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Des Cahill
Des Cahill
Born	Desmond Cahill; 10 March 1959 (age 65); Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Education	Colaiste Mhuire, Dublin
Occupation	Sportscaster
Employer	RTÉ
Known for	The Sunday Game, Saturday Sport, The Road to Croker, Play it Again Des, Up for the Match, Morning Ireland, Des's Island Discs, Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moment

Desmond Cahill (born 12 December 1959) is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. From 2009 to 2022, Cahill presented RTÉ television's GAA highlights programme The Sunday Game.

He presents RTÉ's flagship weekend sports radio programme Saturday Sport as well as Up for the Match which previews the All-Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling final matches.^[1] He is also the regular weekday morning sports presenter on Morning Ireland and Today with Sean O'Rourke. Cahill also presents Des's Island Discs on RTÉ Radio 1, which discusses various celebrities' favourite choices of music. Cahill previously presented a daily radio programme called Drivetime Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.^[2]

Cahill emerged as a hugely popular figure on the first series of Dancing with the Stars in 2017. He reached week 10 in the 12-week series, partnered by professional dancer, Karen Byrne. Cahill was named "Ireland's Most Influential Journalist on Twitter" in 2015 and 2016. In 2011, he was blacklisted by the Football Association of Ireland.^[3]

Early life

Cahill was educated at Coláiste Mhuire in Dublin and began his career as a newspaper reporter. While studying journalism in Rathmines, he spent a couple of years working with The Irish Press group, before moving on to two of Ireland's leading provincial newspapers; The Nationalist (Carlow) and The Kerryman.

Career

In the late 1970s, while still a Journalism student in Rathmines, Cahill began freelancing for The Irish Press group. He did a weekly match report for the Evening Press called The Big Match, featuring a GAA club match in Dublin.

Before finishing in Rathmines he was offered a full-time job with the Carlow Nationalist, by Editor Liam Bergin.

Cahill replaced Joe O'Brien, who was to be a future colleague in the RTE Newsroom. While in Carlow, Cahill played football with the Eire Og club.

In 1981, Cahill moved to The Kerryman newspaper. He was based in Killarney, covering all of South Kerry. He was a member of the Dr Crokes GAA club.

1980s

Cahill joined RTÉ in 1984 as a TV news reporter, but quickly began reporting for the Sunday Sport programme on RTÉ Radio 1. By 1987 he had taken over as presenter of the flagship programme from Jimmy Magee.

He has presented programmes from many of the world's top sporting events, including some memorable Irish victories at Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships, Tour de France and the Ryder Cup.

For 20 years he was associated with early morning radio – presenting the sports news on the main news programme, Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1, and in a very different style, with Ian Dempsey on 2FM. It was on Dempsey's show that he began the ABU (Anyone But United) Club and each year he supported the main rivals of football team Manchester United in the Premier League. He designed an ABU shirt, with a crest in Latin, reading "Uppus Cantonis Aris". He engaged with listeners, whose letters and e-mails became a key part of the show.

1990s

In the mid-1990s, Cahill began a sports phone-in programme on RTÉ Radio 1 called Sportscall. At one stage it ran three nights a week, but it was on Monday nights, after the weekend games, that fans from all over the country let off steam.^[4] He also helped Gay Byrne out with The Gay Byrne Show before Byrne retired in 1998.^[5]

On television, he presented Sideline View, RTÉ's first midweek Gaelic Games Championship programme, in the mid-1990s. Apart from special reports from the counties, the programme used the existing panellists from The Sunday Game, and added the likes of Pete Finnerty and Tommy Lyons who themselves went on to become panellists on The Sunday Game.

This was followed by Play it Again Des where Cahill invited some of Ireland's top sporting names to choose their favourite sporting moments from the archives. Guests included Mick O'Dwyer, Johnny Giles, Eamonn Dunphy, Ken Doherty, Moss Keane, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Fergus Slattery, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Ted Walsh, Liam Brady, Kevin Moran, Mick Doyle, Ger Loughnane, Ollie Campbell and Brian Kerr.

In 1993, Cahill received a Jacob's Award for his radio broadcasts.

2000s

In May 2004, while discussing Westmeath's first victory over Offaly in 55 years with Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh on Morning Ireland, Cahill attracted criticism for his remarks that Westmeath had been under BIFFOs for all that time.^[6]

Before the launch of The Road to Croker a weekly Gaelic Games programme, that included a live audience as it visited clubs around the country ahead of the big Championship. When Cahill went to Beijing for the Summer Olympics in 2008, Bertie Ahern took over presenting duties on The Road to Croker.^[7]^[8] Cahill also presents Up for the Match, the RTÉ entertainment programme that celebrates the All-Ireland final, on the eve of both the Hurling and Gaelic Football finals. Initially he co-presented with Mary Kennedy, but in 2008, Gráinne Seoige became his co-presenter.

In November 2008, he appeared on The Restaurant, where he scored five stars from the critics.^[9] In 2009, he became the presenter of the evening highlights edition of The Sunday Game.^[10]^[11] Also that year he celebrated 25 years in broadcasting, and was reunited with Ian Dempsey when he appeared on The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM.^[12]

2010s

On 9 June 2010, Cahill co-hosted the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games Irish heats at Thomond Park with Ian Dempsey.^[13]

In July 2011, the Football Association of Ireland complained about remarks made by Cahill while discussing the organisation's AGM on the Saturday Sport radio show. RTÉ bosses "rejected outright" the complaint, and the FAI threatened to sue.^[14] Dion Fanning in the Sunday Independent said, "Refusing to talk to Des Cahill is a bit like forbidding your children to read Gentle Ben because playing with bears is dangerous."^[15]

Cahill has been featured on Nob Nation, a topical comedy radio show which is written and produced by Oliver Callan.^[16] Cahill emerged as a hugely popular figure on the first series of Dancing with the Stars in 2017. He reached week 10 in the 12-week series. He was partnered by Irish professional dancer Karen Byrne.^[17]

2020s

In October 2022, Cahill announced that he would be stepping down from his role as host of The Sunday Game after 15 seasons of hosting.^[18]

Awards

During his career, Cahill has won a Jacob's Award in 1993, an ESB Journalist of the Year award for sport in 2001,^[19] and was named PPI Sports Presenter of the Year in 2007.


Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1993	Des Cahill	Jacob's Award	Won
2001	Des Cahill	ESB Journalist of the Year	Won
2007	Des Cahill	PPI Sports Presenter of the Year	Won

Personal life

He is married to Caroline, a native of Ballyshannon.^[20]

References

^ "Up For The Match Wants You!". JOE.ie. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "Drivetime Sport". RTÉ Radio 1. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "No further questions: RTÉ presenter "banned" by the FAI". The Score. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
^ Horan, Liam (6 February 1999). "Reeling on the ropes over Abbeyleix fracas". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011. One Dublin woman chilled listeners to Monday evening's Sportscall with this tale ... On the same programme, presenter Des Cahill relayed the experience of another Dublin woman who "saw her son being hit on the back of the head.
^ Power, Bairbre (10 August 1998). "Top of the bill year after year on the airwaves". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2011. Gareth O'Callaghan later did the job but left for 2FM after becoming disgruntled. Des Cahill co-chaired the show with Gay last season.
^ "Complaint made by: Dr. Tim O'Neill Ref: 90/04". BCC. 24 May 2004.
^ Finneran, Aoife (22 August 2008). "Bertie relishes his time on the box but Des Cahill needn't worry, his job is safe". Evening Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "Bertie subs for Des". The Irish Emigrant. 24 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "The Restaurant". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "Des Cahill takes over The Sunday Game". RTÉ Sport. 8 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "Cahill for 'The Sunday Game'". Irish Film and Television Network. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "Des reunited with Ian in studio this morning!". Today FM. 9 December 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "Limerick prepares to host Special Olympics". RTÉ News. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ Keane, Kevin (30 July 2011). "RTÉ defends Des Cahill in ban row as FAI threatens to sue". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ Fanning, Dion (31 July 2011). "Mancini building towards destruction of old order". Sunday Independent. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^ "The Sunday Game Winners' Hotel". RTÉ Radio 1. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011. Des Cahill reports from the noisy Kilkenny hurlers' celebrations on The Sunday Game.
^ McGowan, Sharon (16 December 2016). "RTE's Dancing With The Stars professionals have been revealed". Irish Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ "Des Cahill to leave role as host of The Sunday Game after 15 seasons". The 42. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
^ "RTÉ sweeps the board at the National Media Awards". RTÉ News. 7 November 2001. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
^ Daly, Michael (19 September 2012). "Des Cahill, up for the match – and Donegal". Donegal Democrat. Retrieved 19 September 2012.