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Gray was The Godfather of the renaissance of Gaelic games in the capital as well as playing for the Dubs at senior level in both codes
In the period of transition from the 1950s into the early television age, Dublin hurlers left a modest indentation on the national consciousness. Sixty-one years ago, they won the Leinster senior title in Kilkenny, beating Wexford, who were reigning All-Ireland champions.
While they would go on to lose the All-Ireland final to Tipperary by just a point, a defining moment of missed opportunity for Dublin hurling, at least the Leinster title meant they savoured the feeling of winning a championship. They had a tangible reward, but no glorious dawn was breaking. It is one of the moments relived in a recent autobiography of Jimmy Gray, now 92, the goalkeeper on that team.
The next provincial success would be in 2013 when Gray had the pleasure of presenting the cup to winning captain Johnny McCaffrey.
Jimmy Gray was 31 in 1981 when Wexford came to play Dublin in Nowlan Park for the Bob O'Keeffe Cup, having disposed of Kilkenny in the semi-final. The Wexford full-forward Andy Doyle had scored four of their six goals, but in the final, he was neutralised by Noel Drumgoole, who held Doyle scoreless. Dublin won 7-5 to 4-8 before a crowd of around 40,000.
Gray remembers an episode on the bus journey home. They ate in Carlow and were moving through Castledermot around 11 that night when two of the followers on board prevailed upon the bus driver to stop for a drink. Jim Prior and Ned Dunphy were friends and former Dublin players. Prior had been centre-back and captain on the Dublin team beaten by Cork in the 1952 All-Ireland final. Although closing time had passed, they claimed to know a local pub owner and felt they could persuade her to serve a drink to celebrate the victory.
Gray says most of the Dublin players didn't drink and many had work the next day and just wanted to get home. In his book, he recounts the moment. "When they knocked on the door, the owner peeped out and said she could not let them in as there was a new guard in town and...