Mick Higgins (22 August 1922 – 28 January 2010) was an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who played at senior level for the Cavan county team, winning three All-Ireland medals during his career. In later years he was a successful coach. His first All-Ireland Senior Football medal came as a member of the team that won the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

final played at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

in New York City, United States in 1947. Cavan retained that title the following year and won it again in 1952 when Higgins was captain of the team. Higgins also won the

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

with Cavan on seven occasions, as well as both the

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and

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

on two occasions each. Higgins won the

Cavan Senior Football Championship The Cavan Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Cavan GAA, Cavan Gaelic football clubs. It was first competed for in 1888. The winners get the Oliver Plunkett Cup and qualifies to ...

with Mountnugent GAA in 1946, he played with famous players such as Tony Tighe, Peter Donohue and Connie Kelly. Upon his death in 2010 Higgins was said by the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

''s Martin Breheny to have been "widely regarded as one of the greatest talents ever to emerge from Cavan". Eugene McGee, in the '' Longford Leader'', described him as "a man who became a GAA superstar of his generation, despite limited coverage of games he played". Seán Moran of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' described him as "one of the great football figures of the last century".

Early and personal life

Higgins was born in New York. At the age of five he moved to Kilnaleck,

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

, birthplace of his mother. He served in the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

, eventually being promoted to the rank of sergeant. He married his wife Margaret and with her had four children, son John and daughters Terry, Jean and Brenda, all five of whom outlived him. Amongst his other interests were

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

racing and he trained the dogs.

Career

Playing career

In 1943, Higgins debuted in the

in a game against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

. Cavan won the tournament that year. In 1947 he flew for 30 hours with the Cavan team to New York to play in that year's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, held abroad on that occasion to mark the centenary of the Great Famine and celebrate the Irish who emigrated at this time. Cavan beat Kerry, giving Higgins his first All-Ireland medal. To celebrate the team embarked on a voyage on the being greeted by crowds of people in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, London and

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. Cavan beat Mayo in the 1948 final to retain the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship but lost to

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

in the 1949 final to miss out on three consecutive titles. However, Higgins went on to win his third All-Ireland medal with Cavan in 1952.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player Higgins entered coaching. He won the Ulster Senior Football Championship on three occasions with Cavan and also led them to their most recent appearance in any All-Ireland final in 1959 when they were defeated by

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in that year's All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final. During the 1960s Higgins was the coach of the Longford county team when it won the National Football League (1966) and its first (and at the time of his death only)

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA, Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Asso ...

(1968). He also led them to an

O'Byrne Cup The O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organized by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. History The competition is named in honour of Matt Byrne (b. 14 February 1870), a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of ...

title in 1965. By the time he stepped down in September 1969, he had been managing Longford since July 1965 and through the most successful period in their history. He also assisted the Donegal county team with its first Ulster Senior Football Championship win (1972).

Later years and death

In recognition of his skills and long-running contribution to the sport, Higgins was awarded the 1987 All-Time All Star Award as no

GAA All Stars Awards The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards (often known simply as the All Stars) are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one play ...

were being issued at the time of his playing career. In 1989 he was entered into the Texaco Hall of Fame. In November 2009, the ''Irish Independent'' selected him as the 36th best player in the newspaper's all-time list of 125 players. He was interviewed at his

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home in 2002. In an interview shortly before his death Higgins was asked what his legacy would be. He replied: Higgins died at the age of 87 in January 2010. His funeral and burial took place on 30 January 2010. At his death Cavan had not featured in an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final since Higgins's last win in 1952. His death meant that Owen Roe McGovern, who died in 2011, was the last survivor from Cavan All-Ireland winning teams of 1947 and '48. In his tribute

Christy Cooney Christy Cooney ( Irish: Críostóir Ó Cuana, born 1952 in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland) is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 36th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress o ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

, said Higgins was "a man who made an immense and lasting contribution to Gaelic games".

References