Sad to report the passing of Ballinlough's Jimmy Brady. The club have paid tribute to the one of their greatest sons on social media.

Sometimes in life the phone rings, and the information that is teleported through that little device at your ear completely floors you, and that’s the only way I can describe the feeling I and many others had, as we learnt of the passing of one of Ballinloughs greatest sons Jimmy Brady.

For me, there was no character bigger or greater in Ballinlough GFC than James Brady.

There was a quote in the Ballinlough Official Pitch Opening programme of 1993 that stated “You could travel the length and breadth of Meath and mention you were associated with Ballinlough GFC and the chances are the chap you were talking to would know of Jimmy Brady.”

Far and wide Jimmy was known and well received by players, supporters, match officials and county board committee members, all of whom have some memory or story to share about their interaction with the big man from Ballinlough.

Growing up as an only child less than a stones throw away from the club grounds, it was inevitable that Jimmy would be involved with Ballinlough GFC, and despite a shaky start in 1976 where a bit of clay throwing landed a young Jimmy in a spot of bother, all was forgiven, and Jimmy proceeded to serve the club with distinction for the next 48 years in various roles.

He was part of the Ballinlough U-12 team who won the Fr.Murphy Cup at the first opening of the Park when neighbours Carnaross were defeated. He was also on the panel of the U-14 team who defeated Bohermeen in the Div.3 Championship Final in 1978, winning the Jim Gaynor Cup, a Cup donated by Ballinlough GFC in memory of Jimmys neighbour Jim Gaynor, who lost his life in a car accident close to Jimmys home.

It was at administrative level where Jimmy really excelled for the betterment of both club and county. He took on the Secretarys role in 1980 and held the position until 1996 when he became PRO of the Meath County Board.

From that point Jimmy started attending Co.Board meetings regularly, getting lifts from the passing delegates of Oldcastle, St.Brigid’s and Moylagh as they passed his front door on the way to Navan.

Jimmy was never afraid to speak on any matter at Co.Board level and would often have motions to submit to the Convention. His encounters with various County Board Chairmen were legendary, in particular his duels with former Chairman Fintan Ginnity (RIP).

For many, Jimmys most memorable role within the club was as club Referee for what can only be described as a lifetime, first taking up the whistle in the early 80’s…there’s not too many young fellas who didn’t get their name taken at some stage by the bauld Jimmy, despite already being on first name basis with half the team Jimmy would always follow the correct procedure… “I have to book you John, what’s your name!!” was a regular declaration from Mr.Brady.

Jimmy reffed various underage Finals in Meath over the years, including taking up the whistle for Ladies games, and he even crossed the border into Cavan on occasion to help out when they were stuck for a good Referee!

He was club linesman for many years often engaging with spectators outside the wire, with Jimmy it was always one eye on the game and one eye on the crowd ! His proudest moment as a Linesman came in 1993 at the meeting of soon to be All Ireland Champions Derry and Meath, in a challenge game in Ballinlough to mark the official opening of the Park.

Jimmy got great satisfaction from Ballinlough wins, especially in Finals and the celebrations that followed, with Jimmy’s Dinner Dance victory speech’s becoming the stuff of legend!

With such a natural flair for oration, it was no surprise that Jimmy started to commentate on games in 1991, the Intermediate Championship Final meeting of Ballinlough and St.Pats being his first foray, and soon he became the commentator extraordinaire for games involving Ballinlough at all age levels over the years. Himself and Larry McEntee formed a formidable pair when covering games together from the lofty heights in Pairc Tailteann, and there’s plenty of households in the parish with precious video recordings of glory days with Jimmy on the mike and in his element.

Indeed he was such a natural that many local clubs regularly called upon Jimmy to commentate on important matches of their own.

Jimmy was a wealth of knowledge when it came to all things GAA and I know myself he was a great asset when writing many articles for the clubs social media channels, if you weren’t sure just give Jimmy a shout and he’d set you straight, there was nothing GAA related that Jimmy didn’t have at least a basic understanding of.

As a Referee Jimmy prided himself on knowing the rules inside out and could on any occasion quote any rule in the rule-book verbatim to end any discussion on whether a foul had accrued or not, there was no messing when Jimmy had a hold of the whistle.

When Jimmy was no longer in a position to be the man in the middle, he was the first to offer his services as linesman or umpire to other Referees, and while I can’t speak for them with authority, I am certain many local Referees were more than happy to have Jimmy alongside them as an extra pair of eyes and ears, and Jimmy was never shy in bringing the referees attention to something he felt may have went amiss.

Despite ill-health in recent years Jimmy always tried his best to get to Ballinlough games, and even more so when we were hosting games in the Park, provided he was feeling good, he’d be the first man in the gate to catch up on all the GAA news. Jimmy lived for these moments, walking the track during the game, stopping occasionally to chat with someone he knew and then on a bit further where invariably he’d meet another fella who was up for the chat, before retiring to the clubhouse for tea and yet more talk of GAA and life in general. These conversations, although quite simple in design, were the oxygen to Jimmy’s mind, the connection that kept him grounded and the balm for his soul in troubled times.

It is quite simply immeasurable the number of people that Jimmy crossed paths with through a mutual love of Gaelic Games, the amount of people who in the coming days and weeks that will have a story to tell will be countless.

I mentioned at the start of this piece that Jimmy was an only child, but he certainly wasn’t alone, through a symbiotic relationship, the club became his family and he supported and helped us as much as we loved and nourished him.

The Park of Ballinlough will be a quieter place without Jimmy, and it’s going to take a long time to get used to the phone not ringing with his name on the screen, but Jimmy I hope your at peace now and finally know how much you were loved and appreciated by all of us here… the Final Whistle has sounded and it’s time for you to take your place on the great pitch up above. Sleep easy Jimmy, as you’d often say at the end of a chat “I’ll be talking to you”.

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