Maloney shows he’s an RTÉ All Star

It says a lot about RTÉ’s trust in Darragh Maloney that they once again handed him sole responsibility of presenting their sports awards on Sunday night.

Who could blame them? He is arguably their sports department’s biggest asset. For the best part of two hours, he showed his comfort with all subject matter, coping admirably when Martin O’Neill played the divil with him about Roy Keane.

The concern for RTÉ is that there’s only so much of the man to go around. His versatility knows no bounds — his Gaelic games work, for one, is excellent — and his polished delivery has undoubtedly attracted other suitors.

The national broadcasters get their fair share of criticism but they should also be praised when they get it right.