Ciaran Fitzgerald
Encyclopedia
Ciaran Fitzgerald in Loughrea
, County Galway
is a former Irish
rugby union
footballer and coach of the national team.
in 1973, and played for University College Galway R.F.C.
. He went on to play senior rugby for St. Mary's College
He rose to prominence in the game and went on to captain the Ireland team to the Triple Crown
in 1982 and 1985 and the Five Nations Championship in 1983, as well as the British and Irish Lions
on their losing tour to New Zealand
in 1983.
His debut test match was against Australia
on 3 June 1979
. Scotland
were his final test opponents on 15 March 1986
. In total, he received 22 competitive and three friendly caps for Ireland
. He scored once, a try against Wales
, in 1980
. He went on to coach the Irish national rugby team for three years.
Playing in the amateur era, Fitzgerald also maintained a career in the Irish Army
, and at one point was aide de camp to the President
, Dr Patrick Hillery
.
He was head coach of Ireland, from 1990 to 1992, leading the side to the 1991 Rugby World Cup
, reaching the quarter-finals.
He now regularly appears on Setanta Sports
and RTE
, the Irish national TV and radio service, as a rugby pundit.
Loughrea
Loughrea is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains.The town expanded in recent years as it increasingly becomes a commuter town for the city of Galway.- Name :...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
is a former Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer and coach of the national team.
Biography
Best known for his rugby success, Fitzgerald previously won two All-Ireland boxing championships. He also played minor hurling for Galway and was a member of the team in the minor final against Cork in 1970. Fitzgerald began playing rugby while at St Joseph's College, Garbally where he was chosen to play hooker by teacher, and priest, Bishop John Kirby. He studied in University College Galway, gaining a BCommBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1973, and played for University College Galway R.F.C.
University College Galway R.F.C.
University College Galway RFC is the rugby team of the National University of Ireland, Galway. Their colours are maroon and white. Although they have had a dip in form in recent years and are not currently competing in the AIB League , they have won more Connacht Senior Cup titles than any other...
. He went on to play senior rugby for St. Mary's College
He rose to prominence in the game and went on to captain the Ireland team to the Triple Crown
Triple Crown (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
in 1982 and 1985 and the Five Nations Championship in 1983, as well as the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
on their losing tour to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1983.
His debut test match was against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
on 3 June 1979
1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia
The 1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia was a series of eight matches played by the Ireland national rugby union team in Australia in May and June 1979....
. Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
were his final test opponents on 15 March 1986
1986 Five Nations Championship
The 1986 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
. In total, he received 22 competitive and three friendly caps for Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
. He scored once, a try against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, in 1980
1980 Five Nations Championship
The 1980 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-first series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-sixth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
. He went on to coach the Irish national rugby team for three years.
Playing in the amateur era, Fitzgerald also maintained a career in the Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
, and at one point was aide de camp to the President
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
, Dr Patrick Hillery
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery was an Irish politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973...
.
He was head coach of Ireland, from 1990 to 1992, leading the side to the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
, reaching the quarter-finals.
He now regularly appears on Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
and RTE
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
, the Irish national TV and radio service, as a rugby pundit.
Appearances
- 1979: Australia W 27–12 BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
- 1979: Australia W 9–3 SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
- 1980: England L 24–9 TwickenhamTwickenham StadiumTwickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
- 1980: Scotland W 22–15 Lansdowne Road
- 1980: France L 19–18 Parc des PrincesParc des PrincesThe Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
- 1980: Wales W 21–7 Lansdowne Road
- 1982: Wales W 20–12 Lansdowne Road
- 1982: England W 16–15 TwickenhamTwickenham StadiumTwickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
- 1982: Scotland W 21–12 Lansdowne Road
- 1982: France L 22–9 Parc des PrincesParc des PrincesThe Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
- 1983: Scotland W 15–13 MurrayfieldMurrayfield StadiumMurrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
- 1983: France W 22–16 Lansdowne Road
- 1983: Wales L 23–9 Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff Arms ParkCardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
- 1983: England W 25–15 Lansdowne Road
- 1984: France L 25–12 Parc des PrincesParc des PrincesThe Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
- 1984: Wales L 18–9 Lansdowne Road
- 1984: Australia L 16–9 Lansdowne Road
- 1985: Scotland W 18–15 MurrayfieldMurrayfield StadiumMurrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
- 1985: France D 15–15 Lansdowne Road
- 1985: Wales W 21–9 Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff Arms ParkCardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
- 1985: England W 13–10 Lansdowne Road
- 1986: France L 29–9 Parc des PrincesParc des PrincesThe Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
- 1986: Wales L 19–12 Lansdowne Road
- 1986: England L 25–20 TwickenhamTwickenham StadiumTwickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
- 1986: Scotland L 10–9 Lansdowne Road