It is June 25 1990. Our family of 10 crowds around the television in our modest three-bedroom house. For the first time since 1970, silence takes over the Kelly household.
Up steps David O’Leary, 1200 miles away in the Italian city of Genoa. He places the ball. He takes his run up. He sends the Romanian goalkeeper the wrong way and scores to put Ireland through to the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup.
The six-year-old me runs out the front door, screaming and jumping and joining the neighbours in celebratory hoots of joy.
Looking back on that day – my first World Cup memory – I remember the boxy tv, I remember my mum handing out tea and biscuits to the viewers. Glued to the screen like flies caught in a web; and most of all I remember the voice.
“The nation holds it’s breath,” we all did George, we all did.
Talking to George Hamilton I take in his surroundings as I listen and absorb those dulcet tones.
Sitting in his office in Co Down, I see cuttings and photographs of his work behind him on the wall. Hanging over the photos are endless amounts of press passes. I suppose commentating on 19 FIFA global events will create quite the stockpile.
We are here to speak about his new book The Hamilton Notes, the title referring to his many notes kept of his commentating escapades and also to his love of musical notes, not surprising given he is now an RTÉ Lyric FM presenter.
Having recently left his post at RTÉ Sport after some four decades, he felt the time was right to put some more memories on paper.
“Things had changed (at RTÉ Sport), the past couple of negotiations were very difficult.” He said.
“I wasn’t getting as much work as I used to and I could see the wind was changing,
“However, I’m not naïve, it very clearly says in a freelancer’s contract that it does not amount to employment,
“So, as my grandmother said, ‘You have to look after number one, and I took that advice on board, because you may love your work, but your work doesn’t always love you,” the Belfast native recalled.
Without the need for retirement, Hamilton has already picked up the mic once more. This time covering European games with Premier Sports, a new venture he is excited about.
“I was approached by Ryle Nugent, who was also the former head of RTÉ Sport, and when he asked if I would be interested to coming over to Premier Sport, I thought, why not?”
As he looks forward to a new challenge in his life, the last year has been looking back too and clearing out the attic for memories of times gone by for this book.
“I have plenty of reports and scribbles from my adventures, but no real diary as such,” he recalls.
“But, what I have learned to do is use memories, such as looking out a plane window on a particular journey and that will flag an event that happened elsewhere on a journey or at the game involved.
“It really is amazing what the mind can retrieve.”
The book recalls some meetings with the largest figures in soccer. Hamilton clearly has a soft spot for former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and dedicates a chapter to the Scotsman.
“For me, I was as impressed by the person that is Alex Ferguson, as much as the vast array of silverware that he won,” said Hamilton.
“I talk in the book about how many years after our first encounter, when he won the Cup Winners Cup with Aberdeen, he remembered me before a European tie as United manager before facing Bayern Munich.
“He made time for me when others wouldn’t, and made me feel that he was a friend, and that speaks volumes of the man.”
Hamilton also tells me of an occasion he wanted to speak to former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho after a game, but his press officer wouldn’t allow it.
However, upon seeing the Portuguese man, the former RTÉ commentator made himself known, and Mourinho threw his arms around him in an embrace for the ages. Hamilton couldn’t resist a cheeky smile at the enraged and somewhat embarrassed press man.
The book also speaks of tragedy in the game. A hard-hitting chapter on the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 shows how a day to be spent commentating on a FA Cup semi-final quickly turned into Hamilton becoming a reporter of death and misery in one of football’s darkest days.
“I find Hillsborough very poignant,” he remarks.
“From the view high up in the gantry, I recalled looking down behind the Liverpool goal and being aware of the crowd trouble that was occurring outside the Leppings Lane stand.
“Suddenly, there was a surge into the stand when the gates were opened, and my first thought was for the people in the stand already as they had no way out with the crush fencing in place.
“I am a sports commentator, but I was then told to go onto the pitch and report the incident,” he continued.
“I remember giving out the current death toll on tv, but then driving up to Manchester Airport after and hearing the death toll had risen rapidly. It was heartbreaking.”
Hamilton may be chiefly remembered for his football commentary, but he also is known for commentating on the Six Nations rugby game in 2000 in Paris when Brian O’Driscoll burst onto the scene scoring a hat-trick in a thrilling win.
He has also commentated on the Olympic Games since the 1980′s and finds it hard to choose his favourite sporting event.
“My heart will always be in football, that is what I started out doing,” but he is keen to acknowledge the special place the Olympics has had for him also.
“I must say commentating on athletics and other sports every four years has also been very special and brought me to many places.
“So, I am kind of avoiding answering that one.”
George Hamilton is a legend of Irish sporting commentary. No, in fact he is a legend of Irish Sport. A gentleman in the truest sense, I look forward to hearing that voice for many more years to come, and maybe, just maybe he will talk us through another World Cup penalty shootout in 2026, and I will run for that front door to celebrate once more.
George Hamilton is appearing at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast on Wednesday 16th October at 6.30pm to promote his new book The Hamilton Notes. Tickets are free of charge and can be ordered at Crescentarts.org.
