“It’s like going in front of the firing squad,” he quips as he takes his seat in front of the assembled media at the launch of the Allianz Hurling League in Croke Park.
Behind him sits the Dr Croke Cup – the league trophy he lifted last May while in charge of his native Clare. As it turned out, it was the final piece of silverware he’d win with the Banner. By September his five-year tenure in charge of Clare was over.
That’s all in the past now. The 45-year-old is preparing for life in Division 1B with Wexford as he attempts to awaken one of hurling’s sleeping giants.
Whatever you think about him, one thing can’t be denied: Fitzgerald is box office.
Davy Fitzgerald was at the 2017 Allianz Hurling League Launch in Croke Park Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Few other managers in the game could have created a storm of excitement like he did when Wexford announced the news of his unexpected appointment.
It’s little wonder then that the Wexford public turned out in such force during the county’s pre-season travails, with a 4,000- strong crowd attending their recent Walsh Cup semi-final defeat to Kilkenny.
Fitzgerald, meanwhile, is doing his best to keep a lid on expectations in the county.
“Everyone thinks I’m trying to play it down,” he says. “I’m not playing it down. I’m being realistic.
“Think about it. To go in over two or three months and turn the whole ship around and to win X, Y or Z – it isn’t Houdini I am. But let’s see what happens.”
Harry Houdini he might not be, but Fitzgerald’s stunning All-Ireland win in 2013 will be remembered as one of hurling’s most remarkable managerial achievements. But Fitzgerald feels there’s still more to do.
“A lot of people say to me, you’ve it done, you’ve won everything,” he continues. ”I still wouldn’t be happy with that. I still want to win more.”
An insatiable thirst for success is one of the main reasons for his 28-year long unbroken spell in senior inter-county hurling. That and his deep love for the game.
Fitzgerald taking a puckout for Clare in 2000 Patrick Bolger / INPHO
Patrick Bolger / INPHO / INPHO
The hurling landscape is vastly different in Wexford to the one he first encountered when he took charge in Clare, but not everything is.
Can he see some similarities between the two?
“I can. Without a shadow of a doubt. I’d love if I could get the same result! I think I’d retire ASAP – as quick as I could!
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“(Wexford) are only dying to win something. They really, really want to.”
A major benefit of making the move from Clare to Wexford is the less-pressurised environment he’s entering in the south east.
Three All-Ireland U21 titles in-a-row produced high expectations in the Banner county, and even a first Division 1 title in 53 years and a serious health scare couldn’t spare him from the local snipers.
“Sure in Clare we’ve won 20 All-Irelands and 20 national leagues, what would you expect?” he says with a smile.
“I’d be very proud of what we done in Clare and where we came from. And I have to say this on the record there’s a lot of great supporters in Clare and I’d absolutely do anything for them.
“My heart will always be in Clare. Obviously you’ll get negative people and that’s par for it but do you know what, I’m proud of where I’m from and what I’ve done.”
Shane O'Donnell and Podge Collins celebrate a goal in the 2013 ALl-Ireland final Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
“It is a bit more difficult in your own place when you’re living there and you’re hearing bits and pieces. All your friends are around and they’re seeing stuff on social media.
“I can remember an incident that happened two years ago that absolutely hurt me unreal. And I was accused of being an x, y and z. I knew it was the furthest thing from the truth. I could do nothing only take it. And it’s hard, because I’d like to think that I would be a good person.
“It’s a bit harder and you try and distance yourself from it whereas below in Wexford I don’t want to hear nothing.
“I just want to go down, work with the team and if they write stuff I don’t want to know about it. I just want to work as hard as I can for them and see where it brings me.”
Speaking of snipers, UL manager Brian Lohan recently spoke about a “messy situation” last year where he said Tony Kelly was required to train with Clare, the night before a Fitzgibbon Cup game against Fitzgerald’s Limerick IT.
Kelly suffered ankle ligament damage that night and missed the next couple of months, but when it’s brought up, Fitzgerald is quick to defend his corner.
