Hector Ó hEochagáin facts for kids

Shane Ó hEochagáin (born 17 August 1969), known to everyone as Hector, is a famous Irish TV and radio presenter. He was born in Drogheda, County Louth, and grew up in Navan, County Meath.

Hector is most famous for his exciting travel shows on TG4, which is Ireland's Irish-language TV station. He has also hosted popular radio shows and a very successful podcast.

Hector's Amazing Career

Hector, whose birth name is Shane Keogan, went to St Patrick's Classical School in Navan. He was in school at the same time as other famous Irish comedians, Tommy Tiernan and Dylan Moran.

Early TV Adventures

Hector first became well-known in Ireland with his travel show called Amú on TG4. This show took viewers on journeys to different places.

After his first few series, he created and hosted two more popular shows. Only Fools Buy Horses was a funny look at owning racehorses. Hanging with Hector showed Hector spending time with famous Irish people.

Meeting Famous Faces

On Hanging with Hector, he met many interesting people. One time, he spent time with Bertie Ahern, who was the leader of Ireland at the time. He also had a penalty shootout with famous goalkeeper Shay Given. Another episode showed him playing snooker against champion Ken Doherty. He even spent time with Aidan O'Brien, one of the world's best racehorse trainers.

Hector has won many awards for his TV shows, called Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs). He also presented radio shows with his good friend Tommy Tiernan.

Travels and Documentaries

Hector has filmed many series for TG4 where he travelled all over the world. He explored places from Siberia to Saigon, and throughout Britain and Ireland.

He also presented two funny documentaries about rugby. In Chasing the Lions, he followed the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour in New Zealand. In Chasing the Blues, he followed the Irish rugby team during the World Cup in France.

Radio and New Shows

In 2010, Hector started presenting the breakfast show on RTÉ 2fm, a big radio station. The show was on every weekday morning.

In 2013, he presented a new TV series on RTÉ 1 called Hector Goes. This series explored different parts of Irish life.

Exploring Irish Life

In Hector Goes Holy, he looked at the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland today. In Hector Goes Traveller, he learned about the Traveller way of life in Ireland. For Hector Goes Country, he joined country music star Mike Denver to discover the world of country music. The last episode, Hector Goes Hunting, showed him exploring hunting and shooting in Ireland. This series was very popular, with over 1.8 million viewers.

A new series of Hector Goes started in 2014. One episode was called Hector Goes Fishing, and another was Hector Goes Courtin.

Across America and Podcasts

In 2019, Hector presented Hector USA - Ó Chósta go Cósta. In this show, he took an amazing road trip across the Southern United States. He drove over 5,000 miles, visiting 8 states from Savannah on the Atlantic coast to San Diego on the Pacific coast.

From 2020 to 2024, Hector was part of a very popular podcast called The Tommy, Hector and Laurita Podcast.

In November 2024, Hector's non-fiction book, The Irish Words You Should Know, won an award at the 2024 Irish Book Awards.