Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh recites Sinéad O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U

Legendary GAA commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh died in Dublin on June 25 at the age of 93.

Ó Muircheartaigh leaves behind an incredible legacy of unique, emotional engagement with the Gaelic games – as well as some touching moments that went viral on the internet.

One of those moments was when he recited Sinéad O’Connor’s hit “Nothing Compares 2 U”, recorded over a decade ago on the Ryan Tubridy show on RTÉ, Balls.ie reported on Tuesday.

The resurfaced recitation text brought a smile to the faces of many fans after his death and proved that – be it on the pitch or in a pop ballad – nothing compares to Ó Muircheartaigh.

You can listen to Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh reciting Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” here:

Ó Muircheartaigh died on Tuesday morning in the Mater Hospital in Dublin surrounded by family. He leaves behind his wife Helena (née McDowell), his sons Aonghus, Cormac and Éamonn, and his daughters Doireann, Éadaoin, Neasa, Niamh and Nuala.

Ó Muircheartaigh was born in Dún Síon, just outside Dingle, Co Kerry, in August 1930. His first language was Irish, which he used in his compelling commentary throughout his career.

In fact, his first assignment for RTÉ was to provide an all-Irish commentary on the 1949 Railway Cup Final on St Patrick’s Day.

He began broadcasting commentary in English on RTÉ radio in 1956 and has also reported All-Ireland Minor semi-finals and finals in hurling and football in Irish on RTÉ for over 25 years from the start of television coverage in 1962.

Ó Muircheartaigh was a trained teacher and taught economics in primary and secondary schools in Dublin until the 1980s, when he became a full-time broadcaster for RTÉ. Following Mícheál O’Hehir’s retirement from broadcasting in the mid-1980s, he took over the role of RTÉ’s lead commentator.

His career at RTÉ spanned over 60 years and in 2010 he was even entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the “longest career as a live match commentator”. The record still stands today.

Over the course of his long career, Ó Muircheartaigh earned a reputation as a gentleman through and through, with the ability to ‘paint pictures’ with his voice and a dry sense of humour.

Ó Muircheartaigh commentated on his last All-Ireland final on Sunday 19 September 2010 when Cork faced Down in the football final at Croke Park. He retired from broadcasting completely later that year but remained a fixture in the world of Gaelic games.