Michael O'Dwyer (born 9 June 1936) is an Irish retired Gaelic football manager and former player. He most famously managed the senior Kerry county team between 1974 and 1989, during which time he became the county's longest-serving manager and most successful in terms of major titles won. O'Dwyer is regarded as the greatest manager in the history of the game. He is one of only three men to manage five different counties (he was preceded in reaching this total by Mickey Moran in 2008 and emulated by John Maughan in 2018). Martin Breheny has described him as "the ultimate symbol of the outside manager". Born in Waterville, County Kerry, O'Dwyer was introduced to Gaelic football by the local national school teacher who organized games between schools in the area. He enjoyed divisional championship success during a thirty-year club career with Waterville. O'Dwyer also won three championship medals with South Kerry. O'Dwyer made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Kerry minor team. An All-Ireland runner-up in this grade, O'Dwyer subsequently made his senior debut during the 1956–57 league. He went on to play a key role for Kerry in attack during a hugely successful era, and won four All-Ireland medals, eleven Munster medals and seven National Football League medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on five occasions. As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team, O'Dwyer won one Railway Cup medal in 1972. Throughout his inter-county career he made 48 championship appearances. O'Dwyer retired from inter-county football following the conclusion of the 1974 championship. O'Dwyer was appointed manager of the Kerry senior team prior to the start of the 1974-75 league. He went on to lead Kerry through a period of unprecedented provincial and national dominance, winning twenty two major honours. These include eight All-Ireland Championships, including a record-equaling four-in-a-row between 1978 and 1981 and a three-in-a-row between 1984 and 1986, eleven Munster Championships in twelve seasons and three National Leagues, including two league-championship doubles. O'Dwyer simultaneously took charge of the Kerry under-21 team, winning three successive All-Ireland Championships. His tenure in charge of the Munster team saw the province claim six Railway Cups. After ending his fifteen-year managerial tenure with Kerry, O'Dwyer moved to Leinster where he took charge of Kildare between 1990 and 1994. After making Kildare a competitive footballing force during that period, he was reappointed