Local hero faces test of loyalties

GEORGIE FITZPATRICK was always a popular man in Kilkee. His easygoing manner and a phenomenal football service record for club and county is the type of stuff that gains you kudos in this part of West Clare.

The boots were decommissioned 10 years ago, but he’s back to being stopped on the streets of the lovely seaside town. And he is loving it.

Fitzpatrick didn’t go the usual celebrity route of a trip to the jungle or a desert island to revive his fan club. Instead he moved to Limerick. That forward planning (he has been living and teaching on Shannonside for almost 20 years) has at last borne fruit this month.