Fitzpatrick hoping that winning CBS cycle continues

He’ll always be remembered for that point although, by his own high standards, James Fitzpatrick admits that wasn’t having the best of games when Roscommon CBS faced Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra in the 2019 All-Ireland Colleges’ Senior B football final in Croke Park.

But when he received a pass from Colin Walsh in injury time, he confidently stroked the ball between the posts at the Davin end to confirm a dramatic 1-12 to 1-11 victory. A few minutes later, captain Ciarán Lawless had his hands on the Paddy Drummond Cup and the magnitude of what Fitzpatrick and his team-mates had achieved began to seep in.

“Funnily enough, I didn’t remember a lot about most of the games that year. But I remember bits and pieces of the final. The game had sort of gone away from me but I was in the right spot for Colin (Walsh) to give me the ball at the end of the game.

“We made a slow start. We eventually settled to go a good bit up but they clawed it back. It was typical of Roscommon teams in that the game seemed to be slipping away from us in sight of the winning line. But we managed to hang on in there and it was a lovely way to end it, both from a personal perspective and for the school,” Fitzpatrick recalled.

Fitzpatrick went on to achieve big things with the Roscommon U-20 footballers and his club Oran, but he’s in no doubt which success resonates with him the most.

“It was probably my favourite one. You’re playing in the school for six years with the same lads and the same managers who are essentially teachers. With a county team, there might be different people in or out. But, definitely, it was the most enjoyment I got out of winning something.

“A lot of us went on to play with that Roscommon U-20 team (All-Ireland finalists in 2021). It helped that a good few of us were used to playing with each other. A few of us have gone on to play with Roscommon at senior level since.” 

While Fitzpatrick, Tim Lambe and Keith Doyle have graduated from that CBS All-Ireland winning team to Davy Burke’s current senior panel, players like Colin Walsh, Cian Glennon, Jack Lohan and Ciarán Lawless have been around the panel in recent years to showcase how schools’ success filters into Roscommon teams down the line.

For Fitzpatrick, however, the motivation came from within — seeing other school teams doing well, fuelling an ambition to follow in their footsteps.

“My first year in the school, the senior team were in the A final (2015). We were the fans back then, doing the chanting. I’m sure it’s the same these days. We were literally trying to get back to where those lads were. Somehow, we ended up doing it in the end.

“I’m sure a lot of the current team were the same. They were in First Year when we were in Sixth Year. It’s the same cycle that keeps repeating itself, which can only be a good thing.

“We just happened to be in the school at the right time. Knowing that the lads ahead of you were able to win an All-Ireland title was huge. It’s why these lads are driving on,” he explained.

Current joint manager, Eoghan Coll, was in charge when Fitzpatrick and his classmates scaled their Mount Everest, and the Oran forward hopes that Coll can sprinkle some of his magic on the class of 2025 when they rock up to Glennon Brothers Pearse Park for Sunday’s final.

“Eoghan has been so successful that he’s probably due a phonecall to take a manager’s job somewhere else. I just remember from the training sessions in school that his training was as good, if not better, than the training you’d get anywhere else.

“I looked back at the semi-final (against St. Peter’s College, Dunboyne) and it went very much the same way as our semi-final (against St. Patrick’s GS, Downpatrick, which CBS won 1-12 to 1-6) went. Hopefully the final goes the same way, although not as stressful towards the end,” he concluded.