John Fitzgibbon (born 6 May 1967) is a retired Irish hurler who played for Cork Senior Championship club

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They have been historically part of the ''Big Three'' of Cork hurl ...

. He played for the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

for seven seasons, during which time he usually lined out as a left corner-forward. Fitzgibbon began his hurling career at club level with Glen Rovers. He broke onto the club's top adult team as an 18-year-old in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, having enjoyed championship successes in the minor and under-21 grades. Fitzgibbon was at right wing-forward on the Glen's 1989 Cork Senior Championship-winning team. He played his last club game in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

after making 25 championship appearances for Glen Rovers. At inter-county level, Fitzgibbon was part of the successful Cork minor team that won the All-Ireland Championship in

before later winning an All-Ireland Championship with the under-21 team in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. He joined the Cork senior team in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. From his debut, Fitzgibbon was ever-present as an inside forward and made a combined total of 38 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in

. During that time he was part of two All-Ireland Championship-winning teams – in

and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. Fitzgibbon also secured three Munster Championship medals and a

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

medal. Fitzgibbon's inter-county career ended in 1993 after he was forced to emigrate.

Playing career

Glen Rovers

Fitzgibbon joined the

club from Brian Dillons at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 16 December 1984, he was only 17-years-old when he lined out at left corner-forward when Glen Rovers defeated

Tracton Tracton () is a civil parish in southeast County Cork in Ireland. Lying roughly 7 kilometres south of Carrigaline, it lies within the Dáil constituency of Cork South-Central. The area is named after Tracton Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that ...

by 1–14 to 2–09 to win the Cork Under-21 Championship. On 6 October 1985, Fitzgibbon was selected to play at full-forward when Glen Rovers reached the final of the Cork Minor Championship. He scored a point from play in the 0–14 to 0–07 defeat of St. Patrick's in the final. Fitzgibbon was still eligible for the minor grade when he was selected for the Glen Rovers senior team. He made his first appearance on 26 May 1985 when he was introduced as a substitute for the Glen's 0–08 to 1–04 defeat of Seandún. On 16 October 1988, Fitzgibbon lined out in his first Cork Senior Championship final. He scored a point from full-forward in the 3–18 to 2–14 defeat by St. Finbarr's. On 1 October 1989, Fitzgibbon was at right wing-back when Glen Rovers faced Sarsfields in the final of the Cork Senior Championship. He scored 1-03 from play and collected a winners' medal following the 4–15 to 3–13 victory. Fitzgibbon was also named as the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. On 22 September 1991, Fitzgibbon was selected at full-forward when Glen Rovers faced

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...

in the Cork Senior Championship final. He was held scoreless as Glen Rovers suffered a 1–17 to 1–08 defeat.

Cork

Minor and under-21

Fitzgibbon first played for

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

as a member of the minor team during the 1984 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 18 April when he lined out at right corner-back in a 1–18 to 3–04 defeat of Kerry. On 7 July 1985, Fitzgibbon won a Munster Championship medal after scoring a point from left corner-forward in a 1–13 to 1–08 defeat of Tipperary in the final. He was switched to left wing-forward for the All-Ireland final against

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

on 1 September. Fitzgibbon scored a 37th-minute goal in the 3–10 to 0–12 victory. Fitzgibbon was added to the Cork under-21 team for the 1987 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance on 22 April when he scored two points from left corner-forward in a 1–15 to 2–05 defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. On 27 July 1988, Fitzgibbon won a Munster Championship medal after scoring 1-01 from left corner-forward in a 4–12 to 1–07 defeat of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in the final. He was moved to the left wing-forward position for the All-Ireland final against

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

on 11 September. Fitzgibbon goaled after just 15 seconds in the 4–11 to 1–05 victory.

Senior

Fitzgibbon was selected for the Cork senior team for the first time on 8 June 1986. He was an unused substitute for the 6–13 to 0–09 defeat of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in the Munster Championship. After impressing in a series of challenge matches, Fitzgibbon was named at right corner-forward for the

Munster final Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

against Clare. He scored 1-01 from play in the 2–18 to 3–12 victory. He was dropped from the starting fifteen for the subsequent All-Ireland Championship. On 7 September, Fitzgibbon won an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medal as a non-playing substitute in Cork's 4–13 to 2–15 defeat of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. On 15 July 1990, Fitzgibbon was selected at left corner-forward for Cork's

meeting with Tipperary. He scored two goals and collected a second provincial winners' medal following the 4–16 to 2–14 defeat of Tipperary. On 2 September, Fitzgibbon was again at left corner-forward for the All-Ireland final against Galway. He scored two goals in the space of 90 seconds in the second half to help Cork to a 5–15 to 2–21 victory. It was Fitzgibbon's second winners' medal overall and his first on the field of play. He ended the season by being selected for the

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team. Fitzgibbon ended the 1991 season with a second consecutive All-Star award. On 5 July 1992, Fitzgibbon won a third Munster Championship medal after lining out at left corner-forward in Cork's 1–22 to 3–11 defeat of Limerick in the

. He was retained at left corner-forward for the subsequent All-Ireland final against Kilkenny. Fitzgibbon was once again held scoreless in the 3–10 to 1–12 defeat. On 22 May 1993, Fitzgibbon was named as a substitute for Cork second National League final replay with Wexford. He scored a goal after being introduced as a substitute in the 3–11 to 1–12 victory.

Career statistics

Club

Inter-county

Honours

;Glen Rovers *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

(1):

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

*Cork Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 1984 *Cork Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1985 ;Cork *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

(1):

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

(1):

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

(1):

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

(1):

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

(1):

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgibbon, John 1967 births Living people Glen Rovers hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners 20th-century Irish sportsmen