Marty Morrissey tribute gets to the heart of what made Michael Lyster great

RIP.

There were touching scenes at Galway's clash with Dublin yesterday, while both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste released statements.

The legendary RTÉ Marty broadcaster Marty Morrissey also spoke about his former colleague, with a glowing tribute that got to the heart of what made Lyster so good.

Morrissey said: “Well, I can honestly say that all of us in RTÉ, across all the various departments – but particularly those of us fortunate enough to be in sport – we loved Michael Lyster.

“Michael Lyster was always in a good mood, always had a smile. His jokes went on and on a bit admittedly, but we’d always laugh at the end of it, and he always loved to tell a story.

“But it was as a presenter and as a broadcaster that he made his mark. He was a great listener.

“He might probe a little bit – he was a journalist at heart – but he also knew that his pundits needed a little bit of probing.

“He never looked for controversy, but if they went a little bit AWOL, Michael was there. You knew as a broadcaster that you had safe hands there, and he always was dependable.

“He had a connection, which is a gift, and few have it in our world – and he obviously had it.

“There was always great acclaim from people around; they always wanted to photograph Michael Lyster, but he was never in a bad mood.”

“When I came in here first, Michael Lyster, I suppose, became a great friend.

“He’s a huge loss, and I’d like to pass on my deepest sympathies to Anne and his family, because we knew that Michael had ill health for the last number of years.

“But he’s one of those people you thought would live forever — and we wanted him to live forever.

“He was an integral part of The Sunday Game. We’ve had great punditry, but Michael Lyster was the anchor and he was the key to it all. And he’s a huge loss.”