Published Monday, 20 April 2009
The 29-year-old lock will be presented to the media at lunchtime on Tuesday once the squad has been announced, becoming the 10th Irishman to lead a Lions tour.
An aggressive ball-carrier and accomplished line-out operator, O'Connell is Europe's most feared second row with his style inviting comparisons with Johnson.
Opinion over the best candidate for the Lions captaincy had been divided in the wake of Ireland's first Grand Slam triumph since 1948.
A groundswell of support developed for O'Driscoll after the skipper of the 2005 tour to New Zealand finished the RBS 6 Nations finale against Wales as man of the match.
Former Lions Gavin Hastings, Jason Robinson and Dean Richards were among those to back him, but McGeechan's preference for a forward operating at the coalface has proved critical once again.
A crucial insight into the way head coach Ian McGeechan was thinking was provided by his former Scotland coaching colleague and Lions legend Jim Telfer.
"Ian will go with O'Connell. O'Driscoll is an inspirational player, an outstanding player," said Telfer.
"But when I watch Ireland it looks to me as though O'Connell and O'Gara run the team."
McGeechan, who picked the intimidating figure of Johnson in 1997 because of the message it conveyed, hinted last autumn that he was already leaning towards O'Connell.
"It's your pack that sets the tone. If there isn't an obvious captain there I won't force one. But if there is, then I think it has merit," he said.
It was feared O'Connell may have damaged his chances of landing the captaincy when he criticised Warren Gatland immediately after Ireland had prevailed at the Millennium Stadium last month.
He told Gatland to keep his ego in check in response to inflammatory comments made by the Wales and Lions assistant coach in the build up to the Test.
Any remaining competition for the position has evaporated in recent weeks, Wales skipper Ryan Jones suffering a collapse in form that now even threatens his place in the squad.
With O'Driscoll and Jones beaten to the job, the path is clear for O'Connell to follow in fellow Irishman's Willie John McBride by leading the Lions to a Test-series victory against South Africa.