There is something special about him but what is it

? You always feel the better from chatting with him. You know from past experience that he is the quintessential rogue of the highest order but a likeable rogue; he is the master of plámás this most charismatic icon of Irish sport. He certainly brightened up last Monday morning on this pre-Christmas visit. The beaming smile of recognition was as bright as ever from the 88-year-old. We had the usual chat about all aspects of sport, and he was in such an upbeat mood that I asked him if he felt up to another interview for On the Ball. He didn’t hesitate.
Off you go. You did plenty of interviews with me over the years. Are you still writing those sports columns for the Killarney Advertiser?

Yes, heading into 52 years of meeting such wonderful sports people as yourself. Where do the years go?

Fire away. What do you want to talk about?

Your wonderful life in sport. You’re a great survivor Mick and I can tell you that you are looking so well now compared to my last visit. You have always been up for the challenges in life and seem so alert for an 88-year-old.

I’m coming to 89 next June. The three of us are close in age. Johnny (Culloty) will be 89 on New Year’s day. How’s he doing in Killarney? Connell (Micko) is younger than Johnny by a year, also born in January and I am in the middle.

Life is full of challenges and like everyone else, you faced them up. Like Jack Kennedy that great Dingle-born jockey who has suffered six leg breaks in his sporting career, you also broke legs.
No only the same leg twice and that time sure they didn’t know as much as they know now so it took a full year before I got back playing.

That had to be your left leg.

How do you know that?

Sure, you never kicked a score with your left leg. I know that for sure. You were centre forward for Waterville in those three county finals 1968, 1969 and 1970 and I was marking you in one of those finals. Donie O’Sullivan had marked my card. All you have to do is shepherd him off to the left because he will keep angling to get a shot only with the right leg; he has no left leg.

And wasn’t it a good right one that I could score with? You know of course that I am the top scorer for Kerry in the national leagues and I’d say that still stands.

And you were the top scorer in Ireland in one of those years. That’s fair going with one leg.

Of course, I had a great punch of a ball and fooled a lot of cornerbacks who were expecting me to shoot with my right foot.

It is true to say that you were very selfish and went for your own score.

Why wouldn’t I, sure I knew I could score.

What many people do not realise is that you were powerfully built and could break through any tackle.

And without charging. I was strong but the strongest player I knew was Long (Tom). God, he had a pair of shoulders on him that you couldn’t knock him off the ball.

Any other strong players you remember?

Egan (John) of course. Once he got the ball there was no way he would lose it. He was powerfully built, like a tank, but was so light on his feet he’d make a great dancer. He was also so skillful and could waltz his way around backs like the goal he got against Dublin that set us off on those great years winning All-Irelands. The other thing about Egan was that he was such a quiet fella but once he got the ball, he set up the play for Sheehy (Mikey), Powery and Spillane. He also has a powerful punch of a ball and tricked so many backs because he usually used his powerful left fist that codded them all.
Brian Mullins was another huge strong man with hands, more like shovels. I knew that when I shook hands with him.

Eoin Liston was a big find for you.

Yes, big and strong was the Bomber who was too fond of the Mars bars instead of the Smarties. When he started teaching in Waterville V, S. my old school, he had a lot of extra pounds, but I kept after him, especially during the winter when the weighing scales went up and up. You had to get Bomber some way fit before you brought him into the Fitzgerald Stadium in March. The wire-to-wire sprints would be out of the question only for the preparation in Waterville. Of course, we often played golf which we both enjoyed.

What about the modern game that is such a turn-off for so many spectators? These are die-hard genuine followers, However, Jim Gavin and his committee have come up with several changes to the rules to address this. Do you think the new rules will work and improve the game.

We'll see.

That’s a very cautious answer, Mick. You don’t seem too convinced.

Look, our game is called football, and the foot has been taken out of the game.

Tell me a bit more about that.

When I was a young fella growing up in Waterville, I spent so much of my time down on the field kicking the ball. Often, I was on my own but myself and Connell got together whenever we could, and we kept practising kicking the ball and that was the old ball that was like a bar of soap when it got soaked wet and became much heavier, so your boot had to strike the ball dead on. There isn’t just one way of kicking the ball. We’d be trying all kinds of kicking, pulling on the ball on the ground, the ball off your hands and of course the drop kick. All that has changed. When did you last see a dropkick in football? No wonder it’s such a wonder now in rugby when an out-half drops the ball over the bar.

Are you interested in rugby?

I am interested in all sports. In fact, I am a sports’ fanatic and will follow all sports on the television.

I never drank or smoked but I was addicted to sport; it was an obsession. Football was what was there when I was growing up in Waterville so naturally, I went for that.
Of course, you have a splendid golf course in Waterville.

Unbelievable. No wonder all the Yanks come down to take it on. When the wind blows in from the Atlantic, the Wild Atlantic Way, only great players will score.
I’m told you were a handy golfer.

Handy, is it? I loved it and of course, I had a very handy handicap.

