NEIL COLLINS HAS already chatted about Roscommon’s run to the Division 2 final, life under manager John Evans, and the county’s U21 heartbreak when talk turns away from Gaelic football.
– Are you based at home or in Dublin?
“I’m based in Dublin but I obviously travel a lot too.”
– Working in Dublin?
“I’m trying to start a business up here.”
– What’s the business?
“A clothing business. I studied sports science and health in college but I’ve always been interested in clothing design and clothes so I’m trying to start a business up here now, a clothing business.”
The path from football field to fashion industry is an unusual one in the GAA, and inevitably, Collins’ career choice invites comparisons to Paul Galvin.
But this is no copycat game; he’s striking out on his own and pursuing a passion he loves. His company, Cryptic Clique, is still very much in the early stages as he finds his feet in the industry.
“I’ve always been interested in music and style,” he explains. “They’ve always been something I’ve been interested in outside of sport.
“The two of them are quiet closely connected. I thought it was a hobby but it’s something now I want to pursue as a career and something I want to work on.
“A lot of my friends are interested in that kind of stuff so I guess I’ve got some connections in that industry so I am learning a lot about it.
I think if you have belief that you can achieve something and you’re willing to break a few doors down you’ll get there.
“It’s certainly untraditional so it’s something that I am having to work hard on.”
The Rossies meet Down in Sunday’s Division 2 final, hoping to cap a campaign which saw them reel off three wins from their last four to clinch top-flight status.
After back-to-back promotions, Collins believes they can be competitive when they meet the big boys in 2016.
“Every team wants to progress and get to a higher standard to where they have been so it was our ambition to get promoted and go to Division One.
“I said we can compete at that level but that’s if we put in a lot of work between now and then and that’s if we go there with real belief.
“We obviously understand that it’s a higher level and the teams there have been consistently there so we have a lot of work to do to compete there. Definitely it’s something that we wanted to do.”
