mayoman is taking a backward step. There’s all kinds of scraps and schemozzles here.”

- Martin Carney, Co-Commentator, Midwest Radio, 14 August 2021

Michael’s co-commentator is Martin Carney: “We just have a great relationship. He is a real pro from his time working in RTÉ. We have different analysts for different matches, but for big Mayo games it’s Martin. He just adds so much to it.”

And Martin’s voice – along with Michael’s – resonates far beyond the county boundaries; the commentaries are broadcast across the world on the internet. Many more than 100,000 people will be listening next Saturday evening. It is like this for every Mayo match. The vast green-and-red network that sprawls across the world use Midwest commentaries as an essential reference point on All-Ireland Final day.

Messages will pour in from every continent. There is, for example, a Mayo man who lives in Bogotà with his Colombian wife – both will send a message on Saturday:

“Even many of those who might be watching on television tune in the radio. They want to hear the local view. They want to hear Mayo people. We are like other stations in that. Kerry have it and Donegal have it. And others too. That connection with home through the radio and sport is massive.”

There is nothing simple about commentating on a football match, not least when your own county is playing. But there is a pleasure in it, as well as a certain pressure: “It is a big job to have, a great job. And I do get nervous. I have to get my eating done early in the day. And I like to be in Croke Park early. The final is at 5pm on Saturday but I’ll be there by 12.30. I set up the broadcasting unit myself and I dial into Ballyhaunis and I just make sure that everything is working.”

The time before the game looks after itself: “There’s a good camaraderie with the other people up there in the box. We are all doing the same job. So I’ll go looking for any information I can find. We’re not allowed into the dressing room before the game, like they used to be in the past. I don’t think James Horan would be delighted if I knocked on the dressing room door. Modern teams just keep their distance. They run a professional operation and they are sheltered from us. It’s all managed. ”

Michael D, who is 31, is embedded in the culture of Mayo GAA. He is the chairman of Cill Chomain club, based in north Mayo, between Belmullet and Ballycastle. His parents run Healy’s bar in the village of Glenamoy. He puts his love of sport down to the influence of his late grandmother, Bridget Healy, and he has now put down 10 years working in Midwest Radio. Having graduated with a degree from Wolverhampton University, he started there, first on Saturdays, then on Saturdays and Sundays, before going full-time. He has worked there in sales, in production, as commentator on Mayo matches since 2016, and is now the Sports Editor as well as being a news journalist.

“We have suffered so many defeats over the years to this Dublin team. We haven’t beaten them since 2012. Well, we’re going to take them all the way tonight Mary-Anne!”

Commentary in the last minute of extra-time.

“There is no Mary-Anne. She’s made up. It just came into my head. I had nothing prepared. It just came out. Random stuff comes out. It could have been a lot worse I suppose! It’s not that I do no preparation. I do loads of preparation on the teams, on all of the players. Obviously with the Mayo players I’ve built up research over the years. But I’ll do plenty on the Tyrone players for this weekend. The way of things is that I mightn’t use any of it, or even a lot of it. But then something that a player does – like if Ryan O’Donoghue scores the first goal on Saturday – and something comes into my head at the time that I’ve researched about him, I’ll throw it in if it’s suitable. That research gives you confidence and puts you at your ease. And for an All-Ireland final I’ll write a few lines of introduction and know where I’m going for the start. It’s a huge day and you want to get it right.”

And the semi-final victory was joyous: “Extra-time was incredibly special. Mayo’s subs had the legs..”

“We came. We saw. We conquered. We bearded the lion in their own den and we have slain it.”

- Seconds after the full time whistle in extra-time.

“We are all Mayo at the end of the day. It’s not national radio where you have to be unbiased. We don’t have to be unbiased. We try hard to be fair and accurate. But this is for Mayo people. It’s local radio, our radio.”

And finally, there are the as yet unspoken words, those that would flow if Mayo win Sam: “Yes, it’ll be hard to put it into words really. It will be a special moment, a range of emotions.

“To have come so close over the years it will be magical to finally cross that line. I feel honoured to be commentating on such a big game and if Mayo can land Sam Maguire for the first time in 70 years it will be monumental.

“The commentary will take on a life of its own for the final few minutes if the finishing line is dangling in front of us.”

- Paul Rouse is professor of history at University College Dublin