Éamonn Fitzmaurice (born 1977) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. He played at senior level for the Kerry county team and later managed it between 2012 and 2018, during which time he became a member of an exclusive club of people to have won All-Ireland SFC titles as a player and as a manager. He has been involved in 8 All Ireland wins - 1 minor, 2 under 21, 3 senior All Irelands as a player with Kerry, 1 All Ireland club junior with Finuge, 1 All Ireland as a selector and 1 All Ireland as a manager with Kerry. Since departing as Kerry manager, he has been a co-commentator on ''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 197 ...

'' on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Biography

Born in

Lixnaw Lixnaw () is a village in North County Kerry, Ireland. It is located near the River Brick SW of Listowel and NE of Tralee. History Lixnaw was once the seat of the Fitzmaurice family, the Earls of Kerry. In 1320 Nicolas, the third baron of ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Fitzmaurice was introduced to Gaelic football in his youth. He had some success at school level with Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí, while simultaneously experiencing championship successes at underage levels with the

Finuge Finuge () is a village near Listowel in County Kerry, Ireland. Finuge is a traditional Irish crossroads village with a shop, a pub, Teach Siamsa and a G.A.A. pitch. Sheehan's Thatched House located at Finuge Cross is regarded as one of the old ...

club. An

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal winner in the intermediate grade, Fitzmaurice has a unique collection of Kerry novice, junior, intermediate and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

medals with the Finuge club and the Feale Rangers divisional side, captaining Feale Rangers to the senior county championship in 2007. As a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

he also won three

county championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

medals with the

senior

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

team. He also won a Cork County Championship and a Munster Club

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

with UCC as a student in 1999. Fitzmaurice made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Kerry minor team. An

medal winner as a non-playing substitute in this grade in 1994, he later won two

medals with the under-21 team in 1996 and 1998. Fitzmaurice made his senior debut during the 1996-97 league against reigning All-Ireland champion Meath. He would play a key role for Kerry in defence, predominantly playing at centre half-back during a particularly successful era, and won three

medals, six

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

medals and two

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions. Fitzmaurice was a member of the

inter-provincial team in 2004 but failed to win a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medal. Throughout his inter-county career he made 48 championship appearances. Fitzmaurice retired from inter-county Gaelic football on 10 April 2007, still only 29. On retiring, Fitzmaurice wrote a column for the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

''. He quickly became involved in team management as a

selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

with the Kerry senior team under Jack O Connor. An All-Ireland winner in this role in 2009, he later had an unsuccessful tenure as manager of the Kerry under-21 team, a role he fulfilled for one season in 2012, as they lost the Munster final to Cork after an extra-time classic. Fitzmaurice was appointed manager of the Kerry senior team on 27 August 2012, becoming the youngest manager in Kerry's history at 35. At the time it was viewed as being handed a poisoned chalice as Kerry had not won a minor All Ireland since 1994 and had won only one Under 21 All Ireland in the 21st Century in 2008. Many of the successful team of the noughties that reached six All Ireland finals in a row had retired or were on the verge of retirement. He led Kerry to eight major honours in six seasons, including one All-Ireland Championship, six Munster Championships and one National League title. He had an overall win percentage of 64% and had a win percentage of 71% in the Championship. He resigned in August 2018, winning his final game against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

as Kerry failed to progress to the All-Ireland semi-finals from the inaugural Super 8 group stage. He is credited with keeping Kerry competitive while guiding them through a transitional period as many legends of the game retired (see table below). In August 2022, Fitzmaurice ruled out a return to inter-county management and said he could not see himself managing another county team against Kerry.

Personal life

A teacher of history at the co-educational school Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in Dingle since 2001, he succeeded the long-serving Pádraig Firtéar as principal in 2018. He has successfully managed at a variety of levels in the school as they continue to overachieve with a school population of just under 400 pupils. He is married to Tina and is the father of two children.

Career statistics

Player

Manager

;Kerry player retirements and championship debuts under Éamonn Fitzmaurice

Honours

Player

;University College Cork *

Munster Senior Club Football Championship The Munster Senior Club Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition for the champion clubs of each county. It has been organised by the Mu ...

(1): 1999 *

Cork Senior Football Championship The Cork Premier Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bon Secours Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSFC) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork Count ...

(1): 1999 *All Ireland Freshers Championship (1): 1996 *Higher Education League - Division 1 (1) : 1996 ;Finuge *

Munster Intermediate Club Football Championship The Munster Football Intermediate Club Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 2003 for the top intermediate clubs in the province of Munster in Ireland. It i ...

(1): 2012 *Kerry Intermediate Football Championship (1): 2012 *

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition which began in 2002 and is played by the junior club champions of each county. Prior to that a number of unofficial competitions were held. The winners of each cou ...

(1): 2005 *

Munster Junior Club Football Championship The Munster Junior Club Football Championship, formally known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Junior Club Football Championship, is a Gaelic football competition, organized by the Munster provincial council of the Gaelic Athleti ...

(2): 2002, 2004 *Kerry Junior Football Championship (2): 2002, 2004 *Kerry Novice Football Championship (1): 1996 *North Kerry Football Championship (3): 1996, 2001, 2011 ;Lixnaw *

Kerry Senior Hurling Championship The Kerry Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1889 for the to ...

(3): 1999, 2005, 2007 ;Feale Rangers *

Kerry Senior Football Championship The Kerry Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 188 ...

(1): 2007 *U21 Kerry Kerry Football Championship (2): 1997, 1998 ;Kerry *

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

(1): 1994 *

All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

(2): 1996, 1998 *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

(3):

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It i ...

(6):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

(2):

Roghnóir

;Kerry *

(1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

(1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

(1):

Manager

;Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne *

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

(2): 2014, 2015 *

Corn Uí Mhuirí Corn Uí Mhuirí is the cup presented to the winners of the Munster colleges senior "A" football championship, the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools in Munster. The winners advance to the Hogan Cup, which is the All-Ire ...

(6): 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 *O Sullivan Cup (2): 2012, 2018 *Paul McGirr Cup - U16.5 All Ireland (1): 2017 *Russell Cup (3) - 2009, 2010, 2011 *Frewen Cup (2) - 2012, 2017 *Moran Cup (2) - 2011, 2012 *Dunloe Cup (1) - 2011 *Bandon Cup (2) - 2008, 2009 ;Kerry *

(1):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

*National Football League (1): 2017 *

(6):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, 2018 *

McGrath Cup The McGrath Cup is a Gaelic football competition played each January in Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms o ...

(2):

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzmaurice, Eamonn 1977 births Living people Dual players Fingue Gaelic footballers Gaelic football managers Gaelic football selectors Gaelic games writers and broadcasters Heads of schools in Ireland category:Irish Examiner people Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Lixnaw hurlers Munster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers UCC Gaelic footballers Winners of three All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)