Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh
It was with great sadness that Kerry GAA learned of the passing of an unmatched GAA great Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh.
A national treasure without question, but first and foremost a jewel in the crown of his beloved Gaeltacht in West Kerry. Born in Dun Síon outside of Dingle in Co. Kerry, Mícheál was a teacher and no doubt shared his knowledge with many students over many years. Of course Micheál was also a famous commentator for GAA, known for his unique and vivid use of language. His commentary style was distinguished by a poetic flair, sharp wit, beaganín Gaeilge and without question, extensive understanding of the games.
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 1970’s 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. This wasn’t just Kerry players and in fact, according to his great friend Tomás Ó Flaharta, Mícheál trained a group of players from many clubs and counties and in 1985 six of his cohort of players won All Star awards! These included: Mick Spillane and Jack O’Shea (Kerry), Kevin McStay and Dermot Flanagan (Mayo), Ciaran Murray (Monaghan) and Brendan Lynskey (Galway hurler). This group had a reunion in 2021 and the fact that so many were there showed the amazing respect they all had for the great Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. Read more about that here: https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40571375.html
When Kerry GAA decided that they were going to establish a Centre of Excellence in Currans, Mícheál was eager to support. He travelled to New York with a group of former players and was the MC for the largest Kerry GAA event to be held abroad.
Mícheál covered every inch of the country covering sports, and would always paint a player in the most positive light that he could. He could very beautifully make a point about a player’s performance but with the utmost respect and support for the individual. It meant as much to the GAA great as it did to every player and supporter across the county. Over the years he was always welcomed into many dressing rooms as he made it his business to get to know the players, and congratulated the team on their win. In fact when Kerry won the All Ireland in 2022 Micheál came into the dressing room and shared in the jubilation.
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 dílis.
By kerrygaaeditor Tue 25th Jun
