GAELIC GAMES:THE MOOD in Galway football sank further yesterday as the news of two premature retirements emerged. Kieran Fitzgerald, one of the All-Ireland winning team in 2001 and an All Star the same year, announced that because of injuries he was stepping down and Niall Coleman, who has been on the panel since 2004, did the same because of pressure of work.
Fitzgerald’s decision was particularly surprising, as he had been appointed one of three co-captains, with Finian Hanley and Michael Meehan, for the season by new manager Tomás Ó Flatharta. Only two weeks ago Fitzgerald attended a sponsors’ launch for the start of the Allianz Football League and appeared upbeat about prospects for 2011.
“Tomás is trying to build a team ethic amongst the panel and a shared responsibility,” he said on 31st January. “From Finian Hanley, myself and Mikey (Meehan) we would have a lot of years under our belts.
“We have a lot of experience and we are trying to spread that out amongst the players. It has been working well so far. Tomás is a players’ man and a very approachable guy. People get on really well with him.”
Sources in the county suggest Fitzgerald was unhappy with his outing in the opening-day league match against Monaghan. Although not expected to play as he had been suffering from a tendon injury, he lined out and struggled to cope with Conor McManus, the opposition’s top forward in the absence of Tommy Freeman.
The Corofin man, who turned 30 on New Year’s Day, has had a glittering career. Although just too young for his club’s All-Ireland success in 1998, Fitzgerald had an amazing rookie year in 2001, winning his All-Ireland and All Star before adding an under-21 All-Ireland a year later.
Fitzgerald has been suffering from repeated injuries in recent years and Coleman, a versatile player who has lined out in a number of positions for the county but is essentially a centrefielder, is a self-employed builder so the retirement reasons in both cases are believed to be genuine but the withdrawals add to the gloomy atmosphere in the county after the opening-day defeat by Monaghan the week before last.
The county is also short of the services of Declan Meehan, who retired previously and is awaiting the return to training of Michael Meehan, who is still recuperating from a knee operation, veteran Pádraic Joyce and his cousin Nicky Joyce.
It intensifies the pressure on new manager Ó Flatharta, who is in the unenviable position of having lost all of his eight matches in Division One of the National League, having taken Westmeath to promotion in the 2008 season but then seeing them lose all seven of their fixtures.
Having lost to Monaghan, many people’s bankers for relegation, Galway now face further away matches against Down this weekend, Armagh and Kerry with neighbours Mayo and the favourites for the title Cork and Dublin to come at home, and will struggle to stay in the top flight unless they pick up form.
Former All-Ireland winning captain and columnist Ray Silke said yesterday that football in the county has been sliding backwards since that All-Ireland victory 10 years ago. During that time the county has won four provincial titles but failed to reach an All-Ireland semi-final and also lost two league finals, both to Kerry.
“This isn’t about Tomás Ó Flatharta,” he told this newspaper. “The bigger issue for Galway football is that we haven’t won a match in Croke Park since the All-Ireland final in 2001. Fitzgerald began his career on a high that year and 10 years later he’s leaving wondering what it’s all about.”
