1930's Irish Radio Analysis - Part Two. The GAA

The men of the nation were now able to listen to a broadcast of the All Ireland GAA Finals live hundreds of miles from Croke Park. They did not have to a wait some one returning from Dublin to get the result, waits days for a newspaper report, the match was instantaneous as was the discussion about the game. The game was no longer of interest to just the two counties involved but it was a national event. In the case of rugby commentaries some listeners heard a sport being described for the very first time. The Irish Radio News would print a numbered diagram of the pitch to help listeners follow the commentary. Radio opened up sports to a wider audience, GAA enthusiasts could listen to a rugby or soccer game on the radio from the safety of your own home even though the GAA itself frowned upon these ‘English’ games.

The GAA would have an uneasy relationship with broadcasting coming to a head in 1937 with what was referred to in newspaper headlines as a ‘crux’. Radio Athlone had been broadcasting the Provincial finals in both Hurling and Football, the All Ireland semi finals and Finals plus the Railway Cup finals from Croke Park on St. Patrick’s Day. In 1937 the GAA informed Radio Athlone and its Director TJ Kiernan that it required the right to appoint commentators for their games. This was rejected with Kiernan stating in an open letter printed in the Irish Press on September 3rd 1937,

‘As you informed on a previous occurrence, the proposal that the broadcaster (commentator) should be selected by the GAA is not acceptable. It would be the equivalent of transferring to the GAA part control of the State Broadcasting Service’.

The GAA refused permission to Radio Athlone to broadcasts the 1937 Railway Cup Finals. Both sides became entrenched and when Radio Athlone announced that Sean O’Ceallachain and Eamon DeBarra would be commentating on the All Ireland hurling final from Killarney, Kerry permission was again denied by the GAA insisting that a commentator of their choosing be behind the microphone. Broadcasting the final was even more important as it was the first All Ireland held outside Dublin in 30 years and the first All Ireland final to be held in Kerry when Kilkenny played Tipperary in 1937 Hurling Final.

A letter writing campaign orchestrated by the local GAA committees bombarded the newspapers but Kiernan held his ground. Both sides disputed the costs involved with the GAA stating that the director wanted the GAA to pay for the commentator while Kiernan said that all costs including transport, engineering and the commentator was being paid for by the State broadcaster.

There would be no play by play commentary for the 1937 All Ireland Hurling Finals and no facilities within the ground made available to the broadcaster. Their alternative was to have their two chosen commentators O’Ceallachain and DeBarra stand with the crowd and write down their play by play. O’Ceallachain covered the first half and exited the ground to go to Killarney Post Office where a microphone awaited and he relayed the game from 4.15 – 4.45pm. DeBarra followed with second half until 5.15pm. It was unsatisfactory but inventive under the circumstances.

The blame from the grassroots was divided with some GAA councils openly criticizing the Central Council and its president Padraig O’Keeffe. A compromise was eventually reached for the All Ireland Football finals two weeks later when a compromise commentator Canon Michael Hamilton, the Chairman of the Clare County Board agreed to bring the running commentary to the listeners. (ALL Ireland contested between Cavan and Kerry) A year later and a new voice would be brought on board who would become the voice of the GAA at home and abroad.

For the 1938 GAA season a new voice was heard on the airwaves and would dominate for almost fifty years.  

 ‘Bail ó Dhia oraibh a chairde Gael agus fáilte romhaibh go Páirc an Chrócaigh’ 

Known as the voice of the GAA for almost fifty years, Michael O’Hehir was born in Glasnevin, Dublin on June 20th 1920 to parents from County Clare. His father, Jim O'Hehir, who was born in Lack, County Clare was very active in the GAA, having trained his native county to win the 1914 All-Ireland title in hurling. He subsequently trained the Leitrim football team who secured the 1927 Connacht provincial title and later serving as an official with the GAA Dublin Junior Board and chairman of Civil Service and St.Vincent’s Dublin GAA clubs. Michael was educated at St. Patrick's National School in Drumcondra before later attending the O'Connell School, a Christian Brothers-run institution in the city centre. He later studied electrical engineering at University College Dublin however he abandoned his studies after just one year to pursue a full-time career in broadcasting. He enjoyed a distinguished hurling career with the St. Vincent's club in Raheny. Michael became fascinated with the radio when he received a present of one as a child. He had just turned eighteen and was still a school-boy when he wrote to Radio Éireann asking to do a test commentary and after the events of 1937 the station were looking for a new voice that was acceptable to them and the GAA.

He was accepted and was asked, along with five others, to do a five-minute microphone test for a National Football League game between Wexford and Louth. His microphone test impressed the director of broadcasting T.J. Kiernan so much that he was invited to commentate on the whole of the second half of the match.

Two months later in August 1938 Michael made his first broadcast - the All-Ireland football semi-final when Galway defeated Monaghan at Mullingar’s Cusack Park. He went on to commentate on the second semi-final and that year's final between Galway and Kerry. The following year he covered his first hurling final - the famous "thunder and lightning final" as Kilkenny beat Cork by a score of 2-7 to 3-3.

Sports broadcasts in Ireland was still in its infancy at this stage, however, his Sunday afternoon commentaries quickly became a way of life for many rural listeners who gathered around radio sets to listen to the games. As a man who could ‘make a boring game interesting’, by the mid-1940s Michael was recognised as one of Ireland's leading sports broadcasters.