Jim McKeever
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamas Mac Íomhair | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Born | 1931 Ballymaguigan, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland |
||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Nickname | Gentleman Jim | ||
| Occupation | Teacher/lecturer (retired) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 1957–≈1970 Late 1940s-Mid1950s 1953–1956 ?-? |
Ballymaguigan Newbridge Downpatrick Leicester Young Irelands |
||
| Club titles | |||
| Derry titles | 3 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
| 1948–1962 | Derry | ? | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Ulster titles | 1 | ||
James McKeever (Irish: Séamas Mac Íomhair; born 1931) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. He played for the Derry GAA team in the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s and played club football for St. Trea's GFC Ballymaguigan and Seán O'Leary's GAC Newbridge. He was captain of the Derry side that finished runners-up to Dublin in the 1958 All-Ireland Championship.
McKeever was a very versatile player as evidenced by his playing in all positions with the exception of goalkeeper and wing half back during his Derry career. He started out his inter-county career as a half-forward, but is chiefly remembered as a midfielder for both club and county and has been frequently described as "one of the greatest midfielders of all time". He was renowned for his high-fielding ability – described by Kerry legend Mick O'Connell as the best catcher he ever played against. Other skills in his repertoire include his surging runs forwards from midfield, shooting accuracy and free taking ability. McKeever was named in the Football Team of the Century comprising players who never won an All-Ireland. He played an "inspirational role" in helping put Derry on the GAA map.
After retiring from playing, he served as manager of a number of teams. In 2009 he was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People in GAA History. Former Tyrone manager Art McRory said of McKeever "That man has done more to promote the GAA than any other person I know."
McKeever was born in 1931 into a GAA interested home, in the small townland of Ballymaguigan on the western shores of Lough Neagh. He went to the local St Trea's primary school where he helped develop his football skills, before boarding at St Malachy's College, Belfast. The first inter-county football game he attended was Derry versus Leitrim in a 1938 National League playoff game with his father, and the quarter-final defeat to Roscommon a week later. He looked up to players who played for local team Newbridge at the time (the Ballymaguigan team hadn't been formed yet), such as Barney Murphy and John McGrogan. McKeever said "To me they were heroes at that stage". He also admired Mick Higgins of Cavan.
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