For GAA people, this is the most wonderful time of the year. The All-Ireland hurling and football finals are here, which means Up for the Match is back too. Des Cahill and Jacqui Hurley, hosts of the annual highlight of sporting TV, speak to Darragh McManus.
Des Cahill
Is Up for the Match as much fun to do as it seems?
Oh yeah. It's the best audience you could work with; they’re all there for the craic. People like sport because it keeps them going, away from the trials and tribulations of life. Sport should be fun, and doing this show is fun. And very different to something like The Sunday Game, where you’re rushing to cover the next match. You really get to express yourself on Up for the Match.
Do you hope for new All-Ireland finalists every year, so you don’t have to talk to the same people from Kerry or Kilkenny every time?
On one level, yes, but on another level, that has its own dynamic, in that everyone wants to see that team beaten. And you get good rivalries going if the same teams have met in recent years. Not even recent: you might get two fellas on, who used to be bitter rivals, and even today, you still feel that bit of needle between them!
How do you keep track of everything happening during those long and busy Saturday Sport shows on radio?
Well, it’s a team effort, like all good programmes. We’ve a producer keeping us abreast of everything. Same thing with Up for the Match; a brilliant team, although that’s much lighter and relaxed. People love when we send a camera crew to the competing counties, and you see the buzz in the air for everyone. The All-Ireland finals are uniquely Irish, and Up for the Match captures that. The final is more than just a match, it’s a cultural occasion in Irish life.
A few years ago, you did Des’s Island Discs for radio: was that a nice change of pace?
It was. That was meant to go for a week, and instead went for nine months. We had everybody on it. I had people saying, 'I was wondering when you were going to invite me on…’ It’s nice to do something different, and I like chatting to people.
What persuaded you to do Dancing with the Stars in 2017 – and did you enjoy the experience?
Jaysus, that’s a long time ago. It was different back then; the show wasn’t half as big. Nowadays, people have their agents try to get them on it. It was a bit of craic, and again, something different.
You have a long involvement with Cuala GAA club. Did you ever imagine they’d become only the second club to win All-Ireland titles in football and hurling?
No. In my wildest dreams, I didn’t. Last winter was the best ever, because of Cuala’s run through the football championship. It was unbelievable, the best experience of my life in sport. It’s been some journey: I grew up in Monkstown, and there was hardly any GAA. My friends were rugby stars, and I was following these uncool Gaelic games. We had small numbers. Now, we have DART trains being chartered for finals.
Your ancestry is part-Clare – do you ever feel divided loyalties if Clare are playing the Dubs?
They don’t often meet anyway, but I don’t really. Clare would be my second team, but I was brought up here, and you’d know people who played for Dublin or whose parents you grew up with. That makes a huge difference.
What do you make of the new football rules?
I love them. Jim Gavin, Eamon Fitzmaurice and their committee have done something incredible. If someone told you a year ago that football would be transformed so dramatically… It’s so much more enjoyable now - to watch and play.
Jacqui Hurley
What was the attraction for you when agreeing to take on Up for the Match?
A lot of it is just the craic with the show, to be honest. I love working in sport, it’s my biggest passion, but those opportunities where sport meets entertainment are rare. So when I was asked to do it, I said yes straight away. And I’m obviously good pals with Des; any chance we get to work together, we embrace it.
There have been lots of funny moments over the years – do any in particular stand out in your memory?
So many. Last year, say, Cork and Clare were playing the hurling, and Davy Fitz was sitting there talking very seriously about his memories of games, and his wife was heckling him in the audience! That was great fun.
We’ve had times where things went wildly wrong – stray sliotars going into the audience, chaos like that. It’s all about managing that or being able to laugh and enjoy it if you can’t! It’s a brilliant circus that I love being part of.
Would you like to see the format extended to camogie and ladies’ football?
Yes. We’ve wanted to do this for years, myself and Des and the production team. It’s tricky around schedules, rights and other things, but hopefully, we’ll make it happen. Around two years ago, it was close to getting across the line, but hasn’t yet. It’s right that camogie and ladies’ football have their day to celebrate.
How would you describe your role on the show – conduit, MC, ringmaster, all of the above?
Really, it’s making sure that you let the craic and magic happen around you. It’s more of a community centre, ‘having fun’ vibe than presenting a TV show. Very different to anything else in RTÉ.
Were you nervous the first time you presented such an iconic programme as The Sunday Game?
Not really, because by the time it came around, I’d been doing so many other shows: live rugby, soccer, Olympics. I was ready for it. Years ago, I spoke publicly about not getting it, and probably would have been more nervous if I had, because I didn’t have the experience.
Des told me, ‘Your life is going to change because everyone has an opinion on The Sunday Game’. It’s watched everywhere in Ireland, and people come up to me talking about it all the time. So while I wasn’t nervous, I do understand the commitment and what it takes, and what it means to people.
I’m a big fan of your GAA Podcast with Rory O’Neill and guests – does it differ much from your TV work?
Totally! Rory knows more about GAA than most people ever will, so it’s lovely to have him on. There’s more room on a podcast than something like The Sunday Game. You’ve more space to really get stuck into issues, and have proper conversation. I’d love to do more.
You’re back playing basketball for Ireland with the Masters team – how does it feel to return?
Yep, I just got home from the World Championship where we won bronze. It was an incredible experience. I never really stopped playing basketball, and the Masters was always in the back of my head. When I got the opportunity this year to play for Ireland…you don’t pass up that experience.
Do you have a dream sporting interviewee, dead or alive?
I’ve interviewed Roy Keane over the years, and he’s always the most fascinating. Maybe it’s a Cork thing, but they usually have that raw honesty – Derval O’Rourke, Sonia O’Sullivan, Rob Heffernan – and none more so than Keane. You always come away from speaking to him, having learned something or thinking differently to before. Internationally, Serena Williams: a phenomenal sportswoman with a really inspirational story.
