Jimmy Hasty story assured to live on via incredible documentary

This coming Thursday at 11 pm Virgin Media Sport will show a documentary on Jimmy Hasty, Dundalk's one-armed wonder, who took the League of Ireland by storm in the early 1960's and will forever be a Lillywhite Legend.

The Documentary came about when UEFA decided to look at three European countries for three players who each had a remarkable story to tell.

Well, it was no surprise to people in Dundalk that Jimmy Hasty, the one-armed wonder, was the player chosen among the three.

His story has been told many times over in the past few years as interest in the club legend has grown. But it's his own personal history that has added to the legend of the great man.

Jimmy lost his arm in an industrial accident at the age of 14. His rise to success in the soccer world as a lethal striker in the League of Ireland with Dundalk then followed.

It was to end in tragedy on the 11th of October 1974 when he was shot dead by loyalist terrorists as he walked to his job in a bookies in Belfast.

Ironically Jimmy had already been a legend in life. He became an even bigger legend when he was murdered, as the world found out about the way the one-armed wonder died.

25-year-old George Larmour was driving to his job in the advertising department of the Belfast Telegraph. Jimmy was walking to work. Larmour's routine was to drop off his wife Sadie at her workplace, Gallaghers.

The morning Jimmy died, just before 8AM, Sadie said she heard a shooting. Rather than speed away, George told his wife to get out of the car while he drove in the direction of the shooting.

Further down Brougham Street, George drove further down in the directions where the shots were heard. There he saw a man lying on the pavement. Larmour got out of his car and covered the stranger, who was still breathing, with two blankets.

He spoke to Jimmy and tried to reassure him that he would be okay. George shouted for help. There was no-one around. But somebody heard.

Within minutes an ambulance arrived. A policeman, who was on the scene quickly, recognised Jimmy and appeared to become very upset on seeing him. 

George did not know who it was he had given assistance to until news reports confirmed it was Jimmy Hasty. George broke down.

October 11th

The date Jimmy died is registered in the document Lost Lives. This is the catalogue of murder victims of the Troubles. Jimmy's entry is on page 483 and he is numbered as the 1205th victim of the troubles. His murder was claimed by the Protestant action force, which was a cover name for the UVF.

George Larmour could not forget Jimmy or his young wife Margaret. It took him 30 years to tell her this, about what had happened, on that morning of October 11th 1974.

Larmour finally wrote to Margaret and deeply apologised for not contacting her earlier. In his letter, he included details of another 11th October.

This was in 1988. By then George and Sadie had opened an ice-cream parlour on the Lisburn Road. They had gone on holiday. George's brother John stood in.

Just before closing, two IRA gunmen turned up as customers. One stood at the door. The other asked what flavours were on offer. Then he pulled out a gun and shot John Larmour four times. John Larmour was in the RUC.

A teenage boy and girl, on a night out having ice cream, were also shot by the gunman. They were seriously wounded, but John did not survive.

A year later George Larmour buried his father, who died of a broken heart at the murder of his son. George's dad also died on October 11th. This time it was 1989.

The bizarre date of 11th October reappeared again, when the man who signed Jimmy Hasty for Dundalk died on 11th October 1996. That was Jim Malone.

George later wrote a book called They Killed the Ice Cream Man. This book provides most of the details used in the above account, from Jimmy Hasty's death to the death of George's father. 

Signing Hasty

Jimmy was a Belfast man true and true. He was born in the Sailortown area of the city in 1936. Tragedy struck Jimmy at the age of 14 when he lost his left arm in a milling machine accident on his first day at work.

There was an interest in Jimmy as a player from Nottingham Forest. Problems with insurance, because of his disability, meant Jimmy could never have a career in the UK.

He began his soccer career playing amateur football for a team called Islandmagee, before moving to Newry Town and then Dundalk.

He was signed by Jim Malone when he went to see him play with Newry Town on a cold, wet Saturday in November 1960.

