SEOIRSE BULFIN ON THE DEMANDS OF DAVY FITZ
SEOIRSE BULFIN is asked how he ended up here, a Limerick man wearing an official Wexford-branded sleeveless jacket and representing his adopted county at the launch of the Leinster Championship in the military surrounds of McKee Barracks adjacent to the Phoenix Park.
The answer is simple: Davy Fitzgerald.
If the Wexford hurling manager has a right-hand man, it’s Bulfin, who has formed a double-act with the Clare man at senior inter-county level in three different counties.
Fitzgerald is clearly a hard man to say ‘no’ to. ‘I’m working with Davy since 2003 in Limerick IT. Coaching with him in his last year in Waterford, the five years in Clare. I remember meeting him late September, early October 2016 and he said he’d been approached by Wexford and he was thinking of going down — would I go with him. I said, “Are you mad? It’s way too far to be travelling down there. I’ve three small kids now at home — I’ll be shot!”
‘When he was appointed he said, “Look, will you be interested in getwith. ting involved?” When you love hurling and love sport it’s great being involved at that level. The Wexford lads are super to be involved with.’
He fills out the portrait of Fitzgerald’s larger-than-life persona and the man who won two All-Irelands as Clare goalkeeper before guiding them to the summit in 2013. So what’s he really like, away from the passionate, tempestuous figure on the sideline? ‘The public persona at times – I spend a lot of my time defending Davy to people who don’t know him and just see him on the sideline. Even on the sideline he’s calmed down an awful lot the last number of years. He’s a top-class man-manager. For me, he displays unbelievable emotional intelligence.
‘He’s very quick to see what’s in a guy’s head and whether he needs an arm around the shoulder or a kick up the backside. He’s just really good with his players. A players’ guy. He’ll back them to the last.
‘A fantastic guy to work He’ll wreck your head at times because the standards he demands. I remember one night I left Cusack Park and got home to south Limerick an hour later and I was on the phone to him literally for the hour after training going over stuff. It’s not a chore. You’re getting to work with someone like Davy, learning every day. Working with great players. I love it.’
Wexford have been surfing a wave of support since Fitzgerald took over at the start of last season, guiding the county to promotion to Division 1A and a Leinster final. Big wins over Waterford, Cork and Clare meant that they were again flying high in this year’s Allianz League, even taking the scalp of AllIreland champions Galway in the quarter-final. And then Kilkenny came to town and beat them comfortably in the semi-final.
Bulfin (below) makes no bones about that being a shock to the system. ‘Being honest, it’s probably the most disappointing [experience] since we started a year and a half ago. You have to measure it: you’re probably never as good as your best day or never as bad as your worst. The Wexford people and supporters have been very positive from day one. You get 15 or 16,000 supporters for a League semi-final and you perform like that – you’re going to be disappointed.
‘That’s put to bed now. There is no point dwelling on it. We haven’t met for a couple of weeks now. There has been club championship.’
Wexford face Dublin first up in the Leinster round-robin at Innovate Wexford Park on Sunday, May 20 but there is already talk of the last round against Kilkenny at Nowlan Park being a sell-out, especially after Wexford beat Kilkenny in Championship last year for the first time since 2004.
‘You’re talking about creating a rivalry – the one bear you don’t want to go poking is Kilkenny! It’s done now. Kilkenny came down and showed what they are all about. There is a reason they have been the dominant force the last two decades nearly.
‘Brian [Cody] has an unbelievable track record of creating players and finding players out of nothing. A lot of these guys maybe would have been unheard of outside of hurling circles or who wouldn’t follow club hurling closely but the way they finished the League against ourselves in the semi-final and Tipperary in the final was phenomenal. ‘People wrote Kilkenny off for a while — you do that at your peril.’ --
Davy Fitz displays unbelievable emotional intelligence