Aonghus McAnally (born 20 June 1955) is an Irish radio and television producer and presenter, as well as an actor, musician, magician and billiards champion. He worked on both sides of the mic and camera for public service broadcaster

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

for over 40 years, retiring in June 2020.

Early life

Aonghus is one of four children born to

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

actress Ronnie Masterson and screen-actor Ray McAnally. Film and television producer

Conor McAnally Conor McAnally (born 24 March 1952) is an Irish television writer, producer and director. He worked in Ireland up to 1989, moved to London and worked in the United Kingdom until 2004 when he moved to the United States. He is based in Austin, Tex ...

is his only brother.

Music

McAnally has been a guitarist in a number of bands including Mushroom, Maxband, Starband, and Crackers/The Crack As a solo artist he released a novelty record ''I am Alergic to Christmas'' (written by fellow broadcaster

Shay Healy Shay Healy (29 March 1943 – 9 April 2021) was an Irish songwriter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known for his role as host of ''Nighthawks'', a RTÉ Television chat show of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and for composing "What's An ...

) in 1981. A friend of singer-songwriter

Christie Hennessy Christie Hennessy (born Edward Christopher Ross; 19 November 1945 – 11 December 2007) was an Irish folk singer-songwriter. Although Hennessy was unable to read or write due to severe dyslexia, he still wrote his own songs such as "Roll Back ...

, he delivered his eulogy at his funeral. He created a touring show as tribute to Hennessy.

Television

McAnally's first presenting work was on young people's programming, including '' Anything Goes'' young adult affairs show ''Borderline'', and magazine show ''Evening Extra''. Moving away from youth programming, into light entertainment, McAnally presented ''The Big Top TV Show'', a variety show based in a circus big top. McAnally was the presenter of the first few season of the

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

song lyrics game show ''

The Lyrics Board ''The Lyrics Board'' was an Irish game show hosted by Aonghus McAnally and then by Eurovision Song Contest 1992 winner Linda Martin. In each episode there are two teams. Each team consists of a piano player/team captain who is joined by two cele ...

''. As a screen actor he had appearances on

Wanderly Wagon ''Wanderly Wagon'' is an Irish children's television series which aired on RTÉ from Saturday 30 September 1967Hourihane, Anne Marie''Sunday Tribune'' 11 August 2002. until 1982. Plot ''Wanderly Wagon'' followed human and puppet characters as t ...

in 1979 and a regular role in the ''Fir Bolg'' drama on

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

Radio

McAnally presented ''Both Sides Now'', an interview series with members of the

Irish diaspora The Irish diaspora ( ga, Diaspóra na nGael) refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner and Meeder, The ...

. He was a regular presenter of RTÉ Radio 1's Late Date. As a

radio producer A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. The job title covers several different job descriptions: *Content producers or executive producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature. The content producer might organize music choi ...

, he worked on ''Spectrum'' with former

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n Ambassador,

Melanie Verwoerd Melanie Verwoerd (born Fourie) (18 April 1967, in Pretoria) is a South African political analyst. She was previously a politician, ambassador, and the director of UNICEF Ireland. Verwoerd was elected as a Member of Parliament for the African Na ...

, and was the series producer on the daily

phone-in In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio ( ...

show

Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...

until his retirement in 2020.

Cue sports

McAnally has played billiards at an international level. McAnally also covered snooker as an announcer and commentator.

Other activities

McAnally is an accomplished

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

ian. McAnally performed a number of stand-up gigs in the early 2000s. He created a one-man show based on his own life in 2019.

Personal life

Aonghus married Billie Morton, and they have sons. He has spoken publicly about his father's battle with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, creating the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

documentary ''Ray McAnally - M'Athair'' ("My Father") for

in 2009. He has had hair replacement treatments.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAnally Aonghus 1955 births Living people Irish male guitarists Irish magicians Irish players of English billiards Musicians from County Dublin RTÉ television presenters RTÉ Radio 1 presenters Snooker writers and broadcasters 20th-century guitarists 21st-century guitarists 20th-century Irish male singers 21st-century Irish male singers Entertainers from Dublin (city) People educated at St. Joseph's CBS, Fairview Place of birth missing (living people)