Paddy Feeny (25 April 1931 – 10 June 2018) was a British broadcaster. He was a presenter of the
BBC World Service's ''Saturday Special'' (later renamed ''
Sportsworld'') programme from 1959 to 1995.
Biography
After working in theatre, Feeny's broadcasting career began at the age of 26, when he was employed by the Midlands Region of the
BBC Home Service (now
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
) in Birmingham.
[Rivlin, Mark (1992) "PADDY FEENY: FORTY YEARS OF BUILDING SPORTING FRIENDSHIPS", '' Jerusalem Post'', 12 April 1992, p. 8] He moved to the World Service in the late 1950s, and began presenting ''Saturday Special'' in 1959.
The ''Saturday Special'' feature began with a duration of an hour during the summer months. Slowly its scope expanded, and with football playing an ever bigger role in
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
life, it became possible to have long editions in winter months also. The programme would run for 2+ hours, sometimes as long as 3 hours 15 minutes, with only two 15-minute breaks for the news on the hour.
The programmes closest to his heart drew attention to humanitarian movements and initiatives. In this capacity, and when covering the Olympic and Commonwealth Games he travelled widely and met and related to people in all capacities of life. One of his programmes led to a book he wrote, ''The Fight Against Leprosy''. He presented other BBC programmes, including ''Write On...'', a selection of reader's letters, and was a regular presenter of ''
Top of the Form'' on
BBC 1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, as well as the radio version, and for the BBC Science contest ''Young Scientists of the Year''.
Later years
Feeny retired not long after the death of his wife Patricia Brewer in 1994, and he presented his last edition of ''Sportsworld'' in June 1995.
[Lewis, Ori (1995) "Farewell Paddy, we'll miss you", '' Jerusalem Post'', 27 June 1995, p. 10] He was a supporter of
Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has ...
, having been born in the city, but the sport nearest to his heart was cricket.
Family
He had two daughters, Cathy Feeny and Sarah Lockyer; four grandchildren, Sophie Wodzak, Rebecca Spears, Daisy Quine and Ned Welch; and six great-grandchildren. He married his second wife Dee in April 2003.
References
External links
Paddy Feeny's influence on the author Paul Wade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feeny, Paddy
1931 births
2018 deaths
British broadcasters
BBC newsreaders and journalists
BBC World Service people
Journalists from Liverpool
Place of birth missing