"Jimmy's Winning Matches", originally called "Jimmy Selling Watches", is a song performed by Rory and the Island—and the anthem of

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

's march towards the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Considered an Internet and YouTube sensation, "Jimmy's Winning Matches" hit number one on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

chart. With the title referring to the then Donegal team manager

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is an association football coach and former Gaelic footballer, coach and manager, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as both player and manager with the Donegal county team. Having gu ...

, the song was compared both to the legendary sports anthem "

Put 'Em Under Pressure "Put 'Em Under Pressure" was the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy. Background Produced by U2's Larry Mullen, it featured an intro by Moya Brennan. The song was created by Mu ...

" as well as the iconic song " Give It a Lash Jack". ''

Morning Ireland ''Morning Ireland'' is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and alternate items are normall ...

'', normally a conservative public service programme on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

dealing with formal issues such as politics, played the song on consecutive days after Donegal won the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Numerous alternative versions have emerged on YouTube, including one by a "four-year old kid" and one from an "accordion-wielding band".

Video

The song is performed on a

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

beach by Rory Gallagher, formerly of

The Revs The Revs are an indie rock band from Kilcar, County Donegal in Ireland. The group consisted of three childhood friends: Rory Gallagher (named after the famous blues guitarist Rory Gallagher and who had previously released the album ''20th Centur ...

, and features Jimmy who's "not from Donegal, he comes from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

". The pair are perched against a rock upon a Donegal flag lying on the sand with the sea in the background. When Jimmy was prevented from entering Ireland due to a visa issue the hashtag #LetSenegalJimmyIn became a top trending tag on Twitter. After Donegal secured the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

Ireland West Airport Knock Ireland West Airport ( ga, Aerfort Iarthar Éireann Mhuire), officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock ( ga, Aerfort Iarthar Éireann Chnoc Mhuire), is an international airport south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. The vi ...

—situated in the territory of beaten All-Ireland Final opposition Mayo—offered to fly Jimmy into Ireland for free.

Notable performances

The song was sung by

Karl Lacey Karl Lacey (born 10 September 1984) is an Irish Gaelic football coach who plays for Four Masters and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. His county's most decorated individual, his personal achievements include four All Star awards� ...

on the

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 ...

pitch at the end of a post-match interview following the semi-final win over

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 ...

. When questioned about Donegal's prospects in the final Lacey paused, glanced into the sky and sang "Jimmy's winning matches, Jimmy's winning games…" before running off down the

tunnel. After the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final victory over

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 ...

, Donegal's team captain

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

completing his speech by breaking into his own version of the complete chorus, "Jimmy's winning matches. Jimmy's winning games. Jimmy's bringing Sammy back to Donegal again". Murphy sang it again in

Pettigo Pettigo, also spelt Pettigoe ( ; ), is a small village and townland on the border of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is bisected by the Termon River which is part of the border between the Republi ...

as the team entered Donegal territory. At the team's homecoming in The Diamond, Donegal, a visibly hyperactive

Mark McHugh Mark McHugh (born 22 August 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and coach who plays for Cill Chartha and, formerly, the Donegal county team. He is the brother of Ryan and the son of Martin. He won one All-Ireland Senior Football Championshi ...

duetted with a delighted Rory Gallagher on stage as the rest of the team watched on. At the

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

homecoming on 25 September 2012, Rory Gallagher finished the night with a rousing rendition of "Jimmy's Winning Matches". Following the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, winning

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

captain

Eoin Larkin Eoin Larkin (born 17 July 1984) is an Irish hurler and coach. His league and championship career as a forward with the Kilkenny senior team spanned twelve seasons from 2005 to 2016. Born in Kilkenny, Larkin first played competitive hurling f ...

sang his own version of "Cody's Winning Matches", referring to manager

Brian Cody Brian Cody (born 12 July 1954) is an Irish former hurling manager and player and retired schoolmaster. He managed the senior Kilkenny county team between 1998 and 2022, becoming the county's longest-serving manager and most successful in term ...

Notable fans

The song has met with the approval both of crooner

Daniel O'Donnell Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had cons ...

and Irish international soccer goalkeeper

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...

, two of Donegal's most famous international exports. When Donegal won the All-Ireland Final,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

issued the following statement which quoted the song, "The Parliament congratulates County Donegal on winning the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, defeating what it considers was an impressive County Mayo team by 2–11 to 0–13 in front of a crowd of 82,000 at Croke Park in Dublin; congratulates coach Jim McGuinness and staff on ending a 20-year wait to take the Sam Maguire trophy back to the county, and notes that Jimmy is indeed "winning matches and bringing Sam back to Donegal again."

Legacy

The title of the song was alluded to in the documentary ''Jimmy's Winnin Matches'', first aired on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

on Thursday, 3 January 2013 at 9.35 pm, concerning Donegal's Championship success. It is also continuously referenced in headlines, whether the team win or lose. The title of the song has been used to refer to people from other sports, including

Jimmy Barry-Murphy James Barry-Murphy (born 22 August 1954) is an Irish hurling manager and former hurler, Gaelic footballer and association football player. He was the manager of the senior Cork county hurling team from 2011 to 2015, returning a decade after h ...

(from hurling) and

Jimmy Gopperth James Gopperth (born 29 June 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays for Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby, England's top tier. His regular playing positions are Centre and fly-half and he has played over 400 profe ...

(New Zealander from rugby union). "Jimmy's Winning Matches" was played at

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey F ...

in May 2021 when

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

(whose interim manager was named

Jim Magilton James Magilton (born 6 May 1969) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town. He started hi ...

) ended the undefeated league run of

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

, which had gone on since September 2019. Rory Gallagher, who wrote the song, credited the song and its popularity with saving his life after he suffered a nervous breakdown. Senegal Jimmy became the victim of imposters who posed for photographs with unsuspecting tourists. Jimmy never did get to Ireland, at least as of 2014. Rory Gallagher said in 2022: "Lanzarote is in the past. I'll be going out for a few weddings in the summer and then another in the winter but it's been three years since I lived there".

References

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

2012 in Gaelic football 2012 songs Donegal county football team Football songs and chants Gaelic football music Lanzarote Reggae songs Songs about Ireland

Video

Notable performances

Notable fans

Legacy

See also

References

External links