Garrett led charge in Munster success

CBC Cork have a notable list of former internationals among their alumni but arguably their most influential rugby old boy was a player and coach who did not earn international honours, namely Garrett Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, below, enjoyed a number of different careers. As a player, he won a Munster Schools Senior Cup with CBC in 1971 and then as a hard-driving and demanding master in charge he coached the school to five Munster Senior Cup titles including four successive championships between 1997 to 2000.

Running parallel to this school career, for a good while anyway, was his involvement with Munster who he coached to a famous win over Australia in 1992 and then, at the end of the Millennium, took over as their innovative CEO.

Just about every chapter in the modern-day Munster storybook was written on his watch. In sheer playing terms that included two Heineken Cup titles in 2006 and 2008 – not to mention a dozen or more thrilling campaigns including two losing finals –three Celtic League titles in 2003, 2009 and 2011 and a Celtic Cup in 2005.

A proud Cork man, he nonetheless saw that Limerick was Munster rugby’s citadel and oversaw the revamping of Thomond Park into a shiny modern-day cathedral of rugby.

He also caused something of a stir by enticing the All Blacks to Limerick again for a belated opening to the new stadium in 2008. Strangely some criticised it as a blatantly commercial exercise – big sponsors had to be found to attract and pay the Kiwis – as if that was in some way still to be frowned upon in a newish professional sport. An utterly memorable occasion ensued.

He also meticulously organised their many raids into Europe, making sure the travel arrangements were all in place and team-friendly and that crafty opponents never got the upper hand logistically.

Fitzgerald died aged 65 in February 2020. He was posthumously inducted into the Munster Hall of Fame and just this month it was announced that future winners of the Munster Schools Cup will receive the Garrett Fitzgerald trophy.