Paul Curran does not believe the 2023 All-Ireland final will prove to be a last headline show for some of Dublin’s greatest performers.
A narrative followed Dublin this year of Dessie Farrell getting the band back together for one last hurrah, a farewell tour that finished with a showstopping display in July’s All-Ireland final win over Kerry. All fireworks and streamers, Sam Maguire back in the capital, Dublin’s Hollywood ending.
The triumph pushed James McCarthy, Michael Fitzsimons and Stephen Cluxton out on their own as the most decorated Gaelic footballers of all time – each winning a ninth All-Ireland SFC medal.
If you were choosing a concluding chapter for your intercounty career, it is quite the way to bow out. However, Curran – an All-Ireland winner with Dublin in 1995 – doesn’t believe those players are about to exit the main stage.
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“No, I don’t think it was one last crack,” he says. “A lot of the players I think will stay on for 2024.
“The big ones are obviously the guys with nine medals, the three lads. Will the three of them come back? I’d surprised if any of them don’t. Cluxton is the one, I think the other two will definitely stay on. Cluxton, you never know.”
Due to his coaching experience, Curran knows several of the Dublin players quite well – he managed Ballymun Kickhams to a county title in 2012, advancing all the way to an All-Ireland club final appearance, while he also guided Cuala to a Dublin SFC 2 title in 2020.
During Curran’s time with Ballymun, McCarthy was starting to emerge as one of the top players in the game. Before the All-Ireland final, Farrell namechecked McCarthy as Dublin’s greatest player.
“When you look at the whole package, the man himself, the talent, athleticism, he has everything, he has the whole package. He’s as tough as nails, he’s the prototype Gaelic footballer,” says Curran.
“Speed, strength, fearless, he can kick points, can tackle, catch it in the middle. And his feet are totally on the ground. It’s hard to compare one player with another from a different generation, but certainly in this generation he is without doubt the best.”
And Curran does not see any managerial change with Dublin either, with the 1995 Texaco Footballer of the Year confident his former team-mate will remain at the helm. Farrell was initially handed a three-year term when he succeeded Jim Gavin in 2019. He received a two-year extension in August 2022, which takes Farrell to the end of the 2024 campaign.
“I think he will stay on,” continues Curran. “Nothing will change next year if he stays. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t go on for another year.
“If Dessie stays on I think he’ll try keep everybody on board. If Dessie goes himself there’s going to be big changes.”
Curran feels it is crucial for the younger players on the Dublin panel to have the experience of leaders like McCarthy and Fitzsimons in the dressingroom. The condensed intercounty season also makes committing for another season more attractive.
“I think it is important there is no mass exodus and that they keep them together for another year,” adds Curran. “I think we will start 2024 the same way as we started 2023, with the same questions. Is it one year too much? Is this the end?
“I’d be hoping they’d all stay on again, the season is so short now, it’s not a long season, you can manage your players and have them ready for April until the end of July.”
Curran is managing his Dad’s home club of Dunshaughlin – Noel Curran won an All-Ireland with Meath in 1967. Paul Curran has been linked with various intercounty jobs over the years but never took the step to take charge of a county side.
“The workload is absolutely massive,” he explains.
“I’m a very good friend of Jim Gavin’s, he’s godfather to my youngest, so I’d have seen him quite a lot over the years. I saw him less in that run where he was seven years the manager because I’d go up to him on a Sunday and the laptop would be open for lunch and it was just work, work, work, Dubs, Dubs, Dubs.
“I think you have to be prepared to put your life on hold. Look at Colm O’Rourke, he stepped away from teaching to give it everything with Meath. I think it is becoming a full-time job.”
As for the possibility of Gavin returning to the Dublin sideline at some stage in the future, that is not something Curran expects to see either.
“No chance. Absolutely no chance. He’s done it. What I’d love to see is him writing a book about it now. But [going back] no, no chance. Can’t see it.”
**Curran was talking at the launch of Leinster GAA’s 2023 Beko Club Champion campaign. Aiming to highlight the unheralded volunteer work carried out by clubs and club members. Nominations are open, giving clubs a chance of winning €1,000 worth of GAA equipment. Full details on the Leinster GAA website.
