I met Jim Gavin in a pub the night before an All-Ireland final and learned more about him there than in dozens of press conferences
There was a time when Donegal people were optimistic about big games against Kerry. Rewind to Saturday, September 21, 2014, and it was clear the county was at fever pitch. On that Saturday night in the capital, the place was heaving with Donegal folk. When Donegal played Kerry in this year's All-Ireland final, many from the north-west made the trip to and from Dublin on the Sunday - largely due to hefty hotel prices. But, 11 years ago, things were different. Donegal was on an unreal high following the stunning mugging of the supposedly unbeatable Dubs in the semi-finals. Kerry were Kerry, but the consensus was that they weren't anywhere near the level of their great teams of the past. So Donegal people were determined to enjoy the weekend to the fullest. I met up with a fellow Glencolmcille man - Noel Hegarty, corner-back on the Donegal team that won their first All-Ireland in 1992 - and we ended up in the upstairs bar of the Boar's Head pub on Capel Street. We found a corner with a bit of elbow room and the pints flowed. The place was thronged but it was hard not to notice Jim Gavin. The then Dublin manager was having a quiet pint, but posed again and again for photographs and shook hands with strangers. Then Gavin inched his way towards the corner where we were perched.
Fianna Fail presidential candidate Jim Gavin meets educational needs campaigner Cara Darmody, aged 15, from Tipperary, (parental permission given) during the Ploughing Championships at Tullamore, Co Offaly. Picture date: Tuesday September 16, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire
I'd have run into Jim at plenty of press gigs, and he'd marked Noel back in their playing days. So we shot the breeze and he was fine company. Relaxed and in good humour. A bit of football talk, but much of it was about the Under-10s he coaches. He talked about his wife, Jennifer, and how they'd been together since they were teenagers. The following morning, Noel was still talking about Gavin. "A great fella." As for the game that afternoon, it's still to raw to go into... But something happened in that upstairs bar that we kept wondering about as the years passed. A Kerry great had been on 'Up for the Match' on RTE and had grabbed a taxi to head to the Boar's Head straight afterwards. He too had marked Noel in his playing days and joined our company. He gave his view on the final: "There's one thing I'll tell you, we won't be as naive and stupid as Dublin were against ye." The Kerry great didn't notice Gavin was alongside us until it was too late. Gavin didn't say anything, just stood there with that Mona Lisa smile on his face, as the Kerry great muttered embarrassed apologies. Did that night stick in Gavin's mind when he was plotting game-plans for Kerry in the years afterwards? It would be a surprise if he just brushed it off. I remember Gavin's initial press conference as Dublin manager well, not for anything he said, but for the impression he made. It was so quiet that a clock in a nearby office, upstairs in Parnell Park, could be heard ticking. The press conference had been scheduled for noon and, usually, there's a bit of flexibility with such scheduling. But, as a bell from the clock rang out to mark it striking 12, Gavin came through the door. He must have turned the handle on the b of bong... Punctuality matters to men of a military background like Gavin. He was never going to be late - not even by a minute - for his High Noon unveiling. He looked the part too. Polished shoes. Impeccably tailored navy suit, with a tie to match. A gleaming white shirt. Not a hair out of place. And that was the way all through his time as Dublin manager. Gavin was professional and polite and always in control. And he gave us very little to work with. Sometimes I'd be tearing my hair out because another reporter took leave of his senses and asked Gavin what he made of whatever team Dublin were due to play next. We had learned the hard way never to do this.
Jim Gavin with his father
(Image: ©INPHO/Oisin Keniry)
Gavin would patiently list the players one by one and their many strengths - none of them ever had any weakness. On one memorable occasion, he wasn't content with going through 15. He gave us the run-down on five or six subs as well. The last time I met Gavin was a year ago in his office in the Irish Aviation Authority's building on D'Olier Street. What do I remember from that chat? Gavin's notebook. I was meeting him for a project looking at how the Dublin footballers impacted on the social history of the capital from 1974 to 2024. Gavin showed me the notes he'd made on taking the Dublin job. The notes weren't about his players or different styles of play. Instead, he had catalogued how Dublin had done year by year in the post-War period and how their League form impacted on the Championship. People who mention 'attention to detail' are just reaching for a handy cliche, but it rings true with Gavin. That is why, even though he is out of his comfort zone, he has to be taken very seriously as a candidate for President of Ireland. It is a personality contest unlike anything else in Irish politics, and Gavin won't find this easy as he is an essentially private man. From our chat a year ago, I remember Gavin talking about attending Kevin Heffernan's funeral in January, 2013. Gavin was only a few months into the Dublin job and had yet to take charge of the team for a proper game. But, when he arrived at the church, he was ushered up to a pew at the front. That was because of his status as Dublin manager. It reminded him, Gavin told me, of the status of the position he held. Now he's going for a position with the highest status of all in Ireland. Only a fool would write him off.
