'Brian Mullins was a great friend to Derry GAA'

The legendary Dublin midfielder who starred on All Ireland Senior Football Championship winning teams in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1983, passed away following a short illness.

Tributes have been flooding in for the man regarded as one of the greatest midfielders to have played the game and an 'icon' of Dublin football.

His club team, St Vincent's, who he guided to the Dublin senior title as recently as 2017, led the tributes, describing Mullins as a 'colossus'.

Mullins retired from inter-county competition in 1985 after being twice named an All-Star. During his time with Dublin, he claimed nine Leinster titles, and two league wins to go alongside those four All-Ireland titles.

Following his successful two year spell as manager of the Oak Leafers, he returned to the capital in 2000 where he took on the role as Director of Sport at UCD, overseeing a number of scholarship schemes.

More recently, Mullins was back with his beloved St Vincent's.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Brian Mullins," a statement from the Leinster club read. "An absolute colossus in St Vincent's. There’s so much to say about the man, and we’re all still processing this. We’ll honour him in the coming days.”

The late Mullins was also a hugely influential figure for Gaelic football in county Derry where he took charge of the county team between 1996 and 1998, winning the National Football League title (1996) and Ulster Senior Football Championship during his tenure. He was Head Teacher in Carndonagh Community School from 1991 to 2000 whilst managing Derry.

And Derry GAA hailed the contribution he made to the Oak Leaf County in a short statement this evening.

“Brian Mullins RIP. Our Ulster Senior Football Championship winning manager from 1998 and an icon of Gaelic football with his native Dublin, Brian Mullins was a great friend to Derry GAA. He will be sadly missed.

"Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.”