Clare sharpshooter Tony Kelly Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
They were comments that left Fitzgerald, who soldiered with Lohan for years, “bitterly disappointed.”
“There was another eight or ten college players that trained the same night from different colleges.
“In LIT we’ve had a lot of Fitzgibbon weekends over the last 15 years, as much as anyone, we actually don’t train. We meet, we might walk over stuff on the field, we’ll sit down and have a tactical meeting and we’ll go away and do some activity.
“So what I done last year (with Clare) was they would train for half an hour, they would play the game on a Thursday, we would train on the Friday night and let them off because we want their load to be the same.
“But I want(ed) to see them at least once during the week because we (were) playing in the first round of the league a week and half afterwards.”
With the situation with Lohan clarified, Fitzgerald’s focus switches back to Wexford.
From the outside, the future looks bright in his adopted county.
Three Leinster U21 crowns between 2013 and 2015 bring with them a sense that a golden crop is emerging in the county.
What does he feel has been preventing them in the past from bringing that form to senior level?
“I think these lads just lack a small bit of confidence about getting over that finish line. Even when we played Kilkenny that day in the Walsh Cup, we had that game for the winning.
“We could have won that game. We had two or three opportunities at the end of it. They weren’t exactly very hard opportunities.
“We’ve got to learn that when you get into a position like that, you’ve got to kill it. So we’ve go to try and make sure if we get back into those positions that yeah, we’re going to back ourselves to do this.
“But I’m going to learn more now as we see the big games. That’s when you learn more. You know yourself, when you go out between the white lines and the pressure is on, that’s when I’m going to see what the story is.”
Brendan Bugler celebrates with Fitzgerald after Clare's league victory last year Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
In terms of his own mindset, being hospitalised before Clare’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Galway helped Fitzgerald look at things differently.
“You definitely value things way more. Your health is everything, like. I don’t think you realise that until someone close to you or yourself gets a rattle.”
“I kind of would be soft enough when it comes to people in general. You’d always be looking to make sure lads are okay when they’re with you.
“How they’re getting on outside of hurling. Because that impacts on them as well. If work isn’t going well or they’re having a problem with their relationship, and, trust me, I would have had a good bit of it in Clare.
“At times lads would come under pressure and I’d ring them and talk to them and see if I could help them. I think that’s very important.
“Do you have to be tough at times? Of course you have to be tough at times in order to just keep that balance. But I’d like to think that you’d be there to help someone if you could. Because you never know yourself when you’ll need a helping hand.
“We’re all that way, guys. I thought for a long time I was invincible, but that’s fecking not the way. Not the way.”
It’ll still feel strange to see him in the Wexford bainisteoir bib this weekend, but the main thing is he’s back on the sideline for Year 28 in the inter-county game.
'It isn’t Houdini I am, but let’s see what happens' - Davy Fitz
SPEND ANY TIME in the company of Davy Fitzgerald and it’s impossible not to be infected by his energy and enthusiasm.
“It’s like going in front of the firing squad,” he quips as he takes his seat in front of the assembled media at the launch of the Allianz Hurling League in Croke Park.
Behind him sits the Dr Croke Cup – the league trophy he lifted last May while in charge of his native Clare. As it turned out, it was the final piece of silverware he’d win with the Banner. By September his five-year tenure in charge of Clare was over.
That’s all in the past now. The 45-year-old is preparing for life in Division 1B with Wexford as he attempts to awaken one of hurling’s sleeping giants.
Whatever you think about him, one thing can’t be denied: Fitzgerald is box office.
Few other managers in the game could have created a storm of excitement like he did when Wexford announced the news of his unexpected appointment.
It’s little wonder then that the Wexford public turned out in such force during the county’s pre-season travails, with a 4,000- strong crowd attending their recent Walsh Cup semi-final defeat to Kilkenny.
Fitzgerald, meanwhile, is doing his best to keep a lid on expectations in the county.
“Everyone thinks I’m trying to play it down,” he says. “I’m not playing it down. I’m being realistic.
