The nation gushes with fondness for Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins exclaimed his longevity and poetry as a commentator while GAA president Jarlath Burns spoke of his passion for Gaelic games and the Irish language.

RIP: From Áras an Uachtaráin to Páirc an Chrocaigh and Páirc Aibhistin de Staic to Corca Dhuibhne, the tributes for Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh following his passing on Monday morning at the age of 93 gushed with fondness and favour.

From Áras an Uachtaráin to Páirc an Chrocaigh and Páirc Aibhistin de Staic to Corca Dhuibhne, the tributes for Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh following his passing on Monday morning at the age of 93 gushed with fondness and favour.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins exclaimed his longevity and poetry as a commentator.

“In the 61 years over which he provided us with such fine commentaries, his unique and distinctive voice transformed sound to picture, effortlessly filling us with the atmosphere of anticipation of victory or defeat, but most of all, with immense suspense, excitement and delight.”

GAA president Jarlath Burns spoke of his passion for Gaelic games and the Irish language.

"He was for so long an iconic figure across the GAA landscape and indeed Irish life as a whole, with an incomparable voice and an almost poetic ability, in not one, but two languages.

"His voice and literary skills provided the backdrop to some of the greatest days in Irish sport and his empathy and understanding of our games and Irish life was second to none.”

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese described Ó Muircheartaigh as “Ireland”.

On their official website, Kerry GAA expressed their “great sadness” upon learning of his death. In a lengthy statement, they described him as “a national treasure without question” in relation to his illustrious career as a commentator.

They acknowledged the extensive contribution he made to the advances of Kerry football as a coach in Dublin and a fundraiser in recent years.

“Mícheál was a huge supporter of Kerry GAA all of his life from the stands, behind the microphone and even from the middle of the pitch!

“Mícheál was even involved in training Kerry teams throughout the 1970s when he was teaching in Dublin and trained many intercounty players who were based in Dublin through work. He was heavily involved in training the players during the time in which Kerry won eight All-Ireland titles.”

The Kerry County Board noted the magnetism of Ó Muircheartaigh among supporters and the public in general.

“Crowds flocked to Micheál after games that he commentated on and he always had time for everyone. His favourite phrase was 'Cé a bhuathaigh Sam i mbliana' and of course whilst his first love was Kerry – he was always impartial and gave every county their due.

“He always had a great love for the Irish language and tried to include Irish and make it so accessible to every listener and every GAA fan around the country. He certainly made being an Irish speaker something to be proud of and encouraged many others to use their language.

“Mícheál had a deep grá for West Kerry, Kerry GAA, Ireland and everything about being Irish. We were so lucky that he hailed from the Kingdom and represented our county with unrivalled pride.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Helena, sons Éamonn, Cormac and Aonghus and his daughters: Niamh, Doireann, Éadaoin, Neasa and Nuala and all of his family and very many friends. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.”

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, an emotional Mícheál Ó Sé paid tribute to his great friend Ó Muircheartaigh as “the best known man in the land” with “magic in his voice”.

“He was everybody’s friend,” said the former Raidió na Gaeltachta broadcaster.

“He was the best known man in the land. There was magic in his voice and you could never have a great friend than Mícheál. So friendly, so gentle, so understanding of everybody.

“People who had no interest at all in GAA tuned in for his lovely sayings and the way he was able to put a spell on words. He’d make your day if you met him.”

Ó Sé was fortunate to spend some time with Ó Muircheartaigh in Kerry earlier this month. They regaled stories and exchanged news in Benners Hotel in Dingle where they ran into Munster GAA PRO Dermot “Weeshie” Lynch and reminisced about their mutual friend, the late Páidí Ó Sé.

Ó Sé recalled of their meeting: “We had a get-together a couple of weeks ago, met ‘Weeshie’ and that was the last time I saw Mícheál until I got the call from (Ó Muirtcheartaigh’s son) Aonghus this (Tuesday) morning. He had a bad turn a couple of days ago, we were praying for him and he was in hospital.”

Ó Sé said there was never any question about the allegiances of Ó Muircheartaigh, who trained Kerry’s Dublin-based players such as Jack O’Shea during Mick O’Dwyer’s golden period of management. 

But in his professional life, his impartiality was indisputable and was underlined by the respect he was shown.

“He was a Kerryman and there was no doubt about that but in his commentary he was well able to hide it. You never knew which side he was on when commentating.

Every player was treated the same. You would get a better picture from Mícheál than you would from television.

“That was how descriptive he was of the players and what was going on in the game. The man in possession, you would be told everything about him. His greyhound might have raced against Mícheál’s the night before and then he’d be telling you about the ball landing inside in the square.

“He knew everybody’s background, their uncles, grand-uncles their height, and what they scored. He did his research well and then he’d appear in Croke Park and he’d have four or five coloured crayons or pencils for the helmets and then he had his statistician and Aonghus always by his side. A great family man, a terrific family man.

“Then afterwards the crowds would gather around him and they’d be talking about the controversial things. Some fella might mention the referee and Mícheál would never have a bad word for a referee or anybody.

"He might have said to the agitated fella, ‘Ah, he (the referee) might have had one eye closed when that happened.’ He had a great way about him.”

The bigger the game, the better it was for Ó Muircheartaigh, claimed Ó Sé.

“The big crowds energised him. He loved nothing better than the big occasion and that came from his youth in Dún Síon hearing about them.

“He had a great interest in greyhounds also and won The Laurels with Razldazl Rioga (in 2011). Any occasion where there were people gathered gave Mícheál such a lift and the crowds loved him.

"They loved him.”