“Let’s cut to the chase” was a phrase often used by Mary Peters Trust Chair and Board director Jim Gracey, who passed away all too soon on 11th July 2026.
Whether chairing a Board meeting or working through agenda items with Trust colleagues on our funding, financial or events committees, Jim was straight-talking, pragmatic and sought to achieve a positive and impactful solution quickly and without further ado.
No need for fuss, idle chit-chat nor back and forth discussions that may lead nowhere – this is what we’ll do, he would say. Yet it is hard to cut to the chase and sum up all Jim did for the Mary Peters Trust over an eleven-year period.
Jim was a dear friend and excellent company socially as well as a highly respected and talented colleague on the Board. We miss Jim’s listening ear, his encouragement and advice, his friendship and down-to-earth attitude and dedication to the Trust’s work and development.
We knew him well as a sports journalist, a career he began in 1974 in his beloved hometown at the Lurgan Mail before moving to the Belfast Telegraph in 1979 where he was mentored by the late great Malcolm Brodie.
Jim has quite rightly been described by his journalistic friends and colleagues as a giant of sports journalism, the sharpest of writers yet empathetic to those he interviewed. He called to account the people who needed to be but also mentored and helped young journalists cutting their teeth in the industry – though he had no room for laziness or incompetence.
It is all these qualities and in his approach to life that became so invaluable when encouraging and providing support for talented young athletes who applied to the Trust for financial funding.
Even before he joined our Board in 2015 Jim profiled our athletes’ stories and successes along with the Trust’s work and fundraising activities. As a Board member for more than a decade he made a massive contribution to the Mary Peters Trust bringing new ideas and strategies to the table and helping to ensure we could make a real difference to all the athletes we supported.
He became our Vice-Chair and enthusiastically took on the role of Chair in June 2024, and we are so grateful for all his input and hard work.
Looking back on Jim’s deep connection to the Mary Peters Trust and the work he undertook, Lady Mary Peters says:
“I’ve known Jim and his wife Paula for many years, and I will miss him deeply. We’d want Jim to know we’ll be looking out for Paula.
“I also asked him to write my autobiography which I was so pleased with and which many people told me they enjoyed. Jim knew perfectly how to interpret my words, thoughts and reflections and create an excellent read.”
Let us finish here with some other ‘thoughts from the heart’ by Jim’s Mary Peters Trust ‘family’ of board members and staff:
“A genuine doyen of sports journalism, Jim’s passion and lifelong commitment to supporting and promoting sport in Northern Ireland was palpable and is greatly missed. In his Chairmanship of the Trust, Jim provided leadership, knowledge, wisdom and focus, all delivered in a positive and warm manner. New members of the board greatly appreciated this, finding it both welcoming and reassuring.”
“Jim’s last email to me, only a few days before he passed, was his typical positive message of ‘all good’. With his great knowledge of sport and his outstanding journalistic skills, he expertly chaired the Trust, where one of his other noted expressions was ‘Let’s cut to the chase’!
“He was such a competent, wise and selfless man.”
“Warm, upbeat, encouraging and honourable, Jim always gave a direct answer whether it was yes or no – which is much appreciated by PR people. Lots of lovely memories.”
“Jim is a massive loss to the Trust and his family and friends. I am keeping his family in my thoughts.”
“Jim was a lovely man – a talented journalist who made me feel so welcome on the board.”
“I have not only lost a Chairman I respected but a friend I valued deeply. I will miss Jim’s humour and his ability to use a succinct phrase which always made me laugh as to how spot on it was. Sometimes defiant – he was usually right. It is difficult to choose the right words to express how I feel, but I know Jim would have found the words.”
There have been many wonderful tributes to Jim Gracey. See links below to some of them; from Belfast Telegraph, BBC NI, Local Women Sport and the Newsletter:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yznjnx9pjo
