THE DEATH of Jim Malone on October 11th left a huge void, not only for his wife and family but also in the cultural, business and sporting life of his native Dundalk. Jim, who was 75, was an accountant by profession and, while he joined forces in a merger with Oliver Freaney & Co for a period, in the main he ran his own practice, which he kept up to the time of his death.
A man who contributed to the local community in a multitude of ways, Jim Malone served for many years as secretary to Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and made a valuable contribution to its development, but it was for his involvement with Dundalk Football Club that he was best known. Even as a young man, he always seemed to be something of an elder statesman and his advice was constantly sought by those within Dundalk FC as well as from other directors of other clubs, several of which he helped into senior football.
Jim joined the board of Dundalk FC in the early 1950s and remained actively involved all his life, serving as chairman, vice chairman, director and, at the time of his death, club president. In those, less commercial, days of domestic soccer, team selection was undertaken collectively by the directors and Jim relished this role. His most famous foray was the signing of Jimmy Hasty, the one armed centre forward from Belfast, whose goal scoring feats culminated in Dundalk's League title win of 1962-63.
Jim also represented his club on the FAI Council for more than 20 years. He was often pressed to seek higher office, for which he was eminently suited. He invariably declined the offers, however, and in the end his contribution to the game was recognised when the association conferred an honorary life membership on him upon his retirement from the council.
All of us who had the privilege to know this colourful and ebullient character have been saddened by his passing, and none more so than his devoted wife Agnes, children Paddy, Jim, Gerard, Mary, Emer, Una and Grainne, as well as his brother, sisters and other relatives.
