ULSTER UNIVERSITY manager Barney McAleenan believes the Sigerson Cup has had a major influence on the success of Ulster counties over the last three decades.
Jordanstown have won five Sigerson Cups since 1985, with Queen’s collecting college football’s biggest prize on four occasions. St Mary’s also claimed a famous success in 1989.
The competition has come under fire from some quarters in recent years, with a series of eligibility rows and the strain on the GAA’s fixture calendar leading to calls for it to be abolished.
Experienced coach McAleenan, whose association with the university is a long one, believes the exposure of players to a high level of competition has been pivotal in the success of both teams and individuals who have come through Sigerson campaigns.
“The Sigerson Cup teams that came through in the late '80s led, in no small way, to the success that Ulster counties enjoyed. It helped in the emergence of Derry, Down and Donegal [who won four straight All-Irelands between them from 1991 until 1994]," McAleenan said.
“Players are exposed to that high level of competition and they realise that they can compete with the best in Ireland. It’s special too, they’re playing with boys they were at college with for four years and socialising with them, so they have a special bond. Equally, it’s lads being in the same changing room as elite players and being exposed to that and learning from that.
“It’s a very important competition. DCU, the champions, are up on our own patch. It’s knockout, no second chances, winner-takes-all and, hopefully on this occasion, it’s ourselves.
“The players all love Sigerson football. Our boys have done a fantastic job in balancing the situation, with their studies and county commitments, yet they represent the jersey and the university with pride. I’m sure that’s the same for all the universities,” McAleenan added.
Ulster University will host this year’s Sigerson weekend at their Jordanstown campus this weekend, with UU facing reigning holders DCU in the second of Friday’s star-studded semi-finals.
The Dublin side retain 10 of the players who featured in last year’s final, where they secured victory over UCC in extra-time. Diarmuid O’Connor (Mayo), Colm Begley (Laois), Michael Quinn (Longford), Davy Byrne (Dublin), Steven O’Brien (Tipperary) and Conor Moynagh (Cavan) are among the inter-county stars in Niall Moyna’s ranks.
The names Patrick McBrearty, Ryan McHugh, Kieran Hughes, Richard Donnelly and Killian Clarke give you just a small flavour of what will provide the holders with a stern test at 3pm on Friday.
The sides met in the opening round last year and DCU began their title trail with a 3-10 to 0-10 win at Jordanstown. McAleenan still rues the poor finishing early on that caught up on his side that day.
“There’s no doubt we could have been four or five points up in that match and they hit us with two goals and left us chasing the game the whole match," he said.
“They basically have the same team as last year, so they’re very experienced playing together. They’re very organised, very fluid and a big, strong, well-balanced side. They have a very strong group of players. They beat us by 3-10 to 0-10 up in Jordanstown in the first round last year.
“I saw them recently and there’s no doubt they’ve improved. We’ll just have to see how much we’ve improved. It’s going to be a massive challenge, but one the boys are looking forward to.”
As well as University Limerick, Ulster Uni and DCU will be joined at the weekend by the other Dublin college, UCD. The Dublin rivals met in Monday’s Freshers final, played for the first time at Croke Park, and produced a thrilling game, which DCU edged by 3-11 to 3-10.
They also met in the Ryan Cup final in November, a game which UCD won by nine points. Down native McAleenan was present at both and was impressed by the fare on offer.
“It shows the strength of Dublin football at the minute that they have DCU and UCD at the weekend. Those two played a fantastic Freshers final in Croke Park," he said.
“I also went to see UCD and DCU in the Ryan Cup final and it was a high-class match. No sweepers, long kicking, fantastic score-taking, one-touch football. It’s no surprise to see both those teams at the weekend, along with UL and ourselves. Those teams, alright they play within certain constraints, but they play with a lot of flair and express themselves. It’s attractive football to watch.”
Jordanstown will have Rory Brennan back from suspension after he served his one-match ban during their 0-14 to 1-6 win over city rivals St Mary’s in last week’s quarter-final.
Ethan Rafferty went off early in that game with a hamstring strain and neither Gareth McKinless nor Richie Donnelly were able to start because of knocks. However, all three are expected to be available for Friday.
