Olympian prepared to go the distance for Goal

When the news broke last week that the Department of Foreign Affairs had suspended funds to Goal, Noel Carroll chose not to tell the relief agency's director, John O'Shea, who was on holidays in Spain.

For Carroll, the likely result - that a rare break for O'Shea and his family would be spoiled - was worse than facing the media on his own.

It was a role he assumed despite the sensitivity of wearing another public hat, that of chief executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

But Noel Carroll has proved he is never afraid of the media. As PRO for Dublin Corporation for almost a quarter of a century, he fought numerous public battles, at times taking unpopular, even unconventional, stances.

"People who live by the river should expect to get their feet wet now and again," he said in 1986, after Hurricane Charlie caused the Dodder to burst its banks, flooding neighbouring homes. His penchant for such straight-talking has kept him in the public eye 40 years after he came to prominence as a world class middle-distance runner.

Born on December 7th, 1941, in Annagassan, Co Louth, a coastal village north of Drogheda, he was the second eldest of four children. His father, Patrick, was a farm labourer and part-time fisherman. His mother, Bridget, died when he was 13. That year he left school to work as a builder's labourer.

By the age of 15, he was working with the St John of God Brothers in Drumcar, helping mentally handicapped patients. Within two years he had joined the Army.

There he began developing his athletic talent and, after some time as a cross-country runner, he focused on shorter track distances. By 1960, he had run the fastest 800 metres in the world for an 18-year-old.

At 20, he left the Army to take up a sports scholarship at Villanova University in the US where he studied accountancy and economics. He went on to win numerous athletics titles, including the European indoor championship crown three times. He also held the European 800 metres record and was named Irish Athlete of the Year in 1961 and 1967.

He competed in two Olympic Games, at Tokyo in 1964 and Mexico in 1968, but failed to win a medal.

On the eve of his first Olympics he married traditional singer and harpist, Deirdre O'Callaghan. The two had met two years before when Carroll arrived for a television interview at RTE where O'Callaghan worked as a receptionist.

After returning to Ireland, Carroll worked for IBM but within three years he had a job with the Eastern Health Board, first working on promotions and later becoming assistant general manager.

In 1972, he was the first person to be appointed public relations officer to Dublin Corporation. As the public face of the Corporation he earned a reputation as a champion of unpopular causes, among them the development of Wood Quay.

He developed a strong affection for Dublin and tended to characterise critics of the city and Corporation as disloyal.

In February 1996, he left the Corporation to become chief executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce. It is believed his high public profile and understanding of the news media helped secure the job.

He walks everywhere - up to five miles per day - and also jogs each day, usually during his lunch break. A former holder of the world veteran 800 metres record, he continues to run that distance in close to two minutes. In recent years, he has also competed in Dublin City Marathons, many of which he has helped to stage through his involvement with the Business Houses Athletics Association.

In addition to his own training, he travels out to Belfield four days a week to coach UCD scholarship athletes.

An avid reader and theatregoer, Carroll has four children and has lived in Foxrock, in south Dublin, for more than 20 years.

His links with Goal stretch back to the formation of the relief agency by John O'Shea in the late 1970s. Initially, Carroll's involvement was mainly in the area of fund-raising, and in 1982 he donated all the royalties from the sale of his book, The Runner's Log, to Goal.

He is best known in the agency for organising the Goal Mile event at Belfield each Christmas Day.

Recently, as chairman of Goal, he has played an additional key administrative role, and has been a loyal defender of John O'Shea in internal management disputes.

Former agency workers have said they were surprised to see Carroll taking such a prominent role in the funding dispute. "Up to two weeks ago, I had only ever heard of Noel Carroll. Like many people in Goal, I never met him," said a former employee.

Another remarked that Carroll was "very, very disturbed about what has happened", adding that he "had a great commitment to the Third World but an extraordinary loyalty to John O'Shea".

His lifelong habit of not mincing his words was evident this week when he accused the Department of Foreign Affairs of "conducting a smear campaign" against the agency. "The Department is out to do us, and they're trying to get Europe on to it," he claimed. The allegations were later withdrawn.

It is not clear as yet whether Carroll will continue to figure publicly in the Goal controversy. But the recent episode has proved that the former Olympian has lost none of his energy and, in any capacity, is never far from making headlines.