Midleton and Cork legend Ger Fitzgerald passes away

Former Midleton and Cork hurler Ger Fitzgerald has died after an illness.

Fitzgerald, who would have been 61 next month, won All-Ireland SHC medals with Cork in both 1986 and 1990 as well as helping his club to four Cork county senior titles and then managing the Magpies to win the Seán Óg Murphy Cup.

A son of the legendary Paddy, Fitzgerald came to wider prominence in his own right as Midleton won the senior and U21 county titles in 1983.

Having won the IHC in 1978, the East Cork club had lost four consecutive senior semi-finals to St Finbarr’s but they made it fifth time lucky against the Togher outfit in the 1983 decider, with Fitzgerald scoring 1-2 in a 1-18 to 2-9 victory in the decider.

That earned him recognition with Cork at U21 level and he made his competitive senior debut during the 1984-85 national league campaign. Though he didn’t feature in the 1985 championship, he had become a starter by 1986 and scored 4-4 across three games as Cork claimed a second All-Ireland in the space of three years.

Another county medal with Midleton followed that autumn, with Blackrock beaten in the county final – Fitzgerald’s six points gave him a total of 5-17, the top scorer in that year’s championship.

A win over Na Piarsaigh saw them retain the title in 1987 and they went all the way to All-Ireland club glory, beating St Mary’s of Athenry in the final.

In 1990, Fitzgerald scored in all five championship games, including 2-3 in the Munster semi-final win over Waterford, as Cork regained the Liam MacCarthy Cup and 1991 saw him win a fourth county medal, captaining the team to victory over Glen Rovers in the final.

The following year, he was nominated by Midleton as Cork captain, skippering the team to a Munster final win over Limerick.

Following his retirement, Fitzgerald became active in both coaching and administration in Midleton, as well as serving as Cork U21 manager and also as a senior selector.

In 2021, Fitzgerald was the manager as Midleton won the Co-op SuperStores Premier SHC for the first time in eight years, beating the Glen in the final, as they had done when he was the captain.