GAA mourns a true gentleman

Despite all his success, Heffo was as modest a man as you could wish to meet

Mick O’Dwyer last night led the tributes to his great rival and legendary former Dublin manager Kevin Heffernan who passed away yesterday at the age of 83.

The St Vincent’s man, who died after a long illness, famously crossed swords with O’Dwyer on the sideline on three occasions during the 1970s, winning the 1976 All-Ireland final against Kerry but losing the ’75 and ’80 deciders.

“I came in contact first with him as a player,” recalled O’Dwyer.

“He was finishing off his career when I was starting so we didn’t meet on the pitch. But, of course, when it came to management we met for the first time in 1975 and that went on for a number of years, the great rivalry that existed between Dublin and Kerry.

“He brought that Dublin team from the dead to win three All-Ireland titles. There’s no doubt he was an outstanding manager and built a team which proved to be a forerunner for all the great teams that have come out of Dublin since.

“Dublin were struggling in that period when he took them over and he made a point of getting them to play hard and got them exceptionally fit. He managed to produce two All-Irelands in a row. A wonderful manager, a great trainer.”

O’Dwyer and Heffernan’s rivalry was a keen one during the 1970s but the Waterville man will remember how they were able to share their memories of the matches in recent times.

“There was great respect. We really didn’t speak to each other on the sideline. Just a nod and that would be the size of it. In later years through golf classics and things, we had good old chats about those great games that we had.”

Dublin’s 2011 All-Ireland winning manager Pat Gilroy, a fellow St Vincent’s club-mate of Heffernan’s, spoke of his humility.

“It’s a sad day in terms of us losing one of our greatest clubmen and one of the most humble and modest men you could meet in your life. Despite all his achievements, he never imposed on others.

“His achievements as a hurler and a footballer are there for all to see in the history books. He is more famous for his management career but within St Vincent’s he is remembered as well for all the Dublin championships he won.”

Bernard Brogan Snr., who won an All-Ireland title under Heffernan in 1976, described his former manager as “an icon of the GAA”.

“We had known for a long time that he hadn’t been well. It’s especially sad with Páidí Ó Sé having died recently as well so it’s two legends in a row.

“He changed the way the GAA was structured. He was the first of a new generation of managers.”

Brogan won his second All-Ireland a year later under Tony Hanahoe, who acted as player-manager, but also gives credit to Heffernan for the success.

“Even though Tony was the manager, Kevin’s influence was always there. I’m not belittling what Tony did but Kevin’s fingerprints were all over the team.”

Brogan’s favourite memory of Heffernan was a piece of advice he proffered to him in his later career.

“I remember going to him once and saying to him ‘I wasn’t enjoying my football’. I had played a lot of football and we were pretty much playing football through 12 months of the year.

“He said to me, ‘You’re not meant to enjoy football. Winning [is what] you enjoy.”

The GAA and the Dublin County Board expressed their sympathies with Heffernan’s family, his wife Mary and daughter Orla as well as his beloved St Vincent’s club.

GAA president Liam O’Neill said: “Kevin Heffernan had an incalculable impact not only on Gaelic Games in the capital but nationally, helping as he did to forge one of the defining rivalries of the Association while at the same time assisting in the reinvigoration of the GAA scene in Dublin.

“The ‘Dubs’ as we know them came into being during his era as he restored success to his native county and a pride in the team that was built on the back of the selection of Dublin-born players. He was one of the most charismatic and popular figures the Association has ever produced and was at the same time an immensely modest man.”

In a statement, county secretary John Costello was fulsome in his praise of the former dual player’s achievements.

“Kevin Heffernan was ahead of his times as a player, a manager and an administrator. He revolutionised Gaelic Football in both how players and teams prepared and operated and also in terms of the philosophy and psychology of our national games.

“For his unparalleled devotion and contribution to Gaelic Football and Hurling the Association in Dublin will be forever indebted to him.

“So too is Irish society for lifting the awareness of Gaelic games, putting it on a revered pedestal, particularly at a juncture when participation in Gaelic games in the capital was waning.

“At a local level, Kevin embodied the spirit of the St. Vincent’s club in winning 21 senior county championships between football and hurling.

“At international level his managerial excellence was recognised by the GAA who chose him to lead the Irish team in Australia in 1986 to a great victory. In recent years Kevin chaired the County Board Development Committee which devised a development squad strategy that has proved highly successful with a number of All-Ireland successes at underage level.”

Picture: Kevin Heffernan and Mick O’Dwyer receiving their Honorary Degrees from UCD in 2004. Picture: Graham Hughes