Broadcaster Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin was remembered as a vibrant man whose voice was well-known and loved by GAA followers at his funeral Mass yesterday.
Ó Ceallacháin, who died on Sunday aged 89, enjoyed a broadcasting career of more than 60 years and his Sunday night Gaelic Sports Service was a staple of the GAA season.
His son, Finín Ó Ceallacháin, said listeners at home and abroad felt “charmed and comforted” by the sound of Ó Ceallacháin reading the GAA results every week.
He recalled his father’s love of sport and told mourners at Our Lady Mother of Divine Grace Church in Raheny how the late Dublin manager Kevin Heffernan and Ó Ceallacháin lived just a few doors apart during the heady “Heffo’s army” days of the 1970s.
Chief celebrant Msgr Colm Gallagher told the congregation, including Ó Ceallacháin’s daughters Caitríona Kenna and Sinéad Hayes, that the autumn of one’s life brings a sense of responsibility and contentment.
RTÉ sports broadcasters Michael Lyster, Marty Morrissey, Seán Bán Breathnach, Darragh Maloney and Jimmy Magee were among the mourners, as was director general Noel Curran. President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny were represented by their aides de camp.
