MEATH WILL RETURN to the Joe McDonagh Cup under new management after Nick Fitzgerald confirmed his departure today.
Fitzgerald led the Royals to Christy Ring Cup glory this season and was expected to lead them back into the second tier in 2020. But after two years in charge and despite being offered a new term, he made the decision to step down due to work commitments.
“Finding the right balance with my business, home life, and the commitment required to manage the Meath senior hurling team has been difficult as well as being thoroughly enjoyable,” he said in a statement.
“Moving forward I have a business that continues to thrive outside of Ireland and Britain as well as other parts of Europe. The build-up of the travel time involved with this continues to grow and these additional time pressures will see me out of the country more often.
“When you have players giving the total commitment you need to match or indeed exceed that level, and this is where I would fail in 2020 if I continued as manager.”
Fitzgerald also paid a glowing tribute to his backroom team and players, who defeated Down by 4-19 to 2-15 in the Christy Ring final in June.
Meath were relegated from the Joe McDonagh during the Waterford native’s first year in charge after losing all five of their games, but they sealed an immediate return to the competition this summer.
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