The passing of a football icon
March 01, 2010The late, great Mick was the man who captained the Breffni blues to their last All-Ireland SFC title (1952) and was the last link with the Cavan team that started the famous 1947 All-Ireland SFC final in New York's Polo Grounds.
The former Garda Sergeant was described by Kerry legend Jackie Lyne as the "greatest forward I have ever faced bar none" and tributes from right across the country poured forth, ironically as spring approached on the horizon, spawning new life and growth.
Over the course of a distuinquished playing career with Cavan seniors from 1942 to 1953, Higgins garnered thousands of admirers over the course of winning every honour in the game.
After he retired as a player, Mick proceeded to give back to the game a lot of what it had given him for club(s) and county.
His time as a coach and referee was no less outstanding and notable with respect and admiration showered upon him by all parties.
In 1956, he took up a coaching role with Cavan in 1956, succeeding the legendary Hughie O'Reilly (Cootehill Celtic) in the hot seat.
True to form, Mick proved to be an outstanding performer in his new role with his native county, guiding Cavan to four Ulster titles in the sixties.
Later he became manager of Longford and steered the Leinster county to their first NFL title in 1966 and their first Leinster SFC title two years later.
Mick and Longford went their separate ways in 'till 1970 and in '72 he was part of Donegal's backroom team when they won the Ulster SFC title.
As manager of the Ulster football team, he coached the province to six Railway Cup successes in 1964, '65, '66, '68, '70 and '71.
Mick was born in New York City in 1922, the son of a Kiltimagh (Co. Mayo) father and Kilnaleck-born mother.
His parents had met in New York but less than five years after his birth in 1922, the family returned to Ireland and his mother's birthplace in Kilnaleck.
He didn't play much football 'till he began his secondary education in St. Mary's Marist Brothers Secondary School in Dundalk.
Playing at right-half forward, the would-be Cavan football legend helped his alma mata to McRory Cup honours in 1938 as a 15 year old.
Ironically, it was in the colours of Kildare minors that the late, great attacker first caught the eye when he lined out with the Lilywhites.
His liason with the Leinster county was because he went to live with his uncle-in-law in Celbridge for a period of time.
In 1940, just prior to joining the Garda Siochana ,Mick starred at midfield as Kildare reached the Leinster MFC final only to lose out to Louth.
Three years later, he made his debut with Cavan, coming on as a sub in the Ulster junior final tilt with Monaghan.
Just a few months later, Mick was promoted to senior county ranks and he would remain an integral part of the county's premier squad until the end of the 1953 championship campaign at the age of 31.
"I felt that the next place for me would be on the subs bench and I thought it was an appropriate time to step down," Mick declared.
Of all the games he played with the Breffni blues, his starring role in Cavan's magical 1947 final was the stand-out match in his career.
His superb 1-2 tally in the famous '47 All-Ireland SFC final victory (2-11 to 2-7) over Kerry at New York's Polo Grounds final ensured his hero status in Cavan.
He was again a match-winning performer at centre-half forward in Cavan's first NFL title win in 1948 when the blues overcame Cork by 5-9 to 2-8.
One month earlier, Cavan had retained the Sam Maguire Cup by dint of their 4-5 to 4-4 triumph over Mayo with Higgins caught up in a controversial incident at the death.
Mayo's star forward Padraic Carney had a chance to rifle over a 14 yard free at the death to level the match but his kick was charged down by Higgins and moments later the final whistle sounded.
Mayo fans who witnessed the incident still maintain Higgins was too near the ball when Carney made contact with the ball.
Higgins was the hero though for the Cavan hoardes and he would remain so right up until his peaceful death at his home in Virginia yesterday.
All told, the famed Cavan player won Celtic Crosses of 1947, '48 and '52 (when he scored seven points in the final against Meath) and also collected seven Ulster SFC medals (1943, '44, '45, '47, '48, '49 and '52).
In addition, he won three Dr. McKenna Cup medals (1943, '51, '52), two Railway Cup medals (1947 and '50), three Ireland v Combined Universities in 1950, '51 and '52 and two Cavan SFC medals with Bailieboro and Mountnugent into the bargain as well as SFC medals also in Meath and Louth.
A man blessed with a great football brain, he was a born leader and his amiable personality and ready wit made him a favourite with the press and fans alike.
Recalling the events of his most famous innings with Cavan when he helped them to victory in New York, Higgins always joked that he was the only ever Gaelic footballer born in New York to win an All-Ireland SFC medal in New York!
However much he liked to reminece on the historic match in the Big Apple, he maintained that Cavan's penultimate round win over Roscommon was the more impressive.
"Our performance against Roscommon at Croke Park was the best one we put in that year," the popular greyhound trainer remarked in a recent interview.
"We were two evenly matched teams and it was a close contest.
"They went into the game as favourites because they had beaten us the year before when they had much the same team that won the All-Irelands in '43 and '44.
"They had won the All-Ireland minor too in 1942 so they had a lot of very good footballers at their disposal around the mid-forties."
The late, great Mick Higgins was voted Sports Star of the Week by the Irish Independent on the 17th October 1952 and later was nominated Player of the Year.
He was described at that time by the Sunday Press as a "scheming genius who could rally his side when least expected, turning defeat into victory."
Cavan County Board Chairman Tom Reilly spoke glowingly of the late Mick:
"Mick was a wonderful ambassador for Gaelic games not only in Cavan but indeed throughout the country.
"He was known and cherished the length and breadth of Ireland.
"A quiet man, Mick was always a thorough gentleman. He was arguably Cavan's best known player during a golden period when Cavan were the kingpins of Gaelic football."
For his part, current Cavan GAA PRO Declan Woods said Higgins was a man "renowned for his football skills and an absolute gentleman on and off the field.
"His death signals an end of an era for Cavan football and a great loss to his family and to the county as a whole.
"He encapulated all that we would like to see in our footballers of the present time and that with which we'd like to see them emulate.
"Sometimes in Cavan we get accused of living in the past but we are very fortunate to be able to look back with admiration and joy at the great man's achievements."
Mick is survived by his wife Margaret (Mag), nee O'Connell; son John; daughters Jean, Terry and Brenda; and brothers Jack, Jim, Frank and Donald.
His funeral took place on Saturday, January 28th from Mary Immaculate Church, Virginia to the adjoining cemetry. Tweet
