So who’s ready to fill Des Cahill's Sunday Game shoes?

RTÉ has a decision to make. Does it replace Dessie as night-time host with a Montrose staffer or go head-hunting - perhaps across the great media divide - for the new face of Montrose's GAA television coverage?

RTÉ presenter Jacqui Hurley. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

IT’LL be next April before RTÉ’s The Sunday Game returns with its weekly highlights bundle of fun, but that will hardly prevent the tongues wagging around the Montrose canteen.

Will Des Cahill’s replacement be in-house or will RTÉ go outside Donnybrook and headhunt a replacement for the Cuala man? It’s no midnight run, this gig, despite the facile criticism from inside and out that debate is stymied and a few laughs wouldn't go amiss. One Sunday night last summer featured twenty-one championship games in all - should the programme producers cover less and chat more? Or does every Qualifier deserve its 60 seconds of fame? No wonder dapper Des can often look frazzled. 

Joanne Cantwell will be remaining on the live Sunday Game beat so who’s going to get the night shift?

JACQUI HURLEY: The favourite in some quarters. Extremely accomplished and comfortable in the hot seat, the Cork woman is piloting a lot of RTÉ’s rugby coverage these days – and with everything back under the Montrose umbrella bar the November internationals, there’s plenty of egg to keep Jacqui chatting. Will RTÉ sports chief Declan McBennett want to rob Peter to pay Paul, so to speak? Does he create a problem in rugby by moving Jacqui to GAA? Might be worth it, though.

EVANNE NI CHUILINN: Another of RTÉ’s well-regarded front-of-house options, the Kilkenny woman has shown her diversity from studio hot-seat to the Olympic Games beat and is proper respected in the GAA sphere. Well dialled in on both codes and has a less confrontational, easy-going style than some colleagues. The key to this gig? Having the knowledge when the occasion demands, but firstly to facilitate good debate and conversation. Ni Chuilinn scores on these important factors.

Evanne Ní Chuilinn

TOMMY MARTIN: Well Claire Byrne came from Newstalk to be a runaway hit at RTÉ – why not Virgin Media presenter and Examiner columnist Tommy Martin? Though he presents VM’s football coverage, Donegal’s Martin has sound GAA credentials and could make the transition without missing a beat. Delivers a nice balance of chat and interrogation and is like a good referee - doesn't need to be integral to every discussion. Whether he'd want to take on the machine-gun rat-a-rat of TSG is another point. If RTÉ is willing to cross the great media divide, Off The Ball's Joe Molloy is another very accomplished anchor across a range of sports. He also has accumulated plenty of TV studio experience anchoring Six Nations rugby for Virgin Media. A fine operator. 

DARA Ó CINNEIDE: Often linked with a return to The Sunday Game, where he was once a much-respected pundit, his return last summer to the Seo Sport presenter role means he is worthy of serious consideration by RTÉ. Would he go back? The former Irish Examiner columnist heads up Radio na Gaeltachta’s southern operation these days; whether that makes this role more complicated is something only he can answer. However, his deep knowledge and reading of the GAA would make the Gaeltacht man a fit - though he may wish to keep TSG in the rearview mirror at this stage.

ANTHONY DALY: Another from the Irish Examiner stable, is Dalo the ideal pundit who is better served staying on that side of the fence? Pat Spillane found that proffering opinion is a lot easier than dissecting and repurposing everyone else’s – he rediscovered his mojo when returning to the pundit’s couch. One wonders too whether Dalo’s chatty, pub counter style would survive the constant whispering in his ear from the production room to wrap it up?

DAMIAN LAWLOR:  A potential dark horse. Tipp man Lawlor has made significant strides via Sky Sports and latterly in Donnybrook, first as a sideline reporter before moving into presentation over the past eighteen months. His easy going demeanour has opened a few dressing room doors and as a former news reporter, he likes nothing better than breaking the odd GAA exclusive himself. Has done the hard sideline yards, often in the winter chill of the club championship campaigns, where the rain comes sideways and umbrellas are part of the survival kit. Once he finds his feet, could certainly be relied upon to cut to the heart of it in the studio back and forth on a Sunday night.

RTÉ's Damian Lawlor.