Shane Curran (born 8 April 1971) is 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 ...

sportsperson from

Castlerea Castlerea (; ) is the third largest town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 1,992 at the 2016 Census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled ca ...

, County Roscommon. He is the former inter-county Gaelic football goalkeeper for

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

, and his club St Brigid's. He played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

as well with Athlone Town FC. Curran holds the record of being the only goalkeeper to score both a goal and a point in championship football, his 1-1 versus Sligo in the Connacht championship led to him receiving the Irish Independent "May player of the Month" in 2004. Curran followed in his father's footsteps in 2012 by winning a Connacht club senior medal, becoming the fourth father-and-son to hold such medals. His career spanned four decades, with performances at minor, senior and club levels in 1989, 1990, 2003, 2004 and 2013. He also captained the Roscommon Junior Team to All Ireland success in 2000. Curran was featured in an episode of

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

's ''Laochra Gael'' documentary series in January 2021.

Sports

Football With Roscommon, he won a

Connacht Minor Football Championship The Connacht Minor Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for the youngest competitors (under-18 until 2017, now under-17) in the province of ...

medal in 1989. He made his senior championship debut with Roscommon as a forward in 1991, however he picked up an injury early on in the game. He lined out in the 1992

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

but couldn't help his side from a heavy loss to

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

. He drifted away from intercounty football for the next few seasons after the loss but played in both the 1994 and 1997 championships. He returned to the senior set-up in 2001 making his first championship appearance in four years in the

opening round game against New York. He was sent off during the game and failed to regain the starting spot as Roscommon won a first Connacht title since 1991. In 2003, he was made captain of the side by new manager Tommy Carr. Roscommon lost out to

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

in Connacht but went on a good run in the qualifiers. Wins over Cork, Leitrim and two games needing extra time against

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

saw Roscommon qualify for an All-Ireland quarter-final with

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 ...

. It was Roscommon's first game in Croke Park since 1991, and despite scoring three goals they came up short on a 1-21 to 3-10 scoreline. Curran was also the goalkeeper with Athlone Town FC in the League of Ireland. He retired from association football in 1997 to devote his sporting time to Gaelic football.

Business

Since retiring from inter-county football, Curran has set up a number of businesses as part of his STC group portfolio. He was commissioned by the GAA games department, under Pat Daly, to contribute to the development of a

kicking tee A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby. Etymology The word tee is derived from the ...

for use in Gaelic football. His design became the one most goalkeepers went on to use. Curran was "involved in producing the Puntee", for use by goalkeeper in kick-outs, as a means of "reducing goalkeeping injuries". Curran co-founded a flood defence company, Global Flood Solutions, in 2009. This company has entered into several contracts internationally.

Politics

Curran stood unsuccessfully in the 2016 general election as a

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 ...

candidate in the Roscommon–Galway constituency. He received approximately two thousand first presence votes (4%), and was eliminated on the seventh count.

Honours

Gaelic football

;St Brigid's (club) *

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Kilcoo of ...

(1): 2013 *

Connacht Senior Club Football Championship The Connacht Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between senior clubs in Connacht, with one qualifying from each of the five individual county championships. The winners of the Connacht football champ ...

(2): 2011,2012 *

Roscommon Senior Football Championship The Roscommon Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in County Roscommon. The winners of the Roscommon Championship receive the Fahey Cup and qualify to represen ...

(6): 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. ;Roscommon (inter-county) *Connacht Senior Football Championship (1): 2001 *

(1): 1989 *All ireland Junior Championship Captain winners (1) : 2000 ;Individual * All Star nominee: 2003 *GPA Player of the Month (1): May 2004 *Roscommon Senior Player of the Year (1): 2003 *Captained Roscommon: 2003–2004 *Holds Championship record for being the only goalkeeper in GAA history to score 1 goal and 1 point in a championship match and finish top scorer.

Soccer

*Athlone Town Player of the Year (1): 1995 *Leinster Senior league Medal (1): 1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Shane 1971 births Living people Athlone Town A.F.C. players Association football goalkeepers Castlerea St Kevin's Gaelic footballers Connacht inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Fianna Fáil politicians Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic football goalkeepers Gaelic football managers Irish sportsperson-politicians League of Ireland players Roscommon inter-county Gaelic footballers St Brigid's (Roscommon) Gaelic footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers