Martin Morrissey (born 28 October 1958,

Mallow, County Cork Mallow (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately thirty-five kilometres north of Cork. Mallow is in the barony of Fermoy. It is the administrative centre of north County Cork, and the Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Coun ...

) is an Irish sports commentator and television presenter. He regularly presents high-profile sports events for

RTÉ Sport RTÉ Sport is a department of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. The department provides sporting coverage through a number of platforms including RTÉ Radio, RTÉ Television, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ holds the television ...

, such as the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

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 ...

Early life

Morrissey was born in

(where his mother was from) but was raised in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where his parents worked. When he was aged 10, the family returned to Ireland to his father's native home of Clare. They settled in Mullagh. Later, Morrissey went on to study at St Flannan's College in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

and then

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

(UCC) in Cork where he studied medicine for three years before switching to microbiology and physics. He then did a master's in education at NUI Galway to become a teacher.Kilmurry-Ibrickane Millenium magazine 2000, compiled by David Dillon. p. 158-159 While still a student in UCC, he had coached teams of

Kilmurry Ibrickane GAA Kilmurry-Ibrickane GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Clare, Ireland. The club only plays gaelic football, and were Clare Senior Football Champions last in 2020, and won the Munster Senior Club Football Championship in 2004 a ...

to Clare U-16 and Minor Football titles. This took the attention of Sr Cecilia, principal of St Joseph's Secondary School, who needed a coach for their boys football team. Morrissey agreed, and made his entry at the school. He took charge of the Senior Football team in a period that the relationship between the neighbouring clubs

and

Milltown Malbay GAA St Joseph's Miltown Malbay GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Miltown Malbay in County Clare, Ireland. The GAA club was formed in 1892. Teams The club has teams in both men's and women's competitions. It has men's teams at Se ...

were at an all-time low and rivalry at an all-time high. By forming a school team consisting of players out of the parishes Kilmurry Ibrickane,

Milltown Malbay Milltown Malbay (), also Miltown Malbay, is a town in the west of County Clare, Ireland, near Spanish Point. The population was 829 at the 2016 Census. Name There is a townland on the southern edge of the town called Poulawillin or Pollawillin ...

, Doonbeg and Cree-Cooraclare, Morrissey defused most of the tensions. He managed the team to the Munster title in 1983. Due to his involvement in the team, Morrissey was asked to teach PE for a month. It turned into a four-year stint, in which he taught, amongst others, Mathematics, Geography, Commerce and Religion.

Sports

Morrisey was a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

, playing as goalkeeper in

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and corner forward in

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

. He played his hurling with

Ballyea GAA Ballyea is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish of Ballyea, County Clare, Ballyea/Clarecastle in County Clare, Ireland founded in 1935. History In 2016 Clare Senior Hurling Championship, 2016, Ballyea coached by Robbie Hogan won thei ...

and later Clonbony GAA. Morrisey played his football with

, St Flannan's College (runner up in the 1976 Munster Final),

and

Clare GAA Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. With Clare GAA he played three years in the Minor team and acted as substitute in the Senior team. He played both codes at minor level for Clare.

Broadcasting career

Morrissey entered the world of broadcasting in 1988 on joining the (since defunct) local TV channel "Cork Multi-Channel". Shortly after that, he moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to work for WH Smith's Lifestyle Channel. In 1989 he joined the new

Clare FM Clare FM is an Irish radio station which broadcasts to County Clare and the surrounding areas. The station has won many Irish radio awards. Clare FM broadcasts on frequencies 95 - 96FM including 95.2, 95.5, 95.9, 96.4 & 96.6. In the past, it al ...

local radio station as News Editor. In 1990, he returned to Cork to work on RTÉ's (also since defunct) local radio service in Cork. He left Cork in 1994, to join RTÉ's TV Sports Department. Morrissey has commentated on many sporting events but his bailiwick is

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 ...

. He also has a job as sports reporter and reader on

RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs ( ga, Nuacht agus Cúrsaí Reatha RTÉ), also known as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Its services include local, nationa ...

. He also presents ''Saturday Sport'' on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

. He was a ring announcer and interviewer on ''Pro Box Live''. His catchphrase is "Are you ready to rock". In May 2011, he started presenting new

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

sports programme ''The Committee Room'' for the summer championship season. This was replaced with ''

Championship Matters ''Championship Matters'' is a Gaelic games-themed magazine and review television programme that has aired on RTÉ Two since May 2012. Presented by Marty Morrissey, the programme features a mix of interviews, analysis and discussion on all GAA ...

'' for the following summer season. In Winter 2022/23, in pre-recorded sequences, he played the Magic Mirror in Panto.ie's production of

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

Presenting style

Morrissey has gained some notoriety for his colloquial turns of phrase while commentating on sports events, such as "the far over side of the pitch" and "leaving the ball into the square". While in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, he came across supermodel

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

and, in his own words, "took off with speed in pursuit of one of the most beautiful women in the world. I shouted as you do in these situations, 'Marty Morrissey RTÉ Sport Ireland'. (You just got to mention the Irish angle every time over here) 'What do you think of the Olympics?' She smiled but before the poor girl could answer she was whisked away by an army of bodyguards." He recounted his brief interview with Crawford on an RTÉ blog. While in

for 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 ...

, his colourful commentary on the women's beach volleyball drew attention of journalist Pat Stacey as he "gurgled and burbled away over close-up shots of shapely bums in tiny bikini bottoms". Morrissey was named as the ''Clare Person of The Year'' in 2014.

Personal life

Morrissey's father died in December 2004. Morrissey mentioned his closeness to his mother, Peggy (nee Twomey), in public. He is an only child. Peggy Morrissey died in a road traffic accident at

Annagh Annagh or Anagh may refer to: Places Republic of Ireland * Annagh, County Cavan, townland * Annagh, townland in Kilkenny West civil parish, barony of Kilkenny West, County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland Note: Nearly 30 other townlands in the Re ...

near

, in December 2021. Morrissey has been in a relationship with his girlfriend since 1995.

References

External links

On "a lengthy profile of Marty Morrissey by Dermot Crowe"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Marty 1958 births Living people Alumni of University College Cork Boxing commentators Clare Gaelic footballers Clare hurlers Dual players Gaelic games commentators Irish schoolteachers Irish sports broadcasters People educated at St Flannan's College People from Mallow, County Cork RTÉ Radio 1 presenters Broadcasters from County Cork