Paul Kimmage interviews Jim McGuinness

[Jinxy]

I most certainly would not be in the 'Jim for President' camp, but I do find him very interesting.
That doesn't mean I always agree with him or his methods, but he's a complex character.
I haven't read his book yet so maybe I would have been less engaged with this interview if I had.
As I said before, the 'life' stuff he talks about is more interesting to me than the football stuff.

[tiempo]

Jim should run for President he would be some leader.

He would alienate most around him. With respect to him, I don't get all the attention or adulation towards him. He's far from the first to drop out of school only to go back and resit the exams (e.g. Eoin Larkin). There was nothing new in the interview that wasn't reprinted or in the public domain before, the tragedies that have befallen his family have been highlighted in the past. I don't remember him as being a particularly great player, though I'm open to correction. I didn't rate him highly as a manager because I though he was too intense and fell out with some around him needlessly (McHugh, Cassidy, Rory Gallagher), and he didn't show too much grace in the post-match interviews in 2012. He won an All-Ireland he could have lost and lost won they should have won.

I just don't find him in any way inspirational, that's all. I don't especially like Brian Cody but he'd make a better President.

We are a nation of knockers. That said I agree with you.

[seafoid]

Jim should run for President he would be some leader.

He would alienate most around him. With respect to him, I don't get all the attention or adulation towards him. He's far from the first to drop out of school only to go back and resit the exams (e.g. Eoin Larkin). There was nothing new in the interview that wasn't reprinted or in the public domain before, the tragedies that have befallen his family have been highlighted in the past. I don't remember him as being a particularly great player, though I'm open to correction. I didn't rate him highly as a manager because I though he was too intense and fell out with some around him needlessly (McHugh, Cassidy, Rory Gallagher), and he didn't show too much grace in the post-match interviews in 2012. He won an All-Ireland he could have lost and lost won they should have won.

I just don't find him in any way inspirational, that's all. I don't especially like Brian Cody but he'd make a better President.

We are a nation of knockers. That said I agree with you.

Half of the nation has knockers

[Halfquarter]

Jim should run for President he would be some leader.

He would alienate most around him. With respect to him, I don't get all the attention or adulation towards him. He's far from the first to drop out of school only to go back and resit the exams (e.g. Eoin Larkin). There was nothing new in the interview that wasn't reprinted or in the public domain before, the tragedies that have befallen his family have been highlighted in the past. I don't remember him as being a particularly great player, though I'm open to correction. I didn't rate him highly as a manager because I though he was too intense and fell out with some around him needlessly (McHugh, Cassidy, Rory Gallagher), and he didn't show too much grace in the post-match interviews in 2012. He won an All-Ireland he could have lost and lost won they should have won.

I just don't find him in any way inspirational, that's all. I don't especially like Brian Cody but he'd make a better President.

We are a nation of knockers. That said I agree with you.

Half of the nation has knockers

The best footballers in Mayo have knockers.

[Bord na Mona man]

Jim should run for President he would be some leader.

He would alienate most around him. With respect to him, I don't get all the attention or adulation towards him. He's far from the first to drop out of school only to go back and resit the exams (e.g. Eoin Larkin). There was nothing new in the interview that wasn't reprinted or in the public domain before, the tragedies that have befallen his family have been highlighted in the past. I don't remember him as being a particularly great player, though I'm open to correction. I didn't rate him highly as a manager because I though he was too intense and fell out with some around him needlessly (McHugh, Cassidy, Rory Gallagher), and he didn't show too much grace in the post-match interviews in 2012. He won an All-Ireland he could have lost and lost won they should have won.

I just don't find him in any way inspirational, that's all. I don't especially like Brian Cody but he'd make a better President.

We are a nation of knockers. That said I agree with you.

Half of the nation has knockers

On average everyone in the country has 1.02 knockers.

[seafoid]

Jim should run for President he would be some leader.

