Who is Jim Gavin? The short answer... He is the current manager of the Dublin senior football team, a father, a husband and an assistant director in the Irish Aviation Authority.
Having interviewed him dozens of times since he took the top job in Dublin GAA I have no real insight though into who Jim Gavin is.
Nobody in the media does, the Dublin manager has yet to give a glimpse of his personality in his dealings with the media.
He has an impressive ability to talk for 20 minutes without saying anything of note. Gavin's penchant for privacy and his refusal to give the media any insight into his team or the inner workings of his mind has drawn criticism from some in the media.
Paul Kimmage took exception to comments made by Gavin after Dublin’s one point victory over Mayo in the All Ireland football final.
The journalist accused the Dublin manager of lacking empathy, showing no grace and disrespecting the media while appearing on Off The Ball's paper review on Sunday.
Gavin's demeanour would not have surprised any of the reporters who have had regular dealings with him during his tenure as Dublin manager.
Gavin sees his media duties as just that – duties. He must do them, he will do them. He will give his time because he has to, but he does not have to speak his mind.
The Dublin manager will talk for the requisite time but it is not in his interest to entertain or provide insight to the media. Kimmage took Gavin’s business like behaviour as cold and disdainful.
Nobody who has encountered Gavin in a professional capacity can give a glimpse into the man away from the mic.
Only those who know Jim Gavin can give any real insight into what he is like.
His nephew Colm Gavin, a musician, shared a story before the final that revealed more about the Dublin football manager than countless hours of dreary interviews:
"When people talk about Jim the usually go with the inescapable 'army tactics, open attractive football, meticulous confidentiality among the squad'.
"Those are the qualities that make him one of the best managers the county ever had, when I see him, I see the guy who has come to almost every major gig I've played.
"Who sends me a congratulatory text even if I have achieved the simplest of things, who goes out of his way to be supportive and show an active interest in everything I've done in all aspects of my life.
"He's one hell of a manager alright, he's one hell of an uncle too".
Blue blood runs through Dublin Veins 💙 #COYBIB #UpTheDubs #Family #Uncle #Dublin #Allireland #CrokePark pic.twitter.com/bHAInaj57X
— Colm Gavin (@colm144) September 16, 2017
The Dublin manager did give an intriguing glimpse into what he might be like away from the glare of the spotlight when addressing his club-mates at Round Towers Clondalkin.
“In my humble opinion, we probably had our best performance in an All-Ireland final, under the particular circumstances.
“We faced a team that was desperate to win, since 1951 they've been trying to win the All-Ireland so you see what it means to them, the support they had, the run they had been on. We had five games - they had nine, which was big for them.
“But to open with a brilliant controlled goal expertly finished by Con (O'Callaghan), but it was a real team goal if you look back on it.
“Then to suffer the setback of losing Jack McCaffrey, we had to move a couple of pawns around the chess board. We were on the ropes, but we got into the dressing room, we reset them, and we went out for the second half.
“We went two points up, playing really well, an outstanding goal by Lee Keegan, as he always seems to do against us but yet again, what really impressed myself, Shane O'Hanlon, Declan Darcy and Jason Sherlock, we got great pride from seeing the players.
“Not only their physical attributes but the real measure of these characters in the heat of battle.
“When the pressure is on, that's when your character comes out. And to see how the Dublin players managed themselves in those crucial final moments of the game.
“They knew exactly what they wanted to do, and for me, that was our best performance for as long as we have been involved."
Gavin also spoke on the impact his parents had on him, you can watch his full remarks below. The speech was live streamed by the Hill 16 Army facebook page.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
