George Hamilton's family life with second wife, children and grandkids as he leaves RTE Sport
George Hamilton will no longer be commentating on football matches for RTE
George Hamilton announced this week that he has left his RTE Sport role - but the popular commentator will continue working for the broadcaster through his role with Lyric FM.
The 74-year-old will also will be continuing his commentary career with Premier Sports as he revealed that he didn't want to give it up completely.
He said: “My contract with RTÉ Sport has expired and my involvement with RTÉ now is with Lyric FM. I was in Germany for Euro 2024 and that was my last involvement for RTÉ Sport.
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“I’m a bit like the footballer; the contract runs out and then you go and you get something else, and I’m very happy to have a new chapter in the whole scheme of things.”
He added: “I didn’t want to stop doing commentary, because I enjoy it still, and I still think I have a contribution to make, and I’m delighted that Premier Sports think so too.
“My involvement with RTÉ Sport hadn’t been as extensive as it once was, things had changed considerably at RTÉ Sport, and the time came to look around and see what else is there, and that’s what I’ve done.”
Background
Hamilton began his career as a soccer club secretary. The Belfast-born commentator is best known for the colourful phrases he used during some of the most memorable football matches.
Born in 1950, he grew up near the street where both George Best and Van Morrison lived. An only child, his father sang professionally and so did his mother, but she did it just for fun, growing up George was always surrounded by music, reports RSVP Live.
He attended school at the Methodist college in Belfast where for a time he was the principal cellist with the school's orchestra. He later attended Queen's University in Belfast where he studied modern languages.
It is said that it was in college that sports began to take hold. He became a secretary of the college's soccer club which is where he met sports commentator Ger Canning. It was supposedly on this encounter with Ger that George began to consider a career in television and radio.
The progression of his career
In 1970 George got the opportunity to work with the BBC as a sports commentator. After eight years at the BBC George moved to RTE.
In 1978 RTE approached George to ask him to join their team for the World Cup in Argentina.
Since the World Cup it is reported that George has worked every major championship, with the exception of the 1984 Euros because he had went back to work with the BBC and the English station wasn't reporting on the tournament because they had not qualified.
It is said that George contributed to some of the most iconic Football sayings in Irish history. During the 1990 World Cup George described David O'Leary's penalty build up against Romania as “the nation holds its breath”. Another famous line is "When I said they'd scored two goals, of course I meant they'd scored one”. His colourful descriptions and sense of humour are what made the nation love his commentary.
His music broadcasting career with Lyric FM started in 2003.
Health scare
In 2011, George stepped back from the microphone because he had a serious health scare. In August of of that year he visited his GP because he couldn't breathe. The visit resulted in George having emergency by-pass surgery. Everything went well, thankfully, and George made a full recovery thanks to the help of his family and was back on the air by December.
Family life
George married his second wife Linda on the July27, 2013. It is said to have been an intimate civil ceremony in front of close family and friends. Talking about the wedding George said publicly that: “We're both second time around and wanted to do it somewhere special.”
The couple have five children and a number of grandchildren between them.
George described 2013 as a year full of highs. On the third of November 2013 Hamilton's step daughter Nikki gave birth to her first child James and three weeks later George's Eldest daughter Emma got married.
On November 3, Hamilton's stepdaughter Nikki gave birth to her first child, a son called James. Three weeks later, Hamilton's eldest daughter Emma married. George walked Emma down the aisle at the wedding described by George as: “Sensational, everything about it.”
During the Covid lockdown he recorded his Lyric FM show from home and also did football voiceovers from his at home studio with his own studio equipment
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