# Michael Lyster

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Irish radio and television broadcaster (1954–2026)

Michael Lyster Born Michael Lyster 1954 (1954) Dungarvan, County Waterford, Ireland Died 21 March 2026(2026-03-21) (aged 72) St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. Education St. Jarlath's College Occupation Sports broadcaster Years active 1980–2018 Notable credit The Sunday Game Spouse Anne Lyster ​ (m. 1985)​ Children 4

**Michael Lyster** (February 4 1954 – March 21 2026) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for [RTÉ](/source/RT%C3%89). He mainly covered sporting events, such as [Gaelic games](/source/Gaelic_games) and [Olympic Games](/source/Olympic_Games). He was best known for presenting *[The Sunday Game Live](/source/The_Sunday_Game)*, which he hosted from 1984 to 2018.[1]

## Early life

The son of a member of the [Garda Síochána](/source/Garda_S%C3%ADoch%C3%A1na), Lyster was born in [Dungarvan](/source/Dungarvan), [County Waterford](/source/County_Waterford). When he was four years old his father was transferred to [Barnaderg](/source/Barnaderg), [County Galway](/source/County_Galway), where Lyster spent his formative years. He was educated at [St Jarlath's College](/source/St_Jarlath's_College) in nearby [Tuam](/source/Tuam). After leaving school, he started working in the laboratory of the local sugar factory.[2]

## Career

### Journalism

Lyster began his journalistic career as a junior reporter with *[The Tuam Herald](/source/The_Tuam_Herald)* where he wrote a music column. He spent seven years with that newspaper before moving to television and radio.[3]

### Television and radio

In 1980, Lyster joined RTÉ as a sports bulletin broadcaster with [Radio 2](/source/RT%C3%89_2fm), however, as his career progressed he began presenting programmes and covering high-profile sporting events. In his first year at the national broadcaster he also covered the [Olympic Games](/source/1980_Summer_Olympics) on radio. One of the highlights of his early career was covering the [1982](/source/1982_All-Ireland_Senior_Hurling_Championship_Final) and [1983](/source/1983_All-Ireland_Senior_Hurling_Championship_Final) All-Ireland hurling finals for radio. In 1984 Lyster took over as presenter of *[The Sunday Game](/source/The_Sunday_Game)*, a post he held for 34 years. That same year he was one of the main presenters for RTÉ's television coverage of the [Summer Olympics in Los Angeles](/source/1984_Summer_Olympics), co-hosting the morning slot with [Moya Doherty](/source/Moya_Doherty). It was RTÉ's first venture into [breakfast television](/source/Breakfast_television) with the slot combining action from the Games with cookery and dance classes amongst other things.[4]

In 1988, Lyster won a [Jacob's Award](/source/Jacob's_Awards) for his work on *The Sunday Game*. Later Lyster covered a number of sports for RTÉ across all codes and was an ever-present feature on RTÉ's coverage of Olympic Games. He remained, however, mostly associated with [Gaelic games](/source/Gaelic_games) and was one of the main presenters of the [All-Star](/source/GAA_All_Stars_Awards) and the [RTÉ Sports Person of the Year](/source/RT%C3%89_Sports_Person_of_the_Year) awards shows.

In 2007, Lyster took part in *[Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels](/source/Celebrity_Jigs_'n'_Reels)*.[5] Famously, when a penalty was applied to [Hannah Craig](/source/Hannah_Craig) during the [2012 Summer Olympics](/source/2012_Summer_Olympics), Carl Dunne, head of the Irish canoeing team, telephoned RTÉ's analyst to discuss the possibility of appealing the decision. The analyst took the telephone call live on television as a bemused Lyster watched on.[6]

After [suffering ill health](#Health), Lyster decided to retire from *The Sunday Game* at the end of 2018, with the [2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final](/source/2018_All-Ireland_Senior_Football_Championship_Final) his last as presenter.[7][8]

In total from 1984 until 2018, he covered 77 All-Ireland finals across both football and hurling, including seven replays.[9]

