Jim Gavin (born 1 July 1971) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. He was the manager of the senior Dublin county team from 2012 to 2019, becoming the county's most successful manager in terms of major titles won. Gavin is regarded as one of the best

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

in the modern game. Gavin was introduced to Gaelic football by his father, a native of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

and former chairman of the local club team in Clondalkin. He developed his skills in the local street leagues before winning a record six Cumann na mBunscoil medals as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

with Clonburris National School. Gavin attended and represented

Moyle Park College Moyle Park College is a secondary school in Clondalkin, South Dublin, Ireland. The school was established by the Marist Brothers in 1957, and grew alongside the population of the local area. As of the school year 2017, no more Marist Brothers t ...

, before later enjoying championship successes at underage levels with the Round Towers club. Gavin made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Dublin minor team. Gavin joined the Dublin senior team during the 1992–93 league. He went on to play a key role for Dublin over much of the next decade, and won one

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal, three

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

medals and one

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

medal. Gavin retired from inter-county football following the conclusion of the 2002 championship. After being involved in team management and coaching in all grades at club level, Gavin guided the Dublin under-21 team to

success in 2003. He later claimed two more All-Ireland titles in this grade in 2010 and 2012. Gavin was appointed manager of the Dublin senior team on 1 October 2012. He has since gone on to lead Dublin through a period of unprecedented provincial and national dominance, winning seventeen major honours. Many of the trophies he has accumulated as manager have been won in successive seasons. These include four successive National Leagues, seven successive Leinster Championships and a record-breaking five successive All-Ireland Championships (these include four league-championship doubles). In addition, Gavin has won a further one All-Ireland title, one National League and one

O'Byrne Cup The Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. The competition is named after Matt Byrne, a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, ...

as Dublin manager.

Early life

Gavin was born in the Clonburris area of

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondalk ...

. His parents are both from west

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

- his father Jim Senior is originally from

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

and his mother Ann (née Vaughan) is from Moy. His father previously won a county championship with

Cooraclare GAA Cooraclare GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the village of Cooraclare, County Clare in Ireland. The club field teams exclusively in Gaelic Football competitions. Major honours * Munster Senior Club Football Championship ...

in 1964, and coached neighbourhood teams in the local street leagues at various levels. His grandfathers both fought in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. Jim represented Clonburris Primary School in Gaelic games, winning six out of six Cumann na mBunscoil finals in Croke Park - three in football and three in hurling. At 18, Gavin joined the

Irish Defense Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...

as a cadet.

Playing career

Gavin attended

, where he played for the college team. His performances for Round Towers caught the eye of the Dublin selectors, making his senior debut in 1993. His subsequent military pilot training with the

Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...

ruled him out of any involvement with the under-21 side. With Dublin, Gavin won the

1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 1995 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 109th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter county, inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The champio ...

Management career

In 2009, he coached Dublin to a

Leinster Under 21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highes ...

and progressed to the All-Ireland final where they lost to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. He repeated the Leinster victory in 2010, going one better than the previous year by winning the

All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

final. His selectors were

Declan Darcy Declan Darcy (Irish: ''Déaglán Ó Dorchaí'') is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Leitrim and Dublin county teams. He captained Leitrim to the 1994 Connacht Senior Football Championship, he also won a Connacht Under-21 Football ...

, Shane O'Hanlon and Jim Brogan. Gavin was ratified as senior football manager on 1 October 2012, replacing

Pat Gilroy Pat Gilroy (born 3 November 1971) is a former Gaelic footballer and manager, who most recently managed the senior Dublin county team (2009-2012). A former Dublin footballer himself, he led Dublin to their first All-Ireland Senior Football Champ ...

and signing a three-year contract (2013–2015). Michael Deegan, David Byrne and Declan D'Arcy were his selectors for 2013. On 28 April 2013, Dublin won the first of four consecutive

titles a 0–18 to 0–17 win against Tyrone at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. Then he complained that things were "too drawn out". He led Dublin to the

2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2013 All-Ireland Football Final, the 126th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played between Dublin and Mayo at Croke Park, Dublin on 22 September 2013. Mayo were defeated by Dublin ...

