The death has taken place of former Dublin minor star and Aussie Rules legend Jim Stynes.

Jim died in his Melbourne home at 8.20am on Tuesday local time. He was 45 years of age.

The Ballyboden giant first came to prominence when he created a formidable midfield partnership with Paul Clarke as the Dublin minors swept to All Ireland honours in 1984. Shortly after Jim emigrated to Australia and after trials was offered a contract with the Melbourne Demons Football Club.

From 1987 until 1998 our most successful GAA export Down Under played 264 times for Melbourne and later became Chairman of the club, only retiring from this role in February 2012 because of his health problems.

He was heavily involved with the Ireland - Australian Rules games, lining out both for and against Ireland. Each year the Jim Stynes medal is presented to the best Australian player of the series.

In later years the Dublin native was highly active with various charity events and wrote a number of books. He became the first non Australian to win the coveted Brownlow Medal for his exploits on the football fields and was voted Victorian of the Year in 2001,2003 and 2011. Amongst a host of other awards Jim was also chosen as the Melburnian of the Year for 2010.

In July 2009 a growth on Jim's neck was dignosed as cancerous, a disease which subsequently spread to other parts of his body. He underwent numerous operations since.

His younger brother Brian was a vital part of the strong Dublin team of the early 1990s and after winning a number of provincial awards was centre field as Dublin overcame Tyrone in the 1995 All Ireland decider. Another brother David also wore the Sky Blue at minor and under 21 level.

Jim Stynes retained his dignity and acted with extreme courage right up until the very end. Recent weeks have seen him attending a Melbourne game against Hawthorn and celebrating his son's seventh birthday. He died peacefully at home in the loving care of his family and is survived by his immediate family of wife Samantha, son Tiernan and daughter Matisse.

Ar dheis laimh De go raibh a anam. Tweet

Most Read Stories