'Voice of Games' to offer live coverage

Radio coverage Radio coverage of the games will be broadcast on RTE's special Voice of the Games service next week.

Radio coverage Radio coverage of the games will be broadcast on RTE's special Voice of the Games service next week.

The service will be broadcast on a dedicated frequency. RTE will provide seven hours of coverage on medium wave for the week of the Games.

Marty Whelan will anchor a breakfast show. Sports commentators Jimmy Magee and Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh will be on the sidelines of some of the 21 events, along with most of RTÉ's sports reporters.

Aonghus McAnally will present a Liveline-style programme in the afternoon.

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The producer of Voice of the Games, broadcaster Derek Mooney, said yesterday it was the first time such a radio service had been set up to deal solely with the sporting event.

Up to 100,000 listeners are expected to tune in to 567MW for commentary, interviews and even traffic reports, he said.

"It is a real public service. AA Roadwatch are assigning a person to work full-time to give transportation news on the various venues," Mr Mooney said yesterday.

"If you are interested in getting to Santry stadium and want to know what the traffic is like, you can tune in.

"We are also focusing on the volunteers. We will do interviews with people who have volunteered, like the people who make the sandwiches. There are something like 20,000 sandwiches to be made every day.

"It's a unique event. This is the biggest sporting event in the world. It will be huge for tourism in Ireland.

"We do kind of shine when we are given a task like this. We've always done a great job with the Eurovision."

The service will broadcast from the RDS, and will be heard for seven hours daily.

During this time, Radio One will continue on 88FM.

The team also includes Eanna Ní Lamhna, John Kenny, John Creedon, Ronan Collins, Damien O' Reilly and Shane O' Donoghue.

The Voice of the Games will be on air from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday, June 23rd to Friday, June 27th.