Irishman heading for 500 golf courses but found calling for very important cause

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Rory Fitzgerald, who has notched up 483 golf courses and is planning his next round, reflects on his journey from a 37-year tenure at Ulster Bank to providing vital emotional support with Samaritans Ireland since his retirement in 2010.
Golf Ireland recently named the charity as their new community partner for mental wellbeing, a move that Fitzgerald, an avid golfer and supporter of mental health initiatives, finds particularly fulfilling.
"I would have two passions, it ticks two boxes for me so I'm very hopeful that we can make this a very strong and worthwhile relationship," said Fitzgerald.
"When I retired from the bank at the young enough age of 54 I was looking around and I wanted to do something because through my working life I couldn't give time to things like that.
"I saw an ad for Samaritans in the local paper and it appealed to me, it was a large organisation, you were part of a group of people again which I had been all my working life in the bank, and I joined as a volunteer.
"I have no regrets, I've got a lot out of it; it's a fantastic organisation, the people in it are great. I ended up being the Regional Director for the Republic of Ireland in 2020, which was a full-time unpaid job for two years, but very engaging.
"It's a great organisation and we've a lot of volunteers who work full-time and they still give their time to do duties every week and it is important that we're there for people who need us.
"Particularly at the dark of night, I think we're the only organisation that's available 24/7. At nighttime people are at a low ebb. It's dark, there's nobody around and they can pick the phone up and talk to us.
"That's very helpful for them."
Limerick-born Fitzgerald, who was introduced to golf by his mother Claire, an accomplished player herself with a single-figure handicap, started swinging clubs at the tender age of seven.
It wasn't until he was about 10 or 11, when a group of four other lads took up the sport, that golf really became his passion.
"My mother used to bring me out when I was younger and then that grew and at around 10 or 11, there was four other lads who started at the same time and that helped," Fitzgerald recalled.
He noted how back in the day, golf wasn't as popular: "Because golf wasn't a popular sport in those days, you wouldn't be seen walking down the street with a set of golf clubs, people would look as if you had three heads. Whereas now golf is all-encompassing, which is great."
Fitzgerald's education at Crescent College included playing rugby, but a bizarre injury on the golf course ended his rugby pursuits.
The incident occurred in 1976 during the Thurles Scratch Cup when Fitzgerald, then 19, suffered a collapsed lung right on the green.
"I missed a short putt on the tenth, and I said to the guy: 'I'm dying of a pain in my chest,' and he thought I was just overreacting to missing a short putt," Fitzgerald recounted.
"I was tall and thin, and it's tall, thin athletic people when they're young they can get that. It was all good afterwards but you wouldn't be playing physical contact sport after having something like that happen."
Despite this setback, Fitzgerald went on to shine on the golf course, with his amateur career peaking when he reached the quarter-finals of the AIG Irish Men's Amateur Close at Royal Portrush, defeating future Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley in the process.
His golfing career also saw him represent six different clubs in the AIG Barton Shield and Senior Cup, including Clonmel, Wexford, Mallow, Limerick, Tramore and West Waterford.
Fitzgerald even had the chance to play alongside a young Seamus Power for West Waterford during the 2006 AIG Barton Shield.
"I got dropped from Tramore and I went and joined West Waterford and played a couple of years with them with Senior Cup and Barton Shield," said Fitzgerald.
"We played a match which we unfortunately lost in Tipperary on the 18th, but Seamus is a fantastic guy and he was a seriously good player. He used to go around West Watford regularly at -6, -7, -8.
"It's always hard to know if they will make it. I mean, what defines how a player will make the grade? You just don't know. He was a very good player at that level and obviously he went to the States then to college and developed from there but it's very hard to pick a guy at a young age and say he's going to be very good.
"They're ten a penny when they get out and on the mini tours but he's done well. It's great to see."
Fitzgerald now plays off 6.8 and while his quest to play 500 different golf clubs continues he can look forward to celebrating his 45th wedding anniversary with his wife, Anne, next month.
And while, she and his three children Ruth, Jody and Lisa are his greatest achievements, he knows that volunteering for Samaritans Ireland has also provided him with some of the most rewarding years of his life.
"We're very privileged when people pick up the phone to us because they're telling us their innermost thoughts and what's going on in their lives and it gives you a very broad picture of what goes on in Irish society," said Fitzgerald.
With 24 locations Samaritans answers over 1,500 calls for help every day across Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Golf has more than just physical benefits, with golfers able to avail of reduced stress, improved concentration and meaningful social connections. Golf clubs can also provide a sense of belonging, offering a welcoming and supportive environment.
This is a natural fit with Samaritans' mission to ensure people have somewhere to turn to and for support. The collaboration with Golf Ireland also helps to raise further awareness around the 24-hour helpline, 116 123.
"You're not going to get everyone right and if the caller doesn't like the sound of your voice or they don't feel like there's a bit of chemistry they can hang up and ring again," said Fitzgerald.
"We're privileged to take that call. My experience and all the volunteers' experience are that we certainly do help people, and you might start off a call with somebody who's in a very, very bad place, and by the end of the call, they might say to you, look, I feel better now, thanks for being there and listening. I'm okay."