Donegal GAA and Press colleagues pay tribute to Séamus Mac Géidigh

Tá cara agus laoch ar lár. Is é Séamus Mac Géidigh a spreag mé le tús a chur le mo shaol craoltóireachta agus mé ag éisteacht leis mar ghasúr óg.
Thar gach rud eile, chur sé comhairle nach beag orm agus threoraigh mé mar Chraoltóir agus thráchtaire spóirt agus is amuigh ar na páirceanna peile sin is mó a bheas cuimhne agam ar Shéamus.

Cara lách, cineálta, uasal agus Gael go smior.
Go dtugaidh Dia dídean agus foscadh na bhflaitheas dá anam uasal.

Damien Ó Dónaill
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta

________________________________________________________________________________

Donegal has lost one of life’s true gentlemen. We will remember him from the press box as a man who was always courteous and helpful and a true friend. In my 26 years involved in the press corps, I have not met a more gentle person, who had the greatest talent of communicating in the teanga náisiúnta. His passing, at such a young age, is just hard to take in. My sympathy to his wife, Dolores; daughters Éadaoin and Póilín; son Dónall; the extended family and also the Ráidió na Gaeltachta family. Ni bheidh a leithéid ann arís.”

Peter Campbell
Sports Editor, Donegal Democrat

_________________________________________________________________________________

News of the death of Séamus Mac Géidigh came as a total shock. We heard the news five minutes before the start of our County Committee meeting in the Villa Rose Hotel on Monday night. Like many others, I was lucky enough to speak with him briefly on Saturday evening in Breffni Park at the end of the Ulster semi-final against Monaghan and he surely had a beaming smile on his face following a great win for his beloved Donegal. He was a true Gael and a great supporter of everything GAA in the county. My many encounters with him came primarily in his role as a representative of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, who were the proud sponsors of the Donegal Senior and Reserve Football Championships for 10+ years. Séamus was always there covering our club and county games, County Committee meetings and other GAA events. He will be a tremendous loss to his wife Dolores, children, extended family, friends, work colleagues and the members of his local Cloich Cheann Fhaola club. Any time I met him, he came across as a warm, engaging and a very sincere person who always made time for a quick chat.

He was a great commentator of our Gaelic Games and for someone like me and many others with only a medium grasp of the Irish language, I was still able to follow him and the football or hurling game that he described for his audience. He was a tremendous promoter of the Irish Language and Culture for the GAA, something he did very quietly without many people being aware of it. The reaction of the GAA world is one of total shock with the sudden passing of a man so young. He was such a well recognised face at GAA events all over the country. We observed a minute’s silence and a prayer was said prior to our Committee meeting on Monday night to remember a true gentleman and a friend to many that will be sorely missed. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm uasal.

Seán Ó Duinnín,

Cathaoirleach,

CLG Dhún na nGall.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

It was with great sadness and disbelief when the news came through about Seamus. Since starting out as a budding sports commentator Seamus had been there to help me out in anyway he could.

It was quite often myself and Seamus would compare notes like many of the radio broadcasters would do and last Saturday when Donegal took on Monaghan wasn’t any different.
As my Irish was never great I always had Seamus on stand by to do his weekly translation for me along with some interesting fact about the club or player I would be asking about.

To say he was a professional at his job was a under statement

You will be sadly missed by all of us in the media along with your passion & pride you had not only in your work but in your club & county.

I admired him for his journalistic skills and his attention to detail was something that really caught my eye. He rarely got a player’s name wrong and his commentaries were exciting, yet always balanced.

I stood beside Séamus earlier this year at a Gaeltacht game between Milford and Gaoth Dobhair, and his love of the game really came across that afternoon.

It was a miserable February day in Magheragallon, with not a lot at stake, but Séamus still treated the match with the utmost profressionalism and delivered a typically thorough and insightful report.

He was passionate about the GAA and the Irish Language, and he was hugely respected by the press corps in Donegal and further afield.

He will be sorely missed. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

In the language of kings, ‘duine uasal’ always means a ‘noble person’.

