MICK O’DWYER was beautifully remembered with a special tribute on the Late Late Show.
The 88-year-old sadly died on Thursday, leaving behind an eternal legacy and a treasure trove of fond memories and stories.
A number of these were expressed on Friday night’s Late Late Show, the end of which was dedicated to the Waterville icon.
Host Patrick Kielty opened the segment with his own emotional ode to the titan, who the Down-native said “mesmerised” him.
Kielty said that his great Kerry teams – with which O’Dwyer won eight All-Irelands as manager – “didn’t play football” but instead “made magic”, with Micko casting spells “like no other”.
He was joined by a special panel of GAA stalwarts who shared special times with the departed icon.
Representing his great Kingdom sides were Jack O’Shea and Jimmy Deenihan, both of whom shared their fondest memories.
Deenihan spoke of O’Dwyer’s care for player welfare, revealing that he had a hand in the eventual creation of the Gaelic Players’ Association due to his insistence on players getting expenses.
O’Shea, meanwhile, spoke of his love of the training ground and putting his squad to the pin of their collars.
This included extensive and grueling running sessions which left O’Shea “feeling sick” but not wanting to “give in to him”.
His presence at every training session, as well as his habit of offering players lifts home, led to one of the stories of the night.
O’Shea explained: “We were training in Tralee. I don’t know why we were training in Tralee, it must have been for a league final or the league or something.
“He picked me up in Cahersiveen in a Mercedes and we went up to Tralee for training.
“We finished the training, got back into the Mercedes and went back down to the Imperial Hotel in Tralee to eat our steaks or whatever we were getting.
“The next minute, a fella came in and gave him a set of keys and Micko gave him back a set of keys.
“We were getting up and we were going off and he says we have to go up to collect a woman and bring her home with us.
“What was outside but a hearse!
“We ended up going up to Cahersiveen with a coffin in the back of the hearse.”
‘HARD TO DESCRIBE’
Micko spread his wisdom far beyond his native county, bringing special times to Kildare, Laois, and Wicklow before finishing his inter-county career in Clare.
He guided the Lilywhites to two Leinster championship titles in his second spell, with the first in 1998 being their first in four decades.
O’Dwyer also brought them to the All-Ireland final in 1998, ultimately losing to Galway.
Johnny Doyle played for Kildare in that time, and was on the Late Late Show to share his own memories.
He said: “It is really hard to describe how much he changed Kildare.
“I remember the county final in 1990 when he was introduced to the crowd and it was like the Messiah had arrived.
“St Conleth’s Park was jammed to the rafters and he duly played to the crowd. It was like the pope had arrived.
“Kildare had been beaten by Kilkenny in the O’Byrne Cup and within 12 months we were playing in a National League final.
“It was unheard of what he brought. I consider myself very lucky.
“I supported Kildare all through his early times and then was lucky enough to arrive into the dressing room in 1999 just after the All-Ireland and what a special time it was.
“He wanted to win more than anything else.
“We trained on a Tuesday night before a national league game and I was picked to play.
“I remember saying to the doctor that I had a small bit of a rash on my back. He looked at it and he said, ‘Johnny, you have shingles, you will be playing no football.’
“Out he went, found the doc, five minutes later came back and said the doc says you’re okay.”
‘BOX OFFICE’
After Kildare, O’Dwyer went to Laois and, once again, brought silverware with him in the form of the 2003 Leinster SFC.
Ross Munnelly kicked 1-1 in the final against, ironically, Kildare.
And he said: “Micko was absolutely box office and he brought so much with him and so much expectation.
“You knew, standing in front of you in the dressing room, this guy is a born winner and the more he spoke about winning and the more he spoke about achieving things, he brought us with him.
“Three Leinster finals and to win it into 2003 sent Laois into overdrive and something we will be forever grateful for.”
Marty Morrissey shared a long-time bond with Mick O’Dwyer, and will be giving the reflection during his funeral on Saturday.
The RTE veteran declared that, while he was a Kerryman, everybody in Ireland loved the 88-year-old.
It was put to Morrissey to some up Micko’s legacy.
And the Clare-native said: “I know Micko always said wasn’t I lucky to be born in Kerry and he loved Kerry but he was not just of the Kingdom.
“He was of Ireland because every county in Ireland loved Micko.
“He brought a love of football to all of us and we were all inspired by him whether you were from Kerry or not.
“Now it is difficult enough to get players to talk but Micko wanted the players to talk because they were the greatest ambassadors.
“He wasn’t holding onto the power himself, he was a giver.
“We will never forget Micko because he was unique but he was of us and we are very proud of him.”
