Brian Kavanagh remembers when Paddy Carr would take the Kilmacud Crokes footballers up to Ticknock in the foothills of the Dublin mountains. They were the kind of training sessions that could break the will of a player, but equally they would mould the spirit of a team.
On Monday night Carr was ratified as Donegal senior football manager and Kavanagh believes his former boss will do well up in the hills. “I think it is a great appointment. There were always good positive vibes around when Paddy was in charge,” recalls the former Longford forward. “You loved going training, even those Ticknock sessions, they were tough but nobody complained because you knew Paddy was doing it for a reason, you trusted him and you trusted what he was doing was always in the best interest of the team.”
Carr managed Crokes between 2008-2011, during which time they won an All-Ireland club title, two Leinster club championships, two Dublin SFCs and two Division One leagues in the capital. Kavanagh joined the club in 2008.
“He was ground-breaking,” says Kavanagh. “I’m not sure Crokes really knew how good they had it when he was in charge, that’s the way I have always looked at it.”
Carr’s last managerial role with a senior intercounty team was during his spell as Louth boss between 2001-03. It is quite a gap to be away from intercounty, but he subsequently had club championship success with Crokes and Tir Chonaill Gaels in London.
“His style of management was ahead of its time, and I’ve no doubt he will be able to relate to the Donegal players because that is one of his strengths, he is a brilliant man-manager. He gets to know players and finds out what he can do to help them both on and off the field,” says Kavanagh.
“If a player turned up late at training, Paddy would know instinctively what the reason was – whether it be work or personal problems, so it wouldn’t become an issue. All those little things would add up over the years and you’d know the manager had your back and that he had your best interest at heart. You really wanted to do well for him because you felt he cared.”
The oft-referenced standout moment of his time as Louth manager was the 2002 All-Ireland qualifier defeat to Meath in Navan. Louth led by four points as the clock ticked towards the 70th minute only for Seán Boylan’s Meath to snatch a dramatic victory through late goals from Richie Kealy and Graham Geraghty.
“Everybody remembers the two goals and the photo of Paddy when he fell to his knees on the sideline,” says Kavanagh. “But it’s rarely mentioned of the hard work that had to go in during the months before that to get Louth to the position where they were leading Meath by four points entering injury time of a championship game in Navan. That’s the flipside of it.”
During his successful spell with Kilmacud, Carr also fast-tracked some of the club’s underage talent to the senior squad. Within a few seasons they would become some of the best known players in the country.
“He brought Rory O’Carroll up to the senior the team when he was only around 17 or 18, Cian O’Sullivan the same. He noticed the talent they had and brought them up. There was always a big squad of players in Crokes and you had some strong characters in there at that time, players like Johnny Magee and Ray Cosgrove. Paddy had the ability to gel young lads with the older players and create a team bond.”
However, Kavanagh says Carr was also strong on showing leadership and having everybody fighting for the same cause, so he won’t shirk making the tough calls in Donegal if necessary
“If he didn’t feel you were doing what you should be for the good of the team he would call you out, but it was never a personal attack, you knew he was doing it for the betterment of the team. For instance, as a forward if you were not making the ball stick inside he would say it to you at half-time, ‘Brian, you are killing us here, everybody is out of position when we get turned over.’ And you had such respect for him that you knew it wasn’t personal and it was up to you to turn it around in the second half.”
