Michael Lyster back at the helm on the Sunday Game after heart attack scare
RTE anchor Michael Lyster returned fresh-faced to TV screens for the first time since being hospitalised with a heart attack.
The presenter, who has been at the helm of the Sunday Game for almost 30 years, was rushed to hospital on June 5 after collapsing in his home.
However, Lyster (60) settled back into his natural habitat with ease – presenting the show alongside pundits Ciaran Whelan, Colm O’Rourke and Pat Spillane for both the Ulster and Connacht football finals.
With Mayo leading Sligo 4-09 to 1-06 at half time in the Connacht final, Lyster joked that he was more lively than the game itself.
“People are asking if I’m feeling OK...there’s more life in me than there is out on that pitch,” he said.
Last week, the Galway native, now based in Dublin, made his first public appearance since being hospitalised, when he met up with some Sunday Game colleagues – Spillane and O’Rourke – in Thurles for the Munster Senior Hurling Final between Tipperary and Waterford on July 12.
experience
The anchor attended the match as a spectator, and said the experience was a lot different to what he had been used to.
“You see it from a different angle and a different perspective as a spectator but obviously, you still miss the craic in the studio as well,” he said.
Leading the tributes to Lyster on his return to the studio was Last Word presenter, Matt Cooper, who had up until recently presented TV3’s live coverage of the All-Ireland series.
“And there’s Michael Lyster back on the Sunday Game, which is good to see in itself, but also that he’s looking very well,” said Cooper.
Daithi O Shea was also delighted to see his colleague return to work.
“Great to see Michael Lyster back and looking so well,” he said online.