Every Heart Beats True: The Jim Stynes Story

[Dave Cahill]

Ant one see this tonight?

[johng]

Jasus! what a Man!
I had never heard of him.
Inspiration to us all.

[nelly the elephant]

Ant one see this tonight?

Phenomenal piece of television......very honest and moving.

Being a Dubs fan I've always been aware of him(remembering him playing as a minor back in '84-shows how old I am!). I knew of the Browlow medal he'd won in Aussie Rules and the very high regard he was heldd in over there. I had a notion that he'd "done some charity work"....I'd no idea the extent of what he'd achieved. Tremendous fella with great character, made me proud to be a Dub and Irish.

[Mackman15]

Being a Dubs fan I've always been aware of him(remembering him playing as a minor back in '84-shows how old I am!). I knew of the Browlow medal he'd won in Aussie Rules and the very high regard he was heldd in over there. I had a notion that he'd "done some charity work"....I'd no idea the extent of what he'd achieved. Tremendous fella with great character, made me proud to be a Dub and Irish.

Was the last All Ireland that i attended with my Dad that Dublin were playing in. Beaten by the Bomber and his crew but the highlight of the day was unquestionably the Minors midfield of Big Jim and Paul Clarke, the Captain.

Superb programme last night and what a tonic to the day that was in it.
Stynes was interviewed perhaps 4 or 5 weeks ago on Off the Ball, it might be worth hearing a podcast of it again.

[Dave Cahill]

Available now on the RTE player. Incredible stuff.

[Sea_point]

Available now on the RTE player. Incredible stuff.

Sadly not on RTE International Player...

Phenomonal athlete, always wondered what he would have done as a rugby player. I remember well when he headed south back in the day and his contribution to the development International Rules series. After so long down under he's a real True Blue now, the other kind though....

[Sauvignon Blank]

Hate to rain on your parade chaps but Mr Stynes is not the 'true blue Dub' hero being painted on here. I empathised with his struggle with cancer but lets get a few facts out there first.

Sean Boylan in particular would tell a different story about Mr stynes. A proud irishman he certainly IS NOT.
During a controversial series(arent they all) he made a speech to the Aussies on the eve of the game that had them all in tears & wound up, himself included. Basically he was talking about what it meant to be an Aussie , how proud he was etc blah blah blah. Funny considering hes Irish.

The thuggery witnessed on the pitch after that particular speech was believed to stem in part from that speech, in the opinion of Boylan. I remember him being o the radio absolutely livid with the Aussies but Stynes in particular who was all very blasé about his part in tawdry episode.
Boylan 'On Air' publically challenged Stynes to repeat what his speech contained, which AFAIK Stynes declined obviously. He also went on to state, if memory serves me 'Stynes should be ashamed of himself and to call himself an Irishman is laughable, he forgets where he's from.....'

[nelly the elephant]

Hate to rain on your parade chaps but Mr Stynes is not the 'true blue Dub' hero being painted on here. I empathised with his struggle with cancer but lets get a few facts out there first.

Sean Boylan in particular would tell a different story about Mr stynes. A proud irishman he certainly IS NOT.
During a controversial series(arent they all) he made a speech to the Aussies on the eve of the game that had them all in tears & wound up, himself included. Basically he was talking about what it meant to be an Aussie , how proud he was etc blah blah blah. Funny considering hes Irish.

The thuggery witnessed on the pitch after that particular speech was believed to stem in part from that speech, in the opinion of Boylan. I remember him being o the radio absolutely livid with the Aussies but Stynes in particular who was all very blasé about his part in tawdry episode.
Boylan 'On Air' publically challenged Stynes to repeat what his speech contained, which AFAIK Stynes declined obviously. He also went on to state, if memory serves me 'Stynes should be ashamed of himself and to call himself an Irishman is laughable, he forgets where he's from.....'

To be fair SB I said that I was the one who was proud to be a Dub & Irish.. The fact that Stynes now consideres himself Australian(if indeed he does) doesn't take away from the fact that he is a product of his family,Ballyboden St Endas, Dublin & Ireland. As regards the overt violence in the compromise rules series, I'm not aware of the specific example you provide but am happy to acknowledge that it happened as you seenm to have a clear recollection of what was said/done at the time. There's no way I'll accept though that he's anything like the worst instigator of the violence in that series over the years.

