In 1926, the newly formed state radio broadcaster 2RN (later to become Raidio Eireann) had a bold and radical idea – to become the first people in Europe to carry a sporting event live on radio.

 

That event would be the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Galway and Kilkenny, and the story behind the broadcast, the early years of radio in Ireland, and the subsequent intermingling of the GAA, RTE and the Irish summer is brilliantly told to us by historian Mark Duncan, one of the editors of “The GAA: A People’s History”.

 

Mark tells us of a commentator being cruelly over-served before throw-in, his successor being held at gunpoint while the airwaves were briefly commandeered by dissident republicans, and how GAA on the radio became part of nation building.

We also pick our goal of the season in light of Emre Can’s wonder-strike for Liverpool at Watford last night, there’s the story of the missing Cavan man in WWII, and we are still bubbling after the thunderous Joshua-Klitschko world heavyweight title fight on Saturday night.

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