But our sadly departed ‘cara mor” great friend Séamas MacGeidigh from Gortahork. was also a ‘duine ildana’ a man for all seasons.His sudden, untimely death has slid in like an icy day in a summer where his beloved Tir Conaill were in their sixth Ulster final.

Séamas was in his mid 50s and had been out for a walk when he got the final call on Monday evening.

Last Saturday evening the great ‘guth na nGael’ voice of the Gael, told thousands of listeners of Raidio na Gaeltachta that Donegal had edged out Monaghan, and boy wasn’t Séamas proud of his native patch.

He had a unique ringing voice, accurate rapid fire delivery that could make even the dullest encounter sparkle for he was a real Donegal diamond from Gortahork, on the edge of the Western World.

Slan go foill, a chomradai.

Gerry MacLaughlin
Freelance Journalist

_______________________________________________________________________________

It was with great shock that, late on Monday night, I learned of the passing of Séamus Mac Géidigh.

His was a distinctive voice, drifting down the stairs at the pressbox in Mac Cumhaill Park, or over the airwaves of Raidió na Gaeltachta, whether commentating on a match, or overseeing the club championship draw.

As a commentator, his lyrical description of the game unfolding in front of him painted a vivid picture even for a non-fluent Irish speaker like me. As a colleague, he was always knowledgeable, generous and helpful.

He will be sadly missed in Clones on Sunday week and wherever Donegal Gaels meet in the months and years to come.

Rest in peace Séamus.

Damian Dowds
Inishowen Independent

There are good people, and there was Séamus MacGéidigh.

Séamus was one of the most genuine people I have ever met. He was a true gentleman and a thorough professional, a brilliant broadcaster and commentator.I sat in press boxes, stood on the sidelines and hung around dressing rooms before and after games along with Séamus for the best part of the last two decades. In that time  I can honestly say without fear of contradiction that I never heard Seamus utter a word of ridicule about anybody or any situation.

I’m very sad and I’ll miss you Séamus, but I’m a whole lot richer for having known you.

Comhbhrón do Dolores, Pauline, Éadhain and Dónall and all his colleagues at RTE R Na G.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Tom Comack
Donegal Democrat/People’s Press/ Highland Radio

The untimely passing of Seamus came as a shock to all of us who had the pleasure of working alongside him in press areas, not just in Donegal GAA grounds, but around the country. As we struggle to put into words that won’t come, I am reminded of the phrase – “To strive for words befitting is a tribute in itself”. Seamus was kind and generous with his help, praise and encouragement. As a lover and promoter of our national language, with always a word or two ‘as Gaelige’ he encouraged those of us not so fluent to enjoy using the limited vocabulary we had, always with sense of mischief. GRMA Seamus thanks for everything.

Ed Byrne
PRO Donegal GAA

_________________________________________________________________________________

The news of the sad passing of Séamus Mac Géidigh – the much respected regional manager of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta in Derrybeg – rippled through the community, county and country on Monday evening to echoes of disbelief.

Séamus’s unmistakable voice had been heard only a handful of hours beforehand, giving its usual informative, balanced, respected and interesting stance on ‘Barrscealta’.

Those journalistic traits were the same characteristics he possessed as a man, a husband and a father.

His tone – particularly through his love of sport – brought excitement from Croke Park to Cloughaneely; from Gweedore to Gdansk and from Ballybofey to Bordeaux, to the homes of west Donegal and farther afield.

The immediate sense of his loss will be raw to those who liked and loved him for some time.  But in time – however long that may take – that loss will be partially replaced by pride in knowing someone that was a gentleman, in the truest sense of the word.

Alan Foley (Donegal Sport Hub)

________________________________________________________________________________

It was with heavy hearts that the Highland Radio community learned of the death of Seamus McGeady. He achieved a standard of excellence as a broadcaster, sports’ commentator and as manager of Radio na Gaeltachta’s north- west service.

He could speak with authority on current affairs, sport and culture- his proficiency in the Irish language difficult to surpass.

Head of Sport Oisin Kelly said “Donegal has lost a true gentleman and Seamus will be badly missed on match day”.

We at Highland would like to extend our sympathies to Dolores and family and to his colleagues at Ráidio na Gaeltachta.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.