Michael Lyster – the face of The Sunday Game – has died, aged 71. The highly regarded former RTÉ star presented the station’s flagship GAA show for 34 years, until he retired in 2018.
Renowned for his unflappable on-screen presence, Lyster skillfully anchored the show during arguably its peak years as a catalyst for debate, refereeing arguments between opinionated pundits such as Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane and Colm O’Rourke and drawing maximum value from their hurling equivalents Cyril Farrell and Ger Loughnane.
An Taoiseach Micheál Martin this afternoon expressed his sadness at the news. “Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Michael Lyster, a moderniser of sport broadcasting.
“The iconic anchor of The Sunday Game,…