Ciarán Mac Mathúna

Ciarán Mac Mathúna, (26 November 1925 – 11 December 2009) was an Irish broadcaster and music collector. He was a recognised authority on Irish music and lectured extensively on the subject. He travelled around Ireland, England, Scotland and America collecting music. According to Sam Smyth in the Irish Independent, Mac Mathúna was "on a mission to collect songs and stories, music, poetry and dance before they were buried under the coming tsunami of pop music". He presented Mo Cheol Thú for 35 years. Upon his retirement in 2005, MD of RTÉ Radio Adrian Moynes described Mac Mathúna as "inseparable from RTÉ Radio". Upon his death in 2009, the Irish Independent described him as "a national treasure".