From a young age "Jimmy", as he was called by friends, was a fitness fanatic who regularly ran marathons and had a keen interest in martial arts for which he won numerous awards and even a world title in kickboxing.
[1] Curran repeatedly denounced the involvement of former Irish republican paramilitaries in extorting protection money from well-known drug dealers in the south inner city.
[2] In a Dublin pub shortly after Christmas 2004, Curran witnessed Bernard Dempsey and "his associates taking an envelope of cash from members of a well-known heroin dealing gang".
[1] Dempsey was a former local Provisional IRA commander turned "election activist" for Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh.
[2][3] In response to this, Curran, "who had personal experience of the damage heroin had done to his local community ... began shouting down the bar at Dempsey - 'Here, I'll buy you a pint.
That night Dempsey was also present and when his attempts to intimidate Mr Curran into leaving the pub failed he left himself only to return moments later with a handgun.