Mourners told Mick O'Dwyer 'spread the gospel of the game' at Kerry legend's funeral

James Cox

Kerry GAA legend Mick O’Dwyer will be laid to rest in his native Waterville this afternoon.

The most successful inter-county football manager of all time passed away on Thursday morning aged 88.

O’Dwyer won four All-Irelands as a player with the Kingdom, before coaching the team to eight All-Ireland titles.

Father Seán Jones shared a quote from GAA commentator Mary Morrissey during his homily for O'Dwyer, which referred to him spreading "the gospel of the game".

"It would be remiss of me not to make some reference to Micko’s credentials, to his achievements, successes, and to try to attempt to break open his working mind, his philosophy of participation, his pedagogy of sport, of management and leadership.

"Perhaps this legacy is best captured in a phrase that I heard in recent days among the countless beautiful testimonies, and it was shared by RTÉ commentator Marty Morrissey, who said that Micko always had the desire to spread the ‘Gospel of the Game’, and he did so in spades."

Father Jones added: "Yesterday we witnessed this when we saw the young girls and boys of Waterville and Dromod GAA standing proudly in a guard of honour by Micko’s statue here in the village, these young people having been inspired by Micko and they are, in fact, the fruit of Micko’s missionary work … Son and Holy Spirit.

"Let us not forget that at the young age of 79, Micko brought Waterville/Dromod U14 to win Kerry County League Division 8 title, and a win is certainly a win to those young players, now young ambassadors of the game, giving our young players that inspiration … yes spreading the Gospel of the Game to countless generations to come."