As far as the bould Mr Boylan is concerned........a great,great manager in his day but don't forget he was in charge of Meath when they played in that infamous series against Cork in the late 80's....hardly a shrinking violet!

[Sauvignon Blank]

Hate to rain on your parade chaps but Mr Stynes is not the 'true blue Dub' hero being painted on here. I empathised with his struggle with cancer but lets get a few facts out there first.

Sean Boylan in particular would tell a different story about Mr stynes. A proud irishman he certainly IS NOT.
During a controversial series(arent they all) he made a speech to the Aussies on the eve of the game that had them all in tears & wound up, himself included. Basically he was talking about what it meant to be an Aussie , how proud he was etc blah blah blah. Funny considering hes Irish.

The thuggery witnessed on the pitch after that particular speech was believed to stem in part from that speech, in the opinion of Boylan. I remember him being o the radio absolutely livid with the Aussies but Stynes in particular who was all very blasé about his part in tawdry episode.
Boylan 'On Air' publically challenged Stynes to repeat what his speech contained, which AFAIK Stynes declined obviously. He also went on to state, if memory serves me 'Stynes should be ashamed of himself and to call himself an Irishman is laughable, he forgets where he's from.....'

To be fair SB I said that I was the one who was proud to be a Dub & Irish.. The fact that Stynes now consideres himself Australian(if indeed he does) doesn't take away from the fact that he is a product of his family,Ballyboden St Endas, Dublin & Ireland. As regards the overt violence in the compromise rules series, I'm not aware of the specific example you provide but am happy to acknowledge that it happened as you seenm to have a clear recollection of what was said/done at the time. There's no way I'll accept though that he's anything like the worst instigator of the violence in that series over the years.

As far as the bould Mr Boylan is concerned........a great,great manager in his day but don't forget he was in charge of Meath when they played in that infamous series against Cork in the late 80's....hardly a shrinking violet!

I'm not saying he was the main instigator Nelly. He was a very divisive figure on that tour, in essence siding against the Irish team. It's laughable and equally perplexing why he felt the need to give an 'eve of battle' speech to a bunch of angry 'professional' aussies hell bent on knocking the shoite out of an Irish team of amateurs. He forgets his heritage and roots quite easily from what I can see.

I didn't watch the programme, nor will I, as I find Stynes an irrelevance in the grander scheme of sporting things.

You are correct about Boylan and his propensity to produce thuggish teams but he(and others) was spot on in his remarks about Stynes. Boylan railed against the systemic acts of violence on the pitch and Stynes lack of patriotism. He was correct imho.
Stynes jumped on the plane and high tailed it back to Oz without a care in the world.

As that great pillar of Australian popular culture Ray 'Alf' Meagher would say......'He's lower than a snakes belly'

[nelly the elephant]

Hate to rain on your parade chaps but Mr Stynes is not the 'true blue Dub' hero being painted on here. I empathised with his struggle with cancer but lets get a few facts out there first.

Sean Boylan in particular would tell a different story about Mr stynes. A proud irishman he certainly IS NOT.
During a controversial series(arent they all) he made a speech to the Aussies on the eve of the game that had them all in tears & wound up, himself included. Basically he was talking about what it meant to be an Aussie , how proud he was etc blah blah blah. Funny considering hes Irish.

The thuggery witnessed on the pitch after that particular speech was believed to stem in part from that speech, in the opinion of Boylan. I remember him being o the radio absolutely livid with the Aussies but Stynes in particular who was all very blasé about his part in tawdry episode.
Boylan 'On Air' publically challenged Stynes to repeat what his speech contained, which AFAIK Stynes declined obviously. He also went on to state, if memory serves me 'Stynes should be ashamed of himself and to call himself an Irishman is laughable, he forgets where he's from.....'

To be fair SB I said that I was the one who was proud to be a Dub & Irish.. The fact that Stynes now consideres himself Australian(if indeed he does) doesn't take away from the fact that he is a product of his family,Ballyboden St Endas, Dublin & Ireland. As regards the overt violence in the compromise rules series, I'm not aware of the specific example you provide but am happy to acknowledge that it happened as you seenm to have a clear recollection of what was said/done at the time. There's no way I'll accept though that he's anything like the worst instigator of the violence in that series over the years.

