This year's championship will be Michael Lyster's final as the host of the Sunday Game.

Denis Walsh of The Sunday Times reports that the Galway man will leave RTÉ when he turns 65 next year. As Lyster is an RTÉ employee rather than a contractor he must retire at that age.

Lyster first hosted The Sunday Game in 1984, four years after he joined RTÉ. Pat Spillane took over as host of the highlights show in the mid-2000s before Des Cahill was installed in 2007.

The 63-year-old has suffered health issues in recent years. He suffered a heart attack in 2015, one from which he nearly died. Three years earlier he had endured heart failure.

Last summer saw a memorable moment for Lyster in the RTÉ studio. When Joe Canning hit a famous late winning point in the All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary, Lyster could not hold back his joy for his native county.

Lyster will be on our screens tonight for the first edition of League Sunday.


Delight in studio for the two Galway men pic.twitter.com/1et3wrkIjD — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 6, 2017

Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile