The former GAA player and manager Kevin Heffernan is to be awarded the Freedom of Dublin, the Lord Mayor, Mr Royston Brady, said yesterday.
Describing Heffernan as "a fully fledged living legend", Mr Brady said he was privileged to be of the generation that grew up as part of "Heffo's Army".
Heffernan was the only Dublin footballer to be included in the GAA's Team of the Millennium. He captained Dublin to All-Ireland football victory in 1958 and was in the winning National League teams of 1953, 1955 and 1958.
He won seven Railway Cup medals with Leinster and helped his club, St Vincent's, to win the county championship in both sports. He coached Dublin teams to All-Ireland success in 1974, 1976 and 1977, and to National League titles in 1976 and 1978, at a time when the fans were dubbed "Heffo's Army".
No other Dubliner had done more "to encourage young people to participate in sport and stay on the right path", Mr Brady said.
