Fitzgerald-Lohan cold war beckons in Wexford

Cold shoulders will be the order of the day in Chadwicks Wexford Park next Sunday as former friends Davy Fitzgerald and Brian Lohan face off for the first time since the latter took over Clare.

Handshakes are not expected with the relationship between the pair having broken down during Fitzgerald’s time in charge of the Banner.

To add to the intrigue, former Clare captain Brendan Bugler will be alongside the Wexford boss on the sideline.

In his 2018 autobiography, Fitzgerald insisted he could never forgive Lohan for how he treated him during his time in charge of his native county.

Only last year Lohan questioned if Fitzgerald actually showed “genuine passion” on the sideline and remarked: “I think some of the antics, they’re not great.”

Lohan was certainly soured by how Fitzgerald approached the 2014 Fitzgibbon Cup quarter-final when the pair were in charge of UL and LIT respectively.

Fitzgerald ordered his LIT players to walk from their bus through bushes to the field where they positioned their warm-up in the half of the field UL had been used to preparing.

After some heated words, UL moved towards the other end while LIT went onto pull off a shock win.

In his book, Fitzgerald detailed how he attempted to make peace with Lohan but the legendary full-back declined, claiming he “couldn’t accept ‘some of the stuff’ that had gone on in that quarter-final”.

Fitzgerald alleged Lohan then made a comment “I have no intention of ever repeating”.

In 2015, LIT and UL locked horns again in a Fitzgibbon semi-final only this time UL were victors but like the year before there were no handshakes.

Later in 2015, Lohan publicly called for a top-to-toe review of Clare hurling following their qualifier defeat to Cork.

As well as questioning county secretary, Fitzgerald’s father Pat, he had been critical of then county chairman Michael McDonagh’s assertion there would be no debate of Fitzgerald’s future as manager.

Fitzgerald wrote two years ago: “It’d be fair to say we’d fallen out big time… I was at home when I got the call from a close friend, wondering had I heard ‘what Lohan’s after coming out with.’

“I was absolutely disgusted and texted Lohan straight away.

I mean, these are the guys you played with, and it feels as if they’re setting you up. I just couldn’t understand it. How could he be looking for a review?

“‘What are you at?” I asked in the text.

“‘Do you not think I’m getting enough stick without you jumping on the bandwagon?’”

His response was incredible.

“The review will help you,” he said. My reply to that was pretty strong, and I won’t repeat it. But I basically told Brian what I thought of him.”

Last May, Lohan again took aim at the Clare County Board for not being “more dynamic”.

He also said Clare’s “great clubs” and “really good people involved at both club level and at county level” were “a bit let down by the county board”.

Bearing that in mind, there was some surprise when he was appointed as the successor to Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor last October, although the selection process did have to be restarted and Louis Mulqueen pulled out of contention.

But here he is, in the position he coveted as much as his opposite number on Sunday once did.

It’s there, however, that their interests end. Appointed referee Seán Cleere may have his hands full.

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