Billy Morgan and Dr Con Murphy celebrate UCC's Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup success.
By Aonghus Ó Maicín
There's a special place in Billy Morgan's heart for Sigerson Cup football after nearly 70 years of involvement in the game. On Wednesday night the UCC manager won his third title as manager, to add to a pair of titles as a player, but after all these years the precious third-level colleges' medal hasn't lost any of its lustre in the Cork man's eyes.
"In my own career I won two Sigersons and I rank my Sigerson medals up there with my All-Ireland medal and county championships," Morgan said after another famous win in the competition.
"I think it's a very, very special competition. If you look down the years the players who have competed in it who became household names after it and you'll hear a lot more about some of these fellas.
"Anybody can see that the standard of football in the Sigerson is very high and I always say it's a breeding ground for inter-county players."
While Morgan has led the university to the title as recently as 2014, the half-decade since has almost felt like a lifetime as the Leesiders came close time after time without lifting the ultimate prize. But, from the outset, this year felt different and UCC had the look of a side that were going to take a lot of beating from very early in the season.
"We've gone through the year unbeaten and you don't want to finish out by losing the last one. This is what we were after all year.
"We felt that the last year and the year before we - I won't say left it behind us but - didn't do ourselves justice. This year it was all or nothing.
"I can remember when I won my first Sigerson it was after 13 years so it can drag out. When we won it the last time, the following year we were in the final with DCU and lost by a point in extra-time. They're thin margins.
"Five years is a long time but it can drag on because there are so many good colleges there that can beat you.
"We're going for a double now with Fitzgibbon and Sigerson; we're halfway there. Saturday's game against Mary I is another tough game but they've come through a few tough battles themselves so they'll be there or thereabouts."
