Crowe is from Miltown Malbay iirc
Can someone post it?
The person accused by Davy Fitzgerald of hurling abuse at him during last yearās championship match between Clare and Wexford has revealed himself as the Clare kit man, Niall Romer. A Kilmaley club delegate, Romer has been a frequent critic of the county board over the years and in particular the county secretary Pat Fitzgerald, Davy Fitzgeraldās father.
āI had to endure criticism from an unnamed individual who was seated in the stand. I call on the Clare County Board to look into the issue,ā the Wexford manager stated after his side had lost to Clare in the second round qualifier match in November in OāMoore Park, Portlaoise.
āThe way I was abused today is not right and it should be dealt with. The abuse and the stuff that was thrown at me personally by one individual there today is not right and has no place in hurling.
āI would urge and encourage Clare to look at that and not let him do it to anybody else what he did there today. You canāt condone that behaviour.ā
On Friday, Romer, a member of Brian Lohanās backroom team and former county player, said that he was the person Fitzgerald was referring to. He denied being abusive but revealed what he had said that piqued the Wexford manager.
āI asked the question, where was the money that was raised in America? Where was the money from the Supportersā Club? And it got a reaction. There was no abuse, I asked a question, and when I got a reaction I kept asking the question.ā
Fitzgerald commented on the supportersā club during his tenure as Clare manager in his recent biography, published in 2018, At All Costs .
āEvery single cent that was raised went supporting the senior and under age teams, be it through contributing to the strength and conditioning bill or giving players who might have been struggling without work a small financial dig out,ā Fitzgerald insisted. āIn some instances I even did this out of my own pocket. And for the record, I never took a single cent for myself from the supportersā club.ā
Fitzgerald added that āa lotā of the money raised went into under age structures. āI was so conscious in Clare because of my father being county secretary that Iād make that trip to America every year to raise money for the team. If we are going away to a training camp the rule was always that weād pay half ourselves, the county board the other half.ā
Romer has been a thorn in the county boardās side for many years, having a reputation for asking difficult questions. At the most recent county board meeting he pressed the county chairman, enquiring if the Wexford manager was going to be part of a proposed hurling review committee, along with a number of other prominent figures. The chairman was unable to confirm or deny, but said the process of selection was ongoing.
The proposed committee has caused anger within the Clare management camp as Fitzgeraldās name was linked to it, appearing to ignore or make light of the breakdown in relations between him and Brian Lohan. It is believed that Lohan made clear he would not sit on a committee with Fitzgerald, two former allies on the field.
Romerās comments during the Wexford versus Clare game last year, along with unspecified alleged online abuse, prompted Sixmilebridge to spring to the defence of both Davy and Pat Fitzgerald by sending a letter to The Clare Champion in January defending their club men. Davy Fitzgerald has been coaching Sixmilebridge senior hurlers in recent seasons, helping them to win successive county titles, while his father has been county secretary since 1990, and full-time for over ten years. His contract was renewed in 2016 and is due to expire, itās understood, in 2023.
A Garda investigation is also proceeding after a complaint was made about online abuse against a Facebook page called Clare Clare Clare .
On January 8 The Late Late Show featured Davy Fitzgerald as a special guest where he spoke of online abuse allegedly directed at both him and his father, Pat. The interview was picked up on and reported extensively. One headline had him ābravely speaking outā. A magazine claimed viewers were āin tearsā and another publication hailed him for āslamming trollsā.
The reaction was sympathetic, understandably, for the picture painted was one of invasive and distressing commentary, some of which he alluded to as being particularly unpleasant and personal.
The Facebook page in question has been recently taken over, revamped, and renamed ( The Clare Times ), and continues to offer a platform for views on the county hurling team and other items of interest to a mainly Clare following of around 13,000. The person managing the page, now based overseas but originally from Clare, refutes the charges, believing that the commentary, while it contained robust criticism of the Fitzgeralds, did not warrant a Garda investigation. In 2014 Davy Fitzgerald hit the headlines when he revealed that he had been a victim of bullying in school.
Niall Romer said that he was acting of his own accord and his verbal exchange with Davy Fitzgerald had not been a premeditated tactic by the Clare management.
He says he was angered by an incident shortly before the match when there was a delay in releasing the Wexford team sheet. āOur team sheet was given down to the referee and when we looked for one it didnāt arrive. And we waited ten minutes and then I was asked go down and look for it.
āI was upset because the team sheet wasnāt released before the game, it was held back. I felt two of us can play this game. There was a bit of a barney on the sideline (when the match started) and I said, āhere goes, I will get under his skinā. And I did get under his skin.ā
He feels the matter is being blown out of proportion. āI think he (Davy Fitzgerald) is deflecting from the fact that they got a beating and thatās about the size of it. I just said to myself Iāve had enough.
