Mick Dooley

Originally published: Town Tattler Vol 1 Issue 6

What are your earliest sporting memories?

My earliest memory is winning the under 13 Leinster school boys final under the management of Brother Nolan. He was an inspirational man who devoted a lot of his time and energy encouraging young people to develop their skills in sports and music.

Another early memory is of winning a Leinster final with the VEC under the management of Bill Phelan. He was another great Portlaoise man who inspired and guided a lot of young people.

Who were your early influences?

There were a few people who inspired and encouraged me along the way. My parents, Brother Nolan, Bill Phelan and club players all had a huge influence on me.

Bill was an influence on and off the field. He instilled in us that sport is a preparation for life. You take the ups with the downs, just like in life you win and lose. That’s life and that’s sport.

What players did you look up to or idolise as a kid?

As a kid I looked up to great players like Alfie Lewis, Teddy Fennelly, Paddy Bracken, Rake McDonald, Pascal Delaney, John Joe Ging and John Fennell. To me these lads were all powerful giants of football. All big physical men who went back from no one.

I was fascinated with them all. I ended up playing with them at 18 years of age. I was a sub in 1969, the year Timahoe beat us in the final. I remember Ned Connolly turning to my wife and telling her, “one swallow never made a summer”. It was a great privilege for me to line out with these lads that I had followed and aspired to be like for so long.

First title 1970 and then 71, what was it like coming onto that team as a young player?

I was 18 years old when I first played senior football for Portlaoise. I absolutely loved it. It was something I always wanted to do so I was delighted to be part of the panel.

The older lads looked out for the younger lads coming onto the team and no better man than Pascal Delaney. I won my first title in 1970 but every other title that followed was just as sweet. We went on to win the Leinster Club Championship in 1972 which was a great occasion.

On to 76, different team/style etc?

A lot of younger lads were selected in 1976. Impressive players and all-time greats like Colm and Gerry Brown, John and Billy Bohane, Tom and Nodsy Prendergast, George Punkett, Bernie Conroy, Jimmy Bergin, Kieran Daly, Liam and Noel Scully came into the team that year.

I might be missing a few names, it’s a long time ago now. But it was a great team.

Tell us a little bit about that great campaign, you as captain, beating Vincents, winning a final in Croker, Austin Stacks etc?

Bill Phelan was manager that year with Paddy Critchley, Larry Dunne and Teddy Fennelly as selectors. We had a training session the Thursday night before the county final in O’Moore Park. Teddy Fennelly gave a passionate speech after training. I still remember it to this day. He told us if it meant going through a brick wall it had to be done to win this game.

I will never forget the county final against Graiguecullen. It was a huge honour for me to be captain of this brilliant team. In the Leinster final we beat a brilliant St Vincents team. I have wonderful memories of winning the Leinster final that year and having the honour of accepting the cup in Croke Park.

It’s a memory I will cherish. We then went on to play Austin Stacks in the All-Ireland semi-final. The game was played in O’Moore Park, and it was full to capacity. The place was electric. Austin Stacks were a very powerful team with a lot of Kerry players, but the Portlaoise lads didn’t fear them. It was a brilliant game but unfortunately, we were beaten by a few points that day.

What was it like playing with so many different great teams?

In the 70s there wasn’t much tactics. Everyone had to win their own ball. It was more physical, there was a lot of hard hitting on and off the ball. Portlaoise were very clean players and loved playing football but there was definitely a lot of hard hitting.

Players have dieticians, psychologists and specialists for everything now. Back in the 70s, the Portlaoise lads togged out in a cow shed in Alfie Lewis’ field on the Stradbally Road. No such thing as dressing rooms. They have every facility now which is all positive, but the girls definitely need to be looked after and supported too.

The Portlaoise team in 1970 and 1971 were mature, strong and physical teams. The 1976 team was the youngest Portlaoise team to win a county final.

The early 80s were a mix of younger and more mature players like Mick Mulhall, Mick Lillis, Eamon Whelan and myself. St Josephs would have been a great team in the 70s and 80s. It was always a great game when we played each other.

Paddy Doogue, a great friend of mine and a gentleman, was brilliant at midfield. O’Dempseys also had a great team with the great John Costello at midfield. Annanough were the biggest and possibly strongest lads we came up against. That team was made up mainly of Millars. All gentlemen off the field but fine physical lads on the pitch.

