Michael Clarke (radio presenter)

Michael Clarke is a radio personality in Northern Ireland. He is currently the Station Manager of Lisburn's 98FM and a contributor for BBC Radio Ulster.

Broadcasting work
Michael began working in radio in June 2005, aged just 15, on local RSL station Carrickfergus FM. During his time there Michael quickly established himself as one of their main presenters during their bi-annual broadcasts. In recent years he has been privileged to interview numerous celebrity guests ranging from well-known broadcasters to former international footballers and host a variety of events across Northern Ireland.

In his young career Michael has worked with both the BBC and U105. Having attended various BBC Blast trainee courses Michael went one better and won a BBC competition to become BBC Sport Northern Ireland's  'Young Sports Commentator of the Year 2010'  chosen from an expert panel including veteran broadcaster Jackie Fullerton. As a result of this achievement Michael was picked to commentate for the BBC on two live televised football matches at the prestigious international youth tournament, The Milk Cup. The two matches assigned to Michael were an opening tie for Manchester United as well as the Premier Section semi-final which featured eventual tournament champions Etoile Lusitana of Senegal.

Despite being better known as a presenter Michael also has experience as a guest speaker and has acted as compere for several events. He is also very passionate about production work and this was best showcased over 18 months at U105 as a broadcast assistant, aiding the presenters and taking your calls.

Michael is an avid user of Social Media and this was recognised by the founders of the Northern Ireland Social Media Awards. He was nominated in Category 16 for 'Best Use of Social Media by a Northern Irish celebrity or personality' and having made it all the way into the final, he finished a respectable 4th (Stephen Nolan won it).

In September 2011, Michael was 1 of only 20 people in the UK to be selected from over 650 applicants to take part in the BBC Aim High training academy in England. Michael successfully completed the bootcamp in October and now is a contributor for BBC Radio Ulster and Foyle. He has featured on the following programmes: 'Sunday Sequence', 'Breakfast' and 'Sportsound'.

Michael can also be heard on Lisburn's 98FM, where he works as Station Manager. You can hear his show on 98.8FM every Monday and Tuesday from 12-2pm for light-hearted entertainment and an eclectic mix of music. On Fridays from 3-4pm he co-presents The Score with Colm McAlinden, a sports-orientated talk show.

Background
Michael comes from a sporting background, as a teenager he captained his hometown football team Carrick Rangers at Youth level which he has spoken about on air and has also played basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters - an opportunity given to him by his school basketball coach of the time, Gareth Maguire (the youngest and most capped Irish Senior Men’s International Basketball player).

Michael lived in Coleraine for 3 years during his studies and graduated from University of Ulster in 2011.