Preview: Sigerson Cup Finals Weekend
Niall Kelly
The blue riband weekend of third level football takes place on Friday and Saturday, with the Sigerson Cup Finals Weekend taking place at the campus of Ulster University in Jordanstown.
The two semi-finals take place on Friday, with the final scheduled for Saturday at 2.30pm.
Friday, February 19
Independent.ie Sigerson Cup Semi-Finals**
UCD v UL, Jordanstown, 1pm
Are UCD on the brink of history? It's 20 years this year since the famous Belfield institution won the Sigerson Cup, and their star-studded squad carry real hopes of success with them to Jordanstown.
The college has also qualified for the finals weekend of the Fitzgibbon Cup next weekend - the only non-Limerick college in the last four - and a triumph in Jordanstown this weekend would guarantee talk of a historic Sigerson-Fitzgibbon double all next week, something which hasn't been achieved since UCC did it 27 years ago.
For now, it's all about the Sigerson though. John Divilly's squad have beaten NUI Galway (0-11 to 1-6) and UCC (3-11 to 1-9) to get this far, and given they ran last year's champions DCU close at the semi-final stage in 2015, they have good reason to believe they can go all the way this year.
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), Conor McCarthy, Ryan Wylie (both Monaghan) and Niall Kelly (Kildare) add further to the playing riches.
Up front, John Heslin (Westmeath) and Paul Mannion (Dublin) have done plenty of damage and UL clearly will have their work cut out to contain a squad that would not be out of place playing at Croke Park in August or September.
UL have never previously won the Sigerson Cup but they booked their place in finals weekend thanks to wins over IT Tralee (2-15 to 2-8) in Round 1 and over Queen’s University (0-12 to 1-8) in last week's quarter-final.
With heavyweights UCD, UUJ and DCU all tipped for honours this weekend, UL are undoubtedly the outsiders in the last four. However, they have been quietly efficient and impressive in this year's competition, even if they lack the star names possessed by other institutions.
Shane Killoran (Roscommon), Bryan O'Shea (Kerry) and flying wing-back Fergal Boland (Mayo) have all impressed for UL, who have one of their strongest squads in years.
Corofin and Galway forward Ian Burke is a classy operator up front, while Gearoid Hegarty (Limerick) and Ruairi Deane,(Cork) are also available. Talented Kerry youngsters in the squad, such as O'Shea, Denis Daly, Cathal Long and Eamonn Kiely have all performed with distinction.
The winners of this game will face either Ulster University Jordanstown or DCU in the final on Saturday at 2.30pm
**
Conor P. Moynagh
Ulster University, Jordanstown v DCU, Jordanstown, 3pm
The line-ups for the second semi-final at Jordanstown on Friday will read like those from an All-Ireland semi-final match programme. Established stars abound in a fixture which shows exactly why the Sigerson Cup has become such a big deal in recent years.
Consider this. 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 DCU supremo Niall Moyna this season.
On the Jordanstown side, it's no less impressive. Rory Beggan, Kieran Hughes, Ryan McAnespie (all Monaghan), Ronan McNamee, Rory Brennan, Richard Donnelly, Conan Grugan (all Tyrone), Killian Clarke, Michael Argue (both Cavan), Ryan McHugh, Patrick McBrearty (both Donegal), Niall Madine (Down), Gareth McKinless (Derry), Niall McKeever (Antrim) and Ethan Rafferty (Armagh) make up an astonishingly rich list of talent.
Throw into the mix Dublin's 2011 All-Ireland hero Kevin Nolan (studying for a Masters at the college) and Mayo forward Evan Regan, and one can see why Jordanstown, with home advantage, have been touted to deliver a first Sigerson since they defeated Garda College in the 2008 decider.
Legions of stars are no guarantee of success, though. UUJ discovered that in 2014 at the hands of UCC, while plenty of other star-studded sides have come up short against more cohesive outfits over the years. However, the performances of UUJ and reigning champions DCU so far this year suggest that such caveats don't apply to them.
UUJ defeated Garda College (2-14 to 0-11) and an excellent St Mary's side (0-14 to 1-6) to get this far. Donegal starlet McBrearty kicked 1-11 in those two games, and while he has been the main man, he has been aided well by UUJ's glittering supporting cast.
DCU are bidding for their fourth Sigerson title in seven seasons and Moyna has obviously found the formula for success at this level. The college's ability to attract the top footballers in the country shows no sign of abating, but more importantly, the manner in which they consistently mould them into organised, winning outfits looks to be getting better, if anything.
DCU humbled Athlone IT in Round 1 (6-14 to 1-7), with Monaghan's Shane Carey the star of the show with 3-6. In their 0-14 to 0-7 quarter-final win over IT Carlow, Carey starred again with 0-7 while O'Connor, Smith, David Mannix (Kerry), Colm Begley (Laois) and Steven O'Brien also did well.
The winners of this game will face either UCD or UL in the final on Saturday at 2.30pm
