Des Cahill says he ‘fully accepts’ RTÉ caused ‘great offense’ to Mickey Harte

RTÉ sportscaster Des Cahill says he “totally accepts” that his employer grossly offended Tyrone’s former manager, Mickey Harte.

The journalist received backlash online after tweeting that he “greatly regrets” that Harte “got into a fight with RTÉ.”

He then tweeted today, writing: “I fully accept that RTÉ greatly offended Mickey Harte, his family, and so many other people. I shared that opinion. This tweet is simply a public show of respect for one of the great GAA men of my generation. “

His original tweet read: “Congratulations Mickey Harte on a truly fantastic career. Not just what you achieved, but how you gave so much to #GAA and especially to your beloved #Tyrone.

“I have always had great respect for your values ​​and I am very sorry that you have fought with RTÉ. I wish you the best.”

The former Tyrone manager announced his retirement this week and has had an ongoing confrontation with the national broadcaster since 2011.

Harte, along with Tyrone’s team, has not spoken to RTÉ since after a parody aired on John Murray’s Radio One show in which the winning All-Ireland manager felt he was disrespecting the memory of his daughter Michaela, who was tragically murdered. shortly before.

The parody included a clip of the song “The Girl from Omagh”, which Harte took for insensitive in the wake of his daughter’s death.

In 2018, the controversy flared again after Tyrone booked his place in the final in Ireland.

RTÉ issued a statement saying that the team would not participate in any media activities with them around the final.

RTÉ traditionally broadcasts The Sunday Game from the winning team’s hotel, where the Man of the Match award is presented and the coach and players are interviewed.

Speaking to Kieran Shannon in an interview with the Irish Examiner at the time, Tyrone’s former manager spoke about the dispute.

“I’m not taking this personally,” he said.

“It is an institution that I am opposed here, and for me the institution here is something without a face and there are certain individuals within it who have done things that they should not have done.

“RTÉ for me, as an entity, is not something for which I feel I have to forgive,” he added.

“As a matter of principle, when it comes to RTÉ, I am not speaking to them because they did not do the right thing at the right time.

“I don’t see this as something where forgiveness comes into play. I only see this as a point of principle that I am willing to follow.”

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