Niall Quinn

Bernard Dunne (0:23)

So what is success? How is it achieved? And what does it cost? I'm Bernard Dunne, and this is Dunne Talking.

SPEAKER_3 (0:33)

Dunne going for the world title.

SPEAKER_1 (0:35)

This is a brilliant fight.

SPEAKER_3 (0:37)

One of the best we've ever had. Bernard Dunne is the champion of the world.

SPEAKER_1 (0:44)

Bernard Dunne is the champion of the world. Fantastic, Bernard. Fantastic.

Bernard Dunne (0:56)

I've been looking up the standard of being a world champion. I know what it means to chase a dream, and what it takes to get back up when it feels like it's slipping away. In this eight part series, I'll talk to some of Ireland's most remarkable athletes. We'll explore what it takes to succeed, not just in sport, but in life. The pressure, the doubt, the determination. Those moments that no one really gets to see. Whether you're an athlete, a fan, or someone just trying to push through your own challenges. I hope these conversations will help inspire you. Welcome to Dunne Talking.

Niall Quinn built a football career marked by consistency, resilience and a willingness to lead when it mattered. He won over 90 caps for Ireland, played for some of England's biggest clubs, and became known not just for his ability on the pitch, but for the way he carried himself off it. Today, we'll talk about his journey through football, the lessons learned through setbacks and success, and the mindset that has shaped a remarkable career on and off the pitch. Niall, you're very welcome to Dunne Talking.

Niall Quinn (2:10)

Great to be here, thanks.

Bernard Dunne (2:11)

So you go from playing GAA and hurling and football and soccer to the highs of Highbury, all in your teenage years?

Niall Quinn (2:21)

Yeah, I played everything. My mother and father encouraged me to play everything. And in the summers in particular, we were let out the door in the morning and we came back in when it got dark. And whatever you did in the meantime, it was always in my world anyway, linked to sport.

We were either playing football on the street or we were hurling up at the field or we were playing pitch and put down in old county around the corner. We were all kids from Crumlin, not quite the inner city, but not far away from it. And there was just so much sport available to us. There was no restrictions. Then there was the school stuff because I was so tall. I was playing on all the teams at the school. I can remember being in second, third class and primary playing with the sixth class boys in hurling. And I was tall enough to get away with that. You know, I played junior hurling then. This is kind of kicking forward a little bit. But I was 14 We got to the semifinal of the Dublin Junior Championship, and I played every game. I played in goal. I'd say we won four games in a row in O'Toole Park. And by which time, by the fourth one, all the crowd were coming to see us from our area. And it was my first sort of experience of playing to the crowd because I was the 14 year old kid and I played well. I was a good goalkeeper. But there was other stuff even before that, even before I was 14, going and playing with Manor Town United then and breaking the news to my dad.

Bernard Dunne (3:38)

So you hadn't told you that when you were going to drive?

Niall Quinn (3:39)

No, my dad was so staunch GAA. We didn't tell him at the start.

Bernard Dunne (3:44)

Do you think that's one of the things that's probably changed, especially for young kids nowadays, is that exposure to all different sports and being out from morning to night?

Niall Quinn (3:53)

Yeah, well, I suppose I look at how structured sport is for people these days.

We just had freedom. We were let out the door and we found our sport. We weren't in a selective sort of group that as they do today, you go to your under 12s training on a Tuesday at 7 o'clock, you go here for it. We were on the street all day long and it was just an add on that you went and played.

Bernard Dunne (4:19)

Let's go back to you being that 12, 13 year old having to tell your dad that you're going to play soccer.

Niall Quinn (4:23)

Well, I didn't. Someone in the pub told him because I actually went and played without telling him. And somebody in the toilet in the pub said, your son had a great game today. And my dad went, I don't think so. He doesn't play soccer. He went, Jay-Z did today. So anyway, we had to kind of. But he was great and my mother was great, too. And she'd drive me to the matches. And he'd come to the odd match. My first three years with Manor Town United, I was a goalkeeper. So they were under 12 then, I think. And I was nine and I played for three years. But when it went under 15, that was fine. 12, 13, 14 was fine, rather. But when it went under 15, it moved to Sunday morning. And that was hurling time.