How I met my partner: Tony and Georgina love giving back to their local community

Cork city councillor and general election candidate for Fianna Fáil Tony Fitzgerald met his wife, healthcare worker Georgina Healy, 50 years ago, and the pair were friends before romance bloomed.

The couple initially bonded over mutual interest in music, sports and their community, and these shared values have remained important to them, as they have built a beautiful family together and got to represent Cork as Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress.

Tony told The Echo he and his family moved to Knocknaheeny in 1974 when he was 15 years old. “It was a brand new community at that time, and Georgina and her family were also living in the area.

“We lived close to each other, I lived on Harbour View Road and she lived on Knocknaheeny Avenue, so we got to know each other as we grew up.

“We went to different dances, there used to be great céilís in Sunday’s Well and we’d travel to the seaside together with our groups of friends.”

He recalled: “She had very long hair, even though it’s short now - and I had curly hair then. We got to know each other and then got to like each other and romance bloomed. We liked doing similar things together, going to the pictures, dances, sport, we had a big interest in folk music.

“We were living across the road, I didn’t have very far to go for a date, but even so I was always late – I was involved in a lot of community things,” but luckily Georgina understood as she and her family were also very community-focused and very involved in sport.

He added: “Georgina was working in North Infirmary, where the Maldron is now, she gave all her life to helping people in hospitals and she was there when the lights went out in 1987, which was very sad for us at the time.

“Now she works for the Mercy as a clerical officer and I’m a Community Support worker with the HSE.”

The couple got engaged in 1981, and married in 1985 in St Mary’s On The Hill Church, surrounded by a large group of their family and friends.

“We had about 120 there, in those days you had to invite all the aunts and uncles too, then we had the reception in the Innishannon Hotel and went to Jersey for our honeymoon,” he said.

“We built our house on Harbour View Road, and before we got married and moved in we actually let it out to the local Foróige Youth Club for their base because there were no facilities for them in the area at the time.”

The couple moved in to their home, and two years later, their first daughter Michelle was born, followed by their daughter Deborah three years after. “We had our two girls and our lives centred around the two of them, taking them to pre-school and then they were involved in drama and music and dancing - our life was very much focused on their education, and our interest in community and sport, they were a theme throughout our lives.

“Now the girls have gone onto do their own things – Michelle is a secondary teacher in St Vincent’s Secondary School and Deborah is working for Cyber Ireland in MTU.

“Deborah got married in 2018 to James and we have a wonderful grandson Eoin, and he’s been at the centre of our lives in the last four years, it’s amazing to have such a wonderful experience of being a grandparent.”

Tony said that both he and Georgina have remained very family-focused even as they have had their own family. “Every Sunday morning, our family all gather at my mother’s house on Harbour View Road, my mother Maura is 91 and my father passed two years ago but we always try to meet every Sunday after mass.

“And then, on Sunday evening, all of Georgina’s family, her parents have passed away, but all the Healys get together at tea time – so family is very important to the both of us.”

Twenty years ago, Tony decided to take his work in the community a step further and to run for a seat on the council in Cork City North West.

“In 2004, I decided to get involved in politics and ran for Fianna Fáil in local elections and have been lucky to get elected every election since, and Georgina and I even had the great honour of being Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Cork in 2017 and 2018.”

He added: “Georgina always does a lot of work behind the scenes, and she’s been very supportive through the ups and downs of politics, both families have, as have our two girls, and even Eoin has come out canvassing now – he has a song he sings that goes ‘My grandad’s number 1, vote Tony number 1!’”

Next year, the couple will be 40 years married, and Tony said: “We’re very thankful to have good health and great family around us, we’ve been so lucky.”