Galway footballer Seán Fitzgerald shortlisted to appear on Love Island

Kenneth Fox

Galway senior footballer Seán Fitzgerald is in the shake-up to appear on the reality TV show Love Island.

As the Irish Examiner reports, Fitzgerald, 25, is shortlisted to be a contestant on the British dating programme, which is set in Majorca and starts on ITV on June 1st.

A primary school teacher, Fitzgerald was not part of Galway’s matchday squad for last Sunday’s Connacht SFC final defeat to Roscommon in King & Moffat Dr Hyde Park, nor was he one of the four standby players.

The defender’s previous appearance for the team came at full-back against Leitrim in the provincial semi-final in Carrick-on-Shannon last month.

Also known for his social media profile, primarily on TikTok, Fitzgerald is signed to Marvel, an Irish talent and influencer management agency. In February, Fitzgerald published a TikTok video where he expressed his interest in appearing on the show.

The Bearna clubman made his senior debut for Galway in 2022 and his first SFC appearance a year later. He started the ’24 All-Ireland final and has won four consecutive Connacht SFC championship medals. Fitzgerald won an U20 All-Ireland title in 2020.

@fitzy.007 Get me in there @Love Island ♬ original sound - Fitzy

In an interview with RSVP magazine last year, Fitzgerald was asked about the best advice he had received.

“Two bits of advice from over the years have stuck with me. The first is, ‘Don’t care about what anyone thinks’. If I cared about what other people thought of me, I would not be where I am today.

“The amount of confidence and self-worth you gain from not caring about what other people think is honestly scary. You become the best version of yourself.

“The second piece of advice I heard that stuck with me is, ‘If you’re gonna piss like a puppy, stay on the porch, let the big dogs eat’.

“Whenever I doubt myself in life, whether it’s sport-related or otherwise, I say this to myself in my head. It’s simple, positive self-talk that reminds me I am good enough to do whatever it is I’m doing.”