Walsh pays tribute to Fitzmaurice

KERRY GAA chief Sean Walsh yesterday paid tribute to Eamon Fitzmaurice who retired from intercounty football on Monday.

“Eamon and I go back to his minor days in 1994 and 1995 when I was a selector and have been together ever since. Apart from being a county footballer in all the grades, he is a very close friend of mine and I’m very disappointed he has decided to retire from inter-county football”, said Walsh.

“He is not a man for making rash decisions. He clearly has given the decision to retire a lot of thought. I know he made a huge commitment since last October to be ready for this season, and has said that if he could not pin down a permanent position on the team, he felt there was no point in staying on.

“He gave it his best shot, won All-Ireland medals in all the grades including three senior and National Leagues, and owes the county nothing.

“Apart from his prowess on the field, he was a great leader off it, particularly in the dressing room.

“When they write about centre backs and displays in different matches, some of Eamon Fitzmaurice’s performances will rank right up there with the best of them. I would rate his displays against Armagh in the 2000 semi-final, and against Ciaran McDonald (Mayo) in the 2004 All-Ireland final as some of the best I’ve seen.

“Because of those games, people may tend to forget the two games against Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final in 2001. He was superb on Jason Sherlock in both those matches.

“His record speaks for itself. He’ll be a huge loss to the county but Kerry’s loss is both Lixnaw and Finuge’s gain. Eamon is a very talented hurler also and he intends to give both clubs his total commitment for the next couple of years.”