Former Laois hurler Tommy Fitzgerald will be hoping to help St Thomas’s to Galway championship success this afternoon.
The Portlaoise man is coach with the east Galway side who are seeking to win a fourth Galway final in a row – and a fifth in six years.
Fitzgerald was a selector/coach with the Laois senior hurlers under Eddie Brennan in the 2019 and 2020 season but linked up with St Thomas’s this year under manager Kenneth Burke.
Burke, a brother of Galway player David, took over as manager this year from Kevin Lally, with Fitzgerald filling the coaching vacancy left vacant by former Limerick manager TJ Ryan.
St Thomas’s have dominated the Galway championship this year with an average winning margin of almost 16 points per game and were 4-20 to 0-9 winners over Gort in the semi-final two weeks ago, a game that had to be postponed initially because of a Covid outbreak in Gort.
Galway player Conor Cooney is their leading scorer up front while Shane Cooney and David Burke have played with the county too.
St Thomas’s were in the 2019 All Ireland club final and were champions back in 2013.
Clarinbridge, who were All Ireland champions in 2011 but haven’t won the Galway title since, are their opponents this afternoon in Pearse Park at 1pm.
Among Clarinbridge’s star names is Galway forward Evan Niland and they have a promising young team.
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