Three of the surviving members of Dundalk’s 1963 league-winning team were our special guests at a private screening of ‘One-Armed Wonder: The Extraordinary Story of Jimmy Hasty’, which took place at the Omniplex Cinema in Dundalk Retail Park last Thursday night.
John Murphy, who captained the ’63 team to the club’s second league win – our first in 30 years – along with Francie Callan and Patsy ‘Tootsie’ McKeown were all present to watch the documentary about their former teammate.
The film, which was produced and directed by Richard Milway from Noah Media, tells the story of the legendary Dundalk FC centre-forward who overcame the amputation of his left arm as a 14-year-old to go on and lead the Lilywhites to the league title and a history-making achievement in Europe in 1963.
Eleven years later, in 1974, Jimmy became a victim of ‘The Troubles’ when he was gunned down at point-blank range by a paramilitary on the streets of Belfast. He died at the age of 38.
The documentary, which was broadcast on Virgin Media later that night, features contributions from Jimmy’s former Dundalk teammates, audio excerpts from the late Jim Malone – the man who brought Jimmy to Oriel Park – and interviews with Jimmy’s wife and two sons.
The Malone and Hasty families were represented on the night with Jim’s son, Paddy, who also sponsored the event, and Jimmy’s son Paul, addressing the 90 people, which included current players Greg Sloggett and Cameron Elliott – in attendance.
