‘It was brilliant to see history in front of your eyes’ Darragh Moloney Presenter
ANCHORING RTÉ’s Olympics coverage is something of a dream come true for Darragh Moloney.
‘I’d watch two flies crawling up a wall and pick a winner,’ he tells Magazine.
‘I’ll watch anything. With the Olympics, I love the track and field, but I suppose my number one thing would be the boxing. With the success we’ve had, and having covered it in the past with Katie [Taylor winning gold in 2012]. Even going back to 1992 when Michael Carruth won the gold in Barcelona.’
His other favourite Olympics memory is Sonia O’Sullivan taking silver in the 5,000m in 2000.
‘I was lucky enough to be at that race. It’s the only Olympics I’ve been at. I was working for RTÉ in
Sydney and we got tickets to go and watch the race, and it was absolutely amazing. The finish was incredible. Sonia was very popular in Australia so it was brilliant to see that piece of history in front of your eyes. I’ve watched it many times since and it’s one of George Hamilton’s best pieces of commentary.’
On top of his presenting roles, Moloney himself calls the action on many sports across RTÉ television and radio — a tough gig made tougher by the empty stadiums and arenas of the last 16 months.
‘You probably do have to work a little bit harder,’ he admits.‘When there’s a full crowd there, you interact with them — your voice goes up and down with the noise of the crowd.
‘For TV, when there’s no crowd noise you have to resist the temptation to fill the silence and end up talking too much. You’re watching what the audience is watching and you don’t want to get in the way.’
Though not scheduled for commentating duties on the Olympics, the likeable presenter says he’s ready to pitch in called upon.
‘If someone can’t do something, I’ll try my hand at most things. I remember doing some of the canoe slalom a few years ago and I loved that. It’s a great sport. You just kind of throw yourself into the fact that one person is trying to beat the other, and it looks brilliant on TV. So if they’re stuck for a canoe slalom commentator, I’ll put my hand up and see.’
Moloney reserves a word of congratulations for Andrew Coscoran of Star of The Sea Athletics Club in Co Meath, where the Dublinraised presenter now lives. Twentyfive-year-old Coscoran recently qualified for the 1500m in Tokyo.
‘I’ve known Andrew for years. He’s had fundraisers for his bid to qualify, he’s travelled all around Europe. And to be an Olympian is his dream. It’s brilliant for him. Though it’s a shame that all the families and friends of the athletes won’t get to travel out to support them.’ Sadly absent from RTÉ’s
coverage at Tokyo is Jerry Kiernan, who died in January this year. The colourful analyst represented Ireland in the marathon in Los Angeles 1984, and was a popular coach and mentor to many athletes currently competing.
‘It’s so sad and he’ll definitely be in our thoughts,’ says Moloney. ‘He was brilliant to be around and it was great to see his passion for it. You had to be on the money when you were working with Jerry.’