Joe Brolly claims Colm O'Rourke left him gasping for air on live television
Along with Pat Spillane and Michael Lyster, Brolly and O'Rourke were at the heart of RTE's Gaelic football coverage for many years
Joe Brolly has claimed that a Colm O'Rourke punch left him gasping for air on live television.
Along with Pat Spillane and Michael Lyster, Brolly and O'Rourke were at the heart of RTE's Gaelic football coverage for many years.
Some of the most memorable moments from the RTE studio came when Brolly and Spillane got locked in arguments.
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But Brolly has said that while he and Spillane knew how to get a rise out of each other, Meath legend O'Rourke was not for messing.
Speaking on his Free State podcast, Brolly said: "Pat and myself were like Statler and Waldorf. I would wind Pat up and he always rose to it.
"He's always great fun. He's a very entertaining person and a very charismatic communicator.
"He was unlike [Colm] O'Rourke, who would take it badly. One day, we were live on television. I think it was the All-Ireland semi-final, and he punched me in the ribs."
Brolly added: "Just as the camera went back to Michael Lyster, he just hit me. You know O'Rourke is a big, powerful man, and he's all bones - he's a Leitrim man.
"He took every breath out of my body. He wasn't joking. You don't mess around Colm O'Rourke."
Brolly was a regular pundit on The Sunday Game for many years until leaving the role in 2019.
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