Jim McNeill, who has died aged 64, was a Scottish sportswriter who came to Ireland for a holiday in 1968 and stayed for over 25 years, working for the Irish Press.
Writing a weekly column, he was renowned for his crisp style and exceptionally clean and literate copy. He was always well groomed and impeccably dressed, reflecting the expertise of his wife, Jacqueline, a professional dressmaker; her clients included the members of Horslips whose stage costumes she designed. He was also a steadfast Rangers supporter.
A betting man, he had a winning wager on the Irish Derby in 1990. However, in the hullabaloo surrounding the Irish team's return from Italia 90 the following day, the friend who placed the bet on his behalf mislaid his overcoat in O'Connell Street, with the betting slip in the pocket.
Fortunately an honest Dubliner found the coat and took it to Fitzgibbon Street Garda station, and was asked to return the docket to the bookies. There he was redirected to Mulligan's of Poolbeg Street where McNeill recovered the vital docket.
Born on September 10th, 1940 in Falkirk, Jim McNeill was the son of a professional footballer who won a Scottish league medal playing in goal for Falkirk. He was a useful footballer as a schoolboy, but boxing was his abiding interest.
On leaving school, he got a job on the sports desk of the Glasgow-based Sunday Post. As well as football, he covered the boxing scene, rubbing shoulders with people like manager Sammy Docherty, and fighters Chic Calderwood, one time British and Empire light heavyweight champion, and Walter McGowan, holder of the British and Empire flyweight titles, who was voted best young boxer of 1963 by the British Boxing Writers' Club.
Another boxing acquaintance was Mickey Duff, who knew the business from top to bottom, starting out as a pro at 16 and retiring from the ring at 19 after 60 fights. Duff went on to become one of Britain's leading match makers and joined forces with Harry Levene to stage one of the many big fights McNeill attended over the years.
This was when Terry Downes unsuccessfully challenged Willie Pastrano for the world light heavyweight crown at Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1964.
The previous year McNeill was present at Wembley when Henry Cooper caused a sensation by knocking down Muhammad Ali in a fight that Ali eventually won, not without controversy.
Visiting Ireland in 1968 he spotted an Irish Press advertisement for sub-editors, applied and was taken on. He teamed up with Cyril Byrne and together they oversaw the racing pages, striving to ensure that Observer's Form Horses were among the best bets of the day with Merlin's nap the icing on the cake.
He covered Muhammad Ali's fight in Ireland in 1972. "Amidst fantastic scenes of white hot excitement and downright hooliganism," his report began, "Muhammad Ali disappeared under an avalanche of fans, fist fighters and gardaí after stopping Al 'Blue' Lewis in 1 minute and 15 seconds of the 11th round at Croke Park last night."
He returned to Croke Park in 1991 to give a Scotsman's impression of the All-Ireland hurling final, which Tipperary won, beating Kilkenny 1-16 to 0-15. Acknowledging that the finer points of the game were beyond him, he was nevertheless impressed and left the ground full of enthusiasm for hurling.
He looked forward, tongue in cheek, to there being "a hurling squad at Ibrox in a couple of years time". Little could he have foreseen the day when a camogie team would avail of Linfield FC's training facilities.
With the closure of the Irish Press titles he and his wife returned to Falkirk. There he wrote two books on boxing, the titles of which, They Could Have Been Contenders and One Night in the Garden, were adapted from a line spoken by Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in the film On The Waterfront.
His other sporting interests included greyhound racing.
He enjoyed the theatre and liked a glass of Scotch.
Survived by his wife, Jacqueline, he is remembered by friends and former colleagues as a gentle and perennially cheerful man whose engaging personality brightened their lives.
Jim McNeill: born September 10th, 1940; died January 27th, 2005