Malone told the board the following week that he had signed a one-armed player from Newry the following Tuesday. He was told in no uncertain terms that he had done so without the permission of the board.

Jim Malone agreed he would incur the transfer payment and Jimmy's wages should the board continue to be unhappy at the Hasty signing. But Malone was a very shrewd individual.

He was an accountant by trade. Most accountants, when they make a decision, only do so when they are very sure they made the right decision.

After their game in Newry was complete, he had seen all he had to see. He signed Jimmy on the spot and paid the transfer fee, telling Jimmy he would be in the Dundalk team to play Cork Celtic the following Sunday week.

Unknown to many, Jim Malone had watched Hasty playing for Newry for a number of weeks. When he went to Newry in mid-November, it was to sign him. He had already made up his mind about the one-armed wonder and knew exactly what he was doing.

This has emerged in documents I have recently discovered that belonged to Jim. He brought his own cheque book with him and signed Jimmy straight after the game.

Jim was part of a committee who picked the Dundalk team on a weekly basis and was determined to put what he knew would be a gem of a player straight into the Dundalk team.

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Crowd Pleaser

Jimmy made his debut for Dundalk on November 20th 1960 against Cork City. Malone was as good as his word and Hasty started.

In those days it was committees made up of club directors who picked the teams. He scored once and made a second. His ability to get past defenders shocked supporters.

He made every Dundalk attack. He could hold the ball and put through inch perfect passes to his players.

Over the next month, the Dundalk forward line scored 24 times in five league victories. By December 18th, when Dundalk visited Milltown, thousands packed into the home of Shamrock Rovers to see just one player. That was Jimmy Hasty. He scored two and made two as Dundalk beat Shamrock Rovers 4-2.

Jimmy was six foot one inches tall. He had a great balance and had an incredible first touch. Throughout that first season, Jimmy filled every league of Ireland ground, as people wanted to see the great forward.

Nobody could mark him out of the game. He could score, create goals and in the process open huge gaps in the opposition defence.

Over six seasons with Dundalk Jimmy scored 103 goals. He was instrumental in bringing the league title to Dundalk for the first time in 30 years in 1963.

Jimmy scored 59 goals for Dundalk in a total of 170 appearances between 1960 and 1966. Jimmy missed a lot of games through injury. But still shone like a beacon when he returned to relight the Dundalk candles of victory.

European Heroics

Jimmy was instrumental as Dundalk became the first League of Ireland side to win a European game away from home. This was against FC Zurich.

The Swiss side beat Dundalk 3-0 in the first leg at Dalymount Park. The Lilywhites won the second leg 2-1. TV footage has emerged of the return leg and if anyone is in doubt, you will see the footage on Thursday.

Jimmy scored one of the goals in Zurich. He made the other. With Dundalk leading 2-0, they needed only a goal to tie things up. Jimmy unleashed a bolster of a shot that struck the Zurich crossbar.

It shook the European soccer establishment to its foundations. Sadly, Zurich got a late goal to win on aggregate.

The Documentary

The documentary gets all his history exactly right. It shows how well-known Jimmy still is in his own neighbourhood in Belfast.

Jimmy's two sons are interviewed in the documentary. They emphasise how difficult it was growing up without a father after he was murdered by loyalists in 1974.

Jimmy's widow is also interviewed. It is the first time his wife has ever spoken publicly about his murder. She was left to bring up two young sons.

The documentary also includes an interview with George Larmour, the man who found Jimmy dying on the street. George describes how he comforted Jimmy in his last moments on this earth.

Jimmy was a son of Belfast and proud of it. He died in minutes on the cold streets of his city, murdered by loyalists. Word spread like wildfire that Jimmy was dead.

The documentary takes in the shock there was around the city. Nobody was ever arrested for his murder.

Make sure you watch the documentary on Virgin TV at 11 pm this Thursday night. It's also available to see anytime on UEFASPORTS.com.