Denis ('Denny') Curran (6 December 1875 – 25 August 1968) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

footballer and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

political figure.

Early life

The third son of Patrick Curran, a farmer of Ballyseedy, County Kerry, he was apprenticed as a grocer as a young man, and 'lived in' at Baily's in the Mall in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

. The Curran family descend from the Uí Charrain, of the Uí Meic Caille sept of the

Uí Liatháin The Uí Liatháin (IPA: �iːˈlʲiəhaːnʲ were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example '' The Expulsion of th ...

kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland; they settled in County Kerry as gentry after the war in 1177 between

Domnall Mór Ua Briain Domnall Mór Ua Briain, or Domnall Mór mac Toirrdelbaig Uí Briain, was King of Thomond in Ireland from 1168 to 1194 and a claimant to the title King of Munster. He was also styled King of Limerick, a title belonging to the O'Brien dynas ...

, King of Thomond, and Diarmait Mor Mac Carthaigh.

Football

Curran began his footballing career in 1903; in an article in ''

The Kerryman ''The Kerryman'' is a weekly local newspaper published in County Kerry in Ireland by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper was founded in 1904 by Maurice Griffin and cousins Thomas and Daniel Nolan. Independen ...

'' published 28 January 1961, he recounted how in summer he would begin training at the sports field at seven A.M., before working from nine A.M. to eleven P.M., and often being picked up from work by

Austin Stack Augustine Mary Moore Stack (7 December 1879 – 27 April 1929) was an Irish republican and politician who served as Minister for Home Affairs from 1921 to 1922. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1927. Early life Stack was born in Ball ...

for evening training, missing dinner due to having to return to work. Curran was one of

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

's players (as a forward) against Kildare in the 1903 All-Ireland home final series of games, contributing to their victory (over London Hibernians)- the first ever win for the Kerry side at this level- by scoring a goal at a critical point in the final match, played on 12 November 1905, which was scored 0-11 to 0-3. The following year, he played again for Kerry, with the team defeating Dublin, in the game played on 1 July 1906, by 0–5 to 0–2 in the final. Although Kerry dominated the game for decades afterwards, their failure to score in the first half of a 1966 game (which Kerry eventually won by two points) against Wicklow led to the players being jeered by their own fans; Curran observed 'Lord bless my soul, I never saw worse in my life.'

Other activities

Outside of his sporting endeavours, Curran was employed as an official of Tralee Harbour Board, serving also as Secretary of the Roger Casement Fianna Fáil Cumann of Tralee, President of the John Mitchel GAA Club, and member of Tralee Urban Council.

Personal life

Curran died 25 August 1968 aged 92, leaving three sons and a daughter. Son Paddy was also a "prominent and successful" footballer. On Curran's death, only Denny Breen remained of the 1903 Kerry winning team. Curran's younger brother Michael took in the Republican Stephen Fuller at his farm following Fuller's injury in the explosion that killed several of his compatriots during the 'Ballyseedy Massacre' of March 1923. Curran's great-grandnephew, Micheál Quirke, played for the

Kerins O'Rahilly's GAA Kerins O'Rahilly's are a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. They are based in the Strand Road area of the town. They are in Division 1 of the county league which they won in 2006, and compete in the County Cham ...

team and for the Kerry side that won the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009, the

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It ...

in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007, and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in 2004, 2006 and 2009.The Gaelic Games Quiz Book, Andy Watters, History Press, 2014, p. 144

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Denny 1875 births 1968 deaths Gaelic games club administrators Irish sportsperson-politicians Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Politicians from County Kerry