Ephie Fitzgerald comes on board with Kildorrery footballers as coach

EPHIE Fitzgerald is the new coach of the Kildorrery footballers.

The North Cork club who apply their trade in the fourth tier of Cork football, the intermediate A grade, will be guided by a joint management team of Dave White, John Howard and Johnny McCarthy with the experienced Fitzgerald coaching the team.

Kildorrery have been well able to attract top coaches to the club in both codes down through the years including Keith Ricken, Shane Stapleton and Denis Walsh to name just a few and now Fitzgerald joins the list. The Nemo Rangers club man has achieved a lot of success both as a player and on the sideline. He won four All-Ireland club titles with the Trabeg side while he donned the famous black and green jersey.

He also managed the team with great distinction leading Nemo to four top-flight football championships in a row from 2005-08. Fitzgerald also went outside the county and took Limerick outfit Ballylanders from being known as the nearly men to county glory when they won the SFC in 2014. He also previously coached the Limerick and Clare senior teams in his career as well.

The city man was in charge of the Cork senior ladies football team for six years and led the Rebelletes to the 2016 All-Ireland title before initially stepping down in August 2019. He returned to the position that October and managed the team for another two seasons.

The secondary school teacher then took over as the manager of the Waterford senior footballers in October 2021 where he held that position until August 2023. He led Nemo Rangers’ second string to the quarter-finals of the PIFC last year where they were beaten by Bantry Blues.

Fitzgerald takes over a team that were unable to qualify for the knockout stages of the IAFC last season, albeit in a very difficult group, with Mitchelstown and Boherbue finishing above them, but they have a relatively young group of players with the majority under the age of 25.

The likes of Luke Keating, Pierce Piggot, Conor Kent and Cathal O’Sullivan are very promising young players. Kieran Hurley, Dylan Kent, Ian Butler and James Keating will be key figures under this new management. Shane Fitzgerald and James O’Sullivan bring leadership and valuable experience.

Kildorrery won the Avondhu U21 C football championship title last season, beating Liscarroll Churchtown Gaels in the final, which was a huge boost to the club.

In the IAFC group stage this year, the North Cork side will meet Dromtarriffe, Adrigole and Gabriel Rangers.

Before that, the team in white and blue open their McCarthy Insurance Group Division 6 football league campaign on Sunday, March 31 at 11.30am with a tricky away tie against junior A side Aghinagh in Rusheen. Kildorrery finished mid-table last season with a slow start proving costly as they failed to win in their opening three matches. They will be targeting a strong start this year especially under the new management.

With that blend of youth and experience and Fitzgerald’s experience and character, Kildorrery will be hoping to make a favourable impression this year. The North Cork side have struggled to make a real impact in the championship in recent years, but there is a feeling that the team are slowly turning a corner and that Fitzgerald has come in at the right time to push the group in an upwardly mobile direction.

Kildorrery last appeared in the final at this particular grade 14 years ago when they lost to Macroom by two points.