Damien Fitzhenry
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| Damien Fitzhenry | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | |
| Irish Name | Damien Mac Einrí | |
| Full name | Damien Fitzhenry | |
| Place of birth | Enniscorthy , County Wexford | |
| Club information | ||
| Club | Duffry Rovers | |
| Position | Goalkeeper | |
| Inter-County | ||
| County | Wexford | |
| Position | Goalkeeper | |
| Inter-County(ies)** | ||
| County | Years | Apps (scores) |
| Wexford | 1993- | |
| Senior Inter-County Titles | ||
| Leinster Titles | 3 | |
| All-Ireland | 1 | |
| All Stars | 2 | |
|
* club appearances and scores |
||
Damien Fitzhenry (born 1974) is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Duffry Rovers and with the Wexford senior inter-county team. He is the current goalkeeper on both teams and is widely regarded as Wexford's greatest ever goalkeeper.[1]
He has been nominated for eight All Stars and has received the award twice.[2] He also won a GPA All Star in 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Damien Fitzhenry was born just outside Enniscorthy, County Wexford in 1974. The youngest of 15 children, he was born into a family that was very active in Gaelic games. While most of his brothers had successful Gaelic football careers, Fitzhenry has become one of the most famous faces in the world of inter-county hurling.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club
Fitzhenry, along with his brother Mark, Tom, Seamus, John, Martin, Gerard, Noel, Paddy and Fran, all played club hurling and football with the Duffry Rovers club near Enniscorthy. He joined the senior ranks of the club in the early 1990s and has shared in some of the clubs most recent county titles in football. Three of Fitzhenry’s sisters, Tina, Mary and Ann, have also played camogie with Duffry Rovers.
[edit] Inter-county
Fitzhenry first came to prominence in the early 1990s when he joined the Wexford minor hurling panel. He quickly moved onto the under-21 panel, however, he had little success at either of these two grades. In 1993 Fitzhenry made his senior debut in the National Hurling League quarter-final against Westmeath. Wexford went on to reach the National League final that year, however, they were beaten by Cork following two replays. For the next few seasons Wexford played second fiddle to Offaly in the Leinster championship, however, in 1996 Fitzhenry’s side bridged a nineteen year gap when Wexford won their first Leinster title since 1977. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Fitzhenry had a great game and won his first All-Ireland medal.
In 1997 Fitzhenry won his second Leinster medal, however, Wexford were later defeated by beaten Munster finalists Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final. In spite of this Fizthenry was still recognized as the best goalkeeper in the country and he was presented with an All-Star award at the end of the championship. The next few years proved difficult as Wexford faced a resurgent Kilkenny team in the Leinster championship. It took until 2004 for Wexford to finally beat Kilkenny and Fitzhenry claimed a third Leinster title. His side were later defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final, however, Fitzhenry collected his second All-Star award. Since then he has had no further success with his native county.
| Preceded by Nigel Higgins |
Wexford Senior Hurling Captain 2007 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
[edit] Trivia
Fitzhenry is a superstitious hurler and doesn’t shave for three days before a big championship game.
[edit] Teams
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[edit] References
- ^ Hoganstand.com - GAA Football & Hurling
- ^ Shannon, Kieran. "Pride and passion of the keeper", Sunday Tribune, 2008-04-06. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- Christy O'Connor, Last Man Standing: Hurling Goalkeepers, (O'Brien Press, 2005)
