Overdue success for Paddy Carr

There are two enduring images that last in the mind when the name Paddy Carr is mentioned. The first is as a disconsolate Louth manager brought to his knees by Graham Geraghty"s late, late goal for Meath in a 2002 All-Ireland SFC qualifier at Pairc Tailteann. The second, that now replaces the first, came last Tuesday evening when Carr was surrounded by Kilmacud Crokes players, supporters and mentors after he had guided the Stillorgan club to All-Ireland Club SFC glory s at Croke Park. Carr won several Meath SFCs with Walterstown, he also managed the Meath minors and the Summerhill seniors and now, resident in Navan, his sons are flying the flag with the Simonstown club. However, his joy in winning the All-Ireland Club SFC was unbridled as the success was achieved with his home club, a parish he served for many years before making the journey to the Royal county. 'It was very special to win the All-Ireland Club title. Everything starts and finishes with club football, so it really was a great achievement and the significance of it is only sinking in now,' Carr told the Meath Chronicle. 'The fact that Kilmacud Crokes are the club that I played all my under-age football with makes it all the more special. I can remember the first time I put on the jersey for the club when I was only eight or nine. 'It was due to circumstances that I had to leave Kilmacud because of studying and I came to live in Navan. It made more sense for me then to start playing with Walterstown and I was fortunate to come to Walterstown at what was the start of the golden age for the club when we won five county championships. 'When I went back to Kilmacud the advantage I had was that they still saw me as one of their own. I had gone to school with a lot of the people who are now involved at the administrative end of the club so that made it easier. 'I also came with different views and my experience of having worked at inter-county level and also having played in Donegal brought something unique to Kilmacud. The talent that I had available to me and the approach we took brought us our success,' he concluded. It was ironic that on the way to Carr"s greatest day as a manager he had to face a club from his home town (Navan O"Mahonys) and the club from the town where he works (Newtown Blues of Drogheda), but Carr was delighted with the opportunity and the hard work was worth it with the new enduring image of a smiling Paddy Carr at Croke Park on St Patrick"s Day.