Colin Murray of University of Galway poses for a portrait with the Sigerson Cup before the draw for the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
By John Harrington
Most of us struggle for energy in the foothills of January, but not University of Galway footballer, Colin Murray.
The prospect of playing in the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup always puts a pep in his step, and this year is no different.
A veteran of the team that won the competition back in 2022, the Mountbellew-Moylough clubman is very much a paid-up member of the Sigerson Cup fan club.
“It's a very special competition,” says Murray. “I don't understand why some lads don't want to take part, I look forward to it every year. We're always there or thereabouts with the club, and if we get beat in a semi-final or final I'm always back training the following Monday or Tuesday for the Sigerson. I just love it.
“If you were going back with an inter-county team you mightn't be as enthusiastic about the thought of going back, but the Sigerson is a bit more relaxed than county or even club. There's just something special about it, I don't know what it is.
“Lads would be saying to me, why would you want to go back so quickly, but I just genuinely love the Sigerson Cup. We have a great management as well which helps.
“If you have a good management that understands players it makes a big difference because college is hectic and you're pulling lads from county training and some are still involved with clubs so you have to have understanding management which helps the cause.”
Those who play Sigerson Cup football together tend to be bonded for life and if you’re lucky enough to be part of a winning team then even more so.
Many of Murray’s colleagues from that 2022 team have since left the college, but they’ll always be team-mates.
“That 2022 Sigerson Cup is something I still think about a lot and still talk about a lot to people,” says Murray. “I was in America during the summer and ran into one of our players from that team, Mark McInerney, and ended up marking him in a match for a while. Where else would you get it, you couldn't write it.
“We just spoke about the year we won it and talked about hopefully getting a full house together this year, getting everyone back, and driving it on.
“It's brilliant the way you can meet lads you played Sigerson with wherever you go in the World. You'll always meet someone you played Sigerson with and you talk about the memories and there's always that bond there.
“Even if you're out in the States and someone is looking for a number for someone you'll always make the connection with who he was in college with and you make great contacts and friendships for life through it.”
University of Galway players celebrate after their victory in the Electric Ireland HE GAA Sigerson Cup Final match between NUI Galway and University of Limerick at IT Carlow in Carlow. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
University of Galway play TU Dublin in the first round of this year’s competition tomorrow, the very opponents who defeated them at the same stage of last year’s Sigerson Cup.
Murray admits “a bit of revenge would be no harm”, but he knows it will be hard won. They were hot favourites against the Dubliners last year but came a cropper, and the Sigerson Cup has a proud tradition of upsetting the odds.
Team spirit and togetherness tends to count for a lot more than having a roster stacked with household names.
“It's all about one game at a time in the Sigerson, it's a very unique competition where anything can happen,” says Murray.
“Everyone was talking us up last year because we had a stacked team with serious inter-county players but it doesn't work like that.
“You have to have a bit of luck in Sigerson and you have to work hard, that's the name of the game. I keep saying to the boys that you have to work for it.
“You do that and get a bit of luck along the way too, then anything is possible. It's more important to have a team that works hard for one another as a collective rather than one with a load of big names, and that's what we have this year.
“You never know who's going to be strong in any given year. You're always waiting for the team-sheets to come out and you're asking lads who's here and who's there. You can have a team full of county stars but it doesn't mean much on the day if lads aren't willing to do the dirty work. Sigerson football is cold, wet, and windy, and anything can happen on the day.
“If you look at our team it's a lot different than previous years, we've a lot of younger fellas in who have freshened us up. You have to bring those younger lads with you, and there's a few of us still there since 2022, the likes of Ryan O'Donoghue.
“You have to bring the younger lads along with you and established lads like Ryan really drive the standards in the group. You want to create a tight-knit atmosphere and bonding the group together is a big thing with Sigerson.
“You only train once or twice a week together if you're lucky, especially at this time of the year, with lads going back to their county teams it's hard to get them training with the college.
“So even something like going for a bit to eat together is important, something simple like that. Going for a coffee. That all adds up to bonding a group so you'll hopefully all pull together then when get out on a match field.”
Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup round 1
Tuesday, January 7
TUS Midlands v Maynooth, TUS Midlands, 7pm
ATU Sligo v Ulster University, ATU Sligo, 7pm
TUD v University Galway, Grangegorman, 7pm - HEC Youtube
UCC v UCD, The Mardyke, 5.30pm
Wednesday 8 January
ATU Donegal v MTU Cork, Abbotstown, 7pm
ATU Galway v UL, Liam Mellowes, 7pm
DCU v MTU Kerry, DCU, 5pm
St Mary's v Queens, Davitts, 2pm
