Michael Lyster to retire at the end of 2018

Go Harvey Go

Another era drawing to a close...

Michael Lyster's time as The Sunday Game anchor will come to an end this year.

The 64-year-old has been the face of the GAA's flagship programme for 34 years, and the national broadcaster today confirmed that he will leave RTE when he is 65 as he is an employee rather than a contractor.

"I'll be hanging up my hat at the end of 2018," Lyster said in a statement.

"I've a full season of top class GAA action to get through with the National Leagues and of course the Championships this summer and that's what I'm focused on. There's some really exciting changes to come in this year's Championship and I'm looking forward to seeing how they will impact the game.

"Following my health scare a few years ago, every day and every year was a bonus. That's the mindset I've continued to have and I feel incredibly lucky to have another season to look forward to at the helm".

Lyster has suffered from health issues in the last few years and by his own admission "was lucky to be alive" following a heart attack in 2015.

The Sunday Game anchor had spent that day playing golf with friend, and Irish Independent writer, Vincent Hogan, who dropped him home.

He'd left his phone in the car and called Vincent, who arrived back at the house just a few minutes later to find Michael lying unconscious in the hallway.

"Everyone was in bed, so Vincent called up the stairs to my wife Anne, and she came down and started CPR, while he phoned for an ambulance," Michael said at the time.

"I don't know if I would have stayed as calm as Anne did, she's very good under pressure. The clock was ticking, I suppose, so she was told to keep the CPR going until the ambulance got there. It was a very bad situation and I was actually gone, so when the paramedics arrived, they had to keep me going until I got to the hospital."

The affable Lyster bounced back from that scare to consistently deliver epic commentary on all the big games ever since.

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/rte-to-announce-next-sunday-game-host-in-a-week-or-two-as-michael-lyster-confirms-he-will-retire-after-2018-season-36538800.html

Truly one of Ireland's greatest sports presenters. Always professional and always likeable.

He deserves a wonderful send-off after this year's All-Ireland football final. And, of course, whoever succeeds him - Des Cahill, Darragh Maloney and Joanne Cantwell are the favourites - will have some pretty big shoes to fill.

Go Harvey Go

I would have thought more Boardsies would be talking about this. :eek: There was certainly a lot of talk when Bill O'Herlihy retired...

Anyway, here are a few clips of Michael at his best - starting in 1990 with the reaction to that year's Leinster football final:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLuzMCjfsvI

On to 1996 and discussion, with Pat and Colm, of Meath's All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l93Gm9v5zI

After Kildare's victory over Kerry in 1998, a proud Charlie McCreevy makes a comment about the Lilywhites' success that thoroughly amuses Michael and everyone else:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0pPDz9DMGo

More recently, Michael talks to Tubs about the Sunday Game theme tune - and the time he was introduced at a function with a completely different sporting theme...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzRadkCg_xw

And after his health scare, here he is taking time out to encourage the nation to stand up to heart failure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUSoNeeOqko

No real surprise, meanwhile, that Joanne Cantwell has been named as his successor. Personally, I think RTE have made an excellent choice for once - she very definitely knows her sport, and indeed she was a footballer herself before moving into broadcasting. And of course, she has filled in for Michael in the past, so she's well able for Pat, Joe, Colm, Ger, Cyril and the other pundits.

But that's next year. In the meantime, Michael will continue to do the same brilliant job he has done since 1984. And, as I said, he deserves a wonderful send-off in September.

He won't be doing Dancing with the Stars, though...

Skid X

Ah, nice selection of clips there GHG

I guess maybe Michael is the kind of presenter that will be appreciated more when they are gone. I think he will receive more plaudits as we get closer to his finale.

He has always gone a fine job of being the rock of RTE's GAA coverage for decades , from way back when it was just highlights until the live All Ireland Semi Finals.

Say Your Number

He presented the Ireland Portugal game in 2000, must be the only time from the late eighties to 2014 that Billo wasn't presenting a live International/Champions League game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6E2MxnD3UU

icdg

To be fair Harvey there is a ten page thread over in GAA about the change. And there’ll probably be a lot more talk around All Ireland final day (whenever that is this year with the new GAA season calendar).

