One more spin on the merry-go-round for a legend
Therefore the irony isn’t lost on the Peter Pan of gaelic football that he was rarely about the place in Waterville when Mary Carmel was hale and hearty. When are you going to give up that travelling and football and get a life for yourself, she would quiz him.
Now he feels the need to get out of the house to stay sane.
The quiet in their handsome Waterville spread has been the difference this past month between contented retirement and the nagging need to get out the front door and on the road again.
O’Dwyer, confirmed last night in Ennis as Clare football manager for next season, admits that if his wife and companion was still around his retirement would have been permanent.
“I had decided to pack it in for good. Mary Carmel wasn’t in great health and I wanted to be home and about the place to finally give some help. She has been minding the lads and the business for such a long time.”
Her passing in September left a void Dwyer’s life he’s finding hard to fill: “Of course, there’s a loneliness there, I wouldn’t have taken on this job in different circumstances. Around the house here, it gets boring. Football is always on my brain, and I have no doubt the enthusiasm will be there,” he assured Banner football supporters.
“I’ve been in the house a lot on my own, and like anything in life, you take your loved ones for granted when they are around, waiting for you all the time. But now that this opportunity has come up, it has given me the excuse to get up and get out there again.”
At 76, even O’Dwyer has had to make concessions to Father Time, and for the first time in almost 40 years of coaching, he will involve a physical trainer to conduct training sessions in Clare.
“I’ll head to Quilty on Sunday (to see Kilmurry-Ibrickane square off with favourites Dr Crokes) for the Munster Club game, and once I meet with the selectors, we’ll move quickly to organise a trial game or two to see what we have at our disposal.
“Clare have been knocking on the door for a few years now, but, like Wicklow, my primary goal is to lift the profile of football in the county from under age up. Hurling has always been the No 1 in Clare, but there’s a big football catchment area, and I’ll be in the heart of it Sunday.”
For a man who grew up behind a wheel — his father ran a taxi business and O’Dwyer himself ran a motor car business — the trek from Waterville up through Tarbert, and across the ferry into Clare, is of little concern. Besides, he does most of his plotting in the peace and solitude of his BMW.
“I know there have been a few dissenting voices up there, but hopefully I’ll be able to convince people in Clare that I have a contribution to make to the betterment of football in the county. It’s for one year, and we’ll see how things progress.”
Clare chairman Michael O’Neill last night welcomed O’Dwyer’s ratification at a specially convened meeting of the county board in Ennis.
However he admitted that there is ‘a certain amount of apprehension’ in Banner GAA circles about the appointment.
O’Neill said: “It is fantastic we have a man of Micko’s reputation coming in as manager of our senior footballers.
“There is mixed reaction to the news and there is a certain amount of apprehension in the county but people are entitled to have those views.
“But I am confident that the appointment will be good, not just for the senior side but for football in the county. We saw with Wicklow how having Micko as manager lifted the profile of the game across all levels.”
O’Neill is clear on the priorities for the Kerry legend.
“The big thing is promotion from Division Four. We were very unfortunate not to get up last year. But it is very difficult ask given that the likes of Tipperary and Offaly will also be bidding to get up to Division Three as well.”
O’Neill confirmed that former county players Michael Neylon and Ger Keane will be O’Dwyer’s selectors while Micheal Cahill will remain as the team’s physical trainer.
He also revealed that the committee charged with appointing O’Dwyer also have the option of bringing another selector on board if required.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
