Beyond all that he's arguably the finest footballer ever to pull on our famous claret and blue shirt, and he did so on 497 occasions between playing his first game against Sunderland on 21st October 1950, just four days before his 19th birthday, and his farewell appearance at Liverpool in an FA Cup tie on 20th February 1963.
He modestly always claims he doesn't understand why all the fuss is thrown in his direction, that he was a member of a team and all the accolades should be directed towards the team. But I wonder just how good that team would have been without him. Would we have still been crowned champions in 1960?
Brian Miller, another member of that team who sadly passed away in 2007, once told me that it was very special being on the same pitch as him, and that he was undoubtedly the best player he ever played with.
Jimmy Robson, on the occasion of the launch of Clarets Chronicles, joined a long queue to get his copy autographed by Jimmy Mac. He didn't need to queue, besides having been a team mate he was also a friend and at the time lived close by. I asked him why he'd queued. He told me: "I was a fan of his just like all those others queuing."
I'm old enough, just about, to have been privileged to have seen him play for Burnley. Unfortunately I missed him in his pomp during the 1950s but I still saw him turn in some superb performances. Did I say it was a privilege? It was exactly that.
Jimmy Mac is now a great ambassador for our club and was so rightly given the position of president of Burnley FC. I saw at close quarters just how much of an ambassador he is when he attended the Clarets Mad dinners in 2009 and 2010.
It was so special to have him there and he enjoyed both evenings despite claiming to have been disappointed that we hadn't any strippers on.
A few days ahead of the 2010 dinner he phoned me (and receiving a phone call from Jimmy Mac is in itself a massive privilege) just to confirm things. "Who's speaking Tony?" he asked. "Willie Irvine," I replied. Jimmy retorted with: "Bloody hell, I can't understand a word that Irish bugger says." The banter between the two Northern Ireland internationals that night was superb.
I spent an age trying to decide which photograph I should use for this birthday wish. In the end it was so very obvious because the one with the crowd behind is, as far as I know, the only known photograph that shows both me and Jimmy McIlroy.
But these photographs are so appropriate. They are on the occasion of a game between Glentoran and Burnley in 2008, two clubs for whom he played with such distinction, and taken in his native Northern Ireland.
It was at that game that I suddenly realised that he doesn't totally belong to us at Burnley. Ahead of kick off I spoke to two elderly gentlemen who were enthusing about the brilliance of McIlroy and I was able to tell them that he was there for the game.
"Jimmy McIlroy is at the Oval tonight," one told the other who hadn't quite heard what I'd said. The second man shed tears and just said: "My hero has come home."
A very special 83rd birthday Jimmy Mac from Clarets Mad and clarets everywhere.
