George Hook

Who is George Hook?

In less than a decade George Hook has become one of the biggest names in Irish media. His meteoric rise at a time of life when he himself suggests, that “he should be consulting an undertaker” has rarely been equalled in broadcasting history in Ireland.

In 1997 he became a fixture on RTE’s television rugby panel with Tom Mc Gurk and Brent Pope, quickly established himself as a fearless but knowledgeable critic of the game. His humour, addiction to historical references and command of language propelled the rugby analysis to the realm of cult status. Major rugby occasions now see RTE outscore their competitors, BBC and ITV, by 5:1.
“You can add Thomond Park to Fatima, Knock and Lourdes. The lame will come here and walk, they'll be selling water here, because this defies logic." (George Hook after Munster’s historic defeat of Gloucester 33-6 in the European Cup)
For the Sunday Independent, George performs a similar role in print journalism to that of television and straddles the two mediums with ease. He was a 3-time winner of the British Chambers of Commerce, best individual speaker award, and is one of the elite few that “can fill a hall”. His appearance at a recent Dublin Chamber of Commerce breakfast brought the highest attendance in the history of the event.
Despite being an unknown quantity as a radio broadcaster and entering the highly competitive current affairs market with Newstalk106, George Hook quickly established a substantial niche in the JNLR ratings at the expense of Matt Cooper on Today FM. George’s appearance with Brent Pope on RTE’s The Restaurant produced the highest ratings in the history of the programme.
Quotes:

“God bless Hookie-speak, c'est magnifique, Hookie-speak” - Philip Reid of the Irish Times
 
“Hook's emotive and highly personal style of broadcasting is seen as his biggest selling point. His style is avuncular and he also shows a refreshing ability to admit either being wrong or not knowing the answer” - Stephen McMahon of the Sunday Business Post
“I tuned into The Right Hook expecting an overdose of Hooky-to-Popey-to-Wardy rugger-type chat but instead, Hook, as usual, was all empathetic banter across a broad range of subjects with a good line-up of guests” – Bernice Harrison, Radio Critic of the Irish Times
“…he has a voice like a melon in a food mixer” – Shane Hegarty, TV Critic of the Irish Times

• George Hook's Six Nations weekend previews
• George Hook's Six Nations preview: England v Ireland
• France v Ireland Six Nations betting tips
• Six Nations preview with George Hook
• George Hook's Six Nations betting tips for Ireland v Italy
• Irish Rugby Tips: Heineken Cup 2010
• Autumn Internationals Rugby Betting on Ireland v South Africa
• Autumn Internationals Rugby Betting with Ireland to beat Fiji by over 19pts
• Autumn Internationals Rugby Betting sees Australia beating Ireland by 10