Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh ‘keen’ to take Covid-19 vaccine

Veteran sports commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh says he is keen to take the Covid-19 vaccine whenever his turn comes and he will follow expert health advice on taking it.

The 90-year-old retired broadcaster, who has cocooned during the pandemic, says people should listen to the recommendations of doctors and public health specialists on the vaccine.

“I would be keen to take it, whenever it is not a problem doing it,” he said.

As part of the vaccination strategy, the Government intends to identify “people of trust to act as ambassadors for the vaccine”. Mr Ó Muircheartaigh led a campaign this year to encourage older people cocooning to exercise more but feels advice on the vaccine is best left to the doctors.

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“I support the principle, ‘leave it to the experts’, the same as unless you have faith in a manager of a team, it is not going to work,” he said.

“If you listen to the experts the same as all the Limerick players listened to their managers they had and the other people they had in the background, that will bring success. I think it will get a good response,” he said, referring to last weekend’s victorious All-Ireland hurling champions.

Misinformation

He believes people will accept the priority order that the vaccine is being given and will “get good advice from their own doctors” rather than “anti-vaxxers” who spread misinformation.

“The vast majority of people believe in what the experts say and I go by that,” he said.

The Kerry man, who has limited his movements during the pandemic because of his age, said he preferred the Irish phrase “ag clutharú” – “being comfortable or sheltered” – to “cocooning”.

He applauded the GAA’s decision not to permit the Liam MacCarthy cup return to Limerick, after the county won the All-Ireland hurling championship at an empty Croke Park on Sunday, until a safe homecoming can take place, in light of the risks from coronavirus.

He could visualise a “massive presentation” before a game in May that “will be remembered forever” given the unusual year 2020 has been, he said.

‘Raging favourites’

Mr Ó Muircheartaigh, who has attended 77 All-Ireland finals and replays since his first in 1948, says he will miss this weekend’s football championship decider between “raging favourites” Dublin and Mayo, which he says, has “an influx of young players who could make a difference”.

“I won’t mind that. I would love to be there and to be there early in the morning, like I always was, but it is not to be,” he said.

“I am going by the doctors and the people in charge. The onus is on them to come up with the best ideas and it is good to see the faith that most people have in them.”