Charleville manager Dominic Foley backs Darragh Fitzgibbon's character to shine through as Cork captain

Charleville manager Dominic Foley believes that Darragh Fitzgibbon’s equable temperament will stand him in good stead as he takes on the role of Cork hurling captain.

Fitzgibbon’s appointment as skipper was announced on Wednesday. Having worked with him at club level in 2025 after taking on the Charleville job, Foley was immediately impressed with the three-time All-Star.

“He was top-class for us,” he says.

“It was my first time being directly involved with him in the club, so I got to see first-hand his attitude when he came back in.

“From the minute – literally the minute – he came back in the door, he was leading by example. Any bit of running that we had to do for top-up late on in the year, he was out in front in every one of the runs.

“There was no such thing as, ‘Oh, I’ll sit at the back, I've got my work done, I can do what I want,’ – he was leading by example in every one of them.

“He's got nine years now of experience at the top level of inter-county hurling, so he's seen it all and done it all.”

Fitzgibbon succeeds Robert Downey, with Seán O’Donoghue having served for two years prior to that - the captain before O’Donoghue, Mark Coleman, will be the new vice-captain.

With such leadership in the group – Séamus Harnedy is another squad member to have been skipper – there isn’t likely to be a need for roaring and shouting, but when Fitzgibbon does talk, it’s with good reason.

“I suppose like us all, the more experienced we get, the more confident you would be in talking,” Foley says.

“He's great to talk to the younger guys and the older guys, so he's leading by example on the field and off the field.

“He can be quiet, but he can let you know as well if he needs to. He's got a bit of everything now with the experience that he has, so obviously we're all delighted for him.

“It's a great honour for him and his family and, like I said when I was talking to him, for the club as well.”

Fitzgibbon’s quiet strength of character was perhaps best shown when he nailed the 65 at the end of extra time in last year’s Munster SHC final, earning Cork a draw against Limerick before they went on to win a penalty shootout.

Such steady temperament will be an asset, in Foley’s view.

“He's the kind of a fella that gets on with his work and does it,” he says, “there's no going too high about things or going too low about things.

“His temperament is very good and he proved it again last year with things like that. I think he'll thrive in the situation.

“He's seen it all, he's done it all and the timing is perfect. Being a bit selfish around our parts, we might have said he could have got it sooner!

“We're just delighted for him and it's a great boost for him going into the new year now again.”