Kerry legend Mick O’Connell truly a footballer for all time

The timing was just right. Yesterday when Mick O’Connell was honoured in a Killarney hotel for his contribution to Irish sport, the great man himself stoically pointed out it would be one of the last such events that he’ll be so honoured; as sprightly and as lithe-framed as he remains, Mick O’Connell at 79 has seen too many old team-mates “leave us” to know that even for a footballing immortal like him, there are only so many times even he’ll be feted in his time among us.

But another reason why it seemed so fitting that the Association of Irish Journalists chose to honour Mick O’Connell this week and not just this year was because of a certain fixture in Croke Park this Sunday.

Here we are on the eve of another Dublin-Kerry All Ireland semi-final. A game that will be televised live not just on RTÉ but Sky Sports with more than 15 cameras tracking the action and exploits of players like Brogan, Cooper, Connolly, Cluxton and O’Donoghue.