How Davy Fitzgerald brought Ireland's Fittest Family to our screens
Davy Fitzgerald
He famously helped bring an end to Clare’s All-Ireland hurling drought in 1995, going on to become an in-demand manager, but Davy Fitzgerald never envisaged that he would become such a big player in TV entertainment. But here he is, chatting about Ireland’s Fittest Family, the hugely successful show that he devised with his friend James Sexton, now on its eighth series.
“Not for a second did I imagine I would still be here doing this. Myself and James were always throwing around ideas but it was amazing that we came up with that. We were told there wasn’t much hope of anything happening but we said we would like to pitch it anyway. So we were given 10 minutes, and two hours later, we were still talking. It’s gas, it just took off.”
As if one show wasn't enough to get to air during lockdown, Fitzgerald is on our screens again this week with a new four-part series, Davy's Toughest Team.
The show documents Fitzgerald as he mentors seven young men aged between 18 and 21, who have found themselves at a crossroads of an uncertain future.
Taking place at Everest Base Camp, the series was an eye-opener for Davy. "I got more than I bargained for," he admits. "I realise now that I had an extremely good upbringing. I thought that maybe things were tough at times, but compared to what some of these guys have gone through, it's nothing."
In challenging a group of young men to beat the odds and make it to Everest Base Camp, Davy says, they learned about themselves. "One of the lads was pretty down. He had found himself hooked on drugs and to be fair to him, he had realised that it wasn't for him and had gotten help. He was mad to get his message out there to other young people. We developed his CV, we have given him the tools to help young people, because we think he can make a difference in people's lives."
The experience changed Davy himself in unexpected ways. "This is way different to anything I have ever done but I found it a real challenge. I was out of my comfort zone a few times but I'll tell you one thing: I enjoyed working with these boys. I loved talking to them, even off-camera."
It's a wakeup call too, he says, for those of us who think that we have had a tough time of it. "I think that lots of us watching the show might realise that actually we didn't have it bad, growing up. I want the audience to see that it is possible to change your life, no matter what your circumstances. If you are down there, you're not alone. There is always hope. That's my motto."
Ireland's Fittest Family continues tomorrow and the former goalkeeper puts the popularity of the show, the format of which has been adapted by TV stations around the world, down to its broad appeal and the fact that so many people can relate to the families involved, albeit on a personal rather than a fitness level.
“There are very few things that the whole family can sit down and watch, that everyone would have the same interest in. That’s a big thing with me because the most important thing in life is your family. To be able to sit down for an hour and watch it together, from young to old, and have a bit of fun, that is the biggest kick that I get out of it.”
He sounds genuinely delighted when I tell him I like to cheer on the mums in particular.
"When you are getting older, as I know well myself, there are certain things you think you can’t do and that’s probably in your head. Get out there and live every day as good as you can.”
The Clare man had many battles with Cork on the pitch, but when it came to picking the other coaches on the show, he went with an all Rebel line-up — former sprinter Derval O’Rourke, camogie player Anna Geary and rugby legend Donncha O’Callaghan.
“I don’t feel outnumbered but I did think at the start, ‘I’m in big trouble here’. They are all very different but they are driven, and that is priceless. Donncha has a unique personality but he can switch a button and he is in the zone fairly quickly. Then you have Derval who will go through you, she wants to be a winner and it doesn’t matter. Anna is different again, we are always chatting, but she would do anything to win.”
Surprisingly, given his well-known intensity and tenaciousness on the pitch and the sideline, Fitzgerald’s chosen family has only ever taken the title once.
“Yeah, I’ve been beaten in a few finals. I have probably been in more finals than the rest of them, it is just hard to get over the line. In the last three finals, I’ve been beaten by a few seconds.”
Fitzgerald, currently the Wexford hurling manager, is known for his passion on, and off, the pitch, receiving an eight-week sideline ban in 2017 after clashing with a referee and players during a match against Tipperary. He says he has always been competitive.
“When I’m down playing cards with my mam of a Thursday night, I’m flat out trying to beat her. There’s seven or eight of us in the house and we’d be going at it hammer and tongs. That is something I’m looking forward to getting back to, please God. I’m just that way. I can’t hide who I am. There is nothing put on for the telly. I’d be no good to my family if I wasn’t honest and had that desire to win.”
However, to the delight of many, Fitzgerald showed his softer side in 2018, when he appeared on the Late Late Toy Show, surprising Kerry GAA fan Michael O’Brien in a standout moment. Davy invited Michael, who is visually impaired, to give a motivational team talk to the Wexford hurling team before their national league game against Tipperary the next year, which was filmed in the documentary When Michael Met Davy. It was an experience that has stayed with him.
“Michael is a very special young man. I can remember talking to him after the Late Late, he knew so much about the game, he is someone you could chat away to. It was one of the best things ever, having him there on the day of the game, for the players to see the courage he’s shown, his approach to life. We won a match we probably shouldn’t have that day.”
The importance of the GAA and sport in general was highlighted this year when the country shut down due to Covid. Fitzgerald was a vocal supporter of the return of championship games, and, while acknowledging the concerns of some, was delighted that it was played to the end.
“I’m really happy that we did that. One of my backroom staff, Michael Collins, is 82, himself and his wife Patsy, every weekend they’re at home and they can’t wait for the matches to come on the telly. That’s what I’m talking about. Am I disappointed that Wexford didn’t do better? Of course I am. But it was great to just have a championship. There were people giving out about celebrations and that around the club championship, and I accept that.
"We got a few things wrong but I’d like to think a lot of clubs got it right, but you will hear about the few. The last year hasn’t been about winning, it has been about trying to do something because it has been so difficult. I found it difficult. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing at times, from a family perspective, getting more time. But life was fairly turned upside down, same as for all of us.”
While family time with his son Colm and wife Sharon, who he married in a ceremony at Dromoland Castle last year, was one of the main benefits to being at home in Sixmilebridge, Fitzgerald also took the opportunity to go on a health kick. There is a history of heart disease on his mother’s side and he had a number of stents inserted in 2016. He admits that his penchant for dashboard dining wasn't doing him much good.
“I found it [lockdown] a struggle. I would be used to going, going, going and suddenly I had to stop. I wasn’t as healthy as I should have been, I definitely had too much weight up. I was walking in the morning and evening and I lost close to two stone. I’m feeling good. I just have to be careful, I’m an awful man for having the junk when I’m driving. My problem is that I overdo everything. I’d eat five biscuits instead of one. I am trying to learn to moderate stuff rather than over-indulge.”
Fitzgerald was rearing to go when filming for Ireland’s Fittest Family began in August, even if the experience was somewhat different given Covid restrictions.
"My God, there was a lot of effort put into it. There was a great buzz. I was so looking forward to it because I had been cooped up for so long.”
While Covid may have put a stop to his gallop temporarily, it sounds as if he is busier than ever now, with another programme on the way with RTÉ.
“I can’t say too much but it is something I’m really looking forward to getting out there. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. It’s completely different from Fittest Family and one of the most testing things I’ve done but I can’t wait to share it.”
He is also hoping to open a new pub/restaurant with his father in the Lahinch, Co Clare, in the spring. And not forgetting the small matter of contesting another inter-county championship with Wexford. Family comes first but sport has always been the backbone of his life.
“Your family and your health, those are the most important things but sport is an outlet that allows you to let yourself go and express yourself. I love seeing the family’s faces in the first few seconds after they win, or a hurling team after winning and you see their faces, and the supporters, that is what I get the kick out of — the emotion, it is not about cups or medals for me. I love to see families or teams feeling that way, that they have achieved something — and being a part of it.”
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