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11th June 2015
11:58am BST

Intriguingly, as part of his desire to impart more freedom of thinking within the panel, Fitzgerald does not deliver all the team talks. Before the Banner's Munster quarter-final loss to Limerick, Brendan Bugler and Conor McGrath delivered a rousing speech to their teammates.
Where was Fitzgerald? 'I was on the field 10 or 15 minutes before the players came out,' he said.
Fitzgerald gave an infamously feisty and, at times, awkward interview with RTE reporter Clare McNamara after the Limerick loss. He admitted he was annoyed, about the game, going into his TV interview.
https://youtu.be/mmx7j94eU1I
'I haven't looked at that interview... I'm a passionate Clare man and I'm not going to change that. While there are certain things I would like to change in interviews, I'm not going to change that.
'As much as certain people think I like to be in the public eye, I absolutely detest it.'
Perhaps the biggest insight into Fitzgerald's drive in life, and passion for hurling, can be seen in the influence his father - Clare County Secretary, Pat Fitzgerald - has on him. He admitted there are many father and son spats over the team and, in particular, the costs they run up.
Fitzgerald recounted this classic conversation: 'If I want sliothars, I put it to him and he says "What did ye do with the last bunch ye got".'
Thoroughly brilliant stuff from O'Connell. Pick up, or click into, the latest from The Clare Champion for the full interview if you can.Explore more on these topics: