IT’S hard to know where you start with Matthew Fitzpatrick. At press nights, a lot of players turn up with their game-faces on. A series of well-rehearsed clichés are churned out, and reporters and players move on with their lives.
Sometimes these events can be solemn affairs. But Fitzpatrick wrong-foots you from the off.
Standing on MacRory Park at O’Donnell’s GAC last Monday night, you realise instantly that convention and Fitzpatrick don’t mix.
There’s a clue in his Twitter profile which reads: ‘Everything I’ve done wrong seemed like good craic at the time’.
Fitzpatrick dictates the content of this interview.
The 21-year-old wing-forward prefers to crack jokes than indulge in a few safe Ulster Championship clichés.
He used to play for Irish League club Glentoran and only started playing Gaelic football when he was “16 or 17”.
He doesn’t follow Gaelic football and wouldn’t know any of the game’s big stars if they bumped into him in the street.
He’s scored three goals in Antrim’s successful NFL Division Four campaign, one of which came in the League final against Louth at Croke Park.
He’s a fan of ‘The Dab’ goal celebration.
He’s one of three St John’s men involved with Antrim this year, Patrick McBride and joint manager Gearoid Adams being the others.
With a roguish grin, he suggests that the only reason McBride gets on the team is because he’s Gearoid’s brother-in-law.
And with some mock guilt he confesses that he only gets on the team because he’s also Johnnies man. Meet Matthew Fitzpatrick. Irreverent, refreshing, funny and entertaining.
This is not your regular GAA player interview.
“There’s three St John’s men. Me, Gearoid and Patrick,” he explains.
“You see, Patrick only gets on the team because he’s Gearoid’s brother-in-law. He doesn’t tell anybody that but that’s the main reason he gets a game… and he looks after me too because I’m St John’s.”
It’s his second year on the Antrim senior panel. He cut short his first season.
“I left to go to America. I got off-side before anyone knew me!” he laughs. “A few of my mates went to New York for three months, Brooklyn. We were in the ghetto. I learned a bit there. I loved it.
“I’ll go back but obviously not this year because Gearoid would kill me!”
It was by pure chance Fitzpatrick ended up playing Gaelic football. A highly-rated central defender in soccer, he joined Glentoran where he played youth and reserve team football.
“To be honest, until I was 16 or 17, I wasn’t fussed on playing Gaelic football at all,” he says matter-of-factly. “I was playing soccer. I played for Glentoran’s youth and reserve teams… I then went to Donegal Celtic.
“I was an Irish League reserve team journeyman at a young age.
“My family and a lot of my friends wouldn’t be GAA-orientated, they’re all soccer heads. I always seen myself playing soccer until I got more involved with Gaelic and I just followed that route.
“I played Gaelic because some of my mates were playing for St John’s and then I started getting alright at it and I got worse at soccer! So I said I’d play more Gaelic.”
The St Mary’s student is one the reasons why there’s a great deal of optimism in the county this year.
Fitzpatrick has offered the Antrim seniors a much-needed finishing touch from the half-forward line, plenty of lung power and a devil-may-care attitude that only 21-year-olds can bring.
Apart from the dead-rubber against Louth at Corrigan Park, Fitzpatrick has started every NFL game for Antrim, registering 3-3.
The highlight of his year so far was his brilliant goal finish against Louth at Croke Park. Fitzpatrick accepted a pass from Kevin Niblock and he instinctively drilled the ball into the corner of the net.
“I just remember Kevin Niblock set me up. Every goal I’ve got this year, Kevin has assisted me,” he says. “Every time he gets the ball I just hang about him. He’s sound that way.
“Somehow Kevin managed to jump through about four players and handed it out to me.
“Nine times out of 10, when I go for goal, I hit it as soon as I can because the goalkeeper can’t get set and I hit it as hard as I can. So if it doesn’t go in, it’ll go over the bar and it doesn’t look as bad.
“It just ended up going in…”
Grinning again, he adds: “But I lost a bit of composure with my celebration. I had one planned but I fluffed my lines. I just gave it the old ‘Yaaaah’ [punching the air]. I was going to do ‘The Dab’… It’s the thing that American footballers and basketballers are doing.
"I didn’t think I was going to score for a start, and then Ronan O’Neill [Tyrone] did it the next day [against Cavan]. His goal was a bit better than mine and he’s more high-profile than me, so fair play to him.
“Some of my mates had a bet that I would be the first goalscorer. I scored but it wasn’t the first goal. I got a few texts afterwards calling me a few names, but one of them had me to score at any time so he has the house on me this Sunday!”
There are fleeting moments of seriousness during the interview.
He describes playing at Croke Park as a “class experience” and hopes to play there again with Antrim. He’s thankful to both Frank Fitzsimons and Adams for giving him his chance to shine this year.
“I’ve known ‘Russ’ [Fitzsimons] a long time, he took our minor and U21 teams and he’s been very good to me. I can’t complain. Gearoid has been the exact same. I’m just lucky I got a good start this year and they’ve kept playing me.”
He adds: “I haven’t played with a more talented bunch of players. We have players here who would grace any team in Ulster or Ireland.
“There’s a good mix. For a young player like me it’s good to have the likes of Mick McCann, Tomas [McCann] and Niblock around you for the big occasions. They are used to playing on the big stage. I’m loving it.”
Contrary to what his Twitter profile says, 'Fitzy' is doing a lot right this year - and he's having good craic too.
