Michael Lyster, the longtime face of Gaelic games coverage on RTÉ in Ireland, has died at 71.
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For decades, Lyster was The Sunday Game. He hosted the flagship show from 1984 until his retirement in 2018, becoming one of the most recognizable voices in Irish sport. Calm, steady and never looking for the spotlight, he guided broadcasts through some of the biggest moments in GAA history.
That was his style. Let the games breathe. Keep the conversation grounded. Stay out of the chaos when studio debates got heated.
Tributes followed quickly.
"I'm deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Michael Lyster, a moderniser of sport broadcasting," Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said. "The iconic anchor of The Sunday Game, Michael was synonymous with many outstanding sporting moments."
RTÉ's head of sport, Declan McBennett, called him "the consummate professional."
"Always calm, measured... he guided the panels across the biggest days in the GAA calendar with poise and grace," McBennett said.
Lyster's broadcasting career began in 1979. He joined RTÉ as a newsreader before moving into sports, eventually taking over The Sunday Game from Jim Carney.
He stayed there for more than three decades.
Along the way, he covered Olympic events and other assignments, but made a conscious decision not to chase everything.
"I had a decision to make... was I going to take on everything... or stick to something I was comfortable with and do it right," he once said.
He chose the latter.
Lyster is survived by his wife Anne and their four children.
