James "Cha" Fitzpatrick (born 31 January 1985) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Kilkenny senior team.
Having come close to beating the Fermoy-based school at the same stage the previous year, St. Kieran's made no mistake this time and recorded a 1-15 to 1-4 victory, giving Fitzpatrick an All-Ireland medal.
[9] He later added a Leinster medal to his collection when Ballyhale secured a comprehensive 1-20 to 1-8 defeat of Birr to take the provincial title for the first time in seventeen years.
[11] After missing Ballyhale's second successive championship victory in 2007, Fitzpatrick was restored to his midfield berth as the Shamrocks made it three-in-a-row in 2008.
[14] The subsequent provincial decider saw Ballyhale hit fifteen wides, however, Fitzpatrick still collected a third Leinster medal following a 1-16 to 1-8 defeat of Tullamore.
[16] Five-in-a-row proved beyond Ballyhale Shamrocks, however, the team bounced back in 2012 having lost the championship decider the previous year.
Richie Power gave a masterclass of hurling, including scoring the winning point deep into injury time, to secure a 2-16 to 2-15 victory.
[25] Kilkenny's bid for a third successive All-Ireland title ended in dramatic fashion as a late point from Kerril Wade handed Galway a narrow 1-15 to 1-14 victory.
[26] For the third successive year Fitzpatrick won a Leinster medal following a 2-18 to 2-10 defeat of Dublin before later lining out in the All-Ireland decider against Tipperary.
[27] The replay was another close encounter, however, Paddy Hogan's first half goal helped Kilkenny claw their way to the title following a 1-11 to 0-11 defeat of Tipperary.
[30] The game was expected to be a classic, however, a rain-soaked day made conditions difficult as Kilkenny aimed to secure a third successive championship.
On 3 September 2006 Kilkenny faced a Cork team who were presented with the opportunity to become the first side in nearly thirty years to secure three successive All-Ireland championships.
[35] On 2 September 2007 Kilkenny faced defeated Munster finalists and surprise All-Ireland semi-final winners Limerick in the championship decider.
Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes to set the tone.
In a disappointingly one-sided final, Kilkenny produced a near perfect seventy minutes as Waterford endured a nightmare afternoon.
A 23-point winning margin, 3-24 from play, only two wides in the entire match and eight scorers in all with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin leading the way in a 3-30 to 1-13 victory.
[43] Fitzpatrick was later dropped from the starting fifteen and was an unused substitute as Kilkenny secured a record-equaling fourth successive All-Ireland.
"The Cats" lost talisman Henry Shefflin due to injury, while Tipperary's Lar Corbett ran riot and scored a hat-trick of goals as Fitzpatrick's side fell to a 4-17 to 1-18 defeat.
[50] Born in Knockmoylan, County Kilkenny, Fitzpatrick was educated at the local national school before later completing his Leaving Certificate at St. Kieran's College.