He would alienate most around him. With respect to him, I don't get all the attention or adulation towards him. He's far from the first to drop out of school only to go back and resit the exams (e.g. Eoin Larkin). There was nothing new in the interview that wasn't reprinted or in the public domain before, the tragedies that have befallen his family have been highlighted in the past. I don't remember him as being a particularly great player, though I'm open to correction. I didn't rate him highly as a manager because I though he was too intense and fell out with some around him needlessly (McHugh, Cassidy, Rory Gallagher), and he didn't show too much grace in the post-match interviews in 2012. He won an All-Ireland he could have lost and lost won they should have won.

I just don't find him in any way inspirational, that's all. I don't especially like Brian Cody but he'd make a better President.

We are a nation of knockers. That said I agree with you.

Half of the nation has knockers

On average everyone in the country has 1.02 knockers.

Compared to China, the knockers are much more prominent in Ireland

[ZeitChrist]

I remember quite clearly Jim being on the Late Late a few years ago and speaking about the death of his brothers in a very poignant and eloquent way. He seems to remember both moments so vividly and spoke in a very touching manner about the kind of people they were and their influence on who he is as a person and what he has achieved. I couldn't stop thinking about how hard it would be to come to terms with being witness to the deaths of not one but two siblings and the feelings he must have had to cope with down through the years, the survivor's guilt especially in relation to the second brother's death. He said it took him 10 years to even come to terms with the fact his brother had died. What an immense grieving process. I'm sure he had a lot more feelings to work through even after that and to this day.

[seafoid]

What is interesting about McGuinness is that he keeps on pushing the boundaries and asking questions. Celtic isn't the end game.

[mouview]

What is interesting about McGuinness is that he keeps on pushing the boundaries and asking questions. Celtic isn't the end game.

But what boundaries and what questions Seaf? If he keeps doing that, nobody will work with him and he'll ultimately be only a nuisance. (Man-)management is tricky and not always about being on the edge, (vide Davy Fitz getting the P45 from the Clare hurlers), it's about forging a proper workable path forwards. An analogy I favour is Formula 1 drivers trying to thread a dry line through wet conditions in a Grand Prix.

[skeog]

Easy for Eoin Larkin to return to education full pay from army for the two years also two more years towards a gold plated pension so dont compare him to Jim.

[An Watcher]

I'm not a Jimmy McGuinness fan however you have to admire how he took a bunch of decent footballers to not only an ulster title but an all-Ireland title.  I don't think his team had as many top class players as other counties yet the system he devised got the best out of them.  Winning an all Ireland with Donegal probably equates to a Kerry or Dublin 3 in a row. 

[ashman]

Easy for Eoin Larkin to return to education full pay from army for the two years also two more years towards a gold plated pension so dont compare him to Jim.

A private is the army is hardly a gold plated pension.  McGuinness and Larkin both deserve credit.

[ONeill]

He definitely has a blind spot over Boguegate. It's weird how many journalists refuse to question him over his decision to ask Cassidy back into the squad to which Cassidy refused.

[ck]

McGuinness annoys me as he is so self absorbed although I do find him intriguing. He is very aware of who he is and is very good at self promoting but who can blame him as he has carved out a career in sport. For me every word he utters is about him promoting himself and that's why he gets so annoyed when he's probed or questioned.

If you compare him to other GAA managers like Cody or Harte who have endured the test of time he's behind them. He had big impact with a team, but could he have come back and done it again and again? Who knows. I think he knew that he got the maximum from them and would struggle to return to the well. I hope he does go into soccer management to see how far he can progress.

[trileacman]

Most articles written about Jim are purely hagiographical accounts so it's interesting to see one that exhibits Jim warts and all.

His demeanor, single mindedness and his obtuse nature very much reflect other great managers of our generation. Cody and Harte are equally flawed as individuals, both are uncompromising and, for avowed Christian's, particularly unforgiving. That's what's make them champions though and what irks me is that when you win a championship all of a sudden you're a white knight and society's hero. That's what makes shite like "Jim for president" and "blue-print for our education system" so nauseating.

We can respect these individuals and their feats, there is no need for the over the top adulation.