Philly’s memory is constant - Fitzgerald

By Stephen Barry

Niall Fitzgerald says the legacy of Philly Ryan will leave an enduring imprint on the current Tipperary football team.

The Moyle Rovers clubman has taken over as Premier manager following Ryan’s sudden death in October. It’s not a situation any manager feels equipped to negotiate. All Fitzgerald can do is ensure the presence of his former Tipp teammate will live on in their dressing room.

“Philly was such a massive part of Tipperary GAA. There’s a hole in Tipperary football,” he said following his sides first challenge game against Kerry for the Dillon Quirke Foundation on Saturday evening.

“It's just a dreadful situation. We mention Philly. We talk about Philly. Philly is a huge part of that group of players.

“I'm not trained to deal with it. I don't know who is. It's a very, very difficult situation that very few teams have to deal with.

“All we can do is try and mirror his passion for Tipperary and mirror that on the field.”

Fitzgerald stepped down as the county’s U20 manager in August. Within two months, he was cast back into the inter-county scene.

“It's been challenging, but I've been very lucky to get really good people involved with me,” he said.

“Peter Tormey, Conor McNally, Barry Mullane, having Donnacha Mulcahy, the S&C coach from last year, and then the medical team as well, that has been a huge help.

“I'd say I've a few more grey hairs. That's just part of it. But it's been enjoyable. I've been really impressed with the effort from the players, and that's all you can hope for.”

Another notable recruit is former Monaghan sub-keeper Shane Garland.

“Shane is well able to play,” said Fitzgerald. “He'd been sub-keeper to Rory Beggan up in Monaghan for a few years. Now he's here, we'll make the most of it.”

Fitzgerald has inherited a young squad from Ryan and insists the league will be Tipp’s target as they face into a third consecutive year in Division 4.

“I make no secret about it, the league has to be our target. That's where we are in Tipp at the moment.

“We're looking at the league and we're looking at the Tailteann Cup. We want to be more competitive in both those competitions.

“You have to hit the league running because if you don't, it can be gone away from you before it starts. That's not where we want to be. We want to be really competitive.

“It's a lot of young players, and we're going to build with these young players. Because at the end of the day, everyone who's here, they want to be here. They're the lads who are going to get us back up. We're at the bottom, and we have to build.”

Darragh Brennan was Tipp’s star turn against Kerry with 1-3 off the bench before limping off.

“He may have given the hamstring a tweak,” said Fitzgerald.

“It's a brilliant facility here in Fethard. When you're on Astro, there can be a higher risk of injury sometimes. Darragh had a big impact when he came on and did very well, so hopefully it's nothing major.

“There was a lot of inexperience, a lot of young players, and what I was really happy to see from them is the bravery that they played with.

“That's really encouraging, and we'll iron out the rest of it then.”