The wink was unmistakable; no need for words with the wink and elbow language that was mutually deciphered. Let the rogue out to play.

I remember you as a very stylish wing-back and also very good. Jackie Looney told me recently that you were so strong on the ball and would deliver a long accurate kick down to the forwards. He told me that in a Kerry County championship match he had scored 3 points in the first half at half forward but the South Kerry selectors moved you over on him for the second half and I didn't get one other score because you were so good and strong as well.

Jackie Looney was a great forward, very intelligent and a great scorer in every match. He is a great club man. Back to using your foot in football. No matter how fit or fast a player is in the modern game- and you must be an athlete now to compete at the highest level- no amount of inter-passing will get the ball into the scoring area as quickly and as effectively as the long accurate first-time delivery.
You played corner forward just like David Clifford in the present Kerry team.

I pity him, a great scorer, but if the team doesn’t get the ball in quickly to that area, he has no chance of controlling the end result. He must be frustrated. I would and so would Gleeson (Mick) and Higgins (Liam) from our time.

Of course, even with all your successes as a player and a manager, you had your disappointments.

That’s life and sport is no different.

What were those disappointments that stand out?

1982 of course. We were in a commanding position with four points up in that second half well in control. We had done it all before, three in a row, four in a row and now five in a row, never done before. To cap it all Egan was captain, and no other player deserved it more to lift the Sam Maguire.

You know the story. Painful. I was also very disappointed that Waterville did not win one of those three county finals. We worked so hard to win. We were well out of it in 1968 but ran a powerful East Kerry team very close in 1969 and 1970.

You made a massive contribution as manager of Kerry during the Golden Years and then ignited the hopes of other counties. The people of five counties will never forget what you did for them as a manager. Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Wicklow and Clare are eternally grateful to you. Why did you do it considering the long-haul journey from deep in south Kerry to faraway counties?

I loved the game and still do despite the way it has gone. I love meeting people and what football means to people in counties that rarely win any trophy or even matches is not fully understood in Kerry where we are so used to winning. Travel was never a problem for me. I loved driving and it was no bother for me to sit into the car in Waterville and head for Kildare or Wicklow day or night travelling on my own.
Most people would not like being in a car driving for five or six hours non-stop on their own.

I was always at top speed. You wouldn’t get away with it now. I loved being on my own. It was the only time I had the freedom to think things out. A lot goes through your mind on a journey of six hours without interruptions. Otherwise, if I was in any place I would be well-known and people would be coming up to me chatting and standing for photographs. I gave them all the time in the world; sure, I enjoy people
And that was one of your great gifts for successful management.

Yes, you must have people on your side or at least they think that you will be backing them as a team manager. It is very important to speak individually to the players, not the team talk in the dressing room on the day of the match because there is so much going on, but at all those training sessions, team holidays, funerals and so on. You will get the opportunity to build their confidence and in the heat of championship football they will be prepared to die for you. I hate to be critical of managers because it is a tough job especially here in Kerry where demands for Sam Maguire are great. Páidí O’Sé was correct in South Africa that time with Marty Morrissey about the Kerry supporters, even though I would have worded it differently.

Different style of management?

Chalk and cheese but we both had the good of Kerry football at heart. Páidí was a true Kerry warrior.

I would say this much about some managers or team bosses, or whatever you call the person in charge. I hate to see good players who would not be on the starting 15 but are always in the subs, travelling all over the country and never getting even a chance to come on and play. Although I would not have that player starting, I would make sure that he was brought on for some occasions. If you are winning by a cricket score you know what the best players can do. You are not sure how good the weaker members of the panel are; you need to judge them and see how they go with the best players. You win both ways; You can now judge how good the sub is, and he is happy to go through the same slog of training as the rest. He is part of the team, and you have the chance to boost his confidence. Everyone needs that. Look at Ger Lynch, another player who never really got the credit he deserved. He was a sub for some time before he got his chance to show how good he was, skillful, and fast. There’s Ger Driscoll, another Valentia man who often played a blinder coming in sub.

A lot of controversy in the media in recent times about paying managers and of course, Mayo and Galway’s accounts have not been signed off on. It seems Revenue is getting involved starting with payment to the referees (a mere 40 euros per game). Do you think that is just the thin edge of the hatchet?

When are you coming again and we’ll chat more?

Diplomacy is the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and tactful way. Mick O’Dwyer is the great diplomat in a lifetime of service to the GAA but he did it in his own way, people skills not learned in college but in the university of life. Diplomacy can also be seen as the art of letting other people have your own way. Mick O ‘Dwyer is perfect for a PhD study on that very theme.

Míle buíochas...

... to all those people whom I have met through sport over the years. Also, to the pros and others who have helped in any way to get On the Ball to you the readers every Friday. A special word of praise to Leszek who heads up the design team at The Killarney Advertiser to complement the text.

Guím síocháin na Nollag agus beannachtaí na Féiole oraibh uile. Bliain nnua ós ár gcomhair le cúnamh Dé.