Curran ready to make his mark in Carlow
Shane Curran will be the next manager of the Carlow senior football team Photo: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
“As a manager, I know Carlow will improve. I know Carlow will improve under my stewardship. If they don’t, it is not a limitation on the player, it is a limitation on me,” so says Shane Curran, who is set to be appointed the new Carlow senior football manager.
The Carlow County Board made the announcement late last week but it will only become official after club delegates ratify the appointment at a full County Board meeting.
The Roscommon man is a colourful character. He will forever be remembered for his intervention in the 1989 Connacht minor final. With time just up, Roscommon were awarded a penalty. A point down, a goal would seal a famous victory. As another Roscommon player was lining up the kick, Shane “Cake” Curran came forward and stuck the ball in the top-left hand corner of the net.
Controversy ruled but Roscommon were still presented with the cup.
In 2013, Curran was the goalkeeper for St Brigids when Karol Mannion struck late for the winning goal against Ballymun Kickhams as the Roscommon side won a first ever All-Ireland senior club football title for the county.
In later years he managed the unfancied Caulry of Westmeath to consecutive senior football county semi-finals while he enjoyed a successful stint with Padraig Pearses of Roscommon. He also led Durrow to an Offaly senior football B title.
“I have had a lot of highlights. Winning an All-Ireland yeah. I captained Roscommon to win an All-Ireland junior in 2000. I captained my county at senior level under Tommy Carr for two years in 2003 and 2004. Probably one of the most successful terms in Roscommon’s history. We were narrowly beaten by Kerry in an All-Ireland quarter-final,” pointed out Curran.
And the big question. Why Carlow?
“Why not?, ” is the Roscommon native’s replay.
“A great county. When you talk to a man whose enthusiasm is bubbling out, it was clear Jim Bolger (the Carlow County Board Chairman) belief in Carlow football is great.” Curran’s enthusiasm is infectious.
“The vacancy was there. When people call and people talk, it is great.
Wonderful. Fantastic. Great to meet Jim Bolger and the people involved with Carlow football was fantastic,” he exclaims.
Curran hasn’t met any of the players yet while he says he has no preconceived ideas about Carlow. He does admit he is already laying the groundwork in anticipation of being ratified by the club delegates.
“That will be an ongoing process over the next few months. I don’t think county teams can come back until next November. I will be meeting players. I will be meeting people who have a vested interest in Carlow football. Stake holders. People like yourself. Oisin Langan (KCLR), local media, all the clubs. Club chairmen and managers. I will be very busy in what I do. I will take on board all those opinions and will have a very open book towards all things that will improve Carlow football,” he states.
He says his philosophy is simple. He wants players to express themselves but most of all football cannot be a chore for the players and their families.
“You coach people, not footballers. When I spoke to the Carlow connections, it was all about the Four Fs-Football, friends, family and fun. The football looks after itself. For anyone involved in football, we have forgotten a lot more than we ever know about it. It is all about the people playing it, the players playing it and those committed to the game. You have to have a bit of fun along the way. I am very serious about my football, very serious about I approach it and aware that players have lives and they have to be able to enjoy those lives outside the game as well.
“You will see me in the most random of places. I will be everywhere and anywhere. I am really looking forward to that. When someone gives you the honour of managing your county, you have to be very visible. You have to be around the place, carry yourself and enjoy yourself. I look forward to meeting players, the families of the players and creating an energy around Carlow football.”
Curran has his early homework done. He has spoken to the former manager, Niall Carew and a selector, Simon Rea. He has been entertained by former manager, Turlough O’Brien who, when he is not involved with football, has toured Ireland and parts of Europe on his bike. Many of the former Carlow manager’s exploits are well documented on social media.
“Speaking to all these guys, they have put in incredible work with Carlow. For a new manager coming in, they have left it in a wonderful place,” agrees Curran, who as a successful business man has visited Carlow County on many occasions.
He is a Land Liaison Officer with Uisce Eireann.
“I have done a lot of work done in Carlow, Laois and Kilkenny. A lot of work at the Royal Oak and Ballinabranna. I am very familiar with the people of Carlow. I have spoken to a lot of them on my travels. I have had a wonderful relationship with the people. Outside of football it has been very good.
"I know Netwatch have a hugely successful business under David Walsh. I am really working with the community, not just the footballers, but the wider business community. The schools, the underage, trying to create the buzz and the energy which will give Carlow a huge opportunity to succeed into the future and be successful,” continues the Roscommon man.
At the end of the day, Shane “Cake” Curran knows he will be judged on results. He says that talking about a projected time-frame in the job is hardly relevant.
“Gaelic football is a three-year term with a one-year extension to the fourth year. If it is not going well after three minutes, it will be all over. If it is not going well after a year, it will be all over,” he says.
He is confident he will make a difference and he will do his utmost to ensure he can help to bring Carlow to places they have never been before. His early months learning more about Carlow football will encompass an all-inclusive consultation process.
“I am a people’s person. I get on well with people. I understand the job Jim (Bolger) has to do, I understand the job the County Board have to do and everybody else has to do,” he says emphatically.
The Roscommon man promises to consult with everyone who shows an interest in Carlow football.
“Everybody has their opinions. I am a great believer in letting people let their feelings out. I take the good and the bad, let them into the mix, let them into the ingredient bowl and see where it goes.
“Any county can improve. The players can improve. The one thing I say to players is this.
“The Irish psyche sometimes says this can’t be done or this can’t be done. That is a sort of negative connotation. My belief as a manager, my belief always as a footballer or in business if you say to someone or someone says to you that it cannot be done, really and truly, it is a limitation on yourself as you plan to prove something.
He emphasises that he is someone who mixes well with others.
“My track record is pretty decent in terms of getting on with people whose track record is invested in getting on with people. I see why no reason that won’t continue. I have to say I am really buzzing and full of enthusiasm. I am looking forward to getting into Netwatch Cullen Park seeing the games, meeting people from the clubs and finding out where these guys can really go. We will push on from the job Niall Carew did and what Turlough O’Brien did before that,” Curran promises.
“I will be the custodian, hopefully, for the next couple of years. My job, and I take it very seriously, is to ensure I leave it better than when I got it.
"I will have great people around me who will challenge me but who can come with me in the good times and the bad times. There will be a lot of bumps in the road but it will be a road well-travelled,” promises this guy who seems to have a great sense of humour.
“Carlow is like a crow in the ground-they are ready for lift-off. Like a 747, the plane is on the tarmac. We are going to take off.
“I will give every single player, who feels he is worth a shot, an opportunity. I don’t care how good they are or how bad they are, if they come with the right attitude and the right motivation that we will leave out for them. I don’t care who the best footballers are, if they are prepared to buy into that, then they will get their opportunity.
“For me, the highlight has always been people. As a coach and manager, I love to see players develop and get better. When you take over a group you watch how they develop as a group and how they are successful as a group. When you go into management it is all about that. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose but leave it in a better place than when you got it.”
