haw’s recollection is impressive. So too was his reign as Irish FA President. The humble 77-year-old would never tell you that, but consider this: he steadied a sinking ship when becoming the Association’s figurehead in 2010, was key to appointing Michael O’Neill as Northern Ireland manager in 2011, instrumental in keeping him a couple of years later when many wanted a change and was an influential force in ensuring that government money was handed over to transform Windsor Park into a modern 18,000-capacity stadium.
He’s not one to volunteer his part in these defining moments in Northern Ireland football history but when you dig deep, they make for fascinating stories.
In football, Shaw is viewed as ‘Gentleman Jim’. He was the farmer’s son from between Ballymena and Cushendall in the village of Martinstown who went to Queen’s University to study Electrical Engineering.
He worked at STC (Standard Telephone & Cables) and on secondment in Scotland played for East Kilbride. Later back home, Barry McClung, manager of the STC football team which would become Nortel, asked Shaw to be treasurer in a committee that was being set up. It was a position the Ballymena and Manchester United fan held for 42 years, during which time the club enjoyed Amateur League and Cup success.
Shaw was an official in the Amateur League and County Antrim FA before making it onto the IFA Council in 1989. In his quiet and professional manner, Shaw earned respect in the corridors of power and chaired the panel that in 2005 appointed Howard Wells, the Association’s first ever Chief Executive.
Wells was sacked three years later, culminating in an unfair dismissal case that cost the governing body £500,000. As part of the fallout, IFA President Raymond Kennedy left the post in 2010.
Enter a reluctant Shaw.
“At that time I was frustrated by all the bad publicity for the Irish FA. I probably wouldn’t have stood for President but what convinced me was someone from a senior club telling me the senior clubs were behind me even though I was from a junior club,” says Shaw.
“That was a big thing so I thought, ‘Why don’t I have a go?’. I was unopposed and appointed in November 2010.”
A year later, after Nigel Worthington stepped away from the Northern Ireland manager’s job, Shaw made a huge decision, selecting O’Neill ahead of Iain Dowie and Jim Magilton for the international role.
“Michael’s presentation really stood out. The other candidates were good as well but there was something about Michael,” says Shaw.
“He had succeeded as manager with Shamrock Rovers against all the odds and I sensed that this guy could manage people and the consensus of the panel was that he was the man for the job.”
In O’Neill’s first qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup, there were embarrassing results versus Luxembourg and Azerbaijan and calls from fans and murmurings within the IFA that the boss wasn’t up to the task. Shaw stood firm.
“The lowest point was in Luxembourg when we lost 3-2. There was a good Northern Ireland support there and fans were saying to me that we had to get rid of the manager,” he remembers.
“I had been to training sessions in that campaign and felt that Michael was getting the attention of players and players were turning up for him, even in friendlies. I had come to the conclusion that he was on the right lines and that one result shouldn’t be the end of him even though it was a terrible result.
“I decided I would stand up for him, believing he was worth another campaign and of course the rest is history with us qualifying for Euro 2016.
“I felt quite pleased and proud that I had backed Michael, not that I would have come out and said that. For him and the team to qualify was a remarkable achievement.
“The tournament was special and in football terms the proudest moment I’ve had.
“We played in Slovakia before the finals and got a charter flight from there to Lyon and I let Michael go down the steps first onto the tarmac. He wanted me to go first but I said, ‘You are the man that got us here so you go first’ and I came behind him.
“My Presidency finished the day the plane came back from France, touching down in Aldergrove.”
In the years prior, Shaw had been working behind the scenes to ensure the NI Executive would hand over millions of pounds to redevelop Windsor Park.
He says: “The stadium meant a lot to me. I saw that as something that could really make a difference to Northern Ireland football and I think it has even though some people say it should have been a 50,000 all-seater at the Maze.
“The process was far from plain sailing. Firstly the government wouldn’t accept us because our Articles (of Association) didn’t meet their requirements.
“I understood that so I had the role of changing the Articles. We got a three-man team in and they spent around three months putting new Articles together, modernising the organisation.
“In the AGM in the Park Avenue Hotel (in Belfast), nearly 300 were there which was a huge turnout. There were so many Articles, one depending on the other and if one was rejected it would affect another and the next thing you would see none of them going through so I took a chance that night, agreeing with the solicitor that either all of the Articles were approved or approve none of them. Thankfully they passed.
“We played a close hand with government to make sure what we were doing was going to be acceptable. They then gave the go-ahead and said we were an organisation that was fit for purpose and that moved us onto the next stage, meeting with Caral Ni Chuilin (then Sports Minister) once a month to review progress.”
When the new Windsor Park was officially opened in 2016, Shaw, succeeded by David Martin that year, was away on Fifa business. Since then, he has helped set up the IFA Foundation and is part of the Harry Gregg Foundation.
Proud father to son Chris and husband to Maureen, who has been a “great support” to him, Jim suffered devastation as a young man when his brother Thomas passed away at the age of 22 with Hodgkin’s disease.
A love of football helped him deal with the sadness. In 70 years of watching the sport, the best player he ever saw was George Best with his favourite being Pat Jennings.
He names his all-time Northern Ireland XI as: Pat Jennings, Dick Keith, Aaron Hughes, Jonny Evans, Mal Donaghy, Danny Blanchflower, Steven Davis, Bertie Peacock, George Best, David Healy, Jimmy McIlroy in a 4-3-3 formation, insisting that good friend Peter McParland is the first substitute.
Many of them would speak highly of Jim, who this week was presented with the Malcolm Brodie Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ulster Footballer of the Year Awards at the Audi showroom in Belfast.
Organisers Ken Moody and Bobby Carlisle kept it from him until the evening when he was shocked yet honoured to receive his award from Olympic gold medallist Mary Peters. From a Golden Girl to one deserving man.
