Derek Davis
Broadcaster and Winner of Celebrity Bainisteoir 2009

Broadcaster Derek Davis is the winner of this years RTE’s Celebrity Bainisteoir 2009. Over 7,000 spectators in Parnell Park, Dublin witnessed the final against Katherine Lynch’s St. Patrick’s, Drumahair, Co. Leitrim. The series proved a runaway success as hundreds of thousands of viewers were thrilled by the unlikely combination of glamorous celebrity and the raw passion of GAA grassroots.

When the big man from County Down agreed to take part in Celebrity Bainisteoir 2009 he was assigned Glasdrumman, a small team in the Lower Mourne area of his home county. “I had always turned down reality TV, hated it in fact but I’d seen last years series and knew there was something engaging about it. I thought it might be fun but it turned out to be much more than that”. Derek soon found out it was all about the hopes and the pride of small clubs and communities. “At first I thought it would be a bit like owning a greyhound but you don’t go for a drink with a greyhound or have tea with his mum. I quickly became very attached to these people. I was moved by their decency, humour and generosity. They accepted me very quickly and I found out just how tough, skilful and well trained the team were. Above all I was impressed by how close and loyal they are. Funny too. The most common sound in the dressing room is laughter. My job was to keep that high level of core skills sharp, come up with a game plan and lift their motivation to an even higher level. The plan worked, along with the core skills and most of all the cast iron discipline we had on the pitch. The team were magnificent and I couldn’t have been more proud if they were my own sons.

Derek is grateful to County Down coaching legend Peter McGrath, his mentor. “He trained me and I trained the team. Without the help of the wee man with two all Ireland victories to his credit I would be lost. I soaked up everything he said and even induced Paddy O’Rourke to meet the team in Croke Park for a pep talk”. Paddy was one of Pete McGrath’s winning captains.

Derek now presents the weekly radio Sunday Magazine on 4fm at
10am – 12. He has been a prominent figure in the Irish Media for the past
30 years. A familiar household name, Derek co-presented the popular television programme ‘Live At Three’ for 11 years.

Derek has also presented a television series entitled ‘Out of the Blue’ which was extremely well received and at its height, was watched by a quarter of the viewing public in Ireland.

On radio, Derek has presented a number of programmes with RTE including ‘Today with Derek Davis’, A Question of Food’ as well as stints presenting ‘Liveline’ and ‘Today with Pat Kenny’.

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