Obituary: Michael O’Brien, Shandon Park, was renowned for his Kilkenny radio days

Michael (Mike) O’Brien, who has died aged 82, was a loving and much-loved husband, father, brother and grandfather. He was also an accomplished musician, a talented radio broadcaster, a seasoned cyclist and a sports enthusiast.

Michael was born on August 5, 1942, the eldest of five children born to James (Jimmy) and Mary (May). He enjoyed a happy childhood and he often reminisced fondly about the glorious summers he spent in the countryside with his siblings and cousins.

Michael attended the CBS and he went on to win a scholarship which enabled him to complete secondary school and to sit the Leaving Certificate. On finishing secondary school in 1961, Michael began work as a Clerical Officer with Kilkenny County Council. He enjoyed his time there, making lifelong friends. He continued to work there until he took early retirement in 1989 to concentrate on his career in radio broadcasting.

Michael met his wife, Mary Moore from Higginstown, in the Mayfair Ballroom. Married on September 4, 1969, they went on to have three children - Lynda, Jean and David.

Michael was a gentle, patient and kind husband and father, with a witty sense of humour and a mischievous sense of fun.

He had many talents and he was generous in sharing these and in mentoring others. He cherished his family and he remained close to his brothers and sisters, all of whom were with him during his final days.

He loved his seven grandchildren and he took great delight and pride in their many endeavours and achievements in areas such as music, sport, art, creativity and academia. After the passing of his beloved dog Daisy, being a lifelong dog-lover he took great enjoyment and comfort from his visiting grand-dogs.

As a young boy, Michael was fascinated by the wireless and its ability to connect the listener to the outside world. Michael first heard the piano on the wireless and this began a lifelong fascination with and love of the piano, music, and radio.

During a family holiday to Tramore in his teens, Michael discovered that he had a natural talent for music and he began to teach himself to play the piano. Michael’s parents acquired a piano and word of Michael’s musical talent began to spread, with Michael beginning to play the piano in local pantomimes, concerts and in a céilí band.

He joined Apollo 5 as their keyboard player and he went on to play in several bands including A Cover Story, Mary and the Real Thing and Chapter and Verse. He loved the challenge of learning new songs and he enjoyed the rehearsals as much as playing live music.

He continued to play the piano throughout his life and he was delighted and proud to assist Mary Moore with her album in more recent years. He also passed on his great love and interest in all types of music to his children and to his grandchildren.

The committee of KCR pirate radio, Kilkenny’s first radio station, pictured in 1981. Back row: Dick Cass, Michael Walshe, John Carroll, Cathal Cullen, Mike O’Brien, Fr Jerry Joyce, Michael Minogue, Ger Dooley, Sam Harper. Front: Kay Sheehy, Theresa Byrne, Ann Tobin. Picture: Fiona Jackson

Radio
Michael had a fascination with radio from an early age and in 1979 he became involved with Kilkenny Community Radio (KCR), broadcasting from Michael Minogue’s studio in Ballycallan. He was very proud to be one of the original radio ‘pirates’ with his drivetime programme on KCR. The station motto was ‘by the people, for the people’ and this encompassed the spirit of the station, and the people involved.

Together with Mike Breen, Liam Carroll, Tomm Dowling and others, Michael began to host a regular radio programme, combining his love of music and his interest in local and current affairs to become a much loved and respected broadcaster.
KCR was something of a family affair, with Mary also working for the station selling advertising. We have many happy memories of time spent in Ballycallan, answering the phones and occasionally having to put on a record. Sadly, with the introduction of commercial radio in 1989, KCR closed.

Michael continued his involvement in local radio, and he went on to work for Radio Kilkenny, KCLR and finally Community Radio Kilkenny City (CRKC), entertaining his many listeners with his distinctive voice, his music choices, his legendary anagram and Frank O’Neill’s live traffic reports from his taxi. In November 2022, Michael was presented with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by Community Radio Kilkenny City, recognising his contribution to the development of local radio in Kilkenny over more than four decades. Michael was immensely proud to be broadcasting into his 80s — no mean feat indeed!

Michael had a great love for cycling. As he approached 40, Michael gave up smoking and he began cycling, a sound swap from which he reaped many rewards over the years. He completed the Maracycle (Dublin to Belfast return) 13 times and he participated in many charity cycles in America, Canada, Hungary and beyond, raising much needed funds for charities such as Crumlin Children’s Hospital, reflecting his caring nature.

He loved the freedom of heading off on long cycles over the weekend with his cycling group, especially when there was a coffee shop along the route. He is fondly remembered for using sheets of newspaper under his cycling jersey to fend off the wind on those long cycles and for documenting his statistics in a notebook after each cycle. Driving anywhere with Daddy, you would often hear him proclaim ‘good lad/girl’ as we passed a cyclist on the road, as he understood well the enjoyment that cycling brought. He continued to cycle into his early seventies when, for health reasons, he had to hang up his cleats.

Despite his health challenges Michael, with the encouragement and support of Mary, continued to live a happy and independent life and was regularly spotted walking with Mary by the river down at the Meadows.

He loved to celebrate his birthday and he would begin the celebrations by cycling his new age in miles, converting this goal to kilometres as the years passed by. He was a regular in Bollard’s on Wednesday mornings, where he would meet his good friend Ber. Together they would put the world to rights over a cup of coffee.

Michael is survived by Mary, his wife of 55 years, daughters Lynda and Jean, son David, sisters Mary and Bernie, brothers Jimmy and Frank, sons-in-law Mark and Alex, daughter-in-law Trióna, grandchildren Oisín, Eoghan, Síomha, Aoibhinn, Aonghus, Conor and Caoileann, nephews, nieces, extended family, neighbours and friends and his faithful grand-dogs Danny, Zsa Zsa, Max and Freddie.
Coladh sámh Daddy.
- L O’B

Month's mind
Michael’s month’s mind will be celebrated on Sunday during 11.30am mass at St Canice’s Church, Kilkenny.