Famed Irish Broadcaster Bill O’Herlihy passed away on the morning of May 25, 2015 at the age of 76. He’s survived by his wife Hillary and his daughters Jill and Sally. Last year, he had retired as the main sports presenter of Raidió TeilifÃs Éireann.
Bill O’Herlihy had the record of presenting 10 FIFA World Cups for RTE
He was born on September 26, 193 at Glasheen in Cork City. He became a journalist at the age of 16 for Cork Examiner.
He started his stint with Broadcasting with Newsbeat in 1965 when he broadcasted about the commemorations of the sinking of the Lusitania.
In 1968, he joined RTÉ’s current affairs programme 7 Days. However this programme landed him to controversy in 1970 and he was forced to leave it as the presenter.
Later he was shifted to Sports department, where he earned a lot of fame for his unique style of broadcasting. Since 1974 he became RTÉ’s chief sports presenter for all major sports events including Olympics, FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Football Championships and European and World Track and Field Championships. He had covered 18 European and World Cups for RTÉ, most recently the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was his final tournament before retirement.
In 1973, he had founded his own PR Company, O’Herlihy Communications Group.