The greatest manager ever?

Since the GAA started the International or Compromise Rules matches against teams from Australia they have appointed a number of different and competent people to manage their teams.
While these men have been successful, the GAA surprisingly have never appointed the most successful manager ever in the history of Gaelic Football to be in charge of the Irish team. Mick O’Dwyer has managed teams to win eight All-Ireland senior titles, three National League titles, four U-21s, six Railway Cups and 14 provincial titles yet he has never been invited to manage the Irish team for the battles with Australia.
Some of his protégés, such as John O’Keeffe, Jack O’Shea and Eoin Liston, have been involved but never the man himself.
Mick O’Dwyer was born in Waterville on the Ring of Kerry in 1936 where he attended the local national and technical schools. He made his debut with the county minor team in the early 50s.
Clare and Cork met in the finals of ’52 and ’53, winning one each but Kerry were back in ’54 when O’Dwyer won the first of many championship medals. He did not make the starting 15 for the All-Ireland where Kerry lost by a point. He moved on to play with the county junior team in ’55 and ’56 before starting his senior career against Carlow in a league match in October 1956.
For a man who was to win every award in the game, his championship debut was catastrophic for Kerry. In June 1957 they lost the first round of the Munster Championship to Waterford. He won his first Munster medal the following year but they lost out to Derry who were contesting their first ever All-Ireland semi-final.
His senior career spanned 17 years and his final match was a challenge against Sligo in 1974. In the intervening years, he won four All-Irelands, eight national leagues, 12 Munster titles, one Railway Cup and a Texaco Footballer of the Year Award.
As impressive as his playing record was, it was totally eclipsed by what he achieved as a manager. He took over a young and untried Kerry team and produced what was possibly the greatest team unit of all time. He led his team of the 70s and 80s to an unbelievable eight senior All-Irelands and three U-21s. They set all types of records. Five of his players played on each of the eight winning teams and between them they won a massive 71 All-Star awards. If there was one criticism of his reign it was that he stayed loyal to his players for just a little to long and there were not enough young replacements coming through.
After taking a short break he surprised many by taking over the managerial position with Kildare and then with Laois. Kildare bridged a 42-year gap by winning Leinster in ’98 and in 2003, Laois won their first senior title since 1938. O’Dwyer has since moved on to attempt to work his managerial magic with Wicklow. This year’s championship will mark 36 years since he first managed a senior inter-county team and an incredible 54 years since he first played senior championship football.
Mick O’Dwyer, the Kerry man who seems to go on forever, was born on June 9, 1936 – 75 years ago this week.