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Whenever and wherever GAA aficionados meet in Killarney
and throughout Ireland, to recall the contributions of
legends of Cumann Luthchleas Gael they’ll talk of one of
Ireland’s greatest Gaels,Dick Fitzgerald or Dickeen as
he was affectionately known. Winner of 5 All Ireland
medals in 1903,1904,1909,1913 and1914, he was the
winning Kerry captain in 1913 and in1914.
He was an outstanding player and captain with Dr
Crokes, ; in time he became its chairman and president.
He was the Kerry representative on the Munster and
Central Councils.
In 1914 he published the first book on his lifelong
passion, "How to play Gaelic Football". This was an
amazing achievement that the Kerry captain was able to
get this printed at the start of World War 1.There are
just a few copies of this collectors’ item still
treasured by those fortunate enough to have the book in
their possession.
Although the game of football has changed over the
years ,much of Dickeen’s book is still relevant today.
1884 was an historic year for our native sport. The
GAA was founded in Hayes’ hotel, Thurles and Dick
Fitzgerald was born in College Street, Killarney. Alas
his life was a short one as he died prematurely on the
26th of September 1930, the Friday before the
All Ireland football final. Into those 45 years he
packed a host of remarkable achievements with club,
county, province and country.
He was a very stylish centre forward with Dr Crokes
where he perfected his speciality, the screw kick. Dr
Eamonn O Sullivan, the Kerry trainer and fellow Croke
man marvelled at the skills of Dickeen, especially his
distribution of the ball, perfect hands and feet to
carry that ball through the opponents defence and his
unique ability to score from the corner flag with his
trademark screw kick.
He was a key man on the Dr Crokes team that won its
first ever Kerry SFC in 1901, when he was just 17 years
old .He continued to give great service to Dr Crokes as
a player. He was a born leader and he had what most
clubs yearn for, the ability to pull the game out of the
fire. Where Dickeen led, others followed.
At county level he starred with Kerry winning 5 All
Ireland medals, also captaining club and county to
numerous successes.
When his playing days were over he continued to make
a memorable contribution at club level and also to the
GAA in general. He refereed many matches and was a
founding member of the East Kerry Board. In 1916 he was
elected to the Central Council, the year of the famous
Rising, following which he was interned in Frongach in
Wales .
He became very friendly with Michael Collins and
provided The Big Fella with safe houses in Kerry after
their release. He showed his leadership while he was
incarcerated in Frongach organizing games for the
internees. It was based on the inter county system with
the Kerry internees led by Dickeen defeating Louth
captained by Tom Bourke by a point in the final.
After the Civil War he helped to use his GAA
connections to heal the wounds of civil war and Kerry
was to the fore in this respect, a fact acknowledged by
Joe Joe Barrett in his book on this aspect of
reconciliation.
After release from Frongach he became the Kerry
representative on the Central Council, a post he held up
to the time of his death in 1930.He was a Kerry selector
in 1918, refereed two semi-finals and was delegate to
Congress. At the time of his death he was a member of
the Kerry Selection Committee, the Munster Council and
the Central Council of the GAA , a member of Killarney
UDC and president of the N.A.C.A.I, which he founded in
1926.
Kerry won the 1929 All Ireland,the first of the
’29-32 four in a row, but the GAA world was numbed on
the Friday before the 1930 All Ireland final, when news
broke that Dick Fitzgerald died suddenly. It was like
waking up in the morning and looking out the window to
discover that Carrantuohill had disappeared. Such was
the impact Dikeen had made on the sporting and cultural
life of his home town, club and country, an icon for all
that he stood for.
Efforts to postpone the 1930 All Ireland failed but
nevertheless Kerry went on to win it. On the following
day GAA players,supporters and representatives from all
over Ireland gathered with locals at the New
Cemetery,Killarney, where one of Ireland’s greatest
Gaels was laid to rest overlooking the town he loved so
well, beside his wife who had pre-deceased him.
1936 was a special day for the Dr Crokes club when
Páirc Chuimhneacháin an Ghearailtigh was officially
opened , a labour of love for the club, which decided at
a general club meeting on November 14th, 1930
to commemorate the great Dickeen.
The club paid Dan Courtney £ 750 for the land at
Kilcoolaght. When one rightly admires the magnificent
new Croke Park the sheer scale of work undertaken by the
Dr Croke club 1930 to 1936 was equally inspiring.
When GAA people gather and they’ll talk about heroes,
they’ll revere the memory of Dick Fitzgerald, claimed by
many to be the greatest football player of all time and
now he joins the Legends on the Dr Crokes website.
Laoch den scoth ab ea Ristéard Mac Gearailt. Beidh
cuimhne beo go deo air I measc na gCrócaigh.
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