THE Westbury Hotel was a hive of anticipation in October 2006 for Mick O'Dwyer's latest unveiling - though few had expected his destination. Wicklow had spent the previous few months searching for a new senior football manager following the departure of Hugh Kenny. The rumour mill was spinning out of control that autumn as the identity of his successor began to form. It was a story too big to keep quiet - Mick O'Dwyer, the man who had led Kerry to eight All-Ireland titles and Kildare (2) and Laois to Leinster glory - was planting his flag in the Garden. The whispers of his appointment grew ever louder in the lead-up to his unveiling, such that Wicklow GAA sought to throw media off the scent by suggesting Sean Boylan had gotten the nod. The throngs of media that turned out to the Westbury Hotel were witness to Micko - who sadly died at 88 on Thursday - issuing a prophetic vow. He said: "Now I am not saying we are going to win a provincial title or anything like that this year. "But I assure you, we are going to raise the standard of football in Wicklow." The four years and seven months that followed saw O'Dwyer bring engineer some of the county's greatest moments. His goalkeeper throughout his tenure was Mervyn Travers - who had signed for Leeds Utd aged 15 after playing gaelic football for his native Arklow. After a few years with Leeds' academy, he moved to Sheffield United, while he also represented Ireland at underage level, culminating in that Nordic Cup final win over England in Iceland. Travers returned to Ireland and joined Bray Wanderers, and later Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland. Travers had not played gaelic football for ten years up to O'Dwyer's appointment in 2006. But the chance to learn from the Waterville icon was impossible to pass up. The Arklow Geraldines-Ballymoney clubman told SunSport in 2022: "The likes of myself and Padge McWalter would have been originally of a soccer background and then come back to be a part of the Wicklow set up. "I remember the very first training session was in the Ballymoney pitch and I walked into the dressing room and saw the likes of Gary Duffy and Barry Sheehan on the two physio beds and I was like, 'oh, my God, the size of these two men.' "They were two big men and, I suppose, there was a bit of intimidation. Is GAA for me? "When Mick O'Dwyer comes knocking on your door, you just don't say no!" His first season at the helm in 2007 started inauspiciously but offered a sign of things to come. They were relegated to the newly former Division 4 of the Allianz League, while they were knocked out of Leinster by Louth after two replays. They missed out on the All-Ireland series altogether, meaning they instead went into the Tommy Murphy Cup; the spiritual ancestor to the Tailteann Cup. That year, the Tommy Murphy was made up of the counties residing in the basement tier, while it was also the penultimate edition of the competition before it dissolved in 2008. In the opening round, they beat Offaly, before seeing off Waterford in the semi-finals. In the Croke Park decider, they went toe-to-toe with Antrim. “There were kids wearing Wicklow jerseys. Rather than your Manchester United and Liverpool jerseys, there were Wicklow jerseys which was great to see. Rathnew's Tommy Gill scored the winning goal right at the end of extra-time at Croke Park to rubberstamp the 3-13 to 1-17 win. Travers reflected: "Winning in Croke Park, it was an amazing feeling, there is absolutely no doubt about it, and it was an incredible feeling to have set out on the journey and achieved the goal of winning the Tommy Murphy Cup. "Wicklow was beginning on a very good journey when Mick O'Dwyer was around and it really added to the profile. "How it played out, to have thought the opportunity had passed, and then to win it at the very end of extra time with a goal, because we were two points down, it was an amazing feeling." Winning the Tommy Murphy proved to be a launchpad for the vaulted years that followed. In 2008, they finished four points off promotion to Division 3 before entering Leinster. In the opening round, they faced Kildare at Croke Park in what would come to be known as one of Wicklow's most fondly remembered afternoons. DARA TO DREAM Dara O hAnnaidh captained Wicklow that day, having cut short a year of travelling to be involved in 'Micklow Mania'. He nearly missed out on running out at GAAHQ after developing a foot infection that needed to be lanced beforehand. But he would not be denied. O hAnnaidh wanted nothing more than to represent a man who had made him and his teammates feel ten feet tall. He told SunSport in 2023: "He is by far and away the best man manager I ever worked under. "Obviously, being Micko, he brought his own aura and history with him so everyone knew who he was, so we were hanging on his every word. "I think he refereed some of the training games himself and he would watch them and give his inputs. "He was close enough to me that he was advising me not to blink when I blocked the ball, for example. A very small thing but it made a massive difference. "He had all 15 of us and everybody else on the panel running out onto the field believing you are the best player on the field. "He brought the best out of everybody and he knew what players needed to be spoken to one way and other players needed to be spoken to another way." Wicklow beat the Lilywhites 0-13 to 0-9 for their first-ever provincial win at GAAHQ. He beamed: "That is something that I will bring to the grave with me as one of the proudest moments of my life. "I remember going into the game and hearing the history of Wicklow losing to Kildare and it made me angry. It was ridiculous. "Martin Lynch [in 1993] took a whole bunch of steps - I think 10 or 12 steps - and scored a goal, and would that be hanging on Wicklow players' minds? "What relevance did that have on 15 new players against another 15 players of Kildare 10 or 15 years later? "We didn’t give a damn about tradition or anything." They would lose to Laois by just two points in the quarter-finals before making it to the Tommy Murphy Cup final once again. This time around, they lost to Antrim to cap off the final ever edition of the tournament. 2009, however, was the annus mirabilis of 'Micklow'. DOWN KNOCKED OUT They played six Championship matches in all and embarked on a run in the All-Ireland series that saw that make it to the last 12. They beat Longford and then lost to Westmeath in Leinster, after which they entered the All-Ireland through the back door. Victories over Fermanagh and Cavan set up a date with Down in Aughrim on a sweltering day in July. The county ground was packed to the rafters, with even Republic of Ireland legend Paul McGrath nabbing himself a ticket. The Garden's greatest collection of footballers featured the likes of Leighton Glynn and Ciaran Hyland, both of whom were nominated for All-Stars that year. Tony Hannon would go down in history with a last second 45 that sent Wicklow into the last-12 of the Sam Maguire. Speaking to SunSport in January 2024, the Hollywood man said: “I didn't believe it was over until I saw the white flag being waved. “I have often kicked ones where you kick them and you think that's definitely over and it tails away or drops short or whatever. “I didn't want to count too many chickens until the white flag was waving and it was over the bar. It was an unbelievable moment.” Mervyn Travers added: “The week of the game, there was a great feel around Arklow but around the county in general. “There were kids wearing Wicklow jerseys. Rather than your Manchester United and Liverpool jerseys, there were Wicklow jerseys which was great to see. “People were stopping you and people were shouting out car windows wishing you the best of luck. “You're getting constant text messages wishing you the best of luck and, as I say people, around were wanting to stop you and have a chat with you. Looking back, it was great.” They carried that win into the All-Ireland last-12 in which they were beaten by Kildare, bringing the story to an end in Portlaoise. Mick O’Dwyer remained at the helm until 2011, when he was succeeded by Harry Murphy who guided them to promotion to Division 3 in 2012. Wicklow have had bright times since, but over a decade on - and especially in the wake of his passing - 'Micklow' lives on.