He was a man before his time, Micko’s legacy will never fade

THE regular tribute that Páidí would always pay to Mick O’Dwyer (right) was that he was ‘a man before his time.’

I was reminded of that in the aftermath of the recent documentary which charmed young and old.

I had kids coming up to me at school telling me that he was ‘cool’ because he had a ‘fade’ hair-style, which apparently is the current rage.

Setting new fashion trends came easy to him, not least with those 27 consecutive training sessions with which Gaelic football’s most successful manager announced his arrival in 1975.

That sounds rather brutish right now, but that was as much about ensuring that his team had mental steel as well as physical fitness.

It was one of the reasons why that group thrived for so long. It was humbling watching that documentary because I could see why Páidí rated Micko as the greatest football man he ever met in his life.

He is rogue, a charmer and a business man too, but above all, he was always his own man. The only line that jarred in truth was his declaration that he was ‘lucky’ to be born a Kerryman.

The truth is the luck was all ours.