CHINA IN HIS HAND
Kilkenny legend James Fitzpatrick is enjoying his biggest challenge yet on the other side of the planet
FROM Ballyhale to Xi’an in the heart of China, it’s been some journey for James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick. Meet the only Kilkenny All-Ireland winning captain who has solid foundation level Mandarin.
Just after New Year, up popped a clip on social media that had more than the locals back home talking. Who could have guessed that one of their own favourite sons would appear on a video on China Xinhua News, a state-affiliated media, extolling the country’s response to the pandemic and giving a flavour of living through it on the other side of the world.
From mass testing to online teaching to being a new father, the sighting of this Irishman abroad quickly went viral.
The bearded ‘Irish expat in China’s Xi’an’ was quickly revealed to be the self-same prodigious talent whose gilded wristwork and artistry on the field took him from Féile skills champion at 13 years old to retiring at 26, having captained his county to the three-in-a-row in 2008. Along the way he clocked up 13 AllIreland medals across the grades before leaving it all behind, having no more Everests to conquer.
When this reporter last met him in 2018, a decade on from that personal milestone with Kilkenny, he was living and working as a primary school teacher in Dublin. Well, the free spirit and sense of independence that saw him park hurling and explore other interests has brought him to a new life. He takes up this reporter’s invite to an interview via Zoom and is happy to fill in the blanks.
The clues to a different life hardly require Poirot-level sleuthing. His WhatsApp profile features a shot of The Great Wall; the China flag features too. The full beard is different; so too the Zoom background of a space rocket launching with the earth in profile in the background.
When he tells you, ‘I always wanted to see The Wall’, a part of where he is right now makes sense. He’s spent time sightseeing one of the wonders of the world; holidayed down south last summer in another tourist must-see. ‘I went to a beautiful place called Zhangjiajie.
‘Do you know that movie Avatar? It’s like these blue lads flying around the mountains. That was based upon Zhangjiajie.’ The floating peaks of the National Forest Park.
He met his wife Eso and married last April and is now a father to baby daughter Saoirse. ‘Life came at me fast in 2021 – a lot happened,’ he laughs.
He’s happy and settled working as a teacher in Xi’an. As to what he misses? He’ll get to that later. Safe to say a fry is on the list.
On a weekend when his club Ballyhale Shamrocks take on St Thomas’ in the All-Ireland semi-final, the eight-hour time difference doesn’t lend itself to live viewing, not with a young daughter. ‘I haven’t seen many matches – I see the results via the lads in the WhatsApp. I try and keep in touch. Henry [Shefflin] had a great run with Ballyhale for a couple of years. I’m hearing he’s moved to Galway – is that correct?!’
News that his old team-mate and friend and 10-time All-Ireland winner is now manager of Galway has officially made it to north central China, and draws the same level of surprise there.
EASTERN PROMISE
SO, how did he go from teaching primary school children at St Olaf’s on Dublin’s southside to ending up on State TV on a news clip on life in Xi’an and how China is handling the pandemic?
‘It’s a long story,’ he says with a wide smile. ‘I spent one year in Dubai. Worked in a UK school. ‘I was contemplating staying on for another year. Just got talking to a friend from Shanghai down in Abu Dhabi one day, at a swimming pool. As you do.
He said, “I’m in Shanghai – come over here. It’s more international.”
‘It was like the next step. I had a few friends in Shanghai and they said, “Sure you’re after coming this far, you might as well keep coming to China.” So I applied for a few positions and, lo and behold, found one in Xi’an, which is the ancient capital of China. Never heard of Xi’an before; didn’t know where it was.
Pulled out the map and it was pretty central in China.
‘My friends had said, “It’s different, it will take a bit of adapting,” and it sure did.
It’s different alright. This is my third year in China.’
So many lives and timelines have been defined by the pandemic – his own too.
