The death of Michael O'Hehir will stir the emotions of all of who love sport. For tens of thousands of people his voice will forever be synonymous with all those summer Sundays when his vivid radio commentary was to be heard on every beach and along every roadside in the country. His was an immense contribution to broadcasting and to Irish sport. For many decades, particularly in the pre television era, he was indeed The Voice of Irish Sport the man who painted wonderful word pictures from our Gaelic fields into every town and village in the land.
Michael O'Hehir was also an accomplished racing commentator. His description of the 1967 Grand National - won by the 100-1 shot Foinavon after a pile up involving dozens of horses - conveyed all the excitement of the moment with clarity and panache. The tragedy was that his broadcasting career was tragically cut short after he suffered a stroke in 1985. A younger generation of sports fans were never to be come accustomed to a voice that made Michael O'Hehir, perhaps, the most important figure in the GAA this century and a colossus in the Irish media for almost half a century.
It is easy to forget that reporting of Gaelic games was in its infancy when the teenage Michael O'Hehir began his career indeed the public often had no way of even finding out results until supporters arrived home from the big match in some distant town.
The impact of being able to listen to live coverage of big matches was incalculable. It was no coincidence that attendances at All Ireland finals soared from around the end of the 1930s to the record levels of the 1950s and early 1960s as O'Hehir's magical commentaries helped to boost the popularity of the games throughout the country.
Liam Mulvihill, Director General of the GAA, has acknowledged the debt of gratitude that the association owes O'Hehir for that service. Nowadays, it is superfluous to thank the media for covering Gaelic Games. Such is the level of public interest they have to be. covered, but 50 and 60 years ago it was Michael O'Hehir who sowed the seeds of that popularity.
In the early years of Radio Eireann, sports commentary was a stilted and uncertain craft to which Michael O'Hehir brought an unbridled enthusiasm that recreated matches in the imagination of his large audience. It has been said that his commentaries were frequently euphemistic and inclined to turn a blind eye. Whereas this is true, such an attitude reflected the unwillingness of the times to address unpleasant realities.
In the age of live championship matches every Sunday and state of the art stadium architecture, all of this may appear quaint and remote but it was Michael O'Hehir who brought the GAA to the people and as a result into the modern world. The President, Mrs Robinson, put it well. Generations will, indeed, remember Michael O'Hehir with great fondness and with great appreciation.