PAT Curran admits he’s obsessed with basketball – and it’s that devotion that has seen him build a reputation as one of the most respected coaches on the scene.
The Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí PE teacher has played a leading role in putting his school firmly on the basketball map, though his influence stretches far beyond those corridors.
In the past year Curran has been involved as a coach with the Ireland U15 boys’ team, working alongside Gareth O’Reilly and Gareth Winders. It marked a return to the Basketball Ireland set-up, having previously worked with the U17 boys’ international team in 2022.
‘We (Ireland U15s) won silver medals at the U15 Four Nations tournament in Manchester earlier this year – that was a great experience,’ says the Bantry man, whose love of the hard-court started locally, playing underage with his home club, before briefly switching sporting lanes to pursue soccer.
It hasn’t been a linear journey from player to coach, but the winding route helped him become the coach he is today.
‘I played U10 to U18 in Bantry, then I turned my attention to soccer for a good few years until I came back to Bantry after college and started coaching,’ he explains.
Curran spent several formative seasons with Cork City FC, including spells as U17 and first-team coach, as well as Head of Youth Development.
‘I ended up in Cork City for seven years. Once I finished up there, I went back to basketball and started studying it,’ he says.
‘I was very lucky that one of my mentors, Francis O’Sullivan from Ballincollig, delivered the first introductory course I ever did.’
Pat Curran with his son Harry after Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí won the Basketball Ireland PPS South First Year A title in 2025. It was a first title at the highest level for the Bantry school.
It didn’t take much to reignite the basketball spark – it was waiting to be lit. Back home in Bantry, Curran began teaching at St Goban’s College, which later amalgamated with Ardscoil Phobail Bheanntraí to form Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí. When the new school opened its doors in October 2011, Curran was ready to drive basketball forward – and the school has since earned a reputation as a hoops hot-spot.
Boys’ and girls’ teams have regularly competed for national titles, while in recent years the Bantry school has also developed wheelchair and mixed-ability basketball programmes.
‘When the school opened, I started taking basketball a bit more seriously. I have been obsessed with it since,’ he smiles.
‘We started off at D level and now we are an A school, winning regional and national titles. A lot of work has gone into this over the last 15 years.’
He has coached many talented players, and a rising star to keep tabs on is Michael Hayden, the Bantry teenager who won four international caps at the 2025 U14 Four Nations tournament in June.
Curran has coached Hayden since he was seven years old, and watching players develop and enjoy the sport remains at the heart of his philosophy.
‘It’s about seeing players get better, develop their skills and pass it on, at whatever level – it’s not just about the elite,’ he explains.
‘It’s fantastic to see people enjoy basketball at B level, C level, whatever level you’re at,’ he adds.
That enthusiasm has also rubbed off at home.
‘It’s lovely that three of my kids play – my oldest boy Charlie plays with Ballincollig and he just spent a year in an academy in Spain, which was a fantastic experience. Harry and Hannah play for Bantry Basketball Club, and they’re loving it,’ Curran says, knowing there’ll always be a ball bouncing around the house.
Pat Curran and his oldest son Charlie, who spent a year with the CBA Academy in Spain.
His children also know their dad is always there for advice, and he can draw on years of experience. Curran is head coach of the Boys’ U14 Regional Academy in the South, and has led various Cork underage teams in recent years. He’s constantly learning, too.
‘Most of my coaching now is based on ecological dynamics and game constraints, where you put a constraint into a game and let players figure out the solution to the problem rather than telling them what to do,’ he explains.
‘That’s how I’ve coached for the last seven years, whereas maybe ten or 15 years ago I was very much the opposite.
‘It’s about the players finding their own solutions.
‘Also, the best advice I would pass on to coaches is to allow each player time to develop.’
Curran’s obsession with basketball is contagious – his players feed off it. A few years ago, he took part in a quickfire Q&A on these pages, and his answers were telling.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without? Basketball.
What do you think about when you’re alone in your car? Basketball.
What would you do if you found a penguin in your freezer? Teach him how to play basketball.
That’s Coach Curran: the basketball fanatic spreading the love of the game to the next generation.