‘I flew in August 2019. Then the whole thing kicked off in Xi’an around February 2020, during the Chinese New
Year. I was actually in Vietnam, in a place called Phú Qu c. It’s an island. Was travelling between Vietnam and Thailand when I had to make a decision. The advice was, “Go home to Ireland.” My school were looking for me to come back.
CLUB CLASS: James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick playing for Ballyhale Shamrocks ‘At the time, it was like, “Don’t attempt to go near China.” But I could see it was travelling and spreading and would probably be global. So I said I might as well be back in China. I found a direct flight from Bangkok to Xi’an about two or three weeks before the borders closed. Got back to Xi’an and I’ve been there ever since.
‘Came back and was teaching then online. It was a good decision. China has probably been the best place to be during the pandemic. The initial lockdown was eight or 10 weeks. After that it was full flow, not a problem. Because they did it right.
‘We’re just after doing another lockdown, starting on about December 20. I was checking the numbers last night on the public website.
‘It was falling down, literally 20 cases, then 10, then five. Was down to zero a few nights ago so we’ll be fully open by the weekend, within Xi’an.
‘It’s literally zero Covid policy – I’ve seen it in action. The Chinese are used to wearing the masks anyway, that’s number one. And number two, when the authorities say ‘hop’, everybody hops.
‘Everybody follows the law. There is no messing around. When they did full lockdown, everyone did that. It’s going to work much better in a Communist country. There’s no dissenters, making like ‘freedom!
‘The mass testing was incredible. That was another factor. With 95 per cent of the Xi’an population vaccinated, with all those measures, I think that’s why it has been a success. If you’re going to do restrictions, do them right. Then when it opens up, you have the free run of the place.
‘Still, it was tough enough. It’s a difficult one because we’re social creatures, you can’t keep us locked up.
‘Different countries have had different rules. It’s a Catch-22. Lockdown doesn’t eradicate the virus. It doesn’t work unless every country does it. What it will do here is probably harden the border.’
And how he ended up on State TV? ‘I was asked to do a clip as a foreigner. I answered it fairly positively – I think any of the negative bits were cut out! I do believe in
‘THE ONE BIG AREA I MISS IS REGULAR GOLF ON GOOD COURSES’
what they’re doing here. A big thing here is that they have the Beijing Winter Olympics coming in the next two weeks. So they do want to showcase China as an example of a country that handled it successfully. Which they did.’
ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
IN messaging him, I nearly typed ‘Zha’ Fitzpatrick, which certainly has its own ring to it. Language is his day-to-day, as he explains how this famous son of Ballyhale Shamrocks has a working level of Mandarin, working with the equivalent of primary school kids locally.
‘I’m an EML teacher in my school, which means English Medium Language. So I teach science through English and English through science together. I’d be the head of EML in our school. Help other teachers who are teaching art, music, or PE through English.
‘It’s all Chinese students in my school. Outside it’s not spoken on the street so you have to come up with ways, and using technology, to give them every opportunity to improve their language.
‘I’d have foundational Chinese Mandarin. In all the primary schools in China it’s the standard language. They teach Mandarin as a standard subject. Different cities have their dialect of Mandarin.
‘It’s a mad language. It’s a tonal language so there are four tones – like up, down. They have different phonics, different sounds that we are totally alien to.’
He’s just a regular teacher to the kids and locals; not the hurling artist on the field that made him such a popular and pivotal player during the noughties, signing off in his own way with five All-Ireland senior medals, and as a three-time All-Star for whom the ball and hurley seemed to be a natural extension of himself.
Turns out he hasn’t picked up a hurley or pucked a ball in years.
‘There’s no hurling team in Xi’an anyway. There are about three Irish lads here. Maybe a couple more I don’t know about. A great guy from Roscrea, called Brian Lalor, principal in another school.
‘There’s another guy from Dublin who makes sausages, his name is Steve. Most of the foreigners are in Shanghai, it’s much more international. Here is more traditional, much more Chinese.’