As far as the bould Mr Boylan is concerned........a great,great manager in his day but don't forget he was in charge of Meath when they played in that infamous series against Cork in the late 80's....hardly a shrinking violet!

I'm not saying he was the main instigator Nelly. He was a very divisive figure on that tour, in essence siding against the Irish team. It's laughable and equally perplexing why he felt the need to give an 'eve of battle' speech to a bunch of angry 'professional' aussies hell bent on knocking the shoite out of an Irish team of amateurs. He forgets his heritage and roots quite easily from what I can see.

I didn't watch the programme, nor will I, as I find Stynes an irrelevance in the grander scheme of sporting things.
You are correct about Boylan and his propensity to produce thuggish teams but he(and others) was spot on in his remarks about Stynes. Boylan railed against the systemic acts of violence on the pitch and Stynes lack of patriotism. He was correct imho.
Stynes jumped on the plane and high tailed it back to Oz without a care in the world.

As that great pillar of Australian popular culture Ray 'Alf' Meagher would say......'He's lower than a snakes belly'

I'd urge you to reconsider....it really was a very interesting(warts and all) piece of viewing.

[Sauvignon Blank]

I'd urge you to reconsider....it really was a very interesting(warts and all) piece of viewing.

Nah, he irked me some time ago with his actions. Not in the slightest bit interested in Jimmy Stynes of Australia via Dublin.

[Peg Leg]

Compelling watching even if the chap was from memphis.

Man beats odds = compelling veiwing

Now, if it was Gordon Ramsey, I'd be cheering for the disease. Only Joking

[Peg Leg]

I'd urge you to reconsider....it really was a very interesting(warts and all) piece of viewing.

Nah, he irked me some time ago with his actions. Not in the slightest bit interested in Jimmy Stynes of Australia via Dublin.

That is some pretty petty commentry SB.
Regardless as to where his loyalty lies, his is a story of struggle and the ability to hold it together in extraordinary circumstances.
His charity work to me out-weighs his speech to the tranny ausssie team!
Not been interested is one thing, trying to redress public opinion is little bit excessive.

[Sauvignon Blank]

I'd urge you to reconsider....it really was a very interesting(warts and all) piece of viewing.

Nah, he irked me some time ago with his actions. Not in the slightest bit interested in Jimmy Stynes of Australia via Dublin.

That is some pretty petty commentry SB.
Regardless as to where his loyalty lies, his is a story of struggle and the ability to hold it together in extraordinary circumstances.
His charity work to me out-weighs his speech to the tranny ausssie team!
Not been interested is one thing, trying to redress public opinion is little bit excessive.

Thousands in this country struggle with Cancer everyday under extrordinary circumstances in a less than perfect health system. I'm sure he had the best of care, if not better when he fought Cancer.
He does charity work like almost every other sports person ( ex or current) because they have vast amounts of spare time to do so, and its recognised that a celebrity face will help chairities.
Trying to redress public opinion? Merely adding a bit of balance to this thread by pointing out an obviously little known fact regarding his shenannigans on the Aussie rules tour years back.

[Peg Leg]

1. Thousands in this country struggle with Cancer everyday under extrordinary circumstances in a less than perfect health system. I'm sure he had the best of care, if not better when he fought Cancer.
2. He does charity work like almost every other sports person ( ex or current) because they have vast amounts of spare time to do so, and its recognised that a celebrity face will help chairities.
3. Trying to redress public opinion? Merely adding a bit of balance to this thread by pointing out an obviously little known fact regarding his shenannigans on the Aussie rules tour years back.

1. Yes they do, but thankfully some of them are recognised enough to get something like this out there to:
a) Inform people
b) gives these people hope
c) inspire the rest of us
2. He established this charity, he didn't just put his face to it.
3. How does the fact that I know you dislike the chap for been unpatriotic balance anything?

[Sauvignon Blank]

1. Thousands in this country struggle with Cancer everyday under extrordinary circumstances in a less than perfect health system. I'm sure he had the best of care, if not better when he fought Cancer.
2. He does charity work like almost every other sports person ( ex or current) because they have vast amounts of spare time to do so, and its recognised that a celebrity face will help chairities.
3. Trying to redress public opinion? Merely adding a bit of balance to this thread by pointing out an obviously little known fact regarding his shenannigans on the Aussie rules tour years back.

