It Occurs To Me: RTÉ and Donegal

A friend tried GAA Go in the forlorn hope of watching Dublin v Galway. It stopped, started, and buffered. So in anger and desperation, he switched to Galway Bay FM, and it was an absolute cracker.

Presenter Ollie Turner went buck mad (and why not?): “Galway have won. It’s the greatest day Galway football has seen in over two decades, and every man, woman and child stands to applaud Pádraic Joyce and his gallant Galway men. Sweet Mother of Jesus they have pulled off the unthinkable.

Forget about Taylor Swift, Shake it off at the Aviva, and come over here to Croke Park because you are witnessing the West awake. Gaillimh Abú!" Ha ha! Wonderful stuff, good man Ollie. 

Meanwhile, on Morning Ireland, the RTÉ ‘it’s either Dublin or Kerry’ mindset was so obvious in Darren Frehill’s presentation. I listened to him  at 7.35am and at 8.35pm, and in the early edition, he informed us that “Donegal got past Louth” but that, other than Dublin v Galway, the other three games were not “great spectacles”. He then repeated this by way of a rhetorical question to Kerry pundit Eamonn Fitzmaurice at 8.35am.

Rubbish and nonsense! The Roscommon v Armagh and Kerry v Derry were dreadful affairs but Donegal v Louth was a damn good game, and at least merited 60 seconds of chat, but no…Frehill must have been wearing his least favourite brand of ‘spectacles’ while watching Donegal, and for Fitzmaurice to say that all three games were not for the ‘purists’ is ironic, considering that he and Frehill had no problem spending the bulk of their interview talking about the Kerry game…one of the three.

They both agreed that Killian McDaid of Galway’s performance was the stand-out one of the weekend (yes, he was brilliant!) but did they ever hear of Peadar Mogan? Something never change…we were patronised back in 1992 and 2012, and look what happened. Watch this space!

                                         Remembering Tommie Gorman

I never had the pleasure of meeting the late Micheál O'Muircheartaigh but like thousands of others, I felt I knew him because of the intimacy of his wonderful broadcasts. I did know and admire Tommie Gorman and was shocked to hear of his passing on the same day as Micheál. When I contacted his good friend Gerry Moriarty, former NI editor of The Irish Times, he was in the middle of writing the obit for his old pal, which began:

“I was shocked and saddened to learn of Tommie’s death. We have been friends and colleagues going back 47 years when we started in local papers in the north-west, he in the Western Journal, me in the Donegal Democrat. He was the best of friends and the best of journalists – curious, courageous, fair, thorough and enterprising. But the bedrock of his being, whether reporting from Sligo, Brussels or Belfast or other parts of the world, was his humanity and his compassion. He loved his craft and the people he reported for and in turn people loved Tommie. It is hard to describe how badly he will be missed. My condolences to the loves of his life, Ceara, Moya and Joe.”

Tommie Gorman: 'Curious, courageous, fair, thorough and enterprising'

Gerry told me that when Ireland held the EU presidency in 1990, he was covering politics for the Irish Press. The then Taoiseach Charlie Haughey was briefing a number of us journalists during the summit of June that year at Dublin Castle. Inwardly, Gerry was furious because he was missing the crucial World Cup game between Ireland and Romania, but it wouldn’t have been wise to stand up to CJ.

Then Tommie burst into the room. “Gorman, what’s up with you?” queried a more amused than annoyed Taoiseach. Gorman breathlessly instructed Haughey to get the TV on – which he did, and luckily just in time to see David O’Leary score that famous shootout penalty that saw Ireland qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup. This allowed Haughey to reassess his priorities and to go into the Dublin Castle courtyard to parade his delight for the RTÉ Six One news at Ireland’s success. Gerry added: 

“Tommie and I were in fairly regular contact…the last text I have from him was a complaint about falling standards in journalism. The last time I saw him was in March when we had a lovely long walk and chat at Rosses Point. When we were saying our goodbyes I’m glad to say I gave him a big hug. He was terrific fun, a great journalist but a bit of a rogue as well. I thought he would outlive us all.” 

                                                Never better

I only recently got around to reading Tommie’s marvellous memoir, Never Better, and suffice to say, as regards ‘journalistic standards’, he learned from the very best. In the book he vividly recalls his first interview with the legendary John Healy:  “My inquisitor that spring afternoon in Rathmines was in his late forties. A decade before, he had published a devastating series of articles in the Irish Times, No One Shouted Stop, describing the impact of emigration on communities in rural Ireland. He would pioneer a form of political journalism in Irish newspapers, the role of the commentator, with new edge and a new way of writing.”

'How many are in your class, kid?"

'Sixteen. Twelve girls and four fellas, I explained.

'The boss of the school, my old buddy Sean Egan, tells me you are the only one from Connacht.'

‘That's right.’

“From his armchair, Healy was weighing the merits of hiring me. I was from Sligo, the county next door to Mayo, and might be able to generate readers and advertisers. I told him about the six-week placement the previous summer in the Sligo Champion newsroom and how the editor, Seamus Finn, was now using my reports of Sligo Rovers away matches against Dublin clubs.

I didn't realise it, but in the course of the conversation, I was acquiring a mentor.

He sat forward in his armchair. 'I see you have a neat patch in the knee of your trousers. Who did that, kid?' He was referring to my best wear, the fawn-coloured trousers, with an ironed crease as well as a repaired small hole in the left leg.

'My granny. She lives with us in Sligo. She is great at darning and knitting.'

His brow tightened. He was watching intently, seeking more information.

'She is from north Leitrim Her husband died young leaving her with seven children, including my mother, whose father died before she was born. Granny had relations in America who sent her a sewing machine, and that helped her to rear her family.'

Healy nodded and smiled. I kept going. 'Granny came in from Leitrim to stay with us after I was born, and she has lived with us ever since. We share the same birthday. April 3rd."

Healy smiled. 'You are from snipe grass, kid. You are hungry. That's good. When do you think the general election will be held?'

'June maybe,' I replied.

'What makes you say that?'

“I decided to roll the dice. ‘The father of my friend, Bairbre Ferguson, has a big job with an advertising agency who do work for Fine Gael. He was supposed to go on a cruise with his wife, but he cancelled it to be available in Ireland.'

“The gamble worked. With Healy saying there would be a place for me in the new enterprise, he was keen to share advice about the reporting trade: 'By the time you get to forty-five, kid, you should be able to sign your name to the "Our Father" and claim a week's wages."

'If you want to build a relationship with readers, kid, you have to tell them you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them that you told them.' At one stage, with his head slightly bowed, he advised, 'Every man should try to do three things in his life, kid: plant a tree, father a child and write a book. In the shadow of my first employer, I set about the third of those tasks.’

                                             Slán Go Foyle!

Today they go to the polls in the North.  When Rishi ‘Soontobegone’ picked July 4 for the UK election, it may have been deemed panicky and hasty, but it showed a flagrant disregard for the voters in the Six Counties.

Growing up in Carrigart, this week always saw a massive exodus from Belfast, Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh etc ahead of the 12th of July. That applied to every tourist corner of Donegal, but as a friend in the Foyle constituency said: “Our side will be fearful that some voters will be heading to the caravans, which will give the DUP an advantage, but we’re too cute for Rishi!” 

This time tomorrow, poor Rishi could be heading to the caravans himself!