Who would you rate as the greatest players you played with and why?

I played on some great teams with some brilliant players. Tom Prendergast was an exceptional player. He was a natural and so talented. Colm Browne was also a brilliant and talented footballer. Atch Whelan was a great fielder and very skilful.

Mick Mulhall, who played in goals and also played for Laois for about 15 years, was a brave and intelligent keeper.

Two fine performers came to join the team in 1976 and possibly 1979. They were a huge addition to the team. Mick Lillis from Clare and Sean Mullins from Dublin. We were delighted when they came.

Best players you played against?

The best player I played against was St Josephs’ Paddy Doogue, a giant of a man and a force to be reckoned with. There was always a good rivalry between ourselves and Josephs.

I also played on John Costello of O’Dempseys, who was one of the best midfielders of the country at that time. Paddy Brophy, Mick Moore and the Lawlors of Emo were all great footballers.

What was the feeling when you finally reached the holy grail in 83?

To win the All Ireland in 1983 was indescribable. It was such a special day for the club and town. First and only time for a Laois club team to win an All Ireland.

Reputations of other teams meant nothing to us, as Sean Mullins said, “they can’t bring medals onto the field.” I was born and bred in Portlaoise so being part of the team that brought the All-Ireland cup back to the town was unreal.

We had such a huge following and loyal supporters. Billy O’Brien was one of our greatest supporters and a great Portlaoise man. Have to say Portlaoise should have at least three All Irelands.

Whats the most memorable game you played in (not including 83 final)?

Most memorable for me was probably against Navan O’Mahonys from Meath. We had a lad sent off after ten minutes. I was marking Joe Cassells and when the sending off happened he was moved in full forward.

Jimmy Bergin and Jimmy Harding were brilliant that day. We won by one point and it was a very tough game. Cassells went on to captain Meath to win an All Ireland final a few years after that game.

Any funny stories along the way?

There were plenty of characters on the teams I played with so we had some great times. I remember Jazz Reilly taking off a player one day and as the player came off the field Jazz said to him “I don’t blame you, I blame myself for picking you.”

On another occasion we had a masseur and Tommy O’Reilly was injured. He was attending to Tom but Tom was trying to get his attention to tell him he was rubbing the wrong leg!

One day we were playing in the Leinster club championship and Joe Keenan was marking an all-star full back and Joe shouted at me “Dooley kick in the ball this lad is useless.”

You still keep a close eye on things? Have you enjoyed watching all the teams since continuing on the proud tradition?

Yes, I always keep an eye on games. It’s always great to see the club winning titles. We had some absolutely great teams down through the years. They have been unlucky some years and I think they definitely should have a good few more Leinster titles and some All Irelands.

My nephew Colm Parkinson captained Portlaoise to win a Leinster final and that team definitely should have won an All Ireland.

You’ve kept involved through Fiona etc? How satisfying it is to see her achieve success representing club and county?

I got involved with the girls at under eight level and continued until about under 16s. I trained the girls with John Bohane and Phil O’Keefe. John had his daughter Aisling playing, Phil had her daughter Ciara and my own daughter Fiona also played.

These were great days and I have great memories of training these teams. I am very proud of Fiona. She plays midfield as I did and she loves the game and is very committed. She is currently part of a great team with some brilliant players, and it was great to see them win the county final last year. Nothing more than this bunch of girls deserve.

Hopefully, it’s the start of a lot of success for the club.

Pat Critchley has played a huge part in the development of the Portlaoise ladies in both basketball and football. We are seeing the fruits of Pat’s hard work and dedication in the talented ladies’ footballers and basketballers who are enjoying massive success at the minute.

Pat has done massive work for the young people of Portlaoise, both boys and girls, and in a number of codes. In my opinion, there should be a massive civic reception for him. The young people and not so young people have massive respect for Pat and all he has done for them. No man more deserving of this honour.

What are your hopes for the club into the future?

I think the development of players from a young age is very important. Young players need encouragement and the opportunities to learn the games and develop their skills.

Everyone develops at different ages so it’s important to work with and develop everyone along the way. Keeping so many people involved and constantly developing and improving will lead to more success for the club.

I would love to see state of the art facilities for the lads and women. Work is being done within the club to get to this which is great! I’d love to see the club dominate more in Leinster and win Leinster titles and All Irelands. I think there is plenty of talent within the club to do this, both men and women.