TG4 viewers have heaped praise on former Galway footballer Kieran Fitzgerald as he starred in another hard-hitting episode of Laochra Gael.
The Corofin clubman reflected on losing his girlfriend Mairéad Meehan at the age of just 25 after a battle with cancer, opening up on the loss in the hit documentary.
Fitzgerald spoke of his troubles on and off the field as a result, and how it impacted his life and gaelic football career.
But the documentary finished on a positive note as it followed his incredible renaissance with Corofin that saw him retire after winning three club All-Ireland titles in a row.
And TV viewers took to Twitter as they heaped praise on the All-Ireland winning defender.
"Another truely outstanding production - Kieran Fitz a proper gent," one viewer said.
Another tweeted: "#LaochraGael can be a tough watch at times. Kieran is incredible."
"One of the GAA’s finest," one added.
"Kieran Fitzgerald - a credit to his club, county and most importantly his family," another summarised.
And while Fitzgerald has a collection of honours for Corofin and Galway that any footballer would envy, he knew that none of that would be at the centre of any production on him.
Instead, the focus would be more on the trauma caused by the death of his girlfriend, Mairéad Meehan, sister of his former Galway teammates Declan, Tomas and Michael, at the age of just 25 in January 2007 following a battle with cancer.
“When they were coming knocking, wondering would I be interested in the programme, I knew where it was going,” says Fitzgerald.
“I suppose to be true to the nature of the programme I had to be as open and as honest as possible and I knew Mairéad would have a huge part to play in that story.
“She was a major part of my life for a lot of years so it wouldn’t be a true story if I didn’t go down that route and tell that story so it was difficult, it probably brought back old memories that I had put to the back of my head but it was a great opportunity for me and gave me a great platform to remember Mairéad so fondly again.
“I know the Meehans have seen the programme already and I’m just so happy that they’re happy with it and they enjoyed it. So yeah, I was really privileged, so thankful to TG4 and Nemeton for giving me the opportunity to tell that scéal.”
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