Managers with the Midas Touch

Niall Gartland takes a look at the most successful men’s intercounty football managers in the modern era

1 Mick O’Dwyer (eight All-Irelands)

THE tributes flowed in from far and wide when the sad news emerged on April 3, 2025, that the legendary Mick O’Dwyer had passed away. His achievements are simply astonishing. As a player he won four All-Irelands and 12 Munster titles, but he’s mostly fondly remembered for his accomplishments as manager of the Kerry team during the ‘golden years’ spanning the seventies and eighties. They won eight All-Irelands under his tutelage, including four successive titles between 1978 and 1981.

2 Jim Gavin (six All-Irelands)

NOT a million miles behind in second spot in this list is former Dublin boss Jim Gavin. He landed Sam in his first year in charge in 2013, and after the shock defeat to Donegal in the All-Ireland semi-final a year later, they embarked on an incredible unbeaten run culminating in winning the elusive five in-a-row with a replayed victory over Kerry in 2019. Of course, he had a galaxy of riches at his disposal and we’ll probably never know how he’d fare at another county as he has never expressed an interest in managing outside Dublin. Still, six All-Irelands in seven years speaks for itself.

3 Jack O’Connor (five All-Irelands)

STILL climbing up the ladder is Jack O’Connor, who is in his third stint in charge of his native Kerry. Last year’s Tour de Force against Donegal marked his fifth All-Ireland success at senior level, though he also knows the taste of defeat on the big day having lost previous finals in 2005, 2011 and 2023. Kerry have also won a bagful of Munster and Division One titles in his time in charge, and he also delivered two All-Ireland minor crowns to the county in 2014 and 2015.

4 Sean Boylan (four All-Irelands)

DESCRIBED last year by Bernard Flynn as a ’silent assassin’, Boylan is a softly spoken fella but his Meath team took no prisoners in their glory days of the 1980s and 1990s. Boylan steered the Royals to back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988 before a new generation arrived and won further All-Ireland titles in 1996 and 1999. In total he spent 23 successive years in charge over Meath, an intercounty record at the time. For the record it was surpassed by Brian Cody in 2022, his 24th and last season in charge of the Kilkenny senior hurlers.

5 Mickey Harte (three All-Irelands)

TYRONE’S history-making team of the noughties will always be indelibly associated with their man at the helm, Mickey Harte. After bringing through a hugely promising batch of youngsters at minor and U21 level, Harte took the senior reigns and won Sam in his first year in charge back in 2003. That alone will go down in the annals of Tyrone football, but a golden crop of players added further titles in the 2005 and 2008 seasons. While the 2003 final against neighbours Armagh was a claustrophobic encounter, Harte’s Tyrone overcame Kerry in classic All-Ireland finals in 2005 and 2008.

Honorary mentions

A NUMBER of managers have won two All-Ireland SFC titles in modern times. Pete McGrath led Down to national glory in 1991 and 1994, while Páidí Ó Sé and John O’Mahony did likewise with Kerry and Galway respectively. More recently, Dessie Farrell delivered a second All-Ireland as manager of the Dublin football team in 2023. Time will tell whether Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney and his Donegal counterpart Jim McGuinness will join the aforementioned names in the near future.