Downings looking to make waves as they sit just 60 minutes away from greatness

When the curtain finally falls on 2024 in just a few weeks, Downings' boss Barney Curran will surely allow himself a moment to exhale.   

Nobody on earth could blame him for wanting a well-deserved rest. But for Curran, coaching isn’t just a job; it’s a vocation.   

“I don’t have any time, I’m robbing Peter to pay Paul. My partner is usually asking me where am I going tonight but look, I enjoy it,” he told Donegal Live.   

“Give me a whistle, a team, and some grass and I love it, I just really enjoy coaching and these girls have made this season fantastic.  

“I wasn’t sure about taking this job when a few players approached me at the start of the season because I was already involved with the senior men at the club, I was with the ATU ladies, and I was involved with the county minors too, but, myself and Doy McGroddy eventually went in and took the job and we’re glad we did.  

Whatever Curran might do come the New Year, for now, though, the Downings ladies’ manager is fully immersed in one final push — a date with destiny this Sunday in the All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship final at Parnell Park when his Downings side take on Mungret St Paul’s of Limerick.  

Curran's side reached the national final with a 1-7 to 0-7 point victory over Kilcock on their home turf in Donegal.   

It’s been a long season, but it’s all been worth it.  

“We met in the last week of February for the first time and we’ve been going ever since,” Curran reflects. “It’s been a long season, 10 months, training three days a week, sometimes four.”  

Relegation from Division 1 was a bitter pill, but it barely caused a ripple within the squad. The focus was singular: the championship.   

“Nobody wants to be relegated,” Curran concedes, “but we didn’t take it too hard because our focus was always championship.  

“We had a plan in place to go after what we wanted most on this earth, and that was to win the Donegal Junior championship. So, a lot of the players decided to take their holidays during the league and we were okay with that, as long as all of them gave everything to the cause come championship.  

“We got everyone up to the one base fitness, which took about 10 weeks, then we started working on our ball skills and our systems. So, it’s been a long season but it’ll all be well worth it if we get to have an extra decoration on the Christmas table this year.  

But even as the stakes rise, Curran’s philosophy remains grounded in the here and now. The county title was the target, everything after that was a dream bonus.   

“Of course, the All-Ireland was never mentioned at any time by us this season,” he notes.  

“We would’ve spoken about winning the county championship because you have to talk about these targets and get the players to set their goals. So, we did talk about winning but it never took away from our core values of working hard and giving everything you have.”  

Standing in their way this Sunday is a formidable opponent in Mungret St Paul’s with the Limerick and Munster representatives triumphing in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Coolera Strandhill of Sligo.   

The teams were inseparable after extra-time, but the calm composure of Gráinne McKenna, Carol Bateman, and Fiona Morrissey during the shoot-out clinched the victory for John Horgan’s side.  

The old adage is to look at Sunday as just another game, but Curran and his side know better than most that that is easier said than done.  

I suppose we have to look at it as just another game, but at the same time, we have to understand as a team that this is an All-Ireland final,” Curran said. “What I mean by that is that I want the players to enjoy this game because they don’t come around too often. I want them to enjoy every second of it.   

“I think the more they enjoy it, then the more relaxed they’ll be. My focus then is to watch the opposition and put a plan in place. After our semi-final win, I went up the road that evening to watch the other semi-final.   

“So, we all have our own jobs to do this week that keeps us busy so, it’s not given us a lot of time to stop and think about what we’ve done so far this season.   

“I think our players seem a bit more relaxed and a bit more dialed in, and confident too, so that’s great because there’s going to be pressure on the day, it’s going to be about how they handle it.”  

It’s a team that is writing its own history with each passing step, made extra unique when you consider the first Downings ladies senior team was only formed in 2017.  

They have now become the inspiration for others to follow. To look at this Downings team and see what can be achieved from humble beginnings and hard work from the people who built the team.  

“This ladies team in Downings is only going seven years believe it or not,” Curran added. “There was a management team here who put in great work before I came in this season and we balance those seven years of experience with younger players being coached in the club and doing their best to burst into the senior setup.   

“We’re only in a year (as a management team), but it’s all about these girls who have been working hard in this club for years now, and really, they’ve brought a lot to the table themselves, and their confidence and commitment has made it easier for me in the job.”  

The messages have been sent from the well-wishers, now it’s just a matter of adding one trophy to a club who have had a season they will never forget.