When two maestros meet
At times yesterday, it bordered on a mutual admiration society, Páidí learning so much from his former boss that he might know too much.
O’Dwyer was, in turn, adamant that his former pupil is the one who “made the difference” in Westmeath getting to their first final in 55 years.
“We’re there to get our teams to win,” said Micko. “And isn’t it great that we have got two teams to a Leinster final that haven’t been doing too well over the years? It proves one thing. There was a lot of talk about Páidí for a while, but I remember writing in the Irish Examiner that when the cuckoo arrives, so does Páidí.”
O’Dwyer elaborated: “He’s a real championship man and he has been over the years. Páidí can enjoy life and he does so over the winter months. It was part of our structure in Kerry for so many years, when we did nothing in Leagues.
“But when the championship would come I certainly knew that he would revitalise Westmeath and he did that.”
He addressed their similarities. In the way both sides play good attractive football, in the way their paths to the final were similar to last year (when Laois met Wexford first and then Offaly).
Ó Sé also referred to the fact that, as Kerry manager, he had declined to attend past conferences hosted by the competition sponsors, Bank of Ireland, in Dublin. That was for reasons he would explain another time, he said. But this was a special occasion.
“I would say without fear or contradiction that he’s the best man in the business. Anything I know about football - and I’m not too bad myself, although I’m still learning - I learned from him.
“Hopefully he may have taught me too much,” he joked.
“We would meet on a regular basis. I’ve no doubt that if he was not involved and had he some knowledge to give to me, he would. I wouldn’t say he would give me bad advice because I was too loyal a servant to him - even though he gave me my P45 and I didn’t speak to him for three years. I got a number 27 jersey and I remember giving it to Tatler Jack for his pub.”
O’Dwyer recalled the time (in 1988) he dropped Páidí for the Munster final against Cork.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for us,” he said. “But at the time, we honestly felt he was playing badly. We played Cork and they beat us and I always remember, he said to me afterwards, ‘if I was marking Dinny Allen today he wouldn’t have got all those scores’ ... and how right he was.”
In Ó Sé’s opinion, his predecessor in Westmeath, Luke Dempsey, “was very unlucky” on a couple of occasions - recalling one particular quarter-final where they were eight points up against Meath but Ollie Murphy got a goal near the end. This year, they got the “rub of the relic”.
“The day we played Offaly, Ciaran McManus didn’t bring his shooting boots with him. We have to be realistic, we lived dangerously for a lot of that game.”
He agreed, then hesitated when it was put to him that his confident approach rubbed off on the players.
“Self-praise is no praise,” he said.
“I probably gave them a bit of guidance. Very often you can learn more when you lose. Micko and myself have been together as player and manager and in Croke Park we had some very good days and a few not so good. The bad days we learned from and we made sure the next day we came back we were on the winning side. All that experience counts.”
It’s O’Dwyer’s turn to pile on the plaudits.
“One thing you must say about Páidí - he’s a marvellous motivator. I know because he was captain of our team. In the dressing-room he was the life and soul of our team for many years.
“He has made the difference in Westmeath. The people there before him had put in the work and prepared the young players, but they didn’t seem to be going anywhere. A fresh face is good, the same as when I arrived in Laois. You must remember he won eight All-Ireland medals.”
The last time the pair were in opposition was when Kerry played Kildare in a qualifier in Thurles two years ago. Before the game, Micko had signalled his intention to quit if they were beaten. Why then did he get involved so quickly afterwards?
“It’s the same thing that applies to Páidí,” he said.
“We’re addicted to this game. When you live in Kerry, football is your life and it has been my life since I got out of the cradle. I love the game and I had no intention of going anywhere when I left Kildare. A lot of people thought I had made a decision to go to Laois, but I hadn’t. A friend of mine, Declan O’Loughlin, asked me would I go and help and I did.”
Tied to Westmeath for two years, Ó Sé feels that, as with any team with aspirations of winning silverware, “you nearly have to be dabbling in the training” all year round. Right now, he feels his side is physically able to take on any team.
“I wouldn’t say I’d be confident. It’s a big occasion for the players and their families and more especially it’s a big occasion for the county, given that they haven’t been in the final since 1949 (and have never won the title).
“We have taken the scalps of Offaly and Dublin and last Saturday proved Wexford aren’t a bad outfit either.
“We are giving ourselves a reasonable chance. It’s 15 against 15, if we can play to our true potential we are more than capable of giving Laois a good game of it.”
The idea of Laois being favourites amuses O’Dwyer. He understands it’s because they won the title last year.
“Favourites or otherwise, it’s not about myself and Páidí. It’s about the 30 players who are going to be on the pitch on Sunday. They are the people who are going to make the decisions.
“A few lucky breaks will decide this game. There won’t be much in it at the end.
“What I will be telling my players is to go out and play the ball all the time and that’s the style I have always advocated, with Kerry and Kildare.
“If you’re going to win, play football - with a bit of style as well.”
Páidí wasn’t about to demur.
“I would also be preaching to play football and to play attractive football. We won’t be going in for blanket defences and putting eight and nine players behind the ball.”
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