George Hamilton: ‘The event is unscripted so why should you script what you’re going to say?’

Music-loving soccer commentator George Hamilton has made a second career as a presenter of the Hamilton Scores on RTE Lyric FM. And in a way, he regards commentary a bit like a good jazz performance.

Next Thursday, June 25, is the 25th anniversary of Ireland’s 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over Romania in the World Cup last-16 in Genoa. Which means it’s the 25th anniversary of the most famous line in Irish sports commentary, uttered by George Hamilton before David O’Leary converted the winning penalty: ‘The nation holds its breath’

Q: It must be very satisfying for a commentator to have such an iconic line on the record.