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Ciaran Fitzgerald

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Irish former rugby union player For the Irish actor, see Ciarán Fitzgerald.
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Rugby player
Ciaran Fitzgerald
Place of birthLoughrea, Ireland
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight86 kg (13 st 8 lb; 190 lb)
SchoolGarbally College
UniversityUniversity College Galway
Notable relative(s)Derry Fitzgerald (Brigadier General, Irish Army) Ronan Hickey (Irish lawyer and Public Servant)
Occupation(s)Irish Army Officer
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
UCG ()
– St. Mary's College ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1972-1987 Connacht 39 (4)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1979–1986 Ireland 25 (4)
1983 British and Irish Lions 4 (0)
Coaching career
Years Team
1990–1992 Ireland

Ciaran Fitzgerald is an Irish former rugby union player. He captained Ireland to the Triple Crown in 1982 and 1985, and the Five Nations Championship in 1983. Fitzgerald also captained the Lions on their 1983 tour. After the conclusion of his playing career, Fitzgerald was coach of the national team.

Early life

Fitzgerald was born in Ballina, County Mayo.

Rugby career

Fitzgerald first played rugby while at Garbally College, and was chosen to play hooker by teacher and priest John Kirby. Fitzgerald played for University College Galway, and then went on to play senior rugby for St. Mary's College in Dublin.

Fitzgerald rose to prominence in the game, and made his test debut for Ireland against Australia on 3 June 1979, during an Irish tour of Australia. He captained Ireland to the Triple Crown in 1982 and 1985, and the Five Nations Championship in 1983. Fitzgerald's last test came against Scotland on 15 March 1986 in that year's Five Nations Championship. In total, Fitzgerald received 22 competitive and three friendly caps for Ireland. He scored once, a try against Wales, in the 1980 Five Nations. Fitzgerald also captained the British and Irish Lions team on their 1983 tour, when the team travelled to New Zealand and were beaten in each test against the All Blacks.

Other activities

Though most widely remembered for playing rugby union, Fitzgerald was an accomplished sportsman, winning two All-Ireland boxing championships. He also played minor hurling for Galway the team he played with reached the minor final against Cork in 1970.

Fitzgerald studied at University College Galway, gaining a Bachelor's degree in 1973. Playing in the amateur era, Fitzgerald also maintained a career in the Irish Army. Fitzgerald also served as aide-de-camp to the President, Dr Patrick Hillery.

Coaching and media

Following his retirement from playing, Fitzgerald has continued to be involved in the game, and served as head coach of Ireland from 1990 to 1992, leading the side to the 1991 Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals.

He has also had a career in media, appearing on Setanta Sports and RTÉ, the Irish national TV and radio service, as a rugby pundit.

Appearances

References

  1. "History - the History of the British & Irish Lions".
  2. Scally, John (1996). Giants of Irish Rugby. Mainstream Publishing Company. ISBN 1-85158-834-5.
  3. Small, Daragh (24 April 2015). "Fitzgerald joins Clan Hall of Fame". Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

External links

Preceded byJim Davidson Irish national rugby coach
1990–1992 		Succeeded byGerry Murphy
Galway – 1970 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship runners-up
Subs used
18 W. Cummins for I. Clarke
16 B. Brennan for J. McDonagh
17 G. Hanniffy for M. Donoghue
Subs not used
19 G. Forde
20 S. Grealish
Ireland squad – 1991 Rugby World Cup
Forwards
Backs
Coach: Fitzgerald
British Lions – 1983 New Zealand tour
Forwards
Backs
CoachTelfer
Ireland national rugby union team captains
To 1900
To the First World War
To the Second World War
To the professional era
To the present day
British & Irish Lions team captains
To 1910
To present
NotesNote 1: Robert Seddon died on tour after a boating accident. Andrew Stoddart became captain for the remainder of the tour.

Note 2: Matthew Mullineux decided that after losing the first test that he should withdraw from further test matches, handing on field captaincy to Frank Stout, but remained tour captain.
Note 3: David Bedell-Sivright was injured during the first test. Teddy Morgan took over captaincy on the field but Bedell-Sivright remained tour captain.
Note 4: The team that John Raphael captained was not selected by the four Home Nations governing body, but had been organised by Oxford University and billed as the English Rugby Union team. However, it was considered the Combined British team by Argentina because it also included three Scots.
Note 5: Jack Jones was captain for the first test, but Tommy Smyth remained the tour captain.
Note 6: Bleddyn Williams captained in the third and fourth tests v New Zealand and the first test v Australia.
Note 7: Cliff Morgan captained in the third test.
Note 8: David Watkins captained in the second and foruth tests v New Zealand.
Note 9: Michael Owen captained the Lions in the first tour game, the test vs. Argentina in Cardiff. Brian O'Driscoll was injured at the beginning of the first test against New Zealand. Gareth Thomas replaced him as tour captain.
Note 10: Sam Warburton was injured in the second test. Alun Wyn Jones replaced him as captain for the third test.
Note 11: Tour captain Sam Warburton was named on the bench for the first test. Peter O'Mahony was the captain on the field.

Note 12: Tour captain Alun Wyn Jones left the squad for 17 days due to an injury in the first warm-up match, and was replaced by Conor Murray temporarily.
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