Carr hoping holy grail comes full circle
The Kilmacud Crokes manager is nothing if not loquacious, and minutes fly by unnoticed when the conversation concerns football.
His enthusiasm is infectious. Routine answers about the influence of an individual player or memories of a particular match mushroom and meander through a series of topics but his principles are stitched into the fabric of every sentence.
Words like ‘unity’ and phrases such as ‘sense of belonging’ enforce the impression that, though Crokes meet Galway’s Corofin today for a place in the All-Ireland final, such occasions are secondary in importance to the club’s wider significance, its raison d’etre.
Carr was born and raised in the club’s hinterland of Stillorgan but only returned 13 months ago having spent the previous 25 years based in more rural GAA outposts in Louth, Meath and Donegal.
His heart has been gladdened by what he has seen in his native city.
“I have huge respect for what goes on here. There’s a perception that Dublin clubs are all very strong, but a lot of them function in very difficult circumstances.
“Even the issue of playing fields and land, we have to travel around to play games. Rural teams have the advantage because there’s an automatic association with the parish. In fact, there’s the physical centre to most parishes.
“The centre to this community is people, the congregation of people, and the quality of time they spend together. The success of the club is based on families who know what’s important for their children. People come to us for the right reasons.”
Dublin may be very different from the rest of the GAA but Crokes are, in turn, very different from the rest of Dublin. At least that is the perception. Week after week, Kilmacud players are labelled ‘snobs’ by their opponents.
Their location, in an affluent corner of south Dublin, is one reason for the barbs. Another is the growing connection between the club and Blackrock College which is just a five-minute drive across the N11.
It was a link that was virtually non-existent a decade ago but current seniors like Mark Vaughan and Mark Davoren are former ‘Rock boys and half of the current Leinster Senior Cup college rugby side have passed through the Crokes doors at some juncture.
The reality is less straightforward. Crokes attract players and members from all manner of social backgrounds but the ‘posh’ label has stuck and, if anything, it has almost become a perverse badge of honour for many of them. Carr however, isn’t enamoured with it.
“I hear things outside of here about the so-called glamour boys of Kilmacud, as if to say they don’t work as hard as other players or they’re bought in. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Anyone who knows anything about a dressing room knows that, whether it’s a young lad coming through from underage or a lad like (Longford’s) Brian (Kavanagh) settling in the parish as a young teacher, unless everyone is on an equal footing you can’t move forward.
“I worked in a rural set-up but I came back here to an urban setting in a part of the country that is traditionally associated with other sports. I see the spirit here.
“People from the country have brought a lot of those values with them and that is part of the picture that’s in the club.”
They are values that clearly work. Crokes had to wait until 1992 to claim their first senior county championship but were All-Ireland champions just three years later. Five more Dublin titles have followed, three in the last five seasons.
Win or lose today, this season’s campaign has already been something of an epic. Replays were required to decide their county semi-final against All-Ireland champions St Vin cents and again against St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh in the final.
The Leinster final against Rhode of Offaly could, and probably should, have been their last stop. Reduced to 14 men after 14 minutes and facing into the second-half six points in arrears, they somehow punched their ticket for access to today’s meeting with the Galway champions.
Carr could be forgiven for feeling giddy, not just because he is at the helm of his boyhood club, but because he believes he has unfinished business in this competition. Business that is long overdue.
His first stop when he left Stillorgan all those years ago was Walterstow. The Meath club reached two All-Ireland finals in his first four seasons there, losing the first to St Finbarr’s and the second to another Cork side, Nemo Rangers.
“When you lose an All-Ireland final, it always stays there. These lads know how much this means to me because it has been the holy grail for me since I left this club.
“That’s why it’s very special to have the opportunity to work with these lads. We’re working, working and we’re far from the finished article, but we are working towards getting the full potential from them.”
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