William Broderick competed in the men’s 400 metres freestyle at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games as one of the most distinguished singers in Ireland – a bass vocalist of rare quality who was also an accomplished linguist and Gaelic League member.

From Queensberry Park in Belfast, Broderick worked as a post office employee who had established his reputation at Feis Ceoil competitions, winning the Joseph O’Meara Memorial Cup – the major Feis singing competition – three times in succession.

He was a regular broadcaster on Radio Eireann and BBC Northern Ireland and was the choirmaster at St Malachy’s Church in Belfast, where the mixed voice choir became one of the most outstanding in the country. His wide-ranging repertoire included Mozart, Handel, Schubert and Beethoven arias.

He finished last in his heat of the 400m freestyle, though he improved on his Irish title-winning time by eight seconds.