Bill O'Herlihy was an Irish television broadcaster and public relations executive.
24 Facts About Bill O'Herlihy
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Bill O'Herlihy was best known for his broadcasts for Raidio Teilifis Eireann, primarily in politics and sport.
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Bill O'Herlihy retired from RTE following its coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
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Bill O'Herlihy was educated at Glasheen boys' national school and later at St Finbarr's College, Farranferris.
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Bill O'Herlihy was only seventeen years old when he subsequently became sub-editor of the Evening Echo, a position he held for five years.
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Bill O'Herlihy graduated to the positions of news, features and sports reporter.
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In November 1970 the 7 Days programme came into controversy when Bill O'Herlihy reported a story on illegal money lending.
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In spite of this Bill O'Herlihy fronted RTE's television coverage of the Olympic Games that year.
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Bill O'Herlihy became involved in the production of various sports programmes.
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Bill O'Herlihy was not long in the RTE Sports department when he became a regular presenter for such programmes as Sunday Sport and Sports Stadium.
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Since 1974 Bill O'Herlihy became RTE's chief sports presenter for such events as all Olympic Games until 2012, FIFA World Cups until 2014, UEFA European Football Championships until 2012 and European and World Track and Field Championships.
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Bill O'Herlihy hosted RTE highlights of the Ryder Cup in 2006 when it was at the K Club in Ireland and continued to present coverage of Ireland's soccer internationals for RTE, along with Eamon Dunphy, Johnny Giles and Liam Brady.
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Bill O'Herlihy hosted RTE's coverage of rugby union in the 1980s and early 1990s.
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Bill O'Herlihy covered the Premier League, Irish Internationals and the Champions League before dropping the Premier League in 2008.
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Bill O'Herlihy presented the first Rugby World Cup on RTE television in 1987 and, with Jim Carney, co-presented the first edition of The Sunday Game in 1979.
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In 2012, while covering Chloe Magee's progress at the 2012 Summer Olympics Bill O'Herlihy remarked that badminton was once considered "a mainly Protestant sport".
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Bill O'Herlihy presented RTE Sport's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, his ninth FIFA World Cup.
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Bill O'Herlihy fronted 18 European Championships and FIFA World Cups for RTE, the last of which came in 2014.
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At the time of his death, Bill O'Herlihy was working on a sports version of Reeling in the Years, which RTE immediately cancelled.
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In 2004, the Sunday Independent reported that Bill O'Herlihy had lobbied on behalf of an Irish company, Bula Resources which was adversely affected by sanctions on Iraq.
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Bill O'Herlihy had grown up in a family that had strongly supported the Fine Gael party and, in 1977, he became a media adviser to the party.
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Bill O'Herlihy fulfilled that role for much of the next decade and was one of Garret FitzGerald's "handlers" during his two terms as Taoiseach in the 1980s.
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Bill O'Herlihy died the following day at the age of 76 nearly a year after his retirement.
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Bill O'Herlihy was survived by his wife Hillary and daughters Jill and Sally.