Michael Lyster makes it look easy, so who is going to up against RTE’s main man for Sky? Here’s our look at the contenders.
This morning, the Irish Examiner brought us the news that Niall Quinn, a fairly handy hurler in his day, may be the man to front Sky Sports upcoming coverage of the GAA Championship. But ‘Big Niall’ isn’t the only name linked with the gig so here’s our look at the runners and riders, in varying degrees of likelihood.
Realistic:
Rachel Wyse:
Already a Sky employee, Wyse is normally seen in the cosy confines of Sky Sports News tucked in beside Jim White and the likes. But she has written a column for the Irish Independent for a while now on a number of topics, including GAA, and a few bookies stopped taking bets on her getting the gig shortly after the Sky deal with the GAA was announced.
Her background is mainly in equestrian sports but she is the deserved favourite to be the anchor for Sky’s coverage.
Niall Quinn:
The Mighty Quinn has been a co-commentator on Sky’s soccer coverage for a while now, and he has done some studio-based punditry too. Some viewers of the Premier League don’t enjoy his style but he is a well-known face that could be ideal to launch the GAA to a UK audience.
He also comes with a proper GAA pedigree, playing both codes before his move to Arsenal, and he played for Dublin’s Minor hurlers in an All-Ireland final in the 1980s.
Matt Cooper:
Cooper was the anchor for TV3’s coverage so he is at a loose end this summer. Cooper is a busy man, with his radio show and a column for the News International owned Sunday Times. That link with Sky’s parent company can’t be ignored and the only reason he may not go for the gig would be TV3’s wish to hang onto Cooper for their 2015 Rugby World Cup coverage.
Dream Team:
Con Murphy:
No longer an RTE staffer, Murphy has experience of covering virtually every sport in his time with the national broadcaster. If Sky want a safe pair of hands, Murphy is the man and we always enjoyed his stint in the chair when he hosted various shows on RTE.
Pat Spillane:
Okay, his time as host of the Sunday Game was widely panned but if Sky want to introduce a bit of devilment to their broadcasts, poaching Pat from RTE would be perfect. His perceived lack of hurling knowledge may go against him but we would fully support Pat going global, though we’d miss his jousts with Joe Brolly if he did make the switch.
Dara O’Cinnéide
He might lack the ‘pizazz’ that Sky will no doubt be looking for but Ó’Cinnéide is an experienced broadcaster with both TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta and does an excellent job on the former’s Seo Spóirt, where is he comfortable covering a wide range of sports.
As a former All-Ireland winning captain with Kerry, GAA and Gaelic Football is O’Cinnéide’s strength and while his regular columns with the Irish Examiner suggest that he could also act as an insightful analyst, he certainly wouldn’t look out of place in the host’s chair either.
Long shots:
Joe Brolly:
Anyone who follows the Derry man on Twitter will know that – understatement of the year alert – he is not exactly a fan of the Sky deal with the GAA. But in a dream world Joe would take the gig and slowly sabotage the Sky deal from the inside, making snide remarks all through every broadcast before eventually being rugby tackled off the set by a frustrated Sky producer.
Roy Keane:
ITV might fancy him in Brazil for the summer but as an avid attender of GAA games, we know Roy would rather be in Semple than Sao Paolo come July time. Keane as a pundit is TV gold, and we reckon he could host with equal aplomb, nailing analysts to the wall if they suggest that the wind was a factor or that breaking from the line-ups too early affected the game.
Tomorrow we will be back with our look at the potential pundits for Gaelic Football, while Friday we will look at those jostling for a seat during the hurling coverage.
Dara O’Briain
If it’s an Irish face well-known to UK viewers Sky are after, they couldn’t do any better than the Wicklow man, who has established himself as one of the most well-known and popular comedians and television personalities across the pond.
Having regularly attempted to explain the intricacies of Irish culture to UK audiences in his comedy shows, O’Briain would be the perfect man to educate our neighbours on contentious issues like the black card in football or the Anthony Nash penalty in hurling, so much so that you can expect cries of ‘That was off the facking ground ref’ in pubs throughout London in the height of Championship season.
As a self-confessed die-hard follower of his native Wicklow, and indeed the London footballers, bias might be an issue but we’re sure he could keep his allegiances to himself in the interest of balance if the bigwigs at Sky want him to be the face of GAA for the next few years.
