From an early age, Michael O'Hehir was always interested in radio as well as sport, the combination of these two interests led him to apply to Radio Éireann when he was only 18 and gave his first commentary on 14 August 1938, when Galway defeated Monaghan in the All-Ireland Football Semi-Final.

His voice was to become synonymous with radio coverage of hurling and football, and his broadcasts were important to the thousands of people who gathered around radio sets in the 1940s and 1950s in Ireland and abroad. He covered major GAA matches from 1938 until 1985, when illness prevented him from covering his 100th All-Ireland final.

O’Hehir became racing correspondent for the ‘Irish Independent’ in 1947, and went on to work for the BBC and ABC in America. He was appointed Head of Sports Programmes when RTÉ established a television service in 1961.

 His skills as a commentator took him in a different direction in November 1963. A trip to New York with his wife coincided with the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The responsibility to comment on the funeral on behalf of Telefís Éireann fell to O’Hehir and his coverage won him praise in both Ireland and the US. He later became manager of Leopardstown Racecourse (1972-73).

In 1948 he married Molly Owens, whom he had met in Croke Park. They had five children, Tony, Mary, Mike, Peter and Ann. Michael O'Hehir, RTE's most famous sports broadcaster, died in Dublin aged 76. 

First Broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 - Feb 22 1976

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries