Jack O'Connor has hailed the contribution the late Johnny Culloty made to Kerry football, both as a player and in management.
Culloty, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88, left an indelible mark by winning five All-Ireland medals as a player, captaining the side that defeated Offaly in the 1969 final.
The Killarney Legion clubman starred between the posts and also as an outfield player for the Green and Gold, with a hurling accolade coming his way in 1961 after helping his county to an All-Ireland junior title.
Moving into management, Culloty guided Kerry to a senior final appearance in 1972, a role he held until Mick O'Dwyer took over early in 1975.
Still involved in the game, Culloty's knowledge was sought by Jack O'Connor when he became Kerry U-21 manager in 1998, this time as a selector.
The pair also worked together during O'Connor's first stint as Kerry boss between 2003 and 2006, a period where Sam Maguire twice visited the county.
O'Connor, now in this third stint as Kingdom supremo, offered warm warms words on hearing the news of Culloty's passing.
He told The Kerryman: "Johnny was a like a father-figure to me, he was a great friend and he will be sadly missed.
"We worked together with the under-21s in 1998 and 1999, winning the All-Ireland the first year, and he was a selector with me from 2004 when I took over the senior team. He was a great man, he had fantastic experience, and had a huge knowledge of the game.
"He made me very aware of the traditions of Kerry football, he always wanted Kerry to play football in the right way, with a bit of style, almost regardless of the results. He was a link back to Dr Eamonn O'Sullivan – he would have played under Dr Eamonn – and a lot of the stuff Dr Eamonn believed in Johnny would have passed that on to the next generation.
"Johnny was a very understated, unassuming man, but he was very intelligent and he was a great judge of a footballer. I used to say that Johnny was as good a judge of a footballer as Vincent O’Brien was of a racehorse."
