Len Gaynor: Jimmy Doyle just wanted to be remembered as a hurler

“Hit it hard, hit it hard. I’ll get it.” That was Jimmy Doyle’s refrain in training. He never liked a soft or a lobbed pass sent his way. No matter how hard it was hit, he could control it, often stopping it dead.

His mastery of the ball was really his hallmark. Because he was able to judge it better, he could have it like that and be gone from his marker quick as a flash.

As a person, he was very humble and child-like in ways. His father Gerry, of course, was with the team all the time mending the hurleys and doing a bit of training with us.

We’d go somewhere to play a game and Jimmy might smoke a fag, as everybody did. But Jimmy before he took a pull of one would be saying, “Where’s Daddy? Where’s Daddy?” The man was winning All-Irelands and here he was afraid of his father catching him smoking!

We went to New York on a few trips like the league final and that. Jimmy would nearly lie in the room all day. He wouldn’t go out on his own or explore or anything like that.

He was very popular and the rest of the players would have done anything for him. When he was with a few of the boys he was one of them but he just hung back that little bit.

He was a modest guy and very shy, really only exploding into life when he walked onto the hurling field. He had no interest other than playing the games, no interest in putting himself forward for things or being the star. He was a team player and a brilliant one at that. He just wanted to be remembered as a hurler.

No matter what direction the ball from, Jimmy could put it in his fist straight away and send it over the bar. He was a master of his craft.

He could win a ball out of serious rucks or being surrounded by three or four players.

He was a clean hurler. He had nothing in his head only to get the ball and get scores. He was always closely marked because everybody knew him as the sharpshooter, the danger man but he could still beat them.

This was all in a tough era but he was able to ride it out. He never lacked in courage and you couldn’t lack courage to do what he did.

There was a Denis O’Riordan from Cork who played at wing-back and Jimmy Doyle’s clashes with him were something else.

The fierceness of the exchanges and the way Jimmy could still come out of them and get the scores.

Munster finals were nerve-racking occasions back then and Jimmy would always get close attention. O’Riordan was a close, hard tackler and their battles still stick with me.

If you were to compare him to a player now it would probably be TJ Reid as both are left-handed and use their left side but Jimmy was more of an out-and-out ciotóg than TJ.

He was very tidy in his hurling. TJ is a tremendous hurler and getting better by the year but he wouldn’t be as tidy as Jimmy who could score with so many backs around him.

Does a game stand out above the others?

Well, there were so many when he was in his element. In the 1965 All-Ireland championship, he got the world of scores.

He was the top scorer in the championship for a number of years.

He will be fondly remembered for all time in Tipperary — there’s no doubt about that - but his passing is a sad day for hurling too.