George Hamilton (commentator)
| George Hamilton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951 (age 60–61)[1] Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Employer | Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) |
| Known for | His colourful commentary style |
George Hamilton (born sometime between January and August 1951)[1] is a sportscaster born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He works for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), and is a household name in Ireland where his voice and refined commentary style of soccer are familiar to sports fans. He also presents a show on RTÉ lyric fm and previously presented Know Your Sport on RTÉ Television.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Hamilton originally trained as a street sweeper and janitor. After taking a gap year from music college, Hamilton worked for a spell for Albert Reynolds, before emigrating to England where he qualified as a rugby union referee.[citation needed]
[edit] Broadcasting career
Hamilton began his commentary career with BBC Sport, before joining RTÉ. Since 2003, Hamilton has worked for RTÉ lyric fm (Ireland's classical radio station) on Saturday mornings. For many years he also fronted a popular weekly quiz show on RTÉ, Know Your Sport, alongside fellow commentator Jimmy Magee. Hamilton's cultured approach to sports commentary has won him admirers, and, although his remarks are sometimes scoffed at, he has been a leading voice in Irish sport.
In 2010, Hamilton was chief commentator for RTÉ Sport's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This was his his ninth World Cup.[2][3]
He also presents a show on RTÉ lyric fm each Saturday morning[1] and writes a classical music column for the Irish Independent.
[edit] Memorable quotes
Hamilton is known for his use of colourful phrases and memorable quotes when commentating on games – his phrase describing David O'Leary's penalty against Romania in the 1990 World Cup, "A nation holds its breath", was used for a book of Irish soccer quotations, compiled by Eoin Corry, for which Hamilton wrote the foreword.[4]
The sports humour website, DangerHere.com, takes its title from another quote by Hamilton – "And Bonner has gone 165 minutes of these championships without conceding a goal. Oh danger here..."[5]
[edit] Other examples
- "Real Madrid are like a rabbit in the glare of the headlights in the face of Manchester United's attacks. But this rabbit comes with a suit of armour in the shape of two precious away goals"[5]
- "And Ireland have got to contain the brothers Baggio." [Later in the game…] "The Baggio brothers, of course, are not related"[5]
- "When I said they'd scored two goals, of course I meant they'd scored one"[5]
[edit] Personal life
Hamilton is married to Meredith O'Connor, who works as a spokesperson for actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. On 16 August 2011, he felt unwell and had a suspected heart attack, and later had several hours of emergency bypass surgery at the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin after being transferred from St. Vincent's University Hospital.[1][6] He recovered, and resumed both his commentating and radio show.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Keogh, Elaine (20 August 2011). "Hamilton recovering after heart surgery". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0820/1224302759611.html. Retrieved 20 August 2011. "Hamilton, who turned 60 earlier this year, had been complaining of feeling unwell with some breathing problems, and thought it could be the flu."
- ^ Black, Fergus (2 June 2010). "RTÉ hopes Ossie and squad will spur fans to back home team". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/rte-hopes-ossie-and-squad-will-spur-fans-to-back-home-team-2203365.html. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ O'Malley, Carl (6 June 2010). "RTÉ roll out big guns for their 56 live games". IrishTimes.com. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0602/1224271676683.html. Retrieved 6 October 2011.(subscription required)
- ^ The Nation Holds Its Breath: Great Irish Soccer Quotations Amazon.com
- ^ a b c d Great Sporting Quotes RTE Sport
- ^ "Commentator George Hamilton recovering from suspected heart attack". BreakingNews.ie. 20 August 2011. http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/commentator-george-hamilton-recovering-from-suspected-heart-attack-517237.html. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
