DAVY FITZGERALD HAS been trying to find Ireland’s Fittest Family for years but reckons he’s stumbled upon Ireland’s closest family in Antrim.
The new Saffrons chief brought his adopted squad down south last weekend and they ended up in his native Sixmilebridge for drinks.
It followed a day of activities and go-karting, with the players ‘only mad to nail me in the go-karting’. Fitzgerald’s highlight was the squad whipping a guitar out at one stage later on and singing a song for his two-year-old son Dáithí Óg.
While he has formed a close bond with the Glensmen after just weeks in the job, experienced Fitzgerald said he can’t offer them any guarantees of success.
In fact, the former All-Ireland winning manager said those who think he’s ‘off my head going up to Antrim’ could even be proved right.
Speaking at the launch of the latest season of the Londis-sponsored Ireland’s Fittest Family TV show on RTÉ, Fitzgerald said the reality was that he’d pretty much retired from county management after leaving Waterford last July.
But a close friend who’d helped him out when he’d been a low ebb over the years convinced him to give the Ulster outfit a go.
“As much as you believe or don’t believe me, when I was out with Waterford, I genuinely, genuinely, genuinely thought I wouldn’t be going back in anywhere,” said Fitzgerald.
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“Then this fella rings you, who has been a big part of my life for a long time and has helped me for a long time, he puts his story and his side of things across, and what he sees, and another fella or two are with him and they nearly convince you that anything is possible here. Like, it’s very hard to say no.”
Logistically it’s a big ask for Fitzgerald, who lives in Clare, about four hours from Belfast. His wife and young son stay with him in Antrim every second weekend.
Fitzgerald was previously Waterford manager. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Then there’s the fact that while he’s a self-confessed sucker for an underdog story, Antrim have presented him with a particularly difficult set of challenges. He reckons their fitness needs a big improvement for starters and he said that after poring over two seasons of footage, he’s identified ‘four or five’ other areas of their play that simply must improve.
“It’s nearly like teaching someone how to walk again,” said Fitzgerald. “You have to go back and take your time. If you have to think about something when you’re playing, if you have to think about certain things that you wouldn’t have previously had to think about, that’s different. They would have gone out and played hurling probably without thinking and doing these things.”
That’s why he reckons that simply staying in the new Division 1B in 2025, and holding onto their MacCarthy Cup status, will be a big achievement in itself. They’ll be without Conal Cunning, who is recovering from an ACL injury, while Conor McCann has retired and county legend Neil McManus knocked back an approach to play again in favour of a performance coach role in the backroom.
All in all, it’s a giant challenge that he’s taken on.
“It’s a bit overwhelming, even for myself, when you go in at the start,” said the former All-Ireland winning goalkeeper.
He says it hasn’t helped that by abiding rigidly by the 7 December date for returning to collective training, something he believes some other counties ignored, Antrim were left with just six full weeks to prepare for the National League. And no Walsh Cup. They’ve already played the Antrim U20s as well as the Meath and Limerick seniors in challenges and plan to play Down and Derry.
Their first competitive assignment will be Saturday week’s trip to Croke Park to play Dublin in the opening round of the National League. That game will present an opportunity for Antrim to improve on their poor away record.
“It is cat, it is f***ing terrible,” said Fitzgerald of their results on the road. “The away form is a big thing. We have talked about that.”
Clare’s Tony Kelly lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Meanwhile, back in hurling’s first world, in his native Clare, they are preparing to launch the defence of their National League and All-Ireland titles.
“They’re there to be knocked now, so they are,” said Fitzgerald on the Banner’s quest for back-to-back All-Irelands. “Would I expect them to do it again? I think they have a chance. I’m not going to stand here and build Clare up, I think they have an opportunity.
“I think these guys are smart guys. I think Brendan Bugler going in with them was a massive, massive thing. I could see something in their defence last season for definite, that I probably wouldn’t have seen before.
“I’ll give you one of the things that I actually think it was; Waterford played Clare in the league, which Waterford lost by a point, and Stephen Bennett was being marked by Conor Leen and the ball was in a group of players there. Stephen Bennett was standing outside of it, Conor Leen had him (gestures to being wrapped up).
“Like, Stephen would be hoping to get on the ball in the next phase of play – he wasn’t getting onto the next phase of play! And I just remember thinking in my head, ‘F***ing Bugler!’ I remember thinking to myself, ‘They’re definitely doing things a small bit different and it was good’. You have to say in fairness to the management, fair play, they were open to change and they did a few things. But my opinion is that Bugler definitely had a massive impact on it.
“They got it done. And like, that goal Tony Kelly scored in the All-Ireland final, I must have looked at that 20 times! F***ing hell!”