Recent summers have allowed him to indulge that free spirit that has wanted to explore a world outside of the parameters of being an inter-county player, which eventually felt narrow.
‘The last couple of summers I’ve just travelled around within China. It was a great opportunity to see some of the country. We went up to Beijing last July, then to the Great Wall. There are many places to see the wall but with the crowds of Chinese, it can be overrun by people.
‘But we found a place that wasn’t too packed. I always wanted to see The Wall. It’s incredible to see how it was built in the mountains. In summer, it was beautiful.’
Last April he married Eso, 2021 turning into a bit of a whirlwind year on the personal front. ‘We had about 100 guests. Twenty lads I got to know in China and Shanghai, 80 from her side.
‘We had a lovely wedding. A great day out. Eso is a recruiter, does visas. Met her through that. An interview turned into a date which ended up getting married!
‘So all is good. The last month being lockdown, any parent with an infant, it’s kind of ideal in a way.’
And did he get much reaction after his television appearance? ‘I keep in touch with a few of the lads alright on WhatsApp. I wouldn’t keep in tune with Twitter or Facebook, I don’t do anything like that.
‘A few of the lads in the WhatsApp were laughing away, saying “There must have been pressure on you to say that”. There was no pressure.’
TIES THAT BIND
BALLYHALE Shamrocks are out today against St Thomas and, while his own life has moved on, he will always have that emotional attachment. The news of the result will quickly filter its way to him for sure as the club chases history in the shape of a third consecutive senior hurling All-Ireland, never done before by any club. That it’s the 50th anniversary of the club’s founding adds another dimension.
‘Everyone goes their own way. My brother-in-law James Fitzgerald, he’s either a selector or does statistics for our manager James O’Connor.’
As to what he does he does with his spare time? Now approaching 37, it’s not that long ago he took that eye for a ball and turned it into close to a scratch handicap.
As a member of the prestigious Mount Juliet close to home in Kilkenny, he won Golfer of the Year in 2017.
‘In Xi’an, there are approximately 13 million people. There are only two golf courses. In Ireland, what do you have – roughly five million and 350 golf courses? The one big area I miss is regular golf on good courses. In Ireland, you’re spoilt for choice, and value. When you have so many people and so few options, it’s very expensive here.
‘The one big cultural difference I notice between China and Ireland is, there is not as much emphasis on sport here as in Ireland. It’s a really good thing to have in society. Irish society is very centred on sport which is great. They have ping pong and badminton but you wouldn’t see many out having a jog. They have their gyms and swimming pools but the emphasis isn’t the same.’
It’s on his list of things he does miss from home. ‘I was a member of Mount Juliet for years. Fabulous course. I watched the Irish Open on Sky last year. I miss the horse racing in Ireland. That could be a good thing though – you’d save yourself some money!’
It didn’t escape his attention either that Charlie Carter – another former Kilkenny All-Ireland winner and All-Star – was the owner and breeder of the Maiden Hurdle winner ‘Howyabud’ at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival.
‘Won well I believe.’
And he mentions another few Irish staples. ‘You’d miss a fry, a proper fry. The sausages are not the same over here, or the bacon. But I’m able to get a crowd from Shanghai to deliver over the odd one.
‘The bag of chips where you’re nearly coughing with the vinegar – I miss that!’
Given the pandemic has shown how hard it is to predict daily living, he is asked if he has any long-term plans and when next he’ll be back on Irish soil.
‘I’ve just been looking at passport application forms for the baby and stuff. For the foreseeable future we’ll be here in Xi’an. I’m reasonably settled and happy there. Eso’s a Chinese girl and runs her business from here. Having said that, the last two years, if it’s proved anything, she could move anywhere in China because she can do a lot online.
‘For the foreseeable, I’ll be in Xi’an, trying to be a good father and trying to help out. It’s looking like China for a while. Long term, maybe eventually we’ll get back to Ireland. But one step at a time.’