The veteran sports broadcaster and match commentator Brendan Cummins has died at the age of 76.
Mr Cummins' voice became synonymous with Meath GAA through his commentaries on LMFM Radio over the past 20 years.
The Dunsany man was also a long-serving county board official during some of Meath GAA’s most successful years.
He was inducted into the Meath GAA Hall of Fame in 2020.
Mr Cummins himself played for the county minor team that reached a Leinster semi-final in 1966. He is best known, however, for his association with Meath GAA off the pitch.
Mr Cummins became Head of Sport at LMFM in 1992, a position he held until 2017.
In the early 2000s, he took over from the late Kevin Mallon as the station’s chief Gaelic football commentator for Meath.
His encyclopaedic knowledge of the game meant that for many he was the voice of Meath GAA, alongside his long-time co-commentator and Meath All-Ireland winner Mattie Kerrigan.
Mr Cummins was in the commentary box for some of Meath GAA’s biggest occasions, including their controversial Leinster Final win over Louth in 2010, and also when Colm O’Rourke’s side lifted the Tailteann Cup in 2023.
He was also the main match commentator during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns that saw the Meath Ladies' team claim historic back-to-back All-Ireland titles.
Mr Cummins also served as public relations officer with the Meath County Board during The Royals’ glory years.
The late Fintan Ginnity as chairperson, Barney Allen as secretary and Mr Cummins as PRO were part of the county board set-up that oversaw arguably the most successful spell ever in Meath football, with four All-Ireland victories coming between 1987 and 1999 during the Seán Boylan-era.
Mr Cummins also commentated on thousands of club games in Meath down through the years and last year he was in the gantry to finally see his own club of Dunsany win the Junior Football Championship, having been beaten in the previous eight finals.
His other big passion was horseracing and during his time as a sports journalist, he built up significant contacts with many successful Meath trainers, including Tony Martin and Noel Meade.
Mr Cummins was still at Páirc Tailteann commentating up until as recently as last month.
He passed away peacefully at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan yesterday evening following an illness.
Mr Cummins is survived by his daughter Mairead and is predeceased by his wife Margaret.
Meath GAA has paid tribute to Mr Cummins and also extended its condolences to his family.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the county board said: "The voice of Meath Football, Brendan leaves behind a rich legacy and his passing means there will forever be a void in the press box in Páirc Tailteann and on sidelines across the county where he found his perch for match commentaries.
"A man who gave his life to the GAA, he took his final breath in the knowledge that at long last he had witnessed his beloved Dunsany reach the holy grail of winning the Meath Junior Football Championship last October.
"Match days will never be the same again without Brendan on commentary duty but no doubt he, along with his former colleague in LMFM, the late Kevin Mallon, will be commentating in their own inimitable fashion from heaven," the spokesperson concluded.
