THE PHONE CALL that started it all came while John Sullivan was enjoying the Sunday of the 2025 Irish Open at The K Club.
The former League of Ireland footballer isn’t a big golf fan, but he was there with his friend, Ger McManus, who he knows from St Jude’s GAA club.
They were shooting the breeze about all things sport while following the golf before the “nudge” came from Ian Ryan, the Athlone Town men’s team manager he was working under.
“I’m a big believer in manifestation, thoughts become things,” Sullivan says.
“We were chatting about my time with Dublin camogie, Jude’s camogie and DLR Waves, women’s sport in general. I said to him, ‘Women’s sport is a great place to be, they’re very thankful and very grateful for your presence’. He mentioned Athlone and I said, ‘That’s an amazing group, I’ve seen them on and off the pitch, I’ve watched them training.’”
They continued on their way, following whoever was ahead of Rory McIlroy at the time.
“Rory hit a shot and everyone was like, ‘That’s it, it’s dead in the water now, the best he can get if he’s lucky is a draw,’” Sullivan recalls. “I’m not a golf fan, I was like, ‘This is my first ever golf outing, it’s like one big walk in the park!’”
Then came the call from Ryan, and another from Athlone CEO Steven Grey, gauging his interest after the sudden departure of women’s manager Colin Fortune.
“I’m a big believer in just saying yes. Opportunities arise when you least expect it.”
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A meeting was floated for that evening, and Sullivan agreed. But what about the golf?
“Ger was like, ‘Look he’s not going to win this, let’s just go’. We were walking back to the car and he had it on his phone, he absolutely loves golf. He said, ‘I don’t believe it.’ I was like, ‘Don’t tell me’ . . . ‘It’s gone down to a draw.’
“We were in the middle of the car park. I was like, ‘What do you want to do? I feel terrible, this is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.’ He was like, ‘For you or for the golf?’ I was like, ‘I guess for both, yeah!’”
Back onto the M4 they went. You know how the story goes, McIlroy won after a dramatic playoff.
“Alexa, who won the Irish Open?” Sullivan sheepishly asked his smart speaker when he arrived home as the newly-minted interim manager of Athlone.
“I thought ‘Ah Jesus, he’s not going to talk to me for a year!’ but it was all worth it. It was an amazing day overall.”
All’s well that ends well, Sullivan laughs, McManus holding him to tickets for today’s FAI Cup final against Bohemians at Tallaght Stadium [KO 3pm, live on TG4].
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, from the Europa Cup to winning back-to-back league titles and chasing a historic double.
Sullivan and his Athlone team celebrate winning the league. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s been really good,” says Sullivan. “I never truly envisaged myself being a manager, even though I own my own gym (Platinum Performance in Ballymount) and have to try and manage my own life.
“But I’ve worked with fantastic managers over the last 10 years in League of Ireland football and beyond. That aside, the many mentors and my degree in psychology (from DBS), I think now is the time to put it all together and exercise it.”
Those former bosses roll off the tongue: Tony Dunne, Stuart Taylor, Billy Reid, Stephen Kenny, Alan Mathews, Harry Kenny. Lessons learned from each and every one of them.
Sullivan is a deep thinker, a philosophical guy, and that shines through across a varied chat on cup final week.
“Since I was a kid playing sport, I always wanted to be the person who changed the cycle,” the Dubliner says at one point.
“I was looking around myself in the inner city (he grew up in The Coombe), and I was like, ‘I don’t want this life.’ Some people are happy, that’s okay. That’s their life. For me, I’m always asking myself, ‘How do I do better?’
“I ask my wife every so often, ‘How can I be a better husband?’ She has a list down her arm! ‘Where do I start?!’ I’d ask the girls all the time, ‘How can I be better? Don’t give me mediocre answers, give me the truth, give me a truthful insight.
“I think when we surround ourselves with people, they empower you to become better, and they’ll expect nothing but the best version of you.”
He speaks glowingly of his team of “mentality monsters” and their unity as they chase their first ever double.
But Sullivan has a few important messages for the group, stemming from his one and only FAI Cup final experience as a player.
“Live in the moment,” he says.
“Make the days count rather than counting days.”
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Sullivan during his playing days with Shelbourne. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
Sullivan was on the losing Shelbourne side in 2011, as Sligo Rovers won at Aviva Stadium after a penalty shootout settled a 1-1 draw.
“Assisted Philly Hughes, then got whipped off,” Sullivan grins, recalling the “epitome of perseverance” as he broke into Alan Mathew’s XI after a frustrating season.
“That was an amazing experience. I was only thinking about it on the way up here.
“Looking back on it now, grown up a bit, I wish I had lived in the moment more. I wish I didn’t take it too serious and just duck and dive people.
“Some people say to me (about the Athlone players), ‘Oh, the group, they love taking photographs.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, so be it.’ There comes a time in your life when you’re like, ‘I wish I had that photo. I don’t remember.’
“I genuinely don’t remember the majority of my playing career. I only remember assisting Philly Hughes because I’ve seen it on a video. The rest of that, I don’t remember. I don’t have any photographs of my family.
“So when I see the girls taking photographs and videos, I’m like, ‘Brilliant. They’ll be able to save that, and you’ll have those memories for life.’”
