Football Immortal - Roscommon's Jimmy Murray Not a day goes by without the Knockcroghery great recalling the pain of those tragic last few minutes of the drawn All-Ireland Final clash with Kerry in 1946 Only five footballer in the history of the game have captained their counties to consecutive All-Ireland victories. One of these men is the great Roscommon leader, Jimmy Murray, who holds the records of having led his men in five All-Ireland final parades... twice in 1943 (final and replay), once in 1944 and twice again in 1946 (final and replay). The Knockcroghery native, who is now 77 years of age and still plays a game of golf twice a week, went so close to becoming the only man to have led his side to the ultimate victory on three occasions, but the footballers from Kerry put paid to that ambition in the cruellest manner possible. "That was a big disappointment. We were leading by six points with a few minutes to go but Kerry came back with two goals to draw and of course they won the replay. It was a tragedy which still galls me and there's not a day goes by without me thinking of it." In 1947, (when Jimmy, or Jamesie as he is known in Knockcroghery, was once again captain), it was decided that the All Ireland final would be played in the Polo Grounds in New York. "It would have been a week long holiday as the teams were to travel by boat. We were hot favourites to beat Cavan and our bags were already packed. We should have won that game but were too confident, just like in 1945. We could have won four All-Irelands." But they did have the pleasure of winning two. "1943 was like a dream come true. As a young fella I was daft on football. It had always been a dream of mine to play Roscommon in an All-Ireland and to do so as captain was just something else and it was even better to have my brother Phelim in the team with me. He was there again in '44 when we beat Kerry, which you have to do to be accepted as a good team. By doing that we proved that we were not flash in the pan. I scored 1-1 in '43 against Cavan in the drawn game and two points against Kerry." President of the County Board and of his club St Dominics (recent winners of the Senior Hurling Championship for the first time in 27 years), Jimmy was given a Bank of Ireland Hall of Fame award last year. "That was a terrific honour and I got a lovely replica of the Sam Maguire Cup from Cavan Crystal." Roscommon's achievement in winning an All-Ireland Senior title in '43 was all the more amazing for the fact that the primrose and blues were a Junior side just three years earlier, having been regarded in 1938. "We beat Westmeath in the All-Ireland Junior final in 1940. There was a friendly between us but we won pretty easily (2-9 to 0-5). That team plus the Minors who had won the All-Irelands in 1939 and 1941 provided the nucleus of the '43 side. Nearly all of that starting fifteen hand All-Ireland medals." Jimmy cannot understand why Roscommon have failed to produce an All-Ireland winnint team since and is at a loss to explain the frailty of Connacht's challenge over the years since Galway's victory in 1966. "I can't make out what has happened. From 1936-66 there were 10 Connacht winners which was terrific, but not one since. I can't put my finger on the reason why. These things just happen. 50 years ago Ulster teams were a soft touch and if you were due to meet them in the semi-final you considered yourself to be through to the final. Nowadays they own the Sam Maguire." When asked who were the top players in his time, the Roscommon legend rhymes off a series of names, all of whom would have done justices to the much over used word 'great': Joe Keohane, Jackie Lyne, Paddy 'Bawn' Brosnan, Mick Kelly, Bill Dillon, Billy Casey, Frank O'Keefe - father of John (all Kerry), Mick Higgins, John Joe and Big Tom Reilly (Cavan), Billy Goodison (Wexford) and Peadar Carney and Sean Flanagan (Mayo). "There was great football being played then." If Jimmy Murray had his way he would change a few of the rules in gaelic football. "In our time we stayed in our position. It was man to man which made it a lot easier for the referees. Nowadays if you make a great catch, you're bottled up and a free is given against you. Liam Honohan caught a load of ball for Cork against Down and wasn't able to get away. I think you should get a mark in that situation." "The tackle is also a big headache," continues the proprietor of the Sam Maguire pub in Knockcroghery, where the football used in the 1944 All-Ireland hangs from the ceiling and you're always welcome for a pint, especially if you want to talk football. "It was all shouldering in our time and that never hurt anybody, only a fella's pride. There was no pulling and dragging. In the 1943 final there were only 27 free, as against 67 now. Even allowing for the extra 10 minutes, that's a big difference. I also think that you should be allowed pick the ball clean off the ground like in ladies football - it would make the game much faster. It would avoid a lot of the scrum formations which take place. The handpass also needs to be looked at. The players are throwing the ball. it's like a rugby pass. They're just like scrum halves. The fisted pass is the only way." That's not to say that Jimmy doesn't rate the modern game. "The final this year was terrific. The commitment was colossal .. the players would have gone through fire and water. As I say, if I gave people as much enjoyment when I was playing as I get now from watching games such as the Kerry/Dublin ones of the seventies and the Dublin/Meath ones of 1991, I'd be a happy man." Jimmy, who sees himself as an attack leader in the Tony Hanahoe mould has no regrets however. "I am definitely happy with my career and I have no regrets bar those last five minutes against Kerry." The pain remains but so does the joy, as he says "memories last forever." Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 14th Oct 1994 Tweet

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