Pat Spillane..

jimdemp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118932206#Comment_118932206

Id say he was on the beer the night before. We got great laughs from his heavy breathing sounded like he was struggling lol. He would have been there anyway to watch his son play so they might aswel have put him on

ATR72

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118932206#Comment_118932206

Him and the wife were over watching their son play so it makes sense to have him do commentary as well. A reasonable explanation rather than the conspiracy theories that get posted on here.

spakman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118943458#Comment_118943458

If GAAGO paid for his passage to go watch his son play, I'm sure he was only too delighted to avail

ATR72

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118944151#Comment_118944151

So no different to the other RTÉ staff who went over. Nothing to be complaining about.

tvpc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtUrkOPGpOU&ab_channel=TheLongHallPodcast

M three

Why on earth do rte have eamonn fitmaurice commentating on tyrone v derry?

First off this game needed an ulster commentator.

2nd and more importantly fitzmaurice has the most boring, droll voice on the planet and shouldnt be anywhere near a microphone. Unless he latches on to the fact that he'd be a great cure for insomniacs.

A super first half by derry full of energy and fitzmaurice sounds like he's at a funeral.

Forge83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002368#Comment_119002368

While Fitzmaurice has a very droll voice as you say, his commentating is some of the best there has ever been. His knowledge of players and tactics is second to none. Comes across as completely unbiased also which is extremely rare. Ok he won’t have you jumping out of your seat but that’s more Moloney’s role. If you can’t appreciate the quality of his football commentating knowledge then it must be lost on you personally.

deise man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119003140#Comment_119003140

You're spot on. He's excellent. Brilliant to describe where players are positioned and match ups. Sadly a skill lacking in many pundits

M three

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119003140#Comment_119003140

Thats the thing, he hadnt a clue what changes were made at half time. He hadnt a clue which 2 tyrone players went off and who replaced them.

As for his tactical genius I'm afraid he's no tactical mastermind. That was one of the reasons kerry gave him the boot.

He's about as exciting as a funeral home and shouldnt be let near a microphone. Not the first daft hire rte have made and unfortunately probably wont be the last...

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119003140#Comment_119003140

His tactical knowledge could be second to none but its meaningless if he can't communicate, and that droning voice is not good communication. Its exactly the type of sound that people start to tune out, most people probably can't remember any of that knowledge 10 minutes later because it was delivered as part of a 70 minute dirge.

Good delivery is part of the deal, a commentator with poor delivery is simply not a good commentator.

What you describe is somebody who should be writing articles on the game, not commentating.

M three

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119004328#Comment_119004328

Spot on, fitzmaurice definitely isnt suited for commentating. Not sure if he is tactically up to speed either. When he commentated on the recent derry v tyrone game he didnt know what subs where brought on or off at half time never mind what tactical changes that would bring about.

Perhaps he should try his hand at writing articles.

Crash Bang Wall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119051639#Comment_119051639

Would agree his voice is pretty droll, but Id take that over Dessie Dolan, McStay and the likes of Martin Carney any day. I avoid RTE football as much as possible, so Im not sure who else they use. BBC had McConville, who is in my opinion, the best of the lot

M three

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119089508#Comment_119089508

Not much of a standard you've set there is it. So we have to put up with fitmaurice's droll, boring chat and listen to his lack of tactical knowledge just because he might be a bit better than some of rte's other terrible hires?

You are correct in that bbc's pundits are MILES better than rte's. Which really does highlight how crap rte are: The british broadcasting corporation have better pundits for one of our national sports than the irish state broadcaster...

CornerForward10286

JB badly missed. always spoke his mind, nor afraid of saying anything.

spakman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119112133#Comment_119112133

Problem is, his mind is full of shite a lot of the time

CornerForward10286

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119112419#Comment_119112419

thats all opinion. very good and intelligent analyst.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119112815#Comment_119112815

Ha Ha. Ignorant, useless, rude, troublemaker would be more accurate.

Deeming him to be an analyst is being way too complimentary. All he used to do was just sit there squinting, and scheming how he was going to throw a verbal missile at his colleagues.

CornerForward10286

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119121455#Comment_119121455

absolute horseshit. he spoke his mind 2 a tee and wasn't afraid to say a thing. one of the biggest reasons he was thrown off the Sunday game. current analysts are a pale shadow of him. very intelligent football man also and knows exactly what he's talking about.

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119121605#Comment_119121605

I'd disagree in fairness, everything JB said was get a extreme reaction.

CornerForward10286

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119123793#Comment_119123793

u could see that for anybody outspoken!. he knows his football inside out and loved how he spoke his mind.

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119124260#Comment_119124260

I wouldn't call him unspoken just an attention seeker, he changes his mind like the weather so wouldn't say he knows his football inside and out.

