A look back at the career of broadcaster Colm Murray following his death on 30 July 2013.
Sharon Ní Bheoláin reports on tributes paid to the broadcaster Colm Murray following his death. Enda Kenny described him as “the voice of Irish racing”. Bryan Dobson takes a look back at his career, with TV clips of Colm Murray’s horse-racing commentary and interviews with Colm following his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
Colm Murray was born in Moate, Co. Westmeath in 1952. He worked as a teacher before becoming a radio continuity announcer in RTÉ in 1978. While in radio, he presented 'Hospitals' Requests'. He joined the RTÉ newsroom in 1983 and moved into Six One Sport in 1989. As a sports commentator, he specialised in horse-racing, and was given a 'Contribution to the Industry Award' by Horse Racing Ireland in 2010.
In 2010 Colm Murray was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. His condition was the subject of the 2012 RTÉ1 documentary 'MND: The Inside Track' and he won a 'People of the Year' award later in 2012 for his efforts to find a cure.
