Cathal O'Shannon (TV presenter)

Cathal O'Shannon
Born	1928 Dublin, Ireland
Died	22 October 2011 Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Journalist and TV presenter
Known for	Interviewing Muhammad Ali

Cathal O'Shannon (1928 – 22 October 2011) was an Irish journalist and television presenter. He was a former journalist with The Irish Times newspaper and a former TV reporter and presenter for RTÉ. He was probably best known for presenting documentaries on Irish history, produced mainly for Irish television viewers and broadcast by RTÉ.

On 12 January 2007, after producing his most recent documentary, he stated that he had fully retired. In a 2008 television documentary he "outed himself as a serial womaniser who cheated repeatedly on his wife". He was awarded lifetime membership of the Irish Film & Television Academy in 2010 when he said it was "particularly gratifying that it occurs before I pop my clogs". He died the following year.

O'Shannon grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and was the son of Cathal O'Shannon (Sr.), an Irish socialist and republican.

As a 16-year-old he joined the RAF in Belfast near the end of the Second World War. After training he was sent to Burma as a rear gunner in a Avro Lancaster bomber.

His wife, Patsy, whom he met while working for The Irish Times in London, died in 2006. They had been married for more than 50 years.

O'Shannon first became a journalist with The Irish Times in 1947. Later he joined RTÉ. In 1972 O' Shannon recorded one of his best remembered journalistic coups - interviewing Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer, for Irish television. He received a Jacob's Award for his 1976 TV documentary, Even the Olives are Bleeding, which dealt with the involvement of Irish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. Two years later he was honoured with a second Jacob's Award for his TV interview with former Irish revolutionary Emmet Dalton.

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