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Best / Worst TV/Radio Commentators?

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Replying To republicofcloone:  "When Moloney and Dolan are commentating on a Dublin game it's time to hit the mute switch, the absolute fawning they do over them is sickening. All first name commentating too, no surnames, only for the opposition.

Ger Canning is way past his sell by date. I would have thought if he is RTE staff he'd be gone by now because he's over the retirement age.

Morrissey will soon take over RTE completely and be in every single tv and radio show they have.

I saw Evanne ni Cuillin presenting one of the saturday game club match thingies recently, the Kerry championship i believe and she was a breath of fresh air. Let Spillane have his say, questioned him politely but firmly and he was actually interesting. Compared to the absolute mess the Sunday Game schoolroom is now with teacher Joanne Cantwell giving her two cents every 30 seconds it was refreshing. And food for thought for the very noticeable head of sport there if the Sunday Game loses viewers when things are normal again."
Can't see Marty taking over every single programme with such stiff competition from the likes of Daniel and the mrs, the buck that turns old houses into glass houses and that Brennan lad who owns the hotel. Could give Marty the Late Late Show if they want, could only be an improvement.

Llaw_Gyffes (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 04/09/2020 23:18:17    2290622

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Does Joe Stack not have a CV to get him an interview for The Sunday Game presenter pool?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 5955 - 05/09/2020 14:24:17    2290674

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "Does Joe Stack not have a CV to get him an interview for The Sunday Game presenter pool?"
I have listened to a good few local and not big name commentators lately. I must say I was impressed with some. Just being themselves. Or may be it is just being a new voice. Maybe the long time ones begin to smell themselves after awhile and think they are the feature bigger than the game itself.

Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 979 - 05/09/2020 16:59:51    2290696

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Replying To SaffronDon:  "Ah yes, Joanne keeps all those young pups in line. Just in case something entertaining breaks out she's there to quash the mutiny. Each to their own i suppose."
Yes indeed, each to their own. I will take intelligent insight over attention-seeking theatrics thanks.

Gaillimh_Abu (Galway) - Posts: 841 - 05/09/2020 18:15:02    2290710

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Like some others I don't understand why Dara O'Cinnede didn't get the Sunday Game gig. He's knowledgeable, likeable and can put aside county loyalties unlike Whelan who may as well turn up in his Dublin jersey. It looks like political correctness won out in appointing Cantwell who is just awful in the role. I believe there's a new producer who no doubt has ruined the programme.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9294 - 05/09/2020 19:05:09    2290716

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "Does Joe Stack not have a CV to get him an interview for The Sunday Game presenter pool?"
Cv's and interviews are no longer a pre- requisite for men in particular to land the job they want, politics and a system now play a big part in filling job vacancies. Knowing who is going to fill a vacancy before it becomes vacant well in advance is not good politics, in my own opinion all jobs in particular highly paid jobs should be advertised, appropriate interviews held, the successful applicant will be selected on merit after ticking all the boxes, no gender bios but gender balance agreed. The Sunday game is only a very small part of RTE, Declan Mc Bennett may be the man in charge, but he is only a small part of RTE sport, inner politics and the system within are much bigger.
Sean O'Rourkes upcoming vacancy and probable successor was well aired in advance.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2161 - 05/09/2020 23:11:59    2290754

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Replying To Gaillimh_Abu:  "Yes indeed, each to their own. I will take intelligent insight over attention-seeking theatrics thanks."
Who's this intelligent insight coming from?

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2020 - 05/09/2020 23:12:31    2290755

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Sorry but how Mr G Canning continues to get gigs is a mystery .. doesn't know the rules and always mixes up northern teams .... and that's all I've time to list .. someone in rte should do a compilation ... could begin with last night when he thought u can fist pass into the net

KeshGFC (Fermanagh) - Posts: 240 - 06/09/2020 12:18:10    2290785

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Damian Ó Dónaill on Raidió na Gaeltachta is excellent. I believe he won a commentary competition to land the role, which is a great way to recruit new commentators. He's recently been doing bilingual commentary on Donegal GAA official streams and he's been very good. Would love to see him on TG4 or possibly on RTÉ radio 1 in the future.

