Cootehill footballer’s road from academic rags to riches

News

Kevin Óg Carney

Physical Education teacher Ciarán McBreen waxes lyrical about his days playing football for Cootehill Celtic, various Cavan underage teams and for London in the Connacht SFC.

He plays down his own performances on the field but talks up the enjoyment he gained back in the day when sport was his sole focus in life.

Winding the tape fast forward though and it’s the recent launch of his own business in his adopted Dubai that now floats his boat.

At the tail end of 2020 the Cootehill native took the brave decision to put his PE career in the UAE on hold so as he could establish CMB Coaching and Training. And as the company’s Managing Director, he’s keen to offer some inspiration to students in particular who have underachieved in the world of academia or who have lost faith in their ability to make a success of their life.

McBreen is well qualified to speak about posting underwhelming results at school only to turn the sow’s ear into a silk purse by dint of hard work, resilience and perseverance.

On mature reflection he’s honest enough to confess he got a hugely disappointing 155 points in his Leaving Cert in 2001 and to say that he wasn’t sure what future lay ahead of him at that juncture would be a gross understatement.

However, as if fated, the eldest son of Cootehill natives Damien and Margaret (nee McCabe) made Cavan College of Further Studies (now Cavan Institute) his first port of call.

Thankfully, Cavan’s then burgeoning educational bulwark allowed him to embark on what would become a long, circuitous but fruitful journey; one that would eventually lead to him landing his dream job, albeit on foreign shores.

“I wasn’t academic,” explains the former St. Aidan’s Comprehensive School, Cootehill pupil.

“I fully accept I didn't work hard enough during my school days and I take full responsibility for the outcome.

“Unfortunately for me, I simply saw no connection to what I was learning and actual real life or to where I saw my future at that time.

“I had ample support from my family at home and the teachers in the Comp did their best for me but I had no interest in progressing at the various subjects. I couldn’t see their relevance. I felt that if you weren’t academic you didn’t have a chance. The exams were a memory test; still are, unfortunately. “

The disillusioned but nonetheless still ambitious McBreen gradually came around to believing that Cavan College of Further Education was just what the doctor ordered.

“The college in Cavan was vocational in nature and involved a practical element,” McBreen fondly recalls.

“I was blessed that it accepted my application and gave me the opportunity to improve myself and within 12 months I left with a distinction in sports and leisure management. The key there was engagement.  I was studying sport and I had to take responsibility.

“I developed a new hunger, a new belief in myself and I immediately began to reap the rewards. Within 12 months I had gone from grades that I was embarrassed about to grades I was proud about. I was delighted and relieved that I now had a chance in life,” adds the erstwhile St Joseph's, London GAA player.

The born-again student maintained his focus and from 2002 to 2004 he studied at Sligo Institute of Technology and Sports, eventually graduating with a Distinction in Business Studies.

From there his itchy feet and enquiring brain took him to the University of Chester in England. From 2004 to 2007 he studied Sports Science with Business and starred to emerge with a 2-2 PostGraduate Certificate in Education.

Still hungry to learn and to add to his curriculum vitae, McBreen enrolled at Middlesex University in Dubai in 2016 and two years later he found himself graduating with a Masters Degree (First Class Honours) in Education - Coaching and Mentoring.

After accumulating the glittering c.v that was never in the script, the aspiring businessman taught PE for five years in London before relocating to Dubai and teaching in secondary schools replete with state-of-the-art swimming pools and astroturf playing pitches. Promotions in Dubai’s education system have followed him like a bad smell over the last nine years and at his most recent place of work, he wore two hats, ie head of sports and head of year.

These days the brother of RTE news co-ordinator Damien McBreen jnr and Carrickmacross-based secondary school teacher Áine, quite appropriately, lives in a district in Dubai called Sports City.

Its nine years now since he laid anchor in the United Arab Emirates’ capital and he continues to enjoy life there with his English-born wife Kim and children Sofia (3) and Harry (1) even if a serious plan last year to relocate to England was beginning to gain momentum ‘till Covid-19 struck, thus cementing their stay in Dubai for the foreseeable future at least.

McBreens’ Fear an Tí confesses to still missing the ‘oul sod. He misses Irish weddings, he says, and the craic in Cootehill “especially when the club win something and the club only started to win things when I went abroad!".

So what of Cavan’s Ulster SFC success last year?

“I watched it live but I was the only one around here shouting! The neighbours didn’t know what was going on!

“I thought Cavan’s displays all year were wonderful examples of the value of going back to basics and doing the simple things well.”

Back on the business front, Ciarán's business is really gaining traction despite the travails presented by lockdowns, shutdowns etc

Now with digital instruments such as Zoom, the company boss believes the necessity to base oneself in a certain part of the world to make start-ups like CMB Coaching and Training a success is no longer an issue.

His decision to take a career break from teaching and to devote his time and energy to develop his new business is a brave one. However, as a professional personal development coach and educator who excels in getting the best out of people, he is confident his business venture will make a positive difference to individuals of all ages and organisations of any industry.

So what would he say to the young people about to sit the Leaving Cert right now who may be fearful about getting poor results?

"I would advise them that they should follow their dreams. Look at their skill set. "Be brave and don’t just follow the expected path.

“Don’t settle for doing what you’re supposed to do or what society expects of you. If you don’t get the points you were looking for, don’t despair. There are plenty of options to consider and once you get your foot on the ladder, nothing can stop you.”

Meanwhile, just recently the father of two created the CMB Wellbeing Warrior’ programme. The programme has earned public acclaim in helping improve the behaviour and lifestyles of participants to great effect while providing them with skills for life, skills that support them in reaching their true potential.

* You can find out more about Ciarán and all of the ‘CMB Coaching and Training’ programmes on the following website: www.cmbcoachingandtraining.com

In his soon-to-be-published debut book LISTEN!, Ciarán brings to the fore his credentials as the holder of a Masters degree in Education (Coaching and Mentoring), a teaching degree and a CTI coach certificate (fully accredited by the International Coaching Federation), to detail real life stories that highlight such topics as school pressure, body image, friendships, jealousy, disorders, disabilities, studying and home schooling.

• LISTEN! Provides a platform to give teenagers a voice where they can be heard and understood. Its purpose is to break down the stigma of silence and to support individuals in overcoming personal challenges. Watch out for the book’s anticipated mid-summer launch by checking out:@cmbcoachmcbreen