Voted the greatest manager of the last century, the Waterville native wasn't always accustomed to winning. In 1954, he made his debut for the Kerry minors against Waterford in the Munster Championship, and starred in their win that day, yet was dropped for the remainder of the season. "Ah, there was nobody from this end of the county on the management side of things at the time, " says Paddy Fogarty, chairman of the Waterville club and a schoolmate of O'Dwyer's. "They lost the minor All Ireland that year to Dublin and they still say if Micko had played we would have won it. Even at that age he was special. Around the technical school, he had an aura and a talent that was obvious to all. And that never went to waste.

He took Waterville, as both a player and manager combined, to three county finals in '68, '69 and '70 and lost them all to East Kerry. It was still some achievement. If he'd won just the one, he'd have captained Kerry. But it's strange that his playing days are largely forgotten, given the talent he was. I guess that's a measure of what's happened since he started managing sides."

Another friend who was living in England in the '50s tells a story of a challenge match against Dublin. The pitch in Birmingham was shorter than regulation length, with the effect that every kick-out was landing on top of O'Dwyer at half-back and Paddy Haughey. O'Dwyer caught every ball that day, running the crowd into a frenzy.

Yet even with that talent, his playing record is still phenomenal. In all, he won eight National League titles . . . still a record today and one that's unlikely to be broken . . . and four All Irelands. In between, he managed to lose both the 1964 and '65 finals to Galway, broke both his legs the latter year and briefly retired until his comeback in 1968. For three years running, he was the country's top scorer and played in his last All Ireland final in 1972, losing a replay to Offaly.

But what followed overshadowed what had gone before. Appointed Kerry senior and under-21 manager in 1975, a year after his retirement, he won both titles at his first attempt, and between then and 1981, he trained an All Ireland winning team every year. By the time of his departure, he had brought eight more senior All Irelands to the county. "In a place like Kerry which has always had success, to stand out that much is an incredible achievement, " says Paddy Fogarty. "When he came in as manager, Cork would have been on top in Munster. Not just at senior, they were the side with the players coming through at under-21 and minor. If there was ever a tough time to take over the senior team here in Kerry, that was it. There was always going to be the expectation, but there's not always a team to back it up. Some look at the players, but I think what he has done up there in Leinster is proof that a huge part of that success was down to him. It's made him a national figure.

An international figure."

O'Dwyer left Kerry for a new challenge, taking over in Kildare in 1991. The county was at an all-time low. Fresh in the mind of many supporters was their elimination from the O'Byrne Cup to Kilkenny.

But by that May, they found themselves in a league final.

"We weren't sure where we were headed at the time, " says a former county board member in Kildare. "But just to have that big a name coming into the county, it brought an excitement to the place before a ball was kicked. We hadn't seen it here in a long time, and to have that interest and following back then and the level of it all, well, it made us all very proud. People were suddenly interested again and thinking we might be going somewhere." Those thoughts were soon realised.

Throughout the '90s, his adopted county was challenging for honours in Leinster and finally in '98 the breakthrough came.

The county, with Micko's son Karl starring in the half-forward line, beat Meath and took their first provincial title since 1956.

Another followed in 2000. What O'Dwyer did with Kildare was a template for his success with Laois. A second-tier county upon his arrival, they captured their first Leinster title since 1946 under the Kerryman in 2003, and lost the following two deciders. And now Wicklow.

But what's he like away from football?

"Mick O'Dwyer, away from football, " laughs a friend. "There isn't much to tell, you must be trying to save on the phone bill."

Right on both counts. Born and reared in south Kerry, his father was a hackney driver and had a love for the area's other great pastime, beagling. His working life began in a local garage, but he now owns a hotel in Waterville. Married to Carmel, three of his four sons, Karl, Robbie and John, have worn the Kerry colours. Karl captured an under-21 title with the county before going on to play in an All Ireland final for Kildare; Robbie won two under21 county championship medals with South Kerry as well as a junior All Ireland with Kerry; John played with the Kerry senior team for a period in the '90s.

Renowned for talking all day, yet saying nothing, O'Dwyer has always had his doubters, despite his achievements. With GAA president Nickey Brennan's attack on managers accepting money within the game, O'Dwyer's name was quickly mentioned for all the wrong reasons . . . although it's something he strongly denies. There are others who say he should have won more. With Kildare's greatest team for a generation, they were continually on the wrong side of defeats to Dublin and Meath.

And with Laois, the perception is that there was more in them over the last number of years and defeats to Westmeath and Dublin in successive Leinster finals may have overshadowed his sole title.

Then there's his choice of Wicklow at the age of 70, which has been questioned by many. The county will no doubt be happy with any small triumphs O'Dwyer can bring them, but after a career such as his, it's difficult to imagine the man himself being satisfied with small successes. It's difficult, too, to imagine him bringing the county much more than small successes.

The team certainly is nowhere near good enough to add to O'Dwyer's casket of trophies, and if it is to be his last job, his career may not have a deserving end.

A bad call? Surely he's too cute for that.

C.V.

Born: Waterville, Co Kerry, 9 June, 1936
Married: to Carmel; four sons.
Occupation: Hotel owner
In the news: After one of the greatest playing and managing records in GAA, he was last week announced as the new Wicklow football manager