DL_Man (Donegal) - Posts: 89 - 06/09/2020 13:00:59    2290794

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Replying To supersub15:  "Cv's and interviews are no longer a pre- requisite for men in particular to land the job they want, politics and a system now play a big part in filling job vacancies. Knowing who is going to fill a vacancy before it becomes vacant well in advance is not good politics, in my own opinion all jobs in particular highly paid jobs should be advertised, appropriate interviews held, the successful applicant will be selected on merit after ticking all the boxes, no gender bios but gender balance agreed. The Sunday game is only a very small part of RTE, Declan Mc Bennett may be the man in charge, but he is only a small part of RTE sport, inner politics and the system within are much bigger.
Sean O'Rourkes upcoming vacancy and probable successor was well aired in advance."
I agree with your post.
RTE should be sold off to the private sector.
Millions in debt, yet they continue to pay mega salaries to RT & JD et al.
SOR being brought back in after retiring was disgusting & symbolic of what we saw in Golfgate. On a mega salary & brought back in for a second bite of the cherry after retiring, this should not be happening. There are hundreds of young people of ability out there who would have done the job for a lot less & who wouldn't be giving an easy ride to those they interviewed. Then of course it's hard to ask the tough questions when you socialise with the same people.
RTE has being cocooned from reality for decades as these people were all within the Golden Circle which is still so obviously alive in Ireland today, these people have no grasp of reality & will trot out the usual lines that in today's online world that we need a public service provider to highlight things. In that they have failed.
It took two print journalists with guts to expose Golfgate & don't think pressure wasn't exerted by certain people to drop this. We need more real journalists like this to expose the sleaze & lies in all aspects of Irish society, including the GAA.
Another faux paus is bringing Enda Kenny in to do an Irish language programme on Irish railways.
Why can't we give this job to a young up & coming presenter, not to a multiple pension holder whose current. Regardless of whether he is paid for the role or not, it is denying a young person an opportunity, this guy has had plenty of them.
I would never watch a programme presented by a guy who labelled all Irish citizens at Davos, as having all partied in the Boom.
Jobs should be given on merit & gender basis, not politics & RTE need to come into the private world & see how long they would survive paying a handful of people lottery type salaries.

moc.dna (Galway) - Posts: 1049 - 06/09/2020 18:54:26    2290827

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RTE are following the BBC down the rabbit hole of left wing wokeism. Both organisations are supoosed to be impartial but they arent and its a shame. They are supposed to report news not push an agenda. It ll all come to a head like it is in the UK where people have had enough. RTE just have to make all the same mistakes first..all of them like pandering to all left wing causes ect
I must be the only one here who thinks Ger Canning is good. He can commentate on most sports whereas Marty Morrissey couldn't be let near a soccer match . Actually martys monologue Essays before the game would be funny before an Irish International game.
Joanne Cantwell is top class. I think she does a good job in a tricky environment

bloodyban (Limerick) - Posts: 1323 - 07/09/2020 12:17:45    2290958

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Replying To essmac:  "Couldn't care less tbh. A vote for MOH for the nostalgia and the sense of occasion - it wasn't an AI final without him. I like OTT bias like those Mexican soccer commentators in that link earlier; the only thing I can't stand is bias in some RTÉ commentators - the boyos that "hope" that team x will score; or who get all moralistic about a foul by one team but completely ignore far worse from their pet team etc"
I agree with most of what you say. There is 'herd community' in RTE and most print media with bias the norm. Even in club matches the talk up the county players before hand and in many cases other better players decide the result. I like the Roscommon guy from Strokestown. I think JC adds little to the program and tries too hard. Being better than previous guy does not add much to her cv.

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2189 - 07/09/2020 13:39:15    2290981

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Replying To supersub15:  "European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is seeking two names that of a man and a woman (for balance) for nomination as Ireland's European commissioner, the ratio currently stands at 14 : 12, I'm all for balance so perhaps Dee Forbes might consider future appointments based on Ursula von der Leyen's theory of balance.

Virgin Media 1 - The "Tonight Show" is alternating their presenters since Ciara Doherty came on board, last night it was Ciara, it's Matt Coopers turn next week and so on, instead of feminising radio and tv totally, why not go down Ursula von der Leyen's way and create some balance, balance creates competitiveness, quality, entertainment, continuity etc.
Darragh Maloney was always the person to replace Michael Lyster, sadly it didn't happen, however they can still go half way by bringing in Maloney as co-presenter with, dare I say it, Joanne Cantwell.

If Maraid Mc Guinness get's the European job, I'll say Ursula von der Leyen's method of equalizing the ratio, works."
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is seeking two names that of a man and a woman (for balance) for nomination as Ireland's European commissioner, the ratio currently stands at 14 : 12, I'm all for balance so perhaps Dee Forbes might consider future appointments based on Ursula von der Leyen's theory of balance.

