Jim Stynes Bridge opens in Melbourne

08th September 2014 in General

AFL icon and former Dublin GAA player Jim Stynes has been immortalised with the opening of a new pedestrian, bicycle and commuter link in Melbourne. The construction, known as a ‘hovering’ steel arc bridge, is the first of its kind in Australia. Two bronze plaques outlining Stynes’ achievements adorn each end of the 120m bridge.

Born in Dublin in 1966 Jim was a promising Gaelic footballer, winning the 1984 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship, before making the ambitious move to join Melbourne Football Club in the same year. He made his first appearance in the Australian Football League in 1987 and went on to play a league record 244 consecutive games between 1987 and 1998. In 1994, he co-founded The Reach Foundation and became a prominent youth worker in his adopted homeland. Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer in 2012, was named Victorian of the year on two occasions and Melburnian of the year in 2010. He was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2007.