Mick O’Dwyer’s funeral details: Kerry and GAA community prepare to say final farewell

The funeral details of legendary Kerry footballer and manager Mick O’Dwyer have been announced.

On Thursday morning, Mr O’Dwyer’s family confirmed that he had "passed away peacefully in the care of the wonderful medical team in Kenmare Community Hospital". He was 88.

A native of Waterville, O’Dwyer’s nearly six-decade-long association with the GAA arguably changed the face of Gaelic football forever.

He made his senior debut for Kerry in 1957 and subsequently won four All-Ireland medals as a player in 1959, 1962, 1969 and 1970, respectively.

In 1975, he became Kerry's manager, winning a further eight All-Irelands in the late 1970s and 1980s.

He also won a remarkable 23 Munster titles and 11 National Leagues as a player and manager.

Mick O' Dwyer training the team in 1982.

On Thursday evening, the O'Dwyer family confirmed that he would be reposing at Fitzgerald’s Funeral Home in Waterville from 4pm to 8pm on the evening of Friday, April 4, with his removal to St Finian’s Church in Waterville taking place thereafter.

His requiem mass will take place at the church at 11am the following morning, Saturday, April 5, followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Writing on RIP.ie, the O’Dwyer family said Mick will be “sadly missed by his loving wife Geraldine, his sons John, Karl and Robert, his stepdaughter Emma (Shields), his daughters-in-law Geraldine, Mary, Sandra and Liz and his adored grandchildren Shane, Amy, Lynn, Pierce, Dylan, Clodagh, Lauren and his step grandchildren, Holly, Cathal and Emily”.

“Mick O’Dwyer was predeceased by his parents, John and Mary, his first wife, Mary Carmel and their son Micheal (Haulie).

The family added that Micko's passing would also be mourned “by his many friends, neighbours and the entire GAA community”.

Mick O'Dwyer in his home town of Waterville in County Kerry when he retired in 2011.

Tributes paid to 'an icon of Gaelic Games'

Speaking after news broke of Mr O'Dwyer's passing, Taoiseach Micheál Martin described him as "an icon of Gaelic Games" who embodied "everything good about the game of Gaelic football: dedication, ambition, positivity and community".

Expressing a similar sentiment, President Michael D Higgins said that O'Dwyer would always be regarded as "one of the greatest figures ever to be associated with Gaelic Games".

"As both a player, and in particular as a manager, he was astonishingly successful. The Kerry team, which he led to eight All-Ireland titles, was one of the finest that Gaelic football has ever seen," he said.

"Beyond his native Kerry, Mick will be warmly remembered by the people of Kildare, Laois and Wicklow for the success which he subsequently brought to their counties, as well as for his contribution to Clare," President Higgins added.

"May I express my deepest sympathies to Mick's family, teammates, former players, and all of his many friends."

Mick O'Dwyer, dresses up in 1960's Kerry attire for the historic photo beside his statue in Waterville in 2012. Picture: Don MacMonagle

MEP and former president of the Gaelic Athletic Association Seán Kelly described being able to get to know Mick O'Dwyer as a "privilege."

Mr Kelly said that, back when he was Chairman of Kerry GAA and Mick O'Dwyer was managing Kerry, "he used to collect me at my house and we travelled to venues all over Ireland where Kerry were playing".

"On the way back on Sunday evening, he’d come in to my house for tea and Kimberley biscuits, and then continue on to Waterville to oversee the band playing and patrons in his dance hall that night."

Mr Kelly said Dwyer was "one of the nicest and shrewdest people" as well as a brilliant man manager who was able to see what would motivate individual players.

"Micko is so famous as a manager that we might forget that he was also one of the best footballers of his or any era, firstly as a wing-back and then as a most accurate corner-forward. I once saw him score 2-12 in one match in Croke Park!"

Mr Kelly said Mick O'Dwyer's life was "Waterville and Kerry."

"It was an honour to have been close to such a great man," he added.

Mick O'Dwyer, far left during the Kerry V Cork in the 1965 Munster football final in Cork.

Patrick O’Donovan, minister for arts, media, communications, culture and sport, Patrick O’Donovan said Mick O'Dwyer was "a legend of Gaelic football and an absolute gentleman, whether in victory or defeat".

"As a coach and a player, he was a colossus of the game over five decades and is loved in his native Kerry, all the other counties that he coached, and more widely across the island," he said.

He will live forever in the memories of Gaelic football followers the world over.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.”

Minister of state for sport Charlie McConalogue meanwhile said O'Dwyer's successes on the pitch as a player and a manager speak for themselves.

“I join with Gaelic football fans worldwide, and Irish fans of sport in general, in paying tribute to Mick O’Dwyer," he said.

"He was one of the finest footballers and most influential coaches to have ever graced our native games".

Mr McConalogue added that Mick O'Dwyer's true legacy is felt "across the country on football grounds and in clubhouses by the many players and fans he inspired".

"Gaelic football will mourn a legend, but his impact on the game will live forever."

Kerry TD and minister for children Norma Foley said O'Dwyer brought "honour, reward and distinction to his beloved green and gold and beyond".

"We are the lesser for his passing but greater for having had the benefit of his talent," she said.

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