In Dublin there would be no such awkward or possessive encounters on Gavin’s beat. Last year a clip emerged of him paying tribute to the now late Anton O’Toole in the company of his Dublin team, a slogan was visible in the background: ‘If you feel safe, you are unsafe’. At the start of the 2013 season, no one else could foresee Dublin winning six of the following seven All-Irelands; you wouldn’t even have had them ahead of Donegal, Mayo, or Cork at the front of the grid. That he’d surpass even that trajectory is a testament to how he’d continuously upgrade his team. After a Saturday night lights game which Dublin might have dominated, the visiting manager might have remarked how sharp Jim had his boys moving.

Source: Irish Examiner December 03, 2019 19:07 UTC