Sigerson Cup
Gaelic football trophy in Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gaelic football trophy in Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sigerson Cup /ˈsɪɡərsən/ is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. The Sigerson Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideachais Cumann Lúthchleas Gael (CLG), the GAA's Higher Education Council.
| Sigerson Cup | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2022 Sigerson Cup | |
Trophy donated by Dr George Sigerson for an Inter-collegiate Gaelic Football competition in 1911. The cup is in the shape of a mether, an ancient Irish mead-drinking vessel. It has four handles representing the four provinces of Ireland. The Cup was first presented at a dinner in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin on Thursday 12 May 1911 to University College Cork, the inaugural tournament winner. The original cup is now in the GAA Museum Croke Park. A replica cup is now presented to the winning team. | |
| Irish | Corn Mhic Shíoghair[1] |
| Code | Gaelic football |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Region | Ireland (GAA) |
| Trophy | Sigerson Cup |
| Title holders | UU (6th title) |
| Most titles | University College Dublin (34 titles) |
| Sponsors | Electric Ireland |
| Official website | Official Website |
The Trench Cup is the second tier football competition, Corn na Mac Léinn the third tier and Corn Comhairle Ardoideachais the fourth tier. The Fitzgibbon Cup is the hurling equivalent of the Sigerson Cup.
There was no intervarsity Gaelic sports competition[2] until George Sigerson, Professor of Zoology at University College Dublin, physician, and literary figure[3][2] offered up a trophy in 1911.[2] The cup was in the shape of a mether, an ancient Irish drinking vessel, and had four handles representing each of the four Irish provinces. Sigerson presented the trophy at the first tournament dinner, at the old Gresham Hotel, Dublin, in May 1911.[4] W. J. O'Riordan received the cup on behalf of UCC, the first winning team.[5] In 2009 Sigerson was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People In GAA History.[2] The trophy itself was the longest-serving trophy in national circulation in Gaelic games, until it was replaced by an identical model in 2001.[2]
From its inception Sigerson's alma mater, UCD have dominated the competition winning 33 titles, their greatest era being in the 1970s when they won the title six times in seven years. These Sigerson Cup wins proved to be the launch pad for success further afield, as UCD went on to add two All-Ireland Club Championship wins to their haul.[citation needed]
In the early days of the tournament, only UCD, UCC and UCG took part. The competition has been run off every year since, with the exceptions of 1920, 1942 and 1967. UCC are second in the pecking order in terms of championships won, currently having 23 victories to their credit. UCG (now NUI Galway) holds the record for the longest winning sequence. After their victory in 1936, the Galway University club went on to claim the next five titles and their six in a row is still an unequalled record.[citation needed]
As the years passed, the domination of the original big three was challenged by a number of new participants. Queen's University Belfast entered the competition for the first time in 1923, but did not enter thereafter until 1933. They have participated in the competition every year since and won their first title in 1958. Queen's have eight titles to their name, winning their eighth in 2007 by defeating UUJ 0-15 to 0-14 in the final.[citation needed]
As society in general changed with time, and more and more people began to enter third-level education, the number of colleges and universities grew rapidly. The impact of these changes on the Sigerson Cup has been immeasurable. Trinity College Dublin first entered in 1963, followed by NUIM in 1972, the New University of Ulster (later University of Ulster, Coleraine) in 1976, and University of Ulster, Jordanstown in 1985. The next colleges to enter were Thomond, NIHE Limerick and St Mary's, Belfast, all in 1988. Further expansion and the admission of Regional Technical Colleges to the competition saw Dublin City University enter in 1990 and the RTCs from Athlone in 1991, Sligo in 1992, Cork in 1995, Tralee in 1996 and Dublin IT in 1998. All of these third-level institutions have claimed Sigerson Cup titles since the mid-nineties, most recently Dublin IT in 2013.[citation needed]
