Mark Fitzgerald: The makings of an intercounty manager
Clare manager Mark Fitzgerald during the Munster SFC semi-final against Waterford. Picture: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
On Monday Mark Fitzgerald’s wife Ciara had to take him aside and remind to enjoy the week. For his entire life the Munster final always meant wild excitement. Even when the day brought crushing disappointment for his native county. Even now when he is attempting to administer it.
Growing up, the Munster final meant Killarney. It meant sun and strong Cork teams full of running. It meant golden days for the Kingdom. On Sunday they are expected to secure an 85th Munster title in a rematch of the 2023 fixture. Fitzgerald knows what those routine victories are like. But he also knows the stunning bolts from the blue that the occasion can sometimes bring.
“I was actually there in the Gaelic Grounds in 1992 when Clare beat Kerry. The club would often organise a bus to games, two managers took us up to watch it. We were probably too young to realise the enormity of it. But we were certainly wise and old enough to know that Kerry were in a bad place.
“At the time I think we were so excited for burger and chips after that we didn’t realise the disappointment of it. It is only looking back now you say, Jesus, that was big.”
Fitzgerald is speaking from Cusack Park ahead of Clare training. Later this week the venue will host the Munster SFC final for the first time since 1919. The sides met at the Gaelic Grounds last year but with the stadium unavailable, Clare opted for a coin toss to determine the home team. For onlookers it looked a brave call. For him it was the only one.
“We spoke about it as a management team. Not with the players. That was an easy one. Limerick is unavailable. Will we toss or will we go to Thurles or Páirc Uí Chaoimh? What is the point in going into a natural venue? Just take your chance.
“Now, Kerry are brilliant in Killarney. It is very intimidating when you walk out of the dressing rooms and see Bomber, Mikey and Ogie on the wall. But it was a no brainer to me. Why go to Thurles or Páirc Uí Chaoimh if the option is there of Killarney or here. We had a 50/50 chance.
“It would be great if our training pitches were here in an ideal world. Kerry spend a lot of time in Killarney this time of the year. They can build good habits. It makes it easier on the day of the match. We don’t train here as much. We are out in Caherlohan or Clarecastle. But it is a logistics thing. We won’t get on a bus. We won’t worry about traffic. Our routine is the same and you just hope a big Clare following comes out.”
Fitzgerald is made for this, moulded to become an excellent manager. After our conversation concludes, he makes his way out onto the field in Ennis and inserts himself into the heart of the session. At one point before one of several small-sided games, he gathers the group in midfield and invites them to look towards the Cloister end and familiarise themselves with every corner of the ground.
In some ways it has all been building towards a role like this one. He spent four years on a soccer scholarship at Mercyhurst University in Erie Pennsylvania. In 2001 he graduated and flew back into Shannon a Friday. Eoin Liston immediately informed him he would be playing a Kerins O'Rahillys county championship match the following day.
In 2002, the Tralee club won their first Kerry championship in 45 years. Fitzgerald tore his ACL in the semi-final. Liston still brought him on for the final two minutes in the final.
Injuries continued to hinder his playing ambition. A broken leg suffered against Laune Rangers ultimately proved destructive. Coaching then crystallised in his mind. There were positive influences all around him. In America an Irish coach took him under his wing and implanted the importance of man-management.
At Strand Road, he played under Liston, Ken Savage, Seán Walsh and John Evans. He shared a coaching ticket with Ogie Moran and current Kerry selector Mike Quirke. He saw Jack O’Connor’s work up close as he led the club to the 2008 county final. Eventually he found his way to the Kerry minors. Last season, he took over as interim Limerick manager and steadied the ship after they found themselves in choppy waters.
This Clare opportunity only emerged after Limerick opted to move in a different direction. The churn in the Banner’s panel has been well-publicised but Fitzgerald never dwelled on it. From the start, the message was that they would make the most of what they have.
“That was probably reflected in some of the performances. Brilliant for 17, tripe for another 17. We’d go again and suddenly press self-destruct again. I think that is where we were as a group. Inexperienced in game management. We improved that by reviewing video. Talking to players. Spending time on it, asking them about it.”
Clare ended up in contention for promotion from Division 3. They got better, day-by-day. Everyone, players and management. That is something he is keen to stress.
“You make some fairly significant mistakes in this. Any manager would admit that. I think the trick is can you learn from them. I am sure I’ll make mistakes leading up to this game, I’ll make them on Sunday. If you can learn from them all the better but you need to surround yourself with people who will tell you that as well.
“I did some stuff this year, I look back and cringe.”
Like what?
“I got fairly irate at half-time in the Waterford game. I felt we dropped our standards but if I had my time back, I’d have managed it differently. At other times you manage stuff well and think, maybe I’m being too hard on myself.
“Overall, the management team have done well; how we navigated our way through the league. Like we played Cork in the McGrath Cup and we’d 19 players. You are looking around scratching your head, what am I after doing here? But 55, 56 minutes into the game you looking at Dermot Coughlan hurl himself into breaking ball, Danny Walsh flying up the pitch and you are saying, ok there is something here.”
The league gave him the latitude to keep two or three up the pitch all the time. He openly admits they won’t have that freedom this weekend. During one backs versus forwards training drill, a line of cones runs parallel to the sideline. Defenders are discouraged from entering that low percentage area.
As soon as a player penetrates the danger zone, a call for contact is immediate. Any turnover is celebrated exuberantly. They drill it again and again with the manager in the middle, readjusting the spare man a foot the left or right where required.
That is just one part of the challenge for Sunday. This week former manager Colm Collins admitted at times when they played Kerry, he was unsure if the entire squad believed they could prevail.
Does Fitzgerald think they believe now?
“Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Whether or not that is enough, I don’t know. But all I can ask is they give their absolute best for the next few days and see where it takes us. We just have to get a performance.”
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