Virgin Media 1 - The "Tonight Show" is alternating their presenters since Ciara Doherty came on board, last night it was Ciara, it's Matt Coopers turn next week and so on, instead of feminising radio and tv totally, why not go down Ursula von der Leyen's way and create some balance, balance creates competitiveness, quality, entertainment, continuity etc.
Darragh Maloney was always the person to replace Michael Lyster, sadly it didn't happen, however they can still go half way by bringing in Maloney as co-presenter with, dare I say it, Joanne Cantwell.

If Maraid Mc Guinness get's the European job, I'll say Ursula von der Leyen's method of equalizing the ratio, works.
supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2063 - 04/09/2020 17:18:33 2

I Cryptically suggested that Maraid Mc Guinness was always going to get the European commissioners job, she did and I wish her well. It's said the current ratio in the news and sports department in RTE stands at 11 : 3 (approx) in favour of females. Perhaps Ursula von der Leyen's method of equalizing the ratio, could be shared with Dee Forbes.


In the meantime should some or all of you readers here decide that I should cease posting here, simply post "No" for me to cease posting and I will duly oblige .

Thanks.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2161 - 08/09/2020 15:53:41    2291149

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Replying To bloodyban:  "RTE are following the BBC down the rabbit hole of left wing wokeism. Both organisations are supoosed to be impartial but they arent and its a shame. They are supposed to report news not push an agenda. It ll all come to a head like it is in the UK where people have had enough. RTE just have to make all the same mistakes first..all of them like pandering to all left wing causes ect
I must be the only one here who thinks Ger Canning is good. He can commentate on most sports whereas Marty Morrissey couldn't be let near a soccer match . Actually martys monologue Essays before the game would be funny before an Irish International game.
Joanne Cantwell is top class. I think she does a good job in a tricky environment"
I would say Canning is mostly ok and pretty good some of the time when I've heard him on GAA and soccer. However, he also throws in some cheesy one liners from time to time or is overly positive about the standard in the match, which is irritating.

Marty on the other hand should be left to reporting, which he is pretty good at tbf.

eoghan6688 (Galway) - Posts: 129 - 09/09/2020 16:53:36    2291326

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Carty worst, Maloney best.

lilypad (Kildare) - Posts: 1357 - 09/09/2020 18:32:10    2291338

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Replying To moc.dna:  "I agree with your post.
RTE should be sold off to the private sector.
Millions in debt, yet they continue to pay mega salaries to RT & JD et al.
SOR being brought back in after retiring was disgusting & symbolic of what we saw in Golfgate. On a mega salary & brought back in for a second bite of the cherry after retiring, this should not be happening. There are hundreds of young people of ability out there who would have done the job for a lot less & who wouldn't be giving an easy ride to those they interviewed. Then of course it's hard to ask the tough questions when you socialise with the same people.
RTE has being cocooned from reality for decades as these people were all within the Golden Circle which is still so obviously alive in Ireland today, these people have no grasp of reality & will trot out the usual lines that in today's online world that we need a public service provider to highlight things. In that they have failed.
It took two print journalists with guts to expose Golfgate & don't think pressure wasn't exerted by certain people to drop this. We need more real journalists like this to expose the sleaze & lies in all aspects of Irish society, including the GAA.
Another faux paus is bringing Enda Kenny in to do an Irish language programme on Irish railways.
Why can't we give this job to a young up & coming presenter, not to a multiple pension holder whose current. Regardless of whether he is paid for the role or not, it is denying a young person an opportunity, this guy has had plenty of them.
I would never watch a programme presented by a guy who labelled all Irish citizens at Davos, as having all partied in the Boom.
Jobs should be given on merit & gender basis, not politics & RTE need to come into the private world & see how long they would survive paying a handful of people lottery type salaries."
Sean O'Rourke won't be back on RTE, after the Golfgate episode.

MicktheMiller (Offaly) - Posts: 112 - 09/09/2020 23:18:37    2291359

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Liam Spratt:

Because of the following:

And a great save from the Waterford goalkeeper Clinton Morrison...wait, no...sorry...Clinton Hennessy in the Waterford goal. Got the wrong colour there Billy

Dickie Watch looks at his Murphy' and 'the game is in and the ball is on'.

And here's Sean Flood - son of the late great Tim Flood.......... hold on a minute Tim's not dead

Was the traffic bad on your way up, Billy?" "About the same, Liam. I was in your car.

