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Article February Week 1  2005
O'Carroll the Boy is Quickly Becoming the Man

I MUST admit that one of my favourite tasks involved in writing about an interviewing sports people is that of meeting and talking to young Kerry sports stars and hearing them explain their dreams and aspirations. never cease to marvel at the magnificent talent this county continuously produces in such a wide variety of sports and 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 O¹Sullivan 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.
Recently I made the trip to Ross Road to meet a young man whose career I have been following with huge interest for a few years and my expectations were fully realised when I met Diarmuid O¹Carroll the rising Glasgow Celtic soccer star who was home on a flying visit.


Only days before I had read with great pride where O¹Carroll had been the star for the Irish U-19 Soccer team who had stunned Italy packed with pin-ups of Serie A as they beat them 2-0 in Bari. To my knowledge this was the first time 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 comfort of the family home, chatting in great detail about his hopes dreams and aspirations for soccer greatness, it was obvious that here was a young man who has his head well screwed on. No airs or graces, Diarmuid is articulate, courteous and unaffected by the trappings of professional football with one of the biggest clubs in the world. He¹s also determined and 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 renowned rivalry between Celtic and Rangers and what¹s it like when they meet in the Glasgow derby.
"It¹s unbelievable. Usually we train fierce hard every Tuesday and Thursday with a game on Saturday, but when we are meeting Rangers it¹s completely different. The coach rests us for a week, nothing hard, you know this is the big one and you must perform. 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 but we are told just to roll with it, smile away and say nothing, don¹t 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 it¹s great stuff. Last year we played Rangers in a reserve match
in Ibrox with fourteen thousand present, ten thousand of them Rangers fans,
and the noise was deafening. We drew and it was great to be involved.
"When the senior sides meet it¹s something else but it¹s 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 bootlaces each player needed had to be spot on. Strapping or bicycle shorts or anything else unusual needed 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.
"Henrik Larsson was one of my heroes, and following his last game before his transfer he gave me his boots signed and all. He was fantastic, a world class goalscorer and the team have done very well to score all they have without him," O¹Carroll enthuses.
As expected the training regime at his club is very tough and diet comes into his life in a big way. I put it to this 6-foot, 13- stone former Killarney Athletic player that his fitness levels must be very high at the moment. "I am in fairly good shape now but last year I had a very serious injury. The pre-season training is savage, I found that difficult especially in my first year there but it¹s vital for the season. We train very intensely Tuesdays and Thursday morning with circuit training at lunchtime. We have sports scientists for all aspects of our training, heart and lung monitors and lots more and diet is vital.


"The dieticians play a huge part in the club. We are tested regularly for body fat, everything I eat goes into a diary, down to the last cup of tea and the last spoon of sugar. The dietician examines it and makes sure we have a very balanced diet. I am lucky that I have no great problems with what I eat. I can eat like a horse, and when I come home I sometimes treat myself to a takeaway." Glasgow Celtic are synonymous with the name of their manager Martin O¹Neill, so what impressions has Diarmuid of the Northern Ireland man.


"He¹s a very quiet and unassuming person, the fans love him and no way will he be left go although he could manage any of the top European clubs. I don¹t meet him very much but if he passed me or 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." It¹s said that behind every great man is a great woman and in Diarmuid¹s case it¹s his parents that are behind him in his life¹s 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 dad¹s family were sportsmen but my Mom¹s family were also involved and my uncles 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 one 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 Diarmuid¹s late grandfather, a great friend of mine when I worked in St Finian¹s Hospital. Jerry O¹Carroll was maintenance manager for the Southern Health Board but sadly he died when Diarmuid was only five years old. These are only a few short extracts from my interview with this exemplary young Kerry sportsman. We covered many more areas including his chances of a first team appearance, the eight months injury that threatened his career, 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 footballer¹s life, buying a new car and what he thinks of Kerry football and especially Colm Cooper.
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 Kerry¹s Terrace Talk all sports programme on Monday, February 21 for an hour long exclusive 8-9pm. You won¹t 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.