Post by BIGMAC on Jun 9, 2006 7:39:48 GMT
Micko's 70 but obsessive craving is still all-consuming
Still going strong: A manager at 70 is not something even the best-versed GAA historians can recall but Mick O'Dwyer's hunger is as strong as ever
THERE'S unlikely to be any Marilyn Monroe style figures popping out of cakes in Waterville or Portlaoise, but today represents a rare, and perhaps even unique, milestone in the career of Gaelic football's most storied manager.
Mick O'Dwyer is celebrating his 70th birthday. Still fresh, still fit enough to eat up the miles on his daily walks, still hungry enough to be consumed by the bear pit that is the championship sideline.
For 30 of the last 33 championship seasons, that familiar gait of his (crouched shoulders, swinging arms and programme rolled up in his right hand) has patrolled the tramlines of the GAA's great ampitheatres.
Only when he stepped back for a year (1990) after quitting Kerry after the 1989 championship and again when he vacated Kildare for two years (1995-96) did he get to feel what adult life without inter-county football was like.
Clearly, he decided it wasn't for him and for the last 10 years (1997-2002 with Kildare and 2003 to now with Laois) he is where is he has always wanted to be.
The last three years with Laois have brought him to today's milestone. A manager at 70 is not something even some of the best-versed GAA historians in our midst can recall before.
Sure there have been, and still are, selectors and backroom figures who have reached and passed their 70th birthdays while still involved with teams.
But a 70-year-old manager is something different. Not even the late Cork hurling trainer, Jim 'Tough' Barry, who had 40 years of involvement between 1926 and 1966 was involved as a septuagenarian. Barry, the guiding hand for much of the Ring era, died at 70 in 1968.
Perhaps in counties with less profile and success, there have been management figures who continued into their eighth decade, but none compare to Micko.
His enthusiasm for life surpasses many half his age, and his enthusiasm for Gaelic football surpasses most.
A non-drinker and smoker, he leads a healthy lifestyle, rarely goes without his bowl of porridge in the morning and players in Kildare and Laois regularly remark about the dishes of salad and supply of fruit that he likes to feast on.
Being the first man to
manage two different
counties to All-Ireland senior
titles is what now motivates
him
Walking also fills a substantial part of his day whether it's along the canal at Vicarstown now or the Curragh during his time in Kildare.
He retains business interests in Kerry, Kildare and even Dublin, but never does this get in the way of football.
True he's had to listen to the barbs about under the counter payments ever since Michael Osborne, now deceased, inveigled him to Kildare in the autumn of 1990. Micko's second coming to what was then a dormant football power was perhaps the spark for the wave of cross-county managerial appointments that dominated since the 1990s.
But he insists that legitimate expenses are all he ever receives and that money has never been his motivation. It hasn't either, not at 70 years of age when he could be relaxing in picturesque Waterville, playing golf and reflecting on the career he's already enjoyed.
But Micko doesn't engage much in reflection. And he understands quite well that even at 70 he won't be spared lightly if things go awry for Laois again this year.
After more than 50 years in the inter-county game and 30 in management, during which he won every honour in the game with Kerry and brought an end to long famines in Kildare and Laois, not everyone is convinced of his management repertoire.
If he had walked away from Laois after 2003 when they had won their first Leinster title since 1946, the legend would have been enshrined forever.
But Micko is haunted by the desire to bring closure to any task he sets himself.
In Kildare, it was a Leinster title, but with the players Laois have he knows that an All-Ireland title should be within their grasp.
So far he hasn't managed to press all the right buttons and with a declaration that this season will be his last, he has the next three and a half months to find the correct sequence.
His desire, to finish what he started in 2003, burns deep. It will be a test for methods that have served him well since he took the reins with Kerry in 1975. Micko's football philosophy has always been founded on simplicity, fitness and original motivation, but now he is being challenged to add to his portfolio and modify what he brings to the table.
He's done it all, seen it all, everyone has a tale to tell of him and everyone has long since formed an opinion. What he has done in the past, he doesn't dwell on.
Being classed as the grand old man of Gaelic football patronises him. Being the first man to manage two different counties to All-Ireland senior titles is clearly what now motivates him beyond the 70 mark.