āItās just an accumulation of things that have gone on and Iād had enough of it. There was no abuse, let me be clear, there were plenty of people there. I knew I would get a reaction. I was saying, āIāve had enough of youā. I was getting a rise out of him.
āHe reacted and he f***** me back. He didnāt know where it was coming from at first. After that he realised and shut up.ā
The Clare hurlers supportersā club was disbanded when Fitzgerald left in 2016, and a new version relaunched, under the new management team of Donal Moloney and Gerry OāConnor. Fitzgerald helped set up a fundraising club for the team after taking over in 2012. After winning the All-Ireland the next year the capacity to fundraise and cash-in on Clareās success grew considerably.
The Clare Hurling Gold Circle Supporters Club was launched in 2012 āto support and help financially assist our senior hurling panel in achieving success for county Clareā.
A letter circulated to potential backers in 2014 highlighted where some of the money was going, with ā¬8,000 towards GPS and stats packages in each of the two previous years. A contribution of ā¬7,000 went to assist with college fees and grinds for players over the two years.
Playersā gear ālaundered and maintainedā accounted for ā¬6,500. Financial support for injured players claimed another ā¬6,500. Training camps received ā¬21,000 and financial support to unemployed players cost ā¬8,500.
The minimum contribution for club members was ā¬2,000.
In Sixmilebridge, the home club of the Fitzgeralds, the decision to write a letter to The Clare Champion newspaper offering support and condemning the alleged abuse, online and in person, was deeply divisive.
An initial poll of opinion by the club secretary, who has since stepped down, showed club members opposed, 17 to 12, to the move. But the club chairman gathered votes from other members and that tilted the vote in the other direction.
āPeople opposed it on the grounds that it is absolutely none of our business,ā says one long-time club member. āI canāt quantify what abuse they have been getting. Iāve seen no record. None of us agree with it, it is wrong, but it has nothing to do with our club.ā
In Sixmilebridge, Davy Fitzgerald has coached the hurling team that won the last two county hurling titles even though he continues to manage Wexford. His abilities as a coach and manager are widely acknowledged. He has also experienced deterioration in relationships that once appeared bulletproof. The most prominent of those broken relationships is that between him and his former hurling ally, Brian Lohan.
There is much bafflement in Sixmilebridge too over the recent county board meeting where support was given for an independent review of the countyās operations.
This comes at a time of rising concern that Clare is falling behind in the race to remain competitive, with a hopelessly inadequate centre of excellence at Caherlohan, and a string of alarming revelations around the preparation of the senior hurling team.
The night before the county board meeting, on Monday week last, the club met on Zoom to discuss the motion. A vote showed a slight majority in favour of opposing the Ćire Ćg motion, 16-14. But the following night the club backed the motion enthusiastically.
āThat was the most contentious club meeting Iāve ever witnessed. It was a 16-14 vote against the motion and suddenly 24 hours later at a county board the whole executive was for the motion. I was as confused as everyone else. What happened in the intervening 24 hours? Was it that they saw the writing on the wall?ā
Describing the club now, a member said: āIt is pro-Fitzgerald and anti-Fitzgerald, that is basically what it boils down to.ā
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Fair enoughā¦
Iām mixing him up with Marie Crowe of SMB.
That story is utter bizarre
There is neither head nor tail to it, just a pile of words left to people to decipher. Fine if you are from Clare with a regular eye on it
This Romer Cunt wonāt harrow half what Davy has ploughed in Clare
The good thing is that this isnāt going away. Either the truth will have to come out about the supporters club money or the Fitzgeraldās will throw some of their cronies under the bus which will only further weaken their position.
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That sounds dodgy as fuck.
The dig out? Happens more than youād think
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If you only knew the half of it 
Iād love if they asked Davy what happened the audio visual equipment paid from the supporters club kitty which disappeared from Caherlohan around the time he stepped down as manager. Pure coincidence Iām sure
The truth would be nice, no doubt there has been plenty messing with money going on
A heave is needed. Get on with it.
Romer sounds like a bit of a character. Iāll contact my friend in the Clare set up for a bit of info on him
Loose cannon. Kilmaley sure.
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crowe from miltown malbay? You sure? I thought he was more hurling territory
that is that then
who did Crowe play hurling for in Clare? played hurling against him in Dublin a few times, still playing a bit I think!
decent skin actually
Is he living out Rush direction somewhere? Iām guessing he boarded somewhere, I donāt remember hearing of him playing club stuff, and he wouldnāt be that much older than me
Iāve a half-notion heās related to the Hillerys
āThe tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrantsā
~ Ger Loughnane