The Sunday Game
Encyclopedia
The Sunday Game is Raidió Teilifís Éireann
's main Gaelic games
television
programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two
every Sunday during the Football Championship
and Hurling Championship
seasons. It is one of RTÉ Two
’s longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first began broadcasting. The programme celebrated its 30th season in 2008.
and hurling
have always been at the heart of broadcasting in Ireland
from its earliest days. 2RN, Ireland's first radio broadcasting station, was established on 1 January, 1926 and, from the outset, sports coverage, albeit infrequent, was a feature of the schedules. Early broadcasts consisted of team announcements and short reports on events of interest.
2RN, however, recorded a broadcasting first on 29 August, 1926. On that day former hurler and renowned Gaelic games journalist, P.D. Mehigan
, carried a live commentary of Kilkenny
's All-Ireland
hurling semi-final victory over Galway
. It was the first live radio broadcast of a field game outside of the United States
.
When Telefís Éireann was established on 31 December, 1961, the new television station became interested in the broadcasting of the national games. The Gaelic Athletic Association
, however, were wary the live television coverage would result in lower attendances at games. Because of this, the association restricted annual coverage of its games to the All-Ireland hurling and football finals, the two All-Ireland football semi-finals and the two Railway Cup finals.
The first time that Gaelic games were seen on Irish television was on 17 March, 1962 when Telefís Éireann carried live coverage of the Railway Cup hurling final between Munster
and Leinster
. The football decider followed this. Before then highlights of games were shown on cinema newsreels filmed by the National Film Institute (now the IFI), while highlights of the 1959 All-Ireland hurling final were broadcast by the BBC
, with Kenneth Wolstenholme
commentating. Since 1962, however, the broadcasting of Gaelic games, albeit limited, became a key part of the new television station's schedule. On 5 September, 1971 history was made again when Tipperary
's defeat of Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final was the first game to be broadcast in colour.
hurling final between Cork and Limerick
; Cork won 2-14 to 0-9. For the early years financial and logistical reasons restricted the programme to featuring just one full championship game and discussion about it. The show, however, soon expanded featuring coverage of one or more of the day’s main championship games, followed by extended highlights of the other major games of the day. This format still continues.
The Sunday Game was only a few weeks old when it courted its first controversy. On 29 July, 1979 the programme showed the Leinster
football final between Dublin
and Offaly
. Dublin narrowly won the game, however, Jimmy Keaveney
was sent off for a foul on Offaly's Ollie Minnock. In the discussion about the game analyst Liz Howard
put forward the view that the sending off was very harsh. The following day the Irish Press newspaper carried the headline: 'TV personality supports Jimmy Keaveney' on the front page. Howard subsequently attended a Leinster Council disciplinary committee meeting and spoke on Keaveney's behalf, however, he received a one-month suspension.
For the entire 1980s RTÉ was still restricted to just showing live coverage of the All-Ireland finals and semi-finals in both hurling and football. This changed in 1989 when the Munster hurling final between Tipperary and Waterford was broadcast live for the first time. Since then RTÉ has gained the rights to show all of the provincial hurling and football finals live as well as many other earlier provincial and qualifier games. The station broadcasts these and many other games under "The Sunday Game Live" banner. This programme usually contains live coverage of two games. In 2007 The Sunday Game broadcast 50 live championship games. In 2008 the programme broadcast 40 live championship games due to the fact that rival broadcaster, TV3
, was granted the rights to show live championship games for the first time ever.
The Sunday Game programme only covers the championship season from May to September. All of the GAA’s National League games are screened on TG4
and Setanta Sports
, while Sunday Sport on RTÉ Two provides highlights of some of these games. When a hurling or football game is shown live on Saturday or Monday - the latter becoming more common during Summer Bank Holiday weekends - the appropriately customised title The Saturday Game or The Monday Game is used. Previously The Game on Monday, a second selection of highlights, had also been aired, before being dropped in 2000. Live coverage of Championship matches in the UK on Setanta Sports 2
will use the live feed of either TV3 or RTÉ, depending on which channel has the rights.
