“Sixty years ago,” Micheál O’Muircheartaigh replies, almost instantaneously. For a man with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the GAA, the speed of his answer should come as no surprise. The Kerry-born broadcasting legend has been asked to remember his first commentary match and he recalls the day without hesitation.

“The Railway Cup football final of 1949. St Patrick’s Day was a big day then; it’s big now for the clubs but it was Railway Cup day back then. It was seen as the first day when you got an idea of what the year would be like. Very often the four provinces would be involved and there were players from various counties – you could see who was playing well.”

O’Muircheartaigh commentated in Irish on the football final, after the late, great Micheál O’Hehir had taken care of the hurling decider.

O’Muircheartaigh recalls with a smile: “Micheál always did the first one. He was the racing correspondent for the Irish Independent as well and, that time, there was a ceremonial opening of the flat season in Baldoyle on St Patrick’s Day so Micheál would do the first game and dash off.”
Having learned from the master, O’Muircheartaigh has carved his own unique niche in the six decades since.

The 78-year-old pauses for a few moments when asked for his standout memory from his career but, typically, the answer is never far away. “I remember days when something unusual happened, maybe for the first time or after a long time. There was the breakthrough of the Wexford hurlers in the 1950s – I think they were a unique team. They were popular even when they lost; people didn’t turn against them. They gave great value and had a ferocious following, not all confined to Wexford.

“The campaign of 1956 sticks out. They played Tipperary in the league final, having beaten Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final and Galway in the final of the previous year. People didn’t seriously accept Wexford yet because they hadn’t beaten Cork or Tipp and that was being said quietly before the league final in May. They were 15 points down and the talk was that they had won a handy All-Ireland. But they ended up winning that game by four points in what was the greatest recovery I ever saw and they crowned it by beating Cork in one of the best All-Ireland finals that I ever saw.”

Other memorable moments for O’Muircheartaigh include Galway’s historic All-Ireland hurling success in 1980, while he has also witnessed Ulster teams Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Derry and Donegal capturing Sam Maguire for the first time.

Those memories will come flooding back over the coming weeks and months as the GAA celebrates 125 years in existence with a series of special events planned by Croke Park officials.
O’Muircheartaigh has called on the powers that be to evoke the spirit of 1984, when the Association celebrated its Centenary year in style.

“That was a fantastic year for the GAA,” he nods. “They used the celebrations very well and highlighted the clubs. It was amazing at the time. When 1980 came and the centenary began to loom, every club was urged to have their own dressing rooms and enclosed pitch in time for 1984 – and most of them did. It directed people, while clubs and county boards became development conscious. It’s been ongoing since and, if you tour the country, you will see the fantastic facilities that clubs have everywhere.”