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'It's nearly like teaching someone how to walk again' - Davy Fitz spells out Antrim challenge
DAVY FITZGERALD HAS been trying to find Ireland’s Fittest Family for years but reckons he’s stumbled upon Ireland’s closest family in Antrim.
The new Saffrons chief brought his adopted squad down south last weekend and they ended up in his native Sixmilebridge for drinks.
It followed a day of activities and go-karting, with the players ‘only mad to nail me in the go-karting’. Fitzgerald’s highlight was the squad whipping a guitar out at one stage later on and singing a song for his two-year-old son Dáithí Óg.
While he has formed a close bond with the Glensmen after just weeks in the job, experienced Fitzgerald said he can’t offer them any guarantees of success.
In fact, the former All-Ireland winning manager said those who think he’s ‘off my head going up to Antrim’ could even be proved right.
Speaking at the launch of the latest season of the Londis-sponsored Ireland’s Fittest Family TV show on RTÉ, Fitzgerald said the reality was that he’d pretty much retired from county management after leaving Waterford last July.
But a close friend who’d helped him out when he’d been a low ebb over the years convinced him to give the Ulster outfit a go.
“As much as you believe or don’t believe me, when I was out with Waterford, I genuinely, genuinely, genuinely thought I wouldn’t be going back in anywhere,” said Fitzgerald.
“Then this fella rings you, who has been a big part of my life for a long time and has helped me for a long time, he puts his story and his side of things across, and what he sees, and another fella or two are with him and they nearly convince you that anything is possible here. Like, it’s very hard to say no.”
Logistically it’s a big ask for Fitzgerald, who lives in Clare, about four hours from Belfast. His wife and young son stay with him in Antrim every second weekend.
Then there’s the fact that while he’s a self-confessed sucker for an underdog story, Antrim have presented him with a particularly difficult set of challenges. He reckons their fitness needs a big improvement for starters and he said that after poring over two seasons of footage, he’s identified ‘four or five’ other areas of their play that simply must improve.
“It’s nearly like teaching someone how to walk again,” said Fitzgerald. “You have to go back and take your time. If you have to think about something when you’re playing, if you have to think about certain things that you wouldn’t have previously had to think about, that’s different. They would have gone out and played hurling probably without thinking and doing these things.”
That’s why he reckons that simply staying in the new Division 1B in 2025, and holding onto their MacCarthy Cup status, will be a big achievement in itself. They’ll be without Conal Cunning, who is recovering from an ACL injury, while Conor McCann has retired and county legend Neil McManus knocked back an approach to play again in favour of a performance coach role in the backroom.
All in all, it’s a giant challenge that he’s taken on.
“It’s a bit overwhelming, even for myself, when you go in at the start,” said the former All-Ireland winning goalkeeper.
He says it hasn’t helped that by abiding rigidly by the 7 December date for returning to collective training, something he believes some other counties ignored, Antrim were left with just six full weeks to prepare for the National League. And no Walsh Cup. They’ve already played the Antrim U20s as well as the Meath and Limerick seniors in challenges and plan to play Down and Derry.
Their first competitive assignment will be Saturday week’s trip to Croke Park to play Dublin in the opening round of the National League. That game will present an opportunity for Antrim to improve on their poor away record.
“It is cat, it is f***ing terrible,” said Fitzgerald of their results on the road. “The away form is a big thing. We have talked about that.”
Meanwhile, back in hurling’s first world, in his native Clare, they are preparing to launch the defence of their National League and All-Ireland titles.
“They’re there to be knocked now, so they are,” said Fitzgerald on the Banner’s quest for back-to-back All-Irelands. “Would I expect them to do it again? I think they have a chance. I’m not going to stand here and build Clare up, I think they have an opportunity.
“I think these guys are smart guys. I think Brendan Bugler going in with them was a massive, massive thing. I could see something in their defence last season for definite, that I probably wouldn’t have seen before.
“I’ll give you one of the things that I actually think it was; Waterford played Clare in the league, which Waterford lost by a point, and Stephen Bennett was being marked by Conor Leen and the ball was in a group of players there. Stephen Bennett was standing outside of it, Conor Leen had him (gestures to being wrapped up).
“Like, Stephen would be hoping to get on the ball in the next phase of play – he wasn’t getting onto the next phase of play! And I just remember thinking in my head, ‘F***ing Bugler!’ I remember thinking to myself, ‘They’re definitely doing things a small bit different and it was good’. You have to say in fairness to the management, fair play, they were open to change and they did a few things. But my opinion is that Bugler definitely had a massive impact on it.
“They got it done. And like, that goal Tony Kelly scored in the All-Ireland final, I must have looked at that 20 times! F***ing hell!”
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Antrim GAA Davy Fitzgerald GAA