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Diarmuid O'Carroll
Glasgow Celtic Star Diarmuid O'Carroll Talk to Terrace Talk


I must admit and unashamedly so that one of my favourite tasks being involved in writing about and interviewing sports people is, that of meeting and talking to young Kerry sports stars and hearing them explain their dreams and aspirations. I never cease to marvel at the magnificent talent both male and female this county continuously produces in such a wide variety of sports and indeed in all instances these young stars can express themselves in such an articulate and exemplary manner they would put many of their older generation to shame. International stars such as oarsman Paul Griffin, athletes Gillian o Sullivan and Laura Crowe, cyclists Paul Griffin and Eugene Moriarty, footballer Colm Cooper, basketball stars Brian Clarke, Kieran Donaghy, Shane Horgan and many more are all a credit to their families and their county.


And so it was last Saturday week I made the short trip to the top of the Ross Road in Killarney to meet a young man at his home whose career I have been following with huge interest for the last few years and my expectations were fully realised when at last I got to meet Diarmuid o Carrroll the rising Glasgow Celtic soccer star who was home on a flying visit literally in between training sessions with the legendary Glasgow club. Only days before I had read with great pride in the Examiner where this young man had been the star for the Irish under 19 Soccer team who had stunned Italy packed with pin-ups of Seri A as the beat them 2-0 in Bari. To my knowledge this was the first time in history that an Irish team had beaten the Italians on home ground, and the man who scored the first goal and made the second was our young Kerry hero.


As we sat in the comfortable and homely surroundings of the family home, chatting in great detail about his hopes dreams and aspirations for soccer greatness it was very obvious that here was a young man who as the fellow said, 'has his head well screwed on', no airs are graces, articulate, courteous, unaffected by the trappings of professional football with one of the biggest clubs in the world, determined and so focused as to what is required of him to succeed in the cut throat world of his chosen sport he warmed immediately to our interview when I asked him about the world renowned rivalry between Celtic and Rangers and what's it like when they meet in the Glasgow derby.


' It's unbelievable, usually we train fierce hard every Tuesday and Thursday with a game on Saturday, but when we are meeting Rangers it's completely different, the coach rests us for a week, nothing hard, you know this is the big one and you must perform, it's all out on Saturday, the coach starts winding you up early in the week getting in little digs every day about Rangers, making sure you are up for it. He warns that we will get all sorts of abuse from the crowd who will be shouting and hurling insults, we are told just to roll with it, smile away and say nothing, don't get involved, keep the discipline and do the business. Of course some of the players are dyed in the wool Celtic men all their lives and for Celtic to beat Rangers is the most important thing in their lives, but it's great stuff, unbelievable, last year we played Rangers in a reserve match in Ibrox fourteen thousand present, and ten thousand of them Rangers fans the noise was deafening, we drew, it was great to be involved.


And of course when the senior sides meet it's something else, it's better to keep out of their way for the week proceeding the game, when I was with the youths squad we would have to look after the playing gear of the first team, and if everything was not perfect there would be war, even the length of the boot laces each player needed had to be spot on, strapping, bicycle shorts if needed or anything else unusual , everything had to be exact. The tension in the dressing room before the Rangers games is electric and the home players would be geeing up the foreign lads telling them the history of the clash. Henric Larsson was one of my heroes, and following his last game before his transfer he gave me his boots signed and all, I have them there in the glass case, yes he was fantastic, a world class goal scorer and the team have done very well to score all they have without him'.


As expected the training regime at his club is very tough, diet coms into his life in a big way, so I put it to this six foot thirteen stone former Killarney Athletic lad that his fitness levels must be very high at the moment.' Yes I am in fairly good shape, last year however I had a very serious injury, the pre- season training is savage, I found that difficult especially my first year there but it's vital for the season, then we train very intensely Tuesdays and Thursday morning with circuit training at lunch time. We have sports scientists for all aspects of our training, heart and lung monitors, everything down to the last second, and lots more and yes diet is vital. The dieticians play a huge part in the club, we are tested regularly for body fat, every thing I eat goes into a diary, down to the last cup of tea and the last spoon of sugar, the dietician examines it and she make sure we have a very balanced diet. I am lucky, no great problems with what I eat, it must be in the genes, I can eat like a horse, and when I come home I sometimes treat myself to a take away, my body fat is very good usually eight and a half percent, I must watch myself to night, I am off to a friends 18th birthday party in Tralee, Jamie Wren give him a mention'.
Glasgow Celtic are synonymous with the name of their manager Martin o Neill, so what impressions has Diarmuid of the Northern Ireland man. ' A very quiet and unassuming person, the fans love him and no way will he be left go, he could manage any of the top European clubs, I don't meet him very much and if he passed me or even one of the first team players in the stadium he would keep his head down and pass on, I would say that he is a shy person, my family and I met him when I signed and he treated us very well, he certainly is the man for the Celtic job. While Celtic is generally recognised as a Catholic club many of the foreign players would be of other religions, Rangers is the opposite and if you were given the opportunity of signing for them you would have to give it very serious consideration indeed, I would have great friends who are staunch rangers fans'.
It's said that behind every great man is a great woman and in Diarmuids case it's his parents that are behind him in his life's ambition to become a great soccer player, so how supportive are his parents Eileen and Joe and what side of the family did the sport come from, and like the great diplomat he his he gave the perfect answer to that one. 'They are behind me 100%, all my dads family were sportsmen, however my Mom's family were also involved and my uncle's had a bit of white line fever, ( I had never heard this expression before), they have been so supportive of me and if I came home in the morning to sell ice cream they would be fully behind me, as long as I am happy they are happy. Mom is the nervous and religious side and and Dad told me that when I played against Italy she was in the Friary praying for me, she is quiet about it but she really wants me to do well also, they are great for me'.


We also spoke about Diarmuids late grand father, a great friend of mine when I worked in St. Finian's Hospital, Jerry Carroll was maintenance manager for the Southern Health Board, sadly he died when Diarmuid was only five years of age.


This is only a few short extracts from my interview with this exemplary young Kerry sportsman, we went on to cover many more areas of his sporting life, his chances of a first team appearance, the eight months injury which threatened his career, the top class medical attention, meeting Sean Kelly in Celtic Park, his friend Liam Miller who has joined Manchester United and his prospects of greatness, would he himself join United, training with the stars, why he would like to play on Match Of The Day, the boredom of a footballers life, buying a new car, not in Scotland, what he thinks of Kerry football and especially Colm Cooper and much much more.


So now if you want to hear the heart warming story of this young man following his dream of football greatness with one of the worlds illustrious clubs tune in to Radio Kerry's Terrace Talk all sports programme on Monday February 21st for an hour long exclusive 8 -9 pm. mark it down, you won't be disappointed. Behind all the hype, publicity, glamour and media attention here is a young man who is a credit to his family, his club, his county and now his country, hear him tell his own story.