Mike Murphy (Ireland)
| Mike Murphy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Michael James Murphy 20 October 1941 Dublin, Ireland |
| Education | St. Louis National School Terenure College Synge Street CBS Coláiste Mhuire |
| Occupation | Broadcaster, actor and property developer |
| Notable work |
The Live Mike Winning Streak The Big Interview |
| Spouse(s) | Eileen (divorced) Ann Walsh |
| Children | 4 |
Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as The Live Mike, Winning Streak and The Big Interview.
Murphy was born in Dublin on 20 October 1941. He was the eldest of five children born to Ned and Kitty Murphy. He was educated at St. Louis National School, Terenure College, Synge Street CBS and Coláiste Mhuire.
Murphy worked as a draper in a Dublin drapery shop, before finding a job with the Castrol Oil Company. He later became involved in acting with the Dublin Shakespeare Society and wrote scripts for sponsored programmes on Radio Éireann. He later joined the Brendan Smith Academy of Acting in Dublin where his acting took him all over Europe. He also went on to play a small part in The Girl with Green Eyes, the film of the novel by Edna O'Brien.
This led him to further acting parts in a number of films on the newly established Telefís Éireann.
Murphy began his broadcasting career as an announcer with RTÉ Radio in 1965. By 1968 he had established his reputation as an announcer and a radio presenter. He then began presenting on television, starting with one series of a pop show called The Go-Two Show, and filling in as an announcer on the game show, Jackpot. In 1969 he joined the RTÉ’s newsroom as a sports announcer.
His big break in television came in 1971 when he was asked to present the National Song Contest, one of the highest rated programmes at the time. He regularly hosted the Castlebar Song Contest. This led to him getting his own variety show, The Likes of Mike. The show did well, running for a few series. From 1972 until 1977 and again in 1979 and 1988, Murphy was the regular Eurovision Song Contest commentator for RTÉ television viewers. In addition he also hosted The National Song Contest (Irish heats for the Eurovision) between 1971 and 1972 and from 1974 until 1979, then in 1981 and 1982 and again in 1986.
He went on to present a travel programme called Murphy’s America, and later the spin-off show, Murphy’s Australia. Following the success of the former programme, he was asked to present Morning Call on radio. Between 1979 and 1982, he presented his own Friday night show, The Live Mike, which was a success and ran for three series. Murphy won four Jacob's Awards. He received his first in 1978 for Murphy's America. A year later, The Live Mike brought him a second trophy. His third award was in 1988 for his series, Murphy's Australia. Meanwhile, in 1980, his Morning Call show on RTÉ Radio led to Murphy winning a Jacob's Radio Award. He also presented the TV quiz show Murphy's Micro Quiz-M.
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