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George Hook

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George Hook
George Hook in 2011
Born (1941-05-19) 19 May 1941 (age 83)
Cork, Ireland
NationalityIrish
EducationRathmines College of Commerce, Dublin Institute of Technology
Occupation(s)Journalist and Radio Broadcaster
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) [1]
SpouseIngrid Hook
Children3

George Hook (born 19 May 1941)[2] is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted The Right Hook and High Noon on the Irish radio station Newstalk.

He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, before becoming a rugby pundit on RTÉ Television in 1997.[3] He has also made other TV appearances, such as judging on Jigs & Reels and coaching on Celebrity Bainisteoir.

Early life

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Hook grew up in the Albert Road area of Cork. He attended Presentation Brothers College, a rugby union stronghold.[4] Subsequently, he attended Rathmines College of Commerce.

Career

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Hook has had a number of jobs, beginning as a temporary clerk for CIÉ, and later becoming a travelling salesman for the Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys). He ran a catering business for over twenty years. He coached London Irish and Connacht as well as the United States national team in the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

The Right Hook, Hook's radio show on Newstalk, was a popular late afternoon to early evening drive-time programme.[5] His wife, "the lovely Ingrid", was regularly subjected to having her intimate details discussed and dissected on air by Hook.[6]

Hook appeared as a rugby pundit on RTÉ on a regular basis, most frequently with presenter Tom McGurk and fellow pundit Brent Pope, and appeared as a judge on RTÉ celebrity dancing show Jigs & Reels. He has also been parodied in The State of Us. In 2005, he published an autobiography, "Time Added On". The book described his years involved in business and the failure of this career path.[citation needed]

On 26 January 2014, Hook announced that he would retire from Newstalk in 2016 and television punditry after the 2015 Rugby World Cup but RTÉ lost the right for Irish broadcasting to TV3. On 13 February 2015, he reversed his decision to retire from television punditry. However, on 17 March the same year, Hook announced that he would retire from television punditry saying he would never watch the RTÉ rugby panel again.[citation needed]

Suspension

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In September 2017 he was suspended by Newstalk for comments about rape.[7] In October 2017, Newstalk announced that Ciara Kelly was taking over his lunchtime radio slot.[8]

Voluntary work

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In 2009, he visited Haiti where he organised a recruitment drive to get volunteers to go there on a house building week.[9][10][11]

The next day a magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti. After the earthquake Hook was heard to say: "It is a godforsaken place. God has literally forsaken it."[12] Following the January 2010 earthquake. Hook urged his radio listeners to donate money.[13]

Hook is also the patron of Comber Foundation, an Irish charity working in Romania since 1991, of which his daughter Michelle McGill is a trustee.[14] The charity provides homes in the community for adults with disabilities who grew up in institutions and orphanages[15]

Views

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Politically, Hook is a longtime supporter of Fine Gael, and spoken at party events, he frequently identifying himself on The Right Hook[16] as being "an old Blueshirt".

In 2010, as part of the Catholic Church's "Year for Priests" celebration, he contributed to a DVD, In Praise of Priests, featuring interviews with various people expressing admiration for their favourite priest.[17]

Bibliography

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  • Hook, George Time Added On, Penguin Ireland, 2005; ISBN 1-84488-076-1

References

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  1. ^ "The Leader Interview: George Hook - Limerick Leader". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  2. ^ [1] [dead link]
  3. ^ "George Hook". Personally Speaking Bureau. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Presentation Brothers College (PBC) School, Cork, Ireland - Activities - Talks / Lectures". Pbc-cork.ie. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Radio 1 recovers lost listeners, ratings survey shows". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  6. ^ Ni Bhraonain, Eimear (18 July 2012). "George's 'lovely Ingrid' wasn't easily hooked". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  7. ^ Leogue, Joe (16 September 2017). "George Hook suspended over rape comments". Irish Examiner.
  8. ^ Linehan, Hugh (18 October 2017). "Ciara Kelly to take over George Hook's Newstalk lunchtime slot". The Irish Times.
  9. ^ The Irish Times Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Irish charity to build houses in Haiti", Thursday, 15 January 2009
  10. ^ Niamh Hennessy, Irish Examiner, "Hook urges volunteers to get building in Haiti", 13 January 2010.
  11. ^ Irish Central "Irish connections run very deep to Haiti", 12 January 2010.
  12. ^ Irish Independent, "Jason O'Brien: Godforsaken Haiti needs help now, more than ever", 14 January 2010.
  13. ^ Irish Independent, "George hooks Haiti volunteers", 13 January 2010
  14. ^ "Comber Foundation website" Archived 30 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, "Comber Foundation", 2010
  15. ^ "Builders giving up work to build homes for orphans", herald.ie, 2 March 2009.
  16. ^ "The Right Hook". The Right Hook.
  17. ^ "Failure of Church leaders to deal with abuse a "source of deep shame"". Donegal Democrat. Johnston Press. 18 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
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