THEY MAY NEVER have met but Michael Darragh MacAuely still believes Jim Stynes was an inspirational figure both for him personally and the wider world.
The 2013 Footballer of the Year plays his club football for Ballyboden St. Enda’s, the same team Stynes first played for as a child before moving to Australia where, of course, he became a national hero for his exploits with the Melbourne Australian Rules team and his charity work with the Reach Foundation.
“I didn’t know Jim and never met him. He was in my house a couple of times when I was younger I think but I don’t really remember it.
“Obviously he was a hugely inspirational guy and is such a big figure in Australia. The book and documentary on him were both amazing.”
Jim’s brother Brian – who helped Dublin beat Meath in the 1995 Leinster final – is someone the midfield star is much more familiar with having tracked his career from an early age.
“Brian was someone I looked up to when I was young and following the Dubs. He played midfield and was playing when I started going to matches. He lived only a few doors down for me. I’d know the family fairly well.
“He’s well settled in Australia now but I met up with him after the celebrations of last year’s All-Ireland. He turned up in the Gibson on the night of the final. I didn’t recognize him at all at first.
“He came up to me and said ‘well done’. I said ‘thanks’.
“Then he said, ‘I’ve flown thousands of miles and you don’t even recognize me!’.
“I started laughing then and figured out who he was.”