1. Yes they do, but thankfully some of them are recognised enough to get something like this out there to:
a) Inform people
b) gives these people hope
c) inspire the rest of us
2. He established this charity, he didn't just put his face to it.
3. How does the fact that I know you dislike the chap for been unpatriotic balance anything?

Not really disagreeing with you pegleg but the fact remains he was an arsehole on that tour. He forgets his roots.
Can you explain to me why he spoke in such emotive tones to the Aussies? against his own country?
As for the aul 'does a lot of work charity' line. Bullshit. As noted earlier they have the time and resources to do it.

[johng]

1. Thousands in this country struggle with Cancer everyday under extrordinary circumstances in a less than perfect health system. I'm sure he had the best of care, if not better when he fought Cancer.
2. He does charity work like almost every other sports person ( ex or current) because they have vast amounts of spare time to do so, and its recognised that a celebrity face will help chairities.
3. Trying to redress public opinion? Merely adding a bit of balance to this thread by pointing out an obviously little known fact regarding his shenannigans on the Aussie rules tour years back.

1. Yes they do, but thankfully some of them are recognised enough to get something like this out there to:
a) Inform people
b) gives these people hope
c) inspire the rest of us
2. He established this charity, he didn't just put his face to it.
3. How does the fact that I know you dislike the chap for been unpatriotic balance anything?

Not really disagreeing with you pegleg but the fact remains he was an arsehole on that tour. He forgets his roots.
Can you explain to me why he spoke in such emotive tones to the Aussies? against his own country?
As for the aul 'does a lot of work charity' line. Bullshit. As noted earlier they have the time and resources to do it.

So let me get this straight. You are writing off a guy who looks to me like an incredible individual just because he pi$$ed you off 25 years ago (Or whenever it was), and nothing he has done subsequently can change your mind.

I had never heard of him before the program, and I am not really coming down on either side. I did ask my brother who lives in Sydney about him, all he said was "Big Jim's a true legend" It was by text so he could have meant it ironically.

It must be hard to represent your adopted country against your country of birth, so I can't condemn him or stand up for him.

Do you know more bad stuff about him outside of that tour? Or is that your only bone to pick?

[hugonaut]

As for the aul 'does a lot of work charity' line. Bullshit. As noted earlier they have the time and resources to do it.

Yeah, "they" still f*cking do it though. Where's the bullsh*t there?

Helping suicidal kids and the families of people who have committed suicide is no walk in the park – it's emotionally draining and bloody difficult and depressing work. Pretty much anyone who has ever met Jim Stynes talks about what an inspiring and decent guy he is, but I'm sure you know better.

[Sauvignon Blank]

As for the aul 'does a lot of work charity' line. Bullshit. As noted earlier they have the time and resources to do it.

Yeah, "they" still f*cking do it though. Where's the bullsh*t there?

Helping suicidal kids and the families of people who have committed suicide is no walk in the park – it's emotionally draining and bloody difficult and depressing work. Pretty much anyone who has ever met Jim Stynes talks about what an inspiring and decent guy he is, but I'm sure you know better.

I do know that it doesn't change the fact he was an arsehole on that tour who turned on his country.

[Sauvignon Blank]

So let me get this straight. You are writing off a guy who looks to me like an incredible individual just because he pi$$ed you off 25 years ago (Or whenever it was), and nothing he has done subsequently can change your mind.

I had never heard of him before the program, and I am not really coming down on either side. I did ask my brother who lives in Sydney about him, all he said was "Big Jim's a true legend" It was by text so he could have meant it ironically.

It must be hard to represent your adopted country against your country of birth, so I can't condemn him or stand up for him.

Do you know more bad stuff about him outside of that tour? Or is that your only bone to pick?

It rather depends on what you mean by 'writing him off'. I know very little 'stuff' about him because as noted previously i find him an irrelevance in a sporting sense. He came to my attention many years ago with his actions on the Aussie tour.
You don't remember the episode when it unfolded so i'd venture to say you don't really comprehend the furore at the time.
His actions were shameful from an Irish perspective.
Apparently one of the Aussie gorillas on the team replied to Stynes rallying call (delivered in that wonderful Oz accent no less)...'Jesus... Jimmy I reckoned on you being Irish mate, what the f**k do i know '.