Mick O'Connell facts for kids

Mick O'Connell (born January 4, 1937) is a legendary Irish Gaelic football player. He played for 25 years with his club teams. He also played for the Kerry county team. Mick O'Connell won many important titles. These include four All-Ireland Championship medals. He also won several Munster Championship and National League titles. He was even captain when Kerry won the All-Ireland in 1959.

Early Life and Football Dreams

Mick O'Connell was born in 1937 on Valentia Island in County Kerry, Ireland. His dad was a fisherman and also worked on their small family farm. From a very young age, Mick showed amazing talent for football. People could see he was going to be a great player.

Mick's Playing Career

Club Football Adventures

Mick O'Connell started his club football journey with the Waterville team. Later, a new football club called Young Islanders was started on his home, Valentia Island. Because of the rules of the GAA, Mick joined his local team, the Young Islanders. He also played for the South Kerry team. With South Kerry, he won the Kerry County Championship three times.

Playing for Kerry County

Starting Young with Kerry

Mick O'Connell began playing for the Kerry county team in 1955. He played in the Munster Minor Championship. This is a competition for younger players. Kerry lost the final game to Tipperary that year.

Senior Team Success

Mick quickly joined the main Kerry senior football team in 1956. He played his first game against Tipperary. In his first Munster final, Kerry lost to Cork.

In 1958, Mick won the first of eight Munster titles in a row. However, Kerry had a surprising loss to Derry in the All-Ireland semi-final.

In 1959, Mick O'Connell was the team captain. Kerry won the National Football League that year. He then led Kerry to another Munster title. Sadly, he got injured during Kerry's All-Ireland win against Galway. He had to leave the game early.

After winning another National League title in 1961, Mick won his second All-Ireland medal in 1962. Kerry beat Roscommon in that final. A third National League win followed in 1963.

Kerry then lost two All-Ireland finals to Galway in 1964 and 1965. They also lost their Munster title to Cork in 1966 and 1967. Mick won his ninth Munster title in 1968. But Kerry lost to Down in the All-Ireland final.

The year 1969 was a great one for Mick. He won his fourth National League medal. Then he won his tenth Munster title. He also won his third All-Ireland medal after beating Offaly.

In 1970, Mick continued playing for Kerry into the 1970s. He won his eleventh Munster title. He then won his fourth All-Ireland medal. This was after beating Meath in the first 80-minute All-Ireland final.

Mick won two more National League medals in 1971 and 1972. He also won his twelfth and final Munster medal in 1972. That year, Offaly beat Kerry in Mick's last All-Ireland final game. Even with the loss, he received an All-Star award. Mick O'Connell stopped playing inter-county football in 1973.

Life After Football

After he stopped playing, Mick O'Connell wrote a book about his life called A Kerry Footballer in 1974. Ten years later, in 1984, the GAA celebrated its 100th birthday. Mick was honored as one of the best players ever. He was named to the GAA's Football Team of the Century. In 2000, Mick was also named to the 'Football Team of the Millennium'. This means he was considered one of the best players of the last 1000 years!

Mick's Family Life

In 1972, Mick O'Connell married his wife, Rosaleen. They have three children: Máire, Mícheál, and Diarmuid. Their son Mícheál married Emma in December 2009. Emma is the daughter of Mary McAleese, who was the President of Ireland at that time.

Honours and Awards

Mick O'Connell won many awards during his amazing career:

Valentia Young Islanders

• South Kerry Senior Football Championship: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1979
• Kerry Novice Football Championship 1975

South Kerry

• Kerry Senior Football Championship: 1955, 1956, 1958

Kerry

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: 1959 (as captain), 1962, 1969, 1970
• Munster Senior Football Championship: 1958, 1959 (as captain), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972
• National Football League: 1958–59 (as captain), 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73

Munster

• Railway Cup: 1972