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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rory Carroll in Dublin

Ireland says farewell to Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, ‘bard of the ballgames’

Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh in the commentary box for a hurling final between Waterford and Limerick at Semple Stadium in Tipperary in 2007.
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh in the commentary box for a hurling final between Waterford and Limerick at Semple Stadium in Tipperary in 2007. Photograph: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile/Getty

When the time came for Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh to leave the field and discover if there are Gaelic Games in the afterlife, Ireland mourned a radio broadcaster who for half a century had been the voice of sport.

Sadness at news of his death on Tuesday at the age of 93 swiftly alchemised into a celebration of a singular ability to paint pictures with words, lyricism and wisecracks that made the nation laugh and entered folklore.

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