From 2007
Over the past few weeks, we knew Jim Mac, a legend not just in Donore but in Dublin athletics, was slipping away. After his cancer diagnosis, he had stunned his “girls” when he walked from his Cabra home to a hills session in the Phoenix Park. He was soon too ill even for visitors.
As Frank McNally puts it in his wonderful Irish Times tribute today, Donore was already bereft and Tuesday and Thursday sessions had a great gaping hole in their middle.
Since Jim lost his battle, the outpouring of grief has underlined the impact this modest, graceful, quietly spoken man with the core of steel made in his 76 years. As a competitor, Jim was the backbone of the all-conquering Donore team of the 1960s and 1970s; at the age of 37, he ran the best race of his life to qualify for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. As a master, he went on to win numerous world and European titles, as well as breaking records in every age group as his moved from over 40 to – most recently – over 75. Along the way he had bouts of ill health – a heart problem in his early 60s and then a stroke. Jim kept going with not a trace of complaint or self-pity.
When Jim’s master’s career was at its zenith, my father Ben came to hear of him – then a widower struggling to raise three children – and, struck by his modesty and determination, helped finance some of his trips abroad. On his return from his trips, Jim would visit the Ashling Hotel (then the family business) with a small souvenir of his travels.
It created a link with my family that never ended. Every year would come the Christmas card, with a few well chosen words; much appreciated. At the funerals of my father in 2006 and my mother only last July, Jim was there lending his support. I’m sure there are dozens of similar stories of his kindness, thoughtfulness and humanity.
Jim started coaching “the girls” in Donore about twenty years ago. They will miss him hugely – as will his immediate family, his neighbours and his many friends. What a truly valuable life he lived. May he rest in peace.
No comments yet.