It is affectionately known as the Micko Factor, and few players understand it better than Johnny Doyle. Only in this instance, not with Micko but Mickey Harte, Doyle would rather it doesn’t come to any great fruition.
Currently a selector with his native Kildare alongside manager Glenn Ryan, Doyle was first brought onto the county senior team by Mick O'Dwyer, the former Kerry manager who at the time was in his second stint with the Leinster team. In 2000, Doyle's first season, Kildare won the Leinster football title, their second since 1998 and only third since 1956. They haven't won it back since.
After leaving Kildare in 2002, O’Dwyer guided Laois to the 2003 Leinster title, their first since 1946, and they haven’t won another since either.
This Sunday in Tullamore, Kildare face a Louth team now under Harte, who managed Tyrone from 2003 to 2020. In his first season with Louth last year, Harte brought them out of division four; this season he brought them to division two.
Doyle sees similarities with what O’Dwyer did with Kildare and Laois, one good reason not to underestimate the challenge that awaits them on Sunday, even if Kildare are well fancied to progress,
“I remember when Micko came to Kildare first,” says Doyle, “being at the county final in 1990, and he was introduced to the crowd at half-time. The place was absolutely jammed to the rafters, because Mick O’Dwyer was coming to Kildare. It was like the messiah had come.
“Kildare had been in the doldrums for so long, and I think it was the fact that someone like Mick O’Dwyer saw something in Kildare, and it did lift the whole county. We came very close there in the early ‘90s, he left, came back again, and they we saw what happening, winning two Leinsters, it just lifted the whole county.
“I’m sure it’s something similar with Louth, traditionally a huge football county, you see the crowds travelling with them now, they’ve gone from division four to division three to division two, it has to lift everyone involved, that’s a huge plus for them. But we have to distance ourselves from that too, make sure we bring our best performance.”
‘Good sign’
“With Mickey, coming to Louth, I was talking to one or two of the players who had decided Louth football wasn’t for them, and now they’ve come back. That’s always a good sign, because they believe someone will lead them to something bigger than they’ve seen. That fizzles down to everything, more jerseys around Drogheda and Dundalk, more lads wanting to play underage. A rising tide lifts all boats, and that evidence is there in Louth.”
Given Kildare’s last provincial win was in 2000 there’s little doubt the county has underachieved in the years since. Relegation from division one this year, along with Dublin, dampened expectations again, only Doyle remains hopeful, especially after beating Dublin in the league.
“Dublin have done huge things over the last 15 years really. We’ve learned that looking forward beyond the next challenge is dangerous, and for us it’s about getting a performance. If we don’t get over that, Dublin and Meath and everyone else can do what they want.
“Before I got involved, I was already of the opinion let’s get our house in order, let us be the best version of ourselves. We can look over and admire the neighbour’s shiny car, but that’s no good if we don’t do enough to get our own car up and running. There is a lot of hope that this year is a year we can put our best foot forward.”
