A league title in your first season at the club or bowing out of the game having landed the Irish Cup and laid the ghosts of 45 years to rest. There was no hesitation from Swanlinbar native Chris Curran, when asked which moment was the highlight of his glittering 11-year stint at Solitude. 

Curran’s career has taken him from Old Trafford to Solitude via stop offs at Forest Green, Portadown and Ballinamallard United, whom he left in the summer of 2013 to join Tommy Breslin’s title winning Cliftonville side. 

After making his debut off the bench against Celtic in the Champions League qualifier in July of 2013, Curran played a crucial role in Breslin’s side etching themselves into club folklore, securing back-to-back titles. 

Although four League Cup medals were added, two County Antrim Shields and European qualification secured along the way, the next 10 years wouldn’t yield success on the same scale as Curran experienced in his debut season until Saturday when he became the first Reds captain since Walter Mills in 1979 to lift the Irish Cup. 

It’s maybe easy to understand why he feels that this is the highlight of his time at Solitude as Curran explained. 

“It is the highlight, and it probably is because of that big gap,” Curran acknowledged. 

“We’ve had a tough run and we’ve been semi-successful. We’ve a won a lot of League Cups, County Antrim Shields and qualified for Europe very often. I think a lot of that can be missed. At the same time, you want to challenge for major honours. 

“To go in on day one and win a league title, it creates expectations. Those first few years after the lads won back-to-back- there was always that expectation that you were going to do that every season and every season you didn’t do it was a bit of a disappointment for people. After all of that, 11 years for me and 45 years for the football club, this is the highlight.”

Curran hails from a small village of Swanlinbar in Cavan, close to the Fermanagh border, and having experienced youth football at Manchester United, Forest Green and Portadown upon his return, he then made the half an hour trip from his home to forge his senior career with Ballinamallard United. 

Promotion to the Irish League top flight in 2012 under the guidance of Whitey Anderson and some impressive displays in that debut year prompted the late, great Tommy Breslin to make the call from a hot tub in Santa Ponsa to gauge whether Curran would be interested in the move and the rest is history. 

The 33-year-old believes there is a stigma associated with players that represented Manchester United but is pleased that the weekends triumph means he will be remembered for different reasons. 

“I don’t know even you could even imagine where I am from, it is a very rural area,” Curran explained. 

“There is no soccer club and I had to travel to go and play for a football club, so I ended up at Ballinamallard, which is actually half an hour away from my home. It is an incredible feeling. I could never have imagined that this would have happened. 

“In the early days, I went over to England and was very fortunate to sign for Manchester United but that always comes with a tag. You’re known as that player that used to play for Manchester United, but I think one of the best things about the last 11 years and today is that I think I’ll be known as the captain who won an Irish Cup with Cliftonville.”

In the aftermath of Paddy McLaughlin’s departure from the club at the tail end of the 2022-23 campaign and his contract expiring, Curran had a huge decision to make. He saw his game time limited to brief cameos from the bench after his side missed out on securing a second Gibson Cup success back in 2022. 

Conversations with the club hierarchy and new boss Jim Magilton continued with consideration to moving into a coaching role within the new set-up, but Curran opted for to give it one last season one the pitch before bowing out and what a decision that proved to be. 

“You couldn’t ask for anymore,” Curran summarised. 

“I was bowing out anyway regardless of the result, but it just almost makes the career. To go into a football club and to win a league title in your first season, and then for there to be such a gap and then to bow out like that, I couldn’t have asked for anymore. It’s just a special, special feeling. 

“It probably hasn’t sunk in yet and mightn’t for a while. It hasn’t been a snap decision. I was contemplating it this time last season and I’m so happy that I hung in there for another year, and that Jim invited me back. There were different conversations being had about potentially going in with the coaching staff. I’m sure that would have been special as well, but to play, there is no comparison.

“I’m just grateful for the experience of the last 10-11 years. Grateful for today, that feeling being able to celebrate that with the lads. I don’t think I’ll have any hang ups or any sort of second thoughts. I just feel satisfied.”

Curran believes it would be foolish to completely close the door on a potential return to Solitude in some capacity in the future, but for now he is happy to have a watching brief as he and partner Caragh prepare for a move Stateside. 

“Never say never,” he said. 

“You never the close the door on this football club because it has felt like home to me for a long, long time. 

“For now, I’m just going to take a break and me and my partner do have plans to go to America if we can get a visa and get all that sorted. I think a watching brief for a while might maybe do me the world of good.”