Michael Lyster (born 11 April 1954) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
radio and television broadcaster who works for
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
. He mainly covers sporting events, such as
Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
and
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. He is best known for presenting ''
The Sunday Game Live'', which he hosted from 1984 to 2018.
Early life
The son of a member of the
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
, Lyster was born in
Dungarvan
Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...
,
County Waterford
County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...
. When he was four years-old his father was transferred to
Barnaderg,
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
, where Lyster spent his formative years. He was educated at
St Jarlath's College
St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic secondary school for young men in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tuam, ...
in nearby
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...
. After leaving school, he started working in the lab of the local sugar factory.
Career
Journalism
Lyster began his journalistic career as a junior reporter with ''
The Tuam Herald
''The Tuam Herald'' is a weekly Ireland, Irish newspaper, founded in 1837 by Richard Kelly (The Tuam Herald), Richard Kelly, which serves the town of Tuam and County Galway. It has a circulation of about 10,000 copies.
The newspaper is printed ...
'' where he wrote a music column. He spent seven years with that newspaper before moving to television and radio.
Television and radio
In 1980, Lyster joined RTÉ as a sports bulletin broadcaster with
Radio 2, however, as his career progressed he began presenting programmes and covering high-profile sporting events. In his first year at the national broadcaster he also covered the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
on radio. One of the highlights of his early career was covering the
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
and
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
All-Ireland hurling finals for radio. In 1984 Lyster took over as presenter of ''
The Sunday Game
''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 197 ...
'', a post he held for 34 years. That same year he was one of the main presenters for RTÉ's television coverage of the
Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, co-hosting the morning slot with
Moya Doherty
Moya Doherty (born 1957, in Pettigo, County Donegal, Ireland) is a Dublin-raised Irish entrepreneur and the producer and co-founder of ''Riverdance''.
Early life
Doherty was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, and raised in Dublin. She attended M ...
. It was RTÉ's first venture into
breakfast television
Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...
with the slot combining action from the Games with cookery and dance classes amongst other things.
In 1988, Lyster won a
Jacob's Award
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...
for his work on ''The Sunday Game''. Since then Lyster has covered a number of sports for RTÉ across all codes and has been an ever-present feature on RTÉ's coverage of Olympic Games. He remains, however, mostly associated with
Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
and has been one of the main presenters of the
All-Star and the
RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
The RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award is the titular award of the RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the Irish sportsperson (from the island of Ireland) judged to have achieved the m ...
awards shows.
In 2007, Lyster took part in ''
Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels
{{Infobox television
, image =
, caption =
, genre = Talent show
, creator =
, writer =
, director =
, creative_director =
, developer =
, presenter ...
''. Famously, when a penalty was applied to
Hannah Craig
Hannah Craig (born 10 February 1983 in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland) is an Irish slalom canoer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she competed in the K-1 event, finishing 10th in the final.
In 2012, she was reported to be from Armoy.
Telephone cal ...
during the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Carl Dunne, head of the Irish canoeing team, telephoned RTÉ's analyst to discuss the possibility of appealing the decision. The analyst took the telephone call live on television as a bemused Lyster watched on.
After
suffering ill health, Lyster decided to retire from ''The Sunday Game'' at the end of 2018, with the
2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
The 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 131st final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Gaelic football. The match was played at Cr ...
his last as presenter.
Personal life
Lyster has been married to his wife Anne since 1985 and together they have two boys and two girls. They live in
Cabinteely
Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland.
Geography
Cabinteely lies around the crossroads of Johnstown Road / Brennanstown Road and the Old Bray Road, and on either side of the ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. Lyster has been interested in
rally driving which he has enjoyed since the early 1990s. He has partook in many main events including the Cork International Rally where he finished third in 1992, the
Circuit of Ireland Rally
The Circuit of Ireland International Rally is an annual automobile rally, which was first held in 1931 making it the third oldest rally in the world. The most recent event was held in 2016.
''The Circuit'', as it is colloquially known, is org ...
and the
Killarney Rally of the Lakes. His co-driver is ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' sports writer
Vincent Hogan.
Health
On 5 June 2015 at 11:32pm Lyster had a major heart attack and was rushed to hospital. He had been playing golf in Galway with friend Vincent Hogan who drove him back to Dublin afterwards. He left his mobile phone in Vincent's car who he rang from his house phone asking him to return to the house with the mobile. Hogan returned to find him collapsed on the ground in the hallway. Lyster's wife Anne performed CPR while Vincent called for an ambulance. He had a pacemaker fitted after receiving treatment. Lyster later disclosed that he had suffered from a heart condition for a number of years prior to the attack.
RTE star Michael Lyster tells of how his wife Anne saved his life with CPR after he had cardiac arrest
independent.ie; accessed 21 December 2017.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyster, Michael
1954 births
Living people
Gaelic games writers and broadcasters
Irish columnists
Irish sports broadcasters
Jacob's Award winners
People educated at St Jarlath's College
People from Dungarvan
Sportspeople from County Waterford
RTÉ television presenters
RTÉ 2fm presenters
The Tuam Herald people