Electric Ireland HE GAA Sigerson Cup Round One: Queen’s University v TU Dublin City Campus (today, The Dub, 2pm)
AMID the screams of burn-out and fixture congestion, Queen’s will hope to sound-proof themselves from the noise and concentrate on trying to journey deeper into Sigerson against TU Dublin City at The Dub this afternoon (2pm).
The premier third level competition has reverted back to a straight knock-out format with Queen’s boss Conor Deegan hoping to get his reign off to a winning start.
With home advantage and a sprinkling of fledgling senior inter-county footballers in their ranks, the home side have every chance of taking the scalp of TU Dublin City, formerly known as Dublin IT until the start of this year.
Third-year student Daniel Guinness is one of Deegan’s key men – a player he knows well from his first year in charge of Down U20s in 2018 – while Fermanagh duo Darragh McGurn and Tiernan Bogue have added some much needed height and power to the Queen’s attack.
Guinness is just of many players juggling university and inter-county commitments this month.
The Carryduff man was a second half substitute in Down’s McKenna Cup win over Antrim in mid-week but it remains to be seen if he’ll be part of Paddy Tally’s Mourne panel that faces Tyrone in tomorrow’s McKenna Cup semi-final at The Athletic Grounds.
Guinness praised both Deegan and Tally for the way in which they’ve handled various fixture and training schedule clashes this year.
“Conor is so approachable and makes it so much easier because there are obviously a few fixture clashes and training clashes and he would be very understanding,” said Guinness “He’s one of the most approachable managers I’ve worked with. And Paddy is very understanding too. Both of them want what’s best for you.
“I’m very positive about our team this year,” said Guinness, who is embarking on his second Sigerson campaign with Queen’s.
“We suffered a one-point defeat to Maynooth last year and had another one-point defeat against Galway, so it was small margins. You need a bit of luck in Sigerson. If you get one win in it you can get a bit of a snowball effect.”
Queen’s reached the quarter-final stages of the Senior League Division One (Ryan Cup) in November, going down to NUIG, while today’s opponents exited at the same stage to University Limerick.
Callum O’Neill, recent winner of the prestigious Cormac McAnallen medal at Queen’s, is also back for another crack at Sigerson having captained the side last year.
Bredagh’s Brendan Gallen continues to improve too and is well acclimatised to third level football alongside Antrim and St Enda’s Glengormley forward Odhran Eastwood.
Con Magees attacker Eamon Fyfe performed well in his debut for Lenny Harbinson’s Antrim side against Down on Wednesday night and has been one of the in-form players for Queen’s up to now.
Darragh McGurn will also make his Sigerson debut for Queen’s today as well as trying to feature more heavily in Fermanagh’s ranks in 2020.
After playing Freshers football in his first year, he opted out of Sigerson last year to concentrate on breaking into the Fermanagh panel.
The towering Belnaleck full-forward brings decent form into today’s Sigerson clash at The Dub after bagging three points in last weekend’s McKenna Cup tie with Antrim in Ahoghill.
“I’m enjoying playing for Queen’s this year,” said McGurn.
“I enjoyed playing in the Ryan Cup and I kind of regret not playing it last year. We’re a close-knit group. I was brought into the Fermanagh panel last year so I thought I’d give that a go. I came off the bench in a few games and made one appearance in the Championship against Monaghan.”
Being exposed to inter-county footballers from other counties through third level football, McGurn insists, has helped his development this year.
“The players you’re playing with and the teams you’re playing against are playing inter county and are of a high quality,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Dublin-based students, managed by former Cavan player Michael Hannon this season, have some notable inter-county players in their ranks, among them Dublin’s Brian Howard, Donegal’s Stephen McMenamin and Conor McCarthy.
UL needed extra-time to get past them in the League quarter-finals. Like Queen’s, they’ll want to improve on their recent Sigerson performances – and both will fancy their chances of negotiating today’s hurdle at The Dub.