## Personal life

Lyster was married to his wife Anne from 1985 until his death and together they had two boys and two girls. They lived in [Cabinteely](/source/Cabinteely) in [Dublin](/source/Dublin). Lyster was interested in [rally driving](/source/Rallying) which he enjoyed from the early 1990s onwards. He partook in many main events including the Cork International Rally where he finished third in 1992, the [Circuit of Ireland Rally](/source/Circuit_of_Ireland_Rally) and the [Killarney Rally of the Lakes](/source/Rally_of_the_Lakes). His co-driver was *[Irish Independent](/source/Irish_Independent)* sports writer [Vincent Hogan](/source/Vincent_Hogan).[10]

### Illness and death

On 5 June 2015, Lyster experienced a major heart attack and was rushed to hospital. He had been playing golf in Galway with friend Vincent Hogan who drove him back to Dublin afterwards. He left his mobile phone in Vincent's car whom he rang from his house phone asking him to return to the house with the mobile. Hogan returned to find him collapsed on the ground in the hallway. Lyster's wife Anne performed [CPR](/source/Cardiopulmonary_resuscitation) while Vincent called for an ambulance. He had a pacemaker fitted after receiving treatment.[11] Lyster later disclosed that he had suffered from a heart condition for a number of years prior to the attack.[12]

Lyster died at [St. Vincent's University Hospital](/source/St._Vincent's_University_Hospital) in March 2026, at the age of 72.[13][14]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Michael Lyster's love for Gaelic games came from growing up in the football heartland of Barna Derg"](http://tribune.maithu.com/archive/article/2000/sep/10/michael-lysters-love-for-gaelic-games-came-from-gr/). *[Sunday Tribune](/source/Sunday_Tribune)*. 10 September 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Michael Lyster: RTÉ presenter"](http://archive.galwayindependent.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2002&Itemid=91). *Galway Independent*. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["From The Tuam Herald to The Sunday Game"](https://www.tuamherald.ie/2018/09/02/from-the-tuam-herald-to-the-sunday-game/). [The Tuam Herald](/source/The_Tuam_Herald). 2 September 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Breakfast TV Comes To RTÉ"](https://www.rte.ie/archives/2019/0701/1059544-daybreak-la-breakfast-tv/). [RTÉ Archives](/source/RT%C3%89_Libraries_and_Archives). 1984. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Contestants: Michael Lyster"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120919034300/https://www.rte.ie/tv/jigsnreels/michaellyster.html). [RTÉ](/source/RT%C3%89). 31 December 2007. Archived from [the original](https://www.rte.ie/tv/jigsnreels/michaellyster.html) on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Video: RTÉ Olympic analyst takes call live on air to sort out Hannah Craig's canoeing appeal"](http://www.joe.ie/london-2012/olympics-news/video-rte-olympic-analyst-takes-call-live-on-air-to-sort-out-hannah-craigs-canoeing-appeal-0027368-1). *[JOE.ie](/source/JOE.ie)*. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["End of an era as Lyster bows out"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180829213419/http://www.hoganstand.com/Article/Index/289709?county=National). *Hogan Stand*. 28 August 2018. Archived from [the original](http://www.hoganstand.com/Article/Index/289709?county=National) on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["77 All-Ireland finals, one Michael Lyster"](http://www.the42.ie/michael-lyster-rte-tribute-4215398-Sep2018/). *The 42*. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Michael Lyster: RTÉ man, GAA man, man of the people"](https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2026/0325/1565178-michael-lyster-rte-man-gaa-man-man-of-the-people/). *RTE Sport*. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Lifestyles - Michael Lyster"](http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=520). Irish Health. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Massive heart attack almost kills RTÉ’s Michael Lyster](http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/massive-heart-attack-almost-kills-rté-s-michael-lyster-1.2249177), irishtimes.com; accessed 21 December 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [RTE star Michael Lyster tells of how his wife Anne saved his life with CPR after he had cardiac arrest](http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/rte-star-michael-lyster-tells-of-how-his-wife-anne-saved-his-life-with-cpr-after-he-had-cardiac-arrest-31300431.html), independent.ie; accessed 21 December 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Former Sunday Game presenter Michael Lyster dies at the age of 71](https://www.thejournal.ie/michael-lyster-2-6991834-Mar2026/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Obit_14-0)** Clerkin, Malachy. ["Michael Lyster, long-time presenter of The Sunday Game, dies aged 71"](https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2026/03/22/michael-lyster-long-time-presenter-of-the-sunday-game-dies-aged-71/). *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)*. Retrieved 22 March 2026.

## External links

- [Michael Lyster](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2059556/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Lyster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lyster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lyster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.