Galway United manager John Caulfield will launch his book ‘Rebel Heart’ on the banks of the Lee this evening.
Chronicling his time as a player and manager of Cork City, Caulfield enjoyed reflecting on his career.
“The book was written 18 months ago, it was really written at a time before I ever came to Galway,” Caulfield says. “It is about my League of Ireland career from starting off as a young lad in 1986 joining Cork City playing there for more than 15 seasons.
“Then going to the games and taking over as a manager in 2014. It is really tales of competing for cups, winning the league, losing the league, winning the cup, and losing in the cup. Adventures in Europe playing against Bayern Munich, Galatasaray, Slavia Prague, going to Moscow. A very lucky career I had.”
Caulfield is hopeful that his former Cork City colleagues and players will derive some satisfaction from the stories.
“I just hope it does justice to all of the players I played with over those years and the people that followed Cork at the time, you have many stories in it that they will relate to,” he adds. “I hope it does justice from that point of view. It was exciting to do it at the time when I was gone from Cork over that period of 18 months it was more or less written. It probably ends with me getting the glorious opportunity to manage United. That is a different chapter that hasn't been written yet.
“It is about my time in Cork which was a fantastic career I had over the best part of 20 years. It will be interesting to see what the reaction will be like. I just hope for all the players I played with and the lads I managed that it is a good read for them.”
Ultimately the connections forged in football matter deeply to Caulfield. “What is sport about?” he asks. “People think winning and losing. We all want to win, but over your career making so many friendships, the craic, remembering the funny stories, the days you lost, the days you won, the friendships. During that time guys I played with are no longer with us, management people are no longer with us.
“People like that who soldiered with us in dressing rooms are unfortunately not here. You have to appreciate and honour them too. It is just as I keep saying, I have been lucky in my sporting career to encounter so many brilliant people.
“I have met and made some great friends, you appreciate that. When you meet them, sometimes after many years not meeting them, it is great to have a chat with them. Everyone has their own difficulties, it is nice to be positive, to meet people, to have a chat about good times too.”
**Listen to the full interview with John Caulfield on this week’s ‘Cian on Sport’ podcast available on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
