question was fair’

T Spillane can only smile at recent furore when Joanne ntwell dared to ask Dónal Óg sack a question on live TV. eople got seriously outraged social media at Cantwell doing r job and her temerity in asking sack to explain his comments. unday Game Live host Cantwell allenged the RTE pundit, former rk All-ireland winner and GPA esident about his comment that Tailteann Cup was a Grand tional for also-rans.

People saying she sprung s on him and it’s unfair,” says illane.

I worked on the old regime with chael Lyster and the new regime der Declan Mcbennett (RTE ad of Sport) and Joanne.

Regime

In the old regime there was no ript, no plan, no topics, there s no idea where we were going. The only thing would be, chael just before going on air uld say who he was going to k the first question to.

(Joe) Brolly would be pulling m by the trouser leg to say, ‘Ask the first question’ because ’d know if I got the first quesn I’d take up the time and if he t the first question, he’d take up time.

Usually when that happened ster would go for (Colm)

Rourke.

It was like being on a magic cart ride, a magical mystery tour. u didn’t know where you were ing and Lyster was brilliant in centre of it.

Now there’s a pre-production meeting, two hours before going on air. The producer is there.

“Sometimes the Head of Sport will be there, going through fine tooth and comb, every item in the running order.

“Dónal Óg’s question, under the new regime, I’d be shocked if it wasn’t gone over in the production meeting.

“While it was a hurling weekend, she was bringing it up in his role as President of the GPA rather than anything else and he had to answer it, which he didn’t.

“I asked Michael Lyster, would he have asked the same questions. He said, ‘I would’.”

“Joanne got an awful lambasting for asking the question of the President of the GPA about a competition that he insulted where over 25 per cent of his members play. That was it.”

‘The one thing, when I leave something, it’s gone. The chapter is closed’

SHANGRILA: Pat Spillane’s new podcast is recorded with Michael Lyster and Tomas Mulcahy (above) from his home in Templenoe, Kenmare; (below) with Joanne Cantwell and Joe Brolly on The Sunday Game on RTE