Aside from the two senior championships, The Sunday Game Live also covers the finals of four other championships: the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship, the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship, and the senior and junior All-Ireland Camogie
Championship finals. For the minor (under-18) matches, the commentary is traditionally in the Irish language
and performed by Micheal O Sé
. The All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship senior and junior finals were also formerly covered, but are now shown on TG4
as part of a title sponsorship deal.
The 18 July 2010 episode was a special edition that had an audience of special guests to discuss.
-based print journalist Jim Carney. External commitments, however, resulted in him stepping aside as presenter the following year. Former Dublin
hurler, footballer, referee and sports journalist, Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin
, took over in 1980. He remained at the helm as presenter for two seasons before being replaced by Carney once again.
Current presenter, Michael Lyster
, replaced Carney in 1984 as part of a revamp of the show, coinciding with the centenary year of the GAA. When the show later expanded to feature live games, Lyster presented both The Sunday Game Live and The Sunday Game’s highlights programme later the same evening. Both shows were presented from the RTÉ Television Centre, however, a further expansion of the programme in 2004 saw Lyster presenting The Sunday Game Live from the venue of the big match. Because of this former Kerry
footballer and analyst, Pat Spillane
, took over as presenter of the Sunday night highlights show. For the 2009 season Des Cahill
will replace Spillane as host of the Sunday night highlights programme.http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/0408/sundaygame.html
In the early years the programme's chief commentator was Michael O'Hehir
, however, he only provided commentary for the senior All-Ireland finals. Mick Dunne
, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh
, Jim Carney and Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin all served as part of the commentary team in the early years. In 1980 Ger Canning
joined the commentary team, becoming the programmes chief commentator following O’Hehir’s retirement due to illness in time for the All-Ireland finals of 1985. He has commentated on every senior All-Ireland final since then, with Mícheál Ó Sé
providing commentary in the Irish language
on all All-Ireland semi-finals and finals in both codes in the minor grade. In the early 1990s Marty Morrissey
became the latest addition to The Sunday Game’s commentary team. He frequently commentates on provincial finals and All-Ireland semi-finals. An expansion of the programme in the 2000s saw Darragh Moloney become the latest member of the commentary team.
The Sunday Game has always shown an innovative approach in its use of match analysts. In its very first season the makers of the programme made the brave decision to include Liz Howard as one of their main analysts. Howard was an All-Ireland camogie
winner who was the daughter of Garrett Howard
, one of Limerick
’s all-time hurling greats. Other analysts during the programme’s first season included Enda Colleran
, a former Galway
footballer, and Dave Weldrick, trainer of the Thomond College team that won the All-Ireland
club football title.
Throughout the years The Sunday Game has featured many of hurling and football’s greatest players as analysts and pundits. These include:
Hurling: Jimmy Barry-Murphy
, Jimmy Brohan
, D.J. Carey, Éamonn Cregan
, Anthony Daly
, John Doyle
, Michael Duignan
, Cyril Farrell
, Davy Fitzgerald
, Paul Flynn
, Pete Finnerty
, Pat Hartigan
, Pat Henderson
, Liam Griffin
, Thomas Ryan
, Eddie Keher
, Phil 'Fan' Larkin, Ger Loughnane
, Tomás Mulcahy
, Larry O'Gorman
, Donal O'Grady
, Declan Ruth
,
Football: Kevin Armstrong
, Joe Brolly
, Martin Carney
, Enda Colleran
, Paul Curran, Tony Davis
, Seán Flanagan
, Coman Goggins
, Kevin Heffernan
, Joe Lennon, Tommy Lyons
, Jim McDonnell
, Kevin McStay
, Mick O'Connell, Mick O'Dwyer
, Seán O'Neill
, Anthony Tohill
, Dave Weldrick, Eamon Young, Colm O'Rourke
.
, with a completely different composition. This was met with much comment (RTÉ had previously re-arranged the theme, then reverted back to the original), and was likened to the famous Match of the Day
or Grandstand
themes being replaced. The new theme was used through to 2006 and was then replaced by another different theme in 2007. On 10 May 2008 RTÉ announced that the original theme would return, with a new arrangement, for the 2008 season.
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
's main Gaelic games
Gaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
every Sunday during the Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
and Hurling Championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
seasons. It is one of RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
’s longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first began broadcasting. The programme celebrated its 30th season in 2008.
Early years
The Gaelic games of Gaelic footballGaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
and hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
have always been at the heart of broadcasting in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
from its earliest days. 2RN, Ireland's first radio broadcasting station, was established on 1 January, 1926 and, from the outset, sports coverage, albeit infrequent, was a feature of the schedules. Early broadcasts consisted of team announcements and short reports on events of interest.
2RN, however, recorded a broadcasting first on 29 August, 1926. On that day former hurler and renowned Gaelic games journalist, P.D. Mehigan
P.D. Mehigan
Patrick D. Mehigan was an Irish sportsperson and journalist. Born in Ardfield, County Cork, he played hurling with Robert Emmet's and with the London senior inter-county team in the early 1900s. Mehigan later served as the leading Gaelic games journalist from the 1920s until the 1940s...
, carried a live commentary of Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
's All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
hurling semi-final victory over Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
. It was the first live radio broadcast of a field game outside of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
When Telefís Éireann was established on 31 December, 1961, the new television station became interested in the broadcasting of the national games. The Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
, however, were wary the live television coverage would result in lower attendances at games. Because of this, the association restricted annual coverage of its games to the All-Ireland hurling and football finals, the two All-Ireland football semi-finals and the two Railway Cup finals.
The first time that Gaelic games were seen on Irish television was on 17 March, 1962 when Telefís Éireann carried live coverage of the Railway Cup hurling final between Munster
Munster GAA
The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...
and Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
. The football decider followed this. Before then highlights of games were shown on cinema newsreels filmed by the National Film Institute (now the IFI), while highlights of the 1959 All-Ireland hurling final were broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, with Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...
commentating. Since 1962, however, the broadcasting of Gaelic games, albeit limited, became a key part of the new television station's schedule. On 5 September, 1971 history was made again when Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
's defeat of Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final was the first game to be broadcast in colour.
The Sunday Game
The first edition of The Sunday Game was broadcast on RTÉ 2 on Sunday, 8 July, 1979. Introduced by Jim Carney, it showed only one match; the MunsterMunster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
hurling final between Cork and Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
; Cork won 2-14 to 0-9. For the early years financial and logistical reasons restricted the programme to featuring just one full championship game and discussion about it. The show, however, soon expanded featuring coverage of one or more of the day’s main championship games, followed by extended highlights of the other major games of the day. This format still continues.
The Sunday Game was only a few weeks old when it courted its first controversy. On 29 July, 1979 the programme showed the Leinster
Leinster Senior Football Championship
The GAA Leinster Senior Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition in the game of football played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council and are played during the summer months. The competition involves the counties of...
football final between Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
and Offaly
Offaly GAA
The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...
. Dublin narrowly won the game, however, Jimmy Keaveney
Jimmy Keaveney
James "Jimmy" Keaveney is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club St. Vincents and was a member of the Dublin senior inter-county team from 1965 until 1978. Keaveney is regarded as one of Dublin's greatest-ever players.-Club:Keaveney played his club football...
was sent off for a foul on Offaly's Ollie Minnock. In the discussion about the game analyst Liz Howard
Liz Howard
Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Howard was the 27th president of the Camogie Association.-Background:From Deerpark, Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary, the daughter of Limerick man, Garrett Howard and Josephine from Newtown Nenagh, Garrett, won five All Ireland medals and was awarded the Bank of Ireland All Time All...
put forward the view that the sending off was very harsh. The following day the Irish Press newspaper carried the headline: 'TV personality supports Jimmy Keaveney' on the front page. Howard subsequently attended a Leinster Council disciplinary committee meeting and spoke on Keaveney's behalf, however, he received a one-month suspension.