Tralee's entry to the competition proved especially fruitful when they won successive titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999. The stranglehold of the larger Universities, UCD, UCG and UCC, has now been broken. The colleges in the north have gained a new confidence in the competition, and with a whole raft of new participants joining in recent years, the trophy is now harder won than ever. Since the 2000/01 season IT Sligo and DCU have both won the Sigerson Cup three times. The Silver Jubilee Tournament was played in 1935/36, won by University College Dublin; the Golden Jubilee Tournament in 1961/62, won by University College Dublin; the Diamond Jubilee tournament in 1971/72, won by University College Cork; the 75th tournament in 1986/87, won by University of Ulster Jordanstown; and the Centennial tournament in 2011/12, won by Dublin City University.[citation needed]
The GAA Higher Education Cups are currently sponsored by the Electric Ireland[6] who follow on from The Irish Daily Mail, Ulster Bank, Datapac, Bus Éireann and Independent.ie as investors in Ireland's premier Higher Education GAA sports competitions.[citation needed]
Mick Raftery (UCG & Mayo/Galway) holds the record as an eight-time Sigerson Cup winner, 1933–41.[citation needed]
The 2018-19 competition begins with a double-elimination stage where every team is guaranteed at least two games. All matches finish on the day. If the score is level at the end of normal time, two ten minute periods of extra time are played each way. If the score is still level at the end of extra time, the winning team is determined by a free-taking competition.
Double-elimination stage
Knockout stage
Traditionally the semi-finals and final took place at a single host venue over a weekend known as 'The Sigerson Weekend'. This arrangement was abandoned in 2018-19 with the semi-finals and final being organised as separate events.
| Team | County | Wins | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|
| University College Dublin (UCD) | Dublin | 34 | 2018 |
| University College Cork (UCC) | Cork | 24 | 2023 |
| University of Galway (formerly NUIG & UCG) | Galway | 23 | 2022 |
| Queen's University Belfast (QUB) | Antrim | 8 | 2007 |
| University of Ulster, Jordanstown (UUJ) | Antrim | 6 | 2024 |
| Dublin City University | Dublin | 5 | 2020 |
| Munster Technological University Kerry (formally Institute of Technology, Tralee) (ITT) |
Kerry | 3, | 1999 |
| Atlantic Technological University Sligo (formerly Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS) |
Sligo | 3 | 2005 |
| St Mary's University College, Belfast | Antrim | 2 | 2017 |
| Maynooth University (NUIM) (as St. Patrick's College, Maynooth) |
Kildare | 1 | 1976 |
| Munster Technological University Cork (formerly Cork Institute of Technology) (CIT) |
Cork | 1 | 2009 |
| Technological University Dublin (formerly Dublin Institute of Technology) (DIT) |
Dublin | 1 | 2013 |
Finalists who have not won the Sigerson Cup:
The Sigerson Shield [Plate] competition was introduced in 1976/77 for the teams beaten in the quarter-finals of the Sigerson Cup, in essence to provide competition for the losing teams over the three-day Sigerson weekend.[7] Trinity College Dublin (Dublin University) were the inaugural winners at Fahy Field, Galway. As a consequence of the Sigerson Cup function at the Dublin University Boat Club, Islandbridge, in February 1990 which descended into an 'orgy of destruction', the CAO decided to scrap the three-day finals weekend format to avoid any recurrence of such chaotic behaviour.[8] In 1990/91 the multi-game weekend format was replaced with all the games being played at separate venues. In 1991/92, the quarter-finals were run off separately from the semi-finals and final, the latter being played over a two-day Sigerson weekend; the same format was used in 1992/93. From 1993/94 the final stages of both the Sigerson and Trench Cups were staged over the same weekend. In 1992/93 the Sigerson Shield was contested between the losing semi-finalists, University College Galway and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown.
