Still tuned in after 40 years

FIRST there was Micheál Ó Hehir, then there was Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, the two legends of Irish sports broadcasting.

Linking the two, and working in a sort of parallel universe for the last 40 years, has been yet another broadcasting legend — Seán Bán Breathnach, or SBB, to give him the title by which he’s only known in some quarters.

Today, April 1, Seán Bán celebrates his 60th birthday, but as significantly celebrates the 40th anniversary of his start in radio broadcasting. From the beginning he was his own man; from the beginning he was a rebel, and with a multiple of causes; to the end he will remain the same, though far distant be that day.