Every quadrennial, the Summer Olympic Games sparks a shared hallucination of peculiar, public gems. We shift our conversations from the usual climate chatter to topics like synchronised diving. Momentarily, Flava Flav is perceived as a women’s water polo hero. Terms like “pommel horse” make a comeback in our common vocabulary, and Snoop Dogg is seen feeding carrots to horses competing in dressage.
If one knows exactly where to tune in, they can catch the rhythmic cadence of Timmy McCarthy on the Irish airwaves, passionately providing basketball commentary. His growls, stutters and loud outbursts are impossible to miss.
SHAKE AND BAKE!
COAST TO COAST!
Let’s shoot from… DOWNTOWN!
McCarthy, who celebrates his 64th birthday this week, is perhaps one of the most enduring and obscure delights of the Olympics, offering a commentary that is quintessentially Olympian and distinctly Irish, but only broadcast on Ireland’s national television channel.
In 2004, Raidió Teilifís Éireann chose McCarthy to cover basketball for the Athens Olympics. Since then, his colourful commentary has inspired memes, a soundboard, Facebook fan groups, YouTube remixes, and a small yet devoted fan base that view his bouts of commentary as an integral part of the Olympics. This is especially true considering that Ireland has not managed to qualify for the Games’ popular basketball events.
“Timmy is a cherished icon that we bring out every four years,” says Brendan Boyle, an Irish writer and basketball enthusiast residing in Spain who has kept up with McCarthy’s commentary.
Following McCarthy means familiarising oneself with his unique expressions. Among them are BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA, used to highlight an excellent dunk; SHAKE-AND-BAKE, used to describe a strategic on-court manoeuvre. Possibly his most recognised catchphrase is his call for a shot from DOWNTOWN. This phrase has become so closely associated with McCarthy that it even features on his Basketball Ireland profile and has been incorporated into a version of the famous track of the same name by Petula Clark.
While some of McCarthy’s catchphrases are borrowed and delivered with his signature style, other exaggerated remarks tiptoe around common phrases just enough to be amusingly and distinctly his own.
McCarthy exclaims his preferred sayings – DROP A FLOATER or A DEUCE! – with great enthusiasm, fully aware or simply indifferent to the potential misconceptions these phrases may bring in cruder environments. He punctuates broadcasts with foreign linguistics, often mispronouncing his French but maintaining a conviction in his utterance.
“Doing what I love makes it enjoyable for the audience,” professed McCarthy, whose fervor for basketball could be sensed even over a phone call. His radiant energy shines through his analysis and recollections, oscillating between colourful tales of buzzer beaters from the 2000s and meaningful soliloquies surrounding the broad reach of sporting events.
“Namely in Ireland, the Olympics serve to attract people to sports, a diverse range of them,” he expressed on a Thursday. “The majority of fans viewing these Olympic games are less invested in who claims victory. They seek to savour the spectacle, and my objective as a commentator is to ensure their enjoyment.”
However, McCarthy’s path was not always defined by this trait. Initially, he took on an analytical role at RTÉ, focusing more on statistics than entertainment. During the 2004 Athens Games, he was selected to temporarily fill in an announcer’s booth – a move deemed a precautionary measure, and he was informed his voiceover was unlikely to be broadcasted. However, the audio technician was quick to relay the recording throughout the network, with specific advice: Pay attention to this man. He’s unique.
And so, began McCarthy’s journey; 20 years and six Olympic Games later.
This marked just another twist in McCarthy’s athletic narrative, initially developing during the 1980s basketball influx that took Ireland by storm. Despite a relatively short but vibrant golden period, numerous American athletes turned their focus towards Ireland upon narrowly missing out on NBA draft positions thus rapidly filling arenas and creating Ireland’s first national league. This allowed Irish talents, like McCarthy, to emerge into the limelight.
As the formidable Cork Blue Demons’ captain, McCarthy was one such talent. Inducted into Basketball Ireland’s hall of fame, he led his team to various national championships before unexpectedly retiring at 29, which coincided with Irish teams deciding to restrict the count of American players, a move that rapidly deflated the league.
Basketball manages to maintain its appeal on the island, and McCarthy has built up a strong reputation as a coach in the heartland of Ireland and, naturally, as one of the nation’s most cherished commentators. With each Olympics, there is an influx of new dedicated fans, or followers who revere Timmy McCarthy.
McCarthy, who speaks in substantial sentences, fires off his one-liners with such speed that he occasionally appears to be merely an observer in his own ride, like the rest of us. His unique Cork accent of northern Ireland is unmistakeable and acclaimed for its unintelligible but melodic rhythm, which notably extends the word “ball” by two to three more syllables.
Gavan Casey, a journalist for the Irish sports website, The 42, remarked that watching McCarthy’s broadcasts feels almost like viewing a biblical event. He further stated, “In the eyes of the Irish viewer, he is an event in the Olympics in his own right.”
As international recognition for Irish basketball has diminished, with their men’s national team making it to the Olympics only once in 1948 – chances for McCarthy’s commentary have been significantly reduced. The Olympics continue to be his main RTÉ assignment, whilst he also provides coverage for the European basketball leagues under the stewardship of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation.
However, this unpredictability adds to the charm of the Olympics, both for McCarthy and his admirers. McCarthy himself stated that the Olympics provides the most basketball exposure to Irish people in a four-year span, and he simply loves this fact.