When you think back at many of the great Irish sporting moments at Olympics and other major events, the soundtrack is voiced by the inimitable voice of Jimmy Magee.
The legendary broadcaster passed away today at the age of 82, with tributes pouring in from all corners since.
Tonight, we were joined by his former colleague and fellow iconic commentator George Hamilton to remember Magee and the wizardry he brought to the mic in a career that spanned more than 50 years and 12 World Cups and 11 Olympic Games.
"It's the end of an era, it's as simple as that," Hamilton told Joe of a man with whom he worked on sports quiz show Know Your Sport.
"I go back quite a way but not as far as Jimmy who goes right back into the '50s when he was in the junior sports magazine on the old Radio Eireann.
"When I first joined RTE in 1979, Jimmy was already a legend and he was a guy that I looked up to. He was a guy who was doing the kind of job that I aspired to do and he was at World Cups and he was at the Olympic Games and he afforded me that opportunity too and also afforded me the opportunity to work alongside him."
Harking back to Magee's commentary, Hamilton said, "It's to relive the enthusiasm and the passion of a man who just loved and lived his sport and loved being there, loved being at the event and really identified with those on whom he was commentating. He was a different kind of commentator to so many who simply described the action. Jimmy lived it."
One of Magee's qualities was the encyclopedic knowledge of the figures and context within which he operated - hence the "Memory Man" nickname and referencing that, Hamilton made the astute point that, "Jimmy's Google was in his brain and he could just draw on a vast resource".
1984 marathon silver medalist John Treacy, 1992 boxing gold medalist Michael Carruth and 2009 WBA Bantamweight world champion Bernard Dunne also paid tribute to Magee which you can listen to here:
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