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How cutting short Irish Open Sunday led to chasing the double dream with Athlone
THE PHONE CALL that started it all came while John Sullivan was enjoying the Sunday of the 2025 Irish Open at The K Club.
The former League of Ireland footballer isn’t a big golf fan, but he was there with his friend, Ger McManus, who he knows from St Jude’s GAA club.
They were shooting the breeze about all things sport while following the golf before the “nudge” came from Ian Ryan, the Athlone Town men’s team manager he was working under.
“I’m a big believer in manifestation, thoughts become things,” Sullivan says.
“We were chatting about my time with Dublin camogie, Jude’s camogie and DLR Waves, women’s sport in general. I said to him, ‘Women’s sport is a great place to be, they’re very thankful and very grateful for your presence’. He mentioned Athlone and I said, ‘That’s an amazing group, I’ve seen them on and off the pitch, I’ve watched them training.’”
They continued on their way, following whoever was ahead of Rory McIlroy at the time.
“Rory hit a shot and everyone was like, ‘That’s it, it’s dead in the water now, the best he can get if he’s lucky is a draw,’” Sullivan recalls. “I’m not a golf fan, I was like, ‘This is my first ever golf outing, it’s like one big walk in the park!’”
Then came the call from Ryan, and another from Athlone CEO Steven Grey, gauging his interest after the sudden departure of women’s manager Colin Fortune.
“I’m a big believer in just saying yes. Opportunities arise when you least expect it.”
A meeting was floated for that evening, and Sullivan agreed. But what about the golf?
“Ger was like, ‘Look he’s not going to win this, let’s just go’. We were walking back to the car and he had it on his phone, he absolutely loves golf. He said, ‘I don’t believe it.’ I was like, ‘Don’t tell me’ . . . ‘It’s gone down to a draw.’
“We were in the middle of the car park. I was like, ‘What do you want to do? I feel terrible, this is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.’ He was like, ‘For you or for the golf?’ I was like, ‘I guess for both, yeah!’”
Back onto the M4 they went. You know how the story goes, McIlroy won after a dramatic playoff.
“Alexa, who won the Irish Open?” Sullivan sheepishly asked his smart speaker when he arrived home as the newly-minted interim manager of Athlone.
“I thought ‘Ah Jesus, he’s not going to talk to me for a year!’ but it was all worth it. It was an amazing day overall.”
All’s well that ends well, Sullivan laughs, McManus holding him to tickets for today’s FAI Cup final against Bohemians at Tallaght Stadium [KO 3pm, live on TG4].
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, from the Europa Cup to winning back-to-back league titles and chasing a historic double.
“It’s been really good,” says Sullivan. “I never truly envisaged myself being a manager, even though I own my own gym (Platinum Performance in Ballymount) and have to try and manage my own life.
“But I’ve worked with fantastic managers over the last 10 years in League of Ireland football and beyond. That aside, the many mentors and my degree in psychology (from DBS), I think now is the time to put it all together and exercise it.”
Those former bosses roll off the tongue: Tony Dunne, Stuart Taylor, Billy Reid, Stephen Kenny, Alan Mathews, Harry Kenny. Lessons learned from each and every one of them.
Sullivan is a deep thinker, a philosophical guy, and that shines through across a varied chat on cup final week.
“Since I was a kid playing sport, I always wanted to be the person who changed the cycle,” the Dubliner says at one point.
“I was looking around myself in the inner city (he grew up in The Coombe), and I was like, ‘I don’t want this life.’ Some people are happy, that’s okay. That’s their life. For me, I’m always asking myself, ‘How do I do better?’
“I ask my wife every so often, ‘How can I be a better husband?’ She has a list down her arm! ‘Where do I start?!’ I’d ask the girls all the time, ‘How can I be better? Don’t give me mediocre answers, give me the truth, give me a truthful insight.
“I think when we surround ourselves with people, they empower you to become better, and they’ll expect nothing but the best version of you.”
He speaks glowingly of his team of “mentality monsters” and their unity as they chase their first ever double.
But Sullivan has a few important messages for the group, stemming from his one and only FAI Cup final experience as a player.
“Live in the moment,” he says.
“Make the days count rather than counting days.”
Sullivan was on the losing Shelbourne side in 2011, as Sligo Rovers won at Aviva Stadium after a penalty shootout settled a 1-1 draw.
“Assisted Philly Hughes, then got whipped off,” Sullivan grins, recalling the “epitome of perseverance” as he broke into Alan Mathew’s XI after a frustrating season.
“That was an amazing experience. I was only thinking about it on the way up here.
“Looking back on it now, grown up a bit, I wish I had lived in the moment more. I wish I didn’t take it too serious and just duck and dive people.
“Some people say to me (about the Athlone players), ‘Oh, the group, they love taking photographs.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, so be it.’ There comes a time in your life when you’re like, ‘I wish I had that photo. I don’t remember.’
“I genuinely don’t remember the majority of my playing career. I only remember assisting Philly Hughes because I’ve seen it on a video. The rest of that, I don’t remember. I don’t have any photographs of my family.
“So when I see the girls taking photographs and videos, I’m like, ‘Brilliant. They’ll be able to save that, and you’ll have those memories for life.’”
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John Sullivan