King in a kingdom of kings by Tom Looney

 

This book takes its title from the heartfelt prayer of a character in a short story by Killarney writer Séamus de Faoite:

O God be good to you, Dickeen Fitz,
You king in a kingdom of kings.

As well as the life story of Gaelic football pioneer and independence fighter, Killarney-born Dick Fitzgerald (1882–1930), this book includes, in facsimile, his 1914 classic How to Play Gaelic Football, the first-ever GAA instruction manual, called ‘more or less the Koran’ of Gaelic football by Galway’s Sean Purcell, centre-forward on the Team of the Millennium.

Dick Fitzgerald, one of Gaelic football’s most legendary players in a kingdom of legendary players, had an extraordinary sporting career, winning four Kerry county championships for Dr Crokes, three Croke Cups (as captain) and five senior All-Ireland medals. All this as well as coaching, refereeing and administrative roles for the GAA at club, county, province and national level in a career disrupted by lengthy imprisonment after the 1916 Rising and subsequent flying column activities.

Elected local councillor for Sinn Féin before the War of Independence, Dick Fitzgerald sided with fellow-Frongoch detainee Michael Collins after the Treaty of 1921 and served as a Cumann na nGaedheal member on Killarney UDC. He died tragically after a fall on the Friday of All-Ireland weekend 1930, aged forty-seven. The grief-struck Kerry team won their ninth senior title that weekend, returning to Killarney to bury their king the following day. At his funeral his club’s floral tribute referred to him ‘Ireland’s Greatest Gael’.

Killarney’s Fitzgerald Stadium is an enduring monument to a great Kerry sportsman and patriot; King in a Kingdom of Kings is a record of his life and achievements for lovers of Gaelic games in Kerry and throughout the world.