Jamesie Murray

Jamesie / (Jimmy) Murray (May 5 1917 – Jan 23 2007) was one of the Gaelic Athletic Association most decorated Gaelic footballers. The Knockcroghery man, one of only six captains to lift the Sam Maguire Cup twice, (the others being Joe Barrett, Kerry; John Joe O’Reilly, Cavan; Seán Flanagan, Mayo; Enda Colleran, Galway and Tony Hanahoe, Dublin) was also the only Roscommon man ever to captain the county to ultimate glory. He was the first man to ever captain a team to back to back GAA Senior All Ireland football wins and also still has the distinction of being the only captain to have led a team in five separate Senior All Ireland final match appearances, (1943, 43 replay, 1944, 1946, 46 replay)

He was the winner of four Connacht senior championships 1943, 44, 46 and 47, two Connacht junior titles 1939 & 1940, and one All-Ireland junior championship in 1940. At club level, he captained his club St Patrick's (latter day name St Dominics)[1] to all of their six Roscommon senior football championships, and he won two county junior championships. Jimmy Murray was also an accomplished hurler and won one Roscommon senior championship with Roscommon Gaels in 1938.

Jimmy Murray was born to John and Susan (nee Walls) Murray, in May 1917, in Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon. His mother, a native of Magherafelt, Co Derry, was a teacher and his father ran a grocery and pub in Knockcroghery. He married Ann Costello, Headford Co Galway, who died in 1992.

He was educated at the local national school and his secondary school education was at Harrison Hall technical school and the De La Salle Brothers in Roscommon town. From an early age, he was a Gaelic football fanatic, and he played minor football for Roscommon in 1934 and 1935.

In 1939, he played on a Roscommon team that defeated Limerick in the All-Ireland junior football semi-final, only to lose to Dublin in the final. A year later, Roscommon returned to win the final with a comprehensive triumph over Westmeath.

The stock of Roscommon football was on the rise, and more experienced players like Jimmy Murray, Dr Donal Keenan (later to serve as president of the GAA), Owensie Hoare and Hugh Gibbons looked forward to the arrival on the senior team of the young players who won All-Ireland minor titles for the county in 1939 and 1941.

The senior breakthrough came in 1943, when they defeated Galway in the Connacht final, a victory that Jimmy Murray later described as "our greatest victory until that point". They went on to beat Louth in the All-Ireland semi-final and captured their first title with a 2-7 to 2-2 win over Cavan. Murray’s performance in this match was his finest hour - he had taken Roscommon from oblivion to the All-Ireland title.

His brother Phelim also played on that team, and again in 1944, when Roscommon defeated the traditional powerhouses of the game, Kerry, to add a second title. They were among the select few sets of brothers to play together in and win All Ireland titles. In 1946, Roscommon came tantalisingly close to adding a third title. In that All-Ireland final against Kerry, Murray sustained a broken nose, but came back on to the field to almost score a late winning point.

As a footballer, Jimmy Murray was a stylish and tenacious centre forward who made little of his relatively small stature to thrive in an era when physical strength was celebrated. He had outstanding leadership qualities, and even today his name is cited in Roscommon and national GAA circles as a man to be emulated.

Last October 2006, members of the Roscommon minor football team stopped off at Jimmy Murray's pub in Knockcroghery, as they transported the All-Ireland Minor trophy (Tom Markham Cup) back to the county after defeating Kerry in a replay. "It was a very emotional moment. He was old and feeble, but it meant so much to the players to meet Jimmy," said a Roscommon county board official who witnessed the meeting.

Away from the field of play, he was a lover of music, especially famous tenors such as Athlone's John Count McCormack and Mario Lanza. His party piece was "The West's Awake" and he even recorded this song on a charity CD he produced in 2003 - a recording debutant at the age of 85.

Jimmy Murray passed away peacefully on January 23rd 2007. At the age of 89 he was the oldest surviving double All Ireland winning captain and still revered and loved in his native Roscommon.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.