† New University of Ulster
Unpublished list of playing captains kindly provided by Dónal McAnallen. NB: Some differences exist between this list of playing team captains and publicly visible, wall-mounted lists of college club captains (often non-playing)[9]
The accolade of Man of the Match or Player of the Tournament dates at least from the 1980s. The "Player of the Tournament" was not always from the winning team, e.g., 1983/84. Top scorer refers to the player with the highest points tally on the winning side.
| Year | MOTM/POTT | Top Scorer | College | County | Points scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979/80 | Colm O'Rourke[18] | University College Dublin | Meath | 0-2 | |
| Michael "Micksey" Clarke | University College Galway | Westmeath | 1-2 | ||
| 1980/81 | Gay McManus[19] | Gay McManus | University College Galway | Galway | 0-6 |
| 1981/82 | Queen's University Belfast | ||||
| Greg Blaney | Queen's University Belfast | Down | 0-5 | ||
| 1982/83 | Páraic Duffy[20] | Páraic Duffy | University College Galway | Mayo | 1-2 |
| 1983/84 | Barry Coffey[21] | University College Cork | Cork | 0-1 | |
| Pádraig "Dandy" Kelly | University College Galway | Galway | 1-3 | ||
| 1984/85 | Dermot Flanagan[22] | University College Dublin | Mayo | 0-1 | |
| Micheál O'Donoghue | University College Dublin | Kerry | 0-3 | ||
| Niall Clancy | University College Dublin | Dublin | 0-3 (1f) | ||
| 1985/86 | Ger Houlahan[23] | Ger Houlahan | University of Ulster, Jordanstown | Armagh | 1-2 (1f) |
| Enda Gormley | University of Ulster, Jordanstown | Derry | 0-5 (2fs) | ||
| 1986/87 | Barry Young[24] | University of Ulster, Jordanstown | Derry | — | |
| Enda Gormley | University of Ulster, Jordanstown | Derry | 0-3 | ||
| 1987/88 | Maurice Fitzgerald[25] | Maurice Fitzgerald | University College Cork | Kerry | 0-3 |
| 1988/89 | John Rafferty[26] | St Mary's University College, Belfast | Armagh | — | |
| Fergal McCann | St Mary's University College (Belfast) | Fermanagh | 2-1 | ||
| 1989/90 | Queen's University Belfast | ||||
| James McCartan | Queen's University Belfast | Down | 1-3 | ||
| 1990/91 | University of Ulster, Jordanstown | ||||
| University of Ulster, Jordanstown | |||||
| 1991/92 | Sylvester Maguire[27] | University College Galway | Donegal | 0-3 | |
| Lorcan Dowd | University College Galway | Roscommon | 1-2 | ||
| 1992/93 | Queen's University Belfast | ||||
| Anthony Tohill[28] | Queen's University Belfast | Derry | 0-6 | ||
| 1993/94 | Mark O'Sullivan[29] | Mark O'Sullivan | University College Cork | Cork | 1-2 |
| 1994/95 | Séamus Moynihan[30] | University College Cork | Kerry | 0-1 | |
| John Clifford | University College Cork | Cork | 0-4 | ||
| John Crowley | University College Cork | Cork | 0-4 | ||
| 1995/96 | Ciarán McManus[31] | University College Dublin | Offaly | 0-3 (1f, 1 '45) | |
| David Nestor | University College Dublin | Limerick | 0-4 | ||
| 1996/97 | William Kirby | Tralee RTC | Kerry | — | |
| Gene Farrell | Tralee RTC | Kerry | 0-4 (2fs) | ||
| 1997/98 | Jack Ferriter | Jack Ferriter | Institute of Technology Tralee | Kerry | 0-3 (1f) |
| 1998/99 | Noel Garvan | Institute of Technology Tralee | Laois | — | |
| Jack Ferriter | Institute of Technology Tralee | Kerry | 0-3 (3fs) | ||
