Kilduff aiming to complete double with Athlone women

It has been a momentous eighteen months or so for Kildare’s Ciarán Kilduff. After taking over as Athlone Town’s women’s team manager in the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League Premier Division the Kilcock man saw his team quickly climb up the League table before capturing the Sports Direct Women’s FAI Cup with an extra time and penalties win over Shelbourne. Then at the start of this season Kilduff’s charges captured the President’s Cup with victory over 2023 League winners Peamount United and on the first weekend in October Athlone Town won their first ever Women’s National League title.

To cap off the season Ciarán Kilduff will lead the midlanders to defend their WFAI Cup title when they again face Shelbourne in a repeat of last year’s final in Tallaght Stadium on this Sunday.

With father, Kevin from Maynooth and mother, Helen from Kilcock the young Ciarán Kilduff had plenty of sibling and family rivalry in a sporting context with his cousin, Irish International athlete, Paul Robinson, chief among those who challenged the soon to be successful football player and manager.

Success started for Kilduff as a schoolboy with Maynooth Town. “We actually won a Brenfer League title when I was young. My dad was involved with them. He played for Kilcock and Maynooth himself.” The schoolboy Kilduff would also play with Clane and Kilcock Celtic before moving to Shamrock Rovers at the age of 15. As well as Rovers, Kilduff would also play for Kildare County, UCD, Cork City, St Patrick’s Athletic, Shelbourne as well as Jacksonville Armada in the North American Soccer League. In a glittering career the Kildare man won all that could be won in the League of Ireland.

While winning National titles was a great honour for the young Kilcock man playing in Europe was also a highlight for him. “I think the European ones are special because they don't happen all the time. To qualify for the Group Stages and for me to score the winning goal in a Group Stage match, I think they're the moments that you're trying to cherish, those individual moments that you know, everyone doesn't get to experience,” he said.

The challenges that faced players and clubs in the League of Ireland in Kilduff’s playing days are still there in the present day the Kildare native believes. “It always comes back to funding or decision making, and, you know. you want to try and enhance things,” he says. “Can we get the League presented in a better light? Can we promote it? There are some brilliant people involved, the fan bases, they support their clubs properly. But it needs the investment, the grounds, academies, all of these things for the players. Football is the biggest sport the world, the biggest sport in this country. It should be given every support that it needs, both from a government level and from the governing body,” Kilduff contends.

Who might have been influences on his career, we ask? “My Dad,” he quickly answers. “My dad is football mad. He's doing almost every game now. Then I got to work with great managers as well, like Stephen Kenny and Michael O'Neill and these people probably upwardly motivate you.” Ciarán Kilduff retired at the age of 31 during the Covid years citing injuries and the pressure of a young family. He set about undertaking his Coaching Badges and began his coaching career with Maynooth University Town before accepting an invitation from Barry Prendeville, Head of Football at Maynooth University, to manage one of the women’s teams there, eventually winning the Intervarsities title with them.

When the chance came to manage the Athlone Town Women’s team Ciarán Kilduff jumped at it and the rest, as they say is history.

Kilduff remains one of the coolest men on the sideline during games. “I’m good at keeping my emotions in check,” he says. Don't get me wrong I can lose it sometimes too, as well, especially in the dressing room at halftime. I'm well able to read the room. But now I try to emotionally stay rational. I think if you start to panic or begin to lose focus, then you start to make mistakes, and you start to let emotion take over. I do have a try to remain level headed as often as I can,” he explains.

As he prepares his team for Sunday’s WFAI Cup Final we ask what he is looking forward to from the game? “I’m looking forward to a great game and we have a lot of respect for Shelbourne. I'm well aware of how hungry they will be and to be honest we want their best, because they bring the best out of us,” he says “You want it to be a great showcase for the League, like it was last year. I think I'm looking forward to that again. As I said, we'll do our bit, but I know Shelbourne will do theirs. I'm just hoping it lives up to the occasion,” he adds With such success as a manager and coach in the women’s game we ask Ciarán Kilduff if he has any ambitions for involvement in the men’s game? “No, I don't have aspirations for men or women's jobs, it will just be the next role that fits into my belief and my way of culture, the right opportunity. The next role will be, once it's challenging me, and once they can see as a sense that I could work with an honest group and I could see progression within it, that's all I'd be looking for,” the ambitious manager concludes.