DOC FITZGERALD

Doc Fitzgerald is seen in [Spirit Folk]. (Another doctor in Fair Haven is Dr Gilroy, mentioned in [Fair Haven].) Like most of the townsfolk in Fair Haven, Fitzgerald is superstitious. At first he thinks Seamus has been seeing things when he claims to have seen Tom Paris using "unnatural powers" to repair his motor car's damaged wheel. The first he knows about they apparently mysterious happenings in the village of Kilmanin in 1846, when apparently the entire village disappeared come winter, it is the first that Doc Fitzgerald has heard of it. The scene is depicted below:

Doc Fitzgerald is on the right of the picture

Seamus is enjoying being the centre of attention in Sullivan's pub as he regales the tale, his throat well-lubricated by drink. Seamus: "I thought I would die from the shock of it." Michael Sullivan: "Now Seamus, you're not a great one for telling things the way they were." Seamus: "I'll admit I've been known to add a little colour to stories from time to time to liven things up. But as God is my witness, I saw Tom Paris using unnatural powers to fix that wheel of his!" Sullivan: "Tommy boy practising unholy magic. Next thing you'll be telling me is: you want to pay for your own drinks." This gets a big laugh. Seamus: "Make fun if you like, but he was heading up to Castle O'Dell only an hour before dark." Doc Fitzgerald: "Oh leave it alone, Seamus. Can't one day go by without you making an arse of yourelf?" Milo: "But that Tom Paris is an odd one, coming and going through town as if he built the place." He does not realise that in fact, Tom Paris did build the place, as Fair Haven is a holoprogram of Paris'. Seamus: "That's right. And where does he go?" Milo: "Oh, he's a shifty one. So, for that matter, are his friends." Sullivan: "If you're talking about Katie O'Clare you'd better watch your tongue." Seamus: "Oh, well you know what they say, Sullivan: 'Birds of a feather....'" Sullivan: "They also say: 'Superstitution is the religion of fools'." Seamus: "Kilmanin, 1846." Sullivan: "What?" Milo: "'Old Patsy' down at County Meath spoke of a band of spirit folk who came to Kilmanin in '46." Sullivan: "Kilmanin. Did you ever hear of it, Doc?" Doc Fitzgerald: "No, this is the first." Milo: "You won't find it on any map, not any more." Seamus: "It was a town not much different from Fair Haven, that is until this group of strangers arrived. The townsfolk welcomed them with open arms. After all, "a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet." But they regretted their hospitality soon enough." Milo relishes the telling. "The cows stopped giving milk! Potatoes grew rotten in the ground!" Seamus: "Then people started to go missing." Doc Fitzgerald: "Oh go on." Seamus: "It's true!" Sullivan: "What happened to them?" Milo: "They were taken, to the Other World!" Seamus: "When winter came and the nights grew longer, the entire town vanished, every post, every nail, poof! into thin air, never to be seen again." Doc Fitzgerald: "Are you suggesting that Fair Haven's going to go the way of Kilmanin just because we have a few new folks in town?" Seamus: "I'm suggesting that you keep an eye on Tom Paris and his cohorts, not to mention that lady friend of yours." Sullivan: "So Katie is some kind of goblin now, is that it?" Seamus: "She's certainly cast a spell on you." Milo: "Well, if you ask me-" They stop as Kathryn Janeway, in her persona of Katie O'Clare, enters the pub.

He is a friend and confidant of Michael Sullivan, and they meet for a private conversation in St Mary's Church after Sullivan has been aware that he has been materialised in, as he sees it, the Other World (actually Voyager's holographic research lab). Fitzgerald tells Sullivan he is not alone in witnessing strange things. At first Fitzgerald thought it was a fever, but it was no fever i.e. people really have been seeing strange things. Their conversation in the church goes as follows:

Sullivan: "I'm not a superstitious man, Doc, but I've been seeing things I can't explain." Doc Fitzgerald: "You're not the only one. At first I thought we had an epidemic on our hands, but this is no fever." Sullivan: "No, it's not. Last night I was talking to Katie, and the next thing I knew I was being spirited away to God knows where." Doc Fitzgerald: "They took you?! Where?" Sullivan: "It was the Other World. I don't know. Tom Paris was there, young Harry too." Doc Fitzgerald: "What did they want with you?" Sullivan: "I'm not sure. They were talking about me like I wasn't there, saying things about Fair Haven, that we knew too much about them." Doc Fitzgerald groans. "Oh Lord." Sullivan: "That's not all. They were saying something about coming to the pub tonight to change the town somehow." Doc Fitzgerald: "What does that mean?!" Sullivan: "I'm damned if I know." Doc Fitzgerald: "How did you get away?" Sullivan: "With all that talk about us knowing too much about them, I figured that if I pretended there was nothing out of the ordinary they would let me go. And sure enough, that's exactly what they did." Doc Fitzgerald: "I wonder if this is how things started back in Kilmanin back in '46." Sullivan: "I'm not sure what they have in mind, but we'd better be prepared!"

Doc Fitzgerald is a man less prone to strong action compared with, say, Seamus and Milo. He does not take part in the capture of Tom Paris and Harry Kim, but stands besides Sullivan not participating as Seamus leads the mob of townsfolk from the church. However, Fitzgerald does not support Sullivan as he tries to temper the aggressiveness shown by Milo and Seamus. And he stands by in mute support while Seamus tries an incantation and other methods to drive the faery folk (as Paris and Kim are viewed) back to the Other World.

Sullivan confides to Doc Fitzgerald: "I don't like this one bit." He protests to Seamus: "Guns, Seamus!"
Doc Fitzgerald: "Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you, Michael, but these aren't normal circumstances."
Milo to Sullivan: "Maybe you'd still like us to be acting civilised. Where did that get you before? A ticket to the Other World, that's what!"
Doc Fitzgerald: "We don't know what the spirit folk have in store for us."

Fitzgerald does not join Seamus and the other townsfolk in capturing Paris and Kim

Fitzgerald and the other townsfolk watch to see if the incantation recited by Seamus will drive the spirit folk Paris and Kim back to the Other World; it does not

After Sullivan vanishes from Fair Haven to the Other World, actually USS Voyager, he then returns to Fair Haven, bringing Katie O'Clare (Janeway) with him. Milo aims a rifle at them: "That might not be Michael Sullivan. A demon could have taken his shape." Doc Fitzgerald demands of Milo: "What are you doing?!" Sullivan persuades him that it is really him, Sullivan.

Janeway and Sullivan persuade the townsfolk that she and the other Voyager folk are not spirit folk and do not use magic. Sullivan addresses the townsfolk: "They have machines that I can't begin to describe, but not once have they used them against us. Quite the opposite, in fact. Milo, you said you didn't like the rain and young Harry Kim made it go away. Edith Mulchaey herself said that Katie pulled her daughter from the well and out of harm's way. These are not the deeds of spirits and mischief-makers." Sullivan concludes by echoing words spoken to him earlier by Janeway's: "Just because we're from different worlds, doesn't mean we can't care from each other."

Janeway tells the villagers: "And we're not spirit folk. Some of our technology may seem like magic, but I assure you it's not. If you want, we'll leave and never bother you again. But we'd prefer to find some way to keep our friendship alive." The villagers agree. Doc Fitzgerald joins in with everyone else in re-welcoming the Voyager crew and renewing past friendships with them.

Milo brandishes his rifle as Sullivan and Katie O'Clare (Janeway) enter the church. Fitzgerald demands of Milo: "What are you doing?!"

Doc Fitzgerald with Milo

Doc Fitzgerald (right, foreground) looks on and listens as Janeway speaks.

the townsfolk are happy to be friends again with the Voyager crew

Doc Fitzgerald looks on as Janeway/Katie and Sullivan smile with pleasure now that peace and renewed friendship have been won