The late Jimmy Gray has been remembered as the “Godfather of Dublin GAA” following his passing on Tuesday.
Mr Gray, who was 93, played both senior hurling and football for Dublin and was in goal for the 1961 All-Ireland hurling final defeat to Tipperary, the last time they reached the decider.
He later served as county board chairman from 1970-81 and masterminded the appointment of Kevin Heffernan as senior football manager, ushering in a transformational era for the game in the capital from 1974 on, while he also refereed at senior inter-county level.
In the 1990s, he had a spell both as Leinster Council chairman and as manager of the Dublin senior hurlers.
A founder member of the Na Fianna club in Glasnevin, he was President of the Dublin county board at the time of his passing.
In 2013, he memorably presented the Bob O’Keeffe Cup to Johnny McCaffrey as Dublin won the Leinster hurling title for the first time since his own playing heyday in 1961.
“The Godfather of Dublin GAA, King-maker, evangelist, selfless, dynamic……. just some words to describe Jimmy Gray who has passed away,” read a social media post from Dublin GAA.
It was noted how he “made one of the most important phonecalls in the history of Dublin GAA when he convinced Kevin Heffernan, as only Jimmy could, to become Dublin senior football manager in 1973. The rest, as they say, is history. A glorious history”.
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