For the entire 1980s RTÉ was still restricted to just showing live coverage of the All-Ireland finals and semi-finals in both hurling and football. This changed in 1989 when the Munster hurling final between Tipperary and Waterford was broadcast live for the first time. Since then RTÉ has gained the rights to show all of the provincial hurling and football finals live as well as many other earlier provincial and qualifier games. The station broadcasts these and many other games under "The Sunday Game Live" banner. This programme usually contains live coverage of two games. In 2007 The Sunday Game broadcast 50 live championship games. In 2008 the programme broadcast 40 live championship games due to the fact that rival broadcaster, TV3
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
, was granted the rights to show live championship games for the first time ever.
The Sunday Game programme only covers the championship season from May to September. All of the GAA’s National League games are screened on TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
and Setanta Sports
Setanta Ireland
Setanta Sports Ireland is a subscription based Irish sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in the Republic of Ireland, while it is available upon direct subscription to the Setanta Sports package on other networks...
, while Sunday Sport on RTÉ Two provides highlights of some of these games. When a hurling or football game is shown live on Saturday or Monday - the latter becoming more common during Summer Bank Holiday weekends - the appropriately customised title The Saturday Game or The Monday Game is used. Previously The Game on Monday, a second selection of highlights, had also been aired, before being dropped in 2000. Live coverage of Championship matches in the UK on Setanta Sports 2
Setanta Sports 1 & 2
Setanta Sports 1 is a subscription based sports channel in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Irelandunder a new licensing agreement between the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and the newly formed company Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Ltd replacing Setanta Sports Ireland Ltd.The channel...
will use the live feed of either TV3 or RTÉ, depending on which channel has the rights.
Aside from the two senior championships, The Sunday Game Live also covers the finals of four other championships: the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship, the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship, and the senior and junior All-Ireland Camogie
Camogie
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
Championship finals. For the minor (under-18) matches, the commentary is traditionally in the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and performed by Micheal O Sé
Mícheál Ó Sé
Mícheál Ó Sé is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club An Ghaeltacht and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1968 until 1976. Ó Sé currently provides commentary in Irish for RTÉ's the Sunday Game.-References:...
. The All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship senior and junior finals were also formerly covered, but are now shown on TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
as part of a title sponsorship deal.
The 18 July 2010 episode was a special edition that had an audience of special guests to discuss.
Presenters, pundits and commentators
The Sunday Game’s first edition was presented by the popular GalwayGalway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
-based print journalist Jim Carney. External commitments, however, resulted in him stepping aside as presenter the following year. Former Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
hurler, footballer, referee and sports journalist, Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin
Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin
Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin is a journalist, author and broadcaster and former Gaelic footballer and hurler with Dublin and Eoghan Ruadh. He grew up in Fairview, County Dublin where he attended a Gaelscoil...
, took over in 1980. He remained at the helm as presenter for two seasons before being replaced by Carney once again.
Current presenter, Michael Lyster
Michael Lyster
Michael Lyster is a sports broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . He has presented The Sunday Game on television since 1984 and is a Jacob's Award winner.-Career:...
, replaced Carney in 1984 as part of a revamp of the show, coinciding with the centenary year of the GAA. When the show later expanded to feature live games, Lyster presented both The Sunday Game Live and The Sunday Game’s highlights programme later the same evening. Both shows were presented from the RTÉ Television Centre, however, a further expansion of the programme in 2004 saw Lyster presenting The Sunday Game Live from the venue of the big match. Because of this former Kerry
Kerry GAA
The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...
footballer and analyst, Pat Spillane
Pat Spillane
Patrick Gerard Spillane , better known as Pat Spillane, is a retired Gaelic footballer and well known Irish sports pundit. He played Gaelic football with his local club Templenoe and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1991...
, took over as presenter of the Sunday night highlights show. For the 2009 season Des Cahill
Des Cahill
Desmond 'Des' Cahill is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He presents a daily radio programme called Drivetime Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, while on television he has presented The Sunday Game, The Road to Croker, Play It Again, Des, and Up for...
will replace Spillane as host of the Sunday night highlights programme.http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/0408/sundaygame.html
In the early years the programme's chief commentator was Michael O'Hehir
Michael O'Hehir
Michael James Hehir was an Irish hurling, football and horse racing commentator and journalist. Between 1938 and 1985 his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many...
, however, he only provided commentary for the senior All-Ireland finals. Mick Dunne
Mick Dunne
Michael ‘Mick’ Dunne was an Irish sports journalist who pioneered television coverage of Gaelic Games.-Birth and childhood:He was born 27 May 1929 in Clonaslee, County Laois, one of two sons of Francis Dunne, insurance agent, and Agnes Dunne , schoolteacher...
, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh is an Irish Gaelic games commentator for the Irish national radio and television, RTÉ. In a career that has spanned six decades he has come to be regarded as the "voice of Gaelic games." His prolific career has earned him a place in Guinness World Records.-Early...
, Jim Carney and Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin all served as part of the commentary team in the early years. In 1980 Ger Canning
Ger Canning
Ger Canning is an Irish GAA hurling and football commentator with Raidió Teilifís Éireann .-Career:Born in Cork on August 1, 1951. Ger Canning was a secondary school teacher at South Presentation school in Cork City when he began his broadcasting career with Cork Local Radio in 1978.Two years later...
joined the commentary team, becoming the programmes chief commentator following O’Hehir’s retirement due to illness in time for the All-Ireland finals of 1985. He has commentated on every senior All-Ireland final since then, with Mícheál Ó Sé
Mícheál Ó Sé
Mícheál Ó Sé is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club An Ghaeltacht and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1968 until 1976. Ó Sé currently provides commentary in Irish for RTÉ's the Sunday Game.-References:...
providing commentary in the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
on all All-Ireland semi-finals and finals in both codes in the minor grade. In the early 1990s Marty Morrissey
Marty Morrissey
Marty Morrissey is a commentator and with the sports department of Ireland's national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Morrissey was born in Mallow, County Cork but the family returned to their then home of the Bronx, New York shortly afterwards...
became the latest addition to The Sunday Game’s commentary team. He frequently commentates on provincial finals and All-Ireland semi-finals. An expansion of the programme in the 2000s saw Darragh Moloney become the latest member of the commentary team.
The Sunday Game has always shown an innovative approach in its use of match analysts. In its very first season the makers of the programme made the brave decision to include Liz Howard as one of their main analysts. Howard was an All-Ireland camogie
Camogie
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
winner who was the daughter of Garrett Howard
Garrett Howard
Garrett Howard was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Croom in Limerick, Garda in Dublin and Toomevara in Tipperary. He was also a member of the Dublin and Limerick senior inter-county teams from 1921 until 1936...
, one of Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
’s all-time hurling greats. Other analysts during the programme’s first season included Enda Colleran
Enda Colleran
Enda Colleran was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He played football with his local club Tuam Stars and was a member of the Galway senior inter-county team from 1961 until 1971. Colleran captained Galway to back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1965 and 1966 and later served as manager...
, a former Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
footballer, and Dave Weldrick, trainer of the Thomond College team that won the All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
club football title.
Throughout the years The Sunday Game has featured many of hurling and football’s greatest players as analysts and pundits. These include:
Hurling: Jimmy Barry-Murphy
Jimmy Barry-Murphy
James "Jimmy" Barry-Murphy is a former Irish hurler, Gaelic footballer and association footballer and is the current manager of the Cork senior hurling team...
, Jimmy Brohan
Jimmy Brohan
Jimmy Brohan is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1954 until 1963.-Biography:...