| Noel Kennelly | Institute of Technology Tralee | Kerry | 1-0 | ||
| 1999/00 | Tom Brewster | Queen's University of Belfast | Fermanagh | 0-3 (3fs) | |
| Liam McBarron | Queen's University of Belfast | Fermanagh | 1-1 | ||
| 2000/01 | Liam Doyle[24] | University of Ulster, Jordanstown | Leitrim & Down | 0-1 | |
| Paddy Bradley | University of Ulster, Jordansown | Derry | 0-5 | ||
| 2001/02 | Aidan Higgins | Institute of Technology Sligo | Mayo | — | |
| Paul Finlay | Institute of Technology Sligo | Monaghan | 0-5 (2fs, 1 '45) | ||
| 2002/03 | Michael Meehan | Michael Meehan | NUI Galway | Galway | 1-4 (1-2fs, 2sl) |
| 2003/04 | Kevin Cassidy | Institute of Technology Sligo | Donegal | 0-1 | |
| Paul Finlay | Institute of Technology Sligo | Monaghan | 0-5 (2fs, 1 '45) | ||
| 2004/05 | Keith Higgins | Institute of Technology Sligo | Mayo | — | |
| Michael Doherty | Institute of Technology Sligo | Sligo | 0-3 (2fs) | ||
| 2005/06 | Declan Lally[32] | Dublin City University | Dublin | — | |
| Conor Mortimer | Dublin City University | Mayo | 0-4 (2fs) | ||
| Seánie Johnston | Dublin City University | Cavan | 0-4 (1f) | ||
| 2006/07 | Kevin McGourty | Queen's University of Belfast | Antrim | 0-1 | |
| Ciarán O'Reilly | Queen's University of Belfast | Fermanagh | 0-5 (4fs) | ||
| 2007/08 | Karl Lacey[24] | University of Ulster Jordanstown | Donegal | — | |
| Paddy Cunningham | University of Ulster Jordanstown | Antrim | 1-9 (4fs) | ||
| 2008/09 | Aidan O'Sullivan | Cork Institute of Technology | Cork | — | |
| Daniel Goulding | Cork Institute of Technology | Cork | 0-9 (8fs, 1 '45) | ||
| 2009/10 | Brian Sheridan | Brian Sheridan | Dublin City University | Meath | 1-5 (4fs, 1pen) |
| 2010/11 | Kevin O'Driscoll[29] | University College Cork | Cork | 0-2 | |
| Barry O'Driscoll | University College Cork | Cork | 0-3 (2fs) | ||
| 2011/12 | Paul Flynn | Paul Flynn | Dublin City University | Dublin | 1-3 |
| 2012/13 | Bryan Menton | Dublin Institute of Technology | Meath | — | |
| Jason Doherty | Dublin Institute of Technology | Mayo | 1-2 (2fs) | ||
| David Givney | Dublin Institute of Technology | Cavan | 1-2 | ||
| 2013/14 | Conor Dorman | University College Cork | Cork | 0-1 | |
| Conor Cox | University College Cork | Kerry | 0-6 (4fs, 1 '45) | ||
| 2014/15 | Tadhg Lowe | Dublin City University | Roscommon | 0-2 (1 '45, 1f) | |
| Donal Wrynn | Dublin City University | Leitrim | 1-1 | ||
| 2015/16 | John Heslin | John Heslin | University College Dublin | Westmeath | 0-6 (4f) |
| 2016/17 | Conor Meyler | St Mary's University College, Belfast | Tyrone | 0-1 | |
| Oisin O'Neill | St Mary's University College, Belfast | Armagh | 0-4 (3f) | ||
| 2017/18 | Conor McCarthy | Conor McCarthy | University College Dublin | Monaghan | 1-6 (0-3f) |
| 2018/19 | Seán O'Shea[33] | Seán O'Shea | University College Cork | Kerry | 0-7 (0-5f) |
| 2019/20 | David Garland | David Garland | Dublin City University | Monaghan | 0-04 (0-1f) |
| 2020/21 | Not held due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games | ||||
| 2021/22[34] | Tomo Culhane Cathal Heneghan |
NUI Galway | Offaly Roscommon |
03, 02f 0-3 | |
| 2022/23 | Mark Cronin | Dylan Geaney | University College Cork | Cork, Kerry | 1-04 (03f) |
Bold text indicates first win.
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