An Interview
with Moyvane, Feale Rangers and Kerry marksman Patrick Curtin
It’s the last weekend before Christmas and the streets are full of the
hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers.
People are scurrying around making last minute purchases for their loved
ones. It is symbolic of the career of
Moyvane’s Patrick Curtin who’s inter county career with the Kingdom also seems
to be going places in a hurry.
I meet the genial Moyvane man to have a general chat with him about his
break through season in the Green and Gold and what his aspirations are for the
new year ahead. He is the first man from
“The Boro” to play competitively for the Kerry senior team since Johnny Stack
made the last of his three appearances for Kerry in the National League against
Galway in 1985.
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Factfile:
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P.S. Firstly, could you give a run down of your
underage inter county career with Kerry?
P.C. I had two years with the Kerry minors
in 2006 and 2007. My first year was a
very enjoyable year. We won the Munster
Final. We had a very strong team. We had players like Tommy Walsh, David Moran
and Shane Enright who all went on to play with the county senior team. We had a couple of other very strong players
also. We won that Munster Final and went on to the All Ireland Final that
year in Croke Park which was the highlight of my career to date at that
time. It was a great achievement but unfortunately
we drew that day against Roscommon. We
probably threw it away. We should have
won it, we were going well, we were up four or five points with maybe 12/13
minutes to go. We had a replay then in
Cusack Park, Ennis and that was kind of a surreal experience. There were maybe 25,000 spectators there and
20,000 of those were Roscommon supporters cheering them on and I think we kind
of froze on the day. It was a bitter
disappointment to lose an All Ireland Final replay. My second year with the minors was very
disappointing for me personally. You
would be expected to kick on with the experience you had in your first
year. I was happy with how I was playing
coming up to the Munster Final but unfortunately I did my cruciate against Cork
in Fitzgerald Stadium and that set me back about 18 months. That was a big disappointment at minor
level. The minor team of that year went
as far as the All Ireland semi final where they lost to Galway but I was
injured at that stage.
P.S. Moving
on then to the Kerry Under 21’s, would you have played many games with them?
P.C. In my second year with the minors the
Under 21’s won the All Ireland, I missed out on that, but whether I would have
been a member of that panel or not is unknown as I was injured at the
time. I was just back from injury for my
second year and I played and came on as a sub when we were well beaten by Cork
down in Pairc Ui Rinn. And then in my
final year Under 21 we got to the Munster Final against Tipperary but we were
beaten again so I didn’t have much luck with the Under 21’s.
I played one year Kerry Juniors also which coincided with my last year
with the Under 21’s
P.S. Fast forward then a couple of years, when
were you first called up by Jack O’Connor to the Kerry Senior set up?
P.C. It was the end of 2011. At that time of year the management team are
always bringing in players. He gave me a
call to say that they were keeping an eye on me and that in January there would
be trials and to come in.
You had a
good County League with Moyvane at that stage and you were injury free.
Yeah, that year 2011 was my first full year without injury and I was
happy enough with how the year went. I
had a few games with Feale Rangers in the County Championship and with Moyvane
we had two wins in the North Kerry Championship and any games that are high
profile will boost your own profile.
Moyvane also got promoted from Division 5 of the County League which was
also a boost.
P.S. You would have played in the McGrath Cup
and subsequently then the National League. What would have been the standout
performances? Would it have been your
performance against Donegal in Killarney?
P.C. When it was my first year every game
to be honest stood out. Making my debut
under lights in Croke Park against Dublin was extra special and getting the nod there to come on for
twenty minutes for your debut for Kerry was something you dreamed about all
your life so that was obviously very special.
And you laid
on the goal that night for Darren O’Sullivan
I did yeah. I was lucky because
you can come on in some games and it often happens that you mightn’t be
involved for twenty minutes and never get in to it but it happened that night
that the ball came straight in to my hands and I passed it off and Darren got
the goal. That was a great night.
Then in the next game I came on against Armagh. And my first start was against Down up in
Down. I had an average enough game. I scored a point and your full debut for
Kerry was obviously another big highlight.
Then in the Donegal game it was my first goal and against Laois I got
man of the match so that was another highlight.
Overall, there were lots of highlights in the league and I was very
fortunate that way.
P.S. Rolling on then to the start of the
championship in May. Kerry’s first game
against Tipperary up in Thurles. You got
the nod to start that day. That was
obviously a special moment?
P.C. Yeah, that was great. Playing for Kerry is all about playing
championship at the end of the day and probably more so playing championship
for Kerry in Croke Park, where every Kerry footballer aspires to play. I got the nod that day. Things didn’t go according to plan. We struggled and I didn’t have a great game
myself but that is the way it goes but I was delighted to get the start and it
was a great experience. No matter how
much you prepare yourself in training or even some of the League games, the
intensity of championship is totally different and levels usually go up about 5
or 10 percent.
You got
turned over then by Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh in the next round
Yeah, they were strong on the day.
Things didn’t really go according to plan for us. I think in the end we lost by two or three
points, we were unlucky, we had a couple of goal chances. And like that when Cork and Kerry play there
always has to be a loser but there is never going to be that much between the
teams so we took it on the chin and moved on.
