Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 3rd July 1992

By JOE CARROLL of the Dundalk Democrat

Had it not been for a change of manager at Oriel Park, Peter Fitzpatrick might today be pedalling his wares in the League of Ireland and not at Croke Park and other G.A.A. venues. The Louth right half back was making steady, if unspectacular, progress in the world of soccer when the man who was guiding him, Jim McLaughlin, ended his association with Dundalk F.C. That was in the early 'eighties. Acknowledged as the most successful manager ever in Irish soccer, McLaughlin had a big influence on Fitzpatrick.

He was responsible for luring the Dundalk lad back to Oriel Park when it seemed his future lay in Gaelic, but when the genial Derryman broke with the club with which he had enjoyed outstanding success, Fitzpatrick lost interest. Oriel Park's loss has undoubtedly been Louth's gain. In the thirteen years he's been playing with Louth Seniors, the man known as the "Fitzer" by just about everyone following the red jersey has been a model of consistency. He rarely plays a bad game, and as the men who have steered the Louth team in those thirteen years would tell you, no-one is more dedicated to training.

The early part of Fitzpatrick's career ran parallel with that of another of Dundalk's sporting heroes, Barry Kehoe. Both figured on the same team in Cumann Peil na nOg, the name given to the organisation which runs G.A.A. streets' League football in the town. Playing with The Demesne, they won Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14 medals, and in their mid-teens, took themselves to Oriel Park. Fitzpatrick must have shown lots of promise as a soccer player because he was just 15 when he played with Dundalk's premier side for the first time. Newry Town provided the opposition in a friendly, and on his debut that day also in the black and white jersey was Martin Lawlor.

There were regular outings on the "B" and Youths teams for Fitzpatrick after that. However, when, in 1980, he chose to bye-pass a Youths' tour of France in preference to captaining the Louth Minor side, it seemed his association with soccer was finished. It was - until Jim McLaughlin talked him into going back to Oriel Park two years later. He knew at this point that it wasn't possible to serve two masters, so he announced he was quitting the Louth Senior side, but would continue to play with his club Clan na Gael.

The 1982/'83 season was rewarding for Fitzpatrick. He was a regular on the reserve side which won the League of Ireland "B" Division, and figured against Sligo Rovers in the First Division (as it was known then). But at the end of that season, when Jim McLaughlin decided to switch from Dundalk to Shamrock Rovers, Oriel Park - or soccer - didn't have the same appeal to Fitzpatrick. Barry Kehoe saw it differently; he stayed with the head-the-ball game, and despite adversity, achieved much. Peter Fitzpatrick has no reason to regret his decision to turn his back on soccer, or, to put it another way, concentrate on Gaelic. The Croke Park game has been good to him. He's won two Louth Senior Championship medals and even more at League level, and as he says himself, has provided him with most of his best sporting memories.

"Fitzer" is now nearing his thirtieth birthday. He has no intention of quitting the game. Indeed, he has plenty of ambitions to fulfil - some in the red jersey, others in the green and gold of Clan na Gael. And where Louth is concerned. No. 1 is winning a Leinster Championship. He has done so at Under 21 level. While still a teenager, he figured on the team that beat Longford in the final of 1981. Two years later he postponed his honeymoon to play against Kildare in the decider, at Navan. Wearing the white jersey that day were Larry Tompkins and Shay Fahy; along with their colleagues, these two now nationalised Corkmen had too much guile for Fitzpatrick and company.

The Clan na Gael club, to which Peter Fitzpatrick belongs, supplies six to the Louth panel. There are the three O'Hanlon brothers - Kevin, Seamus and Cathal - Niall O'Donnell and Stefan White. Others, such as Gerry Curran and David Staunton (a brother of Steve, who won a Louth S.F.C. medal in 1985 (as a 16-year-old) have been there or thereabouts. That makes the team based in Dundalk's Castletown area a very formidable force; but, while they have the names. Clans are not over-endowed with trophies. Fitzpatrick was captain when they last won the Championship, in 1987.

Since then, they've been beaten three times in the final. Peter Fitzpatrick is this year's captain. He sees leading the green and golds to victory ALMOST as important as a Louth win in Leinster. Helping with the club's preparations is Mickey Whelan, an All-Ireland winner with Dublin in the early 'sixties. Whelan is also as former Louth team manager. He's one of five men who've guided the Wee County since Peter Fitzpatrick first threw the red jersey over his shoulders. First there was Frank Lynch, then Jimmy Mulroy, and in turn, Frank Fagan, Whelan, Lynch again, and now Declan Smyth. Fitzpatrick has given his best to each of them.

Under Lynch and Mulroy he reached a Leinster semi-final. He's at the same stage under Smyth, and believes he can take it a step further. It's his opinion that the present full forward line/ reading Stefan White, Colin Kelly and Cathal O'Hanlon, is the best Louth has had for some time, and he's in no way fearful of meeting Dublin on Sunday week. To quote him: "Defences save matches, forwards win them. In my time playing with Louth, we have never had a better set of forwards. I remember back in 1983, when we had Dublin on the ropes in the first half, but couldn't put the ball over the bar. They beat quite easily in the finish, but if we had been able to take our scores in the first half, when we played with the wind, I think we could have done it."

That encounter with the Dubs was the first of two Leinster semi-finals in which "Fitzer" has been engaged. The second came last year - the meeting with Laois which had such a traumatic wind-up. He goes into his third semi-final on Sunday week, and is hoping it will be third time lucky. If it is, he'll have a whole county rejoicing, for it's as far back as 1960 that Louth was last represented in a Leinster final. Fitzpatrick first wore the Louth Senior jersey in a League match against Clare, in Ennis. Nothing very significant about the match except that it was played on a Saturday. He figured at No. 5 in an all- Clan na Gael line. The others were the now New York-domiciled Aidan Wiseman and Gary O'Callaghan.

Married to a first cousin of his county team colleagues, the O'Hanlon brothers, "Fitzer" has firm views on how inter-county players should be treated. He's not for payment or even exotic holidays, but would like to see players supplied with equipment. He makes the point that in all of his years playing with Louth he's received only a couple of pairs of boots and a jersey - the latter donated last year by sponsors, AIBP. A former Armyman, he is presently employed by Eastern Electrical, Dundalk as a Customer Services' Manager. He set out with E.A., but in 1987 joined the Army. He did his three years, and when they were up, returned to his former place of employment, of which a former executive once said to this writer: "They love their Gaelic football up in that place." That's particularly true of Peter Fitzpatrick.

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