'A visionary' - Éamonn Fitzmaurice and Lee Keegan laud Dessie Farrell
Former Kerry boss Éamonn Fitzmaurice and ex-Mayo star Lee Keegan have heaped praise on Dessie Farrell after his time as Dublin manager came to an end at the weekend.
Farrell stepped down in the wake of the seven-point All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Tyrone.
Having won the Sam Maguire as a player in 1995, he took over the reins from Jim Gavin in January 2020, leading the Dubs to All-Ireland glory the following winter, before repeating the trick in 2023.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, Fitzmaurice described the Na Fianna man as "a visionary", highlighting not just his work with Dublin but also his key role in the early days of the GPA.
"He's just such an unassuming gentleman as well, there's no nonsense about him," said Fitzmaurice.
"I think always the ultimate sign is how players feel about their manager.
"You could see after they won the All-Ireland in 2023, I remember James McCarthy did an interview. I'd say it might have even been out on the pitch straight after the game, where he really outlined how much they were going after this for Dessie because of some of the flak he had taken after the defeat to Kerry in 2022.
"He won All-Irelands as a player and a manager, he won All-Irelands at minor, Under-21, senior.
"His whole body of work with the GPA. To bring the GPA from where they were, these kind of renegades on the outside trying to do something unprecedented, he was a visionary... that was incredible for him to be so central in that.
"He deserves massive credit."
Keegan said a lot of the criticism Farrell has endured over the last five years was "shortsighted", highlighting his record at delivering success and nurturing elite footballers.
"He still took two All-Irelands. People are a bit shortsighted sometimes... I still think Dessie did a great job. Leinster is probably as open as it's ever going to be. For the next few years you'll probably have multiple different winners.
"But for the Dublin, yeah it's definitely a transitional period for them. I still think Dessie worked a lot of good stuff there with that group.
"I also have to pay homage to him in a good and bad way because he definitely clipped our wings. He brought a lot of those 13-year-olds, now generational players, to be the greatest players that ever graced the pitch. He nurtured them into the players they are today, which cost (Mayo) dearly but you could see the job he's done with them.
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