An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 38 | I played for my first soccer team, Kilbarrack United FC, at 12 and progressed well in the game, being offered, but turning down, a trial with Wrexham FC prior to joining the Defence Forces in 1990. After recruit training I was posted to CtD E and joined the Cathal Brugha Bks football team, which was drawn from the small units in the barracks. Outside, I was playing with Ballymun Utd in the AUL Premier. After serving with 69 Inf Bn in Lebanon in 1991 I did a clerks course, and in 1993 I underwent a potential NCOs course, which was quickly followed by an orderly room sergeants course. I returned to the CTD E orderly room as an acting sergeant. It was a busy job, with an average of 70 students on courses and 120 recruits on our books at one time, and this was before the PMS came in. I was then playing soccer for the barracks, the brigade, and also the Defence Forces, competing against the Gardaí, banks, colleges and other armed forces. I completed my standard NCOs course in 1995 and served in Lebanon again with 79 Inf Bn. That year I also completed a DF referees course. I was on the Ballymun Utd team that won the Amstel Cup in 1997 and lost in the finals of the FAI Junior, Amstel, and Liddy cups in 1999. I also received the player of the year award during this time. In 2000 I was promoted to orderly room sergeant with the Equitation School, McKee Bks. I won the Oscar Traynor Trophy with the AUL in 2000 and followed that up in 2001 with four major trophies, including the FAI Junior Cup. In 2002, after winning the league and cup double with Ballymun, I returned to Kilbarrack Utd as player/ manager in the AUL Premier B. I was promoted to CQMS in the Equit Sch later that year. In a match in 2003 I suffered a serious injury to my spine that left me with a paralysis lasting about six months. After recovering I went back playing but in my first match I had a relapse. This led to another period of paralysis and on medi- cal advice I reluctantly hung up my boots to focus on coach- ing. (I now have both the EUFA 'A' and 'B' coaching badges.) In 2004 I won promotion to AUL Premier A with Kilbarrack and I also became assistant coach of the DF team, working with Comdt Jim Noone. By 2006 we were recording our first international victories, culminating in qualification for the 2007 CISM World Soccer Championships in India, where we made it to the quarterfinals. In 2008 I left to help Cpl Ben Looney with the DF female soccer team, which wasn't generat- ing much interest at the time. However, things improved and in 2009 we were beaten in final of the FAI Junior Cup. In the meantime I had taken over the helm at Ballymun Utd and in 2010 we won the FAI Junior, the 'Nivea for Men' and the Leinster Junior cups, and I received the manager of the year award. The following year we beat Finn Harps before losing to Derry City in the FAI Senior Cup. That year Ben and I resigned to take up positions as Acade- my Director and Director of Coaching, respectively, with the newly formed Metropolitan Girls League. We take the best of the 10-16 age groups from Dublin and surrounding areas and develop them in the academy. Our model now com- petes with the best that Spain and England have to offer. In 2013 I managed Raheny Utd ladies team in the UEFA Champions League group stage. The next year Raheny asked me to take on the role perma- nently. We won the league and qualified for the Champions League again, where we beat the Romanian, Maltese and Bulgarian champions; the first time, at any level, that an Irish team had won all games in their qualify- ing group. In the knockout stage we were drawn against Bristol FC (who came second to Liverpool in the UK), with the winners to play the mighty Barcelona FC! We played the home leg in Richmond Park on October 9th but unfortunately went down to a heavy 4-0 defeat. The away leg in the UK saw us defeated 2-1, but we will now build on these ex- periences and go for it again next year! A Good head for Football CQMS Casey McQuillan, Equit Sch Interview by Sgt Wayne Fitzgerald Photos by Cpl Neville Coughlan

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