University College Cork footballer Dylan Foley 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
2023 champions UCC will begin the defence of their Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup tomorrow with a tough tie against Ulster University in the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown.
On paper, an Ulster University team that includes Tyrone brothers Darragh and Ruairi Canavan, Derry trio Ben McCarron, Niall Loughlin, and Eoin McEvoy, and Fermanagh’s Josh Largo Ellis has more star power.
But UCC have a fine tradition of being greater than the sum of their parts in this competition, which goalkeeper Dylan Foley believes is in no small part due to the leadership provided by legendary manager Billy Morgan.
“Billy is a leader,” says Foley. “I will never forget his speech he gave us last year before one of the games, holding up his jersey from the mid-60s and it was still intact.
“I was nearly going to run through a wall for him that day. I’ll tell you that much.
“He’s massively inspiring and personally with him being a goalkeeper the bits of knowledge I get off him are worth their weight in gold.
“If I am not going to listen to him, I might as well pack it up. A brilliant coach and a brilliant motivator.
“He really instils in us what it means to wear the skull and crossbones and the jersey, the importance of it, what it means to all of us because of him and what he taught us.”
Much like last year, this UCC team is made up of up-and-coming Cork and Kerry footballers, though Tipperary’s Sean O’Connor is a notable inclusion too.
If they can display the same spirit and togetherness they did last year they’ll be in with a fighting chance.
It was a dramatic campaign to say the least. It started with a Round 1 defeat to UL and included two penalty shoot-out wins before they turned the tables on UL in the final.
“It was crazy,” says Foley. “That’s the thing, I suppose there was so many ups and downs along the way.
“Getting beaten the first day out was a kick in the teeth, but, look, you’ve just got to go again.
“We beat ATU Galway in Tuam and from then on chaos started I suppose between extra-times and penalties and stuff like that, game after game.
“We had two games in Abbotstown and very, very lucky against TUD. The final then against Limerick from what I can remember was just a horrific night, just lashing rain, pure and utter Sigerson football.
“But we pulled through and, look it, I spoke about how the unity within the group last year was special, and I think it’s building this year again.
“We have a good bunch of players and a good bunch of lads to be around and a great management team to really build toward that again this year hopefully.”
UCC players, from left, Rian Quigley, Ruairi Murphy, and Dylan Foley celebrate after the Electric Ireland HE GAA Sigerson Cup Final match between University of Limerick and University College Cork at WIT Sports Campus in Waterford. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
Foley was a member of the Cork football panel in 2022 but took a year out last year to go travelling.
He hopes a strong campaign with UCC will put him back in the shop window for a return to inter-county football, because the standard of Sigerson football is right up there.
“From my experience of playing both I think it's definitely on a par with the National League anyway in terms of intensity,” he says.
“You see the players that play in it...for example Jordanstown will have the two Canavans and a few other inter-county players.
“At that time of the year it's the most important competition around and fellas love playing in it.
“You see anyone involved in county squads and they love playing Sigerson because it means so much to us. But, yeah, it's definitely right up there.”
So why are players still as enthusiastic about competing in the Sigerson Cup as ever? Foley puts it down to a unique combination of friendship, fun, and ferocious competition.
“It's a brilliant competition because you're playing with fellas from Kerry and Cork who would be good rivals and it's nice to get them socially off the pitch and get to know them to play with as well.
“It's serious, but there's still a bit of a fun side to it too which is enjoyable. You see fellas in a different light because it's not so serious all the time, there is a sense of enjoyment which you don't always have unfortunately sometimes. It's just very enjoyable, 100 per cent.
“That bond and getting to know fellas...you're brought up not to like Kerry lads and it's the same for them with Cork lads. But those barriers are broken down definitely and they're a great bunch of lads I must say, brilliant.”
Wednesday, January 10
Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup Round 1
Ulster University v UCC, National Games Development Centre, Abbotstown, 7.30pm, Higher Education YouTube
