O’Dwyer still fashioning a legend in sport’s fast lane
It was a hard-fought replay. It was ironic that the difference between the sides in the end was the work of a burly ‘glic’ forward cut from exactly the same cloth as that which made O’Dwyer a legend in his prime. Jamie Clarke broke through for the brace of goals that represented the winning margin in the end.
They were the kind of goals O’Dwyer scored when Kerry needed them.
And the question of whether or not Clarke finally retired O’Dwyer from the game he has graced for such an incredibly long time as player and manager became instantly almost as fascinating a topic as the result of the Aughrim clash.
Has Micko at last reached the end of the road? Certainly with Wicklow, yes, according to the best reports. But we are dealing here with the Waterville legend. It would be a foolish man who would bet his house on Mick O’Dwyer never being seen prowling the inter-county sidelines again. We will have to wait and see.
This is a different man and manager to any others in his code. This is a maestro addicted to the game. This is a teak-tough Kerryman for whom retirement seems to be a dirty word. It is not over yet. It won’t be over until the big man sings.
Remember as far back as 1966 when O’Dwyer was already a playing legend and already, at 30 years old, entering into what were to be the twilight years of a glittering career which began with a Munster minor medal in 1954. He broke both legs but battled back to fitness to play some of the best football of his life. Three seasons later he was Player of the Year and also the championship’s top scorer with those two mended legs. A year later he was again the season’s top marksman as he joined the elite band of players durable enough to win All-Ireland medals in three decades.
He was close enough to 40 when he retired. But then came the glory years of management from 1975 when he fashioned and led a Kerry team that won a staggering eight out of 10 finals which they contested in 12 years. It was a record which will never be equalled. That would have been enough for most men.
But we are dealing here with an undertaker who seems incapable and unwilling to bury the strongly living legend that is himself. And why not if the passion for football is as addictive as Micko’s clearly is? The story goes on and on.
And there are many outside Kerry who would argue that what Mick O’Dwyer has achieved in Leinster since he took over in Kildare amidst a fanfare of trumpets back in 1998 is comparable in real terms to the earlier work in Kerry. And of more value to the GAA than yet another title to add to the perennial Kerry series. What he has done amongst the dispirited rank and file of no-hoper counties has been quite incredible and has hallmarked his genius.
He lit a new fire in the Kildare bellies that first year. They grabbed their first Leinster title in years. They reached the All-Ireland final. Though they lost to Galway even to win a provincial title and contest a championship decider is a powerful stimulus for many counties.
He moved to Laois of the lost causes and led them to a provincial title in 2003.
For more than a decade Micko has been fashioning silk purses from sows’ ears in Leinster and infusing teams with new drive and spirit. That required more real managerial skill than simply launching Kerry into the fray every year of the glory years. And surely another kind of pinnacle was climbed earlier this month when his Wicklow travelled up to Armagh, fought the powerful locals to an honourable draw (which they could have won) and dragged them down to Aughrim last Saturday for a dour grand finale to the Wicklow season.
And Clarke, a modern kind of Micko in his prime, was really the only difference between the sides. Wicklow’s guts and determination drove the rest of the Armagh attackers deep into the swamps of squandermania. It was a real battle.
Yes, Micko did indeed show all his years on the sideline when it was over. Yes, the speculation about his future has been swirling around him since. Yes, many say, this has surely to signal the long whistle to the career of the longest GAA legend of them all.Yes, they claim, he has been magnificent in all his roles but it is over now. Time to rest on all his laurels in Waterville.
Stuff like that. It might happen that way. Maybe it should happen that way. The word END is the last three letters of LEGEND after all.
But remember we are talking about Mick O’Dwyer, a man who drives fast down his own sporting road. The show ain’t over until the big guy sings.
