Éamonn Fitzmaurice


Éamonn Fitzmaurice is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He was manager of the Kerry senior team between 2012 and 2018 and is a member of an exclusive club having won All Ireland senior titles as a player and as a manager.
Born in Lixnaw, County Kerry, Fitzmaurice was introduced to Gaelic football in his youth. He enjoyed some success at schools' level with Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí while simultaneously enjoying championship successes at underage levels with the Finuge club. An All-Ireland medal winner in the intermediate grade, Fitzmaurice has a unique collection of Kerry novice, junior, intermediate and senior medals with the Finuge club and the Feale Rangers divisional side, captaining Feale Rangers to the senior county championship in 2007. As a dual player he also won three county championship medals with the Lixnaw senior hurling team. He also won a Cork County Championship and a Munster Club Championship with UCC as a student in 1999.
Fitzmaurice made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Kerry minor team. An All-Ireland medal winner as a non-playing substitute in this grade in 1994, he later won two All-Ireland medals with the under-21 team in 1996 and 1998. Fitzmaurice made his senior debut during the 1996-97 league against All Ireland Champions Meath. He went on to play a key role for Kerry in defence predominantly playing at Centre Half Back during a hugely successful era, and won three All-Ireland medals, six Munster medals and two National Football League medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions.
Fitzmaurice was a member of the Munster inter-provincial team in 2004 but failed to win a Railway Cup medal. Throughout his inter-county career he made 48 championship appearances. Fitzmaurice retired from inter-county Gaelic football on 10 April 2007, still only 29.
On retiring, Fitzmaurice wrote a column for the Irish Examiner. He quickly became involved in team management as a selector with the Kerry senior team under Jack O Connor. An All-Ireland winner in this role in 2009, he later enjoyed an unsuccessful tenure as manager of the Kerry under-21 team, a role he fulfilled for one season in 2012, as they lost the Munster Final to Cork after an extra time classic. Fitzmaurice was appointed manager of the Kerry senior team on 27 August 2012, becoming the youngest manager in Kerry's history at 35. At the time it was viewed as being handed a poisoned chalice as Kerry had not won a minor All Ireland since 1994 and had won only one Under 21 All Ireland in the 21st Century in 2008. Many of the successful team of the noughties that reached six All Ireland finals in a row had retired or were on the verge of retirement. He led Kerry to eight major honours in six seasons, including one All-Ireland Championship, six Munster Championships and one National League title. He had an overall win percentage of 64% and had a win percentage of 71% in the Championship. He resigned in August 2018, winning his final game against Kildare as Kerry failed to progress to the All-Ireland semi-finals from the inaugural Super 8 group stage. He is credited with keeping Kerry competitive while guiding them through a transitional period as many legends of the game retired.
A teacher of history at the co-educational school Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in Dingle since 2001, he succeeded the long-serving Pádraig Firtear as principal in 2018. He has successfully managed at a variety of levels in the school as they continue to overachieve with a school population of under 400 pupils.
He is married to Tina and has two children Faye and Rian.

Career statistics

Player

Manager

Kerry Retirements and Championship debuts under Éamonn Fitzmaurice
YearDebutsRetired
2013Johnny Buckley, Paul Geaney, Mikey Geaney, Mark Griffin, Jack Sherwood, Fionn FitzgeraldTomás Ó Sé, Paul Galvin, Eoin Brosnan
2014Brian Kelly, Paul Murphy, Stephen O Brien, Jonathon Lyne, Pa KilkennyDeclan O Sullivan
2015Kieran O Leary
2016Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Tadhg Morley, Tony BrosnanColm Cooper, Marc Ó Sé, Aidan O Mahony,
2017Kevin McCarthy, Tom O Sullivan, Jack Barry, Jack SavageBryan Sheehan
2018David Clifford, Jason Foley, Seán O Shea, Shane Murphy, Gavin White, Micheál Burns, Ronan Shanahan, Gavin CrowleyKieran Donaghy, Donnchadh Walsh, Anthony Maher, Darran O Sullivan


Honours

Player

; University College Cork
; Finuge
; Lixnaw
; Feale Rangers
; Kerry
; Kerry
; Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne
; Kerry