Kildare's Glenn Ryan says it was the privilege of a lifetime to have played under the late Mick O'Dwyer, having won two Leinster titles as captain under the legendary Kerry man's watch.
O'Dwyer has passed away at the age of 88 with tributes flowing in from all over the country.
Kildare lost two Leinster finals and a league final to Dublin during O'Dwyer's first stint from 1991 to 1994 but he returned in 1997 with 'unfinished business,' winning two Leinster titles the following year and in 2000.
Ryan famously said 'Mick O'Dwyer you're a God' during his captain's speech in 1998, much to the delight of the adoring Lilywhite support in Croke Park.
"That day was just a huge release of emotion for any Kildare supporter," Ryan told Balls.ie on Thursday as he paid tribute to the late great.
"We (Kildare) hadn't seen many good days. It had been barren for a long time. People had stopped supporting Kildare. Micko revived the interest and passion in his first spell and then in his second spell, he managed to get us over the line in '98 and 2000 in terms of winning Leinster.
"That was a great day."
Micko's son Karl also transferred to Kildare in 1998, strengthening the connection even more between the O'Dwyers and Kildare. Ryan recalled the story that in his homeplace of Waterville, 'famously there were more Kildare flags than Kerry flags up' before the 1998 All-Ireland semi-final when the two sides met.
12 August 2000; Kildare manager Mick O'Dwyer and Kildare captain Glenn Ryan lift the cup after their side's victory in the Bank of Ireland Leinster Senior Football Championship Final Replay match between Dublin and Kildare at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Damien Eagers/Sportsfile
Ryan described himself as a 'starry-eyed 17-year-old' when O'Dwyer first walked into the Kildare dressing room in 1991, remarking how he 'commanded a presence by his sheer status' almost immediately.
"The earliest memory would be the first time I met him, when he walked into the dressing room over in Newbridge for a trial game. I was a starry-eyed 17-year-old, but there were starry eyed 34 and 35 year olds in the dressing room as well. Everyone just looked up to him."
The missed opportunities remained on his mind after his departure in 1994, bringing him back for a second stint in 1998 where he enjoyed famous wins and had a transformative impact on football in Kildare.
"I believe he felt after his first term that there was unfinished business there. When he came back in 1997, we had all developed, we were more mature and ready to take on board, and try to go that extra step."
"He moulded the way that I appraoch football anyway and he probably instilled in me and a lot of Kildare football people, a love of the game really, that we hadn't had previously."
O'Dwyer's running sessions were almost legendary at the Curragh Army camp, and Ryan explained how they built the spirit and determination in the team.
There are no words to describe the influence Micko had on the GAA. He lifted kildare football to highs we dared to dream of. A manager, a mentor, and a friend. Condolences to the O'Dwyer family. RIP Micko pic.twitter.com/p2Fwxm7o8E
— John Doyle (@johnnydoyle78) April 3, 2025
"Micko drove you hard. Yes you're running laps in the Curragh or Newbridge or Hawkefield during the pre-season, but the great thing about it was when it came to the summer, all you did was play football.
"You went in and played a full-scale match every night. It was brilliant, you looked forward to going over. I think he used to go for a walk around the Curragh to see if there were different spots he could find and he used to say 'if it's good enough for John Oxx, it will be good enough for us.
"He certainly found a few spots that many of us didn't realise existed. People tell you that the Curragh is flat, he found areas that it wasn't anyway."
"What it instilled in us was a thickness and a determination that we're not going to do all this work for nothing.
"He ended up with a group of players who would have been prepared to do anything for him, and for each one of the team members, because he instilled a great team ethic among us as well."
Ryan followed in O'Dwyer's footsteps by managing Kildare and he says it was a privilege to be able to pick up the phone to ring him for advice, which was always forthcoming in recent years.
"I would have had a lot of contact with Micko, particularly in latter years when I was managing Kildare.
"I had the privilege of being able to pick up the phone at any stage and sound him out or look for a bit of advice. That was an honour to be able to do that, it was fantastic. We got to know the family because of Karl's connection of playing with us."
Ryan describes it a 'privilege and an honour' to have known him and to have played under him.
"I count myself hugely fortunate for that. He was a living icon when we were playing under him. His status is going to grow and grow, and to be able to say I was part of it, and had front seat access to it, it's something I'll always bring with me."
