Nicky English
The blue riband weekend of third level hurling takes place on Friday and Saturday, with the Fitzgibbon Cup Finals Weekend taking place at the campus of Cork IT in Bishopstown in Cork city.
The two semi-finals take place on Friday, with the final scheduled for Saturday at 3pm.
Friday, February 26
Independent.ie Fitzgibbon Cup Semi-Finals
UCD v UL, Cork IT, 1pm
UCD are on the brink of history. Having ended a 20-year wait for the Sigerson Cup last weekend, the Belfield institution travel south to Cork for the Fitzgibbon Cup finals weekend with their sights set on a historic double.
It's 28 years since UCC won the last Fitzgibbon-Sigerson double, and 37 years since UCD last achieved the remarkable distinction in 1979.
However, the UCD hurlers would be well advised not to get too caught up in the bright lights of that potential achievement. Nicky English's side face an almighty challenge at finals weekend, with three exceptionally talented Limerick colleges having made it through to the last four.
That said, UCD have shown themselves to be real contenders in 2016. They qualified from a difficult group that featured UCC and Limerick IT and their stunning group win over UCC (2-12 to 0-13) was followed by a thrilling encounter against Limerick IT, which they lost by a single point (0-18 to 1-14).
While they were less than impressive in their laboured win over Maynooth, the manner in which they unceremoniously dumped UCC, top of the all time Fitzgibbon roll of honour, out of the tournament was impressive.
Then, they showed true grit in a classic quarter-final against a very strong and resilient IT Carlow side, surviving various onslaughts from the Barrowsiders to emerge victorious after extra-time (1-17 to 1-6).
UCD have a number of gifted hurlers at their disposal. Dublin and Kilmacud Crokes starlet Oisín O'Rorke has been excellent on placed balls - he's hit 1-23 in four games. He's well supported by a number of fellow Dubs, such as Colm Cronin, Cian O'Callaghan and several others who have shone at various stages.
James Maher, who was outstanding for Kilkenny against Tipperary last Sunday, is also in their armoury, while Pádraic Guinan (Offaly), Ross King (Laois), Eoin Conroy and Conor Devitt (both Wexford) are among a large group of classy hurlers in the UCD ranks determined to get their hands on Fitzgibbon medals this week.
The challenge against reigning champions UL will undoubtedly be fierce though. Blessed with a formidable pack of elite level players, the champions advanced from Group C after wins over DIT (0-20 to 0-14) and Mary I (5-15 to 3-14).
Their vulnerabilities were highlighted in a 0-16 to 0-15 defeat to NUI Galway in the third group game, but their convincing 2-19 to 3-11 quarter-final win over hosts CIT has largely dispelled doubts about their credentials this weekend.
With Limerick rivalry the theme of the weekend, UL will not want to miss out on a final that is guaranteed to be against one of their city rivals.
With Bill Maher, Brian Stapleton, Jason Forde and John McGrath (all Tipperary) and Clare duo Cathal McInerney and Jack Browne within their armoury, it's not hard to see why UL have been favourites for glory since the competition started.
Limerick and Patrickswell talent Kevin O'Brien has been outstanding for them too - he has hit 3-6 from play so far, including 2-1 against CIT - while Tom Morrissey (Limerick) and Conor Martin (Kilkenny) have also been excellent, particularly in the CIT game, when both hit 0-4 each.
UL boss Brian Lohan bemoaned his side's injury list this week - Tony Kelly (ankle) and Seán Finn (knee) were both ruled out of the competition early on with serious injuries, while Brian Troy and Ian Galvin are also ruled out this weekend. So far though, UL have not let any of that disrupt their progress.
These two sides met in last year's quarter-final, with UL recording a hard-fought 0-18 to 0-15 win on that occasion. The two are largely unchanged from that game just over a year ago, with only a handful of players no longer available. The winners on Friday will face either LIT or Mary I in Saturday's final at 3pm.
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Davy Fitzgerald with the LIT players
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LIT v Mary I, Cork IT, 3pm
Much has been made of the fact that three Limerick institutions have made the semi-finals of the 2016 Fitzgibbon Cup, and two of them go head-to-head in the second of Friday’s semi-finals at the CIT campus in Bishopstown.
LIT, who were beaten by UL at his stage last year, have an incredible record of making it to this stage of the competition – 10 finals weekends since 2004 – but their conversion rate of just two overall titles (2005 and 2007) in that period is something they are desperate to remedy.
LIT, managed by Davy Fitzgerald once again this year, beat Maynooth (4-16 to 0-10), UCD (0-18 to 1-14) and then UCC (2-15 to 1-14) to complete a flawless campaign which saw them top Group A. Fitzgerald’s charges secured their place at finals weekend with another hugely impressive win, beating WIT by 0-16 to 0-8 to maintain their perfect record in the competition.
Peter Duggan (Clare) is LIT’s top scorer, notching a very impressive 2-16 in four games so far, while Limerick’s Diarmaid Byrnes has also chipped in with 0-16 and has been in outstanding form from frees. Cathal Barrett (Tipperary) and David Reidy (Clare) are their two other stand-out players
"Now it gets tough, it gets interesting,” Fitzgerald said after the quarter-final win over WIT. “There’s a lot of colleges would give anything to be in our position but we’re there and we’re going to give it a right go."
With the likes of Ronan Maher (Tipperary), Colm Galvin (Clare) and Niall O'Meara (Tipperary), Declan Hannon (Limerick), Cian Lynch (Limerick) and David Reidy (Limerick) in their ranks, it’s not to hard to see why some feel Mary I have every chance of stopping LIT’s march.
Mary I enjoyed big wins over NUI Galway (1-16 to 0-13) and DIT (1-19 to 0-5) in the group stages, but they also conceded 5-15 in losing to UL in Round 2, a result that will trouble manager Eamonn Cregan ahead of this clash and meant they needed to beat DIT in their final game and hope other results went their way to make the last eight.
Hannon is undoubtedly Mary I’s star man, having racked up a phenomenal 4-26 in four games for far. The Limerick attacker was there in 2013 when they were beaten in the final by UCC, the closest they have ever come to winning the blue riband of third level hurling.
Cregan, the Mary I manager, feels the primary school teacher training college have progressed since then. “The panel is stronger than we had the last time,” he said this week. “You’re as good as your last sub and we have stronger substitutes this year than we’ve had in along time."
Should Mary I go all the way, then it would be a remarkable feat given the teacher they have only 3,000 students, 80 per cent of which are female.
The winners progress to the final against UCD or UL, which will be played on Saturday afternoon at 3pm in Cork IT.
