Midway through his acceptance speech, CIT captain Kieran Murphy declared “we are back where we belong”.

It’ll go down as a fifth national third-level title for DCU, a college stuffed full of the brightest inter-county talent, but this was a largely homegrown Sigerson Cup success.

Athlone Institute of Technology were relegated from the Sigerson Cup after an eight-point loss to IT Tralee in UL on Sunday afternoon.

The first obstacle in UCC’s quest to retain the Sigerson Cup has been cleared and selector Paul O’Keeffe is hopeful that they can accrue momentum from here.

Letterkenny IT’s first-ever outing in the Sigerson Cup proved to be a successful one as they easily brushed aside the challenge of Athlone IT at the home of the midlands college.

UCC selector Paul O’Keeffe fears the Sigerson Cup is in danger of being left at “the bottom of the pecking order” as GAA chiefs redraw the fixtures calendar.

UCC selector Dr. Paul O’Keeffe fears the Sigerson Cup is suffering as GAA chiefs redraw the fixtures calendar.

Darragh Fitzgibbon has acknowledged that while there’s no question about the talent of the Cork hurlers, their “work-rate and attitude” has been a problem at key times.

Westmeath great Dessie Dolan has admitted he badly needs a break from playing after being “consumed by it for about 30 years”.

Former Dublin footballer Ger Brennan is fearful scheduling changes to the Sigerson Cup and All-Ireland U20 football championship could lead to young players dropping out of college.

Kevin Flahive says he and his Cork teammates weren’t surprised when Limerick dumped Tipperary out of the championship.

Two of the key men in UCC’s recent GAA successes enjoyed contrasting fortunes last weekend.

Playing at midfield, Jarly Óg gave an inspirational performance against IT Tralee to send his team into next week’s quarter-finals.

Jim Gavin has criticised the GAA for not indicating “a clear vision” of what they want Gaelic football to go.

With games falling victim to the inclement weather at the weekend, it further highlighted and exacerbated the craziness of this early season fixtures pile-up during a period most likely to be negatively affected by mother nature, writes Mike Quirke.

Dublin 0-20 Donegal 0-15: Dublin manager Jim Gavin insists that attacker Diarmuid Connolly remains part of the All-Ireland champions’ panel and could make a return to duty in their next game.

UCD and NUI Galway are unlikely to field their Corofin players in Tuesday’s Sigerson Cup semi-finals.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Dublin are suddenly going to fall away now, writes Mike Quirke.

By his own admission, Galway’s 1980 Liam MacCarthy-winning captain Joe Connolly only played one game of football in his life. 

Sigerson Cup Final 

See match action and interviews with captain Garvan Jones and his Co-managers.

14-man IT Sligo advanced to the Sigerson Cup first round with victory over GMIT at Tuam.

Connacht Council secretary John Prenty has called for third-level teams to be pulled from the province’s FBD league.

Kieran McGeeney has questioned the validity of the pre-season competitions when some top counties aren’t interested in fielding strong teams.

UL 0-12 Queen’s University 1-8

Kerry captain Bryan Sheehan believes the All-Ireland SFC is in “dire need” of a revamp, calling for a condensed summer schedule.

Hurling Development Committee chairman Paudie O’Neill has slammed the “crazy” practice of third-level colleges enlisting high-profile coaches to oversee their Fitzgibbon and Sigerson teams.

UCD senior football manager John Divilly would not lose any sleep if the Leinster Council were to follow Munster’s example and stop inviting third level teams into their pre-season competitions.

Dublin GAA secretary John Costello has accused Croke Park top brass of behaving like Ebeneezer Scrooge after their request for a share of the gate receipts from the Dublin-Mayo All-Ireland semi-final replay yielded the “princely sum” of €7,500.

Away from the field, the GAA have a busy five months ahead. Our correspondent looks at the 10 things to expect...

JIM Gavin recognised the trap even before it had been fully laid.

UUJ and Cork IT will host the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cup respectively in 2016.

March. Cork-Kerry, yes. Paul Galvin helping to publicise the game, yes.

All-Ireland winning club football coach Tony McEntee has given a sobering summary of Gaelic football, suggesting that players at all ages and grades aren’t "technically competent".

Niall Moyna hailed the strength-in-depth of the DCU bench as the defining factor in their fourth Sigerson Cup win.

Steven O’Brien joined a small and exclusive group on Saturday evening.

Sigerson Cup semi-final

It is hard to imagine Niall Moyna experiencing a sweeter Sigerson Cup success with DCU if it occurs this weekend.

Tomás Clancy is chasing his own piece of history this weekend.

Cork will be close to full-strength for Saturday night’s Allianz Hurling League Division 1A opener against Kilkenny in Páirc Uí Rinn (7pm).

Queens University Belfast have confirmed they will contest their expulsion from the Sigerson Cup.

The poor relation as far as third-level football on Leeside is concerned? Liam Hodnett isn’t biting.

Waterford 3-12 UCC 1-9: McGrath Cup final: Silverware in the southeast: Waterford collected a first McGrath Cup in over 30 years with an emphatic win over UCC in Fraher Field, Dungarvan on Saturday.

UCC have the possibility of making history tomorrow night when they face Waterford in the McGrath Cup final (Fraher Field, 6pm), but it’s arguably a distraction they could have done without.

Tom McGlinchey did not recognise the number on his phone. On the other end was then Waterford chairman, Tom Cunningham. The offer was to take charge of the Waterford senior footballers.