P.S. The tie of the round in the qualifiers was
the Kerry v’s Tyrone game in Killarney.
A special game to have played in no doubt?
P.C. Yeah, everything, if you could wish
for anything it would be to play in Killarney, Saturday evening game, the
weather absolutely unbelieveable, it was fantastic, it was probably one of the
most enjoyable games I ever got to play in.
The atmosphere before it, all the build up, the hype about Kerry not
being able to beat Tyrone, in the dressing room that day there was a steel in
the players eyes that we were not going to lose this one. That game was a mighty, mighty occasion.
You came on
and scored a very good point shortly after
Yeah, I wasn’t on too long and got the score and it settled me down.
Do you think
you were still a little revved up when you had that little incident with Colm
Kavanagh?
Ah sure, (with a smile), that’s all part of it!! I’m sure those boys
wouldn’t be afraid to do it either!!
And what did
you make of some of stuff coming out from the recent Tyrone County Convention
where I think it was their chairman that said in his speech that Kerry were
over the top that day in their celebrations?
To be honest I didn’t hear or read any of that but I don’t know what
he’d be trying to get at with that or why he’d be bringing it up at their
County Convention about Kerry. Obviously
we were going to celebrate being the type of game it was so I wouldn’t really
take any notice of that.
P.S. The All Ireland Quarter Final against
Donegal then in Croke Park, was that your first senior championship appearance
in Croke Park
P.C. Yeah, that was my first championship
game in Croke Park. I didn’t start, I
got to come on with about 15/16 minutes to go and it was another milestone for
me, playing for Kerry in Croke Park in the championship.
Donegal
getting the early goal allowed them to sit back and defend a lead
It did yeah and that was one of the things you would think about
Donegal. If you got on top of them and
had them chasing you they might start to lose their shape and you might be able
to pull them around the place. However,
they are so good when they get ahead, they then defend and they were very good
at that. We got back in to it and we got
the goal with about 10 minutes to go and we then brought it back to a
point. I obviously had a chance to level
it and I missed it, you’d obviously be disappointed with a wide but the fact that
I didn’t even connect well with it was more of a sickener than kicking a wide
as you can always kick a wide, but you have to take them things as well. It was disappointing to lose especially when
we had come so close and when you see what Donegal went on to win in the All
Ireland obviously.
Kerry
probably ran Donegal closer than either Cork or Mayo did in the subsequent
games?
Probably gave them the biggest fright, yeah, and I think with 5 minutes
to go Donegal were under fierce pressure thinking that we had them pinned and I
do believe that if I had got that point that we would have drawn the game and
maybe even beaten them but that’s the way it goes.
What doesn’t
break you makes you stronger?
Yeah, please God.
P.S. Overall, what would have been your high
point of 2012?
P.C. My debut full stop for Kerry will
always be very special, especially in Croke Park against the reigning All
Ireland champions which was huge. That
was probably for me, when it went well especially, one of the highlights
P.S. And without going it to it too much
further, the low point of 2012?
P.C. Yeah, obviously losing to Donegal in
Croke Park. When you are knocked out in
those circumstances it would be the low point.
P.S. Your own objectives for 2013,
consolidating your place under the new management I presume?
P.C. In Kerry there is so much talent, I
would still be considered a fairly young player, you cannot look beyond the
panel so that would be the start.
They’ll probably look at 40/50 players at the start of January so you
have to knuckle down and try and make the final 26. Once you get in to the 26 you will obviously
be hoping to try and get a place in the first 15 and I suppose that is the same
for the majority of players. The goal at
the start of everyone’s year is just to be able to play as well as you possibly
can and try and keep improving on your performance and I suppose stay injury
free is the big one.
P.S. A new management team now in for 2013
under Eamon Fitzmaurice, he is a guy that you would have played with over the
past few years. Looking forward to
working with him now in the New Year?
P.C. Of course, yeah, with Feale Rangers I
got to play with him for 3 or 4 years, he’s a great leader, a great talker, he
has a great knowledge of the game so I think he will be a great man for the job
so please God he can bring success to the county
P.S. And finally, what’s the one present that
Patrick Curtin is hoping to find under the Christmas Tree on Christmas morning?
PC Oh, I don’t know, that’s a tough
one.....(laugh)......if there was some sort of guarantee of an All Ireland
medal next year that would be nice!
Quick Fire
round
Q. Paddy or Patrick
A. Paddy
Q. Steak & Chips or Bacon & Cabbage
A. Bacon & Cabbage
Q. Austin Stack Park or Fitzgerald Stadium
A. Fitzgerald Stadium
Q. Family Guy or The Big Bang Theory
A. Family Guy
Q. Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho
A. Alex Ferguson
Q. The Dark Knight Rises or Skyfall
A. Skyfall
Q. Tulisa or Nicole
A. Nicole
Q. Left Foot or Right
A. Right
Q. Off the Hand or From the Ground
A. From the Ground
Q. Fairytale of New York or Band Aid – Do
they know its Christmas
A. Fairytale of New York
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