Mick O'Connell

Michael O'Connell (born 4 January 1937) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. Throughout his 25-year club career, he played for Young Islanders, winning seven South Kerry Championship titles during a golden age for the club; he also played for divisional side South Kerry, and experienced success in the County Championship. At inter-county level, he captained Kerry to win the 1959 All-Ireland Championship; he later claimed a further three All-Ireland medals, as well as Munster Championship and National League successes. A native Irish speaker, O'Connell was named on the GAA Teams of the Century and the Millennium.

Early life Mick O'Connell was born on Valentia Island, County Kerry in 1937. His father was a fisherman who also worked on the family's small farm on the island. From an early age, O’Connell showed his footballing talent and "inimitable signs of excellence". In 2000 O'Connell was also named on the associations 'Football Team of the Millennium'.

Personal life In 1972 O'Connell married his wife Rosaleen. They have three children, Máire, Mícheál and Diarmuid. Mícheál married Emma, daughter of then-President Mary McAleese in December 2009 and was appointed as a judge to the High Court in January 2026.

Career statistics

Honours 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 (c), 1962, 1969, 1970 Munster Senior Football Championship: 1958, 1959 (c), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972 National Football League: 1958–59 (c), 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73

Munster Railway Cup: 1972