In 1947 the All Ireland senior football final between Cavan and Kerry was played outside Ireland at the Polo Grounds in New York to mark the centenary of the Great Famine and to acknowledge the large Irish American community.
Micheál O'Hehir, who by then was well established as a GAA commentator, went to the Big Apple to provide commentary for listeners back home in Ireland on this day some 73 years ago.
For the broadcast, a landline from the Polo Grounds connected to a transatlantic cable which then fed through to transmitters in Dublin, Athlone and Cork.
The lines had to be paid for in New York in advance and were booked up to 5pm on the day of the game. This would give enough time for the match to be concluded and 30 minutes for wrapping up after the match had finished.
But the organisers had not bargained for delays brought on by dignitaries being introduced to the teams and to the crowd before the match got underway. When the time neared 5pm, O’Hehir was conscious there were still about 10 minutes left of the game. It was highly likely somebody could justifiably disconnect the Polo Grounds at 5 o’clock and there was a chance that the plug would be plugged five minutes from the end.
In case somebody who could assist was listening to his broadcast he began to beg.
"Just give us five minutes more", was O'Hehir's appeal
He was not to know if somebody heard his appeal but the five minutes was left on and the entire All-Ireland final from New York was heard in Ireland.