, D.J. Carey, Éamonn Cregan
Éamonn Cregan
Éamonn Cregan is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, hurler and manager. He is best remembered for his success with Limerick, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager of various club and inter-county teams in the 1980s and 1990s.-Club:...
, Anthony Daly
Anthony Daly (hurler)
Anthony Daly is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Dublin senior hurling team....
, John Doyle
John Doyle (hurler)
John Doyle was an Irish sportsperson and politician, hailed as one of the best defenders in hurling and his county's most iconic player upon his death. He played hurling with his local Holycross-Ballycahill club from the 1940s until the 1970s and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county...
, Michael Duignan
Michael Duignan
Michael Duignan is a retired Irish hurling manager and former dual player. He played hurling and Gaelic football with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county teams from the 1980s until the early 2000s. Duignan served as manager of the Meath senior hurling team from...
, Cyril Farrell
Cyril Farrell
Cyril Farrell is a former Irish sportsperson. He was the manager of the Galway senior hurling team in the 1980s and 1990s. He led Galway to four consecutive All Ireland finals appearances from 1985 through 1988. He comes from the Tommy Larkins hurling club in Woodford/Ballinakill...
, Davy Fitzgerald
Davy FitzGerald
David Fitzgerald is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is a former manager of the Waterford senior hurling team....
, Paul Flynn
Paul Flynn (hurler)
Paul Flynn is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballygunner and was a member of the Waterford senior inter-county team from 1993 to 2008. Flynn is Waterford's top championship scorer of all-time.-Club:Flynn plays his club hurling with his local club Ballygunner and has...
, Pete Finnerty
Pete Finnerty
Pete Finnerty is an Irish retired hurling coach and former player.Regarded as one of his county's all-time greats, Finnerty enjoyed a distinguished playing career at club level with Mullagh and at inter-county level with Galway...
, Pat Hartigan
Pat Hartigan
Pat Hartigan is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club South Liberties and with the Limerick senior inter-county team in the 1970s. He is regarded as one of Limerick’s greatest-ever players.-Early & private life:...
, Pat Henderson
Pat Henderson
Pat Henderson is an Irish retired hurling manager and former player.Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Henderson enjoyed a successful playing career at club level with Fenians and at inter-county level with Kilkenny...
, Liam Griffin
Liam Griffin
Liam Griffin is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Rosslare and Newmarket-on Fergus with the Wexford and Clare senior inter-county teams in the 1960s. Griffin later served as manager of the Wexford senior inter-county team...
, Thomas Ryan
Thomas Ryan
- Politics and military:*Thomas Ryan , Canadian politician*Thomas Ryan , Congressional representative from Kansas*Thomas Ryan , I.R.A Commander and Lt. Col...
, Eddie Keher
Eddie Keher
Edward Peter Keher , better known as Eddie Keher, is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game....
, Phil 'Fan' Larkin, Ger Loughnane
Ger Loughnane
Ger Loughnane is a Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club Feakle and with the Clare senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s...
, Tomás Mulcahy
Tomás Mulcahy
Tomás Mulcahy is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club Glen Rovers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1983 until 1994. Mulcahy currently works as a pundit with The Sunday Game...
, Larry O'Gorman
Larry O'Gorman
Larry O'Gorman is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Faythe Harriers and with the Wexford senior inter-county team in from the 1987 until 2004....
, Donal O'Grady
Dónal O'Grady
Dónal O'Grady is an Irish former hurler and manager.O'Grady enjoyed a successful playing career as a full-back with the Cork senior team throughout the early 1980s...
, Declan Ruth
Declan Ruth
Declan Ruth is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Rapparess and was a member of the Wexford senior inter-county team from 1998 until 2007. Ruth is currently a hurling analyst on The Sunday Game.-References:...
,
Football: Kevin Armstrong
Kevin Armstrong
Kevin Armstrong was a renowned dual player who excelled at football and hurling for his local club O’Connell’s and for the Antrim senior inter-county teams in both codes from the 1940s until the 1960s....
, Joe Brolly
Joe Brolly
Joe Brolly is an Irish barrister, TV pundit, and ex Gaelic footballer who played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of Derry's first ever All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side in 1993 and also won two Ulster Senior Football Championships and four National League...
, Martin Carney
Martin Carney
Martin Carney is a Gaelic Athletic Association commentator for RTÉ and TV analyst with The Sunday Game. He is a former inter-county footballer for Donegal and Mayo.Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Carney was educated at St...
, Enda Colleran
Enda Colleran
Enda Colleran was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He played football with his local club Tuam Stars and was a member of the Galway senior inter-county team from 1961 until 1971. Colleran captained Galway to back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1965 and 1966 and later served as manager...
, Paul Curran, Tony Davis
Tony Davis (Gaelic footballer)
Anthony 'Tony' Davis is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior football with Cork in the 1980s and 1990s..-Early & private life:...
, Seán Flanagan
Seán Flanagan
Seán Flanagan was an Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer in Ireland. He served under Taoiseach Jack Lynch as Minister for Health and Minister for Lands .-Early life and education:...
, Coman Goggins
Coman Goggins
Coman Goggins is a former Dublin footballer and All-star, from the Ballinteer St Johns Club. He went to school in Coláiste Eoin, Stillorgan. He is therefore a fluent Irish speaker. He works with A.I.B Bank, and is married....
, Kevin Heffernan
Kevin Heffernan (Gaelic footballer)
-See also :* List of people on stamps of Ireland*Dublin GAA*Dublin GAA Honours*Dublin Senior Club Football Championship...
, Joe Lennon, Tommy Lyons
Tommy Lyons
Tommy Lyons is a retired Irish Gaelic football manager from County Mayo who has managed 2 inter-county sides in his time. He also managed club side Kilmacud Crokes to All-Ireland glory on St. Patricks Day, 1995. He also spent time as chairman of Crokes, until 2007. He is also a regular...
, Jim McDonnell
Jim McDonnell
James William McDonnell was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1943 to 1945, playing in 50 career games.-External links:...
, Kevin McStay
Kevin McStay
Kevin McStay is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local clubs Ballina Stephenites in Mayo, Ballymun Kickhams in Dublin and Roscommon Gaels in Roscommon town where he currently lives and was a member of the Mayo senior inter-county team from 1983 until 1990...
, Mick O'Connell, Mick O'Dwyer
Mick O'Dwyer
Mick O'Dwyer , is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He played Gaelic football with his local club Waterville and was a member of the Kerry senior team from 1956 until 1974...
, Seán O'Neill
Seán O'Neill
Seán O'Neill is a retired Northern Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club John Mitchel and was a member of the Down senior inter-county team from the 1950s until the 1960s. O'Neill is one of only four Down players to win three All-Ireland titles...
, Anthony Tohill
Anthony Tohill
Anthony Tohill is an Irish retired Gaelic footballer who played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side, also winning two Ulster Championships and four National League titles with the county. Tohill won four All Star...
, Dave Weldrick, Eamon Young, Colm O'Rourke
Colm O'Rourke
Colm O'Rourke is a retired inter-county Irish Gaelic footballer for County Meath in Ireland, a columnist with the Sunday Independent and a panellist on The Sunday Game on RTÉ Television....
.
Theme music
For the 2004 season of the programme, RTÉ replaced the long-standing theme tune of The Sunday Game, Jägerlatein, composed by James LastJames Last
James Last is a German composer and big band leader. His "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom. His composition, "Happy Heart", became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark...
, with a completely different composition. This was met with much comment (RTÉ had previously re-arranged the theme, then reverted back to the original), and was likened to the famous Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
or Grandstand
Grandstand (BBC)
Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
themes being replaced. The new theme was used through to 2006 and was then replaced by another different theme in 2007. On 10 May 2008 RTÉ announced that the original theme would return, with a new arrangement, for the 2008 season.