, with the team defeating

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

in the semi-final on a scoreline of 3–18 to 3–11. Dublin won the final on 22 September 2013, beating

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

by 2–12 to 1–14. In December 2013, Gavin was named the 2013

Philips Sports Manager of the Year The Philips Sports Manager of the Year is an award for the person considered the most outstanding Irish sports manager or coach of a particular year. The award is contested by the twelve winners of the year's Philips Sports Manager of the Month ...

. In September 2015, Dublin again beat Kerry 0–12 to 0–9 to win their second All-Ireland

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

in three years. The following year in September 2016, Dublin were held to a 2–9 to 0–15 draw in the 2016 All-Ireland Final by Mayo but prevailed in the replay in October, winning back to back All Irelands and their third

in four years with a scoreline of 1–15 to 1–14. In September 2017, he led Dublin to their third All Ireland in a row when they again defeated Mayo by a scoreline of 1–17 to 1–16. This was Gavin's fourth All Ireland Senior Football championship as the Dublin manager. In 2018, he led Dublin to their fourth All-Ireland in a row when they defeated Tyrone by a scoreline of 2–17 to 1–14. This was Gavin's fifth All-Ireland Senior Football championship as the Dublin manager. Under his management, the Dublin senior football team established a new record for most National League and Championship games unbeaten. In March 2017, when beating

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

by 2–29 to 0–14 in a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

game at Croke Park, Dublin set a new record of playing 35 games in League and Championship without defeat. They extended their unbeaten run to 36 games a week later with a win away to

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

in the National League. That 36-game unbeaten run finally came to an end on 10 April 2017 in the National League Final where they lost by a single point 0–20 to 1–16 to

, the previous holders of the record which had stood for 84 years. He stepped down as manager on 30 November 2019. He informed his players at Innisfails in

Balgriffin Balgriffin ( ga, Baile Ghrífín, meaning "Griffin's town") is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies within southern Fingal in the traditional County Dublin and it is partly in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and partly that of Fingal C ...

on a Saturday evening that month.

Personal life

Gavin is married to Jennifer; the couple live in Dublin with their two children. Gavin is a qualified commercial pilot, and after his retirement as Dublin manager, he started working for the

Irish Aviation Authority The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) ( ga, Údaras Eitlíochta na hÉireann) is a commercial semi-state company in Republic of Ireland, Ireland responsible for the regulation of safety aspects of air travel. It is also responsible for providing air ...

as a director of people and operations. In 2019, Gavin received an honorary doctorate from

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

, and in 2020 he was made a Freeman of the City of Dublin. In 2022, it was announced that he would chair a citizen's assembly on a directly elected mayor for Dublin.

Career statistics

Manager

Honours

Military

United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council on September 25, 2007 to provide a multidimensional presence of up to 350 po ...

(MINURCAT) Medal; one of only 3 Irish Officers to serve in CAR *Irish Peace Keepers Medal

Civilian

Freedom of the City of Dublin The Freedom of the City of Dublin is awarded by Dublin City Council after approving a person nominated by the Lord Mayor. Eighty-two people have been honoured under the current process introduced in 1876. Most honourees have made a contribution ...

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

: 2020

Player

;Dublin *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

(1):

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

(3):

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

(1): 1992-93

Manager

;Dublin *

(6):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

(7):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

(5):

(1):

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

(3): 2003, 2010, 2012 *

Leinster Under-21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highes ...

(3): 2003, 2010, 2012 ;Individual *

(2): 2013, 2019 *

RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year Award The RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year Award is an award given annually as part of the RTÉ Sport, RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony each December. The award is given to the manager who was considered to have made the most substantive contribution to ...

(1): 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Jim 1971 births Living people Commercial aviators Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards Gaelic football managers Military personnel from Dublin (city) People from Clondalkin Round Towers Clondalkin Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)