Club Power played his club football with
Austin Stacks in
Tralee. He showed exceptional talent from a young age and played a key role when the club won an under-16 county championship. Power subsequently won seven
Kerry SFC titles with the club throughout the 1970s and 1980s. One of these county titles was converted into an
All-Ireland title in 1977. He also played hurling with the club and won a Minor County Championship in 1967.
Inter-county Power played with Kerry's minor football team for two years and was captain of the side when they lost to
Galway in the 1970 All-Ireland final. Power was a substitute on the Kerry senior team that lost in a replay to
Offaly in the All-Ireland final of 1972. He played with the under-21 side for three years, winning an
All-Ireland medal in 1973. Two years later in 1975 Power had a very successful year with the Kerry senior team. He captured his very first
Munster Championship and
All-Ireland medals at senior level, under the new management of the legendary
Mick O'Dwyer. It was the beginning of a glorious era for Kerry football and Power played a key role in orchestrating much of the success. In 1976 Power won his second Munster title; however,
Dublin gained revenge for the previous year by defeating Kerry in the All-Ireland final. 1977 was another frustrating year as Kerry won another Munster title but lost out to Dublin yet again, this time in a thrilling All-Ireland semi-final. By 1978 Kerry were ready for success. They easily won another Munster title and breezed into the All-Ireland final to face
Dublin. The game itself is remembered for
Mikey Sheehy's cheeky goal which he scored by lobbing the ball over the head of
Paddy Cullen. The final score was 5–11 to 0–9 and Power had secured a second All-Ireland medal. In 1979, Kerry once again faced up to Dublin in the All-Ireland final; however, Power missed the game because of a hamstring injury. In spite of this he was playing the best football of his career and scored a massive 2–6 against
Cork in the Munster final. Victories for Kerry over
Roscommon and
Offaly in the respective All-Ireland finals of 1980 and 1981 brought Power's All-Ireland medal tally up to five. In 1980, he was captain of the side; however, he had to retire early from the game due to injury. In 1982, he collected his eighth consecutive Munster Championship medal and the scene was set for Kerry to become the first team in the history of the game to win five consecutive All-Ireland football titles. Once again, Power's side faced Offaly in the All-Ireland final. Kerry had the upper hand for much of the game and were leading by two points with two minutes left to be played. The game, however, was not over as Offaly substitute
Séamus Darby, who had entered the game almost unnoticed, produced possibly the greatest match-winner of all-time when he scored a late goal. Kerry failed to score again to level the match and Offaly went on to win their third All-Ireland title ever. In 1983, Kerry were denied a record-breaking ninth consecutive Munster title by Cork. Power's side were down but not out, as they reclaimed the provincial title the following year, before securing back-to-back All-Ireland victories over their old rivals Dublin in 1984 and 1985. In 1986, Power collected his third consecutive All-Ireland title with an 8-point victory over
Tyrone. It was his seventh All-Ireland medal overall. In all Power collected eleven Munster Championship medals. He played in nine All-Ireland finals, ending up on the winning side on eight occasions. Power also enjoyed playing
Railway Cup football with
Munster, winning inter-provincial titles in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1982. His honours also include four
National Football Leagues in 1974, 1977, 1982 and 1984 and six
All Stars Awards, winning All Stars at three different positions: half-back, half-forward and corner-forward.
Post career After retiring Power became trainer of the
Limerick senior football team during the 1990s. He was also part of the back-team with
Austin Stacks. He has also trained the
Kerry senior hurling team with
John O'Keeffe. ==References==