You can’t keep a good man down – Jimmy Wylie was already on his feet when he got an unexpected visit from club captain (and fellow walking wounded!) Derek Pender at the Mater Hospital today.
As explained by his daughter Paula on Liveline, 88-year-old former Bohemians commisionaire Jimmy was waiting for the 46A to bring him to Dalymount ahead of last Friday’s game against Derry City when he was knocked to the ground by a man running to catch a bus.
Helped up by passers-by, a determined Jimmy made it as far as Dalymount Lane before accepting he needed some help.
Assisted by club stewards and St John’s Ambulance staff, Jimmy was brought to the Mater Hospital where it was discovered he had fractured his pelvis in the fall. He has been in good spirits recovering in the Mater since.
Keen to move on and eager to get back to full fitness, Jimmy instead took aim at the league’s fixture list for causing the incident and quipped: “Why did we have two home league games in a row? We used to only play at home once every fortnight.
“That’s the way it should be. I wouldn’t have even been on O’Connell St waiting for a bus if the fixtures list was arranged the way it used to be.”
Originally from the Coombe area of the Liberties, Jimmy’s connection with buses and Bohs has intertwined for decades.
He chalked up almost 50 years with CIE, starting out with the Dublin United Tramway (DUT) company as a ticket boy in 1942. DUT was absorbed into CIE and later became Dublin Bus. He retired from the latter in 1991.
Jimmy’s association with the Gypsies stretches back almost as far. He has been a familiar face at Dalymount for over 60 years having first been brought up to the club by Bohs coach Billy Leonard in the 1952/53 season.
He went on to serve the club impeccably – and with a touch of class – at the players and officials entrance for over 50 years and into the noughties, with his dapper coat and classy cap a memorable and familiar sight for several generations of supporters.
All of us at Bohs wish Jimmy a speedy recovery – we hope to see you back on the bus and back at Dalyer in the very near future!
