{"id":10098,"date":"2022-04-03T19:56:18","date_gmt":"2022-04-03T19:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=10098"},"modified":"2022-04-03T19:56:18","modified_gmt":"2022-04-03T19:56:18","slug":"the-reception-we-received-in-the-home-of-the-meehans-was-so-humbling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=10098","title":{"rendered":"‘The reception we received in the home of the Meehans was so humbling’"},"content":{"rendered":"

GALWAY ALL-IRELAND winner Kieran Fitzgerald is the next GAA figure to feature in the current season of TG4\u2032s Laochra Gael.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald enjoyed a successful career with the Galway footballers, winning a senior All-Ireland title in 2001 and an All-Ireland U21 crown the following year.<\/p>\n

The episode also features the unprecedented levels of success he enjoyed with Corofin and, his wife \u2014 and former Galway ladies footballer \u2014 Emer Flaherty.<\/p>\n

But the talented defender experienced a huge personal loss following the death of his girlfriend Mair\u00e9ad Meehan, who was also a sister of the Meehan brothers who played for Galway.<\/p>\n

When Fitzgerald won his first All-Ireland title with Corofin in 2015, he brought the trophy to the Meehans in Caltra to include Mair\u00e9ad\u2019s family in the celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo achieve our ultimate goal on behalf of Corofin GAA club was amazing,\u201d he recalls, \u201cand we tried for so long, and there were many players that I played with that didn\u2019t get there. It was for them as well.<\/p>\n

\n
Advertisement<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe reception we received in Caltra and Castleblakeney, the home of the Meehans was so humbling. I saw the joy they had for me and I knew that they wanted me to achieve that and to feel that and have that happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a candid account of Mair\u00e9ad\u2019s life, Fitzgerald explains how she had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma which required various surgeries and treatments.<\/p>\n

Click Here: <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met her,\u201d Fitzgerald begins, \u201cyou would not know she had that trauma behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe never let that hold her back and she had a personality that was so full of energy, enthusiasm and drive for life. She didn\u2019t allow it to get in her way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t let it overpower us. We were always aware it was there, she was always aware it was there but we didn\u2019t really talk about it unless we had to talk about it. There was always the cloud of an upcoming scan or a test looming.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2006, Fitzgerald lined out for Ireland in the International Rules series against Australia with the first Test taking place in Galway\u2019s Pearse Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe following Tuesday,\u201d he continues, \u201cMair\u00e9ad had a result of a scan and unfortunately the prognosis of that scan was poor and essentially terminal. So, that was tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the weeks went on, Mair\u00e9ad\u2019s condition deteriorated and [she] sadly passed away at the end of January, 2007.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n SEE SPORT
DIFFERENTLY<\/p>\n

\n Get closer to the stories that matter with exclusive analysis, insight and debate in The42 Membership.\n <\/p>\n

Become a Member<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fitzgerald talks about how he struggled to cope with her passing, and the difficulties of trying to return to football.<\/p>\n

He remembers how he eventually started to lose his desire to continue playing at inter-county level before deciding to step away in 2011.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald would later enjoy a successful period with his club Corofin, which culminated in an All-Ireland three-in-a-row. The last of those All-Ireland triumphs was in 2020 when Fitzgerald was 39, and still playing a key role in the team that narrowly edged out Kilcoo after extra-time in Croke Park.<\/p>\n

The episode is a compelling and moving watch which also features contributions from\u00a0Michael Meehan, Gary Sice, Stephen Rochford, and M\u00e1ire Ni Bhraon\u00e1in.<\/p>\n

You can watch Kieran Fitzgerald\u2019s Laochra Gael on Thursday, 10 February at 9.30pm<\/em><\/p>\n

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GALWAY ALL-IRELAND winner Kieran Fitzgerald is the next GAA figure to feature in the current season of TG4\u2032s Laochra Gael. Fitzgerald enjoyed a successful career with the Galway footballers, winning a senior All-Ireland title in 2001 and an All-Ireland U21 crown the following year. The episode also features the unprecedented levels of success he enjoyed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}