SEVERAL HUNDRED mourners from the world of sport and broadcasting turned out for the funeral yesterday of former RTÉ sports broadcaster Philip Greene.
Mr Greene, who retired in 1985 after a long career as the voice of Irish soccer, died on Sunday at the age of 90.
There was a strong presence from Shamrock Rovers, both past and present, the club he supported throughout his adult life.
Among those who attended the funeral service at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Foxrock, Dublin, yesterday were former Irish internationals and Rovers players Paddy Mulligan, Damien Richardson, Pat Byrne and Liam Buckley.
RTÉ broadcasters past and present, including Jimmy Magee, Fred Cogley, Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin and Des Cahill, were also there.
The mourners were led by Mr Greene’s wife Patricia, sons Philip and Eoin, daughters Rhona and Edeana and his grandchildren.
Rhona Greene said the congregation was not there to mourn but to celebrate her father’s “long, happy life” and “his huge capacity for joy”.
Eoin Greene said his father was buried wearing a Shamrock Rovers tie and he also had the radio with him. He described his father as a “great man” who was honest and modest. He was a perfectionist at work and at home.
He recalled the time his father had done a broadcast for the BBC on the Belgium-Ireland European Championships qualifier in 1986 when he and his brother, who were with their father for the commentary, were told to keep quiet until after the match.
When the match ended 2-2, his father put down the microphone and told his children to “turn up the volume on the television”.
He had covered the match from home.
