Michael Fitzsimons savours All-Ireland glory after 'knockback' years with Cuala

KNOCKBACK YEARS ARE OVER: Cuala's Michael Fitzsimons, Ryan Scollard and Peter Duffy celebrate. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Michael Fitzsimons calls them the 'knockback' years with Cuala, when they couldn't even get out of the second tier in Dublin.

Like 2010 and 2011 when the now 36-year-old experienced back-to-back county intermediate final defeats.

He's also thinking of 2017 when Cuala, having returned to the senior ranks and contested a county quarter-final that year, were dismissed to the new Senior B grade following a brutal restructure.

Then when they actually won the Senior B championship, in 2020, promotion was parked because of the pandemic and time stood still. Another wasted year.

"Each year we were worried we'd lose the likes of Luke Keating, and James Power, in those knockback years," said Fitzsimons of his veteran colleagues.

They stuck around though and shared in Sunday's rollercoaster All-Ireland final defeat of Errigal Ciaran. Fitzsimons and Keating started the four-point win. Power was the non-playing captain who got his hands afterwards on the Andy Merrigan Cup.

If you pushed them all, they'd probably have been happy enough with last October's maiden Dublin title triumph, given all they'd soldiered through.

"Oh yeah, completely," said Fitzsimons. "That alone was phenomenal, that was probably the pinnacle but then to end up in Croke Park, it's incredible.

"I think Luke said it, you don't dream of winning Leinsters, it's kind of somewhere in between but then to win the All-Ireland, with your club, it's just phenomenal."

There's a chance Sunday's final may have been Fitzsimons' last day out in Croke Park. As it happens, Dublin will be back there this Saturday evening for their opening National League game against Mayo but Fitzsimons could easily opt to pull the shutters down now on a glittering county career.

It wasn't a question he'd even entertain immediately after Sunday's final, wrapping up the interview when the topic arose.

If he does call it a quits, he'll reflect on a remarkable career that has yielded 11 adult All-Ireland medals in all, the first with the Dublin junior team in 2008.

Around that time Cuala were desperately trying to get out of the intermediate ranks in Dublin. Fitzsimons and Power chatted in the dressing-room on Sunday evening about those years.

"We were just remembering where we've come from I suppose," said Fitzsimons.

"As in there were just a few lads at certain points keeping the whole thing afloat, mentors behind the team and senior players like Luke, and Conor O'Brien who is still with us, he went on a little bit of a gap year and then came back and drove it on with us as well.

"And my brother John, and David Sheerin, all these senior lads really kept it going when probably some of the younger players weren't committing and had dropped in and out. You just remember that and remember that it was worth sticking at."

Power recalled a time when Cuala actually had a distinct 'inferiority complex' in Dublin.

"We just didn't see ourselves in that bracket," said Power.

"Just even seeing Fitzy there when he first broke through, seeing him starting for Dublin was just huge. Psychologically you're kind of thinking, 'Well there's a Cuala guy playing at the highest level'. Then someone like Con O'Callaghan comes along."

Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne and Peter Duffy, Cuala's midfield on Sunday, are Dublin players now too. More could yet be involved, like Niall O'Callaghan.

Former Mayo and Wicklow forward Austin O'Malley pulled all that talent together, taking over as manager for the 2022 season following their promotion to Senior A.

"We probably felt that, from chatting to Luke, it was probably nearly the last proper chance to have a go at it, for us maybe, for myself, Luke and James to really have a go as the three of us together," said Fitzsimons.

"David Sheerin, he was hoping to go back but just dropped down to the seconds. But they were the core of the group for a long time, and Conor O'Brien. We thought we just had to pull it together this year."

Whatever about the medals and the breakthrough wins, Fitzsimons is particularly happy that Cuala have a set identity now, and a clear path forward.

"I think if you watched any of our games you'd know the style we play now," he said.

"We have the ability to just go and be direct. We showed that in the first-half against Errigal."