He'd like to save the good wishes for next September if he could.
Colm Keys
Still going strong: A manager at 70 is not something even the best-versed GAA historians can recall but Mick O'Dwyer's hunger is as strong as ever
THERE'S unlikely to be any Marilyn Monroe style figures popping out of cakes in Waterville or Portlaoise, but today represents a rare, and perhaps even unique, milestone in the career of Gaelic football's most storied manager.
Mick O'Dwyer is celebrating his 70th birthday. Still fresh, still fit enough to eat up the miles on his daily walks, still hungry enough to be consumed by the bear pit that is the championship sideline.
For 30 of the last 33 championship seasons, that familiar gait of his (crouched shoulders, swinging arms and programme rolled up in his right hand) has patrolled the tramlines of the GAA's great ampitheatres.
Only when he stepped back for a year (1990) after quitting Kerry after the 1989 championship and again when he vacated Kildare for two years (1995-96) did he get to feel what adult life without inter-county football was like.
Clearly, he decided it wasn't for him and for the last 10 years (1997-2002 with Kildare and 2003 to now with Laois) he is where is he has always wanted to be.
The last three years with Laois have brought him to today's milestone. A manager at 70 is not something even some of the best-versed GAA historians in our midst can recall before.
Sure there have been, and still are, selectors and backroom figures who have reached and passed their 70th birthdays while still involved with teams.
But a 70-year-old manager is something different. Not even the late Cork hurling trainer, Jim 'Tough' Barry, who had 40 years of involvement between 1926 and 1966 was involved as a septuagenarian. Barry, the guiding hand for much of the Ring era, died at 70 in 1968.
Perhaps in counties with less profile and success, there have been management figures who continued into their eighth decade, but none compare to Micko.
His enthusiasm for life surpasses many half his age, and his enthusiasm for Gaelic football surpasses most.
A non-drinker and smoker, he leads a healthy lifestyle, rarely goes without his bowl of porridge in the morning and players in Kildare and Laois regularly remark about the dishes of salad and supply of fruit that he likes to feast on.
Being the first man to
manage two different
counties to All-Ireland senior
titles is what now motivates
him
Walking also fills a substantial part of his day whether it's along the canal at Vicarstown now or the Curragh during his time in Kildare.
He retains business interests in Kerry, Kildare and even Dublin, but never does this get in the way of football.
True he's had to listen to the barbs about under the counter payments ever since Michael Osborne, now deceased, inveigled him to Kildare in the autumn of 1990. Micko's second coming to what was then a dormant football power was perhaps the spark for the wave of cross-county managerial appointments that dominated since the 1990s.
But he insists that legitimate expenses are all he ever receives and that money has never been his motivation. It hasn't either, not at 70 years of age when he could be relaxing in picturesque Waterville, playing golf and reflecting on the career he's already enjoyed.
But Micko doesn't engage much in reflection. And he understands quite well that even at 70 he won't be spared lightly if things go awry for Laois again this year.
After more than 50 years in the inter-county game and 30 in management, during which he won every honour in the game with Kerry and brought an end to long famines in Kildare and Laois, not everyone is convinced of his management repertoire.
If he had walked away from Laois after 2003 when they had won their first Leinster title since 1946, the legend would have been enshrined forever.
But Micko is haunted by the desire to bring closure to any task he sets himself.
In Kildare, it was a Leinster title, but with the players Laois have he knows that an All-Ireland title should be within their grasp.
So far he hasn't managed to press all the right buttons and with a declaration that this season will be his last, he has the next three and a half months to find the correct sequence.
His desire, to finish what he started in 2003, burns deep. It will be a test for methods that have served him well since he took the reins with Kerry in 1975. Micko's football philosophy has always been founded on simplicity, fitness and original motivation, but now he is being challenged to add to his portfolio and modify what he brings to the table.
He's done it all, seen it all, everyone has a tale to tell of him and everyone has long since formed an opinion. What he has done in the past, he doesn't dwell on.
Being classed as the grand old man of Gaelic football patronises him. Being the first man to manage two different counties to All-Ireland senior titles is clearly what now motivates him beyond the 70 mark.
He'd like to save the good wishes for next September if he could.
Colm Keys