A consummate professional and one of the best sports presenters on Irish Television. He’ll be missed. Joanne Cantwell has become more associated with rugby union presenting but she should be a good replacement, though I’m slightly surprised that Des Cahill didn’t get the job as the seemingly natural successor in the Sunday late show.

Go Harvey Go

Say Your Number wrote: »

He presented the Ireland Portugal game in 2000, must be the only time from the late eighties to 2014 that Billo wasn't presenting a live International/Champions League game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6E2MxnD3UU

He also presented the rally highlights back when RTE2 showed sport at midnight most nights.

And, of course, he's presented Olympics coverage.

icdg wrote: »

To be fair Harvey there is a ten page thread over in GAA about the change. And there’ll probably be a lot more talk around All Ireland final day (whenever that is this year with the new GAA season calendar).

A consummate professional and one of the best sports presenters on Irish Television. He’ll be missed. Joanne Cantwell has become more associated with rugby union presenting but she should be a good replacement, though I’m slightly surprised that Des Cahill didn’t get the job as the seemingly natural successor in the Sunday late show.

This year's All-Ireland hurling final is on 19 August, and the football final on 2 September.

I've looked at that thread, and am very disappointed with some of the posts in it. While it's no major surprise that Joanne has got the job given the current trend at Montrose, I strongly disagree that she has got it *just* because she's a woman - she *does* have the knowledge, the experience and the enthusiasm, and also it's not an entirely new job for her. (And she has also said that being called a female sports broadcaster is the one thing she hates more than anything.)

I, personally, am delighted. I remember when she was on TV3, and she was pretty good then too, even if she didn't have much to work with. And her hosting of the Rio Olympics and Paralympics was virtually flawless.

No mention of the Sunday night highlights show in the reports, so I'm guessing Des will continue to present that.

Go Harvey Go

And so we come to this year's All-Ireland football final - and the end of an era.

I said in post #2 that Michael would do the same brilliant job this year that he had been doing every year since 1984 - and I wasn't wrong, despite the noticeable difference in quality between the hurling and football championships. He even provided another funny moment when he got so excited during Limerick's victory over Kilkenny that he ended up wearing one of Pat Spillane's jackets...

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/watch-michael-lyster-forced-into-wardrobe-malfunction-because-of-thurles-epic-37120364.html

Meanwhile, Joanne has definitely been warming up for when she formally takes over next year - presenting on just about every occasion that Michael hasn't, as well as presenting coverage of one match when Michael has presented coverage of another on the same day. She too has done her usual superb job, and she'll almost certainly present coverage of the camogie final next Sunday (which, of course, hasn't been brought forward like the men's finals), so the transition ought to be seamless.

Back to today, though, and I expect it'll be after the final whistle when it really hits home that an era is ending. However, Joe Brolly has given us all a reminder by blowing kisses in Michael's direction while lining up with his Derry '93 team-mates... :rolleyes:

Skid X

https://twitter.com/TheSundayGame/status/1036298715965747201



Little tribute video there for Michael from today's coverage. Includes a brief glimpse of Daybreak LA, RTE's only ever Breakfast TV show (shown during the 1984 Olympics).

Shame to see him go, maybe he will turn up somewhere else.

Say Your Number

Between the change in the calendar and Michael's retirement, today has been a strange day.

Why can't things just stay the same forever

Niles Crane

Really good presenter, very easy to like and no bull**** with him however he did tolerate too much crap from Brolly over the years.

Whatever about pundits in general speaking nonsense he should have nipped Joe Brolly's downright bad manners and sneeriness in the bud fairly early on but he did nothing to stop him.This result in a failure to facilitate reasonable debate and just allowed him to interrupt everyone else all the time.

I could put up with Spillane and O'Rourke but Brolly on TV was really off putting and the reason I never bothered with the pre and post game stuff for the last 6 or 7 years.

If RTE have any sense they should retire the 3 main football pundits and bring in some fresh punidts to work with Joanne Cantwell.

He'll be missed though it's sad to see him go he's been part of my summers all my life.One of country's best sports presenters ever.