Sir, – It’s my contention that pride in our Olympic athletes can unite, if only for a short time, an entire nation. One experienced two types of feelings in the aftermath of these games and they were pride and gratitude. One was especially grateful to these incredible athletes, their families and their teams apropos to what they achieved. It was so lovely to learn that the vast preponderance of the country was in good form as a result of their achievements. Most Olympic athletes understand that how they conduct themselves at the games will reflect upon their countries.
It was especially so gratifying to see all of our athletes standing a little big taller and it was obvious to me the deep respect each Irish participant showed in being able to represent their country.
With the eyes of the country upon them, our athletes could say that the best they could do was their best.
Well done to each and every one of you for giving of your best. – Yours, etc,
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JOHN O’BRIEN,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – In contrast to some recent letter writers (August 10th), I would like to highly commend RTÉ on its excellent and very professional coverage of the Olympics.
I was also somewhat frustrated by the amount of ad breaks and the fact that these ad breaks featured as many repeats as an RTÉ summer schedule. However, I think that the selection of expert and highly knowledgeable pundits across a variety of sports throughout the last fortnight (not just the more well-known sports such as athletics, swimming and boxing) was very refreshing and made watching the lesser known sports a much more pleasurable experience. The wide range of expert analysis and the subtle nuances across these diverse sports being explained in detail made it very difficult to stop watching. Luckily, our summer hadn’t quite kicked in as yet!
Finally, a special word for the various commentators but in particular for the basketball commentator, Timmy McCarthy, whose passion and enthusiasm for the sport jumped out of the television whenever I came across basketball games. – Yours, etc,
JOHN MacHUGH,
Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
A chara, – I am a Dubliner living in the North.
I have paid Sky an extra subsidy for 15 years to access RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2 and TG4. It is unbelievable that along with the rest of the Northern population I have been blocked from viewing any Irish coverage of the Olympics 2024. This also happens during other important sporting fixtures.
In light of vastly improved North-South relations in recent years and that two of Team Ireland’s marvellous gold medallists, Daniel and Rhys, hail from north of the Border, this ludicrous situation must not be permitted to continue any longer. – Is mise,
MARIA O’BRIEN,
Ballycastle,
Co Antrim.
Sir, – There will probably never be a better time to reflect on the fact, illustrated by various studies, that while Olympic gold medallists are the happiest subgroup, those receiving bronze are ultimately happier than recipients of silver. It is nice to think that the joy so many of us experienced in the short term over this fairly grim summer will be felt in the long term by those who reached the podium in Paris. Well done to Team Ireland, and to their predecessors at prior games who made this possible. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – As we celebrate the incredible exploits of Team Ireland at the Paris Olympics and their amazing haul of four gold and three bronze medals, it would be remiss if we weren’t also to recognise the efforts of three other Olympians from this island: Jack McMillan who won a gold medal in swimming, Hannah Scott who won a gold medal in rowing and Rebecca Shorten who won a silver, also in rowing. The fact that they were competing for Team GB in no way detracts from their achievements. – Yours, etc,
DAVID ATCHESON,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – What was most striking about RTÉ's coverage of the recent Olympics was the sheer number of ad breaks interrupting the events.
During one afternoon last week, I noticed that there were breaks every 15 minutes without fail, no matter what event was being covered. Only when Irish competitors were in action were breaks delayed, and even then you could almost sense a producer in RTÉ itching to go to the ads as soon as possible. Kellie Harrington’s closely-fought semi-final was followed immediately by a break as soon as she was out of the ring, and the incredible performance of the women’s relay team and their near-miss of a bronze medal was also followed immediately by ads before the panellists in Dublin could comment on the result.
When Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke the pole vault world record – arguably the greatest moment of the track and field events – RTÉ was on an ad break. These interruptions completely broke any tension or excitement for the viewing audience.
I was left with the distinct impression that, despite its coverage being peppered with endless reminders about its public service broadcasting remit, RTÉ viewed the Olympics as a cash cow which it could use to generate advertising revenue. Coming just weeks after a €725 million taxpayer bailout, this seemed to me to be in very poor taste.
The cherry on top was provided during the closing ceremony where the sound quality of RTÉ's coverage was truly appalling and where no less than three commentators were on hand to provide non-stop observations on every single aspect of the event. By that stage I could take no more, threw in the towel, and switched to the BBC. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS RYAN,
Dublin 6W.