Kerry football legend Mick O’Dwyer has passed away at the age of 88.

An iconic figure within the GAA, O’Dwyer won four All-Ireland SFC titles with the Kingdom before turning to management and steering his native county to eight Sam Maguire Cup successes, including the famous four-in-a-row between 1978 and 1981.

The Waterville clubman would win 23 Munster titles and 11 National League crowns throughout the course of his 33-year involvement with Kerry as player and manager.

His remarkable career on the sidelines would continue with Kildare, Laois, Wicklow and Clare in later years.

During his time in charge of Kildare, O’Dwyer led the Lilywhites to two Leinster SFC titles in 1998 and 2000 along with an All-Ireland final appearance in the former year.

'Micko' managed his native Kerry to eight All-Ireland senior football titles ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan

He would guide Laois to a Leinster SFC triumph in 2003 and six years later would see ‘Micko’ creating more history while at the helm with Wicklow.

The Garden County defeated Fermanagh in a first round All-Ireland SFC qualifier in the summer of ’09, which meant that O’Dwyer had beaten ever single county in the country throughout the course of his managerial career.

2013 saw him managing Clare for one season before stepping away from management for good.

In a statement released this morning (Thursday), Taoiseach Micheál Martin led the tributes to the iconic Kerry man by saying: “Micko lived and breathed Gaelic football. He embodied everything good about the game – dedication, ambition, positivity and community.”

GAA President Jarlath Burns, said: “The passing of the great Mick O’Dwyer marks the loss of not just a Kerry legend but one of the true giants and icons of Gaelic games.

“He was, quite simply, the man with the Midas touch.

“The spell he weaved with that magnificent Kerry team of the 70s and 80s was a magic that was as intoxicating for us in South Armagh as it was in his own beloved South Kerry. The sideline battle of wits that he waged with Kevin Heffernan and Eugene McGee not only defined a generation for GAA fans, but they elevated Gaelic football to a whole new height and popularity.

“Before all of that, he had been an incredible footballer in his own right, playing senior inter-county football for 18 years, winning four All-Irelands and eight national league medals and was Footballer of the Year in 1969.

“His switch from playing retirement in 1974 to an All-Ireland winning manager in 1975 is one of the greatest comeback stories in GAA history, going on to win the Sam Maguire eight times in a golden 11-year period.

“Charismatic, clever and a shrewd judge of character, the provincial success he would enjoy coaching Kildare and Laois and the silverware he landed with Wicklow underscored his genius at getting the best out of players.

“His passion for cars was only outpaced by the grá for Gaelic football that constantly stirred in him and had him coaching local underage teams in Waterville up to the age of 79.

“There will only ever be one Micko, and while his passing is an enormous loss to his close family and great many friends, amongst the wider GAA family his memory will forever be celebrated and cherished, and we will be forever thankful that he was one of our own.

“Go dtuga Dia suaimhneas síoraí dó.”

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