If the cap Fitz ...
November 30, 2009'Royal County 2009' caught up with the popular self-made businessman for a chat about gaelic games and spare parts amongst other things…
Not too many can claim to have won Meath football championships at junior, intermediate and senior levels. Okay, it's a feat that's been achieved by many players from the current Wolfe Tones brigade - but what makes Pat Fitzpatrick's achievement all the more remarkable is that he did it with two different clubs. Of course, Wolfe Tones was part of it - Pat collected JFC and IFC medals with the Kilberry/Gibbstown outfit in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He'd won his Keegan Cup souvenir a decade earlier, with Kells outfit Gaelic Colmcille in 1991, lining out at full forward on the side that defeated Walterstown in the senior county final.
The son of long-serving Meath minor board secretary Ultan Fitzpatrick, Pat is very much a fully-fledged Wolfe Tones clubman and he recently came on board as the club's official main sponsor. As the Tones came within inches of regaining the SFC in 2009, losing a replayed decider to Seneschalstown, they did so with Oristown Auto Recyclers Ltd. inscribed across their jersey fronts.
As the name suggests, the company is based in Oristown. Pat worked for the previous owners for a number of years before taking the business over himself about six years ago. During the intervening years, Oristown Auto Recyclers Ltd. has progressed in leaps and bounds, specialising in new and used car parts. These parts are sourced for any make or model of vehicle and sold throughout the north east, particularly into counties Meath, Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Westmeath.
End of Life vehicles are also a speciality. Oristown Auto Recyclers is an authorised treatment facility for County Meath for these vehicles and issues End of Life certificates. In the recycling end of the business, they also take in scrap metal from farms and factories etc. A skip service is also provided for scrap metal.
The recycling end of the business has really taken off and Oristown Auto Recyclers can recycle all types of metal, paying top prices for all farm/factory scrap as well as unwanted cars, vans or trucks. A prompt, reliable service is provided at all times.
At present, seven people are employed full-time at the facility, as well as a couple of part-time lads.
Pat recently availed of the opportunity of mixing business with pleasure when he agreed to become sponsor of Wolfe Tones GFC. How did that arrangement come to pass? "I sponsored them this year for the first time," he explains. "Having played with them and supported them for a number of years, I was delighted to take on the sponsorship when I was approached. I'm delighted to be associated with them. They're a good side. They showed their quality in 2009 and I got a lot of coverage out of their run to the SFC final. Hopefully they'll bounce back and go a step further next year."
All told, Pat himself has had a much-travelled and pretty extraordinary playing career. He started out with the now-defunct Fyanstown and then joined Kells and played senior with them for seven or eight years, collecting a SFC souvenir in '91. Pat actually took a break from football after leaving Kells but he resumed his career with the up-and-coming Wolfe Tones around the turn of the millennium and went on to win JFC and IFC medals back-to-back, providing a bit of experience and leadership to an emerging side. He has since played a lot of junior football with the Tones, adding various medals to his burgeoning collection, including junior 'B', junior 'C' and junior 'D' mementos.
Pat lives in Navan these days and, true to form, a couple of his kids are showing potential as underage players with Simonstown. That's the way it is: football has always been part of life in the Fitzpatrick family. "My dad Ultan is still very much involved and football was always big at home when we were growing up. It was a huge part of our upbringing. I have five sons and two girls myself and the lads are playing a bit with Simonstown."
Would it be fair to say Pat has experienced a bit of an Indian summer in his career since hooking up with Wolfe Tones? "I think I was just lucky to come along at the right time. They had a young team and also a top coach in Tony Kearney and they were in need of a bit of experience and I was glad to help them along. My heart is with Wolfe Tones. I played some football with the juniors in 2009, but I'm finished now. It's just getting harder and harder to find the time."
Any interest in doing a spot of coaching with the club now that the old boots have finally been hung up? "I don't think so. It's really difficult to find the time between having a large family and we're also very busy at work."
Pat was also fortunate enough to play a bit of underage football with Meath. Throughout his life, he has always been a keen supporter of the Royals and that's still very much the case today. In 2009, Eamonn O'Brien's team dusted themselves down superbly to embark on a thrilling run through to the last four in the All-Ireland series. Needless to say, Pat Fitzpatrick was impressed by what he saw from this brave new Royal side:
"It was great to get to a semi-final and maybe this is the start of something big for Meath. If they can get a few more fresh faces in, and a bit more power, they could go further. The standard of club football in Meath is improving all the time and that has to augur well for the county team. There are stronger players coming through and hopefully the county team will reap the benefits of that in the coming years." Tweet
