ONeills
The quarter-finals of the prestigious Sigerson Cup take place this week, with three taking place on Thursday afternoon.
In the first quarter-final, played on Wednesday, UUJ defeated St Mary's.
Independent.ie Sigerson Cup Quarter-Final Previews
Thursday, February 11
UL v Queens, UL Grounds, 2pm
Neither of these sides made finals weekend in 2015, so one will make up for that this year. UL, having never previously won the Sigerson, will be dreaming of a first ever success while Queens will not want to miss out on finals weekend given that their rivals Ulster University are qualified for the event, which they will also host.
UL qualified for the last eight with a 2-15 to 2-8 win over Munster rivals IT Tralee last Tuesday. Shane Killoran (Roscommon), Bryan O'Shea (Kerry) and flying wing-back Fergal Boland (Mayo) all impressed for UL, who have one of their strongest squads in years this year.
Corofin and Galway forward Ian Burke heads a group of established senior inter-county talents such as Gearoid Hegarty (Limerick), Ruairi Deane,(Cork) and Niall McDermott (Cavan), while there are a number of talented Kerry youngsters in the squad, such as O'Shea, Denis Daly, Cathal Long and Eamonn Kiely.
Queens advanced from Round 1 two weeks ago, with Down's Martin Clarke giving notice of his return to top level form with a haul of 0-5 in an impressive 0-13 to 1-8 victory over Maynooth. Clarke impressed alongside Fermanagh's Ruairi Corrigan and they are two key figures in a gifted squad that features several inter-county stars from across Ulster.
**
Jack McCaffrey with UCD
UCC v UCD, Mardyke, 2.30pm
A mouthwatering tie is in prospect at the Mardyke as two of the most venerable institutions in the history of the Sigerson Cup meet in the quarter-final. With 53 Sigerson Cup titles between them (UCD 32, UCC 21),these two loom large in Sigerson folklore. Throw in the natural rivalry that stems from the Dublin-Cork factor, and this is obviously a match which will command the attention.
Champions in 2014 and runners-up last year, UCC have very much adapted to the modern demands of the Sigerson. UCD's last title was way back in 1996, but the giants are showing signs of stirring again - they were narrowly beaten by DCU in last year's semi-final and are confident of further improvement this year.
The Belfield side narrowly defeated a talented NUI Galway in Round 1 last week, holding on to secure a 0-11 to 1-6 victory. UCD undoubtedly have a squad capable of going all the way. John Heslin (Westmeath) and Paul Mannion (Dublin) led the way last week with 0-9 between them, and there's plenty more to back them up.
Footballer of the Year Jack McCaffrey and his fellow Dubs Michael Fitzsimons, David Byrne, Conor Mullally and Colm Basquel are all key, while Stephen Coen (Mayo), Tom Hayes (Cavan), Padraic Harnan (Meath), Ryan Wylie (Monaghan) and Niall Kelly (Kildare) add further to the playing riches.
The footballers of UCC have not bowed needlessly to star quality before - their 2014 final win over UUJ a case in point - and they booked their place in the last eight with a 2-13 to 2-8 win over GMIT last week. While not at their best in the victory, UCC got the job done thanks to strong displays from Conor Cox (Kerry), Jordan Kiely and David Harrington (both Cork), who did most of the scoring between them.
Exclusively made up of players from Cork and Kerry, UCC have Cork stars Brian O'Driscoll, Luke Connolly, Ian Maguire, Seán Kiely and Conor Horgan in their ranks but the loss of Conor Dorman to an ankle injury - he will miss the entire competition as a result of recent surgery - is a blow.
**
Conor P. Moynagh
IT Carlow v DCU, IT Carlow, 7pm
Surprise semi-finalists last year, IT Carlow are on the trail of finals weekend again this year and take on reigning champions DCU for a place in the last four on Thursday evening.
IT Carlow defeated IT Sligo in Round 1 a fortnight ago to get this far, with Chris Healy's goal the difference in a 1-10 to 0-10 victory. IT Carlow have a very capable side, with Healy and his fellow Kildare and Two Mile House man Mark Sherry having been part of a gifted Lilywhites minor team a couple of years ago. Other key figures are Israel Ilunga (Westmeath), Michael Hurley (Cork) and Chris Conroy (Cavan).
The Barrowsiders face a huge challenge against DCU though. The champions looked intimidatingly strong in their 6-14 to 1-7 win over Athlone IT in Round 1 a fortnight ago, with Monaghan's Shane Carey the star of the show with 3-6. As they seem to be every season, DCU are awash with inter-county talent and they look well placed to reach finals weekend yet again.
Shane Carthy, Cameron Diamond, Conor McHugh, David Byrne, Jack Smith (all Dublin), Conor McGraynor (Wicklow), Cian Breheny (Roscommon), Conor Moynagh (Cavan), Steven O'Brien (Tipperary), Enda Smith, Ultan Harney (both Roscommon), Diarmuid O'Connor (Mayo) and Michael Quinn (Longford) are just some of the luminaries available to Niall Moyna this season.