Harry Houdini he might not be, but Fitzgerald’s stunning All-Ireland win in 2013 will be remembered as one of hurling’s most remarkable managerial achievements. But Fitzgerald feels there’s still more to do.
“A lot of people say to me, you’ve it done, you’ve won everything,” he continues. ”I still wouldn’t be happy with that. I still want to win more.”
An insatiable thirst for success is one of the main reasons for his 28-year long unbroken spell in senior inter-county hurling. That and his deep love for the game.
The hurling landscape is vastly different in Wexford to the one he first encountered when he took charge in Clare, but not everything is.
Can he see some similarities between the two?
“(Wexford) are only dying to win something. They really, really want to.”
A major benefit of making the move from Clare to Wexford is the less-pressurised environment he’s entering in the south east.
Three All-Ireland U21 titles in-a-row produced high expectations in the Banner county, and even a first Division 1 title in 53 years and a serious health scare couldn’t spare him from the local snipers.
“Sure in Clare we’ve won 20 All-Irelands and 20 national leagues, what would you expect?” he says with a smile.
“My heart will always be in Clare. Obviously you’ll get negative people and that’s par for it but do you know what, I’m proud of where I’m from and what I’ve done.”
“It is a bit more difficult in your own place when you’re living there and you’re hearing bits and pieces. All your friends are around and they’re seeing stuff on social media.
“It’s a bit harder and you try and distance yourself from it whereas below in Wexford I don’t want to hear nothing.
“I just want to go down, work with the team and if they write stuff I don’t want to know about it. I just want to work as hard as I can for them and see where it brings me.”
Speaking of snipers, UL manager Brian Lohan recently spoke about a “messy situation” last year where he said Tony Kelly was required to train with Clare, the night before a Fitzgibbon Cup game against Fitzgerald’s Limerick IT.
Kelly suffered ankle ligament damage that night and missed the next couple of months, but when it’s brought up, Fitzgerald is quick to defend his corner.
They were comments that left Fitzgerald, who soldiered with Lohan for years, “bitterly disappointed.”
“There was another eight or ten college players that trained the same night from different colleges.
“So what I done last year (with Clare) was they would train for half an hour, they would play the game on a Thursday, we would train on the Friday night and let them off because we want their load to be the same.
“But I want(ed) to see them at least once during the week because we (were) playing in the first round of the league a week and half afterwards.”
With the situation with Lohan clarified, Fitzgerald’s focus switches back to Wexford.
From the outside, the future looks bright in his adopted county.
Three Leinster U21 crowns between 2013 and 2015 bring with them a sense that a golden crop is emerging in the county.
What does he feel has been preventing them in the past from bringing that form to senior level?
“I think these lads just lack a small bit of confidence about getting over that finish line. Even when we played Kilkenny that day in the Walsh Cup, we had that game for the winning.
“We’ve got to learn that when you get into a position like that, you’ve got to kill it. So we’ve go to try and make sure if we get back into those positions that yeah, we’re going to back ourselves to do this.
“But I’m going to learn more now as we see the big games. That’s when you learn more. You know yourself, when you go out between the white lines and the pressure is on, that’s when I’m going to see what the story is.”
In terms of his own mindset, being hospitalised before Clare’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Galway helped Fitzgerald look at things differently.
“You definitely value things way more. Your health is everything, like. I don’t think you realise that until someone close to you or yourself gets a rattle.”
“How they’re getting on outside of hurling. Because that impacts on them as well. If work isn’t going well or they’re having a problem with their relationship, and, trust me, I would have had a good bit of it in Clare.
“At times lads would come under pressure and I’d ring them and talk to them and see if I could help them. I think that’s very important.
“We’re all that way, guys. I thought for a long time I was invincible, but that’s fecking not the way. Not the way.”
It’ll still feel strange to see him in the Wexford bainisteoir bib this weekend, but the main thing is he’s back on the sideline for Year 28 in the inter-county game.
There’s nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.
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