Strumms

Noelle Healy is excellent… no agenda whatsoever and the likes of herself, Ciaran Whelan, Sean Cavanagh I’m fans of…

shes working in Cork I believe now as an anesthesiologist I understand so it could be difficult for her to commit. But 5 all Irelands, 4 all stars and she retired at 30… great communicator, what you see is what you get.

CornerForward10286

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119124556#Comment_119124556

I wouldn't agree on changing his mind like the weather. some thought he was wrong the time he had a go at s cavanagh but thats what I mean by him speaking his mind, he wasn't afraid to say what he was thinking.

Coillte_Bhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119124613#Comment_119124613

Have look at his pieces over the years on Mayo, praising them to the hilt one minute, denigrating them the next. he's a decent analyst imo if he kept to that but as another poster said he always seems to be thinking up sarky or pseudo intellectual comments to throw at the other panelists, became tiresome very quickly.

robbiezero

I think Cantwell is pretty good and cuts through quite a bit of the bullshit.

A case in point is Davy Fitzgerald on the Sunday game. Clare have probably been the team of the hurling championship so far (certainly the most improved) and are playing great stuff, yet whenever Davy is asked to talk about them, there is not a single mention of Brian Lohan which is scandalous. Basically he is refusing to do his job properly because of some petty nonsense feud - RTE are worse to indulge that nonsense, if an analyst won't do their job, get rid post haste.

While Des lets him away with it, I do think Cantwell would pull him up and quiz him on Lohan and the job he has done so far this year.

thesultan

Would you see that Davy shouldn't be speaking on Clare considering his fued with Lohan..

Shane dowling very good..

zetecescort

need to put Dowling on a few games not involving Limerick to see what he has to offer. he might aswell wear his Limerick kit in studio when commenting on Limerick's games

Pussyhands

Great thread!

Agree with a lot of what's said.

Eamon Fitzmaurice...the content he comes out with is brilliant but his tone is sooooo boring. I can get over the boring voice so it's ok.

Pat Spillane. I like him as a pundit. You're not getting any great modern analysis but he's entertaining, got a good voice and synonymous with many great moments in punditry in the past. He's also not afraid to say something is bad or good. Others are very apologetic about it as if they're afraid to say what they think.

McStay, he's got a good voice and good diction and has a lot of good insight but some of the stuff he comes out with is rubbish. He was complaining about a few Derry lads lining up in front of a 45 on Sunday. Made no sense to me.

Martin Carney. He hasn't been on RTE in years. Great voice for co commentary. I think he does local live commentary now?

Tom Carr. Another not been on in years but I enjoyed his co commentary.

Dessie Dolan. Terrible. "They're going for the full court press Ger"

Sean Cavanagh. Looks like a choir boy but I find there's a real nasty edge about him. Would have no trouble stabbing you in the back I'd say. Would never let anyone say anything bad about Tyrone without sticking the knife in, in return.

Ger Canning. Best for hurling imo. Annoys me with pronouncing debut as "dayboo"

Marty Morrissey. Very annoying on comms. "Uh..that's astounding"..."It's exhilarating! It's breathtaking! It's the Munster Championship in Thurles!". The nicknames thing annoys me too, stop acting like you're best buddys with the players..."Brick lays it off to Dan the Man."...."The Bonnar Maher sends it in long and it's gathered by Bubbles"

Joanne Cantwell. Very wooden and clean cut. Like a school teacher. No match for Lyster. And what's with the standing with big spaces? Give the lads chairs and have them inside like they used to.

The hurling lads are terrible I think. I'm just distracted by the overdressing. They all look like they're making their communion with their sponsorships from Littlewoods and menswear shops.

TheRiverman

Try listening to John Mullane on Radio. Horrific.

Gusser09

I have an huge issue with the gender qoutas. I'm not sure why Urusla Jacob is on the Sunday Game. Shocking. Imagine herself and Fitzmaurice commentating on a game. The tele would be fucked out the window.

Cantwell isnt great to be honest. No presence like Lyster had. Cant stand her actually as a presenter.

McStay is the best of the pundits with Whelan following. Kavanagh and Cooper are poor. Boyle might be good if given more time

Spillane? Careful lads. Football is gone that poor we need a bit of entertainment.

Its criminal that orourke is still on the screens. The mind boggles. He loves the attention. Mind numbing crap he comes out with. Never tried his hand at too level management either. Too happy with the few quid in RTE.

One of the worst pundits was Marty McHugh. A bit nasty at times.

The hurling is a joke. Im sick of it. Donal og is dreadful. Jackie Tyrell looks like he wants to change his outfit during the ad breaks. At least cyril " they had a great u14 team in the 60s" farrell is gone.

Rte just cant get it right at all. You'd wonder who Orourke has dirt on.

The commentary is amateur at best. Marty " from sydney to tokyo, alaska to rio, chicago to madrid, in oneills bar in downtown mogadishu they're all tuned in today for this one" Morrisey. Appalling.

Its a pity Michael o'muirheartaigh had to get old.