YOU COULD’VE HEARD a pin drop when Jim McGuinness spoke on the Late Late Show on Friday night.
Having launched his book ‘Until Victory Always’ the night before in Glenties, McGuinness gave some backdrop on how he came to where he is.
The book, ghostwritten by Keith Duggan – the Chief Sportswriter in the Irish Times and native of Ballyshannon – gives an excellent personal insight into the former Donegal manager, in particular the loss of his two brothers, Charles and Mark.
Sixteen-year-old Charles died at home in Ard Patrick in Glenties of a heart condition, which had been unknown to the family, when Jim was just 12 years old.
“It was a moment in your life when your life is going along in a certain direction and all of a sudden you’re jilted and you are gong in a different direction,” Jim McGuinness said last night. “In many respects it was like a sledge hammer. I was 12 and you are never the same person again.
“All of a sudden you’re life just changes and you are weak and you are vulnerable.”
And then, following the 1998 Ulster final loss that McGuinness’s Donegal suffered to Derry, Jim was a passenger as he lost another brother, Mark, in a fatal car crash in Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh.
“I remember thinking the truck was out of control and the car was tossed like a matchbox. I held his hand, stared into his eyes and told him I loved him,” Jim said.
“He looked after me, he sent more money down to college for me, kept me going and did everything he could for me.”
McGuinness spoke on a wide range of topics in an excellent interview with the national broadcaster.
Watch the full interview back …
https://wwwyoutube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=HZJCzjbGIDA
McGuinness’s book, featuring football, family and friends, is available to buy on Amazon.
Tags: