MICHAEL CARWOOD: Diversity of talent, spanning sports journalism and music, combined with a friendly, humorous disposition guaranteed Michael Carwood's popularity among friends, acquaintances and colleagues.
He became sports editor of the former Sunday Press
One of three children born to James and Anne Carwood of St Columbanus Road in Ballinteer, Dublin, Mick, as he was universally known, attended Dundrum National School. He continued his education at Oatlands College, Stillorgan, where he discovered a musical talent that would match his sporting passion later in life. His love of music was nurtured by the vice-principal, Michael Murtagh.
On leaving school in 1968 Mick followed his brother Jim to the Irish Press on Burgh Quay. While his father worked on the other side of the hot metal with Cahill Printers, his sons chose the journalism route: Mick in sport, Jim in news.
In essence though Mick had two jobs, for while he worked in newspapers during the day, he continued his musical interests at night by playing with several bands, the first of which was the Gnumps in the late 1960s. They were offered a stint in Germany but Mick's mother preferred that he pursued less volatile employment.
It didn't stop him from forming another band called The Others, in which he hooked up with current RTÉ disc jockey and Lotto presenter, Ronan Collins, and brothers Ken and Alan Tubbert.
Collins recalls: "It was the happiest musical time of our lives. We played all over Dublin's southside in scout halls, parish halls (Protestant and Catholic), tennis clubs and rugby clubs. Mick had one of the most tuneful and melodic voices I have ever heard. He could sing anything - Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, Eagles or the Beatles. But he had a passion for the words and music of the Beach Boys' founder, Brian Wilson."
It was during that time Mick began writing songs and one of his compositions, She is Mine, saw the band chart for the first time. The only other occasion was when they covered the Abba hit, Ring Ring.
However, the crowning glory in terms of his song-writing came when he penned Come on Ye Boys in Green, Ireland's anthem for the 1988 European soccer championships. He donated all the royalties to charity, a not untypical gesture.
When the others broke up in the late 1970s, Mick joined a band called Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators, with whom he played until his untimely death. His career in journalism, while primarily steeped in sport, facilitated his musical interests in that he wrote a column and interviewed some of the top stars of the day that visited Ireland.
He counted among his friends Paddy Cole, Red Hurley - both of whom sang at his funeral Mass - and other doyens of the music scene.
On July 2nd, 1976, he married Cathy Burke, daughter of Pascal Burke, late international and professional snooker player, who operated a snooker hall on the seafront in Bray. The couple settled in Greystones and had three children: Mark (21), Suzanne (22) and Amanda (18).
In journalism he went from being a sports reporter to soccer correspondent - he was an avid Manchester United supporter - of the Sunday Press, while filling the role of deputy sports editor. During that time he ghost wrote the then Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton's weekly column, having become a good friend of the 1966 World Cup winner.
He became sports editor of the Sunday Press in 1988, a position he held until the closure of the Press Group in 1995. It was with a deep sadness that Mick was forced to turn his back along with many others on Burgh Quay. He worked with The Irish Times and the Sunday Independent until he set up ParBirdieGolf.com, a website dedicated to amateur and professional golf at home and abroad.
It was his love of golf that would achieve the highest accolade of both the Press, Radio and Television Golf Society and that of the Dublin Journalists. He captained both clubs. He was a capable golfer and an entertaining companion on the fairways.
Recently he began lecturing in journalism in the Dublin Institute of Technology, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to a new generation.
At his funeral last weekend, when the Mass ended the congregation sang Mick's party-piece, You'll Never Walk Alone. He never did.
He is survived by his wife, Catherine; daughters, Suzanne and Amanda; son, Mark; sister, June; and brother, Jim.
Michael Carwood: born August 8th, 1948; died October 2nd, 2002.