Meet the men behind the microphones on one of the biggest Irish viral videos of the year.
When Cork athlete Phil Healy claimed a win for UCC in the Women’s 4 x 400 metres at the Irish Intervarsity Track and Field Championships, the dramatic clip went round the world.
For many viewers, the dramatic last-gasp victory was considerably enhanced by the passionate commentary from Cathal Dennehy and Ronan Duggan.
We caught up with Cathal and Ronan and asked what it was like to know that your voices have been heard worldwide.
“We were shocked by the reaction it got,” Cathal said. “Utter madness! The end to the race and our commentary, it was one of those perfect storms.”
The two have been friends since they both attended DCU on athletic scholarships. United by a love of athletics they have worked together in sports media, producing podcasts for news site jumping-the-gun.com.
It was through their work there that they were asked to commentate on live streams of Irish athletics events. Normally they would expect to be heard by a few hundred people, or a few thousand on a good day.
The clip has proved different.
“Last estimate we got was that it had been watched by more than 20 million people,” Duggan said. The pair were contacted first by Irish media, but were soon fielding calls from major American networks.
Ronan now works as a secondary school teacher in Dublin, so a lot of the media interviews fell to Cathal – a freelance sports journalist.
“I was invited to speak to The Dan Patrick show.”
Cathal found it surreal to be interviewed on such high profile shows: “The following day they had (basketball legend) Shaquille O’Neal on!”
He said the video seemed to strike a chord with American audiences, he was also interviewed on Yahoo Sports Radio and other outlets.
“I think the zero-to-hero, rags-to-riches type story really resonates with in America, they just loved it. Plus they liked the Irish accent and Irish humour.”
Ronan didn’t do as much media in the aftermath but still got plenty of reaction to the clip – particularly at the school where he teaches.
“The students were getting a great kick out of it,” he laughed. “I had them shouting ‘from the depths of hell’ in school.”
In addition to the jokes, Ronan was delighted to see that the clip sparked an interest in athletics, even from boys who would only usually follow rugby and soccer.
“Guys that would never have looked at athletics were asking about it.”
Both Ronan and Cathal believe the best thing about the clip has been to show athletics in such a positive light.
“Everything people have read about athletics in the last few years has been so negative, so much around doping,” Cathal said.
“So more than stroking our own egos, it’s great to see the sport can still grab people’s attention – and inspire awe for the athletes involved.
Ronan agreed: “It’s great to be involved in such a good news story around athletics – particularly in an Olympic year.”
If you want to hear more of the lads’ commentary, keep an eye on the nTrai Facebook page for future live streams.
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