Micko’s Midas touch

Not for the first time Mick O’Dwyer is working the oracle in an adopted land. Brendan O’Brien, Daragh O Conchúir and Colm O’Connor spoke to four men who have first-hand experience of the Kerryman’s managerial brilliance.

IT’S the championship, but not as we know it. Wicklow have already made history this summer by featuring in six games for the first time in their history but defeat Kildare in Portlaoise this evening and they will be occupying the giddy heights of an All-Ireland quarter-final.

‘Dwyer’ took Kerry to the brink of a five-in-a-row and tacked on three more All-Ireland titles in the mid-80s but there were always a small minority all too eager to dilute those achievements by pointing to the calibre of players he managed. Kildare and Laois had ample quality in their ranks, though not anything like that of the Dream Team, but O’Dwyer gave them what they lacked most of all: belief, character, momentum. Now, here he is, nearly 40 years after his debut season as Kerry coach and still up to his old tricks.