Sandie Fitzgibbon has given a lifetime to sport, both as a player, as a coach and a volunteer

Sandie Fitzgibbon is one of the best dual stars that this country has ever seen .

And I'm talking both male and female dual stars.

Sandie graced the camogie fields with Glen Rovers and the Cork senior team for many years, winning every honour in the game. 

At the same time, she also had an amazing career playing basketball with Blarney and the Ireland senior women’s team in the eighties and nineties.

However, she always found time to give something back to both these sports by coaching different underage teams. 

When she retired she coached the Glen senior camogie side, became a selector to the Cork senior team and then joined her sisters, Mary, Patsy and Denise coaching at the Brunell Basketball Club.

Not only was she an unbelievable player and superb coach, she is also a special person who always puts her team's before her own achievements, which is a wonderful trait as a sports person and as a human being.

Sandie Fitzgibbon began her camogie career as an eight year-old in the colours of Glen Rovers.

She was one of the youngest players to line out at senior level for the club when she made her senior debut at 12 years of age. 

She has won every honour in the game at club, county and inter-provincial level.

The holder of ten Cork senior county championship medals, four All-Ireland club championship and seven Munster club championship medals with Glen Rovers, Sandie has also captained the club to a senior county and Munster championship title. 

She has had a remarkable inter-county career which has seen her win six All-Ireland senior medals and three All-Ireland minor championship medals. 

She had the distinction of becoming the first player to win three All-Ireland minor medals in a row, 1978, 79 and 1980. 

Sandie captained the Cork minor side to Munster and All-Ireland glory in 1980 and went on to become the first player from Glen Rovers to captain a Cork senior team to All-Ireland honours in 1992.

Aside from camogie, Sandie has won three national league and two national cup medals with the Blarney Basketball club and won a national league and another national cup medal with Lee Strand, Tralee in a glittering basketball playing career. 

Fitzgibbon has also represented the Irish senior women’s team and has 68 international caps and has won a four countries medal at school and senior level.

Sandie was honoured with selection on the Camogie Team of The Century and was only one of four Cork players to be honoured.

In 2012, she was inducted into the Bord Gais Camogie Hall of Fame which was another milestone for her.

“When I look back on my playing career, it is something that I’m very proud of, however, I played with some excellent players and played under some superb coaches,” Sandie said.

“When I was playing with the Glen, I found the coaching side of the games very interesting, so I helped out with the underage girls at the club. "Also when I was playing National League with Blarney, Rose Breen and myself coached the U12 and U18 teams. 

"I think it is so important that as a player that you give something back to the clubs, like the people done for me when I was younger.

“When I retired I took over as coach to the Glen senior side for a three year period and then became selector to the Cork senior sides, both roles that I really enjoyed. 

"To be honest, I didn’t find the transition from playing to coaching difficult, because as players we all knew each other strengths and weaknesses so I wanted to implement that structure and discipline into my teams. 

"I was really humbled to get that chance to become coach of the Glen as I stated playing for them as an eight year old girl.

“Basketball wise, I also thought it was important to give something back to the game again like it was done for me in the North Presentation School and Blarney Basketball club. 

"It was great for me personally to get a chance to coach with my sisters, Mary, Patsy and Denise at Brunell. 

"I coached the U16 girls for a number of years and found it very enjoyable,” Sandie added.

Fitzgibbon’s playing days weren’t completely finished, as she played in different Masters basketball tournaments at home and abroad with her friends from the Glasnevin Club Dublin.

Although Sandie is a very shy and humble person, the people in Cork voted her the overall winner of Echo Rebel Legend competition in 2021. 

She won 54.7% of the vote which drew 19,959 votes in the final against Rena Buckley, however, she beat Roy Keane, Denis Irwin, Billy Morgan and Rob Heffernan when she went head to head with those legends in earlier rounds.

To this day she remains a remarkable humble lady completely untouched by her fame and past glories.