That was definitely a free there, it was as obvious as.....as snow on a rope

And the ball is hit in.........and AND ITS A GOOOAL FOR WEXFORD.... and when I say Wexford of course I mean Laois

And it's a lineball for Wexford. There's a break in play now while Seán Flood receives some attention....... And while there is I'd just like to offer my sincere condolences to the Murphy family in Clonroche on the sad passing of Mary last weekend.... She was a loving wife and mother and all were fond of her in the community...... Herself and her husband Tim were always involved in the local scene and especially the GAA.......Mary always gave her time up for others and I still remember the time when I met.....GOOOAAAALLLL!!! A GOAL FOR WEXFORD!!!!

Jaysus they're lovely sandwiches. Billy will ya go down there and find out who made those sandwiches

He kicks it from his hand with his left hand..!!! oohh foot even

Dublin would have fully deserved a draw if they had won

A GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL. A great goal for Wexford. Fantastic goal there Ned. I didn't see the goal or who scored it as I was talking to Liam Griffin. Did you see the goal Ned?

I can see by the look on his face he's not too happy, even though he has his back to me!

tearintom (Wexford) - Posts: 846 - 10/09/2020 08:27:30    2291372

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Anyone think Francis Brennan should get a run on the Sunday Game?? Be better than Joanne anyway- she gives her opinion on things?? Why? She is meant to present it like in fairness. I think that Francis would be more balanced and fair. I would go with either him or my second choice would be Kathryn Thomas maybe??

She could let an odd shout out of her like she does when people lose a pound on OTT- she goes wayyyyy heyyyyy. She could do that on the telly- can imagine it now- welcome to the Sunday Game, wayyyyyy heyyyyyy and maybe in the middle of one of Marty's in depth interviews she could let shouts in the background wayyyyy heyyyyyyy

fillzezogs (Roscommon) - Posts: 66 - 10/09/2020 12:33:08    2291401

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Replying To bloodyban:  "RTE are following the BBC down the rabbit hole of left wing wokeism. Both organisations are supoosed to be impartial but they arent and its a shame. They are supposed to report news not push an agenda. It ll all come to a head like it is in the UK where people have had enough. RTE just have to make all the same mistakes first..all of them like pandering to all left wing causes ect
I must be the only one here who thinks Ger Canning is good. He can commentate on most sports whereas Marty Morrissey couldn't be let near a soccer match . Actually martys monologue Essays before the game would be funny before an Irish International game.
Joanne Cantwell is top class. I think she does a good job in a tricky environment"
Yes RTE promote integration of immigrants and equal rights for women which are more associated with the left but if you honestly think that RTE or any other state sponsored agency is left wing you dont have a clue about politics and need to go read some books.

Nothing about this country is left wing our 2 main parties and the only ever to rule are right/centre right and the best a lefty like me can hope for in this country is a centre government that throws some scraps to Labour or the greens ( who are not anyway left but do a few things I like)

Breezy (Limerick) - Posts: 1106 - 10/09/2020 22:02:57    2291478

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Replying To tearintom:  "Liam Spratt:

Because of the following:

And a great save from the Waterford goalkeeper Clinton Morrison...wait, no...sorry...Clinton Hennessy in the Waterford goal. Got the wrong colour there Billy

Dickie Watch looks at his Murphy' and 'the game is in and the ball is on'.

And here's Sean Flood - son of the late great Tim Flood.......... hold on a minute Tim's not dead

Was the traffic bad on your way up, Billy?" "About the same, Liam. I was in your car.

That was definitely a free there, it was as obvious as.....as snow on a rope

And the ball is hit in.........and AND ITS A GOOOAL FOR WEXFORD.... and when I say Wexford of course I mean Laois

And it's a lineball for Wexford. There's a break in play now while Seán Flood receives some attention....... And while there is I'd just like to offer my sincere condolences to the Murphy family in Clonroche on the sad passing of Mary last weekend.... She was a loving wife and mother and all were fond of her in the community...... Herself and her husband Tim were always involved in the local scene and especially the GAA.......Mary always gave her time up for others and I still remember the time when I met.....GOOOAAAALLLL!!! A GOAL FOR WEXFORD!!!!

Jaysus they're lovely sandwiches. Billy will ya go down there and find out who made those sandwiches

He kicks it from his hand with his left hand..!!! oohh foot even

Dublin would have fully deserved a draw if they had won

A GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL. A great goal for Wexford. Fantastic goal there Ned. I didn't see the goal or who scored it as I was talking to Liam Griffin. Did you see the goal Ned?

I can see by the look on his face he's not too happy, even though he has his back to me!"
He's now got 4 points, 2 from frees and 2 from placed balls.

Spratt is comedic value but not the best if you want an accurate picture of the game.

wexico15 (Wexford) - Posts: 2602 - 10/09/2020 22:41:07    2291485

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