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LIAM Ó MURCHÚ, the veteran RTE broadcaster of the 1960s and 1970s, has died aged 86.
He was probably best remembered for the bilingual Trom agus Éadrom in the 1970s, which sought to combine the Irish language with a tradional craic agus ceol variety show.
Ó Murchú was born in Cork in 1929 and attended University College Cork, from whom he received an honorary degree in 2002
He stood once as a general election candidate, for Fianna Fáil in 1982, although he was not successful.
Leaving RTE in 1988 to form his own production company, he continued to occasionally contribute to the station as a presenter.
He was married to Margaret, who died before him, and had 8 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Ó Murchú was this evening paid tribute by President Higgins, who described him as a “consummate professional, full of warmth and vitality”.
Throughout his career Liam worked tirelessly to promote the Irish language both in front of and behind the camera.
What set him apart in the promotion of the language was his belief that the language belonged to everyone.
Sabina and I express our deepest sympathies to his eight children, his grandchildren, great grandchildren, his extended family and his friends.
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Slan Abhaile RIP
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
He will always be remembered for Trom agus Éadrom, a very entertaining production. RIP.
At dheis de go raibh anam. Remember watching him as a kid. Deepest condolences to his family.
Another legend of broadcasting passes .gods speed Liam
RIP Liam.
up for the final. lard just cant pull it off
Sad………..always like him on the radio.
RTE have had quite a lot of deaths recently
May Liam rest in peace! RIP
I’m sure he was a grand chap, loved by his family and friends, but he was a terrible television host, he would have been crucified by the Twitter generation.
I suppose that makes sense, if you want to judge an eighty-something year old’s life work based on what the a twitterers might have thought of him if he had been born fifty years later than he was. RIP.
Quite right Donal O’Brien. An absolutely awful program. The 60′s we over, the UK had the Beatles, the Who, The Stones. We we forced to watch ‘Sheammuse ni Hubberdine O’Gruiga’ and his rendition of O Danny Boy on the spoons accompanied by his brothers on the fiddle and squeeze box (all 8 of them). A dark period of ‘modern’ Irish history. Thankfully most of us survived.
I liked the stories of his childhood and Cork long ago which appeared in the Cork Holybough and Ireland’s Own. He had a warm way of telling a story. RIP.
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